Winning Strategies

When Teamwork Suffers

When teamwork suffers, the whole organization that you work in suffers.  Your company is like a football team.  One person cannot win the game.  One person cannot get the ball all the way down the field.  It is a team sport.  Achieving results at work is a team sport.  Bad communication, mistreating teammates, and general bad behavior on the team will not move your organization further ahead.  It is short sided to continue to 'go it alone'.  Success will be found when you can marry the skills and resources across the team and 'IN COMBINATION' work TOGETHER to achieve the objectives.

Are there areas that you can improve the way you participate on the team?  What is holding you back from being a team player?  Is it fear?  It is busyness?  It is just a lack of communication?

Make a plan to redirect your efforts and focus towards your TEAM.  Your efforts will pay off and you will achieve a higher success rate.

Good luck.

Langkawi Malaysia Travel Destination

We are readying for a trip to Singapore and Maylasia.  In Maylasia, we plan to stay on the beaches of Langkawi. 

Langkawi Island is a member of a  large chain of 99 islands in the Andaman Sea, about 18 miles off the coast of northwest Malaysia. The islands are adjacent to the Thai border. By far the largest of the islands in the chain is Langkawi with a population of about 45000, the only other inhabited island is near Pulau Tuba.

It is exciting to think about escaping a bit of reality and delving into the culture, people, food, and tempo of a new place.  It is exhillerating to excape work and responsibilities and dive deep into the waters of life away from work and kids.

On our travels, we plan to spend a few days in Sinapore, exploring the land and culture, then travel by plane to Maylasia where we will soak in the sun on the beaches of Langkawi.  I don't leave for a week and a half, yet my suitcase is in the beginning stages of readiness and my mind is often drifting into dreamland.  I'm full of expectation and excitement as we think about the beginning of our journey.

Are you dreaming of vacation?  Nothing happens without a plan.  Make a plan, set a date, and begin to turn your dreams into a reality.  I know you can do it. 
 

 

Your Work Life is Like The Game of Survivor

Ever feel like people are trying to 'vote you off' the island? Have you made enough internal alliances to 'keep you safe'?

Your work life is a lot like the game of survivor. You spend a lot of time with the people you work with. Sometimes personalities clash. Sometimes there are people at work that you just don't like. Sometimes there are people that just don't like you. Nonetheless, you still have to make alliances, do the work at hand and persevere in whatever circumstance you are found in.

I meet people that have given up. You cannot 'give up' on your present job until you are laid off, fired, or 'voted off'. Just like the game of survivor, keep planning, keep working, keep strategizing, and don't give up hope until the final vote is cast.

Outlast. Outplay. Outwit.
 

A Plan for Your Career

I had the opportunity to attend a Women's breakfast this morning. The speaker talked about creating a plan for your career path. She suggested that your path doesn't happen just 'by chance'.

I whole heartedly agree. My career scaled faster and provided me more satisfaction and enjoyment when I did two things:

1) Figured out what my core strengths were and translated that into what I wanted to do and

2) Created a plan for my career.

First things first: what do you enjoy doing? What do you aspire to be/do? You can ask yourself this question at any age. What are your strengths? There are books and tools to figure it out if you don't already know (you should know!): http://www.strengthsfinder.com

Next: What do you want to be or do in your career? We get so caught up in titles and company names that we lose track of the real important things in life. I designed a plan that listed the 'types' of positions that gave me the hours, pay and flexibility that I desired. I did this however, 1/2 way into my plan. I had initially decided that I wanted to be CEO. I had the knowledge, political savy, and leadership skills. I had the experience and was on the CEO track. I added several CEOs to my networking groups. It is always good to get to know people in your 'target' positions.

I realized something very quickly. I did not want to be CEO of a health system. The hour demands and lifestyle required to maintain it wasn't appealing to me. I revised my plan to point towards positions that allowed me to work AND enjoy my family and my life in the way that I wanted to live my life. Remember- there are no right or wrong answers here. It is more preference and your inner desires.

Design the plan you'd like to follow. Life may take you in a different direction, but you will be moving forward with a full understanding of where you'd like to be.

And me? I love my current job. I wouldn't leave it for the world. I get to meet with health care executives and work to understand their dilemmas, providing solutions when I can. I get to speak to Womens groups and write books and this blog. What fun!

