Daily Motivation

"People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily." ~Zig Ziglar

What I'm seeing Zig say is that we need to take time every day for self-motivation and to motivate our folks. On one hand, that seems kind of overkill. The last thing I would want to experience is a new motivational video every day from YouTube. Just thinking of it makes my brain hurt.

On the other hand, it's easy for us and for our team members to get weighed down -- weighed down by the stresses in our personal lives that come from things like family, money, health, and safety. Add to it the stresses from work and before we know it we could feel like we've got the weight of the world on our shoulders. It can happen quickly and easily.

In that respect, I definitely can see where Zig is coming from. It's part of our job as leaders to help lift and maintain our people's spirits (and, therefore, our own since our people often mimic our moods). It's part of our duties to help them feel like work is a place they want to be which should help them be more productive and pleasant to work with.

I like the idea of morning huddles (see my "huddle" post here) with my folks. What about you? What do you do to daily motivate your people and yourself?

"...3 fingers pointing back at you"

I heard this phrase the first time when I was a young lieutenant (I mean, majorly wet behind the ears). I was a Signal Corps officer assigned to a Field Artillery battalion in the 4th Infantry Division. I was responsible for all the communications assets and was one of a handful of non-artillery types in the battalion's group of officers. I had gone to speak to my battalion commander about how the other officers and their men were not taking care of the communications equipment and how they wouldn't follow the manuals regarding communications training.

The colonel looked at me and said, "OK, Lieutenant Hall, I'll get on the other officers about this. However, remember, when you're pointing your finger at someone else, you have three more pointing back at you." I didn't get it. First, I'd never heard that phrase before and second, THEY were at fault, not me. At least that was obvious to me.

What I came to find out later was that my men had not properly trained the "gun bunnies" on how to use the equipment and I hadn't done as good a job working with my fellow officers as I could have. It was very uncomfortable to deal with when those officers got chewed out and then they proceeded to let the colonel and others know how the Signal guys had dropped the ball.

I point all this out to say that whenever we're not happy with what other people have done or failed to do, whether they're family, friends, coworkers, or people who report to us, we will be sorely mistaken if we don't take a serious look at our potential role in the problem. What did we do that helped cause the problem? What could we have done to ensure the problem didn't get this far or never existed at all?

Bosses take heed. When you're not happy with your people's performance, ask yourself what role you had to play. Ensure you've done your part and more before you start pointing fingers.

I'll work on my procrastination when I get around to it.

There's never a better time than now. It's just that procrastinators are likely to put off trying to fix their problems with procrastination.

We know it's a bad habit. We know we shouldn't do it. We know we need to be more productive. So how can we master the procrastination problem?

Perhaps the first step we could take is to figure out what is causing the procrastination. Is it just that we lack self-discipline, in general? If so, that's a way bigger issue than procrastination regarding a particular task. For self-discipline issues, I recommend you read Steve Pavlina's blog series on developing self-discipline. Let's take a look at other reasons we may be putting off handling a task or tasks:

Stress: When we're stressed, we often have a tough time focusing on the tasks we need to accomplish. We need to figure out what's stressing us out so we can remove the stress and get back on track.

Overwhelmed: Similarly to stress, when we have too much to do, we don't keep our eyes on the ball very well. We need to take a breath, step back, and prioritize. Every task hopefully doesn't have to be completed today. We can also take a look to see what tasks we might be able to share with others (you know, teamwork).

Don't understand: Often we procrastinate when we don't know how to do the task and are afraid to ask. Intimidation can get in the way, for sure. We don't want to look stupid. I advise others that you don't look stupid when you ask questions. It's when you don't ask questions and then can't get the job done that you look stupid.

People Issues: Sometimes we procrastinate because whoever we have to partner or coordinate with is someone we don't like, someone we have trouble relating to, or someone who makes us feel uncomfortable. Regardless, someone else is in the way. There's no rule that says we get to like who we work with. Often, dislike or discomfort stems from lack of communication. We need to act like mature professionals and put aside our biases because the other person is probably not going away and the task definitely isn't going away.

Are there other reasons that cause us to fall into the procrastination trap? What do you have to overcome to get tasks completed on time?

A Man of Success

Albert Einstein once said, "Try not to become a man of success but a man of value."

When you are a professional, whether it be in business, in the government, or part of another organization, you are often pushed to be successful at just about any cost. You've seen it. You've seen people so focused on success that it's all they can do, all they can think about.

