I was quoted in the Globe and Mail yesterday:
"The importance of the unimportant: Jim Estill, CEO of SYNNEX Canada, wonders why he is bothering to refine his systems for handling unimportant tasks rather than ignoring them. The answer: Sometimes because for others it is important, and sometimes because there is something important buried within the unimportant."
Also had a good plug on Blog Guelph on my Time Leadership eBook.
So blog traffic should be up.
My brother Glen had a full page story in the Report on Business Magazine. While searching for the URL for that I notice he was also quoted in Business Edge. He was also interviewed on the BBC.
My youngest brother Lyle has always been a genius at getting press.
Mark by older brother (sorry no hot link as he has no blog which is surprising since he has a degree in journalism and worked as a news reporter for 10 years) does not strive for press.
Not sure why I am thinking about press lately. I do know that people are influenced by press. Influence helps us to shape our world. It increases profile which helps people get things done.
Profile does have its challenges. People sometimes expect the super human. (I sometimes even expect that of myself). It is tough to be "just Jim". People always expect the profound. In his book "">Purpose - The Starting Point of Great Companies" by Nikos Mourkogiannis he writes:
"Another attitude I had to confront, again and again was magical thinking. Many people, consciously or not, grow up looking to someone greater than themselves - a father or mother figure with perceived magical powers - to step in and solve major problems."
Off to see if I can be magical today.
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Lazy weekend and Doubling Your personal Effectiveness
Lazy weekend. I had intended to run the Horror Hill 15K but the weather was miserable so I did not. I did run 16K on Sunday in 83:20 so that sort of makes up for it but it was not a race. I even slept for the extra hour of time savings. I did go to a meeting with my credit group on Saturday for a while. Also cleaned my car and den which both needed attention.
I am behind in posting my book reviews.
I read a classic self-development book called, Super Self Doubling Your Personal Effectiveness by Charles J. Givens. Charles is one of the long-time motivational speakers and rags to riches type person that people like to read about. Often I find these people to be somewhat shallow but the basic message is right. And of course, I want to doubling of personal effectiveness.
In the book he shares a number of success strategies. The first one is to learn from the experience of others rather than your own. In my opinion, this is true wisdom and this is something that I still seek.
Charles Givens' outline is very basic and is what you would see in almost any self-help book:
Have dreams and goals.
Develop strategies to achieve these (I always thought the difference between dreams and goals is that goals were dreams with action).
Practise – consciously and continuously apply the strategies at every opportunity.
Habits – as I have often said before, we become what we repeatedly do.
Results, with these new skills and abilities, you will achieve results.
I would not make it as linear as that, I would make it into a circle. As results start to happen, then new dreams and goals need to be set.
Overall this is a great book and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in improving themselves and achieving goals in life.
I am behind in posting my book reviews.
I read a classic self-development book called, Super Self Doubling Your Personal Effectiveness by Charles J. Givens. Charles is one of the long-time motivational speakers and rags to riches type person that people like to read about. Often I find these people to be somewhat shallow but the basic message is right. And of course, I want to doubling of personal effectiveness.
In the book he shares a number of success strategies. The first one is to learn from the experience of others rather than your own. In my opinion, this is true wisdom and this is something that I still seek.
Charles Givens' outline is very basic and is what you would see in almost any self-help book:
Have dreams and goals.
Develop strategies to achieve these (I always thought the difference between dreams and goals is that goals were dreams with action).
Practise – consciously and continuously apply the strategies at every opportunity.
Habits – as I have often said before, we become what we repeatedly do.
Results, with these new skills and abilities, you will achieve results.
I would not make it as linear as that, I would make it into a circle. As results start to happen, then new dreams and goals need to be set.
Overall this is a great book and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in improving themselves and achieving goals in life.
Friday, October 27, 2006
Blogs as Media and Tim Connor's books
Blogs are a type of media or press. The challenge, like all media is getting and keeping readership. The most effective way to do this is to get the blog mentioned in other media.
I have recently been quoted in the KW record. One of my lawyers, David Petras, wrote an article on blogging.
Edge Magazine also printed a full page story about my eBook.
Tim Connor was good enough to send me a couple of his books.
Tim's books are fairly short and very easy to read.
Tim has been a motivational speaker for years and although I have never heard him, from what I see of his material, he looks to be one of the more prolific and certainly understands human psychology and self-development.
