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

<<  March 2024  >>
MoTuWeThFrSaSu
26272829123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031
1234567

View posts in large calendar

Recent Comments

Comment RSS

When Alpha Dogs Collide

by Rick Baker
On Mar 13, 2017

When alpha dogs collide you see raising of hackles and you hear snarls & barks...then comes the gnashing of teeth and to-and-fro attacks...much noise, much heated action. Then, sooner or later the battle subsides.

Tied to all this - 

Of course, as Napoleon Hill made so clear during the last years of his life - Ultimately, Nothing Matters. The day will soon come when the snarls and barks and even the painful yelps subside into memory. 

Ultimately, Nothing Matters.

Regardless, 'ultimately' does not apply to the current situation. The current situation is - now...and...now, right this moment, Many Things Matter...especially, if you have in your mind Personal Values and Personal Goals...let alone Personal Rules, codes of conduct, morals, etc. The stronger your convictions in these areas, the more things matter.

If you do not believe me then just ask a couple of alpha dogs. But, take care not to be bitten or at least snapped at during the process.

When it ain't broken but it's broken

by Rick Baker
On Feb 14, 2017

Sometimes...

Every action, taken on it's own, seems right and feels right.

Yet, when you add all the actions altogether you do not get the result you desired and things no longer feel right or seem right.

That, in a nutshell, is the it-ain't-broken-but-it's-broken problem.

This it-ain't-broken-but-it's-broken problem exists because:

  • The rules are not clear or not enforced,
  • The goals all are either non-existent or ambiguous, and
  • The consequences for failure are either not clear or not taken seriously.
Don't be distracted or dissuaded by that saying, "If it ain't broken, don't fix it".
 
Sometimes appearances are deceiving. Sometimes actions appear to be done to perfection and yet the desired results do not follow. Sometimes actions are done to perfection and they never had a chance to succeed because they were not the right actions.
 
And, sometimes, whether things are broken or not, we just know it's broken
 
That's the beauty of intuition and the value of gut feel. 

Tags:

Beyond Business | Goals - SMARTACRE Goals | Master Rules | Solutions & Opportunities

Big Hairy Audacious Anxieties

by Rick Baker
On Feb 7, 2017

Back in 2011, I had concerns about “Big Hairy Audacious Goals”. [BHAGs are a concept promoted by ‘Good to Great’ guru, Jim Collins.]

I think Jim Collins has provided terrific advice for business people. In particular, I embrace his “Hedgehog Concept”. However, I have heard many small-business leaders express confusion about Collins’ advice. The confusion is around ‘extent’:

  • Good to Great”: OK - How great is great? [Does everyone have to aim for multi-billion dollar targets?]
  • Hedgehog “Best in the World”: Is that too big a goal?
  • Big Hairy Audacious Goals’: Is audacity the right direction?

If you want to be recognized as “Great” and compete with major, international organizations then I get it. You must be big. You must be exceptional. You must set extreme targets. You must be a rock superstar. You must be audacious [or something comparable…like disruptive…or magical.] In other words - if you want to be recognized as “Great” then you must excel in all the areas covered in classics like ‘Think and Grow Rich.

The questions that should be considered are:

  • Who wants to be recognized as “Great”? [I mean “Great” as defined by Jim Collins.]
  • How many business people can become “Great”? [Again, I mean “Great” as defined by Jim Collins.]
  • Should small-business leaders embrace the recommendations in Jim Collins’ ‘Good to Great’?


Reality Check…

Many small-business people dream about being “Great”. But rarely do small business leaders do the things necessary to even have a chance at being great. Worse still, most readers of ‘Good to Great’ are not leading “Good” businesses when they are thinking about building “Great” businesses. Considering this, ‘Good to Great’ concepts probably do more damage than good at small businesses. The concepts confuse leaders who, misguided, relay the confusion to their people. The result is – many small-business leaders quote Jim Collins while few have an understanding of the realities of mediocre-to-good changes let alone good-to-great changes.

In addition, when people promote BHAGs everybody seems to ignore the psychological realities. For most people, big hairy audacious goals generate big hairy audacious anxieties…ruining relationships, obliterating the chance of success, and destroying spirit.

Tags:

Emotions & Feelings @ Work | Goals - SMARTACRE Goals

Hope and Goals

by Rick Baker
On Jan 26, 2017

Hope is a wonderful mindset. I see it as a wonderful ‘background mindset’, a mindset that exists in the background allowing other positive mindsets to take centre stage. For example, hope either inspires or opens the mind to accept inspiration. Hope provides the framework for internal motivation, bolstering optimism, conviction and confidence. This reduces the power of the negative mindsets for rumination, worry and fear by paving the paths for constructive action. 

When we have goals, hope provides encouragement. 

Hope adds enjoyment to our work. 

Hope provides comfort during the difficult times. 

On the other hand –

As the book ‘Hope Is Not A Strategy’ confirms, hope on its own accomplishes little. 

Hope alone will not take us to our goals.

Hope adds meaning to life when it is accompanied by focused thought and planned action

The conflict between long-term desires and short-term gratification

by Rick Baker
On Jan 23, 2017

We use a long list of words including ‘wants’, ‘needs’, ‘desires’, ‘goals’, ‘objectives’, ‘purpose’ and ‘vision’ to describe our thoughts and feelings about the future. It's about our future. It's about the future possibilities and our desires and preferences around those possibilities.

I have posted several articles about these topics, for example, one article about Desires is copied below.

We all have desires: some desires are modest in scope, as in kicking an annoying little habit; other desires are most grandiose, as in making a dent in the universe. 

