Well I don’t always do a very good job of this at all.  In fact, I have so many fingers in so many pies that I often lose sight of what I am really trying to achieve. So starting at the beginning of this year (and no it isn’t a New Year’s Resolution just good timing), I am going stop running on a treadmill – no not literally and use my time a little more wisely.  This means that a couple of blogs – including Eclectic Change will lie dormant for a while.  I will let you know when “I am back”.

Earlier this month Tony Schwartz wrote an interesting HBR blog post Happiness Is Overrated. It certainly stirred up a lot of emotions in the comments.  Initially, I was inclined to disagree with Tony, but he was making some valuable observations.  As I have grown older I also discovered these truths for myself.  For the past five years I have never been happier or more frustrated.  Being happy takes hard work! It means doing the right thing each and every moment – an impossible task. It means doing what needs to be done even when you don’t want to do it but you do it because it needs doing. It means (unfortunately) not being first in your own life. Maybe happiness is overrated after all. But maybe experiencing happiness, the right kind of happiness is a message. A message that in that moment, you know what you do is important.

Happiness is about the little things we do everyday. I have been completely unable to find the source of this video and I would love to give attribution.  Take a few minutes to enjoy.

It has been a few months since I posted a past article by my guest contributor Marion Franklin.  It is now truly the end of summer and most of us are back into our old, stale routines.  Perhaps this article will spur you on to new horizons.  You can find more in Marion’s ezine full of great stuff. Her contact information is below.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Lone Cow

by Marion Franklin, MCC

Marion Franklin, MS, MCC
http://www.lifecoachinggroup.com
ICF approved Laser Coaching Intensive 12 week program
ICF approved Mentor Coaching Groups

While I was sitting at breakfast this morning, I noticed the book title that my 7 yr old was reading, TreeTops Stage 13 “The Personality Potion” (If you know the scholastic series, you will know that I am boasting because Stage 13 is for 9 to 10 year old.) It was evident to me that here was a blog post if I ever saw one.  So after every one had left for school and work, I sat down to read this delightful book by Alan MacDonald.

The story is about a young boy Danny who is very introverted.  He is afraid of the school bully and afraid to try out for the school play. His uncle gives hims a magic potion.

‘Personality Potion?’ Danny’s eyes widened. ‘What’s that?’
‘It brings out the hidden talents that no one know are inside you.”

Turns out that after taking the potion, Danny is able to stand up to the bully.  Even though he drops the bottle with the potion in it, Danny successfully auditions for the school play.  While there are a number of lessons in the short book, the obvious one is about believing in oneself.  I could delve into the concept of the Pygmalion Effect or the power of affirmations, but I won’t.  The suggestions in the book for a parent to discuss with his or her child are far more potent.

After reading

• Read page 54 again together.  Ask your child if they think the story could happen in real life and if someone could change their personality by believing in him or herself.
• Talk together about any hidden talents your child things they might have and how they can use them.

As  coach, we are always asking our clients about limiting beliefs.  As a leader, we are always looking to uncover the talents and potential of those who work with and for us.

Questions: Do you think people can change?  Really?  If yes, how do you support this shift?

Awareness and knowledge are the first steps in a person’s ability to make choices of any kind.  Inpartial assessments can be a good place to start.  However, wanting to change and know how to go about your development may require a different skill set.  Just as parent is there to support and guide children, adults may need a mentor or coach to facilitate the process.

If you are interested in using assessments to uncover your own hidden talents or to use them with your clients / team, please contact me.  I offer a variety of instruments through AssessYourself or can recommend one to you.  More information can be found at: Assessments Here

Life is full of chores and too many little things to do .  There is a new service in town that I read about in Fact Company and I am on my second month of giving them a go.  In principle – this is a fantastic concept and service.  Fancy Hands call themselves personal assistants in the clouds and describe themselves as:

Every day there are things you need to get done, but they’re not necessarily things that you need to do. Just email us and we’ll take care of it.

Sounds even better than a virtual assistant.  I am not being modest here – I am very good at researching and finding things on the Internet.  If only I had the time – which is why, despite my research skills, I thought Fancy Hands could save me time.  So far I am not convinced — not to say this isn’t a great idea or service.  I will give it another month and will certainly recommend it to people who are terrible at researching.  It is worth the $30 investment for you to find out if it will be of benefit to you.

Do you know what your time is worth?

Time is money. Right?  So do you know if this is a worthwhile investment or not?  Check out this post in Small Business Trends.

Here is how I am using Fancy Hands.  If I think the task will take me more than 10 minutes and it is easy to write up the email – I will send it along. Sometimes they give provide an answer that is not really what I asked.  I usually find that what comes back is only a starting point for me.  Then I have to let my right brain kick in to think of a source they haven’t tried.

Here is a good example.

