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Monday, October 24th, 2011
 Simply raising water temperature a single degree means the difference between just having hot water and creating energy. At 211 degrees, water is simply ready to boil. When the temperature hits 212 degrees, the water starts boiling. Boiling water creates steam and steam can be converted to energy.
This simple metaphor reminds us that the smallest changes in behavior can revolutionize performance and productivity. If there were a single word that would describe the difference between mediocre performance and performing at an extremely high level, it would be “focus.” Your ability to harness the power of focus can change your life, when it comes to becoming a high performing individual or organization.
Focus is a good way to describe that boiling point which, when reached, changes everything. The secret to success and achievement is really no secret al all. When the great industrialist Andrew Carnegie was asked his secret for success, he replied: “Put all your eggs in one basket, then watch that basket!” In other words – focus!
It’s certainly true in sports as well. In every professional sport, the difference between the champion and the also-rans is fractional. Vince Lombardi said champions are gauged in inches they achieve, not yards. The great running backs in football know exactly how far they must run for a first down and they focus intently on hitting that yard marker.
It’s said that Thomas Edison conducted more than ten thousand experiments before inventing the incandescent light bulb. After five thousand, he was challenged by a reporter and asked why he continued after so many failures? Edison replied that he hadn’t failed five thousand times – he’d simply found five thousand ways that didn’t work, and he’d continue until he was successful. Edison was later quoted as saying: “Many of life’s failures are men who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”
What about you? How close are you to the success and achievement you dream of? Is it possible that just a little more effort, just a little more staying power, just a little more focus, might put you over the top?
John Cleek said; “What you want to do, you do. The rest is just talk.”
Walt Disney said: “The way to get started is to quit talking and start doing.”
Are you counting on a miracle to help you achieve what you want to achieve? Peter Drucker said: “You can either take action or you can hang back and hope for a miracle. Miracles are great, but they are so unpredictable.”
The success you desire is probably much closer than you realize. More often than not, if you just took one more step, wrote one more chapter, stayed one hour later, got up one hour earlier, the success you desire would be yours.
Here’s the bottom line: You’re probably much closer to achieving that lifelong dream, getting that degree, finishing a difficult project, restoring a broken relationship, than you realize. One more degree of effort might take you over the top.
Follow Edison’s advice. You know what hasn’t worked, up to this point. But keep at it until your dream becomes a reality. Come on – turn up the heat just one more degree.
Tags: achievement, focus, success
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Wednesday, July 13th, 2011
 John Wooden, the legendary basketball coach at UCLA, said: “Don’t mistake activity for achievement.” Being busy and being productive are not the same thing. Most of us spend the entire day running from one meeting to another or shifting from one task to another, thinking we’re being productive. Bad news: that’s probably not the case.
Being more productive actually involves less activity than you might think. Being more productive will also mean making a choice. You can choose to stop spending time doing those things that are really marginal when it comes to getting real results, or you can choose to invest those precious minutes in focused activities that move you and your organization forward.
Here are five ways to improve your performance and productivity by 50 percent in the next 30 days
#1 Plan Your Day – Using Your Best Time of the Day
Every day is different but, in certain cases, every day’s the same. Each of us has a unique sort of “time gene.” There are certain times of the day when we’re just simply more productive than other times. For me, early morning and mid-afternoon are my most productive times of the day. For instance, I’m writing this article at 4:30 am. I’ll feel my creative juices flowing until 8:00 am or so, then it’s time for the routine. Around 2:30 or 3:00 pm, I’ll get that second wind and that’s the time to work on those few things that matter most.
What times of the day are you most productive? If you’re not sure, figure it out, because doing what you do best at your most productive times of the day is key to performance and productivity.
#2 Narrow Your Focus – Get Real With Your To-Do List
What three projects, tasks or priorities will most contribute to the accomplishment of your most important priorities? Create an MIA list – Most Important Activities. Try and limit your MIAs to only three – then don’t go to bed tonight until all three are completed. In fact, you can probably knock out all three before noon if you’ll carve out time to focus intently on getting your MIAs done.
Too many To-Dos is a recipe for getting nothing meaningful accomplished. Narrow the focus of your productive time to those few things that allow you to complete important projects.
