Have you lost power?
Note: If you’ve lost power, or never had any to begin with, how can you possibly make a difference? Why bother dreaming? Or trying to make a goal? Or even setting one? Some one or something will keep you from it anyway. Might as well forget about trying to make a difference in someone else’s life – much less your own.
PLEASE don’t listen to ANY of nonsense above!!! You have plenty of power. It might not be obvious. You may have to hunt around a bit. But it’s there somewhere. I hope this article will help you with search and discovery so that you find your power. And if you are a manager, I hope it will help you help others find theirs. A must for morale & productivity – yours and theirs.
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One December morning - the house was colder than normal. The clocks were dead. Out the window, we saw trees sagging under a beautiful crystal-like layer of ice; power lines across the road beneath branches, limbs – even whole trees.
We learned from our battery operated radio that 90% of the homes in our town were without power. They said it would take 8 days to restore.
We went in search of breakfast and found only one restaurant open. It seemed the entire town was there – hungry and powerless.
Powerless. Webster phrased it well. We had lost “possession of control”. We had no “ability to act or produce an effect.”
It’s funny the habits we found hard to break. Passing the neighborhood video store on the way home from breakfast, my son said excitedly, “No school today! Let’s get a video!” “Oh – I forgot”, he said. “We don’t have power.” For two days – I flipped the light switch every time I entered a room. “Oh – I forgot. No power.”
No lights. No video. No hot water. Or stove. Or refrigerator. No washer. Or dryer. No television. Or video games. No computer. Or e-mail. No phone. Or fax. Or answering machine. No traffic lights. Or streetlights. Never mind that our ancestors didn’t have these things. Never mind that many people of the world are without these things every day.
WE HAD NO POWER!
We are spoiled by power. Feel entitled to it.
Yet – might it be true that by losing it, we uncover forgotten power? Hidden power? Maybe even become more powerful?
We remembered some forgotten power fairly easily. Like the gas hot water heater. And the gas logs. Then we remembered the “old-timey” telephone in the attic. You know – one of those that doesn’t need electricity?
And what about the gas grill? It became a great and fun place to heat water for hot chocolate, cook eggs and a “mean” tasting grilled cheese sandwich.
Our power was revealed in other ways as well.
Gerry and his friend went out with their chain saws on that first day. Clearing streets and driveways all over town. They did it because they had the equipment and the know-how. Not for rewards or payment. They told us about a woman who gave them a $50 bill to thank them for their help. They refused. She insisted. They took the money and gave it to charity. They used their power to help others and to pay it forward.
Other friends and neighbors who did have electricity called their friends and neighbors to check in and offer assistance. Once we located our old timey telephone, we were lucky enough to receive one of those calls from Lou and Tracey. They invited us over for showers and dinner and to spend the night. We gladly accepted!
The first night, we helped cook dinner for ten others who had been invited for a warm-up dinner. It quickly became dinner for 35 and a night full of fun and laughter. We all forgot about our own cold, dark households – for three nights in a row. Meanwhile – their showers had revolving doors. The washer and dryer worked non-stop. And the countertops were constantly lined with charging cell phones and laptops. Lou and Tracey had power and they shared it. In the process, they reminded the rest of us about the power of friendship and generosity.
Our neighbor, Beth, also had power. Looking for those without, she knocked on doors and called on the telephone, repeating what became a famous refrain “Come on over and BYOT!” (Bring your own towel).
WCHL, our community radio station that had lost power, but the engineers and generators kept the sound waves going 24/7. And somehow the sleep-deprived announcers kept providing information and entertainment, both vital during this emergency situation. One announcement was about Weaver Street Market. They had lost power and their food was spoiling. In an effort to turn their misfortune into good fortune for others, they asked WCHL to announce “Come take our food. It’s FREE.”
Sally heard the announcement and went right over. Her power was out so she had no place for the food, but she knew of a family of eight whose home had burned to the ground the week before. They were starting over in a rental home near Sally and they had power, an empty refrigerator and an empty freezer. So Sally drove to Weaver Street and let the manager know the situation. He loaded her station wagon with pizza, vegetables, fruit, bread, pasta and other foods which Sally delivered – filling her new neighbor’s freezer to the brim.
Sally had lost the power to do her usual job. Weaver Street had lost their power to provide fresh food. WCHL had lost their usual source of power as well. Even so, this threesome had a powerful impact on a family that had suffered a tragedy few of us can even imagine.
Dave also heard an announcement on WCHL about someone giving free wood to those in need. Dave had no use for wood, but he knew of an older couple nearby who had run out, so he filled his trunk with wood and delivered it to the couple. Dave had lost power to do his usual job, but he found hidden power to help another couple in need.
