Rockstars, Rebels and Rogues

The business environment is moving so quickly today it is often difficult to identify where focus and discipline need to be applied to achieve the organizations vision. Throughout my experience, in my career, speaking to mentors and gaining insight from gurus there are three types of professionals in any organization today – Rockstars, Rebels and Rogues. These archetypes are not necessarily new, but understand that two of the three have both positive and negative characteristics.
If you are not one of these archetypes then you are on the periphery and not realizing your full potential. Let’s start by looking at the apex archetype – Rockstars.

“You have to have a big vision and take very small steps to get there. You have to be humble as you execute but visionary and gigantic in terms of your aspiration. In the Internet industry, it's not about grand innovation, it's about a lot of little innovations: every day, every week, every month, making something a little bit better”.
- Jason Calacanis

Rock stars in music, business and in life are constantly evolving and challenging themselves to realize their full potential. They are the future leaders and visionaries that will help innovate the organization. Their focus is not just on themselves they are focused on developing others as well as themselves. Rockstars tap into experts across and outside their own sphere of influence, or organization, to help fuel new ideas and serve as sources of inspiration.


Their curiosity helps drive different perspectives and understanding of burgeoning technology and how that applies to trends impacting them personally and organizationally. They creative personal narratives of taking in new information and technology to drive personal goals and behaviors. Be and stay tech current or be passed by, no one has time to catch people up on what is driving technology – you have to fight to stay current.


We all know that early in our lives we learn how to be good at school – in the real world, we quickly learned that you have to over deliver on the assignment - You need to blow the freakin’ doors off expectations. It is about volunteering for things to stretch your comfort zone and imagination. Rockstars challenges themselves to perform at a higher level – it is not about the competition it is about them competing against themselves. They know what success is and they are constantly challenging convention.


In this type of environment, most employees don’t raise their hands to offer suggestions or new ideas “out of turn” because they fear they will be branded as troublemakers. Those brave enough to do so anyway are often burned in the process, become dispirited, and/or resort to bad rebel behavior.

Perspectives on Rockstars and Key Qualities
What is it that makes a Rockstar high achiever? Is it luck, looks, intelligence, talent, dedication or bone crushing hard work? All of these things figure into the equation – they all make a difference. But we all know intelligent, talented, hard-working people who do not consider themselves very successful or even happy. And we know people who are not exceptionally bright but seem happy and successful right?

You have the power to change your habits – to acquire new skills and fully use the skills you now have. You can improve your performance, your productivity, and feel the reward in what you accomplish. While some people gravitate to the monetary elements of success there is so much more out there - if the monetary aspect is your only focus then the feeling of accomplishment will slowly dissipate. If you want to maximize your talents and pure potential - get unreasonable with yourself and get out of the comfort zone. The only way to do this is through small steps in learning how to use your talents.

So there must be something else, some secret to success. Actually there are several secrets to achieving your peak performance – being a Rockstar.  The number one secret is attitude:

• Rockstars have indelible positive attitudes. I have always hired for attitude first, agility then aptitude. One of the most important steps you can take toward achieving your greatest potential in life is to learn to monitor your attitude and its impact on your work performance, relationships and everyone around you.
• Elevate their Personal Brand - Bringing their best self to the role every day.
• Willpower - succeed at just about anything they try – is largely determined by their own self-image.
• Mindset - Attitude is critical as it shapes the way you perceive the world and the way the world perceives you. Everyone has a choice each day they wake-up to be a motivator of yourself and others or fall into the victim pit where everything and everyone is against you. The mind plays a serious role in your attitude and outlook on life itself. Many of us have behavior patterns today that were programmed into our brains at a very tender age. The loudest and most influential voice you hear is your own inner voice, your self-critic. It can work for or against you, depending on the messages you allow. It can be optimistic or pessimistic. It can wear you down or cheer you on.

What’s your perspective?
What are other differentiators of high performers or Rockstars – let me know?

Baby Powder

George Bernard Shaw said that “People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it”.

There are some wake up calls that people have throughout life – and it is a signal to take accountability for action be it mental, physical or spiritual.  It is not about being ultra-organized and over-committed to a task list – but rather it is truly about holding yourself accountable for your own goals.  If you are not on that path take out some baby powder douse some on your hand and smack yourself into reality.  The baby powder is meant for effect since the talc will cause a prolonged sting on the skin.  The reference can also be compared to an infantile view of your own personal potential and perceived limitations.

 

We have all experienced ruts, now is the time to get out and hold yourself accountable. If you can’t get anything done, you need to confront these seven harsh truths that reveal why you procrastinate.

 

Shiny Objects -  Toys and technology interrupt you constantly. People like to complain about how “distracted” they are, and most of them aren’t willing to accept that they are responsible for that reality.

Whether it is texts, the number of to-dos on a list somewhere or the number of emails you need to respond to – you need to take prioritize based on your goals at work or life in general.  No time make time through prioritization and communication. If you feel overwhelmed, you need to deal with the fact that it is your fault – stings a little I know, I have been guilty of that and I know many of friends, family and co-workers face the challenge daily. 

I knew a person a long time ago who had Sunday Night Syndrome, freaking out about what she needed to do during that week. After some level of venting she moved from complaint to commitment in less than thirty minutes. With that story it is a great idea to get quiet with yourself, no cell-phones or television, and pre-game your day or week – what do I need to do in order to achieve my goals this week.  Take stock in yourself by holding a high level focus session at a set time every week and every day if possible.

