not a wealth of stealth

Emerson said: "who you are speaks so loudly, I can't hear what you're saying."

When I was 18, for a reason I don't remember and can't explain now, I became a bow hunter.

Since I don't do anything half-way, I set out on my first hunting trip to the back country in full camouflage, with face paint and even a dash of skunk scent applied in the way most men would apply cologne.

After traipsing through the forest for several hours and seeing nothing in the way of game to shoot at, I came across a field of several hundred cows.

I snuck up to the field. When I reached the fence line, I got down and crawled on my stomach to avoid detection, attempting to bypass the bovines without disturbing them.

I crawled with my head down for about 100 yards and then looked up for the first time. I was shocked by what I saw.

All the cows were staring at me, in the way that only cows can stare, with their heads cocked to the side, standing totally motionless, without so much as a tail wag.

At that point, one of the cows, which I assume was the alpha cow, walked up to within five feet of where I was hiding in the grass and proclamed: "moo". Not one of those slow gutteral "mmmmmmmmmmmeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwww" kind of moos but a moo that was just a single loud sharp syllable. And then the cow walked away, having taken care of herd business, leaving me humiliated in the grass.

I never bagged any game that day or really on any other day, for that matter. I couldn't even sneak up on a cow.

Sometimes when I face groups of people, I think I'm being all subtle, silently cloaking my true intentions, and I think that other people can't really see what I'm up to. But alas, I might just as well be transparent and come out with it because they can see through me anyway.

Go to http://stepup,net/ for more clues about how to present yourself in a compelling way.

ego–the good, bad and the ugly

Many authors in the self-help industry have been attacking the idea of ego, as if it were entirely a bad thing.

I disagree with this point of view. Ego has its place and nothing good would happen without it.

Ego is simply the place we store our self-concept and the concepts we store most deeply are the ones most firmly rooted in the presence of great emotion. Ego like any structure gives a useful short-hand of constructs, ideas and definitions on which to build. And like any structure they have an inertia that can stubbornly sabotage innovation and growth. Structure is not inherently bad as our lives are built on structure, but there are limitations.

For example, as a young kid, my dad would bring machines home for me to take apart. As I was disassembling the units, I'd study how they were put together and then reassemble them. I usually had parts leftover but that was part of the fun. This was they joy of my childhood and as I grew up, I became a professional designer. Not surprising at all if you knew me as a kid.

The idea of being a designer is a part of my self-concept and thus a part of my ego and most of the time it's quite constructive. So is the idea of excellence. As I've studied how things are made, I've developed an appreciation for the finer things in life.

This idea of excellence pervades all aspects of my personal and professional life, It affected my choice of spouse, my choice in clients (good news if you are one of them), drives the design of my coaching system and guides all of my purchasing decisions.

I recently returned to the sport of golf and reconnected with the negative part of my ego and excellence. I had not golfed since my late teens as I did not like the person I was becoming, but felt mature enough at 46 to have another go.

Naturally we bought the best equipment, sought out the best instruction and are playing the best and thus most challenging courses. I'm losing a lot of balls, which is expensive, because they are the best balls.

We played hideously in Lethbridge yesterday on a beautiful coulee course and then played again today. Lessons and practice are starting to kick in and I managed to birdie two holes in a row on the strength of my putting which was the first of my childhood golf skills to return.

At this point in the game, I was doing really well, on my way to the best score of my life when I realized that I was doing really well and on my way to the best score of my life.

Every time I addressed the ball from that point on an image of my final score flashed in my brain and I proceeded to double bogey the remaining holes. I would submit that this is a misuse of ego and the dark side of the otherwise virtuous drive towards excellence.

Ego is inherently neither a bad nor good thing, it just depends on how we use it. And sometimes, it get's ugly.

