What a great time to pause, breathe deeply and reflect on all there is to be grateful for!

Without using too many clichés or tired phrases, this is the time of year when we most think about the many things to appreciate in our lives: family, friends, clients, our health, abilities, opportunities, maybe even great leaders we work with…

It is the perfect time to ponder who helped get us to where we are, which manager gave me positive feedback right when I needed it most, who shares with us kind words or thoughts, who encourages us through tough times, who listens to our ranting and raving when we just can’t keep it in any longer, who is the first one to support us when we try new things or dream big…

As a leader in your own life and as a leader of others, how can you incorporate the notion of giving thanks into your daily routine throughout the year?

Giving thanks forces our brains to reflect on the positive surrounding us. It stimulates powerful thoughts and energy to help move us forward. Think about when you have had a great day at the office. What did you notice about other things in your life that day? Did they seem shiny and new as well? Did you give the benefit of the doubt when that driver pulled in front of you, refusing to harbor negative thoughts? Were you superwoman or superman at home leaping tall piles of laundry and preparing a four course meal because suddenly it all seemed possible?

Our brain often cannot distinguish between a real and an imagined thought. In the crazy chaos of everyday life, we get stretched so thin that we often only see the negative – what needs to be done differently, what is wrong with today, what is wrong with others… Find a way to trigger your brain to pause each day and consider what you are grateful for. Place a post it note strategically on your mirror so you will see it every morning. Put it in your task reminder on your computer. It does not matter what technique you use, just use one that works for you. You will be amazed at the amount of energy you can get from this simple process and the way your thinking can shift from why it can’t be done or here‘s what wrong to how I will do it or here are some alternatives. As a leader, this attracts others to you while helping them to be more successful at the same time.

Spend five minutes every day reflecting on what excellence looks like to you, your team, your organization and highlight what is going well. Consider what strengths you can leverage, what assets you have that can be applied in new ways. Who is most helpful to you in being your best and how can you thank them? How can you surround yourself with more of the people and things that support you in achieving excellence? Getting clear on excellence and appreciating the steps towards it (your own and those of others) will bring clarity, focus and alignment to your life.

I am truly thankful this week and working to be more thankful all the time. It is a great feeling helping me get better, faster, and stronger with each passing day!

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Sometimes the answers are right in front of our eyes and we still miss them! How can that be? Perhaps we’ve over looked, under appreciated or incorrectly assessed the situation. Whatever the case, we must remember that we are in control.

One of my favorite quotations comes from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, “Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.” Goethe’s works span the fields of poetry, drama, literature, theology, humanism, and science. I chose this quote to share with you today because there has never been a more important time to consider the factors that will ultimately determine success in your business.

We are all incredibly visual creatures and largely driven by that which is directly in front of us. Think about the things that capture your attention during the course of a typical day. Whether it is the distraction of your PDA or the hundreds of daily emails—now is the time to reevaluate what will be important a year from now and start putting the right things in front of you.

The power of suggestion is real, so make sure your clear goals or objectives are visible to you most of your day. Put them on your computer screen, carry them in your notebook, set up task reminders to ping you, write them on your whiteboard, post them in the lobby of your office, on a mirror at home… Do whatever works for you to stage your field of vision and set yourself up for success.

This does not mean you can or should ignore email or reports but rather that you begin to balance your time based on significance. We are constantly getting pulled away from the valuable, vital and important tasks that may require a few moments of quiet to think or ponder possibilities, by all the chatter going on around us. And everyone knows there is more chatter today than ever before.

It is easier to get the right things in front of you if you have taken the time to clarify your destination – where you want to be in a specific timeframe. So do it. Close your eyes and imagine what it looks like when you get to where you want to go. Now write it down. Then consider what big steps you have to take to get there. Write down the big steps and how you will know if you are making progress.

Especially as we continue through tough economic times, pause for a few seconds every day and ask yourself: “Of all the things you do today, what will have an impact a year from now? Have I let the things which matter less, stop me from doing what matters most?”

Now, more than ever, it is critical to carve out time to focus on the right things. Tough times tend to divert our energies even more than in good times. We begin considering more possibilities out of fear, but this is exactly the opposite of what will serve you well. Focus your energies. Make real progress on key activities or initiatives. Surround yourself visually with what is important. You’ll be amazed at how much of the chatter requires none of your attention if you just leave it alone and focus.

