Why You Hate AND Love Your Email.

Who loves their email? Lovin’ those 150-200 emails you receive each day? I expect your answer to be “NO”. But why do we put so much emphasis on it then? Why do we check it whenever we get a spare moment?

Why do we treat each email equally? That’s STUPID.

Email is not a good communication platform. Actually, it’s really not communicating – good communication happens in real-time and is two-way. How many misunderstood emails have you sent or received in your lifetime?

Here are some simple tricks I teach my clients:

1. Prioritize your email. Use Rules to assign colors to important emails (Red for the Boss or Clients, Blue for emails with you on the TO: line) and Gray for all other email. Trash any CC: email – trust me, it’s not important and you're not missing anything.

When you open your email (you never keep it open all day), you will immediately see the Red and Blue emails first - choose one of four actions:

Act - if you can respond within 1-2 minutes with an answer, do it. Delegate - Push it to someone else and let all parties know. File - Read info and file, not all emails need a response. Trash - Get it out of your head and life, stop thinking about it.

2. Check your email 3 times a day. In the morning, after lunch, and right before you leave. Instead of responding by email – call. If there is something important or an emergency, they should call you.

And most importantly, keep your email 'bat-signal' OFF. Having an animation or number appear only distracts you from your more important work.

3. Use the phone more often. Leave 20-30 second messages and only talk to someone for no longer than 3-5 minutes. If you need longer, set up a 10-15 minute meeting, no longer. You will get a reputation for short calls and your colleagues/clients will most likely pick up the phone rather than let it zip to voicemail.

4. Stop by offices more often. You then control the time you talk. Make the ‘drive-by’ 3-5 minutes and then be off.

At the end of the day, email will suck the living daylights out of your productivity, motivation, and life. Trust me.

What tips and tricks do you use to keep your email behaviors efficient and effective?

Get RUNNING.

Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up.It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn't matter whether you're a lion or a gazelle. When the sun comes up, you better be RUNNING.

- African Proverb

3 Tips When Everything Is Failing All Around You.

"Sometimes the hurricane knocks down the biggest trees, to only allow the saplings to thrive." Is this happening in the marketplace today? 

Are many of our cherished institutions failing and falling by the wayside? What saplings are beginning to grow out from under the devastation?

First, let's discuss the biggest trees in the marketplace — let's look at a basic company directory:

• Management/Admin - shrinking, less middle management, no admin
• Financial - in a tizzy, most are looking for 'inventive' ways to save
• Human Resources - outsourced areas, shrinking training, little hiring
• Operations - outsourced overseas, replaced by tech, do more with less
• Marketing - outsourced, social media typhoon, failing media institutions
• IT - enterprise to cloud, sexy area to basic plumbing transition, changes instantly
• Sales & Customer Service - most valuable of the bunch, yet do more with less

If you work in any of these areas, you've probably seen some of these things occurring (and some others).

But change is a constant. As I tell all my clients:, "Don't try to desperately hang on to what you're losing, anticipate the future based on what's happening now, and move towards it with your eyes wide open."

First — what can you currently do to stay alive and relevant in your department? You know what areas are growing and conversely, what areas are shrinking (or going away). Don't put your head in the sand — you need to take action TODAY.

Ask for more responsibility. Check out what the 'hot' projects are. Who are the stars? Begin to push yourself and challenge the internal status quo.

If you were unemployed and wanted a job in retail, I wouldn't point you towards Blockbuster, I would direct you to the Apple Store.

Second — start thinking strategically. Where is your area of expertise going? You don't want to be a slide-rule salesperson in a world of calculators. Start taking steps now to make what you have to offer powerful, relevant, and in-demand for the next 5-10-15 years.

Third — embrace change and stay flexible. Don't fight the rising tide. Don't watch the trees fall all around you and expect your tree to survive. Where are the saplings? If you don't make the jump now, you might not have the timing, resources and opportunity to make the jump when needed.

It all starts with a simple, clear plan coupled with ACTION. Start today.

What first step do you need to take to begin this process?

If You're Not Moving Up, You're Going Down.

FACT: Successful leaders require and access tools to help them be accountable and objective while stretching them to reach the next level of performance (Harvard Business Review). FACT: The marketplace is changing at a constantly accelerating rate. The challenge to learn the art and science of individual change is now paramount to every executive and business-owner's success (American Management Association).

FACT: 43% of CEOs and 71% of the senior executive team reported that they had worked with a coach. Over 48% of companies now use coaching to develop the leadership capabilities of high-potential performers. The typical coaching assignment runs from 7 to 12 months (Fast Company).

Okay — I'm promoting a little. But it's true. 

Every client I work with has seen a dramatic change in their career. They've made more money, moved up in the organization, amassed a larger client base . . .

And they're happier. Challenged. Having fun.

The ironic fact is most people are afraid of working with a coach. Why?

They're afraid of "opening up" about their true feelings and dreams.

I know it's hard — but it's just like jumping into a pool for the first time — the first few seconds the water is cold, but you acclimate very quickly. Every one of my coaching sessions start out slow initially, but by the end, the client has so much energy, they are bursting at the seams to execute.

They're afraid of spending a lot of time and money on another pipe-dream.

