Genius & Taking Pains

"Genius is the infinite capacity for taking pains."

-Thomas Carlyle
Essayist, satirist, historian
1795-1881

"Y'know, I've been working on my career now for five years and I'm pretty much convinced that success is basically a matter of getting up earlier and staying later at the job..."

-Anonymous young businessman
Seat 11-B – New York to Pittsburgh – 1982

What is Excellence?

We think Excellence means extraordinary care with the details....

The trouble with excellence is that it makes the really difficult appear really easy – off handed even.

As young people see excellence in the workplace, in the media; they don't see the weeks, months, days and hours of practice, refinement and analysis required to craft a winning result... So as they find their way onto the varsity, they don't realize that the time and effort required to get to the top are going to be greater than they may have expected. (What about those “overnight success” stories? Exactly…)

The tendency is for many to settle somewhere short of excellence. They start too late, don't think it through, and don’t adopt a process to guide their practice and preparation. They decide to hang it up the night before the meeting without a rehearsal, forget to designate a teammate to wrangle the equipment. So when the time comes and the chips are down, there's a room full of people who are going through the motions together for the first time, and it shows – something short of excellence...

It's not that the winners are geniuses, smarter or just naturally better, but that they put in fifty per cent more time, beyond getting the strategy, idea, structure, words, opening, visuals, examples, materials, team, the overall look and packaging, and rehearsals to make it go right, and the logistical plan to get everyone on deck in advance of the meeting. It's that they keep going even so far as to anticipate the tough questions they might receive and the best answers they might provide... and which teammates might be called to deliver... and then they rehearse.

In your own life, start by asking what you expect to achieve this year. Build the plan, now.

In your career, consider what growth you intend to achieve, and what changes that will bring about. Start planning, now.

In your family or social life, consider whom you may serve, and what new adventures you may enjoy. Plan, now.

It’s been nearly thirty years since that flight, and I believe my seatmate was correct.

Genius. The infinite capacity for taking pains. Always.

Start now, and make it look easy.

Purpose or Profit?

"We’re going to make chairs! The best chairs in the business!"

-William Holden as McDonald Walling
“Executive Suite"
1954

It's an old movie, with a contemporary theme. The question: Is it about shareholder value, office politics and competition, or vision?

John Houseman produced a movie that laid out the component parts of a company, and the people who symbolize them – in black and white... A little stark by current standards perhaps, but so clear – the tendency of people to cave in to politics, criticism and keeping their job, while they watch the extractors of momentary profit undermine the quality in the franchise to maximize ROI. We know that story. By the time the organization bottoms out, the greedy guys are long gone and the political players are left trying to upstage the job keepers for the spotlight on the dwindling stage.

In our mind, the fundamental thing that distinguishes winning companies is the clear and simple vision of providing a unique and special service. With Purpose. With Vision. People in such companies know why they're getting up every day. They’re going to beat the competition…to be the best. To serve with distinction. Of course they'll make money. And they’ll have fun doing it!

But only because they get the sequence correct. Purpose. Vision. Process. Practice. Profit. In that order.

It was true in the days of black and white movies. It’s true today. I'm betting it'll be the same tomorrow too.

Check it out; heavy handed, moralistic, black and white, what our parents taught us – or should have. It may be exactly what's missing in a country that pays its debts by inflating the currency. It may be what's missing in a housing market that sells mortgages by the bushel instead of keeping solid investments on the books to term. It may be what's missing in investment banks and hedge funds that make their profit by high velocity trading and not on honoring the underlying growth of the securities. What's missing is noble purpose – the real sense of why we're all here. And the sense of where we're gonna go together. We’re going to make chairs.

Look around, sniff it out. Would John Houseman respect what you're doing with your career? Would William Holden line up to help you live out your purpose? A fair question. A fair test.

Start this year by getting your head straight. Why are you here? Where are you going? The destination has to be clear, along with the reason and the path. Is it worth your time, your life? Will it sustain your dedication through a career? Get it right at the start. Now.

