Someone is going to need to go on a diet with all the “tweets” going around. It is the whole new phenomenon of Twitter. It seems to have come out of nowhere and now it seems to be every where. And if it isn’t Twitter, it is Facebook, Plaxo, and LinkedIn. Just name your own flavor of Social Networking.

In his book, The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell looks at what triggers the exponential spread of a trend. It seems that “social networking” has hit the “tipping point.” It is spreading like a wildfire and the question becomes … can we harness it enough to unleash its potential? There is no question that there will be some inefficient investment of time along the way. And I am certain it will be misused by some.

Yet the potential for connection is enormous. It is like sitting on a virtual “front porch.” It certainly raises the question of the depths of relationships being thousands of miles wide and only a fraction of an inch deep. But it also opens up the possibility of creating a reservoir of magical connections.

The greatest potential of the social networking tools may, in the end, having nothing to do with connections and relationships. It may have everything to do with accountability.

I remember, years ago, doing some pre-work for a time management class. As part of the prerequisite, you had to keep a log of your schedule … writing down what you had just done in the last fifteen minutes. You had to record your entry every fifteen minutes of every waking hour for a whole week. It was revealing. It raised the awareness of the truth of how you were using your time. It was the manual “Twitter” of it’s time because it begged the question … what are you doing now?

Twitter is simple. There is nothing fancy or complicated about it. It is all about … what are you doing now? With your updates limited to only 140 characters each (characters, not words!) you must be short and … shall we say tweet! It’s all about going public with what you are doing day to day. My first response is … who cares? But as I started “following” some good friends on Twitter I have to admit that it gave me a sense of connection to them even though I had not actually talked with them for a few weeks. Because I knew just what they had been doing!

As I began to post my “tweets” two or three times a day, I couldn’t help noticing the growing awareness of a subtle question … is this the best use of your time? And I don’t mean the time that it took to post the “tweet” … I mean what the tweet revealed of what I was doing at the moment. The element of “what are you doing” being up for public display raised the stakes of accountability. I don’t mean in how others will judge your use of time (although they surely will!) but rather your own personal accountability.

There is no question that Twitter, Facebook, Plaxo, and LinkedIn (yes, just to name a few!) all hold the potential for being an enormous waste of time. So can email, the internet and the telephone for that matter! They are all simply tools and the tools are neither good nor bad. They are neutral. How we use them will determine whether they have added value or distraction.

I would suggest if they raise our awareness on how we are using the precious gift of time each day then their potential is unlimited. If it helps us realize that time is our most valuable and limited asset, then these tools will have proven to be a miracle … and that would be really tweet!

I can’t imagine a more important question than … what are you doing now? This is the only time you will get to experience this moment, this hour, this day, this week, this month in your entire life. Are you making the very most of it? If so, you may just be pleased enough to share it with the world. If a raised awareness changes how we choose to use our time … well, I would then suggest that “social networking” is no waste of time!

ACTION IDEA: Carefully consider how you are using the new tools of “social networking” and set the parameters of how you will efficiently participate in this new phenomenon. More importantly, use social networking’s critical question “what are you doing now” as a constant reminder to evaluate if what you are doing now is the best use of this moment!

"If the first thing you do each morning is to eat a live frog, you can go through the day with the satisfaction of knowing that that is probably the worst thing that is going to happen to you all day long."

Brian chooses to look at his problems as frogs. Take the biggest, ugliest "frog" you have and eat it before you do anything else. That way, you can go through the rest of your day free from thinking about whatever huge task that worries you. Please enjoy this short movie we put together for you. Hopefully, this can help you start each day hungry for success!

So, what is on the menu for you today? How do you usually get in the right mindset to complete your big challenges each day? Share your thoughts with us!

I truly LOVE this speech.  Zig Ziglar has influenced how I view the world, and it is an honor to share this video with you.  It was also an honor for Simple Truths to publish his book, Inspiration 365 Days a Year.  So, get ready to charge up your energy reserves with a few words from Zig Ziglar!

Want to learn more? Check out Nightengale Covenant.  As always, leave your comments!

