Bud Bilanich | The Common Sense Guy

Wisdom of the Ages

I received a sample issue of The Manager’s Intelligence Report the other day.  There was an article on the front page entitled Wisdom of the Ages that caught my attention.  The article made several common sense points about life, leadership and business success, so I am posting excerpts of it here.

Don’t be afraid of the phrase, “I don’t know”.  If you don’t know the answer, don’t try to bluff.  If you’re at fault, take the blame.  If you’re wrong, apologize.  A wise person once said, “if you always tell the truth, you never have to remember which lies you told to which person.”

Never gossip.  If someone wants to gossip with you, politely say you’re not interested.  Remember the old adage, “when someone gossips, two careers are hurt – the person being talked about, and the person doing the talking.”

No task is beneath you.  Don’t think you are above anything.  Pitch in – especially if the job is one no one wants to do.

Share the credit whenever possible.  Leaders who spread around credit look much stronger that those who take all the credit for themselves.

Ask for help.  If you think you are in over your head, you are.  Ask for help before things get out of hand.  Besides saving yourself an embarrassment, you make a friend and ally.

When you don’t like someone, don’t let it show.  Never burn bridges or offend others as you move ahead.

Let it go.  What shouldn’t happen often does: you weren’t given the project you wanted, you were passed over for a promotion you thing you deserved.  Be gracious and diplomatic – and move on.  Harboring a grudge won’t advance your career.

When you’re right, don’t gloat.  The only time you should ever use the phrase “I told you so”, is when someone says to you “you were right, I really could succeed at that job”.

These are some great common sense bits of wisdom.  Use them, and watch you life, career and business blossom.

That’s it for today.  Thanks for reading.  Log on to my website www.BudBilanich.com for more common sense.  Check out my other blog: www.SuccessCommonSense.com for common sense advice on becoming the life and career star you are meant to be.

I’ll see you around the web, and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.

Bud

Common Sense Advice on Becoming a Peak Performer

The October 30, 2006 edition of Fortune is called The Excellence Issue.  It’s great reading for anyone interesting in excelling.  Beginning on page 104, there are interviews with 12 Peak Performers, people who are at the top of their game in their chosen fields.

I liked this section so much, that I decided to highlight each of these peak performers and their most basic advice on success.  Enjoy.

·        Yra Harris, Principal, Praxis Trading – “The market is always right.  You’re not.”

·        James Erwin, US Marine Corps Drill Instructor – “Apply pressure.  Repeat as needed.”

·        Yukihuro Yamazaki, Lexus Test Driver – “Trust your senses: sight, sound, smell and touch.”

·        Jennifer Harman, Professional Poker Player – “Know when to press, know when to pull back.”  (Sounds like Kenny Rogers, “you’ve got to know when to hold ‘em and know when to fold ‘em).

·        Daria Hazuda, Merck Inc. Scientific Director of Infectious Diseases – “Make failure work for you.”

·        Adam Vinatari, Placekicker Indianapolis Colts – “Practice under the gun”.  (Illustrated with a piece on “how to kick a field goal”.)

·        Robert Trujillo, Bass Player, Metallica – “Unleash the Vulcan within.”

·        Bob Arno, Security Expert – “Watch your behind”.  (Illustrated with a piece on “how to pick a pocket”.)

·        Laura Linney, Actor – “Leave your ego at home.”

·        Mike Moritz, Venture Capitalist – “Curb your enthusiasm.”

·        Hector Ruiz, CEO AMD – “Use humility as a weapon.”

·        Roger Owens, Peanut Vendor, Dodger Stadium – “It’s all in the wrist.”  (Illustrated with a piece on “how to pitch peanuts”.)

Some pretty good, common sense ideas on success.  If you want to learn more, you’ll have to read the issue.  However, if you think about these tid bits, you'll probably find more than one good idea to apply to your life and career.

That’s it for today.  Thanks for reading.  Log on to my website www.BudBilanich.com for more leadership common sense.  Check out my other blog www.CareerSuperStar.com for common sense advice on becoming the life and career star you are meant to be.

I’ll see you around the web, and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.

Bud

PS: Speaking of Alex’s Lemonade Stand – my fundraising page is still open.  Please go to www.FirstGiving.com/TheCommonSenseGuy to read Alex’s inspiring story and to donate if you can.

Origin of The Common Sense Guy

Ralph Waldo Emerson is one of my favorites.  His quote, Nothing so astonishes men as common sense and plain dealing was the catalyst for me becoming The Common Sense Guy.

