Simple Sells - Passion Wins

This summer, Facebook topped half a billion subscribers.  To put this in context, in 2002 the entire world-wide web had the same number of users.  Now, one single website has reached that mark.  The continuing explosive growth of virtual connectivity never ceases to amaze me.

But, I digress...

More interesting to me than the number of Facebook subscribers was a quote I heard on the radio after the announcement.  A business analyst on our local Fox affiliate said this about Facebook's milestone:  "Something clean, well designed and easy to use can be incredibly successful."

As I reflected on his insight, I realized how absolutely right he was; not just about Facebook, but about business in general.

Simply put - Simple Sells.  Some of the world's most successful ideas are also some of the least complex.  To wit:  Post It Notes, Paperclips, Frisbees and Windshield Sun Shades.  In each of these cases, it wasn't the complexity of the idea or the impressiveness of the technology, but rather the simple, purpose driven design that led to success.

How many times have you seen a product in a store or on TV and said to yourself:  "That is so simple, I should have thought of it."  Or worse:  "I did think of that, but I never pursued it."  The point is this -   ideas are everywhere.  If you have an idea that solves a problem or fills a void, it's likely that others have the same need.  The idea doesn't need to be complicated, as long as it has a purpose.  The simpler the better.

What is more important than the sophistication of an idea are its utility and the originator's passion.  Even the best idea will wither without the nourishment of passion.  Passion will greatly enhance the odds of success.  Passion gets past obstacles and heals the wounds of rejection.  Passion is what fuels perseverance and creativity.  Passion is most often what differentiates between an idea remaining an idea and an idea that becomes a business reality.

A simple idea combined with a deep passion for its value will find a home in the global marketplace.

The Messages We Send

"Walk the Talk".  How many times have you heard or said those three words, when in reality what should have been stated was:  "Do as I say, not as I do."?

Every organization adapts its culture to the actions of its leader.  Depending on the leader, adaptation can take place quickly, or it may occur over the course of several years.  Make no mistake though.  At some point in time, every organization will fall in line and will walk in the shadow of its leader.

What about you?

• Are you a leader who preaches the importance of safety, yet leads colleagues across a busy intersection, with a DON'T WALK sign flashing, so you won't be late for your next meeting?

• Do you talk to people about the value of live communication on the phone or face to face, and then send an e-mail to the person sitting three offices down the hall?

• Have you championed treating people with dignity and respect, but dismantled a presentation from your sales team in of a room full of people?

I once worked with a guy (I'll call him Chris) who was a senior executive of a large company.  Chris often spoke about the importance of work-life balance and the value that balance brings to the long-term health of the employees and the organization.  Chris was adamant about employees taking their vacation, and vigilant about people unwinding on weekends.   Chris wanted his team to return to work refreshed and recharged every week.  Chris told his people that in general, he didn't expect them, or even want them to be working when they were away.

Much to Chris' chagrin, his people never seemed to listen.  Every time one of Chris' staff would go on vacation, they would send and respond to e-mail several times a day. Some seemed to be constantly on line, responding almost immediately to any messages sent their way.

Once, after a particular staff member returned from a week of vacation, during which he had been e-mailing and phoning into the office daily, Chris sat down with his team and asked why they didn't put work aside for a week and enjoy their time away when on vacation?  After a few awkward moments of silence, someone spoke up and said:  “Well Chris, we hear what you say, but whenever you go away on vacation, you are always sending us e-mail and calling in to see how things are going.  I figured that although you say you don’t want me to work when I am on vacation you do, so you must expect that I will as well.”  Heads nodded around the table.

Chris didn’t know what to say.  He started to justify himself but he realized right then that if he expected his people to what he wanted them to do, Chris knew he needed to do the same himself and lead by action, not only words.

You must lead by example.  People will see what you do more clearly than they hear what you say and they will follow your actions more closely than they will your words.

