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Thoughts on Leadership: The GIFTS that Leaders Give

By Gino Blefari | December 15th, 2011 0 Comments

This is the time of year when many people exchange gifts and messages of gratitude for the things we do for each other. As a leader, the gift you bring to your organization is important in many ways. “Gifts” take on a whole new meaning, as they aren’t material things you can hold in your hand, but qualities that you bring to the table to lead a team to success.

Here’s what we mean by G-I-F-T-S from great leaders:

G: Generosity

A leader’s generosity will spread quickly through a company. Being generous often means understanding that most people want to feel that they are part of something bigger and that what they do matters.

I: Inspiration

Leaders always make us feel we can do more than we’re currently doing. In order to inspire, a leader needs to show by example rather than tell others to be inspired.

F: Focus

Good leaders provide clear, consistent communication to all. There is no mistaking the goal and what needs to happen to achieve the goals. Bottom line, there’s power in the alignment effort that comes from focus.

T: Teamwork

Good leaders take us from “me” to “we.” The leader will model positive behavior and encourage people to work together to achieve success. There is indeed a connection between people and cross-functional communication.

S: Success

It’s the power of “we” that achieves great things. The greatest outcome is to see how someone can step up and lead a group to accomplish together what seems unattainable on our own.

A good leader brings these gifts to an organization wrapped in his or her own unique style. These contributions tend to have a lasting impact, pushing a team to success.

What are the gifts your leadership style brings? Embrace the principle of G-I-F-T-S and you will find that you and your team can go further and perform at a higher level.

As we close out the year and open a new one, we challenge you to examine the kind of gifts you give to others throughout the year. Be mindful with your contributions and you will no doubt become a superior leader in your business.

Wednesday Wellness: Focus On What You Want

By Tammy Parkinson | September 7th, 2011 0 Comments

When we are trying to better ourselves, or at least learn something new, where do we turn for information and inspiration? Possibly a book, a CD, a mentor perhaps.

This past weekend I was trying to improve technique (remember last week’s wellness?) and I found myself getting impatient, frustrated and (gasp) negative! I was thinking about the tools I have learned in my sport, the coaches’ advice and the support of my husband, yet the frustration mounted and my mind went to a down-beat spiral.

I decided to take a little alone time and work through my mindset. Again, I kept thinking of what I was doing and what I didn’t want to do any longer.

That was IT! I was thinking about what I did NOT want. I was focused on the NOT instead of what I DID want!

Words came into my head, like “strength,” “power,” “fearless,” and I quickly started to feel better.

However, there was still a little something I was disconnected from, something I still wasn’t working through, or hadn’t quite grasped. Again, I thought about all the advice I was given and then I started to realize my greatest teacher and support starts in my own mind. The words and emotions we tell ourselves are the catalyst to listening to the words others speak and the actions shown. We can be coached, loved, supported, and believed in (which is vital and necessary); however at the beginning, middle and end of the day, it’s the tiny voice in our mind which can strengthen those sentiments and words, or tear them apart.

I am writing these moments before I am about to try my sport again. I know what I want, I appreciate how I am supported and I realize what I can do, because of how I am supported and how I talk to myself.

Whatever you are moving through, however you want to get there, remember the words you tell yourself will unmistakably get you closer to or further away from what you want to achieve. Believe it; and then believe in yourself!

Thoughts on Leadership | Leaders Know How to Attract Attention

By Gino Blefari | September 1st, 2011 0 Comments

To accomplish anything in life as a leader, you’re likely going to need help from other people. Regardless of how talented or accomplished you are, you can’t always assume that you can count on attracting and retaining the attention of others. It will be more and more challenging and rewarding to hold onto the attention of those who matter to you.

Attention provides leverage. The more people leaders can attract and motivate to join them on a challenging quest or initiative, the more impact they are likely to achieve. So, what are effective ways to attract and retain the kind of attention that helps leaders to address the challenges they face? Here are four steps that build on each other.

1. Embrace mystery - Frame the more difficult problems that are relevant to you and need to be solved. Help people to understand why these are such significant problems and why so many people have been unsuccessful in trying to solve them. It probably will not attract the people looking for easy answers, but it can attract those who are naturally curious and looking for stimulating challenges.

2. Focus inquiry – Don’t try to suggest answers. Frame interesting questions instead. Help people gain perspective by posing questions that intrigue and motivate them to start investigating the mysteries that lie ahead.

