Thor's Hammer

The good news is that rail traffic is beginning to rebound. The bad news is that everyone is comparing to 2009 which was an abysmal year. In the attached image (based on the reports from the AAR.ORG), note the underlined columns in red. When you compare 2010 to 2009, the increase is obvious. However, compare 2010 to 2008 and there is still a significant decrease from the 2008 levels. With unemployment expected to get worse, it will be difficult for us to have a sustained recovery. There is also a strong probability that credit tightening will further dampen recovery efforts (let alone the inevitable tax increases).

(c) 2010 Jim Lindell

I post the following chart of the historical daily volume of the the ETF QQQQ's. The "pink" line represents the 3/30/2010 daily volume extended across the entire time-frame. My concern is that the current economic environment is playing havoc with normally functioning markets.

What is the ramification? I do not claim any type of investment expertise, but it appears that the run up may have run out. The wild economy continues - hang on!

© 2010 - Jim Lindell

The making of a great leader is the successful combination of many skills. The illustration depicts two main characteristics: people skills and technical skills. When a leader has neither, they are a complete failure (as a leader). Too many times people are placed in positions where they are destined to fail. It is obvious where they are lacking to everyone but those responsible for the placement, promotion or appointment. With serious mentoring/training/coaching and a willingness to learn it is possible for them to become a successful leader.

When leaders lean too much to either people or technical skills, a couple of things might happen. Too much people emphasis can lead to a feel good culture without accountability. Too much technical emphasis can lead to a sterile environment that lacks any caring or compassion.

Ultimately, the great leader is a balance of people and technical skills. The great leader is comfortable using both areas to move an organization towards its goals. What sets the great leader apart from the merely adequate leader is the gift of conviction. Conviction is the unshakable belief without need for proof or evidence. In many ways it is similar to the rudder that steers a ship. Without conviction, an organization is rudderless. Great Leaders provide the following:

• Conviction
• Vision
• Belief
• Passion

These qualities will inspire other members of the organization to action. Any company that desires to be successful must have the balance in leadership (people / technical) and the qualities above. An individual that aspires to be a great leader must incorporate all of the above.

© 2010 – Thorsten Consulting Group, Inc.

I love cats. They are fun creatures to watch and play with. I am amazed at how they can hang on the edge of a table and seem oblivious to falling off. Even when they roll around and find themselves slipping off the edge, they have an innate ability to "right themselves" and land on their paws.

In many respects it's similar to our economy. Our country is rolling around on the edge of a recession. The government seems oblivious to the danger, and from many critic's perspectives, continues to do the wrong things. The fear is that our country is going to roll off the edge. I wonder if our government is as nimble as a cat and has the ability to land on its feet?

The cat also has one other gift - nine lives. With all of the missteps and overspending, I wonder how many of its' original 9 lives our country has left?

Copyright 2010 - Jim Lindell

Too many upper managers complain about not being included in the Strategic Planning process. Inclusion is easy when one becomes a Servant of operations. Listen to the brief podcast.



Copyright 2010 - Jim Lindell
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Don't criticize others - there is no such thing as constructive criticism! Listen to the brief podcast.



Copyright 2010 - Jim Lindell
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Answer quickly:

Who was the 20th President of the USA?

What were the original seven ancient wonders of the world? (No, it's not Yul Brynner or Toshiro Mifune)

American Football has its' origin in what sport? By the way the sport that originated American Football had its' origin in what sport?

The first "Tonight Show" host was?

Who conquered the entire "known" world?

Sunrise

If you do not know the answers, please look them up. The significance is that great achievements are lost to time. Whether it be riches, accomplishments, glory, etc. They all fade. What is really important? Your family, your friends, your ability to help other individuals, your gift to leave this planet and its' inhabitants in a better state than when it was given to you. In short, you are a steward of the gift of life. You have been given this opportunity, live it well, live it fully and maximize your contribution to all those around you.

Copyright 2010 - Jim Lindell

Our culture has seen a significant increase in the use of coaches. In addition, there has been a significant increase in the different types of coaches. When people use the term coach, we typically think of a sports coach. This entry will discuss the essential characteristics that are necessary for the coach and the “coachee” to achieve the desired goals.

