Anxiety Is Practicing Failure In Advance

How is that for a catchy title? Recently, my wife, Ann Day, shared this with a group of ladies for discussion. The article is taken from Seth Godin's new book, Linchpin and shown below. I read the book a few months ago and have shared it with many people. I highly recommend it as a book that can change your perspective about your life.

I have known of Seth Godin for years - he has authored many books including Permission Marketing which is now widely practiced by most Internet marketers. As a result of reading Linchpin I was introduced to Seth's Blog (http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/). Everyday you receive a fresh dose of Seth's wisdom. Another influencer of my life, Mike Vance, said, "You will be the same tomorrow as you are today except for the books you read and the people you meet". A daily dose of Seth will start your day with a new challenging thought that will lead you to a constant evaluation of your life and how and why you do what you do.

Anxiety steals your life . . . you can step out of it. As I was looking for this article I searched his blog for "Anxiety" and had 20+ hits. It is clear that Seth's thoughts and wisdom on Anxiety come from his personal struggle with it. He is a "fellow struggler". Phil 4:6,7 is a great prescription.

I also came across an interview with Seth on Linchpin by Catalyst . For the interview go to http://vimeo.com/8900789. It is 25 minutes long but definitely worth the time. At the very end he shares how he is able to come up with all the great stuff he does on the blog.

Here's the article . . . Enjoy:

Anxiety Is Practicing Failure In Advance

Anxiety is needless and imaginary. It’s fear about fear, fear that means nothing.

The difference between fear and anxiety: Anxiety is diffuse and focuses on possibilities in an unknown future, not a real and present threat. The resistance is 100% about anxiety, because humans have developed other emotions and warnings to help us avoid actual threats. Anxiety, on the other hand, is an internal construct with no relation to the outside world. “Needless anxiety” is redundant, because anxiety is always needless. Anxiety doesn’t protect you from danger, but from doing great things. It keeps you awake at night and foretells a future that’s not going to happen.

On the other hand, fear is about staying alive, avoiding snakes, feeding your family, and getting the right to play again tomorrow. Fear should be paid careful attention. There’s not a lot of genuine fear here in our world, so when it appears, it’s worth noting.

Anxiety, on the other hand, is dangerous paralysis. Anxiety is the exaggeration of the worst possible what-if, accompanied by self-talk that leads to the relentless minimization of the actual odds of success.

Anxiety makes it impossible to do art, because it feeds the resistance, giving the lizard brain insane power over us. It’s impossible to be a linchpin if you agree to feed your anxiety.

You’ll notice that throughout this book I’ve often used the word “fear” when I really meant anxiety. That’s because we do it all the time, confusing the two . . . a bad habit.

From Linchpin
Seth Godin

Fraudulent Bonding Companies Increase?

Watch Out For Fraudulent Bonding Companies During These Tough Times

When the economy gets tough and construction company profits wane, surety companies tighten up their requirements. Contractors may find their bonding line of credit is reduced or gone entirely. As more contractors seek bonding credit, there can be an increase in the number of fraudulent bonding companies. This seems to happen in every economic downturn.

According to the New Orleans Times-Picayune, a Baton Rouge judge has ordered Infinity Surety of Louisiana Inc of Metairie, LA. and company principal George D. Black to stop doing business. The Louisiana Department of Insurance accused it of selling bogus construction bonds for public works projects worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon said that Infinity Surety wasn't licensed to operate as an insurance company when it sold bonds to contractors bidding on government projects. Donelon said damage from Infinity Surety's actions is widespread. "They have been peddling their wares all over the state”, he said.

Infinity Surety provided the bond on a $51.4 million project by the Louisiana Department of Education for L.B. Landry High School in New Orleans on a bid submitted by Home Solutions Restoration of Louisiana Inc. and JRDKS Construction. The company also provided bonds on Home Solutions bids on a $5.4 million public works project for Davant Consolidated Building and a $6.9 million project for the Port Sulphur Consolidated Community Center, both in Plaquemines Parish.

Several construction companies also charge that Infinity's actions caused them to lose out on jobs when the bond insurance proved to be worthless. A joint bid by Benetech LLC and JRDKS Construction to rebuild the cabins at Bayou Segnette State Park in Westwego was rejected, the companies said, because Infinity didn't meet bond requirements. A lawsuit filed by the bidders says that at least 15 other public works projects are affected.

