We’ve set the new dates for the next “Get It Done Program” kickoff weekend in Silicon Valley. The 6 month program begins with an intense 2 days where a small group gets individual coaching helping create strategies and plans to catapult their career.

Past Get It Done weekend had participants work on their individual goals like:

craft a book production plan
create webinars
design marketing time line for a retreat
refine a brand
focus disparate projects
starting a blog
rewriting a web site
expand a marketing plan
define interested buyers

Come join in the next program near you. But act now, as there are only a few slots left. Details at http://rebeccamorgan.com/getitdone.html

Dates and Locations

* March 20-21 Biloxi, MS
* April 17-18 Silicon Valley (near the San Jose airport)
* May 8-9 Seattle, WA
* May 15-16 Portland, OR

I am honored to be recognized as a Top 10 Blogger by Toolbox for HR. They determined this by the number of people reading all of the blog postings and mine was in the top 10.

How fun!

We all have areas of weaknesses. Instead of struggling with critical areas where you’ve not yet been successful, you need to admit it. Surrender. Realize you currently don’t have the skills or judgment to be left to your own devices.

This is easy when it comes to things like car repair, complicated taxes, legal issues, and even computer upgrades. You know you’re out of your league and think nothing of hiring a specialist.

The challenge is when you think you should know something, or think you can figure it out. You spin your wheels for hours accomplishing nothing. Why do you do this? Mostly because you don’t want to admit you can’t figure it out. Or you like a challenge.

When I have surrendered and solicited help in areas that came easily to others, I’ve made much greater progress quickly. But most of us don’t look at our results and step back to assess that really we have little skill in this area.

For example, after struggling for years to lose weight and get more exercise, I finally realized that while I knew what to do, I didn’t do it. It wasn’t a lack of information, it was an inability to consistently apply what I knew. I saw that if I were going to master this area of my life, I needed outside input. I hired a well-being coach. I worked with her for 18 months and saw dramatic changes in my habits that in turn affected other areas of my life.

Most call this kind of input coaching or mentoring. I call it adult supervision. What’s the difference?

There’s a lot of overlap. However, adult supervision is a little looser. It’s engaging someone who’s been successful in what you want to advance. You may not talk every week — it may be once a month or longer. They are a wise sounding board.

I’ve utilized adult supervisors for much of my life. In school, teachers would roam guiding us as we worked on assignments. In auto repair class, the instructor checked as we worked on our cars, helping when needed. After class ended, I felt I still needed guidance, so arranged to tune up my car outside an auto-savvy friend’s house. If I ran into trouble, or wanted him to check my work, he was available just inside the house. It comforted me to know help was only steps away.

A friend recently faced tough times. He confided that he has had to confront his many bad decisions that got him where he’s at. He also admitted that he continues to make bad decisions. He needs some adult supervision to help guide him out of his thinking that keeps him in dire straights.

Since I’ve engaged others to be my adult supervisors, I’ve gained wisdom that would have been more painful left to my own figuring it out. So I’m on the other side — I’m now being asked to be adult supervision for others. They call it coaching, but it is on a irregular basis. They retain me and use my time as they need it. They are fine on many aspects of their businesses, but want a ready sounding board who’s been successful at what they want to accomplish.

Adult supervision is like having a periodic mentor or on-call counsel. You are emboldened to move forward into unfamiliar territory because you know you have guidance to walk you through it. This sage can tutor you through obstacles, push back on your thinking and help you keep aligned with your higher goals.

Have you used counsel like this? If so, how have you worked best with this kind of advisor?

In the world of professional speaking, not ending when your client has told you to end is a big sin. Yet it is rampant among non-professionals.

This is seen as a sign of arrogance. People feel it says that you think you are more important than the schedule the meeting organizer has painstakingly crafted. It means the audience will have less time for breaks, or that someone else will have to cut their presentation to accommodate your inconsideration.

If you haven’t taken your presentation seriously enough to time it, you’re being disrespectful of your audience and the meeting organizer.

