Thank Goodness It's Monday #393

SWEAR TO TELL THE TRUTH,

THE WHOLE TRUTH,

AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH?

Not many of us would consider ourselves liars on the scale of, say, Lance Armstrong.

 

Full disclosure: Lance had just bicycled to his seventh Tour de France win as Eric Taylor and I were putting the final touches to our Best Year Ever Program. And we were so impressed that we found parallels in his widely published accomplishments to the dozen core principles we were espousing. They were featured prominently in the printed introductory material. They covered three pages. 

We actually said, “Be like Lance.”

Oops! Or worse, in some ways, I guess. In our enthusiasm we naively didn’t consider a thirteenth “Secret Sauce” element and consequently are a bit stuck with some embarrassing comparisons in a program that we know is otherwise honest and helpful.

So that’s magnified how I feel about Lance’s lying. And perhaps I’ll dissect the failure to dig diligently there more thoroughly and share it as a TGIM lesson for another time.

But today I’m inclined to take a look at lying on a Lance scale and how it can inspire us to TGIM ACTION IDEAS that can lead to living more honest lives.

Why do we lie? Here’s a bit of a clue to how it sometimes comes to pass in the most innocent way:

“No honey, that new hair style is … uh, great!”

Let’s call this The Altruistic Lie. Oddly enough, sometimes a “little white lie” seems like the right thing to do especially when there’s the chance we want to be emotionally supportive.

Kin to this is the Lie of Omission. You know; when you say aloud, “Wow! That was some dinner” and your brain inserts an inaudible “terrible” between “some” and “dinner.”

And isn’t Exaggeration also a “lie” at this level? Yet it’s a fairly safe bet we’ve all done it once or twice. Example: Some of those “tweaks” on the social media “resume” perhaps?

Likewise the core of a story that we regale others with is true but in order to appear braver or bolder or wiser or wittier – all traits that we wish we had displayed more prominently than perhaps we really had – we embellish it. And later that embellishment is further embellished.

And finally in this not-so-bad dishonesty roundup –

At the extreme there are probably occasions when lying may actually be The Right Thing To Do. When the Secret Police are banging on the door demanding to know where your innocent family members are – and you know – rigorous honesty is probably best avoided.

So certainly this kind of socially allowable behavior muddies the waters. And success in employing (or is it deploying?) half truths might have a gateway-drug quality that encourages less benign truth distortion.

Sometimes that’s all it takes to start the, well, bike wheels rolling. 

I’m no expert, but … There are significant studies with findings that indicate people who told more and greater lies were “more manipulative, more concerned with self-preservation, and more sociable….” The psychology professionals conclude, “What’s impressive about these people is that, at the same time they’re telling self-serving lies and getting their way, they still manage to be admired and liked.”

Other authorities point out, “If you won’t take responsibility, you lie. If you’re constantly blaming your parents, your teachers, your boss, the environment, whatever … then you’re less likely to be truthful.”

Finally, in this layman’s view of all this psychological mash up –

Some serious clinical psychologists concur that some truth distorters get in the habit of lying as a direct result of “pressure to achieve” brought to bear by others. It starts as a kid thing especially with parents driving childhood lying that’s intended to resolve the dilemma of children not feeling that they weren’t otherwise measuring up to expectations. So, fearing the consequences, kids are more concerned about beating the rap than telling the truth.

But, for the most part, we’re not kids. So, at about age 12, we should have begun shifting into a different mode; gaining an understanding of honesty and truth and gaining enough self respect to not only see if we’re living an honest life but to hold ourselves accountable when and if we’re not.

TGIM ACTION IDEAS: If you aspire to a more honest life, the experts recommend these steps:

►Consider the consequences. Before you commit to an “untruth” of any scale, remember Lance. Is it truly worth risking whatever you may lose when the lie is discovered? Because it will be. Take a split second for self examination and consider, “Why am I going to say this?”

 

►Think of the future. Once told a lie must be remembered forever. Instead of planning to remember the lie, remember the attributed-to-Mark-Twain adage: “If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.” 

►Look for patterns. Psychology professionals suggest that we may not be dishonest in all phases of our lives. But if we gut-check ourselves we may discover we are looser with the truth in dealings with, say, a spouse, or in the workplace, or on the golf course. If you can spot the tendency to fabricate in a particular problem area, there’s a better chance of changing the pattern.

►R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Recommit to self respect. Need outside approval? Come to terms with who you really are. Don’t inflate the truth beyond reality to make yourself look better to the boss, the opposite sex, the gang on the softball team. If you can’t respect yourself, how can you expect others to respect you? 

