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Leading at Light Speed is a groundbreaking leadership book by Eric Douglas describing the 10 Quantum Leaps which build trust, spark innovation, and create a high-performing organization.

Chapter Nine, titled Start with Yourself, illustrates Eric’s view of another important quality of good leadership. This quality is the ability of the leader to practice a healthy work-life balance. They make it clear that this is an aspect they value in others, too. Their personal life will become fully accessible and they will be able to establish a pattern in their schedule. Whether this schedule includes eating dinner with the family four nights a week or attending their kid’s sports practices, this schedule allows for a more fulfilling family life. Whether through unpaid leave or flexible scheduling, they provide people with the opportunity to lead productive personal lives. Consequently, elevated trust levels are inspired throughout the members of the organization.

Michele, the managing partner of a law firm in San Francisco, makes it clear that she values her time with her family. She’s up front about her personal time and her need to attend her children’s soccer and softball games. “These are just too important for me to miss,” she says.

Michele doesn’t set a double standard. What goes for her goes for the other lawyers and employees in her firm. Consequently, people are given the opportunity to leave work behind while focusing on the value of family. They are encouraged to indulge in family society and events. Based on Michele’s strong personal values, it is part of the culture.. She was set in her desire to have it only this way..

David, the executive director of a non-profit agency, has a deep passion for travel and eco-tourism. When vacationing, he often takes his family to places of isolation and relaxation where his work life cannot interfere. Often, he stays away for several days at a time. He makes it clear that this is an important part of his life, a time for him to recharge his batteries and renew his focus. His team of managers is fully supportive of David’s travels “off the grid” because they know they are free to do the same themselves.

Is your organization utilizing the valued practices of other high-performing organizations?? Find out with this free work survey.

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Leading at Light Speed is a new leadership book by Eric Douglas detailing the 10 Quantum Leaps to build trust, spark innovation, and create a high-performing organization.

Quantum Leap #3 is all about how to Lead Through Others.

Leading through others means giving people the tools to succeed. Employ ways for them to realize their strengths and how to minimize their weakness. It also means providing the infrastructure that encourages people to take responsibility for their own professional development.

Good leaders give feedback all the time. They don’t wait for the formal performance assessment. The timing and occurrences of feedback are significant in regards to people being able to fully utilize it.. Good leaders know the cycle of performance development. At the onset of employment, the cycle commences and remains with an employee for the duration of the employment at an agency.. The life cycle has these steps:

The cycle begins by clearly communicating the expectations and results you want to see. The cycle continues with timely communication and feedback about what the employee is doing well, and what areas need development. Depending on the quality of the employee’s performance and the nature of the assignment, it may be necessary to change the employee’s responsibilities and expectations.

Regularly, per the leader’s request, an employee will need to fill out a self-assessment and give to others for viewing. The leader can then respond, confirming what the employee has identified and determining the employee’s specific strengths and areas that need development. Per the conversation, the employee needs to establish an individual development plan (IDP), formulating his or her immediate development objectives and future career outlook..

Embracing this constructive experience is the point of emphasis.. Every leader, from the CEO on down, needs to have an idp and continuously work on their professional development. In order to be at the forefront of sturdy organizations, the CEO must connect and distribute his or her IDP with all pertinent members of the management team.. As evident in others, team members collaborate their IDPs and assist each other in achieving growth objectives..

Growth in the individual is forever expanding. It takes life-long learning, and those who continue to persistently participate in their professional development discover profound happiness and a sense of achievement..

Discover how well your organization measures up to the 10 Quantum Leaps with this free work survey.

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Leading at Light Speed is an excellent leadership book by Eric Douglas showing you step-by-step how to implement 10 Quantum Leaps that build trust, spark innovation, and create a high-performing organization. In Chapter 2, Sharpen the Focus, Eric talks about Niche Marketing Strategies.

A lesson can be learned from a simple cartoon that seeks to illustrate one of many reasons you should sharpen the focus . The cartoon shows a large fishing net. A very large fish swims on one side of the net. On the other side swim a school of small fish. The caption reads: “Attention all fish: How to escape being trapped by a net: “Either get so big you can bust the net, or stay small so you can swim right through.” What is the lesson? It’s dangerous to be a medium-sized fish.

