by dlavieri
structure activities that allow members to chat casually and have
some fun.
5) Go home early. If you’re the boss, after a big effort, express
appreciation by inviting everybody to head out before normal
closing time.
celebrate Your wins and theirs
169
6) Throw a surprise party. Call an important meeting to ensure
everyone will attend; then surprise the employees with a festive
event to thank them for a recent success.
7) Create a media event. Whether it’s a classy video presentation, a
picture in the company newsletter, or a photomontage on the bul-
letin board, honor people for their production by showing it off.
8) Notice milestones. People feel more satisfied if they believe
they’re making progress toward something that counts. So
don’t wait until the end of a major initiative to celebrate. Express
appreciation for key steps along the way. Consider a special
lunch party or small gifts to acknowledge the halfway point of
a big project. It will help to build enthusiasm for reaching the
finish line.
9) Buy T-shirts. Even though the items may seem tacky, people
often enjoy receiving shirts, paperweights, stuffed animals,
and other little gifts decorated with the team logo or slogan.
Order T-shirts or mugs for team members who contribute to
a stellar effort.
10) Buy lunch. It could be a pizza party in the conference room or
an elegant meal at a nearby restaurant, but people always like it
when you buy lunch. And, during the meal, offer a few heartfelt
comments about what you appreciate.
11) Call on local talent. Does somebody in your group sing, play
an instrument, or do a bit of stand-up? Can you recruit a small
group to perform a funny skit? Turn a meeting or pedestrian
lunchtime into a party by coming up with some entertainment.
12) Write notes. Share a quiet moment of gratitude by taking a few
minutes to sit down and write a note to someone who has done
well or given you a hand.
13) Take a break. To be at your creative best, you should take regu-
lar rests. That might include frequent mini-breaks, such as a few
minutes of meditation, or it might be longer interludes, such as a
couple of hours away from your desk for a massage. When you’ve
completed a tedious or thorny task, celebrate by yourself with a
little time off. Even taking a few minutes to chat with a friend
can help you to get back to work with new purpose and energy.
170
Think Like an Entrepreneur, Act Like a CEO
Whether it means planning a party for the whole team, or quietly reward-
ing yourself for taking on a tough task, take time to shine a light on work well done. Even if you’re not yet a leader, celebrating gracefully can become a vital part of your flourishing work life and can help you to build a supportive professional community.
38
It’s (usually) not
okay to Be late
I dislike being late. It makes me feel anxious and disorganized, and I’m
uncomfortable at the prospect of disrupting somebody else’s schedule.
On the other hand, I generally don’t mind being kept waiting if I’m meet-
ing a friend or client. I always have a book and phone with me, I treat the
waiting period as found time, and I catch up on messages or read something
I enjoy.
However, there are two conditions to my tolerance. First, I want a heads-
up. When I’m not alerted the other person is running late, I worry that I’m in the wrong place, or at the wrong time, or that something awful has happened.
Second, I don’t want to be made late if it means that I, in turn, will be late for somebody else.
But that’s just me. Punctuality can be a surprisingly emotional issue, and
attitudes about timeliness vary widely. Some people are angered or insulted if they are kept waiting, believing it shows a lack of respect. Others are annoyed or exhausted by unending demands to stay on schedule.
171
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Think Like an Entrepreneur, Act Like a CEO
Flexible attitudes about punctuality can work well where people in a com-
munity know what to expect. For example, a 30-minute delay is no problem
if everyone in the social group understands that the “seven o’clock dinner”
really starts at 7:30.
In the context of your career, however, your standard approach should be
to stay on schedule. American business etiquette requires that you show up for meetings and events at the appointed hour. In some organizations the rule is
tougher, and to be considered “on time” you must actually arrive a little early.
This strict approach to punctuality isn’t just an arbitrary tradition. If your lateness causes others to lose minutes of productivity, you’ve just stolen some of their most valuable resource.
But cultures and expectations vary. In some circles, a fanatical preoccu-
pation with the clock could come across as silly or obnoxious. If you wonder
whether you have the right approach to punctuality, look around to see how
closely your habits are aligned with those in your environment. As you ask
yourself whether your approach to timeliness is good for your brand, con-
sider these six strategies:
1) Know the rules. The organizations you deal with may have
explicit policies about punctuality, but sometimes the general
practice is nothing like the policy manual. When you start inter-
acting with a new group, inquire about preferences for meeting
start times. Does that 10 o’clock meeting really begin on the
hour, or is it considered polite to chat for a few minutes with
other attendees?