If you have doubts about the viability of a bonding company, give us a call and we will check it out for you. Also if you are offered a bonding line of credit that seems too good to be true, you might be right! Watch out and be careful!

The Current Crisis - A Blessing Or Wound?

One of my favorite authors is Patrick Lencioni. We have used his Five Dysfunctions Of A Team as a text to improve our MHBT Construction and Bond Team. His new thing is The Simple Wisdom Project - a source of perspective and common sense found through rediscovering simpletruths.
Here's his latest email on our financial crisis.

For your own free subscription go to: www.simplewisdomproject.com.

Enjoy!


"Simple Wisdom Project POV: March 2009

A Blessing or a Wound?

Okay. This financial mess we’re in is definitely a crisis. The full extent of the problem is unclear, but a few things are likely. It is global. It will be long. And for those of us under the age of seventy five, it will probably be unprecedented and, thus, will change our lives.

The big question we need to be asking ourselves is “how will it change our lives?” And there are only two possible answers to that question: for better, or for worse. That’s right. Sometime in the future we will look back at this time and see it largely as a blessing or as a wound. The key to determining which of these will occur—in our families as well as our nation—lies in how we view suffering and the decisions we make as a result.

Ironically, I’m not as worried about our collective ability to survive this crisis—people are always more resilient than they think they are—but rather about what we might do before we feel its full impact. That’s because the anticipation of pain and suffering is often worse than the suffering itself.
I remember when I was a boy waiting for my dad to come down the hall and give me one of his rare but much-deserved spankings. It was misery. But I also remember that the spanking itself was never all that bad, and that when it was over I felt no resentment for my usually gentle dad. In fact, I quickly came to feel a sense of gratitude and relief because I had endured the punishment and pain, and could move forward stronger and better for it.

However, if you would have asked me before the spanking what I would have done to get out of it, I would have said ‘anything.’ Lied. Begged. Faked remorse. Sold my baseball cards. And that’s what worries me. Will we be so desperate to avoid or delay or even anesthesize ourselves from pain and suffering that we will make dangerous decisions which will only prolong and exacerbate our problems? Or will we take our medicine and allow it to make us stronger?

For families, desperation and danger can manifest itself in small and large ways, from over-investment in the time and energy we give to our work or the adoption of an unhealthy diet, to more serious vices like substance abuse, infidelity and gambling. These are particularly tempting during a crisis because they seem to provide a sense of distraction and relief, albeit a false one.

On the other hand, a crisis can be an opportunity to recommit to what is most important in life. It is a chance to cut back on unnecessary or non-critical activities and pursuits, and work to appreciate the real joy and blessing of being a family, which has much less to do with money than we seem to believe during times of prosperity. I realize that this might seem like a meaningless cliché to people who are already struggling to pay bills in their families, but in the end, proving that we can endure a crisis without sacrificing our principles really is its own reward. The fact is, even if we have to move to a smaller home or take a job that we had thought to be beneath us, we can emerge from all of this with what is far more valuable than any financial asset.

Now, when it comes to a nation, these ideas apply as well. Before and during times of difficulty, countries are often tempted to abandon principles that have always served them well but which are temporarily inconvenient. National leaders often justify policy decisions that they know to be wrong because they hope that they will somehow reduce or delay pain and suffering. But just like a family, these decisions usually prolong or exacerbate the pain, and sometimes in ways that are irreversible.

One of the examples that come to mind in the United States right now is a readiness to spend money that we don’t have to prevent some companies, agencies and other institutions from facing their mistakes. Another is the well-intentioned but misguided willingness to “forgive” unwise homeowners or others who have lived outside of their means, thereby rewarding them for bad behavior. In the end, we will find ourselves moving closer and closer to socialism, something that is dangerous but worthy of another POV of its own.

All too often, what looks like a life preserver in a storm often turns out to be an anchor for the individuals and society who swim toward it. This has proven to be the case again and again throughout the past century, and yet, when the going gets tough, we often forget history.

It is my hope and prayer that we, as families and as a nation, will have the courage and strength and wisdom to endure whatever pain and suffering comes our way, and to emerge on the other side with our principles and confidence and future intact. And that we will look back at this crisis not as a wound that scars us, but as a blessing that will rain down on our children for years to come.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day.

