Living in Community

“Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.” - Jane Howard

It’s a funny thing, on one hand we want to compete with each other; to be in the top of the class, to win the scholarship, to climb the corporate ladder faster, to be the best parent, to have the best retirement, golf score, yard, or antique car. On the other hand we desperately need each other; to work together, to have a tight knit community, safety in numbers, collaborating for friendships, family, and a better life together.

Even though, competition exists at all phases of life, as we mature, it’s encouraging to see that competition seems to give way more and more to community, relationships, and authenticity. It’s not about impressing others or reaching higher successes, but finding more ways to be significant in our communities and with the ones we love.

In many ways, a business can personify this philosophy of community. Businesses are micro-communities and it’s truly incredible bringing people, ideas, and fun together. Weaving the community together into the tapestry that is each organization.

A tight knit community always contains these 3 “C’s”:

1. Communication that is open and has spirit of learning
2. Coordination of events, ideas, and people all working together for a better life.
3. Cooperation as an attitude of curiosity and willingness to learn and work towards common goals.

A tight knit community contains these 3 attributes*:

1. Care as the active concern for the physical needs of others
2. Responsibility as caring for the higher needs of others
3. Respect as allowing others to grow at their own pace

It is the desire of great leaders to be an incredible resource to their organization/team and work to bring success, even more opportunities for significance, and doing it all in the spirit of building a truly tight knit community.

After all; call it a family, a community, love for others, or whatever you want. We all need it.

Enjoy Life!

Jon Bohm
Owner-Coach- Speaker
Driven Coaching
jon@drivencoaching.com
623.505.9330
www.drivencoaching.com
www.jonbohm.com
Building priceless leaders and stellar organizations.
* Care, responsibility, and respect is a great concept from Joseph Jaworski's book Synchronicity

6 Do's and Don'ts for Organizational Communication

"Many ideas grow better when transplanted into another mind than in the one where they sprang up." Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr

3 "Do's:"

1. DO: OVER-COMMUNICATE Vision and Values. It doesn't matter if you think everyone has heard it or knows them. 99% of the time the executive team thinks they have beat it into the ground and the rest of the team couldn't tell you what they are.

2. DO: COMMUNICATE THE SELF EVIDENT - or, at least if it's a Core Value. Many leaders tell me they don't need to communicate positive attitude, friendliness, excellence, or integrity. And after all, these are their handpicked team. However, core values shape the culture, and communicating them drives the values from a list on the wall to culture that can be experienced. For example the Declaration of Independence; "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,..." Some things may not be self evident later- and that is precisely when they are needed most.

3. DO: COMMUNICATE WITH YOURSELF - Strange but true. We communicate in our mind about our external factors and internally how we feel about ourselves all the time. Actually, at the alarming rate of 60 million bits of information per second. Be intentional and positive about what you are saying to yourself. The organization will pick up on (and believe) what your attitude and body language are saying faster than your words. What is going on in your head will effect your message.

3 "Don'ts:

4. DON'T: FOLLOW THE "3 TIMES MODEL"- I have seen many times where people from some antiquated speech class are told this "Say what you are going to say, say it, and say what you said." Argh! Please stop doing this. We live in the information age and don't need to be told what you are going to say- just say it. And don't follow it up by telling me what you just said, I know... I was there, I will wonder if you were.

5. DON'T FOLLOW THE PREACHER'S MODEL - If you visit church, you will most likely find it is still customary to sit and listen as the preacher speaks for a period of time and then the congregation goes home. I don't know why this is still the custom or why it ever became one in churches. But in organizations, this is a bad idea. Nobody wants to be preached to or at. Communication is a 2 way street and learning through lecture is the least effective style of learning there is. Find a way to create a 2 way street, even if you have to give a speech. Texting, comments on social media, and asking questions are all easy ways to turn a lecture into something more effective.

6. DON'T IGNORE THE HUMAN ELEMENT - Many meetings in 2010 existed of tough conversations, and decisions that involved cutting, trimming, or furloughing people. Sometimes this bad news must be communicated, but ignoring or not placing a high value on the human emotion as it's communicated will destroy the culture and morale faster than lighting the place on fire. Never speak until you know what others are thinking, feeling, and experiencing before you open the can of communication.

Happy Friday!

Make it a great weekend and cheers to better communication in 2011!

Jon Bohm

Top 10 Rules to Dressing Professionally

Realizing this is a giant rabbit hole, here are some absolutely basic and crucial things to understand when it comes to dressing professionally in a way that can help you move your life and career forward. Sorry ladies, I'm not qualified for you, but I will get a post for you in this area as well.

After seeing many leaders and executives fail at these 10 basic rules, here are some things to keep in mind next time you are shopping.

My top 10 list for guys:

1. Dress for the position you want, not the one you have. Poise and style go a long way towards promotion/sales/ influence. However you feel about that from a fairness standpoint, it's reality.

2. Never wear pleats or cuffs on your slacks. Sorry, to those who disagree. People argue this with me all the time, but pleats and cuffs have been out with everything else you left in 1993. I don't know why anybody is still selling these to unsuspecting guys.

