focus Archives - Page 2 of 6 - Dennis E. Gilbert

05
Oct 20
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The Right Focus Can Change the Game

Are you focused? Is it the right focus? Many people are uncertain about those questions. A big driver of focus is certainty.

It seems that there is a lot of uncertainty. An election year and the chaos of a worldwide pandemic has many people scratching their heads. They’re uncertain.

Uncertain about what is next, what to do, or which direction to turn, they don’t know how to play the game.

As a kid a remember someone breaking out a board game. Often the first question was, “How do you play?” Then the last question before getting started probably was, “What are the rules?”

It was true on the playground, even for games like chase, or some version of football or kickball. Dodgeball had its boundaries and maybe an occasional exception.

Sometimes the rules were made up as you played, sometimes they were written on the box, or provided as a paper insert. And still, sometimes they were modified to meet the circumstances.

Then there was the ending of the game. It wasn’t uncommon to hear accusations of cheating. Tommy didn’t play fair, Jimmy cheated, or Sue didn’t follow the rules.

It was all fun and games until the focus deteriorated.

Right Focus

All grown up and being in the game of business or life, cheaters are typically not welcomed. The casino doesn’t like cheating. Football and baseball don’t like cheating, and neither does the IRS.

When everyone stays within the boundaries the game is more enjoyable. People engage because they see how they can participate and improve their skills or make better decisions to be more successful.

You might suggest that they are focused.

When you hear the phrase, “Be a team player.” it just might make sense to be sure you understand the rules.

Everything else is chaos.

Focus on ways to contribute to the system instead of breaking rules.

You may sometimes need to alter the system, yet no one really appreciates people who try to cheat it.

Having the right focus helps.

-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.

28
Sep 20
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Learning Satisfaction Creates Commitment

Tags : balance career focus job satisfaction

Are you committed to doing your best work? Does job satisfaction play a role? Learning satisfaction may be the first step to a more fulfilled workplace experience.

Are you interested?

Much of what creates fulfillment in your life is about balance. Too much or too little of anything and it feels like something is just not quite right.

Too many meetings, not enough time to act.

Always out on the road, missing more office time.

Too much production of the same thing, boredom and monotony.

Things changing all the time, not enough focus.

Abundance of email messages, or the opposite, no customers to serve.

It is really about figuring out how to find the balance or navigate the extremes.

No Problems, No Job

If there was nothing to address, no problems to solve, or no strategy to formulate then you probably wouldn’t have the job.

The same might be said about a travel schedule, the amount product needed or services to provide. No change means boredom, and no email messages or phone calls may signal the beginning of the end.

It also matters for communication efforts, Zoom meetings, or scheduled phone calls. Too much or too little and things just aren’t working.

Job or workplace satisfaction is a state of mind. You feel accomplished, confident, and those feelings are aligned with expectations.

What did you expect?

Learning Satisfaction

Never a meeting, never someplace to be, no interruptions, and certainly no phone calls or email messages? That certainly doesn’t seem like a recipe for success.

Satisfaction comes from recognizing that without all of the things that are too much, there probably wouldn’t be a need for your services.

Setting expectations helps navigate job satisfaction.

It may be one of the most important things to learn.

-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.

17
Sep 20
2

When The Best Job Is Your Current Job

Tags : career commitment effort focus new job

Do you have a great job? Do you feel stuck in a not so great job? Perhaps your best job is your current job and you don’t even realize it, yet.

Work can be tough. Navigating organizational politics, managing appropriate relationships with co-workers, and even dealing with customers or vendors. And, I didn’t even mention the boss.

Are you career minded or are you on a quest for better pay? Maybe it’s both.

Absolutely, there are some business cultures that will seemingly never change. However, there are plenty of business cultures that are looking for employees who truly want to make a difference.

Are you truly committed to the effort to make your current job your best job?

Your Best Job

It’s easy to give up, throw your hands in the air, and claim that you’ve tried. After a while, you may feel beat down, underutilized, and misunderstood.

That doesn’t mean that it is over. A new job is going to require you to double down with effort. Why not double down right where you’re at? Would that make a difference? Could it?

Sometimes the greener grass is right in your own yard.

Discovering it starts with some tough questions.

What is your goal? That doesn’t mean, “Find a new job.” That’s too high level, you’re going to have to go deeper and more meaningful.
What are the obstacles? Identifying the obstacles can help you strategize on how to move around them. Sometimes obstacles are imaginary, be sure to give your thoughts the reality check.
What can you cultivate? Are there relationships that need to be built? Trust that needs to be restored? Have you really put forth the right effort and attitude or have you drifted away from your best delivery?