The power lines had been completely ripped away from our house. We had gotten conflicting information about whether to wait for the power company or call an electrician. On the fifth dark day, we decided to call an electrician. As you might imagine, it was hard to locate one at this time. We finally reached Sam on Sunday morning at 7:00am. He drove 40 miles to come over and repair the damage. When we asked what we owed, he quoted his normal weekday, non-emergency hourly rate. He had the power to repair the damage done by the storm. He did it. He had the power to charge far more than his normal rate. He didn’t.
The power was on and everyone went back to work and school.
Shortly before the storm, Shelly Heath, a teacher at McDougle Middle School, had introduced “kindness” as part of a values curriculum. Our town’s loss of power added power to this values lesson, as kids came to school after the storm, reporting their many powerful exposures to kindness.
People often talk about things they wish they could have – things they wish were different. Those wishful statements are often followed by reasons these wishes won’t or can’t come true. Reasons or obstacles — like spouses, kids, bosses, mergers, layoffs, the economy, war — the list goes on and on.
These obstacles seem to zap our power like the ice did.
Yet if we truly want the things described in our wishful statements – don’t we have the power somewhere? Forgotten power? Hidden power? Perhaps undiscovered power?
We certainly found a lot of it back in December.
original copyright 2003 – Jan Bolick; revised ©2010 – Jan Bolick, Business Class Inc
Free & Frugal PR Tools
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Abandoned goals and dreams already?
Note: Don’t feel bad if this is true for you or others. Sometimes, no matter how many times we read the Quote of the Week from Wayne Gretzky, we just can’t take the shot. Before you abandon your goals or beat yourself up or beat up the others who are stuck - I hope you will read the stories below. They have provided just the right nudge for many - helping them get unstuck and get 2 goal.
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Ten days into the new year, there have already been some snags with new goals and resolutions. A lot of people are backing down or backing out altogether.
Did they set their sights too high?
Or is there something big and scary in the way?
What if they could get over it or around it?
What would that be worth?
For Sue, it could be worth a lot.
We spent our last session in December finalizing her new year goals for business growth. She set her sights high and designed a solid plan to get there. She needed to learn some new skills – polish some others. Same for her teammates. The payoff would be big – gains in revenue, profits, morale, personal satisfaction and pay checks. At the end of our session, she beamed with anticipation about the year ahead.
Three weeks later, this self-motivated, successful and confident woman was like a popped balloon. She had started on her new plan and already encountered several obstacles. I asked for an example and she rattled off five, presenting each like a piece of evidence before a jury, making a strong case for postponing, if not cancelling the new plan.
Either one was fine with me but I was surprised and curious about this “evidence”. Was it real? Or might it be False Evidence Appearing Real?
So I asked Sue, “What if you could counter this evidence, overcome these obstacles? What would that be worth to you? ”
She looked like her normal self again as she reminded herself (and me)of all the possible gains – in revenue, profit, morale, satisfaction and pay.
For some reason, a twelve year old memory flashed through my brain and I asked permission to share it with her. Here it is.
On the way to celebrate a cousin’s birthday at the Slipnslide Waterpark in Wilmington , five year old Ryan said to me, ““Mommy, I don’t want to go down the slide. You aren’t going to make me, are you?”
My response: “No Ryan, I’m not going to make you go down the slide.”
He asked the same question at least eight more times during the 2 ½ hour drive. My answer, the same each time.
The party was in full swing when we arrived. Ryan and I stood and watched kids of all ages climb fifty feet to the top, slip and slide and scream and splash into the pool – wiping their eyes and laughing – then climb out and back to the top for another go.
After watching for a few minutes, Ryan looked up at me and said, “Can I try it once?”
Off he went. Up. Then down. Out of the water and over to me. “Can I do it again, Mommy?”
Off he went. Up. Then down. Laughing and splashing. Out of the water and over to me. “See Mommy. I told you I would like it.”
I understood.
A few years back, one of my team members had suggested we include a team building ropes course as part of our annual retreat. It wasn’t a good time since one of our team members was pregnant. Same thing the next year and the next. Secretly, I was relieved because the idea made me nervous.
A couple of years later, I signed up for the Chamber of Commerce Leadership Program. When the information packet arrived, I discovered that on the schedule for day #1 was a ropes course. I flipped through to find the attendance policy. It would be bad to miss the first day. I had to go.
I woke up that morning feeling sick. My hands felt clammy. I took deep breaths to settle myself down before joining the group. My luck kicked in. Hurricane Fran had ripped through North Carolina the month before, doing damage to the high ropes course. It was not “in service” so we would have to do the low ropes course. Darn.
