Big Is The New Small

I watched the game last night and so did many of you.  LSU got beat and The Alabama Crimson Tide Are The BCS Champions.  Other than who was the better team last night, below are 7 Life & Leadership Lessons From The BCS Championship Game.

• 1. Don’t live off of yesterday’s successes.
• 2. Nerves can positively and negatively affect your performance. (don’t get too nervous)
• 3. There is an advantage of being the hunter as opposed to the hunted.
• 4. Just because you get defeated doesn’t always mean your opponent is better.
• 5. There is always room for improvement in both coaches and players.
• 6. It’s not about X’s & O’s, it’s about Jim’s & Joe’s. (Coaches coach & Players play)
• 7. Sometimes your opponent is just downright better than you.

There is an old saying that defense wins championships…  Alabama confirmed that last night.

There is a new saying that I’m making up right now: bad offenses lose championships…  LSU confirmed that last night.

Share your thoughts on these 7 lessons.  Add some to the list or share your thoughts on the game.

As coach Les Miles was interviewed by Erin Andrews on his way off the field at halftime.  He was asked, what he’s going to do get his offense that’s not clicking going in the second half.  Les responded with the quote below:

“We had cadence issues, fumbled snaps, every possible mistake was made… What’s gotta happen at this point is we have gotta chunk that and do things that we came here to do.” ~Les Miles

I’m writing this post during half-time of the game where Alabama has just hit it’s 3rd field goal and lead Les Miles’ Bayou Bengals 9-0.  I don’t have any idea what the outcome will be; however I do know that Coach Miles’ advice doesn’t only apply to football, it’s the story of life.

When things are going wrong and every possible mistake is happening, you gotta chunk that stuff, get focused and do what you came to do.  A key element is during the interview Les Miles didn’t seemed to be worried and was as cool as the other side of the pillow.

Chunk it and do what you were created to do!

When it comes to opportunities, there are types of people – Waiters and Makers.  Not referring to waiter from the more traditional sense of waiting tables at a restaurant, but from the perspective of someone who sits around and waits.

Think about waiter from the early 14th century definition, where a waiter was a watchman or attendant and their primary duty was to sit around and watch.

Again, when it comes to understanding how people interact with the opportunities of life, there are two types of people - waiters and makers.

• Waiters – those who sit around and wait on the opportunities to come to them.
• Makers – those who create opportunities and make opportunities happen.

When opportunity knocks the waiter sits around waiting for someone else to open the door and that someone else is the maker whose ready to make things happen.  When opportunity knocks, answer the door.  If opportunity doesn’t knock, kick the door down.

“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” ~Seneca

Seize the opportunity!

Are you a Waiter or a Maker?

The announcement of Kodak going bankrupt was a shocker.  Not a shocker because you couldn’t see it coming, but a shocker because yet another once iconic, innovative brand is on life support.  This has been a work in progress for quite some time, as there were front-page newspaper articles in the late 1990′s showing that Kodak had to lay off 10,000 employees. (Writing on the wall)

There are definite reasons why these companies are dying and those same reasons contributed to the failure of other predeceased brands.  American Airlines – Bankrupt, Yahoo – Up for Sale, RIM Blackberry - Stick A Fork In Em’ and Sears is closing stores around the country.  The list of these major brands that will soon be a part of the history books continues to increase.

How can these brands find themselves in the grips of extinction?  The same way that you, your organization, church, non-profit or name your favorite brand can end up in the same place.  You should see a developing theme as most are in the same vein.

10 Reasons Why Kodak, Blackberry, Yahoo & Other Major Brands Fail

• 1. Inability to Innovate - Unable to produce new, noteworthy and fruit producing ideas.
• 2. Inability to Stay Ahead of The Times - Only look at the here and now, no forward thinking.
• 3. No Adjustments - Not adjusting to the market place or technology of competitors.
• 4. Uncle Rico Syndrome - Just like Uncle Rico from Napoleon Dynamite was living off of his 1983 successes, many brands are living off of yesterday’s wins.
• 5. The Top Stays The Same - Unwillingness to change the key leadership players (especially in upper management).
• 7. Inbred Syndrome - Only hire from within and unwilling to bring outside folks with fresh eyes and fresh perspectives into the fold.
• 8. Reluctance to Take Risks - Playing it safe for a prolonged a period of time can be detrimental.  Most brand success stories have many instances of taking risks.
• 9. Refuse to Surround Themselves With and Retain The Best - Letting key players leave without creating opportunities for them to stay.  Some of the best innovations from high profile brands come from key players that were acquired from another brand.
• 10. Unwillingness To Change - They simply want things to be the way that they used to be.

I was on my way to a meeting last month and I drove by this bench billboard advertisement.  I thought it was clever, edgy, effective and it caught my attention.  I decided to take a pic and now I’m sharing it with you.

Share your thoughts on this advertisements or other clever advertisements that have caught your attention.