If you can’t answer the questions above, you’re probably not ready.

Ready for what?

Basking in Greener Grass

You may not be ready to find the green grass in your own yard. Perhaps you’re not ready to put forth the right kinds of effort, patience, and strategy to achieve the most in your current role.

Have I struck a nerve?

You’re human. It is easy to drift from good habits and a good attitude. It’s easy to blame the boss, claim it’s a bad place to work and focus more on what’s wrong instead of what’s right.

Chances are that you have more to offer than what you’re currently giving.

Sometimes the magical answer appears when you ask the right question.

What’s right about your current job?

Stay focused.

-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
Jul 20
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New Commitments Are Often Necessary

Tags : change commitment focus habits

There might be a change happening, are you aware? New commitments are often necessary and being committed will make a difference for success.

The Olympic diver needs to be committed. So does the Bob Sled team.

Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley had to be committed, so did NASA, SpaceX, and the Falcon 9.

Business or Personal Change

Our workplaces are experiencing massive change. It is happening in businesses, K-12, and higher education.

Are commitments necessary?

Have you asked yourself or your team recently, “What are we committed to?”

Commitment creates focus and focus will always impact results. A focus on nothing, will get you nothing.

What are you committed to?

Are you committed to a revenue goal, a project milestone, or a career path?

If it is going to happen, focus will be required.

Change often develops in the workplace from both internal and external forces. The 2020 pandemic has ensured that there are some external forces putting pressure on businesses. Change is not an option.

Successful change will require a commitment.

Are you ready? Is the team?

New Commitments

In competitive sports or a rocket launch, there is a commitment. Part of the commitment is focused on a timed event. Once the countdown clock begins there is little chance of turning back.

There is not an opportunity to hesitate or stop. Once it is go, it’s go. All that remains is to perform.

Workplace change often fails because of a lack of commitment. It is also true for the career change or better eating habits.

Maybe it is time you ask yourself if you are committed.

You better know before the countdown clock starts.

-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.

22
Jun 20
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Bad Idea People and Committing to a New Direction

Tags : Bad ideas facilitation focus good ideas people

You probably know some bad ideal people. I’m not referencing people who have failure ideas. I’m referencing people who think every new idea, is a bad idea.

Do you know someone like this?

Brainstorming is a worthy adventure. Properly executed a good facilitator can really help intact teams break some new ground.

Good facilitation comes from expertise as a facilitator, not as a subject matter expert. His or her job is to ask questions, get thoughts flowing, ask more questions, better questions, and bring forward things that may have otherwise never surfaced.

Questions Matter

Everyone should ask more questions.

Challenging the process has good value. However, being the flow zapper, energy robber, or the negative Nellie should be left out.

Every new idea should be challenged.

Every old idea, if it is still worthy of discussion, it should be challenged too.

Most good plans aren’t chiseled in stone. The best plans allow for fluidity, adjustment, and redirection. They have metrics and measurements, timelines and milestones.

Put the wrong ideas into motion and you’re wasting precious time and other valuable resources.

Bad Idea People

There are many forces connected with change. The best way to navigate it is to start with a good plan. Good plans develop from good questions.

The worst way to navigate is blocking new direction by suggesting everything is a bad idea.

Use questions for pursuit of the purpose, not for the pursuit of stopping or blocking.

Bad idea people are a distraction from your purpose.

Stay focused.

-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
Apr 20
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Framed Decisions Condition Future Outcomes

Tags : decisions decisive focus indecisive

Everyone wants to make good decisions. Are you decisive or indecisive? Will framed decisions make a difference?

The easy answer is, they always do.

Perhaps the next question should be, how?

Without careful consideration everyone is making their decisions or choices within a frame. Framing a problem is generally constructive, it helps create focus and piece together the best possible solution. Decisions are made within the frame.

When you expand or contract the frame, the picture and outcomes may change.

“I want a new cell phone,” is very different from, “I want a new Samsung cell phone.” It’s different because the frame is different.

How are you framing the decisions that you make?

Framed Decisions

The decisions you make and the frame you place around options and choices are part of a compromise. You are compromising on future outcomes and directions based on the frame.

The compromise can make a decision come to a conclusion, or it can prolong a decision creating a lack of commitment.

Framing your decision alters the possibilities and future outcomes.

It is true for deciding what you’ll have for dinner and it is true for the scope of your marketing plan.

