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Is raising a family like running a business?

Collaboration — Wed, 16 May 2012 21:15:06 +0000

As most of my readers know, I’m one of 17 children—the 14^th child, to be exact. I’ve often compared the similarities of running a business to the leadership and management style of my parents, and how it allowed us all to operate as happy, successful, and independent individuals.

Last month, on the afternoon prior to my first half marathon (which I’ve been writing about since my training began in January), I received a call that my mom was dying. They said she was ‘transitioning’ and that I should hurry home to Southern California.

I’d anticipated my mom leaving us sometime this year, as she had begun to withdraw and slow down these last twelve months. At nearly 88 years old, she had been mobile and active until recently. She lived a life that was full of love, laughter, and adventure. In rereading her eulogy this week, I realized many of her characteristics were aligned with what it takes to be a great leader. In honor of her this Mother’s Day, I’ve decided to highlight some of my mom’s influence and how it is strikingly similar to strong leaders.

Generosity

Not only did she make it a point to spend one-on-one time with each kid when she could, but she gave her time beyond that. She offered to be team mother for our sports teams—one time she was team mother for three of our teams at the same time! She taught catechism, volunteered at our schools, and was one of the founding parishioners of our church. And my mom always had room for one more. She invited people beyond our family to join us for dinners and on the holidays. If there was anyone with nowhere to go, she had an open door policy. She believed there was plenty to go around.

Don’t the best leaders make the effort to develop their teams and get to know everyone as individuals?

Playfulness

My mom loved games—cross word puzzles, Scrabble, Boggle, Rummy Cube, Up Words, cards, and of course, Bingo (going to Bingo with mom was a rite of passage for all of her children and grandchildren). She loved the Dodgers and took us to games as often as she could. She was really a big kid herself; climbing trees, river rafting in Alaska, sliding down rocks in the Kings River and swinging over the river on a rope at Sawpit Lodge. She lived life, and she lived for new experiences.

Isn’t business really just a game of strategies and problem-solving, much like all of those other games?

Equilibrium

Mom provided balance in the household. I can remember one year we got two flat tires on our way to cut down a Christmas tree. Out of frustration, my dad decided that because we spent our tree money on new tires, we would use the old imitation tree that year instead (it must have been more than 15 years old). My siblings and I were all upset, but sure enough mom came through and the next week convinced dad and the guy at the tree lot to give us a cheap, slightly odd looking tree—it’s still one of my favorites we ever had. She knew how to bring gray into situations as opposed to my dad’s black and white perspective, and she remained calm during stressful times.

Isn’t the role of a leader to be controlled and find solutions where none may seem to exist?

Humor

Gunthers are loud talkers, even when we use our library voices. But our laughter can be even louder, and it often started with mom. She found humor in almost every situation. I remember at one dinner at least 4 of us spilled our milk, and my dad said the next person to spill milk was going to get it. Well, he sat down right after that and spilled his milk! We were all silent, and my mom started busting up laughing. Then the rest of us started laughing—with my dad being the loudest. My mom even had humor when she first started using a walker. She would do the hokey pokey as she walked, moving her hips back and forth with my sisters singing the song.

Aren’t the ability to bring humor to situations and most importantly, having the strength to laugh at yourself, important attributes of leaders?

Creativity

She had many hobbies, from stained glass to learning German to growing plants to needle point. And she could stretch a meal and stretch a budget to always find room for fun—picnics, museums, movies, dinners, and even Disneyland.

Don’t the best leaders possess creativity, as well as have hobbies outside of work? They aren’t just concerned with their jobs, but engaged with their lives—their activities outside of work typically enhance their perspectives and abilities.

Contagious Joy

Mom had friends everywhere—the Bingo hall, church, the neighborhood, the sports field. She was always upbeat and positive, truly spreading joy to those she met. My dad said she never knew a stranger, even in the line at the grocery store.

Isn’t it important for leaders to be positive and interactive?

