Comfort Zone

Coaching is not for everybody. It’s certainly not for the faint hearted. Coaching is a very personal activity.

You must have a burning desire to get out of your comfort zone to become successful in whatever it is that you are trying to accomplish (either in your personal life or professional life).

You must have the passion to improve yourself and obtain better results (again either in your personal life or professional life).

Comfort and success are opposites. If you want to always be comfortable, you'll never succeed. If you want to succeed, you need to get out of your comfort zone and be prepared to feel uncomfortable.

Failure means different things to different people. If someone says, “I do NOT want to put myself in the line and risk making a fool of myself to get what I want in life”. That’s perfectly reasonable. However, it would be a failure if you do NOT give it a shot. Successful people never regret the shots they missed; they regret the shots they didn't take.

When are you going to get out of your comfort zone? When are you going to take a shot to get what you want in life? Go ahead; contact a great executive coach to show you the path!

__________________________________

Surya M Ganduri, PhD. PMP. is the founder and president of eMBC, Inc., an international firm specializing in strategic and executive leadership development processes that Help People Succeed in an Evolving World. His company is affiliated with Resource Associates Corporation, a network of 600+ associates that are dedicated to helping organizations and individuals manage strategic change, innovation, cultural transition, and goal achievement. Surya has over 26 years of business experience in management consulting, leadership development, executive coaching, process improvements, organizational development and youth leadership. Contact Surya at s6ganduri@eMBCinc.com. For more information, visit www.eMBCinc.com or contact eMBC, Inc., directly at (630) 445-1321.

Is your business stuck?

Creating a new normal

Many businesses of many sizes have spent the last year dealing with the challenging times. Some businesses have failed, many are still floundering, and many businesses are just stuck. Often when we are defensively forced to deal with outside forces we get so ingrained in our defensive mechanics that we get stuck in that mind set. Defensive mechanics will not lead to positive growth and/or results. There is no question the business world is in the process of creating a new normal. The question becomes how is your business creating and defining its new normal? What will positive growth and future success look like for your company?

It has been our experience that creating a new normal requires going back to basics. Here are some thoughts to consider that have helped our clients get unstuck:

§ What is the basic foundation and business philosophy of your company?

§ Why are you in business?

The answer to these two questions will reconfirm or reestablish the reasons your business exists and provide a much needed guidepost. After you reconfirm or reestablish the reasons your business exists take the time to review your vision and values.

“A clear vision of the desired future state of the organization is an essential component of high performance.” - Tom Peters (writer and consultant on business management practices, best-known for, In Search of Excellence co-authored with Robert H. Waterman, Jr)

Creating a new normal requires reevaluating your vision of the desired state. Based on the changes in the current business climate, what will your organization look like in the future? The vision statement provides focus for everyone in the organization. An understanding of the vision provides the foundation for day-to-day decisions. A vision energizes action, toward a future that is better than today. How does your company’s vision need to change? There is one universal rule in success: you will never be greater than the vision that guides you. Perhaps for your organization, getting unstuck requires revitalizing your company’s vision.

In addition to a clear vision, a successful company needs to communicate values and principles by which they do business. Values represent your philosophy for achieving success and they serve as important guidelines for everyday behaviors and decisions. How have recent changes in the business world impacted your values and principles? What does your organization believe to be true and non-negotiable today?

“The purpose of an organization is to attract and maintain customers in order to generate profits and viability.” - Peter Drucker

Issues such as current customer’s expectations, product quality, and service should be taken into consideration in your values statement. Your values should take into account how you feel about and the value you place upon your customers, your employees, your suppliers and vendors, stockholders, the community and all others with whom you interact and do business.

Re-evaluating your vision and values are the first two steps to revisiting your strategic direction. We have found in these ever-changing times that strategic planning is no longer a discretionary decision, and it provides the impetus to getting unstuck. Create your business’s new normal by re-evaluating your strategic plan and implementing the critical success factors that will propel your business forward. There is a very high likelihood that what you are doing today and what you did yesterday will not produce the results you want to see tomorrow.

