Simon T Bailey’s Blog

I was recently sitting in a client’s employee lounge and saw a flyer that was on all of the tables. As I looked closely it said the following “turn competitors trash into competitive intelligence treasure. Receptacles will be set up in the atrium and on the 2^nd and 3^rd floor to collect all the junk mail you receive at home from the competition.”

The name of this marketing initiative is “Dump Their Junk!” I love it. What are you doing to share your competitive intelligence with your internal team? We have all received mail that will put into file 13. What if we step back and ask what type of insight can we gain from what others are doing? You may be surprised at what you discover.

Please send a response to the following question – what are you doing to increase your competitive intelligence?

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Like it or not the pace of change is forcing us to rediscover the adventurous spirit of our ancestors. There is a force that is moving us from the known world of our previous achievements to the unknown world of future opportunity.

I recently read a quote from John Amatt that really struck a chord with me. He said “to challenge change we have to learn to view change as a great adventure.” Every day you have to increase your ability to manage change effectively and learn to benefit from the uncertainty that change creates.

Adventure is a journey with an unforeseen outcome.  Be a change agent that controls the steering wheel of your life. Right now change is tapping you on the shoulder and inviting you to go to a place you have never gone to before. Are you ready? Buckle up – your adventure is about to begin.   

Please send a response to the following question – what type of personal or professional adventures are you experiencing right now?

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Today, as I was driving around my city, I could sense a shift in the air. As you look in the eyes of other human beings, you can sense that they are ready to experience something totally different and fresh. Everybody looking for the New-New!

In the world, there are shifts that take place all of the time. These shifts impact people, processes, and products. Many times, shifts in perspectives, ideologies, and mindsets often need to be overhauled in order to make room for new possibilities.  This doesn’t happen overnight. It is a long sustained march in the same direction. Deliberate in nature and intentional it’s desire.

Examine your world and determine for yourself what shifts do you need to make personally and professionally. When you do it, you will find hidden gems of relationships and unlimited opportunities that were just below the surface waiting for you to shift.

Simon says: What shifts do you need to make and why? 

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Simon Says - Change or be changed by change!

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Many Americans are tuned into this year’s political super bowl – the election of the next president of the United States.  Can I just tell you, I am ready for it to be over! Nevertheless, this is a very exciting time as we watch master communicators hone their message, sharpen their rhetoric, and sucker punch the other candidate with words through the media.  You must admit that politics is not for the weak in mind nor the faint of heart.

When you step back and analyze the presidential race here in the United States consider the following:

How do we make an intelligent decision about any of the candidates?

How do we know if they are authentic or just telling us what we want to hear?

How do we know if they have the experience to answer the 3:00 AM call or not?

All we know is what they tell us in stump speeches and in debates when they don’t have the tele-prompter aiding them in persuading the public to believe them. The only way they can convince us is by using the oldest and most influential profession in the world - Public Speaking, or what I call Presentation Brilliance.

(The following is not a political endorsement for either party - I am just making a point) Just think, prior to the democratic nomination of Senator Barack Obama for president, no one really knew who he was until he gave “the keynote speech” at the democratic convention in 2004. His entire life changed all because of a speech. Twelve months ago 900,000 people in the state of Alaska knew who Governor Sarah Palin was, but that’s about it. After one speech given at the Republican National Convention, 37 million other Americans now have etched in their brain the famous line “a pit bull with lipstick.” It doesn’t matter if someone wrote the speech; the fact is she said it. It’s like the songwriter who writes the words, but it’s the singer who belts out the notes that everyone remembers and talks about.

One speech can change your life.  Yes, that may seem a bit over-the-top, but it’s true in the case of the aforementioned candidates.  You are probably saying, “Simon, I am not running for office, I am just trying to put food on the table, a roof over my head, save for retirement, build a business and get along with my neighbor or cubicle mate.”  Then I would say to you if ever get the opportunity, DO IT - stand up and make a presentation.  Just watch - your confidence will soar and you may raise a few eyebrows. 

I am a living witness that one speech can forever change your life.  It is one of the best marketing tools to position you and your company.  Presentation Brilliance is the one key arrow that you need to keep in your quiver.

I am curious - What scares you about public speaking?  

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I was reading an interview given by Richard Branson, founder and CEO of Virgin Group and he made a statement that stopped me in my tracks.  He said, “one of the things I’m always trying to do at Virgin is make people reinvent themselves. I firmly believe that anything is possible.”

