Built to Last: It takes more than reputation; it's all about character!

The cycling world was rocked today (again) by news that one of the most popular riders at the Tour de France has tested positive of banned substances. As a result of this, the entire team was asked to leave the Tour de France, with two key riders in the top ten who had great chances of winning the entire race. This particular rider, Alexandre Vinokourov, and the entire team had already built quit a reputation for themselves at this year's tour. He won saturday's time trial and Monday's stage 15. The team was leading in the team standings. Sadly, all their hard work and reputation has amounted to nothing due to the doping discovery.

Reputation is simply what people think about a thing or person. Character is what the thing or person really is. When it comes to human performance therefore, character is the bedrock of achievement. Reputation is what precedes a person or thing while character is what outlasts the person or thing. Astana and Vinokourov had a great opportunity to stamp a positive mark on the Tour this year but instead they have left in disgrace. Had they focused on developing character more than reputation, things might have been very different now. Reputation changes but character does not. Reputation is like the shadow of a building. It moves in different directions throughout the day. Character on the other hand is like the building itself. It forever stays the same.

Today, I’d like to encourage you to be more focused on your character rather than your reputation. Your character will outlast your reputation.

It's July - Lessons from the Tour de France

I love the Tour de France. Yes, it's been critized a lot over the past couple of years but it's still a demonstration of power, focus, energy, stamina and dedication. This past weekend was the first stage of the 2007 Tour de France. The sprint was won by Robbie McEwen, even after a very bad crash that could easily have retired him from the competition. The second stage was won by Gert Steegmans with his teammate, Tom Boonen, coming in second. This was simply classic, over-the-top, A-game performance. A one-two result like this is usually very rare in cycling. So here are some early thoughts on how lessons from the first two days of the tour apply:

1. Practice, Practice, Practice

Your performance in the “race towards success” is very much dependent on what happens behind the scenes. All the tour cyclists didn’t just walk off the streets and grab their bikes. Thye practice hard during the off-season. You must do the same thing. In order to be an MP (Massive Producer), you have to act massively behind the scenes. It’s your behind the scenes work that brings you from obscurity and into the limelight.

2. Take immediate control of your mental state

The winner’s edge is in his mental attitude. You must approach every situation with a readiness to tackle it and win. You can’t shy away from displaying your skill when your moment of action comes. There were two terrible crashes on both days but the eventual winners chose to stay focused. Robie McEwen could easily have decided to quit after his very bad fall. In an interview later on, he said, "I gave it everything to be in the right place for the final 200 meters and it seems we did enough. I’m happy with that. I was fueled by frustration, anger and the thought of having nothing more to lose" (link). You can’t allow your mind to wander in hundreds of different directions. You’ve got to harness it.

3. Discover the power of team

No matter how good a cyclist is, he cannot win alone. It takes teamwork. Boonen said of his teammate, "Today it wasn’t possible for me to pass my team-mate but I think that if you’re in a situation like this then it’s the right thing to do to… if you have a guy who leads you out for the entire year and you’re able to give a present like this, then it’s not nice to pass him. “I’m more excited than when I won the stage myself. It’s great to achieve this when the finish line is in your own country. It was an impressive day for our team" (link). McEwen said of his teammates, "I you could see on television how much work guys like Wim Vansevenant and Johan van Summeren did trying to bring me back to the peloton after my crash. It took a very long time because, at the moment I crashed, that’s when the race really started going full gas. I don’t think it was any coincidence that they started riding a bit faster when I was off the back but… well, it’s just incredible how much work my team did to bring me back. This is the perfect way to repay them for their effort". (link). You’ve got to find those people who will elevate your performance. Teamwork makes the dream work. What’s your dream? Are you connected to people that can elevate your game? Discover the power of team and you will multiply your value. You can’t do it by yourself. The days of the lone ranger are over.

Enjoy the tour!

Celebrating July 4th: Lessons on Interdependence and Teamwork - Part 2

In today’s post I will briefly look at the last eight things we did with our team:

8. Paint pictures and mental images of possibilities
Every day in the morning, we had the opportunity to cast vision to the team and we made the best use of such avenues to ensure that everyone grasped the big picture of our entire purpose of being in Jamaica.