There are so many options out there — some are good and most are bad. I can't tell you how many business books just plain stink. Conferences and seminars which rehash the same tired and hackneyed syllogisms. Speakers who give a small iota of what they really know and suck you into a quagmire of fees, charges and upsells.

I totally understand your ambivalence. But coaching is an incremental process — small changes, small steps, and big gains happen all the time. You'll know within the first or second session if coaching is for you.

They're afraid of actually being successful and their entire life changes.

This is the big one. See my recent post on 'fear of success' — most people are afraid of actually reaching their goals and dreams because it will radically change their life. And this is scary.

The best part about coaching: The first session is FREE. Most coaches offer a complimentary session to introduce coaching. Coaching is a fit — it has to 'fit' for you AND the coach has to see a good 'fit' for their business.

Try it — you might like it.

Pushing Yourself Farther Than Ever Before.

Received this story from one of my oldest and favorite clients, Ward Smith, a senior executive with Stanley/Black & Decker. It's all about taking a dare (we've all been there) and ultimately training and competing in a Triathlon. It all started last year on a dare by my good friend and college buddy Tim Kowalewski.

Since last fall, I have been anticipating a race on Sunday June 12 in Cambridge, MD. I guess you could call me a “Tri Newbie”. It is a sport that has fascinated me for several years. As most of you know, I played competitive sports at an early age, all the way through college. The constant strive to get stronger, faster, and return the next season better than the last has been with me for most of my life. Then as all of us know, a new pattern of life begins after school.

Triathlon took a major hold on my life when my college roommate and close friend Curt Straub qualified for the 2009 Ironman World Championships in Kona, an unbelievable feat given his short time in the sport. I was determined to see what drove my friend to the insane level of training. Knowing that a full Ironman was not in the cards, Eagleman 70.3 offered a wonderful challenge in a race that attracts age groupers from all of the country.

Tim and I drove down to the Shore on Saturday morning after loading our equipment up. We traded our thoughts of what each of us was expecting for the race, neither one of us had competed in a race of this distance, but we had spent countless hours on the internet reading all kinds of blogs and websites about race strategy and what to anticipate.

Tri Columbia puts on a first class event. There was a pro open forum talk in the afternoon – defending Women’s 2010 Kona Champion Miranda Carfrae and several other top pros were competing in the race – which gave us regular folks a great insight into the world of professional triathlon. It’s always pretty cool to see people in person who you have read about and seen in magazines. It’s a very unique environment – everyone’s nervous for the early morning start, but there is also an understanding between everyone that the real battle tomorrow lays within the individual and the race course.

 

Race packets picked up, final check and adjustments on the bikes, and it was off to the transition area to rack our bikes. I knew that the race was big, but it really hit me when you saw how many rows of bikes there were, it went on and on. Off to the Farm to get some dinner and hopefully some sleep.

3:30am came early, needless to say I was pretty pumped to see what the day was going to bring. I had been training for this day for 6 months, now it was here.

The energy and atmosphere in the transition area was your typical race morning feel – experienced racers going through their checklists, first timers trying to remember where their bike was located, guys with nervous chatter, but mostly competitors anticipating a long rewarding day ahead. Once my bag was unpacked, I started to go through all of my race needs and making sure that my equipment was in the right place. I made sure to take the time and get my running shoes on and get a quick 5 min. run, trying to calm the prerace jitters.

It was now ready to get ready for the swim. I made a feeble attempt to put on sun tan lotion, as some of you saw after the race. Somehow, I missed entire areas on my arms that have resulted in the most unique sun burn I have ever gotten, lesson for my next race. Any way, it was onto the water for a practice warm up swim. The water was extremely warm, over 80 degrees this year, no wetsuits for this race. Usually, the swim warm up area is located in the swim exit, a nice way to get familiar of the exit area and the route to the transition area. One very unique aspect of the Eagleman swim is the fact that the end of the swim is a very shallow area, as I would learn later, very tempting to stand up and finish the last 25 yds standing up.

Now came the next challenge – finding my wife, Karen, in the mayhem of all of the friends and family that had come out to support their racer. Tim and I had been bouncing back and forth taking care of our own pre-race rituals; we linked up and made our way to the swim start area. Luckily, I ran into my beautiful and supportive wife, along with close friends Jim and Jess Lears. It meant a lot that Jim and Jess made the effort to come out so early, Jess is 8 months pregnant! They had signs and smiles, exactly what I needed to remind myself to relax and enjoy the present.

While catching up with Jim about the pre-race craziness, guess who we run into – a high school buddy, Jason Quenzer. It was great to catch up with him briefly about what he has been up to these days, his family, and his anticipation of the day. It is always amazing that at events like these, you run into people who you haven’t seen in a long time.

Swim start was at 7:34 am, a kiss goodbye to my wife, and it was time to enter the water. My goal for this day was stay in the present, focus only in my immediate sphere, it’s really easy to get overwhelmed with the totality of the day and of each discipline. It’s a long day, but you have to break it down into the areas that are immediately in front of you, otherwise, you will get overwhelmed.

Open water swimming is a very different animal than training in a pool for 6 months. The black lines on the bottom of the pool to help you go straight are gone, you can’t see 2 inches in front of you in the Choptank River.  We trended for only a couple of minutes, but it felt like an eternity. The horn sounded, and off we go. The first leg of a 70.3 is a 1.2 mile swim. The course for Eagleman is a rectangular course, there was minimal chop and very little current.

