Six Ways To Control The Trap Of Too Many Choices

Choice is a good thing. There can be few more liberating beliefs than the belief that we can choose our response. But for a large group of people who are motivated by the acquisition of knowledge, choice can become a real threat to accomplishment.

When does choice become a drag on accomplishment? Answer: When too many choices keep you from acting.

An example: I like to tie flies for trout fishing. I like to read about tying flies – I like to acquire materials to tie flies – I like to acquire the literature about tying flies for fishing. I like to go online and watch videos of tying flies – and I like to watch CD's and VHS tapes of flies being tied. So when I sit down to actually tie flies, I have an absolute mountain of information to help me in my tying. And that's the problem. I have so much stuff that making a decision regarding what fly to tie, in what size, whether dry, wet or nymph, for still water or flowing streams, weighted or unweighted, becomes an exercise in itself.

My favorite Uncle Jimmy never had this problem – if he were still with us he'd die laughing at my “problem.” Jimmy kept a couple dozen hooks on hand, black rooster feathers and brown rooster feathers. Some black tying thread and a home made vise and a set of scissors made up his tying kit. Just before going fishing in the Pocono Mountains outside Scranton PA he would tie two flies – one with the brown feathers and one with the black . No dry flies, no wets or nymphs – just flies that were dry flies until they got wet and wouldn't float, then they became wet flies until they got so wet they sank to the bottom, and then they became nymphs. But he just called them “Flies.” He fished with them until he lost them or they became so beat up that even a frugal fisherman like Jimmy knew they were finished. And he caught lots of fish.

So how did a guy with an Uncle Jimmy as a role model end up with so much stuff he finds it hard to even decide what fly pattern to tie?

The answer: I became too focused on the acquisition of knowledge at the expense of actually tying flies and fishing. I suspect I have a lot of company. And I have the good fortune to live in a time of plenty. And in plenty there is a trap. It's the trap of too many choices – too many alternatives – too many methods and processes and technologies. And at some point the acquisition of all those things makes a decision infinitely more difficult to make. But as long as the acquisition of stuff is occurring, it's easy to feel like progress is being made – even though it isn't.

The motivator that drives the behavior of information gathering is called the Theoretical motivator. It's what moves people to gain knowledge and information. It is, like most motivators – a strength. At least until it becomes a weakness. And knowledge acquisition can definitely become a weakness. There are very few jobs – even in academia – where the acquisition of knowledge and information is an end in itself.

Failure to control this impulse to press on in the preparation and knowledge gathering phase of an assignment, a project, a goal, can be very career limiting. Success likes speed; bosses like speed; first to market wins; ready, fire, aim wins. The knowledge seeker runs the very real risk of being left behind – and not even realizing it until it's too late. And the value of all that preparation and knowledge and expertise is never valued or recognized.

What can high Theoretical people – the knowledge seekers - do to ensure their own success, and ensure their being recognized as experts and doers?

Here are six ways for high Theoreticals to keep their motivator as a strength, and not let it become a weakness.

1 - The single most important thing is to understand there is learning in taking action. The ready, fire aim model has real value. Thomas Edison was fond of reminding people that he hadn't failed 1000 times – he had simply found 1000 ways that something wouldn't work – and in that action and discovery he came ever closer to inventing the telegraph, the phonograph, and, much later, the light bulb. The learning curve associated with taking action is much steeper than the curve associated with preparation. Both have their place.

2 - Realize that preparation and knowledge acquisition, while important, can be forms of “Resistance” - that mysterious force that keeps us from doing what we need to do. Others call that behavior procrastination. Realize that using activity – as opposed to action – as an excuse to keep from acting on the important few, rather than the unimportant many, is a sure way to fail.

3 - People with a high Theoretical motivator need SMART – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Relevant, and Time specific - goals. Goals that place high value on action, with tight timelines and accountabilities to act – and to accomplish. And no more than 3 to 5 at any one time.