Selfless

Like any mom, she always wanted the best for her kids. She told me once that she realized some kids were more independent while others needed more support, and even though it appeared things weren’t always equal, she said she was just trying to understand and meet everyone’s diverse needs. She wanted her kids to develop into independent, giving individuals. She truly was willing to give of herself for her kids. She did the best she could and would always strive to do better.

Don’t the best leaders aim to meet the needs of their teams? And aren’t they always trying to better themselves?

This final attribute I mention was never more present than during her last week. As my mom began the transition process from this world to the next one, she provided us an opportunity to say our goodbyes, share her favorite music, laugh a lot, and relive the old movies from our childhood. She waited for the last family member to arrive to say farewell before passing only a few minutes later. That experience of being with her during her last days, watching her lay there unresponsive but hearing all that we had to say, holding her hands until she took her last breath—it was an amazing gift she gave to us. She took care of us all until the very end.

Bottom Line

I know she is at peace now with my dad, our brother Greg, and our sister Rose. She was an amazing individual and a truly inspiring leader.

I would like to end with a quote my mom heard in a movie that she loved: A life lived in fear is a life half lived. She truly was fearless and lived her life to the fullest.

This is another article in a series on Michael’s entrepreneurial story and how being raised in a large family has influenced his career. To read the previous articles in this series, visit his blog at www.Collaboration-llc.com.

Michael Gunther is Founder and President of Collaboration LLC, a team of highly skilled business professionals who are dedicated to assisting proactive business owners to build profitable, sustainable businesses through results-oriented education and consulting services. Learn more at www.Collaboration-llc.com.

Ahh, the dreams of youth

Collaboration — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 21:22:26 +0000

By Michael Gunther

Do you remember when you were in your early twenties? The world was full of opportunities—your mind was spinning with new ideas to make it a better place. You were excited about your life’s goals and dreams. The passion, creativity and energy you had for your career and personal development were beyond compare to where your life may be today.

I was reminded of that time in my life about a month ago when I spoke at a Cal Poly entrepreneur class. The students in this program are exploring the possibilities of turning their ideas, inventions and concepts into potential business ventures. There was passion and excitement clearly evident from some of the students, along with the ‘not so sure’ confidence of others.

They’re being presented with an amazing opportunity to begin learning about building a business while they’re still in college. This next generation has a stronger desire to be “an entrepreneur” and build careers around their own businesses. For most of us, including myself, we were part of the “learn by doing” generation, and often our learning meant going to work for a larger company to gain enough experience to allow us the confidence to eventually venture out on our own.

What surprised me the most were some of the questions the students asked—actually, more like the questions they didn’t ask. They wanted to know “What motivates you to run your own business? Have you had any failures? What are the biggest challenges in growing a business? What prevents some companies from ever thriving? Why do you like owning your own business?”

Approaching two decades as a business owner, and having worked with hundreds of other owners over the years, so many other kinds of questions came to my mind that would have been more valuable: “What are the creative ways to finance your business? What are the things that keep you up at night as a business owner? How many hours do you typically work in a week? From where do you get your support, because isn’t it lonely at the top? What have you sacrificed to own your own business?”

All too often I come across business owners who didn’t realize how hard it was going to be to build a business until after they had already started it. They’d heard plenty of success stories about businesses that grew quickly, with owners constantly on vacation or playing golf. They’d heard about great product ideas that started as small projects and were quickly bought out by a large company, financially securing the developers for life.

Those situations certainly do happen, but they are few and far between. The reality is it takes many solid years of working hard and focusing on your dream to create a sustainable, profitable business—living through all the ups and downs of employee transitions, economic hardships and shifting client bases. There are also many sleepless nights and stressful periods that probably age us faster than normal. These are the things most entrepreneurs don’t think about or understand before starting their ventures.

So, is it all worth it? I think so. To see your dream or vision become a reality is amazing. I know for myself, I’ve impacted many people’s lives and businesses. The rewards may not always be the big financial gains from selling out to a “Google,” but the flexibility of my schedule and working with a great group of high performance individuals focused on inspiring, educating and empowering others is a significant added benefit.