It took me all the way to the first turn buoy to get my breathing under control. I am not a swimmer, but I kept trying to focus on the present, stay within my sphere. My buddy Curt always reminded me in our phone calls and emails leading up to the race – “just finish the swim.” I figured it was pretty good advice from a guy who competed at Kona, where their swim leg is 2.4 miles.

As I neared the swim exit, I could see other racers starting to stand up – “YES, the swim is almost done.” With only 15 or 20 yards to the shore, I just stood up and walk in the rest of the way, it gave me time to catch my breath. Running up the shore, I saw the signs and heard the familiar voices – Karen, Jess, and Jim cheering and waving the signs. I did my best to acknowledge them, but I tend to more a bit serious when I am competing, but I did crack a smile, and hopefully a little wave – I was already on autopilot…

The Bike course at Eagleman is known to share many characteristics of the Hawaii race, a reason that so many pros come to Cambridge to race. It’s flat, hot, and windy. 56 miles is a long way, but I kept reminding myself the focus of the day – stay in the present, focus on my immediate sphere. A big race like Eagleman attracts talented age-groupers from around the country, and these guys and gals can fly on the bike. I stopped counting on how many people passed me at around 40. It reminded me how much your ego can get you into some trouble, the competitor inside what’s to react and fight. One thing I learned on the bike course – my bladder somehow shrunk to the size of a 10 year old. I made 2 pit stops, which obviously slowed me down, but I knew I need to keep up with my hydration to get ready for the run. The swim and the bike are only preparation for the beginning of the race – the 13.1 run.

My goal for the run – focus on getting to each aid station. The run is a straight out and back with aid stations every mile. It was time to bring you’re A game. Out and back runs are a different breed. For those who are starting the run, you see the guys and gals who are finishing or about to finish. They are more experienced, in better condition, and an immediate reminder of what’s ahead. Nutrition was going to be a big factor in how well the race was going to go. I had maintained my plan on the bike, and now, I was going to keep it simple of the run – Ice, water, and Pepsi. I knew that anything else in stomach could cause problems.

For the first 3 to 4 miles, I did the same thing – ice down the shirt, 2 cups of water, and a half a cup of Pepsi. I was surprised, I was actually feeling pretty good. My pace was slow, about 8:20 to 8:30 pace.

At about mile 5, I saw my good friend Tim up ahead. He is a very strong runner, and I knew the moment I saw him, he was fighting hard. He had been dealing with a hip discomfort and mild foot pain heading into the race. We ran together for several minutes, I asked him how the hip was doing. I could tell he was digging deep. We parted ways, and it was onto the turn around.

There was the infamous snowball stand at the turnaround, very much needed since the entire run is in the open, not shade. The run was half over. More ice, more water and pepsi… It was time to pick the pace up and finish strong. I was determined to have my best run. I have run the Baltimore Half the past 2 years, and I always had a bit of a struggle towards the end of the race.

Mile 10 – the race focus intensified, I was not going to let anyone run past me. It was an emotional journey those last 3 miles. I had set a goal of 5 hrs 30 mins to finish, with around 2 miles to go, my watch read 5:20, it wasn’t going to happen, but that was okay, it was probably more important to just set the goal.

The last 500 ft is quite amazing, lines of people cheering everyone on, there is a slight curve, so the runners never really see the finish line until the very end. I ran as hard I could, voices screaming and cheering, crossing the finish line at 5:35.

I found Karen, my Mom and Bill. It was great to see them and celebrate. It takes some time to gather yourself after such a long race, slow down the heart, cool the body, making sure you don’t cramp up.

Final Results: Swim – 45:24 T1 – 2:18 Bike – 2:55 T2 – 3:29 Run – 1:48

Total – 5:35

Onto the next race and adventure . . .

What dares have you undertaken which delivered this kind of satisfaction?

How To Deal With Very Difficult People.

It's hard when you're working with a tough audience. Especially someone who contradicts and challenges every point you make. 

I've come to the conclusion one has to first understand where these naysayers are coming from and what their ultimate goal is to be able to debate them successfully. I've come up with four positions your opponent might be taking:

1. They Disagree With You

This is probably the easiest one to tackle because it's based upon an honest position where your opponent is factually disagreeing with you. They still have an open mind, but for the immediate future, they are factually on the opposite side of the track.

Solution: These are rational people, so use facts, figures, and reasoned logic to bring them over to the dark side. Acknowledge their position, but show them your way will ultimately be a better direction.

2. It's Their Personality

We've all met them — the naysayers of our lives. Those people who take pleasure in contradicting an established belief, position, or idea because it's hard-wired into their personality.

It's a mix of cynicism and pessimism which ultimately drives the contrarian engine in this person. I've always felt people do this to be recognized and appreciated for their intellect — but ultimately, they just want to be acknowledged and heard.

Solution: Listen to them. Ask lots of questions and delve deeply into their position. Acknowledge some of the merits of their belief structure.

Then begin to get them to understand some of the tenets of your position by aligning the more minor tenets of their areas. "I see where you're going — we want to save money. If we take this idea, it looks like we are going to save a huge chunk of cash." Also don't use the words "My idea" — use "This idea" or "Our option".