4 – Focus, focus, focus. Another quote from Edison: “If we did all the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.” High Theoretical people love that kind of thought – it conveys the hope and belief in the tremendous capacities each of us have. But I suspect even Edison focused on one thing at a time – I suspect those 1000 plus experiments that ended up with a light bulb were conducted with all the focus and attention he could bring to bear. Trying to do too much at one time destroys focus, and Edison knew that.

5 – Don't confuse the acquisition of some object with accomplishment. Don't confuse hope with action. Too many books lie on too many shelves unread - books that had the potential to provide useful stuff – but required the action of reading and doing to acquire the “stuff.”And don't let hope be the meal of the day. Samuel Adams said “ Those that dine on hope go to bed hungry.”

6 - Create the habit of thought of focusing on the important, and overcome that itch to dig deeper into something of interest. At the end of each day, ask the question “ What did I accomplish today on the important things?” and at the beginning of each day ask the question “ What am I going to accomplish today on the most important things?” SMART goals make those questions a lot easier to answer.

In my own case, I've stolen a page from Uncle Jimmy's book. I have cleared my workbench of all but four dozen hooks and the material for one fly pattern. It's called an Elk Hair Caddis and it is one of the all time great patterns for trout. I will not look at any other fly until I have tied at least four dozen of one size of this pattern. I set a SMART goal – I can get on with tying flies - I feel much better about doing something I really enjoy. Try it yourself.

Written by Andy Cox, President

Cox Consulting Group, 4049 E Vista Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85032 Ph: 602-795-4100; Fax: 602-795-4800; E Mail: acox@coxconsultgroup.com;Website:www.coxconsultgroup.com; Blog: http://multiplysuccess.blogspot.com

Copyright 2009 All Rights Reserved

Create Focus - Use SMART Goals To Fence Yourself In

We create focus when we fence ourselves in. And the best tool for building those fences are SMART goals - Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Realistic and Time specific. How often have you had ten different things you could be doing – each one with value, each one requiring time and concentration, and the result is you find yourself thinking about what else you could be doing rather than focusing on what you are doing? And you're tempted to put down what you're doing and rush into what you feel – at this moment – is a more important thing.

Creating fences with SMART goals results in working on the few really important things – without having to constantly argue with yourself about what you should be or could be doing.

Most people don't connect fences with freedom, but fences create the freedom to be effective – they eliminate the focus killers of too many alternatives – too many distractions – too many interests – too many possibilities.

I have a good friend who has a very high Theoretical motivator. That means he places a high value on the acquisition of knowledge and information. He's an expert in his field – and in a lot of other fields as well. The problem he has is that he just keeps acquiring information and knowledge – as if they are an end in themselves.. He's been criticized for that behavior. He's learned that his motivator is a valuable one to have, but it can become a weakness when carried too far. He guards against that by defining goals at the start of every project – SMART goals – so that he keeps himself within boundaries and focuses on accomplishment.

SMART goals create fences on a group and team level as well. A client had a real problem with meetings that lasted for hours and resulted in very little being accomplished. The organization was full of smart, energetic people who brought a lot of ideas, suggestions, concerns and dialogue to every meeting. Few meetings stayed on course. A lot of valuable time was spent without much to show for it.

The solution?

1 - Set a SMART goal for every meeting - communicate it before the meeting so people could prepare – place the goal statement in a prominent place at the meeting so it could be referred to – a valuable way to bring the subject back on track.
2 – Meetings must have time limits and agendas.
3 - The person accountable for hosting the meeting is accountable for seeing that the structure for the meeting is in place.

Setting up the fences was the easy part – getting the participants to stay in them was a challenge. But the result was worth it. The number of meetings went down, the effectiveness of meetings went up. Time had a higher value, and more people got home for dinner and time with their families.

Creating focus through SMART goals – and setting up fences to keep focus works best with active, optimistic, curious, energetic people, teams and organizations. The kind of high energy, opportunistic people, teams and organizations that have tremendous potential for accomplishment, but need to guard against too much energy and commitment not being focused on the important few things.

