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Lee Colan Articles

Written by: Lee Colan

100% Commitment - Click To Read Article
Andrew Carnegie said, “The average person puts only 25 percent of his energy and ability into his work. The world takes off its hat to those who put in more than 50 percent of their capacity and stands on its head for those few and far between souls who devote 100 percent.” We compete against our own potential every day.

Take Your Stand… with Courage and Humility - Click To Read Article
Taking a stand, for anything, requires courage. Courageous leadership is knowing what's right and then acting on it.

The Power of a Quotation - Click To Read Article
Last month I shared some of my favorite quotations from The Nature of Excellence gift book and asked you to share some of your personal favorites… and you sure did! There were so many of them, I could not include them all. I did want to share a sampling of some of YOUR favorite quotations. Some were home grown expressions, others were attributed to famous people in history and one was even found on the back of sugar packet! Enjoy…

May I Quote You? - Click To Read Article
As an author, the question, “May I quote you?” is a humbling request and a great compliment. For anyone who is in search of excellence a good quote is fuel for our journey. It’s amazing how a short, simple quotation can quickly provide perspective, inspiration, comfort, motivation or insight. What a wonderful return for our invested time - take 10 seconds each morning to read a new quote and our day, maybe even our world, is changed. I wanted to share a few of my favorites which can also be found in the new coffee table gift book, The Nature of Excellence… “It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up.” - Babe Ruth

The Explanation Gap - Click To Read Article
Excellent communicators understand that an explanation gap typically results in an execution gap. Remember the old rumor mill game? Tell a phrase to the person next to you at a table. Your neighbor tells it to their neighbor. And so on. Before you know it, the phrase “Let’s wrap the various toys with vibrant colors to excite the recipients” turns into “Let’s rap serious tunes with vibing colors to recite to the residents.”

The First 100 Days - Click To Read Article
All the pomp and circumstance of the inauguration is behind us. President Obama is in office and ready to go. Now the countdown begins on The First 100 Days. The First 100 Day Plan sets the tone and focus for an incoming President. It’s a must for the leaders of the free world. As leaders of our own worlds, shouldn’t we also have a 100 day plan to set the tone and focus for our “term”? Its’ not too late. We are only 28 days into 2009! The nature of a plan is that it is written down. Writing down your 100 day goals creates tremendous power.

The Need to Achieve - Click To Read Article
The need to achieve is one of the more visible needs in our society. It fuels performance in the worlds of sports (Gold Medal anyone?), music, politics, media and certainly, business. We all have a need to achieve. At one level or another, everyone wants to succeed at something. An unfulfilled need for achievement leads to frustration, disappointment and a decreased sense of self-worth. Just think of a simple goal of getting to work on time and the silly red traffic light that prevents you from achieving that goal. Yep, you know the feeling, but these are not feelings we want our team (or ourselves!) to have.

What’s Your Compelling Purpose? - Click To Read Article
All of us are in search of a clear and driving purpose for our lives; we want to contribute to something bigger than ourselves. The world of work offers a great opportunity for people to connect with a purpose. The reality is that people care less about working for a company and much more about working for a compelling cause. Without a purpose, our teams are just putting in time. Their minds might be engaged, but their hearts will not be. A team without a purpose is a team without passion. They might achieve short-term results, but they won’t have the heart to go the distance.

Who Cares? - Click To Read Article
People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. This applies to employees, children, students, a volunteer committee – whoever sees you as a leader. Caring meets one of six fundamental human needs, that when fulfilled, are teams can achieve Passionate Performance.

Think BIG - A Lesson from a Little One - Click To Read Article
Like most of us, I learned about the mechanics of goal setting early in my career. Although I learned the theory of goal setting in graduate school, it wasn’t until later in my career that I learned about the powerful psychology goal setting and how imbedding goals into the walls of our mind unleashes the real power. But it was only a few years ago that I experienced first-hand the power of thinking big… and it came at the hands of someone quite small. My oldest daughter was seven at the time. She loved to play catch with Dad. The object we threw - a tennis balls, football, one of those squishy balls - mattered little, but the challenge of consecutive catches matter very much to her.

