How curious are you?  Do you sit back and let things happen or do you intently watch the world looking for trends and answers to questions? 

One of the jobs of an executive is to lean in and pay attention to what is happening in the world.  But this doesn't solve problems right away. Sometimes it just creates more questions.  Now it's tricky.  Do you get discouraged because the questions pile up or does it make you hungrier to find an answer?  If you want to be a successful senior exec I hope your stomach rumbles. *

But be careful.  What will satisfy is rarely generated internally.  Good ideas come from connections you make by exploring texts and talking with others.  Sure, you might come up with a great idea once you have enough data points from experiences, reading, or talking to smart people, but don't cheat the search process. 

When you are stumped dive into books, articles, and conversations.  If the answer eludes you; keep searching.  Be persistent.  There is another article to read or another person to talk to somewhere.  The answer will come in due time, but only if you keep looking.


*This longing or searching is not just about answering business questions.  As human beings we are all geared toward longing and searching for the infinite.  That rumble in your stomach might not be about business.  Unless you spend the time to find out you will never know.

        

Well, at least someone said it.  We all know it to be true, but we just want to lie to ourselves I guess.  (I'm included in this)  If we have a weight problem the thing we must do is eat less calories.  Exercise alone doesn't get us to the promised land as shown by this article. 

Don't shoot the messenger. 

        

Here is a great article on posture from the Art of Manliness.  Makes me sit up a little straighter just thinking about it.

        

Like any trend, I'm just sick of hearing about the importance of transparency.  Not that transparency is bad.  It has just reached a point where it is a buzz word. 

So, take a look at this article.  Makes a good case for when you should be transparent and when you shouldn't. 

        

Here is a crazy trend we learned about a few weeks ago.  Just one year into our wellness program, we are seeing a decline in the use of prescription drugs for things like acid reflux.  Why is this? 

Well, the biggest push in the program is for people to eat healthier/less.  It is the most simple and effective thing we can do to improve our health.  When people start to eat better they have to rely less on medication to help acid reflux which in turn saves all of us money.  (If you eat garbage with extra hot sauce, the likelihood you have acid reflux goes up dramatically.  Funny how that works.)

Now, just think about if this same logic is put to use on cholesterol drugs.  Some people with a proper diet might actually be able to come off of them.  No, this won't work for people with high cholesterol genetically, but why not give it a shot?  Worst case scenario is you end up with more energy and being healthier overall. 

PS- Here is a great article on how to keep some costs down beyond what I talked about above. 

        

Or at least it seems that way if you get rid of a few cancerous individuals in your organization.  You know who I'm talking about; the gossips, the whiners, the screamers, etc. 

I'm all for saving the decent hard working people who are generally pleasant to work with.  Besides, don't we owe it to them to get rid of the jerks who make them less productive and keep the company from being a destination work place? 

Seth Godin weighs in here.

        

The CEO title sure can squash challenges to an idea.  Employees don't want to disagree with me for fear of retribution.  Even though I'm not a scary guy (I don't think so, but what do I know?) those three letters on my business card can be.  That's why I have to lean on different groups to keep my head on straight; my direct reports, outside advisers, friends, and my wife.  For right now, I'll just focus on an outside adviser story. 

Yesterday, while at Power Creative in Louisville I was reminded how an outside perspective can bring a CEO humility.

The folks at Power are helping South Central Sound hammer out a brand identity so we don't wander on our marketing message.  So, they obviously wanted to hear some of the spots I helped write for South Central Sound over the last year.  I knew I was in trouble when one of their team flatly said, "we'll write those from now on".

And there's my dose of humility for the day. 

Sure, it doesn't feel good when this happens.  Still very necessary.  We all need people around us that can burst a balloon or three to keep our feet somewhere near the ground.  I just need to surround myself with more than the average person because my title insulates me.   


PS - No, they didn't pan all of the spots.  Some of them were pretty good.  (My writing partner gets the credit for those)  The problem with the spots was consistency and not a strong enough direction/theme.   Besides, it is really hard to write spots about your own company.  You can't read the label if you are inside the bottle. 

        

Saving money is all the rage right now.  I'm happy to contribute to said rage.  Check out 50 tricks for Do It Yourself savings. 

        

Something to think about. 

        

I am fan of the Art of Manliness Blog.  The simple goal is for men to be the best they can be.  However, this post on being your own man isn't just for men.  It's for women too.

The part I especially like deals with having supporters and people who like you.  Inherently, they are important, but I had not fully considered the issue in depth before.  Here's the gist, but you should read the whole article.

At times we are seduced by so thoroughly being our own person that we trick ourselves into thinking that it is ok if no one likes us.  "What do they know anyway, I'm trying to do something great here."  This is a trap and flawed. 

We should be concerned if no one likes us.  It may be a sign we need to modify our behavior because we are so far off base.  On the opposite side we shouldn't be deluded that we can get everyone to like us.  Coming into the middle from the edges (loved by all vs hated by all) should not be looked at as selling out to the middle; just balancing life.