If that describes you personally, or if it describes your team or organization, apply SMART goals to leverage resources and gain competitive advantage. It's worth the time and effort to set the goals and focus all that capacity for accomplishment. It's the difference between being busy and being effective.

Written by Andy Cox, President

Cox Consulting Group, 4049 E Vista Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85032 Ph: 602-795-4100; Fax: 602-795-4800; E Mail: acox@coxconsultgroup.com;Website:www.coxconsultgroup.com; Blog: http://multiplysuccess.blogspot.com

Copyright 2009 All Rights Reserved

Use SMART Goals To Get Through Tough Times

The most effective thing any of us can do right now is to focus on our goals - define them, refine them to reflect changing realities, test them to see if they remain realistic and relevant, and act to achieve them.

It's hard. The steady drumbeat of news - about the economy, about the elections, about man's inhumanity to man - delivered with passion by so many talking heads on the 24 hour news cycle, can really divert attention from the really important things.

Rudyard Kipling, in his poem "If" has a verse that reads:

"If you can keep your head while all about you are losing theirs,
And blaming it on you..."

The last verse of the poem reads:

"Then you will be a man, my son"

Rudyard Kipling lived from December 1865 until January 1936. Had he lived now I 'll bet the last line of "IF" would have read

"Then you will be a leader, my son or daughter"

An example of just how panic stricken and negative some people have become over current events showed up recently in a letter on the Wall Street Journal Op Ed page. It was written by a New York attorney who feels, while outward appearances remain the same, and people still consume $900 dinners at top restaurants, we as a nation are in denial. She feels that the US has lost its place in the world, that we are no longer the pre - eminent engine of commerce that we have been, that we will never regain it, that we are headed for economic disaster, and the reality of that has not yet sunk in. And while she admits she has no experience or expertise in things financial or economic, she writes that she was so upset by her conclusions that she got up at 2 AM to E Mail her mother to tell her to take all her remaining money out of the stock market and invest it in silver, or precious metals, or the mattress. Talk about losing your head! Unfortunately, she's got lots of company. Her emotional state has been affected by what is going on. It can be contagious - it is contagious. It's a contagion you want to avoid.

It's caused by FEAR - an acronym for "Fantasized Events/ Experiences Appearing Real."

And when FEAR sets in, people can be immobilized - or so mobilized that they feel they have to act - do something - anything - like the attorney telling her mother to act and put her money in silver - or in the mattress. I hope her Mom didn't follow that advice.

I read that Op Ed piece just before I took off on my daily 5 mile run/walk. Halfway through I realized I had spent my time thinking and worrying about politics, the impact of the next President, the impact of the credit crunch and sub prime loans. The realization that I was doing that made me stop - it made me ask myself what the hell was I doing? I was giving in to the contagion. I was working myself into a lather about things I had no control over, and not focusing my thought on the important things in my life. And I suspect I have a lot of company

How to overcome those negative emotions, avoid that contagion and move forward? SMART goals provide focus on the main things. Goals that are SMART, an acronym for Specific/Simple, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant/Realistic, and Time framed can scrape us off the ceiling and keep us pointed in the right direction. The goals may have to be modified - no one should suggest that the events of today should be ignored - but isn't that a positive exercise in reality?

Replace the hysterical talk we hear on the news about having to live in our cars - about being unable to access our funds because the financial institutions have failed - about losing savings or jobs. We will be subjected to that kind of extreme negative news for a long time - it's what the media lives on. But for most of us, hanging in there, not giving in to despair and fear, not selling and putting what's left in the mattress, is the right thing to do.

Two pieces of advice that can help:

1 - In Og Mandino's book "The Greatest Salesman In The World" he advises when things are good, or bad, or indifferent - remember " This too shall pass." It's true. It's important not to let circumstances and events outside our control end up controlling our lives and causing us to make decisions on F.E.A.R., rather than on hard headed reality.

2 - Dale Carnegie, in "How To Stop Worrying and Start Living" offers another piece of advice that is so relevant to today. He advises, when faced with stressful situations, to "Live life in daytight compartments." Live in today, and work in today, slam the doors shut on yesterday and tomorrow, and the future will take care of itself. With all the negative stuff swirling around, living in daytight compartments creates focus. And SMART goals help make sure the effort put into daytight compartments is focused on the important few.

