Author: Andrew (Page 5 of 43)

When to settle for good enough

1 July 2016 / Andrew

One of the first computer games I ever developed in my teens was a very simplistic helicopter game, where you would hunt out submarines and bomb them. It was simplistic for two reasons, the first of which I was learning to code, and the second because all games were clunky back then, which is what you would expect from home computers that you plugged into your TV screen.

As a young guy I was good at coding, and this knowledge allowed me to learn new skills coding in Visual Basic as I got a real job. However when I compare myself to our IT team I’m a good amateur at best.

I have in the past really enjoyed coding (I like creating new things), and right up to last year I’ve dreamed of teaching myself the latest technologies.

Then I realised, in a moment of brilliance, that it’s a ridiculous idea. To be the leader I need to be, I don’t need to be a better coder.

Good enough is fine.

Good enough is perfect for me.

And realising I’m good enough at something, is incredibly liberating.

∴

Obviously I’m not saying you shouldn’t get better at things. I never want to stop being a better leader of leaders.

Choosing what will really make you the person you want to be is essential for letting go of what’s not.

Getting to a point where you can say ‘I’m good enough at this’, not only allows others to be better than you, but frees you from some dream which may be more of a subconscious burden than you realise.

What are somethings you’ve always wanted to be better at?

Maybe, good enough is fine.

Will it matter in 5 years time?

23 June 2016 / Andrew

If you have kids who play sports I’m sure you’ve experienced the challenges of finding a park close to the ground. On Saturday after finally parking ‘miles’ away from the fields, I was walking to watch the game and came across this street name.

Prior Place (No Exit).

Apart from smiling and wondering who named the street Prior Place, it made me think of prior places I have been. Not houses or streets as such, but situations.

Places where I felt like the world was caving in. Prior times when the pressure was unbearable. Anxious places that I thought had no exit, and wouldn’t end.

But they did end.

And there was a way out.

Life, as they say, went on.

It reminded me that the worry and stress and anxiety we face today, will seem insignificant in a few years’ time.

It reminded me that I need to do my best today, and not worry so much about tomorrow.

“Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself”

∴

The not worrying about tomorrow doesn’t mean we don’t plan to do things in the future to fix our problem.

It does mean we don’t burn mental energy stressing about what we can’t fix today.

If you’re struggling with worry and stress about things at the moment. A great question to ask is this…

‘Will it matter in 5 years time?’

Effectively, when we look back at this prior place, will all this stress and worry be worth the energy I am pouring into it.

I can tell you from personal experience, that it almost always wont.

Why I don’t understand US politics, gun control and practically everything else.

16 June 2016 / Andrew

I don’t understand how a person can be so broken, so full of hate, that they walk into a club and murder 49 people.

I don’t understand how guns can be used in 231 US murders each week, and the people of America not see there is a problem with guns.

I don’t understand why the right to bear arms, appears more important than the obligation for peace and safety and love.

I don’t understand how a country can be so divided down two political party lines, that democracy itself appears hangs in the balance.

Because I don’t understand, it makes it very easy for me to hold strong views. Very easy to throw stones.

Because I don’t understand, if I lived in America, I would be part of the problem.

I don’t understand because I have never WALKED IN THEIR SHOES. Been brought up with their beliefs. Lived their life. Heard their narrative.

I don’t understand because I have never sought to understand the other positions, and because I am naive enough to apply my world view, to theirs.

Great solutions starts with understanding.

∴

It doesn’t matter the topic … gun control; global poverty; human rights; religion; overcrowded housing in Auckland; local crime; or even why your neighbour lives differently to you, if you don’t take the time to understand, you are a part of the problem.

My life is always richer, fuller and more collaborative when I seek to understand.

Changing the world, or even just one relationship, starts with understanding.

Two stories about being uncomfortable

8 June 2016 / Andrew

We were chatting with a friend last night who is doing a course in Distribution of all things. I say this purely because you wouldn’t have expected it. She was telling us how she is learning to drive a forklift and strap down a truck. She has also had to do numeracy & literacy assessments, that cause her to reach deep into the cobweb covered archives of her brain, and reignite her stored knowledge. And as she talks there is excitement in her voice. She is excited to be learning something new. Something outside her comfort zone.

At work at the moment we are going through the most significant and positive structural changes since I founded the company. I have a new role, as does Jim (we really needed to find him a new role after he gave his role as GM to someone else). Most of the leadership team are reporting to someone new. And a whole bunch of people are stepping up into new roles. People are nervous and excited. Terrified and ecstatic. Uncomfortable and challenged.

