Time
to Grab Your Harmonica
I
lost my job during the last major recession in 1991. They
called me on Sunday and said the newspaper would close the
next day. I had just moved to Dallas a little less than
six months prior to the announcement. I was told to come
down to the office and clean out my desk.
I
was in a new job in a new city. I had very few contacts,
no prospects, and barely any savings. Hanging up the phone,
I took a deep breath and looked around my very sparse one
bedroom apartment. I knew what I had to do: I grabbed my
harmonica.
When
I arrived at the newspaper's building, employees were packing
up boxes; commiserating, a few were crying, and most were
basically trying to figure out what they would do next.
I headed to the back loading dock where the local media
had encamped.
Let
me pick up the story with the description I wrote in my
book, Make the Right Choice:
"For
no other reason than to prove that I was back in control
of my happiness and attitude, I stood on the back dock of
the newspaper in front of the television news cameras and
made up a blues song about losing my job. I barely know
how to play one note on the harmonica. It didn't matter.
I just started making up lyrics about losing my job. The
cameras started clicking. The television cameras zoomed
in for better focus. I performed for a few minutes until
someone pulled me off the dock and said to me, "You
will never work in this town again." I swear someone
said this to me. I am not making this up."
Yep, I just lost my job. Yep, I had very little money. Yep,
I was playing a very poor rendition of the blues on my harmonica.
It was one of the best days of my life. We have the choice
to wake up in the morning and be bitter, frustrated and
stressed. We also have the choice to be happy, energized
and passionate. I chose the latter. Every normal, sane person
given the choice would choose passion and happiness. Why
do we so often choose to be bitter and stressed? Sometimes,
we allow something out of our control to decide for us.
We allow the economy, the situation, someone's words; or
someone's actions make the choice. If it was truly our choice,
we would choose happiness.
Anyway,
back to the story from my book:
"I
decided I was going to choose happiness. My blues performance
made the front page of the Fort Worth newspaper and two
local newscasts. Thinking back on it now, I think my performance
made the paper and the news broadcasts because I chose my
attitude. When someone loses their job, you don't expect
them to stand in front of news cameras and perform an off-key
and somewhat comical blues performance.
You
see, the day was a life-changing experience. I didn't know
what I was going to do next. I didn't know where I was going
to live or work. I did know that I wanted to have ownership
again for my happiness and attitude."
We are all going through a difficult time. We can either
let it beat us down and become stressed and frustrated.
Or, we can choose to be passionate and energized and find
a way to succeed. We need to focus more on our customers
and each other. We need to live and work more in the moment.
We need to have more fun. What do you plan on doing? I am
going to grab my harmonica.
Do
I know you?
I
have joined the world of social networking. I know. Be very
concerned. I am worried that by following the herd into
Facebook, I will also have to do the following:
1.
Enjoy the music of the Jonas Brothers.
2. Download a 1980s pop song to be my ring tone.
3. Wear an Ed Hardy shirt. 1
4. Watch television shows about attractive doctors/lawyers/detectives
that fall in love with other attractive doctors/lawyers/detectives
while they continue to fulfill their duties as attractive
doctors/lawyers/detectives.
Anyway,
if you are so inclined, please visit me on LinkedIn and/or
my public "fan" page on Facebook. This is certainly
a sign of the apocalypse. If you use LinkedIn or Facebook,
you know how to get there.
1On
several occasions I have actually considered purchasing
an Ed Hardy shirt. I fully accept that they are cool shirts.
The question becomes, "Am I an Ed Hardy guy?"
My internal debate continued until a recent trip to Costco.
There, among the 87-roll package of toilet paper, I saw
a grandma wearing a hooded Ed Hardy shirt. When the Grandma
making a purchase at a discount club in the suburbs has
jumped on board the cool train, it is time to get off at
the next stop. Not only did I miss the fad, I also realized
I wasn't as cool as Grandma.
We do
not have a failure to communicate.
I
wanted to share some thoughts on communication from my book
and my presentations. Now, more than ever we need to make
sure we effectively communicate with each other. We have
to help each other be successful. To do this, we must focus,
listen, and communicate.
Here
are some quick points I put together for one of my clients.
I provide a detailed explanation of all of these points
in my book, Make the Right Choice.
Focus
is the start of good communication.
- We
must increase our focus when dealing with employees, managers
and customers.
- Listening
is the most important tool in communication. Listening will
allow us to be better leaders, teammates, and communicators.
Listening also increases creativity.
- Good
listening is a choice.
In the Moment
- We
must be open and flexible to change.
- We
have no control over many things.
- We
always control our attitude and how we react to change.
- By
being in the moment when we communicate, we are more prepared
for whatever happens next. Being prepared allows us to be
successful and more productive.
Three C's: The goal is to communicate to
your audience effectively so they are comfortable, confident
and in control.
- Be
a leader and help the other person be comfortable, confident
and in control.
- Provide
the right details at the right time.
- Be
patient.
- Be
flexible.