Let me begin by clarifying that what I was looking for in this request required going to sites in French.  Now, Fancy Hands does not have people who speak other languages although they are planning on expanding.  But my French isn’t very good either – which is why we have Google translation or other “one button” services.

I needed to find a place that would board my cat for 10 days in Paris.  I knew that this was actually going to be harder that it might seem.  House visits are common but boarding is not. My first “answer” gave me two cat sitting not boarding services.  The next email gave me four kennels that took dogs not cats and one possible place for cats.  I started my own search and confirmed what they had found in one minute.  However, I decided to be a little more creative and even without French, in 5 more minutes I came up with some addresses.  Two options had websites, rates and one was even in English.  The trick?  I made the connection that I needed boarding due to my upcoming move – so I looked for Expat Services or Groups with Bulletin Boards and searched their data base.  The two places are actually in the far suburbs of Paris .

Perhaps they should hire me and the Leadership Lessons

• Make sure your strategies are working.
• Don’t waste your time doing it over again.
• Be sure you delegate to the right person.

Credit where credit is due: I did have another question a few weeks back and it seems I got someone who may have had some French.  Even thought she claimed her French was rusty, she was able to come up with three resources that I found very useful.

FANCY-PANTS* Definition: Overly elaborate, swanky or pretentious – especially of dress.  Also applied to people who act in that manner.

*Origins: An American phrase – which is no big surprise as it derives from the American usage of pants to mean trousers. The first reference to the term in print is in an advert in the Maine newspaper The Bangor Daily Whig And Courier, in October 1843. In that, a company of auctioneers called Williams and Prince advertised the sale of “Fancy Pants – Cassimere”. That clearly refers to pants that were fancy. Cassimere was a type of soft closely woolen twill cloth. Not especially fancy by later standards but quite exotic for Bangor in the 1840s.

I have only begun to analyze all my data but the answer that is showing up for “What is the opposite of success?” is amazingly consistent.  Apart from a few unique responses a common theme one would expect shows up: Failure.  30% used this word precisely and many others had a similar meaning.

What does this tell us? Success is still in many of our minds a goal driven process even though many of the definitions were more about a person’s journey than the end result.  I can’t help but wonder how much our definition of success that we imagine we would like it to be contrasted to what we really “believe”?  Feelings associated with not achieving success that were expressed included:

• stress
• loneliness
• confusion
• disappointment
• emptiness
• negativity
• envy
• boredom
• apathy
• lack of energy
• misery
• depression
• frustration
• resignation
• dependence
• fear
• lack of confidence
• fragmentation
• suffering
• anxiety
• regret

It either is or isn’t.  However, there are still some of us out there full of unbridled optimism who told me that the opposite of success is:

• opportunity for success
• a learning opportunity
• partial achievement
• chance to move in another direction
• learning experiences

The answers above indicate that success was not seen as being on a continuum. So you see it as a continuum? The diagram above would suggest that success is when we are in flow.  A few respondents clearly stated that there was no opposite. As we all know, our answers are influenced by the questions. It might be interesting to speculate how many would have agreed that there was no opposite if I had asked:  “Is there an opposite of success?”

Whether you see it as failure or not the good news is that the average rating of people see at reaching their personal definition of success is 75%.

Luck?  That’s a story for another day.

OK, I admit it.  I have this love  hate relationship with Marshall Goldsmith.  I have written about it before on more professional level and while I would love to write Marshall off for some little insignificant thing he has done or written that irritates me,  he continues to get it right.  (I feel that I can use his first name as we have corresponded)  Clearly, he speaks to my shadow side and I  must have (and I say this begrudgingly) I have something to learn from him. By the way, you can get lots of good free resources from his site.

In February 2010,  Goldsmith will release his next major work, Mojo: How to Get It, How to Keep It, How to Get It Back if You Lose It .  The book challenges our previous understanding of how to succeed – as leaders, people, and organizations.

This promo video is an advertisement for an upcoming Webinar that is being sponsors.  However, the last minute, Marshall clearly states what is quite evident in the research data that I have so far collected . . . “Success comes from the inside.”

??

The definitions that are coming in are unique, enlightening, inspiring, funny and heart felt.  I look forward to sharing them with you.  However, they all most all have that one thing Marshall comments on above – the definitions of success come from within.

The survey will remain open for at least another week.  I hope you will Tweet using the link above. Your support is greatly appreciated. Results will be posted here on my blog and through Twitter and LinkedIn.

It may be the secret to your life if you can answer this question.

I have begun some research for my contribution to a new book and I could really use your help.  Success is one of those interesting concepts.  Like beauty it is in the eye of the beholder. It is not so much an end result as a value judgment of who one wants to be.  Therefore it is different for every person.

There are four overall objectives, two of which make it quite unique:

1. How do people define success (for themselves personally)?
2. How does age influence how we see success?
3. Is there a difference between those that use social networks and those that don’t?
4. Is there any correlation between “personality types” and how they define success?