I was once given 2 minutes to make an important announcement to my professional association of 1500 people. I wrote out that announcement and rehearsed it for an hour, timing it each time until I could deliver it in 1 minute 45 seconds. Why not 2 minutes? Because I needed to allow for laughter or an in-the-moment diversion. Each time I went through it I tightened it up and it became better and better.

If I hadn’t timed it and I came in at 3-4 minutes, and everyone else making an announcement did the same thing, the program would go over 15-20 minutes. The schedule was tight. The time would be taken off the break, which wouldn’t be fair to the audience, or the exhibitors who depended on traffic during breaks.

For a large convention I was in charge of a special program honoring a beloved colleague. We had exactly 30 minutes for our tribute. There were 10 presenters, all veteran professional speakers. Each was given two minutes which would allow for the honoree to have time for a few words. The presenters were told if they didn’t show up for rehearsal, they wouldn’t be in the tribute. They attended reluctantly. When I asked them to do their piece, they winged it. Most went 4-5 minutes.

Why was I such a stickler about the time? Because if we went overtime, the production company staff got double time. There was no budget for that.

When I explained that we had to end at 30 minutes no matter what, the pros saw the severity of the time constraint. They went back and rehearsed. During the tribute, each person’s piece was crisper, more cogent, more articulate.

Recently, in a presentation skills course, I asked each participant to come up with a 2-minute presentation the day before they were to present. They gave their presentations, got feedback, then returned two days later to present a refined version. I timed each person, giving them 30- and 15-second warnings before they were to end.

During the second round of talks, one man talked about two role models in his life. He was still talking about the first one when I raised the 30-second warning sign. He continued as I raised the second warning. He was still talking as I raised the “stop” sign. I let him go another 15 seconds and when he showed no sign of wrapping up, I stopped him.

“Thank you for your talk. I’m curious, didn’t you see my warning signs I held up?”

“Yes, I saw them.”

“Then why didn’t you stop when I held up the ’stop’ sign?”

“Because I wasn’t done.”

I was flabbergasted. “You were done when your time was up. By not preparing and rehearsing your talk so you could adequately cover what you wanted in the time allotted, you are disrespecting your audience. You are saying that what you have to say is more important than honoring their time.”

He hadn’t looked at it that way before.

All the other participants ended on time after that.

In the professional speaking world, it is common for a client to cut time off your speech — usually because one (or more) of the previous non-pros have gone over time. Since the client is boss, the pro does what has to be done to get the meeting back on schedule. Points, stories and laugh lines are jettisoned, often moments before the introduction. A professional speaker typically hones his/her presentation, having spent hundreds of hours practicing key stories and points. It’s similar to a one-person show. The audience doesn’t get the speaker’s best because they’ve had to make up for the non-pros not preparing nor respecting their time commitments.

I once sat in the audience watching my presentation time get whittled away bit by bit by the company’s insiders taking 5-10 minutes longer than the were allotted. I had a “must end” time so I was continually revamping my program, mentally deleting key parts as my time kept diminishing. By the time I was introduced, my hour talk was down to 10 minutes before the must-end time. It didn’t go well. I looked stupid trying to truncate the points my client had insisted I cover, and the audience got platitudes because there was no time to develop the points or illustrate them with examples. Everyone lost.

Don’t be the one who steals the audience’s experience because you didn’t take your presentation seriously enough to time it and stick to that time. The audience may not remember that you ended on time, but they will likely remember that you are the one who went 20 minutes (or more) overtime, and thus cut their break to nothing so they couldn’t return that important client call. You want your presentation to stand out, but not as the arrogant speaker who was so caught up in his/her own story that everyone else suffered.

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Download your copy of Rebecca’s two newest books, Remarkable Customer Service…And Disservice and Grow Your Key Talent. Order info in the left-hand column.

In November and December 2009, bloggers from Toolbox for HR, Toolbox for Finance, and Toolbox for IT, had the opportunity to participate in the 2009 Blogger Derby. Contestants were asked to submit blog posts focused on three themes and were judged by a Toolbox.com bloggers committee.