How do you measure success? Many of us measure from a perspective of:

• Fame
• Fortune
• Power
• Influence

So many times, these measurements are focused almost solely on ourselves. They can be very selfish and self-serving. I think Einstein is saying that the focus of our lives can't be primarily or even mostly about ourselves. It's just that a life focused totally inward seems kind of an empty existence.

I've mentioned it before: most all the motivational speakers out on the circuit today (people like Zig Ziglar) will say you can't be a true success until you've helped people around you be successful. For the majority of people, possessions don't really make them happy, not long-term, anyway. It's the people around us, people we care about, who do that. It's about relationships and being valuable to others.

"Try not to become a man of success but a man of value." In the end, that's where true success lies.

Criticism...Embrace it.

I'm on to another post based on a quote that I read and found thought-provoking. Here is today's quote: “To avoid criticism do nothing, say nothing, be nothing.” ~Elbert Hubbard

None of us likes being criticized. We want people to like us or, at least, to respect us. We often identify our ideas and our work with our self-worth. Therefore, when they are being criticized, it can sometimes make us feel like we're being personally attacked.

What do so many of us do when we're being attacked? We either seek to deflect the attacks or we fight back. Mr. Hubbard's quote seems to be focusing more on the "avoidance" or deflection reaction to criticism.

Criticism, even if it isn't positive, can still be such a positive event for us because it can be a catalyst of change or at least a catalyst of evaluation and circumspection. How can we ever improve if we get no feedback -- positive or otherwise -- about how we're doing? Plus, as Nietzsche said, "What doesn't kill us makes us stronger". Criticism, and the growth that can come from it, certainly can make us stronger.

I would much rather be known for looking at my criticisms mostly objectively (even if I do take some of them a little personally) and growing from them, than someone who is so afraid of what others might think that I am either paralyzed into total nothingness, being just a lump of a person, or that I become Yes Man, constantly working to agree with everyone. The result is the same: a lost identity. No, thanks.

What do you think about criticism, even when it is negative? Can it still be useful if it's not as nice as we'd like?

Life Balance

When I was a young Army officer, I was away from home a lot. When I wasn't in the field, it wasn't uncommon for me to put in 12-14 hours a day at "the office". One day, my wife and I were talking about tasks and priorities. She made the comment, "it's OK, I know we're #2 for you." It was like a dagger in my heart. Now, my wife didn't make that comment in a negative manner at all. She was saying that she knew the service was making its demands and I had to follow them. My wife was accepting that, mostly graciously. I, however, heard those words and knew my life balance was off.

I'd like to say I changed things then and there, but that's not true. My work/life balance has stayed skewed for most of my adult life.

As a boss and supervisor most of my career, I've focused on the mission and my people. I've told myself that was the right thing to do. There have been times when work was practically my whole existence and I put in the hours to prove it. What's wrong with that?

Let's not kid ourselves that all the extra time we put in at work is just about others. I told myself that my military career was a career built on that very thing...but it was just as much or more about me.

I could pontificate on this subject for another hour, but let me leave you with this. It is hard to balance all the priorities we have in our lives. We're almost never going to have a perfect balance. If we have to err on one side, let it be on the side focused on others: our families, our loved ones, and those around us who need help in one way or another.

I'm very much a "it's not a job, it's a way of life" type of guy, but the way of life...well, it really needs to be about service to others.

Service to others...it's not a phrase, it's a way of life.

Purposeful management

I like to share with managers who I've trained that they need to manage, do their jobs, and lead people on purpose, not by accident.

I teach about thoughtful management instead of thoughtless doing. I even say I'd rather break the rules on purpose any day, with thought behind my decisions, than just go about my daily routine in a thoughtless manner. I want the managers and their teams to be successful because of their actions, not to just squeak by because of thoughtlessness.

How can one be a purposeful manager?

• Think before you act: Do a quick, cost-benefit analysis and weigh your options, but don't linger. Purposeful managers are decisive.
• Plan: As they say, "failing to plan is the same thing as planning to fail" (sorry, couldn't help myself...had to share it).
• Train and Execute: Ensure you and your team know what they're doing and and then that they follow their training.
• Review: Go back periodically and look at what you and your team has done and not done so you can make corrections moving forward.