#3 Take Personal Responsibility – It’s Not About Them – It’s All About You
Gilbert Orland said: “Failure to hit the bull’s-eye is never the fault of the target. If you want to improve your aim, you have to improve yourself.” Don’t be one of those pathetic 95 percent who blame everyone and everything for their lack of success and achievement.
The only thing you can absolutely control is your attitude about your personal level of success. Bad things do happen to good people. Life isn’t fair and there isn’t a tooth fairy. So what? Control what you can control – your attitude. Take responsibility for your personal success and take that responsibility very seriously. Failure to get desired results isn’t “their” fault – it’s yours. Lou Holtz says: “Life is ten percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you respond to it.”
#4 Start Your Day With Reading – And I Don’t Mean eMail or Facebook
Just as a healthy breakfast jump-starts your body, reading something motivational or inspirational jump-starts your brain. Begin your day reading something positive. There’ll be plenty of opportunity throughout the day to catch up on all the bad things happening out there.
Start your day being inspired. Study personal productivity. Read how other successful men and women became successful. Take time away from a focus on all you have to do and start your day creating a positive mindset. Achievers are readers. They also guard their hearts and minds by controlling what they feed the brain.
#5 End Your Day Reading and Writing – Not Watching Local News
Use the end of the day wisely. Review what worked and what didn’t. Keep a journal. Once the day has ended, it’s gone forever. It’s history, never to return. Learn from the life lessons of the day. As Jim Rohn used to say: “Let life teach you.” Good judgment comes from bad experiences – so even difficult days have positive lessons.
Do you really need to hear one more story about some poor misguided person doing something incredibly stupid? No. Turn off the TV and let the life lessons of the day sink in. Take what worked and do it again. Take what didn’t work (and didn’t kill you) and figure out ways not to do that again.
Lastly, end the day the same way you started it – reading something inspirational and positive. It will make for a great night’s sleep.
Tags: achievement, change, focus, performance, plan, productive, productivity, reading, time
Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
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Wednesday, May 18th, 2011
 Ever hear the adage, “failing to plan is planning to fail?” That’s true, but we also have to be careful not to get so caught up in planning that we fail to execute the plan. As much as I support and endorse strategic thinking, the fact is execution is what separates those who plan and those who succeed and achieve. Most fail not because of lack of planning, but because of lack of doing.
Strategic thinking and planning are crucial when it comes to improving performance and productivity, that’s a given, but thinking and planning have to be linked to doing in order for good things to happen. Here’s a simple three-step process for linking planning and doing.
Step #1: See Clearly
Seeing precedes doing. Unless we develop a clear picture in our mind’s eye of what we intend to accomplish, we have little chance of changing the status quo. If we can take our vision for improving our current circumstances and write it in a clear, concise three-or four-sentence paragraph, we’ve taken the first step to improve our performance.
I recommend creating a S.M.A.R.T. vision statement, one that’s Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-Bound. Just like a goal statement, a S.M.A.R.T. vision statement has the power to channel the activities necessary to bring the vision to reality.
Here’s an example of a S.M.A.R.T. vision statement:
By December 31, 2011, grow XYZ & Associates into a $250,000 a year management consulting firm working with “C” level executives of medium sized companies in the Phoenix metro area.
Step #2: Focus Intently
Once we clarify our vision, we’re able to develop strategies and set objectives that focus our thinking and our activity. In the example above, our work is defined (management consulting), as is our target market (“C” level executives in medium sized companies), and we’ve established a geographic scope for our work (the Phoenix metro area).
Now we can focus on strategic initiatives and set specific objectives for sales revenue generation, marketing, networking and travel. Performance management begins with a clear vision but we gain momentum by being able to focus intently on specifics. Instead of just being busy, we can now zero in on those areas that will actually move us forward toward success and achievement. We can focus sales and marketing activities, work on specific product or service initiatives, and start networking in venues where our target customers hang out.
Step #3: Work Wisely
Vision describes what we believe about what we can accomplish, but our belief will be seen in what we actually do. Ashley Montagu said: “If you want to know what people believe, don’t read what they write, don’t ask them what they believe, just observe what they do.”
