Hummingbirds - So tiny, so big!

HUMMINGBIRDS - IMPORTANT?

We met this little fellow when we stopped at a roadside cafe in Costa Rica this winter. In fact there were dozens of these tiny mini jets zooming around our heads as we looked at the flower gardens.

I never knew they could make such a racket. These birds are very territorial and when some other bird gets near their spot they let them know it! For such a small creature they can make a lot of noise! Does that sound like anyone you know?

What can we learn from such a small non aggressive little bird? Perhaps sometimes it’s the little guy you have to watch out for that is making all the noise...

Or, how about this, you don’t have to be a big dog to get the attention of others?

The list could go on forever when it comes to the hummingbird.

These little powerhouses beat their wings anywhere from 12-80 times per second! And you thought your heart rate gets going when you go jogging...

Size, does it matter? Well frankly, yes, to a hummingbird. They have to land on the most precarious perches. If they were a “normal” sized bird they would break the flower. I think hummingbirds are nature’s idea of a bee on steroids!

Colourful and fun to watch they can brighten your day just by buzzing by. You know people in your life like that don’t you? 

Tell them they brighten your day, it will probably brighten theirs!

Only One Captain

Only One Captain

While working on a cruise ship is exciting and a great way to see the world one must always remember there is only one Captain on board.

The Captain is the ultimate authority on a ship. His word is final, and not to be questioned. That is the command role of senior officers.

We have sailed with many different styles of Captains. Some are very reserved, quiet, serious, and all business. They are probably “C” and “D” styles. They are not very talkative when we are on the bridge doing a commentary of the port being sailed into. They are respected for their authority and precision and expect others to do their job as directed.

We have also met Captains who have “S” in that mixture and are a real pleasure to sail with. Talkative and concerned we are comfortable they command with not only respect from their crew but the crew also like them a lot.

Here we are pictured with Captain Tony of the Princess Coral, a really nice guy.

Of course when you are responsible for 3,000 lives and a ship worth over $350 million there is not a lot of room for any kind of joker. This is serious business and every Captain we have ever had the privilege to sail with has demonstrated a no nonsense, serious approach to his command. We have always enjoyed working with these pros.

We may be the Dynamic Duo and meet people from all walks of life through our workshops on Teamwork, Teambuilding, Communications, Leadership, Emotional Intelligence and our newest Bullying in the Workplace, but we know there can only be one Captain. While we may work well as a team there are lines we each respect and don’t cross. When it comes to program content Barb is the Captain, when it comes to relationships Bill is the Captain. This way we both have designated areas of responsibility and we take them seriously.

With all that being said we often have passengers on board who are captains in their own world. Some are captains of industry, manufacturing, religion, and even their own small boats. We have met ambassadors, politicians, judges, even a Supreme Court Justice, who are all captains of their country as well. However on board, there is only one Captain. We see lots of armchair quarterbacks when we miss a port due to weather or other unsafe conditions, but there is only one captain and he makes that decision.

In most companies the most effective Captains operate differently from their sea counterparts. On land these managers/leaders often consult with their deputy managers, for valuable insight into the operation of the various departments. It can be much more collaborative, than in a pseudo military environment.

Land, or the office, is not the place for a command structure and in fact is probably the weakest form of leadership. On land the serving leader is the highest level of leadership. Caring and compassionate with vision and direction is the formula for success in today modern companies.

So as you can see there are different styles for management and effective leadership.

Our hope for your department is that there are no Captain Ahabs at the helm. If there are... we need to talk.

A new web look!

Well, today is an exciting day for Barb and I.

Recently, we launched our newly revised website. It has a lot of new content, photos, videos, and testimonials.

We have also enhanced the area for meeting planners with full Bio's photo's and requirements.

We are truly excited to have this tool ready for many more to see and allow us to impact more lives.Our goal is to add value to others and this site should be a useful tool.

Our heartfelt thanks to our good friend Goran Galic for helping us (he really did all the work) get this amazing site up and running. To say he is a genius when it comes to this stuff is an understatement. Thanks Goran!

We hope you visit the site and send it out to everyone you know so we can spread the word.

Here is the link www.dynamics4u.com

Thanks for reading and remember to LIVE DYNAMICALLY!!!!

Feeling Crabby?

This past August, Bill was on a cruise ship travelling through New England. One of the taste treats from the Atlantic ocean is Blue crab.

A fisherman I met on the dock explained to me how they catch these delectable creatures. The catching part was not too hard. The keeping part however required a unique knowledge of crab personality!

You see, if you catch just one crab and put it in the pail, it will climb out. You need to put a lid on the pail right away to prevent the escape of your dinner. However once you have two or more crabs in the pail, you can throw the lid away. Why?

Crabs are like some unsuccessful people you met in your life. They do all kinds of things to keep others from achieving goals or improving themselves. This can take the form of office politics, gossip, role-playing, promoting mediocrity, and so on.

The good news is if people try that, you don't have to buy into it. You can stay out of the pail in the first place by refusing to be a crab.

Instead of pulling others down, try raising them up.

There is more success in helping others gain than in being a crab! Besides, crabs are ugly.

Fear

As I sit at the computer this morning trying to come up with something profound for our newsletters, it hit me that my procrastination is usually based on fear.

