December 2007

MARK'S DAILY THOUGHTS: December 2007

2007-12-01 - Apologies Don't Cost You Anything
One of the things most of us have difficulty with is apologising. However, apologising doesn't really cost you anything, and will often provide many positives in return from others. Never forget the power that lies in apologies.

2007-12-02 - Collaboration Powers Change
In any organisation, change might be inspired and started by the leader. However, it takes real collaboration from everyone to make the change part of the organisation's culture. You could say that collaboration is what really powers change, and as a leader, your number one focus is to drive it.

2007-12-03 - See Yourself Beyond Where You are Today
There's an old expression: "What you see is what you get." That being so, if you can't see yourself doing anything more than what you are doing today, then you can't really expect anything more in the future. The first step is to see yourself doing it. See yourself beyond where you are today.

2007-12-04 - Stories Capture People's Attention
When trying to convince others of something, you really first have to grab their full attention. Stories will always grab their attention, and once you have their attention, they will listen more closely to what you have to say. Learn to be a great storyteller in order to be able to be more effective in influencing others.

2007-12-05 - Not Lack of Talent, but Lack of Team
There are times that teams and organisations do not achieve the success they would like to have. Very often it is not because of any lack of talent, but lack of "team". A leader's goal is always to use the talent within their teams and organisations in a way that always creates the best teamwork. Teamwork is what delivers more success than having just a collection of talented people.

2007-12-06 - Exploiting your Unique Abilities
Everyone has unique abilities that drive the success or the potential success in their lives. It is always the people who discovered their unique abilities and put them to use, that are the most successful. What are your unique abilities? Remember, they are the key to your success and reaching your full potential.

2007-12-07 - Your People have the Answers
Many managers think that their job is to provide the answers to their people, and get their "buzz" by being the answer person. However, your people have the answers, and the very best leaders ask the questions to uncover them. These leaders get their "buzz" by helping their people see solutions (answers) on their own, as this really drives their people to both think and grow faster.

2007-12-08 - People Say "Yes" Emotionally
In business and in life, we all try to get others to say "Yes". Far too often people try to use logic alone to convince/persuade others. However, we all say "Yes" emotionally first, then justify our decision with the logic. Make the emotional link in order to hear the "Yes" more often.

2007-12-09 - We Have a Choice on How to Behave
How we behave is always our choice. Far too often you hear people say: "He or she made me do it." That is never the case, as it is always our choice as to how we respond to the behaviour of others. Exercise your own personal responsibility of choice, and remember that responsibility is really your ability to respond.

2007-12-10 - There is No Growth without Change
You hear it all the time, that people are always afraid of change. However, if you think about it, there is really no growth without change. Also, if you are not growing, others are passing you by. If you begin to think that change = growth, then you will be more positive about it.

2007-12-11 - Don't Get Caught Up in Praise or Criticism
The most successful people don't take themselves too seriously. They are constantly trying to improve themselves, and don't really let either praise or criticism affect them in any big way. They focus on learning, growing and succeeding; and don't let others' comments impact them in any negative ways.

2007-12-12 - Planning your Career is up to You
There are far too many people going through life expecting others to define their career for them. They rely on their boss, their partner, etc. Remember, the person who understands you the best is you. Never surrender leadership of your life (your career) to others. You are the best person to define the "future" you.

2007-12-13 - Every Dream Starts with Small Steps
Every successful person, who has achieved their dream, started on the road to the achievement by taking small steps first. It is not always the size of the steps (the actions), but the constant action and focus that helped them (and can help you) achieve the dream.

2007-12-14 - Give Value with Every Interaction
A great way to think about our daily life is to give something of value with every interaction with others. It is not about gift giving, but sharing some information or experience to help others, or to be just a great listener for them. Give value with every interaction.

2007-12-15 - Turn Off your Automatic Pilot
Many people today are really on an automatic pilot. They have stopped thinking, and all their actions are based on old habits and old self-beliefs. The first step for them to change is turning off that automatic pilot inside them, and begin thinking about what they want and what they can do to get it. Changes in thinking leads to changes in actions.

2007-12-16 - The Payoff for Changed Behaviour
The people who make great changes in their lives are not concentrating only on what they want to change, but also on the payoff for the changed behaviour. If you find yourself not changing fast enough, focusing on the payoff builds the enthusiasm inside you to make the changes faster.

