A Lesson from Hot Wheels - What is your “added play value”?

I’m a grown man, and I play with Hot Wheels. There. I said it. With just under a thousand cars in my own collection, I've been hoarding these little gems since they were first introduced in 1968 (I was nine then…do the math). I can’t help it – they’re just that cool. There’s the racing, the collecting, bragging rights, forums to talk about them, Ebay….need I say more?

And it’s not just me – there are millions just like me worldwide. So what is it that makes these cars so desirable to so many for so long? 

At the time, Matchbox cars from Lesney Products were the premiere collectible car – they were 1:75 scale, easy to play with, original, and many of the cars had moving parts or accessories. Their operative word was authentic. They looked like the real thing. To become a major player in the die cast car market, the creators of Hot Wheels had to come up with a powerful alternative to compete. They started by asking one question – from a child’s perspective, how can they add extra play value to their cars?

While Matchbox cars were fun and authentic, they were anything but fast. Hot Wheels built their cars as being “the fastest metal cars in the world!” They found the one thing that all other collectibles were not – racing fast. But being fast wasn’t enough – they looked for other play value that included Spectraflame paint colors, fantasy car and hot rod designs, mag wheels, and cool California Customs. Some cars had moving parts, some had accessories, and all were fast. The realm of possibilities for design concepts, applications, and accessories were now endless.  

Today, Hot Wheels proclaim being “the hottest cars in the world”, surviving all comers. Eventually Mattel, the makers of Hot Wheels, purchased Matchbox.

So what are the lessons we can learn from Hot Wheels and how can we apply them? Here are a few I came up with:

Hot Wheels is a simple and compelling brand. They asked questions from their target audiences’ perspective, and created a brand that would encompass what their audience desired.

Hot Wheels constantly evolve and remain relevant. By staying in tune with its audience, Hot Wheels not only follows trends, it creates them. They define what is cool and desirable to multiple market segments. They remain “in-touch”, allowing themselves to be reached and interacted with. With the advent of the internet, Hot Wheels created a child safe environment in which one can play with their cars on-line and hold virtual races.

Hot Wheels are innovative. Their patented axle and wheel system may have launched them, but they didn't stop there. Hot Wheels are always experimenting with themes cars, paint styles, wheel designs, new accessories, track layouts, and equally collectible non-car merchandise. Only the Hot Wheels brand carrying case was good enough for my cars, and I had to have the Hot Wheels lunch box (preferably the one with my cars on it!). As early adopters grew up (namely me and those like me), Hot Wheels created cars and collectible themes that still catch my attention.

Hot Wheels remain authentic. From the beginning Hot Wheels mimicked real cars (i.e. The Beatnik Bandit), but that’s not what I mean. Hot Wheels are authentic to themselves and to their customers and audience. They sponsor forums to collect feedback. They sponsor collector clubs for kids and adults. They hold conventions. But more than this, they remain authentic to the brand.

They consistently provide added “Play Value”. Whether it’s a moving part, an attachment, a collector button, or a race track, not one car leaves the store shelf without some added play value to go along with it. It may not be obvious to the nine year old, but they instinctively know it when they see it! Every customer does.

On the surface these may be simple to understand, but it takes time and effort to create a winning combination. Ask yourself these questions in the following order:

• How do I provide "added play value"?
• Am I innovative? How?
• Am I evolving and remaining relevant?
• Am I authentic?
• What is my simple and compelling brand?

Question: What is your added play value?

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. I’d like to know what you think. Feel free to let me know in the comments section below.

Creating a Personal Plan for Growth

In John Maxwell’s Leadership Wired news letter earlier this week, he talks about things to consider when creating a plan to grow. Making growth an intentional event is something I have incorporated in my own life for a very long time. John makes the comment that without a plan, you’re growing nowhere.

Growth, I might add, is not a single event. It is a process of progressive development – good or bad. Growth and Change go hand in hand. While it is very popular to brand one’s self as a “change agent”, it’s important to qualify this in terms of positive growth. Linking the two with positive results adds value not only to you, but to your organization or team.

John also points out that growth is not a happy accident or an automatic process. He states, “if you want to guarantee growth, then you need a plan – something strategic, specific, and scheduled.” 

Here are some of his suggestions for creating a simple plan for intentional growth:

1. Set aside time to grow. All the great thinkers in the areas of leadership and time management will tell you that the secret to your success in anything will start with your daily agenda. You will never change your life until you change what you do daily.
2. Identify your areas of growth. Start with your strengths and consider expanding their boundaries. Success comes when we identify our natural talents, and then work diligently to develop them into extraordinary skills.
3. Find resources in your area of growth. Be hungry for insights and knowledge and develop a system for storing it up for eventual use.
4. Apply what you have learned. Look for opportunities to apply what you have learned and exercise your skills. One method is to share what you have learned with some else within 24 hours. 

As John states, growth is a great separator of those who succeed and those who don’t. To further help in creating a growth plan, consider asking yourself these questions:

When are you growing?

In which areas are you growing?

Who is helping you to grow?

How are you applying what you have learned?