►Speak up. Failure to disclose relevant information isn’t necessarily a lie. But …it’s still dishonest, especially if it enables a lie or allows one person or group to take unfair advantage of others. When in doubt, ask, “Would I like to be treated like that?” 

►Become a follower of Marx. The one, the only Groucho set a useful standard when he said, “I don't care to belong to a club that accepts people like me as members.” In life it’s easier to be a truth teller in situations where people appreciate you for who you really are and aren’t putting you down. So, for example, if Biff and Buffy have a habit of making you feel like one of the hired staff, quit the country club. Spend more honest time with a more encouraging group. 

And here’s the last point for today.

I want to be completely truthful here. This little roundup is a very amateur take on some not very deep reading. It’s as much reaction to my Lance indignation as it is authoritative, highly-experienced and professionally tested expertise. If in your review of it you recognize some problems you decide deserve greater attention, please don’t stop at this or simply decide your difficulties might be a great way to get a session with Oprah.

►Seek help and support. Sometimes dealing with an issue this complicated is easier when you have someone independent and objective to help you through the self examination. If you’re having trouble with honesty, consider counseling with an experienced professional – maybe spiritual, maybe psychological.

And that’s the truth as I see it. Honestly.

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

 

P.S. “What is true anywhere is true everywhere.” The inimitable Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 – 1882) posited that in 1860.

Thank Goodness It's Monday #392

HAIL TO THE CHIEF

In the 1993 movie "Dave" the title character is a politically unsophisticated regular guy who looks like the film's fictional president. 

When pressed into duty to impersonate the ailing chief executive, Dave sings to himself while taking a shower in the White House:

 

Hail to the chief …

He’s the chief we all say hail to.

We all say "Hail"

'Cause he keeps himself so clean!

He's got the power,

That's why he's in the shower...

As the movie progresses, ordinary Dave sees in his extraordinary situation the opportunity to create necessary change. He acts on it and accomplishes his goal. 

Of course, that’s all a conveniently scripted and nicely acted bit of fiction.

At noon today in Washington DC the USA publically inaugurates our 44^th President for his second term. Barack Obama will once again hear the strains of the official Presidential Anthem of the United States -- Hail to the Chief -- played for him as he recommits to upholding the Constitution and fulfilling the duties of the highest office in our land. 

Derived from an old Gaelic tune, the melody was adapted and was first performed in New York in 1812. It caught on instantly. New lyrics were written and it was re-titled Wreaths for the Chieftain and played in Boston in 1815 to celebrate the birthday of George Washington. It’s had Presidential associations ever since.

So, with this capsule history, what's the TGIM point? 

The answer for today lies in the lyrics that the movie character Dave didn't know, and few citizens do. 

Here are the correct rarely sung lyrics of Hail to the Chief:

Hail to the Chief we have chosen for the nation,

Hail to the Chief! We salute him, one and all.

Hail to the Chief, as we pledge cooperation

In proud fulfillment of a great, noble call.

Yours is the aim to make this grand country grander,

This you will do, that's our strong, firm belief.

Hail to the one we selected as commander,

Hail to the President! Hail to the Chief! 

After a contentious first election, troubled first term, another contentious round of polling, and threatened rocky start for the President in the second term, the words “hail to the chief” hold a certain irony in and of themselves. 

Yet I think the lyrics also suggest one of the abiding reasons a democratic people in a democratically led nation can come together and know continued success. 

At noon today the Marine Band might have played this for a new 45^th President. But they will continue to play it for the duly reelected Commander in Chief, President Barack Obama. 

And a United States hopes for "proud fulfillment of a great noble, call."

Speaking of “proud fulfillment of a great noble, call” …

Today we also commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. – with one of the Monday Federal holidays that TGIM must regularly address. 

This year the connection is completely obvious. 

Talk about dreams and “a dream deferred.” Roughly four years ago when Barack Obama first assumed the Presidency the long-held hopes and dreams and aspirations of many people became more tangible. Many finally began to feel their deferred dreams were well on the way to being fully realized.

Four years later: There will be many comparisons and lots of insightful and significant talk about whether this is, in fact, so. 

Surely there will continue to be soul searching, and forward-looking messages, and challenges, and – especially today -- inspiring speeches that likely will echo through the centuries.

 

And there will be naysayers and folks who see all this as empty platitudes and manipulative political posturing and branding.

TGIM Takeaway: What it will all amount to for each of us as individuals – what kind of “opportunity” this presents as well as represents – depends almost entirely on each of us as individuals.

