discipline Archives - Dennis E. Gilbert

10
Sep 21
-

Start a Different Habit to Change Your Outcome

Tags : change discipline goals habit outcomes

Maybe you simply need a different habit? Is that the pathway for change?

If you are hungry and grab a candy bar what is the lasting effect? What if when you want that candy bar you grab a piece of fruit or some carrots instead?

No rocket science here, right? In fact, it all sounds kind of boring.

Imagine though, what if you started to change some of your basic ways of doing things?

What if you took a walk instead of responding to something nasty on social media?

What if you called a friend to ask them about their day instead of complaining about your own?

Imagine if you could find a way to trade anger for delight.

Replace one thing, with something different. Conceptually it isn’t really that hard.

Why aren’t you doing it?

Different Habit

In general, most people tend to follow the path of least resistance. When they tire, and want to slow down, they want it easy, not hard.

It’s easier to flop down on the couch instead of taking out the garbage.

Why walk six blocks when you can drive a car there instead?

Don’t park at the empty spots way furthest away from the store, fight for a spot as close as possible.

Easier, requiring less energy and less effort.

Even in social skills. It is easier to not listen than it is to concentrate on what someone is saying.

Having the discipline to make a difference starts with personal choice.

It is how different outcomes magically appear.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

23
Mar 21
-

Right Thing Costs, They Too, Add Up

Tags : costs discipline integrity long-term costs short-term gain

Doing the right thing costs. It also has value. There is a tricky intersection between doing the right thing and doing something that satisfies the circumstances right now.

If you decide to eat an ice cream cone, you may be making a trade-off between the pleasure and good taste of the sugary snack and the calories ingested beyond what you’ll use. Those excess calories go somewhere and there is a cost associated with it.

It is true for most things. More isn’t always better and sometimes neither is having immediate gratification. What delights at the moment may have a price to be paid later.

In part, this is why discipline matters. Having the discipline and integrity to sacrifice some simple pleasures that ultimately become a painful cost later.

It is true in life, in business, and it is true for your career.

Right Thing Costs

When an employee is empowered enough to make a decision that affects the customer, the decision has a price.

It may be easy to give an angry customer a replacement order of french fries when the original order was unsatisfactory. It is not so easy to change the color of a house roof when the customer’s idea of brown was several shades different from the nearly black shingles that were installed.

The french fries are low cost and the complications of dissatisfaction are only typically felt for the short-term. The house roof, of course, has a much longer shelf life and a much higher cost. The complications are much greater.

What is the right thing to do?

Everything has a cost. Some costs are short-term and satisfy the immediate, other costs feel harder to absorb but in the long run, make up for the feeling of loss.

Future Vision

The difference is often established in the vision.

Is the business owner trying to make a quick dollar and sell off, or is the business owner in it to earn a decent living and build a long-term business that will last for generations?

Employees aren’t really much different. Does the employee visualize working there for many years, or is it a stepping stone to get in, grab what you can, and get out?

What is your vision of the right thing? What is the timeline for that right thing?

Both matter and both will determine exactly what happens next.

Doing the right thing isn’t always about the price paid right now. Often, it has a close relationship with the price you’ll pay later.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

16
Mar 21
-

Outcome Commitment, Do You Have It?

Tags : commitment discipline learning metrics outcomes

Each tick of the clock or the change in the small series of figure eight shaped LED bars means time is in motion. Many people see their work as a race against time. Do you have outcome commitment or are you just running through the motions?

At the start of a shift, people are either looking to roll up their sleeves and get dirty, or they’ve thrown the switch, and the count down to the end of the shift has just begun.

Going through the motions is a terrible waste. It means that there really isn’t progress and that the outcome of yesterday is all that remains as a guide for today.

Things are different now. A switch was thrown in early 2020 with the Worldwide pandemic.

The switch meant that moving forward was going to require change. While some progress was hindered and government agencies forced closed doors and shutdowns, others were on the move.

There was change, a shift, and a pivot.

