Invest in YourselfInvest in YourselfUsing business tools and spiritual concepts to

continuously improve personally and professionally

My Premise

• Our country seems unhealthy right now! • The government can’t provide the long

term solutions• We provide the solutions to the root

causes– We must become better people and

professionals– Our standards for living must be adjusted

back to the foundations of our country

Objectives of Session

• Give you a positive message which sometimes gets lost in the hustle and bustle of work.

• Learn two tools for personal and professional development

• Complete a current state model of your life process and a future state model for continuous improvement

• Share what I am spiritual about and what I am learning on my road to continuous improvement

We are Spiritual Beings• Believing

– Have you ever believed in a concept, idea, or philosophy so strongly that it seemed spiritual to you?

• This spirituality evokes passion in your voice and conviction in your heart.

• Doing– What are you “wired” to do? The book, First, Break all the Rules

talks about employee engagement and managing people effectively to tap into what they are wired to do. (see next slide)

– Are you doing in accordance with your spirituality and what you are wired to do? Are you convicted about certain ideas or concepts but your actions speak differently?

• Example: Does your job allow you to exercise your God given abilities every day?

– The things you are passionate about– Do you apply them and share them with others?

Gallup Organization’s 12 Questions for Measuring Employee Engagement

Question Score on a Scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree)

I know what is expected of me at work.

I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right

At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day

In the last seven days, I have received recognition or praise for doing good work

My supervisor, or someone at work, seems to care about me as a person.

There is someone at work who encourages my development.

At work, my opinions seem to count

The mission or purpose of my company makes me feel my job is important.

My associates or fellow employees are committed to doing quality work.

I have a best friend at work

In the last six months, someone at work has talked to me about my progress.

This last year, I have had opportunities at work to learn and grow.

We Must Continuously Improve and Help Others Continuously Improve

• Others– Look beyond (and within) the walls of your workplace to apply

your spirit and God given skills• Church, community, schools, organizations, etc.

• You– Work should not define who we are

• Do you have a job or a career?– Read New York Times obituaries– I worked as an engineer but my career is a statistician

– Love your neighbor as you love yourself• Start a genesis for your life

• Invest in yourself using the TPDCA cycle of improvement

Step One of Continuous Improvement: T(Thoughts)PDCA

• “Fix” Your Thoughts:– Before the cycle can be used to improve your life

process, you must “fix” your thought process (T)– Get yourself in the right frame of mind

• “Keep your face always toward the sunshine - and shadows will fall behind you.”-Walt Whitman

• Define the scope of the “fix”?– Search on the web for “thoughts” and you find sights

stating the average human has twelve thousand thoughts per day

What’s in Our Mind?Type Thought 25% Positive

Thought Rate50% PositiveThought Rate

75% PositiveThought Rate

99% PositiveThought Rate

Positive 3000 thoughts per day

6000 thoughts per day 9000 thoughts per day

11,800 thoughts per day

Negative 9000 thoughts per day

6000 thoughts per day 3000 thoughts per day

120 thoughts per day

These six thousand to nine thousand negative thoughts are ball and chain to our attitude dragging us into a bitter, inescapable quagmire.

They close our minds and hearts to wonderful opportunities in life.

Thoughts (Cause) and Feelings (Effect)

Strong correlation(r=1.0)

There is no relationship between positive thoughts

and bad feelings(r=0)

There is no relationship between negative thoughts

and good feelings(r=0)

Strong correlation(r=1.0)

Bad Feelings (Effect)Good Feelings (Effect)

Positive Thoughts

(Cause)

Negative Thoughts

(Cause)

The red zone is where we don’t want to be but sometimes find ourselves stuck inside.

The negative thoughts keep us from seeing a way out to the green zone

Leaders and Thinking• Negative leaders manage negative departments:

– “Micromanager”• Don’t trust employees• Their number one priority is not their employees• They focus mostly on employee’s weaknesses and can’t see

what they do well• Positive leaders manage positive departments:

– “Motivator”• Empower employees to do their jobs• Put a vision in front of employees and lead them towards

vision• Focus on employee strengths and effectively develop

employee weaknesses. Put employees in positions to maximize their strengths.

A Diagram of Our Thought ProcessSupplier Inputs Process Outputs Customers

Work/Home/ChurchTV/Newspaper/Rumors

Family/Hometown/CareerYou

PeopleNews

ExperiencesAttitudes

SenseAssimilateGenerate

Thoughts FamilyCommunity

FriendsCongregation

Feelings

If we have, on average, twelve thousand thoughts per day and we stay awake, on average, seventeen hours each day, we have, on average, eleven thoughts per minute. If we are being fed by bad inputs, we waste approximately eleven thoughts each minute.

