February 2009

Welcome to the February 2009 issue of "The Edge"! Over the years I have enjoyed working with many of you in workshops, seminars and coaching engagements. Recently I have had numerous inquiries about the possibility of e-learning to enhance personal growth and maximize personal potential.  I am pleased to be able to offer two new on-line programs for you. They are The Science of Creating Your Dreams and The Quantum Game. The programs are delivered on-line and include the option of personal coaching by myself. Both of these programs have been written for on-line learning by Liz Thompson. She is the founder of the Healthy Wealthy N Wise organization that publishes a magazine and personal development programs. Liz does a great job of guiding participants through personal challenges and personal growth opportunities. You can access a short video and more detailed information about these enriching on-line programs by clicking on the following links: The Science of Creating Your Dreams: http://www.360performanceleadership.com/socyd.html  The Quantum Game: http://www.360performanceleadership.com/quantumgame.html  Enjoy! Peter Neufeldt

Having Trouble Implementing Change? Help employees put it in perspective. THE MAGIC PEBBLES By John Wayne Schlatter It is the habitual thought that frames itself into our life.  It affects even more than our intimate social relations do.  Our confidential friends have not so much to do in shaping our lives as the thoughts which we harbor.  J.W.Teal "Why do we have to learn all of this dumb stuff?" Of all the complaints and questions I have heard from my students during my years in the classroom, this was the one most frequently uttered.  I would answer it by recounting the following legend: One night a group of nomads was preparing to retire for the evening when suddenly they were surrounded by a bold, vibrant light. They knew they were in the presence of a celestial being.  With great anticipation, they awaited a heavenly message of great importance that they knew must be especially for them. Finally the voice spoke.  "Gather as many pebbles as you can.  Put them in your saddlebags.  Travel a day's journey and tomorrow night will find you glad and it will find you sad."  After having departed, the nomads shared their disappointment and anger with each other.  They expected the revelation of great universal truth.  Instead, they were given a menial task that made no sense to them at all.  However, the memory of the brilliance of their visitor caused each one to pick up a few pebbles and deposit them in their saddlebags while voicing their displeasure. They traveled a day's journey and that night while making camp, they reached into their saddlebags and discovered every pebble they had gathered had become a diamond.  They were glad they had diamonds.  They were sad they had not gathered more pebbles. Gather all the pebbles you can find.  And you can count on a future filled with diamonds.

Follow These Steps to become an ideal leader As a leader in your organization, how much impact do you have on its performance? Probably more than you know. You may have been a leader for many years now, or recently promoted. Your organization may be a for-profit business or a church organization. It may be a not-for-profit community service organization or a local sporting organization. It matters not. What matters is that your leadership of your organization will directly impact the results you get. It has been said that people get the results that they deserve. If leaders are not getting the results they desire, the first place they should look is in the mirror. What leadership traits are being exhibited? As a leader of your organization, consider the following test: Take a moment to paint a mental picture of someone you hold in esteem as a leader. Focus on appearance, actions, habits and lifestyle. When your picture appears sharp and clear, ask yourself these questions: • What specific skills and characteristics does this person possess? • How does this person relate to others personally, professionally, and socially? • What does this individual do that elicits respect and admiration? When you’ve thoroughly examined the qualities that you feel make that person an effective leader, ask yourself one more question: • Was this leader born with such well-developed leadership traits? Hardly. Characteristics like being a good communicator, motivator, mentor, or coach are all developed. Creating an energizing vision, mobilizing teams, and generating commitment are all learned skills. Now that you have developed a list of qualities of an “ideal leader,” qualities that you believe are necessary for your success as a leader, what can you do to attain them or perfect them? Since all of these traits are developable qualities, each person in a leadership position must strive to perfect them. I am sure that the “ideal leader” you pictured works constantly at improving those things that makes him or her successful. That’s the type of person they are, because they wouldn’t be where they are now if they didn’t. Realize that the degree to which you lead your organization, team, or committee to success lies in your hands. Your ability to lead both yourself and others will enhance the quality of your work as well as your life. The quality of your leadership not only determines your future, it determines the future of your organization and the lives of all those who follow you. Leadership is first being, then doing. You must become the person that your position requires. In other words, you must assume the traits of the leader. That is done first by determining what these traits are and then practicing them in every aspect of your life. All of a person’s actions come from years of habit formation. Replacing old habits with new ones takes commitment, perseverance, and time, but the rewards will be plentiful. It is difficult to do alone, and that’s OK. It is not a sign of weakness, but rather one of strength when you start to realize you are a synergistic being, interdependent on others for your success. Some people use a coach, some prefer to be part of a team, others have a mentor, and still others use a friend or significant other that can help them through the process. No matter your preference, the key is to imagine the point in time when someone views you as his or her picture of the “ideal leader,” and then set your course to become. Submitted by Jerry Fons, the founder and owner of the Leadership Development Group in Waukesha. He can be reached at 262-513-5944 or fons5@aol.com.

Time Management – A Priority Setting Plan Manage your time better by dividing tasks into four categories: 1. Direct value. High priorities: making a sale, presenting to your staff, writing a report. 2. Indirect value. What pays off later: learning new skills, setting goals. 3. Necessary nonvalue. Things you must do that have no value for you: filling out government forms, taking many phone calls. 4. Unnecessary nonvalue. These include things such as writing routine reports that co-workers no longer read. How to categorize: • Log your daily activities for at least one week. Review what you did and classify each activity according to the value definitions. • List the most important internal and external customers who should get most of your attention. Then compare your list and your log. • Determine how much high-value work you think you’re doing for your most important customers. • Ask those customers to tell you which of your activities they consider to have the highest value for them. • Use what you learn to plan your days, weeks and months around the high-value activities those customers have identified. As adapted from Communications Briefing with permission. Source: Larry Hart, writing in Atlanta Business Chronicle, 1801 Peachtree St., Atlanta, GA 30309.