Our desires are both inwardly-focused and outwardly-focused, although most of us exhibit blind spots in both the internal/intrinsic and external/extrinsic directions. As a general observation, most people fail to place enough onus on internal focus. Their words and their actions illustrate their expectation that external changes will bring the desired outcomes and internal ‘self-changes’ are not necessary. 

For most people, the equation can be as simple as this: 

My Personal Changes + Other People’s Personal Changes = My Desired Outcomes.

Now, I am not saying most people will agree with that equation. In fact, many if not most people will present the opinion that they should, must, and will make personal changes to accomplish their desires. For example, over-drinkers, over-eaters and under-exercisers will acknowledge they could improve their odds of achieving their desires if they could reduce their bad habits and increase their good habits. And, most will say they are prepared to work at these changes. Regardless, study after study confirms people do a very poor job of correcting their behavioural shortcomings by reducing bad habits and expanding good habits. [for example, read the book 'Change Or Die']

Why do people have such trouble giving up bad habits and sustaining good habits?

The simple answer is: for most people the emotional attraction of near-term 'rewards' out-muscles the future 'rewards' tied to long-term desires.

Most people grab gratification when it is available.

Before any of us judges others, we should consider the extent of our own willpower.

Each of us should ask questions like:

  • Are my long-term goals clear?
  • Do I adjust my actions so they align with my long-term goals?
  • Do I have plans to help me reduce bad habits and develop good habits?

 

The following was first published on Oct 22, 2013


Desires

I have noticed in people 4 dominant desires. These desires apply to people in business and to people in general:

1.The desire to vent one’s strength.

2.The desire to feel important.

3.The desire to control.

4.The desire to create things of value.

 

The Desire to Vent One’s Strength

At the philosophical level - Nietzsche considered this to be the #1 human desire, greater than the drive to procreate.

At the day-to-day business level – People who are enthusiastic about their work are working at things that align with their personal talents & strengths; people who are worn down by their work are working at things that do not align with their talents & strengths. Both consciously and subconsciously, people know when their actions are not aligned with their strengths…it tends to bother them and it tends to eat away at their spirit. Their ambition shrinks. Their performance dulls. Their minds wander and their energies shrink.

 

The Desire to Feel Important

At the philosophical level – Dale Carnegie, the self-help pioneer, viewed this as the leading desire. In his lessons and his classic ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People’ he taught how to influence people by (1) appealing to this basic human desire and (2) not conflicting with this basic human desire…in summary: be hearty in approbation, be lavish with praise, and do not criticize.

At the day-to-day business level – “Constructive Criticism is an Oxymoron”. Criticism can cause behavioural changes; however, those changes are achieved at a cost. “Criticism finds few friends”. Criticism finds people who already recognize their errors. Some of these people have already given themselves a dose of self-criticism…so they don’t benefit and may hold a grudge against the extra dose of outside criticism. Others do not care about their errors and are predisposed to resist external criticism. Criticism finds people who do not recognize they have made an error. There are kinder ways than the use of criticism to educate them about their shortfalls.

 

The Desire to Control

At the psychological level – much has been written about locus of control. Some people believe they have within them an internal ability to control their lives while other people believe their lives are controlled by external factors.

At the day-to-day business level – People with an internal locus of control can be driven and extremely self-motivated. Or they can be more passive. They can appear strong-willed and opinionated…even maverick or renegade. Some react very poorly to authority and rules. They are self-energized. For some reason these people have withstood the criticisms of others and their spirits have survived. People with an external locus of control may be content or they may be discontented...living the life of a victim. Some will be comfortable with authority and rules; some will be subversive. Few, if any, successful business leaders have an external locus of control. Unhappy followers may be displaying the impact of throttled internal locus of control or external locus of control discontent.

 

The Desire to Create Things of Value

I think people are born with natural desire and drive to innovate and create. Psychological studies confirm this and the fact that over time most people become less creative and less willing to try new things.

That’s why entrepreneurs stand out in business. Entrepreneurs have an internal drive to create things of value and that drive survives the beatings placed on it by other people, the bureaucracies, the cruelty of the markets, etc. This desire to create things of value is not isolated to business. We see it in art, we see it in music, and we see it in philanthropy and charitable endeavours.

PS: People's actions provide clues to their desires. However, we cannot jump to conclusions. For example, a resistance to authority or a resistance to change will signal certain possibilities. More work is required to uncover which one of the possibilities is most-accurate. People's words provide clues to people's desires...but, watch what they do at least as much as you listen to what they say.

Driving on the Talent Track

by Rick Baker
On Dec 30, 2016

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines Talent as: “a special ability that allows someone to do something well”.

To get on the Talent Track, it is important to understand Talents are not what we do well. Talents are closely linked to why we do things well.

Talents are the 'substances' that define us and make us unique.

As Simon Sinek might say – "Talents are about our Why rather than our How or our What."

We all have the ability to deliver treasures. We just need to find the ways to free up our treasures. Our Talents are our keys. Only when we understand our Talents do we know how to use our keys to unlock our treasures.

When we take the time to investigate and understand our unique set of Talents we gain several advantages.

As examples, when we thoroughly understand our Talents we improve our ability to:

  • clarify and express our personal Values & the Rules that are most sacred to us,
  • ability to clarify and express our Vision...Purpose...Mission [if you like to use that word], and
  • define meaningful Goals

And there's one more extremely important thing: when we thoroughly understand other people's Talents we improve our ability to understand what makes them tick...and that allows us to drive on the Talent Track.

 

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