What would happen if I were to follow you with a camera crew 24 hours a day 7 days a week for the next 100 days while you pursued your goals?

I bet 3 things would happen…

1)  You would START doing the things you say you need to do.

2)  You would STOP doing the things you know you shouldn’t be doing.

3)  You would MAKE monumental performance gains and change your life.

This is ALL possible through the discipline of accountability.

Accountability serves and protects your character, credibility and commitments as it ensures that what you want to accomplish gets accomplished.

The problem however is that the lack of accountability is one of the biggest constraints you have which prevents goal achievement.

Throughout every area of your life it’s important to acknowledge that ALL unfinished goals, projects and relationships are the result of broken promises, unfulfilled commitments, and lack of accountability.

With that reality in mind, I wanted to share with you an exciting opportunity to achieve every goal you set, to enforce ultimate accountability into your life, and show you how you can make monumental performance gains.

Gary Ryan Blair, otherwise know as The Goals Guy, has put together what I believe to be a very comprehensive approach to goal setting and performance enhancement.

It’s called the 100 Day Finish Strong Challenge and it began yesterday on September 22rd, which happens to be the final 100 days of the year.

The 100 Day Challenge is an extreme performance workout, because it’s all about getting things done, getting massive results quickly, and finishing the year strong.

I’ve seen it, and it’s an amazing piece of work.

The secret to making it work for you is the powerful accountability system that it reinforces. But you don’t have to take my word for it, to see a demonstration go to:

=> Demo 100 Day Challenge

Listen. I’m so impressed with Gary and his 100 Day Challenge that I’ll be participating in the program myself and expect some big results.

I suggest you do likewise, so do yourself a favor and take a look at this.  You’ll enjoy the video, and this program really could change your life.

Did you see it last night?

We had a full moon rising while the sun set, and some very cool colors across the sky.  In case you missed it, the last day of summer was sent out by a full harvest moon.  This won’t happen again until 2029, and every 19 years after that, so there’s not a lot of opportunities left for many of us.  Which of course got me thinking…I went out in the backyard last night just after 11pm.  The last few minutes of summer were humid here in Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas, and a restless breeze was blowing.  As autumn officially began there were unusual light reflections in the clouds as well as the radiance of the moonlight all around.  I’m not a poet, and I can’t do justice to the experience, but it really felt like the time and season was actually shifting.

When I look into the night sky and see something special, like I said earlier…it gets me thinking.

Our time here is fleeting.  If we don’t make the most of our time, it slips by.  Opportunities get by us.  At the beginning of this year, and again in June (at the halfway point) I posted my workbook called “The Year Ahead 2010″.  Several of my clients have worked out plans and set goals for themselves this year.  Have you?

There are only 100 days left in 2010; did you notice that or did it slip up on you?  Perhaps you could use some extra support and encouragement in accomplishing the really important things.  I’ll have more coming later and in the next few days, so check back in.  If you want to be reminded, fill out the box to the right.   Time flies, so make each moment count!

“Know yourself” was inscribed over the oracle at Delphi.  I have put a sign with the same wording over the door of my office so I’m often reminded to make knowledge of self a high priority.

There are many ways to do this:  travel to some place new, have a frank conversation with someone you trust, keep a journal, read something you totally disagree with, do something bold/take a risk.

Let me suggest another practical way to grow in self-knowledge.  Complete a high-quality self assessment and discuss it with someone trained and experienced with the tool.  I recommend the TriMetrix coaching report.  It includes a high-powered version of the DISC assessment that describes a person’s behavior style (how you prefer to communicate, take action, respond to situations).  It also profiles your key motivators, the things you find most engaging and interesting as well as the things you aren’t thrilled about that others around you are.  Learning this is part of the key to effectively influencing others.  Understanding your true motivators is crucial to grasping the source of real satisfaction for yourself.

Finally, TriMetrix gives you a kind of “eye test” of your value vision.  You see people, tasks and systems with differing clarity, and these value dimensions largely shape your overall sense of judgment.  Good judgment is the key to good decision-making and producing results that matter.  TriMetrix will reveal more about you in an amazingly short time than several years of deep exploration and soul searching (how many of us are planning to do that?).

However you do it, choose to gain some greater self-awareness and learn how you can be more effective by applying your natural talents.

Danger + Opportunity = Crisis?  Not!