Bottom Line

It’s never too late to dream and start something new—but if you do, don’t forget the value of understanding yourself, asking the right questions, and building a strong advisor group of those who will support you on your endeavor.

Does persistence really payoff?

Collaboration — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 20:23:49 +0000

By Michael Gunther

We’ve all heard the statement “persistence pays off.” Now, I think it can, but only if you’re willing to adjust your game along the way, and you possess the right mental attitude. Just working harder on something or being consistent towards reaching a goal doesn’t mean you’ll achieve it.

What got me thinking about the concept of persistence is the training I’ve been doing for my half marathon. I’m halfway through it and I just completed a nine mile run—yes, a nine mile run, when just a few weeks ago I could barely finish two miles—and I’ve completed 24 miles total for the week!

When I started training, my initial goal was to just reach the finish line. I kept telling myself to maintain a steady pace and not worry about my speed or the other runners, not to worry about my time, skill or placement. This shifted at about week four or five of training. I remember completing a seven mile run and thinking that it was sort of easy and I wasn’t ready to collapse afterwards. Then, Tara, our coach from Pinnacle Training Systems, sent over a podcast of her sister who’s a psychologist and works with athletes and business teams on developing their mental skills to enhance their performance.

After listening to the podcast, I realized I was selling myself short. I should be working towards incremental gains each week and have a goal set for the time in which I want to complete the race. Tara’s sister said that top performers need to focus on achieving small gains towards a larger goal. In addition, she discussed the importance of not just being focused on what’s in front of you, but envisioning looking down at yourself while you’re running. How is your form? How is your speed? Where are you amongst the other runners?

These few tips have truly made a difference for me in my focus on achieving this half marathon. Each week I’m now setting time goals that I want to achieve with my daily runs. I also take a view from above and think about my technique, speed, and energy. These few things have made the runs more challenging, but also more enjoyable as I continue to get faster and more motivated.

Now, the mental game goes beyond the incremental goals and improving your skills. It also encompasses just getting motivated to run no matter what’s thrown at you. The other morning I was totally prepared to run the recommended three miles in accordance with our training schedule. I had calculated the time necessary to do the run, and planned my early morning accordingly. Just before I began, my partner Steve told me I’d read the wrong week on the schedule, and that it was actually five miles! Ugh—it was Monday morning, after the time change, I was not mentally ready to run five miles at 6:30am. I could handle three, but not five.

I contemplated running in between some meetings in the afternoon. Then, I thought maybe I’d run after work, but I realized that would throw off the rest of my running schedule for the week. So, I got focused, reluctantly put on my shoes, strapped my iPod to my arm, started my favorite playlist and began my run. Within the first three minutes I was glad I was running and that I hadn’t let the small set-back impact my goal of keeping to the training schedule. I also realized that I could have easily decided not to run or exercise at all.

As it turned out at the end of the run, I’d made really good time, and started my Monday—as well as my week—off to a great start!

Bottom Line

Business and personal goal achievement requires both persistence and a strong mental aptitude. Don’t let small setbacks knock you off track towards your goals. Remember that just working harder without working smarter will not get you to your destination—you need both mental fortitude and persistent action to bring it all together.

Economic Predictions: Who do you believe?

Collaboration — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 22:02:06 +0000

By Michael Gunther

Since the beginning of the last recession I’ve become more obsessed with reading economic data and business trend information—not only as it pertains to our local market, but also nationally & globally. I realized all the signs were there prior to the last recession, but like many business owners, I didn’t pay close enough attention to the trends and data that indicated the beginning of a major economic downturn.

Last week, on the same day, I saw two stories depicting much different economic futures for our economy. How do you determine what to believe?

First, I saw this article on USAToday.com: “3 doomsaying experts who foresee economic devastation ahead” (by Adam Shell). Then, later I received an email newsletter from the Kauffman Foundation’s Entrepreneurship.org that had a link to an article entitled “Entrepreneurs Optimistic About 2012” (by Mark Marich).