These two stories reminded me that growth is uncomfortable before it is rewarding.

Personal growth starts by getting uncomfortable.

∴

They call it a comfort zone for a reason. Because its comfortable.

But when you are learning and growing and stretching yourself … it’s never that comfortable.

Maybe it’s time you got outside of your comfort zone.

How to create space to think

2 June 2016 / Andrew

As I open the door and step across the threshold, I’m struck by the sweet aroma of fresh coffee. The warmth inside contrasts the crisp air outside, as does the bustle and noise of a busy café. I glance around the café and take comfort from the fact I see no-one I know.

I slide into a booth and my mind is ready. I’ve reached my liminal space.

A space for thought and focus and creativity.

It’s not a space for a catch-up (I only ever go there alone). It’s not a space for surfing the web or being connected. It’s not even a space where I engage with anyone. It is a space for thinking through one big thing at a time. It is a space where I break down a problem and mapping out a solutions.

This space is a place for threshold thinking. Taking old thinking and crossing the threshold into something new (the word liminal means threshold, in psychology it’s where the word subliminal derives.)

The reason I call this café my liminal space, is because I use the space to both trick and trigger my brain. By only ever doing creative thought at this café, I’ve made it really easy to think there.

When I slide into the booth, unpack my notebook or surface, I’m no longer drawn to read my email, and have little desire for social media, not because of my fantastic discipline, but because I have an internal narrative for this space. I have solved big problems in this space. I have built resolve for personal disciplines in this space.

Unique physical spaces, can trigger amazing changes in how we think.

∴

Over the years I’ve underestimated how incredibly important spaces are. Spaces, places, environments are important for setting the scene for physical, relational or mental outcomes.

Here’s some more ways we use spaces…

Dinner at the table: Causes our family to interact and engage more than we do on the couch watching TV.
Lunch at a café: Allows me to engage at a deeper personal level than I would in my office.
Walking meetings: Walking with people and chewing through big ideas provides for more open and reflective conversation.

And of course you can have negative spaces as well. Places where you are drawn away from who you want to be.

If you want to make some changes, sometimes you need to change your spaces.

What are your spaces? What outcomes do they drive in your life?

How to stop people thinking outside the box.

24 May 2016 / Andrew

You know when you repaint a room a different colour, and the first coat of the new fresh paint doesn’t look quite as you expected. You’re pretty sure it will be OK, but until you get the rest of the paint on you won’t know.

Last week, with our annual conference looming and our strategy so fresh I wasn’t sure how it would look, I decided I needed some icons/logos for our strategy.

I wanted something different, risky and evocative that would help my team grasp these new ideas.

I wanted hip.

I wanted fresh.

So, I set up a gig on a marketing design platform, so that I could get something completely new.

And I waited the 3 days … with anticipation… excited… and when the gig finally arrived it looked exactly like something we would do 🙁 … (even had our logo in it!)

Not hip. Not evocative. Not fresh.

Not usable.

The designer had given me exactly what I asked for, but nothing like what I wanted.

And it was my fault!

In my desire to give a full brief of the work, I had included links to our website and current values. This quest to be helpful created a box. A frame in which he would work. And that frame along with his desire to please, forced his design into a small box.

That small box killed creativity.

∴

We do this often as leaders.

Unknowingly, we over-define outcomes and rules and expectations. We frame tasks so strongly they force our team to work in boxes.

And then we wonder why people aren’t creative. Why they don’t think outside the box.

It’s easier for people to think outside the box, if the box doesn’t exist.

Getting past the first time

14 May 2016 / Andrew

The first time you …

… ride a bike,

… parallel park,

… write a blog,

… own a project,

… shape clay,

… read a non-fiction book,

… run 2km,

Is almost always the hardest.

That’s because learning to become a better version of you is risky and takes courage. You might fail.

Not a single person in the world, got better at something they never tried!

∴

Is there something you have always wanted to try? More importantly is there something you know you need to try?

Don’t let a moment of fear stop you, from embarking on a journey that could change your life.

Why memories exist in the now.

10 May 2016 / Andrew

Photo of actual sunset from the bridge.

And so it came to be that I was standing with my daughter on the walk bridge, in the now, watching as the sun slowly inched below the horizon. As twilight took hold a memory was locked away. A memory of being present, being here, being in the now.

And I could have missed it.

A few minutes earlier I had been driving home, noticing the sun as New Zealand rotated away from its radiant light. I decided to call my daughter and told her to meet me outside in a few minutes, and just minutes after that we watch the sun set for another day.

