Mike Staver's Blog

One of the challenges most leaders should  face is the extent to which they choose to collaborate on decision making vs deciding to just make the decision and hand it down. I was talking with a guy this morning that I have huge respect for. He owns a company marketing company and is incredibly creative. He had done some work for me on a new tag line. When I asked him if he thought I should just make a decision or “shop it around” he said maybe only ask one person what they think. He said that often by the time creativity is subjected to the massess however great or small it is usually diluted. Leadership, parenting, etc is all about balancing the two. Over collaboration is inefficeint as it takes to long and is often burdened with dilution. On the other hand being too authoratative alienates and excludes people. It is not an either proposition it’s an and proposition. It’s about balancing both. The collaborative leader with a countermeasure of being authoritative is key to good decision making and progress. Ask yourself this, where do you tend to lean? What type of communicator are you and how does that effect those you influence? Maybe it would be a good idea to pay attention to that the next time a decision has to be made.

I just finished “Anti Cancer” by David Servan-Schreiber MD PhD. It is by far one of the best books I have ever read….and I read a lot of books. It’s great because it is personal and profound, aristic and scientific and it chronicals a Physicians journey with cancer and what he discovered about health and life. He learned about how to beat his cancer and how to live in the context of his world. I was not a fan of nutrition and wellness books. I knew of its importance but i found it less than compelling. Recently I heard a speaker that changed all of that and then went on a journey to find something that made sense and was compelling. I don’t have cancer and hope I never do so i was surprised at how gripping and relevant his story is and how it motivated me to alter several behaviors. I am hesitant to endorse work by authors i am basically unfamiliar with but in this case you must read it. It could save a life. I came across the book by accident or perhaps it was no accident at all. As it turns out three of my friends are currently surviving with very traumatic cancer diagnosis. I am very interested in how our bodies respond to this horrific illness. We make choices every day that, in large part, have a direct impact on our physical, emotional and spiritual health. OK so most people understand that, i certainly have understood that for many years. My frustration has always been that I really wasnt informed enough to understand which choices REALLY make a difference and which ones are just nice to make. In Anti Cancer I was challenged to make new and productive life choices not because he admonished me to but because he models it in his choices throughout the book.

How about you? What choices are you making every day? Are you living with the clear understanding of the consequences or your choices? I am a healthy adult male who understands that there is no guarantee that my health will last. i implore you to make small life altering decisions, today. Be mindful of what you put in your mouth, in your mind and in your spirit. It matters, it really does!

Leo Ardine is the CEO of a successful credit union in New Jersey. It would not be overstating it to say they have weathered considerable change in the last year.The turbulent financial services world has brought excruciating pressure to bear on his organization. In the midst of the chaos he charged a group with clearly articulating where the business needs to be focused. It was refresing to hear that this group did not identify the typical stuff but rather focused on two things….two things I might add that are not always typical of financial institutions. The first was preserve capital the second was build an entrepreneurial spirit at all levels in the organization. Now the work moves to identifying the specific behaviors that those goals demand.

Many of us are good at identifying some nice sounding goal but often we find it difficult to clearly articulate what it LOOKS like in practice. Bravo to Leo and the team for not only indentifying key focus areas but for pursuing clear behavioral indicators so that their progress can be measured.

In your business and personal life to what extent are your goals and ideas clearly measurable in behavioral change?

My colleague and friend Jeff Siegel is a meeting planner. Like most meeting planners he is thorough, focused on the client and very detail oriented. I was impressed right away by how effective he was at bridging the gap between a customer he knows well and me, a speaker who the client had never worked with. What i was most impressed about with Jeff came as the result of a very casual conversation about a business he has started. He shared his idea and dream with me about it and asked that i give some thought to it and then share with him any counsel i may have. In a sentence or less let me share with you what he is doing. Jeff started a company called Relationtrips that inspires and helps parents connect on a profound level with their kids by creating meaninful adventures in travel. Not just some hokey trip to an amusement park but a fully involved adventure where kid and parent are actively involved in planning a journey complete with logos, themes, etc. Here’s the coolest part………..Jeff and his son Spence came up with the idea while watching a sporting event on TV. Jeff and Spence have experienced relationtrip after relationtrip and can entertain you for hours with stories from the road. What an impact they have had on each other. At the core of it all is Jeffs’ commitment to help parents and kids connect and learn about each other in significant ways without forcing the kid or the parent into some kind of contrived relationship. We could all learn alot from Jeff and his idea. I am very moved and impressed by his willingness and ability to share what he and spence have built with the world. If you get a change go to myrelationtrips.com. It’s in its infancy but I am sure Jeff would love to hear from you!!