Seven Ways to Amp Your Attitude
How often do you walk into Starbucks, go to the coffee pot at home or work, grab some chocolate or a bag of chips, or buy your favorite caffeinated beverage looking for just a little more juice, something to energize you, or to amp up your day just a little bit (there's even an energy drink named Amp!)?
Sure you may like the taste of those treats, and even gain some temporary energy, but they aren't a complete answer to your energy and attitude challenges.
Here are seven specific things you can do at any time (including right now) to amp up your energy and attitude - with no caffeine crash or calories!
Amp Your Attitude
- Take action first. Dale Carnegie taught, "Act enthusiastic, and we'll be enthusiastic." He was right. Actions impact thoughts. Don't believe me? Ever gotten up and drug yourself around the house trying to get your day started? How much energy do you feel on those mornings? Compare that to the mornings when you hop out of bed because you are late. In which case do you have more energy in the moment?
- Assume you can. How many new ideas (or even old ideas) are immediately met with "that won’t work," or “we can't do that"? Maybe you can't, and maybe it won't. But what if everyone started with the assumption that you could do it and that it would work? I'm not saying every idea is great or that you can do everything. But it does mean that ideas can be investigated from a perspective of can-do and hope. This approach will definitely create a better attitude - and better results.
- Have some fun. Take time out of your day (right now?) and have some fun! I'm not suggesting forgetting or neglecting your work - but approaching your day with the spice of fun. What happens to your attitude when you are laughing? (My point exactly.)
Look for the good. Look for the good in the day, in the situation, in other people. Look for the good in ideas (we've already covered that one!), challenges and problems. Just look for the good - all around you. Once you choose to look for it - you will find it. And, your attitude will improve, guaranteed. - Take off your black hat. In many situations I hear, "but someone needs to be the devil's advocate." In my experience the same people are always the devil's advocate. If you always wear the black hat, take it off for awhile. If work with the black hat, ask for a black hat moratorium in your office for an hour, a day or a week. Even if you work by yourself, you will amp your attitude by being an angel's advocate today.
- Change your environment. Maybe you can't change the paint in your surroundings (and you certainly can't do it right now), but you can change your environment. If you find yourself heading to the 'dark side,' get up from your desk. Walk around the office or outside. Do anything to change your perspective and you will improve your attitude - the brief bit of exercise won't hurt either.
- Smile. I've saved the simplest and easiest for last. Smile. When you smile you feel better. When you smile - and others see it - they smile too (try it) and then you feel even better. If you want to amp your attitude right now, smile (it takes less than a second).
You can do any (or all) of these things right now. They are each a choice. Some may be easier for you, so it might be smart to start there. Start there, but don't stop there - implement these ideas and make your attitude (and results) soar! Potential Pointer: There is real value in having a good attitude. Not the least of which is that people with positive attitudes are the ones others want to work with and be around! There are very specific things you can do every day to improve your attitude, and there’s no time like the present to start!
Posted at 2:28 PM on Friday, May 09, 2008 - 
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The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You Will Ever Need by Daniel H. Pink (art by Rob Ten Pas)
 Graduations are upon us, and, if you're like me, you may be looking for a book for the high school or college grads in your life. (As a reader, I always want to give books as gifts.) Often I don't though, because I fear the book won’t be read.
I don't have that worry with Johnny Bunko. This story (of Johnny Bunko of course) highlights some key lessons for anyone in the job market, but that isn't why I'm confident people will read it. People will read it because it is written in manga - or Japanese comic - form. That's right; I am recommending a career advice book written as a comic book. The book probably isn't "the last career guide you will ever need," but it does use a captivating story and format to highlight six important life/career lessons. I won't reveal them here because you will quickly learn them in the story itself. I picked up this book because I am a fan of the author (read my recommendation of A Whole New Mind) and because I was fascinated by the manga form for this type of book.