One of the books was called, Nit-pickers, Naggers and Tyrants Turn Them Off or Tune Them Out - How to take BACK control of your life and re-awaken the real you.
The gist of this book is if you understand who you are and understand that it your choice to react the way you do that you can take control of your life. I totally agree with the premise of the book.
I know that this is always easier said then done. The gist of the message is it is not what the world does to you; it is how you choose to interpret what happens.
He does have a number of practical suggestions that are helpful.
The second book that he sent was called, You Call That $elling - 91 Dumb Things Salespeople Say and do to Sabotage Their Success - Plus 91 Smart Things to do Instead.
What I like about this easy and fast to read book is each one of the suggestions can be read one at a time. It does not have to be read cover to cover like a book.
Of course, me being a positive guy, I would have preferred for it to be the other way around, but I suppose negative titles sell better than positive ones.
A sample of one of his dumb things is #86 - Failing to Improve Everday, in that he talks about how sales are becoming more and more competitive. In order to remain competitive, you need to keep learning. (I am big on this.)
Of course this is an easy one to solve, spend time everyday improving your skills and attitude.
I have recently been quoted in the KW record. One of my lawyers, David Petras, wrote an article on blogging.
Edge Magazine also printed a full page story about my eBook.
Tim Connor was good enough to send me a couple of his books.
Tim's books are fairly short and very easy to read.
Tim has been a motivational speaker for years and although I have never heard him, from what I see of his material, he looks to be one of the more prolific and certainly understands human psychology and self-development.
One of the books was called, Nit-pickers, Naggers and Tyrants Turn Them Off or Tune Them Out - How to take BACK control of your life and re-awaken the real you.
The gist of this book is if you understand who you are and understand that it your choice to react the way you do that you can take control of your life. I totally agree with the premise of the book.
I know that this is always easier said then done. The gist of the message is it is not what the world does to you; it is how you choose to interpret what happens.
He does have a number of practical suggestions that are helpful.
The second book that he sent was called, You Call That $elling - 91 Dumb Things Salespeople Say and do to Sabotage Their Success - Plus 91 Smart Things to do Instead.
What I like about this easy and fast to read book is each one of the suggestions can be read one at a time. It does not have to be read cover to cover like a book.
Of course, me being a positive guy, I would have preferred for it to be the other way around, but I suppose negative titles sell better than positive ones.
A sample of one of his dumb things is #86 - Failing to Improve Everday, in that he talks about how sales are becoming more and more competitive. In order to remain competitive, you need to keep learning. (I am big on this.)
Of course this is an easy one to solve, spend time everyday improving your skills and attitude.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Sample Chapter from my Time Leadership eBook
I've just published a new Time Leadership eBook, which you can now purchase online. My previous Time Leadership Audio CD is also available.
Here's a free sample chapter for you:
Why have a To Do List?
In the most basic sense, a To Do list keeps track of tasks at hand and helps you prioritize your commitments and tasks.
A To Do list makes you reliable; if an item is on the To Do list then it will not be overlooked or ignored.
You will be able to determine your workload and scheduling with a To Do list. If someone asks you to do something, you can look at your To Do list and easily ascertain if you are available or not. The answer might be, “Sure, I will be able to get to that later this afternoon,” or it might be, “I’m very busy this week and won’t be able to get to that until next Wednesday.” Regardless of your answer, a To Do list allows you to be honest with yourself and with others about your commitments.
To Do List Hints
An action item is something that you can accomplish immediately. If you have a large task on your To Do list, you can write down your first step to the completion of that task. This first step is your action-item. As with goal-setting, breaking down a task into smaller parts helps you reach your objective. Often, the first step to completing a task is simply to think about how you will go about the job, and considering the first action-item will lead to beginning the task, which is the first step to finishing a task. This powerful To Do list hint has helped me accomplish many more things.
Write down the time it will take to complete a task next to the task. One advantage of this is that you will always know your workload. I might have 200 hours of To Do’s to complete in the next few weeks so know I cannot take more on. I am jumping ahead a bit but one time tip is to focus on one task at a time. Sometimes I have only 15 minutes so can choose a 15 minute task to complete. Over time, it has become a game I play with myself to see if I can beat the allotted time.
To Do List Traps
Some people come up with an overwhelming To Do list. If you have too many things on your list, then you will not be able to accomplish any of them because all of the small things that jostle for your attention. The simple solution to this problem is to take a blank piece of paper, write your top three or four things that you are going to work on for the day. This Today list helps keep your desk and mind uncluttered so you can better focus on your listed priorities.