Use goals to direct positive effort to the things that can be accomplished - and to finding and acting on the opportunities and possibilities that are sure to present themselves.

If you don't have SMART goals for yourself, take the time to develop them. It can be tough when you start, but focus only on the three to five most important things in your life. Watch the cloud of negativity and doubt be replaced with positive energy and the motivation to accomplish. Use your SMART goals to keep from letting events and people wear you down. Start today - it's the only daytight compartment you have.

Written by Andy Cox, President

Cox Consulting Group, 4049 E Vista Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85032 Ph: 602-795-4100; Fax: 602-795-4800; E Mail: acox@coxconsultgroup.com;Website:www.coxconsultgroup.com; Blog: http://multiplysuccess.blogspot.com/

Copyright 2008 All Rights Reserved

Nine Essentials Of Employee Terminations

It started so well - high expectations and enthusiasm on everyone's part. And then it started to unravel. And in a period of months, that new hire or promotion or transfer is just not working out. And it comes time to part company. At that point, the most critical part of the termination process takes place. It's the place where the people remaining evaluate how it was handled - it's critical because well handled terminations create positive emotions, and poorly handled ones cause the organization to lose credibility in the eyes of its employees.

What are the nine Essentials in a termination situation that can positively impact the morale and perceptions of the people that remain?

1 - Be aware of the "there but the for the Grace of God go I" feelings of many of the remaining people. Terminations, even the most justified, create insecurity in the minds of many of the good people. View the actions taken by the organization through the self interest of the workforce.

2 - It's absolutely essential that respect for the person being terminated is shown. Privacy and providing the opportunity for constructive discussion show respect. It provides employees with the assurance that respect for individuals is part of the organization's culture.

3 - All employees want to know, by the actions of the organization, that there is a system of due process that ensures actions taken are subject to discussion and review before action is taken.

4 - Confidentiality is important. It's tempting to want to justify the termination of an employee by communicating the reasons for it. Don't. Trying to justify and/or gain the approval of others is a lose - lose proposition. Plus the terminated person may feel an obligation to seek recourse because of what is said about them.

5 - Not following what has been written and practised in order to terminate someone degrades the trust the workforce has in the word of the organization. Often aggressive managers - the same ones who would short circuit the selection process, are the ones who want to act without regard for process in termination. It's a poor investment in the morale of any organization - and almost guaranteed to result in legal action.

6 - Offer the opportunity to resign, whenever possible. The most effective action is often one where the boss and the person have a "it's not working out" talk, and the person is given time to seek other opportunities while continuing to perform their duties - or not.This can be tricky - trust is a big part of this kind of arrangement. But in most cases, people are relieved that the opportunity to salvage their self respect and protect their security is offered. Most people who are not performing well know it - they often find the discussion a relief.

7 - The Hiring Manager has to be the one to notify the person of their termination. A representative of the Legal or HR staff may be a witness and may be the resource to provide information on benefits, salary continuation, references, insurance, financial matters - but the Hiring Manager has to respect the individual by informing them of their termination.

8 - It's absolutely essential that as soon as performance issues are identified, action is taken. Failure to take action has the effect of reducing employees expectations of what represents acceptable levels of performance. And once action is deferred, it makes it more difficult to act later - while the bar of acceptable performance has been lowered.

9 - Don't make the same mistake twice. When the dust has cleared and the mistake in selection has been fixed, review what happened and take what was learned and apply it to the next selection. Continuing to do the same things and hoping for a better outcome are marks of a poor manager. And do not tolerate the "throw them up against the wall and see if they stick" approach to selection. That leads to sloppy selection practices, legal headaches, poor performance.

Review your actions when you have the responsibility for terminating someone - then compare your actions and the actions of your organization to the essentials listed. See how you can improve the morale and commitment of the people left to do the work. It's an investment in behavior that will create focus on the future rather than on the past.