For help with translating negative ego into positive ego visit http://www.stepup.net/.

a new way to keep score

Jeff Pain, the two-time world champion and Olympic silver medalist in skeleton, said in his book, "Marriage and Medals", that whenever he pictured the finish line at any time during a run, he'd not do that well. That mental picture of "victory", while intuitively something that might seem helpful, only took him out of the present moment. He was then just off focus enough to make the subtle mistakes that account for the fractions of seconds that are the difference between actual victory and failure.

I've been relearning golf this year and have discovered a similar pattern. I start relaxed, hit a couple of great tee shots, some lucky approach shots, a few great pitches and putts, have a few fortunate bogies and an encouraging par and then start getting cocky. Then, while I'm setting my stance, taking my back swing and striking the ball, I start imagining a great score at the end of the game. I'm then not very relaxed, hit some duffs and skulls, start losing balls and then start getting frustrated for about 12 holes. I start relaxing again once I'm certain I'm not going to have a great score and then usually par the last hole. Weird.

It doesn't quite seem right to me to completely disregard the score–every game including business has a score–but I needed a different way to measure my my performance.

I invented a new way to think about golf and came up with a different way to keep score most of the time.

Now, I just keep track of the number of times I hit the green in regulation (landing on the green 2 shots less than the par of the hole) and the number of times I do two or less putts. In my last round I either two putted or landed in regulation on all but three holes and did both on one hole to get my par of the day. Most of the time I did not hit in regulation and two-putt on the same hole and I have no idea what my final score was, but I was way less stressed out and was in a much better headspace to master the shots I'm struggling with (everything other than my putter, driver and wedges).

Paying attention to an appropriate metric will, in time, lead me to an excellent final result.

This thinking applies to any game, especially business.

For help with devising an intelligent metrics contact us at http://www.stepup.net/.

Got to http://www.marriageandmedals.com/ for information on ordering Jeff's book.

clues to a calling

The concept of a "calling" originally referred to the pull a man felt to become a priest. In sacred terms, God was calling a man into service.

From a contemporary and secular perspective, the term refers more to the general sense of mission people feel to serve humanity in someway.

A calling implies that someone needs me, that I have a place in the world to express my talents and unique contribution. It's an opportunity to do what I'm here to do, what I was born to do.

So who's calling?

The answer to that question for me is a group of people that, for whatever reason, I'm best suited to support and most attracted to helping in someway. When I make my unique contribution to this group, I'm answering the call. I'm fulfilling my purpose. And I also create the most value for this group and thus make the most money doing it.

But who are these people?

First off, it's not something general like, "people who need help". That definition applies to everyone. My definition is specific without being narrow. Can you imagine if I asked a colleague for a referral saying: "can you introduce me to some people who need help?" The answer is everyone and thus no one.

If I was in the business of making outdoor clothing, for example, I might be tempted to elaborate by saying: "people who go outside." Again pretty general. All people who go outside need to stay warm and dry but that's when the generalities cease to be useful. There are several kinds of people who go outside in winter. Each is a completely different group that represents a subculture within society at large. Consider how the design of a winter jacket would change for oil rig workers, skiers, snowmobilers, snowboarders, dog mushers, mail carriers, cyclists or business executives. "Warm" and "dry" apply to all categories but the designs would be very different for each group. Each group has a way about it, a way of speaking, thinking and operating that is quite different from the other groups. It pays to be specific. It's also easier to get referrals and introductions to a group that is more specific. Do you know any skiers that I could meet? Probably. But there's still a tighter definition that makes it easier to spot my group.

My group, ideal client, target market–the people who are calling me–are all entrepreneurs. I've always been drawn to entrepreneurs. I was raised by entrepreneurs, live in an entrepreneurial city and did my Master's degree in design and entrepreneurship. And still, "entrepreneurs" is still too general. Do you know any entrepreneurs? Probably. But there are so many kinds of entrepreneurs that it actually makes it harder to visualize specific people. Can you imagine me buying a list of entrepreneurs? It would be huge. Where would I start to make calls?