Corporations exist to serve a unique purpose, provide a service, create a quality product, to do something better than anyone else in such a way the customer, or hundreds of thousands, would be willing to pay a premium. It takes a leader’s vision to direct all those activities and to mold processes and practices that guide the day to day activity. Done right, and continuously, it makes a profit. And the shareholders benefit in their turn.

Are you working in such a place?

Enjoy the movie, and get on with your real life.

The "F" Word

"Today's discussion is brought to you by the letter F."

Then. It was a tough neighborhood. We were tough to teach, tough to love and tough on each other. We knew the limits. We knew just how much misbehavior was acceptable, and just how much softness was tolerable. We kept each other in line.

Now. Business. Also a tough neighborhood. Nicer surface, more polish, similar awareness of tolerable speech. Some things are never said, some words never used.

Of late, the larger culture has been shifting – and the limits are drifting – expanding. We've seen more of the vernacular find its way into daily discourse. All but the "F" word. Where that's concerned, we all observe the niceties.

During the holidays, our thoughts turn to the eternal – to the disciplines, customs and philosophies that elevate the human condition. In this, of all times, we think the "F" word deserves sustained and appreciative consideration.

Forgiveness.

Try it out on yourself.

Enjoy it with your family.

Put it to work at the office.

Employ it in the community and the nation.

Consider bringing it out of retirement in human affairs.

Forgiveness is divine.

Enjoy a peaceful and soulful season! See you next year!

Editor’s note: we’re taking a few weeks off from publication. See you back here in mid-January!

That Human Potential S&#*

“Fluff or Substance? That is the question!”

- Floating Social Question

We've been careful over the years not to push our clients too far out of their comfortable corporate envelopes – after all, this is about business and about how to be more effective at it! But after thirty years of deep appreciation for the people who get up every day and turn the wheels of democratic capitalism, we think it’s high time to acquaint you with why Fusion has always seemed to be so succesful! To be blunt, it's about the difficult marriage of the extremes, the eternal union of the practical and poetic – the daunting combination of the granular with the great.

It's not just about the practical stuff, like "Ready, Set, Go!®" and the internal structure and pattern recogniton that make presentations – stories – easier to recall and repeat. It's not merely about the pretty stuff like making a presentation stick in the mind by adding a dramatic picture, or about building your own signature.

What makes Fusion really sink into the DNA of a successful client and become part of the "skeleton under the skin" is that slippery human potential stuff... the big ideas – like service to one's clients, team, family and community. Human beings are not just packages, not just analytical thinking machines; but miraculous composites of body, mind and spirit. We're not selling a religious brand here, but a simple recognition that a human being is something really special all by themselves – a little piece of the infinite wrapped up in a package accompanied by an appearance, a style and a personality – driven by an individual personal desire to accomplish something special. While we all want to survive, we're more interested in thriving – and enjoying the process. This is a fundamental plank in our approach to training and personal development. The "secret sauce;" that slippery human potential stuff— is baked into the product at Fusion.

It’s a touchy thing though. The minute you introduce a big idea – like the transcendent human spirit – to a discussion; the entire human potential parade of crazies, nuts and politicos are not far behind. One has to be careful with big ideas, so they don't run away with the practical results we hope to achieve in training. That's why Fusion has always been careful to pair every big idea with a practical tool for applying it in daily activity. A big idea without an application is merely fluffy. A tactical tool without a larger context is merely a “trick.” For example: an eye contact exercise is not simply looking at someone, but combined with a sense of how to look and whom to address it becomes more than an exercise. Eye contact then is not empty, not mechanical, but the doorway to a deep conversation. Truth is, every Founding Idea at Fusion is big, and potentially scary, unless you manage the discussions and keep returning to our basic discipline – it's about results.