Emerson was great friends with Henry David Thoreau.  In this post, I’d like to share some of their thoughts on self reliance, courtesy of the Executive Leadership newsletter…

Business Writing Phrase Generator

Bill Piombino, a friend of mine, sent this to me.  It’s very clever – and it points out the problem with jargon and over writing in business communication.  I first saw this phrase generator back in the 1970s.  Then, it was called a “Bafflegab Thesaurus”. Whatever it’s called, I think it’s worth sharing here…

The Power of Positive Reinforcement

If what I read in the paper is correct, my wife and I were two of about 25 people who watched the Oscars Sunday night.  We're both movie fans.  We saw all five of the movies nominated for best picture.

However, this post is not about whether Crash deserved the Oscar, it's about Reese Witherspoon's acceptance speech after she won the award for Best Actress...

Creativity Can Be Learned

The other day, a client asked if I could lead an applied creativity workshop for him and his team.  I delved into my archives and came up with some material I have used in the past to help people become more creative. 

A lot of people believe that you can't teach creativity -- it's something you have or you don't.  While I agree that some people are naturally more creative than others, I believe that anyone can become more creative.

Here's my quick take on enhancing your creativity...

Wisdom from the Dalai Lama

One of my friends forwarded me these tips on life.  They are attributed to the Dalai Lama.  I haven't been able to verify if, in fact, the Dalai Lama is the source.  However, they are great tips for living a full and productive life, so I am posting them here...

Managing E Mail

E mail is great.  It really helps people communicate better.

E mail is terrible.  It takes over people's lives and keeps them on call 24/7.

Sadly, both statements are true.  E mail is a great communication device.  On the other hand, it can take over your life -- but only if you let it. 

Here are some common sense ideas I use to control my e mail, and avoid it controlling me...

Project Teams That Work

I was working with a coaching client the other day who was frustrated with project teams.  In her job, she leads project teams quite a bit.  As we talked, it became clear that she needed to do a better job of chartering the project teams she leads.  We came up with the following list of questions that each project team should answer as they begin their work together.

• What does this team need to accomplish?
  • What will successful completion of the task look like?

• What is “in scope” for this team?

• What is “out of scope” for this team?

• What functions and people should be represented on the team?

• What procedural groundrules (meeting frequency, use of substitutes etc.) will the team adopt and follow?

• What are the team leader’s expectations of team members?

• What are the team member’s expectations of the team leader?

• How will team maintenance roles (note taking, distribution of minutes etc.) be handled?

• Who are key outside stakeholders for the team?  What are their expectations?

• What resources does the team need to do its job well?

The common sense point here is: a few minutes spent in "chartering" a project team will pay big dividends in team effectiveness and productivity.

That's all for today.  Thanks for reading.  For more common sense, log on to my website: www.BudBilanich.com. 

I'll see you around the web, and at Alex's Lemonade Stand.

Bud

Common Sense Tips for Remembering Names

For most people, the sound of their name is the sweetest thing that they can hear.  Yet, a lot of us – myself included – often forget people’s names as soon as we are introduced to them.  Over the years, I’ve worked hard at remembering the names of people I meet.  Here are a few of the techniques I use.

• If the situation permits, hand the other person your business card.  This will almost always get you his or her card.  Now you have a hard copy reminder of the person’s name.

• However, many times exchanging business cards just isn’t possible.  In these cases, I try to repeat the other person’s name as often as I can in the conversation.  “It’s nice to meet you, Sally.”  “Sally, how long have you been in your line of work?”  “Do you have any children, Sally?” etc. etc.  There is a twofold value here.  1) you won’t forget Sally’s name, and 2) Sally will appreciate you addressing her by name.

• Sometimes you’ll be introduced to another person who will merely smile or nod their head, and not tell you their name.  In cases like this, I make it a point to say, “I’m sorry, I didn’t get your name.”  The typical response is “Oh sorry, I’m John Jones”.  Once you know John’s name, continue to use it in conversation as I’ve outlined above.

• If the person has a name that is new or different for you (this often occurs when meeting people of different cultures), ask him or her to repeat the name slowly.  I often ask where they’re from – most people are happy to talk about themselves and will tell you.  For example, recently I met a woman whose name was “Flor”.  I said, “that’s a pretty name, I’ve never met anyone named Flor.”  She responded by telling me that she is Puerto Rican and that Flor means “flower” in Spanish.  She even went on to joke that her husband always says that “while flowers are pretty, he never forgets that they sometimes have thorns.”  I will never forget Flor’s name as a result of this conversation.

• Sometimes no matter how hard you try, you will forget someone’s name.  Honesty is the best policy in these situations.  I always say something like “I’m sorry, I know we’ve met, but your name escapes me.”  This is usually met by a big smile and a reintroduction.

Remembering people’s names is a good way to ensure your career success.  I hope you’ve found this tips to be helpful.

I’ll see you around the web.

Bud