    
Return to Top
- Vary your information sources. If you restrict yourself to selected avenues for your news and information, you will inevitably receive a biased view of the world and issues. (The same applies in the neighborhood, in clubs, in schools, etc. During an open house, my daughter's fourth grade teacher told the assembled parents, "Here's the deal: If you don't believe everything your kid tells you about me without checking, I won't believe everything your kid tells me about you without checking." We all shouted our approval.)
- Listen to Billy Joel's "Shades of Grey." There are relatively few issues which are black and white, case closed, no thought necessary. As he laments, "I'm just not that sure any more."
- In business, those closest to the work and the customer (e.g., a bell person or telephone operator) usually have more accurate information than those several times removed (e.g., a district supervisor or a vice president). If you want to really understand something, don't rely on second- and third-hand information. Go see for yourself. (A woman once told me that Broadway musicals were a waste of time. After sampling several, I realized that she was the waste of time.)
- Understand that "expert" sources change all the time. Remember when you couldn't go into the water within 60 minutes of eating or you would cramp up and drown? Do you recall that cigarette companies once employed actual doctors in advertising to advocate the lesser health risks of their particular brand?
- Let's be clear: There is often a profound difference between what may be legal and what is ethical, and vice versa. I'm always suspicious when a company's ethics oversight is in its legal department. Here's Anatole France: "The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread."
- The esteemed New York Times is often called the newspaper "of record" in the U.S. and it is an impressive repository of information. But it's famous front page mission, "All the news that's fit to print" doesn't include the actual implication: "All the news that WE SEE fit to print." Don't believe everything you're told, no matter how loudly or insistently.
- You can waste a great deal of your life on conspiracy theories, so here is a guideline to free up your time: Two people have trouble keeping a secret, and the thought that entire corporations or government agencies or a combination thereof can keep them over prolonged periods is as likely as a Yeti showing up at Lincoln Center for the matinee performance of South Pacific. (And, yes, men really did land on the moon.)
- If you're curious about an urban legend or other commonly-believed
but uncertain "wisdom" (e.g., GM's Nova didn't sell in
Mexico because the car's name means "won't go" in Spanish),
you can check it out on this site: http://www.snopes.com/business/misxlate/nova.asp.
- The Internet and its "social media" has a dichotomous quality: You can become aware of news and initiatives very rapidly, and see and hear them extraordinarily quickly. You can also be exposed to absolute lies, fabrications, and ignorance swelled to a cacophony by people parroting what they hear without validating it. Listener beware.
- "Don't believe everything you hear, even if I tell you." - Oscar Wilde.
Return to Top
Regimen or compulsion?
My bias is that we need to organize parts of our lives that are
important. This varies in its significance.
I suppose if someone knows where to find something quickly,
that's the point, no matter how bad the clutter may appear
to an observer But I don't want my surgeon asking no one in
particular, "Where did I leave that clamp?"
Creating a regimen around an exercise schedule, or work responsibilities,
or family obligations, or civic and social commitments, enables
most people to be more efficient and, ironically enough, more
flexible. (In common parlance: multi-tasking.)
But an excessive regimen can become a compulsion, which is
the height of inflexibility and at the margins of a behavioral
disorder. (OCD, obsessive compulsive disorder, refers to an
obsession with an idea and a compulsion about behavior.)
I've met people who have decided to remove all fats from their
foods, to the extent that they concoct strange replacements,
the pursuit consumes their social lives, and, to me, they
look far more unhealthy than if they allowed a moderate amount
of fat to enter their systems.
Exercise is a great regimen, for mind and body, but the people
I see running in rain, snow, fog, and other hazardous conditions
I think are more compulsive than smart. Wouldn't a treadmill
suffice for that day? And would your health be drastically
affected if you skipped one day? I work out three times a
week with a personal trainer, but I don't beat myself up when
I can't get there because of other commitments. Nor do I compensate
for it through some forced exercise. (The trainer beats me
up enough for the both of us.)
We've seen people whose desks are beyond orderly—the
pencils must be the same length and aligned perfectly, the
phone pad squared against the phone. We recognize that as
"over the edge." But there are also subtle routines
which also form compulsions which we too easily overlook.
An orderly life is sensible, but a compulsive one is not. Even
"order" makes little sense when you sacrifice value
for the sake of order. I've seen restrictions placed on guests,
pets, and even children to the extent that I wonder why the
guests, pets, and children were included to begin with. (I
knew a woman so fastidious about her Mercedes that her husband,
who bought the care for her, was forbidden to drive it.)
In many cases, I love my ducks in a row. But there are times
when I just run through the bushes, because it seems like
fun. And, interestingly enough, the ducks on my pond have
yet to line themselves up in a row.
Return to Top
When I reached my 50s, and found myself huffing and puffing
through airports (US Air designs connecting gates at Charlotte
and Philly so as to endanger even a two-hour connection—you
need to be an Olympic steeplechaser to be confident of making
the next plane), I decided I had better begin working out, and
joined a health club.
That helped, but about eight years later I forced myself (in
between huffs and puffs in airports) to admit that I had created
an exercise regimen that wasn't so much focused on burning
muscles as burning rubber—I was in and out in 45 minutes,
"unworked out."
I migrated to my current personal trainer and am now in the
best shape of my life. I fly less than ever, but sometimes
visit airports with luggage and proudly demonstrate my stamina,
just to make a point, before driving home again.