Written by Andy Cox, President

Cox Consulting Group, 4049 E Vista Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85032 Ph: 602-795-4100; Fax: 602-795-4800; E Mail: acox@coxconsultgroup.com; Website: http://www.coxconsultgroup.com/; Blog: http://multiplysuccess.blogspot.com/

Copyright 2008 All Rights Reserved

Eleven Ways Leaders Create Focus

Focus is a key Personal Skill of successful people. The ability to bore into the most important things and stay attentive and focused on them, and continue that behavior as a means of solving problems, contacting prospects, writing a report, preparing a presentation, doing an analysis, maximizing the value of a meeting, is key to success. Focus maximizes time - it results in more being done in less time.


And yet, for most people, acquiring the Personal Skill of focus seems impossible - too many distractions, too many things and too little time, too many impositions to even think of focusing on one thing for any period of time. The result is that a lot of decisions are made with superficial research, at best. Even the most important decisions get short attention - or get set aside, all in the name of not enough time.


You won't hear the highly successful using the excuse of too little time. They take the time - they make the time - they treasure their time - they refuse to let their time be dribbled away on "stuff."


How do they do that?


We asked the most effective people we know how they can seem to get so much accomplished. Here's a summary of the advice they gave us.


1 - Be selfish with your time and be rewarded with focus and time to be generous. Guard your time against the many intruders that would consume it to no effect. Once that's done, time for focusing just seems to appear. And time to be generous in giving to others appears as well.


2 - Know what's most important to you - that day. If you can't state what are the most important things to you - for that day - you can't possibly maximize time and create focus. Goals are critical to creating focus and effectiveness.


3 - Live your life in "day tight compartments." Dale Carnegie made that suggestion in his book "Stop Worrying and Start Living." What does that mean? Don't waste time on yesterday, don't waste time on tomorrow - spend your time - physically and emotionally, in today. Wall off all those things that try to intrude that aren't important today. Focus on today - exclude all other things. Make today it's own day tight compartment


4 - Create trust wherever you can. The more trust people have in you, the more time you will have to focus on your most important things.


5 - Eat the frog first. Brian Tracy - in a book of the same name, advises that the frog - the most important thing you have to do today - be the first thing attacked every day. Failure to do that results in constant looking over your shoulder and anxiety - both are robbers of focus.


6 - Ask! Ask for help, ask for resources, ask for information, ask for cooperation. And be a giver and a taker - in equal measure.


7 - Train yourself to focus. Use an hour as your time block and spend an uninterrupted hour on focusing on the most important thing. Be amazed at the end of that time to see how much progress you have made. Extend that focus exercise to your other top goals. The skill of focusing and giving undivided attention for an hour is a top 10% skill - it gives enormous competitive advantage.


8 - Learn to say no. If you're not enthusiastic about doing something you won't do a good job. And that will corrode trust, and create anxiety, and lead to interpersonal issues. Plus, being a martyr to someone else's needs is really unattractive - and unappreciated. If you've ever tried to really focus on something you didn't feel good about, you know what a waste of time that is.


9 - Be realistic. Everyone has a boss. It may be that on any given day very little time will be available for focus on important stuff. Other things get in the way. Treasure that one hour that is available and spend it focused on the most important thing.


10 - Don't confuse busy with focused or effective. Often all busy is is a way to avoid the truly important.


11 - Be a respecter of the time of others. To the extent that you want your time respected, you gotta respect the time of others. If you don't respect the time of others, you're a taker - and nobody likes or respects a taker.

Start today - in this particular "day tight compartment" - to develop the Personal Skill of focus. Start with goals - and then translate them into daily goals and tasks. Watch your effectiveness and accomplishments soar.

Written by Andy Cox, President

Cox Consulting Group, 4049 E Vista Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85032 Ph: 602-795-4100; Fax: 602-795-4800; E Mail: acox@coxconsultgroup.com; Website: http://www.coxconsultgroup.com/; Blog: http://multiplysuccess.blogspot.com/

Copyright 2008 All Rights Reserved