Of course none of the big ideas are worth much if you simply talk about them for days on end. You have to put them into practice. So one notices that we are pushy, aggressive and demanding about getting people up in front of their peers to prove their competence through demonstration.

More than a few clients have lost track of the big ideas in their rush to get practical and go after sales results. They've extracted the granular ideas in our mix, and put them to work with machinelike dedication — never noticing that they also removed the greatness. They are out there, many of them mindlessly breaking every story into three boring and soul-less parts. Sometimes criticizing Fusion for no longer being magical...Hmmm…maybe there is something to the idea of mind, body and spirit. Fusion – dealing as it does with the whole human being – allows one to emerge from the miasma of dogmatic cynicism that tends to characterize a merely ‘balance sheet’ approach to business.

Fusion. If it were that easy, anyone could do it. But the real path requires a dedication and attentiveness to getting a mix of lofty and low just right... day after day. That's the hardest task of all. This stuff works because it harnesses the power of the perennial wisdom to the day-in day-out discipline of getting practical results – in our estimation that's why we’re all here! We think getting results in a classy, elegant and lofty way is about as good as it gets!

Personal Best

"Eighty percent of life is showing up!"

-Woody Allen
American humorist, director

Roger Bannister - First person to break the 4 minute mile barrier

There's a tribe of runners in our town – I live with one actually.

There's much discussion at Starbucks of the right recovery drink, the correct stretch to set the muscle up for a run, many arguments about the best combination of Lycra and wicking fabrics for runs that begin at 6:00AM in 70° heat and conclude at 88°... forget about the humidity.

What strikes me though, about this interesting subculture of daily commitment, is the startling lack of concern with win, place or show. Sure, everyone knows who the "players" are. Shannon, Lucy, Gigi are a pretty good bet to bring home the brass, but they will all be trading places between themselves and the elite runners from other towns who show up to compete. What is so much more powerful about this tribe of achievers is that they are showing up – doing it – day after day – no matter who wins.

They are not so concerned about winning or relative standing, but about being outside putting one foot in front of the other. Their big focus when competing is how near they came to their personal best – or how much they moved the bar. Consider then, it's not merely about showing up, but to be fully present in this moment and to shave some time from last week’s performance.

Hold that thought! Now consider the ordinary business week. Are we focusing on improving our skills as speakers, managers, leaders or communicators? Or are many of us just focusing on crossing items off the to-do list? Take yourself momentarily to the end of your career: will it be enough to say, "I got through a lot of meetings." Or would you rather be thinking, "I was engaged, I had the ball, personally moved the company forward five yards, improved my skills dramatically, and left a lot of people better for my presence in their lives."

Some Personal Best suggestions:

1. For You. It's difficult to improve everything at once. Pick a skill or a previous record and give it a week or two of intense focus. Start by establishing a Personal Best, and then go about improving on it.

2. For the Family. Get the partner, spouse, kids, spouse's kids, parents and in-laws engaged in the process too. Everyone needs to be reminded that life isn’t so much about accumulating years, but about capturing moments as well. Get the kids running, the spouse managing the logistics and the parents playing the cowbells alongside the course. (As First Cowbell Player at our house, I can testify to the impact of a “personal cheerleader” on the performance and happiness of the team. Everyone does better when someone is pulling for them!) Teach and demonstrate the behavior you want your family to manifest!

3. Take the practice to the office as well. Don't keep this a secret; let everyone on your team become involved too. It might start by letting athletics into the office environment. But it might be better still if your team exchanged areas in which they want to improve their business performance. Imagine, instead of working in individual silos, we convert our colleagues into teammates, coaches and cowbell ringers.

It's one thing – and a good one – to show up. That’s 80%. But coming with the intention and preparation required to improve on the personal best – now that’s the other 20% that raises the performance – and perhaps one’s entire life – to a whole new standard. Yes this is partly about athletics, but also about family, professionalism and applying one high standard of expectation to all these life domains – Fusion!