The bad news here is that the same phenomena apply to your
mind. There are people who arise, travel the same way to the
same job, return home, have dinner, watch TV, and retire,
in preparation for the same lemming path the next day. There
are also those so immersed in a specialty or passion that
their minds turn into tiny black holes of specialized focus,
sucking in and destroying all other learning (my favorites
are the cyberspace crowd, who will soon forget how to create
eye contact and shake hands—they are busy sending email
to a colleague 20 yards away).
Your body is doing its best when you're achieving a "burn,"
your muscles are slightly sore, you're perspiring, you have
maximum flexibility, and you can perform aerobically and anaerobically.
Your mind is doing best when you are debating, considering
other viewpoints, attempting things you haven't ever done,
building both your creative and logical capacity, and "sore"
from the work of invigoration and inspiration. The use of
calculators has diminished many people's capacity to do math
in their head. Similarly, Google and Wikepedia have diminished
the willingness (and subsequent revelation) to research and
investigate issues. (There IS such a thing as an original
source, and errors on the Internet abound.)
Are you reading a wide variety of books, particularly outside
of your comfort zone? Are you entering into lively and controversial
debates? Do you express yourself in writing? Have you tried
to figure out new ways to accomplish old tasks, and create
new paths for the future?
Don't huff and puff through your intellectual life. Your mind
can grow fat and lethargic and non-responsive, just as your
body can.
Hey, can you hear me out there?
Return to Top
When my kids were young my wife and I would play word games, and
historical trivia and so forth with them, in an age before PDAs
and Instant Inanity. (I remind you that they both got into very
good schools.)
One day, while waiting for our car in front of a very expensive
restaurant, my daughter noted that Lincoln was the name of
a car and a President. "That's right," we said,
"and what is the other?" For the life of her, she
couldn't think of Gerald FORD. (Well, who could?)
As a hint, we said, "It's one of the most common cars
you will find."
Looking around the lot she finally said, astonished, "There
was a President named Mercedes?!"
|
Balancing Act® is our registered trademark. You are encouraged
to share the contents with others with appropriate attribution. Please
use the ® whenever the phrase "Balancing Act" is used in connection
with this newsletter or our workshops.
Video Rant
See Writing on the Wall, featuring Koufax the Wonder Dog.
Visit my blog
Two new podcasts every week. Special cigar smoking room.
The Coach
London, England, September 11-12
The Haymarket Hotel
Watch, practice, and apply coaching methodology for a variety of situations
followed by marketing guidance and fee criteria so that you're not lost
among the "coaching crowd."
The Strategist
Sydney, Australia, October 8-9
The Park Hyatt Hotel
This program sold out in Providence and London. Learn how to separate
strategy and tactics instantly; learn and apply Alan's favorite model
to your clients and/or your own practice; understand how to validate
strategy before implementation; master all key execution steps. Limited
seating. Learn in 1.5 days what others take months to try to comprehend.
Million Dollar Consulting® College
Newport, RI,
November 10-14
The Castle Hill Inn
The finest developmental experience for professional service providers,
featuring business acquisition, fee setting, branding, market gravity,
the language of the sale, proposals, and much more. Read the testimonials
and look at the photos.
Million Dollar Club
November 3-5, 2008 at The Four Seasons
Nevis, West Indies
We are inviting a dozen people who are solo practitioners or small
firm owners in the professional services space, who make a minimum of
seven figures annually, for a three-day meeting at a very high-end resort.
We will exchange marketing ideas, collaborate on leads, mutually solve
business problems, examine maximization of profit, and also have access
to great golf, tennis, scuba diving, etc. No outside presenters, only
a very successful group facilitated by Alan Weiss. Significant others
and spouses are welcome. All lodging, meals, and local transportation
are included. The fee is $15,000. A rare opportunity to be with the
best of the best, where you belong, to prepare for 2009 in style.
NEW: Self-Esteem Workshop
December 2-3, Providence, RI
The Crowne Plaza Hotel
The intent is simple. Building on my work with individuals around the
globe, I want to help you: Identify the uncertainties, perceived vulnerabilities,
and situations which cause you to perform at less than your optimal
capacity; understand the causes of those dynamics, and receive timely
yet non-threatening feedback about how to resolve them; master and apply
techniques that will help you maintain and manifest a high self-esteem
level "in the moment" when it is most needed; avoid the debris and detritus
in your life which tend to damage self-esteem, and focus on the routes
of least resistance to self-worth and its manifestation. In brief, personally
and professionally, you will be able to deal with daily routine and
exceptional circumstances; with varied and often tough personalities
in your life; and to overcome the problems caused by pressure, unfamiliarity,
and perceived threat.
Million Dollar Consulting® College
Sydney, Australia,
February 16-20, 2009
The finest developmental experience for professional service providers,
featuring business acquisition, fee setting, branding, market gravity,
the language of the sale, proposals, and much more. Read the testimonials
and look at the photos. Steep discounts for registering early, this
is only the second College ever run outside of the US. Major discounts
for registering early!! Limited seating.
From Six Figures to Seven
March 16-18, 2009
Las Vegas, NV
The White House Conference Center
Only 30 people will share this 2.5-day program to learn the major tactics
required to move to and through the million dollar mark. We will help
you become a visible thought leader in your field, create "communities"
of support, engage in advanced promotional tactics, and a lot more.
We'll also be sharing the best practices of the Million Dollar Club.
This will be quickly sold-out. (SOLD OUT, ACCEPTING WAIT LIST
REQUESTS.)
If you keep asking me for the same type of help, and I provide it repeatedly,
I'm no longer a coach, but a co-dependent enabler. -- AW
|
