Don't approach your life like a farmer spreading fertilizer evenly across his fields.

 < http://www.strength-zone.com/blog.php?id=97

Recently my son received a remote control helicopter for his birthday from his grandparents. It is a miniature helicopter meant to fly indoors and retains a charge that allo http://www.strength-zone.com/blog.php?id=93

Great teams thrive on diversity, with each team member having a unique set of skills, filling a unique role. Yet teams are also unified behi http://www.strength-zone.com/blog.php?id=92

First, I have learned that I waste time in trying to correct other people’s mistakes. I should use the time to utilize their strengths http://www.strength-zone.com/blog.php?id=91

All that really matters is that “the zone” experience seems to be triggered primarily by intense emotion – by passion. And http://www.strength-zone.com/blog.php?id=90

I recently read Tim Irwin's book Derailed where he steps through the career derailments of six high profile CEOs. These derailments were not due to fraud or other legal issu http://www.strength-zone.com/blog.php?id=89

Similar to how pruning a tree allows the tree to focus on its strength areas to become even more productive, we must prune things from our lives that take our focus away from our strength zone.

Did you know that a fruit tree needs to be pr http://www.strength-zone.com/blog.php?id=87

Its old news that late 2008 and most of 2009 saw the worst economic downturn since the great depression in the 1930s. The stunningly large numbers of corporate and personal bankruptcies, crashing financial markets, currency devaluation, massive la http://www.strength-zone.com/blog.php?id=84

“As for finding the sweet spot, many people are stuck in a rut and it does impact the bottom line in terms of productivity and innovation. Somehow we have learned to equate success with money and material wealth at the expense of self-actual http://www.strength-zone.com/blog.php?id=83

We are all aware that the world around us is changing very quickly. In fact, the rate of change is continually increasing. As a result, individuals, organizations, corporations and even entire cultures are struggling to keep up.

As individ http://www.strength-zone.com/blog.php?id=82

In September this year, I attend a keynote speech from Pat Williams, Senior VP of Orlando Magic. His topic….Thirteen Qualities of Winners. Williams has had an amazing amount of leadership experience in the sports world at different levels w http://www.strength-zone.com/blog.php?id=81

Do you know someone who is always in motion? They are always on the go, moving quickly from "one fire to the next", seemingly never able to get a grip on the things for which they are responsible. Does this sound familiar? I think we all http://www.strength-zone.com/blog.php?id=80

"A person is a person through other persons. A person with Ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, for he or she has a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing http://www.strength-zone.com/blog.php?id=79

Why Are Values Important?

Values drive individual behavior. Your values are like a compass. This compass does not point north, south, east or west. It points to what is right. Every decision you make is guided by this compass. It is impe http://www.strength-zone.com/blog.php?id=78

Most of us have heard the expression "The eyes are a window into the soul" and there is a lot of truth in this statement although an observer can never truly know what a person is thinking, going though or what action they plan on taking http://www.strength-zone.com/blog.php?id=77

Let’s start with the Random House Webster’s Dictionary definition of values:

"The abstract concept of what is right or worthwhile. To consider with respect to worth or importance."

This definition, although http://www.strength-zone.com/blog.php?id=76

What are values in the workplace and why are they important?

To answer this we need to start with a definition of corporate values. Corporate values can be defined in much the same way as we defined individual values:

A corporate http://www.strength-zone.com/blog.php?id=75

In his book "The Opposable Mind", Roger Martin introduces a concept called an "Integrative Thinker". An Integrative Thinker is a person that strives to face constructively the tension of opposing ideas and generate a creative r http://www.strength-zone.com/blog.php?id=74

In his new book entitled "The Future Arrived Yesterday", Michael S. Malone defines a new phenomenon in the corporate world which he calls the Protean Corporation. The Protean Corporation is a new form of organization that is structured t http://www.strength-zone.com/blog.php?id=73

I recently connected with a colleague on LinkedIn that I had not heard from in years. He had seen one of my LinkedIn updates and commented that most people treat their strengths like fitness clothes. He said "similar to how fitness clothes do http://www.strength-zone.com/blog.php?id=72

“The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world’s problems.” Mahatma Gandhi

Gandhi recognized a huge untapped potential in his people, the people of India. He k http://www.strength-zone.com/blog.php?id=71

A few blogs ago (entitled THE INTERSECTION at www.strength-zone.com/blog.php?id=57 ) I wrote about identifying the intersection of your strengths to discover your Overall Strength Zone. But, what does this mean? How can we really apply t http://www.strength-zone.com/blog.php?id=70