3. Never wear a white undershirt that can be seen under a dress shirt or even a polo. Time to invest in some v-necks.

4. Your shoulder seam should be right at the top of your shoulder or at most a half inch from the top of your shoulder towards your hand. Oversized shirts make you look sloppy and unprofessional.

5. Wear fitted shirts whenever possible. A fitted shirt has been sewn to remove material from the back and sides of the shirt so that you don't end up with a bag of extra material around your belt or midsection. Fitted shirts will slim you down and broaden your shoulders. If you have extra weight you are carrying around your midsection you may need a little more room.

6. Sleeve length should hit the bottom of your wrist when your arms are hanging at your side. This allows a nice watch to peek out and keeps extra material from bunching and making you look sloppy.

7. Your belt, watch, and shoes all need to match. Brown shoes means a brown leather watch and brown belt. Black shoes mean a silver or black watch and black belt. Make sure shoes belt and watch all match stylistically as well. In other words, if you wear a formal pair of shoes, then wear a formal belt and "dress" watch with it.

8. Never, ever, ever, never, ever wear a tie with a short sleeve dress shirt. Dwight Shrute (see above). Enough said.

9. Shine your shoes. If you didn't learn this in the military, from a Dad or friend, go to a nice department store like Neiman Marcus and the shoe dept. can give you a tutorial. Or, click here.

10. Don't wear cuff links with a casual pair of slacks. The general rule is if you don't need to dry clean your slacks, don't wear cuff links with your shirt.

10.5 The bottom of your slacks need to rest barely on the top of your shoes with no more than an inch of material in the left in the length. Again, extra material = sloppy and unprofessional.

Bonus information:
There are many different styles of collars when it comes to dress shirts. Each one is appropriate at different times.

Never wear more than 3 colors at a time. Patterns need to be different and can be mixed and matched if done correctly. Generally a lighter, or more pastel, colored shirt should be worn with a tie that goes with it, but should not match exactly.

Best advice ever! Are you ready? If you are not the average sized guy. For example, taller than 6'4" or shorter than 5'5"- find a great tailor near your home. If he/she tries to put you in pleats- run away and find another tailor. Always wear clothes that fit. Being tall (I'm 6'5") is not an excuse to wear clothing that doesn't fit.

If you are wearing a tie, your pocket cloth should match the dominant color in the tie.

Hope that helps you move toward your goals and not away from them.

Enjoy Life and Shop well!

Jon Bohm

P.S. Every girl's crazy 'bout a sharped dressed man.

Cleaning Up

Quick question: You walk into a room and you see that the room is flooded. On the far wall a sink is running on full blast and there is a mop leaning against the wall. What do you do?

This is the same scenario I see at many companies I walk into, and there is one of 3 choices that is actively being pursued:

1. The entire team is mopping like crazy - "this economy!" "run faster and work harder" or we will never get this cleaned up!

2. They walk in the flooded room- look around....and then leave. It's too much of a mess, let's just close the door and go back to sticking our head in the sand.

3. They turn off the faucet. Then they mop like crazy.

The choice is yours as you lead your organization. I recommend turning off the faucet by finding the root cause of negative results, behavior, or culture. To change behavior without changing the root cause is going to require a lot of mopping for a long time... in wet clothes. Nobody likes that.

Is it time to clean up your organization or life? Is it time to turn off the running faucet?

Making wet businesses dry,

Jon Bohm

Beware of Re-creating your Past

Be careful of going back to what you once were instead of moving forward to what you have yet to become.

Like water, we have this incredible tendency to sub-consciously settle into the groove, the path, of least resistance. The only problem with this is that it only has one result, re-creating the past.

Many leaders have been leading in the same place, same position, same expectations, and same challenges for so long that this groove is created. A groove that steals passion and innovation one small piece at a time. We feel it sneak up on us like the cold at night. Slowly we find ourselves unchallenged and resting in this emotionless zone of the doing what we have always done.

We can wake up and make the change now, realizing that it's never too late to be who you might have been . Or, we can settle in and wait until we are fired, forced out, or no longer have the passion to be productive. Only to look back, and realize the powerhouse we could have been, the changes we could have made in the world, or the dreams we could have realized for ourselves or our family.

The Cure is in the way you plan and therefore, the way you lead:

1. Make decisions based off looking where we have been - Result = Re-create the past
2. Make decisions based off of looking at our present circumstances - Result = Re-create the past
3. Make decisions based off looking to the future - Result = Forecasting the future
4. Move your actions and life into the future and act now, how you want your future to be - Result = Creating and Controlling your Destiny

The choice is ours to make everyday, rely on circumstances and the groove to guide us to the future or decide your own path now and move forward to where you have never yet been.

Beware the gravitational force that is always trying to pull you back to where you already were.

Walking into the wonderful unknown,

Jon Bohm

Leading up the Ladder

Tom Landry, the coach of the Dallas Cowboys, once said something that may be true of nearly any motivator: “I have a job to do that is not very complicated, but it is difficult: to get a group of men to do what they don’t want to do so they can achieve the one thing they have wanted all of their lives.”