3. Excite the imagination – Provide some “what if?” scenarios to illustrate the possibilities that await those who manage to come up with creative answers. Paint the pictures but make it clear these are only pictures. Stimulate people to pursue the questions with a lot of energy and creativity.

4. Be authentic – If you are not genuinely engaged in addressing these problems yourself, you will not be able to sustain the attention and effort of others to come up with creative solutions. On the other hand, if you are on a quest yourself, leading by example, you could have a contagious effect and the encounters you have can help both sides to learn from each other.

Do these techniques actually work? Well, think of how Martin Luther King excited and mobilized a broad group of people to tackle some very challenging social problems. On a completely different level, one leading tech company in Silicon Valley regularly attracts the attention of the venture capital community by sharing its most difficult technology problems and suggesting that they would buy the start-ups that come up with creative solutions to these problems. Or look at the way professional astronomers have mobilized a global network of passionately engaged amateurs to learn more about the vast universe beyond this planet.

This kind of attention is priceless and powerful. All leaders need to find ways to generate it and harness it. This is not just an opportunity, but increasingly an unavoidable obligation. Leaders are all experiencing increasing economic pressure as individuals and institutions. In this kind of environment, leaders not only need leverage, but also need to more rapidly improve their performance.

Leaders get better faster by working with others. To do this, they first need to attract their attention. If they fail to attract that attention, they will not get better faster in an increasingly competitive global economy, and they could be overlooked. That is why attention is becoming more valuable at the same time that it is becoming rare.

Wednesday Wellness | Practice Perfect Technique.

By Tammy Parkinson | August 31st, 2011 0 Comments

Bonnie Kathleen Blair (born March 18, 1964 in Cornwall, New York) is a retired American speed skater. She is one of the top skaters of her time, and one of the most decorated athletes in Olympic history. Blair competed for the United States in four Olympics, and in her Olympic career won five gold medals and one bronze medal.

Once interviewed, she indicated she never trained for power or speed, but technique. If she perfected her technique, then when race day came, she always knew she would skate her best.

In our daily habits, are we perfecting our technique, or are we always hoping to win the race, by being faster and stronger at any cost?

I’ve learned that when we push hard to “win” we usually compromise safety and often can injure ourselves at a devastating cost.

If we can tighten up our finesse, our technique by how we train, such as running in better alignment with our body, or slowing down our yoga practice to stretch our muscles safely instead of “pushing” the pose, or even fine tuning our “practice” of how we order our meals at restaurants, then we will get into such a rhythm of technique that when “race day” comes, everything else will fall into line safely and efficiently.

Since I learned this “mantra” of Bonnie Blair, I have given great thought to how I train when I water ski, cycle, workout with my trainer and when I practice yoga. It was a powerful statement for me to train a different way…in all areas of my life. I hope this can offer you some insight to your daily habits as well and as some say… “slow down to speed up”!

Monday Mojo| Amy’s Inspiration

By Tom Tognoli | August 29th, 2011 0 Comments

It’s been 5 years since my cousin Amy passed away from breast cancer at the age of 41. In the final year of her life she received Monday Morning MOJO every week and loved it. We shared thoughts back and forth via e-mail many times after I would send it. This is the MOJO I wrote after she passed away on my flight back home from her memorial service. I have made a commitment to send this out as a Monday Morning MOJO every year at this time as a tribute to Amy and her life. I think there are great thoughts in this MOJO that one can never hear too often.

I walked into my home on Saturday night from one of the most emotionally draining experiences of my life.

Attending and presenting a reading at the funeral of my 41 year-old cousin, Amy.

Amy was beautiful, healthy and living the American dream. She had a storybook marriage and two beautiful daughters (12 and 14) when tragedy struck sixteen months ago.

In the words of her daughter, “It was a clear blue spring day -well, at least it was outside, because inside it was raining. We felt sadness and disbelief from the bad news. Not just regular bad news – but the kind where your life seems to fall apart in just two simple minutes. We listened closely to mother as she whispered, ‘Its cancer,’ and immediately feelings of shock, anger, and fear rushed through us all.”

Under her tears her daughter said faintly “Just never lose faith. Nobody knows what it’s like until it happens to them. And when it’s YOUR Mom how you view the world begins to change. You look at the mountains and now see their magnificence, just as seeing my Mom smile became everything to me. I started to appreciate life so much more. During those final months we would spend time gazing at the night sky, and I treasure everyday what she would say, ‘I love you more than all of the stars in the sky.’ Looking back at how it used to be, and how it would have been, and how it’s going to be without her by my side – truly it will never be the same.”

