r u l y

"Dog Show." (completely deaf rescued dalmatian, who's been trained for agility using just hand signals). Photo by Sam Cockman. From the Flickr Creative Commons.

This month at Ruly we have been exploring motivation. Below is a summary of this month’s blog posts highlighting some of my favorite comments and news updates.

We started off the month with a Ruly Challenge to complete a motivation worksheet helping you work through your available time, resources and to do list.

Lou commented:

“Okay, I did the list first and was able to cross off a thing or two just by writing it down!”

I found the same thing. Sometimes by just taking a few minutes to pause and think about what you need to do makes you realize that you are agonizing over something that you don’t need to. I also found that you have less guilt about not accomplishing something if you realize that you just don’t have the time or money to be doing that anyway.

Business Turnarounds and Comebacks

We looked to the business world for information on staging a business comeback. First, we looked at Steve Miller’s book, The Turnaround Kid and found 4 lessons for his comeback process: organize, simplify, focus on your biggest problem and create a plan with help from others.

Next, we took lessons on motivation from Harry Paul and Ross Peck’s Instant Turnaround whose simple but powerful philosophy is to surround yourself in a positive work environment with constant recognition and praise

Next, we looked to Donald Trump, the comeback master and created a top 10 list of Trump tips from his 1997 classic The Art of the Comeback. Wall Street Journal reporter John Newport recently challenged Donald Trump to a round of golf with prizes depending on who won the match (a signed “hedcut” image from the Wall Street Journal for Mr. Trump or a Trump-recorded cell phone message for Mr. Newport’s daughter). Mr. Trump won the match but generously offered to record a message for Mr. Newport’s 15-year-old daughter’s cell phone. His message shows the sort of confidence, generosity and fun that Mr. Trump exemplifies:

“This is Donald Trump, you’re calling Anna Belle. She’s a great beauty, she’s a fantastic young woman, she’s brilliant. If you want to speak to her, just leave your number and maybe you’ll be lucky enough for her to call you back. Good luck!”

–Donald Trump, quoted in John Paul Newport’s “Trading Shots with Donald Trump,” The Wall Street Journal, June 26, 2010

When it comes to motivating employees, a reader sent me a link to this interesting video illustrating a speech by Dan Pink at the RSA. The artistry is beautiful to watch but even more interesting is the point that when it comes to work requiring advanced cognitive processing, more money produces worse performance rather than better! What does motivate? You will have to watch to see.

Disaster Recovery

From the business world, we looked to disaster recovery lessons from the BP gulf coast oil spill and to Haiti’s earthquake recovery process.

Unfortunately, things still seem to be getting worse for BP. The oil spill continues to flow and, according to Tony Hayward’s Congressional testimony on June 17, likely won’t be stopped until August! I didn’t watch all of the testimony but the portion I did watch showed that our Congressional representatives put an incredible amount of effort into researching the specifics of oil drilling and operations. I was a bit surprised to hear all the detailed questions about oil well construction.

We now have a few more clues to the mystery of who owns MC252. According to The Washington Post, in addition to BP’s 65% interest, Anadarko Petroleum Corp., an American company, owns 25% and the remaining 10% is owned by “a subsidiary of Mitsui & Co. Ltd. of Japan.” From the Congressional testimony, we also understand that Haliburton was somehow involved in the drilling operations as well.

Given the resources of the many companies involved in this accident, I am fully confident that the victims of the oil spill will be fully compensated in time for these tremendous losses and that the gulf coast will be eventually cleaned up to a near pristine condition but I also sympathize that in the short-term many people are facing a difficult transition and are financially and emotionally devastated.

Just viewing BP’s website, it seems that their people are hard at work to both kill the well flow and clean up the environment but starting to tire a bit from the stress of this operation. I hope that BP is taking steps to motivate these people and recognize their hard work. We are all depending on them!

Genetic Factors of Motivation

We also discussed two aspects of motivation that are more genetic based and perhaps out of our control: personality traits such as auditory-sequential versus visual-spatial learners and mental illnesses such as depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Spreading Motivation

We looked at Alexandra Penney’s book, The Bag Lady Papers, discussing her own recovery process from the Bernie Madoff scandal and found tips to support family and friends struggling financially.

Danny Stewart-Smith provided a great Ruly Mix to motivate us and discussed his own experiences with motivation.

Ruly Ruth discussed the politics of group motivation and encouraged us all to join a group.

I hope that this month has given you a boost in motivation as well as insight into what motivates you and others.

Please check back on Friday for the start of a new month and a new theme!

"Fairmount School, 1711 Massachusetts Ave. Women at Fairmount School in exercise uniforms." Photo by Theodor Horydczak. From the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

How many times have you set out to achieve a goal and the first thing you do is look for a group to join?  Perhaps you joined a gym, took a class, subscribed to a blog or created a Meetup or Facebook group.  Groups are a great way to share information, to meet others with similar aspirations and to challenge ourselves by conforming to the group norms.

“The desire to form and join social groups is extremely powerful and built into our nature. Amongst other things groups give us a most valuable gift, our social identity, which contributes to our sense of who we are.”

–PsyBlog, “10 Rules that Govern Groups“

This month Ruly Ruth is blogging about motivation in groups–when it’s appropriate, when it’s not, and how it works.

Anyone who knows me personally knows I am a natural-born cheerleader. (Was never one officially–but my personality type leans toward that temperament.) Often this trait becomes a motivator for friends, family, as well as organizations. And more and more it’s being used in said group settings.

People use group motivation for weight loss, exercise groups, support groups, trade and social organizations. The theory behind all of this is an organization–or at least more than one single person–is holding someone accountable–be it for attendance, support, success, or involvement.

Everyone, regardless of how shy or introverted you are or your busy schedule, should be a member of a group. Be it a church/synagogue/mosque, a volunteer organization, a trade organization–whatever it may be–but everyone should join and attend some organizational functions. The level of involvement usually depends on 1) your passion for that organization’s purpose, and 2) how extroverted you are. Usually those of us that are the most extroverted often end up in leadership positions in organizations–we need to make sure that those that may be shyer and more introverted get tasked and are involved. This ensures that all people stay with the group, and often the quieter people have the most to offer creatively and idea-wise. In other words, tap and task everyone!

Regardless of the commitment of a group to its cause, there should absolutely be individual responsibilities and tasks to augment the group’s work. With defined goals, the tasks can be identified to make those goals occur, and then the tasks can be doled out to individuals. The quality and effort going into these tasks has a huge impact on the group’s credibility, face-value (because first appearances are important), and are signs of commitment of the individuals to the group. Amazing results are motivating to other members to do a great job as well.

However, without properly defined goals, any group can go awry. As the eHow article “Goal Setting Group Exercises” states, the group must have SMART goals–specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-bound. If you can’t define goals in this manner, the group should probably be disbanded.

The other time a group should disband is when few people are involved, or there is no desired leadership at the top. That may seem emotionally painful, but think of it more as an opportunity to join a new group and give your talents to that goal instead.

Or, if another group does not meet your desired needs, it’s time to form your own organization/group! We are doing this right now through Facebook with the China Lake Spouses page. It’s geared to spouses living in the Ridgecrest/China Lake Naval Weapons Station area, and shows people resources and community events for adults and kids in which they can be involved. We started it a few months ago and our “friend” list is growing rapidly. It just shows when a need is identified (in this case it was lack of communication across ranks and communities), it can be very simple (albeit time consuming) to form a solution….in this case, yet another group!

You can probably tell from Ruth’s post that she LOVES working in groups!  I can tell you from personal observation that Ruth instantly forms groups everywhere.  In college, she had more study groups going than anyone I knew and she gained both valuable information and contacts from the experience.