At what point does someone become the type of leader that is worth millions to an organization or team? What does it take? There are many answers to that question that we could use to describe someone like Tom Landry, Jim Boeheim, Phil Jackson, John Wooden, or one of my current favorites Ken Whisenhunt.

One thing, they all have in common, is that they have the ability to motivate people and players to higher performance- to fight through pain and achieve at the highest levels of their potential.

This requires conquering 3 levels of leadership.

1- They have climbed to the rung of leading themselves - this means they know who they are, they like the person in the mirror, and they have become confident internally with what they know they can do. They have the capacity to truly care for others and confident in the circle of people that care about them.

2- They have climbed to the rung of informal leadership - this is the behind the scenes leadership, locker room conversations about life and leadership, inspiring others through conversation and small group huddles. They can rally energy in others when they walk into the room.

3 - They have climbed to the rung of formal leadership - they can drive a team/organization by grabbing the energy of everyone involved, they recruit, train, develop, and strategize to surround themselves with smart high performing people and then rally the team to the cause.

A leader who has climbed this 3 rung ladder is the type of leader that an organization can not pay enough, support enough, or give enough too. They are truly priceless in a world of insecurity, disorganization, and dispassionate living.

Which rung are you on? Are you priceless to your organization? You can be, the secret is ....it never happens on accident.

Creating Priceless Leaders -

Jon Bohm

Business Owner today -Entrepreneur tomorrow

"Nothing is so successful that it can't be mismanaged. If you lose sight of what you are doing, it could be here today and gone tomorrow."- Jim Pohlad (Owner of the Minnesota Twins)

What are you doing? Whatever you do to pay the bills or take care of the family, what are you doing it for? Money, kids, to make a difference? This is a very important question and the answer to which must be kept front and center, or it will be gone.

Often, when business owners started their business they new they were doing it to build a better life, have more time, make a difference, etc. But, along the way they became not only the owner but the CEO, CFO, COO, manager, supervisor, and sometimes even the hourly wage worker. The ideals of a better life get swallowed with working harder and surviving and paying the bills. Without much thought, just like that, you can lose sight of what you got in this for in the first place. Same thing with being a Parent, a coach, or a teacher.

Since I can't speak to everything in a short blog, here is an overly simplified model to entrepreneurial success:

1. Solve the $ Step - If you don't plan and save to get far enough ahead to invest in others and better systems you will be left spending everyday and hour (every dinner with your spouse) not thinking about anything, except, how can I make more $ so I don't go out of business. Some people stay at step one their entire life- this is very sad to me as a coach.
2. Solve the time step - Use the money you saved or set aside in step 1 to buy yourself more time. Hire, delegate, create, and build new time saving systems.
3. Use the time you bought for yourself to find inspiration, new ideas, better ways of doing things, and creative energy to build your life and/or your business to new heights.

Where are you stuck? Which step is next? How are you going to get to the next step?

Of course, I'm here to help you do that. Just never lose site of what got you in this in the first place. Have fun!

Enjoy Life!

Creating Entrepreneurs everyday,

Jon Bohm

Can't Change the Game? Change the Players.

Playing a game as kids there is always someone who would bend the rules, make up new rules, or re-create the game on the spot if it benefited them. Man, did you hate that or what!? Unless, that was you ruining the ability to play fair for the rest of us.

We were always told - you can't do that! We hated on them and we called unfair or conspiracy, depending on how many people were trying to change the rules.

Now, here we are all grown up and those that have figured out how to change the rules of the game to benefit them are the winners. As an entrepreneur, if you can change the way the game is played - kudos to you- do it. Google, Facebook, online magazines, Tivo, Apple, netflix, etc. have changed the rules in their industry. In one way or another they are making the world play their game. And just like when we are kids - the people that hate you for it feel like you are making them lose and those that benefit love your influence.

But, what about most of us? Are we game changers? I hope so, we try to be. But, often we don't get to change the rules. We have to play the game by whomever is changing the rules.

So, we will have to pick one of 2 options:

1. Take our ball and go home= you will no longer be playing the game, or refusing to play the game will often get your boss to send you home as well if the marketplace doesn't send you home first.
2. Realize if you can't change the game- change the players. Starting with you.

In today's marketplace the rules are changing everyday.

Are you going to take your ball and go home or worse get sent home?

Or are you going to change the players starting with you?

If you think your industry isn't changing- beware you are probably inches away from being sent home.

If you can't change the game - change the players.

Changing players in every industry everyday,

Jon Bohm

Learning from LeBron

Or, maybe I should say learning from LeBron's choices and circumstances surrounding his move to the Miami Heat.

There is a lot of media surrounding what LeBron did, how he went about it, and even speculation on why he didn't tell Cav's owner (Dan Gilbert) before he announced to the world his decision to leave the Cav's and move to the Heat. The aftermath is hurt and broken relationships as bridges of trust and loyalty burn to the ground.

No matter what, how, or why LeBron did what he did. One thing is for sure- any loyalty that may have existed between LeBron and and the Cav's is gone, and any relationship that may have existed between Gilbert and LeBron is also gone.

So, was it worth it for LeBron? For Gilbert? Who knows? And only time will tell.