It is always important to establish a frame. The frame helps guide clarity and it also will limit the possibilities. Limiting the possibilities can be constructive, or if brainstorming, perhaps not so constructive.

What you do next for your career or your organization will have a lot to do with your frame.

Consider setting the size of you frame appropriate for the pursuit of your vision. No limits doesn’t always mean no limits, sometimes it means reaching beyond your frame.

-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 20
2

5 Tips To Help You Work From Home

Tags : accountability commitment focus productivity work from home

There are some people who just realized their dream opportunity. Largely, this sudden shift may feel more like a nightmare to many people. Are you prepared to work from home?

More or less I have worked from home for the past 14 years. I’ve had part-time offices out of my home and spent many hours onsite at client locations. However, when I’m grinding out new content, writing, studying, and preparing for deliveries, I’m often at home.

Work From Home

First, let me say that there are pros and cons. I spent over 20 years working in conventional workplace settings. I definitely recognize both sides of this story.

Solitude can drive you mad. Yes, it seems kinda cool at first, but after some time you miss the interactions and sometimes the climate of a face-to-face team. There is also no one immediately available to bounce ideas off of, except for your plant or a family pet.

Let me jump right in. Here are five tips to help you get started, stay productive, and not feel like you’re totally alone.

Set a schedule. Planning to do things when you get around to it is probably a bad idea. If you’re planning to do some wash, run the vacuum, or get a snack for the kids you are best to plan around a schedule. A schedule keeps you focused during high energy times of the day and helps you avoid time sucking distractions. Productivity is going to be important so set a schedule.
Prepare a work space. A home office is ideal. However, you can also use your kitchen island, a coffee table, or a stand up desk by using your ironing board. Your best work is going to occur if you can establish a place to setup and keep it somewhat permanent. Using your laptop on your recliner may work for processing some email but your best work is going to occur from a little bit more rigid work space.
Block out distractions. It may feel pretty cool to have the news on the TV, or be jamming to music so loud that the neighbors can hear it, but these are largely distractions. While everyone is different and some will think that they work better with these distractions I encourage you to think twice. Every time you pause to think about something else, something different, or throw in the next load of laundry you are wasting time and more importantly energy.
Take some breaks. A break is not necessarily a distraction. It can be an energizer. It can also be very healthy both emotionally and physically. Your best-case scenario is to plan your breaks. Set a timer and forget about it until you are alerted. You could take break every hour or every two or three. They are important and don’t skip too many.
Teamwork. If you you’re working remotely with a team a great energizer is to plan for team calls or video chats. One way is to plan a call for every two hours. The team quickly assembles at the appropriate time and in a round-robin approach you take turns talking about what you accomplished since you last spoke and what you plan to accomplish in the next time slot. This call should last no more than 15 minutes. It is a quick huddle, and energizer, and a great way to hold each other accountable.

Working from home is just that, it’s work. Yes, you may be able to dress down a bit and yes, you may have some additional flexibility but there is still plenty of work to be done so don’t coast.

-DEG

You may also be interested in the Managing Remote Work Teams or Master Your Work From Home Environment webinar(s).

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 20
-

Urgent Work Is a Different Priority

Tags : commitment decisions focus priorities urgency

How do you decide what is going to get done? Are you doing urgent work or just work that feels like it should get done?

One decision you make almost every day is closely connected to what happens next.

What are your priorities?

Your Priorities

Will you brush your teeth first, get dressed, or take a shower? What is your priority?

Will you grab a coffee at work, report to your work area, or discuss the latest news with a colleague? What is most important? What is urgent?

There are lots of ways to determine priorities. Often it is driven by some form of need. However, the need is not always the same as what you or others want.

You also likely factor in the concept of what you should do.

I should…

Go to the gym after work.

Tidy up this mess before doing anything else.

Finish the report before the meeting on Wednesday.

When you consider the should factor, you may discover that should isn’t always the most important or urgent. Should is often considered a nicety.

In the workplace, or in your community, you’re often challenged by trying to decide on the right things to work on. What is the most urgent?

Will finishing the report early help my coworkers? Does that rise to the level of urgency?

Is picking up trash in the park more urgent than working on a campaign to help shelter the homeless?

Urgent Work

People often decide on what they’ll work on next by the urgency that they perceive about the importance of the task.

Individual perceptions which are often driven by group dynamics, peer pressure, and even the media affect your sense of urgency.

The next time you want something to happen you may want to consider how others may perceive the sense of urgency. Urgent work always seems to take a priority.

It’s not the squeaky wheel, but it may be the sneaky wheel.

