Capitalogix

Sometimes Simple Is Better

This simple communication tool had a huge impact on our project management.

I took for granted that our team was working towards the same vision, that we were aligned, and that we had a clear understanding of what constituted success.I was only partly right.  Here are some of the things we did to fix it.

Perception Changes With Focus.

The timeframe someone focuses on tells a lot about that person's level in a company. For example, people producing work tend to focus on what they're doing that day or week. Managers have a slightly longer timeframe, and may be looking at monthly production. Some executives are looking at the next year or two; while the CEO is often looking much further out than that.

On a generic level, it is easy to think about the future. On the other hand, for someone working on the day-to-day operational details, it's much harder to figure-out how to go from where we are to even the very next step.

Alignment Is a Key to Momentum and Progress.

Aligning vision, strategy, and tactics is important to make sure that what we're doing now supports our ultimate goal and moves us in the right direction. Consequently, one of the goals of the planning exercise is to create a clear path so each person understands what they're doing, and how what they're doing up takes us closer to our ultimate goal.

A Quick Look Backwards.

One of the ways we have done this is to talk about some of the past iterations of technologies that we've gone through.  Doing this helps reinforce how much progress we've already made, as well as to recognize which things really marked the ending of one phase - or the beginning of another.

Looking back, we identified seven major phases of technology. We agreed to call what we're currently doing version 7.0. We also agreed on which features and functions would constitute version 8.0. In other words, here is where we are ... And here is where we want to be.

A Clear Path Forwards.

Then, we identified five stages to get from here to there. The first stage will take about one month, and we're calling it version 7.1. The key is that the team understands that 7.1 Is an important milestone on the path towards a bigger goal. However, it's specific, measurable, and actionable. Each person understands what they have to do, and what the project plan looks like to get from here to there.

Accepting the Journey.

We talked about why version 7.1 was an important step for us. We discussed what it will entail, and how we will know that it's complete. Then we had each person sign the sheet indicating that they agreed with and accepted these specifications.

It sounds silly, but getting people to sign the sheet that documented a complete understanding of "who, what, when, where, and why" was important and freeing. It unlocked each person's unique abilities and gave them a clear path forward.

Think about an area in your business or personal life that could use a little more transparency, clarity and unconditional agreement. Perhaps this simple tool can make it better?

Hope that helps.

The Marshmallow Test: What Kids Teach Us About Temptation

Here is a brief video that reminds me that the difference between men and boys is often just the price of their toys.

It's fun to watch these kids and the temptation of one marshmallow in the hand vs two marshmallows in the bush.  To eat, or not to eat?  ... That is the question.

Oh, The Temptation from Steve V on Vimeo.

Here's a List of Fun iPhone Apps Worth Using

I wanted to create a list of the coolest iPhone apps. However, cool doesn't necessarily mean useful. Instead, this is a list of the applications that I use most.

This week I'm listing the lighter and more fun iPhone apps.  Here is the link to the list the business and productivity apps that I use most.

I limited myself to the top two applications per category.  Hope you find some cool stuff in here.

Social Media

• Facebook
• TweetDeck

Food & Fun Finders

• Yelp
• IWant

Games: Strategy

• Flood-It
• Block-Out

Games: Puzzle

• Sudoku
• DropSum

Games: Pattern Matching

• Moonlight Mahjong
• Triazzle

Games: Text

• TextTwist Turbo
• Scramble

Music

• Pandora
• Rhapsody

Photo Fun

• Photo fx
• ColorSplash

Health & Fitness

• iFitness
• Lose It!

Relaxation

• Pzizz Relax
• Ambiance

Sports News

• Sportacular
• Plusmo Football Plus

Shopping

• SnapTell
• Amazon.com

Even if you don't have an iPhone, check-out the links to see what is available.  I am amazed at how much of my computing and basic research are now done on a Smartphone.

That's it for now.  Let me know if I forgot your favorite or you found something worth sharing.

Is Knowing Why and How Enough?

Over the years, I've used a number of different assessment tests on myself and our team. It's a great way to help people better understand a each other and the different forms of communication and problem solving styles we use.

Here are several of the tests that have proven themselves time and again:

1. Kolbe: measures a person's instinctive method of operation, and identifies the ways they will be most productive.
2. Myers-Briggs: identifies personality styles and temperaments.
3. StrengthsFinder: helps people uncover their talents, so they can do more of those things each day.

Recently Janine de Nysschen from whytelligence introduced me to a new tool.  She helps people perform better by getting them to understand the "Why" and "How" patterns driving them. Janine believes every person has a core sense of purpose that drives their beliefs and behavior, and a logic pattern that is hard-wired into how they think and decide.

