As with most of these social media connections I can’t remember how I came to meet Misha but I began following her on Twitter. One day last week she sent these three separate  and simple Tweets that I caught at just the right time at the end of my day:

Tweet #1) What was the Best Thing that happened to you today?

Tweet #2) What did you do that was most Fun today?

Tweet #3) What did you Learn today?

I’ve known about the power of questions since I immersed myself in Anthony Robbins programs 11 years ago. Tony suggests we ask five focus questions in the morning to direct our focus and mindset for the day (I’ll write about those questions in another post later this week).  I have to admit I fell out of the habit of asking those questions, and these from Misha came at the perfect time.

Misha sent the questions out at the end of today, too. Not sure if she does ‘em every day, but I know I’ve seen ‘em at least 3 times out of the last six business days. When I first saw them last Monday I responded to her on Twitter and I’ll probably do it again tonight but I’ll post my answers here first.

1) The Best Thing that happened to me today was that I met with a business prospect over lunch who told me an article I sent to him over the weekend had immediate impact for his business. He applied a strategy I suggested and it gave him a sense of control over his business and his customers that he didn’t have before. Made my day (and his, hopefully)! The article is titled “Your Quest for Outstanding Customer Service May Be Killing Your Business”

2) The thing I did that was most Fun today was attending my regular Monday, 4:30pm Yoga/Pilates Fusion class called “Centergy” with my wife. She and I have been consistently attending this class and one on Saturday morning every week since January 1st, unless we’re out of town for have other business commitments. But, I bet neither one of us has missed more than 2 of these classes since we started, I’m really proud of both of us for that!

3) What I Learned today is that no matter how close a relationship you have with a present client, when it comes to a new project, make sure you get the proposal/contract signed, and finalize specific payment terms before you leave the scene of the meeting after obtaining a verbal agreement and setting a date to start the project. I received an e-mail late today asking to postpone the project for three weeks due to unforseen issues and that may delay my expected cash flow (lesson learned).

What about you? How would you answer those three questions?

The article contrasts the openness and free feeling culture of Google with the somewhat more traditional, more structured culture and approach of the older, more established culture of Microsoft.

On first thought I might have expected Microsoft to be more like its younger rival, but after reading the article and thinking about how Microsoft has come to dominate the personal computer and monopolize the operating systems for them, I could see now that the company might espouse a more structured, closed and regulated culture.

You can read more about it at Inc. Magazine

One is an uncomfortable chuckle, followed a verbal “I’ll get back to you later about that.” These I’ve become used to and have stopped getting upset about the lack of seriousness some people apply to a habit that may be sabotaging their level of personal and professional success.

The second is an even more dangerous reply. This is a reply that hides that fact that procrastination is even an issue for the individual. It is a true blind spot, an issue of denial or just plain ignorance, I’m not sure which, and it’s probably different for everyone.

This response is simple and basic, “oh, I don’t procrastinate.” I am always intrigued by that comment.

I was reminded of the seriousness of this type of thinking the other night at an event where I gave away as a door prize a copy of my “End Procrastination NOW!” home study workshop CD.

The woman who won the prize came up to thank me afterward and told me that procrastination is not a problem for her. Almost simultaneously, from over my should I heard someone (it turned out to be her job search mentor) say, “when are you going to get me your resume?”

Intrigued, I asked a question and the ensuing conversation went like this:

Me: “What’s the issue with getting your resume to Andy?”

She: “Oh, I haven’t started it yet because I really don’t even know where to begin.”

Me: “So you are procastinating on get started on it.”

She: “No, I just don’t know where and how to begin.”

Me: “Right, so you are avoiding starting it for fear of doing it wrong, which is procrastination.”

She: “Well, no I’m still just trying to figure where to start.”

Me: “Ok, then, enjoy the CD and let me know if you have any questions after you listen to it.”

This woman is not alone. One of my former consulting clients whom I helped transition from a successful Manhattan dental practice into a slower paced, suburban dental practice here in the Hudson Valley proclaimed at the beginning of our work together that he didn’t procrastinate.

His explanation was that he mustn’t procrastinate because he’s always busy, always moving and working on projects moving his practice forward. I allowed him to live in his fantasy until I learned his $600,000 dental practice had $140,000 in accounts receivable that were more than 60-days.

Turns out he was keeping himself busy to avoid dealing with the more difficult issue of collections.

These are just two examples, I could go on, but I think you get the drift.