Yours,

Patrick Lencioni"

Great perspective.

TPE3

Prepare For The Future Turnarond In The Economy NOW

One of my favorite authors is Patrick Lencioni. We have used his Five Dysfunctions Of A Team as a text to improve our MHBT Construction and Bond Team. Here's his latest email on preparing now for the turnaround in the economy. For your own free subscription go to: http://www.tablegroup.com/.

All The Best For A Great 2009,

TPE3


January 2009


The “Down Economy” Bandwagon


It seems like we’ve been preparing for this current recession for the past two or three years, constantly predicting it and staving it off as long as we could, all the while listening to the media tell us that it was just around the corner. And now that it is here—and it is here—we’re witnessing a new media-inspired cottage industry building up around the “down economy” and the bad times that are upon us and that lie ahead.


Every news story seems to have the addendum “in a bad economy” attached to it. I suspect that soon there will be a new “Recession Barbie” doll on toy store shelves, complete with a frown on her face and a copy of the job listings from the newspaper in her hands.


Well, so far I’ve resisted jumping onto the “down economy” bandwagon, not wanting to contribute to any self-fulfilling prophecy or culture of victimization that can make a bad situation worse. But after numerous requests, I’ve agreed to share my own perspectives about how leaders can survive and even thrive during difficult times.


The first thing we have to do is ask ourselves a fundamental question: do we believe things will get better? If we don’t, if we believe this is the definitive end to any upside in the economy and that it’s all downhill from here, then I’m afraid I have no good advice. Aside from moving somewhere that does have an economic upside.


But most of us would admit that this, too, will rebound. Maybe not the same way it has in the past. After all, there are some fundamental problems that we haven’t yet faced. But even in the absence of that, there is a good chance that we will experience an economic upturn sometime in the not-too-too-distant future. And if that is the case, our call to action is clear: use this time to invest in your organization’s future, especially when the investment is not a financial one.


The best place for an investment right now is in the general health of an organization. I’m talking mostly about improving the functioning of the executive team, and their clarification of and recommitment to the organization’s values and purpose. Doing this will require a little time and energy, but very little money. And it will yield significant returns now, and even more when the economy rebounds. How?


A wise executive team will take this opportunity during slow times to build greater trust and behavioral cohesiveness. This will benefit the organization by minimizing politics and infighting, that are common during difficult times, and it will allow the team to make better decisions about which programs and employees need to be retained and which shouldn’t. All of this will allow the organization to emerge stronger than ever when the economy turns around, and with a meaningful advantage over competitors.


That’s because most of those competitors will probably flail during down times, frantically searching for a tactical way to swim upstream and defy the current, leading to even more frustration and angst than is necessary. In the end they’ll simply be more weary and scarred and unprepared.


Of course, like so much of the advice that people are repositioning these days for a “down economy”, none of this is really new. Even during good times leaders should be investing in the health of their teams. But with so many shiny opportunities in front of them, they often fail to slow down and do what it is best for the long term. Now that there are fewer and fewer of those shiny opportunities, there is no good excuse. And that may turn out to be a good thing.


Yours,



Patrick Lencioni

The Art Of Laying People Off

One of my favorite bloggers is Guy Kawasaki (http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2008/11/the-art-of-layi.html). This post is from his blog How To Change The World and from his new book, Reality Check. This seems particularly appropriate in these times. Read on & learn . . .

The Art of Laying People Off
Guy Kawasaki of How to Change the World November 18th, 2008 - 11:47 PM

I hope that you never have to lay off or fire people, but the reality is that you will as you advance in your career. If you are scoffing (“Guy, you are clueless: We’ll never downsize, because we’re growing so fast, and I’ll never make a bad hire”), then you’re my intended reader.

• Take responsibility. Ultimately, it is the CEO’s decision to make the cuts, so don’t blame it on the board of directors, market conditions, competition, or whatever else. In effect, she should simply say, “I made the decision. This is what we’re going to do.” If you don’t have the courage to do this, don’t be a CEO. Now, more than ever, the company will need a leader, and leaders accept responsibility.