The USA Today article highlighted three economists (Harry Dent, Gerald Celente, and Robert Prechter) who believe—based on the aging baby boomers, global debt bubble, potential deflation, and lack of true financial reform—that we’re going to see another deep recession worse than 2008 as early as 2013 or 2014. This would follow a similar pattern to the Great Depression in the 1930’s.

The Kauffman Foundation’s article reflected a study where entrepreneurs were asked to consider the economy at large, and over 68% said they expected the economy to improve or stay the same. In addition, 75% of those surveyed believed that consumer demand either will stay the same or increase—a viewpoint that likely indicates they have positive feelings about the state of the economy currently.

I’ve been hearing a lot of positive buzz from upbeat business owners saying their phones are beginning to ring again and sales are increasing. I have numerous clients sensing upward motion in their industries as a whole and in their marketplaces. Consumer confidence even rose to its highest level in years last week, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average grew over 13,000. As I looked further at various news sources and studies, it appears the economy could go either way.

With so much contradicting information, who and what do you believe?

First, trust your judgment and trust your gut. If you tend to be overly optimistic or pessimistic, maybe you need to shift to the middle. Entrepreneurs I know are typically the ‘hopeful’ bunch, who believe things are going to get better. As I’ve mentioned before in my columns, entrepreneurs need to be optimistically-pessimistic. I encourage you to continue focusing on your growth plans, but at the same time make sure you’re paying attention to trends in your business more closely, as well as local and national marketplaces. Make strategic decisions and take risks, but make sure you’re taking planned and methodical risks.

We’ve never experienced an economy like this before, and therefore, all the forecasts and predications are just that. I do know we’re not out of the woods yet, and consumer, business, and government debt are still concerns in creating long term sustainable, economic growth. I’m not suggesting that you stop your growth plans or hiring strategies, but make sure that you’re not wishing yourself into a better economy or business position than actually exists. Pay attention and be aware. This proactive approach can be the difference between experiencing a challenging economy in a thrive mode or a survive mode.

Bottom Line

I encourage you to make sure you’re not the small business owner with your head buried in the sand or up too high in the clouds. Keep a keen outlook on your key business indicators and the local, national, and global marketplace. We all learned from the last recession that we should not ignore any of the tell-tale signs or external forces that will and can impact our businesses.

Service Above Self

Collaboration — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 21:15:54 +0000

By Michael Gunther

“Service above self” is an easy concept to understand, but harder to implement on a consistent basis. Recently, after hosting a social event for the local Rotary club to which my partner Steve belongs, I realized that there are many individuals here who are truly dedicated to not just improving our community but improving communities around the globe. Many of the people I met that night have been volunteering for years, assisting those less fortunate and enhancing our local community.

This got me thinking about the growing number of socially responsible businesses—increasing at an exceedingly fast pace. Organizations like Tom’s Shoes and Life is Good are using their businesses to not only provide jobs and make profits, but also focusing on making a positive social impact on our world.

Is this rise of socially responsible businesses a symptom of something larger within our social fabric? I believe that once again small businesses are leading the way improving our communities by understanding that Gordon Gecko’s “greed is good” motto of the 80′s hasn’t really benefited society as a whole.

But before I continue, I do want to distinguish between small businesses and major corporations. I see major corporations as the billion dollar+ multinational organizations where small businesses are those with 100 or less employees (according to the Small Business Administration this group makes up 98.2% of all businesses in the United States).

Major corporations continue to get bigger and more profitable, the financial institutions continue to gain financial strength, and yet the basic needs of our communities (education, arts, recreation, support for small businesses, etc.) are not being met. At some point these organizations must realize the value of investing back into communities—and not just by sponsoring charity events, but by fostering serious changes needed in our educational systems and cities.

If not, society will rebel against those institutions (i.e. the occupy movement and the tea party). Remember, history shows a pattern of uprisings when the wealthy sector becomes isolated from the real issues going on within society. I find it interesting as well that more people are not standing up and saying, “Hey, this system is out of whack!”

All you have to do is look at the PACs supporting the current election—with no limits to what an individual can spend to support a candidate—really? The wealthiest class and major corporations then are truly controlling what’s happening in Washington, which in turn impacts all of us in our local communities.

