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Volume 4, Number 4 June 29, 2004
Publisher: GoalMinds, Inc.
E-mail: condrill@goalminds.com
http://www.goalminds.com
Copyright 2004 Jo Condrill All rights reserved
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"The greatest obstacle to discovering the shape of the earth, the continents, and the oceans was not ignorance, but rather the illusion of knowledge."

--Daniel Borsten

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IN THIS ISSUE ===================================================
1. You Can Never Go Home Again

2. Top Down Teamwork by Jo Reynolds

3. The Pain of Perfectionism by Trudy Bourgeois
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"Focus on the majesty and excitement of what might be. Dare to dream the impossible dreams."
Take Charge of Your Life

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1. You Can Never Go Home Again
=================================================== It’s true. Once you move out and move on, things change. The once familiar place is never the same again. The Pentagon proved that again for me last week. I worked there nine years and every time I return it is a special time of fond memories of the challenges, the
people, and the excitement! My friend, Gwen Talbot, had never visited the Pentagon, so I arranged for two friends who had access to escort us into and around the building. The combination of changes caused by the terrorist attack on 9/11 and the renovation program have disrupted the simple design I knew so well. Offices that were a few steps away from mine are now miles away in Crystal City. Photos memorializing those killed in the attack are displayed in places of honor in the E Ring. Two highlights of the day were viewing the Marine Corps flag that survived the attack and standing in the Pentagon briefing room that you see on TV and watching the first commercial space plane in flight. The two events were connected in my mind by the flight of the flag into space aboard an earlier NASA mission. To see a photo of the flag shortly after the attack and read about the incident, go to http://www.publishandprosper.com/Flag.htm
Thanks to Jane Brattain, Marine Corps Headquarters, and Theresa Persick Arnold, Army Headquarters, I have a new perspective of the Pentagon and a continuing feeling of affection and admiration for the people who work there.

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Charlie "Tremendous" Jones said, "Writing books is the poorest short-term investment and the greatest long-term investment of your time and efforts." That is certainly true--unless, of course, you are the author of something like Harry Potter. Nevertheless, thousands of us continue to write, publish, and sell books. Profit is only partially derived from the book itself. There are other forms of expressing the same ideas: audio books, seminars, speeches. There are also residual profits from licensing others to use or reproduce our work. For instance, "101 Ways to Improve Your Communication Skills Instantly" has been translated into Spanish, Korean, Japanese, Turkish, and Arabic. It is hard to imagine something I've written having an impact in Saudi Arabia and beyond! Indian and Malaysian publishers publish the book in English and distribute it in India and throughout Southeast Asia. This is the information age!

GoalMinds, Inc. has been in the publishing business since 1997 and we share our knowledge and experience with others on a regular basis. The Writers Camp at Lavender Spring Ranch, July 29 to August 3, will be a special event for a small group of special people. We will have seminar sessions covering everything from
writing and editing to publishing and marketing. Participants will have opportunities for private consultations with experienced professionals. You are invited to join us. More information http://www.publishandprosper.com/WritersCamp.htm

If you can't be with us at Writers Camp, join our Publish and Prosper TeleSeminar, Thursday, July 1, 5:00 PM Pacific time. I will present information to help writers decide what to do with their nonfiction work once they have begun to write. A major decision is whether or not to publish the book yourself. We will
discuss options and possible courses of action. Join us for a lively discussion that can help you get into print faster and save money as well as time. You'll find the seminar listed at http://www.publishandprosper.com/Seminars.htp Along with the one-hour TeleSeminar, you will receive a free recording of the discussion. =================================================

"Many persons whose manners will stand the test of speaking break down under the trial of listening."
-- Frederick W. Faber

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2. Top-Down Teamwork by Jo Reynolds
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If I stopped to think about it, the number of people in my life who really made an unforgetable positive impression on me can be counted on one hand. But those few people taught me invaluable lessons.

I had the good fortune to work for a man who was one of these unique people. He had the ability to motivate the people who worked for him, probably without them realizing what he was doing. He was the manager of a data processing department within a textile company and supervised approximately fifteen people. I was the data entry supervisor of four people. The work was fast
paced, deadlines had to be met and teamwork was critical.

Every morning, Mr. Luman would come into our area and stop to speak with each and every one of us. "How are you this morning? How is your mother doing since she came home from the hospital?" Or "How is your day going; those fingers are moving so fast we may have to hose down the keyboard," showing not only professional interest in us but personal interest as well. The employees not only expected his visit each morning but they looked forward to it. If he had to go out of town on business or took vacation, they would ask where he was and when he would be back. He always made you feel he would back you up 100% if you were right, and if not, he explained to you how you were wrong in a way that did not make you feel degraded but gave you the
encouragement to move on and improve. His department had the highest morale in the company and teamwork flourished.

