The Best Question Ever

A few weeks ago, I had a moment of professional enlightenment prompted by a really, really, really good question. I'm pretty sure it's the best question ever.

"What would you be if you knew you could be the absolute best at it?"

This question turned my world a little upside down because it challenged me in a way I've never been challenged before. 

I've been motivated to action many times by the famous question, "What would you attempt if you knew you could not fail?" In fact, this question helped lead to the launch of my business over a decade ago. My wife even bought me a paperweight inscribed with that question because it had empowered me so much. (I do find it ironic, though, that a quote intended to set you free is inscribed on an item intended to hold things down. Who's brilliant idea was that?)

As much as I love that old question, this new question is better. It takes the challenge to a whole new level. It pushes you beyond simply thinking about what you might want to TRY and forces you to think about what you could really BE. It changes the game from practicing on the playground to playing in the pros.

I believe the question forces you to discover (or simply admit) your true passion and possibility. Answered honestly, it will state exactly how you can make the biggest difference in the world. 

Yes, you do have to be slightly realistic. If you're 46 years old with a long history of knee surgery, you probably missed your window to become the best player in the NBA. But there is something else you have the potential to be the best in the world at, of that I'm sure. 

Asking this question will very likely make you think bigger than you've ever thought before. It will also very likely cause many of the same feelings you experience at the top of an insanely tall roller coaster: sweaty palms, increased heart rate, wet pants (hopefully not this last one, but I can't promise anything).

A word of warning: answering the question is like putting your initials in the box on the contract that states "I hereby swear to pursue this calling or the Universe will kick my ass." You'll have to very quickly start overcoming the fears, worries, stresses, and obstacles between you and your new goal. Or live out your life knowing you didn't do what you really coulda/shoulda done. Your choice. Harsh, I know. 

The good news is that once the answer is clear and compelling, the obstacles have a hard time keeping up. They're still there, but somehow they don't seem as scary or difficult. That's because the biggest obstacle -- not knowing or not admitting what the answer is -- is removed instantly when you answer the question truthfully.

The other good news is that you probably already know the answer. You just haven't had the courage to admit it. It's ok to have some fear. This is a big deal we're talking about. And as writer Po Bronson says, "The absence of fear is not courage; the absence of fear is mental illness." If fear is in your way, here's my advice: don't let fear stop you any longer. I have no advice for you if you're mentally ill. 

So what was my answer to the best question ever? What would I be if I knew I could be the absolute best at it?

I'd be the absolute best writer and speaker on topics that help businesses and individuals become amazing at what they do. Whew! There, I said it out loud. 

If you know me or follow my writing, you might be thinking, "Isn't that what you already do?" And the answer is "Kinda." I've been a writer and speaker for quite a while. The weird thing is that I've always been afraid to admit that's what I could be the absolute best at, even though I think I've known it all along. So I've never really committed to it. And I've used a thousand different excuses to not own up to this calling and pursue it with relentless passion. In all honesty, I've been a big pansy.

My main excuse has been that I have a business to run and I don't really have enough time to be the absolute best writer and speaker that I know I could be. I've let that excuse hold me back long enough! So my main job now is to re-shape my business to run differently. That means putting some talented people in place for sure. It also means letting go of some products, duties, and projects that I've been holding onto for way to long. All of this change is a little scary for me, but not as scary as it was two weeks ago. Clarity and commitment combined is an amazingly powerful antidote to the paralyzing effects of fear.

So, now that I've honestly and truthfully answered the question, guess I gotta start writing that book, huh? I don't want the Universe to kick my you-know-what. If I'm going to eventually be the best, I'd better get going right now.

I am dying to hear how you answer the question. Would you think about it, answer it, and email me or leave a comment here after this article with your answer? You can comment on the article itself, too, if you'd like. 

You Have Exactly Enough Time

There is a piece of artwork from the very fun and amazing collection at Storypeople that says:

"Everything changed the day she figured out there was exactly enough time for the important things in her life."

 

We're crazy busy in both our professional and personal lives. We rush from place to place, project to project, checking our smart phones in between meetings (yes, even while driving) just to make sure we don't miss anything. And God forbid we don't respond to someone's/everyone's urgent request within milliseconds in our completely electronically-tethered world. So we type our thumbs to the bone, we make special trips to Staples to look for a bigger inbox, and we're late for dinner because, well, we have WORK to do.