As small business owners, do we really believe that a society with so many fundamental cracks in it is going to sustain us in the long term? It will get harder and harder to find quality employees, build profitable businesses, and support our communities.

The American dream is defined by many people in as many different ways, but isn’t it fundamentally about securing enough wealth to support you, your family, and your community as well? I think of Dale Carnegie, one of the earliest multi-millionaires who dedicated his life to giving back to the world by funding libraries and schools. He understood the importance of creating a strong social fabric for our society.

Bottom Line

Why my rant today? I hear politicians saying that the people who want to tax the wealthy are just envious, and yet these politicians will be the first to provide tax incentives for corporations, furthering our national debt. At the same time, they state that the poor have safety nets, yet both the elderly and the poor have fared worst in this recession as the wealthy continue to gain momentum. At some point, you can accumulate only so much, and if we don’t take care of the fabric of our society, we will make it harder for both individuals and small businesses to survive.

Running 13.1094 miles is easy!

Collaboration — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 22:45:13 +0000

By Michael Gunther

Well, at least that’s what I thought when I (along with my team, after a little encouragement from me) committed to running an upcoming half marathon. Now, I’m not a true runner—in fact, I haven’t run more than 1.5 miles at a time in the last year. And quite honestly, I’ve put on a few lb’s to boot. I’m also fast approaching 50, and feeling every ache in muscles I didn’t even know I had. So as we enter our third week of training, I’m wondering…”What was I thinking?”

It all started a few months ago when Get Off The Couch, Potato Inc. (the organizer of the race) approached us to assist them in launching this inaugural event. I thought, “Wow, maybe we can get a team together and use their coaching services to help us get conditioned for the race.” I knew I wanted to get back on the healthy band wagon, and our company’s internal motto this year is “Shake it up,” so, I thought, what a great way for us to generate some team cohesiveness and get healthy along the way!

To be honest, I’m actually thrilled to be working towards this BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal, as proposed by James Collins and Jerry Porras in their 1994 book entitled Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies). A BHAG encourages companies to define visionary goals that are more strategic and emotionally compelling.

It’s amazing to think that in 16 weeks I can go from barely running at all to running more than 13 miles. Now, I haven’t run the race yet, but I’m already focused on achieving this once seemingly impossible goal. We have our runs outlined for every week up to the race. I’ve scheduled the daily runs into my personal calendar as well. I feel like I’ve already won on a numbers of levels: exercising again, feeling challenged, getting better and faster each week, and motivated to do something outside of work that gets me out of the office earlier than normal.

Our running team continues to evolve as some employees and friends who got caught up in my enthusiasm and were going to run the race realized they really don’t like running and decided to cheer us along or do the 5K instead. As they decided not to run, new players have stepped up to the plate and have begun the process to get prepared for the big race. Much like any business goal, different skill sets and talents arise as the needs present themselves.

In addition, the energy and enthusiasm for our other goals in the office has intensified. Our team is all about measuring our success, so they created a chart of our progress towards this race with the runners checking off their daily runs. The team cohesiveness I was hoping for is falling into place as we talk about our training aches and pains (mostly me sharing mine), support each other on our runs, compare running shoes, GPS tracking devices, etc.

Now, I’m not suggesting that every team run a half or full marathon, but I would suggest that you as a leader identify a BHAG and get your team invested in the goal that is going to get people out of their comfort zones, push the limits of their abilities, and bring the team together, focused on achieving a common goal.

Bottom Line

Set some BHAG’s for you and your team. They may seem impossible or the journey too challenging—but stay committed to your action towards achieving these goals. Before you know it, the aches and pains will fade as you and your team push your skills to new levels and your goals get closer and closer to becoming a reality.

It is, truly, all about you

Collaboration — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 23:29:48 +0000

By Michael Gunther

I’ve begun the process of writing my first book. I’m focusing on why some business leaders seem to be able to grow their companies successfully, while others struggle and struggle just to survive.

