Impact Today™

An Excerpt from Eat That Frog! By Brian Tracy

Creative procrastination is one of the most effective of all personal performance techniques. It can change your life.

The fact is that you can't do everything that you have to do. You have to procrastinate on something. Therefore, procrastinate on small tasks. Put off eating smaller or less ugly frogs. Eat the biggest and ugliest frogs before anything else. Do the worst first!

Everyone procrastinates. The difference between high performers and low performers is largely determined by what they choose to procrastinate on.

Since you must procrastinate anyway, decide today to procrastinate on low-value activities. Decide to procrastinate on, outsource, delegate, and eliminate those activities that don't make much of a contribution to your life in any case. Get rid of the tadpoles and focus on the frogs.

Learn To Say...No!
One of the most powerful of all words in time management is the word no! Say it politely. Say it clearly so that there are no misunderstandings. Say it regularly as a normal part of your time management vocabulary.

Say no to anything that is not a high-value use of your time and your life. Say no graciously but firmly to avoid agreeing to something against your will. Say it early and say it often. Remember that you have no spare time. As we say, "Your dance card is full."

For you to do something new, you must complete or stop doing something old. Getting in requires getting out. Picking up means putting down.

Creative procrastination is the act of thoughtfully and deliberately deciding upon the exact things you are not going to do right now, if ever.

Labels: Books, Productivity, Time_management

Since mid-June Sunday has been reserved for book reviews. It is my way of answering a question that is raised to me often, “What is a great book on leadership?” The truth is there are many. My favorite is Life’s Leadership Lessons, not just because I wrote it, but because it offers quick anecdotes and lists to help readers deal with the many challenges faced by today’s leaders.

Using anecdotal stories is a way authors can capture someone’s thoughts to make a point that will long be remembered through the pictures the characters leave behind. When dealing with change, Who Moved My Cheese is a classic example. Had not Spencer Johnson, the author, created the little mice, given them names and personalities, we would not have driven ourselves mad trying to compare each person we knew with a particular mouse. This is the power of anecdotes and shows yet again why leaders need to develop a skill of creating anecdotal examples when exposing the talents of their people. If you have not already read this wonderful book, click here to learn more or to subscribe.

Labels: Books, Change

Linda Angér, President of The Write Concept, Incorporated, in Rochester Hills, Michigan, sent me a fabulously interesting tidbit in response to the article about the Tipping Point. She shared the story of a girl who rode to alert the colonists that the British were on the move. As I read her note I thought about how inspiring this story would be to girls everywhere as they would so easily relate to her.

"A 16-year old girl with nerves of steel rode over 40 miles to Danbury, Connecticut, in order to alert the militia of the impending arrival of the enemy. This occurred the same fateful night Paul Revere made his famous ride, though history glorified his actions and barely remembers her journey - which was longer. By the time Revere was able to take his famous ride, Sybil Luddington had already begun her journey warning everyone she came in contact with that the British were on their way."

She tells me, “This story is from "One Day in History: July 4, 1776," published in 2006 by HarperCollins & the Smithsonian. I was the page compositor and editor of the book. This is just one of the "untold stories" from the revolutionary war I learned of while working on this wonderful book.” Learn more by clicking here to go to Amazon.

I have spoken to many a school group and I always hear how history doesn’t relate to them. Now think for a minute. If they heard stories about people just like them wouldn’t it be easier to inspire them? Well then, what kind of stories do you use to relate to the people you inspire to lead? It does cause one to pause!

For you history buffs, Linda also worked on a similar books about December 7, 1941 and September 11, 2001.

By the way. Linda is a wonderful author. Contact her about her tremendous experience writing books, employee manuals, brouchures, and much more by clicking here.

Labels: Books, Leadership, Motivation

Malcolm Gladwell does an excellent job explaining how fads become mainstream in The Tipping Point – How little things make a big difference. It is a study of human behavior that is a must read for entrepreneurial, product development, marketing, and human resource professions. Using historical examples, Gladwell shows how small, simple things separate success from mediocrity.

For example, why do we know the name Paul Revere but are unfamiliar with William Dawes? They both made similar horseback rides to alert colonialists about arriving British troops. The reasons for the difference of fame lies in what Revere did differently – things that can be easily replicated when trying to create success in today’s world.

Gladwell also shows how simple things led to a drop in the New York City crime rate, helped Hush Puppies resurge, and many others.

Robert Middleton, author of The Info Guru, says this book gave him new insight into the way word-of-mouth advertising works. He recommends the book and so do I.

To see more reviews, get more information, or to order the book, click here.

