ME Time!

 

The number one resource a leader never has enough of is time. We’re so bad at managing it, which we don’t, by the way…manage time. Time manages itself. And it’s ruthless! It goes on with or without us. The best we can do sometimes is hang on. The key is to manage ourselves within the time we have. 

 

The critical time that we each/all have, but seldom manage as we should, is ME time. We’re brainwashed into thinking that serving others is the most important thing we can do in our lives, but if you don’t serve yourself first, you won’t be around to serve anyone.

 

As we approach telling the sun when to rise and set, think about investing time on YOU. ME time. But don’t fill that period, however long you make it, with as much as you possibly can. There’s no value in that. What you’ll probably neglect, in fact, I’ll bet that you will, is solitude time…REAL ME time. When you can just sit down and just be. Not do, just be.

 

I live in Colorado. I’m writing this at the end of October. Winter is coming. Like this morning. It’s snowing. I’m not excited about blowing the snow off my huge driveway, although I AM writing a book about that even as we speak, but I appreciate and love the solitude that falling snow provides. I call it God’s Voice. I’m an early bird. Up at 3:00 AM every day. My first task is to let my pups out to frolic in the snow and to do their business while I just enjoy the sound of God’s Voice. You really have to listen to receive the blessing. It’s wonderful. And it sets the rest of the day for me. I tend to be grateful even as I crank up my snow blower.  

 

We’re all going to be thinking about time this coming weekend. Think about making some for yourself. Not time for doing more, but for being more. Being more yourself. Make some ME time. Do it often. You’ll be better for it.

 

Until next time,

 

Be GREAT! You ARE!

 

HEIRPOWER!

bob vásquez!

How Far Have They Come?!

 

Danielle LaPorte has said, “Pull over to the side of your journey and look how far you’ve come.” I love that thought! Although we seldom do that.

 

I served (indirectly) under General Robert Rutherford while he was the Commander of Air Mobility Command. He used to go around his bases, checking on his people and his bases’ operations. He’d get to Base X and as he was being shown around would ask people, “How are things going?” Imagine that. A four-star commander asking how things are going. How do you answer that? “Great, General!” Regardless of the truth, you’d answer in that way. His follow-up question would hit people between the eyes. “How do you know?” Duh…crickets…bumfoozled looks…. What a powerful question when you’re striving to be your best, which most of us strive for, don’t we? I know I do.

 

Since realizing the value and importance of maintaining my physical fitness, I’ve continued to work out, on average, five days a week. That’s a lot for me! Not bragging, just providing a context for what I’m about to say. Working out gets more difficult as you age, or that’s what I hear. Part of the issue is, of course, physical. I can’t do what I used to do the way I used to do it. Then there’s the phycological. I’ve figured out what works for me to maintain a steady regimen and, so far, so good. I’m not sure how much I control my body, but I do seem to have more control of my mind. I have to psych myself to work out when I don’t want to. Experts say it’s about discipline. Okay, I’ll buy that, but discipline requires purpose. So, I’m wondering if measuring how much I’ve done, 40 minutes/2 miles/12 laps, what I call assessing progress, is more powerful than how much I have left to go, 10 more minutes/half a mile/3 laps? Okay, you’re wondering what all of this has to do with leading?

 

Do you encourage your followers to think about how far they’ve already gone, to assess their progress? How much improvement they’ve made? “I do that during our semi-annual feedback sessions,” you say. I’m not going to argue with you, but semi-annual leaves a long time in between. Imagine doing something to your very best ability every day, not knowing that it wasn’t good enough, or even the right way, until a few months later when that feedback session is required. You might have learned how to do that the wrong way because you’ve done it for so long. Maybe reminding your followers of how much they accomplish weekly, even daily, would be more powerful. Now, imagine your supervisor constantly reminding you how much progress you’re making and maybe even patting you on the back every time you progress to the next level. If that was me, I’d follow you anywhere.

 

I’ve studied and taught the art of goal setting for many years. My perspective, though, isn’t about goal setting, it’s about goal achievement! I have a list of goals. But there’s little value in that until I accomplish them. But when I DO accomplish them and take note of it, I’m energized to do even more. If you’re going to lead effectively it’s going to require that you constantly inspire your followers to grow continuously. And you can’t assess progress without some type of measure. Your effectiveness will grow as you encourage your followers to think about how far they’ve come! Try it! You’ll like it and so will they.

Until next time, Be GREAT! You ARE!

¡HEIRPOWER!

bob vásquez!