I enjoy a good yarn as much as anyone.  But when these are told and re-told and taken seriously as if they are true, it’s time to point out that the emperor has no clothes.  That’s the intent of my Debunking series.

People have often said that in Chinese the word for “crisis” is a combination of “danger” and “opportunity”.  This is only half-true.  The “opportunity” part is a stretch, and taking apart words like this isn’t good linguistics.  When people share this nugget of wisdom it usually serves as an encouragement to seize on opportunity in uncertain times.  Seizing an opportunity amid uncertainty may be wise or foolhardy given many variables,  but it has little to do with what the words mean in the Chinese language. 

“Crisis” in Chinese (wēijī) is a two syllable word written with two separate characters, wēi (危) and jī (机).  A crisis is a moment of peril, a time to duck or be extremely alert!  It’s hardly an entrepreneurial moment, except for the unscrupulous or what in English we would call “an ambulance chaser.”  When Chinese today speak of a wēijī (“crisis”), they aren’t thinking of opportunity or optimistic outcomes; the main goal is survival!

Keep in mind that you’ll continue to hear people repeat this linguistic “urban legend”, but now you know better.  This is not a piece of Chinese wisdom, but a stretching (really a misunderstanding) of the Chinese language.  Crises are times of danger and high risk; the alert and wary keep their heads while the heedless and reckless are losing theirs.

For a more academic treatment of the subject, see Victor Mair’s online article.

“A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play; his labor and his leisure; his mind and his body; his education and his recreation.  He hardly knows which is which.  He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing, and leaves others to determine whether he is working or playing.  To himself, he always appears to be doing both.”

- LP Jacks, Education through Recreation (1932), p. 1

Read to keep yourself sharp, to stimulate new ideas, and so you can be a better conversation partner for your customers, employees and peers.

Here are five books I heartily recommend for smart leaders.

The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker 

There are more recent books that focus on personal effectiveness, but Drucker’s classic (written over 40 years ago) is still my favorite.  Drucker has a unique perspective, a way of thinking that you can learn through reading his books.  Part of that way of thinking is expansive and relational:  Drucker relates executive effectiveness to more disciplines than simply individual or personal effectiveness, and that is very valuable in my mind.  He discusses time management, focusing on results and contribution, developing talent, setting priorities, and finally decision making.  Read and apply this book–it will make you a smarter leader.

Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne

Thinking strategically is a hallmark of strong leaders.  Many of the approaches to strategy are focused on competition and how to gain an edge over competitors.  Kim and Mauborgne suggest another way to look at strategy in which the competition becomes irrelevant.  To think strategically this way assumes a certain abundance of opportunities exists instead of scarcity.  This lines up with entrepreneurial thinking and activity moreso than the strategic competition genre of books.  This book will help you think more creatively about strategy and your own industry and business positioning.

Let’s Get Real or Let’s Not Play by Mahan Khalsa

Smart leaders must be good communicators, and I have found that the sales arena is one of the best training grounds for honing strong communication skills.  Khalsa approaches selling from a high ethical and consultative framework.  Manipulation and tricks are games to be avoided; they are really counterproductive.  Khalsa’s approach to selling could be described as “highly intentional, non-manipulative, mutual discovery”, and from this basis he shares a process for clarifying if an economic relationship makes sense between a skilled provider and an intelligent buyer.  Highly recommended even if you don’t see yourself selling because the truth is most smart leaders must do some kind of selling as part of their job.

How Customers Think by Gerald Zaltman

Learning how customers think is not an easy skill, and there are few reliable guides on this path.  Learning what customers are thinking is essential for any leader in business who wishes to stay in business.  Far too often we assume we know what customers want, or we rely on what they say alone instead of considering the entire message that customers are sending.  Zaltman will certainly challenge you to look at your own thinking as well as get more in touch with what your customers–present and future–are thinking and wanting.  Every smart leader should pay attention to what they can learn from effective, ethical marketers who are willing to share their insights.

The Bible

The best is a classic, whether you consider the stories of people in difficult circumstances (Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Jesus, Paul), the message of wisdom (Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Psalms), or the teaching of Jesus and his observations on life (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John).  If you haven’t read this book  cover to cover (yes, it is challenging), you’re missing out on some truths you can’t get anywhere else.

Start with one of these you haven’t read and work through the list.  Keep a journal or notebook nearby to process the insights you’ll gain as you read and think about these books.  If you want some individualized suggestions, leave a comment or send a message our way–we’re glad to offer some help.