Over the past six weeks, I have written several blogs and appeared on quite a few radio programs to discuss effective ways of doing business, managing, and leading with excellence during these tough economic times. I also recently participated in a panel sponsored by California State University and the Chairmen’s Roundtable. Since this topic is so vital right now and everyone is still searching for solutions, I wanted to add some additional thoughts and tips to help support you in your business.

Before I dive in with action steps, it is important to remember there is a huge difference between “survival mode” (when we are trying to keep going because we have already lost a lot in revenue, customers, etc. and/or we cannot meet payroll next week) versus sustaining/maintaining your business (things are going to slow down, but we still have cash flow and the right foundation in place to get through tough times).

When your business is in “survival mode” you simply must protect cash flow. This is the time to access the capital you can and put it into the bank. The difference in what you will pay in interest is an investment to insure that you can access the capital when/if you should need it. If you are in this immediate survival mode and have to make cuts, take the time to truly evaluate what and when you can do without. Do not cut equally and do not look to employees as your first option. After all, would you sell a large piece of equipment if you knew a few months from now you will have to buy it back to operate and it will be double the cost? The most conservative estimates calculate the cost of replacing an employee at two times the annual salary. Instead you may be able to reassign current employees and focus on shorter term revenue opportunities. Take a look into what your company can do to alleviate some of the costs associated with running at full steam. Perhaps you can implement a four day workweek with reduced pay for a period of time or offer salary reductions to your managers. The options are there, they may not be ideal but they can temporarily stop the bleeding.

This is not the time to focus on longer term initiatives so you may have to cut them or put them on hold for the time being. Make your cuts according to the short term value of initiatives or activities – those initiatives with longer term value should get postponed or cut first. Give thorough thought to returns on investment for every area of activity in the company and cut those efforts that are less certain for now. You can always revive them once you are out of survival danger.

In addition to the above, all companies can begin to act on the following immediately:

Focus - I cannot overstress how important focus is right now. In tough times it becomes easy to pursue many options and lose focus on what is most critical for your business. Companies should always be defining and redefining excellence based on market changes, industry innovations, etc. Clearly define what winning looks like in your organization for the next 6-12 months. Focus on the following categories: key operating achievements (the really critical measures), the work processes and metrics used to measure progress, the tools and systems necessary to accomplish what needs to get done, how to implement (the behaviors, beliefs and operating practices to serve you well), the products that will deliver maximum value and growth in the short term, identify you customers and decide how to retain them and/or get more share of their wallet, and finally- determine the greatest threat you have and come up with a plan to mitigate any risks.

Examine & Evaluate - Go through your strategic initiatives (the projects or efforts taking most of the resources in your organization) and decide what you should stop doing and continue doing. Tough times are not generally a great time to begin new initiatives, but if there is something critical to your survival, start it and figure out what you will stop. Determine a scale to subjectively evaluate the value of your initiatives and use it. (You can find more specifics and examples on this in More Than a Minute, chapter 5).

Communicate – It is vital that you keep your employees informed about what is going on, what changes are being made and why. Keep the key initiatives in front of them because, in times of economic uncertainty or decline, when companies or managers don’t update key employees about the organization’s outlook and strategy for coping with changing market conditions- negative “bubbles” start to take over. (See my previous blogs for more on bubbles). Rumors about layoffs and other energy draining beliefs will keep employees angry, anxious and distracted so you must do what you can to minimize them.

Build deeper relationships - Retain your customers. It is a lot less expensive to retain your current customers than it is to acquire new ones. Talk to your current customers more. Assign a senior executive to all of your top customers and give them extra attention. Listen more. Reassign resources in the company to focus on this versus getting new business.

Retain your employees (unless you are in the final stages of survival mode). Your employees know your business so they know what can and/or should be changed to make it better. Tap into them as a resource and learn to do more of the right things versus a lot of things. Listen more and keep employees vested in success by communicating. Consider simple and no or low cost incentives like potluck lunches, lunch & learn sessions, stock grants (for private companies), changes in titles, opportunities to work on retaining customers or doing sales, etc.

I hope some of these tips help you to navigate though this turbulent terrain. It’s no secret that most organizations need great leaders and managers now more than ever!