Question: Do you have a solid answer to each of these questions?

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. I’d like to know what you think. Feel free to let me know in the comments section below.

Leadership Lessons from a Welsh Corgi

A dear friend and family member passed away not too long ago – our family dog, a Welsh Pembroke Corgi. Her pedigree name was Costus Afortune, because 14 years ago she did….cost us a fortune. We just called her Costus.

As a breed, Corgi’s are members of the herding class of dogs. And lest you think otherwise, Corgi’s are not small dogs, they’re short dogs. Trust me, there’s a difference. Costus never lived on a farm or ranch, and she was never formally trained to herd sheep, cattle, goats or geese. But that didn't keep her from following her instincts and acting accordingly.

In the days following her death, we would share some of our favorite stories that involved Costus and her characteristics, and I soon realized that what we were sharing as fun stories were also attributes of effective leadership.  Here are some lessons we realized from Costus:

Costus knew her role, and acted accordingly. Good leaders know their place and delegate accordingly. 

Costus was constantly curious, and constantly learning. Good leaders are always learning, growing, and remaining relevant. 

Costus knew when to lead and when to follow. Good leaders know when it’s time to follow others who may be better skilled at something.

Costus only performed tasks that led to the objective. Good leaders are constantly promoting the vision and perform duties that lead to obtaining that vision.

Costus understood and used body language. Body language is a powerful communicator. Good leaders are masters at using all forms of body language to communicate their purpose. 

Costus was consistent. For good leaders, consistency is key. Good leaders are calm, controlled, safe, and consistent. Good leaders give clear guidelines, set appropriate boundaries and respect individual personalities.

Costus was fiercely loyal. Good leaders are loyal to those they lead, because without them, they’re just taking a walk.

I’d like to think that Costus was just reflecting what she saw in all of us, but I know better. As good leaders do, she contributed to the relationship as much as she took from it.

Question: What leadership attributes does your pet display?

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. I’d like to know what you think. Feel free to let me know in the comments section below.

The Power of Questions

It has been said that questions, especially those that that make us ponder, have the magnificent power to transform our destiny. The quality of your life is equal to the quality of the questions you ask. For example:

“What am I doing right now that is life affirming?”

“How can I add a little more fun to my life in this moment?”

“What can I do to make my life more exciting?”

Questions like these cause us to reflect, to daydream and to think of possibilities as potential answers. And then, as they so often do, they fade away as the next urgent matter crosses our path.

Instead of making resolutions at the beginning of the year that I do not plan to keep, I asked myself just two questions;

1.      What do I want?
2.      Once determined, what am I going to do about it?

There is an inherent power in these two questions, and seeking their answer is my quest for the year.  Asking them helps me narrow my focus to what I really want, and how I will go about achieving it. They leave little room for fluff or distractions. They help me prioritize what is important and challenge me to be true to myself. They keep me accountable, and inspire me to grow. Answering them reveals my potential and helps me achieve goals that matter.

When people ask me for assistance in helping them achieve a goal, my first question is what is it they want? Once answered, my job is to challenge their present thought process to consider ideas and options they hadn't thought of, and to help them discover new ways to reach their potential.

These questions apply to my corporate clients as well. At a time when quarterly financial reports are coming out, the usual rhetoric follows – the numbers are down and we need to make changes. New goals are set, the business priorities are aligned and the marching orders are given. But what if the business direction was set by asking these two questions? What would that business look like?

Determining what you want and what you are going to do about it are the first steps to realizing your potential. It applies to your personal life, your relationships, and your career.

So - What do you want and what are you going to do about it?

Question: What questions do you ask that can possibly transform your destiny?

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. I’d like to know what you think. Feel free to let me know in the comments section below.

Sphere-logic verses Box-logic

With all the lists that come out at the year’s end, those that identify the most overused business cliché’s and buzz words are my favorites to read. On my own list of most hated phrases is to “think outside the box”. 

Thinking outside the box is a metaphor that means to think differently, unconventionally, or from a new perspective. This phrase often refers to novel or creative thinking, and looking beyond the obvious.

An example of this is Taco Bell and their successful marketing campaign “Think Outside the Bun”. It simply applied the metaphor to think beyond the hamburger and try something different, implying their product as a solution.

I call this Box-logic, and while it is a useful tool and metaphor, it is an overused cliché that is uninspiring and incomplete in solving problems. In its day, facing a problem involved three separate steps; find a solution, take action, deliver the results. Thinking outside the box only addressed the first step – finding a solution, and it’s only half the equation. Today, unfortunately, the cliché presumes an action will be taken which then leads to the desired result. The metaphor is but one piece and does not consider the whole problem, nor was it ever intended to.

To be truly successful in today’s work environments, merely confronting problems is not enough. We must solve them and deliver the results in real time. Innovative thinking with immediate action is required to achieve the results and deliver a solution. Developing solutions to problems today needs to be a seamless event, and can be stated as the following equation: Problem: Innovative thinking + Action + Results = Solution.

