Organizations

How’s Work?

July 17, 2018 By kwmccarthy

How’s work?

There’s a question we often get asked. The typical response is something like “Fine” or “OK.”

But is it really?

For many people work translates into a job—a mere means of provision to support the family. A steady income doesn’t mean a steady life.

Work isn’t necessarily fulfilling or rewarding at a deeper level.

It is just a paycheck on the way to the weekend where real life is lived. In today’s economy, it is easy to look around and feel lucky just to have the regular income.

A sad reflection of this reality is the current trend of companies offering work-life balance programs in the workplace. But work-life balance is a myth. These programs, regardless of how well intended they are, reveal a sad reality on both the employer and the employee side.

Our lives and our work are so dangerously enmeshed that we need help separating ourselves from our work.

We’re workaholics in jobs that don’t really matter to us all that much. In other words, fear of loss motivates us more than what we have to gain. Too many of us are resigned to an unhealthy settling for work-life balance as an easy compromise over developing a healthy work-life integration. Have we just given up hope?

Isn’t all this talk of work-life balance code for “my job is sucking the very life out of me, but I need it to pay the bills, so I guess I will die trying to make it work”?

Fortunately, someone in HR has figured out that if we can equip you to learn work-life balance you won’t burn out or die as quickly on the job. This means you’ll keep being productive and won’t be such a drain on the company health care benefits program for a while longer.

Is it just me or is there something horribly skewed in this picture?

What if life and work are true blessings where work is a high and noble expression of our calling—and a steady income? Is this possible?

Can life and work be meaningfully integrated instead of separated and balanced?

Tell me if I’m wrong.

How Much Planning Is Enough?

April 26, 2018 By kwmccarthy

“How much planning is enough?” is a question I’m often asked by business clients. It poses an interesting query because some of us are planners and others of us are more action-oriented.

There is a fine line between “gettin’ ready” and “gettin’ going.”

None of us are immune from the dilemma of how much is enough.

I see this in my business and life, and, even, authoring books and articles or producing On-Purpose Business Minutes.

Here’s one of my On-Purpose Proverbs on the topic. Perhaps it will give you a rough rule of thumb:

People who don’t have time to plan, need to plan more. People who have time to plan, need to execute more.

Figure out which one “people” you are and adjust accordingly!

Here’s a bit of a litmus test for you to see if you’ve got it right.

If your business is making sufficient revenue AND you have a high degree of personal and professional satisfaction PLUS you’re optimistic about the future, then chances are you’ve struck the right chord. If, however, the previous sentence doesn’t describe your current reality, then use The On-Purpose Proverb above to make a quick assessment of where you need to adjust your attention to find improvement.

Planning is typically considered to be in the wheelhouse of strengths for executive officers.

The reality is we all need to be planners to some degree. The difference in planning from the boardroom compared to the mail room is the scope and authority of the influence. The greater the authority and number of people following the plan, the more important the role of planning becomes to the organization.

Oh! One last thing. When doing planning, please make sure you execute on at least one thing: create a written plan, even if your plan is as simple as a “to do list” with names and dates. The “I Got It Right Here Between My Ears Plan” is really a dream without a deadline, details, and typically, satisfying results. You’re too at-risk of being distracted by shining new objects that cross your path.

“The executive of the future will be rated by his ability to anticipate his problems rather than to meet them as they come.” — Howard Coonley

Admit it! You’re prone to unproductive distractions, but chances are if you’re a person who invests time to watch the On-Purpose Business Minutes, then you’re committed to working on you, to becoming a better person and leader. What tips or suggestions can you offer us? Please use the comment section below to share your wisdom and school of hard knocks lessons learned.

Are You Thinking?

March 13, 2018 By kwmccarthy

How often do you really stop and think?

There are many benefits to taking a few minutes to simply ponder your task, project, or life.

The concept of being on-purpose is to act with more intention by being mindful of who you really are.

To know who we are deep down in the heart of our hearts requires thought and demands decisions more easily put off than addressed. But, of all that happens in the world, the one person we can’t ignore or put off is ourself. Sooner or later we will confront the person who has assumed our true identity because we weren’t willing, didn’t have the tools, or didn’t have the guidance to truly think about our lives in more robust terms.