I never want to be known as someone who flies by the seat of his pants. As Charles Emerson Winchester, a character from the TV show M*A*S*H, said during one episode: "I do one thing, I do it very well, and then I move on." Ditto to that, Charles, except that we often don't have the luxury of focusing on only one thing at a time. Still, I hope you get the gist of what I'm trying to convey here.

What other ways do you know of to manage purposefully?

The Mood is on You

Have you ever heard the saying "if Mama ain't happy, nobody's happy"? Obviously, whoever came up with that saying was indicating that "Mama" affected the mood around the house. If she was upset, everybody was upset. If people weren't upset before they ran into Mama, they would be afterwards.

I do believe it's true, that in the workplace, if the boss isn't happy, nobody's happy. As a manager, do you realize the power that you wield? You set the tone for how the office will operate -- maybe for a particular day or maybe overall.

If you're a manager who wants to have a generally happy workplace for yourself and your people, then you've got to ensure that you project a positive and happy aura as much as possible. Now, it's not reasonable to think that any boss or manager is going to be in a good mood every day or that his or her life will always be hunky-dory. What I am saying is that you need to realize how your actions affect everyone around you in the office.

I guess it's fine to feel however you want to feel, but you owe it to your people -- the people who do the work, complete the mission, and make the operation "operate" -- to act like you're doing OK, to show you have a good handle on whatever situations are going on, and to help them feel they should be comfortable with you in charge. Let's face it, when workers are "down", their productivity suffers.

I challenge you to step back and take a look at yourself. Do you drag into the office in the morning? Do you grouse and complain about your boss or the leadership of the company? Do you whine about how business stinks? Do you just act depressed, in general?

If not, congratulations. Your work environment may be a pretty positive one. If so, STOP IT. Act positive and give your team another chance to be successful and fulfilled.

Great Meetings? Planning required

In order to run great meetings, you owe it to yourself and the people involved to properly plan.

Examples of poor planning:

• Interviews: I experienced an interview where it was obvious the interviewer had done no preparation before-hand. The person was not familiar with my resume and had not thought out the interview questions at all.
• Staff Meetings: The boss walks into a staff meeting with no agenda and just says "anybody have anything to talk about?"
• 1:1 Meetings: The boss sits down, looks at you, and says, "what's on your mind?" It's really great that the boss thinks enough of you to ask, but unfortunately that's the agenda for the meeting. Evidently, the boss has other things than you on his or her mind.

As I've stated time and again, I know that most everyone is busy. That's a given. That is also no excuse for wasting other people's time (as well as your own). You don't have time? People have never said management was a 40-hour a week job, have they? That's why you get paid the big bucks...to do what needs to be done, even if it takes a little extra time.

What can you do to properly plan?

• Have an agenda. Add to it as the week goes along. One thing I like to do is add notes to my on-line calendar reminder as the week goes by so I'll have my agenda at least partially thought through before I have to "formally" plan the meeting.
• Formulate your questions. Write them down. Then, when you ask the questions or cover your points, record the responses.
• Come to the meeting ready to participate fully. The chances are that it's your meeting so it would be reasonable to expect you to be engaged.

You and your team need to be focused on the mission, revenue generation, and your customers. When you do pull them away from these areas of focus, you need to ensure you're not wasting their time.

What other ways do you plan that help make your meetings more successful?

Don't Underestimate Yourself

I know people like this: people who underestimate themselves. It's really too bad, you know, because it's often only their perception instead of everyone else's reality. Still, people like this are all around us, aren't they?

I have family members, friends, and past colleagues who all struggle with problems of self-confidence. I have, too. It can be fairly debilitating at times, keeping people from trying, allowing them to quit an activity or group, or affecting how they present themselves to others. What's most frustrating about it is that so many people are really good at what they do, but just can't believe it about themselves.

When I was a young teenager, I used to read Sherlock Holmes books. One of the comments Holmes made, that still stays with me, is that it is just as bad to underestimate ourselves as it is to overestimate ourselves. That's really true, isn't it?

Like I said, there were times in my life when I questioned my abilities when I compared myself to others. I had to tell myself, "those other people aren't any better than you. They make mistakes. They fail. They're not any more perfect than you are." Telling myself these things really worked for me. Sometimes I had to tell myself more times than once, but it did work. The trick is to ensure you are doing your best while making statements to yourself like I did.

Another trick you can try is to think about one or two things you do really well, maybe better than most other people, and remind yourself of those things when you're feeling insecure.