Another trap is over-listing: listing things that shouldn’t be on the To Do list, or even putting things on the To Do list after the fact so you can cross it off. Over-listing leads to over-planning and can be a waste of time and resources: you can never plan for every contingency, so stick with what you know needs to be done, and adjust things when necessary. It is not productive for you to write down items on your To Do list simply to cross them off, so break that habit right now.
The Magical To-Do List
Mary LoVerde created the concept of the Magical To Do list. On this list, you start by dividing your page in half vertically. On the left side, you write only the things that absolutely must get done today. This does not include the things that you want to do, or the things that you have to do at some point this week. She stresses that it is important to be realistic and only put down a few items (this list should be a fraction of the normal list that you normally write: that list that could only accomplish if you worked for two weeks without sleeping).
In the right column, you write down the other things that you want to happen. This is your magical column. You will put them down and ask for magic help getting these tasks done. More often than not, those tasks get accomplished without even any attention from you.
Once you have your magical To Do list, then transfer your regular To Do items over as well. You will probably want some extra help with these ones because often they are the most important.
This is a perfect example of distilling your To Do list to manageable proportions, and keeping a positive attitude that keeps you open to possibilities.
Here's a free sample chapter for you:
Why have a To Do List?
In the most basic sense, a To Do list keeps track of tasks at hand and helps you prioritize your commitments and tasks.
A To Do list makes you reliable; if an item is on the To Do list then it will not be overlooked or ignored.
You will be able to determine your workload and scheduling with a To Do list. If someone asks you to do something, you can look at your To Do list and easily ascertain if you are available or not. The answer might be, “Sure, I will be able to get to that later this afternoon,” or it might be, “I’m very busy this week and won’t be able to get to that until next Wednesday.” Regardless of your answer, a To Do list allows you to be honest with yourself and with others about your commitments.
To Do List Hints
An action item is something that you can accomplish immediately. If you have a large task on your To Do list, you can write down your first step to the completion of that task. This first step is your action-item. As with goal-setting, breaking down a task into smaller parts helps you reach your objective. Often, the first step to completing a task is simply to think about how you will go about the job, and considering the first action-item will lead to beginning the task, which is the first step to finishing a task. This powerful To Do list hint has helped me accomplish many more things.
Write down the time it will take to complete a task next to the task. One advantage of this is that you will always know your workload. I might have 200 hours of To Do’s to complete in the next few weeks so know I cannot take more on. I am jumping ahead a bit but one time tip is to focus on one task at a time. Sometimes I have only 15 minutes so can choose a 15 minute task to complete. Over time, it has become a game I play with myself to see if I can beat the allotted time.
To Do List Traps
Some people come up with an overwhelming To Do list. If you have too many things on your list, then you will not be able to accomplish any of them because all of the small things that jostle for your attention. The simple solution to this problem is to take a blank piece of paper, write your top three or four things that you are going to work on for the day. This Today list helps keep your desk and mind uncluttered so you can better focus on your listed priorities.
Another trap is over-listing: listing things that shouldn’t be on the To Do list, or even putting things on the To Do list after the fact so you can cross it off. Over-listing leads to over-planning and can be a waste of time and resources: you can never plan for every contingency, so stick with what you know needs to be done, and adjust things when necessary. It is not productive for you to write down items on your To Do list simply to cross them off, so break that habit right now.
The Magical To-Do List
Mary LoVerde created the concept of the Magical To Do list. On this list, you start by dividing your page in half vertically. On the left side, you write only the things that absolutely must get done today. This does not include the things that you want to do, or the things that you have to do at some point this week. She stresses that it is important to be realistic and only put down a few items (this list should be a fraction of the normal list that you normally write: that list that could only accomplish if you worked for two weeks without sleeping).
In the right column, you write down the other things that you want to happen. This is your magical column. You will put them down and ask for magic help getting these tasks done. More often than not, those tasks get accomplished without even any attention from you.
Once you have your magical To Do list, then transfer your regular To Do items over as well. You will probably want some extra help with these ones because often they are the most important.
This is a perfect example of distilling your To Do list to manageable proportions, and keeping a positive attitude that keeps you open to possibilities.
Monday, October 23, 2006
Excellence
The sales retreat is done and was a great success. Energy is high. People are pumped. Only one minor misunderstanding which is causing me great strss which I need to clear up today and it will be close to perfect.