This journey started many years ago, as did my interest in this topic, but as of late, I’ve begun to more clearly identify the similarities and distinct differences between these business owners. You’ll find many books about what it takes to be a successful business owner—the internet is full of resources, too, as well as the plethora of seminars and workshops available. But after nearly 20 years of working with business owners and leaders, I’ve identified three critical elements necessary to break through from the ‘always surviving mode’ to the ‘truly thriving mode.’ The bottom line: it’s all about you.

It’s about your ideas, energy, and passion, but more importantly, it’s about three additional key elements: 1) an inclusive proactive attitude, 2) a willingness to be continuously learning, and 3) a readiness to change your behaviors. There are other components needed, like strong internal structures, processes, communication, and a solid measurement system, but you could have all of that in place and still not thrive at the end of the day if you don’t have the right attitude, skills, and behaviors.

I know you may feel like you’re working hard and you have all of these attributes, but I believe that if you’re not achieving the goals you want, if you’re not building your business like you want, it’s your fault—not the economy, not the marketplace, not your employees. That’s right—it’s all about you.

If you truly embraced these concepts, you’d be thriving. I think many people have a higher sense of self and believe they’re doing the right things—but once you peel away the surface approaches or strategies, it boils down to these key components:

Attitude

“Survivors”: Individuals who blame everyone else for their lack of success, from elected officials to their customers, everyone but themselves. In addition, they have a negative attitude towards their situation and their employees. Who wants to buy from or work for a leader who’s a downer?
“Thrivers”: People who are willing to jump in and lead the charge to solve any issue. They also have a solid vision, but are realistic as to what it’s going to take to achieve their goals. In addition, they tend to have a strong belief in the power of their people—they realize if they make their team successful, they will be successful.

Continuous Learning

“Survivors”: Also known as seminar roadies, book junkies, guru followers—they know the latest information on management, seek out the one right answer, and yet they’re not applying anything. And then they wonder why they keep getting the same results time and time again.
“Thrivers”: Continuously learning from everything they do—small decisions and big decisions. They seek out counsel, whether it’s from other leaders, consultants, or industry peers. They realize they don’t have all the answers, but are willing to find the right answers. Most importantly they’re willing to apply and change their behaviors and processes.

Which leads us to the third key element…

Behavior Change

“Survivors”: They have the knowledge and tools, but are not willing to truly change how they’re doing things. This is by and far the biggest hindrance to a company becoming a thriving entity. Sometimes their behaviors are deep rooted, and sometimes they are just habits. But the lack of a true desire to change will only bring the same results, if not worse results, over time.
“Thrivers”: They realize they’re the ones who need to change. They are humble and willing to adjust as necessary to reach their goals. Think of top athletes, consistently changing their approaches and skills. Sometimes even a small modification can lead to significant improvement in results. They’re focused on their goals—not their ego getting in the way of their goals.

Bottom Line

Not reaching your goals? Take a hard look at yourself. Better yet, get real, honest feedback from those around you—employees, peers, partners, etc. Be open to their input (if you’re defensive it might indicate that they truly identified an area for growth). Learn from it, and change your attitude, behaviors, and/or skills. Then we’ll talk about how you’re moving forward!

Go take a hike

Collaboration — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 00:42:04 +0000

By Michael Gunther

This past weekend, my partner Steve, our nephew Zach, his fiancée Trish and I decided to go hiking near our home at a place called Bishop’s Peak. Although we moved to the Central Coast nearly nine years ago, we had never climbed this mountain. As I reflected on the hike, I realized there were many similarities to achieving one’s goals for 2012.

First, when we arrived at the trailhead there was no parking, which forced us to go back about a quarter of a mile just to find a parking space on a side street. Our hike began further back than we anticipated and it appeared that many other people were trying to achieve the same goal. Sometimes people will stop moving forward with their goal if they hit an early set back or believe the market is too competitive. You should still move ahead.

The initial part of the trail encompasses a grove of California oak, twisting and turning through a forest. Even though we lost sight of the peak of the mountain, we encouraged ourselves to stay on the path, trusting that we were headed in the right direction. I’ve seen people who, while implementing their plan, get so caught up in the day-to-day tactical aspects that they may not have sight of the goal but they keep plugging along. With your own goals you have to also continue to move forward, believing you’re headed in the right direction.