Well, I looked at the statement and pondered it for awhile, and then it hit me.  Reinvention just doesn’t happen at the snap of a finger.  Someone has to make a conscious decision to say “something has got to change.”  Could you be that person?  Re-invention is a process, not just one time event.

Over the last 100 years, the U.S. economy has shifted from the Agriculture Age, to the Industrial Age to the Knowledge Age and soon to be the Brilliance Age.  Most people are paid for what they know instead of what they do.  Knowledge controls the steering wheel of the economy, and everything else is a passenger.  It is my belief that our society is shifting again.

Many people can sense a shift with the financial earthquake on Wall Street that continues to send shock wave tremors through the rest of the nation. Corporations are slashing headcounts in unprecedented numbers, cutting edge technology is replacing bodies and retirement savings  have seemingly vanished into thin air.  Needless to say, stress is all around us.

Chronic stress, predictably enough, decreases neurogenesis.  According to Wikipedia, neurogenesis is the process by which neurons are created.  Most active during pre-natal development, it is also responsible for populating the growing brain.  Every action and thought is creating the future or diminishing it.  As Christian Mirescu, a post-doctorate graduate from Princeton put it, “When a brain is worried, it’s just thinking about survival.  It isn’t interested in investing in new cells for the future.”

Today is not the time for small thinking.  Today is not the day to shrivel up, shrink down, or be overwhelmed by the crisis of today.  In every period of history, out of adversity emerges brilliance.

I could go on and on, but you get the point.  In the midst of stress, someone found a way to create the future they intended to live in instead of succumbing to the stress of the day.  What once may have served you in a previous era is no longer relevant and will only serve to stress you out.

It’s time to make a bold move in the direction of your heart.  That’s right… you’ve worried long enough and nothing has changed.  It’s time to stand up and be the catalyst of change by reinventing yourself.  

Professor Elizabeth Gould (Princeton University – Department of Psychology) says “the symptoms of poverty are not simply states of mind; they actually warp the mind. Because neurons are designed to reflect their circumstances, not to rise above them, the monotonous stress of living in a slum literally limits the brain.”  What is limiting you from experiencing the ultimate life?  I submit to you that you need to reinvent yourself.  It’s exactly what I did and my life has never been the same again. 

Please answer the following question: What personal or professional reinventions are you making and what have you learned thus far?

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If you relate to a person as if they are small they will be small. These were the words that my friend Marie Dowd uttered to me two weeks prior to me speaking at her annual meeting of 350 business owners in New Orleans. I stopped in my track because I began to examine myself and how I had been thinking small, playing small, acting small and practically pitched a tent in Smallville, USA.

As I began to toss this thought over and over in mind between airports, I realized that not everyone is showing up to give a 150% everyday. Some are just attempting to get through the day, others are tip-toeing through life, and still others are keeping their head down for fear of being the next neck of to meet the guillotine of disappointment.

I submit to you that no matter where you are it’s time to show up bigger than ever before. Your best days are in front of you. No matter what is happening around you, you have the ability and potential to play really big. Go for it my friend. You can do it.

Show up Big now more than ever before. Consider the following:

Be the difference that makes the difference

Ask what can you can do drive more value than ever before

Give something extra

The greatest way to build loyalty is to give more than what people would expect.

Remember the platinum rule…do unto others as they would like for it to be done unto them.

Question of the day? Have you played small personally or professionally? If so, tell me about it.   

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The painter Pablo Picasso was dining at a five-star restaurant in a metropolitan city. A female admirer walked over to his table to say hello and to tell him how much she admired his work. Sensing that he was receptive to her accolades, she asked if he would do a sketch for her.

Picasso grabbed some paper, and with pen and pencil promptly sketched the waiters carrying luscious ice cream parfaits. As the woman reached for the sketch, Pablo Picasso said, “Madame, that will be $10,000.” Shocked, the woman replied, “But that only took you five minutes.” “No, Madame,” replied Pablo Picasso, “it took me fifty years.”

Pablo Picasso knew how much time he had invested in the mastery of fine art. He didn’t belittle his value or succumb to the pressure of someone who didn’t value his worth. Up until that moment at the restaurant, fifty years of his life had been invested in developing his artistic brilliance. He refused to allow anyone to diminish his self-worth.

How much are you worth? What are you doing to increase your self-worth? People will treat you the way you treat yourself. When they sense that you are unsure of your value, they will handle you any way they see fit.

