LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"Goals convert vision into ENERGY." Dave Ramsey

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

This month I want to explore some ideas around PROJECT MANAGEMENT. Pretty exciting theme for a summer month, but I'm finding myself looking for some tools to help me get some things done over the next few months.

Thank you for your comments. I asked you to share some thoughts, and I received some great notes that I'll share below.

My friend Alan shared an article he had written on "The Big Rock Theory" and I'm sharing it HERE because he makes some really good points about the idea. Check it out and check out all of the content on his website. Thanks for sharing Alan.

The quote above from Ramsey isn't the quote I was looking for, but it's connected.

I attended one of Ramsey's EntreLeadership Conferences years ago, and really appreciated his approach to leadership.

At the conference, Ramsay made this statement (or it's what I heard him say)... something like:

"Goals are your vision in bite-sized chunks"

When he said that, something clicked in me.

I've always been a proponent of GOALS, of S.M.A.R.T. GOALS, but connecting them directly to the vision I was working towards was a new concept.

The quote above really goes in line with that idea, in that goals bring ENERGY to your vision, and that's so true.

How does this relate to project management?

I think we (or ME) often do great defining a project, a task, a goal, but it doesn't connect to the big picture. It's a task, and sometimes it's not connected at all to where I'm trying to get to.

One of the most important aspects of Project Management is actually determining what you're going to focus on and why. If you don't, then you waste time, energy & resources and you don't get closer to your ultimate goal.

Years ago, before email and internet were created, I had an idea to create a leadership network. I was 22 years old, I hadn't really thought through why I wanted to do this, but I woke up one day and just decided to give it a go. I spent about a week finding mailing addresses, writing letters, inviting people to join this emerging network of leaders in Los Angeles, but I failed to answer this really important question: WHY?

This became really apparent as the response was dismal. People couldn't understand what I was trying to do, they wouldn't commit to anything, and while I waited patiently for some of the 350 responses to pour into my newly rented mail box address, by the time I received my first (of 3) responses, I had grown bored of the idea and was moving onto something else. The 3 responses were all asking questions about WHY this was important. The reality is that this idea didn't connect with anything I was working on at the time in my life, it was simply an idea that I acted on, invested some money and lot's of time into, only to have it fade quickly away, while all I was left with was a bunch of stationary for a now defunct networking group.

Funny story... a few years later another group launched a similar network, and I joined it because their marketing was compelling, and they articulated the purpose much clearer than I did. I participated with them for years in this network of leaders.

Lesson learned: Know how the project, the idea, the task connects to your bigger purpose, your goal or your organizations goals.

How do you create ENERGY through the projects and tasks you're working on?

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"If the big rocks don't go in first, they aren't going to fit in later." Stephen Covey

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

This month I want to explore some ideas around PROJECT MANAGEMENT. Pretty exciting theme for a summer month, but I'm finding myself looking for some tools to help me get some things done over the next few months.

I know how I can be the most productive, but there are times that I just allow some bad habits to sneak back into my work life and it messes with my ability to focus on priorities and to manage the most important things to completion.

Of course, trying to do this while the World Cup is on is a problem, but I'm talking about "managing the time you have left AFTER watching your favorite World Cup Match!"

Stephen Covey talks about "BIG ROCKS" in many of his books, and often he's uses the terms of "priorities" or "first things first" interchangeably.

He shared this video illustration years ago that best describes his theory of Big Rocks:

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full." Jesus, John 15:11 (ESV)

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

Wrapping up the conversation around JOY today. It's been really good to camp out on this theme for a few weeks. READ BACK to see all the posts on JOY. Also, read this book by Matthew Kelly, Slowing Down to the Speed of Joy. It's been good to go back through this book at a "slower pace"!

In John 15, Jesus tells us to ABIDE IN HIM. He's telling us that when we abide (when we REMAIN) with Him, He will help us understand what joy is all about, not just simple joy, but FULL JOY, the kind of joy that can only come from Him.

We've talked a lot about JOY over the past number of weeks, and this passage and promise just puts it all in perspective.

Jesus is telling us what we must do, he's "commanding" some things from us, but it's not to add to our burden, it's so that His joy can become our joy.

He wants us to live a genuine joyful life, and he's showing us the path to get there.

Read the full chapter of John 15. Love and Joy Abound.

Over the past number of weeks I've been sharing some thoughts and ideas around how to figure out JOY in your life. I've been challenged by the book by Matthew Kelly, and I've become aware of how much my "PACE and RHYTHM" affect my ability to see, appreciate and experience JOY.

However, this passage actually makes it clearer:

"Abide in me, and I in you." (John 15:4)

When you read John 15, what does ABIDE look like and feel like for you? What is He asking of you?