In any situation where teamwork is essential, motivating people to work together, can be a difficult task, especially on a regular basis. Everyone’s mental and physical well being varies daily to some degree and our productivity coincides proportionately. But in order to do and be our best, we need someone who makes us feel important about who we are as well as what we do.

It is a fact that money is not a primary motivator unless there are no other factors involved, but people are willing to work for less money if they are given a comfortable environment, adequate supplies, necessary time breaks, vacation and insurance benefits (when possible), and committed, caring supervision--not someone who can solve all our personal problems, but one who offers encouragement.

The same is true of our peers. You may have a personality conflict with someone you work with, but in order to achieve maximum teamwork, find a way to say something positive and encourage those you work with. Consider making it one of your personal objectives. It doesn’t mean you have to be buddies.

Successful teamwork involves a goal to be reached that the participants care about enough to work diligently to achieve it, when provided with the necessary tools and environment. The determination will depend on the power of motivation and the pride of each participant. Once the goal is reached, everyone involved should commend each other with a united sense of accomplishment.

--Jo Reynolds

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If teamwork is important to you, complete the Team Dimensions Profile and learn to work from your strengths by identifying your most natural team role. This will give you added appreciation for the
contributions of others. As a result, team innovation and productivity increase as conflict and project-cycle time decrease. The results are strictly private since everything is done on your computer. It takes only fifteen to thirty minutes to complete and you will get results almost immediately. Http://www.publishandprosper.com/Teamwork.htm
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"The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself."
--Anna Quindlen

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3. The Pain of Perfectionism =================================

Perfectionism can lead to problems in the workplace. Employees can get so focused on making it perfect that it blocks their productivity. The true feeling behind perfectionism is usually a fear of failure. This fear of failure is covered up by the need for you to be perfect, which is simply unachievable. You are being dishonest with yourself if you truly believe that you can be perfect. Women often fall into this trap, they try to be perfect, to be everything to everyone. It is not possible! Superman and superwoman only exist in the movies and cartoons. No one is perfect! You are allowed to make mistakes, as long as you take responsibility for them and accept the consequences and most
importantly LEARN from them. Apply the following steps to help you to make the behavioral changes needed to improve in the area of perfectionism. Incidentally, these steps can be applied to any area of personal or professional improvement that you desire to make!

1. Awareness is the Key. Think about your behavior. Identify the pieces that you believe are holding you back. Admit that you want to improve in this area. Be realistic. Examine your own feelings and seek to discover what is driving the behavior.

2. Make the Commitment to Adopt a New Behavior. Change begins with a choice. Stop reacting and start responding. Make the decision intellectually and emotionally to change your behavior. Set a daily behavioral goal in the area you want to improve upon.

3. Keep Everything in Perspective. Life is indeed a journey. Nothing can be fixed overnight. What's important is that you make progress. Most situations where we've made mistakes aren't as serious as you first think. Mistakes are a great teacher, but you
must learn from them.

4. Practice Letting Go. Once you have done your best, let the rest take care of itself. Realize what is out of your control and don't try to control that which you can't control.

5. Listen for Clues from Yourself and Your Team. Keep an ear out for team members that are experiencing overload as a result of trying to be perfect. Regroup and revaluate where you are and what needs to be accomplished and make sure to review the learning that has come from the mistakes that may have been made
on the journey to progress.

7. Give Others Permission to Call You Out. This is a good one! If you really want to improve in this area, give someone else permission to tell you when you are out of control (even people that report to you) when your expectations are too high, or your deadlines too tight.

8. Identify the Desired New Behavior. Find someone that you think is strong in the area of balancing perfectionism versus progress. It might be a mentor, friend or even a peer. Observe how they handle this area and if possible talk to them about what is going
on internally that drives what you see externally. Adopt the pieces that work for your improvement process.

9. Practice. Behavior is not easily changed, it will not happen overnight. Give yourself time to establish new behavior. Set yourself a thirty day goal.

10. Celebrate the Small Improvements in your Behavior. When you feel good about yourself it will show on the outside. Reward yourself for improvements. Take the time to reflect on ways that your behavior has helped you to become a better individual and leader.

Celebrate the victory of positive change in your life!

Trudy Bourgeois, Author of "Her Corner Office"
http://www.workforceexcellence.com/

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Thanks to our guest authors and thank you for being with us.
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