Showing posts with label Seth Godin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Seth Godin. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

The Power of One

I love Seth Godin's blog this morning The Power of One a Day. I can't tell you how many people ask me how they can market themselves, their work or an idea and look at their marketing plan as this huge entity that, even in concept, is overwhelming. Because it's so big, they park it and just get on with their every day lives and what they've always done. They don't do what they have to do, even what step at a time, to be remarkable.

I maintain that life can be complex but doesn't have to be overly complicated. Seth's post is a perfect example of that.

Before you go diving in and doing everything on Seth's list, I'll ask you to answer a few questions for yourself. First of all, what are you really great at? It's much easier to market yourself and your work if you're brilliant at it and others can see that you are. 

Start there. 

Secondly who don't you know who you need to know? Start meeting and having those percolating conversations with people who will 'grow' you and your way of thinking and vise versa. Lastly, what don't you know that you need to know? Make everything you do a learning and growth experience for you and those you interact with.

Now go build your mountain. Get ready. It's going to be HUGE!
 

Friday, March 16, 2012

Promises Made and Kept

The concept of kept promises seems to be ambiguous of late. I was just having this conversation with a colleague the other day. Many make promises at the drop of a hat without any reflection beforehand. Can they keep the commitment? Do they have the bandwith to add something else to their plate before saying "I'll do this" or "I'll be there" before they dive in and make that promise? 

Others love to use the expressions " I hope to be able to". Hope doesn't make things happen. Doing makes things happen. Or "I'll try to...." As Yoda is famous for saying "Try? Try not. Do!" If you don't have the bandwith to do it properly and in the timeframe you promised, then don't.

This morning in Seth Godin's blog, "Specific Promises, Kept" he hit the nail right on the head when he stated :"The power of the specific, measurable and useful promise made and kept is difficult to overstate." 


The thing is, it's up to us as the recipient of the promise to hold the other accountable. That's not to say we have control over whether or not other people honor their commitments. We have the right to decide whether or not to engage with and believe in that individual in the future. After all, we are our word. If we promise lightly with no intention of honoring that promise why would people trust us in the future? And why would they expect we will trust them in return if their words are empty?


The biggest gift you can give clients, customers, colleagues, friends and family alike is to be honest about what we can give and do.... and what we can't.

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Shared Learning....and What's Next

2011 was filled with learning in every realm of my world and my life. There were so many shifts for me. I not only wanted to share what the learning is and was but acknowledge those who were instrumental in creating those shifts.

I continue to learn that it's possible to grow older without growing old from my parents. They are more with-it, energetic, insightful, and up to the minute than pretty much anyone else I know. I'm constantly learning what new leadership looks like from my son and daughter-in-law. It's not about off with the old and on with the new. They integrate what they learned from those before them with what works for them for their present and future.  I learned from Ray what it means to disconnect and enjoy life, (although what I do is as much who I am as my profession but he's really good about putting up with me. He makes it so easy for me to be me). 

 
I learned the art of sharing knowledge, time, energy and expertise graciously and selflessly from Renee Freedman and  John Spence. 

 
I learned you can have the difficult, courageous conversations with a friend and still remain a true friend. I consistently learn from my friends who are my family by choice what authentic friendship means and from others what friendship isn't and make my choices accordingly.

 
I learned how to dive in and (as Seth Godin would say) know it's time to say "Ship it". 

 
I learned a lot from Seth this year. I'm waffling between saying thank you and saying "Seth, get out of my head" …but as his words of wisdom were not only timely but a great 2 x 4 to the side of my head reality check, and because of them, I made a lot of changes in how I do what I do, whether coaching, writing, teaching or living…. "Thank you" wins hands down.  And I've learned that pretty much anything he publishes, either his work or someone else's is something I WILL learn from, tangible or intangible. It might push every button I have and then some, but the learning curve will be HUGE!

 
I experienced the differences between having a book published and publishing a book... when to draw the line and acknowledge that delays are more damaging than the odd typo….and not to wait until 100 people think it might be good enough before getting it out. I learned who I could work with and who I couldn't, what conferences I'd attend and which ones I won't any more. It's time to see what people are living in realms outside of coaching. I need to learn more about people and what they're living in order to work best with them from their perspective, not coaches'. I continue to learn how to shift my view of the world and my place in it. 

 
I learned that we learn from stories and how we connect our stories with those of others'. It's personal that way. We learn better and remember  the lessons longer when a story connects to who we are or who we want to be. I learned from my clients everything from turbulence and chaos to success and accomplishment and that sometimes the latter is harder for them to deal with than the former. 

 
I learned from the TED Fellows that everything I didn't think was possible…is possible.  Thank you Jessica, Dominic, Adital, Su, John, Jon, Cesar, Naomi, Katie, Zubaida, Colleen, Kellee, Rachel, Eric, for opening my eyes to your worlds and inviting me in.