2007-12-17 - Hire for Character, Train for Skill
When you are hiring, it is important to understand the skills and experiences of the people. However, the success of any new employee fitting into the organisation is greatly related to their character. Make sure your hiring process is very good at uncovering the character traits in your potential new team members.

2007-12-18 - Time Together Upfront, Pays Off Later On
Too many managers are in such a rush to take action, that they don't always invest the time upfront to make sure everyone understands the direction in the same way. Teams that have a shared "why" will then work with greater teamwork on the "how".

2007-12-19 - Only Blaming Others Makes You a Failure
No one really is a failure until they start blaming others. We all make mistakes and could definitely do some things better. However, people who take responsibility for their actions are never a failure, as they just understand the learnings and move forward. Only those who don't take responsibility and blame others are the real failures.

2007-12-20 - Look Past the Faults of Others
It is interesting, as most people will see the faults of others before ever noticing their strengths. However, to build healthy and productive relationships, we need to always strive to look past the faults in others. Seeing the good in others will bring out more of the "good" in them.

2007-12-21 - If You Could - What's the First Step?
Too many people forget about their dreams, and just accept the life they have now. Basically, they have given up. A better approach could be to say: "If I could - what would be the first step? That first step could move them into action, and suddenly that dream now seems more possible.

2007-12-22 - Personal Transformation Attracts
Whenever you see someone that has transformed their life, you suddenly become more interested in them. You would like to know more about how they did it. Also, with their transformation, they have now become more interesting to be around as well. Think of personal transformation as growth, and the more you grow, the more you attract the help of others to grow even more.

2007-12-23 - Find Someone Who Needs Encouragement
It is very often, that the best way to help yourself is to help others. There's an old saying that: "When one teaches, two learns." Whenever you find yourself feeling a little low, why not help someone who needs some encouragement, and you both will take something very positive away from the experience. When you help others, you help yourself.

2007-12-24 - We All Know How, Just Need to Do
The principles of success are really built upon a foundation of discipline, and the habits and actions are simple. We all know how. However, because they are simple, we don't always have the discipline to do them each and every day. That's why everyone needs to be reminded all the time of just how important discipline is in achieving the success they are capable of.

2007-12-25 - Bringing the Future to the Urgent
We all have too much to do each day and often the urgent takes priority over the important. However, it is the important that is creating the future we want, and by putting off the important, we are really putting off our future. Bring your "future to the urgent" by always keeping a strong focus on what's important, and you will prioritise the important over the urgent more often. Create your future faster by bringing your "future to the urgent".

2007-12-26 - Gratitude Drives our Happiness
Take a look at every happy person and you will notice one common trait in each of them. They are all very grateful for what they have in their lives. You can never be truly happy unless you step back and be grateful for what you have and who you have around you. Our gratitude drives our happiness.

2007-12-27 - Internally Motivated and Externally Focused
A great way to look at life is to be internally motivated and externally focused. Too many people are just the opposite. They expect others to motivate them, and are only focused on themselves. The truly successful and happy people are internally motivated and externally focused, and know that their continued success comes from their service to others.

2007-12-28 - Paint the Picture for Others
We often engage others much easier when we tell a story or draw a diagram for them. We are essentially painting a picture for them and this enables them to understand the ideas we are sharing much faster. Remember, painting pictures for others helps us to be better communicators.

2007-12-29 - Create a "No Excuses" Mindset
We all hear people making excuses each and every day. Excuses are always the result of not really taking full ownership or making the commitment on things right from the start. Why not create a "no excuses" mindset and determine to take full ownership and commitment on everything you do.

2007-12-30 - Define Yourself or Others Do it for You
Most people go through life not really understanding themselves and what they really want. They are letting the world (others) determine who they are by the circumstances they find themselves in. That's really a life defined by circumstances, and others create these circumstances. Remember, define yourself or others do it for you.

2007-12-31 - The Rate of Change in your Life
Change is something that makes us feel uncomfortable. However, change also provides the path for all of us to grow, and we grow faster when the changes are faster as well. Therefore, the rate of change in your life can be a good indicator as to your growth potential as well. What's the current rate of change in your life?

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