 

Feats of Strength - You consume your headspace with things you have no control over.  You create more stress in your life by falling down this slippery slope.  The self-inflicted anxiety it causes will only lead to regret and more energy spent on things you have zero control over.  If you do have some modicum of control over the situation – do something, don’t complain do something – anything.

 

Camaraderie versus Focus - Everyone needs friends, co-workers and family to feel valued and part of a something larger than themselves. While it’s great to have camaraderie, you can’t expect to achieve anything worth talking about if you spend all of your time with other people. Highly productive people know they must spend the occasional day or night working alone if they want to achieve their goals.  Stop avoiding what needs to get done and plan your day with and without other people.

 

Another distraction Multi-tasking - Focus is a skill that is in short supply especially today where alerts are common place, emails are rampant and now smart-watches will steal even more mindshare from the day, if you let it. Everyone is so obsessed with doing more things that they never stop to consider the fact that it might be more productive to do fewer things more effectively. One question I had for my son, just this week, how efficient is it to stop writing your essay every five minutes to answer a text that isn’t urgent? How successful do you think you will be if you’re so accustomed to distraction, that you don’t even know what concentration feels like? During your weekly focus session with yourself try to define what concentration feels like.

 

Random Acts of Mental Sabotage - Other random excuses why you cannot get anything done - your problems were caused by other people.  While some aspects of this could be true based on work and your personal capacity to accomplish new tasks and asks, you need to employ your daily and weekly prioritization and communicate.  If you get upset when another person gets ahead instead of you, then I am not sure if any of this post will help or even a larger container of baby powder.  Look — even if you deserved the position, how productive is it to gossip about another person and how does that impact your personal brand or ethos?  Look for different ways of making other people successful every day and you will be investing in your own personal potential.

 

Accountability and action are inextricably linked whether you like it or not.  I believe venting in certain situations has a purpose, but just really wastes a great deal of energy – your personal energy.  Hold yourself accountable, by keeping focus on the actions below and a proverbial container of baby powder at the ready.

 

• Get Quiet - Take stock in yourself by holding a high level focus session at a set time every week and every day if possible.
• Wasting Energy and Feats of Strength - If you do have some modicum of control over the situation – do something, don’t complain do something – anything.
• Get out of Your Comfort Zone - Stop avoiding what needs to get done and plan your day with and without other people.
• Stop Multi-tasking – Define and experience what concentration feels like
• Don’t Sabotage Yourself - Look for different ways of making other people successful every day and you will be investing in your own personal potential.

 

If anyone has other ideas to stay focused and hold yourself accountable, I would welcome your contribution.

 

Surf’s Up – Finding your Flow

The holiday season across a diverse array of cultures is full of celebrations, recreation, down-time and the dreaded goal setting for the New Year.

Goal time – The discussions I have had on annual New Year’s goals were presented in two ways; the first is the individual is pumped up and primed for the new year for a clean slate and sets huge goals; the second is the I should have, would have and could have done that, but I didn’t last year.  I am not saying setting huge goals is bad, it is awesome – go ahead crush it and knock the cover off the ball, but find your flow.

 

Definition of Flow: The mental state of operation, proposed by psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. In essence, flow is characterized by complete absorption in what one does. Proposed by, this positive psychology concept has been widely referenced across a variety of fields.

 

According to Csikszentmihalyi, flow is completely focused motivation. It is a single-minded immersion and represents perhaps the ultimate experience in harnessing the emotions in the service of performing and learning. In flow, the emotions are not just contained and channeled, but positive, energized, and aligned with the task at hand.

 

It is not about discipline – and I will say that three more times, since some of the folks I mentor are steadfast in their thinking that is all that you need.

 

It is not about discipline

It is not about discipline

It is not about discipline

 

To me, discipline is about doing things in a precise way, with exact timing and in accordance with a strict regimen. It’s about doing things when and how they ought to be done, whether or not you feel like it at the time. Unfortunately, when it comes to finding our own personal routes to success, many of us get detoured or stuck by preconceived notions of what our journeys will require.

 

If you’re convinced that reaching your goals is going to require “discipline,” and that doesn’t happen to be your strong suit, it’s easy to get discouraged and to overlook the strengths and assets you do have — your own unique resources, friends, influences, strengths, and style.

 

 

For some discipline is all they need, but today we are faced with distractions and a shortage of time. It requires much more than discipline today to keep people motivated they need to find their own flow and tap into fluidity and creativity.  Leveraging all three rather than focusing on what will hold us back in achieving the goals set forth – getting into the flow.

 

Getting back to Csikszentmihalyi, psychologists have found that what makes people truly satisfied and fulfilled is not so much the achievement of any particular outcome or station in life, but rather the experience of being fully engaged in pursuits that require every bit of their attention and skill.

 

Application and Action

Flow does not necessarily require that we apply any one particular ability, but rather that we wholeheartedly invest those strengths we possess – it requires mindfulness, focus and flow.

 

Even the most challenging situation, the most intimidating goal, can become engaging when we commit ourselves to giving it the very best of our abilities and attention — and, perhaps more important, our conscious intention - mindfulness.