In working with The Arnold Group, we looked for a way to view problems in a three-dimensional way. We needed multiple perspectives not just to the problem, but to the actions, the results, and the solution as well. Using a baseball as our metaphor, we see each element of it is attached by an endless seam. If we think of each element of the baseball as innovative thinking, action, and results all sown together as a sphere, then the baseball itself is the solution to the problem. We call this Sphere-logic.   

Sphere-logic works with the whole equation in mind. Like the baseball, one element ends where the next one begins. The principle of Sphere-logic is to move effortlessly from innovative thinking to results to deliver the solution with the least amount of resistance, like a ball bearing.

Ironically, Sphere-logic came about by out of the box thinking to find a better approach to how problems are faced and resolved today. As business evolves, so must the tools that help us be successful at what we do. While Box-logic will help us look beyond the obvious, Sphere-logic will help us deliver the solution. 

Question: Where can you use Sphere-logic in your work today?

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. I'd like to know what you think. Please feel free to let me know in the comments section below.

The 8 Steps I Used to [Successfully] Survive Unemployment

Finally, after 10 months of unemployment, I have landed a great job as a Telecommunications Project Coordinator. Similar in function to what I have performed over the past several years, this new role promises to address everything I outlined in My Ideal Job Description.

Landing this role was no easy task, and it took seven of the ten months of unemployment to finally make it all happen. Fortunately, I had a plan to ensure success in surviving unemployment for as long as it took. Here are the 10 steps of my plan:

1. Making Sense of My Losses. This step can be named many things, but it basically boils down to the same thing – going through the grief process and understanding the situation. I call it my mourning process, and it can take some time to perform. The timeline to work through this step is different for each person. The key to remember is that this step is not an isolated step and you can proceed with other steps while still performing this one.
2. Work Together as a Family. Having my family involved made a big difference in my overall outlook in the situation. I did not have to burden unemployment alone, and we encouraged each other as weeks turned into months.
3. We Took Stock of our Financial Resources. This can be a difficult task to do because it may require a major change in your attitude about finances and assets. Retirement plans and 401K’s can be an expensive proposition if used to survive during a lengthy unemployment.
4. We Set Spending Priorities. While this may seem like an obvious step to perform, I can assure you that it’s not. What may be a lower priority with me will most assuredly be a higher priority with my wife or my children. Again, this takes the whole family to buy in and act as one.
5. Paying Our Creditors and Insuring Our Financial Reputation. The key to performing this step is communication initiated on my part with each creditor. They may not like the new arrangements or the pitifully small amounts I paid, but each one worked with me throughout the year. Oh sure, my credit rating has taken a beating, but my financial reputation has been sustained and my rating can be restored.
6. Economizing and Cutting Corners. This is closely related to step 4, but it also involves an in-depth look into areas for additional cutbacks. This can be cable services, phone services, memberships, meal habits, etc. The key thing to remember on this step is that it’s only for a season – not necessarily forever.
7. Using My Community Services. These services range from financial aid, job seeking & networking, counseling, food pantries, city parks and volunteer opportunities. They exist to be used.
8. Finding New Employment. Finding new employment is a no-brainer, but my success in being able to devote the time and energy to be successful depended greatly on how well I performed the first seven steps. Believe it or not, my job search activities were much easier to perform when all of the other details were managed.

There’s no way to sugar coat it – being unemployed for any length of time is not easy, and not everyone survives. Having a plan mitigates many potential problems and reduces – if not removes – stress. Admittedly, it’s not easy, but survival is never about comfort or without risk. Look for additional details and ideas on how to perform each of these steps in my upcoming blogs.

Question: Are you currently? If so, how can I help?

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. I’d like to know what you think. Feel free to let me know in the comments section below.

Why People Do Not Reach Their Potential

I attended a gathering this week of the Career Alliance Group in Allen, Texas, where I was the guest speaker. I had a great time networking and sharing experiences with other professionals across a wide cross section of industries.

After a short meet and greet time, I spoke on the topic of why people fail to reach and live out their potential. A topic like this can easily fill a day-long seminar, so I reduced it down to just four key elements based on my own experience and learning.

To sum it up, these are the elements I presented as to why people fail to reach their potential and live it out daily:

1. Choices. People make choices that limit them. Whether intentionally, motivated by fear or lack of understanding, poor choices do more to limit one’s ability to reach their potential and live it daily than anything else.
2. Time. Many who fail to reach their potential do not realize the amount of time that it requires.
3. Price. People fail to pay the price their potential demands. Price takes the shape of many forms, the least of which is time, money, risk, or education.
4. Problems. People fail to think creatively when problems arise. In many ways, problems are the flames that purify their potential, and reveal it for what it really is. Other times, problems are the roadblocks that can pose a serious obstacle from reaching their potential.

After my presentation, I was confirmed that my topic was not only on target, but timely too. It was a seed planted and with careful cultivation, will grow to be realized and lived out across the many careers represented at this event.

That is what applying influence and making an impact while serving others looks like.

Question: Are you living out your potential? If not, how can I help?

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. I’d like to know what you think. Feel free to let me know in the comments section below.