I went into the office when it was done so even have most of my follow up done, which is great.
My closing speech was on excellence. I covered what I thought were the 7 Steps to Excellence.
1 - It is a continuum so we must always continue to strive to achieve it.
2 - Be responsive. We need to be lightning fast on email and vmail response. This is one of my pet peeves.
3 - Always learn. We need to all continue to learn all the time.
4 - Change is Opportunity. We need to embrace it.
5 - Help resellers win. We will be successful if our customers our. The more we can help our customers win, the more they will buy.
6 - Polish process. We need to look at all of our processes and always question how we can do them faster, better, more effectively.
7 - Do smart business. We need to make sure our business is sustainable long term.
I am going to cover these same points on my quarterly update meetings today.
Off to the gym.
I went into the office when it was done so even have most of my follow up done, which is great.
My closing speech was on excellence. I covered what I thought were the 7 Steps to Excellence.
1 - It is a continuum so we must always continue to strive to achieve it.
2 - Be responsive. We need to be lightning fast on email and vmail response. This is one of my pet peeves.
3 - Always learn. We need to all continue to learn all the time.
4 - Change is Opportunity. We need to embrace it.
5 - Help resellers win. We will be successful if our customers our. The more we can help our customers win, the more they will buy.
6 - Polish process. We need to look at all of our processes and always question how we can do them faster, better, more effectively.
7 - Do smart business. We need to make sure our business is sustainable long term.
I am going to cover these same points on my quarterly update meetings today.
Off to the gym.
Saturday, October 21, 2006
Sales Retreat
I am at my annual sales retreat. My mind is swimmming with ideas. I have made a ton of notes of things I want to do, look at, try, change, polish, research etc. Some of the ideas come by listening to the vendors and staff but surprisingly a lot of the ideas just flow from the environment. I have a huge amount I need to do.
The retreat is going great. Vendors and reps are both happy. Everyone is learning.
I am tremendously impressed with our staff. We have a lot of excellent people. It gives me great hope for SYNNEX. Like Jim Collins says in "Good to Great" - first get the right people. We have the right people.
I am very proud of the awesome job of the product managers, marketing people and staff that orchestated this. They did a great job.
I am tired so need to get some sleep before the morning run at 6:45. I doubt that more than half the staff will show for it though.
The retreat is going great. Vendors and reps are both happy. Everyone is learning.
I am tremendously impressed with our staff. We have a lot of excellent people. It gives me great hope for SYNNEX. Like Jim Collins says in "Good to Great" - first get the right people. We have the right people.
I am very proud of the awesome job of the product managers, marketing people and staff that orchestated this. They did a great job.
I am tired so need to get some sleep before the morning run at 6:45. I doubt that more than half the staff will show for it though.
Friday, October 20, 2006
Super Self
I am surprised how dark it is in the morning - even at 7:20. Winter is coming.
This weekend is my sales retreat. I am always daunted by this. It is a huge undertaking (and I am not doing much of the work or orchestration). I want so much for it to be a great experience for everyone. We have lots of learning planned.
I will come away with tons of ideas and things I need to implement.
I read a classic self-development book on my recent flight called, Super Self Doubling Your Personal Effectiveness by Charles J. Givens. Charles is one of the long-time motivational speakers and rags to riches type person that people like to read about. Often I find these people to be somewhat shallow but the basic message is right.
In the book he shares a number of success strategies. The first one is to learn from the experience of others rather than your own. In my opinion, this is true wisdom and this is something that I still seek.
Charles Givens' outline is very basic and is what you would see in almost any self-help book:
1. Have dreams and goals. (I always thought the difference between dreams and goals is that goals were dreams with action)
2. Develop strategies to achieve these.
3. Practise – consciously and continuously apply the strategies at every opportunity.
4. Habits – as I have often said before, we become what we repeatedly do.
Results, with these new skills and abilities, you will achieve results.
I would not make it as linear as that, I would make it into a circle. As results start to happen, then new dreams and goals need to be set. I feel a need to constantly revisit goals.
Overall this is a great book and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in improving themselves and achieving goals in life.
His program takes it right from the goal setting through the time management area. It is a great refresher on what we need to do to be successful. I always seem to need this. I know what I should do but I frequently fall back into not doing it. books like this challenge me to once again play at the top of my game all the time.