9. Employ a variety of people to help cast the vision
We had MAs (Mission Advisors) whom we selected to work with us in binding the team together and communicating our vision to the rest of the group.

10. Navigate through situations and circumstances as one unit
We made it a primary priority to stick together as a team and travel together. The leaders would always look out for our team members to ensure that we were all on one track.

11. Display an in-depth care and concern for one another
We emphasized on the need for great relationships with each other. John Maxwell once pointed out that people go the first mile because of duty, they go the second mile because of relationship. Good relationships were a vital concern for us.

12. Empower each other by relying on each other’s skills and abilities
Interdependence is impossible unless a team learns to rely on each other. By realizing that everyone is gifted to serve, we were in fact able to empower each other.

13. Nourish each other by equipping and elevating each other’s contribution
We advocated for placing individual rights below the team’s best interest. The other person’s contribution was considered as very important and this enabled us to achieve so much progress.

14. Communicate at all times, making everything clear and plain to the team
We made it a priority to always communicate with each other and went to great lengths to keep the entire team updated on our courses of action.

15. End every effort by sharing the benefits and rewards of teamwork
Instead of taking all the praise for our achievements, we would always credit the team with having made all things happen.

Celebrating July 4th: Lessons on Interdependence and Teamwork - Part 1

This week we will be celebrating Independence Day in the US. I want to look at the concept of interdependence, specifically, how teamwork elevates productivity. This post is simply a development of ideas that I developed a few years ago when I went to Jamaica as a team leader for a group of about 35 teenagers. This was a huge project and it required that every member of the team contribute their very best. My thoughts will be developed in the form of an acronym that I will be sharing over the course of the week.

Here is the acronym:

Identify every aspect of the operation that requires a team effort.
Notify every member of the team of his or her role.
Team up on the basis of the group’s vision and not individual interests.
Examine your dream together and let everyone capture a passion for it.
Resolve to all be focused on the team aspects of the organization.
Divide responsibilities fairly to every member of the team.
Engage the soul of every member of the team.
Paint pictures and mental images of possibilities.
Employ a variety of people to help cast the vision.
Navigate through situations and circumstances as one unit.
Display an in-depth care and concern for one another.
Empower each other by relying on each other’s skills and abilities.
Nourish each other by equipping and elevating each other’s contribution.
Communicate at all times, making everything clear and plain to the team.
End every effort by sharing the benefits and rewards of teamwork.

In today’s post I will briefly look at the first seven things we did with our team:

1. Identify every aspect of the operation that requires a team effort
As a team, we started off by pointing out every area in which we had to work together. We build into the team an understanding of the team concept by helping them see that one would be too small a number to achieve what we had set out to do.

2. Notify every member of the team of his or her role
As team leader, I notified every member of the team of what would be expected of them. We developed consensus on the things we wanted to see achieved. Every “got on the same page” regarding what they had to accomplish individually (there is no “I” in team but there is a “me”).

3. Team up on the basis of the group’s vision and not individual interests
Our team developed a vision that had meaning to each of us. This was clearly written and displayed so that everyone had access to it. We had to ensure that everyone understood the cause. We rallied the entire team together on this one cause and it worked so well.

4. Examine your dream together and let everyone capture a passion for it
Every morning we had meetings together which greatly helped us to continually harness the vision and hold onto it. Understanding the vision and buying into it as a corporate team was essential to our success. This made all of us to run in the same direction with the same goal in mind.

5. Resolve to all be focused on the team aspects of the organization
Each day there were many obstacles and distractions that threatened our progress as a team. We had to resolve to stay focused. There were team-members who lost motivation every once in a while. We had to encourage each member of the team to stay focused.

6. Divide responsibilities fairly to every member of the team
Each member on the team had different abilities and we divided responsibilities based on their skills and willingness to serve in particular capacities. In the division of labor, we had to ensure that there was specialization in terms of the skill sets of the team member.

7. Engage the soul of every member of the team
We endeavored to “click” with our team by coaching, mentoring and communicating the vision to them every single moment we had the opportunity to do so. Those who soared as leaders within the group contributed immensely in mentoring the others.

To be continued some time after July 4th…