Firstly, I prefer entrepreneurs who have successfully navigated start-up. There is nobility in helping an entrepreneur start a business and unfortunately I suck at it. The problems that come with success are numerous and intriguing and I've become an expert in them. I really like entrepreneurs who are in growth mode and need to build infrastructure to support that growth; I also like people who have built that structure and are facing the challenge of passing on the reigns to successors. I also prefer to work with smart people and people who want to help other people. This is why I tend to focus on the technical services.

So here's my basic profile: successful entrepreneurs operating a technical, service-based business in a growth mode. I also have some demographics to tighten it further but that's my group (I tend to work with companies between 20 and 200 people and the leaders of the groups tend to be baby boomers, who I relate best with). That definition is very focused and helps me to determine where my people are and how to get to them. I'm still free to work with someone who comes along that does not appear fit my profile, but, is nevertheless intriguing. It's just easier to find something specific that general, even though it might seem counter-intuitive. In time, I come to understand the needs of my group and how to best suit them.

If you fit that profile and I invited you to a party at my house, you'd meet a bunch of other smart and successful service-oriented people growing a business. Makes for a great party, don't you think? If you do, you are probably one of my people. Feel free to call. http://www.stepup.net/

the structure of goodwill

In "The E-Myth Revisted", Michael Gerber distinguished between the operational work that entrepreneurs do "in" the business and the development work they do "on" the business.

In a professional service organization, there is a big difference between say a dental "practice" and a dental "business". A practice is a group of people performing technical services and a business is something quite different. In a practice, when I'm not working, I'm not earning, In a business, I can earn without working.

Accountants define goodwill in a business as the difference between the book value of the assets of a business and its market value. Capital assets are worth either what someone else is willing to pay for them if the company liquidated or what the accounting and tax rules determine through an on-going process of depreciation.

The value of any practice is pretty much the capital value of the assets, without much goodwill. Most accounting, law, engineering, architecture, dental and medical practices don't have much value over and above the physical assets required to perform the service. The same is true of any service practice.

A business has value over and above its capital assets and the wages I draw from working in it. From this perspective, the higher the goodwill I build into my business, the greater the premium I earn, either as profits I take from the business when I'm not working in it or the price I fetch for it when I sell it.

It's possible to consciously create goodwill in a business. Business development creates goodwill not business operations. This is hard for masterful service practitioners to grasp. Simply doing good work creates very little goodwill. It might create high wages for me, but the reputation I have for doing good work does not necessarily benefit other people on my team and it likely does not benefit someone who buys the business from me.

Goodwill has four components: brand, product, system and culture.

The brand is the name of the business. In time, the name comes to symbolize the value shared by the owners, staff and customers or the business and the reputation the business has for doing great work. With a strong brand, customers are willing to pay higher prices and stay bonded to the business for longer. The brand is everything that the business presents to to it's people: logos, taglines, slogans, the design of uniforms, interior spaces, signage, the statements of mission, vision and values.

The product is the package of everything the business delivers to a customer to satisfy their needs in ways that are better and different than other competitors. It's not merely the provision of a technical service–like pulling teeth, designing a building, writing a financial plan–but a way to structure the process, experience, results and relationship with a customer as a robust program of activities to create the most value.

The system is the set of all procedures, mechanisms and technologies that a business relies on for getting the work done in an efficient and timely manner. The system supports a team to come together around common business goals and manages the transmission of business objectives through each member of the team. It includes all job descriptions, ways to communicate and make decisions and resolve conflicts and the rules that determine how everyone get's rewarded for the work they do inside the business.

The culture of a business is its spirit. Culture is how the business smells and tastes and feels. It's like an invisible mist that guides the growth of the enterprise towards a common vision. A strong culture leads each member of a team to go above and beyond the call of duty and make the kinds of contributions that increase profit margins and cashflow.

Without a business that has a structure for creating goodwill, an entrepreneur has at best a high paying job. The true economic value of a business comes when entrepreneurs build a brand, product, system and culture that creates higher buy-in, quality, efficiency and cashflow. A business with a goodwill structure either generates higher residual income or a higher sale price.

planting seeds

Recently my father, brother and I had a very enjoyable, very warm and very entertaining lunch together.