With a S.M.A.R.T. vision statement in hand, strategic initiatives identified, and a handful of written and measurable objectives set, we can now identify specific daily or weekly tasks that will actually lead to goal achievement. We can work wisely because we’re clear on expected results.
A clear vision for what you want to accomplish, coupled with a clear focus on strategic initiatives and measurable objectives, will lead to wise daily decisions on tasks which carry the most weight for bringing our vision to reality.
Tags: achieve, fail, focus, goal, objectives, plan, planning, SMART, strategic, vision
Posted in 2011 | No Comments »
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Wednesday, May 11th, 2011
 When it comes to performance management – more isn’t better – less is. There are only three things to focus on when one wants to improve performance and productivity: See Clearly, Focus Intently, and Work Wisely.
See Clearly
This seems pretty obvious, doesn’t it? In order to get from where you are now to where you want to be, you need to have a clear picture in your mind’s eye of where you want to go or what you want to accomplish.
The clearer the picture, the greater the chance you’ll achieve what you want to achieve. A vague vision produces vague results. A clear vision, on the other hand, energizes and motivates. I advocate having a S.M.A.R.T. vision – just like having S.M.A.R.T. goals. A Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound vision – points to a specific target in a specific time frame. A vision statement, with these characteristics, will turbocharge your performance and productivity.
Focus Intently
Someone asked Andrew Carnegie his secret to phenomenal success. His reply: “Put all your eggs in one basket, then watch that basket.” With a clear vision for what you want to accomplish in a specific time frame, you can now focus on specific elements of your vision.
When your vision describes how much money you intend to make, in a specific time frame, by providing a specific product or service to a specific segment of the market, you now have the a very clear picture of where you need to focus your attention. You know how much revenue you’ll need to generate weekly or monthly to hit your annual revenue number. You can now focus on specific product or service delivery and you’ll be able to zero in on your specific target market. I think you see the power behind this methodology.
Work Wisely
When all the feathers hit the floor, here’s what really matters – are you working wisely? In other words, are you completing those tasks that accomplish your objectives and move you closer to making your vision a reality?
Drafting a dynamite vision statement is the place to start, but success and achievement are about doing, not about dreaming. The only measure of what you believe is what you do. Walking the talk is what really counts.
Once you’ve identified your specific areas of focus, you’ll need to set measurable objectives and take action. Almost any objective can be broken down into specific tasks which, when completed, will accomplish the objective. The key to achievement is action, but not just any action. Just being busy and doing things for the sake of staying busy will not lead to meaningful accomplishment.
The actions you want to engage in are those that accomplish meaningful objectives. Carve out time each day or at least several times a week to take action on your most important priorities. Remember, the really important actions to take are rarely urgent. Unfortunately, it’s those urgent items that tend to dominate our day and our time.
Don’t fall prey to the tyranny of the urgent and don’t succumb to treating every issue a crisis. Don’t let someone else set priority levels for you. Set aside one hour – three days a week – to complete important tasks.
Tags: focus, management, objective, performance, see, vision statement, work
Posted in 2011 | No Comments »
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Wednesday, January 26th, 2011
 John Wooden, the legendary coach at UCLA is quoted as saying: “Don’t mistake activity and achievement. He was also famous for believing in fundamentals. Coach Wooden understood that practicing a few important things on a consistent basis paid higher returns than leaving a game to chance. At every practice his focus was on practicing those few things that produced success. He understood the difference between practicing just to practice and working on plays that won games. John Wooden understood the power of planning to be productive.
It’s not about Being Busy
Being busy and being productive are two different things. Being busy isn’t often associated with accomplishing important goals.
Being productive on the other hand requires focus and implementation of time-tested techniques to become more productive. Here’s an example of a few things you can do to increase focus and better manage your time.
Plan your day
Successful organizations and high-performing individuals have this one thing in common; they actively manage their future. They plan for the long and short-term future they want to have. Don’t leave your success to chance. Plan for the life and career you want to have. This is easier than you may think and it makes life a whole lot more rewarding.
Write Down Your Goals
An unwritten goal is nothing more than a dream or wish and, herein lye’s the problem; no one ever wished his or her way to success. 95 percent of individuals don’t have written goals or a written plan for what they want to achieve. Is it any wonder why the 5 percent that do are a zillion times more successful?