This On-Purpose Minute invites you to simply think. So right after watching this … invest a few minutes to think about whatever comes to mind where your thinking could truly advance your agenda.

Need some help with thinking about your life?

Contact me at kwmccarthy@on-purpose.com and let’s begin the process of thinking about your life so you, too, can be an on-purpose person in creation.

#UNPLUG: This article in Fast Company Magazine speaks about the benefits of getting away from our electronics—you know, the one you’re reading this on!

From the keen mind of my friend Mel Kauffman …

William James said, “People don’t think, they just rearrange their thoughts.”

Arthritis of the Mind

Too many people I know have arthritis of the mind. It hurts when they think. Too many people have their minds frozen in mediocrity. It hurts when it defrosts. Most people are opinion parrots. They parrot the opinion of others. That does not seem to pain their brain. Arthritis of the brain is contagious. You catch it from your parents. You catch it from your peers. For many, an original thought is an anomaly. Someone asked Abe Lincoln why he read so much. His response was a light bulb moment for me. He said, “My brain itches and I have to scratch it.” Mark Twain lamented, “We should take our brain out once in a while and jump on it. It gets all caked-up.” William James was so insightful when he wrote, “Most people don’t think, they just rearrange their thoughts.” Thinking is like a muscle. The more you flex it, the more it expands. As brain–pain dissipates, original thoughts begin to appear. Why not leave a legacy of original thoughts?

Mel Kaufmann

melvinkaufmann@gmail.com

Is Your Business Running You Ragged?

November 23, 2017 By kwmccarthy

If your business is running you ragged, then it means you’re using old strategies in the new economy.

Is it time for an update? Perhaps this holiday season is a time to contemplate and reconsider your priorities.

In the 20th Century’s Industrial Age, much of the prevailing “wisdom” of the day was along this line of thinking: “Keep your personal life separated from your business life.” This compartmentalized approach to life provided clear lines between work and family. By and large, it worked to preserve a certain measure of sanity for much of the industrialized population that was engaged in routine, mindless work.

The downside of separation, however, is the dehumanizing of workers and poor business ethics.

When people are human resources then they are assets—commodities bought and sold by management. When we act one way on Sunday and another way on Monday, our decisions are easier and expedient but not necessarily morally sound or even best business practices.

The 21st Century, however, is in full swing into the Knowledge Age and the knowledge worker.

Separation of one’s work and life isn’t so easy because we carry our work in our heads.

It was easy to walk away from a milling machine, but keyboards surround us at work, at home, and on our smartphones and tablets. The lines between home and work are blurred beyond recognition.

The situation is so severe that many service companies offer “Work–Life Balance” programs to address the growing problem of employee workaholism, health, and burnout. Time management is nearly a joke anymore in this 24/7 society where our noses are glued to our apps.

Now as we stand on the edge of the Age of Purpose and Meaning where separation is a liability, just what are we supposed to do?

Do we separate? Do we balance?

The On-Purpose^® Approach provides answers for the New Age. Balance in your life is a false ideal. (See: Do You Want A Balanced Life?) The 21st Century way of doing life and work is integration with healthy boundaries.

An integrated life has a point of integration—your purpose.

The more we are pushed upon, the more we need to know who we are and what is our purpose in life so we can resist, rest, and rebound. A solid core to our life enables us to establish appropriate boundaries so “Our yes can be yes, and our no can be no.” The risks of not knowing who we are is unhealthy to our body, mind, and spirit.

Gain Health! Gain Your Life!

When your business is running you, then you’re not running your life. Use the On-Purpose^® Approach to run ahead and find the margin you need. The On-Purpose Peace and The On-Purpose Person set is an amazing coaching or small group experience to help you get ahead of your life so you’re in charge and on-purpose.

Be On-Purpose!

Kevin

Are You Managing Your Profits?

March 9, 2017 By kwmccarthy

Profits are the lifeblood of any business. Without them, the business dies. However, the body of the business is your strategy, structure, and systems that are organized and managed in such a way that profit is the natural outcome.

It is so easy to get focused on managing to a profit that we forget the body of profit creation. Avoid falling into the pit of managing numbers and forgetting that profits are the result of a team of people being well led and organized to serve a customer base with sufficient value to produce a profit.

Your profit and loss report makes a statement about what matters most in your business leadership. “Follow the money!” was the advice of Deep Throat, the Watergate secret informer. Following the money reveals much about the priorities of the business leaders and managers.