When a group works well it is a wonderful experience.  You feel a deep connection to the group members and enthusiasm for whatever cause/activity you are participating in.  You are motivated to participate in part because you are achieving great things as a group but primarily because you feel a strong emotional connection to the group and you don’t want to let them down.

Yet, not everyone enjoys working in groups.  The downside for many people is that joining a group requires conformity to the group norm. When there is a disconnect between what the group norm is and what you as an individual think it should be, a group can be a dispiriting rather than an uplifting experience.  Especially if you have limited time to contribute to a group, the last thing you want to do is spend time arguing with those in the group about what the group should be doing.  So, when you are thinking of joining a group, look for a group with a strong identity with many people who share your same goals.

As Ruth, mentions, there is also a lifecycle to groups.  A challenge for many groups is how to keep interest in the group going.  Here is where you have an interesting conundrum:

“[G]roups only rarely foment great ideas because people in them are powerfully shaped by group norms: the unwritten rules which describe how individuals in a group ‘are’ and how they ‘ought’ to behave. . . . The purpose of norms is to provide a stable and predictable social world, to regulate our behaviour with each other. In many respects norms have a beneficial effect, bolstering society’s foundations and keeping it from falling into chaos. On the other hand stability and predictability are enemies of the creative process.”

–PsyBlog, “Why Group Norms Kill Creativity“

So, while you need the group to build a strong consensus of opinion, at some point, the lack of creativity within the group may result in the group’s ultimate demise.  Group members may be so focused on preserving the group as it is that they are not thinking about the future and changes the group might need to make to be successful in the future.

Research also shows that group members are hostile to suggestions for change from new members and that the same suggestion for change will be respected when given by an established group member but rejected out of hand when given by a newcomer.  If society’s interest in your group in general is changing and your group refuses to change, the only new members you are likely to attract are the small number of people who still agree with your group.  With many groups, it is far easier to just disband the old group and start a new one rather than try to implement change.

So, as you look to groups for motivation, keep in mind the group lifecycle and don’t become unmotivated if your group doesn’t work out as planned.  There just might be an ideal new group out there for you!

What are your experiences with group motivation?  Please share in the comments.

Dan Stewart-Smith http://www.ddeprod.com

It’s Friday!! Time to pick up some energy for the weekend and motivate yourself to have some fun! Dan Stewart-Smith comes to our rescue again with another great motivational mix.

First, I had some questions for Dan about the role music plays in motivation. He had some great insight to share.

Why does music motivate so many of us?  Is it music in general or are there specific things you are doing as a composer to tap into a motivational vibe?

Well, as you know and have already experienced, music taps emotion in people and emotion is a strong motivator (imagine a movie with no score), so perhaps that is the main thing. Pop music appeals to common emotions and feelings in humans such as love, sorrow and pain, and lustful desire…those are just three common themes that we all relate to, and they sell records! Another largely motivating or moving element is tension and release where by the music climaxes and then relaxes again; much like holding your breath till you’re about to burst and then exhaling, resuming normal breathing once again.

I don’t know if there is any correct code of practice for creating “motivating” music. However from my experience, again it is down to the purpose of the music as to what dictates style and mood. For example if you need to create music for say aerobic exercise, the most fundamental point is that the beat must be strong and clear. After that you need to consider that people first warm up then build their aerobics routine to a peak and either stop after that or cool down, so the music needs to reflect that. Usually, catchy but angular phrases work well for exercise that requires vigorous movement, therefore pop remixes and Latin and funk based tunes work nicely for that. Rock is also popular for dance remixes; take Eddie Van Halens “Jump” as a classic example. It is driving and compelling as it is, but with a heavy dance beat mixed under it, it takes on a new edge and becomes even easier to digest. You may have noticed, Rock is actually a popular genre with weight trainers and sprinters for its “driving” pace.

On the other hand you may need to create music that is intended for mental focus, therefore it needs to bubble along unobtrusively, yet be compelling enough to imbue focus….classic examples include count down music in general knowledge game shows where the contestants only have 30 seconds or so to deduce their answer, or music for Yoga and spiritual focus which is another kind of concentration that demands calmness (see last month’s mix).

Do you ever lose motivation to create music?

I wanted to become a professional musician since I was about 19, and I envisioned myself performing and being able to play many styles of music. I had a vision, and therefore I could take steps to fuel the fire to become that vision by listening and watching my heroes play. 6 years later I was touring around parts of the world playing to thousands of people in a handful of prestigious venues. I had become that vision….trouble was, it still didn’t pay the bills!

Being just a bass player was by no means enough, so I decided to branch out into teaching, production and composition….again I envisioned myself behind the mixing desk, creating music for media, playing keyboards, singing, arranging etc and listened to many different genres of music, watched documentaries on Motown, on Stevie Wonder, on Metallica and more… so I practiced and studied toward that goal and 4 years on I landed my first composition gig for Nickelodeon. After that I just kept plugging for work, and what I put in came back to me and I have been able to build a relatively expansive portfolio from there.

Something I realized recently, is that if you do start making a profession out of your passion, you may come to actually get bored of it!!!

Last year, I had a heavy commission for 30 pieces of music for iPhone games and spent about a month solid every night, composing and producing music for it. After a week of that I started hating what I was coming up with and felt lethargic and uninspired to work. Strange! Considering this was supposed to be my dream job!!!!! Funnily enough watching a few movies and absorbing sound tracks by Danny Elfman and John Williams soon cured me and I felt refreshed and inspired again, outputting two pieces a night.

Similarly, when I played in London as part of the band backing Kate Dimbleby’s performance as the late Jazz vocalist Peggy Lee in a production slated to tour Europe. I was really enjoying it to begin with and we were getting good reviews music wise….however the band leader told me to “play it very simple” and to “tone down”  after a Time Out review complimented the band and in particular my playing, saying “Dan Stewart’s upright bass complemented Dimbleby’s silky, sultry voice beautifully” and criticized the actual script and production of the play itself calling it “a languid attempt”. So I toned it down playing carefully scored bass lines instead of improvising off chord charts and kicks making it even more “languid” than it already apparently was. I lost my enthusiasm and motivation to play in that situation and decided to quit the gig.

I have felt similar when playing regular gigs, same old tunes, same place, same musicians for four hours every night….for 40 quid and a meal. It gets old after a while and you want something new and fresh…even though this was supposed to be your “dream”.

What do you do to motivate yourself?

For me it’s about vision and supporting that vision by nurturing it with relevant fodder, and you can apply that to anything. A way that I find helps motivation is to actually go and see something similar to what you wish to achieve or obtain. Take for example a car…I might go to a sales yard and sit inside the car, take photos of it, even test drive it. That subconsciously sets my mind to make steps toward saving to attain my goal of buying it.

Another common trick I use to motivate my lazy ass is to say to myself…”well if you do not try, you will never know, and you may kick yourself to hell and back for that in the future.” That usually makes me take further steps toward a goal. At the end of the day, I believe whatever you visualize can be achieved, but you need to be realistic about it, and realize there will be obstacles along the way and it will take a lot of hard work and time!!!!  One major issue I have is that I have too many ambitions and ideas I wish to fulfill, and I have trouble prioritizing them and just focusing on one at a time. So, some advice on what to do about that would be greatly appreciated!

The most happy, well balanced people I know, are those who regularly do something they love, and conversely, I have seen people wilt when they have had no time for themselves. We all need that creative or adventurous outlet to function as a healthy human beings, and if we can make a little money out of it along the way, then that’s all the better! There would be nothing worse than going to your grave feeling like you didn’t complete, or at least whole-heartedly attempt, to complete your ambitions in life.