Niche and Grow Rich is a book that illustrates how online e-commerce has created an explosion in small, niche businesses. The authors describe a man who made a successful business selling unicycles online. They talk about the huge number of online jewelry vendors – “digital gypsies.” Whether you have an interest in garden railroads or traveling by barge through France, there’s a niche company (or several of them) to serve you.

A sharply focused niche company enjoys several strategic advantages:

1. It can start small and stay small while maintaining an attractive profit margin.
2. Because of its size, it can adapt quickly to changes in the market and offer cutting-edge services and products that a larger competitor cannot.
3. It can be an attractive “roll-up” opportunity for an investor (who wants to combine several niche players), thus providing a handsome financial return for the founder-owners.

But there are downsides to niche companies, too. Personality conflicts can wreak havoc on small companies. The lack of defined business processes can make it expensive to find the right people to sustain the business once the founder leaves. Too little objective marketing data can cause a company to become vulnerable to shifts in consumer taste. It is unreasonable to believe that if you are selling unicycles you had better love unicycling.

Take this free work survey to see if your organization practices the 10 Quantum Leaps of high-performing organizations.

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Leading at Light Speed is a groundbreaking leadership book by Eric Douglas describing the 10 Quantum Leaps which build trust, spark innovation, and create a high-performing organization.

In Chapter 7, Spread Systems Thinking, Eric talks about 3 Challenges to Maintaining a Systems Perspective.

First, because we live in an era of accelerating change, it’s easy to become distracted by the daily influx of events and issues – “to spend 24 hours a day fighting fires,” as the vice president of a health care system told me. Almost by nature, people tend to focus on the things right in front of them: on the people who aren’t performing, budgets that aren’t met, or logistical issues that need attention. It’s easy to become bogged down in the details and forget to use systems thinking to create leveraged solutions.

Second, people don’t get training in systems thinking. Few companies offer it. Few human resource managers recognize its value. To put it simply, it isn’t a priority. The outcome being, no forum, no conversation, for leaders and managers to engage in systems thinking together. It’s easy to miss the opportunities and the benefits without a dialogue around systems thinking.

Thirdly, as one can be easily distracted by day-to-day details and lack of training, human nature is to avoid confronting deeply-rooted problems. “There are some issues I’d just as soon leave alone,” one manager said. “We have to pick our battles.”

That may be human nature. But a leader’s action must be focused through a systems thinking lens . Ultimately, one can imperil the organization by failing to listen to data, to challenge assumptions, or to use systems thinking to address underlying issues. One need not look further than General Motors, Lehman Brothers, or Enron. Then, in contrast, there is Porsche, which has single-handedly focused on engineering high-quality cars for five decades. Of the most profitable automobile companies in the world, Porsche has been consistently relevant. Disciplined performance and analyzing their customers and their competitors are core values amongst managers at Porsche. It’s this kind of thinking that builds high performing organizations in a time of accelerating change.

Helping people address hidden issues, are systems thinking. Using different frames to identify problems, when understanding traps like the assumption of causality, feedback delays, and the substitution fallacy, leaders can steer clear of problems and focus their attention where it can have the greatest impact.

Better able to tackle problems at their core, are leaders who understand their own mental maps and the system of forces.

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I’ve talked before about the “First Five Percent. That’s my approach to strategic change management that says the quality of the first five percent determines what happens in the rest of the process.

I was in Los Angeles last week, working with a large association, on a strategic plan for their organization. It was the beginning of a year-long process to create a high-performing organization. One of the rules of the First Five Percent is to engage as many people as possible early on. You never know who has the good ideas. Exposing more members at the very beginning, will enable you discover the choicest brain power and latent intelligence as past as possible..

In the room were 300 people, including chapter leaders, local officers, and board members. The agenda was flexible. To ensure high levels of participation I was prepared to go into different directions depending on how the first exercise went. The first question I asked was: “Think about two years down the road and where you want the association to be. Tell me the specific changes you want to see and your measures of success.

