Get in, get it done, get out

About a month back I had the chance to talk with one of the leading strength and conditioning coaches in the country – this guy is one of the best of the best.  He made a real interesting point – all of his training sessions are built around intense, game-like conditions.  Rarely does a workout last more than an hour.  If an athlete can accomplish it in 60 minutes, then don’t allow them to take 90 minutes to do it.  If I had to guess, I would imagine his opinion is in the majority for those in his field.

Makes me think a bit about corporate America today – it has been my experience, particularly in large organizations with many layers, that there tends to be a lot of “getting ready to get ready” – good quote from an old boss.

How many individuals look at their Outlook calendar and the day is covered with meetings and conference calls and by the end of the week you wonder what have you really accomplished.  You were no doubt very, very busy – but what did you accomplish?

How many of those calls and meetings could have been accomplished in a fraction of the time they took?  How many emails did you read that you were “CC”d on that really did not pertain to you at all, but you were obligated to read none the less?  You get where I am going….

Don’t get me wrong, I am not a Six-Sigma or Lean Organization expert, but my sense is that with a few minor tweaks here and there, you can really pick up productivity.  In the process, you may upset some of your friends that love to pontificate, but just consider that a friendly by-product!

Happy Thanksgiving to you….

JFK – the student athlete

We do not want our children to become a generation of spectators. Rather we want each of them to be a participant in the vigorous life.

John F. Kennedy

On the anniversary of his death, I want to take a moment to point out some of the athletic accomplishments of one our most famous presidents.

In fact, President Kennedy played 5 sports at the JV / Varsity levels at Harvard.  JV programs in the Ivy League are actually very respectable and require quite a bit of time and determination to participate in.  What’s maybe most impressive here is he did this all while suffering from Addison’s Disease.

Here is some more on President Kennedy here….

http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK+Library+and+Museum/Visit+the+Library+and+Museum/Museum+Exhibits/Sports+Exhibit.htm

Block and tackle

We have all heard the term – block and tackle.  Stick to the basics and deliver results.  Great phrase – yet not that easy when it gets down to it.

Staying disciplined and delivering against expectations consistently is arguably the most challenging thing to do in business.  Yet in these challenging economic times, it is what often sets apart the winners from the losers.

Don’t get me wrong, I love brainstorming ideas on business strategy and discussing “out of the box” business ideas – and I believe these very things are an integral part of the growth of any business.

That being said, I often think about Rick Pitino’s book “Success is a Choice.”  In the book Pitino talks about earning the right to succeed…Success comes to those who stay disciplined and focused.  In business terms, make sure you have delivered on your results before you allow your self to stray and day dream on how to make the “business better.”  When you do this, I believe two things will happen:

1. You will feel a sense of accomplishment because you delivered against expectations.
2. Your level of credibility will rise in the eyes of your peers as you have found the appropriate balance between taking care of the business at hand and planning for the business of the future.

 

Conditioning

I was at the Duke / Miami Ohio game last night – really great seats, practically on the court.  My friend and I both commented on how well conditioned both teams looked last night, in particular Duke.  Their motors were running hard all game.

I think there is a common misconception that professional work is tied only to one’s mental abilities.  After many long nights, early mornings, long days and even weeks of travel, there is clearly a physical component to work as well.

I am sure this is tough to quantify.  That said, my guess is physical conditioning is one factor of many that helps student athletes excel in the workforce.

 

Distraction versus Focus

Ever get distracted?  Thought so…wouldn’t be human if you didn’t.

Now think of the incredibly successful individual.  What makes them different?

I am not an expert here, but it has been my experience that the truly successful individual – sports, business and life – are focused.  They have that uncanny ability to push away all of the noise and focus on the job at hand.

What’s interesting here is that we all get distractions – some of them larger than others (think of the Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings here). Regardless of the level of distraction, I am willing to bet that when you break each situation down to an elemental level, distraction versus focus is a major contributor to the difference between success and failure.

 

What time is it?

I have a friend of mine that helps to run a leadership program for high potential employees at a leading IT healthcare firm.  It is really a first class operation and each individual that graduates from the program finds themselves on the fast track…

One of the messages the graduates are sent away with is how will they manage themselves going forward.  Specifically, to progress through the program, these folks have spent countless hours in addition to their typical work day to graduate from the program.

Now they are graduating, the question is simple – what are you going to do with all of your new found time?

Many individuals remark that going through the demands of the program make them that much more disciplined, efficient and focused in the workplace.  They feel like they are ready to take on more challenges!  Not a bad outcome, right?

So here is the parallel to athletics….

Our firm, Game Theory has the chance to work with student athletes around the country – one consistent theme across the board no matter which school, which sport, which conference – all of the student athletes we work with are busy – very, very busy.  Class, studies, practice, meetings, travel, games – it really adds up.

Yet each of them strive to achieve on the athletic field and in the classroom.  Many of them find the time to go above and beyond and excel in internships and community service as well.

To tie this together, when employers ask me “why do you advocate for student athletes?”  I like to share stories such as this.  In the employment ranks, we hear what separates the good from the great is their discipline and focus.  From our experiences, student athletes have a four-year jump-start on that learning curve (before they even enter the workforce).

The election – just a thought

Election day has come and gone – congratulations to all of those candidates yesterday…regardless of the outcome, it takes courage to do what you did.

This is not a commentary on how candidates handled themselves during the election – rather that they extended themselves in the first place.  Here is one of my favorite quotes from one of America’s favorite sons….

“Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure… than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.”

Teddy Roosevelt

Airing out employee challenges

Much has been made about the recent negative public comments by a few NFL coaches about their players.  I hear a consistent theme about how these types of comments can “break-up” a locker room.  I trust these analysts as they are former coaches and players and have lived through those experiences.

I thought about how this also plays out in a corporate environment – when manager’s make an employee’s performance (or lack there of) public knowledge.  The results are not so different – you quickly can see how the individuals in an organization begin to favor / disfavor the individual.

My sense is these situations are very situational and it is almost impossible to pick out one scenario and judge it broadly.  That said, I do believe there are ways to handle things and usually the last resort is to handle them publicly.

The real study here might not be on the player or the employee, but rather the manager.  What was the motivation to take things public? If you look back and study those coaches whom have taken “situations” public, my guess is you will find a team that is tracking for a losing season…just a guess.