2) Bank goodwill. If you’re a person who finds it tough to get to
places on time, work hard to be prompt as often as possible. If
you can establish a reputation for being punctual, people are
more likely to be tolerant when you really can’t help being late.
3) Know the message your behavior sends. When you’re typi-
cally late, a colleague may take offense, interpreting your tar-
diness as an overblown sense of your own importance. On the
other hand, if you always make a big deal about starting on the
dot, you might come across as intolerant. To be effective, you
must understand what your approach to punctuality is saying to
those around you. If your lateness says that you just don’t care,
it’s probably time to change your message.
It’s (usually) not okay to Be late
173
4) Lighten up. Getting upset when you’re kept waiting is a waste
of your energy. The first step in letting go of your negative emo-
tion is to acknowledge that when others are late, it’s probably not
about you; it’s a reflection of what’s going on in their lives. For example, the late arrivers could be struggling with traffic. Instead
of fuming, use the waiting time productively or enjoy a quiet
moment for reflection.
5) Respect your team. If you’re a leader, you have a special obliga-
tion to stay on time. If you’re seldom prompt, the efficiency of the
whole group is impacted. And if you are on time for your supe-
riors but not for your direct reports, you’re modeling a culture
/> where junior staffers are not respected.
6) Negotiate the rules. If you and your colleagues have differ-
ent views about the value of being punctual, it might be useful
to talk. Whether you tend to be tardy, or you’re the one who’s
always kept waiting, you can smooth relationships by forging
shared standards of punctuality. It can be helpful for teams to
openly discuss questions such as these:
◆
Are meeting times a bit flexible, reflecting travel and other
uncertainties? For example, is it acceptable to arrive 15
minutes late for a lunch across town? Does the person who
travels the furthest get more flexibility?
◆
Is it sometimes fine to be really late, such as when the team
has to start the weekly meeting without you because the big
boss had a question?
◆
When is lateness just plain unacceptable, such as when you
are having dinner with a client?
◆
What’s the best way to take the sting out of being late, like
giving early notice, apologizing profusely, or doing better
next time?
39
measuring Progress
makes Your
goals Powerful
throughout this book we discuss how building a resilient career and lead-
ing like a CEO require you to stay focused on your goals. Whether you’re
framing major long-term objectives or simply making your plan for a produc-
tive week, how you actually articulate your goals can have an impact on your
ability to reach them.
You might start with a general picture of what you want to accomplish.
But from there, the way to make your goals truly useful is to decide precisely how you will record and evaluate your headway.
You may have heard about the importance of “measurable goals” more
times than you can count. The basic idea is that, in order to keep moving
toward your goals, you must come up with specific ways to gauge your prog-
ress. For example, if you’ve always wanted to write a book, a measurable goal could be to write a specific number of words per week. If your book will have about 60,000 words, and you write at least 1,000 words each week, you will
come up with a draft manuscript in a little more than a year.
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measuring Progress makes Your goals Powerful
175
You’ll still make progress if you accomplish only a little at a time. As we
discussed in Chapter 17, the action steps that move you forward might not
be large—they could be as small as sugar grains—but eventually you will
approach your target if you maintain a steady pace.
I’m sometimes surprised by talented professionals who resist the notion of
quantifying their progress. Maybe the concept of metrics strikes them as time consuming, complicated, or boring? Or perhaps they think that some values
just can’t be counted? If you’re reluctant to define your goals in measurable
terms, consider these four points:
1) Measuring creates awareness. If you regularly count some-
thing, you tend to keep it in mind. So if you’re working on a new
habit, coming up with a metric will help you to keep on the path.
For example, many dieticians predict that if you’re trying to lose
pounds, you’re more likely to stick to your diet if you consistently
log your food, weigh yourself, and chart your weight. And it’s
the same for organizations. In businesses, government units, and
nonprofits, attention tends to focus on the things that get evalu-
ated and recorded.
2) Quantity can lead to quality. When you regularly count your
steps, you’re likely to take more of them. That’s the theory behind
fitness tracking devices, like the one I use, the popular Fitbit.