• Cut deep and cut once. Management usually believes that
  things will get better soon, so it cuts the smallest number of people in anticipation of a miracle. Most of the time, the miracle doesn’t materialize, and the company ends up making multiple cuts. Given the choice, you should cut too deeply and risk the high-quality problem of having to rehire. Multiple cuts are terrible for the morale of the employees who have not been laid off.


• Move fast. One hour after your management team discusses the need to lay off employees, the entire company will know that something is happening. Once people “know” a layoff is coming, productivity drops like a rock. You’re either laying people off or you’re not—you should avoid the state of “considering” a layoff.


• Clean house. A layoff is an opportunity to terminate marginal employees without having to differentiate between poor performers and positions that you’re eliminating. It’s good for the marginal employee because he’s not tainted with getting fired. Finally, it’s good for the employees who remain because they will see that you know who’s performing and who isn’t.


• Whack Teddy. Most executives have hired a friend, a friend of a friend, or a relative as a favor. When a layoff happens, employees will be looking to see what happens to Teddy. “Did he survive the cut or did he go? Is it cronyism or competence that counts at the company?” Make sure that Ted is dead.


• Share the pain. When people around you are losing their jobs, you can share the pain, too. Cut your pay. In fact, the higher the employee, the bigger the percentage of pay reduction. Take a smaller office. Turn in the company car. Reassign your personal assistant to a revenue-generating position. Fly coach. Stay in motels. Sell the boxseat tickets to the ball game. Give your 30-inch flat-panel display to a programmer who could use it to debug faster. Do something, however symbolic.


• Show consistency. I cannot understand how companies can claim that they have to cut costs and then provide severance packages of six months to a year of salary. You would think that if they wanted to conserve cash, they’d give tiny severance packages. Typically, there are three lines of reasoning for generous severance packages: Cutting head count, even with severance packages, is cheaper than keeping the employee around indefinitely, and we don’t want any lawsuits; We have lots of cash, so our balance sheet is strong, but we need to cut heads to make our profit-and-loss statement look better, and Wall Street (or your investors) is expecting dramatic actions, so we need to do this to show the analysts that we’ve got what it takes to be a leader.
  None of these reasons makes sense. If you need to do a layoff to cut costs (and conserve cash), then provide minimal severance packages, cut costs as much as you can, conserve as much cash as you can, and deal with your guilt in other ways. If nothing else, it’s a consistent story.


• Don’t ask for pity. Sometimes managers go to great lengths to show the person they’re laying off (or firing) how hard it is on them. This reminds me of the old definition of chutzpah: A boy murders his parents and then asks the court for leniency because he’s an orphan. The person who suffers is the one being terminated, not the manager.


• Provide support. Usually, the people getting laid off aren’t at fault. More likely, it was the fault of top management—the same top management with golden parachutes. Hence, you have a moral obligation to provide services like job counseling, résumé-writing assistance, and job-search help. There are firms that specialize in helping employees during “transitions,” so use them.


• Don’t let people self-select. We had a joke at Apple during the dark days of the late eighties that went like this: We would announce that employees who want to quit should come to a big meeting. Those who want to stay at the company should not attend. Then we would let the people go who didn’t attend the meeting and keep the ones who wanted to quit—because the latter were smart enough to know that we were in bad shape or that they had better opportunities elsewhere. The point is that if you let people choose to get laid off or retire, you might lose your best people. Deciding whom to lay off is a proactive decision: Select the go-forward team to ensure that you never have to lay people off again. Do not leave this to chance.


• Show people the door. With few exceptions, all you should do is let people finish the day, maybe the week. (My theory is that Friday is the best day to do a layoff because it lets people have a weekend to decompress.) Showing people the door seems inhumane, but it’s better for both the people leaving and the people remaining.


• Move forward. Let people say good-bye and then get going. This is when leadership counts. In bad times, you separate the men from the boys and the women from the girls. After the layoff, this is what the remaining employees will be wondering about:
  Guilt: “Why did I survive the cut and my colleagues didn’t?”
  Future of my job: “Will I survive the next round if there are more cuts?”
  Future of the company: “Will the company survive at all?”
  So you set—or reemphasize—goals, explain what everyone needs to do to get there, and get going, because the best way to move beyond a layoff is to get back to work.


