Leadership Mojo

Why Leadership Mojo?

       “Lonely at the top” is a myth of leadership. Far from lonely, most top dogs are inundated with too many who suck their mojo dry. A bigger challenge is knowing whom to trust. Smart leaders have super support systems both in and outside an organization.
        When I advised medical company president Dr. Hamil, baffling distribution glitches were cutting into margins. As we improved systems, oddly, a trusted employee resigned suddenly. Like magic, the problems disappeared and profits returned to normal. The "trusted" one had embezzled assets....
        King Arthur had Merlin to maintain perspective and avoid group think. Who is your "Merlin," the wise adviser with your best interests at heart? Who prods you into new ways of seeing things and refuses to kowtow to your whims?   
        Whether you are one of my clients, or a fellow traveler on the journey to achieve your deepest wishes, you are welcome here. Leadership Mojo is a safe haven to think, reflect, and share ideas about leadership. More suggestions are on my company website at LodeStar Universal. I invite you to join the dialog.  You won't be lonely now.

Reflection for 2010 Direction - December 2009

LodeStar Universal
Thought Leadership 


Reflection for
2010 Direction


 

"Packets + Pauses has its own
folder on my computer. You deliver substantive material, easily read,
candid yet pleasant and thought provoking. It's quick, so it really
doesn't matter how busy anyone is. Really brilliant on your part!."

-- Don Bendure, December 2009

Quantum Leap Solutions



December 2009 Newsletter

 

 

 

 

 

 











Dear wy,



Reflection for 2010 Direction

 

 

        I have an idea to make your life easier this year: Design 2010 as the year you desire rather than letting the winds and whims of circumstance determine your future. Start right now, keeping it simple with the technique I'll describe. It's similar to techniques I use with my clients and even my own company, LodeStar Universal.

        Give this exercise 25-30 minutes. No kidding. That's all. Every minute you spend is money in the bank. You'll leapfrog over the other 99.9 percent out there wondering what next year might bring. The alternative? You could end up slamming headfirst into 2010 (ouch) or floundering in QI (boring). The process I'll describe works as well for your personal life as for company planning. Excuses that there's no time to plan are now moot. Of course, if you prefer faster, stronger results, the information at the end of this article provides additional information on private coaching through the process.

        Ready?     

 

   1. Grab your 2009 calendar, or look at any 2009 calendar. I keep a copy

        of last year's calendar for this reason.

 
   2. Take out two blank pieces of paper, or use Word on your computer if

        you prefer. Personally, I like to hold a pen in my hand and touch

paper when I'm doing work such as this. Write down the name of

        each month. Abbreviate, or write down the number as in 1-09, 2-09.

        Do what's easiest for you. These are titles, so leave a little space

        after each month. Underline the month, so the title stands out.

 
   3. In the space underneath each month, write 1-to-3 of the most

        important things you feel you accomplished. If nothing comes easily

        to mind, leave it blank; and move on to the next month. The point

        is reflect, and move on. Reflect, and move on. You can come back to

        a month if your memory is triggered to remember something you

        forgot.

       

        For example, looking back at last January, two things pop up for me.

        I figured out how to solve a significant sports injury. The pain was

        slowing me way down. Understanding the diagnosis and how to heal

        it was a huge relief. I also did the planning to launch my weekly

        Packets and Pauses. P+P turned out to be one of my greatest

        professional pleasures this last year. (See the quote in the

        headline.) These were two biggies for me. So under January, I've

        put: #1 - Resolved shoulder injury with acupuncture, moxibustion,

        and yoga. #2 - Set strategy, organized delivery mechanism with

        subscriber base, and wrote first quarter of Packets and Pauses....

        There was a bit more I wrote down, but this gives you an idea.

 

   4. Once you have filled in as many months as you can, take

        a deep breath and ask yourself these questions: 

As I review this past year, what did I find the most fulfilling and emotionally rewarding?
What was the most economically rewarding?
What are five things I learned last year I can carry forward into next year?

        That's it. Four steps and about 25 minutes.

        Plunging into 2010 without taking stock can place you on a dedicated pate to bump your head, take a hard economic hit, not to mention wound your heart. Obviously, there is more you can do to plan, but this approach is a masterful way to start the year. Even if you do nothing further, you will be astonished at the results. Try it. What better do you have to do in the next few minutes? 

 

 

Schedule Your Annual Executive Retreat Now!




