Tag Archives: art

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How to Stay Focused on Your Goals and a Special Offer

Focus

Setting goals has always been a part of my life.  It is something my parents taught me, scouting taught me, school taught me, and sports taught me, and— it works! I have been setting goals my entire life and I finally developed a system that serves me well.  

In this post I will share the method I have developed that keeps me on-track with my goals. It’s easy and it really works. I know it well help you as your prepare to set goals for the upcoming New Year, but first I want to tell you about a special opportunity that someone I really admiring is offering: It is a program called: Five Days to Your Best Year Ever! The creator of this powerful tool is Michael Hyatt, a man I have been gleaning advice from for several years. I highly recommend you check out his video listen to Michael share with you how you can create the most successful year of your life, regardless of your age or current situation.  It is really worth the investment of your time: 

Here’s the link to Michael Hyatt’s video for: Five Days to Your Best Year Ever!

Now, here’s how I stay focused on my goals: 

My recent natural gas bill arrived. While bills are my least favorite piece of correspondence each month, I have to admit the helpfulness of the statement. It included a nice graph of my usage over the last year.  It let me know how much I have paid and what I owe. Interestingly enough, it even predicted my usage for the following month. Each statement serves as a reminder and holds us to a certain level of accountability of what we owe. It lets us know where we are.

Wouldn’t it be great if we received a similar billing statement each month for our goals?

Seriously! Most people never know where they are with the goals they wish to accomplish. It would be awesome to receive a statement each month telling us how much time we’ve put into our dream, what we owe, where we are at, and what we need to finally finish it.

Well, we can. My billing statement each month is in my journal. I choose the 28th of each month as the due date for my dream statements because I was born on the 28th of July and that’s easiest day for me to remember.  It’s like a private monthly celebration of my life and what I plan to do with it.

You can do the same.

You see, if we don’t review our life goals regularly we get behind, just like we would with a real bill. Unlike the natural gas company, we won’t receive any late notices, but what we owe starts piling up. (Most of the time to a level that makes it appear impossible to accomplish. That’s why people quit.)  Can you imagine how hard it would be if you tried to pay two months at a time, or your entire bill all at once? Ouch! The same is true of our goals and dreams.

Just like our billing statements from our utilities we need to make monthly contributions and track our progress.

So, bust out that journal daily or weekly if you can, but especially on the date of your birth each month. Create a reminder or alert on your phone or calendar if needed.

Write down the big three questions that will drive you toward success:

  1. What do I need to continue doing?
  2. What do I need to start doing?
  3. What do I need to stop doing?

Kelly Croy is a professional speaker and speed artist. 

He has entertained and amazed audiences across the nation

with his art and words.  

 Please consider booking Kelly for your next event.

www.KellyCroy.com

1-800-831-4825

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Book Title and Cover Announcement

HR Along Came A Leader High ResolutionI am pleased to announce the title of my nonfiction book on leadership: Along Came a Leader, as well as the cover design. 

I have been speaking and sharing insights on leadership to organizations of all sizes, for many years. I am proud to have shared my art and words across the nation and help make a difference.

 It has been a dream of mine to organize my concepts, keynotes and articles on leadership into a book. I have been working on this dream for many years. This summer I completed this dream.

The complete title is Along Came a Leader: A Guide to Personal and Professional Leadership.

Along Came a Leader is being converted into a mobile format to first be shared as Kindle eBook then on to the iBookStore and other mobile formats.  In the upcoming weeks I will announce a Kickstarter Campain to help

fund a printed version of the book. I will offer incentives for supporting the campaign such as your name as a patron inside the printed version as well as copies of the printed book, an audio version, signed art prints, and more. My goal is to get printed versions of this important book on leadership in the hands of students and organizations that desperately wish to influence and nuture future leaders.

Everyone will be notified when each version of the book is available. At the moment I am just excited to celebrate this moment of accomplishment and share it with you. It always feels great to finish.

Everyone agrees that leadership is important. Parents tell me this. Business owners tell me this. Coaches, teachers, athletes, managers, college recruiters, teachers, professors… and everyone I have ever met, all agree that leadership not only makes a difference, it IS the difference. All of them, it seems, believes the other will take care of the teaching and training of leadership. Even fewer seem to know where to begin. My book, Along Came a Leader, was written to remedy this problem and help forge new leaders that will indeed make a difference.

HR Along Came A Leader High Resolution

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Declaring Your Independence!

Freedom

We all know Independence Day is July 4th.  Other than our birthday and our mom’s, it’s the most important birthday to know. While celebrating our country’s freedom during the month of July, I challenge you to free yourself from something that is taxing you and holding you back. 

While any day is a great day to make yourself better, July does offer us that halfway point of the year to reflect. It is a great opportunity to declare “halftime” and see what we have accomplished and what we need to get after before the year ends. 

