The Hard Part About Humility

Humility.  There, I said it.  As you read that word I'm guessing several thoughts and emotions enter your mind.  I'm assuming most of them are negative.  There aren't many leadership classes, books or seminars devoted to teaching the fine points of humility.  In fact, we are programmed to be aggressive, vocal, out front and BOLD.  Not to mention to look out for Number 1.

Thanks to my teenage kids I have become reluctantly exposed to a term recently that summarizes how I am afraid many in our society justify everything from rudeness to reckless abandon.  YOLO - You Only Live Once.  It is true obviously but I believe that living the kind of lifestyle that YOLO encourages is a dangerous path to walk on, even though many if not most do.  The path of humility is a much less crowded path and one that I hope I can convince you is worth checking out.

As with any idea or plan that goes against what the vocal majority thinks you should do be prepared to encounter some questions and criticisms.  As with many noble endeavors you have to ignore your critics and do what you know is right.  Easy to say and hard to do?  Of course.  In most struggles though it is my experience that once you have thwarted the initial attack from an adversary or enemy they tend to either quiet down or go away.  Besides which, ideas and plans always become better and more clear when they are challenged internally and externally.  We may have to change directions but we don't have to change paths to conform with everyone else's ideas. 

This leads to the hard part about humility.  If you know you're right and yet everyone is challenging you or questioning you, how do you remain strong in the face of adversity?  It's human nature to sink back in to old, easy (and presumably bad) habits.  The good news is, everyone likes you again.  The bad news is you have betrayed yourself and your values and none of us want to live a dual lifestyle.

So why not go for it and be courageous?  Get out of your comfort zone and get busy making a difference in your small corner of the world.  I believe in the good in every person and I believe everyone is born with an innate desire to be successful and grow even though the definitions of those words are as different for each person as we all are individually.  Think about the people you know that have a positive influence on you.  A teacher, a coach, a mentor a sibling.  Whoever that person is they bring out the best in you.  And I bet any negative feelings I created earlier in this post have been overtaken by the positive feelings you have when you think of all those people have done for you.

Guess what?  Those people sacrificed themselves to make you a better person.  They challenged your thinking and inspired you to visualize a better result than you would have achieved without them.  I bet not one of them did it so they could be more respected, admired or because it fueled their ego.  They did it out of love, kindness and humility.  No one made them do it - they could have been like all the other people in their positions and just decided to "go with the flow."  Not these folks though.  They had a higher calling. 

So my question I leave you with this week is who needs you to challenge them?  Who needs you to be true to yourself, true to your values and be more concerned about living a life of significance rather than a life of accomplishments?  The other hard part about humility is that many times the only person that recognizes your sacrifices is you.  Do it anyway.  It's a sure path to becoming the person you truly desire to be. 

We're only human

If you're like me over the last year or two you have invested a tremendous amount of time and possibly money setting up, tweaking and refining your social media presence.  I held off as long as I could before I created a Facebook page for my personal use and one for my company.  Twitter account?  Check.  Google Plus? Check.  Linkedin profile?  Check. 

I am not here to say that I do not believe in Social Media.  Indeed, it is changing the way we work, connect, buy and research new information.  Heck, I might have even made a little money along the way by reaping the benefits of my efforts.  I know some are making fortunes by doing so - those who I believe have a tremendous amount of time or a very large team of people to devote a full-time effort.  What about for the rest of us?

If you're like me with more than a full-time job, a family and a few interests outside of business you probably don't have the time to devote to gaining 1,000+ friends on Facebook or 500+ connections on Linkedin, etc.  Again, I really do see the value in Social Media but there is also value in getting other things done that come across my path each day and until my company gets big enough to hire a Social Media and Marketing department I guess I'll have to go on being a part-time Social Media participant.  So what's my point?

Recently, I have made a conscious effort to do something a little out of the ordinary.  Rather than sitting at my desk emailing, Tweeting, posting or updating, I'm using the telephone!  I hear the collective gasp of all of you.  Guess what?  I am getting great results using the phone!  Why? Because I think so few people are using it today to communicate.  Email is the new voice mail.  If you are emailing customers and prospects hoping to earn new or more business, good luck to you.  You know what I've found?  People that used to be difficult if not impossible to reach by phone are not only now returning messages, they are actually (gasp) answering their phones!  You know what else I'm finding?  Human interaction beats electronic interaction hands down.

Now listen, I am all for turning a cold call in to a warm call or giving a customer a head's up on an upcoming call or idea you want to pitch to them via email or other messaging service but I am telling you there are numerous advantages to connecting via the phone.  Just to mention a few:

• No wait time wondering if your email has been opened or read
• Immediate answers so you can get on with other activities and not have to go back and figure out who you need to follow up with (again).
• Set follow up dates to move the ideas, sales, negotiations forward.  Which leads to less time trying to chase down a potential deal a second time.
• Set up a follow up message that will get answered.  You can let them know how you will follow up with them so that they can be looking for your Tweet, Message or Email.

Talk about adding more time to your day!  Sure, you can spend a lot of time Social Networking but with a whole lot less time and a lot more immediate results you can be much more efficient and effective using the phone.  Try it yourself.  I bet the people you most want to connect with are longing for a little human interaction.

Courage in the Face of Uncertainty

I read a story this week of a man who on September 11, 2001 left his Connecticut office and traveled to Manhattan through police blockades and many other obstacles to reach ground zero that afternoon.  He watched in horror the events that morning on television like we all did and instead of being paralyzed by fear he was guided by his army training and deep faith to do something.  As the story is told he was largely responsible for rescuing the last two people pulled out alive from the wreckage of the Twin Towers. 

Most of us will never be faced with such a dramatic or heroic experience.  We live pretty normal lives with some difficulties every now and then but rarely are we called on to risk our lives for the greater good or for something we believe in strongly.  Nonetheless, we all face struggles, uncertainties and fear.  In our jobs, our neighborhoods and our homes.  Sometimes we think if we avoid problems long enough they will just go away.  When we stop lying to ourselves we'll realize all we've really done is waste a lot of time and probably ended up worrying and fretting much more and longer than we ever intended to.

Times like these scream out for courage.  The world needs people who are willing to stand strong in the face of adversity and trials.  It's awfully difficult to stand for what you believe in - especially if people are telling you what a fool you are in the process.  Yet, I would rather have convictions and find out I'm wrong and make adjustments than to be a coward and never try to do anything.  Margaret Mead said it well, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.  Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."

Change is hard.  Change in difficult times or out of necessity can be downright paralyzing.  Lately I have made some changes within my company and how we work with our stakeholders, customers and suppliers.  Some of these changes are to practices and policies that have been keys to our success for years if not decades.  There is resistance, there is reluctance, there is even some weeping and gnashing of teeth.  Bring it on!  My industry and business has changed 180 degrees in the last few years and continues to change.  I bet yours does too.  Old ideas don't work - even if they've been wildly successful in the past. 

Our challenge today is to venture out to places, things and ideas that have never been tried before.  It's to try to reinvent ourselves to adapt to the changing marketplace.  Having the courage and conviction to meet those challenges is only the beginning.  Some ideas may cost you in the short term.  Some ideas will have to be tossed out altogether.  The only thing more dangerous is doing nothing and watching your business evaporate before your eyes.  I speak from experience because it was happening to me. 

I don't have all of the answers and I may not have even asked all of the right questions yet.  I can assure you that I have the courage to learn and the tenacity to see it through.  How uncertain is your future?  How confident are you in your plans to address it?  These are two questions worth investing some time in.  You can avoid them if you wish but it will cost you in the long run.