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by Rick Baker
On Apr 13, 2011
- You can do work that contributes to your business goals.
- You can do work that does not contribute to your business goals.
- You can do work that maybe does or maybe does not contribute to your business goals.
Say you have business goals.
Say you do work that contributes to your business goals – that work is Good Habits.
Say you do work that does not contribute to your business goals – that work is Bad Habits.
Say you do work and you are not sure if that work contributes to your business goals – that work is also Bad Habits.
When you do work that contributes to your business goals, that work is ‘real’…it has meaning and substance.
When you do work that does not contribute to your business goals; that work is fake…according to Peterson & Nielson1 that work is Fake Work.
According to Peterson & Nielson, there are 10 Causes of Fake Work:
- Failing to Understand Your Job - Your Real Job
- Failing to Recognize the Finish Line
- Failing to Focus and Prioritize
- Failing to Understand the People Around You
- Failing to Communicate About the Right Things
- Failing to Understand the Importance of Your Team
- Failing to Clarify and Drive Strategy from Top to Bottom
- Failing to See the Execution Gap - Alignment Then Execution
- Failing to Manage - No Matter Our Level
- Failing to See That Culture Creates an Environment of Fake Work
Footnote:
- 'Fake Work' (2009) by Brent D. Peterson & Gaylan W. Nielson
by Rick Baker
On Feb 28, 2011
With all the research and recent breakthroughs concerning the human brain, how are we to know fact from fiction?
For example, for at least a couple of generations most people accepted the following to be a fact – a human being only uses 10% of his or her brain. Today, most experts are saying that is Hogwash…we use much more than 10% of our brains. On the other hand, we do not use all our brain at once.
Some experts claim our brain consumes 20% of the oxygen and 20% of the calories burned by the human body. I suppose that can be estimated with some accuracy. As a small piece of proof, consider the thermal pictures showing lots of heat emanating from the head. Something is causing our heads to generate much more heat than the other parts of our bodies.
Since the brain consumes so much fuel…I wonder…what would happen if all of a sudden every neuron in our brain fired? Would there be enough blood flow to fire all our [give-or-take] 1000-trillion neurons? Would we pass out from lack of oxygen?
Over the last generation certain authors have tended to classify some people left-brained while classifying other people right-brained. I don’t believe that ever meant to imply people only use one side of their brains. It meant one side of the brain dominated. If the left-brain dominated then the person tended to be logical. If the right-brain dominated then the person tended to be empathetic and creative.
Recently, much texture has been added to these sorts of views. Brain tests such as SPECT [single photon emission computed tomography] and FMRI [functional magnetic resonance imaging] have confirmed neurons ‘fire’ in specific parts of the brain, depending on the stimulus. That doesn’t mean neurons only fire in one place at one time. It seems we use bits and pieces of our brain when we experience certain stimuli. And, the process is far from random.
Here is another aspect of our brains that is debated: when you get older you lose your memory. The blogosphere seems to favour – that’s fiction – we are not destined to lose memory as we age. On the other hand, it is a hard to ignore Alzheimer’s Disease.
Here is something I feel good about…Dr. Daniel Amen says our brain requires 3 things: oxygen, glucose, and stimuli. I like this because it is simple and because it provides us a way to think about improving the operation of our brains.
I especially like the last one – stimuli. If the brain needs stimuli to thrive then let’s choose as much of that stimuli as possible.
Whether 10% or 100% of the brain is used, whether we tend to be left-brained or right-brained or neither, whether we would pass out from using too much of our brain at one time or not, whether we will lose some memory with age or not…I like the idea – we can choose to provide stimuli to our brains.
We can choose stimuli. We can choose behaviour.
We can choose Good Habits.
And, our brain will respond positively.
It seems to me carefully-chosen behaviour and stimuli will help us use more of our brains…and carefully-chosen behaviour and stimuli will help us develop and improve the parts of our brains best suited to perform the chosen brain-work.
…to be continued
by Rick Baker
On Jan 27, 2011
I know people who retired with a nest egg, had major investment losses, and are now back to the old grind of work.
Backing in to another career or job…that, of course, is something we would like to avoid.
***
The other day a friend and I shared stories and thoughts about investor habits.
We talked about many things: the charm of income trusts, the appetite for dividends, pension fund challenges, that reluctance to exit lost-cause stocks, a range of private investments, and the enticing advice provided by next-door-neighbours.
We talked about retired folks who lost a huge part of their net worth when the markets crashed in 2008…very sad stories, in some cases life-changing stories.
All of this raised a few thoughts:
- Emotions, not logic, play a major role when people make decisions.
- Let’s think about the irrationality factor, a component of human nature…how does that fit in and what, if anything, can be done about it?
- Let’s think about knowledge over-confidence, another component of human nature…again, how does that fit in and what, if anything, can be done about it?
