Work Less, Make More » Brilliance

Just Look at Michael Jordan

blogadmin — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 21:39:59 +0000

What does Michael Jordan have to do with working less and making more? Lots. Michael Jordan is a good example of what happens when you focus on and maximize your talents and strengths. He’s also a good example of what happens when you don’t maximize your strengths and talents.

We all have things we’re really good at doing. And most of us aren’t just limited to one thing. Chances are, you’re probably brilliant at many different things. But there’s a difference between being brilliant at something, and loving something. When you focus on something you’re brilliant at, you’re using your strengths and talents in the best possible way. When you focus on something you love doing, you have a lot of fun but aren’t really using your strengths and talents in the best way possible.

Let’s get back to Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan is an amazing basketball player, so good that people were willing to pay him millions of dollars a year to play. And chances are Michael Jordan was born to play basketball. There was something in him that, when correctly nurtured, allowed him to be the greatest. He had a gift. And while all his hard work certainly shouldn’t be undermined—it’s that hard work that helped him hone his sport and become the greatest instead of just a good player—I could spend three times as much time on the basketball court as Michael Jordan and not even come close to being as good as he is. It’s not that I’m a bad basketball player. I just wouldn’t call it one of my gifts. So Michael Jordan is a good example of someone who recognized his gift, honed it, and as a result enjoyed great success.

Okay, so why is Michael Jordan also a good example of what happens when you don’t maximize your strengths and talents? Well, you may remember that at one time Michael Jordan decided to focus on professional baseball. Michael loved baseball and was having a lot of fun, but he wasn’t exactly brilliant at it. And while he was focused on baseball, he wasn’t able to focus on basketball. He wasn’t maximizing his strengths and talents.

Be smart about designing your life around your strengths and talents. Your strengths and talents are your allies when it comes to working less and making more. Focus on what you do best—at what you shine at—and success will come easy. Just look at Michael Jordan.

The Power of Three

blogadmin — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 09:54:22 +0000

One of the keys to Working Less, Making More is focus. Today, I want you to focus on your three highest value activities. For now, forget the other stuff.

Take out a piece of paper, and write down your three highest value activities. These are things that you are good at (your Brilliance), that only you can do in your business, and that are important to the success of your business or career. Imagine what would happen if you all your time focused on those three activities, and delegated everything else to others in your organization.

Here’s the deal: Focusing on three projects is a lot easier than focusing on 50. And a lot more productive, too. When you focus on three key tasks, you build the momentum you need to get results much faster than you do when you are juggling a million things. I call this the Power of Three. This is the single most important time management tool you can implement in your business.

Ben is a marketing consultant to small businesses. In an attempt to grow his business, he was working 70 hours a week. The killer? Ben’s “to-do” list was often 100 items long. It was tough to put a dent in it, and despite the long hours he was logging Ben felt disorganized and harried.

When Ben hired me to coach him, one of the first things I asked him to do was identify his three highest value activities. Here’s what he came up with:

1. Consulting (the actual time with his clients)
2. Marketing (to attract new clients)
3. Speaking (to local service clubs and organizations)

When we looked at Ben’s list of 100 activities, very few of them had anything to do with these three activities. Not only that, but because Ben was getting bogged down in less important tasks, his marketing efforts suffered.

I asked Ben to begin every morning by writing down three highest value activities to do that day. The most important change he made was scheduling a daily marketing activity. His consulting time and speaking schedule were already on the calendar, and he made sure he did at least one thing every day to attract new clients into his business.

This small, but powerful, tweak in Ben’s life not only helped him to grow his business, but it also freed up his time. He was able to delegate many of the other activities on his long list, and simply stopped doing other things that weren’t productive. Sure, he occasionally gets distracted by less important activities. But he’s much better about making sure the important things get done daily.

Make the decision today to focus on your three most important activities. Eliminate or delegate the other activities on your to-do list. Try this time management technique for 30 days, and let me know the effect it has on your business, and on your life.

Discover Your Brilliance

blogadmin — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 15:34:13 +0000

The Work Less, Make More program is all about working with your strengths. It has absolutely nothing to do with working on your weaknesses, or trying to balance out your skills. The secret to working less and making more is discovering your brilliance—your natural gifts. Once you discover them, you focus on them. It’s as easy as that.

Okay, maybe I’m simplifying things a bit. Designing your life around what you’re good at is the easy part. But discovering what you’re good at, on the other hand, can be quite challenging.

Why is it so difficult to discover your strengths? Well, if you’re like most of my clients, you aren’t used to focusing on your strengths. You’ve probably been taught to focus on your weaknesses. Think about your last performance review. Most supervisors heed the old adage, “Start with the good, and end with the bad.” So they spend about 10 minutes telling you what you are good at, and the remainder of the hour telling you what you need to improve.

If you’re a driven person who wants the best for yourself, chances are you spent the majority of your time working on those weaknesses. If you’ve ever been through a performance review your supervisor spent the first 15 minutes praising you for improving those weaknesses. But how did you spend the next 45 minutes? Discussing new weaknesses!

What do you think is happening to your strengths as you focus on your weaknesses? Nothing. Nada. Zilch. They’re staying the same.

And that’s too bad. Because by ignoring your strengths, they become dull and unused. Instead of honing those strengths to stand out in the crowd, you’re just like everyone else. Sure, you’re getting the job done. And yes, you are even improving your weaknesses. But in the process you dilute your strengths. You blend in. And that’s boring.

If you want to work less and make more, it’s not the way to go.

You need to change your way of thinking. Deep down inside, you know what you are brilliant at. It’s time to focus on it. Maybe you have great people skills, or have the ability to get out of tough situations. Maybe you are good at organizing and coordinating, or maybe you can sell ice to Eskimos. Whatever your brilliance is, it’s time to uncover it. Focusing on what you’re good at will energize and inspire you.

Can’t find your strengths yet? Keep looking. You have them, and chances are they’re right under your nose.