Cross this line you die.ok, cross this line you die.ok, cross this line.

When I was a kid cartoon violence was perfectly acceptable.  The coyote exploding, the back firing shotgun that caused a duck’s bill to spin like a top, and even the occasional cooking pot/ Jacuzzi was as normal as gluten in our cereal.  Simpler times I suppose.  But beneath the surface of gratuitous rabbit on duck violence were deeper lessons.  The exposure to classical music, the art of the pun, and humor that derived by laughing at the absurd.

 I remember the verbal jousting between two characters when one would draw a line in the dirt and claim “ok, you cross this line, you die.”  Inevitably the line would be crossed in some comical fashion and a new one drawn.  “Ok, now you cross this line, you die.”  The humor was in watching such a severe threat fall apart over and over again.  Because even at a young age we know that there’s humor in failing to keep a commitment.

At what age did we all stop finding it so absurd?

See, as adults, we use the term “deadline” all the time, but we don’t really mean it.  We push them back, “adjust” them, or even just roll right bye.  We treat them like a cartoon villain- turn it in by this date or else.  Ok, turn it in by this date- or else.  But there’s always something else and that’s how nothing gets done.  If a child saw it, they’d laugh at our incompetence- but do it in the office and it’s just normal.  So how do we reclaim the power of the line?

You have to shoot someone.  Figuratively, of course.

The next time a deadline is missed make the consequences harsh.  Late for a meeting?  Lock them out of the room.  Forget to turn in your timecard by Friday?  Delay the check to the next cycle.  Because once an exception is made every exception seems to want to follow.  Exceptions are sneaky that way.

Many will argue that there’s always nuance and times for adjustment.  Probably.  But more often exceptions lead to death by a thousand cuts.  Making the same exception all the time doesn’t kill the rule- that’s actually a good indicator that the rule is wrong.  But when we allow making exceptions to become the norm the rule dies just the same.

The point is this- if you’re going to draw a line in the dirt, don’t let it become a joke.  Be thoughtful and serious about when, where, and how you draw that line.  Then be ready to “shoot” someone if you expect that line to be enforced.  Otherwise, no one will really know if it’s wabbit season or duck season- and that’s just asking for trouble.

 

Quitting is Not Failing

Ever have one of those weeks that just completely overwhelms you?  Too much to do, too many requests, to the point where you become completely drowned work, family, friends or all of the above?  Of course you do.  You’re reading this blog and that means I know at least 3 things about you- 1) You have great taste, 2) You like your leadership wisdom full of pop-culture humor, and 3) You’re ambitious.  And ambitious people always bite off more than we can chew, at least from time-to-time.

So rather than tell you not to do that (you won’t listen- I wouldn’t either), I’m going to tell you how to fix it.  Watch your step, ‘cause I’m about to drop some serious knowledge.  Ready for the big secret to dealing with having too much to do?  Here it is:

Quit.

The reality is when you have more than you can handle, when you over extend yourself, something’s going to suffer.  It’s inevitable. So you have to decide; do you let quality suffer or do you back out and leave others the chance to find someone else to help.  It’s usually better to quit.

The hard part of quitting is getting past the guilt of letting others down or the personal shame of feeling like you failed.  That’s the part I can help you with.  Consider this.

Quitting is NOT the same as Failing.

Seth Godin says that in his brilliant book, The Dip (it’s a textbook in how to quit the right way).  And it’s a simple truth that if you can embrace it, will help you overcome this hurdle.  Quitting is a decision.  It’s not that you couldn’t- but you choose not to. And if you’re choosing not to because you can’t give your best, that’s a wise choice.  But don’t let quitting and failing become synonymous- failing is when you can’t, quitting is when you choose to stop.  And that might be a good choice.

Jon Acuff also wrote a brilliant blog on it.  Check that out here.

Bottom line, if you’re a go-getter, you’re always going to overextend yourself from time-to-time.  The real question is, are you going to fix it or let your work suffer?

 

Pressing Reset

The first video game system we ever got was the Nintendo 64. It was awesome. Starfox, Mario Kart, and of course, Goldeneye. That system was everything that you wanted in a video game. But it wasn’t by any means perfect.

For one, it froze a lot.  Not during a critical point in the game when you haven't saved yet.  That was a move perfected by the PS2.  No, the N64 was more likely freeze at start up. Plug in the cartridge, light goes on- but nothing. Not even the well-established "blow on the cartridge" move will save you.  Only one thing left- push reset.

Pushing reset is a video game linchpin. Whenever you messed up big, you pushed the button and it was like nothing had ever happened. Fresh new start. Reset could fix just about anything.

Sure you lost all your progress, but if your progress was in the wrong direction, so much the better.  Get lost?  Go back to the beginning.  Reset.

Sometimes in life we need a reset button.  For when things get so complicated that we feel lost. When we're so stuck that we can't move. Sometimes in life- we just need to reset.

The barrier is trust. See, when we reset a machine it gives up just enough of its recent memory to start fresh. That's much harder for people. Not impossible though- you just need a lot of trust.

Trust that we are both letting go of the past.

Trust that we are starting from the same place.

Trust that we are trying again- this time to win.

There's no rule against a reset. That's why the button is there; because we have the choice. Purists may frown but who are they to judge?  It's up to each of us to decide if a reset will work for us.  The button is there because the choice is ours.

Sometimes we need a new set of lives and to go back to the place we know. Even if it means re-walking some paths we can walk them quicker having walked them before. We get better each time. It just takes the courage to push that button.

