Rick Baker Thought Posts
Left Menu Space Holder

About the author

Name of author Rick Baker, P.Eng.

E-mail me Send mail
Follow me LinkedIn Twitter

Search

Calendar

<<  November 2024  >>
MoTuWeThFrSaSu
28293031123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
2526272829301
2345678

View posts in large calendar

Recent Comments

Comment RSS

Sales Tweet #340

by Rick Baker
On Nov 4, 2011
Sales Tweet #340 People lie. Don't take it personally... they're only human.
 
The Thinking Behind the Sales Tweet
Everyone lies. Some people lie a lot. Some people only lie a bit. Some people tell whopping lies. Some people are pathological liars. Most people tend to judge others harshly when others lie while they tend to forgive themselves when they lie.

Tags:

Beyond Business | Thought Tweets

Permalink | Comments (0)

My Uncle Jack’s Plus-Minus Theory

by Rick Baker
On Nov 3, 2011
On a warm summer afternoon a couple of months ago, I was sitting on my Uncle Jack’s porch…chatting with him about many things, some serious and some definitely-not.
 
That’s when he surprised me by asking, “Haven’t I ever told you my Plus-Minus Theory?”
 
I said “No” and sat back to catch a little more shade and listen to my Uncle Jack’s Plus-Minus Theory.
 
He explained, “At the end of the day we should think about the ‘pluses’ of the day and the ‘minuses’ of the day. If we find the ‘minuses’ consumed more than 75% of the day then we better make changes.”
 
Now, since that afternoon, I have thought about pluses and minuses every single day.
 
And, I have shared my Uncle Jack’s ‘theory’ with a number of folks.
 
Each time I share the story and the theory I talk about the thoughts I have had for several years about feeling good and feeling bad at work and the thoughts I had about measuring these feelings. I talk about the fact I have worked at teaching and helping people learn the importance of doing these things. I talk about the Minus10-to-Plus10 Scale we use to measure feelings.
 
And, I never fail to mention I had no idea my favourite Uncle had already established a ‘theory’ on this topic, beating me [and many of the motivational gurus by decades].
 
Clearly, this is proof we need to spend more time with our Favourite Uncles!
 
Footnotes:
  1. At Spirited Leaders we use colours as visual signals:
    • green = good things…especially Good Habits
    • blue = New Things
    • red = Bad Habits
  2. Minus10-to-Plus10 Scale: like my Uncle Jack’s ‘pluses’ and ‘minuses’ we are talking about monitoring feelings throughout the workday. Negative feelings are feelings that signal you are not in situations or taking actions aligned with your goals. Positive feelings are feelings that signal you arein situations or taking actions aligned with your goals.
    • Plus 1-4: you are at least accepting the situation and have some comfort about your action
    • Plus 5-7: you enjoy the situation and the action you are taking
    • Plus 8-10: you are enthusiastic about the situation and your actions

Tags:

Beyond Business | Emotions & Feelings @ Work | Measure & Monitor

Permalink | Comments (0)

Sales Tweet #339

by Rick Baker
On Nov 3, 2011
Sales Tweet #339 Today. Talk no more than 30% of the time and listen at least 70% of the time.
 
The Thinking Behind the Sales Tweet
This applies not just to sales but to all conversation. People will tend to like you more if you are skilled at listening. If you struggle with listening the work at self-monitoring. A small percentage of people are born with the character trait known as self-monitoring. If you want to succeed in business and you were not born with this character trait then you have to learn it.

Tags:

Beyond Business | Sales | Thought Tweets

Permalink | Comments (0)

Sales Tweet #338

by Rick Baker
On Nov 2, 2011
Sales Tweet #338 People Only Do 3 Things: Good Habits, Bad Habits & New Things.
 
The Thinking Behind the Sales Tweet
Everything people do can be classed as a Good Habit, a Bad Habit, or a New Thing. Mostly, people do Good Habits and do Bad Habits. From time to time they do New Things. Doing New Things is a major key to making changes…and developing Good Habits. Doing New Things is the major key to success.

Tags:

Habits: Good Habits, Bad Habits, & New Things | Thought Tweets

Permalink | Comments (0)

Buried Treasures – Inspired Measures

by Rick Baker
On Nov 2, 2011
Buried Treasures - Inspired Measures
 
It’s fun to measure your steps when you know the path leads to gold!
 
***
 
That’s the title of Spirited Leaders’ workshop on ‘Measurement’. The workshop is an introduction to our views about and tools for measurement of business things. In the workshop we guide business Leaders toward the measurement of most-important Actions.
 
