Sep 21, 2006

Ten Ways to Banish Mediocrity

OK, I know that mediocrity is a rant of mine.....but I really do believe that we need to banish it from the business world. In this weeks podcast my guest Heather also expressed her despair at blandness and mediocrity. This discussion made me think ...here is the result a Top 10 list of actions that we need to take...

  1. Don't say "let's try" say "let's do it"
  2. Forget managing bored people, ignite the spirit of adventure.
  3. Move from reviewing the past, or predicting the future...CREATE the future.
  4. Don't see or talk in black and white, speak and talk in colour.
  5. Don't crave consensus, crave discussion.
  6. Don't meet to make the decision....give people responsibility. Let people fly....
  7. Don't concentrate on mistakes, concentrate on learnings, the art of trying and having ideas.
  8. Don't talk values, live values.
  9. Don't see the weakness see the strength and build on it.
  10. Don't say but, say how

Don't settle, reach for the stars.....why be good when you could be great....why wait for things to happen....make it happen.

21 Sep 2006 16:03:24 | Leadership

4 Comments

Jersey Girl

nice post...sorry for the mediocre comment :\

Posted by: Jersey Girl | Sep 22, 2006 at 07:25 PM

Mamaduck

Excellent and to the point. I love your header graphic as well! Our how-to is up as well if you'd like to check it out!!

Posted by: Mamaduck | Sep 23, 2006 at 02:24 AM

Graham English

More people need this advice. Thanks for writing. :) My how to is up.

Posted by: Graham English | Sep 23, 2006 at 04:29 PM

Billy

Great advice and an encouragement. We always want to dwell on the past and bring your followers down with you. Doing so others can see and empowering them is key. thanks for all the great thoughts

Posted by: Billy | Sep 27, 2006 at 01:24 AM

The comments to this entry are closed.

NEXT POST
How to Revitalise Your Dreams Dare to dream is a phrase I love, it reinvigorates you, it has hope, it gets you thinking about what you want from your life. What I hate is that we USED to do that - when we were young we dreamed about being a nurse, an engine driver, a pop star then through the school of hard knocks somehow we lost our ability, so here are my Top 10 ideas of how to learn how to dream again... Take 10 minutes each day to dream, to think about what is important to you... Speak to children and let your mind wander with them to inspire your thoughts, learn how to think like a child again... Read a book on a topic that is not your specialized subject - let your imagination wander of how you could incorporate the ideas... Go for a walk, look at nature, see the beauty and think about if you could do anything you wanted to do - what it would be.... Write an 8 word legacy of how you want to be remembered... Encourage others to dream - speaking in a positive away will inspire them and inspire you... Write down 3 things that you want to achieve and use it as a screen saver on your PC... Try something new, be it a hobby, a holiday, a new learning just something that you have always wanted to do but haven't found time for..go on just try it. Start using the sentence "What would it be like if..." then take action to achieve it... Read De Bono book 6 hats of creative thinking.... Dreaming is important, we all love to have something to dream about......and it is only others that have taken it away from us. We have the power to dream, we can take that power back.
PREVIOUS POST
Teamwork and The Ryder Cup OK so I am happy tonight as the Europeans are leading the Ryder Cup, but what I really enjoyed was seeing how fired up all the players were - for me it illustrated the power of the team. Remember these players are competitors week in week out, suddenly they pull on their team colours and they have a shared vision, a shared passion, a shared responsibility. This is change management at its best.....bringing "12 subsidiaries" together and within 48 hours having one corporate vision, identity and goal. What are the learnings for business? R= Remember it is about getting the right combinations of individuals...not just great talented individuals. Y=You are not the most important person the strength is in the power of the team. D= Decisions are made by the leader...discussions are important with the player but the leader - the Ryder Cup Captains - have to make the ultimate choice on their teams. E= Encouragement from other team members can improve performance. R= Respect tradition, and respect each other. Of course I will be cheering on the Europeans but lets hope that the real winner is the sport and sportsmanship......

Anna Farmery

Social Marketing Architect, Speaker, Author and in spare time completing PhD on the future of the social business model

The Typepad Team

Search

Become a Fan

Connect with me on

Recent Comments