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80% Success is Showing Up Design

Showing Up

March 28, 2019
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One of the many great principles that organized sports teaches is the value of “showing up”. You may ask, how is something as simple as showing up a great principle? Isn’t it just an expectation of any participant?. Yes it is, but showing up teaches a valuable lesson. We discover the true potential or value of an individual, or a team, when there is a strong commitment to showing up.

What Coaching Taught Me

As a coach, I enjoyed helping to shape and mold young people through the sport or activity I led. As one of my jobs, I helped them find their sweet spot, that thing they loved to do so much that showing up wasn’t a problem. In fact, if not being able to show up and participate was heartbreaking for them, I knew I had found their sweet spot. Often finding this place took time, courage, risk and vulnerability. I sometimes had to move them around a bit and try them in different places.

From time to time, a player who had been on the team would choose to do something else. I wished they would come out for the team and wondered if I had failed to be a good enough leader. It wasn’t enough that they were already a part of something else. They had to be on my team!

I can now honestly say I have grown past the point of wanting everyone on my team. More importantly I no longer feel like a failure when those I lead make a different choice. What I now find important to me is that everyone is showing up somewhere. If they are adding their God given value where they are, being generous with their talent and their time, encouraging others and showing their love for the game or cause, then I am happy.

A Showing Up Challenge

Finally, the thought for the week is, are you showing up somewhere? And, if so, how do you know if you’re showing up in the right place? I think it is as simple as this – will you be missed if you are not there? It’s not all about your physical talent or ability. Your support, encouragement, work ethic, and leadership are other necessary ingredients of a well functioning team. If you don’t show up, will you be missed?

Today, ask the people you show up with if they would miss you if you were gone.  Their answers and the reasons they would miss you might surprise you.  It’s likely not what you would think.

I believe there is a place, a sweet spot, for every humble soul. Now, find yours and go show up!

 

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Share Your Thoughts by Inviting Subscriber

Why Write? An Invitation to Generosity

March 21, 2019
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Why write?

Dennis, of Apple Awards, is getting courageous with his writing and wants others to be encouraged to do the same. He’s thinking about why he’s been holding back, and why he’s writing now. Read on…

Nothing to Offer?

So why is it that I feel the need to write my thoughts in this blog? Is it because I know so much, that I must impress you, so you can have success and fame? This is hardly the case, and actually, the near opposite is true. Writing my thoughts and experiences is one of the scariest things I have done to date. There is this small voice in my head that tells me that I have nothing to offer others. Have you heard that voice saying the same thing to you?

Afraid of What Others Think?

I have always enjoyed writing a Christmas letter at the end of each year to send to family, friends and relatives. Outside of the worries of spelling things correctly and using proper grammar, this felt like an easy task to me because I was just writing about actual events that had taken place over the past year. That’s simple right? Well, not really because when I write about others in the family, I don’t know if they approve, and to write only about myself feels self centered and narcissistic. These negative thoughts, true or  not, have kept me from writing for the past several years.

Sharing Life As an Act of Generosity

Back to my blog, This blog’s intent is not to tell anyone how they should live, lead, do business, or coach. It’s not to show people that they are loved and appreciated.  I believe the ways to effectively do these things are as numerous as the stars in the sky. I now write as an act of generosity. Yes, to share one’s thoughts, feelings and experiences, I believe, can be a very generous act. Just the fact that deep down I wonder if I have anything to offer, should not keep me from offering what I have. Whether it is of any use to you, “the reader”, is not for me to decide. But if for some reason it is, shouldn’t I muster up the courage to put it out there?

Why I Write

Up to this point in my life I have kept a journal as a simple act of reflection and working things out in my own head. I haven’t worried about spelling, grammar or making sense to anyone but myself, because I was the only reader. I always found this simple habit to be therapeutic and beneficial to my own soul.