Bottom Line: If you can step back for even a moment and look at yourself objectively and you can see you are:

• Prepared
• Practiced
• Poised

then there's no reason whatsoever to be beating yourself up. You can always do better, but so can everyone else around you. As someone told me about a general one time, "he puts his pants on one leg at a time, just like me."

What other tricks do you know of to help offset the "underestimation blues"?

What are you building?

As leaders, we should constantly be building. We should be building up our people, we should be building relationships. We should be building on our successes - on what works for our team and our organization. We should be looking at what's not working and see if we can build something positive from whatever is lacking.

What is making me write all this? Well, I guess it's because I read a lot of blogs and that means I read a fair amount of ranting posts...ranting about what we don't like, what we think is wrong with other people or organizations, and what somebody needs to fix. I've even ranted a few times, myself. Ranting is probably cathartic at times, but when you step back and look at it, does ranting get you anywhere long-term?

So, what's our direction? We should ask ourselves that question on a regular basis. What's our direction? Are we moving forward? Are we marking time, stagnant in our work and maybe our lives? Or worse yet, are we moving backward, moving downward away from the positive parts of existence?

Each of us only has so much time on this earth. While we don't need to get maudlin about our lives as we age, it's not something we can just dismiss. At least it shouldn't be. If we're blessed with leadership qualities, we have a responsibility - no - mission to help build whenever we have the chance. People are looking to their leaders for direction and it's up to us to point them in the right way.

What are you building? What's your direction? If you don't know, give it some thought and get moving...forward.

Leaders Never Quit

Leaders never quit? Leaders never quit what?

One of my favorite quotes is from Nathaniel Greene, one of Washington's generals during the American Revolution. He was a self-taught military man, but often thought of as only second to Washington in military talent during that conflict.

OK, the quote: We fight, get beat, rise, and fight again.

On the surface, some could look at this quote as another "rah, rah" quote. It's much more than that, though, because of the words in the middle: "...get beat, rise...".

Greene is speaking about failure. He failed. I fail. You fail. We all fail. We all get beat from time to time. Greene is speaking about failure and then overcoming failure to fight again.

For me, the thing that is so inspiring about Nathaniel Greene is that he never quit, even when he wanted to, even when he threatened to. He was totally devoted to his causes and, in the case of America, its freedom.

We're all imperfect human beings. We're all imperfect managers, coaches, and workers. We're all imperfect leaders.

Let's get back to the title of this post: leaders never quit.

What should leaders never quit doing? Leaders should never quit trying to:

• Inspire
• Set a positive example
• Push others to grow
• Have an empathetic spirit
• Be decisive
• Walk the walk
• Properly delegate
• Coach regularly
• Use influence instead of force
• Listen
• Be a servant

Even as imperfect as we are, real leaders never quit. They always try to make themselves and the people around them better.

What other things should leaders never quit doing?

Encourage Constructive Feedback

We all want to be great leaders and managers don't we? Hopefully, our bosses provide good feedback to us. Still, we can definitely learn from other people than just our bosses. There are several other key people in your work lives who can help you grow by providing their feedback: Peers, Mentors, and Team Members (people who report to you).

It's one thing to ask for feedback and it's another thing all together to mean it. How can you prove to your colleagues and your team members that you really do want and appreciate what they have to say?

1. Ask for the feedback (duh, I know, but they can't read your mind even though you may think they should).
2. Thank them for the feedback.
3. Act on it (if it makes good sense). If the feedback is correct, let them know they were right. Even if you decide not to act on it, let them know you considered the advice...that you were listening.
4. Acknowledge the change, but without making too big a deal of it. You don't want to go around bragging on what an enlightened and mature person you were for taking someone else's advice ("Oh look how great I am. I can even take feedback from the little people." No.).
5. If you don't like what you hear, don't take it out on the messenger. You asked for it.

We can't become great managers and leaders without dedicated people around us. The feedback and advice they will hopefully share can be invaluable for us, both personally and professionally.

Do you know of other ways to encourage feedback from peers and team members? Do they need to be communicated or just shown by our actions?

Step away from your people's work

I had someone mention to me that where she works, when people complete a project, the boss often redoes the work. Why would that be?

• Perhaps it is because the work produced is not up to the boss's standards. Perhaps the expectations were not totally clear so the boss had to change content.
• On the other hand, perhaps the boss likes work to be a certain way and the product has to look exactly like what the boss prefers.
• Finally, maybe the boss only trusts the work that he or she cranks out and anyone else's is just going to be less than suitable.