Ambition and desire grows. This is human nature I suppose and is the same mentality that drives some of the rich to want to gain more money although they already have more than enough…(which reminds me, that was the topic of March’s post). Perhaps it is the psychological need to measure achievement as self worth in some way, and that is perhaps more evident in men than in women. It certainly is prevalent in my life.

Tell us about “Maintain Focus”

This track was originally written for exercising/training, hence the constant beat and the moderate tempo. I wanted it to be fun and motivating but not too distracting, hence the lyrics are just chant lines along the lines of “maintain focus” instead of full blown narratives. I also wanted it to reflect some of my favorite influences, namely P-funk AKA Parliament / Funkadelic who created such a kick ass sound back in the 70′s and early 80′s that you just had to dance, but also contain more current dance music elements such as House, Techno and Electronica elements. Michael Hampton and Bootsy Collins of the aforementioned Funkadelic, have been big inspirations to me and I thank them for their creativity and amazing groove. Anyway I hope you find it fun to groove along to. Happy listening!

I hope you enjoy “Maintain Focus” as much as I do!  I especially love the voices and guitar solos toward the end.

Click the picture below to play or right-click to download. (If the picture is not working for you, you can also download by clicking here.)

To respect the rights of the musician, please comply with the simple Ruly License terms below.

Ruly License: You may download and play any Ruly Mix song for your own personal use so long as you keep the voiceover tags intact indicating the name of the artist and that the song came from beruly.com. Businesses may also download this song to play as background music in their establishments so long as the voiceover tags remain intact. Any other uses of the song (such as in videos, etc.) must be pre-approved by the musician. Questions about license permissions can be addressed to info@beruly.com.

If you enjoy this mix, please comment, give a “like” on Facebook or share this link with others!

Have a great weekend!

Previous Ruly Mix artists: Danny Stewart-Smith (“The Flow”), Danny Stewart-Smith (“Insights”), Danny Stewart-Smith feat. Evin Gibson, Joe Hanley, Jamie Smith, Rajiv Agarwal

Charles Bell, "The Anatomy of the Brain, Explained in a Series of Engravings." London: T.N. Longman and O. Rees (etc.), 1802. From the Wikimedia Commons.

We generally think of motivation as a personal attribute entirely within our control. If you have motivation, you are thought to be disciplined, organized, and energetic. If you lack motivation, the general stereotype is that you are lazy, unorganized and lack passion. This characterization isn’t entirely accurate and for some people can be quite unfair. It turns out that an individual’s motivation capabilities, like most aspects of personality, are a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Today’s post probes the genetic aspect of motivation.

Motivation from a physical perspective involves having the right balance of brain chemicals. There is an area of the brain called the “reward center” and psychologists and scientists are very interested in how that area of the brain works. Being able to influence the reward center could allow doctors to help patients make positive changes to overcome challenges like addiction or depression.

Below we look at two mental illnesses with motivational impacts. Clearly, this is for general information only. If you suspect you have a problem with either one of these conditions, please consult your physician.

Too Little Motivation: Depression

“Depressed patients often lack motivation and the ability to experience reward or pleasure — and depression and addiction often go together.”

–”Resilience Factor Low in Depression, Protects Mice From Stress,” Press Release, National Institute of Mental Health, May 17, 2010

Depression is a common and disabling illness for many Americans. While the reasons for depression are numerous and not entirely known, scientists theorize that an imbalance of brain chemicals may explain why some people become very depressed when facing adverse circumstances while others do not.

One important motivational brain chemical is dopamine. Dopamine is the pleasure chemical that is released primarily in response to good food, sex, exercise, alcohol, caffeine and sugar. Dopamine levels decline in response to age, stress, lack of sleep, poor nutrition and drug abuse. The video below provides an animation illustrating how dopamine works.  (Note: if you are having trouble viewing the embedded video, you can also click here to watch it on YouTube.)

Dopamine levels must be exactly right to influence motivation. Too little or too much dopamine negatively influence our cognitive processing. Too much dopamine has been associated with depression and schizophrenia. Parkinson’s disease is caused by the death of dopamine-producing neurons and Parkinson’s patients have almost no dopamine.

Source: Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine. Reprinted at Teens with Deletion Syndrome Confirm Gene’s Role in Psychosis, NIMH Press Release, October 23, 2005.

Another brain chemical frequently out of balance in depressed patients is deltaFosB, a transcription factor that is responsible for turning on and off mutiple genes to produce proteins. Depressed people are thought to have too little deltaFosB. Antidepressants are thought to work by increasing deltaFosB. DeltaFosB, like dopamine, has to be kept in balance. The right amount of deltaFosB gives us “resilience” to stress. Too little results in depression and too much promotes addiction.

Too Much Motivation: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

When you think of the most organized people, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) comes to mind. Repetitive cleaning and an irrational fear of germs or uncleanliness are common manifestations of this anxiety disorder.

I was somewhat surprised to read, however, that OCD is a “disorder of motivation and reward expectancy.” OCD patients do not lack motivation but perhaps have too much motivation. Too much motivation? Could there really be such a thing?

Researchers at the National Insitutes of Mental Health found in experiments with monkeys that brain activity in the “reward-anticipating circuit” has a great impact on keeping us focused to complete long tasks. Monkeys were shown progress bars indicating how much of a task they had completed and how much more of the task they had to complete to get a treat. The scientists found that as the monkeys got closer and closer to completing the task, activity in the reward-anticipating circuit increased and the monkeys became more accurate in their performance of the task. Once they were almost finished with the task, this activity slowed down until the treat was received. This is apparently the “normal” pathway.

The scientists theorize that in OCD individuals, the reward-anticipating signals never turn off.

“The [OCD] individual performs the behavior that would normally alleviate the sense of expectancy, but the signal somehow fails to turn off. There is no feeling of completion, the tension remains unresolved, and a compulsion to keep repeating the behavior takes over.”

–”Brain Signal Boosts as Monkey Nears Reward,” Press Release, National Institute of Mental Health, May 30, 2002.

So, if someone has OCD tendencies and is really bothered by cleanliness or organization, it might truly be easier for that person to clean ad naseum than the rest of us. The OCD individual has a natural boost to keep going.

Hmm….what could be wrong with that? Well, obviously OCD at its extreme is a very paralyzing illness. Very mild OCD might be beneficial for a lot of tasks. The downside of OCD, I imagine, is that you never gain the sense of satisfaction and completion that a normal person would have. It is probably harder for the OCD individual to relax, appreciate their accomplishments and take a break. They are in a constant state of striving. Over time, I imagine the stress of this condition would be quite exhausting and taxing on the body. So, while the OCD individual might have the cleanest house on the block, they might struggle with their physical health or in their relationships.

Motivation “Cheats”

So, knowing the physical cues that influence motivation, what are some “cheats” we can try to use to positively influence our own brain chemicals and motivation?

1.  Assign a good reward. We may be unmotivated to do certain tasks because we aren’t making the connection to any sort of reward for completing that task. An OCD individual has a natural reward system where the act of completing the task is enough to alleviate their anxiety. The normal individual might need something more concrete like purchasing a wishlist item, taking a vacation, going out to dinner, etc. Pick something that is worth striving for!

2.  Monitor your progress. Creating a visual symbol for your task and your progress might help keep you focused and promote those reward-anticipation chemicals. Creating a checklist, a simple rectangle from paper that you color as you progress, or a sticker chart might help you stay on track.

3.  Eat motivation-inducing foods. There are certain foods that boost the production of dopamine. Livestrong has a list here. Not surprisingly, most of these are healthy foods like whole grains, avocados, lean proteins and fish. While sugar, caffeine and alcohol also are dopamine-producing foods, there is no recommendation that we increase our intake of any of those foods!

