What Do You Do With a Bowl of Frogs?

Here is this guy.  A single, happening' frog.  Easy to deal with - it's only one, right?  Pretty easy to control, get messages to & understood, interaction works - together you are engaged.

Now what do you do with an entire bowl of these guys?  They are hopping all over, you can't contain them all, you reach for one and another pops out.  And the peace sign quickly seems like it is turning into a different (and single-digit) sign!

I recently heard the 'bowl of frogs' theory from Seth Godin at Leadercast 2015 - he attributed the bowl of frogs to Ellen Langer.  He was speaking about brave growth....it comes from not hanging on to everything, controlling things, but from allowing growth, magic & change to come from letting some of those frogs escape.  Ellen fills us in on "the rhythm of the familiar lulling us into a mindlessness"...instead of a mindfulness

Frogs are all those mindless things that take away from our ability to be creative, brave and magical!

Let's look at (what could be classified) as your frogs:

• all the things you do because you have always done them
• all the people you hang onto in your organization because you think that eventually they will contribute in a meaningful way
• the safe way to get your job done
• the easy-road decisions

What are you going to do with this bowl of frogs?  It's mid-year....time to take a moment and evaluate the frogs that are staying in the bowl and letting out the frogs that need to leave - this will give you the space/flexibility/opportunity to let some frogs bubble to the surface; give you some space for magic & growth; drive challenges to where or to whom they belong & most importantly, get you focused on mindfully creating your art...instead of mindlessly working through your day.

It's That Time of Year

Both of my sons are graduating this year.  One onto post secondary education & one to grad school!  I cannot believe how fast the time has flown by.  And to tell you the truth, I have been emotional about all this change....and thanks to a Facebook post last week I realized why.

It's not that the boys are leaving (they well might do that), it's that they have been successful in completing this step in their lives and are ready to move onto that next big step.  Scary for them (though they will not admit that!) and scary for me too!  

• Did we do everything we could to prepare them for what comes next?  (as much as we could without a crystal ball) 
• Are we ready to let them go? (not really & yes! at the same time)
• Where do we fit now? (still as their support, confidantes, sounding-boards, shoulders to cry on....etc)

It took me a few days & a few long walks to figure this out.  And then I started to think about how this same scenario plays itself over and over again in life - in my client's businesses and in our communities.

These are called Necessary Endings or as Dr. Henry Cloud talks about "pruning to grow".  I tend to think about this as the endings/beginnings loop.

Some endings/beginnings in our lives and our businesses are necessary so that we can all grow; all be better; all have the chance to step up.  It does not mean that what we have done to this point is pointless...it means we have done what we could to make others successful and by moving into new stages or roles gives the opportunity to shed some of the trappings of the past, and look to develop new skills, features and take on new challenges.

In the case of the boys - they are not really at an ending, but at a new beginning - contemplating courses of action, next steps for the next few years and more.  We can choose to see this time of life in either lens.

In the case of organizations - succession planning and growing talent, that sometimes stays within, or sometimes leaves can be seen through the same two lenses - an ending or a new beginning.

Our role as leaders is to help everyone involved cope with the changes that will come from these endings/beginnings....including those that are doing the actual moving.  Here are 3 clear ways to help the team deal with this:

1. be as transparent as possible - in the world of privacy & confidentiality policies, this may seem difficult so by being clear about the steps that will take place and how people will be affected, you can still provide a level of transparency that helps everyone stay engaged
2. be available - people will have questions that don't come to them right away - allowing time for contemplation, reflection and listening will help everyone deal with the new situation
3. be ready to observe - sometimes what we plan on doesn't work out the way we want it to.  Be ready to observe what is happening in the business/organization that is causing concerns or that can be an indicator of success & then, share it  - transparently.

Reflect on your endings/beginnings from the past 6 months....where will you head in the next 6 months?

Year in Review

I spent some time looking at last year...2011.  What was good?  What was great?  What did I like or not like?  How did it really go.

By now, you have already completed your business plan (if not, click here and let's get started) so looking at the rest of the picture, now that you have your numbers should be a pretty interesting exercise.

Here is what I learned:

• I love my clients...they push me, they drive me, they inspire me
• I love the coaching work that I do - in private sessions and in Mastermind Teams - my passion is seeing others get that ah-ha moment and make that shift to a new space or frame or mind.
• I love the relationships that I get to build, expanding my network and simply meeting very cool, interesting people that eventually may become clients - no worries if they do not.
• I love marketing and business planning - this is where I can work out new strategies and tactics as well as share my secrets with others.

So as well as the love part of my business, there is a need for the opposite to exist; in other words, it's not all roses....

• I do not like the tracking, paperwork and tedious stuff that goes along with running your own business.
• I do not like the lack of value that gets placed on my time - by myself and by others.  I can easily get distracted, especially online....others can distract me by engaging me into enterprises that may or may not need my expertise...just sound interesting.
• I do not like my tough road ahead to help entrepreneurs and executives understand their need for a coach....and for a business plan....and for a marketing plan....to eliminate the tendency for others to fly-by-the-seat of their pants.

Taking all of this into consideration, I have been able to enhance my own 2012 business plan to include some of these items...more of the stuff I love, less of the stuff I don't except for the last one----this will be my focus - to get business leaders to understand the need to plan to get results, not just believe they will happen.

What about you?  What did you find in your own evaluation of the 2011 stuff that was not strictly the dollars and cents?  Share please - we can all use the insights.