3. They're Afraid Of Change

Oh my — they're all over the place lately — people afraid of change who will do almost anything to keep the status quo, even at the detriment of their institutions.

The main driver in these people is FEAR. Even if you present a clear example of a successful position, they will endeavor to undermine it and counter with the status quo — "things are fine if we just leave it alone".

When you lift the covers, you'll see they're temporarily irrational and will be impossible to move unless you show them a 'safer' position.

Solution: They need to feel safe, so show them their current 'safe' position is actually an unsafe decision long-term. Use facts to bring them along slowly and get them to understand the ramifications of their current 'fear-based' behavior.

If you get them to incrementally understand their unfounded fears by seeing your clear direction for change, they will ultimately (and usually quickly) side with you. If you are working against a group, pick off some of the weaker adherents and use them to convince some of the more immovable opponents.

4. They Want Power

These are the toughest people to turn. Why? They really don't care about the facts at hand or where it will ultimately go — they only care about their current power structure and how to maintain and grow it.

It's the typical situation in politics. Don't try to convince someone with facts, figures, and reasoned ideas — follow the power and money. Once you understand what's under the kimono, you'll easily see where they are coming from and how you can speak their language.

Solution: Be very, very careful here. Since this is the toughest nut to crack, these people will lash out quickly and go for the jugular if you are in any way affecting the status of their power structure with your ideas.

You need to move slowly and build a power base behind you. Appeal to their nobler motives first (give them that chance) and then slowly chip away at their resolve. If you can, show them your idea will ultimately give them even more power. But wear your seatbelt, you will be on a very bumpy ride.

"What would you think if I sang out of tune?"

"What would you think if I sang out of tune,Would you stand up and walk out on me? Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song, And I'll try not to sing out of key. Oh I get by with a little help from my friends." - With a Little Help from My Friends - Lennon/McCartney

Yesterday was a powerful day for me. Thursday is my networking day and I met over 100 people starting at 6:00 AM all the way to 8:00 PM. A long day.

But I was energized when I got home.

Here's a quick synopsis:

5-6 AM - Commute (beat the traffic!) 6-7 AM - Blog at Starbucks, meet new people. 7-9 AM - BNI Networking Meeting - My Sales Force. 9-11 AM - Catchup Meeting with an influential force in Finance. 11-2 PM - Lunch and Brainstorming meeting with a future partner. 2-4 PM - Meeting with a new colleague - helping with his job situation. 4-6 PM - Mastermind/Networking Group - a great time was had by all. 6-8 PM - Client's Grand Re-Opening Celebration - lots of networking. 8-9 PM - Commute home (listen to motivational audiobooks).

I made a lot of new friends and deepened relationships with many current ones.

Bottom line — this is the life-blood of my business and career.

An esteemed colleague quoted Michael Gerber last night, "Most entrepreneurs fail because you are working IN your business rather than ON your business." He couldn't be more correct.

I came home last night with a pile of new business cards, a bunch of referral slips, and a small list of to-do's to get out by the end of the day today.

I made new friends. I deepened relationships with current friends. And I hope I helped a few people along the way.

That's the profession I've chosen — and I love it every single day.

What do you do to make new friends during the work-week?

Are You Paralyzed At Work?

During my coaching sessions, I run into a lot of "Fear of Failure" discussions. People who are paralyzed because they feel if they take action (any action), they will fail and the world will come crashing down upon them. I also experience "Fear of Success" with some of my clients. This one is even more insidious — it tends to show you the way to success and then the right side of your brain kicks in and you begin to worry about all the life changes (usually negative) which will impact your relationships, your routine, and your work. So you stop in your tracks.

But there is an even more sinister dysfunction out there — I call it "Fear of Completion". And a lot of people have it. 

I do. I think it stems from having a perfectionist streak in certain things you do and it causes the person to never reach completion on certain actions, projects, or services. You're always afraid you can do it 'just a little bit better'.

In addition, it plays nicely with Fear of Failure and Success — you don't want to deliver it because you are afraid of failure (you have to fix it or do it again) or success (you have to then do more of it).

You see this happen when people are writing books, or developing a workshop, or rolling out technology. They keep adding areas or functionality to the deliverable so they never have to experience the reality of their actions.

They like to live in project limbo. I call it Maybe-Land. They're not getting a 'Yes this is great' or a 'No this sucks' — they get no response, because they haven't delivered it yet. Maybe-Land is a warm and fuzzy place to live. Most people out of work like to live in Maybe-Land — they don't follow up on leads or interviews, because they might get a 'No'. Or even scarier, a 'Yes'.

How do you eliminate "Fear of Completion"? Two suggestions:

1. Set a firm deadline and let everyone know about it. You have to deliver it within 90 days. You are going on a diet and losing 50 pounds by this date. Publish it everywhere — tattoo it on your forehead.
2. Promote someone on your team or ask a colleague to physically take the presentation, the site, the project and launch it when they think it's ready. You will never think it's ready and continuously add functionality. They will stop the insanity and launch it (on-time).

Do you suffer from one of these fears? What do you do to ameliorate them?

How To Be More Effective On The Job.

"Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things." - Peter Drucker   Efficiency has been pounded into us since grade school.

• Keep your desk clean.
• Finish your tests on-time.
• Always have three sharpened pencils.
• Let's squeeze 7-8 classes into one day.

And the list goes on and on.

Even on the job, one is forced to comply to look busy, to fit as much 'stuff' into a workday as possible, to outshine your peers, and fly through your duties. It reminds me of a great song by Kevin Kline in the Sandra Boynton musical "Philadelphia Chickens" called 'Busy Busy Busy'*:

We’re very very busy And we’ve got a lot to do And we haven’t got a minute To explain it all to you For on Sunday Monday Tuesday There are people we must see And on Wednesday Thursday Friday We’re as busy as can be With our most important meetings And our most important calls And we have to do so many things And post them on the walls…

We have to hurry far away And then we hurry near And we have to hurry everywhere And be both there and here And we have to send out messages By e-mail, phone, and fax And we’re talking every minute And we really can’t relax And we think there is a reason To be running neck-and-neck And it must be quite important But we don’t have time to check.

I'm not saying efficiency is bad, it's just overrated. But effectiveness is the key to success. Just doing things will not deliver the requisite benefits — results are key in any endeavor. It's what differentiates you from the chattel who worry about their job every day.

Is this you? I have to:

• Do tons of work to show everyone I am the master of my domain.
• Read, assess, and answer all of the 150 emails I receive every day.
• Attend every meeting I'm invited to so I don't miss anything.
• Provide an audience to every person who comes into my office or passes by my cubicle.
• Never make a mistake - so I double- and triple-check every thing I do.
• Return every phone call, meet with every new prospect, and get on every project.
• Do the safe/easy things - I can do them quickly and not worry about not delivering quantity.
• "Push a lot of buttons to get results."

Now, focus on being effective:

• Out of the 150 emails I receive, what 10-20 are really important for my attention?
• What meetings are really important? (usually none)
• Setup specific times for open door policies and drive-by's.
• Who really is your key customer? What project will really deliver growth for the company?
• I tackle those things which will deliver maximum results and not worry about getting many little things done.
• How can I focus on the 20% which delivers the 80%?
• "I can push THE button."

What is the best reason for effectiveness?

It allows you to develop the confidence to take on new challenges, to push your envelope, and to not worry about failure. Because if you fail - you will just try again.

"Efficiency is making many things happen. Effectiveness is making IT happen." - Rich Gee

How do you balance efficiency and effectiveness?

*This song was introduced to my by one of my favorite and dearest colleagues, Diane Senior. Thank you Diane, I still laugh listening to the CD — it so reminded us of our environment at that time.

Looking For Light At The End Of The Tunnel.

"When it is dark enough, you can see stars." Received this in a fortune cookie Friday night at our favorite asian restaurant in downtown New Haven (date night with my beautiful wife, Silvia).

After a small amount of research, I found it's attributed to Charles Beard, one of the most influential American historians of the 20th century.

IMHO, the meaning of the quote is quite apparent — when life is going badly, look around, there are many opportunities to make it better.

Do you agree? Let's say it's true — Opportunities are all around us:

1. They are difficult to initially see — we must look hard for them.

Opportunities are not going to drive up to your door in a limousine to pick you up. In the beginning, it might feel there is a 'darkness' all around you. But if you begin to open your eyes, positive situations will start to appear.

Open your mind, be more positive, and hang around with more positive people. Don't follow the news, point yourself towards more motivating resources — audiobooks, people, exercise, books, etc.

2. They are not in the form we expect.

This always happens. We tend to look at opportunities from certain avenues and forget the little side streets which might deliver the goods.

It might be with a person who initially seems inconsequential or a company who is not filling your sweet spot. Keep your eyes and mind open to new possibilities.

3. They are far away — in space or time — we must go after them.

Everyone wants opportunities to come to them quickly. In certain circumstances, it takes time for the opportunity to come into focus.

For example, you might want a promotion — but it might take the better part of a year to get your boss on board and then for him to coax upper management and HR on the idea. Be patient (but look for continuous results).

4. They look small and inconsequential at first, but as we get closer, they take on prominence and importance.

This is always the case with big opportunities. They are usually all around us, but we are looking for the immediate 'big win'.

It's almost like growing a delicate flower — watering, feeding, sunlight, clearing the weeds — all to ensure it matures into a beautiful rose.

What opportunities do you see all around you?

How To Think Creatively.

What once was a decaying NYC eyesore is now a hugely successful financial engine. The High Line, an old elevated rail-bed turned world-class park, has generated $2 billion in private investment and 12,000 new jobs in the area, including 8,000 new construction jobs.

Who would have thought?

A simple idea, mixed with enthusiastic support equals powerful change.

So how do you think creatively? Here's how I do it:

Step One - Eliminate Distractions

Turn off your email. Set your phone to voicemail. Go to an area where there are no home or work distractions. Sit in a comfortable chair with a clean table (a dining room table works best - dining rooms are BORING). Tell everyone to leave you alone for one hour.

Step Two - Get A Clean Piece Of Paper

If you can get an 11" x 17" sheet, great! Or regular size is fine too. Just make it white and clean. Get your favorite pen, pencil, or marker - we are going for broad-brush ideas. No erasers  - allowed mistakes and changed directions are encouraged!

