Juggling Elephants Blog

As Thanksgiving approaches, it's a perfect time to reflect on those individuals in your circus who have helped you get your most important tasks done at work and in other areas of your life. To help you identify those most critical performers, we will use the four acts of the circus discussed in Juggling Elephants:

• Trapeze Act. Who are those teams that often work in the background taking care of things for you? Co-workers, vendors, family or friends. Whose "small act" has made a major impact on the success of your circus this past year? Who as an individual has worked effectively as a member of your team?
• Animal Trainer. Who are those individuals who have improved their performance this year and need to be rewarded and/or acknowledged in some way? Are there people you have coached/trained/led this year who need the feedback that you have noticed their improvement? Remember that the only way to insure that positive behaviors continue is to continue to provide positive reinforcement for those behaviors.
• General Manager. Who have you noticed being in tune with meeting the needs of others so they could get their work accomplished? What managers need to be thanked for their ability to bring out the best in their team members?
• Clown. Are there people around you who just seem to know how to get people to laugh, relax and enjoy a less than serious moment? In these uncertain times it is truly a benefit to have such people in your circus. Thank them for their presence in your lineup.

Gratitude can be shown in so many ways. A handshake with a smile and two words: “Thank You.” A handwritten card is a powerful yet simple way to convey your message in this electronic world. How about a three-five minute one-on-one conversation. And yes, a well-thought out gift that is personalized can show your appreciation in a sincere way.

We at Juggling Elephants want to thank those who support us in our endeavors. We appreciate those who have carried the message to their organizations and to you the individual who continually strives to “get it all done." Thank you from all of us!

Labels: gratitude, management, teamwork

According to Wikipedia, the butterfly effect is "a phrase that encapsulates the more technical notion of sensitive dependence on initial conditions in chaos theory."

The easier way to illustrate the theory is to read Ray Bradbury’s science fiction short story, A Sound of Thunder. To make a "short" of the "short story:" A group travels way back in time to go on safari for a T-Rex. The hunting guide warns the hunting party that they must stay on a path to avoid disrupting the environment and only kill animals which were going to naturally die at the same time. When they come across a T-Rex, one of the party gets scared and runs off. After the T-Rex is put down (it was going to die naturally anyway) the group returns to the future. When they arrive back in the future, they find differences from when they left. The language has changed, people and the buildings have changed and the outcome of an important election has been reversed. The hunting guide turns to the individual who ran off. He asks, "Did you leave the path?" Upon inspection of his boots, they find a dead butterfly, whose death apparently is the cause of the changes to the future.

Do we sometimes stray from "the path" or the plan that we have created for ourselves? What are the butterflies on our boots? What do we choose to do or what do we choose NOT to do that has an impact on our future?

We all can look back to pivotal moments in our lives where we have made choices, for good or bad, which have impacted our future. Fortunately, most of our choices don’t have catastrophic impacts like in the Sound of Thunder. But, we should determine to be aware of our choices and the outcomes/effects that are associated. Tying our performance with our purpose is an important strategy in helping us guide our future. Referring back to our purpose on a regular basis and making sure that our actions, decisions and behaviors are in line with what matters most to us will help us determine a successful outcome of our future-butterflies or no butterflies.

Labels: mistakes, purpose, time management

Now that I have your attention-yes, I realize Martin Luther lived many centuries ago. However, even then he knew the importance of balancing rewards and feedback. While his focus in the following quote was on child rearing (and remember, this is his perspective), the same principle applies-we must not always be telling people what they are doing wrong... we must just as passionately encourage them when they do something right.

Labels: family, leadership, motivation, teamwork

I came across an article in Ladies Home Journal (I was in a doctor's office and needed something to read) that gives a good overview of understanding the multiple generations that are now in the workplace. Carol Mithers article got my attention with the overview that reads:

In offices around the country, Millennials, Gen Xers, and Baby Boomers are trying to figure out how to get along. Sure, they all feel lucky to have a job in a bad economy, but that doesn't make the culture clash any easier.


Click here to see the article.

Labels: employees, engagement, relationships

We have talked a lot in the past about removing distractions when you are trying to focus on a project or an important task. It is helpful to remove distractions like the phone, email, email notification, cell phones, texting, instant messaging, etc.

But what about your desk? Is your desk one big distraction? It is easy to be distracted by memos, post it notes with reminders written on them, your inbox, your planner and your computer. When you need to focus on a task or project, consider clearing away and/or cleaning off your workspace. Remove all the distractions. Put them on the floor or behind you. Better yet, file everything away in an organized manner that enables you to regularly review these items when you determine to add them to your lineup. With uninterrupted focus on your most important projects, you accomplish more, the turnaround time is faster and you deliver higher quality work.

Labels: focus, time management

Here's an insight from a participant in a Juggling Elephants keynote that we thought was brilliant. It helps explain the value of focusing on purpose in ALL areas of your life:


Bravo, Debbie. You get a big standing ovation from us.

Labels: focus, purpose, stress reduction, work/life balance

What's your perspective today? Is it to get (and give) standing ovations today? Or is it to simply stay busy today and hope things work out for the best?

Labels: Quotes, Reflection, ringmaster

I was at the gym exercising and talking with the person next to me on the elliptical machine. She was talking about her 65 hour work week and how stressful her life is right now. As I was wrapping up my workout I wished her a nice day and said that I hoped that she would be able to have a "normal" eight hour day at work. She smiled and said that she was just about finished with her annual employee reviews. She only had two reviews left and thought that she would be about to "cut out early." Two thoughts struck me from this conversation.

Isn't it interesting that we consider ourselves "cutting out early" if we just put in the required number of hours for our job? I find myself regularly putting in 10+ hours each day right now and sometimes do work on the weekends. What is the cost? What are the benefits? The answer is different for everyone. My point in today's blog is to ask you those two questions. What cost are you paying for working overtime? What are the benefits that you are receiving for putting in the extra hours? How are the other two rings (self and relationships) being impacted? If the costs outweigh the benefits, maybe you need to make some adjustments. If you are reaping big benefits from the extra work, make sure you are regularly asking yourself (and others) the benefit/cost questions. The answers can change very quickly and when they do, don't wait very long to make the adjustment.

The second thought I had was about annual employee reviews. Employee reviews, when done correctly, can be a very effective tool. It is a time to review progress, look at strengths, consider weaknesses, show appreciation, and make goals for the next year. What about doing an Annual Personal Review of yourself, by yourself? Cut out a block of time specifically for your personal review. Evaluate your progress. Look at your strengths-list them. Consider your weaknesses and how you can improve-make a specific plan. Show yourself some appreciation-indulge yourself in some kind of celebration. Then make some goals for next year. Just like employee reviews, you should do this at a minimum of once a year-formally! Even better are quarterly reviews with less formal monthly evaluations. Don’t make me call Human Resources!!

Labels: goal setting, management, work/life balance

Dr. Martin Luther King said, Everyone has the power of greatness; not for fame, but greatness. Because greatness is determined by service. Is it time to add a little service in your circus lineup? In your organization's lineup? It is easy to focus solely on making ends meet and dealing with the urgent. What about the greater good? Today, look for a simple way to be of service to someone-a small step towards greatness.

Labels: personal growth, success