You will recall that four years ago in the run up to the November 2008 election virtually every candidate for the Presidency talked about “change” – so much so that an important truth almost became trivialized. Still, the idea resonates because it’s a universal longing.

This year the official inauguration theme is “Faith in America’s Future.”

Four years ago, echoing Abraham Lincoln, it was “A New Birth of Freedom” and the official inauguration poster featured the phrase – 

“Be the Change.” That thought and counsel is usually viewed as the embodiment of the philosophy of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, best known by the honorific Mahatma (“Great Soul” in Sanskrit) Gandhi. 

And Gandhi and his non-violence were a foundational inspiration to MLK Jr. and those he inspired to carry his efforts forward.

Change = Opportunity + Action

The untrivial fact of life is, if you really want change in any part of your life --

It takes action. 

►   You can think about change …

►   You can read about change …

►   You can listen to and watch others speak about change …

Or -

►   You can take action and change. 

You and I are not so far removed from Lincoln or Gandhi or MLK Jr. and, dare we say, Obama, or hundreds of thousands of other “ordinary” men and women who longed for change … saw the opportunity to create change … and took action. 

They made history.

You can make history, too. It’s not always easy. It’s not always immediate. It’s seldom accomplished alone. It may not be on a grand scale.

But it can be done. If you see the opportunity and act on it, you can “be the change” and you can make change happen. That is perhaps one of the greatest personal improvement lessons any individual can take away from our historic past and the eventful days ahead.

Hail! TGIMers. I salute you, one and all. Be the change. Keep the faith. And --

Work for success. Yours … ours … and our nation’s.

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

P.S. According to the Library of Congress: It was Julia Tyler, the wife of the tenth President, John Tyler, who first requested that Hail to the Chief be played specifically to announce the President's arrival on official occasions. 

The tune was included in certain nineteenth century musical instruction books and the future First Lady, Sarah Childress Polk, studied it as a young woman. It was played at the inauguration of her husband, James Polk (the eleventh President). But she, perhaps more than others, ritualized its use. As the historian William Seale stated,

“Polk was not an impressive figure, so some announcement was necessary to avoid the embarrassment of his entering a crowded room unnoticed. At large affairs the band...rolled the drums as they played the march...and a way was cleared for the President.”

It was not until 1954 that the Department of Defense established Hail to the Chief as the official music to announce the President of the United States.

CELEBRATING BEN'S BIRTHDAY



Benjamin Franklin (1772)

Year depicted: 1766
Artist: David Martin 
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Philadelphia

It’s the always-notable, highly-quotable Ben Franklin’s 307th birthday today.

 

Here’s what he had to say about his life at age 65, well before he could also weigh his contributions as a Founding Father: 

The Opening of Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography

Composed at Twyford, England, 1771

Directed to his son, William Franklin,

Royal Governor of New Jersey.

Dear Son:

I have ever had a pleasure in obtaining any little anecdotes of my ancestors. You may remember the inquiries I made among the remains of my relations when you were with me in England, and the journey I undertook for that purpose.

 

Now, imagining it may be equally agreeable to you to know the circumstances of my life, many of which you are unacquainted with, and expecting a week's uninterrupted leisure in my present country retirement, I sit down to write them for you.

 

Having emerged from the poverty and obscurity in which I was born and bred, to a state of affluence and some degree of reputation in the world, and having gone so far through life with a considerable share of felicity, the conducing means I made use of which with the blessing of God so well succeeded, my posterity may like to know, may find some of them suitable to their own situations, and therefore fit to be imitated.

 

That felicity, when I reflected on it, has induced me sometimes to say, that were it offered to my choice, I should have no objection to a repetition of the same life from its beginning, only asking the advantages authors have in a second edition of the first.

 

So I might, besides correcting the faults, change some sinister accidents and events of it for others more favorable, but though this was denied, I accept the offer.

 

Catalyst Collection Takeaway: Live your life so that you may say the same.

Thank Goodness It's Monday #391

30 SUPER BOWL SECONDS

FOR $4 MILLION!

 

CAN YOU SPARE A MINUTE OF YOUR TIME?
 



 

The “official” SuperBowl logo

 has been a bit derivative

over the past three outings.

 

Take a trip down Memory Lane
and see each of the primary logos
going back to the
“First World
Championship
Game AFL vs NFL”
HERE.

Put away your checkbooks.
I’ve got bad news:

All the commercials for the NFL Championship on February 3 in New Orleans are --

 

SOLD OUT! 

And, according to Associated Press reporting, some of those ads have sold for more than $4 million for a 30-second spot. 