Her words I repeated over and over in my mind. It felt as though someone had shook me – forcing my eyes open to see the world for what it really it was. Forcing me to take a hard look at the ultimate truth, the truth that has the power to wake us up and make us live before it’s too late.

“Amy is gone,” the truth told me quietly, “and someday you will be, and so will all the people you love – it’s just a matter of time.”

So I ask you – are you doing what you want to do right now with your life, or are you putting off living your hopes and dreams because you think there will always be a tomorrow? If my cousin were here she’d tell you differently, she’d say “there will come a time when tomorrow doesn’t come, and you are wasting your time if you are not loving and laughing and enjoying your days now, while you can.”

This leaves us with a choice – we can delete this message because we find it too depressing, or we can let this message be a force that pushes us over the tipping point into the life we dream of. That is most often what it takes, something so strong it carries us past our fears and doubts and the terrors that come when we think about finally doing the things we’ve been dreaming about for so long.

Let Amy be your inspiration this morning. And realize she had a great life, doing the things she loved, with the people she loved – and she would want you to do the same.

I’ve heard it all; it’s just not possible, I’ve got obligations, responsibilities, and don’t forget the economy, and of course the- I can’t just DO what I want – I’ve got a job, bills, yada yada yada…

All those excuses mean nothing when your time comes, and who knows when that might be. All I know is the days are passing quickly and now is the time to do what YOU KNOW you need to do. Don’t put if off, or you may just be too late.

We will miss you Amy.

Wednesday Wellness: The Mentally Tough Shall Prevail…

By Tammy Parkinson | August 24th, 2011 0 Comments

What differentiates someone who succeeds in life versus one who doesn’t? Luck? Genes? Money? Well, maybe for some, but I believe that those who are the “toughest” are the ones who ultimately succeed.

Now, when I say tough, I’m not referring to physical strength. Rather, I’m talking about mental toughness, or mental fortitude. Fortitude is defined by Webster’s Dictionary as “Calm Courage”, and it takes a great deal of “calm courage” to succeed–whether it is on the physical playing field, or the playing field of life.

There are some people who are innately strong–both physically and mentally. Take the Tarahumara Tribe of Indians, who are known to run for days on end, in the grueling heat, traversing treacherous landscapes as a way of life, and as a way to have “fun.” Can you hear me laughing out loud? Yup. This is indeed fun for them, and they live their lives to run and run to live. In fact, Christopher Mc Dougall wrote a book about this band of people called, “Born to Run.”

But what about the rest of us, the mere mortals who find running two miles, or even two blocks, a daunting task? What makes us different than the Tarahumara?

Well, it turns out that the only thing that separates us is our mental fortitude. Indeed, these calm people run because they are not just physically strong, but they are MENTALLY strong. And we can all glean a HUGE lesson from this.

We all face challenges in life–some of us want to lose weight; some want to run our first marathon, 10K, 5K or simply walk a mile; some want to gain upper body strength; and some want to come back from injuries–ranging from near-crippling to something perhaps more simple like a sprained ankle. Whatever your particular challenge may be, in order to overcome it will require not just strength of body, but strength of mind.

Why is this so?

For me, I spent nearly 10 years racing endurance events ranging from mere marathons to Ironman distance triathlons–a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride, and a 26.2 mile run, or a marathon. And yes, they were all in one day. And yes, they all followed each other sequentially. And yes, we “raced” to finish–we competed not simply completed. And how did we do it? We persevered.

From these years, I learned that I have far more fortitude than I ever thought I had. There were many times when I “beat” men and women who were stronger than me physically, but not stronger mentally–I never, ever gave up or give up. And I have carried this very important lesson into other areas of my life, so that when I tore my Achilles and chose not to run for a year (after much agony), and even when I’ve faced financial adversity, or break-ups or the loss of loved ones, I’ve KNOWN that I have enough “strength” to get through anything, because I will not give up. I have that calm courage.

The truth is, we all have that calm courage. Sometimes, we just don’t realize that we have it and that we can use it ANYTIME we want.

How do we persevere? Just like how we finish a marathon–by putting one foot in front of the other. Over and over and over again….You can do IT, whatever IT is. Simply call upon that calm courage and persevere. And I guarantee you, you will succeed.