The whytelligence process helps people discover their distinct purpose, and shows them how embracing and leveraging that can help them thrive and succeed with less effort or resistance.

What Can You Learn from whytelligence?

Janine's starting point was clarifying "Why" I do things. She identified that I like to help people see what's real (though often hidden), and then show them how that truth about themselves or what they are doing can help them. During her next step in the process, here is how she described my "How" pattern:

• First, you confront positions. You listen, you observe, but then you question and you challenge.
• Second, you re-frame the thinking. Most of the time, you do this using stories or metaphors; but sometimes you use practical experiences too.
• Third, you reveal the new paradigm. You get people to re-state their positions in light of what you have helped them understand.
• Fourth, you help people put it into practice. You find opportunities or tell them about options for them to use their new paradigms, knowledge, and experience.
• Finally, you measure response.  You will try the applied intelligence, the new technique, or better way - but they have to produce a certain level of value and give you the sense of peace, fulfillment, success, etc. ... or it's back to the drawing board.

If you know me, then you probably recognize that pattern.  After she pointed it out to me, I recognize that I use it often in my business and personal dealings.  It is how I argue, and how I help people. As a coaching point, Janine points out that my first step often is to confront; and that by becoming aware of it, I can soften its delivery for greater impact.

This How pattern also defines my work.  In many respects, my job is to decode the logic moving the markets, and to translate that into easy to follow trading systems. This makes sense and is a great fit given my Why and How patterns.

However, Janine then asked if I ever get so focused on finding the right tool or technique to get to a better solution, that I sometimes I forget to look for an endpoint? If you know me, then you probably recognize that pattern too. 

Awareness Is the First Step of the Next Step.

In other words, the How pattern can become such a powerful habit, that sometimes it runs by itself.  That's interesting information to know. Consequently, recognizing that it is running is important ... as are the questions: 'Does it need improvement?' and 'Would breaking-out of it serve you better'?

And in keeping with my pattern, it made me think a little bit deeper. In a sense, knowing about your pattern shows you how and why you get what you tend to get. However, if you want to get different results, then you need to change, or perhaps transcend, your habitual patterns in a way that lets you get better results.

Knowing your Why and How patterns can be a great first step towards making those changes happen.

For More Info:

• Here is a link to another article about whytelligence called "Discover the How to Your Why".

Genius Catalyst Tips

I enjoy Michael Neill's work.It combines business understanding, common-sense, and a little bit more.

His Genius Catalyst Tip-of-the-Day is often terrific.  Here is an example of one of them.

My Favorite Prayer.

Success means we go to sleep at night knowing that our talents and abilities were used in a way that served others.

    - Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love

When I was around 25 years old, I had the dubious distinction of being brought in as a "ringer" for a UK baseball team based in South London. The assumption was that as an American, I must be genetically crafted for optimal baseball action. Unfortunately, as I was only an average player when I stopped playing at 14 and this was a team made up of former minor leaguers and die hard British jocks, I turned out to be less of a ringer and more of a dead loss.

Our team batted first and keen to maximize the advantage I was sure to bring them, I was first up. 80 mile per hour fast balls whizzed by my head, and the highlights of my first at bat were a) not dying and b) actually touching the ball with my bat on one pitch. (The ball promptly ignored my bat and continued unimpeded on its journey to the catcher's mitt).

Disappointed, the team captain sent me out to right field to lick my wounds and I thought about what I could do to keep the day from being a complete waste. Suddenly, a prayer popped into my head:

Give me a chance to serve, using the gifts that I have.

Not being a particularly religious right fielder, I can't say who or what I was praying to, but the words kept coming like a mantra:

Give me a chance to serve, using the gifts that I have.

Despite my early failure, I knew I must have some relevant gifts for the task at hand. After all, I reasoned, I was a reasonably fast runner. I could throw a ball in something resembling a straight line. And while I was a great proponent of Dr. Arthur Slater-Hammel's 1950 study which "proved" that it is physically impossible for a human being to hit a baseball :-), I did know how to catch one. Suddenly I was excited instead of scared, leaning forward instead of back, and looking for opportunities to put my gifts to use instead of waiting for the chance to hide my inadequacies and run from my failings.

Within a few minutes of beginning my prayer, my first "chance to serve" came - a line drive over the second baseman's head. I ran in, stuck out my glove, and caught the ball to end the inning. Suddenly I was 'one of the guys' again, and I engaged with the game and my teammates in a whole new way for the rest of the day.