Have you worked hard this year? With six months to go it is indeed halftime. Celebrate your accomplishments, make needed adjustments, and win.  Ask yourself my favorite three questions: What do I need to keep doing? What do I need to stop doing? What do I need to start doing?

Whether you decide to live a healthier lifestyle, be a little more frugal, or work on a dream or bucket list, the fourth can be a day you look forward to for your personal independence. Give yourself this gift. Give your future self this gift. Each year, look back and celebrate the freedoms you have given yourself. 

Freedom from financial worry, a health crisis, stagnation are all possible with action.  In life there is always someplace to go. There is no summit.  Keep moving forward.  Movement is life itself. 

Kelly Croy is a professional speaker and speed artist.

He has entertained and amazed audiences across the nation

with his art and words. 

Please consider booking Kelly for your next event.

www.KellyCroy.com

1-800-831-4825

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Why You Must Build a Leadership Factory

Leadership Factory

The journey toward wisdom is an essential quality of leadership, and a big part of acquiring wisdom is surrounding yourself with quality people each and every day. Some of you may have a choice in who will be part of your team or inner circle, so make your decisions carefully. Others will not have a choice of whom they will work closely with and lead. Regardless, wisdom is gained by not only making good choices, but nurturing everyone you work with into becoming world-class leaders. Grow the realm of your wisdom and invest in cultivating leadership. Create a leadership factory within your organization and produce leaders.

Help others become leaders by giving them leadership roles or responsibilities. Let them know they are leading and give them a framework to work within.   Tell them, “You will be

 leading our organization on this area.  I know you can do it. I want to give you plenty of freedom on this, but I do need a report or update on where you are at at close of each day and we certainly want to have this project completed by this date.” I know so many micromanagers that need to control too much of the organization that they never give anyone the opportunity to lead, to fail, to grow. Then they wonder why they have no leadership. You have to grow leaders and nurture them.

Offer those around you mentors to help them become better leaders, and by all means be an excellent and available role model yourself. Surround them with books, audio recordings, video, and other resources to help them become leaders. Make all of these resources easily available.  Send them to conferences, invite speakers, leave them notes of encouragement and helpful tips to follow. I have spoken at many workshops and provided leadership training and the comments are always the same, “I wish we would have done this sooner.” Leadership is something you have to manufacture. Start your leadership factory today.

Invite those you lead to reflect on leadership by writing an article for the newsletter or blog. Consider asking the promising leader to organize and lead a presentation on something they are all doing well. Ask their opinion about leadership topics and books they are reading on the topic. Engaging in this dialogue will highlight the importance of the qualities you want.

By all means, recognize those who lead. This will encourage everyone. Make leadership important and something that is identified and recognized. When recognition is implemented correctly it can increase retention, decrease absence, raise production, improve quality, change attitudes, and in general create a momentum of success and positive energy.

What ideas do you have about building a leadership factory within your organization? How will you prepare, train, equip, and acknowledge leaders? How will you design and build your leadership factory?

Leave your ideas in the comments below.

Kelly Croy is a professional speaker and artist.

He has entertained and amazed audiences across the nation

with his art and words. 

Please consider booking Kelly for your next event.

www.KellyCroy.com

1-800-831-4825

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We Need You! Creating a Culture of Engagement

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People need to hear the words, “We need you.”

If you want an engaged work force, they need to know they are valued!

Write a note. Make a call. Announce it in your newsletter.

Let your employees, family members, and teammates know you need them, and that they add value on a regular basis. Don’t wait until the yearly evaluation or exit interviews, or when there’s a problem to let them know. Let them know what their purpose is on your team, whether it’s business, sports, or home, regularly.

People Matter.

Everyone in your organization needs to be reminded of how they play a part. Remind them that they are a part of the team and a part of the vision.

Communication as a leader is crucial and one the most important messages you can deliver is reminding each member how they contribute to the overall vision and success.

Never let anyone feel like they aren’t a part of the big picture. Each member should personalize the organization’s vision with a specific emphasis on their role.

Many companies and programs struggle with retention. It’s a costly problem for organizations because they have to retrain and cover the absence.  This is true in sports programs, corporations, and everywhere people work together for a common goal. People leave because they no longer feel they have anything to contribute and that is primarily the fault of the leader. Take the time to review regularly with your team their role, responsibilities, and contributions. This vital step will eliminate most problems before they arise.

Most retention problems don’t occur because of salaries, playing time, bonuses, or awards.  People leave and become disengaged because they no longer feel they matter. They feel unwanted and have no purpose. Everyone wants to have a purpose.

A problem with retention isn’t just a financial concern, it also speaks volumes of your organization and your leadership. It grows and becomes a marketing problem, customer service problem, and more. Why do people keep leaving? Why can’t they keep people? Do I want to part of something where you feel undervalued and unappreciated?  No. No one does.