My entry, “Leadership Lesson from Brunei” won 3rd place in the category “What was your most inspirational workplace story during 2009?”

I’ve set the dates/locations for the next Get It Done Program kickoff weekend options:

• Feb. 27-28 Silicon Valley (near the San Jose airport)
• March 20-21 Biloxi, MS
• May 8-9 Seattle, WA
• May 15-16 Portland, OR

If you’d like more info on how this program works to help you accomplish some big projects, details are at http://rebeccamorgan.com/getitdone.html . Space is very limited so if you’re interested, register today.

“A few weeks ago I went to a Get it Done kickoff weekend and it was the most empowering and practical program I’ve ever attended. Rebecca keeps the group small, and shares generously from her vast knowledge base and experience. I was moved by her compassion. The power of the group adds significantly to the experience. And I’m moving ahead on projects like I never have before, i.e., I’m getting it done!” —Lynn Fraley

We think of computer programs and other electronic equipment having a default — a setting that is standard unless you change it. But we don’t think of people having a default — what we do automatically when we don’t question if this action (or inaction) will help us achieve what we want.

Defaults include how we drive to work, even though there is a new, possibly faster route available. We’re used to going this way and we don’t really consider another option. We get in our car and we’re on autopilot.

It can include how we walk, even though our physical therapist says if we took smaller strides it would have less stress on our sore knee. Or how we eat. Even though we’d love to lose some weight, we always seem to grab some chips and a few cookies with our sandwich. Or our email software is set to bring in new email every 10 minutes, which we then feel compelled to read even though it would be fine to respond within an hour.

I’m finding I’m more frequently put in the role of “default questioner” — the person who gently questions people’s default behaviors when their default is getting in the way of what they want.

For example, in my new “Get It Done Program” my focus is helping executives and independent professionals create major breakthroughs on projects where they are stuck. We all get into ruts, thinking the way we’ve always done something is the only way to do it. Yet that old way doesn’t seem to be working to get moving on a key project.

• In the last Get It Done Program, one man shared that he wanted to conduct public workshops. He successfully had done this five years ago, so thought he would start up again. In working with him I suggested he’d help more people in a deeper way if he offered his topic in shorter webinars, with homework for participants to apply the information to each of their businesses. He could make probably 5 times as much money and have a bigger impact. At first he liked the idea, then was resistant because he didn’t know how to do webinars and didn’t really want to learn. His default was what he already knew, but the new concept would have had a much bigger payoff for all concerned.

• A woman in the program decided she wanted to engage a graphic artist to help improve her online image. I gave her the number of an artist I’d worked with and told her I knew the artist was in and would welcome her call. The woman said she’d call in a few days. I prodded her to do it during a break, after all the program was about getting it done, so why not strike now? She called and started the process so the artist could have a draft to her in a few days — the same time frame that the woman would just be getting started if she’d waited. She jump started her project by a few days rather than allowing her default — do it later — to rule her.

• Another man in the program admitted that he was often distracted by TV rather than working on the book he said he wanted to produce. He worked from home and often had CNN on in the background, but that often stole his attention from his work. I suggested he make a sign to put on his TV: “Am I giving my future to TV?” He did, printed the sign and stuck in on his TV. So he now has to physically remove the sign when he wants to watch TV, which makes him ask if that’s really the best use of his time. His default of TV watching — even if in the background — was getting in the way of getting his critical project moving forward.

What are some of your defaults? You have thought through some and decided they are the best method for you. Great! But what defaults haven’t you questioned lately? Take a new one each day and ask if this default is really helping you accomplish what you say you want.

And for more information on my 6-month Get It Done Program, go to http://rebeccamorgan.com/getitdone.html. Dates and locations are being decided so tell us if you want one in your area.

Like many holiday shoppers, I was looking for the best deal. And judging by the 25-person line at checkout, so were many others, even on a weekday morning. But I wasn’t the only one who was disappointed by the store’s confusing come ons.