Step Three - Don't Second Guess . . . Brainstorm

Now start laying out your idea. What are the basic elements? Don't write sentences . . . keep it to bold words or short phrases. Circle them. Cross stuff out (don't worry about making a mess). Fill the page with all the disparate ideas, tasks, activities, people, things, etc. you can think of.

Step Four - Step Back . . . Look For Connections

Now step back and look for ways to connect ideas together. Connect the What to the When to the Who to the Where. Forget about Why and How for now. Just focus on connecting, building, modifying, editing, and forming your creative vision.

Step Five - Build An Idea . . . Develop Activities . . . Set Dates

Now take a clean sheet and begin to move over the salient elements to coalesce your vision. Start to priortize each step, which one should come first, then second, then third. Start assigning how long each will take (ballpark) and who needs to be involved. Then align them all and develop a schedule.

Try it. This is how I develop new ideas for my business. It's worked for me for over 30 years. 

Now it's your turn.

If you're interested in The High Line, click here.

Hate Your Job? Here's How To Love It.

"Love is the greatest refreshment in life." - Pablo Picasso How much love is there in your life?

You probably love your parents, your spouse/partner, your kids . . . but what else do you love?

Do you love any of your friends? Colleagues? Nature? A beautiful day? A good book?

How about work? Do you love it? Hate it? If work was a long spectrum from Totally Love to Uncomfortably Despise, where would you fall on that line? 

During one of my free Inside Track Open Mike Sessions, we discussed this typical symptom of business. How can I move up that spectrum and better love what I do. Because if you love what you do:

• You do it better.
• You enjoy doing it.
• You are fulfilled doing it. Challenged.
• You learn.
• You grow.
• You have FUN.

So how do you love what you do? We first need to investigate why you don't love what you do. It's usually because of these four reasons:

1. It's boring. Or 'SOS' - you do the 'Same Old Stuff' every day.
2. You hate the business, the people, the commute, or the location.
3. You question or someone else questions your performance. You feel you are not fully qualified or someone is a severe critic.
4. It's not what you really want to do.

During our sold-out open mike session, I mentioned there are only three choices when it comes to work:

1. Endure. Stay and do nothing.
2. Change. Stay and change the game.
3. Leave. Get the heck out of there.

That's it. If you want to LOVE what you do, you can't choose #1 (endure). So if we take our model and apply it to our four reasons:

1. It's boring.

Change. Ask for more demanding/challenging work from your boss. Think of new ways to deliver to clients. Be inventive, take chances, use your imagination. Staying safe and fearful will only deliver more boredom. Trust me.

2. You hate the business, the people, the commute, or the location.

Leave. Changing any of these items is difficult (unless you can relocate or telecommute). But I've found, the best way to deal, is to make a wholesale change to a different environment. But be careful, you might just jump from the fat into the fire.

3. You question or someone else questions your performance.

You — Stop doing that. When we question our performance, it's usually based on a fear of forgetting something critical. Most of the time, we are correct and don't have to worry. Start using a checklist or redundancies to solve this problem.

Them — Ask them for constructive feedback rather than being just a critic. Ask them to help you do your job better. Ask others (who you feel are top performers) for insight and advice.

Otherwise . . . Leave.

4. It's not what you really want to do.

Analyze your options and environment and make a change to another position. Or leave and do what you really want to do.

A lot of these solutions might sound simple or trite. But it's the truth. You might be making it more complex, but if you sit down and lay out your situation, it probably falls within one of these four areas.

If you find it difficult — you probably don't want to change.

How To Deal With Pessimists & Obstructionists.

Ever read something that so truly resonates with your soul? Something that clearly explains all the obstacles you had at work? Something clearly defining and segmenting out those people that waste your time?  I did. This past weekend, I caught up with some reading that I've been putting off lately.

One of my free ebooks I received when I bought Seth Godin's Linchpin (my favorite book of 2010) was a short ebook titled: "Insubordinate". Go get Linchpin today.

In it, Seth hits upon a powerful line of thinking on how to segment WHO you work with every day. I don't like to 'over-quote' on my blog — but Seth clearly hits a home run with his writing and I know I would do it a disservice if I paraphrased.

1. Linchpins

"The people who make a difference, the ones who ship, the rare ones who truly have an impact. This group of people, in that moment of time, changes everything."

2. Supporters

"Eager and willing to help. They respect and admire the work the linchpin is doing, and they’re ready to supply leverage or money or just a smile to help get the job done. Even better, they challenge the linchpin to do more, dig deeper, and make an even bigger difference."

3. Leeches, Advocates for the Devil, and Bystanders

"These are the pessimists, the obstructionists, and the protectors of the status quo. Driven largely by fear, they set out to slow you down, whittle you down, and average you down."

"People don’t end up in this group because they choose to be there; they end up there because the lizard brain is so freaked out and the resistance is so loud that they really don’t have any choice."

"What I do is mentally affix a red “L” (for leech) to their forehead and then, for as long as I can, avoid them. Like potholes in an otherwise smooth road, it’s just easier to drive around them."

"At the same time, I feel sorry for them. They are in this group because of fear, not by choice. They wrestle every day with overwhelming feelings of impending doom. It’s not a permanent condition, but I’m not sure it’s your job to heal them."