Good leaders communicate that purpose to each member regularly. They connect the member to the vision, and the vision to the member.  Making the connection doesn’t have to be all praise either. Sometimes the leader can make show the person’s value by correcting how they aren’t contributing to the vision fully. Express the words, “We need you.  You are an important part of our vision. You matter.”

If a member needs redirection well that becomes part of the regular informal evaluation process. You can identify an area for improvement in a positive way.  We have to do what our boss says, yet we want to do what the leader says. Big difference. Leaders are able to make everyone stand an inch taller, work a little harder, and on occasion do what shouldn’t even be possible. I’ve seen it happen, and it’s amazing. Maybe you have too. We remember these leaders, and we remember they didn’t accomplish it through fear. People wanted to give to the bigger vision.

As the leader you need to communicate the sentiment : As the leader, I acknowledge the contribution you make to our overall vision, and it is important.  Or even more simply: What you do matters. You matter.  This needs to be done with every person on the team. From the designer of the product to the person that delivers it.

Once that person feels (not just hears) that sentiment, you can help them grow in ways to make an even stronger contribution to what your organization is all about.

 

Kelly Croy is a professional speaker and artist.

He has entertained and amazed audiences across the nation

with his art and words. 

Please consider booking Kelly for your next event.

www.kellycroy.com

1-800-831-4825

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Whistle While You Work: Leaders Make it fun!

Chop crop

Whistle While You Work

Your level of self-motivation and passion will directly impact and influence those you lead. Yep! That’s your attitude. Attitude is one of the six essential qualities of a leader.

How many times have you said, “I can’t do that!” or worse, “I don’t want to do that!”? There are a lot of unpleasant jobs that need to be done in every area of our life. We have a choice.  We can choose to do them with a negative attitude or a positive attitude.  It really is that simple. Having a good attitude ensures the job will be done well and the time will move quickly.  All will benefit from a good attitude.

I have worked for some leaders that really thought there were certain jobs beneath them to do.  They saw themselves as sitting high on a throne ordering others to do the dirty work. I have had other leaders jump right in with me to help get the job done.  Guess which one I admired more and had more loyalty?  Guess which one I want to follow? It’s not the one yelling at me to do it, it’s the one working with me to get the job done.

We we can either work for bosses or we work we can work with leaders.  We have to do what our boss says, and we want to do what a leader says. Big difference, and it’s all in the attitude.

I remember when I was young I had to do a lot of jobs that just seemed absolutely horrible.  On one such occasion my father brought home a huge load of wood that needed to be sawed and split for our wood-burning stove. The pile of wood looked like a mountain.  There was no way I could do it alone.  My dad explained to me how the job would build character and muscle.  He told me how we could save money heating the house with the wood.  Nothing he said, however, changed my attitude. This job was beneath me, in my mind, and something that I wanted no part of at all.

All of my friends that weekend were watching the big ball game and here I was stuck behind the house on a freezing-cold day cutting and sorting wood.  I had the worst attitude in the world.  My dad had other work to do and I was left alone.

Lucky for me my brother surprised us with a visit home.  He found me in the back yard mumbling about the work I had to do.  I was doing it slowly and poorly.  In just a few seconds my brother had turned the entire chore into a fun game.  He had a wonderful knack for doing that.  He was a true leader.  We put the ball game on the radio and made a contest out of the work. I remember my brother making up this silly song parody on “The Devil Came Down to Georgia” about our job.  In my brother’s version it was our hometown, not Georgia and the contest wasn’t fiddling, it was…splitting wood. I laughed so hard my side hurt. The job was completed in no time at all, I enjoyed it, and I did a good job.  Dad was happy. I learned a valuable lesson that day.

What seemed like an agonizing job ended up being one of the most memorable weekends with my brother.  We traded stories, laughed, and had a good time. I learned a lot about leadership that weekend.  Many hands really does lighten the load, and a good attitude makes the work go by faster.  You really do better work with a great attitude too.

My brother did not have to help me, but by doing so he showed me the importance of the job and how to do it right. My brother still leads that way, and so do I. As the general manager of a prominent hotel, he had over twenty managers to do any job needed, but time after time, I have witnessed my brother leading from the front and doing even the most menial job himself. He always has a great attitude and that sets the tone for everyone that works for him.

My dad was right too.  All winter long when we heated that house I felt proud of cutting all the wood.  My dad usually complained about the bills in the house, but that winter every time a heating bill arrived, he sang my praises to everyone in the family about how my hard work saved the family money. It was one of the first times I really felt like a man in our family.

Doing a job well is only half of the job.  You have to do it with a great attitude.

Kelly Croy is a professional speaker and artist.

He has entertained and amazed audiences across the nation

with his art and words. 

Please consider booking Kelly for your next event.

www.kellycroy.com

1-800-831-4825

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How to Make Recognition Work!

