Naked, Wet …and Getting an Education at “Shower University”

January 15, 2013 by

Shower UniversityFor more than a year now I haven’t had a commute. I don’t miss the commute, but recently I had a realization – a longing even, for something I did enjoy while commuting… listening to books. I used to read & listen, through an insane number of books and I loved it. Learning and growing is something core to my motivation. With no commute this last year, I have missed that aspect greatly.

In my own Ultimate Personal Success Plan, one of my goals is to read more, but I just have not found the time. No matter how much I finagle with my schedule, and no matter how early I got up, I just wasn’t been able to dedicate enough time. There is always something to fill the gap. That was until I created “Shower University,” oh yeah, things were changing now!

What I realized is that I have at least 30 minutes every day when I have down-time. This down-time was when I showered, got dressed, and groomed myself each day. I realized it was the perfect time to educate my mind, while my body was in autopilot. I came across the Water-Resistant iShower BT Shower Speaker and fell in LOVE WITH IT! It easily connects via Bluetooth to my phone, where I can stream all by Audible.com books. I also have a waterproof pad, similar to the Aqua Notes – Waterproof Notepad so I can jot down ideas or thoughts while I am learning.

The lesson in this is to look for efficiency in all you do and look for ways to be creative, or accomplish more in the “down times” of your day. Execution sometimes requires being creative with your time and resources. Learning and growing likewise might require creativity. So use your creativity to find time to learn and become a better leader. All great leaders are staunchly dedicated learners.

All great leaders are staunchly dedicated learners.” Tweet This!

Here are a few Audible.com offers I found. I’m a huge fan.

Special Offer – Get Your First 3 Months at Audible for $7.49/month!

Try Audible Now and Get A Free Audiobook Download with a 30 Day Trial. Choose from over 100,000 Titles.

Have you done anything to bring about more learning, growth, or greater execution in your life? Please share below.

Filed Under: Leadership Growth, Personal Leadership Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Are You Making Your Employees Stupid?

October 29, 2012 by

Stupid-LeadershipAccording to Merrill Lynch, “50% of employee skills become outdated in 3 to 5 years.” WOW, when I read this statistic, it really surprised me. Many leaders think that the experience of just doing the required work, day in and day out, is enough to keep their employees knowledgeable to optimally perform their duties. Unfortunately that is not true at all.

On the job training, meaning training that is acquired by just doing your job, interacting with clients, and talking with colleagues is hardly enough to create productive and engaged employees that are on the cutting edge of their disciplines. Many leaders and managers struggle with training programs because they are often tasked with reducing costs. So training programs are often the first to go.

Consider this though, according to a Saratoga Institute study, “Workers who have good training and professional development paths average 12% turnover; workers who don’t have learning and growth opportunities average 41% turnover.” That is not even the worst of it; consider additionally that the average cost of replacing an employee is 150% of their salary.

Those numbers mean that eliminating a training budget will probably cost you much more than you can save. To support that statement, Motorola has discovered that, “…for every $1 spent on training, there will be $30 in productivity gains in 3 years.” Why then would anyone cut training?

There is a lot of hidden meaning in these numbers that whisper of leadership, culture, productivity, cost savings, and innovation; but they all point to the fact that an organization will be less successful if they operate without formal training and coaching opportunities for their employees.

There are a lot of different training programs available that can train employees on a multitude of things, such as: Leadership, Execution, Productivity, Customer Service, Management, Teamwork, Collaboration, Innovation, Social Media, Financial Management, Technology, etc…

These programs are not always expensive and really could just involve reading a book in a quiet room of the office to hone a specific skill.

I challenge you, before the year is out, to put together a training program for next year, for your employees that will make them, and you, more successful in building the organization. Don’t make your employees “stupid” by failing to give them proper training.

Shameless plug, but if you are interested in execution and leadership training, be sure to check out all my programs that are half-off until the release of my book about execution.

Do you agree with these statistics about training programs? Please share your experience with training and development programs that you have experienced or implemented.

Filed Under: Leadership Growth Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Desire Success or Mediocrity? …It All Comes Down to GROWTH!

May 21, 2012 by

Leadership and Organizational GrowthI have been wanting to write this post for a while. I have said it many times in passing to individuals and in my writings, but I have never dedicated an article to it. Very few things boil my blood more than seeing business owners, or employees for that matter; that refuse to pick-up a book, read a blog post, or take a class to grow and learn how to be better. Better leaders, better followers, better innovators, better problem solvers, better marketers, better at anything and everything.

A couple months ago I was elated to receive an advanced copy of Great Leaders GROW – Becoming a Leader for Life, by Ken Blanchard and Mark Miller. I received the book and I exhaled and said “Finally.” Not only was this a book by one of my favorite authors, but it hit the nail on the head. I receive a lot of books to review, but I never write about a book that does not move me. This one did it.

In the introduction it reads, “We’re convinced, after more that seventy years of combined leadership, that the path to increased influence, impact, and leadership effectiveness is paved with personal growth.” I could not have said it better myself. As individuals, and especially leaders in an organization increase their personal growth, that increase of wisdom, knowledge, influence, and effectiveness will directly impact every level of an organization. A learning environment and a culture that epitomizes personal growth, is abundant in innovation an success.

Another point I love in the book, was early on and stated, “My capacity to learn determines my capacity to lead. If I stop learning, I stop leading.” Isn’t this true? Leaders that fail to grow, become stagnant. They fail to remain on the edge, fail to remain ahead of the pack. As more research and studies in psychology, human behavior, and social behavior are performed, leadership techniques and tools continue to advance. Ken and Mark leave a great question to ask yourselves, “Will you be a leader that tries to apply yesterday’s solutions to today’s problems?”

The need to continue growing is ever present in all areas of life as is so poignantly said in the book, “Growth is what separates living things from dying things. Organizations and people that are fully alive, GROW.” I have seen what a non-growing company and individuals look like and I have also seen what a growing one looks like. It is without a doubt the epitome of mediocrity vs success.

In my twitter profile I write that I am a “seeker of wisdom.” In the winding down pages of the book, my twitter bio became a lot more meaningful. “Wisdom is accumulated over months, years, and decades. You’ve got to stay with it. The pursuit of wisdom, like …other areas of growth, is never ending. Don’t try to rush it – and never stop seeking it.”

There is so much wisdom in the world. there is very little knowledge that cannot be learned. How to become better a spouse, a better father or mother, a better leader and among just a few of the important concepts that we should always seek greater wisdom. If you are not a reader or seeker of wisdom, I would challenge you to try change, to seek after knowledge that will make you better. Read Great Leaders GROW – Becoming a Leader for Life, by Ken Blanchard and Mark Miller, and then devour everything you can. Then put that wisdom to practice.

Filed Under: Leadership Growth Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,