Goals | Elisa K. Spain

How Do You Know When It Is Time To Go?

June 5, 2016May 23, 2016 by Elisa Spain2 Comments

Whether you are a business owner, a professional manager, an advisor – or anyone who is engaged in an enterprise for an extended time – how do you know when it is time to go?

“Nothing is forever”, the old saying goes, and yet sometimes, perhaps even frequently, we stay too long. We watch professional athletes stay past their prime; and we participate in the debate about term limits for our congress; and yet, when it comes to our own engagements, how often do we look inward and debate our own need for term limits?

When I was negotiating my exit from the corporate world 15+ years ago, I remember a conversation I had with a friend. My friend asked me what I was going to do if I didn’t get the deal I wanted. My answer was, “I guess I will stay one more year”. Her response, “How many more years are you going to say, one more year?” It was in that moment I realized, it was time for me to go, regardless of the outcome of the negotiation. And… because I had made my decision to exit, I of course, handled the negotiation more effectively.

While this topic comes up every now and then with executives and business owners I coach, it surfaces mostly in a time of frustration. I wonder if instead it might serve us to ask ourselves this question as part of our annual strategic planning. What if, as part of strategic planning, every business owner or executive answered the following 5 questions:

What did I give to the business, other than my time, this past year?
What did I get, other than $$, from my engagement in the business?
How do my answers to #1 and #2 compare to previous years?
If my give/get has declined, what do I need to do to change this and do I have the passion and skill set to do it?
If I didn’t lead or own this business, what would I be doing instead?

My noticing is, that if we have asked these questions in the past and have stopped asking them, we may already know that it is time to go…

Do Titles Matter?

May 22, 2016May 18, 2016 by Elisa SpainNo Comments

If you ask most founders of privately held companies, their answer is, ‘titles don’t matter’. In their eyes, everyone simply needs to do what needs to be done to make the company and all of us successful.

If you ask most professional managers, their answer is, ‘of course titles matter’. Titles tell the people in the company who is responsible and accountable for decision making. Titles also tell the outside world, customers and other stakeholders, who is who.

In the early days of entrepreneurial companies, hierarchies don’t exist and therefore titles are fluid and variable. These companies pride themselves on being nimble and quick to respond to marketplace demands. As Vistage companies grow, we Chairs encourage owners to build a leadership team so they can build a sustainable enterprise.

And, owners want experienced leaders to fill these leadership roles – In walks the professional managers mentioned above. These folks are accustomed to structure and ready to create that sustainable enterprise. With their ability to create processes to support a sustainable enterprise, comes their comfort and desire for hierarchy, titles, offices, etc.

Further, as companies grow, leadership needs grow as well. Regardless of what owners call themselves initially, the distinction between the role of the CEO (externally and long term focused) and the role of the President (internally and results focused) become relevant. Sometimes, regardless of company size, the same person can perform both roles and sometimes it becomes clear that the company will benefit if these two roles are split between two leaders.

And when the person the owner called Director or VP of Operations or Sales in the early days, has most of the company reporting to them today or is actually leading the #1 strategic initiative or leading the executive committee meetings, what message are you sending if you don’t change their title?

What does matter? Really..

For professional managers
- Is it time to pause and ask, how much of what I expect in terms of hierarchy, paying dues, etc. matters?
- What recognition is truly important for me to feel successful in my organization?
- When joining a new organization or taking on an assignment, what behaviors, rather than titles and trappings, should I be asking for that will set me up to succeed?

For owners and founders
- Is it time to provide role clarity for me and for my leadership team?
- When is the right time to divide responsibilities and share both the leadership of the company and the associated titles?
- What recognition do I want to give; when, to whom and for what reason?

Boundaries Do Have Consequences

May 15, 2016May 14, 2016 by Elisa SpainNo Comments

As leaders in the 24×7 culture of the 21st century, we all must set boundaries. And they are different for each of us. Some of us like to stay at the office until the work for the day is completed and separate work time from family or play time. Some of us like to be connected all the time, handling things as they come up. These folks prefer a more integrated life rather than a separation. Still, others want to be home in the early evening and choose to “catch up” later on when everyone in their family has gone to bed.

There is no right or wrong; some of it is generational, some of it is just personal preference. And, what I have noticed, in the years I have been coaching executives, is that regardless of preference, setting boundaries is something many people struggle with. And people with young children struggle the most. People with families often agree to boundaries, rather than set boundaries between work and family; and they often forget to set aside time for themselves or agree to boundaries imposed upon them.