Think about the lost opportunities in the squandered thoughts:Great ideas for a businessAnother way to reach out to a friend in need, A different way to deal with a “difficult” employee.

Met

ric

Changing Your Thought Process• It is possible to change your thought process from mostly

negative to mostly positive!– Overview

• If you accept negative inputs, you are altering (or causing) your thought process to produce negative thoughts and thus, negative feelings

– How to:• To change your thought process from negative to positive, start with

your inputs– Look at the suppliers of your inputs:

» Eliminate a supplier» Change a supplier» Improve a supplier

• Practice thinking positively: In the book, The Secret, one person talked of carrying a rock which when touched reminded him to check his thoughts

Validating Your Thoughts• Do we Believe Ourselves?

– Often, we don’t trust what we think. Some of us need objective evidence to validate our thoughts

• Get Objective Evidence:– Take a personality test. There are multiple tests online that are free.

Most tests will give you a four digit personality profile. For example, the first digit is typically an I (introvert) or E (extrovert)

– Take several different tests over time to see if your profile repeats. If it does, you have your objective evidence

– Many sites match each possible profile with careers best suited for the profile.

• Here are several sites offering free tests:– http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes1.htm– http://www.funeducation.com/personalitytest/intro.asp?source=google– http://www.similarminds.com/– http://www.kisa.ca/personality/

Step Two of Continuous Improvement: TP(Plan)DCA

• Create a vision• Be process oriented more than results

oriented• Organize your thoughts• Ask for something• Believe you will receive it

A Vision• Positive thinking gives you energy to create a Plan

– I had a vision for holding a seminar. The more I thought of it, the more excited I became. I booked a room and a date and started planning. This presentation was used in the seminar and I also have the beginnings of a book. All possible because of the energy created by my vision.

• A plan starts with a vision: – “A mental image produced by the imagination”– See yourself accomplishing something: A promotion, More money, A graduate

degree, Better health• Leaders and Vision

– Maybe this sounds familiar to you. A new plan or vision comes from the top. At some point, the communication breaks and the commitment starts to dilute.

• When the rubber hits the road, not all stay with the plan. – Leaders must believe in the vision and unequivocally know it is the right thing to

do. If they do, they will have a steely look in their eyes, passion in their voice, and conviction in their heart as they communicate the vision to their employees.

Be Process Oriented versus Results Oriented

• If you only focus on result:– You have a vision. There is incredible excitement. One week later, you fall into a rut and

give up on the vision. Why? You were results oriented instead of process oriented– If you only focus on a result, this will be your only method of measurement. You either meet

the result or don’t meet the result• If you focus on process:

– Good processes yield good results, bad processes yield bad results– If you focus on the process, you will notice small successes that incrementally move you

toward a good result:• Multiple emails during the day from potential clients• A great lunch with a client or friend• Several phone calls from clients asking for advice or help• An employee solving a problem or getting recognition

• Example: Curtis Martin recently retired from professional football. In announcing his retirement, he said that football was never his vision. Team ownership was his vision and football was part of the process to realize the vision. He was asked why he never showboated or engaged in self promotion. He quickly and firmly answered that such behavior would not have been in accordance with his vision. He respected the process needed to reach the vision.

Organize Your Thoughts: Current State Diagram of Your Life

• Overview– The diagram depicts the current state of your life process. – This act of documenting should help you collect your thoughts.

• Step One of Completing the Diagram: Life Process– Overview

• These are the priorities in our lives. We spend most of our time and devote our energy to these areas

– What to Do:• Starting with life process (P), list in order of your priority: Work,

Family, Play (self), and God. – The priority should reflect where each stands in your life. Where are

you spending your time and thoughts? Your day rises and falls with what occurs in these arenas.

The Output of Your Life Process• Step Two of Completing the Diagram: The

Output of Your Life Process– Overview

• The output of this life process is your feelings.– What to Do:

• Give yourself one minute to write down (in the output column):

– The negative feelings you have and the same amount of time to write down your positive feelings.

» These are your emotions during the course of a day. You know what they are. Think about this week and things you encountered at work and away from work.

– When you are done, add up the total amount of feelings and calculate a percent positive and a percent negative. Write the percentages in the third row under output.

