It’s an easy trap to fall into.  Just look at your calendar – you haven’t been home before 7:00 all week and you haven’t been to bed before midnight for two weeks.

“It a tale…full of sound and fury; signifying nothing.”  Shakespeare – Macbeth

Is all that activity moving you forward?  Probably a better question…do you know where ‘forward’ is?

In my former corporate life, I knew far too many people that would routinely work through lunch, walk with a real sense of urgency and irritation when they did leave their desk and generally give off a “I’m really busy” vibe. 

Now some of them might have been using George Costanza’s 10 Commandments for working hard.  to look good to their boss (I especially like these:)

1 – Never walk without a document in your hands. People with documents in their hands look like hardworking employees heading for important meetings. People with nothing in their hands look like they’re heading for the cafeteria. People with a newspaper in their hand look like they’re heading for the toilet. Above all, make sure you carry loads of stuff home with you at night, thus generating the false impression that you work longer hours than you do.

4 – Use voice mail. Never answer your phone if you have voice mail. People don’t call you just because they want to give you something for nothing — they call because they want you to do work for them. That’s no way to live. Screen all your calls through voice mail. If somebody leaves a voice-mail message for you and it sounds like impending work, respond during lunch hour when you know they’re not there — it looks like you’re hardworking and conscientious even though you’re being a devious weasel.

5 – Look impatient & annoyed. One should also always try to look impatient and annoyed to give your bosses the impression that you are always busy.

6 – Leave the office late. Always leave the office late, especially when the boss is still around. You could read magazines and storybooks that you always wanted to read but have no time until late before leaving. Make sure you walk past the boss’ room on your way out. Send important e-mail at unearthly hours (e.g. 9:35 p.m., 7:05 a.m., etc.) and during public holidays.

7 – Use sighing for effect. Sigh loudly when there are many people around, giving the impression that you are under extreme pressure.

But I’m sure a lot of them genuinely believed they were being incredibly productive.  The problem was they weren’t producing any valuable outcomes.

Sound and fury; signifying nothing.  That Shakespeare guy had a way with words…

First of all, you need to have a clear direction.  Ideally you have a longer term set of goals that you’re trying to achieve and you have identified shorter term activities and accomplishments that will move you towards your goals.

Without those goals and priorities, you will never truly be productive.  How could you be?  I’m sure you’ve heard the old adage “failing to plan is planning to fail”.  Activity without a clear direction is just busy work.

Secondly, review and prioritize your activities based on your most important goals and activities.  Most of your time should be spent on Quadrant II activities.

(From the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey).  Quadrant II activities are Important but Not Urgent.  Because you’ve clearly identified your goals, you can prioritize what’s important and what’s not (hint not everything can be important).  If you’re stuck, pick the top 3 things at any given time and just focus on those.

Finally, you must track your progress against your goals and periodically assess whether those goals or approaches make sense.  If you’re not making the progress you expect towards your longer term goal, then perhaps you haven’t identified the right activities to get you there.

Here’s more of a real world example: 

One of my longer term goals is to get more clients (I’m more specific than that, but for the purposes of this example it doesn’t matter). 

The primary way for me to find new clients at this time is through personal 1 on 1 meetings with qualified people.  I can’t control the actual client decision, but I can control how many people I actually get in front of in a consultation situation. 

My experience (and feedback from others) is that a certain percentage of people that I meet with will lead me to a client situation (either directly or indirectly).  I’m still working on the actual percentage, but the conclusion remains the same, I need to meet with a lot of people 1 on 1 in order to reach my goals of getting new clients.

So every week I’m tracking my personal progress of 1 on 1 meetings with ‘qualified’ people that may be candidates for becoming a client or they work with or know people that may need my services.  In case your curious, my goal is at least 5 1 on 1 meetings a week on top of other networking activities.  It’s challenging to get them set up, but so far I’m doing fairly well.

As I become more effective at identifying how I can help people and identifying the best candidates for me to help, my success ratio will go up.  It’s not exactly a numbers game, but it does require a lot of persistence.  I’m also identifying other activities that will generate potential clients and at some point I will mix those activities in as well.

What activities are you doing that aren’t leading towards your goals?  Could you, should you stop doing them now?  Do you track your results on a regular basis?

I’m interested in your thoughts and would love to hear any stories you have on being busy versus being productive.

Shawn Kinkade  www.aspirekc.com

There are a few things that I consistently hold onto as a core part of what I believe and who I am.

I believe that professionalism is critical to long term success in pretty much anything that you do.

I believe in science, the scientific process and that the future will be driven in a large part by scientific and technological advancements (good and bad).

I believe in moderation in all things – including moderation.

I believe in the hanging curve ball, high fiber, good scotch…wait that’s what Crash Davis believes in… 

What I’m not as sure about is the power of positive thinking – not the concept as much as the semi-mystical stuff that seems to go along with it (back to that whole science thing). 

