For so many things in life there is a choice to be made between spending time and spending money.
You can cut your own grass (time) or hire a lawn service (money).
Clean your own bathrooms or hire a maid.
Trim your dog’s nails or go to a groomer.
Cook your own meals or grab take out.
Hunt for clothing bargains or engage a personal shopper.
Paint your own nails or get a manicure.
The list goes on and on at work too.
Analyze numbers yourself or outsource to a consultant.
Create in-house development programs or hire a trainer.
Invest in teaching young talent or hire experience.
Do your own taxes or work with an accountant.
Place ads yourself or engage an agency.
Don’t let habit make the choice for you. Know what is more valuable to you in each situation — your time or your money — and then invest from there.
— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com
Month: June 2012
#8 Kitty Hawk trifecta
One final thought from Kitty Hawk…
The time between the Wright Brothers’ initial flight and the first person to fly in space was a mere 58 years. (December 3,1903 to April 12, 1961) You never know how your initial idea today could grow into something else tomorrow.
The merchandise at the Wright Brothers National Memorial touts the first flight as “12 seconds that changed the world”. Don’t sell your “12 second” foundation short. If it is important work, it could become the start of something big.
— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com
#7 persistence
More on the Wright Brothers (can you tell where I went for my summer vacation?)…
Their first flight at Kitty Hawk in 1903 lasted 12 seconds as Orville flew 120 feet. The second flight, piloted by Wilbur, was also 12 seconds. Orville was then again in the air for 15 seconds on the third flight. How easy it would have been to give up — or at least quit for the day.
But they gave their flying experiment another go. Flight #4 lasted for a full 59 seconds and The Flyer travelled 852 feet. Instead of celebrating success, they were confronted with a plane that was irreparably damaged at the end of the flight. Their flying season was over, and they needed to make the long journey back to Dayton rather than attempt flight #5.
Fortunately for us, the brothers were full of persistence and didn’t let their first brief efforts or the fact that they only had one day of flying dissuade them from continuing their work. Don’t let yourself give up too easily or let early setbacks end your experiments — even if it took a lot out of you to conduct them.
— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com
#6 know what you need
In 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright ventured to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina from Dayton because the slender strip on the Outer Banks had the two things they needed for their fledgling flying experiments: sand (presumably for a softer landing if things didn’t go well) and wind (to increase the chances that the sand would not be as necessary!). The setting was perfect for their attempts to take to the air.
What kind of environment do you need for your efforts, organization or dreams to be successful? Can you create it within your confines, or do you need to do the equivalent of traveling from Dayton to Kitty Hawk to attain success? In 1903 that was no small feat to do, but obviously worth the trek. Don’t limit yourself by your surroundings.
— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com
#5 my style of change
Many people think that change is a big, lofty thing.
On my first day in my current job, someone complained about the sound bouncing around in the conference room. I got up, walked in the hallway, brought one of those standard issue ficus trees into the conference room and instantly made the acoustics better.
If 100 people move/plant a tree, or even if one person does it 100 times, you have a whole new forest.
That’s the kind of change I can get my arms around. And so can you!
— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com
#4 purple clover
When I was a kid, I had a rabbit named Fluffernutter (peanut butter colored top, white bottom — like the sandwich with marshmallow fluff).
I thought of Fluffernutter last night when I came upon an empty lot full of purple clover. That rabbit L-O-V-E-D purple clover. Even though it has been a couple of decades since I fed it to him, I still can’t walk past it without thinking of the pure joy that it brought. For whatever reason, purple clover was the favorite, much more than white clover or treats or grass.
Your challenge as a supervisor is to learn the equivalent of purple clover for your staff. In my world, I can best thank/praise someone with a new pen; for another it is with a Pez dispenser; yet someone else will feel most loved with a certain kind of candy or even cereal. The small tokens of appreciation go further than the infrequent monetary raises because in addition to saying “thank you”, they also communicate “I know you.” There is no better way to inspire.
— beth triplett
@leadershipdots
#3 a new beginning
A couple of decades ago when I was finishing college, I cut out a quote from a coach who was asked about his new job. Regrettably I don’t remember who gave these words of wisdom, but what he said stuck with me: “the first thing you do is panic, then you get to work.”
New beginnings are scary things. You don’t know where the restroom is or how the phone works or what the culture is like. You likely don’t even know what is expected of you, let alone where the land mines are.
What you do know is how to listen; how to see themes emerge from what you hear, then how to develop action steps from there. You got your job not because you know the answers, but because you know the questions. Start by listening.
[Amended to attribute quote to Michigan State basketball coach Jud Heathcote, who started at MSU in 1976]
— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com
— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com
#2 don’t let the ants ruin your picnic
I came home last night to what looked like a brown magazine blowing in my driveway. In reality, it was a colony of ants — a billion of them by conservative estimate — all feverishly working together toward some unknown common purpose. I was creeped out and I promptly set about extinguishing them all.
I had seen ants around, but did not pay attention to them. I didn’t even act on the ant hill I found when weeding. After all, ants are harmless little things and not worthy of action.
But any little thing can turn into a big thing if there are enough of them. Organizational cultures are taken down not by elephants, but ants. Leaders do not meet their demise because of one big thing, rather it is more likely to be a series of small actions that add up to a problem. Enough little things start to accumulate and it feels like the earth is moving, even if it’s not.
Pay attention to the small comments, the seemingly insignificant decisions, the shift in policy, the unanswered questions, the shutting of doors and wiggle words that appear in conversations — they are sure signs that the ants are mobilizing to crash your picnic.
— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com
#1 a gift to you
#1 a gift to you
One of my closest colleagues recently took another position outside of our organization. I struggled mightily about what to give him as a “going away” momento and could come up with nothing that seemed appropriate or significant enough. So instead I decided to start the blog he had been hounding me about — a way to continue to share the little observations that I normally shared in person.
Ironically the song that is now playing on my random playlist is Elton John’s Your Song: “my gift is my song and this one is for you”. I have absolutely zero song writing abilities, but I do have observations on life. Little thoughts (dots or pearls) that I think can be strung together to make our actions more intentional and synergistic. Hopefully my reflections will spark some thoughts for you and help make your work and organizations stronger.
My gift is my mind, and this one is for you.
— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com