Thinking out of the box

In a small Italian town, hundreds of years ago, a small business owner owed a large sum of money to a loan-shark. The loan-shark was a very old, unattractive looking guy that just so happened to fancy the business owner’s daughter.

He decided to offer the businessman a deal that would completely wipe out the debt he owed him. However, the catch was that we would only wipe out the debt if he could marry the businessman’s daughter. Needless to say, this proposal was met with a look of disgust.

The loan-shark said that he would place two pebbles into a bag, one white and one black.

The daughter would then have to reach into the bag and pick out a pebble. If it was black, the debt would be wiped, but the loan-shark would then marry her. If it was white, the debt would also be wiped, but the daughter wouldn’t have to marry the loan-shark.

Standing on a pebble strewn path in the businessman’s garden, the loan-shark bent over and picked up two pebbles. Whilst he was picking them up, the daughter noticed that he’d picked up two black pebbles and placed them both into the bag. He then asked the daughter to reach into the bag and pick one.

The daughter naturally had three choices as to what she could have done:

1. Refuse to pick a pebble from the bag.
2. Take both pebbles out of the bag and expose the loan-shark for cheating.
3. Pick a pebble from the bag fully well knowing it was black and sacrifice herself for her father’s freedom.

She drew out a pebble from the bag, and before looking at it ‘accidentally’ dropped it into the midst of the other pebbles. She said to the loan-shark;

“Oh, how clumsy of me. Never mind, if you look into the bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I picked.”

The pebble left in the bag is obviously black, and seeing as the loan-shark didn’t want to be exposed, he had to play along as if the pebble the daughter dropped was white, and clear her father’s debt.

Moral of the story: It’s always possible to overcome a tough situation through out of the box thinking, and not give in to the only options you think you have to pick from.

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These Three Questions Help You Review and Reflect on Your Work This Year

Looking back on the past year can help you figure out where you want to spend your time and energy next year, whether that’s continuing your successes or remembering lessons you learned from failure. Ask yourself these three questions for a look back.

• What did you do this year that you’re really proud of? This can be anything from a hobby project to a promotion, committing to your personal fitness, or achieving a financial goal. Even if you haven’t had the best year, you likely have an accomplishment of some kind that you can remind yourself of to motivate yourself in the new year.
• What have you learned from your mistakes? Everyone makes mistakes, and thinking about how you can turn those mistakes into lessons for the future puts them in a more positive light.
• What are you willing to let go of? Maybe a goal you had at the start of the year turned out not to be that important to you, or perhaps a group or activity you used to be passionate about isn’t giving you the same enjoyment that it once did.

The end of one year and start of another is one of the best times to set goals or kickoff new ventures, but that doesn’t mean you should focus just on new ideas. This time is about change, so use it to realign where you focus your energy, which might mean pulling back from things that aren’t worth your time anymore.

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6 Things Effective Leaders Should Do to Inspire Their Teams

A leader’s job description can seem like an ever-growing list of bullet points, but the priority for CEOs, CFOs and staff managers alike is always the same: leading their team. The question is, “how?”
Employees will have challenging days. To get through them, they’ll need motivation, which leaders can supply by creating an inspirational environment, all day, every day.  
Finding ways to do this is not the easiest task, but it’s the right choice, always. Here are six basic steps to start motivating your staff: 

1. Be future thinking.

If your organization believes in promoting from within, let that be known. Scant opportunity for growth means little motivation for employees to work to their full potential. I personally sit down with every new hire at our home office within his or her first week and discuss, among other things, our promote-from-within culture.

I encourage workers to not allow where they’re at today to dictate how they think about the future. I personally have that belief in the way I look at my own life as well as how I look at an individual or a company. 

2. Share examples.

Speak of both failures and successes so your team can relate. At the annual sales conference for my company this year, I did not lead off by speaking of victories but rather of a time when I was unable to make a sale. This type of admission not only shows that I'm human, but also that my company doesn't gloss over struggles Share stories about people who have overcome adversity or obstacles and have succeeded. What one person can do, another can do as well.

3. Send messages designed to inspire. 

You never know whom your words will touch on any given day. So every message, no matter how short, should have an inspirational component. When speaking with employees -- whether one-on-one, in small groups or at a meeting of more than 100-plus, use the opportunity to connect and inspire. 

A word of caution, though: The ups and downs in an employee’s personal life can carry over into the office. This might impact the way an employee responds to even the most positive message.

4. Remember, good behavior is contagious. 

As leadership expert Ken Blanchard says, catch people doing something right. As a leader, when you do catch someone doing something well, praise the individual where others will hear Tell staff members to behave like an owner. When one employee took the time do extra research before making a decision on office furniture, it resulted in a lot of money saved. So I shared the good news with the staff. Putting the spotlight on this kind of behavior has a way of catching on and creates a positive and motivational work environment. 

5. Realize that consistency is key. 

It's impossible for employees to build a relationship with a leader who changes from day to day.  If you regularly promote positive, inspirational, motivational behavior, then that’s what you will see happening. This technique is the opposite of intimidation or manipulation, which are the lowest forms of management and leadership. Leaders must realize what they wish to promote  and stick with that message every day.

6. Just ask. 

What inspires one person might leave another cold. Make the effort to get to know your members of your team. For example, salespeople work on commissions. While many said larger paychecks motivated them, one team member found her inspiration in the things a paycheck would allow her to do (taking time off or going  to the kids’ soccer games).

So ask employees, “What’s your why?”  

You might not be able to use all of these steps in your organization, but by implementing even a few, you're telling employees you care. And that’s the best inspiration a leader can offer.

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