The takeaway from all of this is that loyalty is good business. From Gilbert's perspective, had he fostered a deep loyalty in LeBron, it's more likely LeBron would still be with the Cav's. And, if LeBron had fostered loyalty and relationships with the team and Gilbert he would be more marketable, and he may have left without burning the bridges so many fans were standing on.

Loyalty exists when expectations are exceeded, period. What we can learn from LeBron is at the end of the day- relationships, loyalty, and expectations is the basis for decisions made in business. Sure money is an issue, contracts, and price all get into the game. But relationships, expectations, and loyalty trump every time sooner or later.

Obviously, LeBron's expecations either grew or were never met with the Cav's (he took a pay cut to go to the Heat.) Gilbert's expectations either grew or were never met with LeBron (LeBron accomplished nothing towards a championship). This causes a relationship breakdown and loyalty comes apart at the seams.

Is your business exceeding expectations? Are you creating loyalty and relationships among your internal and external customers? Do you even know?

In your personal life it's the same way. Marriage? Friendships? Work life and piers? Are you exceeding expectations?

Our challenge is not in how, what, or why other people do what they do. Rather, our challenge is where we set the bar in our own life, and how high we are willing to jump to create loyalty and relationships that will eventually trump everything else... sooner or later.

Exceeding expectations,
Jon Bohm

A Star is Born

"Many an opportunity is lost because a (wo)man is out looking for four-leaf clovers." ~ Anon

I was reading my son is bedtime story and it happened to include an interesting story about how a star is born in space. It requires 3 major elements for the star to be born; gas, gravity, and timing. Read more about the science behind this here.

What a great metaphor for each of us. We all want to be "stars" in our own world, family, industry, or peer group. We want to make a difference to bring the right things together and maybe the biggest motivator - we want to be recognized for it. We want to shine, brightly!

It's easy to think that this is a function of luck.

• If I had their background, looks, luck, than I would be a star too
• If I had bought when they bought I would be rich too
• If my daddy owned "x" company I would be in the right circles
• If my kids were born without that disability

The more I work with people in a behind the scenes capacity with widely successful people the more I realize there is no four leaf clover, there is no lucky situation, and there is no lottery ticket. The magic bullet to success doesn't exist.

What appears to be lucky timing or lucky resources is not luck at all - it's simply preparation, passion to find resources, and the ability to expect opportunity (timing.) 3 ingredients that happen out of purpose and direction. To the skeptical outsider it appears to be lucky. But, it's not.

You want to be a star? 3 simple ingredients must exist to shine brightly -

1. Prepare yourself to become who you want to become. You want to be a star, act like one, now.

2. Find your passion and you will find the resources. Trust me, if you want it badly enough you will find the resources- or they will find you.

3. Look for opportunity with an expectation, a certainty of someone who knows the sun will rise tomorrow.

Stars are born everyday, in every economy, industry, and family. The only question is: will YOU look inside for the opportunity and put the ingredients in place or will continue to look for four leaf clovers and lottery tickets?

Expecting great things for you!

Jon Bohm

Are you Haunted?

Have you ever had a feeling or a thought you couldn't get away from? Like it was haunting you?

We typically think of this as a bad thing that occurs after a tragic experience or from the pain of a previous choice. But, I have found that most of the dynamic, driven, and high performance people are haunted by something.

Something that salts their life with passion, purpose, and drive that goes deep within them and pulls their emotions off the sideline and into the game of life.

I have a stress dream (nightmare) I had when I was battling cancer in which I was dying and all of the dreams I had for my future were dying with me, untold speeches, unwritten books, unchanged lives, and a mediocre life for myself. That one nightmare changed my life forever, it has haunted me ever since. I can't wake up and live without urgency, passion to make a difference, and emotion that drives me to an extraordinary life. It is my "why" to get up in the morning and it haunts me every day of my life. That nightmare was a gift that keeps on giving.

Do you have something that haunts you? That drives you to passion, purpose, that gets you actively and emotionally living your life? If not, find it. Look for it in daily life when you find yourself engaged, enraged, or just happy. Be haunted by your future successes and the fantastic life you have waiting for you, however you measure it.

George Eastman, inventor and founder of the Eastman-Kodak Company, often said that he never set out to become rich. Nor was it specifically his intent to promote photography. Eastman had lost his father while he was still young, and he was forced to watch his mother struggle to provide the bare essentials for George and his two sisters. Memories of his mother mopping floors and washing clothes for other people haunted George like a bad dream throughout his life. Consequently, he vowed to make enough money so that his mother would never have to work again. - One Minute Motivator

Actually, he made millions, and he revolutionized photography—but his real goal was to make a comfortable living for his mother. And that is the power that compassion for another can have.

May we all be so blessed to be haunted by compassion.

Enjoy YOUR Life!

Jon Bohm

Reflect back and plan forward....

2 weeks into the New Year, are you rolling? Are you on your way to making 2010 truly better than '09?

The start of a new year is always a great time to reflect back and plan forward. Here are some great questions to springboard that thinking. (Remember; you're more likely to achieve something if you plan for it and write it down, so ... get your pens ready! Here goes:

As you reflect on this past year, what were your two or three most significant accomplishments, breakthroughs, and/or achievements?