The Power of Hope - Click To Read Article
Did you know that the bumblebee should not be able to fly? Based on its size, weight, and shape of its body in relationship to the total wing span, a flying bumblebee is aerodynamically impossible. The bumblebee, being ignorant of scientific data, goes ahead and flies anyway, making honey every day. Ignore the sting of the past and replace it with hope for a brighter future. If you do, you will be able to achieve things everyone else thinks are impossible. Keep your hopes high and you will fly to new heights!

The Lost Art of Connecting - Click To Read Article
No doubt, we live in a mega-connected world. . Linked in, Face book, three email accounts, blogs galore, Blackberries, instant messaging, real-time stock updates, photo downloads from outer space. Most of us are so connected we couldn’t disconnect if we tried (lest we stare down the dark tunnel of technology withdrawals). But I am talking about connecting vs. being connected (read wired).

The Influential Leader - Click To Read Article
Leadership has traditionally been defined as getting people to follow your vision. However, in today’s mega-matrixed world, leaders often do not have directly authority over those they need to realize their vision. Today’s leader must frequently lead through influence – a more subtle yet powerful approach to getting things done. One of the most important aspects of influencing others is spreading and soliciting new ideas.

Seek and You Shall Find - Click To Read Article
We draw into our lives the things we focus on. If your mind is ready to pay attention to something – new people to meet, selling opportunities, new applications for an old product, ways to save money, chances to learn a new skill – you draw those things into our consciousness. They have always been there, now you are just paying attention to them. When we change the way we look at things, things change the way they look. Instead of paying attention to every single piece of information in our stimulus-rich world, if we seek the things we want in our life, that’s exactly what we will find.

Shift into Reverse - Click To Read Article
Mentoring is an effective way to pass on experience and knowledge within an organization. Companies in all industries have formal and informal programs designed to hone their talent and sharpen their competitive edge. However, the technology revolution has created an ironic twist to traditional mentoring. Today, it's not uncommon for a young, entry-level worker to have a better understanding of technology or some aspect of the operation than his manager. Hmmm?

Rituals: The Fabric of a High-performing Team - Click To Read Article
As illustrated in my book, Passionate Performance, our rituals create the fabric of our culture, and they are critical for defining connections within our teams. Once we establish deeply ingrained team rituals, we view them as “the way we do things around here.” We can create rituals around recognition, performance, accomplishments, service, learning, etc. Whatever form the ritual takes, it creates connections. Effective rituals connect our team members to each other and to the leader. Select rituals that fit your style and the chemistry of your team. It has to feel comfortable and natural to be effective.

Play the Full Table - Click To Read Article
During uncertain times (like today!) most leaders and business owners play it safe. This means that if you want to distinguish yourself during tough times, the bar is pretty low. Now is the time to play the full table! Don't restrict your strategies to the sure shots. While your competitors are playing it safe, try new shots, explore the edges of the table.

No Laughing Matter.. or is it? - Click To Read Article
A zillion more job cuts, no credit available, healthcare costs keep rising, and on and on and on. No laughing matter for sure… well, maybe. I contend that taking this economic downturn or any form of adversity 100% seriously won’t help you reverse your situation any faster, so you might as well laugh a little along the way. An upturned mouth is a must in a downturn economy. Hey, laughter is free and convenient – can’t beat that in today’s market! In that spirit, here are a few of my favorite one-lines from comedian Steven Wright:

Lessons from the American Franchise Business: Building Your Business Operating System - Click To Read Article
One new franchise opens every eight minutes of each business day. Franchises account for over $1 trillion in revenue – that’s over 50% of every retail dollar. American franchises have an enviable rate of success compared to other American businesses. Franchisers provide their franchisees with three advantages that most entrepreneurs do not have: an established business system, a profitable plan and financing. Of these three advantages, the critical differentiator is the established business system, what we call a Business Operating System.

I Quit But Didn't Tell You - Click To Read Article
Most people initially begin their work tenures as engaged employees. They come to work, wanting to give 110 percent. They’re passionate about what they’re doing and want to become a significant part of the organization. But effectively selecting engaged employees is necessary but not sufficient to achieve Passionate Performance. Even the most engaged employee can have his passion for work diffused if his leader doesn’t know how to ignite Passionate Performance.

