To be transparent, everything is a push right now. I am very busy – in a good way, and every part of life is challenging. ideaPraxy is evolving and growing in the direction of the vision I have for it… but slowly; slower than I want. Every task seems to take longer than I think it should, so I have to push. I like where things are going. I want them to go there, and I am trying to enjoy the process, but I don’t like every task on the list. I just don’t.
ideaPraxy is growing. We are excited to welcome Leslie Cline to our team. Leslie’s passion and experience has been in building high performing teams in the financial and professional services industries by blending strong leadership skills and strategic planning with a focus on implementation. Leslie has spent over 20 years in senior management and executive roles building marketing and business strategies in markets around the globe. “I am thrilled to be joining Cliff and the ideaPraxy team. They have a strong record of being catalysts for their clients by increasing growth and revenue”, says Leslie. “Making a difference is what matters.”
Even though I run a small business and consult on the highly linear topics of strategy and tactics, I am a creative. Although creativity enhances my abilities to contribute in problem solving and the aforementioned strategy and tactics, it can also manifest itself in me noticing every proverbial “squirrel” that runs by.
Sometimes the gap between where you are and where you want to be is large. It is comprised of several things: energy, knowledge, and perspective. But you have the most important ingredient – desire.
So how do you begin to bridge this gap? Sleep, learn, reflect and then take action! Let me unpack this.
One of the stories I tell over and over to anyone who will listen is one from my own journey, from my days as a financial planner.
I was young and awed by the barely older and widely successful financial planners speaking at the conferences I was going to. Then one fellow took the stage and uttered these encouraging words: “It’s not rocket science, I just do what so many others won’t. I make the call – in good or bad times, I email, I calendar, I do the little things; I show up.”
Who are they? They are your prospects and your past clients. They are your network and your industry contacts.
Often the challenge of a small business or even a leader in a large organization is that when business is booming, we gladly leave behind the “gruelling” task of relationship management. We don’t have time for that golf game or dinner event. We don’t drop a line or make a call for a few minutes to check in with someone.
A common theme I am seeing today in boards and charity executives is an insatiable desire to grow exponentially. With brave statements like, “If you are not growing you are dying!” Chairmen push CEOs to create budgets that represent 20 and 30% (or more) compounded growth with little to no logical strategic thinking backing the targets. It sounds great I suppose, until they fail miserably at attaining the number. Then, regardless of the good work being done, the CEO has failed and the feeling of failure, much like other substances, flows down through the organization.
As a musician I get a kick out of those who approach me and say, “I wish I could play and sing like you.” Invariably I respond with a simple answer. “Start, take lessons, look up how to play on YouTube for free, it’s all there for the taking.” There is some natural gifting required to truly master a skill, but like anything else in life it simply takes a lot of practice and hard work. But people often respond with an excuse: there’s no time, no natural talent, etc. I don’t buy it. There is usually a lack of either desire or humility to start from a place of beginnings. Everyone wants to be a pro without working at it.
One of the big dangers in leadership is being a fat-head. Literally being smart, well read, and even able to explain great leadership concepts to everyone else, but not ever get them out of your head and in to practice. Concepts that we have all learned from the likes of Daniel Goldman of Emotional Intelligence fame. His post on Linked-in here is interesting and a reminder of his book’s findings.
One of the most difficult tasks in leadership is to fire people. Senior leaders are among the few with the authority to do it but, sadly, few of them exercise that authority – often to the detriment of themselves and their organization.