1.
2.
3.

Looking back over the year, what (if anything) blocked or held you back as you moved toward your goals/objectives?

Knowing what you know now, what would you have done differently? (While we can't change what was, we can use this input/learning as we move forward.)

As you look forward to next year, what are your three most significant goals that you wish to accomplish within the year? What will be different? How will YOU be different?

1.
2.
3.

What are the top two or three things about your business that you most want to be different next year?

1.
2.
3.

What two or three changes do you most want to see in your personal life?

1.
2.
3.

What do you want your practice/business to look like one year from now?

What actions are you prepared to take to reach your goals and objectives next year?

Having gotten clear on what you want to achieve next year, the next step is to develop the strategies and actions that will move you to reaching your desired outcomes. And if you don't yet have a coach or an accountability partner to keep you on track ... GET ONE! (... we happen to know a few good coaches!)

Let's prepare to make 2010 our most exciting, rewarding, and personally fulfilling year!

Enjoy Life!

Jon Bohm

(Adapted from my friends at Resource Associates Corporation)

New Year + Focus = New YOU!

"I find it fascinating that most people plan their vacations with better care than they do their lives. Perhaps that's because escape is easier than change."

- Jim Rohn

2010 is here! I hope you are as excited as I am!

I don't mean to be over excited, but as a cancer survivor, I take every milestone as a chance to celebrate life. What it means to be here for 2010 is more than words can ever describe. So congratulations...YOU are here for 2010 as well!

If you are anything like me, you are expecting 2010 to be your best year yet. Not just because 2009 seemed to have so many challenges for so many people, but because you are continually BECOMING a better person-who brings more value and good to those around you-every year. That is exciting!

I have a few things planned for this year. I have a new plan to be a better coach, father, and husband. I have Financial, Family, Friends, Fitness, and Fun goals that I will be working toward. All of them require resources and mental shifts from where I am now to where I will be by the year end. What about for you? What do you have planned for 2010?

Whatever it is, I'm sure it's a laundry list to some degree--similar to mine. Do you know the best way to insure hardly any of it happens? I do...DON'T focus on any ONE thing.

I have recently taken up bird hunting which is great fun and great food :) (Sorry bird lovers.) When I walk within 10 feet of the right bush I can see 20 doves come out and fly all over the place. I have about 2 seconds to take a shot. What I have found is that if 20 fly out, I hardly ever walk away with even ONE!!! I see them, I hear them, I get crazy excited and I don't seem to have enough time to pick ONE out of the crowd. So, I take a random shot and nothing happens. BUT...if I walk near a different bush and only ONE flies out...then I'm having dove for breakfast!!

The New Year will be the same for me, and I bet for you, if you have 20 goals all flying out of YOU at the same time. You will be lucky to walk away from 2010 with even one goal completed and in the bag.

We have to FOCUS, focus, and (I will say it again) focus. We will have to pick ONE goal out of the crowd and take a shot, before we ever move on. So, here is a practical and easy guide I recommend for making 2010 be productive and successful in BECOMING a better YOU:

1. Make a list of the top 5 things you would like to change about you, or your circumstances. (For me, I'm starting with getting back in shape)
2. Answer this question; "If you could change one thing in your life that would have the greatest positive impact on your life in 2010, what would it be?" Do not move to step 3 until you have a confident answer for number 2. Many of my clients say something with the five "F's" (Financial, Family, Friends, Fitness or Fun) for number 2 in some way. What is yours? Got it?
3. Ok, now number 3 is to separate that goal from the crowd, and make it specific and put a time frame on it. What will you do and when will you do it?
4. Now, put everything else on the shelf, and set your sights on only that one change.
5. Ask yourself; What do I have to know? What do I have to do? Who do I have to become? for that goal to be in the bag by the date I set?
6. Go get it! Protect it, focus on it, resource it. Do not rest or look at another goal until you achieve it.

Although for me, goal achievement is an art that requires skill, time, commitment and usually some professional help, the take away that I want you to get (which is 90% of the process) is to FOCUS on that one thing.

I am convinced that one of the biggest reasons that so many people live in mediocrity with so much available in our world, is because so much is AVAILABLE that we lose focus.

A new year is here. The pages are blank for 2010. It is time to write the first page. Pick one thing--only one thing--and FOCUS on it until completion. Then move onto the next thing until completion, and so on. Write the greatest story of your life...ONE page at a time...in 2010.

Live a great story!

Jon Bohm

YOUR personal, business, and strategy coach

PR, Tiger Woods, and you...

“There are 2 primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist or to accept the responsibility for changing them.”- DENIS WAITLEY

Did Tiger mess up? Yes. I think we would all agree, especially his wife, "yeah, he messed up."

But, that is not really the question we have to wrestle with the question we have to wrestle with is "Now what?" What do we do as sponsors, what do we do as the public with an icon, forerunner, and elite hero like Tiger when they mess up?

We know better than to crucify someone for messing up, we know we don't ever want to be the one to be casting any stones, because we know that we all mess up to one degree or another. We know that forgiveness is stronger than bitterness and we know that to love someone's strengths and despise them for their mistakes isn't love at all. And we love our heroes, don't we?