Talk about “Time is money.”  More than $4 million for a half minute is –

►   an hourly rate of about Half-A-Billion – “B” BILLION -- bucks

►   an 8-hour workday of $4 Billion

►   a weekly payday (before taxes) equal to the Facebook IPO

►   an annual wage of …

Enough of that nonsense. The primary reason some advertisers are willing to pony up that much moola for such a fleeting bit of time is, of course, exposure. 

Well over 50 Super Bowl commercials aired in 2012. Companies paid an average of $3.5 million for a 30-second spot at TV’s biggest event. And that event averaged more than 111.3 million viewers, peaking at 117.7 million late in the final quarter of the Giants dramatic win over the Patriots.
 

Point is: How do YOU value 30-seconds?

Too often too cheaply, I bet. 

Me, too. So let’s take the complete sellout of the available SuperBowl ad time as a clue to reevaluate how we use even the minutest segments of our time.

Here’s a very obvious one:

● How’s your personal 30-second “commercial” … elevator speech … whatever you call it, however briefly you get to deliver it. 

Can you trace $4 million in business to it? Do you expect to? 

No doubt, if you’re a friend of TGIM, you’ve got a 30-second commercial down cold.

But only one? 

This is not a one-size-fits-all world. Your 30-second opportunity to pitch in the elevator at the annual 3-day industry conference in Vegas requires something entirely different from … 

… what you’ll say at the weekly Friday morning pancake house meet-up

… the pitch to the formal, structured business referral group you pay to belong to

… the cocktail party response to “Nice to meet you. What is it you do?”

… the small talk with the new golfing partner assigned to round out the foursome when Charlie’s a no show. 

TGIM ACTION IDEA: Give each version of your 30-second presentation $4 million potential.

Most SuperBowl ads are created especially for SuperBowl Sunday. Then, often, the season of commercials that follow key off that $4 million best effort.

Follow that lead. Plan ahead and at least think through how you’ll tweak your best at-your-fingertips 30-second pitch to make the most of the various opportunities you’ll have to make an impressive impression.

● Got a minute? By SuperBowl standards investing a minute should yield $8 million, at least. I suppose, unless you’re Warren Buffett, that level of payback for a minute of your attention is unlikely. Still, that kind of millions/billions thinking suggests you --

Get your money’s worth. People talk about time in ways they don’t mean. They say they want “a minute” but they really want much more. So “just a minute” never is. Likewise, “a 15-minute meeting” never is. “Over lunch” = Kiss half the afternoon goodbye.

TGIM ACTION IDEA: When you are consistently aware of this you won’t be fooled into letting them apply their standards to your time. Set a SuperBowl standard. Value your time like a billionaire.

And the same base thinking applies to requests to --

● Wait a minute. Similarly -- by SuperBowl standards -- waiting a minute should also yield $8 million, at least. But inconsiderate people or unavoidable incidents that make you wait seldom value your time at all. So realize waiting inevitably happens and become Buffett-like and apply billionaire thinking. 

TGIM ACTION IDEA: Allow for it. Don’t sit idly by while the seconds tick away (unless the “doing nothing” break is very valuable or invigorating for you). Be prepared for time-consuming “waits” with worthwhile time fillers. Today’s easily connected, digital world can keep you actively and gainfully engaged.

In a related vein, one minute-savvy way to reduce and maybe eliminate time-sucking low-return waits can be to –

● Shift time by the minute. If you want to be more aware of where your valuable minutes go, and want to raise awareness of others in the process, try thinking slightly off center.

TGIM ACTION IDEA: Schedule a meeting to begin at 9:05 and end at 9:20. That’s the same quarter hour gathering alluded to above but, with off-center timing, people intrinsically understand that you’ll begin at 9:05 precisely and bring things to a close at 9:20 because that’s precisely what you said.

● Think, “Half a mo’…” That kinda Cockney Brit sounding expression suggests a momentary pause – let’s say no longer than a minute -- when you reconsider something potentially major that you’re about to undertake.

TGIM ACTION IDEA: Before you leap, count to 10 (or 30 or 60) and decide what NOT to do. One of the worst ways to waste your time is to very efficiently decide to do that which does not need to be done by you at all. Use “half a mo …” to sort the wheat from the chaff. Choose the path that leads to the dough (or bread).

 

Is time up? In the headline I asked for a minute of your valuable time and, even if you read this at the “High Level Executive” reading speed I would guesstimate TGIM readers are capable of achieving, I’ve exceeded my request. 