Here’s a link to a worksheet that may be helpful if you may have a tendency for avoiding uncomfortable items, tasks, etc. and end up tolerating things that cause you even more angst and discomfort at the end of your day.

To learn more about how to End Procrastination NOW! you may want to go here.

Company President Skip Weisman says Sage was promoted from household pet to this executive position because of her tremendous flexibility in successfully adapting to environmental changes.

Because of her success in this area she has just received a book deal to write her tome on “change management” which will be titled, “How to Cope When Someone Continues to Move My Litter Box?” Look for it in book stores and on Amazon.com this fall.

Weisman said that Sage’s biggest challenge in her new post will be becoming friends with the external mouse necessary to work the laptop computer she was given on her first day.

See the new executive hard at work in her first day on the job!

Apple Computers came in at Number #1. That’s exciting for me to see being that I just went Mac in 2009, having purchased a MacBook Pro and an IPhone.

Fortune breaks down its list into the Top 50 in each of the 50 United States and has a list by Industry. You can see the entire list go to http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/mostadmired/2009/index.html

I learned the importance of variety on my path to professional success in the early days as general manager of my first minor league baseball team. I was having challenges getting the most out of my staff. In a discussion about the issues I was facing with my boss, the owner of the team and a successful businessman in his own right told me, “you know, Skip, if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.”

The point being that I was trying to lead and inspire all members of my staff the same way, my way, and even that one way was ineffective with most people. I learned in that conversation that I was leading others as if I were a hammer and they were nails. It wasn’t very effective.

I needed more variety in how I led my team so I went back to school and learned about the “Law of Requisite Variety.” which states “the system/person/organization with the most flexibility, resources and options at its disposal will control the outcome.”  It works in most every situation.

This law is very powerful and it is comprehensive in nature….

If you’d like to read the rest, go here

Would love you comments on this concept after you’ve had a chance to read the entire article. Thanks!

I’ve had a lot of spare time the past couple of days as I ended a very intense period of work in May that culminated with a marketing funnel workshop on Wednesday, June 3rd.  Add to that my wife, Anne, leaving for a long weekend with her mom and sisters to connect with family members in Ireland, it has created a nice relaxing opportunity for me to enjoy the early days of summer, alone.

I believe there are two times in our lives where our true personality shines through, one is when we are under severe stress and challenge, and the other when we are alone, relaxing and we have the power choose any activities the universe has available with no outside interference.

For me, as much as I like to try new activities, I tend to default to the things I enjoy most of all, some say to a fault. But, there are just some things that I just don’t get to enjoy as fully as I might when other people are around (including the love of my life and best friend). So, I’ll save the new experiences for when Anne gets back. For now, for those who care and want a little insight into what I do when nobody’s watching, here’s what I’ve chosen to invest my time on since Anne left for the Emerald Isle on Thursday:

Business:
1) Updating web site to reflect new speaking gigs just scheduled and creating registration pages and marketing material for those newly scheduled events.

2) Follow up phone calls to all those attendees from my June 3rd workshop to learn more about their business and how I may be able to help.

3) Playing on Twitter and finding a new friend/colleague for whom we are going to collaborate on writing guest articles for each other’s blogs.

Personal:
 1) Yoga – For the first time ever I took time out of a work day, mid-day to do something non-business related. I went to a Friday, 11:30am yoga class.  That was followed up by an early morning (7:45am) yoga session at my favorite yoga studio on Saturday, and an 11:30am yoga/pilates fusion class at my regular health & fitness club.

2) Guitar Practice – With a goal of playing/singing a couple of new songs (new for me, written by my musical hero Bruce Springsteen) I’ve been spending at least 2-hours a day practicing since my Thursday evening lesson. I’m working on four songs, “The Rising”, “The Wrestler”, “Darkness on the Edge of Town” and “Long Walk Home.” Not sure which of these are closest to being ready for live performance, I’ll leave that up to George, my guitar and voice coach to tell me. I even got so bold last night to actually record a video of my rehearsal session last night and posted ‘em on YouTube so George can critique them. Let me know if you care to see ‘em and I’ll send you the links. But, be warned, their not as melifluous as I’d like ‘em to be, just yet.

3) Watching my favorite movie, “City Slickers.” I’ve seen it over 100 times and can recite most of the scripting throughout. Drives my wife and others crazy so I don’t get to watch it much when other people are around. I have to get my kicks in times like these, when I’m alone.

