In The Dance

I’m in the middle of a 15 day leadership challenge.
  

Leadership is a lifelong passion.  I want to grow in my understanding of life and help others grow as well.  Simply put, I desire to be better and aspire for both myself and others to do different. 

With that in mind here’s what I learned today from  “The Power of Vulnerability” presented by Patrick Lencioni. 

Patrick began his talk with a simple quote: “ People need to be reminded more often than they need to be instructed.” Samuel Johnson English author, critic, & lexicographer (1709 - 1784)

His talk highlighted three basic fears: 

1. The fear of losing - We have a fear of losing so  we simply do not tell the truth.  Not that we are to be rude, or curse however we need to learn to tell the kind truth.
2. We are fearful of being embarrassed - Therefore, we avoid saying anything.  Really as a leader it is not my job to look good it’s my job to express opinions about what might work.
3. And then there is the fear of being inferior - It’s difficult to admit when things may not be up to snuff.

You know, life is interesting. Just before I participated in today’s challenge, a good friend stopped by. In our conversation we commented to each other  “We’re out of shape as an industry. We like to look to others and cast blame.”

Numbers are down across the board and I often hear, “It’s not my fault”.

Guess what? We’re ALL responsible! There’s lots of work, but to secure it may not be easy! 

Experience has taught me, if we are unwilling to put in the effort we’ll not reap the reward.

So today’s thought:  Life in the world of residential real estate is simple,  “It’s all about closing the escrow. The escrow is all about getting through the loan process, and we cannot get through the loan process when there is not a contract.

A contract is written when folks find a home they want to buy or sell the one they are in.  People find homes when they have  Real Estate Agents, show houses or sit down to talk about listing the home for sale.  Agents list homes and show houses when they meet people who they have been introduced to.  Buyers and Sellers are found when we all listen and talk to others.  We create conversations when we spend time sending cards, talking with friends and family, and visiting in our spheres of influence” (the old send, call, see). 

Sound familiar?  The progression from start to finish is about 90 days.  We’re all in the dance somewhere.  The real question for each one of us is, when are we going to start?

It's That Time of Year!

I’m devoted to fall---it my favorite time of the year!

Did you feel the change this past week?  That last monsoon rain changed everything, no more 100 degree days, at least not till May. 

I adore the Arizona winter!  The evenings, for me, are reminiscent of a slower pace of life.  Quiet evenings beside the fire pit, beautiful sunsets, light jackets and a hot toddy.  Oh, and let’s not forget fresh citrus right off the tree.   

We experience a magical transformation!  Right now it’s the perfect time to plant a fall garden and the roses are bursting with color.

It’s hard to believe that we’re in the last quarter of 2015. 

October brings Halloween (The Valley of the Sun is the only spot I know, where in the 1960’s grown ups actually dressed up and went “trick-or-treating”). 

In case you forgot, October holds one of my fondest childhood memories.  Mother simply created costumes from hotel bed sheets and we went on the hunt for candy in a Tucson neighborhood - I’m sure the hotel never forgave her for ruining their sheets.

November hails Thanksgiving, and Thanksgiving means lunch on November 19^th - our 9^th annual event.  Thanks to our administration, this GAT tradition has become one of my favorite adult memories. We all crowd into the office standing shoulder to shoulder or sit on the floor with plates full of food. You, our friends, help us be so successful.  This year lunch is between 11am and 1pm.  As my old tee shirt says, “it’s not about me!”

Christmas day this year is going to be a very special one for Ken and I - not only will it be perfect picnic/hot tub weather, it’s just a week before our son Cory and his wife, Lori fly in from Alaska for New Year’s. Guess what! I’m looking for the perfect New Year’s Eve Celebration - let me know if you have a spot in mind.

Yes, I have a weakness for fall. However, fall is also my best bi-annual planning time. 

I enjoy stopping and taking the time to reflect on what worked and what needs to change. This year I am strategically planning for 2016. 

Over the years I’ve learned some of us see more than others do. We need to look at what worked and plan for what needs to change. 

Sometimes I find myself so busy in today’s tasks I fail to plan for where we need to be down the road. 

So, enjoy this last quarter - but take the time to really think about 2016.  

What memories will you hold onto?

Who will you impact?

How will you change?

Daniel Pink's Thinking

I really love Daniel Pink’s thinking and this is timely!

