LIVE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF “YES”

Imagine Opportunities Everywhere

Prepare for Opportunities

Activate Your Current Opportunities

-Comfortable isn't comfortable
-Comfortable never got up before dawn 

-Comfortable won't get its hands dirty 

-Comfortable has nothing to prove
-Comfortable can't get the job done 

-Comfortable doesn't have new ideas 

-Comfortable won't dive in head first 

-Comfortable isn't the American dream 

-Comfortable has no guts

-Comfortable never dares to be great 

-Comfortable falls apart at the seams 

Don't get comfortable 

- The American Giant Way, www.american-giant.com/ag-ethos.html

— Leadershift: The 11 Essential Changes Every Leader Must Embrace by John C. Maxwell

CREATIVE PRINCIPLES TO LEARN AND LIVE BY - John C. Maxwell

1. BUILD A CREATIVE CULTURE by fueling passion, celebrating ideas, fostering autonomy, encouraging courage, minimizing hierarchy, reducing rules, failing forward and starting small.

2. MAKE EVERYTHING BETTER

3. MAKE PLANS BUT LOOK FOR OPTIONS

• Predetermine your course of action. 

•​Lay out your goals. 

•​Adjust your priorities. 

•​Notify key personnel. 

•​Allow time for acceptance. 

•​Head into action. 

•​Expect problems. 

•​Adjust your plan. 

•​Daily review your plans.

4. PLACE HIGH VALUE ON IDEAS

- Start Gathering Ideas

- Test Every Idea That You Gather

- Analyze Your Failures

- Adapt Other Ideas

- Question All Assumptions

5. SEEK OUT AND LISTEN TO DIFFERENT VOICES

6. TAKE RISKS

7. LIVE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF "YES"

For more information on these principles and how to put them into play, see the book, Leadershift: The 11 Essential Changes Every Leader Must Embrace by John C. Maxwell

UNLOCK THE MENTAL BLOCKS THAT KEEP YOU OUT OF THE CREATIVE ZONE

MENTAL BLOCK #1: "FIND THE RIGHT ANSWER" 

It's wrong to believe there is only one right answer to any question. There are always other solutions.

MENTAL BLOCK #2: "THAT'S NOT LOGICAL" 

Albert Einstein said, "Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world."

MENTAL BLOCK #3: "FOLLOW THE RULES" 

"There ain't no rules around here! We are tryin' to accomplish some[thing]!" - Thomas Edison

MENTAL BLOCK #4: "AVOID AMBIGUITY" 

Life is complex. It's messy. It's contradictory and paradoxical. Why in the world would we think we should—or could—avoid ambiguity?

MENTAL BLOCK #5: "FAILURE IS BAD" 

Creative people don't avoid failure. They see it as a friend. They know that if they are to experiment, innovate, and create, they will fail. They embrace risk.

MENTAL BLOCK #6: "DON'T BE FOOLISH" 

To stand up is to stand out. You have to stick your neck out to put your head above the crowd. If others don't at first understand or accept you, so what?

MENTAL BLOCK #7: "I'M NOT CREATIVE" 

The mental block that most keeps us from being creative is believing we don't possess creativity. 

The only real block to creativity is our disbelief.

-  Leadershift: The 11 Essential Changes Every Leader Must Embrace by John C. Maxwell

What Innovation Zone Are You In?

1.​THE COASTING ZONE—"I do as little as possible." 

2.​THE COMFORT ZONE—"I do what I have always done." 

3. THE CHALLENGE ZONE—"I attempt to do what I haven't done before." 

4.​THE CREATIVE ZONE—"I attempt to think what I have never thought before." 

To which zone do you naturally gravitate? Do you tend to live in the coasting zone, casually—even passively—doing as little as possible? Do you tend to stay in the comfort zone, avoiding risks? Do you connect with the challenge zone, where you try new things and willingly risk failure? 

Or do you try to stretch yourself the furthest by living in the creative zone, where you explore new ideas, seek out other perspectives, and cross bridges in your imagination long before you physically reach them?

-  Leadershift: The 11 Essential Changes Every Leader Must Embrace by John C. Maxwell

What Zone Are You In?

BALANCE CARE WITH CANDOR

How does a leader move others from "I like being on the team," to "I need to produce for the team"?

The answer is to balance care and candor.

People naturally default to one or the other. But here's why it's important for you to practice both: 

•​Care without candor creates dysfunctional relationships. 

•​Candor without care creates distant relationships. 

•​Care balanced with candor creates developing relationships.

HOW TO SHIFT FROM PLEASER TO LEADER, part 4

ASK YOURSELF THE HARD QUESTIONS BEFORE ANY POTENTIALLY DIFFICULT CONVERSATION

— Leadershift: The 11 Essential Changes Every Leader Must Embrace by John C. Maxwell

Do Not Avoid Tough Conversations

"Leadership demands that we tackle the problems. That includes tough conversations. And their difficulty increases when the issue is not easy and it involves people on our team. But we should never delay tough conversations.

The more you wait, the more difficult they become.

Why?

• Silence to most people means approval.

• When people have to fill in the blanks themselves, they do so negatively.

• Problems left unaddressed have a snowball effect: they become larger and gain momentum.

• Problems left unaddressed cause inner erosion: we lose respect for ourselves internally.

• The Law of Diminishing Intent is in effect: The longer you wait to do something you should do now, the greater the odds that you will never do it. One of these days becomes none of these days."

— Leadershift: The 11 Essential Changes Every Leader Must Embrace by John C. Maxwell