This is not a new subject; it is talked about and written about a lot. What I don’t hear discussed, as much, is the consequences of setting boundaries. For the sake of our loved ones, our health, or emotional health, we all must set boundaries that meet our needs. And, what I have come to realize is with very few exceptions, these boundaries have consequences. Sometimes the work doesn’t get done, sometimes our families are hurt or disappointed and sometimes the cost is economic, the customer goes elsewhere or we must leave our position and take one that allows us to live the boundaries we want, perhaps with lower compensation.

The question is, can we be intentional about choosing, so that we knowingly pay a cost we are willing to pay, rather than suffer a cost that we were neither expecting nor prepared to pay?

Take A Break And Grow Your Company

April 17, 2016April 11, 2016 by Elisa SpainNo Comments

Sometimes when life feels overwhelming, our instinctive reaction is to work more. This is especially true when our personal lives are demanding more of our attention; we feel we have to make up for that time, so as not to fall behind.

And, yet, I wonder if the counterintuitive response is to instead, take a break. Perhaps take more than one break. Go for a walk, go to the gym, meditate, do a few yoga poses, or simply sit quietly and take a few breaths.

And with that clearer mind the break provides, pause and think about what falls within Steven Covey’s four quadrants of time management. Most importantly, ask ourselves, is everything that feels urgent, truly important? Or is it urgent because we have lost our perspective, and are working “off the top”? In short, what is on our plate that can best be ignored, at least for now.

I remember years ago traveling with one of my colleagues. I had my files all spread out and was busy working on the plane. My colleague was sitting a few rows back, eating an apple. At the time, I thought, “well how unproductive she is; this is a great time to catch up”.

I have thought of that scene on the airplane many times in my life. It didn’t take me long to realize she chose the smarter option. The reality – business travel is exhausting; why not arrive refreshed and ready to take on the challenges of the day?

And, even if you aren’t actually traveling to the next truly important event (be it urgent or even better the important, non-urgent), why not approach it with a fresh and healthy mind and body?

The result may very well be the insight and action needed to grow your company.

Achieve No Goal Before It Is Time

April 3, 2016April 1, 2016 by Elisa SpainNo Comments

Once well-known brand, Paul Masson wine, is best remembered for its 1970s marketing association with Orson Wells, who promised for Masson: “We will sell no wine before its time.” In this ad, Wells is discovered by the camera listening to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, “It took Beethoven four years to write that symphony” Wells says, “Some things can’t be rushed. Good music… and good wine”.

According to one of the members of my Vistage CEO group, the same applies to goals. He says, “it’s the goal that matters, not the timeline. If you don’t achieve your goal in the time frame you set, and it’s something important to you, then change the timeline, not the goal”.

Not unlike my blog, Let It Rest a couple of weeks ago, the message here is, let things unfold at their own pace. It’s hard sometimes to know when to activate, and when to simply pause and wait. Sometimes we want something so badly that we work and work to achieve our goal. What I have learned from observing successful leaders is they recognize what is in their control and what is not. And, they proceed accordingly; sometimes simply waiting for the right time to reengage, and reactivate.

Steve Jobs is famous for delaying the production of, and ultimately the release of products, until he was satisfied that the design met his goal. While he is perceived as an innovator, Apple was never the first mover. The first IPhone-like device was called the Treo. It did a lot of what the first IPhone did, but not well. Steve and his team took their time developing a better product. Steve is reputed to have sent his product development team back to the drawing board, time after time, to get the design exactly as he wanted it, i.e. just one button.

So, when setting your goals for your next product launch, next division, next business opportunity, remember Beethoven and Jobs. And, achieve no goal before it is time, better an IPhone than a Treo.

Socrates Was So Wise

March 6, 2016March 4, 2016 by Elisa Spain1 Comment

I have become convinced the Socratic Method is the secret to business success. In short, the answer is in the question. By asking better questions, we enable others to come to their own resolutions. Most of us in business are problem solvers, and often the answer to someone else’s problem or challenge seems obvious to us. Therefore, we rush in with advice, without stopping and asking questions. What I have learned, and continue to remind myself of daily, is that by asking more poignant questions, the resulting answer may not only be better, it may also be different than what we perceived as obvious before we asked. And most important, eureka only comes when a person discovers their own answer.

Following is a quote from one of my CEO members that, to me, captures the essence:

“I had a very interesting life lesson yesterday. Another member was leading and that was probably a little difficult for me to have someone else in charge. Once I accepted my role and decided to listen instead of work hard to offer my opinion, my perception of how I could add value changed drastically. I remember that Elisa said, ‘work to ask questions and not just offer suggestions’. I struggle with that as I always want to solve other people’s problems for them. It’s like counseling. The counselor never seems to tell you your problem; they just keep asking questions until you have the realization and state it yourself. That always bugged me. I now realize that until someone deeply understands their own problem, they will not take action nor will they truly support any action that they do take based on another’s understanding. I think I got more value out of the meeting than any other person in the room. That value was directly linked to not talking”.