Many people would like to be a coach. Everyone thinks they have the skills to be a coach. Unfortunately many individuals that find themselves in the coaching role or desire to be a coach will never be successful in that role. There are four key areas that a successful coach must have:



• Knowledge
• Experience
• Ability to inspire
• Ability to teach

When it comes to coaching knowledge, there are two types of knowledge that can be addressed: 1) learned or book knowledge, 2) practical knowledge (which is typically gained through experience.) To adequately coach another individual, practical knowledge is more essential. The coach must be versed with techniques and formal knowledge which typically comes from the educational/learning environment. If a coach only possesses learned knowledge, he may be accused of the ivory tower syndrome.

A coach that does not have the experience will have difficulty providing the key wisdom and counsel along with the practical application to the student. Do you remember the Charlie Brown cartoon where Charlie Brown is teaching someone how to stand on their head? Linus comes up to Charlie brown and questions him saying, “Charlie Brown, how can you teach someone to stand on their head when you can’t do it yourself?” Charlie Brown replies, “Those who can’t do, teach.” Now I realize that this is an offensive statement, but in all forms of humor there's some underlying truth. A coach without the experience will not be as successful. It is important to note that some successful coaches can replace other types of experience for the task that they are coaching and be just as successful. This is one of the reasons that major corporations will hire a CEO from outside of their specific industry.

The ability to inspire other individuals is essential. A coach that cannot inspire other people to action is at a severe disadvantage. About the only individual that will work well with this type of coach is the person that is 100% self motivated. The vast majority of people do not have the skill set to continually motivate themselves all the time.

A coach must have the skill to transfer their knowledge and their experience to the person that they are coaching. In essence they must be an outstanding teacher. If a coach cannot teach, they will fail miserably. This ability to teach others also means the ability to understand that each individual has different learning styles. A one dimensional coach that continually uses the same approach will eventually fail.

As we consider these four attributes, all of them are essential for the coach to be successful. However the last two characteristics: inspiration and teaching ability are an absolute necessity. The next characteristic is experience. The last item is knowledge. Remember that practical knowledge is more important than formal knowledge. One caveat needs to be mentioned. There are certain professions like Physicians, Attorneys, or Tax CPAs, where the formal knowledge is an absolute necessity. Otherwise most non technical positions can be coached with experience or practical knowledge.

Now we will consider the person that is to be coached. There are also a set of characteristics that are essential for this individual to be successful. The four characteristics are:

• Desire
• Practice
• Ability
• Coachability

Any student that does not have the desire to accomplish the goal will most likely fail. Each student must understand that the accomplishment of a goal begins with one thing and one thing only - their decision to make a change. Without desire, a goal just remains a dream.

The next characteristic is practice. Whether it is a student doing their homework, an athlete preparing for a game or a match, or an executive preparing for a board meeting or a negotiation process, practice is a must. It is important to note that each person chooses to practice in a variety of ways dependent on their individual style. It is rare that a person can achieve a specific goal without spending the time practicing.

The student must have the ability to accomplish the goal. This is not to put a limit on the individual. However there are times when individuals are placed in positions that the only logical outcome is failure. They fail because the task or the goal is so far beyond their ability. Therefore it is essential for the student and the coach to recognize the ability as well as the untapped ability to make sure that any goal selected is within the reach of the individual.

The last characteristic is the student’s coachability. If the student is not willing to listen to other individuals, to take advice from other individuals, to listen to criticism from other individuals, he will have a difficult time being successful. Anyone who invests time coaching other people knows the pleasure of a student or an athlete that is coachable. It is very typical that when the coach describes this individual to other people he will state that the student, the athlete or the executive is wonderful because they are coachable.

If you would like to make a self assessment of your coaching skills or your ability to be coached, take the four key characteristics under either section, and rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 10. 10 would indicate excellence in the particular characteristic; a 1 would indicate very bad performance. Also imagine how another individual of your choice would rate you on the same characteristics. Many times when we put ourselves in the shoes of someone else and envision their rating of us, we will see a natural difference. Sometimes it's more important to understand what we believe are the perceptions of others as opposed to our own self assessment. For any item that you wish to improve upon, I recommend that you take the following three steps:

1) list one thing that you will do to improve this area over the next 30 days,
2) list one thing that you will do to improve this area over the next 60 days,
3) and finally list one thing that you will do to improve this area over the next 90 days.

As a result your coaching skills or your ability to be coached should improve in the very near future.

© 2010 - Jim Lindell

One of the biggest time wasters is email. Many of us start the day or end the day with checking our email. However, I am willing to bet that no one comes to the office and their top goal is to "check my email." Here is the method to tame the beast:

Turn off email notices - the notices destroy focus.

