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The Thoughtful Leaders™ BlogHow failure created Harry Potter
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Related Posts:Leave a ReplySomeday we’ll look back on this and it will all seem funny
But I think not. I think there are leadership lessons in a multitude of song lyrics, and titles. They’re there for us, if we’re only willing to look: Related Posts:Leave a ReplyThree simple steps to stop complaining and try a new perspective
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It seems to be a crazy time for everyone lately, with more things to do than time to do them. In the event that this sounds uncomfortably familiar to you too, I thought it might be helpful to share two time management strategies. They are practical and “doable,” and they always seem to resonate. Related Posts:Leave a ReplyTop 5 tips to working feedback so that it works
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Just last week I was forwarded J.K. Rowling’s Harvard University commencement address, and I feel compelled to share it. It is insightful, moving, humorous, and hugely worth the twenty minutes it takes to watch. It caused me to think.
I attended the TEDxGotham conference last week at Cooper Union and left inspired and motivated by the wonderful speakers and wave of ideas and new ways of looking at how we work and live. For those of you unfamiliar with TED, it is a nonprofit founded in 1984 devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It began with sharing knowledge and ideas from thinkers in the areas of Technology, Entertainment and Design – and has broadened to a range of topic areas.
OK- here is a game that an old friend’s young kids recently shared with me. Say “white” 5 times fast. Now say it 2 times fast. Now 3 times fast. Now that you’ve said “white” 10 times, what do cows drink? Most people answer “milk” even though upon reflection the correct answer is “water”. Kids love these kinds of tricks, including the same structure of game but with “top” instead of “white” and “what do you do at a green traffic light?” instead of “what do cows drink?” because they illustrate habitual thinking and automatic, predictable, but incorrect responses.
Ok, so this is one of my favorite lyrics, from one of my favorite lyricists, so maybe it’s a stretch if I’m trying to a leadership lesson from Bruce.
It is so easy to complain. Walk into any office or stroll through the halls, and listen in. It won’t take long before you hear griping and venting about something gone wrong or something blatantly unfair. People complain – about their co-workers, their bosses, their latest assignments, even the weather. What is the cost of lost hours and energy focused on complaining, I wonder? Easily in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Even more important, what if you could circumvent some of that complaining and help employees be more productive, simply by helping them think in a new way?
“You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage—pleasantly, smilingly, nonapologetically—to say ‘no’ to other things. And the way you do that is by having a bigger ‘yes’ burning inside.” — Stephen Covey 
I have clients that quote back to me, with a smile, that “feedback is a gift.” I firmly believe this. Unless we know how others perceive us, how we’re doing in their eyes, we lessen our ability to be effective with them. To get from them what we need. To get them to do what we want. To simply make it more enjoyable to work (or live) with them. So over the years I have consolidated tips around getting, and hearing, feedback to the top five most essential points.