We Are Bound By What We Know

February 21, 2016February 19, 2016 by Elisa Spain1 Comment

Ah, the wonder of a child. We hear all the time that all children are creative, all children are artists; and then something happens as adults and we self-select into those who are creative and artistic, and those who are not.

I wonder how much of this is because as adults we are bound by what we know. The more we bring our knowledge and experience to a given circumstance, the more likely we are to miss an opportunity to look with the fresh eyes of a child. On the other hand, knowledge often equals wisdom, the ability to learn from experience and therefore make better choices.

So, how do we know when we are bringing wisdom and when we are bringing limiting beliefs to a given situation? Perhaps these questions can help:

Is what I am about to do something I have done before and if so, is my previous experience relevant?
If it is something new, is my previous experience truly relevant, or is it holding me back?
Am I uncomfortable with taking on something new and therefore looking for knowledge that will justify my discomfort?
What if I suspended judgement and argued for a reason to say yes?
What if I suspended judgement and argued for a reason to say no?

Multitasking Isn’t All Bad

February 14, 2016February 12, 2016 by Elisa Spain1 Comment

Multitasking might reduce productivity but it may also boost creativity. Research shows that at least at this stage of evolution, we humans are less productive when we multitask. Article after article reminds us we actually accomplish less multitasking than if we simply did one thing at a time and saw each task through to completion before starting the next one.

What these articles fail to mention is the impact of multitasking on creativity. Have you ever found that when designing a new product or creating a new program that taking a pause, working on something else and coming back to it actually boosts your creativity? A recent study detailed by David Burkus author of “The Myths of Creativity”, supports this experience.

The study was conducted by researchers at the University of Sydney and examined three groups of students tasked with completing an “alternate uses” test — a common creativity drill wherein subjects are given an object and asked to come up with as many uses for it as they can.

The first group was given four straight minutes to work on the exercise.

The second group was given two minutes to work on it, then told to work on a different creativity test — namely, they were tasked with coming up with synonyms for a list of words. They were then given two minutes to return to the original test.

The third group was given the same two minutes on — two minutes off — two minutes back on structure. But during the subjects’ two minutes off, rather than taking on a different creative task, were instead given the much more passive activity of completing a survey that asked them about themselves.

When the results came in, they were fairly stark. The first group, the one that worked for four minutes straight, generated an average of 6.9 ideas during the alternative use test. The second group, which took on creative work in between different legs of the alternative use test, generated 7.6. And the final group, which stepped away from creativity tasks for a few minutes, came up with 9.8 ideas.

In short, multi-tasking is not all bad. In fact, in the right circumstance it may actually be good. So, the next time you have a creative project you are working on, go ahead and stop, go do something completely different and more mundane and you may find a creative boost.

Ah, The Power Of Retrospection

February 7, 2016February 3, 2016 by Elisa SpainNo Comments

As part of the big purge, I had a wonderful realization. Looking back, all that stuff that seemed so important, turns out… really isn’t. If only we, especially as leaders, could see this prospectively.

And, we can. Once again, it is a matter of pausing. Simply stopping and asking the following questions:

Does what I am about to do, need doing? I find this one is particularly important to ask about the stuff that seems urgent, which leads to the second question.
Does what I am about to do, need doing, right now? I find, I must make a case to myself why it’s not urgent or I will just do it. In short, life really is not an emergency.
If it really does need doing, am I the right person to do it? The question isn’t will I do it better, it’s what is the best use of my time. And, if I do delegate it, can I do it with a realistic, rather than a now deadline?

It's That Time Again…

January 3, 2016 by Elisa SpainNo Comments

What time? In business we call it goal setting time. In our personal lives we call them “new year’s resolutions”.

Here’s how Webster’s defines each of these:

Resolution: “to make a definite and serious decision to do something”

Goal: “something that you are trying to do or achieve”

Hmm, resolution sounds much more committed and yet, the common lore is resolutions are broken soon after made. Why is that?

Here’s the process most follow for business goals:

we set goals for the period
we prioritize the goals and choose the most important to focus on
we identify the steps we, and our team, need to take to get there
we identify the dependencies that exist and order the process accordingly
we establish monitoring systems and milestones, so we know how we are progressing toward the goal

In short, for business goals we have a process and for those who follow the process, results follow.

In my experience, working with business leaders, some follow a similar process for personal goals and many do not.

I wonder what has to change in our mindset for us to begin to treat personal goals or resolutions as “definite and serious” with the same level of importance as we do our business goals?

For some, it is a health scare that reminds us that life is short and our families depend on us.

Is that really the only way to get from here to there?