One of the examples above is about substance. The other two examples are about style and preference. If the quality of work turned into us, as bosses, is of substandard quality, we need to help our people understand what's wrong and give them the chance to correct the material. If the work is styled in a manner that isn't "us", we need to let it go. As the old saying goes, "there's more than one way to skin a cat". Our way is probably different than that of our team and it may not even be as good.

Either way, redoing our people's work is a sure way of stifling creativity and helping our folks become disengaged...two things we just can't afford.

So, I say again, "step away."

Are Leaders Born or Made? So What?

I was interviewing management candidates to run one of my company's offices in the Southeast. One of the questions I liked to ask was "Do you consider yourself a natural leader?"

That begs the question that's the title of this post: "are leaders born or made?" Maybe it would be better to ask "are most leaders born or made?"

One can argue that very few natural leaders have ever existed in the world, leaders who innately know how to inspire others to follow and hopefully accomplish feats and goals they never believed possible. On the other hand, could we not argue that all parents are natural leaders as soon as their children are born? If the definition of a leader is that others follow, then every parent is a leader for at least a little while. Maybe we should exclude parents from this discussion.

I've personally only known one or two people who I could consider "naturals" as leaders. All the rest had to learn it. For me, I just know that, in the adult, non-parenting world, I am not a natural leader. I think I'm a decent leader (of course, that's open to interpretation depending on who you ask and based on what time period we're talking about). Or rather, I'm a decent leader now and in the recent past. I spent a lot of time being schooled by the Army about how to be both a manager and a leader. That helped. What really helped me was failing at leadership over the years, recognizing my failures (either on my own or with help from others), and then caring enough to try and do better. It reminds me of an outstanding doctor who once told me, "you know why I'm head and shoulders above the other doctors around me? It's because I'm standing on a pile of bodies." Leadership is often like that, too.

Like I said, I was not born a leader. What about you? If you weren't born a leader, are you a decent leader now? How do you learn to be a leader?

I'll leave you with a comment I heard from a sergeant when I was in the Army. The comment was, "I wouldn't follow that man into battle." The meaning was, "I wouldn't trust that man with my life or the lives of my people." That man was the commander and, supposedly, the leader.

Would your people follow you into battle?

Listen to your gut

People talk about listening to their gut. What do you think they're referring to? For me, when I say I'm listening to my gut on an issue, it means I'm paying heed to my:

• Intuition
• Experience
• Awareness of the situation

Am I suggesting that we throw reason out the window? No, of course not. You need reason and facts to make an informed decision. It's just that, when you combine those elements with your gut, you often have a strong basis for doing or not doing something.

Once you're used to working with what your gut tells you, then you should be able to "listen" to what it has to share. I know from personal experience that when I don't listen to what my gut's telling me regarding a situation, I'm on shifting sand.

If your gut tells you to take an action, when the facts or reason don't, you may want to go back and recheck those facts or rethink that reason. If your gut tells you, "walk away quickly" from a situation, you need to think hard before you move ahead and go against what your experience is reminding you.

Intuition isn't the be all and end all, but if you listen properly, it can be a valuable component of your leadership toolkit.

What do you think about listening to your gut? When has it helped you out? When has it steered you wrong?

Make Eye Contact

Are you kidding me? You're blogging about eye contact? Absolutely, I am.

Good eye contact or the lack, thereof, can make a huge impression on those around you. Personally, I like to make eye contact when I'm in a conversation with others. I also like to make eye contact when I'm listening to a speaker in a larger setting.

Good eye contact conveys several possible meanings:

• "I am a confident person...confident enough to look you straight in the eyes."
• "I am interested in what you have to say."
• "I am engaged and listening."

People want to interact more with those who convey meanings like this.

The reverse is true, too, helping provide less than positive perceptions to those around us: disinterest, distrust, disengagement, etc.

As leaders, being and acting confident are key components to success. What other ideas are conveyed by making good eye contact (or poor eye contact)? How can this help leaders be more successful?

Be Approachable

Leaders each have a persona. Leaders can be cocky and boisterous or quiet and unassuming. Regardless of the type of leader you are, to be effective you need to be approachable. Your people need to be able to go to you with problems or issues that are work-related and sometimes personal.

"I've told my people that I'm always available for them." Great. Glad to hear it.

"I have an Open-door policy." Wonderful.