Although my exploits on the field quickly faded into obscurity, the power of that prayer stayed with me:

Give me a chance to serve, using the gifts that I have.

Here's a few distinctions I've made in living that prayer during the ensuing years...

1. Give me a chance to serve...

About a year ago, I was discussing with a friend my goal of increasing the readership of these tips to 100,000 people by the year 2005. "Oh," she replied. "You want to expand your ministry." After gagging on my cappuccino, I spent the next hour arguing that the word 'ministry' was totally inappropriate for what I do.

When I calmed down, I did some research. Turns out 'ministry' is a wonderful word. While I had always used it to refer to either religious proselytizing or the home of a government organization (like the Ministry of Defense or the lesser known but much more fun Ministry of Sound :-), "ministry" actually refers to the act of ministration - being of service to, aiding, and assisting those around us.

To expand your ministry simply means to be of more service to those around you, be it through your work, your family, or your faith. Here's how George Bernard Shaw put it:

"I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no "brief candle" to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations."

By thinking of our lives as our ministry, we will find ourselves surrounded by opportunities in any moment to be of service. And each opportunity for service brings with it the opportunity for fulfillment, meaning, and joy.

2. ...using the gifts that I have.

I have always thought and taught that our gifts are those things in your life that come naturally to you, without any undue personal effort or struggle. Another way of identifying your gifts is to think of your strengths - those skills, abilities, or personality traits you exhibit which are so much a part of that you can't remember learning them and can't imagine not having them.

Martin Seligman is a former president of the American Psychological Association and long-time researcher into depression and learned helplessness who more recently turned his life's work on its head to become a pioneer in the field of Positive Psychology. Over the past few years, he and his research team have identified 24 'signature strengths' - core traits that are valuable in their own right but even more so when you put them into action in the service of your highest values and purpose.

Here are the 24 strengths:

1. Curiosity/Interest in the world	2. Love of Learning
3. Judgement/Critical thinking/Open-mindedness	4. Ingenuity/Originality/Street Smarts
5. Social Intelligence/Emotional Intelligence	6. Perspective
7. Valor/Bravery	8.Perseverance/Industry/Diligence
9. Integrity/Genuineness/Honesty	10. Kindness/Generosity
11. Loving/Allowing Oneself to be Loved	12. Citizenship/Duty/Teamwork/Loyalty
13.Fairness/Equality	14. Leadership
15. Self-control	16. Prudence/Discretion/Caution
17. Humility/Modesty	18. Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence
19. Gratitude	20. Hope/Optimism/Future-Mindedness
21.Spirituality/Sense of Purpose/Faith/Religiousness	22. Forgiveness/Mercy
23. Playfulness/Humor	24. Zest/Passion/Enthusiasm

As Seligman says in the book Authentic Happiness:

"Herein is my formulation of the good life: Using your signature strengths every day in the main realms of your life to bring abundant gratification and authentic happiness."

In response to which I would simply say: Give me a chance to serve, using the gifts that I have.

Today's Experiment:

1. Go to the Authentic Happiness website, and take the online VIA Strengths Survey. After identifying your top 2 or 3 strengths, look for opportunities to put them to use throughout the week.

2. Ponder these words from Quaker Faith and Practice - Advices and Queries :

Live adventurously. When choices arise, do you take the way that offers the fullest opportunity for the use of your gifts in the service of God and the community?

3.  Let your life speak." If your life could speak, what would it be saying? What would you like it to say?

4. Just for fun, try your luck at hitting a 90 mph fastball online by going to the Exploratorium.

Have fun, learn heaps, and let your life speak!

________________________________________

Visit Genius Catalyst for more great tips!
His tip is Copyright 2001-2009 - Genius Catalyst / Michael Neill. All Rights Reserved.

Conditioning Yourself to Take the Best Next Step

Is How You Do Something ... How You Do Everything?

I'm beginning to think so.  To make the point, let me start with a brief story. 

I was at the gym and getting pretty close to the end of my workout.

Frankly, I was at a point where being done was more attractive than the option of doing additional exercise.

Over time I've developed many habits and beliefs that focus on finding best next step or a way to do just a little bit more. So this time, I used reverse-counting to help me finish that workout strong.

I started with 10 push-ups. I know I can do 10 push-ups, even at the end of a hard workout. Without putting my knees down, I can rest in plank position for a moment or two ... then I do nine more push-ups. That has to be easier than 10, right? Then eight more ... seven ... six. You get the point.

