Among the most important discoveries you will make in your life is finding your purpose—the reason for your being, the core principles you espouse, the intent for which you get out of bed every day.
Thinking about the life before you is one of the most important things you can do. Defining your purpose and planning for the future is key to your success. You need to articulate the purpose in your life.
The people I consider successful all have at least one thing in common…they expect to win. They see themselves as winners and whatever they put their minds to they accomplish. Their ‘win’ does not always happen in the way they initially intend, but in the end they succeed.
One such example, who’s had a positive influence on me since I met him last August, is Monte Holm. Continue reading
I had an interesting experience this morning. In preparing for the Snow Canyon half marathon I did my weekly long run on a trail that attracts a lot of runners (in Provo canyon). As I’m running I tend to make some sort of contact with people I pass on the trail; a wave, a nod, a “good morning” or some gesture to perhaps brighten someone’s day. Often I’ll get a wave or a nod back, but not always.
During the last 2-3 miles of my run today (10 miles), it was getting harder to lift my head up and acknowledge people as I passed them, but I still did it. I noticed that every time I smiled and waved at someone, I felt better. It gave me a bit of kick and kept me going. It made me realize that even though it takes a bit of effort and energy to acknowledge a passing runner, it makes me better. I’ve done no research and have no scientific proof, but I strongly believe that making the effort to be friendly gives me more energy and helps me run better.
How does this apply to leadership? Happy leaders are better leaders. When you take the time to acknowledge the people you work with, and do little things to brighten their day, you feel better and they feel better. When people know their boss cares about them and is genuinely concerned about their happiness, they work harder.
Your attitude – the brightness in your face, your smile and your friendly acknowledgement of others – will have a major impact on the success of your organization. Be happy, let others know you’re happy, and the results will follow.
On a side note, if you’re interested in my running schedule you can follow me on Daily Mile.
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The Product Management Perspective: To a large degree, the product manager sets the overall tenor and attitude of the team. Lead out by setting the right tone for your team. Not every day is a good day, but having the right attitude will make all the difference in the success of your products.
As 2008 comes to an end many will take time to review the events of the year, assess their progress and set goals (or New Year’s Resolutions) for 2009. This has been one of my annual traditions for many years, with varying degrees of success. It is easy to write a list of objectives for the year; but a bit of time goes by and things get in the way, and before you know it the year is gone and you have made no progress toward the improvements you planned at the beginning of the year.
Does this ring true? For many years this was my experience. However, last year I had a breakthrough that made 2008 my most successful year ever, and I want to share the experience with you.
In late 2007 I had an inspiring conversation with my friend Dr. Paul (quoted often on Lead on Purpose) about relationships. He taught me there are five key relationships that drive human behavior, listed here in priority order:
He helped me understand the importance of each of these relationships and how they affect my life and my actions. I discovered that the effort put forth to develop these relationships will–to a large extent–determine my individual happiness.
Our conversation created an aha moment for me. I saw the need to prioritize my life in a way to promote the actions that would result in the types of relationships I really wanted in my life. That’s when I realized I needed to formulate my goals based the five key relationships.
At the beginning of 2008 I created categories based on the relationships and set three to five specific goals for each category. I will share the categories I set with examples of the goals I set for each (my specific goals are private and closely held):
After I finished writing the goals I printed the document, cut each category out separately and pasted each in a place where I would see them often. A few went on the wall in my office, some on my night stand and one in a book I read/reference often. Putting them in conspicuous places kept the goals at the forefront of my mind; I didn’t forget about (most of) them at all during the year.
An important aspect of self-improvement is evaluating your progress on the goals you have set. With that in mind, I took time to evaluate each of the goals I set for 2008 with a best-estimate of how close I came to meeting the goal. I gave each goal a score (percentage) and then calculated an average score for each category. This was a difficult task as some things are hard to measure and some fell out of context (e.g. I changed employment mid-year). However, I can measure my progress and see the results of taking the time to plan and follow through. My highest category score was 96% and my lowest was 43%; my overall average was 75%.
If I look at these scores based on the traditional educational scoring (at least in the US), 75% is a solid C; not exactly what I would have called “acceptable” back in the day. However, when I compare the goals I set to what I was doing before 2008, I can honestly say I have made significant progress. I have learned a great deal about myself and my ability to do more than I ever thought I could. My new goals for 2009 raise the bar substantially. I am happy with the process I have established for my own self-improvement and recommend it to you wholeheartedly.
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The Product Management Perspective: If you are a product manager you are most likely a driven individual who works hard and are determined to succeed. Take time to set applicable goals that will help make your success (and your products) repeatable and predictable.
I want to wish all my readers a Happy New Year. May you prosper in 2009!
Lead on Purpose 