Outside of government forced closures, those with great commitment had to trudge on.

Outcome Commitment

Workforce sectors were forced to learn and grow all the while education is reportedly in shambles. Young people in traditional K-12 education systems are reportedly struggling, while in the adult world those who choose to make learning a priority have grown.

The difference might be a reflection of the commitment.

There is a chance that something better is on the other side. It’s on the other side of disappointment, despair, and devastation. The opportunity is there for those who are committed.

When you know where you are going and you can describe it, there is a much better chance you’ll get there.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

18
Nov 20
-

Flexible Resilience May Be The Change You Need

Tags : change commitment discipline ego resilience

Do you demonstrate flexible resilience? Having persistence and being resilient doesn’t mean that there isn’t room for flexibility.

It all starts with the mission or goal. It is a form of beginning with the end in mind. A vision for the path to arrive at a specific point at some future time.

People value the concept of being disciplined, persistent, and committed to the goal.

What happens when the goal seems out of reach or across time the vision may hint of needing a slight shift? What happens if the estimates or forecasts were wrong? Maybe the budget wasn’t enough or the human side of change slowed the projected progress?

Should you continue on the same path?

Chosen Path

People will sometimes go to great lengths in an attempt to prove that they were correct. Their wish is to illustrate that they have been correct all along, often in spite of any associated costs.

It may be wise to adjust the mission, shift the goals, and still achieve a higher level of success. Being stuck with a locked-in focus sounds like persistence and commitment but it may be a slippery slope down a never-ending rabbit hole.

Flexible resilience seems like a better choice.

Flexible Resilience

You can attempt to continue to pursue the original path or you can learn from missteps, correct the direction, and still achieve more than you have before.

The act of being resilient, persistent, and committed doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be learning, changing, and growing along the way.

Sometimes the cost of ego or pride is much higher than the cost of a slight shift in direction.

The most resilient know how to spot a rabbit hole before getting lost in it.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and corporate trainer. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

09
Nov 20
-

Weighing Alternatives is a Matter of Principle

Tags : alternatives discipline long-term principles

Big decisions or little decisions, short-term or long-term, what helps you decide? Weighing alternatives typically boils down to principles.

Some would suggest it is ethics or integrity. Others may decide the decision was based on outside forces or pressure.

Most of our choices are connected to principles. Your morals, a guideline, or your values and beliefs help shape the principles you will adhere to.

Recent high school graduates often base more advanced education choices on principles. In the short-term the opportunity cost is more. In the long-term, across many years, the theory is that it pays off.

Parents are influencers, so are other family members, friends, and the admissions staff.

This may be true about the car or home you’ll buy. It may be true about what you’ll eat for dinner. Pros and cons, short-term and long-term outcomes, or the consequences of action versus inaction.

Weighing Alternatives

When there are more alternatives you need to rely on your principles less. You can make a choice and the consequences of undesirable outcomes feel less risky. There is always another choice, at a later time, or on another day.

Often there are group dynamics connected to how you’ll weigh the options. Some of that is connected to your principles and some of it is connected to the social discourse you’ll choose to follow.

Your principles will guide you.

If your choices are only about the right now. Your principles probably lack the integrity or ethics you’ll need for the long-haul.

In a family of four, someone eating the whole bag of potato chips while no one else is watching seems like a reasonable choice. At least at the moment, in the right now.

The alternative requires discipline, caring, and compassion. It doesn’t satisfy the right now.

It’s about the principle.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and corporate trainer. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

05
Jul 19
-

Working Holidays and Other Addictions

Tags : addictions discipline self-control time working holidays

Do you get time off for holidays? Do you find yourself working late, working when off the job, or working holidays?

What about ice cream, chocolate candies, or some form of caffeinated concoction? Are those things that you need or just want?

Self-Control or Addiction?

Can you put your smartphone down? And keep it down? Are you constantly checking for text messages, social media updates, or incoming email messages?

Do you have self-control?