Along the trail we came across people running, rock climbing up the granite sides of the mountain, etc. It made me realize that we have to keep our minds open to multiple ways of accomplishing our goals. If your original method or tactics don’t work out, there is always another path that could get you to the goal. In fact, you may push yourself in the future to try reaching your goals using a different method or approach in order to achieve a different level of success once you reach the top.

On one point of the path, as we circled the mountain, it started heading downward. We began to question whether we were on the right trail as we appeared to be going down instead of up—we felt like we were getting further and further away from our goal. We soon came upon some fellow hikers from the opposite direction, who assured us that we were on the right trail, and informed us that it was going to get tougher ahead. When you’re on your path towards goal achievement, it’s imperative to find individuals who’ve been there before so you can check in with them, share your current state, and affirm you’re on the right track.

We assessed our status as we continued forward, comparing the city below to the peak of the mountain. As we got closer we could see other people at the top of the mountain. We became excited to see that we were getting close to achieving our goal, even though the trail had become steeper, more narrow, and full of rocks and outcroppings. We had to become more aware of every step we took, and we became more cautious as we proceeded forward. When pushing yourself towards your own goals, often it gets tougher as you get closer. You’re typically entering a new territory of skills and perseverance to make it happen. You have to push harder near the end, even though you may already be fatigued. Many people give up on their goals at this time, even though they’re so close.

We were approaching the crest of the mountain when we realized that we still had numerous granite boulders to climb to truly get to the top. Being so close to the end, we were energized to complete the goal. We now had to channel different skills than earlier, climbing between boulders, careful of our footing on the slippery granite. Then, we did it. We made it to the top of the mountain and it was incredible—360 degree views of the Central Coast! It was well worth the adventure.

On the path back, we discussed the great views and our successes. We now knew what to expect and would like to hike this trail again, but maybe from a different pace or approach. It’s important to evaluate your successes and enjoy the moment as you reach your goals, but also to be begin figuring out how to stretch yourself and your abilities next.

Bottom Line

As you begin the journey to achieve your goals this year, remember to keep an even pace and focus on the end goal. You may hit some ups and downs, but have faith that through your persistence and ever improving abilities you will be able to achieve your goals in 2012.

Change is inevitable, growth is optional

Collaboration — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 20:53:33 +0000

By Michael Gunther

Another year’s end is upon us. The last week of December always makes me reflect on the previous year—my successes, trials, tribulations, goal obtainment status, etc. Did I make the progress I’d hoped for twelve short months ago?

I realize that change happens to all of us every day, but for me this seemed to be the year of never-ending change—some trivial, some significant. If you’d predicted a year ago that some of these events would take place, I would’ve said ‘no way.’ But change seemed to be front and center for me this year—business partners leaving, volunteer organization management changes, service offering adjustments, and delegation skills and leadership abilities pushed to new levels.

I know ‘growth is optional’ and that change brings growth, but when you’re in the middle of a constantly changing and challenging year, the last thing I thought was that this was good for me, as I sifted through the adjustments caused by these fluctuations.

Yet, here I sit, realizing this was probably one of the biggest personal learning years for me in a long time. My core foundation is to be a learner—always reading and trying to grasp new concepts and ideas in order to move myself, my team, and my clients to new levels of performance. Sometimes life throws you situations that stretch you and force you to dig deep in order to find focus and determination to forge ahead. I definitely feel like I’ve pulled from resources I didn’t know I possessed to not just survive this year but to thrive.

The Top 5 Lessons I’ve Learned:

1. Employee transitions create the opening for relationships to form with new team members, and provide skill development opportunities for current employees to take on new roles and responsibilities. As painful as transitions may seem, they are never as challenging as we perceive them to be.

2. Delegation is the key to growth as a manager. This year I had to delegate more than ever based on my client load, as well as my volunteer obligations which required a great amount of time because of leadership transitions happening at those organizations. The interesting thing is that my effectiveness as a leader has also improved because delegating gave me more time to focus on the critical aspects of my business.

