Excelling Personally and Professionally

by Kristi Willis

One of the key lessons I’ve learned at The Effective Edge is that we have one life, not two. I joined the business world during the era when we were taught that business was business, personal was personal and the two did not mix. Nice idea, but that doesn’t work anymore. Now that we carry our e-mail with us on our phones and have the speed of the 24/7, global world, we carry work with us everywhere.

Many of us have let work squeeze out our personal lives, making us unhappy and unfulfilled. I was one of those people and what I learned is that you cannot live by work alone.

When I joined the TEE team, I learned that I needed to dedicate myself to my personal life and growth as much as I did to my professional work and growth. I thought I’d never have time to do that, but using my EDGE system helped me accomplish what I needed to at work in a timely manner so I had time to do those things I wanted in my personal life.

It isn’t always easy though. Particularly when I’m traveling for work, it is easy to ignore the home life and give it lower priority. Yet, while I’ve worked for this team, I have accomplished some enormous personal goals – I’ve written a cookbook for friends and family each year, started a blog about cooking and increased my fitness enough to complete three triathlons last year. How did I manage all of that? I created projects for my personal goals and treated them like I do my work projects.

I noticed that I was very good at staying on task with my work projects and decided to apply the same tenacity to my personal and home projects. Using the EDGE methodology, I create Project tasks, write meaningful desired outcomes and mind sweep all the steps I need to complete. Then, each week, I review my progress on the project. Even when I’m on the road, I find at least one small thing I can do to make progress that week. And, one baby step at a time, I get them done.

Now, I may never be a celebrity chef or grace the cover of Triathlon magazine, but I am moving forward and achieving the things I want for myself. And, I’ve noticed that when I’m happy with myself and at home, I’m much happier at work, which means I’m happier at home. Hmmm… maybe you never could separate the personal and professional, we just didn’t realize it.

Begin the Day Deliberately

by Kirk Miller

There is a daily process we teach in our Getting the EDGE classes called Begin the Day. It consists of a set of steps at the beginning of each day which enables us to start the day with a clear head, an empty inbox and a plan of action for the day. This process is key to maintaining and living the EDGE system. I can always predict what kind of day I am going to have by one simple measurement, and that is how I begin the day.

I work in downtown Austin and live in one of the surrounding suburbs. One of the keys to beginning my day well is to get an early start in order to make sure I am well ahead of the morning traffic. It is truly amazing what a difference 15 minutes can make. If I leave my house at 6:30 am I am virtually guaranteed to be in the office at 7am, with a quiet hour of time to begin the day calmly and deliberately. I am also then able to plan out a course of action, gather my thoughts and set my sail for the day. It allows me to start with a clear head, an empty inbox and a strategy.

Interestingly enough, if I hit the snooze button for an extra few minutes or spend extra time getting my things together instead of preparing the night before, it usually causes me to leave later. Even 15 minutes later can make a huge difference, and in some cases put me right in the middle of the morning rush hour traffic. By the time I get to work on those days, I am in a state of rush, sometimes getting into the office after others have arrived and having no time to give any forethought to plan out my day. This is the equivalent to an athlete rushing out onto the field without any stretching or preparation whatsoever. How we begin can set the course for how the rest of the day plays out.

Plan ahead and commit to your own Begin the Day process and see what a difference it can make in your life and your work. It is one of the key best practices of the most productive people in the world.

Life Rewards Action

by Kirk Miller

Years ago, I remember reading the book, “Life Strategies,” by Dr. Phil McGraw. Now, don’t worry, I am not necessarily a card-carrying member of the Dr. Phil fan club. But there was one particular principle from the book that has always stuck with me: Life Rewards Action. We can plan, strategize, visualize and ponder what we will do, but until action is taken, nothing of any consequence happens.

This is precisely why we find many highly-educated, competent and talented people who do not end up accomplishing much. On the other end of the spectrum, we find people with very little skill or talent, who simply took action and kept taking actions one step at a time, and finally achieved things many of us can only dream of.