Each set is a little bit harder than the one before; but mentally I'm prepared for it, and can convince myself that I'm so much closer to the goal.

So I get to three, and sweat is dripping off my nose, my arms are shaking, and my hips want to sway. Somehow knowing that there's only two more sets, then only one more, allows me to finish.

That story could have been about creating profitable trading systems, developing a new database, or recovering from a set-back.  It's about finding a way, regardless of external circumstances.

Finding a Way to Do Just a Little Bit More.

There are many times that it seems easier to do nothing, or to give up. That's just not my nature. It's not in my "nurture" either.

My father used to say that the secret to success was getting up. What he meant was that if someone knocked you down 10 times, then the secret to success was getting up 11 times. And if someone knocked you down another time, then the secret was to get up 12 times. There's a lot of truth in that.

I laugh when I think of all the little things I do that condition me to take the best next step. Here are a few examples of small things that help define that mindset.

• I never stop reading until I finish a chapter.
• Also, when I play a strategy game on my iPhone, I never stop until I win.
• And, when I play a strategy game that I'm good at, I never stop until I achieve a certain score. 

It doesn't matter if I'm frustrated or tired.  I find a way.  Each, in its own small way, helps condition me to know that I can do anything I commit to.  Taking that a little further, regardless of what happens, my outcome depends most on what I choose to do.

Sometimes that seems silly, or even a little bit OCD to me. Yet, it serves me.  There's a lot of freedom that comes with knowing that the game's not over until I say it is ... or until I win. Likewise, it's comforting to know that there's always a best next step, or at least a different perspective that will create new opportunities and possibilities.

I to do that in business as well. We focus on the progress we're making, and what that makes possible, rather than how far we are from the ultimate goal. Why? Because as we continue to make progress, the things we shoot for are bigger and farther away. Focusing there would always show a shortfall. Obstacles and set-backs become the raw material for new growth, ideas and strategies.  The trick is getting back up, isn't it?

Sometimes the best advice is simple. Nike got it right in their ad ... Just Do It.

Here's a Movie Worth Seeing

What do you do when your wife and kids are out of town, and you find yourself alone?

Besides catching-up on projects that I somehow avoided until now, I like to watch movies.

TiVo now links to Netflix, and provides an instant viewing option. Upon opening that folder on the DVR, I saw a bunch of things I normally wouldn't choose to watch on my own. One of them was a movie called Saint Ralph.  And I chose to watch it anyway.

My Dad had an "interesting" belief. He didn't watch scary or negative movies, because he felt that life was enough of a challenge on its own ... and it was better to find things that raised our spirits. Well, I inherited that from him.

Don't get me wrong, I still I love drama and thrillers. But in the absence of compelling circumstances, I tend to prefer positive stories.

So a plot about a down-on-his luck Catholic High School student whose father is dead and whose mother is in a coma, doesn't sound like my type of movie. 

But Saint Ralph was my type of movie.  It made me think and I enjoyed it.  The movie was lighter, funnier, and better than I expected.

On one level, it's a coming-of-age story about perseverance and faith through uncertain times. On another level, it's a well-written comedy about a quirky 14-year-old boy who gets it in his head that the only way to save his mother is through a miracle (and the miracle he thinks will save her ... is for him to win the Boston Marathon).

It is a movie that asks, if you're going to dream for something, why not dream for miracles?

Hope you enjoy it.

Here's a link to the trailer for Saint Ralph. 

Here's a link to find it at Netflix.

The Flow of Planning

I was in Columbus Ohio last week for a series of meetings and strategic planning sessions.

I love getting away from the business in order to work on the business. That means stepping back from day-to-day issues, to look at the bigger picture. It also means getting back in-touch with goals and intent.

In a sense, the process acts like a compass, which sets the general direction for the journey.

In addition, preparing for a series of meetings, like this, is a lot like working on a business plan.

Personally, I've found that that one of the primary benefits of creating a business plan has almost nothing to do with the plan itself. Working on the plan, immersing yourself in the ideas and possibilities, and ultimately choosing what stays-in, versus what's filtered out ... there is magic in that.

Yes, the plan is important.  But it is the planning that takes you from thinking ... to feeling ... to knowing.  That's where the real benefit of business planning comes from.

A Good Sign.

Sometimes you hear a question and it takes the air out of an idea. Other times a question helps you make a new distinction or consider an alternate and better course of action.

At our planning sessions, last week, there was a lot of those pushing, pulling, probing, and deep thought ... yet it built momentum.  So, I felt like we were on the right track.