It was no sweat. Until the end when they took us to a 50 foot wall. I wasn’t the only one with wide eyes, sweaty palms and stomach flips. Our facilitators told us that climbing this wall was optional.
I suited up with harness and helmet and made the climb with two teammates, cheered by a team of onlookers below. When we got to the top – Wow! It was an on top of the world feeling. Strong. Victorious. Free!
I wanted to do it again.
Sue shared a similar story about hiding under her desk during a spelling competition and then going on to win the school championship! She won by spelling the word “trepidation”.
Our time was up. I asked Sue which obstacle (from her “evidence” list) was the scariest.
She answered and I asked, “And what if you could overcome it?”
That was it. She was ready to “climb the wall”. She did a quick strategy test on me. It was good.
But fear is pesky and I wanted to be sure that when it popped up, she would remember that feeling – of pushing through fear – and then feeling the freedom.
So as we said our good-byes, I asked her to spell “trepidation”.
She laughed and said, “Trepidation. T-R-E-P-I-D-A-T-I-O-N. Trepidation.”
She called today to report that she had overcome the first obstacle on the list of many she shared last week. “I did it!” she said. “And guess what? I’m ready to do it again!”
We’ve all been there before.
With something big and scary blocking our way.
Sometimes we can coach ourselves through it.
And then sometimes – we need help.
We need someone to “take us there” or “go with us”.
To help us evaluate and validate the bigness and scariness of this “thing”.
To help us remember why getting over, around or through it is important to us.
To help us remember when we have pushed through similar fear.
To help us remember how good that felt.
To be there at the bottom with us.
To cheer us to the top.
To celebrate with us the freedom we find on the other side.
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If you’d like help making and sticking to a plan to get 2 goal, contact us about our coaching programs and team retreats.
Meanwhile, you can use the above quote as background or wallpaper for your computer with just three clicks.
1. Click on the image above.
2. Right click on the image that appears.
3. On the pull down menu that appears, click on “set as background”.
Voila! There’s still plenty of room on the left side of the screen for all your shortcut icons.
By the way – this quote is from the Get 2 Goal section of our Quote Library. Find this plus 130 additional quotes to print, post and share. Valuable business tools, available for free right here in our Quote Library.
Note: If you don’t like your new wallpaper, don’t want to replace it with a quote from the Business Class Quote Library and don’t know how to get rid of it……
Go to your control panel. Select “Display”. Select “Desktop”. And then choose from the designs offered.”
copyright 2009 – Business Class Inc
Quick List: 10 Ways to Be A Better Manager
If you want to be a better manager in 2010 and beyond, here are 10 ways to do it. In the process, you will boost morale and productivity, improving your chances of achieving your goals.
Read, print, post in a prominent place.* Use it as a discussion list in Managers Meetings.
If you are really daring, give it to those you manage and ask them to rate you on each one!
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1. Be clear about your vision. Share it often and enthusiastically.
2. Be clear about company values. Let them be known. Live them.
3. Make goals and expectations clear. Write them down. Break them into small parts or steps.
4. Monitor and celebrate progress frequently.
5. Give undivided time and attention to each team member. Know his/her goals and help him/her achieve them.
6. Look for people doing things right. Let them know you noticed.
7. Invite input and feedback on process, procedure, problems, mistakes, etc.
8. Listen more. Talk less.
9. Expect a lot — of self and others.
10. Make work fun.
copyright 2010 – Business Class Inc
*Print Screen or print this PDF set up for 8 1/2 X 11 inch paper (vertical or portrait orientation).
Handling Rejection: Tips from Mick Mixon
It’s hard not to get hot when you get rejected. But for those who want to be better managers, for those who are serious about service, for those who wanna get to goal…staying cool and focused is critical.
Here’s a cool approach that Mick Mixon, Voice of the Carolina Panthers, shared with us during a Business Class interview.
You can listen to it (2 1/2 minutes) or read it or both.
Mick told us that early in his career, he sold advertising for a radio station in South Carolina.
One of his prospects was Roses. When Mick called the manager to ask for an appointment, the manager said that he didn’t have any use for Mick or anyone at his station.
Mick was taken aback. This guy didn’t even KNOW him. It ruined his day. Mick didn’t want to do sales anymore after that. Then he thought about athletes. They miss shots all the time. And missed shots put you closer to made shots.
Mick decided he wasn’t going to let this guy beat him – he refused to let this rejection affect who he was and who he wanted to be.
A great story. A great companion piece to our Quote of the Week from Wayne Gretzky.
Two tips from two cool men – to help you keep your cool whenever you face rejection.
copyright 2009 – Jan Bolick, Business Class Inc
Other Stories from Mick
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On managing yourself & others
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