Know When to Work
Different people have different “productivity zones.” Some of us are morning people; others have high energy and creativity levels in the evening or late at night. Do you know when you’re most productive? If not, find out. If you do know your productivity zones use them to your advantage and work on your high payoff activities during those times.
Keep Score
Yesterday is history and tomorrow is yet to come. All we have is today. Use the day to do those things that matter most. Keep track of what you do. Journaling is one of the best ways to measure progress. Writing down what worked and what didn’t, for future review helps us keep doing those positive practices that produce great results, as well as eliminating those things that moved us in the wrong direction.
Review the Game Tape
One of the things that make Peyton Manning a future hall of fame quarterback is his commitment to spending time each week reviewing game tape. We can learn a lot from understanding what worked but we often can learn more from seeing what didn’t work. Review your day once a day, your week once a week and your month once a month. You’ll put yourself ahead of the pack very quickly.
Next week we’ll look at a few more ways you can plan the future you want to have. Just remember, you have much more control over your time than you give yourself credit for. You can plan for your success and achievement. You can’t afford to leave something this important to chance.
Tags: achievement, activity, focus, goals, manage, plan, practice, produce, productive, productivity, review, success
Posted in 2011, Uncategorized | No Comments »
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Wednesday, September 8th, 2010
 We hear more and more today about the need for creativity and innovation. You’ve heard this many times: “If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting.”
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against being creative and innovative; the fact is a company (of any size) can’t survive without innovating. The problem comes in when the emphasis is on generating ideas, rather than on turning those clever new ideas into actions.
“Ideating” is energizing and glamorous. It’s intellectually stimulating to think about what could be in terms of new products and new services. But all the new ideas in the world will not create new products or actually provide those new services.
It’s Not About Innovation – It’s About Action
For most individuals, and most organizations, generating a host of new ideas or services isn’t the problem. Entrepreneurial minds are continually churning out all kind of ideas for the better mousetrap. Executives and senior managers are always dreaming up new ideas to beat the competition and capture the market.
Generating new ideas is fun and challenging, but here’s the rub: Once clarity is developed as to what the new product or service should look like, the process often begins to break down. While being an innovator is sexy, doing the work of bringing a shiny new idea to reality is not. Executing on new ideas is hard. Taking that important next step from idea to action is a grind, and most folks would rather dream about what could be than make the dream a reality. Remember, success is about doing, not about dreaming.
Taking the appropriate actions, in the proper order, and using the right people, are the keys to building that new mousetrap or providing a new and improved service.
Creating a strategic performance advantage requires three things:
1. Clarity; 2. Focus; and 3. Focused Actions.
1. Be clear on what you want to accomplish – and why. (Clarity)
2. Identify those vital few initiatives that will move the process forward in the shortest period of time. (Focus)
3. Assign responsibility to specific individuals – for specific tasks – to be completed in a specific time frame. (Focused Actions)
Innovation is good. Actually making a new idea a reality is better. Success is not about dreaming, it’s about doing!
Tags: accomplish, action, business, clarity, creativity, focus, ideas, innovation, responsibility
Posted in 2010 | No Comments »
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Tuesday, August 31st, 2010
Creating a strategic performance advantage is the key to taking your performance and productivity to the next level. And, keeping true to the philosophy of getting more with Les – it’s not difficult to do.
1. Clarity is the key
The first step in creating a strategic performance advantage is to clarify what you want to accomplish. Start with a S.M.A.R.T. vision. For a vision to be powerful, it must be specific. It must be measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound.
A vague vision produces vague results. It’s one thing to say: “Someday I want to make a living being a consultant.” It’s quite another thing to say: “By December 31, 2010, I’ll have created XYZ and Associates, a $250,000 a year, Dallas-based consulting practice, specializing in change management for small to medium-sized companies in the medical services industry.”
In this particular example, the vision captures revenue expectations, clarifies the target market and the geographic scope of the business. Specificity is the key. Vague vision statements simply don’t have the power to move an individual or an organization forward.