Finally, the most important message I would like to convey about physical aspects of motivation is that we all need to remember that individuals are unique and not every brain is wired in the same way. Something that may be simple for you may be truly very difficult for someone else. Before we are quick to assign labels like “slob,” or “neat freak,” we should pause to consider that we may be commenting on uncontrollable behavior. Our best motivational tool is to focus on the best aspects of everyone and do our best to help others reach their goals.

Have you or a loved one struggled with depression or OCD? What motivational tools were helpful to you/them?

Life throws us all a few curves sometimes and we have to adjust to changing circumstances. It is hard, however, to watch a close friend or  loved one suffer a setback of any kind, especially when you don’t know what you can say or do to help.

The Bag Lady Papers by Alexandra Penney, based on a blog written for The Daily Beast, is an interesting tale about surviving loss. Ms. Penney has had an interesting and varied career, primarily in the fashion industry, and rose to become the editor of Self magazine. She earned and saved enough money to support her work as an artist full-time. While Ms. Penney will not admit her age (guesses are between 45 and 89), it sounds to me like she was edging toward retirement when, all of a sudden, she lost the vast majority of her life savings in the Bernie Madoff fraud.

Overnight, she went from having a comfortable existence to worrying about running out of money and living on the streets. The shock led to contemplation of suicide and a compulsion to clean everything in sight. Ultimately, however, Ms. Penney starts to put the pieces of her life back together. This book isn’t a fairy tale about how everything turns out just fine in the end but an autobiography about how her whole life has really been about adjusting to change. She weaves together a very interesting tale of her life in the fashion industry and as a best-selling sex book author interspersed with the story of her life in the first two months after the Madoff fraud was uncovered.

As background on Ms. Penney’s Madoff woes, you can click here to watch Alexandra Penney on CNNs Madoff: Secrets of a Scandal.

What struck me most about this book was the number of wonderful friends Ms. Penney has and the things they did to support her during her crisis. Below is my compiled list of 4 things we can learn from Ms. Penney’s good friends about supporting a friend or loved one’s comeback.:

1.   Stay in touch. It is a natural tendency to avoid people when we aren’t sure what to say. We might fear that we will say the wrong thing or that we will feel uncomfortable talking about whatever sadness has occurred. Staying in touch, however, is critical. When Ms. Penney attends a cocktail party, she feels that people are avoiding her. A friend finally comes up to say, “I’m not going to ask how you are. I know how you are!” At a minimum, send a quick note or email just to say that you are thinking of the person.

“If you’ve had a bad thing happen to you and someone takes the time out from a very busy life to set pen to paper, or to write a thoughtful e-mail, the world seems a more humane, habitable place indeed.”

-Alexandra Penney, The Bag Lady Papers

2.   Believe. While driving my children to their activities recently, the car radio flipped to one of our local Christian channels. The preacher was discussing how it is relatively easy to say, “I love you.” but that it is a far harder thing to say, “I believe in you.” One of the lessons we see from Ms. Penney’s good friends is that one of the first messages they give to her is, “We believe you are going to come out of this OK.” Within 24 hours after the Madoff scandal, Ms. Penney’s tax lawyer, Bob, visits her to lay out some short-term plans. He reassures her: “I know you. You’ll make money again. I’m sure of it.” Similarly, Ms. Penney’s cleaning lady, Carmina, who has become like family to her, says in response to Ms. Penney’s revelation of her financial problems, “Everything will be all right. Really. You work very hard, you’ll be okay. I’ll be okay, too. Really.” So, in addition to the “I’m so sorry this happened to you.” one of the best messages you can give a loved one is “We’re behind you and believe in your future success!”

3.   Give the gift of laughter. Ms. Penney has a good sense of humor and after her financial downfall, she signed an email to a friend, “AP, aka Person of Reduced Circumstances (PoRC).” If you are someone with the talent to make people laugh and the person in trouble has a good sense of humor, your skills are incredibly needed and valued.

4.   Make small gifts that allow the person to maintain things that are important to them during the transition. While most people have a hard time accepting charity and don’t want to feel the object of pity, Ms. Penney did express her appreciation for a few thoughtful gifts from her friends. One friend paid the rent on her art studio for a time, another paid for her hair coloring appointments, another sent her a new white shirt (her signature style piece) from Brooks Brothers. An anonymous donor gave her a grant through a non-profit agency to allow her to continue her art.

“Good friends . . . might be the best cure for bag lady syndrome.”

-Alexandra Penney, The Bag Lady Papers

When you read how wonderful Ms. Penney’s friends have been to her, you have to think that Ms. Penney must be a very good friend herself and that all these kindnesses are in part a result of her “paying it forward” for many years with her own generosity. She doesn’t really discuss this in the book but there are two examples of the type of generous spirit that she is. One Christmas she runs down in her slippers and bathrobe to deliver a fine bottle of champagne to the policemen in front of the building to thank them for their service to the community. Another time, when she was living above a vintage clothing shop, she befriended the owner and would pop down to help out periodically when the shop got busy (presumably as an unpaid volunteer).

“[E]ven if you think you have no options, think again. Unless you’ve been mummified you have choices and alternatives.”

-Alexandra Penney, The Bag Lady Papers

The other key message of this book is that you have to be open to change. Ms. Penney’s story of her career history, which involves both hunting The New York Times classifieds and receiving unsolicited fashion editor positions from friends, shows that Ms. Penney is a resilient spirit. Even her art has undergone change over the years from oil painting to photographing plastic sex dolls. She used her experience to create a series of images called After Madoff. “I posed the girls as they deflated in car accidents, drowned in luxe swimming pools, were hanged by their Gucci silk scarves, and collapsed into their own fake Birkin bags . . . .” You can see and read about the images here. (Warning: adult subject matter.)

This book is a very fun read, which you might not expect from such grim subject matter.  I wish Ms. Penney well and hope that her story continues to evolve in a positive direction.  Her hardworking spirit is an inspiration to us all!

What are the most helpful messages you have given or received in a setback situation?  Please share in the comments.

"Bursts of Light." Photo by Beta-J. From the Flickr Creative Commons.

I don’t take well to routines and schedules where you have a quota to meet or do the same thing every day. I tend to be a little more loose and unscheduled and complete projects based on what I am feeling the most energy for at a given time. However, once I have energy for a project, I tend to attack it, immerse myself in it and do the best job I possibly can. This “burst of energy strategy” when it works can be very rewarding and fun. I often come up with some of my best ideas in these burst moments.

Burst planning, however, is not for everyone. To make it work, you have to accept a little (or a lot of stress), a willingness to change up your schedule as needed, an intensity of focus and the ability to accept that other tasks will go undone while you complete the burst task.

Others, however, like the predictability of schedules and routines. Routines also help ensure that things get done on time and there is a lower stress level when you know what the expectations are day to day. You may also have to set a schedule or routine when you are trying to coordinate with other people.

Most of the advice we get about doing just about anything to improve our lives depends on a schedules and routines mindset. The basic message is “change your life in small steps that you do every single day.” Logically, it sounds right. It sounds achievable. Yet we know that most people who start these types of programs don’t stay on them. Is it because we are all weak-willed or that we were doomed to fail from the beginning because the demands of the program do not match with the natural energies in our typical schedules?

Am I the only one who prefers a bursting work style? It turns out I am not.

