Tag: actions

Who’s Watching You?

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How does it feel to be observed regularly?

Each swipe of our plastic credit/debit card.

Every request to our voice command speaker.

Our internet/social media behavior.

Cell phone GPS tracking and access to our data.

Home security cameras.

Malicious tracking for the sole purpose of defrauding us.

And the list goes on.

It’s quite interesting that leaders forget that their team members are tracking them too.

They’re tracking whether they live up to the mission, vision, values of the organization.

Whether they exhibit the behaviors they command of the team.

Whether they say what they mean and mean what they say.

And the list goes on.

Studies have shown that people tend to improve their behavior when they know that they are being watched.

Perhaps.

What would you stand for if you knew no one was watching or judging you?

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Ambition

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Ambition is a mighty quality that motivates us to reach beyond what is considered possible. Whether we recognize it or not, many people are quietly ambitious. Some have internal ambition where they strive for personal success (e.g., entrepreneurship), and others are externally focused, where they strive for collective success (e.g., organizational growth).

While ambition has its ugly side, it is an essential ingredient for success. To better understand the nature of your desire, ask yourself:

1. Purpose. What is the motivation behind what you desire to achieve? E.g., Money, power, honor, helping others)

2. Vision. What do you aspire to achieve within a reasonable time frame?

3. Metrics. How will you measure how you are progressing towards your vision?

4. Priorities. What actions will you take in pursuit of your vision?

5. Promise. How will you hold yourself accountable?

6. Values. What guiding principles dictate how you accomplish your vision in good times and bad?

7. Behaviors. How will you act day-to-day and in the long-term to implement your vision and live up to your values?

Food For Thought Friday

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💡 Any fool can make something complex. It takes skill to make things simple.

💡 Everyone has power. Many often let it go to waste.

💡 What happens to them if they listen to you?

💡 Getting to the next level may be about subtraction, not addition.

💡 Sometimes, the best advice is advice you don’t think you need.

💡 A person with priorities does what matters. A person without priorities does what is urgent.

💡 Things won’t change until you change.

💡 Want to help yourself? Help others.

💡 Want to make money? Give value.

💡 Want to find an idea? Look for a problem.

Perspective

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I was listening to a podcast by John C. Maxwell where he explained how our perspective of things could change the events of our day. He gave an example of people with road rage. 

If you’ve ever experienced road rage, it is not uncommon to see someone give the middle finger as an expression of their anger. John said he views it as people showing him that they are his number one fan.

We have a choice of how we respond to the events of our day. E.g., I stopped at a grocery store one morning to buy some coffee creamer. The creamer was on a high shelf that I had to tiptoe to reach. When I pulled the creamer off the shelf, white liquid spilled all over my clothes and purse. I guess this was someone’s idea of a practical joke, but there were no TV cameras involved.

At that precise moment, I had to determine if I was going to rant and rave to anyone within earshot, or calmly wipe myself off before alerting a store clerk as to what happened. As challenging as it was, I went with option two because I’ve learned that reacting in anger, only manifests something else to be angry about, which can show up in the form of road rage as I’m leaving the store.

The point of the story is that we can’t control why people do what they do, but we can control our response to it.

The Jungle of Chaos

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Do you ever get tired of navigating the jungle of chaos? Many say they do, but their behaviors, belief systems, and actions perpetuate a chaotic environment.

Human beings have an innate desire to feel valued and often go to great lengths to be seen and heard. Whether it’s exuding power or some other attention-seeking antic, at some point, it becomes taxing on the mind and spirit.

Everything in the jungle has a relationship and purpose. Many diverse forms of life have learned to coexist to fulfill this purpose. It would behoove us to take notice of the beauty that surrounds us versus taking extreme measures to create separation and inferiority. Don’t let your discomfort ruin the experience of others.

Everyone deserves to feel safe and comfortable, requiring us to look beyond our differences and finding the same value systems that underpin the way we engage as a community.

What Would You Do

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After leaving the gym this morning, I stopped by a nearby Kroger to pick up a few items. I arrived at the store around 7 am. During this timeframe, the only lanes open are self-checkout.

I was the first one in the self-checkout lane and opted to use the register in the very back. After I started scanning my items, two men with separate transactions proceeded to the self-checkout kiosks near the front – which were across the aisle from each other.

During the time this was taking place, the attendant on duty was having a lively discussion with someone within several feet from where I stood.
After I finished scanning my items, I selected the option for entering a coupon that triggered an alert for the attendant to assist me.

Shortly after my register triggered an alert, the other two check-out kiosks triggered an alert. We all turned in the direction of the attendant to get his attention. When he turned around, he had a surprised look on his face and exclaimed, Oh! Everyone needs help!

At that precise moment, I could tell he was processing who to help first. As a recap, my register signaled the alert first. The attendant would also have to walk past me to assist the other two gentlemen.

He decided to help the gentleman then backtrack to help me.

Could this have been a result of him being an older white gentleman and the other two gentlemen were also white?

Could this have been because they were men and I was a woman?

Could this be because they were at the front and I was at the rear?

Could it be that he felt he would get pushback from the gentlemen if he helped me first?

Could this be because I was in gym attire and they weren’t – which gave an impression that I didn’t have any place to be?

I patiently waited for him to assist the other two gentlemen, paid for my transaction, and kept it moving.

What would you have done if you were the attendant?

Setting Realistic Goals

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Goals can be sound or questionable based on the nature of your desire, for your goals control your actions. While it’s great to achieve worthwhile goals, some are not worth pursuing if you set out to accomplish them questionably.

For example, if one of your goals is to accumulate significant wealth, you have to determine how you plan to achieve said goal. You can opt to build wealth through traditional avenues such as gainful employment and sound investments, or you can pursue non-traditional methods such as playing the lottery, marrying into money, or robbing someone of it. The means you use to accomplish your goal is just as critical as the goal you are trying to accomplish.

Learn From Your Mistakes

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Mistakes are effective teachers because their consequences have a way of making lessons painfully clear.

You can’t learn from a mistake that you don’t acknowledge making. To gain the lesson, you have to admit it, analyze it, and make adjustments so that it doesn’t happen again.

Mistakes of the past are a critical part of today’s actions and how well you use them to prepare for the future.