Make it Magical

There's a new product hitting the late night TV airwaves that I'm in love with. It's called the Insta-Hang and if you haven't checked it out you really should. Not because this is an ad, but because this thing is a powerful lesson in product design.  

 

See, for years, the movement in the invention world has been to add-on to a problem.  We continually complicate everything.  Hanging a picture used to involved hammer and a nail.  Now we need hammers, nails, anchors, stud finders, laser lines, levels, and even “picture hanging kits.”  I think at this point the only people still putting their diplomas on the wall are structural engineers.  Us liberal arts types can’t handle it.

 

While it’s no doubt that all those tools ultimately result in a better picture hanging, it’s all too much for us to handle.  That’s where the Insta-Hang comes in.  Rather than adding one more tool to the mix, rather than even improving an existing tool, they asked this- “what if, knowing everything we know now, could start over and redesign the whole picture hanging experience?  What would we do different?”  The result is one of the most elegantly designed tools I’ve ever seen.  Everything in one simple place.  Not complicated to use, has everything you need, makes doing it right simple.

 

It’s the same playbook that has made Apple such a raging success.  Before the iPhone, there were Palm phones and Blackberries.  They had apps, they had cameras, they ran software and surfed the web and got emails.  And for years these two went back and forth building on each other’s latest innovations, piling on the features.  Until Apple stepped in and said- “what if we could design a phone that did everything the way you wanted right out of the box?  What would that look like?”  No more stylus to lose or trackball to malfunction?- Done.  Want your phone to have a camera and your music?  You bet.  Want the real internet, not some watered-down “mobile” version?  All yours.  We’ll even ditch the keyboard for you.  And they created the device we all wanted.  Not by finally adding enough on; but by taking enough away and making everything work together.  Simply.  Magically.

 

And Insta-Hang does it too.  They took a very common process, re-thought the whole thing, began with the end in mind, and created a magical picture hanging experience.  It’s the future of product design for sure, but here’s my thought:

 

It’s a new year and many of us are working up our resolutions.  We’re going to do this, we’re going to stop doing that, and on and on, trying to build a better “me.”  But before you make your resolution laundry list, take a moment and consider this-

 

What if, knowing everything you know now, you could redesign your life?  What you would you put in?  What would you take out?  How are you going to make it all work together?  Instead of looking for the one more add-on that will change everything, what if you actually began with the end in mind and changed everything? 

 

I’ll bet your life would be magical.

Why Common Sense is None Too Common

It’s not because we don’t know.  That’s almost never the reason.  It’s because we don’t do.

 

See, 80% of everything is the try; the do.  Knowing about something is never more than 20% of getting it done.  So it’s rarely that we don’t know what to do or what is right- it’s just that we don’t do it.

 

Common sense is not really about knowing what’s right, it’s about doing what’s right.  That’s much harder.  It’s not always popular or easy.  It usually takes more time, more effort, or more hassle.  But it’s right.

 

And every time we sanction what’s wrong by allowing it, we’re making it worse.

 

Do it.  And do it right.  That’s just common sense.

 

Quote Me on It!

Consider the following quotes:

"Stress in life comes from making things more important than they really are. Failure comes from making things less important than they really are." ~ Tony Robbins

"A man with experience is never at the mercy of a man with an opinion." ~ Dave Ramsey

"You can't build a reputation on what you're going to do" ~ Henry Ford

"The only way to coast is downhill" ~ Zig Ziglar

"True leadership only exists if people follow when they have the freedom not to" ~ Jim Collins

"Lack of direction, not lack of time is the problem. We all have 24 hours in a day." ~ Zig Ziglar

"Most people will choose unhappiness over uncertainty" ~ Tim Ferriss

"One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time" ~ Andre Gide

"Things that look like shortcuts are usually detours disguised as less work" ~ Seth Godin

And here's one from me-

"My goal is to be the dumbest person I know."

It's up to each of us to surround ourselves and fill our minds with good things. Put good in, get good out. Every day I make sure to put quotes like these and so many more into my thinking because I know that it will help me stay true to my mission. And if I do it right, I will surround myself with so many smart people and good ideas, that maybe a few of them will stick. Because, frankly, if I'm the smartest person I know then I've reached the end of my ability to grow.

What are you doing each day to be influenced by someone smarter than you?

Playoff Math

With the final weeks of the regular NFL season upon us, you’ve probably been hearing one of my favorite sports phenomena popping up- Playoff Math.  What’s Playoff Math you ask?  Playoff Math is my term for the convoluted calculations die-hard fans start making to see if their team can still make the post-season.  As a Bucs fan, I gave up worrying about Playoff Math back in September of this year.  But last night Bronco fans were running the kind of complex mathematical scenarios usually reserved for keeping space stations in orbit.

 

 

Playoff Math usually goes something like this.  If my team wins, that one loses, that other one loses, and Jupiter aligns with Uranus, we can squeak out a wild-card spot.  It’s hard to follow, but when your team exists like Schrodinger’s Cat in the third quarter it matters.

 

 

Well, that’s not true.  I realized last night who doesn’t care at all about Playoff Math.  Winners.

 

 

See, if you’re the top team in your division and clenched your playoff spot back 3 weeks ago, you don’t care one bit about Playoff Math.  You’re not stressing about anything aligning with Uranus- you’re just winning.

 

 

And that’s a powerful lesson.  If you find that all too often your success depends on others, you’re not really winning.  If you’re hoping for someone else to lose to keep you in the game, you’re not really winning. 

 

 

Because if you’ve been winning all season- you don’t worry about Playoff Math.