This weekend is my sales retreat. I am always daunted by this. It is a huge undertaking (and I am not doing much of the work or orchestration). I want so much for it to be a great experience for everyone. We have lots of learning planned.
I will come away with tons of ideas and things I need to implement.
I read a classic self-development book on my recent flight called, Super Self Doubling Your Personal Effectiveness by Charles J. Givens. Charles is one of the long-time motivational speakers and rags to riches type person that people like to read about. Often I find these people to be somewhat shallow but the basic message is right.
In the book he shares a number of success strategies. The first one is to learn from the experience of others rather than your own. In my opinion, this is true wisdom and this is something that I still seek.
Charles Givens' outline is very basic and is what you would see in almost any self-help book:
1. Have dreams and goals. (I always thought the difference between dreams and goals is that goals were dreams with action)
2. Develop strategies to achieve these.
3. Practise – consciously and continuously apply the strategies at every opportunity.
4. Habits – as I have often said before, we become what we repeatedly do.
Results, with these new skills and abilities, you will achieve results.
I would not make it as linear as that, I would make it into a circle. As results start to happen, then new dreams and goals need to be set. I feel a need to constantly revisit goals.
Overall this is a great book and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in improving themselves and achieving goals in life.
His program takes it right from the goal setting through the time management area. It is a great refresher on what we need to do to be successful. I always seem to need this. I know what I should do but I frequently fall back into not doing it. books like this challenge me to once again play at the top of my game all the time.
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Patience
I see on Darren Rowse's blog that the top 100 blogs have an average age of 33.8 months. Interesting post to read.
I agree that persistance and patience pays in many things and now this includes blogging. I daresay most of those bloggers also did a lot of other things to gain traffic and following - not the least of which is to write good and interesting blog posts.
I agree that persistance and patience pays in many things and now this includes blogging. I daresay most of those bloggers also did a lot of other things to gain traffic and following - not the least of which is to write good and interesting blog posts.
Eat That Frog
I study time, efficiency and effectiveness so you would think I do not have a problem with procrastination but sometimes I do. So, of course, I bought a book.
"Eat that Frog - 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less time" by Brian Tracy.
It is a short and easy read. Good book. I did not put off reading it - I read it instead of cleaning up my den. As the title suggests, it has lots of ideas on how to get over procrastination.
Brian Tracy is one of the most prolific self development authors and speakers. His stuff is good, although sometimes too shallow.
One quote from the book:
"There is one quality that one must possess to win and that is a definiteness of purpose, the knowledge of what one wants and a burning desire to achieve it"
By Napoleon Hill.
Busy day today.
"Eat that Frog - 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less time" by Brian Tracy.
It is a short and easy read. Good book. I did not put off reading it - I read it instead of cleaning up my den. As the title suggests, it has lots of ideas on how to get over procrastination.
Brian Tracy is one of the most prolific self development authors and speakers. His stuff is good, although sometimes too shallow.
One quote from the book:
"There is one quality that one must possess to win and that is a definiteness of purpose, the knowledge of what one wants and a burning desire to achieve it"
By Napoleon Hill.
Busy day today.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Legacy Thinking
I am just back from Vancouver and the Xchange Conference in Whistler. It is a well run event (run by TechnoPlanet). I strongly recommend it to anyone who is invited (it is a by invitation only event). I was a guest speaker. Speaking on blogging and Time Leadership. I received very positive feedback which is always reinforcing.
I also had lots of time to meet with resellers at the conference. I always enjoy speaking to customers. It is energizing and at the same time daunting to realize the things we still have yet to do to be truly excellent. I have lots of things I now need to follow up on.
The following is an article I wrote recently:
Your Leadership Legacy, One Way to Set Goals
I might be one of the few people who like setting goals. Fortunately, I have read people who set goals are much more apt to be successful than those who do not.
I have studied how to set goals as part of my time management studies. From this study, I have found many different ways to set goals. I use multiple methods. One of the latest ones that I am working on is thinking about my leadership legacy.
What inspired me to start thinking this way was a book called, "Your Leadership Legacy" by Robert Galford and Regina Fazio Maruca.
Think where would you like to be at some future point. One way to do this is to write a document that says, I am now "x" years old and have accomplished the following things. I am at the following point in my life, etc. The more vivid the vision can be, the more likely, you will achieve it. Imagine how it will feel, what it will be like, how proud you are etc. I do this exercise at least two or three times a year as part of my goal setting.