2. Focus
The primary difference between vision and focus is scope. While a S.M.A.R.T. vision clarifies the big picture for improved performance and productivity, focus narrows the scope of the work to be done. As Jim Collins says in his business classic, Good to Great: “The real path to greatness, it turns out, requires simplicity and diligence. It requires clarity, not just illumination. It demands each of us to focus on what is vital – and to eliminate all of the extraneous distractions.”
We clarify our focus by setting meaningful and measurable objectives, and you won’t need many of them. The objectives would be linked directly to your vision statement. In the example of the vision above, we would want to set objectives for monthly revenue, for sales, and marketing, among others.
3. Focused Activity
Achievement is about doing, not dreaming. To that end, we want each day to count when it comes to making our vision a reality. Once our vision is clear, and meaningful objectives have been set, the next obvious step is to take actions every day that will complete stated objectives. Make sure you’re carving out roughly 90 minutes a day to work only on those activities that will accomplish your goals.
Tags: achievement, activity, business, clarity, focus, goals, performance, productivity, strategic, vision
Posted in 2010 | No Comments »
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Monday, June 14th, 2010
I confess I’m not a fan of the local newspaper. There are too many other sources these days for the specific news I choose to follow. Having said that, there’s one publication I do enjoy reading on a regular basis – Investor’s Business Daily.
As you know, I love to focus on fundamentals. I place a high value on doing those few things that give a high return on the investment. Whether it’s time, talent or treasure, doing a few simple things on a regular basis will almost always separate you from the crowd.
My favorite section of the IBD is “Leaders & Success.” In that section of the paper, the focus is on men and women who have attained success and often remarkable achievements through – guess what – clarity, focus and hard work. I know, that last part is a drag, isn’t it?
The Leaders & Success section also presents IBD’s 10 Secrets of Success. The 10 secrets come from years of analyzing leaders and successful people from every walk of life. This extensive study revealed ten traits which, when combined, turned dreams into reality and into fantastic levels of achievement.
This week I’ll share five of the secrets and finish the list in the next edition of “Getting More With Les.” Ready? Here are the first five:
1. How You Think Is Everything:
Always think positive. Think success, not failure. Beware of a negative environment. Rate yourself on a scale of 1-10. What can you do to improve?
2. Decide Upon Your True Dreams and Goals.
Write down your specific goals and develop a plan to reach them. Rate yourself on a scale of 1-10. What can you do to improve?
3. Take Action:
Goals are nothing without action. Don’t be afraid to get started. Just do it. Rate yourself on a scale of 1-10. What can you do to improve?
4. Never Stop Learning:
Go back to school or read books. Get training and acquire skills. Rate yourself on a scale of 1-10. What can you do to improve?
5. Be Persistent And Work Hard:
Success is a marathon, not a sprint. Never give up. Rate yourself on a scale of 1-10. What can you do to improve?
That’s enough to think about this week. Do yourself a favor though, give these five success secrets some deeper thought. Remember, knowledge itself isn’t power. Knowledge APPLIED is where the real power comes from.
Tags: clarity, failure, focus, goals, hard work, improvement, investment, Investors Business Daily, leaders, learn, negative, news, newspaper, persistence, positive, success, time, training
Posted in 2010 | No Comments »
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Thursday, June 3rd, 2010
 One of the things we all struggle with, seasoned manager or not, is determining how to use our time most effectively. The primary role of the manager is to make sure that the work he or she is doing will contribute to the success of the company.
People think they get the most work done when they’re under the pressure of a deadline. Not so. A deadline will force action, and we will finish a task – because we have to – but the chances are the outcome will not be our best work, or even the most important work we need to do.
Here’s a methodology you might consider using to determine where you focus your time and attention. It involves asking four important questions.
1. What tasks or assignments on my “To Do” list bring the highest value to me or my company?
Take a look at the one or two items which, when finished, bring the greatest rewards. Everything on our list can’t be an “A” priority. If they are – we need to talk.
2. What am I being paid to do?
It’s all too easy to get caught up in trivial matters that really don’t bring value to ourselves – or our company. Create a list of what you believe your three to five highest payoff activities are. Ask your boss to do the same. Then compare the two lists. My bet is the lists might be very different. If so, refocus.