I don’t buy into most of the explanations / hype around the Law of Attraction and The Secret, that if you wish really hard, then your wish will come true.  It’s a fun thing to talk about but I actually find it a bit disturbing and potentially dangerous or damaging if people are putting too much hope into it.

Having said all that, I do buy into having a positive approach to life.  Scott Ginsberg had a great post on this today - Corny doesn’t mean ineffective.  Here’s the point that resonated with me:

Yes, all that positive attitude stuff is TOTALLY corny.
But that doesn?t mean it doesn?t work.
I say:
Believe in whatever makes you more focused.
Believe in whatever makes you more motivated.
Believe in whatever makes you more productive.

Jerry Smith – a Coach here in Kansas City and an overall great guy also has some good posts recently that tie into this topic.  I thought this one was especially appropriate – The luck factor.  His Gary Player Quote summed it up nicely:

When we get into the negative we tend to filter things accordingly. Use the concept of luck positively – remember what Gary Player the famous golfer says about luck: “The more I practice, the luckier I get”

All of this reminded me of the famous quote from Henry Ford:

“Whether you think you can or can’t, you’re probably right.”

So I don’t buy into the metaphysical powers of positive thinking, but I do absolutely buy into the benefits of a positive outlook.  (I’m not always successful at putting it into play, but I’m fully on board).

Simply said, if you want to succeed, and don’t we all, then you must have a positive belief that you can succeed.

Here are some ideas that can help move you to a more positive outlook.

1. Find and hang out with positive people.  It’s human nature to mirror those people that are around you – make a conscious choice to identify people that are optimistic and can do and then spend time with them.
2. Stop hanging out with negative people.  I know it’s kind of a repeat of point number 1, but it’s important (probably even more important than finding positive people).  I imagine most people have had the unfortunate experience of working with a ‘Debbie Downer’ type of person – it may be one of the most draining things you can do.  Do whatever you must to get away from those people.
3. Find the good in things.  This one can be difficult, especially when you’re having a bad day.  I’m not saying be a Pollyanna and ignore the real world, just look for the silver lining (or make one if you have to). 
4. Make sure you retreat into books, movies – escapes that you really enjoy at least a few times a week.
5. Adopt a pet – a lot of studies have shown that the unconditional love of a dog or a cat has a host of medical and stress related benefits.  We got our last dog, Pongo from Wayside Waifs which is a really good organization – highly recommended.  I don’t think a fish falls into the same category in terms of inspiration, but I guess you could give it a try…
6. Laugh – as often as you can…!

I’m sure there are lot more great ideas on ways to stay positive – feel free to share them here.

Can you imagine what a more positive outlook would have on your business?  How about your personal life, or the people around you?  How about your kids?

Have a great day!

Shawn Kinkade   www.aspirekc.com

If you do a quick read through the internet, you’ll find all sorts of lists that can help you out.

5 Things you can do to increase sales!

21 steps towards solving your fire-ant problem!!!

6 Steps to create the perfect Hikaru Dorodango (this one is real – and it’s actually pretty interesting).

A lot of these are really helpful resources, but I thought it was refreshing to see a list of things NOT to do.

Tim Ferris – the author of the 4 Hour Workweek had this as a topic recently on his blog.  The not to do list – 9 habits to stop now.  (I haven’t read the book yet, but I have it in hand and it’s next on my list).

Tim’s list is focused on things that will keep you from being productive.  It’s a great list and discussion overall, definitely take a look.  Some of them are more appropriate to a corporate setting, but here are a few that I especially agreed with.:

3. Do not agree to meetings or calls with no clear agenda or end time  (This was critical when I was at a previous job).

8. Do not carry a cellphone or Crackberry 24/7       (I especially liked his point about real priorities…)

“As one reader put it to a miffed co-worker who worked 24/7 and expected the same: ?I?m not the president of the US. No one should need me at 8pm at night. OK?you didn?t get a hold of me. But what bad happened?? The answer? Nothing.”

4. Do not let people ramble (fairly self-explanatory, but often easier said than done).

He also suggests batching email delivery to 1 or 2 times a day and setting expectations to others that you won’t be responding right away.  I think it’s a great idea but I haven’t tried it yet.

So that got me to thinking about other things that I would recommend not doing - not necessarily as a productivity approach, just in general.