“[T]here is the mythical 40 hour work week where you work 8 hours a day 5 days a week forever.  While this might work for an average or good performer, I haven’t seen this work for a top performer.  I find it more realistic to think of a “bursty” work schedule.  There are times when work demands bursts.  There are times when life demands bursts.  As a manager, I have found that my top performers are able to accommodate “work bursts”.  They can spend the extra hours when we’re in a clutch.  They go the extra mile to deliver the work that is needed when it needs to be done.  I see them do acrobatics in their lives to get the job done when the demands are there.  On the other hand, since I know they are doing acrobatics in their lives to accommodate the bursty demands of work, as their manager I feel compelled to do acrobatics to accommodate the bursty demands of their lives.  In essence, they have done acrobatics for me, so I do acrobatics for them.  Together, we try to achieve success and find balance.”

–Susie Wee, “From Work-Life Balance to Work-Life Bursts and Work-Life Teams” HP Blog Community,  July 22, 2009

It may be that some brains are just wired to view the world as a series of bursts. Dr. Linda Kreeger Silverman has identified a learning style in gifted children, which she calls “visual-spatial learners.”

“Visual-spatial learners are individuals who think in pictures rather than in words.  They have a different brain organization than auditory-sequential learners.  They learn better visually than auditorally.  They learn all-at-once, and when the light bulb goes on, the learning is permanent.  They do not learn from repetition and drill.  They are whole-part learners who need to see the big picture first before they learn the details. They are non-sequential, which means that they do not learn in the step-by-step manner in which most teachers teach.”

–Linda Kreeger Silverman, Ph.D., “The Visual-Spatial Learner: An Introduction“

You have to click through to see the comic on the top of Dr. Silverman’s page illustrating the difference between sequential and spatial learners. From my perspective, you could call both the neat and tidy “sequential” cabinet and the creatively arranged “spatial” cabinet, “organized” but from completely different approaches. You can also see Dr. Silverman’s list of attributes of sequential versus “visual-spatial” learners. I don’t see myself firmly in either category. I am definitely visual but not so much spatial. My husband is also a cross between the two and is probably a spatial sequencer.

Most significantly, Dr. Silverman notes:

“[Visual-spatial learners] tend to be organizationally impaired and unconscious about time.”

–Linda Kreeger Silverman, Ph.D., “The Visual-Spatial Learner: An Introduction“

I would say “impaired” is a bit of a strong word here. It is not impossible for a visual-spatial learner to be organized but the approach has to be different than what an auditory-sequential person needs. Organizing has to be seen as a challenge to be solved rather than just the routine straightening and cleaning of items.

If you are having trouble achieving a goal due to lack of motivation, you might try approaching it from a burst perspective. When you are feeling motivated to do something, do it right then! Don’t set the expectation that you will do it every day or on a regular schedule but just when you feel like it. Over time, perhaps you will come to associate the task as being something you “get” to do rather than something you “have” to do and you might be motivated to do it more often.

If you have to do something that is unpleasant, like dieting, and you are having trouble with a routine, try a burst schedule where you diet for a certain amount of time (one meal of the day, a few days of each week or one week a month, for example) and then eat normally the rest of the time. While it may not be “perfect” to do something erratically, it will move you forward. You will learn something from each experience, perhaps even something that will help you come up with a permanent solution that works for you on a more regular basis.

Bursting doesn’t work for every type of problem but it might give you the kick-start you need!

Do you prefer a bursting or sequential work style? What type of learner are you? Please share in the comments.

"Tent City." (March 25, 2010) Photo by Edyta Materka. From the Flickr Creative Commons.

"Street Food." (March 25, 2010) Photo by Edyta Materka. From the Flickr Creative Commons.

I promised back in January to check back in on Haiti 6 months after the earthquake. Where is Haiti now? What can we learn about motivation and recovery from the survivors?

It is hard to say how Haiti is doing now. According to The Miami Herald, the current threat to many still living in refugee camps and tent cities is the coming hurricane season. Many of these camps are not protected from flood waters and the residents could face severe danger yet again.

“Some 1.5 million homeless earthquake victims remain under tents and tarps in at least 1,200 camps across the country. Roads remain cluttered with rubble. The Haitian government has designated only two new emergency relocation camps. And few hurricane-resistant transitional houses have been built as the government and international aid groups continue to wrestle with land issues: how to get more of it, how to put up temporary houses and how to get camp dwellers with safe homes to return, or seek higher ground

‘When we first started this operation . . . we hoped that we would be able to build a significant number of transitional shelters by the start of the hurricane season,” said Alex Wynter of the International Federation of Red Cross. ‘We’ve made up our minds that we are going to have to face the emergency or the potential emergency of the rainy season and the hurricane season in the camps.”

-”Many say Haiti unprepared for hurricane season,” The Miami Herald, May 31, 2010

While it is certainly a step in the right direction to have people with at least some form of shelter and basic necessities, taking into account how much money has been raised by various relief organizations, isn’t it a little surprising that the recovery effort isn’t a little further along?

What has been going on the last six months? A lot of organizations have done many good works in Haiti, distributing food, water, shelter, medical supplies and other needs.

Yele Haiti, the charity established by musician and Haiti-native, Wyclef Jean, “spent more than $1.3 million in recovery aid and is planning to allocate another $8 million to Haitian recovery efforts as fundraising continues. It has delivered 700,000 gallons of clean water.” The video below shows the continued efforts of Yele Haiti and Wyclef Jean’s wife, Claudinette.

While Yele Haiti is a relatively small player in the relief effort in terms of dollars spent, it is the organization that has had the greatest emotional pull with me. While the organization was dogged with allegations of misspent funds, the images and messages it has consistently portrayed throughout its relief operations have convinced me that donations are being well spent and are being spent in ways that donors likely expected them to be spent.

[R]aising money and awareness isn’t enough. We need action now to replace the infrastructure, get Haitians employed and renew the agriculture. It’s going to take years, and there’s no time to lose.”

–Wyclef Jean, quoted in “NAACP honors Wyclef Jean,” Variety, February 25, 2010

The American Red Cross received probably the majority of money from individual American donors, totaling approximately $409 million. To date, the agency has spent roughly 25% of that amount or about $111 million. Recently, a journalist for the Miami Herald profiled the efforts of Fred Sajous, described as “a 29-year-old mechanical engineer who left Fort Lauderdale for Port-au-Prince after being laid off last year.” Armed with only a video camera, Mr. Sajous went around Port-au-Prince looking for signs of Red Cross aid. He discovered little. You can watch his video below.

Naturally, the Red Cross was less than pleased with this video and story and President and CEO Gail McGovern issued her own video response:

While I appreciate that a relief effort is a complex, long-term process and that dollars must be carefully spent, it is a little strange to think that approximately $300 million is just sitting waiting to be spent when it could probably be used now for things like medical care, food and improved shelter. It would sit a little better with me if there were specific projects identified for use of the Red Cross funds, whether now or in the future. I find Gail McGovern’s response a little unsatisfactory and vague. It appears the Red Cross has set aside funds for growing Haitian businesses and long-term infrastructure like water purification plants, etc. but I am not sure that is what donors had in mind. If the dire predictions about the impact of the hurricane season on Haiti prove true, however, you may see the Red Cross step up again with renewed attention.

The big money for Haiti’s reconstruction is coming from donations from a variety of countries and international organizations. The Haiti Reconstruction Platform indicates that almost $10 billion has been pledged to date with a little over $1 billion from the United States. This money will be used to tackle the enormous issues, like this education project from the Inter-American Development Bank:

“The five-year plan, which would require around $2 billion in funding from foreign donors, will be aimed at expanding tuition-free education services in Haiti. At present, nearly 90 percent of Haitian schools are private. Even before the Jan. 12 earthquake, which destroyed or damaged more than 4,000 schools, around half the children of primary education age were not enrolled in school.”