 

 
EXECUTIVE RETREATS require an experienced hand from outside the organization to work through concerns, personality differences, and to hold the team accountable. It's hard for an "insider" to diffuse the behavior of a difficult personality. It's almost impossible for an "insider" to balance all the different interests and opinions. An "insider," by definition, has greater bias than someone from the outside.
 
Please let Alex Ramsey know when you would like to set a time to talk about creating an EXECUTIVE Planning RETREAT for you. The benefits of a well-designed retreat are powerful and long lasting:

The executive team unites around a strong action plan
Employees are confident about what they need to do and are extremely productive
Even when the world turns topsy-turvy, a strategy is in place to weather the challenges
During several executive retreats we conducted recently, outcomes included:

Weathering near-collapse to completely revitalize strategy
Eliminating extreme divisiveness within the executive ranks and uniting into an effective team
Aligning conflicting objectives, creating the greatest economic success the firm ever experienced

Contact Alex by phone at 214.696.3510 or by email to discuss your upcoming EXECUTIVE RETREAT.

 

Upcoming Programs

 

January Planning Program: Start your year with a planning session that allows you to reflect on 2009, build on your strengths and design 2010 to be your best year ever. This is a two-session program. Call 214.696.3510 or email alex@lodestaruniversal.com for more information.

January Coaching Program: Start your year on a strong footing with this affordable, month-long coaching program to set goals, enhance self-esteem, and create a game plan to accomplish objectives. You can't afford to miss this opportunity to create! Call 214.696.3510 or email alex@lodestaruniversal.com for more information.

 

January Webinar: 10-Slides, 10-Minutes: Insider Secrets to Create the Perfect Investor Pitch. How Alex Ramsey has helped hundreds of entrepreneurs present winning investor pitches and raise millions of dollars. Call 214.696.3510 or email alex@lodestaruniversal.com for more information. 

 
 



Additional Offerings from Alex 

  

Packets and Pauses: Weekly Tips

You frame it. You speak it. They get it. Weekly communication tips.

 

LodeStar Universal Newsletter

Monthly ideas for improving performance and leadership.

 

www.alexramsey.com - Alex's blog on Leadership

 

 









Pass It On, Please...

 
We're all in the people business, trying to make this a better world in which to live and work. If the feedback from those we work with and who receive this is any indication, we're making good progress!
 
It's my goal to get as many people as possible to sign up for this monthly newsletter and for my weekly communication tips, Packets and Pauses. You can help.
 
PLEASE FORWARD your issues to your coworkers, friends, or anyone who could use the principles and skills I teach.
 
And tell them THEY CAN SIGN UP FOR THEIR OWN FREE SUBSCRIPTION. All they have to do is click here or cut and paste this http://www.lodestaruniversal.com address into their web browser. It will take them to my web site where they can sign up.
 
Reprint These Ideas In Your Own Publication
 
I encourage you to reprint my tips in your own e-mail, online newsletters, or conventionally-printed publications. It's free and legal as long as proper credit is given. All you have to do is include the following notation along with the reprint of my material: "Reprinted with permission from LodeStar Universal and Alex Ramsey's Internet newsletter. For your own personal, free subscription to the go to http://www.lodestaruniversal.com."

 
Privacy Policy
 
Your e-mail address is absolutely confidential. We will NEVER give, sell or share your address with anyone.












Alex B. Ramsey

 
President

LodeStar Universal

 

Past-President

National Speakers Association
of North Texas

 

President

All Aboard Travel 

 






In This Issue



Reflection for 2010 Direction

Schedule Your Annual Executive Retreat Now!

Upcoming Programs

Additional Offerings from Alex









 
More Offerings from Alex

 

 

Manifestation Monday CD

Meditations for Balance, Healing, and Prosperity

 

Want more Alex Ramsey "intelligence," read Leadership Mojo, her blog.

 

 

Want more information on programs and services, go to LodeStar Universal and check it out.

 

 

Want weekly tips for more effective speaking? Sign up for Alex Ramsey's
Packets and Pauses.

 







 
Forward this email to a friend today...


 

Join Alex Ramsey's weekly communication tips
Packets + Pauses.
For signing up, receive as a gift Alex Ramsey's special report: My List: The Best Business Books, a must for every professional's library.