So, how do we handle this? How does Tiger handle it? How do we avoid it? And how should we think about it?

As for "how does Tiger handle it?" The experts and press have beat this one to death. We all know, he needs to step out front and own the fact that he is a hero and continue to act like a hero by taking responsibility for it. But, that isn't our call, is it? This whole things is actually none of my business. All we can really think about is how are we going to deal with it? How should the sponsors deal with it?

I have found, I deal with it in a very simple way. I hope and pray he finds the right help to get healthy and live a great life with or without golf. I hope he finds the people and the tools to reach deep and get healthy emotionally so he can enjoy this one chance at life we all get. And money isn't the answer, we all know that. Happiness come from within, and clearly Tiger needs to reach within.

So, that leaves really only one question left to deal with. What do the sponsors do? What do you do? To support or not support those products? or Tiger in front of the kiddos?

As for me, as a consumer, I don't buy products because of who sponsors them. So, I won't NOT buy them based on who sponsors them either.

As for the sponsors, what a tough decision! They have one of the greatest athletes to ever live partnering with them to promote their livelihood. Incredible. But, I don't see how they can still use him as a sponsor, it's down right ironic how difficult it will be given the nature of Tiger's bad decisions. Woods’ sponsors include Gillette, Gatorade, Accenture, Nike and AT&T. So here is why I don't think they can keep him. Wood's apparently had multiple sexual affairs with a wide range of women over a large portion of the country or maybe event the world and listen to the tag lines of each of his sponsors:

• Gillette "The Best a man can get."
• Gatorade "Is it in you?"
• Accenture "High performance. Delivered."
• Nike "Just do it."
• AT&T "More bars in more places."

It's unbelievable isn't it? Almost hilarious, and I'm probably missing a few good ones. When you build a brand, your company will rise and fall on how much positive attention the consumer is willing to give to you. So, of course attracting attention is half the battle and the other half is keeping it positive. If it's not positive, then you can't keep something in your brand.

So, in the balance of standing on the rock solid foundation of a great product and the thin ice of public opinion, where is your brand? You have a brand whether you know it or not. Personally you have one. When I google your name, what do I find? Your business definitely has one. So, how strong is your brand? Or better yet, how much positive attention does your brand get? How much negative attention needs to be dealt with? It may not seem like a big deal, but it is. It's the unspoken piece to the puzzle every company needs to pay attention to. It is directly connected to your success personally and professionally.

Do you dress? Speak? Act? Walk? Type? Live? as the person you are becoming? As the person or company want to be? Does the world see the real you? Does it see your company in the right light? Is it a pretty picture, or could it use some polishing. Sometimes a little polish goes a long way.

Give us a call if it's time to get some positive attention or do some polishing.

Live the dreams you have imagined! No nightmares allowed:)

Jon Bohm

Key Questions when Hiring a Coach

"If you would attain what you are not yet, you must always be displeased by what you are. For where you were pleased with yourself there you have remained. But once you have said, “It is enough,” you are lost. Keep adding, keep walking, keep advancing; do not stop, do not turn back, do not turn from the straight road." — St. Augustine

It's about time I gave some advice on what to look for when hiring someone to help you move your life and business forward. Some great questions:

• Are they a good fit for you? Do you like them and trust them?
• Are they results focused? A lot of people will charge you good money to listen to you. But, will they help you actually achieve the results you need in your life and business? Knowledge is NOT power- APPLIED Knowledge is power.
• Do they have legitimate names and numbers of people you could call to see if they are truly good at what they do?
• Are they focused on long termdevelopment of you and your life, or is it short-term training that you will have to try and remember?
• Do they help you get past the obstacles in your life and business or are they just focused on your goals?
• Do they help you in life and business? Or do they just focus on one or the other?

A couple pitfalls that are easy to fall into are:

Often people want to make sure the coach they are looking
at has extensive knowledge in their industry, but a good coach
can help you develop your skills and attitude in a field they
may not even know much about. If you need training look for
a good consultant or mentor. Although, some coaches do very
well in both roles.

Often people will look for a coach with the most degrees.
But, degrees do little in determining whether someone is
good atmotivating, inspiring, developing, and applying the attitudes
and action of others.

Sometimes people think they have it all figured out and
don't need help. We all need help, every good coach will hire
coaches themselves and they are always focused on life long
learning.

TigerWoods has three coaches and he is the best in
the world. Don't fall into the trap of thinking you have arrived.

Cheers to always moving forward with some collaborative help!

-Jon Bohm

Find Your Passion for Productivity

Tom Landry, the coach of the Dallas Cowboys, once said something that may be true of nearly any motivator: “I have a job to do that is not very complicated, but it is difficult: to get a group of men to do what they don’t want to do so they can achieve the one thing they have wanted all of their lives."

Did you know that more points are scored in the last 2 minutes of the 4th quarter of a football game then in the other 3 quarters put together?  This is often used to prove the point that all of us work better with a deadline.  Which is a fact.  