They worked on this question for 60 minutes and wrote down their responses on flip chart paper. Each team made a presentation afterward.. Then I asked: “What did you hear your selves say? Was there an accord?

Everyone called out what they heard. “Increase membership.” “Fill our vacancies,” “Make a new product..”Their juices were flowing.”

“How would someone judge success.”?I inquired. They shouted out what they’d heard. I listed four specific measures to rate success. I inquired if everyone was agreeable.. Everyone raised their hands.

They left for a quick lunch break. While everyone stopped talking, I formulated my next course of action.. I looked over all of their reports, and decided I should simply tap into their energy. I listed 12 goals on flip chart paper. The aims touched on subjects in relation to “recruit more members” or ” escalate our presence in the political arena..â I posted these goals on the walls of the room. After they returned from lunch, I said: “Take a look around the room. These are your targets. Find a goal you feel strongly about. Don’t change your goal.. There are blank pieces of paper for those who are passionate about some other goal.â

The group divided itself into teams around each goal. I told each team to come up master plan for each goal and then make a presentation.. During the presentations, I noted vital concerns that required resolution and opened brainstorming for each one.. If someone drifted off topic, I employed the two-minute rule (“Anything important can be said in two minutes”) and they got back on course. We finished at 4 in the afternoon..m.

Then I asked what they liked about the meeting. “It was energizing,” someone said. “Great ideas,” A lot of people made obervations. ” Your conduct,” somebody said. “The two minute standard!” ” many shouted. “We’re excited to be building our organization,” a woman said.

“And what would you like to change?” I asked.

That we have to depart!” a man shouted. Everyone laughed.

Next blog article: Our Change Management Model

About the Author: Eric Douglas is LRI’s senior executive business consultant with expertise change management, leadership development, and strategic planning. His latest leadership book is called Leading at Light Speed.

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Leading at Light Speed is a powerful leadership book by Eric Douglas for businesses, public agencies, and nonprofits revealing the 10 Quantum Leaps to build trust, spark innovation, and create a high-performing organization.

Quantum Leap #6 is all about how to Stimulate the Creative Flow.

With rare exception, teams and work groups should be empowered to develop the plans and strategies for achieving the organization’s strategic focus. After all, they know the local operating conditions. Intense power of top quality with new inventions have been demonstrated by the GE company. In his now famous “workout meetings,” CEO Jack Welch brought hundreds of employees together with their managers and asked them to suggest ways to make the business better. Welch put his managers to the test by saying they had three choices: Accept the employee’s idea on the spot, reject it on the spot (but only if they could justify their decision), or study it for ten days. Innovation approval has a maximum of ten business days for its process and if this time limit is not followed, then the new idea is implemented without question.

At meeting where employees met and conferred, Welch made known that workers should not worry if they voiced new innovations and company waste. Brainstorming meetings at GE have developed into concrete powers of new ways of thinking resulting in prolific area inventions .

A software product manager with senior status who is based out of Broderbund, California had assigned the duty of creating an initial education line of software to a group of junior software engineers. One of their first innovations was assembling a user group of eight-year-old girls and boys. Instead of relying on Broderbund’s point and click graphical interface, the team came up with an unconventional scheme that involved moving images and hidden buttons – resulting in a higher level of engagement and interest among younger users and higher levels of attained skills.

Innovation feeds an essential need. Positve employees who are creative and inspire such are viewed with great honor compared to those who have negative attitudes and ideas. This spark is crucial if you’re going to succeed in a world where change is constantly accelerating. But spark without trust can be damaging, leading to useless innovations and even destructive ones. Leaders must know how to inspire trust while at the same time sparking new products, new processes, and new practices.

Take this free work survey to see if your organization practices the 10 Quantum Leaps of high-performing organizations.

Leading at Light Speed is a must-have leadership book by Eric Douglas highlighting the 10 Quantum Leaps to build trust, spark innovation, and create a high-performing organization.

Quantum Leap #10 is all about Helping People to Assume Responsibility.

Are you able to alter your own behaviors to achieve higher levels of performance? Are you able to ask powerful questions that enable other people to assume responsibility and perform as effective leaders in the organization?