I recently attended a sales training conference in Scottsdale, Arizona, and this timeless principle came glaring back at me once again. We know from statistical research that about 95% of people in the sales field never succeed (statistic from Brian Tracy, a well-known training and development consultant). This is alarming, considering a large number of people choose to make their living (or not) in the field of selling. One of the great lessons I took away from this Training Conference was that where the vast majority of people fail in sales (or in many other areas of life for that matter) simply because they talk themselves out of taking action. They lose the battle between their ears. They spend time thinking, planning, prioritizing and strategizing, but run out of time before they ever end up doing anything.

My wife, Lisa, is a wonderful example of action, especially when it comes to running. For years I have studied running, read up on running, analyzed running programs, and planned running schedules, whereas my wife simply gets up daily and runs. By the time I get done studying it all, I am too worn out to run. Currently she is on track to run her second marathon while I am not.

Action is the key. One of the effectiveness principles we teach in our EDGE System is prioritizing our Actions so we can execute them. There is a time and place to plan. We suggest using the Mind Sweep best practice to dream, plan and get those great ideas out of our head and into our system. But we don’t suggest living in the Mind Sweep. From there, we teach making decisions about how to group these ideas into action categories. Finally, and most importantly, we must execute on our Actions.

The moral of the story is simple…until we take action, all has been for naught and nothing happens. Use the Mind Sweep to empty your head of all you need to do, then make decisions about where these ideas go. Last, but not least….TAKE ACTION!!!

What's Your Desired Outcome?

by Russell Tibbits

On my afternoon commute last week, I was listening to ESPN radio hoping to catch insight into what team to pick for my college basketball bracket. What I heard instead was an ESPN broadcaster talking about his movie script. Apparently after working sporadically on his script for over two years he was convinced this project would actually never be completed. There are many things that I look forward to hearing on ESPN radio; the announcer talking about a poor attempt at a movie scripts isn’t one of them. However, in the end, he gave some really great advice.

This ESPN announcer had once attended a script writing class. The teacher of this class explained that he actually enjoyed reading almost all of the scripts that he received. The plots in these scripts were, for the most part, genuine and creative. When there was a problem, the teacher found it often occurred about halfway through the script, when the writer lost sight of his or her original goal. At that point, the story began to lack energy, creativity, continuity. The teacher prescribed a remedy, which many thought was the one action not to take when writing a script: write the title and subtitle first, no exceptions. The reason for writing the title and subtitle first, the teacher said, was that it gave the writer a constant reminder of his or her goal when the project got tough. This constant reminder of your goal kept all writing consistent and progressing forward.

This idea is in line with a piece The Effective Edge teaches. In our Getting the EDGE class, we teach professionals how to create personal projects. The first two steps in the five step process are to create the title of the project and then to write the desired outcome, what the project will look like and feel like when completed. The reason for this is the same reason that teacher advised creating a title and subtitle for a script. Without a title and desired outcome, we tend to lose sight of the original goal for the project. Creating this desired outcome keeps our actions consistent with reaching our goals, regardless of any outside influences.

Try creating desired outcomes for your projects; this should help us all to keep our actions focused on our goals.

Working on a Dream

by Paige Webb

Do you know who “The Boss” is? Well, my boss is Christina Randle, but does Bruce Springsteen ring a bell for you? The famous singer/songwriter is making a comeback… Or did he ever leave the scene? With the latest release of an album, an appearance at the Super Bowl, and the headlining act at an inaugural party, he’s around every corner. Not only can I not get the song “Working on a Dream” out of my head, I cannot help but think about those words and the meaning behind the song.

The last time I heard the tune on the radio was this morning as I was sitting in traffic. Why was I in rainy, cloudy, dark, 7 a.m. traffic? When clouds and a sea of brake lights bring my spirit down and I get the overwhelming desire to exit the freeway, turn around, and go back to bed, what keeps me driving forward? Is it a beckoning cubicle, a laptop with the connection to the world at my fingertips, or just a paycheck? I’d like to think there is larger meaning to why I do my job and commit 40+ hours a week to it. After all, I’m part of this thing called the human race, hoping for prosperity as an individual and for my family in the present time and for the future. I’m working on a dream.