Now I am going to be brave and generous by sharing some (not all) of those thoughts, experiences and lessons with you, my friends. No pressure, as I know it’s not for everyone, but  thank you for considering that it may be for someone, maybe not you, but for someone you know and care about. I have benefited so much from reading what others have generously shared with me through books, blogs, videos and social media posts that I desire to give back. That is why I write.

And so, as my good friend Gary always says, “Life is a gift…. live it!” I would humbly add “ and share it”.

You Are Invited

You are invited, as difference makers, leaders, family members, friends, business associates or total strangers to subscribe to my blog. I feel compelled to share my experience and encouragement, as an entrepreneur, leader, and youth sports coach, with those who might benefit from it.  I will post once a week, on Friday mornings for now (maybe twice if something really exciting is happening). Each post will be short, a few paragraphs, and include an applicable experience or thought for you to contemplate. After reading (five minutes at the most) I want you to feel free to respond with your thoughts or experience as an act of generosity to fellow readers on the subject or simply share if it was of any use to you.

 

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Leadership Team – Try It!

March 14, 2019
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Is good leadership the result of good people skills or experience? Which trait of a good leader is most important? The obvious answer is both, they are equally important.

People Skills?

If I were to choose a coach for my children’s team I would ideally chooses someone who was relationaly healthy, could cast vision, build trust, establish loyalty with a high commitment level,  and understand the generation they lead. I would choose someone who was humble, had a heart of service, and was full of love.

Experience?

At the same time I would look for someone who had a lot of first hand experience.  They would have had years playing the game, or many years of coaching and mentoring. Their experience would have led to a good working knowledge of the fundamentals, the rules and the tactical options of the game. I think we would all agree that we would love to play for a coach like this.

Or, switch to the workplace. Maybe this is our employer. We would love to have a boss like this, wouldn’t we?

The unfortunate reality is that there are more leadership positions out there than there are people, gifted in both of these arenas, to fill them. I would actually contend that this person is extremely rare, if they exist at all. So what is the answer?

How to Have It All

I believe it is the team builder. The team builder is someone who has enough people skills and enough technical knowledge to be “dangerously proficient” but is humble enough to surround herself/himself with others who can make up for each other’s deficiencies. Creating and organizing like this can be difficult and messy, but once it has been accomplished it can be a much stronger form of leadership than the single talented, dynamic leader.

A leadership team where there is trust, accountability and diversity has the potential to be  a strong form of leadership simply because there is more ability to withstand the troubled times.  A well crafted and balanced team can lose it’s best player and still remain competitive. A team that depends wholly on the gifts and talents of one player crumbles when that player goes down.

Play Your Part

Are you a team builder? Or more likely, and maybe even more importantly, are you a part of a team someone else is building? Both positions require good choices on the part of the individual. Learn and grow daily so you can bring your best to the team in whatever capacity you may serve. Being part of a leadership team is belonging to something bigger than yourself.  It’s an important part of bringing purpose and meaning to life through your everyday work.

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Financial Rule - Budget

Two Simple Financial Rules for Entrepreneurs

March 7, 2019
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Why I Have Never Had a Budget

I have a hard time admitting this but I have never actually had a financial budget, personally or for any of my businesses.

I am not endorsing or recommending my approach to handling finances but, in my experience, I have always struggled to see value in creating a budget, especially when I would just ignore it anyway. My thinking has always been, how do I take advantage of potential opportunities if I am bound by a budget? There is no line item in most budgets for “unexpected opportunity” costs!  

Maybe this is just the plight of an entrepreneur –  I never know exactly how much it might cost to make a new opportunity work out, or if it does work, how much profit will there be in the end? Without knowing these things how can I budget for them? I have been on church and organizational boards where a budget has been a necessity and a very good thing. I can see the value of this whole process in many situations. But for my endeavors and unconventional approach I just could not seem to make it feel like it was worth it.

Or  maybe I am just foolish and a bit crazy.

So you might ask, if you don’t have a budget how do you manage your finances?  I have a couple of simple rules and they have worked well for me.

