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Intentional Leadership — D5, W1, M3 — Excellence

Good morning and Happy Friday! How was this, our first week in Month Three, focused on Excellence?

As has been the case for the last three weeks, my week has flown by. Yes, I have been much busier; working with some new coaching and mentoring clients, working on a couple of other projects, and preparing for a speaking engagement today through my local Chamber of Commerce. Also, tonight, I will finish a Mastermind Group I’ve been facilitating, with a group of supervisors in a manufacturing facility.

We’ve been studying and discussing John Maxwell’s 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. Tonight we will go through Chapter 21 — The Law of Legacy. Essentially, the message is that when you get to the end of your life, people will describe your life with one sentence, so you should choose it now — and embody that message, whatever it is that you want to be remembered for, to truly live each day as that person. It will be another busy day.

But I digress! Shall we move forward with what’s become our Friday ritual? Are you in the habit of thinking about and preparing for your weekend ahead of time, yet?

What really needs your attention this weekend? Is it projects, people, rest, relaxation…?

All of the above, for me, as usual, but perhaps in different measures than in previous weeks.

And I do need to spend some time really thinking about and planning for the next few weeks. There are some significant events coming my way in May, and I have a lot of work to do to ensure I am fully prepared. I’m getting ready to launch a new mentoring program, so there’s some “back office” work to do for that.

What thoughts do you have about the level of quality of your products and services, after this week’s exercises?

What’s in store for you this weekend, next week, and in the coming weeks? Are you taking the steps to set yourself up for success and fulfillment?

Have a great weekend, and I’ll “see” you Monday!

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Intentional Leadership — D4, W1, M3 — Excellence

Well, what did you learn yesterday?

Now let’s take the next step along this path…If you were your customer, how satisfied would you be with the products, services, or interactions provided by your organization or team?

Based on this change in perspective, what investments should you make as a leader to lift the quality of your products or services?

Short post today, as there is more value in your reflection in these areas than there is in my adding more words…

Can’t wait to hear what you’re coming up with. HINT — see the “Comments” box below? Please, use it!!!

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Work-Life Balance is a fallacy!

If you work full time, you are likely all too aware that there is no such thing as “work-life balance.” It’s a fallacy, a lie, an illusion, a figment of someone’s overactive imagination, a blatant untruth! Balance implies some equality on each side of the scale, some level of fairness of the elements being measured.

Think about it. We all have 24 hours a day. We sleep 7-8 hours. We are at work, typically, between 8-10 hours each day. What about your commute time? Maybe 30 minutes round trip, possibly even an hour? So far, that’s about 15.5 hours on the short end and up to 19 hours on the long end of the range.

What about time to eat, exercise, run errands, read, reflect, play… Time for extra-curricular activities — either your children’s or your own — volunteering, sitting on a Board for another organization, taking classes…

Don’t forget about time for your family! Yep, that’s the important one, isn’t it? We all say family is our highest priority and yet they are often the people who get our leftovers in terms of time and energy.

We’d like to think we could have it all, but we know it’s not possible. Even the influential and powerful discover this — if they are lucky! Read this story about Erin Callan, former CFO of Lehman Brothers, as she discusses the sacrifices she made in terms of her marriage and family in exchange for the prestige, power, and money afforded by her position. Was it really worth it?

What if you were introduced to an entirely different concept: Mastery of the art of living. Try this on for size:

A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play; his labor and his leisure; his mind and his body; his education and his recreation. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing and leaves others to determine whether he is working or playing. To himself, he always appears to be doing both. — LP Jacks

What if you could master the art of living? It’s possible, you know? It’s not effortless, but wouldn’t it be worth it?

The key is (is this familiar?) having a high level of self-awareness — understanding your values, priorities, and dreams — and intentionality — deliberately making decisions and taking steps that lead you to the place you long to be, honoring your values daily.

My recommendation…find a mentor or a coach who has been along this path before you and enlist their support in your quest.

Let me know how I can help…before it’s too late.

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