However, I think it is more than that.  Have you ever felt like you had the time to accomplish something, but you didn't have the energy?  You lacked the physical energy, emotional energy, spiritual energy, mental energy, the motivation?

Energy in life is a resource that is often more valuable than time itself.  You see, time is made of not only hours and minutes, but energy.  So, whether you are playing football or working in your office you know you have to last a certain period of time mentally, physically, and emotionally.  

A runner knows that if they only have to run 100 meters they can run 10 times faster than if they have to run 10 miles.  The final 2 minutes of a game represent the last 100 meters.  The time when you leave it all on the field.  When you quit saving energy and let it all go.  When results are all that matters and conserving energy doesn't.

I have found it easier to be more productive, and turn out better quality work from a team by giving them short deadlines followed by a break.  For example, if you are an author, try to write fast and focused for 5 minutes, then stop and break, before coming back for another 5 minute session.

I know a lady friend of mine who consistently runs under a 4 hour marathon by running for 5 minutes and walking for 2 minutes.  I have seen this applied to concrete companies and insurance agents alike.   If you pay people by the hour, it encourages them to work slower and longer.  If you pay people based off productivity, it encourages them to work smarter and faster.  Which is an asset to any team or organization.

I am convinced that hourly employees can work half the time and accomplish the same amount of work.  Often higher quality work, if they are given a shorter deadline with twice the pay.

Still not convinced?  Try this, tell your team one day that they can go home at lunch time and get paid for a full day if they complete the full day's work by noon.  See what happens.  I would love to hear how it works out.

Of course, if you are a retail shop, a fast food restaurant, or any place where you have store hours, then sending them home at noon is not an option.  But, what if they were rewarded with a break after taking so many orders, ringing up a certain number of customers, folding so many boxes or clothing, then would productivity increase?  You bet it would.

It is time for our world to quit thinking hours and start thinking productivity.  After all:

“You don’t get paid for the hour. You get paid for the value you bring to the hour.”– Jim Rohn (American Business Philosopher, Author, and Speaker)

Article by Jon Bohm

Are you Visionary?

“To understand the heart and mind of a person, look not at what he has already achieved, but at what he aspires to do.” - Kahil Gibran (1883-1931)

So, let me ask you?  Do you know where you want to be in 3 years?  5 years? 10 years?

That can be a very challenging question in today's ever changing environment.  As seen in Did You Know 2008.  A world like this requires Visionary people and Visionary Leadership.

If you have ever worked at an organization that was lead by reactionary leaders who were always deciding their next move based of the past instead of where they want to be in the future, then you understand how detrimental it is.

But, let's look at this on a personal level for a moment.  

• What do you want your life to look like in 5 years?
• In 3 years?
• In 18 months to a year?

Sadly, it's a fact that more people spend time planning a 2 week vacation than they do their life or their business.  This is sad because that means life is simply just happening to a majority of people instead of them taking ownership and definitive action towards the life, love, friendships, and successes they really want.

So, what do you want?  Where would you like to travel?  What would you like to see?  Who would you like to become?  What would you like to accomplish?  What type of friend, spouse, sibling, spiritual person would you like to be.  The first step is dreaming about these questions.

Build a list of at least 50 (a hundred would be better) and write them down.   For some it is much more difficult then it sounds, but everyone enjoys it.

I encourage all my clients to have an on-going dream list that they can add to, and see accomplished.  A simple exercise with often huge results.

Take this study from Yale for example:

There is a famous study involving graduates of Yale University from the class of 1953. The students involved in this study were asked if they had a clear, specific set of goals for their future, and if they were written down with a plan for achieving them. Only three percent of those interviewed said that they did.

Twenty years later the researchers went back and interviewed the surviving members of that class. They discovered that the 3 percent with specific written goals had achieved more in financial terms than the entire other 97 percent put together. They also seemed to be happier and more “together” in every way.

Pretty amazing right?  After you build a dream list and write it down you may realize it's not as amazing as you once thought.  Do you know where your going?  Do you know WHO you want to become?  Is it written down?

It is far less productive in life to focus on where you have been than it is to focus on where you are going.  As you discover your future aspirations, you may even discover something about your own heart and passions.

Enjoy the journey!

-Jon Bohm

Responsibility = Power

"With GREAT power comes GREAT responsibility." - Uncle Ben in Spider-Man

What a great quote.  This is one of the great life changing "Laws of the Universe."  

It is true just like gravity is real.

Although, I think a truer statement would be that with "GREAT responsibility comes GREAT power."

It is true in any organization I have worked with, the person who takes on the most responsibility is also the person with the greatest influence in the company.  This does not necessarily mean that it is the person with the greatest position or authority.  It means the person with the most influence is always the person who takes the greatest responsibility.

It is a fact of life.  Test it for yourself.  Think of an organization you really know well.  Not one you read about in Fortune Magazine, but one you really know the players in.   

• Who owned the least amount of responsibility?
• Who owned the most responsibility?
• Who had the most overall influence and power?
• Who had the least influence and power?

I hope I made my case.  But, just in case, let's test it again.  

Everyday in life, we have the option to either be a Victim or to take responsibility for our lives, for our actions, for our families, for our organization, for our country.

