Month: January 2019

leadership dot #2401: two feet

January 11, 2019January 9, 2019by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

A colleague recently remarked: “As the leader, I have one foot in the here and now and another foot in the future. My job is to figure out how to marry the two.”

It is an insightful observation and an ongoing challenge to balance what are often competing demands. There is urgency in the present but opportunity in the long-term. There are many others who are working in the daily operations and it can be lonely thinking about what lies ahead. The present is much more concrete and tangible while the future is replete with unknowns and ambiguity.

As a leader, you need to create your own system for juggling this continual tension. Carve out time on your calendar for planning and reflection. Attend professional development opportunities that focus on strategy rather than tactics. Have tools that trigger you for events months in advance. Cultivate a network that challenges your thinking and pushes you to think beyond the day-to-day.

Leading in the present is only half the role. Your organization and team count on you to take that other step to lead them into the future as well.

Thanks, Brian!

leadership dot #2400: they’re watching

January 10, 2019January 9, 2019by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

I received an email from a former colleague who was alone in a hotel room – reminiscing about the time she and I attended a conference and roomed together so another colleague could have a room alone. The thing is, that was twenty years ago!

I have absolutely no recollection of the action, but it has stuck with her for two decades. She wrote: “I’ll never forget how you roomed with me because you felt [our colleague] would appreciate her own room since she had kids at home. I was always struck by your insight. Today I find myself alone in a hotel room. It’s heavenly!!!”

In ways that you don’t notice or expect, your actions are shaping the culture and communicating to others what is important. People take cues and make meaning out of the smallest actions – and may remember them decades later. As I teach my leadership class, everyone is watching the behavior of the leader. Be intentional about what there is to see.

leadership dot #2399: eternal glory

January 9, 2019March 16, 2021by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

It is one thing to have a great idea and another thing to be nimble enough in order to act on it. Goose Island Beer gets kudos for having both.

Like other fans in the Windy City, the Chicago-based microbrewery lamented the Bears’ playoff loss on a missed field goal, but they stopped short of blaming the team. Instead, they invited “armchair kickers” – those who thought they could have made the field goal – to come to the brewery this weekend and give it a try.

Not only is the plan ingenious, but so was the way they promoted it on social media:

“A lot of armchair kickers on here [Twitter] are saying that they could hit that field goal, which we find DOUBTFUL. You’re gonna sit there on your throne of potato chips and vape pens and criticize this dude’s athleticism? GET REAL.”

“So you know what we’re going to do? Build a dang field goal post in the middle of the street outside of our brewery, and all you pro athletes can come out and prove us wrong…Hit the 43 yard field goal and you’ll win beer for a year and eternal glory.”

Obviously, no one knew that the Bears game would pivot on a final field goal attempt so none of this was planned in advance. Yet, within 24 hours, Goose Island had crafted Tweets that spoke the language of its target audience, developed a crazy publicity stunt that is sure to draw crowds and attention to its brewery, and shared it all with the world.

Maybe the final kick in the game was a miss, but the response of Goose Island is a definite score. Is your marketing team as fluid and audience-aware as the brewery? “Eternal glory” awaits to those who are.

Thanks, Mike!

leadership dot #2398: modifications

January 8, 2019January 7, 2019by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

I took note when the person in front of me in the checkout line bought a package of Carrot Cake Oreos. They sound delicious, but I believe that what prompted her to buy them was more of a focus on the “Oreo” portion of the equation rather than just the “carrot cake” flavor. It was a calculated risk for her that the Oreo product would be of a certain quality and consistency so she was secure in taking a chance that the flavor would be good.

Brand extensions are happening all around us as consumers are more willing to venture into new products when there is some known level of what they are getting. Peter Sims called this “Little Bets” in his book by the same name – taking small risks to create change and move things forward. We make little bets when we buy a new flavor of an established product – whether Oreos, M&Ms, English Muffins, lattes or cereals – all increasing sales in a way that may not occur if packaged under an entirely new and unfamiliar name.

Change is often hard for people. Temper your change and increase its acceptance by anchoring it to something that Is known. Can you make the equivalent to a “flavor adjustment” to one of your programs or services? How can you modify a product to keep its essence but make some aspect about it different? By focusing on what is the same, you’ll make it much easier for people to experiment with the newness and become comfortable with making a switch.

leadership dot #2397: in three years

January 7, 2019January 6, 2019by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

If you need an example of a growth mindset in action, look no further than the All-Pro Curling Team, a group of four former NFL players who have their sights set on making the 2022 Olympics as curlers. All-Pro Jared Allen and three other retired football players decided their competitive spirit wasn’t satisfied even though their professional gridiron careers had ended. So, they are seriously striving to make the Olympics in this lesser-known sport.

And taking it seriously. They have hired a former Olympian as coach. They fly from Nashville to Minnesota to practice on “good ice”. They played the full game against formidable competition to gain the experience. They understand the value of film review and making modifications based on feedback from coaches.

They began their journey three years before they would need to qualify for the Olympics. They know they are starting from the beginning but bring with them a growth mindset that tells them they can learn and get better, and they are willing to put in the effort.

Allen told ESPN that their biggest challenge was learning how to slide correctly on the ice. “We all fell a bunch,” he said. Yet they kept going, trying to win the Super Bowl of curling by first learning how to fall. “Our short-term goals are to continually get better: fundamentals, strategy, sweeping. We know if we master these little things, it will take us a long way,” he told the Associated Press.

