Change Masters Incorporated - The Blog

World class coaching delivered around the world™

Work Smart or Hard?

By Leave a Comment

There are many time management experts who are eager to tell us how to work smarter so we don’t have to work so hard. It does seem like there are always too many things to do and not enough time. “I’m so busy” is a phrase that seems to mean “I’m so important.” Few people I know think they are not busy. Even people who are bored will also say they are busy.

The one person I know who has helped the most people be more effective with their time, and achieve more of their goals, is Doug Lennick. When I asked him about working smart, his response was, “Working hard is the smartest thing you can do.” He’s also someone who was clear about when he would work and when he would spend time with his family or play basketball.

Video Production Example

We were coaching him on a video recording where there was a large video crew and several people by a lake.  There were delays for various problems, as often occurs.  Doug repeatedly said, “I am leaving at 6:00 PM no matter what.”

I am not sure what the producer was thinking, but he did not seem to adjust adequately.  At 6:00 PM, and before the producer considered the video recording complete, Doug said a pleasant goodbye and was gone. This was the night he had committed to be home for dinner with his wife. The producer had to complete the video with people who were willing to go home late for dinner.

Doug was committed to working sixty hours per week in his role as a senior leader. He started at 6:00 AM with scheduled phone calls on his way into the office. Doug was scheduled and disciplined. If he said he would do something at a certain time – he did it.  That included commitments to his family.

Doug is very conscious of his principles, values and goals in his personal and work life. He has structured his life to be in line with those most of the time. His assistant, Kay May, is his long-term backbone of his ability to manage his schedule well.

Structured life

When I asked Doug about his structured schedule, he pointed out that it was the best way for him to reach his goals and maintain his values and beliefs. “What can be bad about that?” he said with a great smile on his face. He did schedule basketball twice per week and time for his loved ones as well.  As best I could observe, everything in his life was thought out and prioritized.  He has been incredibly successful in business and in life, reaching the level of Executive Vice President of American Express. When he retired from American Express, he built a successful consulting business.  “Not bad for a guy who grew-up in rural South Dakota” he said.

“Learning From Experience™” Reboot

We produced an audio series with Doug and Carol Keers fifteen years ago that was extremely good. I think it was before it’s time. With the increased challenges many people have today, I am thinking it would be good to reboot the series.  I have the wonderful problem that there are a number of new products in the pipeline.  I am debating which ones to prioritize. Let me know if you think that would be of interest to you and what you would like it to help you to accomplish.

2017 CNN Heroes

By Leave a Comment

My TV viewing is very limited, but I happened to have the 2017 CNN Heroes show on while I was doing something else. I really needed to hear about people doing good for others out of love and caring.  People of all ages, people with widely different backgrounds, and people who saw a need, were highlighted by CNN for making a very big difference in the world. They all started from where they were. They made a difference. Their motivation was compassion, or personal experience.  Remembering a painful childhood motivated one person to find a way to change childhood for many kids who faced what he had faced.

The school boy from Tanzania who made creative puppets to cheer children fighting cancer has impacted people around the world. Not only with his puppets, but by raising enough money to send affected families on cruises around the world … all by using a sewing machine in his bedroom.

The policewomen who took an empty room and made it into a safe place after school for children surrounded by violence. There was an Iraqi vet looking for relief from mental pain after returning home from war. He found his only relief when he was on a surfboard. Not only did he help himself, he showed other veterans how to surf and feel relief as well.

Purpose

Most people I know want their life to have purpose. I know I do.  It is easy to think it is far away or abstract … maybe even not attainable. To see people finding purpose that was right in front of them, and changing the world, says almost anyone can have purpose. Most started small, and it grew, which is great. The truth is that meaningful purpose does not need to win a CNN Hero award.  Impacting even one other life is meaningful. Some simple acts can improve the lives of those you work with … particularly when done from a place of caring and compassion. We all spend a lot of time at work. Most of us would like it to be a kinder place. Maybe a few more people can take on compassion at work as their mission in 2018. The videos made me think that it’s possible.

The CNN stories helped me move to better spirits for the holidays and increased my optimism for 2018. I hope you find time to watch some of the stories, and that it will improve your HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

 

How Old Are You?

By Leave a Comment

When my father was 60, he referred to himself as being “middle-aged”. His friend asked him, “How many people do you know who are 120?”

A Life Well Lived

conductor-stanislaw-skrowaczewskiMinnesota Orchestra Conductor Laureate Stanislaw Skrowaczewski was born in Poland 93 years ago. He started playing piano at age 4. He loved playing music until he was injured by a bomb during World War II. He became a conductor in Warsaw and Cleveland before he took over the Minneapolis Symphony in 1960.  A few months ago we heard him conduct the Minnesota Orchestra with such gusto that it was hard to believe he was 93 years-old.  His love for the music was clear. One non-stop performance was 80 minutes long without using the written score. Last year he conducted in over a dozen countries.  So how old was Skrowaczewski? Sadly, he died last month. He fully lived all of his 93 years.

Being Engaged in Life

There are numerous studies that all point to being engaged in something you find worthwhile (for pay or not) significantly improves our happiness and our health. I feel blessed to feel that way about what I do. Most of my “work” gives me energy, even though I am well past what many think is retirement age.  See my blog Build your Return on Life (ROL) from 2014 about Mitch Anthony’s book “The New Retirementality” that challenges the concept of a retirement age as a leftover concept from the Industrial Revolution.

How Old Should I Feel?

I do not advocate that people should not retire because I have not done so. There are many people who have sacrificed enormously to build their career and feed their families. They have traveled extensively, or in other ways, sacrificed family time to do work that is not all that satisfying any more.  Finding a way to remove from your life what is draining and add things that are nourishing is a wonderful endeavor. I know many who have focused on their grandchildren to recapture what they lost with their own children’s growing years. That is a fabulous opportunity to recover. Others have found the artist inside them during their retirement, like President George W. Bush.

young man looking at an older himself in the mirrorMy misconception of how a grandfather should feel is very apparent to me.  Looking at the photo of the man looking in the mirror pretty well captures the gap. I feel like the younger man, and the mirror reflects an older man. I expected to feel like the older man in my 70’s, but I don’t… most of the time.

I know many who think their 60’s and 70’s are the best years of their lives. Maybe the 80’s too …. I just have not asked enough people in their 80’s.  That was not my expectation when I was in my 30’s. That was not how I saw my grandfather in his 70’s.

Should We Allow More People to Work Longer?

Many would say, “Not on your life!” and others would find community, contribution and maybe purpose, if they were able to continue to work.  Warren Buffet continues to make good investments in his 80’s. The Supreme Court is filled with senior citizens.  Many cultures honor the wisdom of age more than the US culture.

There are definitely limitations brought on by aging.  There are also strengths that build with continued age.  I was blessed with a grandmother who was young at heart and willing to share honest wisdom such as, “Those who talk about the ‘good old days’ have bad memories. It was not all good.”

The companies who can overcome unfounded age discrimination and also make adjustments, where appropriate, to work rules will have a competitive advantage in many industries.