Written by Stacia Carney
CPT Body Firm Los Gatos, CA

Review your goals before moving forward.

By Tom Tognoli | August 22nd, 2011 0 Comments

Here is a great question…Where will you be in ten years from now if you keep going the way you are going? Reflect for a moment on last week and ask yourself this question…”if I do exactly what I did last week, every week for the next 10 years where will I be personally…professionally…spiritually…in my relationships with those I love and care about the most…how will my health be…what will my bank account look like in 10 years from today?

So many people fail to realize that success at anything in life is the result of little successes achieved over a very long period of time. Truly successful people are long-term thinkers. They know that they must build upon each achievement and constantly learn new and better ways of doing things. A regular review of your progress is essential part of goal setting. A goal is a little more than a wish unless it has a timetable for completion. Make sure your plan for your life includes short, medium and long term goals. Revise your goals as things change…check them off when they are completed and set new bigger goals for yourself as you grow. And take time to reflect often to make sure you are on the right track.

Make it a GREAT week!!!!

Wednesday Wellness : Is there a perfect body shape for all activities?

By Tammy Parkinson | August 18th, 2011 0 Comments

Over the weekend, I joined a riding group in the Sierra Foothills on a “bike shop” ride. It was completely last minute and I went more for the comradery, exercise and scenery. I only knew one or two of the 50+ riders.

As I hopped on my bike, bleary eyed at 7:30 in the morning, I was quickly humbled by the level of athleticism. It was everything I could do to keep up with the “middle/slower paced” group.

On a 4 hour bike ride, you really have time to think and ponder ideas. One that kept coming up for me was the varieties of shapes and sizes of each of the riders.

One might “assume” a fit rider would be tall, young, lean, and have muscular legs. I have to tell you, the age range was from late 20’s to late 60’s, and just about every height and weight passed me by at some point! (and I mean ripped by me!)

I kept thinking about what “athleticism” or an “athletic” body is. Society dubs what “should” be a perfect shape, yet these perfect shapes often have no strength or health. We are “shaped” as apples, pears, eggplants, green beans and about any other vegetable or fruit we can dream up! That doesn’t mean we aren’t “perfect” if we have something other than a magazine emphasized body. What we DO with our shape, how we emphasize what we are designed by nature to do is up to us; and if we hone in on what our specific body is good at…we can improve in ways we can’t yet imagine!

I find that I excel better at endurance sports and get crushed at most fast quick activities (that doesn’t mean I don’t have fun…I just don’t do as well!) I know several who have beautiful perfect “shapes” but are challenged on a 3 mile walk.

Who is to say what our “perfect” is except ourselves (and maybe our doctor). As long as we try to do what we can with our physical bodies, our best is a gift!

Go out there, look around, notice what you like to do and what you find your body likes. Explore new things; try your hand at activities you are inspired by. No one but YOU can know what you are capable of! Maybe I’ll see you ripping by me on a bike ride!

Thoughts on Leadership: Passion, Martin Luther King Jr., and Leadership Success

By Gino Blefari | July 28th, 2011 0 Comments

What is it about leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. that makes us remember and honor them for generations? What made him stand out from all the great orators of his day who shared his vision? What is it that tipped him from greatness to legends?

He, like other leaders share one thing in common: their amazing ability to inspire those around them.

Over the last few weeks, we’ve been looking at leaders whose inspiration and roots in the why of what they were trying to do led them to success. Like the Wright brothers and Apple founders Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs, Martin Luther King Jr. was not alone in his quest at the time. There were others preaching about civil rights and spreading a similar message.

Simon Sinek discusses King’s leadership success in his book, “Start With Why.” In his book, he cites the reason leaders like King achieve phenomenal success tying back to a simple “golden rule” that he subscribed to that made him different than everyone else.

While most leaders or companies communicate from the perspective of what they do, people like Dr. King communicate around why they do it. They start with a belief. Everything they do and every way they act is built around it. Rather than selling a product they sell a belief which creates deeper, more meaningful connections with people.

Sinek even says that it’s not a person’s skill or opportunity that creates this type of success; it’s the combination of other characteristics that make up a great leader.