Question 4 will be addressed in an optional section at the end of the survey for those respondents who are familiar with the five personality systems being used.

I am also collecting data three ways:

1. Through Social Networks directly   – if you use  Twitter, the definition has to be 140 characters or less.  Please RT @robertahill and add #success (in case the first gets dropped)
2. Via comments and discussions below – so please join the dialogue.
3. A more in depth survey which I really hope many of you will take by clicking the link below:

??

I hope you will Retweet and pass this link along to others. Your support is greatly appreciated. Results will be posted here on my blog and through Twitter and LinkedIn

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This survey will remain open until at least Feb. 5th.

Update Evening,Jan 25th:

Thanks to early responders, fix a typo AND put in additional theme that somehow was missed while entering the choices.

Update Jan 26th:

The survey has an optional area for you to add your name and email should you want to retain credit for anything you write OR if you would like me to get in contact with you. NO emails will be published or shared.  There is no link referral mechanisms - so unless you provide your info, it is completely anonymous.

Respondents are slowly coming in via all sources. Thanks for putting the word out.

Update Jan 29th:

I have not determined how I will use the data. Naturally, all written comments would be quoted directly – with or without attributions depending on what respondents have indicated.  My intention was not to offend by using the statement “relinquish of rights.  I simply wanted to be sure that I had permission without having to negate confidentiality.  Rather, I wanted to ensure that the data – even if anonymous was not used with consent.  Hence the opt out section. I hope I have clarified my intentions by making some additions.

Someone pointed out that the survey takes much more than 3 – 5 minutes.  I must have under estimated and apologize for those that felt I was misleading. I have adjusted the intro accordingly.

You may think economics is beyond you. I know I thought that I really understood it but Economics turns out to have been the only subject that I nearly failed in grad school. Why? I still don’t have an answer to that question, but this video may help you understand economics in a new light.

Robert Shiller is the Arthur M. Okun Professor of Economics at Yale University. In this 7 minute video interview from the McKinsey Qurterly, he describes the role played in our economy by “animal spirits,” the subject of his new book written with George A. Akerlof, the Koshland Professor of Economics at the University of California, Berkeley. The text below is adapted from Animal Spirits.

Adam Smith saw that human beings rationally pursue their economic interests, and his economic theories explain what happens when they do. But they are also guided by noneconomic motives—“animal spirits”—which Adam Smith and his followers largely ignore. Sometimes people are irrational, wrong, shortsighted, or evil; sometimes they act for action’s sake; and sometimes they uphold noneconomic values like fairness, honor, or righteousness.

The research is pretty clear. We make totally irrational emotional decisions about almost everything – unless it is insignificant and then we let logic rule. However, once we have made that instant emotional response, we let our minds believe it is analytical and devise reasons to “make it so”. (While a google search will come up with a number of articles on this, I am still trying to locate the source that I prefer to reference.)

Theoretical economists who struggle to understand how people handle uncertainty seem to be converging on behavioral economics. Jack: Straight from the Gut, the title of the autobiography of former GE chairman Jack Welch, sums up this reality: investment decisions are intuitive, not analytical. Intuition, a social process, follows the laws of psychology—indeed, of social psychology. Asking why capital expenditure fluctuates from year to year is a bit like asking why beer consumption fluctuates from one poker party to another.

What all this got to do with Eclectic and Sustainable Change?

We talk about planning change as if we can take into account all the facors. Even if we could anticipate all the possble logical and some of the emotional reactons and develop contingency plans, it may be a futile effort”. (This following in fact not the original quote from To A Mouse by Robbie Burns but the colloquial phase. The proper verse can be listened to by clicking this link.)

The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.

Even we really want to see meaningful change we had better start figuring ways to tap unto the human spirit and passion through genuine engagement.

What struck me most about the interview of CEO Richard Anderson was his answer to the first question.

Q. What was the most important leadership lesson you learned?

A. I’ve learned to be patient and not lose my temper.

Patience I have learned over the past five years is my biggest developmental need.  (Such a nice way of putting that I too impatient and easily I loose my temper at my children.)

A colleague, CJ got around to blogging about this this interview and it is always interesting to see the different points that strike us differently.  Patience stood out for me but we did share some other similarities.

I don’t think PowerPoints help people think as clearly as they should because you don’t have to put a complete thought in place.  You can just put a phrase with a bullet in front of it. And it doesn’t have a subject, a verb and an object, so you aren’t expressing complete thoughts.

The higher someone rises in an organization, the more important their intangible qualities become, suggests Delta Air Lines CEO Richard Anderson in an in-depth interview (by Adam Bryant of the New York Times) on the unquantifiable aspects of human capital. How Anderson conducts interviews and what he is looking for is particularly insightful.  While his approach is different, for him some of the key elements he is striving to elicit are:

• a really strong set of values
• a really good work ethic
• adaptability to change
• ability to get along well with people
• a team player
• ability to motivate people