Set specific times to check email - i.e. 10:00, 12:00, 2:00 and 4:00 - I am sorry, there are only a few jobs in the world that truly need to check more often. Guess what? Yours isn't one of them.

Prohibit negative email conversations - if there is a disagreement require people to talk by phone or in person. This will avoid or limit misunderstandings.

Set firm rules for cc: individuals - I am sorry (again). What you think is important and that everyone needs to know is only partially correct. Take the total number of people that your regularly cc: and reduce that by 75%.
Cheers! You now have 15 more minutes to invest in really important things like internet shopping or ESPN!

Copyright 2010 - Jim Lindell

Have you read "The Incredible Journey" or seen the movie? The plot from wikipedia follows:

(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Incredible_Journey)
The animals' owners, the Hunters, leave for England for university lectures and so entrust the animals to John Longridge, a family friend and godfather of the young daughter, Elizabeth. One fateful day, after John Longridge leaves for a 2 week trip of duck hunting, the animals, feeling the lack of their human companions, set out without a trace to try to find their way home to the Hunters. Mrs. Oakes, who is taking care of Longridge's home, doesn't find the animals and concludes that John must have taken them with him.

Incredible Journey

The animals follow their instincts and move westward towards home, dodging danger nearly every step of the way. But when Bodger, the old Bull Terrier, is attacked, they have to slow down. Tao, the cat, is separated from the others because of a rushing river and faces several dangers before he succeeds in finding the lost dogs. Along the way, the animals are offered help several times. When the Hunters and John Longridge come back from their trips they are devastated when they learn that the animals have gone. They try to find the animals, but after giving up almost all hope, the animals one by one appear out of the woods in a happy homecoming.

In many ways our country and economy is on its' own "Incredible Journey". We are like the pets in the story - on our own and in the wilderness. Our leadership is just as absent as the Hunters were. We have experienced excitement, danger and sadness (just as Bodger did) along the way: failed banks, lost pensions, foreclosed homes, lost companies, lost jobs, etc.

I would like to believe that we are coming out of the woods and that our "owners" are there for us. Unfortunately, the Woods may be deeper and darker and our owners are not as deserving as the Hunters. Anyway, I believe that we are only at the first intermission. Go pop some popcorn, grab a soda and relax - intermission is almost over and Part II is ready to begin. Enjoy the show!

Copyright 2010 - Jim Lindell

It is easy to recommend a specific management style for people to follow. Unfortunately, one size that fits all rarely works. I have seen too many managers be unsuccessful because they have little empathy for those that they lead or supervise. The most successful leaders will be able to change their style to meet the specific needs of the employee and the situation. This skill is an integral component of emotional intelligence. Leaders with higher levels of emotional intelligence will be more successful in the long run.

Adapting your leadership style with the aid of emotional intelligence is akin to playing a game of poker. Your approach, your style of bluffing, the cards that you hold, the odds of successfully drawing new cards, your opponents, can change every single hand. Your management style must have the same flexibility to deal with different employees, competitors, deals, situations, etc. It is important that we do not confuse our values with the ability to change our management style. Our values should always hold true and consistent. Our style to handle specific problems can be flexible.

Copyright 2010 - Jim Lindell

Anchors can help you get ahead in life as opposed to slow you down! There is a concept in NLP which when used appropriately allows an individual to "anchor" behaviors to their body. We are all familiar with the concept of tieing a string around the finger to remember something. We can use the same concept to "trigger" emotional states, behaviors, etc. If you are having trouble with anger, you can use an anchor to remind you to "count to 10." If you are afraid to deliver a public speech, you can "trigger" a previous behavior, such as patience or confidence to help you counteract the nervousness or fear. The process can be accomplished as follows:

1) determine the action that you would like to trigger (i.e. calmness)
2) mentally picture a time when you were very calm
3) close your eyes and relive that calm time
4) choose a location (i.e. elbow) to anchor the calm feeling
5) touch the elbow and "lock" the calm feeling to the elbow
6) just prior to a time that creates the nervousness touch your elbow and remember the calm feelings.
With a little practice, you should be able to capture any of your past behaviors and be more successful.

By the way, this also works in reverse. Each of us must be careful to avoid bringing up bad prior experiences or behavior. It is just as easy to trigger the behavior that we do not want.