3. What’s the one task on my list that, if done effectively, will have the highest payoff?
Hint: It’s probably something you’ve been putting off for a while. It’s important but it’s not urgent, so it ends up on the back burner. Roll up your sleeves and take on the important task or project. Break it up into small doable pieces and get after it!
4. What the best use of my time, right now?
Focus on the present. Focus on today. Don’t look back at what you should have done. Don’t look ahead at what you could do if… . Just focus on the highest payoff activity you can do today.
Tags: business, deadline, focus, manager's minute, managerial, managers, priority, success, time, value
Posted in 2010, manager's minute | No Comments »
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Wednesday, March 31st, 2010
 I’m not sure what I’m going through right now, it can’t be midlife crisis unless I’m going to live well past 120. So I’ve started to take a real hard look at the virtues of simplifying my life.
The more chaotic the world becomes, the more interested I am in slowing things down and gaining a little more control over my day-to-day existence. As a result, I’ve started to look at areas of my life where I can simplify. I’ve discovered two things so far: In order to simplify my life, I need to identify those things which are most important to me, and second, to start minimizing time and effort I spend on all the rest. If you’re with me so far, let me share with you the Cliff Notes version of my plan.
Step 1. Limit the Number of Goals
I have a tendency to get a little carried away with the number of things I think I can accomplish in a calendar year. What I’ve decided to do for the remainder of this year is to pick no more than five goals I can accomplish which will make a significant improvement in my personal and professional life.
This isn’t as easy as it sounds. I’ve put a lot of time into thinking this through. I started with a brain-dump. I just listed all the things I wanted to accomplish this year. After I completed the list, I forced myself to consider the five things that would have the greatest positive impact on my personal life and my career.
There are lots of things I’d like to do in the year ahead. But the more important question is: What are the three or four most important things I need to do to benefit my life, my family and my career? Talk about a reality check! I’d highly recommend you give this little exercise a try.
Step 2. Stay Focused
I know from personal experience, and from four decades of studying performance improvement, that the primary reason we don’t enjoy more accomplishments and achieve truly important goals is due to lack of focus.
We live in the Information Age. In fact, we live in the too much information age. In a world of instant everything, it’s all too easy to get caught up in “the I’ve got to stay stay current on…well everything” trap. The key is to accept the fact that you really don’t have to know everything – about everything.
But what you do need to stay focused on are the most important things, and there aren’t very many of those. Our long-term success will depend on our daily focus. My strategy is not to prioritize my schedule but to schedule my priorities. Just as I minimized the number of goals I intend to accomplish this year, I want to minimize the number of tasks I intend to accomplish each day. I want to limit my focus to no more than three specific activities which, when completed, will move me toward the accomplishment of my primary goals. Anything beyond that is icing on the cake.
Step 3. Establish Routines
I think the most effective way to stay focused is to establish routines. Airline pilots do this before every flight. Notice I said EVERY flight, not just some flights or on those flights where it’s convenient. Pilots do a pre-flight checklist before each and every flight. This routine alone is probably the single greatest factor in airline safety.
To that point, I intend to establish morning and evening routines in order to keep myself focused on those daily activities which will lead to accomplishing my annual goals.
In the evening, I’ll review each day’s plan and each day’s level of success and achievement. I’ll adjust what needs to be adjusted and eliminate what needs to be eliminated. I’ll also develop my plan for tomorrow.
My morning routine will focus on getting the day off to a good start. I’ll awake knowing my day has a plan and a purpose. That alone should motivate me to get up and get after it. I’ll include a good breakfast and some productive reading before I check my email – which can become a black hole for productivity. I also intend to knock off one of my daily goals before I check any email.
GETTING MORE WITH LES means simplifying and staying focused. I’ll keep you posted on my progress. I’d love to hear from you if you decide to simplify your life as well. We’ll take this little journey together and see if we can’t make the simple – sustainable.
Tags: business, focus, focused, goals, planning, routine, simplify
Posted in 2010 | No Comments »
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Simply raising water temperature a single degree means the difference between just having hot water and creating energy. At 211 degrees, water is simply ready to boil. When the temperature hits 212 degrees, the water starts boiling. Boiling water creates steam and steam can be converted to energy.