Rule 1

I will not carry any debt that does not produce,or have the potential to produce, income. I use credit cards but do not carry debt on them. Autos or “toys”are not things I want to carry debt on either, because they don’t produce income or appreciate in value. The exception to this was my home mortgage. I have to have a place to live and this is one of the few non-income producing purchases that is highly likely to have the same or increased value over the purchase price when I decide to sell it.

Rule 2

Always be building some form of net worth through a income producing business, rental property or real estate investment. Again the guideline for me has been that these investments have to not only pay their own way, but they need to also provide enough cash to pay my living expenses, mortgage and credit card bill.

In the early years I had to start my first business while I had a day job working for my father’s excavating business. Once the business matured to the point where it could support my living expenses, I quit my day job and started another business. Get the picture? One business would support me until the new business could become profitable. In some cases I had to abandon the idea because it wasn’t working. A few times I got to a place where I could not meet my expenses or pay my credit card balance in full. That was my red warning flag. I needed to spend less, earn more, or sell something. But either way, I benefited.  I would build something of value or I would learn a valuable lesson.

This process worked well for me because it forced me to live within my means yet, at the same time, save through the equity I was gaining in my assets. An asset to me is something that produces regular income, pays its own operating expenses, and over time will sell for at least its original purchase price (and, in all likelihood, more). This is how I have intentionally attempted to build lasting wealth. Slow and steady over time.

Is a strict line item budget a wise strategy for you? It may be, but for me and my financial planning, these simple rules have been the most valuable.  

 

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Brand Name Design

Your Name

February 15, 2019
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Did you know that the future of your next event could depend on your recognition products and the name they bear?  What you give and how you present it is very important!

There is a reason why many events give every participant a t-shirt. And no, it’s not because you need more T-shirts. You’re given a t-shirt in the hope you will wear it, because by wearing it you are helping to promote the event name for the future. T-shirts are one way, a good way, but not the only way.

Athletic Events

At Apple Awards we provide recognition products for the American Birkebeiner®, the largest ski race in North America and  second in the world. The organizers of this race are professionals who know the value of promoting their name to all 13,000 participants. Each one goes home from this event with multiple items that are personalized with their name. In the past couple of years they have gone through a major branding overhaul to create easily recognizable and trademarked images, colors and logos. They have done a masterful job of placing these images on every medal, pin, plaque, shirt, race bib, or gift that goes home with a participant.  These items are displayed in homes and offices all over the world. They are conversation starters and reminders for the participants. They are key elements of branding and name recognition for future events.   

Other Events

Even non athletic events give tokens. The brass medallion with its raven icon from my altMBA course this fall is a good example.  It’s sitting on my desk as a daily reminder of my participation, and at times a conversation starter with visitors. Conferences, contests and almost any event that has participants can easily brand their event with a personalized product that people will appreciate. 

Here at Apple Awards we’ve had a paradigm shift as we think about why and how we produce  recognition products.  Most importantly, it has expanded our purpose from just being producers of awards, to being marketers, helping to promote future events.

In conclusion, if you run an event, big or small, have you thought about the importance of sending something home with each participant, something that boldly display’s your events name on it? Let us help you work on the future success of that event with our wide variety of personalized recognition products. It’s all about your name.

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Growning is serious business, always. Design

Keeping a Growth Mindset

February 5, 2019
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If you’re not moving forward or growing, you may be standing still or even moving backwards. What does this mean? I probably don’t have to explain to you what growth looks like. It is a condition of the mind, it is intuitive to life and anyone knows if they are growing or not. The hard part is admitting lack of growth and doing something about it. Choosing to grow is a  choice, like exercising or eating healthy.

Reality is that the world, and the way we do things, is changing faster and faster.  Keeping up with the pace can be really hard. Since I contend that a growth and service mindset is essential to relevance in today’s marketplace, I had to consider the “keeping up” factor before I went into business. Here’s how that looked for me.