Your definition of profit frames your leadership and management methods. If net profit is only about the dollars and cents, then your cost of doing business is likely too high because you’ll have high turnover of team members and customers. Profitability is a financial as well as a human measure for adding and creating value. Ignore either one and your P&L will suffer. Invest in both and you’ve increased your probabilities for profiting.

Everyone profits when we recognize it is profits AND people, not profits or people.

Yes, financial profits matter. Integrating people and profits is the role of leadership and management, respectively. So how are you doing?

In the long run, your business’s valuation will reflect the attitude and excellence of the corporate culture you’re establishing. Short-term fixes (coupons and discounts) to stimulate profits are drug-like highs and can often undermine or compromise the core values of a business. This sends your best employees scurrying to the doors because it signals leadership panic plus a loss of stability and commitment to the people and brand promise.

Want to increase your profits? Increase your contribution, capacity, and capability to add value to your employees, customers, and stakeholders. Always look for substantive ways to create fundamental improvements in profitability. Everyone profits when we recognize it is profits AND people, not profits or people.

Is Your Life Getting Better?

September 8, 2015 By kwmccarthy

Note: The video mentions an upcoming On-Purpose Leader Teleseminar. For this updated On-Purpose Minute, I instead want to refer you to the Power of Your 2-Word Purpose Statement webcast, linked below.

Are you or is someone dear to you the proverbial “victim of circumstances”? Don’t Be! A victim of circumstances is a person in an unfortunate position, but those circumstances need not dictate your future.

You may not be able to control your circumstances, but you can manage your responses. Resigning to your current set of circumstances can be negatively habit-forming and send you in a downward spiral. This response means that you’re on the fast track to becoming a victim, no longer of circumstances, but of self-inflicted circumstances.

Choose a better option. In this On-Purpose Minute, we’ll be looking at how you can order your life around a different, healthier perspective of managing your life.

Are you ready to finally know your purpose in life — in two words! Yes, your life will get a whole lot better by being on-purpose.

The Power of Your 2-Word Purpose Statement may be just the introduction for you to order your life, define what’s most important, and begin living as an on-purpose person in creation.

Are You A Leader?

August 13, 2013 By kwmccarthy

I mentor a number of people. One of the most heartbreaking aspects of this work is to see people's leadership blinders. There are many ways of "acquiring" these blinders that needlessly bury and blind their leadership potential.

I've been gifted with eyes to see into the hearts of people and to have an inherent sense of their leadership potential. Frankly, this gift has a heartbreaking downside as I see people who cower from knowing who they really are and settle for less in this one lifetime.

I understand that it takes courage to find one's voice in the world. May I help you?

What Happened To Us? Was it a mentor or parent who failed to recognize your potential and polish the genius of your spirit? Perhaps it was abuse at the hands of a tyrant who pushed you down in order to build up himself or herself? Or is it simply the fear of being known and choosing to play life too safely? The reasons are many, yet the results are the same—being off-purpose and suffering the costs of being less than who we were intended to be and become.

Are you ready to reject mediocrity and begin majoring in your life? May I be your mentor for six weeks through The On-Purpose Leader Experience? Join other on-purpose persons as we go deep into the heart of being a leader to the spirit of who you are. This breakthrough Experience is hard to grasp on the front end, yet, I promise, you will not regret participating in it.

Each week of six, we delve into the On-Purpose Process in a fun, yet meaningful and respectful manner to help you get to the essence of who you are and how you can become a more confident, strong, and faithful leader of your life.

Click here for more information about The On-Purpose Leader Experience.

The On-Purpose Leader Experience Preview

January 5, 2011 By kwmccarthy

Are you searching for answers in all the wrong places?
Do you question if you're on the right path for your career or life?
Has your life plan not gone as planned?
Are you wondering, Just who am I?
How many times have you tried to figure out what you should do with your life and gotten it not right?
Do you find frustration has become an all too familiar friend?
Do you have a blessed life and want to make it even better?

Sounds like you're ready for The On-Purpose Leader Experience! Preview it by CLICKING HERE!

Thank you to the Central Florida Christian Chamber of Commerce for sponsoring this event. This On-Purpose Leader Experience will be led from a Christian worldview.