Again, I find myself in my prime time (midnight to 3 a.m.), working on a project. I have the TV on cable for background noise and can’t help but notice that every station is streaming the same constant negativity we’ve been exposed to for far too long now.
They sound enthused to report on the economy, the oil spill, immigration, the war, political scandals, gun bans and the list goes on and on. Plenty of reporting—very little emphasis on solutions.
I’ve been talking about the “knowing-doing gap” for quite some time in my seminars and keynote presentations. There seems to be a growing need for this strategy in today’s chaotic environment … more so than ever before.
Tom Peters, noted author and speaker on business management practices, says “motivation and positive thinking is like spray paint on rust. It simply doesn’t last long!” I’m afraid I have to agree with Tom although I’m a firm believer in both motivation and positive thinking. However, I think Tom is saying that those dynamic forces are only 2/3 of the formula needed to solve the many challenges we face today! The third, and critical, element is ACTION.
The key to success is to STOP TALKING … get motivated, think positive, and then, as a result, DO SOMETHING!
As of late, Tom has encouraged personal responsibility in response to the challenges we face today as individuals, organizations, and a proud world-leading country.
Stop rehashing, complaining. justifying, explaining, and sharing your problems. Little of that energy contributes to solution. Research, network, synergize, evaluate, plan and TAKE ACTION. What if you fail? Evaluate why you failed, start all over again, and don’t stop until you’ve solved the problem.
Great advice for us personally, small companies and Fortune 500 giants, political parties and countries world wide.
Tom, himself, sums it all up much better than I do, and he does it in just 1:29. Watch his message, absorb it, and then DO IT!
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Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2MAX or fill out our contact form.    
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In today’s job market, many of those seeking employment may have lowered their expectations to the point of demonstrating a willingness to accept most anything. This could readily lead to a number of negative consequences.
10-10-10: A Life-Transforming Idea
Yes, it’s true. Brand names and organizations continue to fall in this ever-growing chaotic economy, like a child’s dominoes on a windy day on the porch!
Reader’s Digest was once the most widely read magazine in the world. It still may be when its overseas editions are taken into account. Last August, the company took its U.S. operations into Chapter 11 to decrease debt. Widely circulated magazines like Newsweek, US News, and TV Guide have no future in America in their current form. Reader’s Digest may live on outside the U.S. and its parent company may survive. However, Reader’s Digest as it is known in the U.S. will be gone.
Blockbuster, Inc. was the national leader in the video rental business for nearly two decades. Now it is contemplating Chapter 11 to eliminate debt. Its revenue continues to fall rapidly as firms such as Redbox and NetFlix siphon off its revenue. Blockbuster has more than 6,000 stores, so it is hard to imagine that the company could disappear. Blockbuster rival Movie Gallery said in February that it would close all of its 2,400 U.S. stores. Blockbuster’s model of renting movies through physical locations has been destroyed by cable and satellite video on demand, DVDs via mail, and dispensing machines. Blockbuster may still be around as a company that has movie kiosks and a small mail and Internet-delivered content business. But its brick and-mortar business is dead.
The case against the BP p.l.c. brand is not so much that the company will enter bankruptcy. It is that BP may end up breaking into pieces for its own sake. This may be to put the liabilities for the Deepwater Horizon spill into a company that also holds escrow capital to cover the huge costs of clean-up and suits. BP may also want to separate its successful refining operations from its exploration business, or recreate an American-based company similar to BP America, which existed for two decades. A restructuring of BP would also allow the firm to take a badly crippled brand and give the oil operation a new name—much as it did when it changed its name from British Petroleum. The second time may be the charm.
Zale Corporation was founded in 1924 by the Zale brothers. It was one of the earliest retailers to offer the ability to buy items on credit. By 1980, Zale had revenue of more than $1 billion. In 1992, Zale filed for bankruptcy. Zale has been at death’s door for some time. The company is trying to turn itself around, but most experts are not convinced. Zale is also in a very crowded market that includes retailers as large as Wal-Mart.
I’m also asked for advice by these young people on how to deal with a number of common, as well as unique, challenges. Recently, a young lady requested advice on overcoming her very serious fear of failure. I needed more information before feeling comfortable to address that issue so I contacted her by phone. We had a very interesting conversation for almost a full hour.
When you think about it, we don’t have a fear of speaking in front of an audience or any other fear for that matter. We have a fear of failing—making a mistake that might generate laughter and even humiliation on our part. Fear of failing can result in tremendously negative consequences for us.
Our 785+ blog articles continue to appear in high school and college newspapers, church bulletins, business newsletters, and a wide variety of business and personal blogs. We created this series of articles in hopes of exposing more of our categories to readers and subscribers who haven’t yet had the opportunity to scan our growing library of content.
Rick shares the true story of a softball game between two junior varsity girls team that couldn’t be more mismatched! One team hadn’t lost a game in 2½ years, and they performed together like a well-oiled machine. The other team, believe it or not, consisted of 16 players who had never played the game before and were led by a coach who had never even seen a game before! It was easy to imagine how this game might play out.
We’ve added still another category, 
This annual event is also tough for adults. They go to the ceremony as parents. They come home as contemporaries and, after 22 years of child-raising, they are unemployed!
We’re currently in the midst of still another crisis. The problem is that we may not recognize it amidst so many other chaotic challenges today. Nevertheless, it’s as serious and consequential as any challenge we’ve ever faced. Another problem is that so many people don’t understand the critical impact this crisis may have on our society and culture in the years to come.