So here’s a wrap-up –

Q: Would you invest $4 million of your enterprise’s hard-gained treasure in a 30-second SuperBowl commercial?

A: Not without some pretty carefully projected and tracked ROI, I hope. 

TGIM Challenge: Although time is not actual money, act as if you are the Chief Financial Officer of your time. Be the strategic business manager rather than passive caretaker of the minutes in your day. Approach your clock with an eye toward producing the best outcomes with the prudent investment of even the most piddling time resources.

Until next time.

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

P.S. I recommend to you that you take care of the minutes; for the hours will take care of themselves. Lord Chesterfield (1694-1773) advised that, long before the idea of Super Bowl.

Thank Goodness It's Monday #390

2013 AND BEYOND –

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH IT?

Rest easy. This first-of-2013 TGIM is NOT about making New Year resolutions … setting monthly goals … compiling daily to-do lists … targeting quarterly objectives … committing to imminent deadlines… spelling out near-term action plans … blah, blah, blah.

Not that those things can’t be useful.

It’s just that I’ve seen an overabundance of that kind of commonly-prescribed-at-this-time-of-the-year “soft” advice in the waning days of 2012. And it’s made me think –

Doesn’t anyone do long-term planning anymore?

Granted, the pressures of just going from day to day can be wearing given the fragile state of – fill in your own blank here – the economy, the family, the business, the environment, the state, the nation, the world.

But maybe we are where we are these days because we have become so focused on the here and now that we neglected to anticipate the stretched-out future impacts of what we do in the here and now.

What’s got me thinking this way? 

Actuarial tables. I’m at that point in my life when, to my surprise, I’ve surpassed the “Estimated Life Expectancy” projected for me in the year in which I was born.

Yup.  According to the tables, odds suggest I ought not be here. 

But, given that I am: The most recent iteration of these tables also projects that I can make it exactly 19 years more. And, of course, for every year that clicks by with me in it, the out date stretches a wee bit further. 

So I’m now thinking: I better be thinking longer term (not that I hadn’t been to some degree). And I’m rounding up the actuarial guesstimate and making 20 years my operative number for defining “long-term.”

TGIM Takeaway: Join me in looking 20 years out.

TGIM CHALLENGE #1: Although I discouraged too much backward-looking in the New Year’s Eve TGIM #389, today I suggest you take a moment and reflect on 20 years ago – 1993.

I have a 1993 flashback experience almost daily.
As my nearby friends know,
I'm still driving my family's
new-in-'93 Buick Special.
However, I will not let this prevent me
from also looking forward.

Anything new and different in your life since then?

Damn right there is.

TGIM CHALLENGE #2: So what do you think 2033 will look like? 

As challenging and confounding as the days have been lately (or maybe the span of time should be stated “up to now”), there are many, many more ahead. The speed and enormity and all-encompassing nature of the changes we have faced and the changes we will face will overwhelm us if we let them.

TGIM ACTION IDEA: Don’t let them. Whatever you’ve done to get to this point will not be enough to move you, your business, your loved ones, and your community forward. Neither you nor I can sit on our accomplishments and coast.

TGIM IDEA IN ACTION: Learn as if you were going to live forever – because you just might.

 

• That means preparing your mind to accept ideas such as living “forever.”
• That means staying current and connected to what’s going on in the world, not just your narrow area of interests.
• That means accepting some truths that you now hold dear may be proven untrue and so must be unlearned.
• That means determining that technology may advance in ways that require you to relearn old, comfortable behaviors in order to survive and thrive.
• That means deciding that change is good, even when it comes as an upsetting surprise and challenges your every plan.

“Change is the process by which the future invades our lives.” The famous futurist Alvin Toffler said that in 1970.

Don’t wait for the “invasion” to overwhelm you. Begin today to go out and greet it.

Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Trite (since 1965) but true. Resolve … set as a goal … add to your to-do list … the assignment to routinely look at the long term and adjust accordingly.

 

We all must be forward looking; far more than another round of one-year-limited New Year Resolutions would take us. I think I’m fairly safely assuming that you’re not (much) older than I and I hope your health is not immediately imperiled. So don’t limit your resolving … goal-setting … to-doing … etc, etc to the instant 360+/- days remaining in 2013.

“The best way to predict the future is to create it.” Management thought leader Peter Drucker (1909-2005) said that.

Let’s get creating. And I look forward to comparing notes with you in 2033. 

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

P.S. The greatest adventure is what lies ahead.

Today and tomorrow are yet to be said.

The chances, the changes are all yours to make.

The mold of your life is in your hands to break.

-- J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973) told us that in The Hobbit