Copyright 2010 - Jim Lindell

When people think of Scandinavia and ships, they inevitably conjure up images of Vikings. The Vikings were the rulers of the seas for several centuries. The story that is oft forgotten is not the legend of the Vikings but Sweden's attempt to regain command of the seas with the creation of the Vasa in the 17th century. Follow the Disaster below and then I will share the implications for our Government and Businesses in the Recession.

The Disaster
(source:http://www.vasamuseet.se/sitecore/content/Vasamuseet/InEnglish/History/disaster.aspx)
In the early 17th century, Sweden was busy building an empire around
the Baltic Sea in northern Europe. A strong navy was essential. During
the 1620s Sweden was at war with Poland. In 1625 the Swedish king
Gustavus Adolphus ordered new warships. Among them the Vasa.

The Vasa was built at the Stockholm shipyard by Henrik Hybertsson -
an experienced Dutch shipbuilder. His experience was much needed
as the Vasa was to be the mightiest warship in the world, armed with
64 guns on two gundecks.

In 1628 the ship was ready. Sunday August 10 was the day of the
Vasa's maiden voyage. The beaches around Stockholm were filled with
spectators, among them foreign diplomats. The maiden voyage was
to be an act of propaganda for the ambitious Swedish king Gustavus
Adolphus.

Vasa

The Vasa set sail and fired a salute. But only after a few minutes of
sailing the ship began to heel over. She righted herself slightly - and
heeled over again. Water started to gush in through the open
gunports. And, to everyones horror and disbelief, the glorious and
mighty warship suddenly sank! Of the 150 people on board, 30-50
died in the disaster. When Vasa had been salvaged in 1961,
archaeologists found the remains of 25 skeletons.

After the disaster the captain of the Vasa - Söfring Hansson - was
arrested. The Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus was not in Sweden at
the time. He was waging war in Poland. It took two weeks for him to
learn about what had happened. When he did, he wrote angrily that
the disaster had happened because of "imprudence and negligence"
and that the guilty parties had to be punished. Söfring Hansson and
many others were called to inquiries at the Royal Castle of Stockholm.

At the inquest people were troubled by the fact that the shipbuilder
Henrik Hybertsson had died the year before the Vasa was completed.
Instead his brother and partner, Arendt de Groot, was held
responsible for the completion of the ship. But in the end no one was
condemned for causing the disaster. The people in charge of the
inquiries concluded that the ship was well built - but badly
proportioned.

Today, the recession has devastated countries, governments and businesses. The remaining institutions are in many ways like the Vasa. The entities that have not rightsized to adapt to the new economy are "badly proportioned" as the Vasa was. The inevitable conclusion will be the same. Consider the numerous states in our country that are in bankruptcy or close to bankruptcy. Piling on more debt, adding more workers, creating more programs is similar to adding more canon and more weight above deck. The organizations will begin to tilt and no amount of strength will rightsize the boat. Now the good news is that the Vasa was salvaged, and is in the process of being restored. Our entities too will be salvaged. Let's just hope that it doesn't take hundreds of years as in the case of the Vasa.

Copyright 2010 - Jim Lindell

What makes a magic show so interesting? Why do people describe certain experiences as being magical? I believe that the magical experience is created for the viewer as a result of the following:

1) The viewer was surprised by the outcome. He/she did not expect the outcome.
2) The outcome seemed impossible to occur.
3) The viewer felt a part of the experience.
4) The magician was a showman or the visual experience was exciting.

What are the lessons for us when dealing with personal relationships, customers, fellow employees, etc.?

If you want to be magical;

1) give someone the unexpected,
2) provide an experience that is unbelievable,
3) involve the other person in the magical experience,
4) use showmanship or create an exciting visual experience (think fireworks display.)

Work these approaches into your relationships and watch the magic happen!

Copyright 2010 - Jim Lindell

Thorsten Consciousness Tool

If you have followed my posts in the past, you know that I am interested in creativity and methods to increase the creative thought process. I made an interesting html page which is based on the Twitter post search feature and entitled it the "Thorsten Consciousness Tool". The concept is fairly simple. If you watch a series of discussions that were of interest to you, the following will happen: very quickly you will see an article, a concept, or a link that will further advance your understanding of the topic. Will there be garbage? Of course - it wouldn't be the internet without it. I have used this technique on a regular basis and am constantly expanding my knowledge of the particular subjects that appeal to me. Check it out - I think you will find it useful Thorsten Consciousness Tool

Copyright 2010 - Jim Lindell