I can’t proof myself. I have blindspots.  At best, we are about 70% self-aware.  After that, we need some trusted advisors around us that will help us fill in the gaps.  Here are some simple examples:

• I won’t post this blog without someone else reading it.  It will make sense to me but something won’t register to someone else reading it.  I need proof-readers.
• I miscommunicate.  I think I said it, I know what I meant, but what I say is often missed, misinterpreted, or leaves employees and co-workers needing more information.  I need interpreters.
• I’m too close to the business challenges I face at times and can spin my wheels.  I need an outside point-of-view, an advisor, or a consultant.
• I have weaknesses.  I can pretend, power up, or tell people they’re nuts - but I have them.  I need a trusted team around me to fill in with their strengths.
• I can’t stand shopping for clothes.  It sucks the life out of me and if it were left up to me, I would only own black and blue suits, safe ties, and a wardrobe you can’t screw up.  I need a fashion consultant.

Often in our roles at work, at home, and as leaders in business, we fall into the trap of feeling like we have to have all the answers.  The truth is, we can better understand the perception of others around us by having trusted people near us, who have our permission to give us the candid reality.

Your value as an employee, as a leader, or as the owner of your company will increase in proportion to the people you have around you that will “keep it real” with you.  If you’re trying to do it alone – you’re capped and you’re walking around with mustard on your face and no one wants to tell you about it.  Your team already knows your weaknesses, you might as well get them on the table.

Proverbs 15:22: Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.

Sir Richard Branson was interviewed at Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference in L.A. Several members of the Pinnacle team were onhand including myself. Here are a couple of my take-a-ways from the conversation.

• “Screw it, let’s do it.”-  People can analyze things to death and often don’t try new innovative ideas.  There are plenty of reasons not to do something, sometimes you need to just do it.
•  “Small is beautiful.”-  You ought to be made up of many small corporations even within a big corporation.  People need to feel a sense of ownership and know when they’re winning.
• Try to find someone who is better than you to run day to day operations- move onto the next adventure and bigger picture
• To be a champion of your clients you need to be a great champion of your own people… Find the best in people and be a great motivator of your people.  Once you have a highly motivated team, you can then work to get all the details right.
• It’s up to the people running companies to make it fun- we spend too much time at work to not create a great workplace.  Try to say yes more and give flexibility where you can.
• Look for opportunities to have people work part-time, they could be some of your greatest contributors
• Biggest life lesson:  “Forgive and befriend your enemies.  This is a small world we live in…”  This is good in business and in your personal life.
• Most exciting things in the global economy:  Seeing some of the great growth in Africa, India, and China, a concern:  finding clean, affordable energy in the years ahead
• Make acceptable “bets” and risks so you can protect your core business and the downside
• “When choosing business partners, it’s much like a marriage- only it needs to be more successful than most marriages…”
• He’s going to be going up into space with his children in about a year with Virgin Galactic
• Travel at 3.5x speed of sound, experience weightlessness-  http://www.virgingalactic.com/
• There could be a day soon a flight from Austrailia to LA could take 3 hours
• “All businesses should be a force for good- with wealth comes great responsibility.”
• If I could meet 3 people:  Sir Frances Drake, Jesus Christ, and Cleopatra
• The most successful people will be those who focus on making a real difference in people’s lives
• Your reputation and your brand is all you have in life- if you do anything that damages that reputation, it can destroy your business or your life
• “Make sure that you live your life in a way that is ethical so you have comfort in any story that may run in the newspaper the next day.”

Everyone on your team can be and should be strategic to your organizational objectives. Period.

After meeting with a few of our key people and members of our Client Experience Team (they’re much more important than simply calling them “admin”), I’m finding schedules and activities full of good, well meaning stuff, but missing the mark strategically in their roles.

5 quick things:

• Much of the stuff on your to be delegated to someone else list should simply go away. Don’t push your garbage to someone else on your team.
• Make sure everyone on your team understands the answers to these 3 questions:1. What is our organization trying to accomplish?

  2. What are the top 3 components of my role that best moves our organization to its goals?

  3. What’s on my plate now that doesn’t have any effect on these top 3 components?

• Most people on your team will need help in knowing what to stop doing and pruning their activities. Schedule a meeting with your team members to review their top 10 tasks and bring out the hatchet.
• Sometimes the boss or owner is the biggest problem. People tend to “drop everything” when the owner speaks, your managers/owners may need some coaching on how they communicate their needs. (Yep, tread carefully…)
• Good employees are artists at keeping (or looking) busy. Pull the plug, chop the list, and refocus the bullseye.

The Employee Junk Drawer: Busy activities that seem to be important, often delegated by others, but simply cause drag to your organization.

It’s been said that one great employee is more valuable than three good employees. Agree?

We’ve got some great employees on our team, here are some of the lessons I observe from them:

• Seek accountability rather than run from accountability. Good employees have good reasons why things don’t get done.
• Embrace Change. With good employees, you find yourself having to invest more time to sell the change.
• Understand the goals of the organization and align their activities to them. Good employees get a lot of stuff done, but regularly the wrong stuff.
• Great communicators and fill in cracks within their teams. Good employees know their jobs pretty well but miss opportunities to keep others in the loop.
• Have integrity and build others. Good employees have integrity and build themselves.

You probably know who these people are at your organization. Your stress level goes down when they walk in the room, they’re a breath of fresh air, and you find yourself thinking he/she has it covered… Got great?

Sidenote: The “metrics” on this works as well… Think profitability over a fixed cost, not revenue.