The more we move toward the Victim mentality the more power and influence we lose.  The more we move towards responsibility the more influence and power we gain.

Application:

Scenario:  You are at work and you are getting chewed out because your department dropped the ball somewhere.  You have a choice to take ownership of that error or "pass the buck" and throw your team "under the bus."  It is a simple equation, if you take responsibility you will gain influence, if you pass the buck you will lose influence.  If you "pass the buck," it becomes clear that you are no longer the person your boss needs to talk with to get better results in the future, because you demonstrate it is "out of your hands."  Therefore, you lose the influence to make things better.  

When all the employees in an organization understand this, then everyone is fighting to take ownership and responsibility, the "buck" is no longer passed, and everyone works together to find solutions and take ownership of the success of the organization.  This is a powerful organization.

You can apply this same situation to your life, your family, or our political climate in America.  If we play the victim, we lose power and influence and transfer responsibility and therefore, influence to someone else.

So which one will you be?  You have a choice take ownership, or give up your influence and power.  It's that simple.  So Uncle Ben is correct, but maybe he should have said  "If you want POWER than take RESPONSIBILITY." 

- Jon Bohm

Leaders Grow Leaders

"You've got to have great athletes to win,  I don't care who the coach is.  You can't win without good athletes but you can lose with them.  This is where coaching makes the difference." - Lou Holtz

The longer I work with great leaders the easier it is to spot them.  You know who great leaders are because they are surrounded by great subordinates.  

When you walk into a business, a team, an organization of any kind and see highly motivated well operating systems and people you know a great leader or leaders is near.

Being a leader means more than just having authority it means having influence, the power to motivate, the power to build high performance teams.  Great leaders pick influence over authority any day.  They understand that the person who brings the most clarity and emotion to the challenge becomes the leader, and at that moment who has the position of authority means very little.  Great leaders have always know how to rally people to their cause, to invoke and spread excitement, emotion, and passion to others.

Great leaders:

• Attract great people
  
• Recruit great people
  
• And build great people
  

When you are looking to be a part of a new job, new organization, new relationship of any kind.  Test the climate of the group.  Are you surrounded by high performance people or does it feel more like the "dysfunction junction."

Excitement is probably the most transferable human emotion on the planet.  It is hard to be in the presence of someone who is excited and not feel it or react to it in some way.  Great leaders transfer emotion and passion to others.

A mentor of mind once told me before I was about to speak to a large crowd that if I wanted to transfer excitement and emotion than I would have to feel it 10 times greater than I wanted them to get it.  In other words if I want the audience to "bleed"  I would have to "hemorrhage."

Do you "hemorrhage" an excitement that motivates?  Inspires?  Attracts? Recruits? Builds high performing people in your life, family, or business?  Do people pick up what you are laying down in your sales job?  Do people feel your passion for life?

If not.  Then I encourage you to look into at least one of these 2 areas:

1. Do you have something, anything, that one thing that gets you out of bed in the morning?  I mean really gets you jazzed? If not, then find something that does and learn to make money at it.
   
2. If yes, then let it out!  Express it!  Be you!  Do you feel shy about expressing a new idea- your products- your business- life in general because others don't share your joy yet?  Well...thats the point.  That is why you have to help them feel it.  That is why you are in a position to lead. Everyone doesn't "get it" yet, that is exactly why the world needs you to help them.
   

Great leaders reach out to optimize not only their own skills but the skills of all they run into.  Spot great leaders by the team they develop- become a great leader by being contagious with your passions.

-Jon Bohm

What do your actions say about you?

"Dignity consists not in possessing honors, but in the consciousness that we deserve them." ~Aristotle

Research tells us that more than 55% of face to face communication is body language. 15% is tone of voice, and the other 30% is words that are actually said. But, the often not mentioned statistic is that your actions override your words, your tone, and your body language 100% of the time.

If you want to know who someone really is, than you have to watch what they really do.

I really enjoy mountain biking. And one story I will never forget is when I met a guy, let's call him "Biker Bob," at a bike shop.   And as we talked, he told me about all his gear, his amazing skills, his experience in the swiss alps on the race tour, etc.  Later that day I went biking down a ski mountain with Biker Bob. Biker Bob was passed by everyone, including me and at least 3 other guys that had no idea what they were doing. We all finished the trail and waited a good 10 minutes for Biker Bob to come stumbling out of the woods.

I learned a valuable lesson that day. Biker Bob had a lot of gear, a lot of talk, and a lot of confidence. But Biker Bob did not have the skills, the action, or the results to match it up.

You can look the part, talk the part, and have the confidence of the part. But your actions and your results override talk and confidence any day.

Dave Barry (a great humor columnist) once said that if you go out to dinner with a "nice person," and they do not treat the waiter nicely, than that person is not a nice person.

I couldn't agree more Dave.

3 Question Reality Check
1. Do people you encounter know what you believe by what they see you do?
2. Are your actions saying good things or bad things about you?
3. Have you thought about how that could impact your business results?

Simple I know. But, a profound reminder to work on your actions and who you really rather then all the work on image and words that is so easy to focus on.

-Jon Bohm