BradCo Consulting Ltd.

Common sense for the art of leading!

Month: April 2020

Vision

April 25, 2020 /

“A very great vision is needed & the man who has it must follow it as the eagle seeks the deepest blue of the sky.”  -Crazy Horse, Sioux Chief

One of the best things a leader does is help you find purpose in your work, helping connect your “why” with a compelling vision.

Your “why” is based on past experiences, is objective & rarely changes.  A vision is subjective & based on a preferred future state. A vision creates focus, grabs our attention, clarifies & is results oriented.

When eminently capable people share a common vision connected to their “why” motivation is endless. Huge vision coupled with the right size tasks will have everyone making meaningful progress. What’s your vision about 5 years from now?

Try this vision-casting exercise: You’ve planned a party & it’s amazing! It’s (date) & today I am… What are you celebrating? Who’s there? Why are they there? Describe the atmosphere, the energy, the cause for celebration, everything!

What feelings come over you?

How has your future self changed?

What can you do today to step into that future self…

Best,  Karl
Follow Karl Bradley on WordPress.com

Crazy Horse, Sioux Chief

Crazy Horse information by Legends of America

Worrying

April 25, 2020 /

Worrying is a habit.  Do you have it?

First, check out “Getting to the bottom of your worrying-and how to let it go” by Gordana Biernat for some great insights!

We all have dreams, aspirations & goals. It’s healthy to be in a growth mindset but not at the expense of getting meaningful things done today.  Making zero progress toward your preferred vision of the future is demotivating. Focus on the task at hand, like the mantra of former NFL head coach Marty Schottenheimer.

The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.  Sure…how?

Second, check out “How to stop worrying & start living” by Dale Carnegie. His concept of living in Day-tight compartments suggests to live each day to its fullest until bedtime, get some rest & go again the next day.  Easy to say, hard to do.  Here’s his help…

Get the facts about what you’re worrying about; write them down, decide what you can do about it & get busy doing those things. Getting “lost” in the activity helps & progress on some issue you’ve identified is moving away from the problem.

“Don’t count the days, make the days count!”  -Muhammad Ali

He famously didn’t count repetitions until the one’s when he was getting tired because those were the one’s that really counted. This habit created breakthroughs in his training for consistent growth.

If just talking about this makes you even more anxious, listen to what Brene’ Brown has to say about that here.

The fact is, tomorrow isn’t promised.  A great Cherokee proverb says it this way…

“Don’t let yesterday use up too much of today.”

Best,  Karl
Follow Karl Bradley on WordPress.com

Productivity

April 25, 2020 /

Most of us start out the day with great intentions to get lots of meaningful stuff done. Often, these great intentions get thrown off track by things we didn’t anticipate or plan for & we get half of our “to-do” list accomplished. Here’s a fairly well-known plan from Peter Bregman for more success.

We can’t manage time, we’ve all got 24-hours, no more & no less.  What we can manage is our focus & how we use our time.  Take 5-minutes at the beginning of each day to make a plan.  Block out time for each of the main tasks you’d like to accomplish & then get into it!

Set an alarm to alert you every hour & take 1 minute to go over what you’ve completed in the last hour, review your plan & the progress you’ve made or where you’ve gotten off track.  Refocus on your priorities & dive in again!

The plan in short…

-5 minutes in the morning to solidify your plan

-1 minute each hour to review & refocus

-5 minutes at the end of the day to review how it all went & begin the next days plan

18-minutes can be the little bit of structure & discipline we need to get more done & finish with more satisfaction every day!

Find out more about this concept & Peter Bregman’s book here!

Get 3 Unconventional Strategies for Boosting Workplace Productivity here!

Best,  Karl
Follow Karl Bradley on WordPress.com

Title Image from Getty

Storytelling

April 25, 2020 /

“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”  -Maya Angelou

Did You Know: The U.S. is the only country that has dual identity in its mythological heroes.  Superman & Clark Kent; Batman & Bruce Wayne; Wonder Woman & Diana Prince. These powerful stories (and yours) turn “tacit” information into “explicit” information making it accessible for others. Stories pass down knowledge, inspire us to act & connect with the essence of what it means to be human.

Dr. Diana Wong from Sensei Change Associates says:

Leaders who excel as storytellers can build high quality connections. Their stories and more importantly the process of telling stories can inspire others to great heights. The best stories come from critical moments that allow us to see beyond the obvious, go from ordinary to the extraordinary and surprises that tickle our sensibilities. We are always composing stories as our lives unfold on a daily basis. Capturing the stories to create meaningful narrative is a sense-making process within ourselves. Then storytelling enables us to share the sense-making in building meaningful relationships.

Silent & Listen use the same letters & make up the remaining element to storytelling. But that’s for another post 🙂

For additional resources, check out the Story Center!

Best,   Karl
Follow Karl Bradley on WordPress.com

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