__________________________________

Surya M Ganduri, PhD. PMP. is the founder and president of eMBC, Inc., an international firm specializing in strategic and executive leadership development processes that Help People Succeed in an Evolving World. His company is affiliated with Resource Associates Corporation, a network of 600+ associates that are dedicated to helping organizations and individuals manage strategic change, innovation, cultural transition, and goal achievement. Surya has over 26 years of business experience in management consulting, leadership development, executive coaching, process improvements, organizational development and youth leadership. Contact Surya at s6ganduri@eMBCinc.com. For more information visit www.eMBCinc.com or contact eMBC, Inc., directly at (630) 445-1321.

Do you know yourself?

Or tell us about yourself? How is it that this simple question in an interview can cause an otherwise articulate individual to falter and stumble their way through a response?

How is that so many people are stuck by this straightforward request?

Surely, as we spend our entire lives with ourselves, we must learn something about our strengths, weaknesses, interests and preferences along the way. Do we really not know ourselves?

Maybe you're one of those people who escaped from school or work for a year to go "find yourself." So, what did you find?

As life-enriching as these adventures can be, you don't have to go granola, live in the woods or climb a mountain to find yourself. Besides, you may not have the means or interest to do such things.

Self-awareness comes from within.

So how do you access it? What are some things you do to get at that self-awareness? What do you ask yourself? Surely at least some of you have gone through this exercise. What worked for you?

Whether your goals are personal or professional, knowing who you are and what you want is the place to start. There are a number of tools and resources available to help you get to know yourself. Take the time to get to know yourself and practice delivering the message clearly, confidently and succinctly. When the question comes up again, as it most certainly will during your job search, you won't fumble for an answer.

Do you know yourself?

__________________________________

Surya M Ganduri, PhD. PMP. is the founder and president of eMBC, Inc., a national firm specializing in strategic and executive leadership development processes that Help People Succeed in an Evolving World. His company is affiliated with Resource Associates Corporation, a network of 600+ associates that are dedicated to helping organizations and individuals manage strategic change, innovation, cultural transition, and goal achievement. Surya has over 26 years of business experience in management consulting, leadership development, executive coaching, process improvements, organizational development and youth leadership. Contact Surya at s6ganduri@eMBCinc.com. For more information visit www.eMBCinc.com or contact eMBC, Inc., directly at (630) 445-1321.

Left or Right?

What exactly do the modern-day knowledge workers do to achieve significant success? The results of a recent 7-year, 197,000-person, 23-country study by Innermetrix give us some of the answer. Simply put, the most successful people in the new economy recognize three core facts about themselves:

•   Their value to the organization has shifted from their physical ability to do, to their mental ability to think.

•   While they can change how they manually do things, they cannot change their natural thinking and decision-making styles.

•   Instead of fixing themselves to conform to the one best way, they make the role conform to their own best way.

The simple concept below illustrates how the most successful people in today’s economy think very differently about themselves and their path.

There are four universal steps that everyone goes through in any role:

•   Step 1 – Accept the role.

•   Step 2 – Get to know the role better and determine what that role really requires for success.

•   Step 3 – Inevitably, identify gaps between what the role requires and what you can provide (talents, knowledge, skills, etc.).

•   Step 4 – Attempt to close those gaps (either by changing yourself, or changing the role).

Step #4 is the crucial difference. It is where the difference between old and new beliefs lies. The old belief is that the role is fixed and to improve requires turning left to focus on fixing oneself (i.e. change your natural thinking style).

Today's successful revolutionists, however, do the exact opposite. They don’t assume they need to change themselves to better fit the role they have. Instead they turn right and focus on fixing the role to better fit them instead.

Will you turn left to try and modify yourself /

or will you turn right to modify the role?

•   Marshall Goldsmith, a famous executive coach and revolutionist, provides a great example of turning right, when he says, “I constantly try to refine the strengths I have, but that doesn’t mean I try to develop things I don’t already have. The key is to have your role depend primarily on what you already naturally do well.”

•   Famed management guru, Peter Drucker, used to counsel leaders to help their people turn right when he said, "Make your people's weaknesses irrelevant." He didn't say fix the person; he said change the role so the weakness doesn't matter because it isn't required.

Get the point?