 A friend of mine who was unhappy at her job one day decided that she was worth more than the demeaning way she was being treated, and refused to be abused any longer. Thus, she decided that happiness, peace of mind, validation, affirmation, and celebration was worth more than stock-options and the schizophrenic behavior of leadership.

 My friend, wrap your brain around this profound truth…your outward experience will reflect your inward self-worth. Your self-worth is as priceless as a rare diamond. Why settle for crumbs of bread when you own the bakery? Simon Says…You are worth it!

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I recently heard a story from a friend who was considered a Hi-Po (High Potential employee) with his previous employer. I was shocked when he told me he had divorced his employer…he’d had such an incredible track record of high performance and stellar results with the organization.

My friend explained that every time he had the “where is my career going” conversation with his leader, the response was always the same: “Just hang in there. We have big plans for you.” Leadership recognized his contributions, but did nothing to help him move up the food chain, nor did they offer him juicer projects or growth opportunities.

Since he wasn’t feeling the love, his eyes started to wander. He began looking outside his professional marriage and initiated an affair, discreetly interviewing with various companies. He received several offers and was in the final stages with one company when he decided to make a last-ditch effort to save his current professional marriage.

 So, he went to his direct leader and told him about the offer that was on the table. In a panic that their star employee might walk out the door, the organization’s leadership threw him a bone – a $10,000 salary increase. One of the senior executives even called him to say that the organization valued his contributions and hoped he’d stay.

What a joke! Imagine receiving a call from a senior executive who barely knows you and rarely has anything to say to you, but suddenly is begging you to stay with the company. It’s like a father-in-law who barely talks to his son-in-law and then calls out of the blue to say, “Please try to work things out with my daughter…divorce should be the last option.” Right buddy – and you’ve been married how many times?!

The point is this: Employee turnover (i.e., Professional Divorce) looms as a major business issue for 73 percent of U.S. businesses, according to TalentKeepers, the global employee retention research and solutions firm. “Employee turnover is a business problem. No longer can the loss of talented employees be viewed as a people problem where responsibility and solutions reside solely with the HR department,” says Craig Taylor, TalentKeepers’ Senior Vice President.

Professional divorce rates are on the rise. If you’re unhappy in your professional marriage, don’t take the easy way out. There’s too much at stake – you’ve invested too much time and energy in this relationship to just walk away.

Employees, let me ask you: Is leadership fighting to keep you? Are you worthy of being kept? If you’re thinking about a professional divorce, consider the following:

Talk to your direct leader or manager – early and often – about the state of your career. Do you feel undervalued, unappreciated, unchallenged? Then tell your leader. He or she can’t help you if you don’t communicate.

If your direct leader is the reason you want to leave the organization, seek a transfer to another division where you can re-engage with a different leader, reconnect with your organization’s core purpose and renew your energy.

Sharpen your professional skills to prepare yourself for the next level. You must be ready when the leaders of your organization come calling with a new opportunity, project or promotion.

Visit with the HR champion for your area. Instead of complaining about your situation, offer a constructive plan for what you’d like to see happen with your career at the organization. Remember – it costs your company more to replace you than to keep you.

Find and build a relationship with a sponsor (this is different from a mentor) who has some status and influence in the organization. Your sponsor will leverage his or her credibility to keep you in the organization by opening doors, making contacts on your behalf, and looking for opportunities for your growth and promotion.

Leaders, let me ask you: Why is it that you only throw employees a bone when they’re fed up and ready to leave? If you want your high potential stars to feel the love and stay committed to your professional marriage, consider the following before they tell you they’re thinking about divorce:

Listen to your employees (listening is very different from hearing). What are they really telling you? Remember the wife who wants her husband’s attention more than his gifts.

Ask your Hi-Pos what they need in order to remain committed to the marriage (the organization). Then work to make it happen. Remember – it costs your company more to replace Hi-Pos than to keep them.

Challenge them with juicy assignments and projects that stretch their skills and abilities. Promoting Hi-Pos isn’t always an option, but there are always ways to capture and keep their minds and hearts.

Engage employees in career discussions on a regular, on-going basis. Having this discussion only during annual or semi-annual reviews simply isn’t enough.

Help Hi-Pos connect with and develop relationships with senior management – not because you have to, but because you want to. This will greatly enhance the “love connection” between employees and the organization.

 I have a genuine desire to keep today’s professional marriages strong and healthy.

 Simon Says…Work on your professional marriage before you consider divorce!

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