In three years, these current novices just might make the Olympic team. In three years, what do you wish to accomplish? The time to start your journey is now.

Source: A new frozen tundra by Jimmy Golen for the Associated Press in the Telegraph Herald, January 6, 2019, p 8B

leadership dot #2396: conspiracy

January 6, 2019January 5, 2019by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

Denver International Airport has been the subject of conspiracy theories since its opening. The monolith in the middle of the plains seems to attract all kinds of rumors – that there are gargoyles, underground bunkers, demonized statues or headquarters for a new world order.

Rather than become indignant about the falsehoods, the airport communications team opted to embrace the mystery and incorporate it into part of its branding. During recent airport construction, the plywood barricades asked: “New construction? Or new conspiracy?” and Construction? Or Cover Up?”. (There are more examples in this clever marketing campaign here.)

If people are talking about your organization, think about how you react. Does tongue-in-cheek take you further than trying to refute the rumor with facts? Maybe you can take a lesson from Denver and play along.

Thanks, Tricia!

leadership dot #2395: small steps

January 5, 2019March 16, 2021by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

Building off the movement to reduce the use of plastic straws, the next frontier in environmentally-conscious packaging is the lowly six-pack ring. While many of these fasteners are, in fact, recyclable, only a tiny fraction of them stay out of the landfill.’

Corona beer is the first major brand to switch to biodegradable can holders, piloting the packaging in Mexico this year. Instead of relying on people to recycle they have taken the initiative to go plastic-free as part of their corporate environmental commitment. Other companies such as Carlsberg from Denmark and Florida’s SaltWater Brewery are experimenting with other glue or even edible options to hold the cans together in a pack.

While many people don’t even think about the six-pack ring or the impact they have on the environment, the new holders are estimated to save 1300 tons of plastic/year for SaltWater Brewery alone. With this kind of impact for a microbrewery, think of the difference it would make if Anheuser-Busch made the switch.

Everything about environmental stewardship relies on small, positive steps made repeatedly by many. How can your organization experiment with making a minor change in its packaging or processes to make a contribution to global health?

leadership dot #2394: shutdown

January 4, 2019January 3, 2019by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

As the federal government “shutdown” continues, I am struck by what a misnomer that is. The government isn’t shut down – for if it were there would be no air traffic in the U.S. airspace, the president would not be protected by secret service, the troops would no longer be in Iraq or the at the American borders, and your hamburger would not have been inspected.

But as it is, the interstates remain open, the weather service continues to provide data to meteorologists for their forecasts, social security checks are in the mail (which is still delivering) and the animals at the National Zoo continue to be fed (although the zoo itself is closed).

A true government shutdown wouldn’t last a day because it would inconvenience so many people and cause untold disruption. As it is, those impacted are the tourists turned away from national parks and the Smithsonians, federal workers who are going without pay and ordinary citizens trying to get a passport – in other words, those without a prominent microphone or political currency.

Don’t use the federal government as a model for how to enact a shutdown. If your organization faces budget cuts or a policy impasse, call your reduction efforts by what they are instead of falsely labeling them as an organization-wide halt. Partial reductions in service labeled as full shutdowns fail to help others understand the true complexity and value of your enterprise. If you’re ceasing operations, don’t do it halfway. Instead, truly close and leverage the pain to inspire a solution.

leadership dot #2393: chameleon

January 3, 2019January 2, 2019by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

It is amazing how quickly we can become accustomed to something. Sleeping in a different bed for a week over the holidays made my own bed feel different when I returned to it. A few days of driving a rental car became the norm instead of the vehicle that I have driven for 40,000 miles. The temperature in my brother’s home that initially felt warm, suddenly made my house feel chilly even though my thermostat did not change.

The mind is a mental chameleon. In the span of less than a week, and without any intentional effort on my part, my psyche adapted to the environment around it and accepted it all like the new reality.

If our minds are so malleable, how can you find a way to use this trait to your advantage. The first morning the alarm goes off an hour earlier will be painful, but after a few days of adjustment, you’ll be in a routine of having that extra time for reading or exercise. You may miss the first automatic withdrawal into your savings account, but soon your new net pay will seem to be the standard. You may feel hungry when you first reduce your portions and eat from a smaller plate but before long restaurant-sized portions will feel excessive.

You become used to what you are used to – for good or bad. Endure a brief period of sacrifice to make your surroundings work for you and soon you won’t even realize you gave anything up to achieve those benefits.

leadership dot #2392: atomic

January 2, 2019December 22, 2018by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

What is a resolution, really, if not a pledge to create a new habit for yourself? One resource that could help you is the new book Atomic Habits. Author James Clear provides a host of actionable tips to help you understand the behavior that creates habits and how to utilize that knowledge to develop new ways of action.

Like the one-second video that I wrote about yesterday, Clear recommends starting small and working toward a 1% improvement every day, for example, begin by doing just one exercise, and then on the next day add to it. By making your habit easy in the beginning, you are more likely to stay with it long enough for it to truly become ingrained in your behaviors.

And in this season of setting goals, Clear offers counterintuitive advice, suggesting instead to forget about goals and to focus instead on your system. “You don’t rise to the level of your goals,” he writes. “You fall to the level of your systems.” You need to develop systems to make it easy to achieve the behavior you want with consistency.

Instead of spending time developing your resolutions only to have them go by the wayside, perhaps a better use of your time is to invest in Atomic Habits – to learn how to create a system that allows you to transform all your habits in the new year.