Technical skills are not enough! They are not enough to be successful in today’s world as a project manager, engineer, nurse, teacher, doctor or any other occupation. They weren’t enough 72 years ago when Dale Carnegie said "...about 15 per http://www.strength-zone.com/blog.php?id=63I know I've talked about Solomon before in past blogs and maybe some of you are getting tired of his quotes but I can't help it. The guy was stunningly insightful for living thousands of years ago! "Listen to advice and accept instruction and in t http://www.strength-zone.com/blog.php?id=62I recently read Jim Collins' new book, "How the Mighty Fall". This is an outstanding book that takes a detailed look at companies that were great companies as defined by Collins' previous book "Good to Great", and fell to irrelevance. Collins define http://www.strength-zone.com/blog.php?id=57So you have identified your top six values, your personality profile and your top five talents…..what now? How do you combine this information to define your overall Strength Zone and what does this mean once you do and how do you use this informatio http://www.strength-zone.com/blog.php?id=18Thousands of years ago Solomon stated "Like an archer who wounds at random, is he who hires a fool or any passerby." Although Solomon was arguably the wisest and richest man that ever lived, he lived thousands of years before the advent of the modern http://www.strength-zone.com/blog.php?id=15Trying to maximize your strengths? Why not look for successful people with similar strengths and ask them what they are doing? Try looking for people in your area of expertise or industry and then look outside your area of expertise or industry. http://www.strength-zone.com/blog.php?id=14Cato was a scholar in ancient Rome who, at the age of 80, began to study Greek. He was asked why he was attempting this difficult task at his late age and he replied "It is the earliest age I have left." Too many of us view learning as a period of http://www.strength-zone.com/blog.php?id=13J.P. Morgan was an American financier and banker who was a dominant force during his time in the business world 1892 to 1913 (he was the CEO of JP Morgan and Co. from 1892 to 1913). His Strength Zone revolved around a deep understanding of business s http://www.strength-zone.com/blog.php?id=12Last week we defined talents and indicated that a good place to start in identifying your talents was to take the Gallup organization's StrengthsFinder online profile. If you went ahead and did this, good for you! If you haven't done this yet, wha http://www.strength-zone.com/blog.php?id=11What are talents? Why are they important? What unique talents do you possess? How do you define your talents? According to Gallup Organization’s Buckingham and Clifton in “Now, Discover Your Strengths”, a talent is a naturally recurring pattern http://www.strength-zone.com/blog.php?id=10At the end of each day, reflect on how you have used your Strength Zone® successfully. Start by identifying every situation that went well for you during the day. Be very detailed in this process. Don’t just list things like “the drive to work th http://www.strength-zone.com/blog.php?id=9Recently I have heard some people talking about (and read some articles) on how you shouldn't live in your Strength Zone because this means that you are really living in your comfort zone and, if you are doing this, then you are not really stretching http://www.strength-zone.com/blog.php?id=8Back in April I wrote about President Obama living in his Strength Zone as he campaigned for the leadership of his party and then as he competed for votes in the race for president. He realized that his biggest strength was in his ability to communic http://www.strength-zone.com/blog.php?id=7An excellent way to clearly define your Strength Zone® in writing is to create a Personal Brand Statement, PBS. William Arruda and Kirsten Dixson discuss this process in detail in their book “Career Distinction”. However, a simplistic approach is to http://www.strength-zone.com/blog.php?id=6The leader's objective is to leverage the strengths of people and make their weaknesses become irrelevant. ~ Peter Drucker For those of us out there who are leaders, which is probably all of us in one role or another, we need to be sure we are foc http://www.strength-zone.com/blog.php?id=5Two years ago when the race for the leadership of the democrat party (and ultimately the presidency of the US) really began to heat up, I asked one of my American colleagues who he thought would win. He told me he was sure it would not be Obama….not http://www.strength-zone.com/blog.php?id=4So you haven’t done a Values Profile, Personality Profile or a Talents Profile and you want a quick way to determine your Strength Zone? Try completing the following two statements: 1) I feel strong when I _____________. 2) I feel weak when I _ http://www.strength-zone.com/blog.php?id=3Do you periodically review your weekly activities to see how effective you are? If not, you should! As you progress through each day keep notes on your activities on an hourly basis. At the end of each day review your activities and do a little so