It is always interesting to look back at what I wrote at different times and how close I have come in many cases to what I envisioned. Sometimes I fall short but many times, where I end up far exceeds what I thought.
I am now adding a section to that on what is the legacy that I leave behind in the various projects that I was involved in? What will the culture be? How will the decisions be made? What will the impact be on the organization as a result of my being involved in it?
I am not thinking of what people will think of me, rather how will the business sustain itself? How will the business be successful and what parts of that have I helped put in place and have I put the right parts of it in place to be successful?
Thinking in terms of legacy can change current thinking. It helps me to focus on what is truly important.
I also had lots of time to meet with resellers at the conference. I always enjoy speaking to customers. It is energizing and at the same time daunting to realize the things we still have yet to do to be truly excellent. I have lots of things I now need to follow up on.
The following is an article I wrote recently:
Your Leadership Legacy, One Way to Set Goals
I might be one of the few people who like setting goals. Fortunately, I have read people who set goals are much more apt to be successful than those who do not.
I have studied how to set goals as part of my time management studies. From this study, I have found many different ways to set goals. I use multiple methods. One of the latest ones that I am working on is thinking about my leadership legacy.
What inspired me to start thinking this way was a book called, "Your Leadership Legacy" by Robert Galford and Regina Fazio Maruca.
Think where would you like to be at some future point. One way to do this is to write a document that says, I am now "x" years old and have accomplished the following things. I am at the following point in my life, etc. The more vivid the vision can be, the more likely, you will achieve it. Imagine how it will feel, what it will be like, how proud you are etc. I do this exercise at least two or three times a year as part of my goal setting.
It is always interesting to look back at what I wrote at different times and how close I have come in many cases to what I envisioned. Sometimes I fall short but many times, where I end up far exceeds what I thought.
I am now adding a section to that on what is the legacy that I leave behind in the various projects that I was involved in? What will the culture be? How will the decisions be made? What will the impact be on the organization as a result of my being involved in it?
I am not thinking of what people will think of me, rather how will the business sustain itself? How will the business be successful and what parts of that have I helped put in place and have I put the right parts of it in place to be successful?
Thinking in terms of legacy can change current thinking. It helps me to focus on what is truly important.
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Calm
I am in Vancouver now. Heading for a conference in Whistler. On the flight out here, one of the books I read was awesome.
The book is "Calm - A Proven Four Step Process Designed Specifically for Women Who Worry" by Denise Marek. Ok why would I read it with a title like that? I don't consider myself to be a worrier. Denise is my friend and she sent it to me.
The book is well written, simple, fast to read and well organized. It would be a positive pick me up book but has enough depth to still add value.
She uses the word CALM as an acronym for "Challenge your assumptions", "Act to control the controlable", "Let go of the uncontrolable", and "Master your mind".
One of the great quotes in the book was "The times in your life you will regret are not the times when you looked foolish, they are the times when you took no action at all".
Like me, she also uses the word yet. I do not yet speak Italian. I do not yet play polo etc. As opposed to I don's speak Italian.
Denise used highly personal examples that personalized the book. (I find women often do that better than men).
Awesome book. Highly recommended! Good work Denise.
The book is "Calm - A Proven Four Step Process Designed Specifically for Women Who Worry" by Denise Marek. Ok why would I read it with a title like that? I don't consider myself to be a worrier. Denise is my friend and she sent it to me.
The book is well written, simple, fast to read and well organized. It would be a positive pick me up book but has enough depth to still add value.
She uses the word CALM as an acronym for "Challenge your assumptions", "Act to control the controlable", "Let go of the uncontrolable", and "Master your mind".
One of the great quotes in the book was "The times in your life you will regret are not the times when you looked foolish, they are the times when you took no action at all".
Like me, she also uses the word yet. I do not yet speak Italian. I do not yet play polo etc. As opposed to I don's speak Italian.
Denise used highly personal examples that personalized the book. (I find women often do that better than men).
Awesome book. Highly recommended! Good work Denise.
Friday, October 13, 2006
Low Priority
The snow has arrived. Traffic will be bad today.
This time tip came from one of my friends:
Use "low priority" on less important emails. You are doing the person you send it to a favour. Most people read all email anyways. It also give more emphasis to any emails that you must send as "high priority".
Off to work out.
This time tip came from one of my friends:
Use "low priority" on less important emails. You are doing the person you send it to a favour. Most people read all email anyways. It also give more emphasis to any emails that you must send as "high priority".