Have you ever found yourself in a group, on a team, in an organization or in a situation where “Everyone Is Thinking It, but No One Is Willing To Say It.”  Most of us have been in those situations and sometimes there’s even a little internal chuckling that goes along with the thoughts.  The internal chuckling, rolling of eyes and secret non-verbal codes are the beginning of more serious and detrimental behaviors.

These types of environments will always impede individual and organizational growth.  The bottom line is this: “Mr. & Mrs. Autocratic Leader, You Are Killing Your Team.”

On the contrary, some of the most thriving organizations in the world have cultures where everyone is thinking and saying the same thing.  Creating this open, honest and safe culture always begins and ends with the CEO, Senior Leader and or Executive Leadership Team.

If you want to know if you have one of these “can’t speak” environments, simply ask.  If you find yourself in a culture where people can’t or don’t speak up, it’s time for you to do something about it.  It’s time to speak up, lead up and be a catalyst for fostering a culture of mutual thinking and speaking — a culture of success.  If you’re a senior executive, work hard to ask the right questions, to create an environment of openness and a culture where people don’t have to hold their tongues.

Of those who say nothing, few are silent.  ~Thomas Neiel

Share your thoughts and experiences with these types of environments.

I read a profound African Proverb last week that challenged my thinking and it should challenge yours as well.  It should challenge you to not get distracted by people, events and thoughts that in the grand scheme of things really don’t matter.

Don’t get distracted by the critics, successes, bumps in the road, temporary setbacks or things that you don’t understand or don’t have any control over.

The result of those distractions will be a premature exit from the road to success.

The primary reason people fail is not because they don’t have the skills or abilities, they fail because they get distracted.  There will always be plenty of opportunities for success and there will be even more opportunities to get distracted.  Stay focused and Don’t Get Distracted.

“The lion does not turn around when a small dog barks.”

~African Proverb

Are you getting distracted?

Individuals and businesses are always trying to find ways to increase their level of success.  This drive and will to succeed leaves folks scouring around trying to find advanced methods to foster success. This search for success leads to trying many of the latest greatest ideas from their industry.

Some will try a new idea a month, others will come back from a conference and implement ten new ideas and some may make drastic changes as a result of an article or book they’ve read.

Some of the greatest success stories and brands that other’s are trying to mimic are built on a couple of good ideas.  Not 5, 10 or 20, but rather a couple of good ideas. As a consultant I’ve had the opportunity to work with organizations ranging from Fortune 100 Corporations to Personal Brands.  No matter who I’m working with, my goal is to help organizations and individuals come up with and implement couple of good ideas.

If you want to succeed and you want your brand to be successful, stop trying to come up with a million ideas and simply devise and implement a couple good ideas.

You Only Need A Couple Good Ideas. 

At the conclusion of each calendar year I start to plan, plot, dream, think and prepare to make things happen in the upcoming year.  I have a “System for Success” comprised of quarterly goal setting and tools for follow-through that contributes to making things happen in the upcoming year. Putting God first coupled with this “System for Success” has produced colossal results for my family and I.

As I was thinking of my motto for 2012, two words simply came to mind.  Those two words are “Go Big!”  My blog and personal mantra has been dream BIG. think BIGGER. for the last four or so years. Go BIG is a close cousin to dream BIG. think BIGGER.   This year I will use #goBIG when leading my family, my clients, mentees and as general encouragement for others.

What is #goBIG all about?  It’s simple: Go BIG, Take Risks, Don’t Play It Safe, Step Out, Put Your Cards On The Table, Pursue Those Dreams, Start That Business…

• #goBIG For God
• #goBIG For Family
• #goBIG For Everything else

Theologian Williams Shedd says it this way, “A ship is safe at harbor, but that’s not what ships are for.”   The same is true for you, you are safe on the sidelines, you are safe doing more of the same, you are safe settling for what is rather than searching for what could be, you are safe settling…  That’s not you were made for, you were made to #goBIG.

Seize life! Eat bread with gusto, Drink wine with a robust heart. Oh yes-God takes pleasure in your pleasure! Dress festively every morning. Don’t skimp on colors and scarves. Relish life with the spouse you love Each and every day of your precarious life. Each day is God’s gift. It’s all you get in exchange For the hard work of staying alive. Make the most of each one! Whatever turns up, grab it and do it. And heartily! This is your last and only chance at it, For there’s neither work to do nor thoughts to think In the company of the dead, where you’re most certainly headed. ~Ecclesiastes 9:7-11 MSG

Each day is God’s gift, open your gift daily, Seize Life and #goBIG.

This week my family will gather at the table to set individual and family goals.  We will implement game plans and systems for success in 2012.  I will encourage everyone to dream BIG. think BIGGER. with the caveat this year of “#goBig!”

2012 is the year to #goBIG!

Are you committed to #goBIG in 2012?  What’s your motto for 2012?

Mali Music – The Job Experience [OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO] from Anthony Brooks on Vimeo.

Check out this music video by @MaliMusic, listen to the lyrics, embrace the story line and feel the cinematography. What do you think about this song and this video? What stood out to you, what moved you? Share your thoughts!