Both award businesses I bought were at a point where they were experiencing years of declining sales. A small business naturally loses a few customers every year due to attrition. Customers die, they retire and move on to other employment. But the key to a healthy business is whether it can consistently replace those customers lost to attrition with new customers.

Don’t misunderstand, both of my businesses still had many good loyal customers. Their products, for the most part, were good. The service they provided was good and relevant. Those were the reasons I bought them. Both businesses, in my opinion, were declining because their owners were either unable, for various reasons, to keep up with the changing structures and technologies in today’s business world. These were growth problems.

Just to clarify, growth is not always about making things bigger. Sometimes it’s a requirement just to keep things the same. For example, a business may be in a geographic area or a competitive market where there are only so many customers, and this is okay. But growing is still  necessary to address natural attrition and keep the customer base large enough for the business to remain viable.

Even when I was working for someone, growth was no less important. I knew if I didn’t grow I could become irrelevant and easily replaceable. The best book I have ever read regarding this is Linchpin by Seth Godin.

This brings me back to purpose, if you have a purpose for doing what you do, I believe you will naturally want to learn and grow to satisfy that purpose.  Your purpose could be as simple as providing for your family, or as difficult as providing clean drinking water for people that don’t have any. Both purposes changes the world for the better, today and tomorrow.

What to do? Are you continuing to grow, learning through curiosity and taking risks? Do you need some inspiration? Check out this video  How ya gonna Live? Answer these questions, and the world will thank you!

 

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How to Find Your Purpose

January 29, 2019
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Purpose

Back in 2002 Rick Warren wrote a book called the Purpose Driven Life. What I believe Rick was trying to show us in this book is that life just goes better when we live it with purpose. Our true  purpose in this life is not always something that is obvious to us. As a result of our own choices or choices made by those in authority around us, we can find ourselves in circumstances or an environment that makes our purpose easy to miss. So, we know we want it but how do we find it?

Early on in my adult life, I remember thinking that “doing” made all the difference in living a life of purpose. To some extent it was true. What I missed was, the “doing” is only part of the formula, the second part.

First, Be Still.

Quickly, I learned that the only way I could feel good about what I was doing was if I first quieted myself enough to reflect and listen to what I needed to do. This was a really hard thing for me to do, and as I write this, I am realizing it still is, to some extent.

I believe there are two primary ways to quiet yourself and work through questions regarding life,  through meditation or prayer. Myself, I choose prayer because to me prayer is a conversation with my creator, the author of life.

Secondly, Act!

So, I guess what I am recommending is, learn to be still and reflect before action, but don’t forget you must also act. Through regular attention to both prayer and action I believe your true purpose in this life will be revealed.

A Caution

When you are still there will be competing voices for your attention, good and evil. One will tell you that you are worthy and one will try to tell you are worthless. The truth is that you are the first and if you don’t see that you may need some help. It’s ok, we all need help!

For more on purpose in life and business see our post on Growth and Purpose.

Being Still, on Purpose

 

 

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Is Your Ship Sinking Design

Growth and Purpose: Is Your Ship Sinking?

January 25, 2019
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I believe the key to any successful life or business is a purpose (service) and a growth mindset. One without the other rarely impresses me.

One of my favorite things to do while on vacation is to admire the creativity of business enterprises, big and small. Everyone from the airline we fly to the restaurants we eat at, the resort we stay at and the shops we visit. The longer we’re engaged with them the more we see their uniqueness and personality or lack thereof, come out. The same holds true for the people we meet. It doesn’t take long to notice if the motivating factor for their life or enterprise is service or self. Soon, it becomes evident if the person or enterprise is growing, coasting or is declining.

Let me define a couple terms:

Purpose

Without a servant heart and attitude there is very little purpose beyond $money$ in what and why we do what we do. When things get hard and money is scarce the dream can easily die.

Growth

The saying goes “if you’re not moving forward, you’re standing still or moving backwards.”