Our introductory workshop covers two of the most-important aspects of Action:
  1. the cause-effect linkage Actions have with business Goals and
  2. the interpersonal implications of Actions…specifically, the implications in the areas of self-monitoring, self-regulating and Inspiring others.
These aspects of business are vital to Leaders’ success.
 
For our workshops, we make an effort to provide at least a little theory & creativity and at least two practical tools, which we call 1-Page Tools.
 
Intentionally, at workshops we do not get too deep into our theories or philosophies.
 
Some people ask us for more details, more details about the theories and philosophies.
 
The following is an effort to explain a bit of the thinking behind the workshop title
 
Buried Treasures - Inspired Measures
 
It’s fun to measure your steps when you know the path leads to gold!
 
First, here is a quote from the 2009 revision of ‘ZEN and the art of making a living’ by Laurence G. Boldt:
 
“If we limit our knowledge to that which can be quantified, we miss not only the wonder of the Mystery but also the possibility of the revelation.”
 
We are in 100% agreement with Boldt.
 
To confirm we are giving more than lip-service support to his statement…check out a little piece I wrote about 6 months ago titled ‘Marvel & The Mysteries of Life’.
 
We marvel at the wonder of the Mystery.
 
And, we know the most-important things are un-measureable. Certainly, at this time they are un-measureable. We can neither measure the details of the tiniest things like atomic particles nor the secrets at work in the simplest of animal brains.
 
That said, most of us must go to work and earn livings.
 
That said: we can approach our work as:
  1. a great-big-necessary-evil part of life or
  2. an opportunity to fulfil our life-purpose or
  3. a confusing thing lying between or waffling between (1) and (2)
From those options, we choose (2).
 
Our workshops are our effort to help business Leaders who also choose (2).
 
About…
  • Buried Treasures – to the extent we are on a business quest, why not think in terms of looking at rolled up maps and taking measured Actions…in search of treasure?
  • Wouldn’t that sort of thinking make the journey a little more exciting and cause one to take the time and care to perform Inspired Measures?
  • Won’t it be more fun to measure your steps when you know your path leads to gold?
Footnote…about the coloured fonts

At Spirited Leaders, we use colours to signal & highlight certain things:
  • green = good things… Good Habits
  • blue = New Things…which can lead to Good Habits
  • gold…well…gold = Gold!

Tags:

1-Page Tools | INSPIRE PEOPLE - GROW PROFITS! | Measure & Monitor | Spirited Leaders

Permalink | Comments (3)

What are your Intentions?

by Rick Baker
On Nov 1, 2011
Intention may be one of the most underrated forces.
 
I recently listened to a CD where Deepak Chopra said: Intention has organizational power…in a way; Intention is the most powerful force in the universe.
 
If that is even partially true then, definitely, Intention is one of the most underrated forces.
 
 
Intention is closely linked to Inspiration.
 
When I use the word Intention, I mean – ‘a determination to act in a certain way’.
 
When I use the word Inspiration, I mean – ‘a power to influence emotions and move action’.
 
Putting that together…
 
Be determined to act in certain ways and that will give you the power to influence emotions and move action…your emotions and actions – and – the emotions and actions of other people.
 
Be determined to act in a certain way.
 
What way is that? [you might ask]
 
Seems to me the choices are unlimited! [you might think as you ask]
 
True - the choices are unlimited.
 
So – we need to figure out a way to do this sort of exercise quickly…before we get bored or annoyed or distracted by easier and perhaps more immediately-rewarding things.
 
Get a piece of paper and write across the top:
 
 
Actions I Do at Work
 
Draw a line down the middle of the page
 
On one side of the line write Feel Good when I do them and on the other side of the line write Do Not Feel Good when I do them.
 
Then, think about the actions you do at work… consider the specific actions you take as you perform tasks. Think of the specific actions you take as you interact with other people. Think of the specific actions you take when you are working on your business goals. Think of 30 or so specific actions.
 
Write those actions on the page…on one side or the other.
 
Now, circle the actions you believe contribute to you work goals.
 
Take a close look at the actions you have circled on the side of the page titled ‘I Feel Good when I do them’.
 
Focus on these actions as you begin to plan how you will be determined to act in certain ways that will give you the power to influence emotions and move action…your emotions and actions – and – the emotions and actions of other people.
 
That’s a good 1st step toward acting with Intent and acting to Inspire.
 
Actions I Do at Work
I Feel Good when I do them
I Do Not Feel Good when I do them

Tags:

Definitions - Spirited Words Defined | Emotions & Feelings @ Work | Habits: Good Habits, Bad Habits, & New Things | STRENGTHS: People-Focused for Success

Permalink | Comments (1)

Copyright © 2012. W.F.C (Rick) Baker. All Rights Reserved.