The fear that someone will be offended by what I write, the fear that it won't be "deep" enough or it may be too deep...

Fear, what is it? I have heard it described as an acronym, False Evidence Appearing Real. However those of us who have experienced fear know sometimes it is real. But only less than 40% of the time according to the University of Michigan.

So why do we have these fears? Newborns, they say, have only two fears, loud noises and the fear of being dropped. So what do we do? We smack their bottom with a loud sound after they fall into the hands of the doctor! Doomed from the start are we...

Perhaps during this season as a child, you had the fear of Santa. Watching the movie A Christmas Story last night on the children's visit to the store Santa and seeing it through the eyes of a child makes me wonder if perhaps this is the root of all that fear!

It is not just you and me who have fears, famous people have them too. Julius Caesar was afraid of thunder (and I think later knives), Peter the Great, was afraid of bridges. He was the absolute ruler of Russia and stood 6 feet five inches tall! Barb is in good company for she too once feared bridges...

Have you examined your fears? Perhaps it is time to take an inventory, I am not a big fan of spiders. Sadly my daughters picked up on that fear and now share it with me. I guess it is true, misery likes company.

Why not make a list of your fears and start working on overcoming them. It is said that fear causes procrastination so if you find yourself hesitating on this little project perhaps there is a fear there?

Here is what the pattern can become in some peoples lives from John Maxwell.


Fear breeds inaction;
Inaction leads to lack of experience;
Lack of experience fosters ignorance; and
Ignorance breeds fear.

See the cycle? Break it!


www.dynamics4u.com

Brain cells vs 000's and 111's

A few years ago while on board a cruise ship speaking I decided I needed a new watch. The boutique on board had many different brands and some were very expensive. I looked at Tag, Rolex, and a few others and decided they were way too much money and not nearly fancy enough.

However, we had a great rapport with the store manager and I knew I could get a bargain on a very fancy upscale timepiece. It may not be diamond encrusted or many thousands of dollars but it would look impressive. I was going for the look.

She listened carefully to my exploding ego talk about what was important to me in a timepiece (none of which had anything to do with telling time) with patience and drooled at the opportunity to sell me a fancy looking high tech gadget.

She showed me a really upscale state of the art watch that had enough buttons to launch the space shuttle. Perfect, I thought that is what I need. This watch had auto synchronization to an atomic clock throughout the world, a solar battery that never needs replacing, different time zones around the world, two alarms, pressure tested to 500 feet (I rarely swim below 4 feet of water) a titanium case, and of courser a great look. It is an aviators watch with a special dial around the crown for figuring out navigational numbers like speed, fuel usage etc.. This is all stuff I really need because it makes the watch look better, not because I have ever piloted a plane.

It looked fabulous, had a heavy feel and was a statement of success, I thought...

Well, it has been several years now, the watch still looks great, (that titanium case really works) I wear with a certain amount of pride as a symbol of a sort of achievement. Vanity at it's best.

The reality? This thing drives me nuts!

Every year about this time I have to change the time for daylight savings, and every year I spend a stupid amount of time trying to get the thing to do what I want. And, its not just here; if we are travelling and God forbid we go into another time zone I am lost. It calls for a trip to the ships jewellery store to find a 20's somebody who actually knows how to make this technological sun dial work!

How important is the solar panel to me now? How much do I gain from the auto synchronization to the atomic clock in Fort Collins now?

If I try to set it, I can't see the flipping numbers or dials. Clearly this was made for an aviator with better than 20/20 vision not an old guy who needs reading glasses.

After 30 minutes both online and with the manual, (I keep the manual right on my desk because I know next Spring this is going to happen again) two cups of coffee, several expletives, the time is now correct.

I think... it may be set for pm rather than am, again, I can't see the darn dials. I will know that tomorrow, when the date is wrong and the whole thing has to be done again...

I am almost to the point of making it my desk paperweight. Either that or re-gifting it to a son or son in law who can still see the dials.

So the moral of the story? While I love technology, I have to watch out for ego, vanity, not to get in the way of making a sensible purchase.

Now about, about that new Ipad 2.....

Still, it looks pretty.... and it was a bargain... justify, justify it...

Tracking Progress

Late Monday I ordered some product from the US.

Now, as many of our Canadian readers know, when we order from  the US we have to go through the whole customs clearance procedure. It can be lengthy and costly. In this case the product is SO much cheaper to purchase from the States it is worth the duty and brokerage fees.

One of the things that amazes me when I order this way is how I can track the shipment. I only have to click a number link and voila, there it is, my package winging its way towards our office. This is fast, efficient and modern.

So, what is the point? The point is sometimes don't we wish people had a "tracking" number for their progress in life?

What if you could click a button and see if they are still reading, growing, and learning, or are they just in a vegetative state letting life pass them by glued to the boob tube?

If we were to click your number what would it say? When was the last time you read a book on self improvement, attended a seminar on learning a new thing, listened to an audio that gave you a different perspective?

Something to mull over during the upcoming holiday season and the dreaded New Year resolution activity huh?

Why not set a goal to read more and watch TV less.

You won't be disappointed.

I know I am going to and now I am accountable to you!