Welcome to the latest edition of our irregular and irreverent newsletter. In this issue, you’ll find: another installment of our new interview feature, “Four Questions For” and 5 books, docs, and podcasts I’ve recently discovered. Let’s get started. WHEN TO COMPETE AND WHEN TO COOPERATE:  4 QUESTIONS FOR ADAM GALINSKY & MAURICE SCHWEITZER One of the questions we face — in business, school, or  just about any human system — is this: Should we cooperate? Or should we compete?  Now two eminent social scientists, Adam Galinsky andMaurice Schweitzer  have mined the research and discovered the answer: Well, you should kinda, sorta do both. Actually, the answer is far more sophisticated and fascinating than that. And they reveal it one of my favorite books of 2015, Friend & Foe. (Buy it at Amazon,B&N, or IndieBound.)  The book is rich with research, crisply written, and packed with shrewd advice. I asked Galinsky and Schweitzer to be our latest participants in 4Q4, a new feature where I ask authors four questions about their book — the same four questions every time.  Gentlemen, what’s the big idea? We are hardwired – in the very architecture of the human brain – to both cooperate and compete. We do both all the time, in every relationship, often unconsciously. That means that all of our relationships are characterized by the tension between being a friend and being a foe. At work, we collaborate with our colleagues to complete projects, but we compete for raises and promotions. As new parents, we cooperate to raise our infants, but compete for sleep. As siblings, we experience both “brotherly love” and “sibling rivalry.” Simply recognizing that this tension exists in every relationship can help us find the right balance between these forces and  achieve better outcomes at work and at home.   How do you know? Our book draws on hundreds of studies from the social sciences, animal studies, and neuroscience. Beyond the scientific evidence, we supplement our findings with real-world stories from a wide variety of areas. So you’ll read about how both airline pilots and Capuchin monkeys react furiously to unfairness, how cuckoo birds and Bernie Madoff engaged in deception, and how hierarchy helps bees, basketball teams, and Wall Street researchers succeed.   Why should I care? By understanding the tension between cooperation and competition, you will become a better friend and a more formidable foe.   What should I do? Because every relationship faces the competing forces of cooperation and competition, we need to find the right balance between being a friend and a foe. Here are some practical pieces of advice from three of the chapters.   How to nail a job interview: Balance confidence and deference. For confidence, just before the interview use our validated method: think of a time you had power. To be properly deferential, be sure to ask knowledgeable questions about the interviewer’s experience. How to apologize: Be fast, candid, focus on the victim, offer penance and articulate a commitment to change. How to negotiate:  If you have full information and know the other side deeply values what it seeks from you, make the first offer. When you make the first offer, present a choice among multiple offers. This allows you both to anchor the negotiation to your advantage and to signal cooperation. More: Friend & Foe: When to Cooperate, When to Compete, and How to Succeed at Both   5 MORE THINGS YOU MIGHT LIKE Here’s some other stuff I’ve enjoyed recently: BOOK: Mindware: Tools for Smart Thinking.  The work of renown social psychologist Richard Nisbett, this somewhat loosely organized book is a smart primer on how to avoid thinking mistakes and reason more rigorously. NEWSLETTER: Next Draft. I’ve recommended this before, but it bears repeating: This free daily newsletter offers the finest (and most eclectic) collection of stories you’ll find anywhere. VIDEO: Being 12: The Year That Changes Everything. What’s it like to be 12 years old? This 7-minute video, from WNYC, captures the essence. DOCUMENTARY: The Battered Bastards of Baseball. A Netflix documentary about a remarkable independent minor league baseball team in the 1970s. You might think it’s about sports. But it’s really about the importance of taking risks, defying convention, and serving others. STORE: CW Pencil Enterprise. Folks, you should know this about me: I write with a pencil (and not the mechanical ones, which are Satan’s favorite tools). I use the old-fashioned wood kind. And I now buy them from this one-woman store, a veritable Valhalla for pencil nerds. That’s all for this edition.  As always, thanks for reading our humble newsletter. Cheers, Daniel Pink

Here I go again talking about books, blogs, newspapers, letters and all that stuff that is on the internet!

It was on the internet I learned about Jim Rohn's series entitled "The Ant Philosophy".

Jim says, "everybody should study ants."

Ants are interesting! Ants never quit! Ants think WINTER all summer and SUMMER all winter. Finally they do all they can do, all the time.

Jim's thoughts took me back to what I learned in Proverbs 6:6, "Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways and be wise. Without having any chief, officer or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest." And according to Proverbs 30:25, "The ants are a people not strong, yet they provide their food in the summer."

"Never give up, prepare for the future, stay positive and go for everything you can get."

Right now I know when you consider October 3rd and the CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) - there were a lot of changes.

But just consider this: our weather is changing, our nation is changing. Schools change and our daily work changes. Our lives are never the same.

Still, I have High Hopes - just like the Frank Sinatra song.

Yeah, "Just what makes that little ole ant think he can move that rubber tree plant ...no one can tell that ant can't move the rubber tree plant ... cause he's got high hopes!"

That's me. We're gonna get through these changes just like an ant!