MINDS w/ Dan Burnham 01/27/2011 Summary
MINDS w/ Dan Burnham.
Thursday, January 27, 2011.
“The trouble with humans is they don’t remember everything they know.” – Anonymous
The ex-CEO of Raytheon, Dan Burnham, brought up a very important pointthat could serve us all well, both in relationships and business. Through a colorful story, he encouraged the eleven of us present to REMIND our people with vigor. "When you hear them finishing your sentences, you can be confident the ship is beginning to turn the right direction."
If anyone should know this well, he should. In taking over the helm at Raytheon, he suddenly became responsible for 100,000 employees’ working lives. There was only one way to get all on the same page. It was to remind them why and where they were headed every chance he could get.
The same goes for us, whether we are managing an assistant or a region, coaching a sports team, mothering a child, or living out an intimate relationship. We must remind.
As a manager, we must remind our employee(s) what our goals are, what our main priorities are, and what we stand for. We need them believing in our vision. We need them unconsciously and consciously living out our companies dreams. But we can’t expect them to put our mission to memory after one mention in a conference call. We can’t expect them to start walking the talk after one quarterly review. It is painful and monotonous in our own minds to keep reminding grown-ups of certain ideas most important to us, but it is entirely necessary.
We will know we have reached success with these apparent and subtle reminders when our employees and/or co-workers begin copying our ideas and words, often verbatim, then, shockingly, begin acting them out.
In the working environment, reminders also serve well the employees. I frequently hear from friends and co-workers about a desired outcome or action they have for their boss. But when asking them if they brought the need up to their boss, most often they say no or they mentioned it months ago. First, your boss is not telepathic. Second, your boss is busy. They are working hard to take care of more people than just you. Be graceful in your approaches. Remind them again and again. It may cause you stress in doing so. Moreover, it may cause them stress each time you broach the subject, as it is a reminder to them of something they’ve yet to complete, however this isn’t a reason to shy away from the mention. An hourly/salary raise or a better working environment is worth it! You can’t leave your boss guessing of what is important to you. You have to continue reminding them.
As a coach, we must consistently remind our players of the strength in playing as a team and supporting their teammates, but also to take responsibility for oneself and one’s own development as a player. We must remind them every chance we get what we expect of them, why they are working so hard at practice and what our year-end goals are. Do you have a coach that you always admired, for whom you played your best? Didn’t you always know where you stood, where your team stood? And whenever you got in trouble, you knew why, because you had acted out of line with the coach’s vision, which had also become the team’s vision?
You can see this play out during March Madness. The Final Four teams have undoubtedly heard the same phrases over hundreds of times over the course of the season. Do you think the coaches will stop for the final two games? The players don’t always want to hear it, but they are better for it. Reminders during the game are extremely important even though the players have heard the same comments since they were five years old. Emotions cause us at times to forget the basics. “Crash the boards.” “We need more ball movement.” “Give me five more hard minutes.” “You got to believe in yourselves.” Pre-Game, Half-Time and Post-Game are all great times to remind players of the bigger picture, what they are playing for, who they are playing with, and why it all matters.
Were reminders not necessary, then wouldn’t it make sense for the coach to call one meeting at the beginning of the year, go through all the important ideas, then sit quiet for the remainder of the season, watching his team win a championship?
Why do we expect our business and personal lives to be any different? We all need reminders, no matter how good and focused we are. The same goes for an entity, a team, and a family.
As a family member, whether in the role of a son/daughter or in the heroic role of a parent, you know how important consistent or harmful lack of communication is. You have experienced steady reminders whether in hearing them or saying them. A successful mother or father has their way of gracefully reminding their child of the good and bad. It is exhaustive for a mother to continue reminding her child that the empty glass of milk is to be cleaned and placed in its proper place, but she knows it is necessary. She also knows it to be necessary to remind the child he/she is in a safe place, a place of love, a place of support.
When was the last time you went through your short-term and long-term goals as a family? What are the fundamentals that strengthen your family? Perhaps your next Sunday dinner will serve you well. It may be awkward at first. However, as the weeks tick by, you just might find great relief in knowing all are on the same page and great happiness in seeing your family culture take flight.
As one in an intimate relationship, your role is to look after each other. You have agreed to join in union with the belief you are both better for it. Like all other entities discussed, you must revisit your short-term and long-term goals to remind each other the land about which your traveling. Creativity, confidence and happiness flourish when the players know the rules and goals. With this in mind, should your significant other not be fulfilling your needs, making you a better person, it is more than likely your fault not theirs. More than likely, you haven’t done a good job of communicating to them your preferences and why this is so important for both you and the relationship. Don’t settle for “he/she should know by now.” Evidently, they don’t or they need a reminder like an athlete or a manager, or a mother or a child. Get over it. Quit tip-toeing around the topic. Remind them, in nice ways, how to make you feel special, how to make you a better person. I promise this won’t take away any of the special feelings when he brings you home roses or she supports you going for a much needed run.
Get on with it. Get over your fear of sounding annoying or repetitive. These things are important to you. Begin retelling in both direct and creative ways. Jog memories. Repeat. Recap. Remind.