 

Then there's little Timmy's soccer, baseball, football, lacrosse, swimming, violin, trumpet, piano, karate, dance, gymnastics, art, and advanced nuclear physics classes. All between school and bedtime.

 

And, don't forget: you've got to volunteer for the food pantry, the homeless shelter, Habitat for Humanity, Church, the old folks home, the latest disaster relief, the Boy Scouts, the Girl Scouts, and the International Society For Crazy Busy People. Yes, I made that last one up, although I'm thinking of starting a local chapter anyway.

 

Finally, don't forget to update your Facebook and twitter status at least 7.3 times per day or you'll look like a total loser who simply doesn't have much going on in his life. Because it's not enough to be busy, it's critical to let the world know just how busy we are.

 

Why do we do all of this????????

 

Because it's all IMPORTANT, right?

 

After all, if it wasn't all important, we wouldn't do it, right? RIGHT???

 

Admit it, you smiled at those lists up there because your lists 'aint all that different. And you do it all because it's all important, right? (Another smile, perhaps?)

 

"Everything changed the day she figured out there was exactly enough time for the important things in her life."

 

Confucius said it another way: "Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated."

Excellence at work (or home) does not come from being busy, it is the direct result of spending our time on the truly important things. To be amazing at what we do, we have to break free of the unimportant things. That's counter-culture, counter-intuitive, and just plain hard...at first.

 

Busy rarely equals productive or effective.

 

Can you be busy being productive? Absolutely, but only after you've stopped being busy with all the unimportant things. You've had days where you were just rockin', haven't you? On those days you produce more in that single day than you normally do in an entire week. On those days, you drop all that stuff you normally label "important" and you focus relentlessly on being excellent, producing quality, and getting things done. That leaves pretty much zero time to do anything else. What happened to all that other "important" stuff? Hmmmm, maybe not so important after all, huh?

To practice what I preach, in order to write this article I've eliminated several "important" things I was going to do today. Because writing this article is more helpful, productive, and important than pretty much everything else on my list. The funny thing is, when I get back to my list I'll end up eliminating half of it because I won't have time to do it all. And the world will keep spinning anyway.  

If you haven't done so already, start evaluating all the things that fill up your time and take up your energy. Interrogate each item as if it was a potential life-threatening enemy: "Are you truly important, or am I just pretending that you are? If you're not, you're gone, amigo!"

Try it at work today. The next time you catch yourself doing something that's busy but really not important, drop it. Trash it. Completely black it out on your to-do list with a Sharpie.

Because you (only) have exactly enough time for the important things in your life.

Ignore The Bees!

The front flowerbed of my house is populated mostly by hostas, mainly because they're nearly impossible to kill (unlike every flower we try to plant). Hostas bloom in late summer. The blooms are tall stems with multiple purple flowers. Hundreds of pretty purple flowers.

Hosta nectar must be the crack cocaine of the bee world, because at any given moment, there are countless numbers of bees flying around in front of my house. Not just any bees, but those gigantic, intimidating, fuzzy bumblebees. 

We have a small patio in front of our house, too. It is my favorite place to sit and read. It's also less than a foot away from bumblebee crack town. So, I have three choices: Find somewhere else to read, kill all the bees, or ignore the bees altogether. This past weekend, I chose to sit in my favorite spot and read. I had a theory that the bees would be much more interested in the pretty purple flowers than Tom Peters' latest book (The Little Big Things...highly recommend, by the way).

So, I sat and read for a glorious and uninterrupted 30 minutes before my 9-year old daughter bounced outside. She stopped dead in her tracks several feet away from my little oasis. When I looked up, her eyes were the size of frisbees, her mouth wide open like a big-mouth bass.

"DAD! There are BEES all around you!"

"Yep. And there have been for the past 30 minutes. They don't care about me. All they care about are those pretty purple flowers. I'm not a pretty purple flower, so I'm pretty sure they're not going to bother me."

By the time I finished my sentence, she had bolted from the scene, leaving a small whirlwind in the spot she had just occupied. Apparently, she didn't believe me. 

I spent another glorious and uninterrupted 20 minutes reading before I had to move on to mowing, sorting socks & underwear, or some other completely forgettable weekend chore.

The bees never did bother me. 

Do you ever let the bees bother you? I mean the bees at work: the projects, people, issues, etc. that buzz around you all the time, distracting you from being your best. 

