My Shtick (Why you should read this blog)

Ever wake up one morning and wonder what you were doing with your life? Well four years ago today I woke up wondering how I was going to live my life after just losing my mother to almost a decade long battle with lung cancer. My goal here today is to revive this blog with energy and intent. If you are new to reading this blog, then I promise you stories and probing questions that will help you become a more effective person.

The term effective is left up to your interpretation. Effective could be a more successful career, a more devoted mother or a stronger level of involvement in your community. I’ve got an amazing ability with words (hence the blog) and a way with finding the best in others. That what I’m best at or as my friend Kenny says it this is my shtick. I have this way of inspiring people and helping them become a more complete person. I don’t have a script on how we find a better you, so I apologize now if you want an outline. I’m not here to say there is something wrong with you. It’s possible you are reading and thinking to yourself “hey, my life is pretty freakin awesome.” If that’s the case, then consider me here to help you make it really freakin awesome.

The chairman of Google said that there is as much information created in 48 hours as there was from the beginning of mankind up until 2003. Given that, my goal is to be structured. I’ll aim to release blog posts on Monday and Thursday mornings. I challenge you to keep me honest on that promise. For those who want to understand the running reference for the blog, you can read my first blog post: “One Day I Just Started Running.” This is where my story begins.

Why I won't flake on my wedding today

A few years ago I was participating in a team offsite where we were all asked to define the probability (0 to 100%) of us showing up to an event. If we responded to the planner saying ‘yes’ I'll be there, then we were asked the same question using the responses ‘maybe’, ‘I think so’, ‘possibly’, ‘no’ and a few others. The summary from the team just to the response of ‘yes’ shocked me. While I said 100%, the team was not consistent. Answers ranged from 50 to 98%. As we went through ten or so other possible responses that covered everything between 'yes' and 'no' I was less surprised. As expected the numbers were all over the map, ranging from 0 to 95%. My answer to all the 'maybe' type of responses was zero. My logic here is I don't answer with a response of maybe. I also said zero when I selected a response of 'no'. Again the team shocked me when some gave a probability higher than zero for when they responded 'no'. When people do this I'm personally annoyed cause I now have to accommodate someone who gave me no indication they would show. I like surprises to the extent that it doesn't adversely affect the planning.

Over the last decade I've organized hundreds of meetings, events and trips. Nothing entertains me more than the consistent flake. In fact for my adventure group we have a tracking mechanism for flakes. Could you imagine if you had a stat tracker for co-workers, friends or family members with events you organize? You would think anger might be the feeling, but when you see the trends you hopefully might understand my perspective. Some classic examples include the person who has a cancellation rate of 100%, the people who cancel within a few hours of their friend canceling or my person favorite is those who cancel at the very last minute due to an emergency. The reason the last answer gets me the most is how close to event time these people wait to say that they have encountered an emergency. I've seen so many 'I had an emergency' responses over the years that I unfortunately see the person as a poor planner before giving them empathy. Don't get me wrong emergencies happen however, from my point of view, most of the time the person seems to be holding on to hope for a last minute miracle. I'm sorry to say, but when you bail on a trip because you had 'work pop up' or 'needed to get homework done for a class' it says to me that you failed to meet your other commitments and my event is now a lower priority on your list.

I could go on with other examples, but I may offend those classic flakers. Maybe its just that I have an appreciation for the event planner or it could be that I plan my commitments better. I will admit I have flaked, so I am not perfect. Coincidentally it seems that the few times when I did flake the event tanked or turned into a disaster. That's still not a good excuse. For me my response of yes means 100% assurance I will be there. I don't operate with maybe in my vocabulary. I know for some, maybe is a way of life. It is a great response to use so you can upgrade to another event without shame.

I'm sure when you read the title you thought of course I wouldn't flake on my own wedding, but I hope you see it’s obvious for a different reason. Those who know me understand I take commitments of all sizes seriously. I know at times we are pressured for quick answers, but you should have the right to request time to consider your ability to commit.

The question I have for you is if you hold the reputation with your peers as one of a person they can count on when you say yes or if you are a flaker. If it’s the latter, then think about your answer the next time you make a commitment.

Let’s NOT wait until next year

Edgar Renteria of the San Francisco Giants spent months on the bench this season with little playing time. When the Giants made the playoffs, he found that little something extra that he had not tapped into all year. Forget sizzle, this guy finished the season with a bang. In his last at-bat, he hit a homerun that won the World Series and got himself named MVP.

I’ll admit I’m falling short on knocking my 2010 goals out of the ball park. I refuse to let the year end without a sizzle though. Don’t get me wrong, lots of amazing things have happened in my life this year, but there are still 60 days left in 2010 and I do not want to fall victim to the “I’ll just wait until next year” syndrome. Let’s make a plan to get the most out of the last 1400 hours of this year.

How do we do it? Well this will require a different approach, because we’re looking at a sprint vs. a marathon. First, recognize some meaningful things that will allow us to finish the year looking great at work and feeling accomplished at home.

Next, you’ve got to recognize why you are off track. Odds are you have some projects that are way over due and driving you mad. I know how you feel; I’ve got two of them that make me cringe each day. I’m going to focus on them only. In order for me to do this, I’ve conceded some other goals that are too distracting and getting me nowhere fast. If you are behind, then you have no time to spread yourself thin if you expect to turn out results before year end. List out one or two habits that are that are preventing you from getting these projects done and identify a new approach for these last two months.

Finally, you need to make a plan for the last nine weeks. I’m sticking with two projects and looking at the time I can commit to them over the next two weeks. I’m deferring time I could spend on new or “more fun” projects until I get these two completed. I’ve made time at the start of every day to review my three bad habits. This will remind me to not let them happen. Each project has a very basic schedule with small milestones to accomplish each day. I’ve been realistic and I’m even accounting for schedule delays that could occur. I’ve scheduled a one-hour meeting with myself two weeks from today to review my project status. From here I will make any necessary adjustments to help me obtain my goal.