Labels: Behaviors, Books, Strategy

Jeffrey J. Fox bills this book as the rules for getting and keeping customers and clients. An easy read, many may say, “Its not for me because I’m not in sales.”

Actually that’s not true. Whether you are in sales or not, you will find that Fox lays out principles that will endear you to your customers, clients, and co-workers. You will be amazed how quickly you will get through the 190 pages of this book, which is broken down into 50 chapters, each containing a golden nugget to leadership and relationship growth.

Click here to learn more or order this book.

Labels: Books, Customer_Service

Sunday book review


Have you ever been given a new assignment? Did you realize how much the first 90 days counted toward your long-term success? Do you immediately change those things that are wrong or do you use the entire time to develop a plan to deploy at the end of your first three months?

Michael Watkins reviews some of the important challenges faced by new leaders in his book, “The First 90 Days”. You will probably enjoy the framework Watkins lays out as he looks at the five fundamental propositions and the ten key challenges as he shares the mistakes and successes of others. Click here to learn more or order this book.

Labels: Books, Leadership, Orientation

If you thought the book “Who Moved My Cheese” was a great illustration of how we handle change you will absolutely love “Our Iceberg is Melting”. It is the story of how a group of penguins must deal with the fact that their iceberg is slowly melting. Everything will change if they are to survive, but who will be the leading change agent and who will try to stick with the status quo.

It uses an anecdotal approach to learning, much like my own "Life’s Leadership Lessons", so I know you will find it to be provocative and thought-provoking.

To learn more or to order this book, click here.

Labels: Books, Change

Are you building your legacy? Will you be remembered after you are gone? If so, what will the memories be?

At the turn of the millennium I did some serious reflection, motivated by a quote from the famous yodeling cowboy Roy Rogers, “A hundred from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove. But the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child.”

These words struck me and made deeply and now tower over me behind my desk. As my corporate career ended I decided that I wanted to be remembered as some who made a difference in the lives of others.

I truly delight when I see people connect to some life changing golden nugget in a face-to-face workshop or seminar or when they understand how to achieve their goals in a coaching session. It gives me a tremendous feeling of worth in fulfilling my role on this earth.

This last week has been particularly moving for me. It started with a presentation to a local downtown development authority. The community was challenged by as their population was transforming with at least five new emerging cultures. My friend Joe pulled on his experience working successfully in 55 countries and I contributed my knowledge of retail as we showed this group of 30 businesspeople how to connect to the new cultures in their community. I later heard comments from the mayor, city manager, and councilmen that it was the best DDA meeting they ever had. Joe and I had really opened their eyes and together we all saw a vision of success.

A second triumph was a call from a Fortune 500 company in Wilmington, Delaware. My niece had presented my book, Life’s Leadership Lessons, to them for their leadership book club. The book, which gives practical, anecdotal solutions to the 53 biggest challenges of personal and business leadership, was chosen from more than a half-dozen options as the next book they would study. What a great feeling to know that the events of my life will be inspiring others to reflect on the events of their lives in building their leaderships abilities.

The week concluded with my first open-enrollment online class hitting cyberspace. Being on the internet individuals are able to take the class at their own speed when it is most convenient for them. The class is “6 Easy Ways to Beat the Clock”, uses a variety of anecdotes illustrating six practical, proven methods of time management that have positively changed my life. They are secrets to hitting goals more consistently and with less stress – resulting in a higher feeling of personal success and self worth. It will takes a cultural view of time management without pushing people into a to-do-list mentality and will continue teaching and making an impact long after my working days.

Labels: Books, Leadership, Time_management

Perhaps you have never heard of Admiral Janitorial Services. It is a company where management discovered a common employee trait: they had dreams. At Admiral Janitorial Services they found that by helping their employees achieve their dreams, the entire company became stronger and more productive.

Matthew Kelly is author of The Dream Manager, an absorbing new book about this fictional company. It serves as a parable of any company in the world and will leave a lasting impression on its readers as they discover people and business truths.

To learn more about the book, or to order it, click here.

Labels: Books, Goals, Leadership

Ken Blanchard, author of The One-Minute Manager, has set his sights on the growing entrepreneurial spirit. He has captured the essence of becoming a successful entrepreneur in this book, The One-Minute Entrepreneur, which is our recommended reading for the week.

Baby Boomers are realizing the advantages of entrepreneurialism as an alternative to the limited post-50-year-old job market. Generation Y sees entrepreneurialism as a form of supplementing their finances in the hopes of gaining more independence on one hand and having less paycheck reliance on the other.

Labels: Books, Entrepreneur