Off to work out.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Your Leadership Legacy
The authors of "Your Leadership Legacy", Robert Galford and Regina Fazio Maruca asked for my thoughts on the type of leadership legacy I want to leave.
I read their book and was thoroughly impressed. Although I had not given a lot of thought to the approach, I am completely sold on it. The thesis of the book is to think about what legacy you want to leave and work backwards. This is the best way to have the greatest impact.
I think I will find this approach particularly worthwhile to keep me working on the big picture as opposed to getting too much into the little things.
The book talks about legacy thinking. In their words, legacy thinking helps you recognize when you are wasting time at a given spot. Legacy thinking helps you put planning in prospective.
This book is very fast and easy to read with a tremendously powerful message. I would strongly recommend this for any leader.
I plan to use this legacy thinking in my decision making.
I read their book and was thoroughly impressed. Although I had not given a lot of thought to the approach, I am completely sold on it. The thesis of the book is to think about what legacy you want to leave and work backwards. This is the best way to have the greatest impact.
I think I will find this approach particularly worthwhile to keep me working on the big picture as opposed to getting too much into the little things.
The book talks about legacy thinking. In their words, legacy thinking helps you recognize when you are wasting time at a given spot. Legacy thinking helps you put planning in prospective.
This book is very fast and easy to read with a tremendously powerful message. I would strongly recommend this for any leader.
I plan to use this legacy thinking in my decision making.
Monday, October 9, 2006
Finding Uninterrupted Time
Blogging for me tends to be inversely proportional to how busy I am and how much I travel. Hence the poor blogging record last week.
This weekend, I took 2 days off in Niagara on the Lake. Beautiful town. Saturday, I cycled from NOTL to Niagara falls and back. About 2 hours round trip. Add to this a 10K run on Sunday and I am a bit sore. I did not work out all all during the week because I was too busy so was feeling appropriately guilty.
I read in Harvard Business Review that sleep deprivation is bad. I have often approached sleep as a neccessary evil. Now I am trying to get more sleep. So far, I have a record of one day with 8 hours of sleep. Not sure I am going to target 8 but will try for 6 ir 7.
Although today is Thanksgiving (I am Canadian), I will work most of the day to get caught up. I also have a number of calls with the US scheduled. I also have lunch with my family which will be good.
I find I can be more than twice as productive when I have a good block of uninterrupted time like today or a weekend. So one trick to to find more uninterrupted time.
Happy Thanksgiving.
This weekend, I took 2 days off in Niagara on the Lake. Beautiful town. Saturday, I cycled from NOTL to Niagara falls and back. About 2 hours round trip. Add to this a 10K run on Sunday and I am a bit sore. I did not work out all all during the week because I was too busy so was feeling appropriately guilty.
I read in Harvard Business Review that sleep deprivation is bad. I have often approached sleep as a neccessary evil. Now I am trying to get more sleep. So far, I have a record of one day with 8 hours of sleep. Not sure I am going to target 8 but will try for 6 ir 7.
Although today is Thanksgiving (I am Canadian), I will work most of the day to get caught up. I also have a number of calls with the US scheduled. I also have lunch with my family which will be good.
I find I can be more than twice as productive when I have a good block of uninterrupted time like today or a weekend. So one trick to to find more uninterrupted time.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Tuesday, October 3, 2006
Finding High Productivity
Sometimes I find that I am highly inspired and can accomplish great things in an hour. Other times, I can spend a few hours and not feel I get anything done. Part of what I work on is trying to figure out how I can get myself into this state of high productivity. I am looking at the following:
1 - I am studying what leads up to these periods of high productivy. I track my productivity.
2 - I am looking at my environment. Can I create an environment that supports this high productivity.
3 - I am even tracking sleep, exercise and diet.
4 - I am looking at what advance preparation I did.
Simply being aware of this self study is making me more productive.
I had some interesting press in the Globe and Mail today. Interesting because I was not expecting it, the writer just gleaned his comments from my blog. Cool.
1 - I am studying what leads up to these periods of high productivy. I track my productivity.
2 - I am looking at my environment. Can I create an environment that supports this high productivity.
3 - I am even tracking sleep, exercise and diet.
4 - I am looking at what advance preparation I did.
Simply being aware of this self study is making me more productive.
I had some interesting press in the Globe and Mail today. Interesting because I was not expecting it, the writer just gleaned his comments from my blog. Cool.
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