Considering this in terms of Good Habits, Bad Habits, & New Things…
Perhaps people will do better at investments if they carve their current investment activity into 2 pieces:
- Investments that pass a Good Habits test
- Investments that do not pass a Good Habits test…and must be classed as investments that are Bad Habits
The first step would be writing out a list of criteria that when combined will become the Good Habits test for investments.
The next step would be sorting through existing investments to determine the investments that will be retained because they pass the Good Habits test.
The next step would be replacing all the other investments with new investments that pass the Good Habits test.
Of course, this requires some self-discipline and some work.
And, the work should be done when:
- emotions are under control,
- knowledge over-confidence is in check, and
- we are 100% comfortable receiving 3rd party advice.
by Rick Baker
On Jan 6, 2011
I don’t have enough time to do that!
How often do you say that? How often do you think that?
Do you ever question whether or not that is true?
I have been thinking about Time quite a bit lately.
I started thinking about Time a couple of months ago when, one after another, I heard a number of people say they did not have time to do this or to do that. It expanded when a friend asked me if I had read anything by the [Canadian] author Eckhart Tolle1. It expanded more when the people in the LinkedIn group called Positive Thinkers started to exchange ideas about Time.
While this was going on I wrote Thought Posts expressing an opinion Successful people have more time2. Some people argued this was absolutely impossible. Other people said they agreed with the view. And, the LinkedIn group discussion of Time continues. And, I wrote and asked Eckhart Tolle if he would share his thoughts about Time. I know, in one of his CDs, he said “Time is an illusion”. Perhaps, that’s enough said?
Eckhart Tolle teaches the Power of Now and the Art of Presence:
- We only have the present.
- When the present passes, it becomes the past...and it is gone. It is at best a memory.
- The future is not guaranteed to any of us. If it arrives then it arrives as the next piece of ‘the present’.
So, I am about ready to set aside the question “What is Time?” Although, before I do that I will restate my views:
- Time is an organizing-tool designed by Man.
- Time is an introductory effort at measuring the incomprehensible [universe].
Setting aside the definition of Time, most people would agree each of us has ‘the present’. And, during our lives we have a string of pieces of ‘the present’. As each piece of ‘the present’ passes it becomes the past. As the next piece of ‘the present’ arrives it ceases to be the future. We do not know how many pieces of ‘the present’ will come to us. All we know for sure is we have ‘the present’.
We can succeed if we make the best use of the present. Successful people have 2 good habits:
- They do better at defining what success means to them
- They make the better use of the present
I continue to think successful people have more time.
by Rick Baker
On Jan 5, 2011
Sales Tweet #123 Today, every 30 minutes, stop what you are doing to check and make note of your mood.
The Thinking Behind the Sales Tweet
Most people spend time thinking about “To Do” lists and personal organization. They do things to ensure they are organized: take courses, keep a calendar, use CRM systems, etc. However, most people do not keep tabs on their moods, emotions, & feelings. Since moods have a strong impact on our behaviour and performance, it makes sense to do a mood-self-check. Doing it every 30 minutes for one day is a way to begin to create this Good Habit.
by Rick Baker
On Sep 29, 2010
As mentioned in prior blogs, when you boil it down people only do 3 things:
- Good Habits,
- Bad Habits, &
- New Things.
At least, that's a simple way to sort out how our time is spent.
Many people believe they waste time. Many people feel they do not have enough time.
We feel time is precious and we are annoyed when we feel it is lost and wasted.
Many people consume even more time, stewing over the time they know they have wasted.
That means they must be troubled by their Bad Habits or by trying New Things that did not work.
Some expert advice should help reduce this problem.
Brian Tracy wrote a book, 'Time Power', to help people make the best use of their time.
Here are Brian Tracy’s 7 Action Exercises to Improve Your Time Management
- Select one area where you would like to improve your time management. Start to work on it immediately.
- Think back to a situation where you performed at your best. Replay this in your mind when you face new tasks.
- Talk to yourself positively all the time, repeating affirmations such as "I always use my time wisely".
- Imagine everyone around you is looking up to you as a role model for personal efficiency.
- Think about teaching a time-management course to your friends and colleagues. What would be the most important lessons?
- Think about the areas of your work that give you the most satisfaction and resolve to be even more productive in those areas.
- Resolve today to act to become one of the most efficient, effective, and productive people in your field. Take action immediately.
NOTE #1: Brian Tracy and other experts, for example Jim Estill, believe Time Management/Leadership is the key place to start to develop the skills a leader must possess to be successful. Brian Tracy states that clearly at the beginning of ‘Time Power’.
NOTE #2: All time management/leadership experts are emphatic about the value of setting clear Goals. I have never read expert advice stating we should not set clear Goals. Experts are saying we need to set clear Time Management/Leadership Goals.
NOTE #3: Experts have differing views on positive affirmations as described by Brian Tracy in Exercise #3 above, which overlaps other Exercises including #2 and #4, probably #5, maybe others. The value of positive affirmations is becoming a contentious topic.
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