4) Watching the National Hockey League  - Despite my 20-year baseball career, hockey is now my passion and the NHL Playoffs are a marathon journey to win the most historic trophy in team sports, The Stanley Cup. I’ve been able to watch two of the Stanley Cup Finals games without the guilt of having exiled my wife to the upstairs bedroom to watch TV while I watch the hockey on the 46″ high def flat screen downstairs in our living room.

5) Tennis – This weekend is the Final Round of the French Open. Last year Anne and I were in Paris for the opening week of the French Open and knocked one item off our bucket list by attending Day 2 of the Grand Slam tennis tournament. This year, I have to watch from home and this weekend is the Final Round. I watched the Svetlanda Kusnetsova defeat Dinara Safina in yesterday’s women’s final and in about two hours I’m going to watch Roger Federer go for tennis immortality (not that he doesn’t have that already) when he looks to win the French Open and become only the second “Open Era” player to win all four tennis Grand Slam events, the other being my favorite player of all-time Andre Agassi.

6) Sitting in our adirondack chairs on our screened-in front porch, surfing the net, playing on Twitter and Facebook and other laptop past times, in a state of complete and utter relaxation in what we call our “Vacation Room.” It is the most relaxing, calming place I’ve ever experienced in a home I’ve lived in and literally could see myself using this as a vacation stop without ever leaving our home. It’s quiet, peaceful and I get to watch birds in our bird bath, humming birds take a drink from their humming bird feeder, and maybe even do a little yoga and meditation. It’s the perfect “home away from home” in our home!

So, with all that as a backdrop, here’s my agenda for today:
1) Water the plants in the house and our new garden. Anne left very specific instructions for me so I don’t kill the vegetation while the Master Gardener is away.

2) Watch the French Open Men’s Final.

3) Finalize a client project proposal to be delivered on Monday.

4) Mow the front and back lawn.

5) Practice the guitar and my four songs.

6) Finalize marketing materials for upcoming August/September workshops so we can begin to get the invitations out.

7) Read the book I started reading two weeks ago, “Under the Banner of Heaven” by Jon Krakauer, less than 100 pages to go.

Maybe, just maybe they’ll be time at the end of the day to watch “City Slickers II-The Legend of Curly’s Gold” so I can complete the trilogy (ok, there are only two in the series, but you get my drift).

Wow, that’s a full agenda, I better get started, garden needs watering in the AM Anne’s instructions say and I’ve got an hour before the French Open. Got to go…

This struck a particular chord with me for two reasons. One is that I used to work in an industry that relied heavily on high school and college students in the summer months, minor league baseball. This generation was responsible for, well, pretty much everything that impacted the bottom line performance of our business. They were probably 80% or more of our concessions operation, they were a significant portion of our merchandising sales during ballgames, they helped to park cars, and they provided the manpower to run our in-between innings contests that kept fans entertained as the teams changed sides.

Yet, despite the importance these team members played in our operation, we through them into the fire of the season with limited orientation, limited training and limited discussion on what the expected behaviors were for a team member. Then, we exacerbated the issue by not dealing with issues as they came up and we enabled behaviors, and it became a slippery slope. It was “only” a summer job we rationalized for these kids and we just accepted this as the way it had to be and plowed through the two-and-a-half months ’til they left us to go back to school.

I lived this insanity for 20 years in the business. It wasn’t until I got out and started working with other organizations that fell into the same trap that I woke up. An even deeper challenge is that companies do this not just with GenY workers but most all of their employees.

Few companies I’ve found, especially small to medium sized businesses, recruit, interview, hire, orient, train, set performance expectations, and manage to those expectations effectively. And, they wonder why performance is lacking in their company.

The ironic thing is that most business leaders in these situations spend more time putting out fires and confronting issues caused by the lack of systems for managing performance that if they just invested time on the front end doing the things they should be doing, it would be no less than an even trade-off in time, energy and financial resources, and I believe it would pay handsome dividends at the end of the year in lower employee turnover, higher productivity and lower raises/bonuses because people will not demand as much compensation when they are working in an enjoyable work environment.

Anyway, enough of my rant. Much thanks to Sarah Newton for getting me started this morning.

P.F. -FYI, for those of you out there uncertain about the value of Social Media and things like Twitter. I found Sarah through Twitter as I search “Company Culture” tweets and her tweet came through to me and I responded.

Skip Takes a Batting Stance In His Opening Story

The first photos have been released from the 2009 Northern California Career & Leadership Summit where I gave one of three keynote addresses this past Saturday, May 30th. To read more about the event and my experience speaking there, click here.

Click on a photo to enlarge it:

Using Twitter to Manage Performance 

What do you think?