3. Stay focused on what you do best. New ideas or opportunities may always be coming your way. The ability to say ‘no’ to some projects is important. In addition, being true to your ‘ideal client’ profile (turning down projects based on the wrong client profile) is critical. The energy and time working with these individuals can be detrimental to you and your business.

4. It’s all about relationships. Maintaining strong relationships with your past partners and employees is incredibly important to me. These people have enriched my life and made me elevate my own skills. In addition, I hired them for a reason—they’re quality people—individuals who have and continue to contribute to my personal and professional growth.

5. Never give up, never surrender (as Buzz Lightyear might say). You have to continue moving forward, knowing that through hard work, smart decisions and a proactive attitude, you can get through anything. I know I tend to worry more than I should, but things always seem to work out.

The funny thing is that as I’ve been writing this article, an interesting fact occurs to me. Last January, at the installation dinner for my role as Chairman of the Board of Directors for our local chamber of commerce, my speech title and topic was “A Year of Change.” Little did I know I was predicting my own future for 2011. Life always does seem to come full circle.

Bottom Line

I’m definitely ready for the New Year with all the expected and unexpected challenges, changes and opportunities ahead of me.

One of my mentors recently gave me a book entitled “The Underachiever’s Manifesto: The Guide to Accomplishing Little and Feeling Great.” I wonder if he’s telling me to slow down in 2012… No way, Bob—bring it on!

Visualizing your success isn’t enough

Collaboration — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 21:20:02 +0000

Another year is coming to a close, and once again I’m hearing from business owners who want to share their results, as well as express their disappointment for not having achieved what they thought they were going to over the past 12 months. The arrival of the New Year seems to give them new hope; they can dream big again and get excited about having a fresh start.

I can relate to this cycle of ‘big dreams’—they never seem impossible, and there never appears to be any reason why we shouldn’t be able to achieve them, yet each year we come up short. I don’t know about you, but for me this can be a very exhausting cycle. Each year, I’m constantly evaluating and challenging what has to shift within myself, my team or my company in order for us to attain the results I’m confident we can achieve.

Recently I came across some research through my Twitter account. There was an article in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology based on research by the authors, Heather Kappes and Gabrielle Oettingen. The gist of the article was that people who dream big or believe that they just need to visualize what they want typically end up not achieving their goals. Think The Secret—the book that Oprah promoted a few years back—the premise being that you just need to visualize what you want in life in order to get it.

According to Kappes and Oettingen, the brain will essentially decrease your inherent motivation for your ‘big dream’ because through the process of visualization the brain believes that you’ve already achieved this goal. The body and the brain will begin to slow your action or activity towards these goals because they don’t believe there’s a need to change. The dreamer then gets disappointed in not achieving his or her goals and thus, becomes less likely to have the desire to work towards anything in the future.

I read this article and began to relate it to my own journey—visualizing what I want to achieve, but then losing energy or motivation as time after time I fall short. They believe the missing element is being critical and clearly identifying the challenges, obstacles and possible negative outcomes as part of the visualization. (What are the downsides of not achieving your goals? What would prevent you from achieving your goals?)

Now this seems like a pretty basic strategic planning process, but how often have you heard “if you visualize it, it will happen”? That might work in movies like “If you build it, they will come” from the Field of Dreams, or in theory like books such as The Secret.

The reality is that just visualizing what you want will not get you what you want. I wonder if we fall for this concept because it seems like an easy way to get what we want. Because the truth is, it typically takes hard work, consistent discipline, a willingness to change your approach, and a lot of energy to achieve anything of significance. I guess the research by Kappes and Oettingen really supports this concept that there is no simple way to achieve ‘big dreams.’

Bottom Line

Be bold with your vision but be just was bold with outlining the risks and challenges in achieving your goals—with a clear measurement and strategic plan in place you are more likely to reach your goals as opposed to just visualizing what you want. In fact, if you don’t add the critical component to your day dreaming you probably will not accomplish the level of success you truly desire.