Unless of course you have an SVP of Cool --position open (yes- you read that right- SVP of Cool). I'd love the chance to lead innovation, social networking, and out-of-the-box idea creation for a big company trying to break away from the pack. I think in another 4-6 years positions like this will abound.

What do you dream of? Write it down and run after it.

 

 

Our 2 Hour Tour of San Fran: Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge

We were scheduled for a long layover in San Francisco on our way back to Dallas, so we decided to tour the city by car. Who says that a 2 1/2 hour tour can't be loads of fun? I think we should take whatever time, opportunities and resources we have to innovatively create experiences in life that we can enjoy. We should take every opportunity to 'stop and smell the roses'.

Our first stop is to ride over the Golden Gate Bridge. Stopping at the view point, we try unsuccessfully to see the bridge through the intense fog. Even without the full view, the view as we pass under it is exhilarating. We drive down a winding road to the quaint town of Sausalito. It is an appealing waterfront town full of little shops and restaurants. I make a mental note that I'd like to return here some day.

We continue our two hour tour and see an amazing view of Alcatraz. Veering back over the bridge we stop by Fishermans Warf and taste fresh crab, oyster stew, Fish sticks and shrimp cocktail. Yummy.

Jumping back in the car, we speed back to the airport. Our 2 1/2 hour tour of San Francisco was a blast. We originally thought- yuk- a long layover in San Fran. Then we turned our thoughts towards 'what would make this fabulous?'. Take something in your life this week that is awful and commit to making it fabulous. You own your path and your destination.

You can turn awful into fabulous.

Another Day in Paradise- San Diego

I awoke to another day in paradise. Ahhhhh- the beauty of waking up on the beach, a cool breeze gently blowing by, and the sun beginning to emit light across the fabulous ocean view. I stop to live in the moment and enjoy this period of time.

I let the scenery overtake me and wisk me away to the land of peace, quiet, and joy. I am living with 2 teenagers- so peace and quiet is a relatively rare occurrence. I try to find resolve to deal with life when it doesn't go exactly as we have planned.

Today the morning scenery took my breath away. I hope something takes your breath away this week.
 

San Diego Morning

Up early and off to Torrey Pines State Reserve to hike the trails and commune with nature. The beauty that surrounds us is breathtaking. We breath in a bountiful amount of fresh ocean air and stand in awe of the amazing scenery.

Sometimes a quick hike can relieve the tension that builds up in life. It can refresh you like a 'reset' button, starting over mentally and refuelling our empty tanks. Sometimes we need to stop and refresh. We often run our engines too long and too hard with no break.

I decided to quit blogging for Workbloom. There are only limited amounts of things we can do, limited amounts of time, and I decided to focus on kids, work, and speaking. Those things surely keep me plenty busy.

Take a break to refresh your mind and body. Try hitting reset.
 
 
 

Beach Cruisin

There is a reason they call them beach cruisers.

 

Beachin It- San Diego California

We head for the 'hills', or in this case San Diego. The splashing waves seem to hit the beach with force and energy, refurbishing our weary souls.

Sometimes life kicks your butt. Sometimes the pressures of work and bills and kids overwhelm us. We have run away to the beach for the weekend to refresh and renew. We intend to talk, to reconnect and to live life to its fullest. We intend to leave the worlds pressures behind us and spend two days resting, relaxing, and renewing. When was the last time you renewed your spirit?

 
 

Do you Hate Your Job? Marcus Buckingham can help....read on...

Ever find that you are stuck in a job that you hate and you don't understand why?  Oprah teamed up with Marcus Buckingham to provide you a free video series that goes through Marcus' Strengths teachings.  I have been talking about Finding Your Strengths in every speech I do.  I think this is an amazing way to re-discover a life that you enjoy living.

Watch the preview YouTube video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGpQxTYbPqU

Next Steps

Then commit to LOG ON and watch the Videos.  It WILL change the way you think and it WILL change your satisfaction with your job. 

Workshop:  http://www.oprah.com/money/Marcus-Buckinghams-Career-Intervention

Use the  workbook to aid you in your journey:  http://www.oprah.com/money/Your-Personal-Career-Workbook

 

Good Luck!