How to Tell You Are On the Right Track.

I tend to be analytical.  Yet, over time, I've come to believe that one of the best tools to measure whether you are on the right track is how you feel.

Have you ever gotten a phone call from someone, and when you saw or heard that it was from them, you wilted?  In contrast, have you ever become more animated and energized while interacting with someone else?  It is easy to recognize the difference. 

Each person has different thoughts, people, or situations that trigger these positive and negative states.

In sports, this positive state is often referred to as being "in-the-Zone".  It is also called "Flow".  It happens when someone is fully immersed in what they are doing, and has a feeling of energized focus or awareness, full involvement, and success in the process of their activity.

Being in Flow feels good. On some level, when you are in Flow, you know you're on the right track.

The Hows and Whys of Firewalking

I recently went to a Tony Robbins seminar in Toronto. One of the highlights of the event was the Firewalk, which is a barefoot walk across red-hot embers.

Learning the technique is not really that hard (it is basically walking at a normal pace, while not hesitating or tripping).  The hard part is doing that knowing that there are burning embers under your feet.

It is breath-taking on several levels.  The firewalk is cool in-and-of-itself; isn't it?  So, it doesn't have to mean anything beyond doing it.  Yet, there are some great opportunities to make it more impactful by leveraging what you make the experience mean.

For example you can use the experience as a powerful memory, triggering feelings of being able to do anything you commit to ... or breaking through what used to be your limits.  Or the firewalk can be taken as a metaphor for life ... and being able to put yourself into a resourceful state, and choosing to take the right action regardless of what's happening externally or in your mind.

What Goes Through Your Mind?

I was scared the first time I walked on fire. Even though I knew it would do it, when I got to the front of the line, looked down, saw the burning embers, and smelled the smoke ... my mind wanted to scream "NO"!!  I had a whole lifetime of conditioning that touching hot things was dangerous, and certainly walking barefoot across hot coals made little sense to my logical mind, and even less sense to that primal instinct part of the mind that's there to protect me.

That's why many of the techniques used in the seminars revolve around getting into a peak state, and filling your head with phrases that you repeat again, and again, and again. If you're saying "yes", "yes", "yes" ... There's no room for your brain to say "no".

Is It State of Mind ... Or Science?

I'm not going to pretend I understand the science of why it's possible to walk barefoot for 30 or 40 feet across burning coals, without injuring yourself. But you don't have to be a scientist to guess that hesitating in the middle might have painful consequences.  This video is well done and explains a lot.

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It is Better the Second Time Around.

I've done the firewalk many times now, and still enjoy it. It's really interesting to watch the faces of people doing it for the first time. Some express abject terror, others pump themselves up into a manic state, while still others follow the crowd with a glazed look on their face.

This time, I tried something different than what I've done before. Instead of working myself into a peak state and charging across the coals triumphantly, I wanted to do it from a place of calm resolve. To me this is a different type of peak state.

In some ways it's about being more present to the situation and my own capabilities. Since I had done this before, being afraid would be somewhat irrational (however emotions do not have to be logical). I didn't want to numb myself to the experience by focusing internally, or by jacking-myself-up into a warrior state; instead I wanted to enjoy the sights, sounds, and smells of what was happening -- and how cool it was to do this from a purposeful intent.

A Little Bit of Mastery Goes a Long Way.

As a trader, the winning, losing, and the uncertainty and certainly trigger fear, greed, and doubt. Learning to master these states, and keeping a clear head, leads to a much longer career.

It's funny, because I wasn't sure that going through this exercise again would have the same impact. It did, just for different reasons than I have before. I highly recommend it. Feel free to contact me if you have questions or comments.  I'd love to hear about your experiences.

Pixar's "UP" an Eye-Opener

I highly recommend seeing the new Disney - Pixar movie, UP, in 3-D.  It was terrific ... much better than I hoped or expected.

Frankly, when my son asked me to see it with him, I agreed reluctantly.  As he later reminded me, Pixar movies usually are better than you'd guess.

The animation was as good as I expected.  Yet, the 3-D effects were the best I've seen, because it seemed real and natural, rather than a gimmick.

On the surface, this adventure comedy is about an old-man trying to fulfill his lifelong dream to see the wilds of South America.  Then soon after setting-out, he learns he isn't alone on his journey, since a wilderness explorer -- 70 years his junior -- has somehow become a stowaway on the trip.

The story and underlying message were good and uplifting. And not just because the old-man choice of transportation was to tie thousands of balloons to his home.

It is worth the few extra dollars to see this in 3-D.