Hang on... - Click To Read Article
The blessing of life also brings with is a multitude of adversities we all face - challenges with career, family, finances, relationships, feeling overwhelmed or struggling with depression. Recently, continued negative news on many fronts can tend to magnify these challenges in our lives. I was personally uplifted as recalled an inspiring address given by Wallace A. Kennedy, Professor of Psychology at my alma mater, Florida State University. He was talking to the students of Maclay School in Tallahassee on November 17, 1981. One of their classmates, Margaret, had just committed suicide, and they were in distress.

Getting Bigger and Better: Managing the TOP 10 Risk Factors for Growing Companies - Click To Read Article
The framework for addressing the 10 Risk Factors is the Organizational Backbone. The vertebrae of this backbone are a company’s Strategies, Systems and Skills: Strategies set the direction and provide context for the business and its employees. Systems reinforce strategies. They are broadly defined as ‘the way that work gets done’. Skills enable effective execution of systems and adaptability to new systems. Most growing companies find that their Organizational backbone is misaligned – a natural result of high-growth.

Finish Strong - Click To Read Article
Georgene Johnson got to the starting line of a weekend race 15 minutes early. It was a mistake in timing that became a defining moment in her life. The 42-year-old secretary had registered to run in a 10 kilometer/ 6.2 mile race that Sunday. The race started at 8:45 a.m. There was also a marathon scheduled to begin 15 minutes earlier. Both races used the same starting line.

Cultivate Your Network - Click To Read Article
In today’s mobile world, our relationships are often the only constant. Excellent leaders are also resourceful people – they know how to access their network to quickly get stuff done. Any decent contact management system can help store and update contact information, track interactions and enter other helpful data (birthdays, special skills, personal hobbies, spouse’s name, etc.).

Control Your Inputs - Click To Read Article
Your mind is your ultimate personal computer. Like your laptop at home, sometimes you might forget to turn on your mental virus protection program allowing negative thoughts to invade your mind - without even realizing it. So, the computer adage "Garbage in, garbage out" as it applies to your mind should really be "Garbage in, garbage stays."

Choose Your View - Click To Read Article
Our experiences are much less important than how we choose to think about them. The way we interpret our experiences shapes our beliefs about the past. Furthermore, our interpretations either limit or enable our future success. For example, a mission-critical project you are leading has “promotion” written all over it, but it bombs – it’s over budget, past its deadline… the works. How you choose to interpret those facts is where you can shape your future. Are you a failure, a poor leader who is maxed out and on her way out? Or, are you a great leader in the making who is learning some tough lessons that will help ensure success on the next project when your true colors will show? Facts are facts, but the view you take is your choice.

A Matter of Perspective - Click To Read Article
Sometimes a new perspective can hit you on the head a la “I could’ve had a V-8!” For me, it happened recently when I had the good fortune of working with a intern from my children’s school. Her name is Jordan Denniston, and she is a high school junior. Although still young in years, Jordan is quite wise in spirit. As I reflected on the battling perspectives of the recent Presidential campaign and my own, more mundane challenges of perspective, Jordan’s thoughts below helped me relearn an important leadership lesson.

A Moment to Change - Click To Read Article
Trees grow up through their branches, down through their roots and grow wider with each passing year. As growth occurs, trees eventually shed their protective bark to make way for growth. Humans are the same way. Just as trees need bark as a protective shield while growth occurs, we as humans need boundaries to defend our vulnerabilities as our potential unfolds… but our ongoing growth depends on our ability to shed this “bark” of protection when it is no longer needed. In some cases, an inability to shed this bark will constrict our ability to realize our full potential.

A Matter of Trust - Click To Read Article
Trust is the basis for all successful leaders and all successful relationships for that matter. You cannot buy trust, but it is free. Trust is priceless yet can be earned over time. Have you ever tried to request someone’s trust? Maybe it was a team member, customer or a colleague. You may have wanted a decision to be made in your favor. To overcome some initial disagreement and expedite the decision making process, you might resort to “Hey, just trust me!” That statement is worthless. Either the other party already trusted you based on your past actions or they did not trust you and your request won’t change that. Trust is not spoken, it is demonstrated. Trust cannot be requested, it must be earned.





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