Human Performance

How to write a book in spite of yourself

by

“It’s extremely difficult to do something big. I think setting out to do something small is easier and more likely to work.”  Seth Godin If you are reading this, I will assume that you writing a book or are thinking about writing a book.  What is holding you back?  What obstacle sits between you and … Read more

The 4 Paths of our Working Life

by

My last post was on Meaningful Contribution.  I talked about three questions about the work you are doing: does it serve others? do you do it well? and do you love doing it? The 4 Paths in our Working Life Taking two of those questions: does it serve others? and do you love doing it? … Read more

The Dummies Guide to Behavior Change: Obscenely Small Steps

by

The 3 Keys to Change The 3 keys to making a behavior* change in our lives are: Feel The Over-Arching Why Create Motivation Triggers Reduce Activation Energy The Overarching Why If you woke up tomorrow and the problem was solved, how would you feel? what would be different? what pain would be gone? Action: describe … Read more

Eliminate the Unnecessary

by

“Art is the elimination of the unnecessary.” Pablo Picasso I finished a wonderful 3 day seminar this week in Madrid with 30 directors ranging from industries as diverse as agriculture, to mobile handset makers, to pharmaceuticals to drinks. The course began on Tuesday morning at 9am as the participants introduced themselves, their challenges and their … Read more

50,000 views of Video “Improve Your Speaking”

by

The big news at YouTube: Whilst Psy’s Gangnam style is rapidly approaching 1 billion views, one of my uploaded videos achieved 50,000 views today. 50,000 video views today Celebrating 50,000 views of my YouTube vid: 1 way, only 1, to achieve Excellence as a Speaker. http://t.co/3h4uH2Qh — Conor Neill (@conorneill) December 5, 2012 The top … Read more

The Most Important Lesson of Toastmasters

by
Roald Amundsen, Polar Explorer

In 1910 two adventurers, Scott and Amundsen, were on a race to the last unexplored point on the planet, the south pole. Scott was the hero of the British Empire: older, more experienced and with lots of resources at his disposal. Amundsen was the hero of Norway.

They both arrived at the shores of the Antarctic about the same time and both began their journeys of 1600 miles on foot, carrying everything they would need.

Scott would wake each morning and open his tent door. If the sun was shining and there was no wind, he would set his team a goal of 50 miles. If it was a terrible day, windy, cold: he would stay in the tents and wait for a better moment.

Scott’s journey continued this way, day after day. Each day he checked the conditions and then decided how far to travel.

Amundsen woke up each morning and pushed his team for 20 miles. Every day, 20 miles. Some days were sunny and they would achieve 20 miles by lunchtime. Some days were harsh and it would take until the last hour of light to achieve the 20 miles. Every day, 20 miles.

Amundsen won the race to the pole, and his team could have continued their journey for months more. Scott lost the race to the pole, and his whole team died on the return journey.

Focus on the Process Goals

Stress is a result of believing I can control more than I can realistically control. Outcome goals are a driver of stress. I cannot control the weather. I can only control my own actions. If I set €1M in sales as a goal, I set an outcome goal. If I decide I want to be as good a speaker as Florian Mueck or John Zimmer, I set an outcome goal. These are great dreams, but they are not helpful goals.

This is a big challenge in Europe today. There is little education in setting healthy process goals. If I know that €1M in sales requires 3 meetings a week, and this requires 20 phone calls per day – a healthy process goal is 20 phone calls today. This is under my control. If you want to be a great speaker, the process goal is to practice speaking 3 minutes every day.

Toastmasters shows me that every member who sets a healthy process goal of regular practice gains control of their progress towards mastery. This is a message that people in Europe today need. In addition, the support of people who are there in the water with you makes the journey more enjoyable.

Originally published in the European Toastmasters newsletter.

Overwhelmed or Overloaded?

by

I hate the feeling of being overwhelmed.  It tends to hit me about 2 or 3 in the morning.  I wake and can’t fall back to sleep.  I go through the motions of little bits of meditation, of focusing on breathing…  but all for nothing.  I am not going back to sleep.  My inner battle … Read more

The Single Most Important aspect of High Performing Teams

by

“How do you create a happy environment?”“Simple. I removed all the unhappy people.” I can’t remember who said this, but it rings true to me. To get the hot air balloon higher, it is simpler to remove the lead weights than to pump more hot air into the balloon canopy. Single most important aspect: Remove … Read more

Leadership = Do the Next Right Thing

by

Michael asks “What should you do when you don’t know what to do?”  In the times when he felt lost, out of his depth, uncertain, unsure whether he was the right person in the role…  All the great moments of self-doubt that I know I share… His mentor’s answer? “Do the next right thing.” The … Read more