Wisdom from Dee Hock

I have been picking away at Dee Hock’s book “One From Many” which details his journey in designing Visa International as a Chaordic Organization.
This morning I came across a passage that struck home for me and where I sometimes find myself within this process.
“Each time I fell into despair and wanted to give up, and it happened often, something softly whispered, Not now. Not while you still believe and cannot know. If you can see the next step, go on, go on!”
Later he says ”...it may have something to do with another mantra that has supported me through the years. If you think you can’t, why think.

Wisdom from Dee Hock

I have been picking away at Dee Hock’s book “One From Many” which details his journey in designing Visa International as a Chaordic Organization.
This morning I came across a passage that struck home for me and where I sometimes find myself within this process.
“Each time I fell into despair and wanted to give up, and it happened often, something softly whispered, Not now. Now while you still believe and cannot know. If you can see the next step, go on, go on!”
Later he says ”...it may have something to do with another mantra that has supported me through the years. If you think you can’t, why think.

First Day Struggle

Off to a somewhat shaky start today. I didn't get much sleep last night and was pretty tired when I awoke this morning. Donna was having friends over for brunch at 10 am, so I packed up the laptop and snuck off to the coffee shop. I put in a solid 1 1/2 hours.
I made one request via email. I asked a friend to review my web page draft when I send it on Wednesday. This is chiefly to force me to get my butt in gear and get it done.
I did make a bit of progress on the website. I realize that getting clear about who I serve and what I offer AND building the website are concurrent activities.
I  found a pretty sharp website template which I think will work well. I also thought of an interesting piece of content to put on the site. My presentation entitled "The Magic of Training Circles" would fit in well on the site. The powerpoint presentation is very graphic-rich. I did it "Beyond Bullets" -style and I'm quite proud of it. I can record it with voice-over with Camtasia and put it on the site. It fits in nicely under my website headline "Do your People Have Room to Grow"?
Not a bad day after all I guess.

Off to a Good Start

Up Early this morning and in front of my laptop as my daughter watches cartoons in the background. I got my files organized and began mindmapping my 2 week action plan using my favorite tool Mindmanager

I also got a good start at drafting my website. I have my "Who I Work With" section done and much of the "How To Work" section. My next section is the "My Services" section. From There I Just Have to Complete my Home Page and I'm done and ready to prototype with various people and garner feedback.

I'm using Robert Middleton's Website and Marketing model. Great stuff.

Out of the Gate!

Just got off the phone with Lisa as I gear up to enter the "2 Weeks 2 a Breakthrough Zone" .

I was feeling quite torn going into the call about what my goal should be. I'm now a bit clearer but it still needs percolation. The essence of my goal will be finding a way to merge the "Chaordic Design" process I'm immersed in at work with my coaching work. If I can find that 'sweet spot" I think my goal will contain enough juice to keep me moving forwards.

I am a lot clearer on what my Two Week objective needs to be. By the end of two weeks I will:

1. Have clearly articulated the
1. Who I work With
2. What I work with them on
3. How I work (my unique process)
2. Published my new website containing the above information.

Those two accomplishments will, I think give me a lot more clarity about how I want to put myself out in the world.

A Possible Goal: I'm Crisp, Clear and Highly Motivated around my Coaching Mission.

Other random thoughts and questions:
Who can I share this with?

My Daily parctive will be heavy on actions, but I also need to share with at least one person per day.


"Tricking myself into action"-Send an email out to someone asking them to review my website draft that I send them next Wednesday. That commits me.

Lisa was very generous, offering to make herself available whenever I feel stuck and also willing to share information with me about building my practice.

Onwards and upwards!

Priming the Pump

As a run-up to the 2 Weeks to a Breakthrough program, I'm in the process of filling out a rather extensive questionnaire and reading the support material. Entitled "Priming the Pump" the workbook requires that you identify as many people and actions as possible that will support you in moving towards your goal.

This process reminds me a lot of one of the key tenets of David Allen's "Getting Things Done" program. Allen suggest that you make decisions and identify next actions in advance rather than in the heat of the moment. So when you have discretionary time and you can take action, you are able to choose from a pre-determined "menu" of next actions rather than trying to figure out what you could or should be doing.

Even a Coach Needs A Coach

I have signed on to Lisa Haneburg's 2 Weeks 2 A Breakthrough Program which officially launches this Friday. Lisa mentioned in her invitation that she was looking for individuals who:

1. Have a goal they are passionate about but that they have not yet achieved. I would prefer to work with people who have a larger goal with some complexity - like building a new business or aspect of business or creating an organization or launching a large community project. For internal folks, it might be planning and implementing a large change.

2. Are willing to follow my coaching and suggestions for 14 days straight. This one is important - I need people who will dedicate a minimum of one hour per day and do the work each day, including weekends.

3. Are willing to try new approaches and push past their comfort zones.

4. Will be accessible for daily communication and will record all actions and results relative to the project.

Myself and 6 others will be engaged in this exciting program over the next two weeks. I'll try to keep this blog updated with my experiences.

What Are Dreams Made of?

I'm still pondering John Eliot's thoughts about dreams from my earlier post.

He suggests that to gain some insight into what drives those people who produce outstanding results in their lives; be it in sports, entertainment, business or other areas, try the following exercise:

1. Make a list of ten real people you know or have heard about who are pursuing a dream, the one thing that gets them out of bed every morning with a smile on their face.
but...
2. They have to be doing something that you could not imagine yourself doing, something that you think is boring, pointless, risky, unrealistic, unachievable or just plain weird.

I've been thinking about this since yesterday and no names have yet come to mind. I realize that while I have come into contact with many people who are chasing their dreams, they generally are doing things that excite me. I presume the purpose of this exercise is to allow you to step back and take a somewhat clinical view of what drives high performing individuals.
I intend to consider this for the next few days and post my insights.

Being Unrealistic

I've been thoroughly engrossed in John Eliot's book "Overachievement".

Far from your standard self-help/success manual, Eliot turns much of what of what I've read in this genre on its' head (which is probably why it feels like such a breath of fresh air).  I'm only 1/3 of the way through the book, but its' certainly grabbed my attention.

One of the most titillating concepts which has been cavorting though my mind over the past couple of days is Eliot's prodding to be "unrealistic" when it comes to your dreams. As someone who has been steeped in the "SMART" goal-setting mind-set for a long time, this is counter-intuitive to say the least. The author claims that extraordinary performance is the domain of those people, who despite the urgings of friends, family and "experts" to tone down their expectations, doggedly persevere in pursuit of their dream. Eliot seems to suggest that it is the "tamping down" of one's dreams to something that is realistic that robs those same dreams of their lifeblood. More to come on this...