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Recognition is an important part of leadership. It can do wonders for your corporation, school or family. When recognition is implemented correctly it can increase retention, decrease absence, raise production, improve quality, change attitudes, and in general create a momentum of success and positive energy.

It has been wisely stated that a great leader humbly accepts the failures of his organization as his own, and passes any praise and success on as the accomplishments of his colleagues. In addition,  I have always been reminded that a great leader criticizes in private and praises in public. Clearly, recognition is an essential act of leadership. Clearly recognition is important, but so many organizations get it wrong. Many in leadership positions just don’t know how to effectively implement a recognition program, acknowledge someone for their efforts, or how to reward employees.

It’s all about making it personal. 

Leaders have a responsibility to recognize the accomplishments of those within their organization. It is one of the most important duties of a leader. When it is handled well, it really is beautiful and people talk about it for a long time. When it is handled poorly, it is ugly, and people talk about that a long time too. More important is the impact both have on the people that make the magic happen within your organization.

How to Make Recognition Work!

Recognition is powerful. I believe, however, very few organizations get this right. While it is never a bad time to recognize the good works of others, there are some ideas to consider:

  • Let people know exactly what you want. If they know what you want they can work toward the goal. Don’t leave people guessing. Be direct. These are the results we reward.
  • Recognition should be meaningful. Everyone knows when someone deserves the recognition. Don’t reward people because it’s their turn. That’s a step backward. Don’t be afraid to recognize individuals. Sure teams need recognition, but individual recognition is the most powerful form possible.
  • Great recognition is most often inexpensive or free.  Everyone wants to hear praise. Write them a note. Send them a gift card. Tell others the story of why they were recognized.
  • Recognition shouldn’t be predictable. Mix it up. Keep everyone guessing and surprised.
  • Great recognition is memorable. When you tell their story, mention them by name, and make them feel deserving; they’ll remember it. You don’t need to send them to Hawaii. Unless of course, you can.
  • Don’t be afraid to reward the same person more than once, or in a row. Make it personal. You’re not just rewarding people, you’re rewarding the action you want replicated.
  • Encourage others to create their own recognition programs and awards. Let others partake in meaningful recognition. Encourage it. Support it. Participate.

One of my favorite presentations is when I am asked to share my art and words at an award’s banquet or recognition dinner. I love participating in the recognition of others and retelling an amazing story of achievement.  I can see it in the eyes of the recipient when I shake their hand and present them with a piece of customized art. They didn’t even know how awesome they were because they were just doing their best and giving their all. Now someone is telling an amazing story of accomplishment, and it’s about them! You can also tell they will pay forward whatever recognition they received, ten fold. They w will continue with even greater tenacity to innovate and make a difference.  They matter… therefore recognition matters.

Kelly Croy is a professional speaker and artist.

He has entertained and amazed audiences across the nation

with his art and words. 

Please consider booking Kelly for your next event.

www.kellycroy.com

1-800-831-4825


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Book Review: The Encore Effect by Mark Sanborn

Encore Effect 225

I just finished Mark Sanborn’s book The Encore Effect: How to Achieve Remarkable Performance in Anything You Do. I highly recommend it to you, regardless of your occupation, because we should all be striving to improve, and The Encore Effect delivers.

Mark Sanborn is an amazing speaker, and his National Bestseller The Fred Factor is one of my favorite reads. I was excited to read The Encore Effect because I knew it would assist me on my quest to become a great speaker and performer, but like all good books, the lessons I learned applied to every aspect of my life. The Encore Effect improved not only my speaking, but helped be a better father, husband, educator, and artist. I highly recommend it not only for you, but for your entire team.

The Encore Effect highlights five areas for remarkable results: passion, preparation, practice, performance, and polish. In-depth explanations and engaging stories are aligned with
each of the five points to hammer the lesson home in a fun and memorable way . This book really helped me reflect on some areas I really needed to improve on to raise my game and improve my life and career.

At 130 pages it makes a perfect traveling companion, and is loaded with take aways.  I’m adding The Encore Effect to my required reading list for those I mentor and coach, as well as my family. Everyone wants to raise their game, but not everyone knows how. The Encore Effect will offer you the edge you seek. Read and apply.

I encourage you to consider booking Mark Sanborn as a speaker for your next event, sign-up for his newsletter, or follow him on Twitter. He is an incredible guy, with some great advice.

To learn more about The Encore Effect visit Mark’s website: http://www.encoreeffect.com 

 

Always forward,

Kelly

Order Kelly’s books, Along Came a Leader and Unthink Before Bed: A Children’s Book on Mindfulness for your personal library.

Educator, Author, Keynote Speaker
Twitter: @kellycroy
Instagram: @kcroy
Website: kellycroy.com and wirededucator.com
Podcast: The Wired Educator Podcast
and of course: Facebook.

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