And this is the theme for the FOCUS Gym this week... how to be the Best You possible... to win the Best You award this week.

Power of Adversity

I’ll not deny there has been some adversity around this past couple of years! Hey, I’m not one of those “head in sand” people who just pour out positive platitudes in the hope everything is going to be alright!

• Strategic View – vision, long term goals, values, principles
• Tactical Approach – shorter term goals and missions, going for breakthrough!
• Operational Focus – are you focused on key result areas on day-to-day basis... at all levels in your organisation – whether a large company or a one-man operation.

And then there’s your mindset; your attitude to adversity...

My uncle was a very young crewman in the RAF during World War 2.
He was involved in night bombing raids in the second half of the war. A terrifying and terrible experience, I am sure. Like many who went through it, he rarely spoke of it.
But during those night raids, you only knew when you were near the target when you were under fire and enduring the flak from the anti aircraft guns. The more intense the flak, the closer to the target.

The message for us is clear.

Overcoming adversity and facing your greatest challenge is the Goal.
Your finest hour is heralded by adversity.

Recognise adversity. It is life's way of testing your true commitment to your goals. Use it as a motivation. We know that this works wonders in sport, in business, in any field of human endeavour.

The concept of Going for Gold v Settling for Silver has prompted some interesting levels of Focus with clients...

One of the things I’m very aware of is that, for some people, Settling for Silver is OK... (just not for my clients!!).

Settling for Silver is ok, as long as it’s what you choose. It is in fact what most people do... even if they are not aware they are doing it. It still involves putting quite a lot into self development, business and career growth. It can involve going on courses, seminars, training, reading the right books, and accessing the right material. And it can even involve putting a lot of new things into action, making some significant changes, taking some steps forward. That’s great. But it’s still settling for silver because largely, with the world changing so much, most people are really just “keeping pace with inflation”. Yes, continuous improvements. Yes, continued professional development. All great. But don’t kid yourself that you are Going for Gold. In fact, to do so will lead only to frustration, because you feel you are “doing many of the right things”, working really hard... but just reaching silver all the time.

Doing a little bit better (or even quite a bit better) is no longer enough to warrant Gold. That’s settling for silver.
Don’t expect to get the Gold if your actions, and your approach, are those of someone who has settled for silver.

Last week saw me "out and about" for the first time this year, and that involves travel... trains, planes and automobiles.
And when I’m out and about, I am a keen observer of human behaviour (of course... and I’m sure you are too).

What particularly intrigued me this time happened on one train journey to Aberdeen. The carriage was about half full, and a mix of airline style seats, and double seats with tables (as we know, those are much sought-after!). Many of the airline seats meant that passengers were facing backwards -ie not in the direction of travel... and like most people, I prefer to be facing forwards. And to add to the evident discomfort of most passengers, the sun, being low in the sky at this time of year, was shining right into the carriage, and most people were desperately trying to shield their eyes from the tortuous glare!

• An increase in waiting: Wait Watching
• An increase in displacement activity: Doing stuff that really doesn’t lead to the results you want.
• Capability paralysis: belief that you can do everything, therefore you should try to do everything, therefore you grind to a halt under a deluge of inconsequential ACTIVITY.
• Lack of direction: likely to stumble into anything that crops up, and flounder around without knowing which way to turn. Inability to work in a straight line.
• Excessive Listing: too many lists of things to do, without ever tackling any of it.
• Blaming and babbling: a lot of chatter and excuses about what hasn’t been done, and why it hasn’t, rather than doing things that need to be done. 
• Chewing the "Could"- talking a lot about what could be done. Invariably leads to indecisiveness (camouflaged as “keeping our options open”, “staying open to opportunities in times like this”, and so on).
• An increase in Static: inability to move.
• Extreme Shuddering/ Should’a ing... as in “we shoulda done this, and we shoulda done that” and “I shoulda done this, and I shoulda done that”.In extreme cases (and most cases are): can cause you to Be a Gonna... one day I’m Gonna do this, one day I’m gonna do that. In the end, you are a gone-r.

Make 2011 Your Breakthrough Year

First, Happy New Year.
A year when you really make the big breakthroughs...

Take one working week
Add an unhealthy portion of emails
A large measure of interruptions and phone calls
A copious amount of poorly-prepared meetings
And the minutes of hundreds of now long-forgotten, poorly followed-up meetings
Pour in Plenty of paper (remember to shuffle regularly)
Add as much urgent activity as possible (note: avoid productivity at all costs)
A pinch of perfection (a mythical herb, very addictive and closely related to the spice “efficiency”)
Add regular bouts of exhausted procrastination
Sautee in a highly-developed sense of injustice, unfairness, and bitterness.
Baste with a juicy gossipy covering of Blaming and Complaining
Garnish with a twist of inter-departmental empire-building and bitterness

Take every day, for a whole year.

Alternatively… here are some steps to make 2011 a breakthrough year…

1. Define your Values and Vision. And “polish” the vision regularly.
2. Ask yourself the Calendar Question: “sitting at the end of the year and looking back at 2011, what will need to have happened to have made it super successful?” Be bold with your answer!
3. Embrace opportunities and run a series of big special missions throughout the year
4. Plan the time to plan – a structure for the whole year.
5. Focus on your Unique Talent...  and play to your strengths.
6. Identify your 5-7 “Key Result Areas” and develop a weekly regime based on these.
7. Value your primary resources of time, energy and money; and invest (rather than spend!)..
8. Enlist the true support of a World-class Squad.
9. Create a “shop window” which you are proud of, professionally and personally.
10. Practice, practice, practice. Renew yourself regularly.
11. Take time off... totally “off”. And when you are “on”, be really “on”. 100 percent.
12. Look for the extra-ordinary. It’s there.

• Your "Champagne moment"
• Highlights of the year- in your 6 key areas of life.
• Biggest lesson(s) of the year
• Upgrade areas- where can you improve, develop, continue good progress
• Reward. You deserve it!

• Vision and  goals
• key points of focus
• Plan (time structure - year, and weekly regime) essential changes (evolutions and revolutions)