To find success in sales, you must have a positive attitude and work ethic to enjoy the highs and ride out the lows.  I can think of a few people who have that kind of attitude.  Vince Lombardi coached the Green Bay Packers to victory multiple times.  He was not in sales, but the qualities and dedication he did posess carry over.  Watch this video to find out what they are:

Click here to see Vince Lombardi.

So, what do you sell?  What do you do to get charged up for your day?  Share your thoughts!

Father’s Day is three days away.  While I realize not everyone has a father figure in his or her life, I think those of us who do can point to the times when he has truly come through.  I have heard many stories of fathers helping sons and daughters, but one story in particular touches me from The Power of Attitude:

Limping Across the Finish Line

August 1992.  Derrick Redmond from Great Britain was favored to win the 400-meter race during the summer Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain.  But as he powered around the backstretch his hamstring snapped.  Derrick tried desperately to finish the race, but he still had half the distance to go.  Because he couldn’t walk, he began to hop.  One step-a grimace.  Two steps-a yell.

Jim Redmond had to get to his struggling son.  He doesn’t remember all the steps down from Section 131, Row 22, Seat 25 of the Olympic Stadium.  He doesn’t really remember leaping over the railing or pushing off security guards who were too stunned to stop him.  He was not just a spectator at the Olympics anymore; Jim Redmond was a father, and he had to get his son.

“Dad,” Derrick said, “Dad… Get me back to lane five.  I want to finish.”

As the whole world watched, father and son, leaning on each other, made their way around the track as the crowd ros to their feet cheering.  Olympic organizers can light the skies with fireworks, they can invite kings and queens… but this was the magic of real life.

You may not have run in the Olympics, but I know that you have had your share of similar trials.  When you have run into troubles and someone has been there to help you finish that race, that is the same feeling of comfort and love that Derrick felt when his father came down to help him.

Family Traditions

Aside from Derrick Redmond, I am reminded of a story from Lance Wubbels, a friend with whom I co-authored a book called To a Child, Love is Spelled T-I-M-E.  As a young boy in his small country home, Easter was an exciting time of year for Lance.  The true excitement from the day came in the evening before Easter. 

Sitting in his family’s kitchen, his mother would spot something coming over the hill, something resembling a big white bunny!  As Lance and his siblings crept towards the kitchen window to peer into the darkness outside, a loud bang from a white paw came from the living room window.  Lance and his siblings ran there just missing the spectacle.  Suddenly there was a pounding from another window, yet by the time they reached the window, the elusive bunny could not be found.  The chase would go from room to room, children laughing and screaming with delight, and stop as suddenly as it started.  Lance’s father would then come up from the basement to be greeted with stories of the Easter Bunny.

The family tradition Lance’s family celebrated did not require much investment, only a white paw glove, some time, and some imagination.  However, those ingredients made the holiday special and memorable, because “It isn’t the big pleasures that count the most; it is making a great deal out of the little ones.”

What do you have planned for the father figure in your life for this weekend?  Do you have any traditions at a special place in your heart?  Share them with us!

Did you love the video?  Share with us what spoke to you from it!

Tell me what you thought! Share your ideas and experiences as a comment.

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Hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars now flow to the banks that need bailouts.  Not only does this put a strain on an already stressed economy, but banks are more reluctant to loan out money, interest rates are going up, and jobs are at stake.  I am sure that you are feeling it, since it has hit everyone from the top to the bottom.  It seems that we are stuck in a Catch-22, where no decision looks like a good one.

Blame for the bank crisis has been thrown around in media like ball in a childrens’ game of Hot Potato.  Rather than look at who got us into this mess, I prefer to look at how something of this magnitude has happened, and how to avoid something like that from happening in our own lives.  After all, John Blumberg, author of Good to the Core: Building Value with Values said, “We don’t go running away from our values.  We go drifting away, and one day wake up in a place we never meant to be, drifting in a direction we would have never chosen.” 

That quote really does describe how we tend to get off center from our goals and values.  No one wakes up saying, “I think I will do my part to cause my bank to fail.”  Instead, small decisions every day make the difference between staying the course and drifting away.  I can think of someone who stayed the course. 