These are great things to say. Do your words match your actions? Sometimes leaders send their team members multiple messages. Primarily, there's the message of availability, like above. The subtle (or not so subtle) secondary message(s) could be one or several of the following:

1. Door always closed, even with signs like "do not disturb."
2. Talking down to employees like they're stupid idiots when they come with problems, especially if the solutions seem simple to us. Sometimes we even say, "why do I have to think of everything?"
3. Killing the messenger (an oldie, but a goodie) when the message isn't as positive as we'd like.
4. The stare ("don't even think of talking to me right now").
5. Acting put out when asked to turn our attention away from what we're doing to talk to team members.
6. I'm a martyr and that's OK. "Go ahead and lay your troubles on an already overworked boss. Don't feel bad."

Sure, why would anybody have trouble approaching a boss who communicates mixed messages? It can be very troubling to employees and perhaps cause them to give up ever trying to connect with you.

I'm not trying to beat up on leaders too much today. It's just that, to be successful leaders, we need to have empathetic spirits (being able to walk in oure employees' shoes). We need to be able to relate and to be able to help lift the crap off our people, whatever they're dealing with (within limits, of course), so they can be efficient and effective. To do that, we have to be approachable.

We all want to be strong, positive leaders and bosses and I'm sure we are a lot of the time. However, like I've mentioned several times, leaders are on constant display and we're sending out messages to our people all the time. We just need to ensure the messages we want to send are the ones that are being transmitted.

This is a great coaching point for your younger leaders, too. When you're working with your less experienced managers and coaching them, help them understand how their words and actions need to fit together so their people will come to them with the issues weighing them down. Model this behavior for your younger leaders and your coaching will ring true.

Bottom Line: "a song is 10% lyrics and 90% music" (lyrics = words & music = actions) and a lot of time people remember the music much more easily than the words. Let's do our best to ensure our lyrics and music fit together harmoniously.

"Helicopter Management"

It sounds similar to another term used in our society today, doesn't it? That phrase is "helicopter parenting" and it refers to parents who hover over their kids to protect them and to solve all their problems.

"Helicopter management" connotes the same type of hovering that some bosses do when they try so hard to help make their people happy and protect them, etc. Some equate it with "taking care of your people." I couldn't disagree more. To me, it's a lot more about trying to make to employees like you or maybe trying to do things yourself because you don't trust your team not to mess up and make you look bad.

"Taking care of your people" means other things to me. It means teaching them to be productive (time management and organization skills, for example), coaching them about how to solve their own problems, challenging them to use their brains (see the post, "Well, What do you think you should do?" for more info), and nudging them out of their comfort zones to try new things (like getting up in front of an audience to present a book review or article or idea).

"Helicopter management" is a form of micromanagement, isn't it?

Think about how you interact with your team and look hard at the idea of "helicopter management". Does that describe you?

If you look bad, you are bad

Actually, this is only 1/2 of the phrase I tell people on my teams or leaders I've trained. The entire saying is "If you look good, you may or may not be good, but if you look bad, you are bad." Sentence structure-wise, it's not that great, but hopefully it conveys my meaning.

Let's expand a little. Perception is huge in life, isn't it? We judge and are judged constantly. We often make snap decisions regarding people by just the smallest thing or things we see. By "thing" I mean, neatness, vocabulary, writing, spelling, dress standards, etc.

In business, our credibility is everything (read more here). Because of that, we have to be aware of the "things" we are showing others. It shouldn't have to be that way, but it is. Perceptions, especially negative ones, are hard to overcome.

Here are a few "if you look bad" examples:

• Misspellings on a letter (especially on a resume or cover letter)
• Grammar and sentence structure issues in emails and documents (professionals really ought to be able to write...and so many cannot)
• Chomping your gum (or even chewing it in certain situations)
• Sloppy dress (unless that's the look you're going for...please say it isn't) and poor grooming
• Poor posture

There are lots of ways to present ourselves poorly, and there are ways to present ourselves positively. In the Army, the saying goes, "If it doesn't work, paint it", meaning at least it will look good and, on the surface, people may have a positive first glance.

Now, I'm not at all advocating fluff over substance, but let's face it. The judgments are real and are happening as I write. You can have the best ideas and best products in the world, but if people have anything less than positive thoughts regarding any of the reasons above or any others you might think of, your credibility will be hurt. Take a look at yourself and ensure your "fluff" matches your substance.

Take-away: Look good and BE good.