by Doug Gray | Jan 1, 2013 | Business, change, Coaching, Leadership, Managers, money, Personal Development, strengths, Success
The Reticular Activation System (RAS) is that part of our brain that registers when we hear / notice something familiar amid distraction. Imagine being in a crowded supermarket. Then you hear your child cry out your name. Your RAS immediately kicks in. Endorphins and blood flow increase. And you respond to the stimulus…
What we measure leads to change. Ask any MBA. Ask any manager.
Try this 30-day goal setting activity described by Brian Tracy. Get a spiral bound notebook. Label it “My New Best Friend.” On page one list your top 10 goals. Then turn the page and set it aside. Repeat on days 2-30. On day 31, review the patterns. Look for patterns.
Your RAS will help you. Then share your observations with your coach or accountability partner.
What did you notice?
by Doug Gray | Dec 31, 2012 | change, Coaching, exercise, faith, Leadership, strengths, Success
Thomas Jefferson described “The Pursuit of Happiness” as an eternal truth. He wrote amid revolutions in France and the unformed United States.
Recent research in neurobiology demonstrates that HOW we choose to live enervates different parts of the brain. Yet so many people are fascinated by WHAT we do. Hmmm. Maybe we need to stay focused on choosing happy pursuits.
What would happen if you chose to spend TODAY focused on one activity- choosing happy pursuits- only?
by Doug Gray | Dec 30, 2012 | change, Coaching, money, strengths, Success
Bryan Tracy is famous for the “30-Second Goal Setting Test.” Here you go:
1. Think about your goals.
2. Write them down in the next 30 seconds.
[pause and write…]
Virtually everyone would lump their goals into 3 categories: 1. relationship goals (family, work…), 2. financial goals (money, career…) and 3. health goals (diet, exercise…)
So, why do you think you are so different?
Possible takeaway: Write your goals. Work with a coach or accountability partner daily. Re-write your top 10 goals on a new sheet of paper every day for 30 days. Then go back and study whatever you wrote.
by Doug Gray | Dec 29, 2012 | book review, Business, change, Coaching, Employment, exercise, faith, money, Personal Development, strengths, Success
Hello fellow book lovers…
Perhaps you have read or know The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. If not, I heartily recommend it for a book discussion group. Or as a gift for loved ones.
Great combination of self-disclosure, research, wit, personal development.
I bought this impulsively for a loved one for Christmas, and of course she has not yet touched it. I’ve inhaled it. So I thought you might appreciate it…
by Doug Gray | Nov 14, 2012 | Business, change, Coaching, Employment, energy industry, Leadership, Managers, nuclear, safety, Success
There are many approaches to safety, depending upon your training or job title or perspective. Some are listed below.
But before looking at this data, answer this question: How powerful are your co-workers?
We know that peers influence us. Look at Fantasy Football. Look at gambling behavior. Look at rumors. Look at your children…
Which leads to the question: are co-workers more powerful than, say, management commitment or situational awareness? The short answer is yes.
Consider this slide from a recent CII study:
What are your conclusions?
I notice the following:
1. The higher the correlation coefficient (the more red), the more important the safety climate factor. Co-worker relationships has a red highlight (more than 0.7 correlation coefficient. As any statistics student knows, o.5 is considered statistically significant.) Co-worker relationships are a higher factor than ANY of the other factors.
2. Few project sites provide coaching and training that modifies co-worker behaviors. Over time. Those senior leaders are “missing the boat.”
3. Some smart companies are investing in changing leader behavior. For instance, Shaw Power Group has hired Action Learning Associates to work at a construction site with 33+ safety professionals. That team is defining co-worker relationships at the frontline with supervisors and foreman. And the result is profound on their key performance metrics.
Your company can modify leader behavior by focusing on co-worker relationships. We can help you do so. Call us at 704.895.6479.
What are you waiting for?
by Doug Gray | Nov 13, 2012 | Business, Coaching, Leadership, Managers, Personal Development, safety, strengths, Success
Reason #11. Graduate School.
When doing my graduate research at Dartmouth College I was obsessed with risk-taking behavior. Key questions included: Why do we intentionally embrace a known risk? What causes us to embrace more risk in academics or business or interpersonal choices? How do we encourage constructive risk tolerance, risky shift, and risk taking behavior?
At the time I was teaching high school English in a boarding school in New Hampshire. Like every faculty member, I was required to embrace the “triple threat” requirements as a teacher, dorm parent, and a coach. I supervised a dormitory house with 12 9th grade boys. I coached soccer and x-c skiing. I taught rock climbing, whitewater canoeing, winter camping, outdoor adventures. I ran a January program that was designed to “foster risk taking” in academics and socially constructive outdoor adventures, which included a 3-day mandatory winter camping expedition called “Sophomore Wilderness.” And I met a lovely woman that I was not supposed to date– because she was on the faculty. And we dated. Got engaged. Then married, on Lake Winnepausaukee. Some 23 + years ago. Like the students and other faculty, I embraced risk.
My research required that I develop an assessment of adolescent risk taking behavior. Based upon recent related research and validated approaches. Then test the questions on hundreds of adolescents at summer camps, and at two independent high schools.
I found that adolescents described self-esteem in multi-dimensions (such as physical, social, academic, etc.) But adolescents did not discriminate between types of risk in that way. They only discriminated between socially constructive risks (helping others, talking to a teacher, etc) or socially destructive risks (taking drugs, sexual activity, etc.)
Some 25+ years later I remain fascinated by several facts:
1. Adults act like those adolescents. Adults discriminate between socially constructive and socially non-constructive risks.
2. That instant between a stimulus/trigger and a response/action defines our career success.
3. Coaches/consultants can help adults determine what is safe or risky, and what is productive or not.
4. I remain continually surprised and puzzled by that opening question: Why do people intentionally embrace a known risk?
What do you think?
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