• Peter Jeff - The Leadership Mints Guy

  • Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

  • Pages

  • Leadership Mints

  • Recent Posts

  • Memorable Mints

Relationship-Building: Fishing for Complements

By Peter Jeff
The Leadership Mints Guy

Here’s an idea to enhance team alignment. Reading time: 2:01

The 30 gallon aquarium gurgled in the corner of the executive’s office. There were no fish swimming in it. The executive escorted his staff to a nearby pet store where each staff person was asked to select a fish for the aquarium that best represented their skills in the organization.

The staff collectively had to read everything about the fish to assure their compatibility. The fish had to complement each other and contribute viably to the environment.

Leaders fish for complements.

Leaders understand that the fast-swimming shoaling fishes like Giant Ddanius need a long tank while the Bettas or Hgouramies thrive in a fairly deep tank.

Leaders understand that breeding angel fishes seek broad leave plants or a strip of slate to lay their eggs, so they need a deep tank with smooth surfaces.

Leaders understand the importance of water chemistry. They know they can grow duckweed to soften the water. They also know you can use crushed shells or choral sand to raise the harness of the water in a freshwater tank.

The working environment takes on new meaning when leaders think of their organizations as aquariums. Leaders and their teams become more vigilant about protecting the chemistry and the character of the organization.

After all, cleaning, maintaining and stocking the aquarium is lot like what leaders do: they create a viable environment so that others can produce profitably and productively.

Today’s ImproveMINT

Seek compatibility to keep your leadership thinking in mint condition.

SUBSCRIBE: Have a Leadership Mint delivered to your E-mail every business day. It’s free. Just click the SIGN ME UP box in the upper left column.

Strategic Thinking: Controlling Your Assumptions

By Peter Jeff
The Leadership Mints Guy

Here’s an idea to take more control over your assumptions. Reading time 2:07.

The famed researcher on sexual human behavior, Dr. Alfred Kinsey posed an attention-commanding question to a young woman during one of his lectures: “Name a body part that can enlarge 100 times?” The young woman was offended:

“You have no right to ask me such a question in mixed company.” The doctor demurred: “I was referring to the pupil of the eye and you my dear are going to be very disappointed.”

Have you ever focused on the wrong part of your business whenever you were sizing up a situation? Did you jump to a plausible — but not possible –conclusion and miss an opportunity to lead more effectively? Of course, you have. So have I. No one is perfect.

But all leaders become more effective leaders by consistently refining their focus, seizing strategically instead of sizing situationally.

When you size situationally, you already have a frame of reference. You bring preconceived notions into your decision-making process. You assume too much (especially when a sex expert asks you to consider a body part that expands.) And your faulty judgment, results in making an “ass” of “u” and “me” in the parsed spelling of the word “assume” that has become a clichéd paen to our predictable - if flawed- behavior.

Have you ever focused on the wrong part of your business whenever you were sizing up a situation? Did you jump to a plausible — but not possible –conclusion and miss an opportunity to lead more effectively. Of course, you have. No one is perfect. All leaders become more effective leaders by consistently refining their focus, seizing strategically instead of sizing situationally.

When you size situationally, you already have a frame of reference. You bring preconceived notions into your decision-making process. You assume too much (especially when a sex expert asks you to consider a body part that expands.) And your faulty judgment, results in making an “ass” of “u” and “me” in the parsed spelling of the word “assume” that has become a clichéd paen to our predictable - if flawed- behavior.

To stimulate your thinking on sizing up situations more strategically think of a red traffic light. That brightest color in the spectrum — RED — has the shortest light wave length. Size matters. Only situationally. Not strategicially.

Today’s ImproveMINT

Control your assumptions to keep your leadership thinking in mint condition.

SUBSCRIBE: Have a Leadership Mint delivered to your E-mail every business day. It’s free. Just click the SIGN ME UP box in the upper left column.

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 79 other followers