 












Forward email

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LodeStar Universal | 6034 Mimosa Lane | Dallas | TX | 75230

Alex Ramsey Challenges You: A Non-IQ Quiz on Logic for Leaders

    When asked to prove if something is true or false, people tend to focus on confirming "the rule" as stated, rather than falsifying it.  Humm that's sort of a brain twister, isn't it? As a result, even supposedly smart people can be quite illogical. That is, according to research psychologist Keith Stanovich, a prof at University of Toronto. His most recent book is What Intelligence Tests Miss: The Psychology of Rational Thought.

    One way to prove what he means is this simple exercise, which I challenge you to take.  It will give you an experience of what he means if you are willing to try it. And even if you do not get the correct answer, you'll learn more about yourself for the next time you are presented with a parallel situation: Imagine four cards sitting on a table.

Grateful? Put It In Writing - November 2009

LodeStar Universal

Thought Leadership

 



Grateful? 1 Minute in Writing Ignites Positive Changes



 

"Gratitude journals turn pessimism into possibility."

-- Alex B. Ramsey, November 23, 2004

Investors Business Daily 



November 2009 Newsletter

 

 

 

 

 

 











Dear wy,



Grateful? Put It In Writing

 

When Investors Business Daily interviewed me during Thanksgiving week in 2004 about LodeStar Universal executive coaching, they were curious about one particular executive coaching "secret." Once a controversial and edgy idea, the practice was none other than my take on the "gratitude journal." Five years later, it's again Thanksgiving; and I still recommend the practice. More than ever, but it is especially transformative when you have dug yourself into a rut where negative thinking is gaining ground.

 

If you've never done it, here are three simple steps I suggest to get started: 1. Buy a small spiral notebook. 2. Once a day, for four weeks, write down five items that you can be grateful for, every, single day. 3. The catch? You have to genuinely think and then feel thankful. You don't have to stick to business. Be thankful for the jet of hot water on your back in the shower, your favorite team's winning score, the sound of rustling fall leaves as you walk across the lawn.

 

The trick is to feel thankful for 10-15 seconds for each item, as long as it takes to write the words on the page. This adds up to about a minute a day. A minute a day is all it takes to ignite changes in your life and sphere of influence. It's one way to create little miracles, because you are turning pessimism into possibilities. Thoughts of what you can't do or achieve begin to dissolve. After several weeks, a transformation begins to occur where you see solutions you never considered before.

Tip: Don't forget to be especially thankful for things that have upset or angered you. Typically, highly emotional, troubling situations are a treasure trove of opportunity.

 

As for me, this Thanksgiving what am I thankful for? One of the many things I'm thankful for is this: My once "edgy" idea about gratitude is almost commonplace now, and that is deeply satisfying.

 

Schedule Your Annual Executive Retreat Now!





 

 

EXECUTIVE RETREATS require an experienced hand from outside the organization to work through concerns, personality differences, and to hold the team accountable. It's hard for an "insider" to diffuse the behavior of a difficult personality. It's almost impossible for an "insider" to balance all the different interests and opinions. An "insider," by definition, has greater bias than someone from the outside.

 

Please let Alex Ramsey know when you would like to set a time to talk about creating an EXECUTIVE Planning RETREAT for you. The benefits of a well-designed retreat are powerful and long lasting:

The executive team unites around a strong action plan
Employees are confident about what they need to do and are extremely productive
Even when the world turns topsy-turvy, a strategy is in place to weather the challenges
During several executive retreats we conducted recently, outcomes included:

Weathering near-collapse to completely revitalize strategy
Eliminating extreme divisiveness within the executive ranks and uniting into an effective team
Aligning conflicting objectives, creating the greatest economic success the firm ever experienced

Contact Alex by phone at 214.696.3510 or by email to discuss your upcoming EXECUTIVE RETREAT.

 

Upcoming Programs

 

January Coaching Program: Start your year on a strong footing with this affordable, month-long coaching program to set goals, enhance self-esteem, and create a game plan to accomplish objectives. You can't afford to miss this opportunity to create! Call 214.696.3510 for more information.

 

January Webinar: 10-Slides, 10-Minutes: Insider Secrets to Create the Perfect Investor Pitch. How Alex Ramsey has helped hundreds of entrepreneurs present winning investor pitches and raise millions of dollars. Call 214.696.3510 for more information.

 



Additional Offerings from Alex 

  

Packets and Pauses: Weekly Tips

You frame it. You speak it. They get it. Weekly communication tips.