Delayed Gratification

 

The value of delayed gratification, basically, is that the journey, the work, is what’s more gratifying than the outcome. You’ve heard that before. Tennis great Arthur Ashe said, “Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome.” You may know it’s true if you’ve ever done anything really powerful in your life. 

 

    I’ve written a few books. (All on amazon.com, but I’m not pitching anything to you. Okay, I am. They’re actually pretty good.) I’m working on two books as we speak. It’s great to have the finished product in my hands, or on my Kindle, but what’s really gratifying, and memorable, is all the work I put into them. I can usually remember sitting here at my Mac capturing particular thoughts, especially the profound ones.

 

    The fun of leading is watching someone grow. The process. The path. It’s usually little steps at a time. I’ve been blessed, seeing thousands of future leaders grow continuously. They often don’t realize they’re growing, or how much. But I do. They all believe that they can be leaders now. They don’t know what they don’t know. One day they’ll understand that they had to do the work and they’ll be grateful that they did. Those of us who have already taken the road others are following know the value of each step and that the end result isn’t nearly as impressive as the journey.

 

  The power of leading often comes in doing what needs doing right now. Correcting, re-vectoring, encouraging, inspiring, have to be done immediately. Leaders are like a ship’s rudder, constantly making adjustments that guide the vessel in the direction it should go. Many of the future leaders I work with are youngsters, who, for the most part, aren’t willing to do the tough job of correcting their followers. I think it’s part of the world they came from. Effective Leaders know that if you let unacceptable things go, they may fester and become a problem in the near future. Often, they’re little things that become large problems if not dealt with directly and immediately.

 

    One of my favorite examples of the fun and power I’m talking about is in the last scene of the movie, Rudy, where Rudy is being carried off the football field. The camera cuts, for just a moment, to Rudy’s longtime mentor, Fortune, who is standing at the tunnel watching Rudy’s success. He punches his hand with pride knowing that he had something to do with that success, in particular, ensuring that Rudy did the work needed to enjoy the success he’s in the middle of. The daily grind of school and practice, the constant guiding and coaching, wasn’t easy, but it was worth it.

 

    There’s great strength in understanding the power of delaying gratification, but never abdicate the responsibility inherent in leading in the moment. When something needs doing better, when someone needs correcting, do it now! Those seemingly small things that you do now will add up to the end result. And you’ll appreciate them when success is finally in your hands.

 

Until next time, Be GREAT! You ARE!

 

¡HEIRPOWER!

 

bob vásquez!

Tell the Boss!

The term, “boss,” usually elicits negative images. That’s subjective. I’ve worked for a few good, and some GREAT, bosses. I prefer to view that term as a positive description of a leader. Your choice, of course.

 

Anyway, I had lunch with my daughter, Tesa, today. As I was sitting in her office, waiting for her to finish some last-minute tasks, her third-in-charge came by to introduce herself to me. By the way, Deb and I are very grateful and proud of our two daughters who have followed our footsteps in serving in the education business. Tesa is the Director of a child development center. I wouldn’t work in that place if you threatened to kill me! Not because it’s a toxic place to work, but the students are all four- and five-year-old munchkins! No way! I had enough of a challenge teaching the best college freshmen in the world.

 

Anyway, anyway, the young person who came into Tesa’s office to introduce herself just could not stop sharing her perspective about Tesa. She kept telling me how Tesa was the smartest person she’d ever worked with, how Tesa took care of her and the other thirty-plus teachers, how she was “The Bomb!” Tesa was almost embarrassed by all of the praise. I know that what the young lady said is so. And I take credit for having raised Tesa, with Deb’s help, of course. All of that to tell you this, which is a hugely important lesson.

 

Give your boss a pat on the back when you can and, especially, when she/he deserves it. She/he probably has a much bigger span of responsibility than you, and may work much harder than you, taking care of you in ways that you won’t, maybe can’t, see. There’s a whole lot of crap that goes with being the boss. Been there. Done that! And a good boss won’t let you know it. As an old deodorant commercial used to say, “Don’t ever let them see you sweat.” Whether or not that advice is still valid, plenty of bosses live by that. Yeah, yeah, being vulnerable is the word of the day. And, to be honest, it’s important. But, regardless, the boss deserves some thanks once in a while. We ALL do. Take a few minutes and tell your boss that, and what, you appreciate about him/her. It’ll make his/her day and will probably make you feel better too. There’s nothing wrong, and a lot right, with everyone feeling better. Try it, you’ll like it!

 

Until next time,

 

Be GREAT! You ARE!

 

HEIRPOWER!

 

bob vásquez!