Monthly Archives: July 2014

Turning Insights in to Action – 5 Steps to Building Your Post Conference Action Plan

31 Thursday Jul 2014

Posted by in Goal & Priority Setting, Networking

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Today we wrap up Sage Summit 2014 and wow! The caliber of speakers and content was like no other conference I’ve ever been to, which lends itself to the question “Now what?”. We just took in four days of non-stop education, inspiration, motivation and insights, but the real key is how we’re going to turn all of that in to an action plan to ensure each of us gets great ROI on the investment we made to attend the conference.

I thought I’d share what my plan of attack is going to be coming out of this week, which may help you craft your own action plan.

#1 – First, it starts with setting time aside for reflection within a few days of the conference wrapping up. You don’t want too much time to go by because you run the risk of forgetting what’s most important or don’t end up making any action plan at all. I’m planning to go through the #SageSummit hashtag on Twitter, my own tweets from the conference, all the notes I took in the meetings I had, notes I took in sessions I attended and key takeaways and learnings from any sessions I presented at. I’m also going to take a final read through my conference agenda which may jog my memory as to other highlights.

#2 – Next, I’ll identify my ah-ha’ moments and insights. As I review all the information above, I’m looking for those things that made the lightbulb go off above my head and making a consolidated list of what all those ah-ha moments were.

#3 – Once I have that consolidated list, I’m going to identify my top five favorites. What were the ‘best of the best’ as far as insights and learnings.

#4 – It’s time to build my action plan. How am I going to take those key learnings and use them to change my trajectory, shape the future and help me achieve a new level of success? I am going to keep in mind that if I just make even just one small change a week, that is still over fifty small changes a year which can lead to big transformation.  What is going to change as a result of my learnings? All of this needs to ultimately build in to my action plan, which of course is specific, measurable and time-bound.

#5 – Set the cadence to check in on progress. I need to ensure I schedule time to check in on my progress, even if it’s a meeting with myself.

Everyone that was at Sage Summit made an investment of their time and resources to attend. Don’t let the opportunity slip by to turn all your great learnings and insights in to action and catapult your own business (and life) to a new level of success.

Time for Some Fresh Perspective

12 Saturday Jul 2014

Posted by in Goal & Priority Setting, Leadership, Life Lessons, Perspective

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Let’s face it, life is busy. Deadlines, commitments, responsibilities… and the list goes on. There are rarely enough hours in a day to get ‘it’ all done (whatever ‘it’ is), let alone step away from all the craziness for some fresh perspective. But when I make time for it… wow!

I recently started reading the book Harvard Business Review’s 10 Must Reads on Managing Oneself. The first chapter in the book is an article by Clayton M. Christensen titled “How Will You Measure Your Life”. First, if you don’t already own this book I recommend heading straight to Amazon and getting yourself a copy – it’s amazing.

I paused many times throughout this chapter to simply reflect because the concepts, lessons and perspective gained were so profound. A few of my favorite points were…

  • Being a great leader affects so much more than helping people perform at their best to achieve your company’s objectives. Being a great leader means the people who work with you and for you are positively impacted by you so when they leave the office, they are excited, rejuvenated and in a position to achieve their greatest life ambitions away from work as well. It means that because of their interaction with you, their personal life is better. You’ve built them up in a way that allows them to be a better parent, spouse, volunteer, etc. Wow. That extends well beyond what many think a leader’s role is.
  • Christensen shares one of his greatest learnings; “It’s easier to hold to your principles 100% of the time than 98% of the time”. Through life experiences, he knows that the phrase ‘just this once’ almost always turns into ‘more than once’ and he won’t compromise his values… not even a bit.

These are just two examples of what I took away – there are many more great insights. All week I’ve been thinking about what I read on leadership, life purpose, values and other great principles. All from one author. One book. One chapter. A lot of the concepts weren’t new to me, but Christensen’s approach allowed me to think of them in a new way, providing a fresh context to get me thinking. The rest of this book is proving to be just as thought-provoking.

How do you bring fresh perspective and new context in to your life? Perhaps you read, or maybe watch some of the great TED talks that are out there. It could even be a conversation over a coffee with a mentor or friend that will challenge your thinking. Whatever your preferred approach, just make sure you do it. Carve out time to think differently. Challenge the status quo. Because after all, life is about continually growing, evolving, becoming better, and then taking action so when your days are over, you can say with confidence “I truly became my best self and gave everything I could. I know beyond a shadow of doubt that I achieved my life’s purpose”.