Leadership Solutions

Leadership: The Epitome of Nothing

It is so quiet that you can hear a bird fly.

Yet, Death Valley is a complete ecosystem. There are scattered plants, small critters, and a few larger ones such as ravens, road runners, and coyotes.

Here are photos from a recent trip.

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  Manly Beacon from Zabriskie Point

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Bad Lands

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Artist's Way

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You'll find more photos of Death Valley at: Steve Kaye's Photos

Note: I posted these photos just this week, and will post more soon.

Key Point: The desert offers amazing beauty.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

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Leadership: Everyone's Perfect Role Model

Have you ever wondered why cats are so successful?

Since we can achieve greater success by emulating those who have achieved it, here's the answer:

1) Clear Mission

Every cat knows that the mission of a cat is to be a cat. Thus, they spend all of their time being a cat. They never attempt to be something else, such as a hamster or a goldfish.

Humans: Do you have a clear mission for your life? Do you follow it daily? If not, spend the closing weeks of this year to find your personal mission.

2) No Fear

Cats fear nothing. In fact, the word fear does not exist in their vocabulary. Thus, cats spend no time on worry, excuses, or blame. They live each day as fully as possible without any hesitation.

Humans: Fear causes all human problems. It weakens and leads to bad decisions. Thus, eliminate fear. Meet with yourself to find it and then toss it out. Seek help if needed.

3) Enough

Cats live within enough. They eat enough. They sleep enough. They work enough. They never stay up too late watching too much TV while eating too many snacks.

Humans: Most people have enough. In fact, it's likely that most people in the world live on less than you do. Thus, strive to make enough a personal strategy.

Key Point: Simplicity leads to serenity.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

Web Site

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Leadership: Everyone's Perfect Role Model

Have you ever wondered why cats are so successful?

Note: If you prefer, imagine that this article is about dogs. (This is a equal pet information resource.)

Since we can achieve greater success by emulating those who have achieved it, here's the answer:

1) Clear Mission

Every cat knows that the mission of a cat is to be a cat. Thus, they spend all of their time being a cat. They never attempt to be something else, such as a hamster or a goldfish.

Humans: Do you have a clear mission for your life? Do you follow it daily?

2) No Fear

Cats fear nothing. In fact, the word fear does not exist in their vocabulary. Thus, cats spend no time on worry, excuses, or blame. They live each day as fully as possible without any hesitation.

Humans: Eliminate fear. Meet with yourself to find it and then toss it out.

3) Enough

Cats live within enough. They eat enough. They sleep enough. They work enough. They never stay up too late watching too much TV while eating too many snacks.

Humans: Live within enough. Refrain from packing more of what you already have.

Key Point: If the keys to success are so simple that a cat an apply them, what about us?

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

Web Site

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Leadership: Why Some Employees Fail

Sometimes a good employee seems to be doing everything wrong.

If this happens in your organization, it might be a matter of poor workplace communication. For example,

1) Bad Advice

Peers set others up for failure. In highly competitive organizations this may be deliberate. Otherwise, it may be a simple matter of others not knowing what to do.

In either case, the employee suffers as a result of inaccurate directions about a work process or career strategy.

Better: Leaders are responsible for conveying accurate directions on how to succeed. Thus, they must make this part of the ongoing performance improvement dialogue.

2) Bad Expectations

Somehow the employee obtained a false understanding of the success criteria within the organization. This could have happened through bad advice. Or the employee could have invented it in the absence of formal direction from the leaders.

Then the employee suffers different results than expected. This leads to frustration. Attempts to resolve frustration lead to bad decisions, and that worsens the situation.

Better: Every employee wants to know what is expected to perform well. Thus, it is the prime responsibility of leaders to set and manage expectations.

3) Bad Skills

Modern skills help people work effectively. Otherwise, they struggle with obsolete and inappropriate procedures. Sometimes bad skills make situations worse by repelling clients or ruining projects.

In the absence of formal training, people will invent procedures. Or they will follow the examples set by those who seem to be accomplishing the most. Neither of these approaches may be effective or desirable.

Better: Provide training on the skills that are essential for effective conduct of key activities in your business. This leads to synergy through uniform effort.

Key Point: Effective workplace communication is the key to successful business.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

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Leadership: Would You Do This?

In the middle of nowhere, you will find an opera house.

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It's located in Death Valley Junction, CA, which is 88 miles north of Baker or 30 miles southeast of Death Valley National Park. (If you decide to drive there, be sure to leave Baker with a full tank of gas because there is only one service station on the way to Death Valley.)

This opera house is special because of Marta Becket.

Marta (now 85) sings opera, dances ballet (was on point at the age of 81), paints beautiful murals, and writes. Her book, To Dance on Sands, tells her story, which includes Broadway, national tours, and famous people.

And here's the point.

As you might expect, attendance at an opera house in the middle of a desert can be somewhat spotty. In fact, there have been nights when only two people came.

And Marta still performed.

In fact, a member of her staff told me that she has even performed when no one came.

In business terms, this means she has worked for free.

Why?

Because she is so passionate about being an artist that she is willing to perform entirely for the personal reward of creating something beautiful.