So, the question to you is:

Do you want to spend your life trying to fix your weaknesses and fitting their one best way / or would you rather do it your way,

authentically, in your own best way, with passion, satisfaction, happiness and results that surprise you?

If you choose the latter route, it won’t happen by waiting for management to do it for you. Like all revolutions, this one must also take place in your mind and heart first. YOU have to create your own private revolution – because no one else is going to do it for you!

__________________________________

Surya M Ganduri, PhD. PMP. is the founder and president of eMBC, Inc., a national firm specializing in strategic and executive leadership development processes that Help People Succeed in an Evolving World. His company is affiliated with Resource Associates Corporation, a network of 600+ associates that are dedicated to helping organizations and individuals manage strategic change, innovation, cultural transition, and goal achievement. Surya has over 26 years of business experience in management consulting, leadership development, executive coaching, process improvements, organizational development and youth leadership. Contact Surya at s6ganduri@eMBCinc.com. For more information visit www.eMBCinc.com or contact eMBC, Inc., directly at (630) 445-1321.

Rekindle Your Inspiration!

Are you inspired? Does your life currently hold within it surpassing brilliance or excellence? A few weeks ago, I dared you to dream. Let me ask you now. Are those dreams becoming a reality?

All accomplishments begin with an idea, a seed, or a dream. It is impossible to emphasize strongly enough the power of a creative and uninhibited imagination. Every achievement has emerged as the end result of a dream, a vision, or what may even have seemed to be a far-fetched idea. When is the last time you exercised your inspiration?

It is so easy to get caught up in the function of business and life that often times we forget to stop and think about what we are really working for or toward. Our daily routine becomes just that … a routine. We get used to going through the motions, and our dreams and inspirations start to take a back seat to the job, the career, and the family—and then slowly slip away into oblivion.

Have you ever created a Dream Inventory©. A Dream Inventory is a continuous, life-long list of ideas and dreams no matter how extravagant or insignificant. It is a list that contains everything you ever wanted to do, to have, to be, and to become. It is an exercise that allows you to take off the blinders of probability and possibility and throws out the filters of whether you need it, deserve it, or are worth it. It is lifelong exercise that gives you permission to exercise your inspiration.

Create a personal Dream Inventory and fill it in spontaneously. It will later provide clues to the kind of things that will motivate you. Many of the dreams that you put on your inventory may seem totally out of reach and that is okay. As you begin to grow and achieve, some of your dreams will become goals and some never will. Keep in mind that this is an exercise of dreaming and inspiration so give no thought to your ability to obtain the dreams. Many of your dreams may seem too small or insignificant to list in your inventory but list them anyway. There is no such thing as a small dream. If a dream has value to you, it is important.

I filled out my first Dream Inventory in 1983 after completing my PhD dissertation and left for Canada to do my post doctoral research. In 1996 as I was updating my Dream Inventory, I listed I wanted to start my own business and run my own company. I listed it with really no thought as to a specific action plan, but I knew that role was what I was inspired to become. In 2009, I founded my company and pursuing now to take this business to the next level.

The power of capturing your dreams and inspiration is life altering. The power of capturing an idea in writing, placing the thought in your subconscious, and letting your subconscious work on the action plan is a science we are only beginning to understand. What we do know is many inspired individuals throughout history have harnessed the power of dreaming to create surpassing brilliance and excellence! I challenge you to create your Dream Inventory today!

__________________________________

Surya M Ganduri, PhD. PMP. is the founder and president of eMBC, Inc., a national firm specializing in strategic and executive leadership development processes that Help People Succeed in an Evolving World. His company is affiliated with Resource Associates Corporation, a network of 600+ associates that are dedicated to helping organizations and individuals manage strategic change, innovation, cultural transition, and goal achievement. Surya has over 26 years of business experience in management consulting, leadership development, executive coaching, process improvements, organizational development and youth leadership. Contact Surya at s6ganduri@eMBCinc.com. For more information visit www.eMBCinc.com or contact eMBC, Inc., directly at (630) 445-1321.

Power and Focus through Time Management

Achieving effective time management is not easy because changing a personal habit never is. The essence of effective time management means replacing less effective habits with better ones.