Vince Lombardi, coach of the Green Bay Packers, led a team of true champions.  In his first year, the team went from 1-10-1 in 1958 to 7-5 in 1959, and for the next eight years they won five NFL championships and Super Bowls I and II.  His winning philosophy was simple, summarized in a short speech he gave called “What it Takes to be Number One”.  He chose to end his speech with, “The object is to win fairly, squarely, by the rule-but to win.”  Lombardi did not believe in hidden meanings, dealing in the shadows, or backstabbing.  He did believe that the ends justified the means, values and morality stood together, and that no self interest is worth your reputation.  To Lombardi, winning and fairness were not mutually exclusive, but depended on one another for a victory to be a true victory.

I also remember the example of Tylenol.  In 1982, the company ran into a crisis.  An unknown suspect slipped a lethal dose of cyanide into a few bottles, killing seven people.  Tylenol made a landmark decision, pulling every bottle from every shelf in America.  The loss exceeded $100 million.  Could Tylenol have done less than what they did?  Certainly so, but the mission that drove the company compelled the leaders to make a hard decision.  The result was Tylenol regained credibility and became the top drug company in America.  The Chinese word for “crisis” has two parts: “danger” and “opportunity”.  If you are driven by values, a crisis can turn into opportunity.

So, how have you turned crisis into opportunity?  Share your story, leave a comment!

It was a moment of raw honesty. A confession of sorts … yet delivered with the hope of a fresh new beginning. I had just finished speaking on my new book GOOD to the CORE. It was a great group and, as always, I enjoyed meeting so many of the participants who took the time to visit afterwards. He was one of the last to come up to the front. In fact, I was already packing-up my materials. But he quickly had my attention!

Tim introduced himself and then precisely dived into what he wanted to share with me. “I really enjoyed your presentation … you know, about core values. It makes a lot of sense to me … especially the part about most people not truly knowing the core values of their own company.” That’s when he switched into confession mode. “Do you know that the seven core values of our company are actually written on the back of our name badge? I wear that name badge everyday and I couldn’t tell you those seven values.” He didn’t seem remorseful about it. He couldn’t change the past. He seemed inspired to make the future different. In fact, he didn’t even need to say what he was going to do on Monday morning when he ever-so-routinely clipped on his badge. I knew he was going to carefully read the list of organizational values on the back of the badge.

In not knowing the seven values listed on the back of his nametag, I knew Tim was simply having a bad case of normal. And I knew come Monday morning things would be anything but normal. Tim was in the process of taking the first step in helping his organization become more valuable. He had realized the potential of building values with values. Tim was in learning mode, but I knew he would soon be in a leading mode. He would move from learning to embracing … and from embracing to holding himself accountable. Then, ultimately, Tim would develop the courage to hold others accountable.

He had the weekend to think about it and he knew he needed the time. I could tell, because I could sense he had been truly listening throughout the morning. Tim knew those seven values would simply remain words on a name badge if he didn’t first do some personal homework. He knew it wasn’t only the seven corporate values on the back of his name badge that were a mystery to him … he knew the values within his own core had become vaguely familiar at best. Tim knew he first needed to rediscover the values on the back of his heart before he would be able to live and bring meaning to the values on the back of his badge. It was the link between the two that would ultimately determine the potential of his professional contributions, not only to his company, (and I know this sounds far-fetched) but to the world.

There is no question that living a meaningful set of core values takes a commitment. Things that cost you demand commitment … otherwise they are easily abandoned when there is a price to pay. If I am certain about anything, it is that values will cost you in the short term. But not having them will ultimately kill you in the long term.

I deeply feared, in the early months of 2002, we had not learned anything from the profound events of those recent months. September 11th. Enron, Worldcom or the related implosion of Arthur Andersen. Genuine transformation just didn’t seem to be on the horizon. Regulations maybe … and just a desire to get back to normal!

Seven years later … I wonder. I wonder if we think we can strategize our way out of current conditions. We certainly seem to think we can buy our way out. Yet …

Bailouts don’t prevent future fallouts. Values do.

We may very well need funding and formulas to help, but they will only ignite the next economic disaster if we aren’t willing to rebuild our core … day-in and day-out. I deeply believe we are called to be good to the core … and ultimately it is there, and only there, that we will find the real recovery we long for!

Thanks again for reading our blog, I hope that you have found it truly inspirational.  Have something to share as a response?  Please do, and let’s share our insights about values in the often confusing world in which we live.