Do We Have an Agreement?

It may seem like a simple question... "Do we have an agreement?"... yet it is powerful . It promotes clarity. It defines desire. When answered, it means we're on the same page.

The simple task of setting a meeting time is fertile ground for unclear agreements. Is "We will meet at 10am" a clear agreement? Well, maybe. But, maybe not.

What does "meet at 10am" mean? Does it mean that's what time I get up from my desk and move toward the meeting space? Does it mean that's what time I arrive to fill up my coffee cup and get something to eat? Or does it mean that I'm in my seat, ready to work? Yep. Could be all of those. Not very clear.

Or, how about... "Will you be at the meeting on Friday?" where the response is "I'll try." In my world, the definition of "try" is often looking to get credit for something you have no intention of actually doing. So, "try" doesn't create an agreement.

"Do we have an agreement?" is binary. Response choices are "yes" or "no". If there isn't a clear "yes", we have work to do. Bring it on.

Mirror or Map?

A couple years ago Tyler Gilbert went on a journey to visit 21 countries for his 21st birthday. In his published travel journal, he shares a profound thought...

"There are two kinds of travelers... those who look at maps, and those who look in mirrors. Those looking at maps are heading out. Those looking at mirrors are heading home."

Am I looking outward, to the adventure of action, to the unknown, to the possibility? Or, am I looking inward, at the change, the depth of purpose, the sense of personal awareness, of who I am?

It's the classic tension of "doing" and "being", isn't it? And, it's not a right or wrong question, but simply a recognition that we are both "human doings" and "human beings". Sometimes we are focused on the action at hand, the doing, and sometimes we are focused on who we are, the being.

Thanks Tyler.

Click here to check out his book on amazon.com

It's Budget Time

I must be getting old. Because when I was cutting my teeth as a frontline operator, part of my job was to produce a balanced operating budget and then perform to it. The CEO doled out the expectation of 'balanced' (and whatever that meant) and we the operators got to work figuring it out.

Today, I hear more and more from both CEO's and front line folks that the CFO is writing and balancing the budget. Hmm. How'd that happen?

I don't know. But I'm here to get out my soapbox and stand on it.

The CFO's job is to report what has happened. And, to forecast what will happen if the present course is kept or the proposed course of action is taken. That's it.

The writing of a budget is a financial expression of a plan. The responsibility for the plan is between the CEO and the people responsible for generating the resources to execute the plan. And, that's not the CFO. If it is in your organization, than your CFO is really the COO and has lost the objectivity required of a good CFO function. I'd like to see the CFO take a vacation for the two weeks that a balanced operating plan is being developed.

Okay. I feel better. Now, all you CEO's and Frontline Operators... go write your own plans and budgets!

Good questions here...

• "Whose job is it and why?"
• "Whose decision is it?"
• "What principles will guide our decision?"

Onward!

V

How is that working for you?

Rejection. Yuck. Picked last for the team, or not picked at all. Friends that have faded away as fascades melt and real-life unfolds. Voted off the island during a corporate re-structure.

Often , it is the fear of rejection that blocks me from revealing the truth of what is going on inside. It's an old tape... "If you share the truth, you will be rejected and hurt."

So, the other night I was having dinner with an out-of-town friend and shared some of what was going on in my life. He asked... "So, how is that working for you in your work?" To which I responded... "It hasn't affected it at all."

"Really?" he asked. "I would have thought your work might have gotten better. Stronger. Deeper."

And I smiled.

"You went to rejection didn't you? You thought what I asked was 'Have you been rejected?' in your work."

He was right. I went to focusing on the bad thing that might have happened, instead of the good things that have happened. Because, in truth, these last few months have produced better, stronger, and deeper work for me.

It's a familiar struggle... will I focus on the bad thing that might happen if I step out, speak my truth, expose a vulnerability... or will I focus on the good thing. Fear or appreciation.

I choose appreciation. And you?

Saying the Darndest Things

Art Linkletter passed away today. Anyone over 50 might remember his 1960's TV "House Party". Bill Cosby did a version of the show in the 90's. Art was a great question asker.


And, I was one of those kids on the show. I remember loading up in a car with some other kids from my preschool and heading to the CBS studios in LA where we would be filmed. I also remember sitting on the toilet while some production assistant frantically coaxed me to get going. And I remember the little girl next to me getting out of her seat to come over and kiss me on the cheek while on camera. Perhaps she was going to marry me. I don't remember. I do remember having no idea how to answer the inevitable "what do you want to be when you grow up?" question. "Fireman" was my best answer.


So, "What do I want to be when I grow up?" Ha! Now, that's a great question.

Nine Friends

"Sometimes you don't know you're thirsty until you find water," he said.

"Tell me more," I replied.

"Well, our forum has been together for eight years. We've run the course of business issues and for the last year it's been kind of flat. I know there are issues in our lives that we're not addressing... sense of purpose, empty nesting, aging parents, a couple kids falling off the rails... we've wanted to go there, but haven't known how."

"So, What do you want to have happen?"

"Well, your book opened up a path and provides a toolkit for getting us to a new level of interaction. It's about coming together as whole people... not just business leaders."

"Hmm. Is that what you want?"

"Ha! Sometimes you do get what you want! And, it's a little uncomfortable. And, it's what we want."

Cool.


"Nine Friends: Maximizing Your Forum" is now available through my website http://www.vincecorsaro.com/ or at http://www.lulu.com/ and will soon be available from any major book retailer. Pretty cool.

Mountain Driving

We were driving down from Mount Baldy a million years ago in a snow storm. The road was white and we didn't have chains on. My buddy had forgotten gloves and we were both miserable. My car was front wheel drive and I was starting to slide and he said... "keep power in the wheels and look toward where you want to go... because, if you look toward where you don't want to go, you will go there."

Where am I looking today? Which way are you looking?