In the past, I’d been pleased with Macy’s special coupon deals. So I carefully read the ad offering great sale prices on items I wanted. It said if you purchased the items before 1:00, you’d get an extra discount the sale price. It mentioned Super Sale items were excluded, but my items weren’t listed as part of that sale.

Arriving at noon to ensure I’d be checked out before the deadline, I carefully perused my items to make sure they qualified for the deal.

I chose an out-of-the way checkout counter to avoid the aforementioned 25-person line at the centralized cashier counter. There were two registers across from each other, so I stood at the side of the register the lone cashier was using, even though he was currently ringing up a customer on the other side. Another customer got in line behind her. Then a man joined my line.

While the cashier was helping the customer ahead of me, she was joined by a relative with many more items to buy. I learned this was his first day, so he was unsure of himself and had to call his supervisor during the transaction. The women bought heavy items and a passing coworker told him to call the Will Call department and someone would take the purchases to the dock where the women could pick them up. The young cashier couldn’t get Will Call to answer the phone, so he decided to take the items there himself. He was gone 20 minutes while the checkout line grew to 20 people.

During our wait, the man behind me asked a roaming staff person if his item qualified for the extra coupon savings. She said she didn’t know, but when the item was scanned the register would say. He said he didn’t want to wait another 30 minutes to then be told it didn’t qualify for the discount. We were all getting frustrated by the understaffed store, the uninformed workers, and the confusing advertising.

The cashier returned and it was my turn. I gave him my coupon expecting the extra discount because it was only 12:58. He said my items didn’t qualify because they were part of the Super Sale. The tags near the items didn’t identify them as Super Sale merchandise, nor did the ads mention this. Having already spent nearly 45 minutes in line, I decided to buy the items anyway rather than start over at another store. But I was not happy in the way the store advertised its sale items, the understaffing, and the untrained cashiers.

Since this experience, there have been other enticing coupons in the Macy’s ads. In the past, I might have taken the bait to purchase items I needed. But now I don’t bother as I don’t want to have a repeat of my last experience. If I really need something, I may return if I can’t find it elesewhere. But this experience has tainted my enthusiasm for this store.

The questions for you:

1. Are you staffed up to sufficiently serve customers during sales? Having customers wait 45 minutes to check out will prevent some from purchasing — and others from returning.
2. Are your ads and coupons clear on what is excluded? Do the tags or web pages for these items show if they are excluded from special discounts?
3. Are your people trained in what is on sale and what isn’t so they can respond accurately to customers’ questions?

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Download your copy of Rebecca’s two newest books, Remarkable Customer Service…And Disservice and Grow Your Key Talent. Order info in the left-hand column.

Recently I coached a CEO who ran several successful companies simultaneously.

Her biggest challenge was she worked 16 hours a day, 6 days a week. She loved her work, and had competent staff, but she couldn’t find 30 minutes a day to work on a critical project that would catapult her primary business.

When I asked if she could block out time each day to work on this project, she said she could try but had been unsuccessful doing this in the past. Her customers were very demanding and some wouldn’t talk to anyone but her. If she were on vacation or out of town, her staff would call her if the customer insisted on talking to her.

She found it difficult to work from home so she could get the much needed focused time. I could see why she was frustrated.

She’d trained her demanding customers that she would take care of their needs wherever she was in the world. None of her staff were qualified to help them. When I asked if the staff could be trained to take more of these questions, she said they didn’t have the temperament. Could she hire a COO? She’d had one once, then the COO left. She hadn’t found a replacement yet.

Finally, I said that she was never going to move forward on this critical project unless she made some major changes in how she operated. She’d be stuck working 16 hours a day and her company would be stuck at their current level.

I leaned in and gently said, “You are giving away your future to others.”

By continuing to let others have the time she should have invested in this project, she was giving away her future. She got visibly upset and vowed to make changes in how she managed her companies and her life. I helped her come up with some strategies to begin this shift immediately.

Do you see yourself in this story in any way? If so, do you see that you are giving away your future? What can you do to take back your focus and create the future you want?