We get so worked up about stuff that really shouldn't concern us at all. We worry about office politics, other people's agendas, or what the CEO is or isn't doing. When the truth is that much of what we worry about at work has very little affect on us. Ok, maybe some of these things do affect us, but the truth is we have little or no control over many of these things. So why do we bother worrying and complaining about them?

The bees really aren't paying attention to you. They're busy doing their own thing. Office politics will go on with or without you, other people will always have their own agendas, and the CEO has more on her to-do list than making your life miserable, I promise. The bees usually only bother you when YOU step into their business.

Ignoring the bees can be difficult because misery loves company. We love to feel a sense of belonging, even if it means we belong to a group that wallows in negativity, gossip, and undermining. If we feel even a little bit wronged by a co-worker, a boss, or "the company," we will dive headfirst into the beehive, not realizing until it's too late that there are an awful lot of stingers in there.

The most effective people in any organization are the ones who have learned to ignore the bees. How do they do it? They focus on doing great work, collaborating with their teammates, and supporting their leaders. When someone is gossiping or complaining, they simply walk away. They are quick to encourage and compliment others. They check their egos at the door. Instead of always doing what they want to do, they do what needs to be done to make the team, the department, or the company successful. And at the very least, when the bees start buzzing, they just keep their mouth shut and get back to work as quickly as possible.


Got ideas or encouragement for those struggling with bees in their office? Leave a comment!

A Little Bit Of Different

I generally avoid writing about the "big 4 of service" (I just made up that term in case you've never heard it before). You know the names: Disney, Southwest Airlines, Ritz Carlton, and Starbucks. 


It's not that I don't like these companies. It's just that everybody writes about them, and talks about them, and wishes they could be them. Truthfully, I get a little sick of hearing about them from every customer service consultant, writer, and speaker. 


Don't get me wrong; I've experienced them all and they all live up to their legends. I NEVER get sick of experiencing them, just hearing about them. As a matter of fact, I'm sitting in a Starbucks right now as I write this. Yeah, that's me in the corner. Hi, how are you?


I noticed at something at my Starbucks this morning that I think I've only subconsciously noticed before. It's a little bit different. I haven't been here for a week or so, and it's just, well, a little bit different than the last time I was here.


What exactly did I notice? I don't know what they call it, but I'm going to call it the "little bit of different." You know, the different items they stock on their impulse purchase shelves. The different music they play over the sound system. The different products they promote in their window decals and in-store signage. It's all a little bit different from the last time I was here.


Starbucks has created a magic formula here. They produce environments with amazing consistency. You always know what you're going to get. You always know how it's going to feel when you walk into a Starbucks. You always get the same quality of service.


And you always, whether you notice it or not, experience that little bit of different. Maybe you read a promotional sign while you wait for your barista to whip up your venti-double-expresso non-fat-vanilla-iced-chai-tea-latte-extra-hot. Maybe you pause to check out the cool new mugs on the way out the door. I swear I would collect Starbucks coffee mugs if it didn't make me look like one of those crazy old ladies who collect little glass figurines. For now, I just admire them on my way out the door.


The little bit of different is the fairy dust sprinkled over the top of the consistent design, product, and service. It magically pulls you in and engages your senses. While the consistency satisfies our need for safety and belonging, the little bit of different piques our brain's need for discovery and exploration. I would attempt to apply Maslow's hierarchy of needs here, but I'm afraid too much theoretical thinking might induce a stroke.


I'll just leave it at this: What can you do this week to create a little bit of different in your business? What can you freshen up? What new idea, information, or product can you introduce to your customers? 


What could you do to create a little bit of different in your team this week? How about holding your next staff meeting outside under that tree in front of your building? Or writing a hand-written note of encouragement to each of your team members? Yes, an email note will work, too (but not nearly as good as a handwritten note). 


By the way, this is not about differentiating yourself from your competition, although it certainly can help. It's more about differentiating yourself from last week's version of yourself. If you're constantly pushing yourself to be a little different than you were yesterday, you'll find yourself on a path of continuous experimentation and improvement. And that's a very, very good thing.


Constantly introducing a little bit of different keeps your business feeling fresh and new -- and keeps your team and customers more curious, engaged, and satisfied -- whether you're in a year-old startup or a hundred-year-old institution your grandfather started.


It doesn't have to be dramatic or expensive. It just needs to be done on a regular basis. Keep yourself fresh. Introduce a little bit of different.




P.S. I know sticklers for the English language will cringe at my use of the word "different" instead of "difference." Please accept my butchering of the English language as one of my attempts to introduce a "little bit of different."  :)