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Vol. 6 No. 3, May/June 2004 IN THIS ISSUE =================================================== =================================================== One more time with lots of excitement. (Hey, I only write one of these every so often): Hear ya, hear ya, hear ya. We interrupt this regular programming to share exciting news with you. Sorry for getting carried away, however for a change I like to share my own news with you, share a sample chapter of my HOT-OFF-THE-PRESS book and even provide you with an early bird special offer that I hope you won't refuse. (Otherwise I have burned up my computer for nothing.) First the news: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE………………. DON'T OIL THE SQUEAKY WHEEL… AND 19 OTHER CONTRARIAN WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR LEADERSHIP EFFECTIVENESS "Tells you what you need to know to win in the game of Don't satisfy your customers. Don't have goals and objectives. Be selfish. Sounds like leadership advice that goes against conventional wisdom. That's just the point. Don't Oil the Squeaky Wheel and 19 Other Contrarian Ways to Improve Your Leadership Effectiveness (McGraw-Hill, May, 2004, $14.95) challenges readers to break their tried-and-true assumptions about leadership that have worked in the past, but that need to be revisited, reevaluated and maybe even --- changed. Written by one of the nation's most well-known business contrarians,
management guru Wolf Rinke, Don't Oil the Squeaky Wheel offers unorthodox
approaches to mastering the complexities and contradictions of managing
and leading people --- constantly challenging readers to exploit counter
intuitive strategies that lead to ethical peak performance. Says Tom Phillips, Chairman and President of Phillips International, Inc. "Wolf Rinke helps you have fun…while providing valuable tools and resources to improve your leadership skills." And now a sample from Chapter 20. =================================================== Professor Sydney Finkelstein, author of Why Smart Executives Fail, says that even though being committed appears to be a positive attribute---who wouldn't want a leader that is totally committed to the company---it's a handicap. Because these unsuccessful leaders see themselves as an extension of the company. This "private empire" mentality causes the leader to behave as if he or she owns the company. As a result they carry out personal ambitions and take extraordinary risks. Since there is no boundary between themselves and the company they spend the company's money as if it is their own, and never quite see what the problem is when they do so. A perfect example is Dennis Kozlowski of Tyco who used corporate funds to support his own extravagant life-style. And thought it was perfectly okay to do that. After all, he reasoned, the money he pulled out for his personal use was infinitesimally small compared to all the money he had made for Tyco. Similarly, committed leaders dedicate virtually all of their time to the organization and expect everyone to do the same. A middle manager in one of my seminars comes to mind. She took serious offence to my speaking about work-life-balance and nurturing successful personal relationships. When I attempted to patch things up with her after the seminar she let me know that the company was her life, and that she had virtually no other interests outside of the company. And so she felt it was totally inappropriate for me to tell that "silly story about balance (see the end of chapter 20 in Squeaky Wheel book) because who are you to impose your life-style on the rest of us." So instead of being committed, I urge you to balance your life. How to balance your life and conquer stress It's no secret. Life has become too fast. Most of us are over-committed, overwhelmed, and over-informed. In other words, most of us are just plain stressed out. Here are eight specific things you can begin to do today to re-establish balance in your life and deal more effectively with stress. Take control Stress is weird. What stresses some turns others on. However, the research is rather clear: all of us feel stressed when we feel out of control. And how you feel is a perception---as opposed to reality---that you can control. In other words, you are not stressed until you tell yourself that you are stressed. To avoid feeling out of control, master your internal and external language. Use language that empowers you instead of stresses you. For example, instead of saying "I have to," say "I want to." When you have to do something, you become a victim. Instead of saying "I have to go to work," say "I want to go to work." There is only one thing you have to do, and that is to die. Everything else is a choice. Some people disagree; they say you also have to pay taxes. No, you don't! I'm fond of saying that I want to pay my taxes because it is the lesser of the two evils. I would rather pay my taxes than go to jail. Think about it: the more taxes you pay, the more money you make! So be sure not to give your choices away. Master the most powerful stress control system of all time Change the Changeable Accept the Unchangeable Remove Yourself from the Unacceptable Make a weekly date with your significant other Simplify your life Create solitude Unless it is absolutely essential, do not give your home phone number to business associates or clients. When you go on vacation, leave your beeper, cell phone, PDA and laptop behind. If you must, call the office only once a day, and instruct the office to only get in touch with you in true emergencies. When at work, make it a practice to close your office door, turn the phone over to voice mail and meditate for 20 minutes every working day. Or do what I do. Eat a very light and quick lunch, and use the rest of your time to take a brisk walk. Exercise---your life depends on it Aerobic exercise is a great stress reducer. Plus, it extends your life. Research tells us that for every hour of aerobic exercise, your life expectancy is extended by two hours. Pretty good return on investment, isn't it? The key to making this work is to find something that you love to do and that you can do for the rest of your life. For me, it is jogging for about three miles every other day. The other days I do resistance training---Sunday I rest. My wife has difficulty with her back, so she does the ski or bicycle machine six days per week. If at all possible, avoid exercising in the evening. Exercise cranks up your metabolic rate, energizes you and keeps you awake. So, if possible, exercise first thing in the morning. Make time for joy Each week, block out time on your calendar for the sole purpose of doing something that gives you joy and relaxes and calms you. For me, it's being with nature, hiking, working in the garden or mowing the lawn. For you, it might be seeing friends, getting a massage, meditating or going to the theater with your loved one. Whatever you do, make sure that you build joy into your life! SOURCE: Based in part on Chapter 20 of my new book Don't Oil the Squeaky Wheel and 19 Other Contrarian Ways to Improve Your Leadership Effectiveness, just released by McGraw-Hill. Take advantage of my hot-off-the-press special offer that follows. =================================================== NEW BOOK: Don't Oil the Squeaky Wheel and 19 Other Contrarian Ways to Improve Your Leadership Effectiveness, to be released by McGraw-Hill, early May, 2004, by W. J. Rinke. Publisher Price: $14.95. POWERFUL CD: How to Motivate Employees to Achieve Peak Performance. Publisher Price: $19.95. This LIVE audio by yours truly (~60 mins.) will teach you how to build a positive organizational culture that will achieve quantum leaps in performance, productivity and profitability. Both book and CD--$24.90 + s/h. SAVE $10.00! ------------------------- Offer expires 6/1/2004 ------------------------------- =================================================== Overheard on a recent flight. A flight attendant for a major airline, watched one day as Finally, she informed him that he would have to check the "When I fly other airlines," he said irritably, "I never
have She smiled and said, "Sir, when you fly other airlines, =================================================== Here is a list of full day seminars that I will be presenting for the rest of 2004 that maybe open to you, especially if your company is a member of the Institute of Management Studies (IMS). Contact the Chairperson for additional information. Increasing Your Personal Effectiveness Winning Management: Building a Peak Performance Workplace =================================================== ===================================================
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