 
I learned from Ron Kitchens and Ruth Ann Harnisch that it's not about giving just to support….it's about giving to support greatness, growth, innovation and learning. It's about giving so those they give to get stronger and are independent.  They are Human-Based Leaders in more ways than I can list here.

 
Through this year's experiences, not to mention through Laurier LaPierre, I was reminded of how proud I am to be Canadian. I love travelling and working all over the world but really love coming home. I am continuously reminded that, although we are similar to other countries, we are unique as a people and a country. We're just quieter about it. We have to be more vocal about it. 

 
I learned from everyone in my book Leaders: Their Stories, Their Words.  They shared their lives with me above and beyond anything I knew before. Thank you to John, the two Rons, Ruth Ann, Joe, Laurier, JD, Rick, Tom, Barry, Frank and Robert and all the others who shared their words of wisdom. Even though it's my book and I've read it 1000 times, I learn something new every time I read or share a passage from it. 

 
Everyone has a story and I can't wait to hear them all. Everyone knows something I don't know about life and living and through their stories, I'll continue to learn about them, their worlds and myself. 

 
For next year, there is a ton in the works. In addition to client work, I'll be doing more team and team dynamics work, part of that will be working with clients on putting in place a reverse mentoring program in their organizations and coaching what emerges through those conversations. I'll be speaking at Catalyst University in Kalamazoo. Talk about an innovative, community-growing initiative! I will be collaborating with client and friend Tuuli Sauren from INSPIRIT International Communications on a workshop for sustainable design to take place in Milan, Italy and partnering with friend and colleague David Drake as we bring Shadow and Narrative Coaching together for the first (but I'm sure not last) time in Toronto early next year. I'll be continuing my work with the TED Fellows which is such a gift to me, wearing my Dean hat with the International Consortium for Coaching in Organizations, and teaching more with MBAs, university students and even doing some guest teaching at the high school level which I'm very excited about. 

 
There will be another book in the works….maybe two. What form that'll take is still to be determined.  Stay tuned!

 
I'm continuing to learn how to better use Social Media and am thankful for the amazing people I've met through it who I wouldn't have connected with any other way.  

 
There's more but I don't want to clue you in on everything just yet. 

 
Suffice it to say, I'm hoping from reading this you'll reflect on your learning this year. The easy lessons and the hard, the life lessons and professional ones. I know I want to learn at least as much or more from the up-and-comings than from the leaders who are about to retire. I want to continue to believe that nothing is impossible. It just hasn't been invented yet and even then, the TED Fellows are showing me otherwise.

 
I'm sure there will be challenges in 2012 but I know the year will be extraordinary nevertheless. With people like this touching my life, how could it be anything else? If you see that I've missed something or someone, then let me know. Tell me your stories, share your dreams and aspirations and maybe I'll be able to point you in a direction. We all have a definitive amount of time to make our presence felt. Choose what you do with it wisely… who you spend your time with, learn from and what sandbox you're going to play in. Make whatever changes in life you need to make to be the best, the happiest, and the most fulfilled person you can be.

 
Begin now and in doing so, remember to take risks. Opportunities and people don't stay around forever. Live life to the fullest extent, don't just exist from day to day. Share your dreams with others, as if you keep them silent they will eventually die away. Help them help you make them happen. And may 2012 be great in every way.

 
Warmest,
Donna

Sunday, December 04, 2011

The Journey and Birth of "Leaders"

Leaders: Their Stories, Their Words finally launched this past Wednesday. Through recent months we tossed around ideas for the launch, where it would be, and what we wanted to do. For those who come to book signings and launches, show up at a book store, stand in line to have your purchased book personalized, and perhaps have a few seconds with the author, it's a fleeting, impersonal experience that you might remember when you pick up the book to read it.

We wanted something more personal, a celebration of sorts. The launch was that and so much more...but I'll get back to that in a moment. Surprisingly, many of the people who attended asked me about the journey of writing this book, the around the edges story behind the book of stories. I wasn't expecting that.

Was it an easy journey? 
No.

Was it a memorable, lessons-learned one?
Definitely. So much so, that it almost warrants a book on its own to take you through the journey and birth of "Leaders". Bottom line is, I learned it's not only alright to ask for what you want rather than have to live with what you think you can get when you publish but it's mandatory. A book takes a lot of time, focus, energy and commitment. It might not be the most perfect book but it's an expression of you and what you want to bring to light to the rest of the world. It's your voice in print. I know I will do this differently the next time around.

It was a journey of twists and turns, roadblocks and delays, missed deadlines, commitments not honoured, celebrating milestones, and heated debates - the full spectrum of highs and lows. I had to stand firm with my first publisher on the language that was used as these were conversations in our words, not a series of crafted, perfectly constructed sentences which were always grammatically correct. Let's face it. When was the last time you had a conversation with someone and worried about sentence structure and punctuation?

