Author: Scott Asai

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After you get your mind out of the gutter, when it comes to your career this question is serious business. Regardless of where you are in your career, who’s on top matters. 

The “trickle down” effect. Take for example, Donald Sterling, owner of the Los Angeles Clippers. Recently there were reports that he heckles his players when they’re not performing up to their potential. Not exactly a motivational speaker huh? Whoever is on top bleeds their personality and core values to everyone within the organization. As an employee, it’s vital you get to know as much about the person in charge. Even if you never meet him/her face to face, you will know what they value based on how you are treated.

Choose respect over like. That means it’s more important that you respect your boss than actually like him/her. It’s not what they say, but what they do. Actions speak louder than words. If you truly respect your boss, there should be times you don’t like him/her because they’ll do what’s best for the company, not just for you. On the other hand, if you really like your boss, but don’t respect him/her, most likely you don’t give 100% effort and the company suffers.

Look for growth opportunities. What is the company culture like? There’s no harm in taking a lesser position if you know there’s room to advance. On the flip side, if you are in it solely for the money, it will come back and bite you. A learning culture provides multiple ways to continuously grow their workers such as: coaches, workshops, conferences, training, etc. (Take a look at Google, Zappos & Dreamworks as examples) 

We’ve been told great organizations are flat, but that’s a myth. All organizations need some form of vertical leadership to accomplish anything. The leader of a company drives the culture. The culture affects workers more than any other factor. Take some time to look up and figure out if you like respect what you see. What’s on top will determine how you feel “below.”

I’d like to hear your personal stories about good and bad leadership you’ve experienced. Please leave your comment below.

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Define success. Each definition is unique. 
Define failure. Any time you don’t reach the intended goal. 

  
The most successful people in the world fail the most. 
Yes, I said it. Successful people aren’t afraid of failure because of how they view it.

After your next failure (that’s right, it will happen), try asking yourself these questions:

What can I learn?
We learn the most from losing, not winning. There’s teachable moments in every setback no matter how painful they are. It’s not what happens to you, but how you respond to it. 

What’s my next move?
There’s no harm in evaluating what happened (collecting data), but don’t dwell on your mistakes. Pick yourself up and move on. If you “keep score” based on wins and losses, you’ll become depressed. One great win can offset many losses.

After you get up off the canvas and start fighting again, re-focus on your desired target. Think of a mosaic (credit to my friend Josh Allan Dykstra). Instead of being consumed with the individual pieces, step back and view the big picture. Don’t let setbacks stop you. Stay persistent and the results will come.

Being successful is about learning to fail forward. Learn from your mistakes. Move on. Fixate on your target. Failure isn’t a bad thing, if you know how to “see” it.

Are you ready to fail forward?

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What are the negative effects of technology? Poor relationships.

Social media and other forms of technological communication strip away the ability to have a decent face to face conversation. Facebook, Twitter and Linked-In broaden your network, but provides minimal depth of community.

Your brain sharpens with experience, so if your definition of friendship lies behind a computer screen, that becomes your context. Computers can’t read emotion and facial recognition, so the more time you spend on your laptop and texting, the less socially aware and empathetic you become. 

My work is primarily with Gen Y/Millennials and what I notice is they are highly educated, but lack people skills. They’ve been taught instant gratification, but the problem is relationships don’t work like that. We are getting closer to the days of eHarmony as the way to meet others because there’s too much risk in real life dating.

Instead of getting depressed, here are some proactive ways to improve your interpersonal skills:

• Practice having conversations with family members and friends
• Attend networking events and focus on getting to know one or two people well
• Invite a social media contact to grab coffee together  

Let’s not let the “art of conversation” become extinct. Social media and technology is not the enemy (I’d be a hypocrite because I use them), but merely a means to an end. Don’t substitute “contacts” for relationships.

Business is relationships. Your network is your net worth!

What will you do this week to build or strengthen a relationship?

There are several products on the market to cleanse your body of harmful toxins, yet what if there was a way to do the same for your mind? Since your thoughts trigger feelings that initiate how you act, here are three ways to shift your negative thoughts into positive ones:

Shift: Away > Towards – In golf if there’s water ahead and you tell yourself “Don’t hit it in the water”, you’ll overcompensate and aim 50 yards clear of it. Usually it avoids the water, but still ends up being a terrible shot. Instead of telling ourselves to “stay away” from something, try “going towards” what you want. For example, instead of avoiding networking because you don’t like large groups; meet up for coffee one-on-one. It’s still accomplishes the goal of building your network, just at your style at pace.

Shift: Subjective > Objective – Your natural reaction is to take things personal, but what if you stepped back and looked at the big picture versus just your perspective? Simply looking at the situation from a different angle can change the way you react. Managing your emotions is a step towards maturity. 

Shift: Control > Choice – The faster you can grasp how much control you don’t have, the less disappointed and frustrated you’ll be. You can’t control what happens to you, but you can choose how you respond to it. When things don’t go your way don’t dwell on what happened; figure out what you can do about it. In business, no one wants to hear complaining about problems, people want solutions. 

Detoxing your mind is ridding it of negative thoughts and replacing it with positive ones. Perspective is one of the most powerful tools for your mind. Just a slight shift in view can turn a pessimist into an optimist. Shifting your mind produces hope and hope is what we need to fuel positive change. 

How can you detox your mind this week?