This brings us to a hard question: Would you do this?

That is, do you love your work so much that you would be willing to do it whether you were paid or not?

I realize this must seem absurd to some of you, especially those who have marked their retirement date on a calendar ten or twenty years in the future.

Yet, loving what you do is the key to happiness.

Life is too precious to spend coping with a job. In fact, if you hate your job, you don't have a career. You have a sentence.

So here's a challenge: How can you design your work to bring more joy into your life?

If you can achieve what Marta has, you'll find greater happiness, and you'll give a stellar performance every time.

Key Point: Live is precious. Spend it doing things that you enjoy.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

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Leadership: Ten Difficult Challenges

Are you challenged by these?

Each of these requires difficult decisions. Such as:

1) We're supposed to help others when they're in trouble, and we're not supposed to enable bad behavior.

2) We're supposed to alert others to possible solutions, and we're not supposed to give advice.

3) We're supposed to acknowledge our feelings, and we're not supposed to let our emotions control our actions.

4) We're supposed to be childlike, and we're not supposed to act childish.

5) We're supposed to be personable, and we're not supposed to take things personally.

6) We're supposed to give from abundance, and we're not supposed to ignore our needs.

7) We're supposed to show unconditional love, and we're not supposed to hide in denial.

8) We're supposed to work hard, and we're not supposed to work too hard.

9) We're supposed to follow a systematic process, and we're not supposed to inhibit spontaneity.

10) We're supposed to stand for what we believe, and we're not supposed to let rigid thinking prevent discovering new ideas.

So, what about you? What contrasting situations can you offer? What challenges have you found?

Key Point: Good leadership is the art of making wise choices.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

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Leadership: More Warning Labels

Here's a list of labels that I'd like to see. Enjoy.

• Caution: This lake contains water.

• Warning: Being homeless may reduce everyone's interest in your advice.

• If symptoms persist for more than 72 hours, you're really sick.

• Warning: This device becomes obsolete upon leaving store.

• Nine out of ten doctors have accepted payment to endorse this product.

• Caution: Use of this product will void warranty.

• Remove hanger from shirt before wearing.

• Warning: Preparing an agenda may reduce the need for another meeting.

• Repeated use of this product will improve our profits.

• Caution: Pundits are dumber than they appear on TV.

• Caution: If you're doing this, you're not doing something else.

• Failure to submit payment may affect continued service.

• Product works best when applied to skin.

• Stop vehicle before attempting to remove tires.

• You are here, looking at this sign.

• Notice: A sudden loud noise may indicate machine requires service.

• None of the ingredients in this product have any nutritional value.

• Warning: Attending workshops may make you smarter then your competition.

Key Point: None.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

www.stevekaye.com Web Site

www.linkedin.com/in/1greatmeeting Linkedin

Leadership: Happy Thanksgiving

Hello Everyone,

Happy Thanksgiving.

Best wishes for today and the holidays,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

Web Site

Leadership: One More Day

Certainly, anticipation has been building.

Now here we are, one day away from the great food festival, known as Thanksgiving.

Here are five friendly suggestions to help make the day something to be grateful for.

1) Keep it simple.

Rather than cook 47 different courses, prepare a reasonable number of choices. If you already bought six tons of food, put the extra things in the freezer. Rather than attend a dozen parties, go to one or three. And so on.

2) Keep it real.

Eat, drink, and party in moderation. Remember that you have to wake up the next day, and you want to feel like it's worth being alive when you do.

3) Keep it personal.

Other people matter. So be a gracious host, even if you visit. Talk about good news, things that work, and achievements. Thus, avoid complaints and negative topics. Be friendly, be gracious, be kind.

4) Keep it loose.

Decide to enjoy yourself. Relax. And set boundaries. Excuse yourself from negative conversations. Detach from other people's mistakes and problems. They worked hard to create them and thus they own them.

5) Keep it funny.

Find the humor in everything. Smile. Laugh. Giggle. For some people this will be a new experience. So, take a risk and try it. You'll be amazed by how good it feels.

Key Point: It's supposed to be a holiday. So enjoy it. And help others enjoy it too.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

www.stevekaye.com Web Site

www.linkedin.com/in/1greatmeeting Linkedin

Leadership: Other Side of Gratitude

It's possible that someone read yesterday's blog and thought,

"Hey, I have too many problems to spend time being grateful."

Really?

Those problems might be your greatest gift.

Here's how:

1) Problems challenge your creativity.

They force you to seek improvements, learn new skills, and invent strategies. They also test your resolve. And sometimes they serve as warnings about impossible projects that need to be abandoned.

2) Difficult people challenge your maturity.

They test your ability to be kind when under stress. They teach you better ways to communicate and get along. They cause you to avoid doing things that make others become difficult (i.e., retaliate). And they provide examples of what NOT to do.

So take a deep breath and bask in the warm comfort of being grateful.

Then stand up and shout, "I'm grateful for everything and everyone who has made me miserable!"

There. Does that feel better?

Key Point: Our challenges are actually gifts that we need to open.

Bonus Idea: Make sure that you're working in ways that make others feel grateful for the right reasons.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

Web Site

Linkedin