People generally have a fairly good understanding of basic time management techniques, and almost everyone knows how to plan and prioritize. Most people know they should be more organized. The problem is that very few of us always do what we know we should do. Your success does depend on a successful time management system. Think about some accomplished people you know. Do they do what they say they are going to do when they say they will do it? Do they keep their word? The answer is probably ‘yes.’ People who keep their word consistently create power and focus in their lives. Together, power and focus provide the ability to be more effective in shaping events and circumstances. Effectiveness, in turn, enhances our feeling of well being. The better we feel; the more successful we are.

The “Formula for Well Being©”demonstrates that before we can keep our word, we need to give our word. Giving our word creates the potential for us to keep our word, which in turn creates the power and focus to be more effective.

Achieving more power and focus through mastering the right time management techniques is a skill, a mindset, and a lifestyle and it can be adopted by anyone who …

§ Wants to feel more in control,

§ Wants to attain more out of life,

§ Wants to achieve success in business while enjoying the pleasures of a personal life,

§ And, wants to reduce stress and realize more life balance.

Define a time management habit that you wish to develop. Be as specific as possible.

Negative habits in our lives are destructive; positive ones provide focus and power. They help us achieve our goals. In order to rebuild habits, we must define precise behaviors for change. As Aristotle said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is not an act, but a habit.” Your focus and power is dependent on your time management skills and behaviors. It is never too late to make a positive change, and a new year is upon us, so start today!

__________________________________

Surya M Ganduri, PhD. PMP. is the founder and president of eMBC, Inc., a national firm specializing in strategic and executive leadership development processes that Help People Succeed in an Evolving World. His company is affiliated with Resource Associates Corporation, a network of 600+ associates that are dedicated to helping organizations and individuals manage strategic change, innovation, cultural transition, and goal achievement. Surya has over 26 years of business experience in management consulting, leadership development, executive coaching, process improvements, organizational development and youth leadership. Contact Surya at s6ganduri@eMBCinc.com. For more information visit www.eMBCinc.com or contact eMBC, Inc., directly at (630) 445-1321.

Dare to Dream

If you have ever had the occasion to see a hot air balloon, you might recall your wonder at its magnificence. From a shapeless beginning with no power, the balloon begins to fill with hot air. As it fills and expands, it begins to take shape and you can see and feel its power. Occasionally a problem will occur and the balloon will fall flat, again shapeless and useless, only until it is refilled. Once the balloon is filled, the lines can be cut and its power will lift the balloon and take it soaring thru the sky like an eagle in flight.

Dreams are a lot like hot air balloons. In the beginning they are shapeless, sometimes flitting thoughts. As the desire grows, the dream begins to take form, develop a shape, and you begin to feel the power.

No one would spend the money to buy a hot air balloon, never to fill it out or cut the line. Many, however, spend their lives afraid to dream, to cut the lines, to seek the achievement of their goals. They keep thinking, 'well, it would be nice, BUT we could never afford it' or 'I'd really like to, BUT I just don't have time' or 'It's a great idea, BUT it's impossible.' It is far better to have tried and failed than to never have tried at all.

Occasionally, a few will dare to dream, cut the lines, set a goal, and make their dreams a reality. The result is a sight to behold. Children are experts at dreaming. Take a lesson from them. Ask a child what her dreams are and you are likely to get caught up in the excitement, the power, yourself. Most adults have been conditioned not to dream. But, when they do ... !

Have you dared to dream today (as the new year started)? Are you ready to cut the lines? Your action plan is the vehicle to turn your dreams into reality.

Dare to dream your dreams. Let them take shape. Get caught up in the excitement, the thrill of achieving and the momentum that occurs when you finally cut the lines. Set your goals and seek the fulfillment of your dreams!

[Adopted from Linda Martin's article "Dare to Dream"]

Surya M Ganduri, PhD. PMP. is the Chairman and CEO of eMBC, Inc., a national firm specializes in strategic and executive leadership development processes that Help People Succeed in an Evolving World. Surya has over 26 years of business experience in management consulting, leadership development, executive coaching, process improvements, organizational development and youth leadership. For more information visit www.eMBCinc.com or contact eMBC, Inc., directly at (630) 445-1321.