Fred Returns With New Ideas to Deliver Extraordinary Results

Photo courtesy of istockphoto/MichaelShivers

He’s an international bestselling author of eight books who regularly tops the bestseller lists, a global leadership guru and one of the most in-demand speakers on the subjects of leadership, customer service and team building. His many awards include the Cavett Award, the highest award the National Speakers Association bestows on its members. He’s a member of the Speaker’s Roundtable.

As you’d expect from a world authority, his clients include the biggest corporations, names like Cisco, Costco, FedEx, Harley Davidson. Add the important alphabet companies like IBM, GM, KPMG, RE/MAX and ESPN.

Outside of all of that, Mark is one of the most decent people I’ve ever met. He’s smart, caring, and he passionately wants to serve others.

WHAT IS A FRED?

Nine years ago, Mark Sanborn invited us to meet his own postman, Fred Shea. Fred embodied true success by taking what seems to be an ordinary job and making it extraordinary. To this day, when I see someone who serves in an extraordinary way, I think, “There’s a Fred!” The Fred Factor became an international phenomenon, selling millions and millions of copies.

FRED RETURNS

This week, Fred returns in Fred 2.0: New Ideas on How to Keep Delivering Extraordinary Results. Last summer, I had the opportunity to get to know Mark. When he told me that Fred 2.0 was on the way, I couldn’t wait to learn more.

Mark, let’s start out with two questions many people ask you. Is Fred real? And, if he is, are you in touch with him? Maybe one more: Does he know he’s the star of this book?

Skip, Fred is very real and still delivering mail in Denver, CO. Over the years we’ve maintained a friendship and connect periodically for lunch or dinner. Fred is a big supporter of The Fred Factor and Fred 2.0, and in the new book I share—with his permission—much more about him, his background and his beliefs.

Move TO your future not AWAY from your past

Photo by Fellowship of the Rich on flickr.

People seem to be motivated by one of two forces. Either toward or against.

Both can be equally powerful motivators, but one seems to last.

Why are you in motion?

When I interview people for a job, I often ask questions about how the individual made career decisions. Some job changes were motivated by moving AWAY from something—a bad boss, a negative work environment, low pay. Other people make a change to move TOWARD something—a new opportunity, the ability to make a bigger impact, a better use of talent.

Though it’s not scientific validation, I’ve found that the people moving TOWARD the new opportunity are more successful, happier, and continue on an upward career path. These people are energized by the future, by what’s to come, by what’s possible.

Contrast that with the people moving AWAY from a job. It seems that the very same things that they didn’t like about the one job magically seemed to follow them to the next!

Moving TOWARD is more powerful than moving AWAY.

Leading Through the 5 Stages of Change

In yesterday’s post, I interviewed Jim Huling about the disciplines of execution. The concepts in the 4 Disciplines of Execution were so fascinating, we continued the conversation.

Much of leadership is influencing people to change. You talk about the five stages of changing human behavior. Would you explain these and is there one stage more difficult to move through than the others?

Because changing human behavior is such a big job, many leaders face challenges when first installing 4DX. In fact, we’ve found that most teams go through five distinct stages of behavior change.

Stage 1: Getting Clear – The leader and the team commit to a new level of performance. They are oriented to 4DX and develop crystal-clear WIGs (wildly important goals), lag and lead measures, and a compelling scoreboard. They commit to regular WIG sessions. Although you can naturally expect varying levels of commitment, team members will be more motivated if they are closely involved in the 4DX work session.

Stage 2: Launch – Now the team is at the starting line. Whether you hold a formal kickoff meeting, or gather your team in a brief huddle, you launch the team into action on the WIG. But just as a rocket requires tremendous, highly focused energy to escape the earth’s gravity, the team needs intense involvement from the leader at this point of launch.

5 Stages of Behavior Change

Getting Clear
Launch
Adoption
Optimization
Habits

Stage 3: Adoption – Team members adopt the 4DX process, and new behaviors drive the achievement of the WIG. You can expect resistance to fade and enthusiasm to increase as 4DX begins to work for them. They become accountable to each other for the new level of performance despite the demands of the whirlwind.

Stage 4: Optimization – At this stage, the team shifts to a 4DX mindset. You can expect them to become more purposeful and more engaged in their work as they produce results that make a difference. They will start looking for ways to optimize their performance—they now know what “playing to win” feels like.

Master the 4 Disciplines of Execution

In every business, strategy is vital for success. It charts the course and sets the direction. But, every strategist knows that so often strategic goals never take off because they are drowned by all of the other competing interests. The daily activities of the organization starve the strategic goal. In The 4 Disciplines of Execution, a terrific new book, authors Chris McChesney, Sean Covey and Jim Huling explain how learning four disciplines can help produce breakthrough results.

And these same concepts can be applied to achieve your personal goals.

After reading the book, I followed up with author Jim Huling to delve into the material.

Jim, for those who aren’t familiar with the four disciplines, would you walk us through them quickly?

Discipline 1: The discipline of focus. Extraordinary results can only be achieved when you are clear about what matters most. As simple as this principle may sound, few leaders ever master it. 4DX teaches why focus is so critical and how to overcome your biggest source of resistance.
Discipline 2: The discipline of leverage. With unlimited time and resources, you could accomplish anything. Unfortunately, your challenge is usually the opposite: accomplish more with less. 4DX shows leaders where they can find real leverage and how to use it to produce extraordinary results.
Discipline 3: The discipline of engagement. You have the authority to make things happen, but you want more than that – you want the performance that only passion and engagement can produce. 4DX enables leaders to rise from authority-driven compliance to passion-driven commitment in themselves and the people they lead.
Discipline 4: The discipline of accountability. No matter how brilliant your plan or how important your goal, nothing will happen until you follow through with consistent action. 4DX brings the practices that drive accountability and follow through, despite a whirlwind of competing priorities.

Finding the Needle in the Office

Photo courtesy of iStockphoto/iqoncept

What needle?

The expression “moving the needle” first appeared in England during the industrial revolution. The reference was to gauges on steam engines. During World War II, it became a more common term in reference to aviation gauges. In business today it’s synonymous with making progress.

I’ve seen three major types of people in business. One person can describe the needle, the other can move the needle, and rarely someone can do both. What do I mean?