Balancing the Essential Elements

Leonardo DaVinci's Vitruvian Man illustrates the ideal proportions of Man and their relationship to the workings of the universe.  The five points of Man- head, hands and feet are also reflected in the pentagram or five-pointed star, which Pythagoras described as "mathematical perfection".  At the root of both of these depictions is balance and proportion.

Life is a delicate balance.  Nature demands it.  The slightest imbalance in a person's body chemistry or in the ecosystem of a meadow or a pond can have catastrophic, even fatal consequences.  Yet occasionally our lives go out of balance.  Sometimes with intent, other times we lose our way without knowing it...until it is too late.

Like the Vitruvian Man and the pentagram, there are five critical elements of balance in our lives:

1. Spiritual
2. Physical
3. Intellectual
4. Emotional
5. Economic

Spiritual:  Christian, Jew or Muslim; Hindu, Buddhist or Taoist, it is important that we establish a spiritual base in our lives.  Spirituality creates the moral boundaries of our existence.  It is what separates right from wrong in society.  It is the foundation for law and the antidote to lawlessness.  Spirituality exists only in human kind.  It is the element which contains our animal instincts and which separates humans from the rest of the living world.

Physical:  Our physical state of well-being is what allows us to function every day.  People who lead a healthy lifestyle, who moderate what they eat and drink and who exercise regularly have more energy, greater mental alertness and they live longer lives than those who do not.  Loosing our physical health can detract significantly from our ability to effectively manage the other four elements.

Intellectual:  It isn't just about being smart, but perhaps more importantly it is about how we use the intelligence we have been given.  Intelligence comes in many forms.  Harvard University Professor Howard Gardner http://www.howardgardner.com/index.html has dedicated his life's work to multiple intelligence theory.  Simply put, each of us has an innate ability to understand particular elements, or combinations of elements in the world around us better than others.  We all know people who are brilliant in math or who excel in music, but those same people can get lost walking around the block.  Others are able to accurately assess a person's character in a brief meeting or seem to have a deeper connection to the spiritual world, but they don't know a screw from a nail.   We must work to enhance our intellectual capacity and put to use the intellect we have.  If we don't, it really doesn't matter how smart we are.

Emotional:  Just as we must take care of our physical health, we must also dedicate part of our lives to maintaining our emotional health and increasing our emotional intelligence.  This includes placing emphasis on creating positive relationships with others and improving our own internal state of mind.  Healthy relationships with our families, our co-workers and friends are essential.  We must also spend time nurturing our self esteem and defining our aspirations.

Economic:  This is perhaps the element where most of us are at risk of spinning our lives out of balance.  How many people toss some or all of the other four elements out the window in pursuit of wealth?  Financial stability is important, but it can't stand alone in our lives.  I contend that the greater the balance in our lives, the greater will be the potential for economic reward.

Balancing these five essential elements in our lives isn't easy.  Sometimes life demands that we focus on one element more than another, usually to make up for a period of deficiency.  But on average, in the course of every day, each of these five elements requires attention.  Think of your life as a wheel and these five elements of balance as spokes on that wheel.  If one of the spokes is shorter than the others, or is missing altogether, the ride will be bumpy.  But if all the spokes are there and they are all the same length, imagine the difference in how smoothly your wheel will roll.

Roll on!

The Power of Balance - Getting Started

This is my first blog post.

Over the course of the last few months, I have found myself evolving from using my computer almost exclusively for e-mail and surfing the web to having a Facebook page, Tweeting and now trying my hand at writing a blog. Perhaps one day, this dinosaur will even walk upright and make fire! Stay tuned...

Balance has always been a part of my life, although like most people, my definition of balance sometimes has to be brought back into alignment by those most important to me; namely - my family.

Through this blog, I hope to share with you many of the things I have learned about the Power of Balance. I will build on my personal experiences, good and bad, and I will share insights from others. I also hope to learn from you and your experience. How do you put balance in your life? How do you achieve success through the Power of Balance? And, what happens when imbalance creeps in and your life begins to tilt too far one way or the other?

So, climb aboard and enjoy the ride. I look forward to our adventure together.