This is an interesting and apparently strange result considering that several years ago I had written off my father and decided not to pursue any further relationship with him. I don't remember the reason why I made that choice, but like many sons, I was very angry at my dad for something that I thought he did to wrong me. It was the same for my brother.

When I announced to my coach that I was "done with my dad", he said basically that he understoond and respected the decision and that I was free at some point in the future to change my mind if I felt like it. He DID NOT say: "attempting to write off a relationship with a parent won't work" or even more directly: "you're wrong". Even though I understand that point, I would have likely dug in my heels and entrenched my position, going into what can best be described as a stubborn and self-righteous "fuck you" mode. No chance of progress in that space.

My dad was left for adoption by very wealthy, aristocratic parents from England, after having been conceived by scandalous means out of wedlock. He was denied his family, his name and much of the fortune due any heir. As a result, the concept of "honour" is a very big concept in my family.

There is a costly downside to honour as a core value. As a family system, we are prone to making severe, self-righteous judgements about each other (and everyone in general). It's easy for any one of us to feel wronged and then make a big drama out of it. The Hanna men are easily entrenched. This is a common issue in many families and teams.

What worked about coach Phil's comment was that he did not activate the self-righteous side of my honour by making me wrong. He acknowledged my choice as one I'm entitled to make and then he simply left some space open for me to change my mind in the future. It took a few years of subtle watering and nurturing for the flower to bloom but it ultimately did bloom and much quicker than it would have had he taken the more adverserial approach of criticizing my position. I softened in time, as did my brother, as did my father. We now have a relationship as father and sons that I think we all wanted but at one time were too hurt and angry to create and nurture. That's the value of a coach.

For more on our relationship and team coaching service, go to http://www.stepup.net/

redefining success

I've heard Brett Wilson speak several times on the lesson he's learned in the process of becoming very successful by what most people would define as very successful.

Success and happiness are not the same thing. They seem quite compatible, but the processes for creating each are quite different.

The economic melt-down that we've all been going through as the "great recession" revealed the mass North American project of attempting to purchase happiness. This is the essence of unhappiness: people were doing work they hate for people they don't like and buying stuff they don't need with money they don't have to impress people who don't care.

Happiness seems to reside in good health, good relationships, a portfolio of cool things to do with my time and the good work that I might do to contribute to the quality of life for other people. I think Brett would agree. It's not money and it's not the stuff that money can buy. Those are fine as an accompaniment to a happy life and they are not what happiness is made of.

For help with the pursuit of happiness and the redefinition of success go to Keith Hanna at http://www.stepup.net/.

near life experiences

As a climber and guy that drives a lot, I've been through numerous life threatening situations. I have survived all them, obviously, and learned something vital about myself in the process. I am grateful for all the times I came close to perishing and while they were all fun the first time, I do not need to repeat any of them.

The value of a near death experience for me is that it forces a rather large amount of perspective into my mind all at once. It's easy to lose perspective and let the daily stresses and struggles dominate my experience. When I contemplate the loss of my life, I reconnect with the value of my life.

The pursuit of near death experiences as a way to recharge the zest in one's life hardly seems sustainable. For the last few months, I've been working on reconnecting to the value of my life in a subtler and ultimately safer way.

During my day, I've begun to pay attention to the moments of well-being I feel, how fleeting they may be, and even the rarer times where I feel bliss.

For example, one week I was late for a meeting so Tania dropped me off downtown and took the car, instead of me dropping her off and using the car to get to and from my appoints all day. So I walked everywhere. Some of the segments between my meetings that day were quite far, but I frequently had those positive feelings.

As I've been logging these moments and searching for the patterns within, I'm piecing together a new concept for how I want to live my life going forward. The quieter voices, that sometimes get drowned out in the noise of a busy life, are sometimes the ones with the most to say.