Great leaders:

Inspire people to act
Give people a sense of purpose or belonging
Are followed by people whom they have inspired, not swayed

A leader is nothing without followers. You can judge a great leader by how his or her people act. Great leaders inspire people to:

Have deep personal motivation to act
Be less likely to be swayed by incentives
Be willing to pay a premium or endure inconvenience, even personal suffering
Act for the good of the whole because they want to, not because they have to

I hope from this series you have learned that in order to be a great leader you do not need money or fame, the highest skills or best connections, you just need the right intentions and a lot of passion. If you find those things, people will follow you and truly be inspired to act.

Thursday Thoughts: Bob Parsons’ 16 Rules for Success in Business and Life

By Gino Blefari | July 7th, 2011 0 Comments

Bob Parsons, founder and CEO of GoDaddy.com, the largest accredited domain registrar in the world, sold his company for $2.25 billion this last week on July 1. Parsons credits his success in leadership, business and life in general to 16 rules he developed and lives by every day. The rules cover everything from specific advice for problem solving and decision making to more general lessons about the way the world works. I want to share Parsons’ rules here:

Get and stay out of your comfort zone. Nothing significant happens when we’re in our comfort zones.
Never give up. Almost nothing works the first time it’s attempted. Just because what you’re doing isn’t working, doesn’t mean it won’t work. It just means that it might not work the way you’re doing it. If it were easy, everyone would be doing it, and you wouldn’t have an opportunity.
When you’re ready to quit, you’re closer than you think. There’s an old Chinese saying that goes like this: “The temptation to quit will be greatest just before you are about to succeed.”
Accept the worst thing that could happen and make it a point to quantify what the worst thing could be. Very seldom will the worst consequence be anywhere near as bad as a cloud of “undefined consequences.” Parsons says his father used to tell him when he was struggling to get his technology company going, “Well Robert, if it doesn’t work, they can’t eat you.”
Focus on what you want to happen. Remember that old saying, “As you think, so shall you be.”
Take things a day at a time. No matter how difficult your situation is you can get through it by focusing on the present and not looking too far into the future. You can get through anything one day at a time.
Always move forward. Never stop investing. Never stop improving. Never stop trying new things. The moment you stop improving your organization, it starts to die. Make it your goal to be better every day in some small way. Remember the Japanese concept of Kaizen: Small daily improvements eventually result in huge advantages.
Be quick to decide. Remember what General George S. Patton said: “A good plan violently executed today is far and away better than a perfect plan tomorrow.”
Measure everything of significance. Anything that is measured and watched, improves.
Anything that is not managed will deteriorate. If you want to uncover problems you don’t know about, take a few moments and look closely at the areas you haven’t examined for awhile. You’re guaranteed to find problems there.
Pay attention to your competitors, but pay more attention to what you’re doing. When you look at your competitors, remember that everything looks perfect from a distance. Even the planet Earth looks like a peaceful place from far enough way.
Never let anybody push you around. In our society, you have just as much right to what you’re doing as anyone else, provided that what you’re doing is legal.
Never expect life to be fair. Life isn’t fair. You make your own breaks.
Solve your own problems. You’ll find that by coming up with your own solutions, you’ll develop a competitive edge. Masura Ibuka, the co-founder of SONY, said it best: “You never succeed in technology, business, or anything by following the others.” There’s also an old Asian saying: “A wise man keeps his own counsel.”
Don’t take yourself too seriously. Lighten up. Often, at least half of what we accomplish is due to luck. None of us are in control as much as we like to think we are.
There’s always a reason to smile. Find it. After all, we’re really lucky just to be alive. Life is short. Parsons says his little brother always reminds him, “We’re not here for a long time, we’re here for a good time!”

The biggest leadership takeaway for me from Parsons’ 16 rules is Rule #7: Always move forward. By focusing on small daily improvements, you’ll eventually see huge advantages. This is doable, positive and a great leadership philosophy. Now get out there and do it.

Posts Tagged ‘inspiration’

Thoughts on Leadership: The GIFTS that Leaders Give

Wednesday Wellness: Focus On What You Want

Thoughts on Leadership | Leaders Know How to Attract Attention

Wednesday Wellness | Practice Perfect Technique.

Monday Mojo| Amy’s Inspiration

Wednesday Wellness: The Mentally Tough Shall Prevail…

Review your goals before moving forward.

Wednesday Wellness : Is there a perfect body shape for all activities?

Thoughts on Leadership: Passion, Martin Luther King Jr., and Leadership Success

Thursday Thoughts: Bob Parsons’ 16 Rules for Success in Business and Life

Gino on success

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