“The price of greatness is responsibility.” – Winston Churchill

To assume responsibility invariably means making a personal choice. Believe these words: No one can make you change. Committing to change means making a choice. You have to choose to assume responsibility for the way things are and for making them better.

Holding yourself accountable for improving yourself means acknowledging the paradoxical truth that: We cannot see what we want to become. We only see fleeting glimpses of it in our best moments. Holding yourself accountable means asking questions such as: “What is my true vision for my organization? What is the legacy I want to leave?Reaching your full potential as a leader requires trust in a better course – one that’s invisible to you now. Remember: The word leader comes from an Anglo-Saxon root word “leith” that means “to be out in front.” The same root word also means “to die.” You need to be prepared to shed parts of your old life in order to build a new one.

Once you start tackling these questions seriously, the door opens to all sorts of possibilities. You begin to see who your natural allies are, who your suitable teachers are, and what support must be created. You have to take those initial steps in order to change. The most successful leaders make it their priority to accept responsibility for their actions, criticize their behavior, and do away with their old lives to build a better one.

Take this free work survey to reveal how your company compares to the 10 consistent practices of high performing organizations.

As I look at my projections for 2009 I am trying to figure out how to maintain profitability in this challenging economy. And while I haven’t raised my prices in a while now, this sure doesn’t feel like the climate to raise prices . . . so how do I navigate this and make sure I stay a FIT business?

For my business, I am looking long and hard about HOW I price – instead of just thinking of our services as traditional hourly rate I am starting to explore pricing that is based on the value we deliver to clients. That gives us an incentive to become more efficient for our clients without constantly eroding our own income. I want to move to a healthy environment in which my interests and my clients interests are completely aligned. And I want to make sure we are creating customer delight always, not encouraging clients to ask why we spent 15 minutes doing one thing or another . . .

So on my short list is Ronald J. Baker’s Pricing on Purpose: Creating and Capturing Value . . . check it out! I think FIT businesses need to reflect on how they price themselves. Join me in talking through how we can all improve our bottom lines, even in a challenging economy!

One of our SEO strategies is too migrate all of our blogs over to the WordPress Platform to enable SEO features and tagging. I was working on one of our sites which had about 350+ entries, when in the process – the screen went blank. So, I fiddled with this, mess with that and still blank. You know that queasy feeling in the bottom of your stomach? 3 years of entries down the drain? Ugh!

I went online and begged one of my Facebook buddies for help. He didn’t have an immediate solution, but he offered some sane advice – take a break. Walk away, come back fresh. A cool and calm approach – I’ve just lost 3 years of profound words of wisdom – I am not calm!!

Despite my inner control freak – I followed his advice. I took a break.

I came back – reinstalled WordPress 2.7 and there they were – 350 or so of my most profound postings just waiting to be shared with the world.

Sigh!

Business Book Club

This month we will be reading Guy Kawasaki’s “Reality Check“

In Silicon Valley slang, a “bozo explosion” is what causes a lean, mean, fighting machine of a company to slide into mediocrity. As Guy Kawasaki puts it, “If the two most popular words in your company are partner and strategic, and partner has become a verb, and strategic is used to describe decisions and activities that don’t make sense” . . . it’s time for a reality check.

For nearly three decades, Kawasaki has earned a stellar reputation as an entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and irreverent pundit. His 2004 bestseller, The Art of the Start, has become the most acclaimed bible for small business. And his blog is consistently one of the fifty most popular in the world.

Now, Kawasaki has compiled his best wit, wisdom, and contrarian opinions in handy book form. From competition to customer service, innovation to marketing, he shows readers how to ignore fads and foolishness while sticking to commonsense practices. He explains, for instance:

• How to get a standing ovation
• The art of schmoozing
• How to create a community
• The top ten lies of entrepreneurs
• Everything you wanted to know about getting a job in Silicon Valley but didn’t know who to ask

Provocative, useful, and very funny, this “no bull shiitake” book will show you why readers around the world love Guy Kawasaki.

We will discuss in on12/15 at 6pm EST (3pm PST) on FITbiz