–”Haiti gives IDB mandate to promote major education reform,” Blog for the Inter-American Development Bank, May 15, 2010

What does all of this funding mean for invididuals and businesses in Haiti? It is very hard to answer that question or even learn how much has been spent and where. It seems the smaller projects are a little easier to track and are not years away but already launched!

Odwalla's Haiti Hope Mango Lime-Aid

A sweet (and delicious) project to revitalize Haiti was found in the refrigerated case at our local Costco. Odwalla Haiti Hope Mango Lime-Aid! This is a project of The Coca Cola Company and the Inter-American Development Bank to grow the mango trade in Haiti.

“Haiti produces some of the world’s best mangoes but around half of the crop is lost before it reaches markets. Only about 10 percent of the fruit is exported. And, paradoxically for a country with 10 million mango trees, Haiti imports mango juice.” . . .

“The $7.5 million, five-year project, to which The Coca Cola Company plans to contribute $3.5 million and FOMIN $3 million, will support the development of a sustainable mango juice industry in Haiti, aiming to double the incomes of some 25,000 farmers and their families.”

–“Hope for Haiti,” Blog for the Inter-American Development Bank, April 12, 2010

All profits from sales of the Mango Lime-Aid go toward the project. We love the drink and love the cause too!

So there is both a lot to be proud of with regard to Haiti relief efforts and a lot still to be done. What is one key ingredient for the future success of Haiti? You may be surprised to hear that it is motivation. As eloquently stated by Secretary of State Hilary Clinton (who, along with her husband, former President Bill Clinton, have been long-time advocates for Haiti and even took their honeymoon there!):

“Our goal must be the empowerment of the Haitian people. They are the ones who will carry on the work of rebuilding Haiti.”

–Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, quoted in “Haiti receives $5 billion in aid pledges,” The Miami Herald, March 31, 2010

The Haitian rebuilding effort will require tireless amounts of energy from many people and organizations. They all must be unflagging in their belief that the future holds great things for Haiti. They will have to endure a lot of setbacks along with their successes and work tremendously hard.

What can keep them going in these difficult times? If you take notes from Wyclef Jean perhaps you look to inspiring people who have suffered far greater challenges.

“As a human being, we’re going to have times where we want to quit. And every time I’m think ‘Oh, man, the hell with this, let me just go back and play my guitar,’ I read. I read Gandhi. I read Martin Luther King and Marcus Garvey. I even check J.F.K. and I’m like, ‘Oh, man, I’m actually not going through anything yet.’”

–Wyclef Jean, quoted in “Wyclef Jean uses his celebrity and music to aid victims of the Haiti earthquake,” Sunday Star Ledger, April 23, 2010

What are your thoughts on Haiti? Please share in the comments.

In our discussion of motivation, turnarounds and comebacks this month, we have an unfortunate real-life example to study in the April 20 British Petroleum oil spill cleanup in the Gulf of Mexico.

"Oil Washing In," Photo by Jereme Phillips, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. From the Flickr Creative Commons.

"Gulf-Oiled-Pelicans-June-3-2010." Photo by IBRRC. From the Flickr Creative Commons.

It has been hard for me to follow this story because I find it so immensely sad. The impact to the people of the Gulf Coast area, the wildlife, the ocean and land is simply awful.

For BP, this is a bet-the-company event. I can imagine the call to the company’s lawyers on the day of the disaster

“We have an oil spill we cannot control near one of the wealthiest and most litigious countries in the world. What do we do?”

"Protest against oil company BP and their still leaking oil in the Gulf of Mexico," Photo by Fibonnacci Blue. From the Flickr Creative Commons.

If this situation happened to an American company, you would probably see a lot of legal maneuvering upfront to minimize liability. An American company might try to shift the responsibility for the incident to a subcontractor, file an insurance claim, or blame natural causes beyond their control. You might see a lot of curiously worded press releases saying something along the lines of “While we do not claim responsibility for what happened, we are providing clean-up assistance.”

At first, BP seems to have followed that strategy. It’s first press release after the incident seemed to put the blame squarely on Transocean, Ltd.

“BP today offered its full support to drilling contractor Transocean Ltd. and its employees after fire caused Transocean’s semisubmersible drilling rig Deepwater Horizon to be evacuated overnight, saying it stood ready to assist in any way in responding to the incident.”
-BP Press Release, April 21, 2010

Transocean Ltd. describes itself as “the world’s largest offshore drilling contractor.” Transocean seems to be putting the responsibility on their insurance company. Their press release of May 25, 2010 indicates:

“Transocean will honor all of its legal obligations arising from the Deepwater Horizon accident. . . In addition to its ongoing operating revenues, the company has insurance coverage applicable to the Deepwater Horizon, including insurance for the fair market value of the rig at the time of the accident. Other insurance is in place for claims asserted following the April 20 accident.”
-Transocean Press Release, May 25, 2010

BP’s press release of April 29, 2010 curiously provided details about who owns the oil well (called Mississippi Canyon 252 or MC252) involved in the oil spill.

“Preliminary estimates indicate that current efforts to contain the spill and secure the well are costing the MC252 owners about $6 million per day. This figure is expected to rise as activity increases. BP has a 65 percent interest in MC252.”
-BP Press Release April 29, 2010

It is unclear who owns the other 35% of MC252 but likely it is other profitable companies or investors.

You can see why this situation is a trial lawyer’s dream! There are so many deep pockets involved and the availability of money to pay damages is enormous.

"Deepwater Horizon Flaring Operation." (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Patrick Kelley). From the Flickr Creative Commons.

Adding to the litigation issue is the issue of political intrigue. One week after the incident some media outlets began to blame President Obama for not handling the incident better, indicating that somehow the U.S. could have contained the disaster better. This May 1, 2010 article from the Washington Examiner, for example, refers to the situation as “Obama’s Katrina.”

The Washington Post indicates that it was not until President Obama began calling the incident the “BP Oil Spill” on May 2, 2010 that the American public began associating solely BP with the disaster.

You can imagine that a CEO would not be pleased to have an enormous environmental disaster named after his company. While perhaps the reflex response would be to again deny primary responsibility, BP responded to this public relations crisis in a slightly different way:

“The US government leadership here has been excellent since day one. I agree with the President that the top priority right now is to stop the leak and mitigate the damage. I reiterated my commitment to the White House today that BP will do anything and everything we can to stop the leak, attack the spill off shore, and protect the shorelines of the Gulf Coast.
-BP Press Release, May 2, 2010

The renaming of the spill to the “BP oil spill” in the mind of the American public seems to have changed BP’s strategy immensely. Three days later, on May 5, 2010 BP released $100 million to Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisana. BP began documenting and detailing all efforts it was making to contain the oil spill and clean up the disaster.

BP also began setting up help lines and processes for individuals to file claims for damages. Whenever a company indicates that money is available to those who qualify it can expect a very large number of fraudulent claims. Take for example, the statistics BP released on its help lines:

“BP has also received 46,500 calls into its help lines, approximately 30 per cent of which have offered ideas to help the response or other assistance.”
-BP Press Release, May 13, 2010

How frustrating would it be to have to answer a telephone where 70% of the calls are perhaps angry people with no direct connection to the disaster just wanting to vent?

On May 17, BP released an additional $70 million in tourism grants to the same four affected states.

On May 24, 2010, BP announced a $500 million grant for a 10-year study of the environmental impact of the oil spill, with monies to be given to various entities, including U.S. universities. Likely this money is both generous and self-serving as subsequent litigation against BP will require answers to the questions about how much damage was actually caused by the spill.