Smart leaders are not eggheads or theorists or idle dreamers.

What makes leaders smart is applied knowledge and sure instincts.

One of my wife’s uncles is a successful businessman who took a company public and has funded several other ventures.  I recently overheard him being interviewed by a university student who was talking to entrepreneurs.  He was asked how certain he was of success before taking on his commercial ventures.  Had he run the numbers, done his projections, etc?  His reply was instructive.  He knew his market and that there was money to be made there, but he didn’t have all the projections and data to back it up.  If business success could be guaranteed through that approach, then all it would take is MBA’s and accountants to do the financial projections and fund a venture, and success would certainly follow.  The fact that it doesn’t often happen that way in the real world is very instructive.  The successful entrepreneurs cannot often quantify their instincts, but they are very strong at applying their knowledge.

One thing that sets truly smart leaders apart is their sense of timing.  They intuit when to enter (or exit) a market, and they especially know when it’s time to take a certain amount of knowledge and to put it to work.

Knowledge and money have similarities and an important difference.  Both have to be applied or invested toward a particular end in order to be productive.  Idle money will eventually erode through inflation.  Knowledge has an even shorter shelf-life than money; if it is not applied timely, it loses its value swiftly.

Smart leaders know when its time to roll up the sleeves and get to work.  Knowledge must be applied to reap a return on investment.

This week I’m in Singapore, a five hour flight southwest from Shanghai and positioned in the center of Southeast  Asia.  I won’t be here next month, but on August 9 Singapore celebrates 45 years as a nation.  I’ll spare you the history lesson of how this tiny island-city of 5 million became an independent state from Malaysia.  I’m much more interested in some of the lessons to be learned about leadership in this tropical city.

Singapore was my adopted home from 1990-1995.  My wife is from here, so going back definitely has a feeling of familiarity.  Singapore is the product of many peoples’ efforts, a collective resolve to make a go of things amid difficult circumstances.  The individual figure of Lee Kuan Yew casts a long shadow in Singapore, and even twenty years after stepping down as Prime Minister this Minister Mentor’s advice and views still count.

In the late 1960′s,  most people in the world didn’t see Singapore as a viable independent state.  With very limited land area, no natural resources, multi-ethnic divisions and little sense of national identity, there was little to suggest viability was possible.  However, today Singapore has the highest per capita GDP of any nation in Asia besides Japan.

What has made Singapore work as a nation and as a modern success story?  The leadership early on took a pragmatic approach to their situation instead of a dogmatic or ideological approach, which would have been understandable in the days of the Cold War.  The immediate needs of the population were housing and jobs.  Singapore focused on a vigorous public housing program, the promotion of education, and the wooing of foreign investment to fund job growth.

Second, a strategic plan of development was framed and then followed closely.  Singapore’s only natural advantage was its strategic location in the Straits of Melaka.  Free port status was maintained and facilities were developed to encourage trade growth and functioning as an entrepot.  Singapore also set out to become a major regional financial center.  Part of the strategic decision was to invest in universal education and to promote English as the dominant medium of economic development.  These decisions were not as “smart” or clear cut at the time when they were made.  They were also not without critics and detractors.  These decisions have certainly turned out to be the right ones in retrospect.

Singapore has its problems and challenges even today.  A large population of recent immigrants, calls for social and political liberalization, and the difficulties of keeping a strategic focus in a world filled with larger competitors has taxed Singapore.  The lessons that smart leaders can learn from its example are still clear:  start with what you have instead of bemoaning what you don’t, take a pragmatic approach, think strategically, and act with singleness of purpose toward your goals.  These are the disciplines that smart leaders practice and hone until they become second nature.

For those who grew up in the country (at least in the English-speaking world), going to the fair has specific meaning.  Where I grew up in southeastern New Mexico we had an annual county fair and rodeo in which the fruits of agricultural production were on display (cattle, farm produce, and home cooking) while people gathered to socialize, be entertained at the rodeo and at the arcade or midway.

The notion of a World’s Fair is something I also remembered from childhood, though I never attended one myself.  I knew from history about the exhibition of engineering prowess and innovation at these great events (such as the 1851 London exhibition in the Crystal Palace and the Paris fair of 1889 that gave us the Eiffel Tower).  I also had an idea that some aspect of cultural exchange and pageantry was a part of these expos, like the one in Montréal in 1967.  But the truth is that I had not given much thought to any of this for many years until I started hearing about a certain Expo planned for 2010 in Shanghai.  