Certainly, there are many people who work holidays. Their shift is important to keep things going. It may be the maintenance crew at the manufacturing plant, hospital employees, and civil services personnel. Many people are paid to be on the job, sometimes especially on holidays.

Assuming that isn’t you, do you still work? Are you addicted to your work?

Working Holidays

I’m not referencing being devoted, committed, and caring, I’m referencing lacking the ability to break free. Some business owners, entrepreneurs, and other professionals use it as a time to get caught up or jump ahead.

There are always needs and requirements. And there are things that just feel that way.

I need something to eat, or am I just bored?

I need a coffee, a cocktail, or Big Gulp from the 7-Eleven.

Check my text messages, email, or social media feed…

Our habits make up much of our daily life. The difference between requirements and niceties is often hard to determine. The difference between “have to” and “want to” is also often confusing.

Are you working holidays? Is that on you or is that part of what you signed up for?

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

26
Apr 19
-

Following Advice Should Get You There

Tags : advice discipline following persistence

Everyone has an opinion. Nearly everyone has some advice. Following advice seems to make sense but does it always?

First, there are some people who shouldn’t be advising anyone. There is plenty of advice out there, especially on social media. Self-proclaimed experts lurk around every corner and in every shadow. Buyer beware.

Let’s assume though, that the information you seek, good information, is abundant. What will you do with that information? How will you use that advice?

Tweak the Plan

Often people modify the directions and information they receive.

When you make your IKEA purchase are you going to follow the directions? That may be good advice. Will you take a quick glance and then start assembly only checking in when you get stuck?

The same is true for the frozen pizza, the pre-cooked Easter ham, or the Thanksgiving turkey. It is true for the Cowboy Casserole, the chocolate fudge brownie, and the banana bread. Do you follow the directions or sort of do your own thing?

Chances are good that advice surrounds you. Much of it may be good. When we don’t follow it, follow it exactly, it may become bad advice.

That is often the difference. What we receive gets modified. It gets bent a little, twisted a little, turned upside down, yet the partial followers proclaim it must have been bad advice.

Following Advice

If you substitute milk for heavy cream in the recipe, you’re going to get a different result.

When you try to run a business or manage a department on hope, instead of hard work or action, you’ll likely get a different result.

If you believe your marketing and advertising will work just as well when you cut the budget in half and replace it with free advertising, you better think twice.

Finding good advice probably isn’t the biggest challenge. The bigger challenge is following it.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

11
Mar 19
-

In Your Workplace Daylight Savings Still Requires You

Tags : commitment daylight savings discipline workplace

People may ask, “Do we move the time forward or do we turn back the clocks?” Confused they may say, “Are we losing an hour or gaining an hour?” Are people asking you about the effects of daylight savings time?

I have two grandmother clocks in my home. They don’t run on electricity or batteries. You must pull the chains to raise the weights every week. The pendulum must swing and then the hands of the clock spin.

Telling time then is not accomplished through a digital display. There are not buttons to push or indicator lights.

Most importantly, the time setting in these clocks is accomplished manually. You can’t tap “Settings,” and then, “Date & Time,” and toggle, “Automatic.”

An Excuse

Surely, as the official time change occurs during the weekend people will show up at the correct time on Monday.

No, not everyone. A few will find it a convenient excuse to be running late.

Although we are in a digital age. An age where most of our cellular phones and computer devices will automatically spring forward, people still have something to do.

In your workplace, the people are going to need to spring forward. They are going to need to bring the energy, put in the effort, and bring the change to life. It won’t happen automatically. It’s not a digital setting.

Daylight Savings

Our digital age is part of society. Things happen for us and we barely even notice. It is all so automatic. Beyond that it is thoughtless, no real effort required. Follow the time on your phone or computer and you’re set.

Our lives benefit from technology. Things making life easier, simpler, and requiring less background knowledge to navigate.