On May 26, 2010, BP began providing more information about individual claims for damages:

“BP has established the claims process in accordance with the requirements of the Oil Pollution Act (“OPA”), which allows claimants to make a claim against BP as a designated responsible party. If a claim is not resolved and paid within 90 days, claimants can submit a claim against the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, and ultimately bring suit.”
-BP Press Release, May 26, 2010

On June 3, 2010, BP agrees to fund $360 million in the construction of six barrier islands in Louisiana. It does not sound like these barrier islands were their first choice of project.

“BP has been directed to pay for the construction by the federal government. Since the environmental implications of the projects are not fully understood, BP assumes no liability for unexpected or unintended consequences of these projects.”
-BP Press Release, June 3, 2020

On June 8, BP promises yet more money including the net profits of the sale of any oil recovered from the oil spill into a wildlife restoration fund.

What we mean is total revenue generated from the sale of collected oil minus payment of royalties (18.75%) to the US Government. The remaining amount would be considered net revenue. BP’s 65% share of the net revenue will be donated into the fund. (The remaining 35% of the net revenue will be paid to the co-owners of the leasehold interest.)
-BP Press Release, June 8, 2010

On June 10, BP’s share price dropped yet again and a lawsuit was filed by shareholders indicating that BP misrepresented its technological abilities to safely conduct its operations. BP’s shares are now down about 50% from where they were before the accident. Another $75 million was released to Florida, Alabama and Mississippi.

To date, over 51,000 claims have been submitted and more than 26,500 payments have been made, totalling over $62 million.

The cost of the response to date amounts to approximately $1.6 billion, including the cost of the spill response, containment, relief well drilling, grants to the Gulf states, claims paid, and federal costs.
-BP Press Release, June 14, 2010

These are tough times for BP. The money paid is but one factor. The amount of time it takes to process 51,000 claims for damages as well as respond to enormous numbers of lawsuits from both affected Gulf Coast residents as well as BP shareholders is a tremendous drain on the company’s energy and will be for years to come.

Tony Hayward, Group Chief Executive of BP at the World Economic Forum on the Middle East in 2008. Photo by the World Economic Forum. From the Wikimedia Commons.

This is certain to be an event that tests the abilities of BP’s executive management team.BP’s Group Chief Executive is Tony Hayward, a Ph.D. geologist who has been with BP for 28 years. BP’s Group General Counsel is Rupert Bondy, a UK lawyer with a good amount of American legal experience, who has been with BP approximately 2 years. Steve Westwell, BP’s Executive Vice President, who has been with BP for 22 years, has the fun task of managing the media strategy.

What can we learn so far about disaster recovery from the BP response?

1. Organization. Organization seems to be a key factor in BPs response. Unified command teams were established. The entire front page of the BP website is dedicated to the Gulf Coast cleanup effort. State-specific websites have also been established. There are daily press releases, video feeds, hotlines and crews of volunteers on the ground. Statistics are being kept on claims made, calls answered, etc.

2. Balancing Human Needs with Legal Claims. BP also has a good read on public sentiment. You need to watch this video on their website about paying claims for damages. Hollywood casting could not have provided a more compelling spokesperson than Darryl Willis. Perhaps this will be the start of Mr. Willis’ executive career. It remains to be seen whether BP’s decision to be so open in its responsibility for the accident was a wise one but if the company manages to mitigate damages and resolve the open lawsuits more quickly, BP could set a new standard for executive management.

3. Goodwill Groundwork. While no one can anticipate or prepare exactly for an environmental disaster of this magnitude, BP did lay some important groundwork in the United States for the last several years building a reputation as an environmentally aware company. They produced wonderful television ads touting their efforts to conduct their business in the most eco-friendly way possible, including new technological innovations. While goodwill erodes quickly in a devastating accident like this one, I do think that people remember these messages and that these prior efforts have helped BP in its current public relations crisis.

What will happen to BP? It is not clear at this point. This could either be one of the biggest turnaround stories of the decade or a slow cash hemorrhage to bankruptcy. I am rooting for the former.

What are your thoughts on the BP situation? Please share in the comments.

One of the books that came up during the search of my local library for motivation was Donald Trump’s 1997 classic, The Art of the Comeback.  In this autobiographical book, The Donald details his return to riches after “the depression of 1990-1993.”  The book is a sort of wandering tale about a variety of topics from Mr. Trump’s business difficulties to the prenuptial agreements with his ex-wives, to his disagreements with the press.

The book does not really tell you how to make your own comeback (at least not directly) but it does give you a glimpse into how Mr. Trump’s mind works and the experiences he went through during his last comeback.

In the front is a list of 10 comeback tips starting with “Play golf.” (which, while Mr. Trump makes a good case for how much business is done on the golf course, it must be noted that Mr. Trump is in the business of selling golf course memberships so that advice is both helpful and self-serving at the same time).

Donald Trump in February 2009. Photo by Michele Sandberg. From the Flickr Creative Commons.

I found that there were other lessons to be learned in The Art of the Comeback.  Below is my own top ten list of Trump wisdom:

1. Work hard. “While there’s nothing fancy or pretty about it, plain old hard work is, with very few exceptions, a primary ingredient for attaining success, or coming back from adversity.”
2. Don’t get comfortable. “The courage to make a switch, even if it seems like a ridiculous one, is also an ingredient of success.”
3. Bring the bravado. “In order to come back, you need confidence. . . . I have tremendous confidence in my public company. . . . I have tremendous confidence in the future of Atlantic City and my hotels in particular.  Time, I believe, will prove me right.”
4. Don’t play it safe. “I believe in doing things big.  I tell my kids: If you’re going to do it, go for it.  Make it the biggest, make it the best.”
5. Be risky not reckless. “[D]on’t ever put yourself in a position where you are risking it all.  Watch for the downside, and the upside will take care of itself.”  “My comeback would have been totally impossible had I not had fully executed and well-drawn prenuptial agreements with both Ivana and Marla.”
6. Watch for opportunities. “Get your zoning in a bad economic climate and begin building in a good one.”
7. Minimize personal distractions. “[Y]ou can’t come back if you’re spending 100 percent of your time fighting with a spouse for your sanity and financial life.”  Mr. Trump’s hardcore advice advocating divorce if your spouse whines for your attention when you are trying to focus on your business is a bit hard to stomach.  However, it does make sense that if you are terribly unhappy in your personal life, it is hard to maintain the energy and positivity needed to take on a challenge like business transformation.
8. Seek good advice. “My office resembled an emergency room, but instead of patients, there were lawyers crowding around and offering their services.”
9. Be tough. “The same men who had been so full of enthusiasm just three years before were not beaten and depressed by what they had experienced.  New York can do that to you.  You’ve got to be tough.  You’ve got to negotiate tough, and you cannot, at any time, let anyone take advantage of you . . .”
10. Be generous.  Mr. Trump is known for his generosity to various causes, whether through his financial contributions or lending his name and talents to the cause.  The book details his involvement with a Nation’s Day parade where he took a sadly attended veteran’s day parade and turned it into an event attended by over one million people!  The Joint Chiefs of Staff were so impressed with his effort that they invited him to lunch.

So, now that we are 13 years after The Art of the Comeback, where is Mr. Trump?  One might argue that he is right in the middle of yet another comeback.  While his public company, Trump Entertainment, filed for bankruptcy last year, Mr. Trump just negotiated a purchase of the company along with his bondholders.

