7 WAYS TO TURN A PROJECT INTO AN ADVENTURE

Any loser can boss people around

Anybody can read assignments off of a sheet, tell people what to do and act like they are leading…but that doesn’t make you a leader. You may get by with that in a corporation, with the government or military where people are locked in on a salary and have to put up with that nonsense.

 

But you aren’t going to get their best efforts.
There’s no chance of that project being a huge success. It may get done, but there will be nothing special about it because everyone will just be shuffling through the motions. They will be doing the absolute minimum they can get away with so they can just get it over with.

 

It takes a real leader to get the best out of people
They treat people the way they want to be treated. Someone has to be in charge but they don’t have to be a bully about getting things done. No one wants to be taken for granted. No one wants to feel belittled. People expect to work but they also expect to be respected as well.

 

Wonder how to get your team excited about the next project? Turn it into an adventure.

The more projects you can turn into adventures, the more productive and energized your team will be. The idea it get the work done with as many smiles as possible. When you treat assignments like work it seems tedious, but you can take the same project and present it as something big, something important, something that will make a big difference, and something that needs their best efforts.

 

Do a word association with most people on the word work and see what comes up.

You’ll hear things like chore, boring, annoying, obligation. As long as your team sees a project in this way, you are fighting an uphill battle. People will be fighting you every step of the way.

 

How to turn your project into an adventure

It takes a little effort to figure that out—but it’s worth it—and the more you do it the better you’ll get.

1. Start by looking for a fun factor, a change of pace. Doing things differently than you have in the past will automatically freshen things up and get people thinking differently.
2. Focus on the impact this project will make once it’s completed and why it is important
3. Keep the attention on the goal you’re working towards rather than the work it will take to get there.
4. Recognize each step of progress as you move forward, with the emphasis on seeing how quick it can get done.
5. As much as possible, let individuals have areas that they are totally responsible for and if possible let them chose which ones of those they want to work on.
6. Create a series of milestones and final deadline,  then have a team reward if they reach it…something that gives them a reason to push and something they can enjoy celebrating together.
7. If you can find a way to create some legitimate internal competition, the fun factor will take another big step forward. When projects become games they take on an adventurous feel and everyone has a lot more fun working on it.

It takes real Leadership to get people excited about a project and achieve something special!

WHAT GIVES MARCH MADNESS IT’S BUZZ?

What drives the excitement?

College basketball fans are enjoying their favorite time of the year! It’s like the Superbowl, World Series and all the other annual big events, why don’t they get old? Why don’t people get bored? As Dallas Cowboys running back Duane Thomas said at the 1972 Super Bowl “If this is the biggest game in the world, why are they going to play another one next year?” Usually when you keep doing things over and over they get boring. They lose their zing and excitement. 

But they always sizzle…why is that?
It’s because they are never the same. You have new locations, new teams, new players, new story lines and different rivalries in play. Every one is a once in a lifetime event. Also the BIGGEST events bring out the best in everyone. Every player, coach, announcer, band, etc are all going to be on their toes because the world is watching. Add to that the networks and advertisers who have millions invested, they are going to make sure it’s a special event!

If you want a crowd, start a fire and they’ll come running
With all this excitement, everyone wants to come! Anyone who can come will come, nobody wants to be left out. It looks great on TV but there’s no way to duplicate the excitement of being there! Just walking around you rub shoulders with Hall of Famers, current and past stars, movie stars and celebrities from every walk of life. 

There’s a lesson for us here.
If you have a cookout and no one seems that excited about coming over …maybe the cookouts have gone stale. It might be time to try something new and put some new fun into them. If every year you do the same thing at the holidays, and fewer and fewer are showing up…there’s a reason. 

There’s other places they would rather be.
If your birthday parties are the same year after year, why not get some new ideas? Invite some new friends. Think of some new locations. Mix things up. If you are out of ideas, get on the internet and google some new ones up. Even if you are just cooking your favorite soup, occasionally you put in some new spices to freshen up the taste.

You know how to tell if your event is going to be a hit?
If you are excited about it! You already know what’s going to happen. If you have some plans and ideas that you are trying and you are really looking forward to it…then everyone is going to enjoy it too. If you aren’t that thrilled and are thinking more about just trying to get it over with, then it’s destined to be a disappointment. What should you do to save it? Whatever you can think up that will make you look forward to doing it, because if you have a great time so will everyone else.

How about your relationships?
Have things gone stale? Gee, I wonder why? Things only stay fresh and fun if you put things in place to keep them that way. It’s easy to get preoccupied and have weeks, months even years go by and never take any time out to do anything special with the ones you love. There is never time for special occasions, you have to make the time. You have to make it a priority!

How about your business?
Are people flooding in? Do you have a buzz? If not, guess what you’ve got to do? Find some excitement! Run a special, have a contest for your team, set some goals, give them something to shoot for, something they can win. Run some customer appreciation promotions. There are thousands of ideas and you better go get some asap because a dull business becomes a dead business fast. It’s a cluttered market out there and you need to stand out. 

Take charge, start some fires
Just like March Madness, if you have fresh, new exciting things going on people will want to gather around! If you have so much going on that you are excited, having fun and enjoying yourself you can be sure others are going to want to come and join the fun too!

Excitement isn’t an accident. The things that work in the big events can work to bring excitement into your life and business as well!

Are YOU Inspiring Anyone?

The 94 Year Old Skier

I was just talking to Charles McCartney of McCartney Property Managment in Aspen, Colorado and he mentioned that he had a story he wanted to tell me. It seems in one of the units his company manages there is a 94 year old man.  Charles wanted to tell me that he’d gone up skiing this past Saturday with this 94 year old man and said they stayed up for several hours and did many runs—much to Charles' amazement.

Today he had a real sparkle in his eyes

I’ve known Charles along time, but today he had a real sparkle in his eyes as he told the story. He told me several other things about the event and how energizing it was to hear about this guy’s life and he said the best history is when you hear it from somebody who was there.

After he finished as he was walking away turn with smile said,

“You know, I’m going to get back in the gym and start really working out. That guy has me fired up!"

The bottom line is, when you do extraordinary things in life there is a ripple effect. There’s nothing more than pages than the excitement and energy from people who do special things. It’s part of what makes the world go around and provokes people to greatness in their own lives.

It’s one thing to do great things in your life but it’s really rewarding to know that it’s likely to provoke others to do the same or greater things themselves.

Start with a bang!

One of the secrets of success in all walks of life is to …Start with a Bang! From a roller coaster ride at the amusement park to a Broadway show, they all start with a Bang!

Why is this so important?

It sends a definite signal that THEY MEAN BUSINESS! It sends a clear signal that this is going to be exciting and you’re going to be glad you came. They want to instantly engage all your senses and rock you out of your normal comfort zone to maximize your attention and enjoyment.

Business Leaders could learn a lot from this technique.

In business, you are always starting over. Every week, every month, every season, every year—you start over all over again.

If you can come up with ways to grab your team's attention and start each phase off with fresh excitement, you're on your way to maximizing team activity and having lots of great things happen as a result.

In fact keeping your team energized and active is the biggest key to keeping your business growing.

Activity produces energy, excitement, knowledge, experience and results!

Leaders, if you are looking for a head start on your competition, find ways to put extra activity into your weeks and months by…Starting with a Bang!

Start with a BLITZ of Activity!

  ...Because Activity produces! 

       Activity produces Energy!

          Activity produces Knowledge!

             Activity produces Experience!

Because...Focused, High-Energy Activity Produces WINNING!