- Be
open to ideas.
- Define
constant communication.
- Speak
up when something is bothering you.
Be
more detailed. Everyone needs a different amount of details
to effectively communicate. Give the right amount of details
at the right time.
- Understand
we are all different in how we communicate.
- Some
people are chit-chat people and some are down to business.
Communicate differently to each employee. Treat them as
individuals and not as a group.
- Each
employee will respond to different ways of communication.
- Be
patient and positive.
Create
a 50/50 partnership. Involve the employees in the communication
process. If the employee has ownership and is involved, they
care. When the employee cares, they have passion.
- Ask
the question: How do I make the other people around me
successful? This is the hardest part of effective communication.
Most people come in to work and say, "What can everyone
do for me today?"
- The
dynamic shift is asking the question, "What can I
do for the people around me to make them successful?"
Ask the question. Answer the question. Act on the answer.
-
Anyone
can quit. The only way to be successful is to stay in
the game. If you stay in the game, you might have to learn
something new; get out of your comfort zone; communicate
differently; or try a new approach. If you quit, you are
guaranteed failure. If you stay in the game, you will
fins success.
-
Create
opportunity for people to communicate. Match the opportunity
with positive support. When was the last time you asked
your employees what they needed to be happy?
It
is time to have fun.
One
of my clients asked me to write down a few of my games they
could easily do before the start of the next shift. The
client wanted a quick and easy exercise to help create a
little energy and fun. This brings me to a very serious
point: We need to have fun.
Yes,
this is a serious time. Yes, we have to work harder. Now,
more than ever, we need to have fun, laugh and reduce our
stress. Laughter and fun increases our passion, productivity,
and creativity. We always have the choice. We can choose
to be bitter and frustrated. Or, we can choose to be happy,
passionate and energized. It is always our choice.
Here are three of my favorite quotes on the subject:
"The
greatest part of our happiness depends on our dispositions,
not our circumstances." Martha
Washington
"Happiness
depends upon ourselves." Aristotle
"Life
does not cease to be funny when people die any more than
it ceases to be serious when people laugh." George
Bernard Shaw
Now,
go have a little fun at work. Get everyone together for
a few minutes and play the following game:
This
is a focus game called Zig, Zag, Zog. The foundation of
good teamwork and communication is focus. We are at our
best when we are in the moment with each other. We are better
leaders, communicators, and teammates. We are more creative
and effective.
We
never know what is coming next; and we don't have to if
we are prepared. That is the point of this game. If we increase
our focus and become more prepared, we will be able to handle
any challenge.
There
are two ways to play this game:
A.
A "leader" is the caller. If the leader says Zig,
the group says Zag. If the leader says Zag, the group says
Zog. You have to clap when you say Zog. The clap on Zog
just adds another fun element. If the leader says Zog, the
group starts over and says Zig. The leader can call out
any of the words in any order. The group must pay attention
and focus. And isn't that what communicating with customers
and each other is all about?
B. You can play the game where the group forms a circle.
There is no leader/caller. The person who starts the game
makes eye contact with someone in the circle and says Zig.
That person makes eye contact with another person and says
Zag. And so on.
You
can play this as an elimination game if you want and see
who wins each shift/round. Maybe you even have a "winner"
board. At the end of the week, award prizes.
The
goal is to help your employees understand how important
it is to focus and be in the moment with each other and
the customer. Also, how important it is to have fun, laugh
with each other. If you focus and stay in the moment, you
will be prepared to deal with whatever challenge happens
next.
Links,
Links, and more Links
I was forwarded an inquiry recently on how executives can
improve their presentation skills. The writer was looking
for some tips. Since I have seen thousands of executives
give presentations, I jotted down a few thoughts.
Here
is the link to my tips: Presentation
Tips and Ideas
To read a great review of my book, Make the Right Choice:
http://blogbusinessworld.blogspot.com/2008/10/make-right-choice-by-joel-zeff-book.html
I
recently was a guest on a couple of podcasts/tele-seminars.
On each, I talked about my book's messages on leadership,
work/life balance, passion, communication, creativity, change
and teamwork. Strange things seem to happen to me when I
do these tele-seminars/podcasts/webcasts/phone interviews/whatever
you call them.
I
was being interviewed for a blog podcast when the host somehow
dropped off the line. I began calling out his name like
a lost child looking for a parent at the department store.
And yes, the dead air with me calling out the host's name
was still in the podcast for a few days. I think, by now,
it has been edited out. Both podcasts are free.
Final
Thoughts
I try
to say this as often as I can to my clients, colleagues, vendors,
friends, partners and audience members: Thank you. I truly
appreciate the opportunity to share my thoughts and laughter.
If you
are receiving this newsletter for the first time, I hope you
have found it useful. And, I hope you had a giggle or two.
My last newsletter was sent in October, so I don't send out
very many. If you would like me to remove your address from
our list, though, please send me an e-mail or click on the
Please Remove link.
Until
next time, take care and continued success.
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