And the more you practice an activity, the better you may get at
it. My favorite book about the power of practice is Geoff Colvin’s
Talent is Overrated. Colvin examined research about “what
really separates world-class performers from everybody else.” He
concluded that great performers—whether in music, sports, or
business—are the ones who practice intensely. Quantity doesn’t
always produce quality, but often the more times you do some-
thing, the more you learn. And when learning is involved, quan-
tity does lead to quality.
3) Measurement helps build self-control. “If you can mea-
sure it, you can manage it.” That quote is often attributed to
management guru Peter Drucker, but his take on measure-
ment in the workplace was actually more nuanced. In his great
book Management, he wrote of the danger that measurement
“could be used to control people from the outside and above—
that is, to dominate them.” He suggested that the better use
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Think Like an Entrepreneur, Act Like a CEO
of measurement is to “make self-control possible.” Drucker
thought metrics should be used by every manager “to appraise
his own skill and performance and to work systematically on
improving himself.”
4) Measurement can replace micromanagement. As a coach, I’ve
encountered many situations where managers want to delegate
but can’t seem to do it. Sometimes they hover annoyingly over
a project because they want a better sense of how it’s going. But
when the manager and the project leader are able to come up
with the right metrics, suddenly the problem disappears. A good
measurement and reporting system can create transparency. That
makes it easier both to solve problems and to recognize prog-
ress. When you’re able to quantify and describe your accomplish-
ments, it’s easier for your manager to let go of control.
Explore different types of data and metrics
At times people are slow to create a measurement system because it’s not obvious what should be counted. But whereas it’s not always easy to quantify the impact or value of your work, grappling with the selection of metrics can contribute to your ultimate success. Choosing your approach to keeping track requires you to ask important questions. The first step may be to break a large goal into smal er pieces. Then you’ll want to consider which factors actual y matter.
Suppose your New Year’s resolution is to get to the office earlier. You start to build a picture by recording your daily arrival times. For two weeks you
count how many minutes you arrive before or after the official nine o’clock
start time. And then you begin to wonder: Why is it harder to be prompt on
some days than on others? So you expand your log to note your bedtime, your
hours of sleep, and whether you lay out your next day’s clothes before going to bed. You realize that the way to get to work before nine is to go to bed earlier, so you change your evening routine. You start getting out of the house sooner, and your commitment to reach work earlier is reinforced by that little ping of pride each morning when you record your arrival.
It can be useful to experiment a bit as you choose data to show how you’re
doing. As you explore options, consider these three approaches to measur-
ing progress toward your goals:
measuring Progress makes Your goals Powerful
177
1) Measure progress toward actually completing the mission.
Some g
oals can be framed in numerical terms, which make it
easy to chart your achievements. Suppose, for example, that you
want to raise your profile by energizing your blog. It’s a simple
matter to set numerical targets, such as the number of posts you
intend to publish during the next year.
2) Count important activities. Often, things that impact the com-
pletion of your mission are beyond your control. In that case,
observe the things you can control. Determine which activities
are most likely to contribute to your success and start measuring
them. Let’s say your committee wants to raise money for a foun-
dation, but a tough economy means that donors may give less. As
you think about goals for committee members, identify their most
important fundraising activities, like cal ing supporters and meet-
ing with potential donors. A direct measurement approach would
count output from the members’ efforts, like how much money
they raise each month. But the measure that motivates your team
could be one that gives credit for their actions—their inputs to the
process—such as the number of people they call or visit.
3) Create capacity. Complex goals may require a phased approach
to measurement. Often, you can’t start racking up actual results
until you put the tools, systems, and resources in place. If your
fundraising goal requires something substantial like creating a
new task-force to raise the money, map the whole process and
break it into stages. Perhaps your first stage will involve recruit-
ing the task force members, and a key milestone will be the
initial meeting. In the beginning of your work, the way you eval-
uate progress will be to monitor the capacity build-out. Once
your structure is in place, you can shift to more direct measures
of success, like the number of dollars being raised.
Your wishful thinking can turn into a tangible goal when you describe your
target and start doing things to move you in that direction. Your goal becomes powerful when you begin to track the things that will help you make progress.
40
use those Amazing
checklists
It’s wonderful when one simple tool can help you streamline your work and
organize your group. That was the case with my client Sarah*, who’s an excel-