On the human side of daylights savings, we still have a job to do. Spring forward will only happen when we pull the chains, raise the weights, and turn the hands.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

08
Oct 18
-

Productivity Fact or Perfection Myth, Which Is It?

Tags : commitment discipline perfection productivity

Productivity is important for every workplace. The idea is that efficiency drives profit. Are your daily habits driven by the productivity fact or the perfection myth?

What is the difference and where are you spending, or wasting your time?

Perfection Myth

People spend a lot of time and money on perfection.

There are hours spent on perfecting the product. It happens with goods and it happens with services.

There are hours and hours of fine tuning and making it just right. Hours are spent on the meetings, the waiting for decisions, and on rejected work.

In extreme cases, work is produced that is never used. It is only discarded, no longer needed, or locked in the closet being viewed as too risky for release.

We do it with our written communication to the CEO, the board of directors, or for the project proposal.

We may spend 80 percent of our time proofing, rewriting, and tweaking. In the end, much of that 80 percent of time was wasted because the initial 20 percent of time fulfilled 80 percent or more of the requirement.

All of this lends credibility to the idea that perfection is a myth. Perfection means more time wasted, less time producing.

Productivity Fact

What about the productivity fact?

Kittens and puppies are picked every day not because they are perfect, but because people aren’t judging for perfection.

Your best friend probably isn’t perfect. Your favorite book isn’t perfect. The car you drive, nope, probably not perfect.

Your house may be clean, or the lawn may be cut, but neither are probably perfect.

The work that we do, the product we produce or service we deliver, is probably good enough long before it is perfect. Sometimes everything beyond good enough, is productivity wasted. Time spent that we’ll never recover.

Perfect is often a self-developed illusion. One that we can’t live up to, and one that wastes our time.

Productivity fact is much more important than the perfection myth.

Do great work, but keep moving. The clock is always ticking.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and corporate trainer. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

26
Sep 18
-

Why Discipline Leads To Change

Tags : change discipline emotional labor

Are you disciplined? Do you do things when you don’t really want to, when it is not ideal, or when it feels like you have no energy? Do you believe discipline leads to change?

Being committed, being disciplined in your approach will nearly always lead to change.

Saying no to the chocolate cake.

Going for a run even though it is raining.

Working extra hours to finish the job on time.

All of these are leading to change. What does it all mean?

Meaningful Change

It means that when you don’t want to work on the spreadsheet, but you still do, the work gets finished. That’s change.

It could also mean that when you don’t want to have a conversation about the project, but you do, the outcomes become clearer. That’s change.

Perhaps when you want to speak out, strike out, or quit, but you don’t, the collaboration becomes easier and the work of the few is more powerful than the work of the one.

All of this is change, it’s showing you the value of discipline. It means you’re taking a different approach. It means that you’re putting in the emotional labor to get the results. Could it be that the bottom line will also improve?

Discipline Leads

The power of discipline is often underestimated. Discipline transforms from the power of the push, to the power of the pull. It makes the work a compelling argument, not one to be avoided. No more push, all pull.

Discipline and commitment are attractive. Attraction breeds more community and engagement. In a connection economy you couldn’t ask for more.

When was the last time you were tested for discipline? When were your buttons pushed? What about your energy, do you have the emotional stamina to work beyond adversity? Will you feel the pull?

The next time you absolutely don’t want to do something think about what will change. If it will create a positive impact find the discipline and you’ll see the change.

You’ll pull through.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and corporate trainer. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

Tag Archives: discipline

Sep 21

-

Different Habit

Mar 21

-

Right Thing Costs

Future Vision

Mar 21

-

Outcome Commitment

Nov 20

-

Chosen Path

Flexible Resilience

Nov 20

-

Weighing Alternatives

Jul 19

-

Self-Control or Addiction?

Working Holidays

Apr 19

-

Tweak the Plan

Following Advice

Mar 19

-

An Excuse

Daylight Savings

Oct 18

-

Perfection Myth

Productivity Fact

Sep 18

-

Meaningful Change

Discipline Leads

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