At the root of the big picture and the larger meaning…this dream I have, is to make a difference in the lives of people who have lost a little faith in processes and how we manage our day-to-day business. Brightening the light at the end of the tunnel of work/life balance is not always easy. As I hum along to the chorus, I find that Bruce wrote this song like a love song, so, why not put some heart into this? Each day, new life experiences shape the messages I share as a trainer, or otherwise, I’d get tired of sharing the same stories. A reflection on a lesson learned or a celebration worth sharing are not special just because they’re mine, but they are a means to connect and to relate. I’m not the only person with a dream!

Each of us as individuals is in control of the path we take towards our dreams. The little changes we make in the name of progress and productivity can add up to make a big difference. Dreams can become a reality when your life is in your control. I don’t know that I’d put anyone else at the helm of the ship I’m sailing. “The Boss” sings “…hands are rough from working on a dream,” and I’ll admit there have been some choppy seas on my path, but persistence really pays. Rough hands and all, positive evidence of our efforts surrounds us—in our relationships, in our homes, and in our communities. This results in a sense of peace when we go to sleep at night and as we wake up to face the day to follow our dreams. Each day, we do our best.

To Print or Not to Print

by Zahra Petri

One tree provides approximately 16.67 reams of paper, about 8,333 sheets of paper. Although that may seem like a lot of paper, an office of approximately ten people uses one ream of paper a week, which is slightly less than average. That’s about 26,000 pieces of paper a year in just this one office. Imagine how much paper is used in a company with 1,000 or 100,000 employees? Many more trees than I’d like to think about.

You may be wondering what can be done to remedy this issue and I’d like to share with you a few ways that my office has found helpful. Instead of printing every email, research item, or document, consider organizing the data you would like to save into a system of files. Our company’s Getting the EDGE course teaches you how to manage and organize your daily routines and processes. It helps bring balance and structure when you feel consumed by chaos. Imagine seeing an empty email inbox instead of hundreds or maybe thousands of emails in your inbox. Would your stress level be greatly reduced? Imagine actually getting to the projects and tasks you keep putting off because you just can’t find the time. All this is possible with the EDGE system by replacing old, ineffective habits with new action related habits.

Another way your office or home can help reduce paper waste is remembering to print on both sides and to recycle. If you do not know whether your office has the option to recycle, ask your office manager or the building managers, you may be the one to make the change for your whole office. When you clean your office space and recycle the unneeded papers, you are giving back to the environment and helping keep a more organized work space.

You may think that as just one individual you cannot make a difference, but you can. All it takes is one person to form these best practices into habits and share them with friends or colleagues. Before you know it, everyone is making a difference.

When “Because I Said So” No Longer Works

by Kim Brewster

Congratulations, you’ve implemented the EDGE process for your email inbox at work: delete, do it, delegate or defer. How about the same implementation for your home email inbox? Taking it a step further, would those same steps apply to your home processes with family members?

If you are a mom, dad or someone with perceived authority over children, you most likely have encountered the whiney question, “Why do I have to do it?” For awhile perhaps your reply, “Because I’m the Mom (Dad), and I said so” was sufficient.

At some point maybe your request for action was met with, “You’re not the boss of me.” Now you have arrived at a defining moment in your child’s development where you can agree and reply, “Correct – you are the boss of you, but being a boss comes with responsibility.”

Getting action items completed by self-absorbed teens (and maybe the spouse as well) requires the same steps as processing your email inbox. A few items of clothing on the floor – two minutes tops to complete the pick-up. Resort to the Nike motto if necessary: “Just do it!” School project due in two weeks – possibly deferred for a few days. Typically something qualifying as a parent “to do” but benefiting a child old enough to take responsibility – delegate it to the child.