 

LodeStar Universal Newsletter

Monthly ideas for improving performance and leadership.

 

www.alexramsey.com - Alex's blog on Leadership

 

 









Pass It On, Please...

 

We're all in the people business, trying to make this a better world in which to live and work. If the feedback from those we work with and who receive this is any indication, we're making good progress!

 

It's my goal to get as many people as possible to sign up for this monthly newsletter and for my weekly communication tips, Packets and Pauses. You can help.

 

PLEASE FORWARD your issues to your coworkers, friends, or anyone who could use the principles and skills I teach.

 

And tell them THEY CAN SIGN UP FOR THEIR OWN FREE SUBSCRIPTION. All they have to do is click here or cut and paste this http://www.lodestaruniversal.com address into their web browser. It will take them to my web site where they can sign up.

 

Reprint These Ideas In Your Own Publication

 

I encourage you to reprint my tips in your own e-mail, online newsletters, or conventionally-printed publications. It's free and legal as long as proper credit is given. All you have to do is include the following notation along with the reprint of my material: "Reprinted with permission from LodeStar Universal and Alex Ramsey's Internet newsletter. For your own personal, free subscription to the go to http://www.lodestaruniversal.com."

 

Privacy Policy

 

Your e-mail address is absolutely confidential. We will NEVER give, sell or share your address with anyone.












Alex B. Ramsey

 

President

LodeStar Universal

 

Past-President

National Speakers Association

of North Texas

 

President

All Aboard Travel 

 






In This Issue



Grateful? Put It In Writing

Schedule Your Annual Executive Retreat Now!

Upcoming Programs

Additional Offerings from Alex









 

More Offerings from Alex

 

Want more Alex Ramsey "intelligence," read Leadership Mojo, her blog.

 

 

Want more information on programs and services, go to LodeStar Universal and check it out.

 

 

Want weekly tips for more effective speaking? Sign up for Alex Ramsey's

Packets and Pauses.

 







 

Forward this email to a friend today...



 

Join Alex Ramsey's weekly communication tips

Packets + Pauses.
For signing up, receive as a gift Alex Ramsey's special report: My List: The Best Business Books, a must for every professional's library.

 












Forward email

This email was sent to 1544b214c1d011b7@typepad.com by alex@lodestaruniversal.com.

Update Profile/Email Address | Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe™ | Privacy Policy.

Email Marketing by

LodeStar Universal | 6034 Mimosa Lane | Dallas | TX | 75230

Alex Ramsey's Thoughts for Finding Solutions with Conflicting Information

 How do you find an answer when expert opinion smashes into one another? I was at an NSANT meeting this weekend where two "technology" gurus both spoke. They gave conflicting information about different ways to solve similar problems. Especially where technology is concerned, this happens all the time. It's not always a bad thing. Nor is it always a good thing. For any strategic thinker, it's a critical concern.

My 83-year old father sits in the hospital right now, waiting on surgery tomorrow, in part because the doctors couldn't agree on a diagnoses months earlier. This is the second time in three weeks we've been in the ER. Months ago, his internist's diagnoses, "He can wait to get a pacemaker" was countered by the electro-cardiologist's emergency surgery to actually place a pacemaker in his chest.

For every one person who insists, "This is the correct answer," there is another person who insists only they have the correct answer. And, frankly, who cares, except when it is costing you tons of money, and, even more importantly, possibly your life? Then, it matters a great deal. So how do you decide? (Dad and me at my birthday at Al Biernet's a few months ago.)

Carl Sewell's Customers for Life

             Car magnate Carl Sewell's book Customers for Life makes an important link between customers and employees. Treating one group well over the other is not an "either-or" concept, in spite of the fact such seems to be the case in some companies. Let's see, a comparison between two airlines comes immediately to mind: one that gets it, and one that doesn't.  Can you guess which?

            "They (employees and customers) are equally important," Carl says.

             This concept impressed me years ago when I first read his book. It's difficult, if not impossible, to create a corporate culture of brilliant customer service if management treats employees badly. His thinking follows along these lines of human nature: Employees, in a pinch or under stress, are going to act the way they have been treated. Treat them well, and they are going to be far more likely to understand how to treat customers well. What Sewell looks for is not the sort of behavior you're likely to learn by memorizing a script. It's the kind of stuff that comes on the fly, in the heat of battle, when it counts most.  Let's see, and those airlines I'm thinking of, are....?