The natural illustrations are everywhere on this. Stop pedaling your bike and coast, eventually you stop and tip, the ride is over. The plane you’re on stops fueling the engines, and it starts to glide.  We all know what happens next.

True to the pattern, the minute I quit investing in my personal or career growth, the decline is soon to follow.  First things will flatten out and I will glide on the momentum I previously had, then the downward trajectory will follow.

Is Your Ship Sinking?

I am convinced that this is a law of nature and no person or business is above it.  Whether it is my business, job, relationships or my spiritual walk, I must take time to think about the why (purpose) and how (growth) regarding what I am doing.

How about you? Take an inventory and ask yourself if you are growing, coasting or falling? If this causes you alarm or concern regarding your life or enterprise, take heart! Awareness and thinking about it is a big, first step. I’m going to be sharing some of my own thoughts on these important issues in the next few posts. Join me as I explore how to right the ship before it goes under and sinks.

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Participation

Participation Matters!

January 22, 2019
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What would it take to change your mind about awarding participation? A compelling argument, or do you need indisputable facts? Let’s look at an issue that’s been debated as long as there have been contests and winners and losers.

I actually believe in giving participation trophies, and not just because I am an awards provider. It actually makes good sense because participation is a big deal.

Some believe that we should only award the best, the competition’s winners.  If we award the participant we are sending the wrong message – that everyone is a winner just for showing up.

But, isn’t this true in much of life? Isn’t it the showing up and participating that counts? No one, not even the youngest of children, when handed a second place or a participation trophy after losing a contest, thinks they won the contest. But they can still feel proud and appreciated by the event’s planners for showing up and making it a contest. Think about it.  If only the best team shows up, there is no contest.

A well thought out awards plan, even one including participation trophies, can serve multiple purposes.

  1. It recognizes great skill and achievement for the champions
  2. All participants are thanked and appreciated for participating and making it a contest.
  3. Everyone goes home with a token or a gift, a reminder that they participated in that event so they remember it and want to come back. (This is how great event planners market their events. They send everyone home with something that has the event’s name on it.)

In February, one of the biggest single events that we provide awards for, the American Birkebeiner®, sends everyone, all 10,000 participants, home with a participation trophy – a medal or year pin signifying that they finished the the Birkie for the first or the 45th time. This is one of the reasons, I believe, that it is one of the greatest events on snow and it sells out every year!

Participation matters!

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Feel Like Quitting Early? Design

Quitting Under Stress

January 5, 2019
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Feel Like Quitting?

Quitting, in our culture, doesn’t always have a positive reputation.  I was always told that “quitters never win, and winners never quit”. Like a lot of other sayings, this one might need a little evaluation. Should we continue every project, every direction, every goal indefinitely? If not, how do we know when to quit – an idea that has probably crossed all our minds many times. Quitting sounds so attractive during moments of high stress!

I first learned a term, “the dip”, during my enrollment in the altMBA .  It’s a term coined by Seth Godin, the creator of this course. The term may be new but the concept has been around forever and is definitely something that all of us (depending on age) have faced literally hundreds of times in our life. The dip is that moment when something gets so hard that you feel like quitting.

Good NewsThe Dip

Seth wrote a book called “the dip” (yes, all lower case). Under the book title on the cover reads the words A LITTLE BOOK THAT TEACHES YOU WHEN TO QUIT (AND WHEN TO STICK). Wait a minute, is he implying that there are times when it is actually okay to quit when it gets hard? Could it be that at times the best strategy for winning is actually quitting?

Here is the gist of this little book, and you don’t even have to pay me for the two hours it took me to read it. This is free, late Christmas gift from Seth and I. Use it wisely and by all means share it.  Quitting, as a short term strategy, just because you’re in a dip, is a bad idea.  Quitting as a long term strategy, for good reasons, can be an excellent idea. 

 “Never quit something with great long term potential just because you can’t deal with the stress of the moment” Seth Godin

 

 

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