Powerful. So here are today's question(s):

How often do you put up with the Leeches . . . how often do they step in your way, stop you, warn you, and scare you (with their fears)?

What are you going to do about it?

When The Worst Thing You Can Imagine Happens.

"First ask yourself: What is the worst that can happen? Then prepare to accept it. Then proceed to improve on the worst." — Dale Carnegie Yesterday, I wrote about fear. Sometimes our fear of the worst that can happen paralyzes us. We don't move. We do nothing.

Here's the reality — the worst almost never happens. Maybe 1 time in 100 or 1000. But we act and react as it it's right around the corner. We act as if it's a certainty.

That's why I always fall back on my good friend Dale Carnegie and remember his incredible book, "How To Stop Worrying And Start Living". Link: http://amzn.to/mzAoSk

The writing style is classic Carnegie. To put it simply, the guy just writes like he talks. This makes for a very friendly and easy to understand book, rather like a good friend giving you a piece of advice.

And a lot of advice he gives. The book is divided up into ten sections, each one tackling some aspect of worrying. Let me just say that book covers just about every major "worry issue" that might be causing a troubled mind, such as your work, your finances, other people's criticisms- and them some.

• Deal with the worry.
• Prepare to accept it.
• Proceed to improve on the worst.

In other words, figure out what bad things might happen and put mitigation steps into place to ensure they don't happen. It's that easy.

What do frequently worry about? What steps have you taken to improve upon it?

3 Things I Learned While My Plane Crashed.

Ric Elias had a front-row seat on Flight 1549, the plane that crash-landed in the Hudson River in New York in January 2009.

What went through his mind as the doomed plane went down? At TED, he tells his story publicly for the first time.

The One Mistake We All Make.

"In looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence, and energy. And if they don't have the first, the other two will kill you."— Warren Buffett

If you don't know Warren, he's an American industrialist and philanthropist widely regarded as one of the most successful investors in the world. Often called the "Oracle of Omaha", he is the primary shareholder, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is consistently ranked among the world's wealthiest people (third wealthiest person in the world as of 2011).

So he knows what he is talking about.

It's interesting Warren places integrity first. In today's work- and marketplace, the focus is centered on intelligence and energy. How much do you know? What experience do you have? What have you done? Are you willing to spend 10-12 hours a day (and more) knocking it out of the park for me?

But we always forget about integrity. A definition of integrity — "Adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty."

Let's be honest — how many times do you experience a concerted effort by management to adhere to moral and ethical principles? Where everyone displays a powerful moral character? Where people don't lie and endeavor to tell the truth in their business dealings?

I'm not saying the marketplace or workplace is totally devoid of integrity. But it does take a back seat to profits, targets, stock price and power. Not even a back seat . . . it's in the trunk with the spare tire.

In the wake of all the turmoil with Wall Street, Washington, and many boardrooms, (and even on Twitter lately) we all need to begin to make harder choices based on integrity. Who we invest in, who we purchase from, who we do business with.

And sometimes we need to look within for our anchor to integrity — because sometimes we fall short. We need to also pay attention to our own actions and decisions and how they impact others.

Whatever we do, we will continue to face ethical challenges. It's how we react to them that counts.

What do you do to stay ethically anchored?

Why Bad Things Happen When We Least Expect It.

"Some changes look negative on the surface but you will soon realize that space is being created in your life for something new to emerge." — Eckhart Tolle For many years, I felt bad things just happen in our lives. I'm not talking about a sudden death in the family, or a severe illness. That's truly unfortunate.

I'm talking about a bad boss, a missed job offer, or a client who got away at the last minute. These are situations thrust into our lives to not only teach us to appreciate the good times, but to also clearly understand something better is probably around the corner.

First off, I'm not trying to be mystical here. There are too many people in this world who expect a cavalcade of good things to be driven and deposited to their door. That's unrealistic and more often than not, an unreasonable frame of mind to live with.

But too many times I've found in my life, with my clients, and my colleagues a loss coupled with a better change right around the corner. For me, a bad boss was thrust into my life — I had to endure his unprofessional antics for about six months until one day, it delivered a clear decision for me to move on from that organization. I left the position and never looked back. Best decision I've ever made.

Are you in a similar position at work? Do you put up with unprofessional shenanigans that impact your position and your work?

This clearly comes into play when interviewing for a new position. How many times have you been passed over for a prime opportunity to then ultimately find a great position offered just a few weeks or months later? If you originally got the first job, the second would never have materialized. Has this ever happened to you?

Finally, clients are a fickle fish to fry. They come and go at a moment's notice. You might put in an enormous amount of work into getting their business and then — poof — they slip away at the last second.

Some people say working with Walmart is like owning a boat — you celebrate the first day of receiving the business and you celebrate the last day you do business.

I feel the client who gets away deserves to stay in the pond for another person to handle their business. Someone else will trundle along for you who is bigger, better, and more fun to do business with.

It took years for me to fully understand and appreciate this passage. I hope I helped you today.

What job, position, or client went away and then the universe suddenly opened up a new perspective to your career?

Motivation Is Your Worst Enemy.