I also stood firm on the spelling, which probably drove my copy-editor batty as I insisted if I were speaking, and speaking to a Canadian leader, the spelling had to be in Canadian English and when speaking to an American, my words had to be in Canadian spelling and theirs in US. The spell check on the computer lit up like fireworks. Honouring cultures is critical to me and in my work. This is a small fraction of how that manifests itself. There were many heated discussions about terminology. Where I grew up in Montreal, we often use words that are direct translations from French, although I'm an Anglophone. So you might hear me say "Open (or close) the lights" rather than turn them on or off and other terms such as "Go to the cash" to pay for something. I'm still not sure how others say it but I insisted I leave it in as that was what I said in the conversation. I constantly found myself telling my editor / publisher "These are our words, not yours." Too often I found the magic of the conversations compromised for the sake of ensuring perfect grammar or sentence structure. I had to fight to protect it.

Finally, due to delays and capacity issues my publisher was dealing with, it was time to sever that working relationship and move on. Was the book going to go to print? This labour of love was in jeopardy. I had to make some tough decisions not to mention do rewrites and design changes if this book would ever get out.

Well it did. After more than 2 actually closer to 3 years of delays and unmet commitments, many lessons learned, some, thanks to Seth Godin's reality check questions around delivering, shipping, commitments, what are we willing to put up with etc., it was ready to go. Now what? I called my son who pointed me in a direction of Copper Canary editing (they are a gift), another suggestion from a colleague to call CreateSpace (Amazon) to self-publish and within 48 hours turnaround time, this book, with its new cover, layout, and edits was being reviewed. Another 36 hours later, a proof arrived at my door. A few more edits and format changes and off it went to print.

A mere week later it was out on Amazon and Barnes & Noble and this book was born.

Like many births, this one wasn't easy but oh, was it worth it!

We celebrated. The location was perfect...even its name "Play" reflected the atmosphere we wanted to create for the event. We talked, ate, reminisced, shared....clients met other clients, and family and friends got a taste of what it is I do through the words of a short reading and through the others who spoke.

So what's next? I'll continue having these conversations. Everyone has a story all their own which shapes who they are today. I'll be using the book to work with high school students in leadership programs to help them see their leadership through the eyes of these incredible stories. I'll be speaking at Catalyst University in Michigan in January on sustainable leadership, how to pay your success forward,and group coaching some of the community's identified rising stars. I'll be guest lecturing at the post graduate level and speaking at conferences and workshops to bring Human-Based Leadership perspectives to the business, government and technology worlds...arenas which often struggle with the human or soft skills aspect of leadership. And I am pondering over what to write next.

What form that writing will take is yet to be determined. I prefer conversations with people rather than lecturing or speaking at them. So let's talk. Tell me your stories and through them, let's see your Human-Based Leadership emerge.

Wednesday, September 07, 2011

Seth's Blog: That buzzing in my ear didn't mean I was about to die

Today is End Malaria Day


Right this minute, right now, please do three things:

  1. Buy two copies of End Malaria, an astonishing new book by more than sixty of your favorite authors. In a minute, I will explain why this might be the most important book you buy this year (not the best book, of course, just the most important one). You should buy one in paperback too so you can evangelize a copy to a colleague.
  2. Tweet or like this post, or email it to ten friends (It only takes a second.)
  3. And, visit the End Malaria Day website and share it as well.

What would happen if you did that? What would happen if you stepped up and spent a few dollars?


Here's what would happen: someone wouldn't die. Read on...  Seth's Blog: That buzzing in my ear didn't mean I was about to die

To quote Michael Bungay Stanier, "What if a book didn’t just talk about saving lives – but did it?"

This book does just that.

Wednesday, August 03, 2011

I Will Never...

This morning Seth Godin writes about "Delivering on Never" such as I will never miss a deadline, I will never fail to warn you about a possible pitfall.

Human-Based Leaders add a few more to the equation...

HB Leaders will never treat you as a second class citizen. They recognize they have power with people, not over them.
HB Leaders will never lead by fear. They lead by humanness.
HB Leaders will never demolish you. They'll evolve you.

Seth continues to say "There are lots of sorts of never you can deliver to a customer." I'd like to add there are all sorts of nevers you can deliver to people at home, at work, to strangers, to everyone. They can become your mantra, your way of being. That will definitely set you above the rest. 

Sunday, March 06, 2011

Making a Decision

What's stopping you from starting something? Are you looking at every possible reason why something won't work or are you looking at every possibility as to why it will. What would be the worst thing that might happen if you dive in and just do it?

Waiting until "Condition Perfect"? Perfect time, perfect audience, perfect customers, perfect economy....

I don't know about you but the last time all the stars were aligned so everything was perfect was, well actually...never. I prefer to dive in as what I have to offer will be perfect timing, perfect audience...perfect for some.

No time like the present. A way to get started is with Seth Godin's Poke the Box. Click here for the accompanying free workbook.