Great Idea

An older associate recently won my heart with an email inviting me to join a small group for a one-time planning meeting for an upcoming event.  Her approach was to indicate that I always have great ideas and she hoped that I would join them.  Her approach made me want to participate and left me sad that I had a conflict.

When we approach someone with a sincere compliment, we can often engage them with a time-bounded opportunity to demonstrate their capabilities.

The great idea is to be able to give others the chance to shine in a way that is mutually beneficial.

Taking Care of Others

Sometimes we are so busy taking care of others that we lose sight of bigger issues such as who should/could/would assume other responsibilities. It is in everyone's best interest to differentiate between:

• what others need v. what we think they need
• what they need v. what we need
• what we can do to meet their needs and ours v. what they can do to meet our needs and theirs

When we view ourselves as we would others, we are better able to serve everyone's needs and interests.

Power Packed L

Just add one power-packed "L" to idea and you get to ideal.  The power-packed "L" includes:

• listening
• linking
• learning
• lifting (as in heavy lifting)
• letting go of status quo
• leading
• love - got to have passion
• luck

Idea to Ideal

Unless we actively promote and support the sharing of ideas, we will never achieve ideal outcomes.