Understand your priorities.

-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
Feb 20
-

Job Role Perspective Matters More Than You Realize

Tags : focus job role overwhelmed perspective

What is your job role perspective? What is inside your frame, or what is out of bounds? Your focus and perspective will condition everything that happens next.

Many people have commented on the perception of how small our world really is.

Small World

You believe you have an uncommon name. You do a Google search and discover there are many others with the same name living in the same State as you.

Living in Vermont you decide to travel to Orlando. On the Disney Monorail you meet someone from your small hometown.

Your cousin who lives 100 miles away is getting married. You discover her future husband is the brother of your high school classmate.

There are so many things that make your world seem very small.

The same can be said of the work you do. It is true for your job role and your perspective.

Many workplace professionals feel overwhelmed with data. Too many email messages, too many database entries, too many options and too little time.

Your most recent Google search returns more than 2 million possible results.

It’s all so overwhelming.

Narrow Your Frame

What many people finally discover is that when they narrow their frame, things seem to fit.

It is about focus. Too scattered, too broad, and it becomes harder to comprehend or make sense.

Your job role has similar challenges.

When you choose to get caught up in the drama the information broadens. There is confusion between fact and opinion. What to believe and when?

Throughout the day, a meeting here or there, and then another right after. A conference call, an unexpected problem, and someone waiting to see you.

Overwhelmed, you seek shelter. A retreat, a pull-back, you just want to slow-things down for a few minutes.

This is all about your frame. The perspective of the work that you do.

Job Role Perspective

As you read this, millions of people around the world are reading too. There is no possible way you will ever read every sentence of every word they are reading.

People are typing, clicking, pressing enter or tapping send. They’re uploading content, downloading images, and calling a friend.

All of it is too big to get your arms around. The frame is too big.

When you start to feel overwhelmed remind yourself that you have the ability to adjust your frame.

One thing at a time.

Keep it all in perspective.

Stay focused. Millions of things are happening around you, but right now, for you, it is simply one thing.

-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.

20
Feb 20
-

Workplace Coasting Is a Downhill Slide

Tags : career coasting complacency focus workplace

Is workplace coasting dangerous? It definitely may be a downhill slide.

Statistics show us that motivation and engagement drop drastically after the first six months on the job. That slide continues until about year six, seven, or eight, when somewhat surprisingly things start to pick up.

Of course, it is a stat, and not applicable to everyone.

Caught in a Trap

There is a trap. A trap connected to comfort and complacency.

Eventually, many people find themselves just trying to make it through each day. They show up, get some stuff done, and coast.

Certainly, they don’t always recognize that they are coasting. Their belief often is that they are making appropriate contributions. They insist they are committed and working hard.

In some ways, they might be. Yet, in other ways, they may really be coasting.

Workplace Coasting

Stretch a conversation about commitment and complacency far enough and you’ll find people who insist that their continued commitment outweighs any coasting.

I come in fifteen minutes early every day so I also leave fifteen minutes early.

What’s in the break room for breakfast? I’m hungry this morning?

Let’s find a conference to go to. I need a few days out of the office.

Harmless norms? Harmless, yes, in simple terms they probably are. Norms, I’m not so certain.

Nothing wrong with some flex scheduling, yet, often the flex becomes more favorable to the employee instead of the business.

Breakfast, as a general rule, should be consumed before the start of your work shift. Not used as an excuse to stall on the work that awaits you.

Conferences largely should be about employee or business development. Not a mini-vacation on the company dime.

These may all be considered forms of coasting. Just cruising along. Getting by.

Coasters Surprise

Often coasting is met with a surprise. The company is bought, sold, or now under new management. Jobs are changing. People are being rearranged. Perhaps a time of growth, or worse, a time of decline.

This is when coasters get burned.

While they were coasting others continued to peddle.

Life or careers don’t always seem fair.

Keeping peddling because coasting will only take you downhill.

-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.

Tag Archives: focus

Oct 20

-

Right Focus

Sep 20

-

No Problems, No Job

Learning Satisfaction

Sep 20

Your Best Job

Basking in Greener Grass

Jul 20

-

Business or Personal Change

New Commitments

Jun 20

-

Questions Matter

Bad Idea People

Apr 20

-

Framed Decisions

Mar 20

Work From Home

Mar 20

-

Your Priorities

Urgent Work

Feb 20

-

Small World

Narrow Your Frame

Job Role Perspective

Feb 20

-

Caught in a Trap

Workplace Coasting

Coasters Surprise

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