So far, based on articles in the New York Times, many of Trump’s comeback signs are present:

• “Get your zoning in a bad economic climate. . . . “ Mr. Trump is currently building a large golf course/resort/housing project in Balmedie, Scotland, much to the chagrin of local environmentalists.
• “Be tough.” The gloves are off and Mr. Trump is aggressively fighting his way back.  When Deutsche Bank called on Mr. Trump to pay up $40 million in personal guarantees for his Chicago hotel in December 2008, Mr. Trump invoked a legal principle called “force majeure.”  Essentially Mr. Trump argued that he was excused from the contract because the global economic recession was a force beyond his control.  While researching the story for the New York Times, reporter Floyd Norris received the following communication from the Trump Organization:

After I interviewed [Mr. Trump] and two associates, his general counsel sent me a note saying “it was a pleasure” talking to me, and adding: “Please be assured that if your article is not factually correct, we will have no choice but to sue you and The New York Times.”

–Floyd Norris, “Trump Sees Act of God in Recession,” The New York Times, December 4, 2008.

• Don’t get comfortable. In February 2009, Mr. Trump and his daughter, Ivanka, resigned their positions with Trump Entertainment when Mr. Trump’s offer to purchase the company for $100 million was rejected by bondholders.  Mr. Trump at the time makes vague references to pulling the rights to use his name on the company’s properties.
• Bring the bravado.  In July 2009, Mr. Trump filed a $5 billion lawsuit against the publisher of a book that indicated Mr. Trump’s assets were likely only $150 to $250 million rather than the billions that Mr. Trump claimed.  The suit was ultimately dismissed.
• Watch for opportunities. In April 2010, Trump fends off an attempt by another investor to purchase Trump Entertainment by pulling together a deal with the bondholders.  Under the terms of the deal, Trump does not have to provide any money for the purchase other than the promise to use his name on the company’s properties in the future!

When we think about the broader economic picture, it is an incredibly good sign to have the Donald Trumps of the world succeed.   We want to see businesses take on large projects that create jobs.  We want to see people betting on a bright future. We want examples of turnarounds and comebacks.

As for pulling a Trump on your organizational efforts, a lot of the principles do apply.  You need to be tough with your stuff and make it earn the right to live in your home. Be confident that you will accomplish your goals.  Take calculated risks with your design and execution of projects.  Most importantly, be willing to work hard!

What do you think of Donald Trump’s comeback tips?  Are you rooting for a second comeback for The Donald?  Please share in the comments.

“Instant Turnaround!  Getting People Excited About Coming to Work and Working Hard.”  Wow!  The title alone had me wondering what motivational technique could possibly be worthy of such a confident promise.  Quite frankly, a bit skeptical . .  . “Oh, this ought to be good!”

To my shock, I have to say that Harry Paul and Ross Peck appear to have it right.  This small book has a short but powerful message:

“[P]eople respond very quickly to positive treatment.”

–Harry Paul & Ross Peck, Ph.D., Instant Turnaround

The book is a short story about a manager who turns around the performance of a department simply by being nice to employees, having management at all levels visit them and interact with them and appreciate their good efforts.

That’s it?

Yes, that’s it!

It’s such a simple idea that it seems too simple to be true but yet Paul and Peck make a convincing case for why it isn’t so simple for most managers to do this and how much of a difference it makes.  Paul and Peck first explain the most common management strategy which they call, “Management by the Numbers.”

Management by the Numbers

First, we make it very clear to the managers and employees what performance numbers they’re expected to achieve.  Second, we strike the fear of God into them by informing them of the consequences that will occur if they don’t.  Third, we go to our offices and continually monitor their actual performance numbers on our computers to make sure they compare favorably to expectations.  Fourth, if they don’t, we get out there and kick some butt.

Sound familiar?  Here’s why Paul and Peck claim this strategy just doesn’t work:

“[Management by the Numbers] is trying to motivate our employees by scaring them so they’ll work harder . . . . If you implement this new system it’s only going to make their decision to leave that much easier.  Pretty soon, the only people who’ll be working here are those who can’t get jobs anywhere else.  If you think productivity is bad now, just watch how bad it gets after all our good employees have left.”

–Harry Paul & Ross Peck, Ph.D., Instant Turnaround

Paul and Peck argue that in order to become an extraordinarily successful company you have to have employees that are willing to tap into their discretionary effort in doing their jobs.

What do you mean by discretionary effort?  People regulate the amount of effort they put into their jobs based on how they feel they’re being treated by their boss.  If they feel they’re being treated well, they will become excited about giving their absolute best efforts, which means they’ll work way beyond their job descriptions.  If they feel their efforts are unappreciated, they’ll pull back and do only what they have to do to keep their jobs.  And if they feel they’re being abused, they’ll either get even by figuring out a way to sabotage their boss’s performance numbers, or they’ll look for a job somewhere else.

–Harry Paul & Ross Peck, Ph.D., Instant Turnaround

Paul and Peck then detail principles for how to turn a workplace into “Destination:Work”

“[O]ur goal . . . is to make work a destination–a place that our employees get excited about coming to every day.  We want it to be a . . . fun place where people come to get their batteries recharged.”

–Harry Paul & Ross Peck, Ph.D., Instant Turnaround

The principles are not hard and best of all require almost no money to implement!  The catch, though, is that in order for this strategy to be effective, it has to be adopted and practiced by the CEO and every manager in the corporation.  One department alone can have an impact but the full impact of this method can never be achieved if everyone in the organization isn’t part of the effort.

“The top single driver of discretionary effort is ‘senior management’s sincere interest in employee well being.’”

“Nothing is more demotivating than going the extra mile and having your boss not notice or care.”

–Harry Paul & Ross Peck, Ph.D., Instant Turnaround

Can this simple concept really be true?  I think it is.  Immediately after finishing the book, I thought of all the situations I have encountered where just a little appreciation/motivation makes a huge difference.  For example:

The overweight friend who absolutely beamed when someone commented, “Wow!  You’ve lost a lot of weight!” “Thanks!  I’ve lost about 20 pounds so far.  You’re the only one who seems to have noticed.”

How about the typical housewife’s lament, “No one appreciates me!”

Ever read a blog where someone writes, “I am going to stop writing because no one ever comments or reads this anyway!”

How about the old adage, “What gets appreciated gets done.”

So, inspired by Paul and Peck, here are 4 strategies to motivate yourself through appreciation.

1. Find a way to receive frequent feedback/praise on your efforts at work. If you don’t have a supportive boss, look for feedback from coworkers or subordinates and be generous with praise to others.  Perhaps you can start a new culture of appreciation at work.
2. Find a way to receive frequent feedback/praise on your home or personal efforts. You might use blogging or join a Facebook group to share your achievements and get praise from your friends or even strangers.  Stay-at-home mom?  I was shocked recently when my daughter praised my cleaning efforts and how motivating that was.  Teach your kids to give praise to you.  Consider it executive preparation!  And, of course, the praise of your spouse/significant other is critical too.
3. Praise progress as well as results. Don’t wait until you have the final end result to give praise.  Recognize the intermediate steps along the way and the efforts that have been made.
4. Celebrate success. Don’t forget the importance of celebration once a goal is achieved.  Don’t forget to recognize a milestone in some way.  More than just a thank you . . . a special effort like a meal at your favorite restaurant, a vacation, a small shopping spree, a day off, etc.  From Paul and Peck, “Not celebrating these occasions is to deprive yourself of a much needed infusion of positive energy.  Most people don’t celebrate enough.”

I will close by instituting Paul and Peck’s advice by saying thank you to my wonderful readers!  I appreciate the time and effort you make to read my posts, comment and share with others.  Whether you are able to implement my ideas or you just take a few minutes to mull them over in your head, I hope that you are seeing some positive changes in your life, that a Ruly idea has challenged you or inspired you to look at something a little differently.

Have you ever been motivated by some well-timed appreciation?  Please share in the comments.