I wasn't disappointed. I read it on part of an airplane flight. My high school sophomore also has read it, and we both enjoyed it. While the book isn't a complete career guide treatise, it does make great points in a memorable and creative way. You may want to buy copies for those about to embark on their career - or looking to make a change, but buy a copy for yourself too. You will find it a worthwhile and fun read. I expect that you will (as I did) find that you leave the book feeling more creative and ready to tackle the challenges in front of you more successfully. Learn more and purchase at Amazon.com.
Posted at 2:18 PM on -
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If You Want to Be a Better Teacher . . .
 The idea for this post comes from a question Angela Maiers asked and Mike Sansome posted on as well. The added to a piece written by Carl Glickman in the book Leadership for Learning. In this piece, he asks and if then statement - If, as a teacher . . . . then I . . . Here are a couple of my additions . . . If, I as a teacher . . . - stop learning new things myself - forget what it is like to be a classroom student - focus on teaching rather than learning Then I've forgotten what is most important and my growth and effectiveness as a teacher is unnecessarily stopped. Think about these thoughts as well as Mike and Angela's . Think about the times you are in a teaching/coaching/training/facilitating/parenting role and how these thoughts apply to you.
Then add your twist as a comment - I'd love to read your IF, THEN statements as well.
Labels: teacher, teaching
Posted at 1:45 PM on Thursday, May 08, 2008 -
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Dealing with Disruptive People at Work
A couple of weeks back (too long ago!) someone asked me a question - due to the nature of the question, I won't identify who they are. Here is the question . . .
Sometimes due to regional manpower shortage we are forced to keep the disrupters on the job which promotes more disrupters. They are low performers who do not care about organization vision & values.
Since all your efforts are unsuccessful to bring those individuals back on the track. What should be the long term plan to deal with those individuals without jeopardizing the business?
Options, which one is better:
- It is difficult to get equivalent experience worker so hire apprentice & get them trained ASAP effectively.
- Just remove them out of the organization and go for re-hiring with higher compensations.
- Keep trying to motivate them however this could de-motivate the high performers.
This is a complex question that begs for clarification, but without that dialogue, here are a couple of thoughts.
At certain points, and at certain levels, each of the three options may be part of the answer. If the regional job market is extremely tight, I would be bringing in extra people as quickly as I could, to insure against people leaving to other opportunities - regardless of their performance level (yes, sometimes even if you are doing everything right organizationally you will lose some stars.)
The last option of trying to motivate the "disrupters" is the direction I would go in terms of these people themselves. I believe that people want to do a good job. I believe that if you have a well thought out and implemented hiring process you should have relatively few disrupters. All of this means that your belief and expectations need to be in the right place. Believe that people can succeed in your environment, believe that they want to contribute significantly, and set expectations accordingly. Might coaching be required? of course - but when that coaching comes from the perspective of the beliefs I described, compared to an attitude of "I can't believe I have to try to 'fix' this 'disrupter' what is wrong with them?" You have a much better chance of success.
In the end, not everyone will be a fit in your organization, and in those cases your second option, of severing the relationship, will sometimes be needed. My advice is not to go there too quickly, but don't wait forever either - finding that timing balance is a tightrope worth learning how to walk.
Posted at 9:25 AM on Sunday, May 04, 2008 -
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Staying Connected
 Staying connected is important for us in any number of roles in our lives: as leaders, as friends, as businesspeople, as marketers, as parents, as family members, as people.
And while there are many ways for us to stay and get connected (including millions that don't include electronics, screens, or the internet), tools for building and strengthening relationships using the electronic/internet world abound and are growing daily.
One of the reasons I haven't been posting as frequently here lately is because I have been learning about and using a couple of these tools - and I added another new one today. As I sit here this morning, I am struck by the options and working/playing hard to find the right balance for me (in all of the roles above!) between the various media, and tools.
As I find answers, I'll let you know. In the meantime, here are some ways you can stay more closely connected to me - using some of the tools I am using the most right now. I hope you choose to connect to me with as many of these tools as you use.
Whether you connect with me, consider how you will connect with others today - whether online, offline, or both. Connections are the start of relationships, and relationships make every part of our lives more rich, valuable, meaningful and fun.
Labels: connection, relationships
Posted at 8:40 AM on -
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