Work real hard, then play real hard with joy. Your best times in life are when you are in community with others. It is important to continually build community. The more we get to understand other people, the more we can understand ourselves and grow to become more productive adults.

"To live continually in thoughts of ill-will, cynicism, suspicion, and envy, is to be confined in a self-made prison hole. But to think well of all, to be cheerful with all, to patiently learn to find the good in all--such unselfish thoughts are the very portals of heaven; and to dwell day by day in thoughts of peace toward every creature will bring abounding peace to their possessor." -- James Allen, As A Man Thinketh (early 1900)

The ability (and inability) to achieve your goals and dreams, is mostly due to too much time spent on activities not directly connected to this same set of goals and dreams ... let's call this Individual and Community or Communal (In)effectiveness.

Responsible adults today are finding that the rules in the new economy have changed. Great ideas are definitely the source for innovation, however, they alone cannot secure a Competitive advantage in business or even Community effectiveness (when we are doing what we really want to be doing and that which brings most joy into our lives.)

It's all about action, or as UPS (United Parcel Service) refers to as, "Moving at the speed of business." Business owners must find a way to bridge the gap between knowing and doing. It's a challenge for any leader to take existing resources (talent & time) and turn them into action, which will increase effectiveness. Successful leaders from the past had a common thread and that was their ability to inspire action, not only their own of course.

You can inspire action by empowering people on your team, and in your community by letting them know that you have every confidence in their

Since team members represent the largest investment and most valuable asset you can have in your business, I offer the following five (5) concepts that you, a leader, needs to cultivate the skills to reduce ineffectiveness:

1. Plan on it. Planning is essential for putting any idea or thought into action. Effective leaders view a plan like a blueprint--they focus on the essentials and don't get hung up on every detail. They leave room for changes and adjustments. They don't waste resources debating and arguing every specific of strategy and implementation.

2. Embrace technology. Granted, technology does turn on us every now and again, but its occasional bite is well worth it. Good leaders love technology. They're excited by it. They realize that it is the mother of essential business tools for successful implementation in the work place.

3. Try it out. Good leaders are willing to take risks. They realize that although many new ideas often fail, knowing can only come from doing.

4. Leading by example. The most effective cycle for transforming knowledge into action is hear, see, do. People learn by watching others do things right, not by being instructed how to do things by a leader who has never implemented a strategy successfully themselves.

5. Strength training. An effective leader knows and understands the strengths of his or her team members and positions each to do what he or she does best.

"Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone."--Pablo Picasso

You and I really do have a part to play in the world. It requires individual commitment and personal (sense of ownership) responsibility.

If not now, then when? In not you, then who?

Ed Hirsch
mailto:ed@dreamstyles.com
ICQ# 55939361 650-872-1024 So. San Francisco, California