1. Stop dressing to other people’s expectations.  There’s certainly a need to dress appropriately for your job/business – but in my opinion, it’s just as important to be yourself.  If you’re not a suit and tie kind of guy, then it’s okay to wear business casual to almost any kind of function – especially in 2007.
2. Stop trying to sell at every opportunity!  It’s amazing to me the number of people I run into that are always in ‘sales’ mode, even when I don’t know them.  People are very unlikely to buy from you unless they know you, like you and trust you.  If you try selling to them at every opportunity, they will never get to that point.
3. Stop saying yes to everything.  As a small business owner you always want to be perceived as the can-do resource that can handle anything and everything.  Although you need to be careful about how you say no – especially to a client, in the long run you will be better off if you focus on things you know you’ll excel at and that will really help you in the long run.
4. Stop keeping everything.  This is one that I need work on – I have a bad habit (as my wife will often remind me…) of hanging on to stuff that realistically I’ll never touch again.  If you haven’t used in a couple of weeks, throw it out.
5. Stop reading / watching the news (or at least cut back).  I think this has gotten to be more important in the last couple of years.  It’s good to be informed, but it’s certainly not good for you to be inundated in the bleak scare tactics that most news organizations are using these days to get attention.  Do you really need to hear all of the excruciating details of the tragedy of the day…again…for the 3rd time today?  No – you’ll be much healthier mentally if you shut it off.

Those are a few of my ideas – anything you are currently doing that you think you should stop?

How about things you notice other people doing that you think are unproductive or just un-helpful?  I’d love to hear some ideas.

Shawn Kinkade  www.aspirekc.com

I did a great goal exercise the other day with one of my networking groups.  This is one of those things that can help you shake up your perceptions and might help you see things a little more clearly.

If you want to play along at home, take a piece of paper and draw out 5 boxes (draw them big enough to cover the whole page so you’ll have some room to write). 

You won’t likely get the point of the exercise without playing along…but it’s your call.

In box #1, write out a personal goal and a business goal that you would like to achieve (ideally you should do 3 of each, but the process will work with one).

As an example, a personal goal might be: Lose 20 Pounds by this time next year.

In box # 2, write down approximately how long you have had that goal.

For our example, let’s say 5 years…

In box #3, write down what your biggest obstacle or obstacles has been to date in achieving this goal.

Example:  I’m always eating on the run, which means fast food, junk food, etc.  Who has time to make balanced healthy meals?

In box #4:  What specific actions have you taken in the last 24 hours to achieve this goal?

Example:  Tough one…I didn’t eat a second brownie last night after dinner…

Finally, the home stretch, in box #5 write down what you’ll feel like once you’ve achieved this goal?  What is it about this goal that makes you want to do it?   What will you be?  What might others say about you?

Example:  I would be healthy and more active with my kids.

Now take a look over what you wrote.  In the first box you wrote your goal, hopefully it was a SMART goal (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-framed). 

Have you had the goal a long time?  Or did you just make it up for the sake of this exercise?  Ideally you’re going through some sort of regular planning process at work and at home that would identify these goals, but a lot of people aren’t very good at keeping up with this kind of stuff.

In box three, are you making excuses or are these real reasons outside of your control that are keeping you from what you want?

Box #4 is important as an indicator of how important this goal really is to you.  A top level priority goal should be on your list pretty much every day – if not, how important is it really?

Finally – look at box #5 again…isn’t this really your goal?  Take the example:

“I would be healthy and more active with my kids”! 

Isn’t that what I really want? 

It’s pretty common that we focus on what we need to DO or what we want to HAVE as a measuring point in achieving some life purpose.  If I DO this, then I can HAVE that and then I’ll BE what I want to be.

As soon as I save up $50,000, then I’m going to start a business and become an Entrepreneur.

I would contend that you have it out of order.  The right order is…BE. DO. HAVE! 

If I start BEing a healthy person, then I will start DOing things that healthy people do and I will HAVE the weight loss and fitness achievements that I want…!

What do you think?  Are you holding yourself back somehow or can you start being the person you want to be?  It’s a leap of faith, but does it make sense to you?

I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Shawn Kinkade – www.aspirekc.com

Columbia-River-Gorge-1

Originally uploaded by WSK_2005

Vacation – had to get away. Sure I’m dating myself with the Go-Gos, but it is a really catchy song.

If you couldn’t tell, I’m leavin’ (on a jet plane) for Colorado for a week with the family. We’re spending a couple of days in Denver and the rest of the time in Estes Park. We’re also going to catch up with some old friends that we haven’t seen in too long, so that will be great.

Vacation for me is a time to recharge, not obsess about work, spend (hopefully) quality time with the family and get some good photo opportunities (the attached picture is from last year’s trip to Oregon – beautiful place).

I’m always amazed at people that bring their work with them. I might bring a business book to catch up on, but I’m not bringing the laptop, I’m not planning to check messages and I’m not planning to really get anything tangible done next week.

There have been a lot of studies done on the importance of taking a break. Your productivity, your creativity and your health will all take a negative hit the longer you go without getting away.

So what do you think about vacations? How many vacations do you take a year? Do you hold yourself to that every year, even when you’re swamped?

Take care and I’ll see you in a week.

Shawn Kinkade