• Immediately after a layoff, you might want to retreat to your office, turn off the phones, stop answering e-mails, and avoid everyone. These are the worst actions to take. This is the time for you to motivate by walking around. Employees need to see you, talk to you, and get your help and advice. They don’t want to think their leader is cowering in some foxhole. The brave face that you put on may be a charade, but it’s an important charade.
  

Reprinted by permission from Reality Check: The Irreverent Guide to Outsmarting, Outmanaging, and Outmarketing Your Competition. In other words, I asked myself if it was okay. If you liked this chapter, there are ninety-three more where this came from.

Prescription For Hard Times

Gino Wickman is a good friend from Strategic Coach, a program on How the Best Get Better. Gino is a business consultant/coach and author of Traction: Get A Grip On Your Business. Here's his recent article on Four Critical Disciplines For Tough Times that will give you helpful guidance for the coming months. Read on for these tips . . .
____________________________________________________________________

"When the tide goes out, it reveals who has been swimming naked."



People have been surprised to hear that most of my clients are still growing, and that almost all are remaining profitable in these challenging times. Obviously this is contrary to what you hear in the media. How are they beating the odds? They are doing the basics, and staying disciplined and logical (more on that in a minute).



Please understand that I am not oblivious to the challenges companies are facing. I have had some very difficult sessions helping some clients make very difficult decisions that are experiencing drops in revenue as much as 20%-30%.



My business mentor Sam Cupp used to say, "In a normal 10-year business cycle most businesses will have two great years, six good years, and two very difficult years that could potentially put you out of business, so always be prepared." These are those two tough years for many. My Dad also says that "good things happen and bad things happen and neither last."



It is important that we are strong leaders for our people and our companies. With that said, there are four critical disciplines that have been helping clients and will help keep you focused and doing the right things:

• Put the company first, stay logical, and set your ego aside. You must save the company first and foremost. One of the biggest mistakes leaders make in tough times is trying to hang on to everything, not letting go of the past, and getting way too emotional. Every decision has to be for the greater good. Your business has a purpose and vision that must lead your decisions. While this is not easy, it is vital.
  


• Reverse accountability chart. As you know, the accountability chart is one of the foundations of EOS and you must always be looking out 6-12 months and structure your organization the right way to manage growth. The same rule applies when things take a turn for the worst. Reverse accountability chart means you must look out 3-6 months, and if you anticipate revenues dropping, you must structure the company for that revenue drop, which means making tough decisions. Sometimes leaders have to fulfill roles that they used to fill for the greater good.
  


• Work twice as hard, stay disciplined, and do the basics. While the old mantra is to work smarter, not harder, unfortunately that's not always the case in hard times. While the pie is smaller, there is still business to be had. You just have to get a bigger piece of the smaller pie. Doing the basics means making sure the vision is right, that you have all of the right people in the right seats, that your meetings are at a level 10, that you have a pulse through good data, that you are maximizing sales efforts, taking good care of existing customers, and solving all problems fast and at their core.
  


• Be at your best-you owe it to your people. People are looking for a strong leader in these times, and that needs to be you. You have to be at your absolute best. You must keep yourself up. To do this you must stay realistic-not optimistic, not pessimistic. but realistic. A great read is chapter 4 of Good to Great, "Confront The Brutal Facts." Surround yourself with strong leaders, books, and resources.
  

As the saying goes, "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger." The leaders that embrace these disciplines will endure and come out of these times better than ever. Many reading this message are doing just fine. If you know of someone who needs to hear this message, please pass it on.

I'd also like to express my deep gratitude. My book, Traction: Get A Grip On Your Business has been out now for a year. In our first year we have moved almost 4,000 copies! This would not have happened without your support. The other exciting news is that in addition to www.amazon.com and our website www.eosprocess.com, the book is now available in Barnes & Nobles and Border's bookstores! While this took some time, it finally happened.



With the holidays around the corner, if you are looking for a gift for clients, vendors, or friends who are business owners, please consider my book. With this selfish suggestion I offer a win-win in that I would be happy to sign all copies and personalize them. In addition I'll offer a discount. To coordinate and take advantage of this, please order the books from Karen direct at 248-672-1192 or by email at kgrooms@eosprocess.com.



Please do not hesitate to contact me if you feel I can help with anything. I would love to hear your thoughts and comments.



Stay focused,



Gino