The more you can instill these processes at home and demonstrate that you use and benefit from them as well, the more your “observers” will notice. And they observe and listen to everything, as you well know if you have ever accidently uttered an expletive, believing there was no audience within earshot.

How will you know when the 4Ds are working at home? When your child issues a request and says, “But mom, you can do it in less than 2 minutes!”

Decisions, decisions… 4 Critical Questions for Processing Email

by Skip Colfax

Staying organized and keeping on top of email wasn’t always easy for me. I was the guy who was frequently late for meetings because I couldn’t for the life of me find the email invitation telling me where the meeting was being held, or what the dial-in information was. My inbox had more than 500 emails on any given day and I often printed them, thinking, “If I have it on paper, surely I’ll get it done!” Well those led to some of the piles of paper that ended up on or around my desk. I was a disorganized mess!

Now I keep my inbox clean as a whistle at the end of each day. To make that happen, I process my email using the EDGE Deciding Model and ask 4 basic questions:

1. What is this?

I read the email and determine what it is, an assignment of new work? Is it someone’s contact information, a reading assignment, new project, or a simple request for some information?

2. Is it actionable?

I need to identify what I’m looking at and if it requires action or not. About half of the emails I get are not actionable. Many contain some information I want to keep or will need later, so I create contact files, or make notes. Sometimes I’ll file an email in a project or reference folder, or I’ll put it on my Someday/Maybe list. I’m glad to say that today, many of my emails get the X….. I love using the delete button; it gives me control over my inbox. “Nice to know” information is indeed nice to know, but I don’t clutter my inbox or email folders with it anymore.

3. Is it a project?

If email requires action, I ask, “How much action?” If it is simple 1 to 4 steps, I create my next action in my task list.

If it is larger than that, I create a project plan, including a desired outcome statement and a list of tasks needed to achieve my desired outcome. My desired outcome statement keeps me motivated to do all of the tasks required, even the tasks I don’t particularly like doing.

4. What is the very next action?

I create my very next action so that it is doable in one sitting. These are the next tasks needed to forward my project, or the next task from a smaller To Do. Actions show up in my daily activities and keep me moving forward. For all of my projects, I have at least one “next action” in my action list. I love checking them off as they are completed! That’s satisfying and motivating too! I love getting stuff done, it makes me feel good and raises my energy level.

Using the EDGE Deciding Model and asking those 4 questions keeps my email inbox in check and my projects and goals moving forward. I love this model and use it a couple of times daily. I can’t imagine going back to my old ways.

Making Big Impact

by Russell Tibbits

Two weeks ago, a close friend moved to Austin to enjoy the sunny weather, the exciting nightlife and to start the next phase of her life. While she recently finished her Master’s degree and said goodbye to many friends and family members, she moved here without a job and knowing only a few people. For some people, this might sound exhilarating; for her the idea was terrifying. On top of this, portions of her new home needed immediate repair, making her feeling even less at ease. Over the course of the last two weeks there have been tears and many moments of frustration.

When I moved to Austin three years ago, I learned through a tool taught by The Effective Edge to look back at the end of each week and celebrate all of my accomplishments. I still do this weekly and in fact now use this to track progress for my larger goals, like attending Toastmasters in 2009 or completing triathlons. This tool keeps me positive and focuses my thoughts on the long-term effects of small, bite-sized progress. What may seem like little or no progress each week can add up to large changes when looked at over months or quarters.

I shared this new tool with my friend. We created a list of her accomplishments to celebrate the progress she has made. In the two weeks since she moved, she has walked and run Town Lake at least 5 times, practiced yoga, connected with sorority sisters in Austin, interviewed for two different positions and accepted a job offer. This is quite a long list for someone new to a city and unfamiliar with her surroundings. I encourage everyone to use this tool, not just for work accomplishments, but personal achievements as well. I think you’ll quickly see how small steps done consistently make big impact.