Bosses suck. Motivational speakers are awful. Business books are boring. Your spouse/partner is wrong. I know you sometimes feel this way. I do.

Do you sometimes feel those forces in and around you are just pointing you towards disparate directions? Is it's just too much work to start . . . or if you start, the cavalcade of work will overwhelm you?

Here's the worst one — if you start, you'll know you'll give up midway through and ultimately fail? Again?

Most people live in a rut — doing the same thing every day — even though they are not really happy about where they are in life.

But when they are faced with solutions, they tend to spurn them because they rely on emotional triggers to make them fail before they've even started.

Motivation is truly their enemy — because it gives them a vision, a glimpse of what their life could really be like and then they let their emotional right side ("I can't do that, I'll fail) churn with their logical left side ("You don't have time to do that") and they regularly dismiss the vision.

Does this happen to you? Let me begin by saying — there are no silver bullets. There is no free lunch. Nothing in and of itself will solve all of your problems. Nothing will.

I want you to look at you, your life, your career, your relationships — everything you do — as a gas tank which needs to be topped off regularly to run efficiently and to always have a complete reservoir of energy to tap into.

Don’t wait until your gas tank is empty. If you do, you’ll probably sound like the person in the first half of this post.

You need to regularly stop off at your Shell or Mobil station and top off your Vision Gas Tank. Small fill-ups of motivation will not only keep your engine running clean and efficiently — it will ultimately get you where you want to go.

Doesn't your car run better when it has a full tank of gas? When it's all shiny and clean? I know mine does.

Here’s the kicker — if you use premium gas — your engine will have more horsepower and run even more efficiently.

So motivation isn’t a quick fix or a silver bullet, it’s a series of small, incremental fill-ups.

What can you do?

As I frequently say: “All a person needs is a glimpse to get them started.”

If you read an inspirational book, listen to motivational CD’s or even play your favorite music – you will begin to get a glimpse of what life could be like if you stepped out of your comfort zone. New visions will flow into your head and you will be energized to make them happen immediately.

You will incrementally become inspired and resolve to slowly change your behaviors, set new goals and proceed to pursue them.

All you need is a glimpse. Promise me you will top off your Vision Gas Tank every day and you will see powerful changes occur in your life.

What do you do to top-off your Vision Gas Tank?

Are You A Fake?

Talking to my wife at breakfast today, she mentioned bumping into a good friend of ours that moved away a number of years ago.  We always liked him, but never his wife. Not that she was awful to be with — there was just something off with her interactions with us. We felt that we never saw 'the real' person. Her husband was great — open, honest, informative, and pleasant to be with. We just got the impression that she was critiquing us during our get-togethers and most certainly afterwards.

I think it comes down to authenticity. She wasn't authentic. She didn't let us see the real person — she kept a lot of her personality inside and hidden. When we spoke about meeting the husband to another neighbor, they also commented about the behavior of the wife.

First off — it's not a male/female thing — both are equal opportunity offenders. But you need to observe your behavior — here are some telling signs:

• You don't have many close friends. They don't call you to get together.
• You find that you aren't 'in' on many things at work.
• You are the last to hear about something important happening.
• At parties, people tend to shun you - or they at least keep you at a distance.

How to counteract this?

• Open up - let people know how you feel.
• Tell personal stories - this allows people to understand WHO you are.
• Comment openly - take their feelings into account, but be honest.
• Don't gossip. Don't spread rumors.
• Smile - look people in the eye when you speak.
• Ask people about their day, their work, their life.
• Act genuinely interested in their response.
• Ask if you can do anything for them.

On a scale of 1-10, 10 being totally authentic, and 1 being a total fake, where do you sit? What can you change to be a bit more authentic?

The #1 Way To Communicate With Your Prospects.

Talk to them through a video. But . . . it's a lot harder and more complicated than it looks.

You need to keep it simple, straightforward, and powerful — to allow potential clients to experience YOU. To hear you, to see you, to understand exactly how your products and services will help them.

Today, videos are ubiquitous — everyone is doing them. I feel there are two stages of video production out there:

DIY - Do It Yourself - You and your cam on your laptop, phone, small video or Flip camera. It's quick, easy, and inexpensive to produce. The quality is okay (and I'm stretching that phrase) but with the advent of YouTube, on the spot cameras, and smart phones, people are totally okay with the result.

Gary Vaynerchuk uses this model and he's made millions doing it. So make it happen!

High-End Production - You're in a studio, with a director, photographers, make-up, lights, sound people, background, clapboard slate, multiple cameras, constant lens changing . . . you get my drift.

Of course there's super high-end with a cast of thousands, but I won't go there.

Over the next few weeks, I will be working with my director to edit down the hours of film shot to a 30-60 second video. Now the real work begins. And I know there will be an outtake spot too . . . so stay tuned.

Many thanks to Lauren Clark, Makeup (clarkmakeup@gmail.com), Dave Woolery, Sound (davewoolery@gmail.com) and Rich Freeda, Photography (rich@richardfreeda.com). If you are shooting video, these are the people to call!

And special thanks goes to the director and principal photographer, Phil Nelson (http://www.panelson.com/) - he is the master at what he does, whether it is landscape photography, headshots, or video.

He even makes me look good!

Oh yes, and here's the coolest thing I encountered during the shoot - I have to get one!