It was exciting.

Beautiful.

Memorable. (Memories are only made in the now!)

Fun.

And all it took was a simple choice, to disconnect and enjoy the moment. To be in the now.

∴

My mind is always active. It’s so active that often I miss what is happening around me.

I miss the smell of flowers as I enter the room.

I miss the popping sounds as I walk along an estuary.

I miss the opportunity to engage with the person in front of me because I’m thinking of what’s coming up.

I miss the now.

Do you?

One word that defines extraordinary leaders

1 May 2016 / Andrew

Some people are easy to follow. There is something about them that gives us belief in ourselves and a desire to follow them and make great things happen. Other people are harder to follow. Being around them, following them, can be draining and demoralising.

A few years ago I developed an acronym for what makes a successful and high performing leader. The second word into the acronym is one that sets apart extraordinary leaders from the rest. Its…

LEADERS are Energisers.

Meaning extraordinary leaders impart energy and vitality and spirit to the people they lead.

It’s not that they are the bubbliest person in the room, rather they bring and give energy to others. And being an energetic leaders seems to be powered by a bunch of other E words.

Leaders equip.

Encourage.

Engage.

Empower.

Empathise.

Enthuse.

Sometimes exhort.

And often entertain.

STOP – SLOWLY read the list again.

Does the list describe your leadership?

Whether its large groups or individual meetings. People want to follow a leader who gives them the energy to move forward.

∴

If you’re struggling with the way you lead at the moment, its maybe because your team aren’t energised by you. You aren’t giving them the energy and empowerment and engagement they need to move forward. To succeed.

And the hardest part of being an energiser … is trying to give energy when you don’t have any yourself.

Trust me I know.

I’ve been reminded this week personally of the importance of making sure my energy levels are high, so that I can lead my team well.

LEADERS are energisers.

Go, bring energy!

Bad systems, lead to bad customer experiences!

30 April 2016 / Andrew

I got grumpy with a Customer Service guy on the phone at Trustpower yesterday. I wanted someone to take ownership and they wouldn’t so I got annoyed at him. I wasn’t abusive, just frustrated and CEO type direct.

It got me precisely nowhere!

A few months back, I decided to move our home phone and broadband to Trustpower, to hook into the special deal they were promoting. All was going well until the day that Fibre was to be blown from the cabinet (a distribution box about 1km away) to our house. There was a break in the line and it couldn’t be completed. I was ok with that after chatting to the installer, as someone will sort it asap.

That was a month ago.

And each time I ring Trustpower, I’m told if it’s not fixed I need to ring them back.

So yesterday I asked the young guy if they could ring me back. I’m sick of following it up. I wanted someone there to take ownership. Trustpower keeps saying the problem is with the Fibre installer (who I can’t ring). I told him yesterday that I’m Trustpower’s customer and I want someone at their end to follow it up and ring me back. I said I wouldn’t have a business if I treated customers that way. He blamed their supplier.

The rant got me nowhere, other than making the guy think I was a dork.

The problem of course is not the guy on the phone.

The problem is Trustpower has no system. No way of following up to keep their customers informed if Fibre installs go badly.

Bad systems, lead to bad customer experiences.

∴

On reflection, what learning do I take out of my rant…

Firstly, I got grumpy, and it wasn’t worth it, and it wasn’t his fault. One of my missions in life as I grow older is to NOT become a grumpy old man. I loathe men who have forgotten what it is like to be young and make mistakes and push the extremes. I hate it when I forget that a person is an individual, caught behind a bad process.

If you’re the guy at Trustpower I spoke to, ‘I’m sorry’.

If you’re from Trustpower please, help fix the problem. “The ordinary wait for energy to do the work. The extraordinary do the work to get the energy.” Blatant quote from Trustpower.

Secondly, I was frustrated because I know that from time to time our customers will encounter similar frustrations, and I wouldn’t even know. There is indeed a massive difference between ‘ordinary’ and ‘extra-ordinary’, and I’m not sure we are working fast enough to put somethings right.

Author: Andrew (Page 5 of 43)

When to settle for good enough

∴

Will it matter in 5 years time?

∴

Why I don’t understand US politics, gun control and practically everything else.

∴

Two stories about being uncomfortable

∴

How to create space to think

∴

How to stop people thinking outside the box.

∴

Getting past the first time

∴

Why memories exist in the now.

∴

One word that defines extraordinary leaders

∴

Bad systems, lead to bad customer experiences!

∴

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