Tuesday at 2:00pm with Russ

It's Tuesday at 2:00pm! (PST Time: I live and work from Southern California)

Greetings to you!

Each week I send out a short leadership blog that's called "Tuesday at 2:00pm". The purpose of this is simply to provide a brief thought on leadership that you can read and think about in just a few minutes. I send it out every week at 2:00pm (PST) and encourage you to make an appointment with yourself to pause and think about the thing I'm writing about.

Russ...

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"Goals convert vision into ENERGY." Dave Ramsey

What does this stir up? Either write me HERE or comment at the end of the blog post HERE.

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

This month I want to explore some ideas around PROJECT MANAGEMENT. Pretty exciting theme for a summer month, but I'm finding myself looking for some tools to help me get some things done over the next few months.

Thank you for your comments. I asked you to share some thoughts, and I received some great notes that I'll share below.

My friend Alan shared an article he had written on "The Big Rock Theory" and I'm sharing it HERE because he makes some really good points about the idea. Check it out and check out all of the content on his website. Thanks for sharing Alan.

The quote above from Ramsey isn't the quote I was looking for, but it's connected.

I attended one of Ramsey's EntreLeadership Conferences years ago, and really appreciated his approach to leadership.

At the conference, Ramsay made this statement (or it's what I heard him say)... something like:

"Goals are your vision in bite-sized chunks"

When he said that, something clicked in me.

I've always been a proponent of GOALS, of S.M.A.R.T. GOALS, but connecting them directly to the vision I was working towards was a new concept.

The quote above really goes in line with that idea, in that goals bring ENERGY to your vision, and that's so true.

How does this relate to project management?

I think we (or ME) often do great defining a project, a task, a goal, but it doesn't connect to the big picture. It's a task, and sometimes it's not connected at all to where I'm trying to get to.

One of the most important aspects of Project Management is actually determining what you're going to focus on and why. If you don't, then you waste time, energy & resources and you don't get closer to your ultimate goal.

Years ago, before email and internet were created, I had an idea to create a leadership network. I was 22 years old, I hadn't really thought through why I wanted to do this, but I woke up one day and just decided to give it a go. I spent about a week finding mailing addresses, writing letters, inviting people to join this emerging network of leaders in Los Angeles, but I failed to answer this really important question: WHY?

This became really apparent as the response was dismal. People couldn't understand what I was trying to do, they wouldn't commit to anything, and while I waited patiently for some of the 350 responses to pour into my newly rented mail box address, by the time I received my first (of 3) responses, I had grown bored of the idea and was moving onto something else. The 3 responses were all asking questions about WHY this was important. The reality is that this idea didn't connect with anything I was working on at the time in my life, it was simply an idea that I acted on, invested some money and lot's of time into, only to have it fade quickly away, while all I was left with was a bunch of stationary for a now defunct networking group.

Funny story... a few years later another group launched a similar network, and I joined it because their marketing was compelling, and they articulated the purpose much clearer than I did. I participated with them for years in this network of leaders.

Lesson learned: Know how the project, the idea, the task connects to your bigger purpose, your goal or your organizations goals.

How do you create ENERGY through the projects and tasks you're working on?

DEEPER STILL:

Here are a couple of responses from people who responded to my questions, "What's the ONE THING that helps you focus on what's most important?"

Mark shares simply, "Put It On The Calendar"

So true... we don't write it down, we don't create space to work on it, we don't block out time from other things. Write It Down and then fight to protect that time. Thanks Mark!

Rita shares this thought: "Fit your day into God, not God into your day, because God can make room for everything you need to do, but not everything you need to do will make room for God."

Great reminder around priorities and allowing God to direct your time, your focus and your energy. Thanks Rita.

Shaun shares that he's usually really good at managing a to-do-list and keeping it front and center, however after he and his wife experienced a great loss, it pulled him off track. It's taken some time to get back to focusing and he sees progress again. He also shared that he's been reading Covey's 7 Habits Book that we referenced last week. Thanks Shaun for sharing, and I want to add one thought... maybe as you and your wife navigated that loss, that was the most important thing at the time. Give yourself space to breathe, to process, maybe to mourn, and then as you shared, in time, you'll get back on track.

However, I would like to add that maybe you were never off track? Maybe the most important thing was whatever you were going through and other things needed to take a back seat. Don't beat yourself up, and sometimes the "disruptions" that come into our life are more about us depending on HIM and others, and less about the list we're trying to get through.

Glad you're moving through this situation! Blessings to you.

Thanks for sharing those thoughts & ideas. Keep them coming!

How do the goals you're currently working on address your vision of where you're wanting to go? If they don't connect, what changes can you make?

 

Things I'm Reading, Listening To and Watching This Week:

Source: www.leadermundial.org