You could say we live in the third era of World’s Fairs/Expos, that of national branding.  The other elements are still there (industrial prowess and innovation, cultural exchange), but the marketing of countries and cultivating their image for the world is clearly in the front.  I went to the Expo yesterday (our family of four spent the whole day there) and here is what I observed.

China has spared no expense staging the biggest Expo in history.  In terms of land area (over 5 sq km), visitors estimated (around 100 million people total), and money spent in preparation (tens of billions of dollars), this is big.  The 500,000 or so people I shared the space with on a scorching July day certainly were enthusiastic about getting a view of it all.  Lines at the most popular pavilions faced 4-5 hours waiting times.  The vast majority appeared to be Chinese citizens from outside of Shanghai.  For this coming out party for Shanghai, it surprised me how few of the locals have been (or even plan to go) to this Expo.  Of those who plan to take it in, most confided they are waiting for the cooler months (who could blame them?).

I was less impressed with what was in the pavilions (besides the air conditioning, which was welcome) than I was in meeting people and seeing the display of thoughtful planning and imagining in the architecture.   We met people from Mongolia, Iran and from different parts of China.  We strolled through corporate pavilions and among many national pavilions on our virtual tour of the world.  Strolling the Shanghai Expo grounds really was a microcosm of our world, and it offered some pictures and hints of the world of tomorrow.

Clearly globalization is an economic fact and force that isn’t going away.  Increasingly business competition is global in nature and not local, regional or even national.  Sourcing of products, services, expertise and talent is also becoming more global in nature.  Smart leaders are clued in to the global nature of competition, then they plan and act accordingly.

Another emergent trend is towards networking.  The architects of systems, those who can manage knowledge and the flow of communication have a clear advantage in the world that is taking shape.  Disruptive, highly available and immersive technologies are changing the game in many markets; smart leaders spot the opportunities and seize them early.

A third theme is a little harder to express, but it is just as real.  The hunger for meaning and significance is as strong now as it has ever been.  In times of uncertainty, it has an even greater salience.  I saw that in the midst of an emerging tomorrow, people still long for a way of making sense of it all; the spirit within seeks to find expression in the outside world.  Smart leaders are able to tap into that and channel the creative spark, the hunger for meaning toward constructive ends.

The raw, exuberant energy of half a million people in a small space during one day in July allowed me to sample the possibilities if even a fraction of them grabbed hold of a vision and pursued it with relentless passion.  Watch out world!

This month I’m in Asia, so I’m using the opportunity to write about personal leadership from another perspective.

Shanghai is lively and hot right now.  Expo 2010 is in town (from May-October), so the welcome mat has been rolled out to the world.

I’ve been visiting with several leaders in China, people who are riding the wave of rapid growth that has been surging ahead for the last several years.  Change here is measured in months, not years.  I’ve been here before–not just to China, but to this environment.  It reminds me of the US in the late 1990′s when there was go-go growth and people at all levels of society saw rapid progress and were optimistic about the future.

This creates quite a contrast with the grim uncertainty I see in the US at this time.  The battered morale, the lack of leadership, the question marks I see hanging over people–these are signs of a disquiet among Americans, usually known for their upbeat optimism.  I know there are macroeconomic forces at work behind all of this.  Simple (or rather simplistic) explanations for why things are this way just won’t do.

There is at least one thing clear to me, though.  The smart leadership that I have seen in successful people still makes all the difference regardless of external economic conditions.  In hot growth environments, smart leaders keep their heads, exhibit some humility (or is it basic humanity?), and stay focused on the big idea:  the energizing vision that drives their actions and shapes daily decisions.  They don’t get carried away with hubris, or mistake the market’s buoyancy for their own brilliance, and they don’t treat people as cogs in the machine.  In slow growth or difficult environments, smart leaders keep their heads, generate some energy, and stay focused on the big idea.  They aren’t swayed by the pessimism, they display a notable humanity in how they treat others and they don’t let the clouds obscure the fact that every day there is a bright blue sky overhead even when you can’t see it.  The similarity is striking, brought out more by the contrasting framing around them.

The progress of China over the last decade–on display in Shanghai this summer–is striking.  There are some smart leaders behind this.  What are you working on?  What is your grand visionary project that embodies your contribution to the world?  Don’t hide your light away somewhere or squander your talent on something unworthy.  Share it with the world so we can all benefit from it.