Record Your FeelingsNegative Feelings Positive Feelings

Total:

Percent of Total:

Total:

Percent of Total:

The Customers of Your Life Process• Step Three of Completing the Diagram: The Customers of Your Life

Process– Overview

• Your customers are the recipients of your feelings. – What to Do:

• In general terms, use the 3F3C format: – First (you): Signifies yourself as a customer. To be good to others, we

must be good to ourselves– Friends: Friends are the people you enjoy being with – Family: Family is your immediate family and extended family– Colleagues: Colleagues are the people you work with. You spend a

significant amount of time with them so it is important to treat them as customers

– Clients: Clients are the workplace; the recipients of your skill and work tasks. They can be internal to your company or external to the company

– Congregation: Congregation is your church. • Write the categories in descending order according to the current priority in

your life. (highest priority first)

Inputs and Suppliers

• Step Four of Completing the Diagram: The inputs to your life process and the suppliers of the inputs– Overview:

• There are two main inputs to your life process:– Physical condition – Thought process.

» The concept is sound mind and sound body.

– What to Do:• In the Supplier column, list the suppliers of your physical

condition and the suppliers of your thought process

Draw Conclusions

• Analyze the Data:– Study your life process, output, and

customers. What does this self reflection mean to you? Hopefully, this allowed you to organize your thoughts.

• What to Do:– Go to the third row and summarize each

section of the diagram

Example of Current State DiagramSupplier Inputs Life Process Output Customer

AlcoholExercise

Family HistoryDiet

NewspaperTalk Radio

Other parentsColleagues

BossesTelevision

Family MembersBills to pay

FriendsMy past

Physical Condition

Thought Process

WorkFamily

Play(Self)Church

Positive: Pride, Comfort, Accomplishment, Energetic, Enthusiasm, Euphoria, Eagerness, Inspiration, Joy

Negative: Envy,

Cynicism, Anger, Despair, Fatigue, Hopelessness, Boredom, Lack of Direction, Pain, Apathy

FamilyFirst (me)ClientsFriendsColleaguesCongregation

I don’t drink a lot but when I do, I feel sluggish. I try to walk every day but don’t always get to do it. I can lose about fifteen pounds. I try not to eat fried foods but occasionally do. Paying bills depresses me and puts me in an ill mood. I let the actions of other parents throw my thought process off. I can be judgmental of colleagues and others

I can be in better physical condition. I have occasional back pain.

My thought process is one of accepting where I was in life. No real goals or strong vision.

Priorities are not in the right order Nineteen Feelings53% negative47% positive

I don’t serve my customers well enough. I need to do a better job of taking care of myself so I can better serve others

Create a Future State Diagram• Overview:

– Now that you have documented where you are, document where you want to be by creating a future state diagram

• Step One of Completing the Diagram: Reorder Priorities of Life Process– Overview:

• Do you have your priorities in the right order? A reordering of priorities is your first step towards change

– What to Do:• Critique the order of the Life Process column of your current state

diagram• Does the list reflect the correct priority order? If not, put them in

descending order (on the future state diagram) from most important to least important.

– Often, my high school football coach told us to keep priorities in order. His order was God, Football, Family, School, and all Else.

Inputs and Suppliers

• Step Two of Completing the Diagram: Change or Improve Inputs and/or Suppliers– Overview

• Focus now on the suppliers of your inputs. To improve or change your physical condition and thought process, you must improve or change suppliers.

– What to Do:• In the supplier column, write the suppliers that you will allow

for your life process. The list may contain current suppliers and/or new suppliers.

• In the third row, write comments on each supplier

Output• Step Three of Completing the Diagram: What

do you want the output of your life process to be?– Overview:

• What you put on paper does not have to be correct. There is no right or wrong. The significance is you are putting you innermost thoughts to paper.

– What to Do:• In the output column, write down what you want the output to

be. What do you want in life? In the form of a question starting with “I ask for/that,etc.”, write down what you are asking for in the output column. This is your vision.

• Write the question on the form in the appendix, fold it, laminate it, etc. and post it to constantly remind you of your vision.

Customers

• Step Four of Completing the Diagram: Prioritize Your Customers– Overview:

• How is your customer service?

– What to do:• Critique your prioritized list of customers on the current state

diagram• If the order is not correct, prioritize the list in descending

order from the most important customer to the least important customer. They all are important but this helps you maintain priorities.

• In the third row, write comments on the customers.

Example of Future State DiagramSuppliers Inputs Life Process Output Customers

AlcoholExerciseDietFamily HistoryBiblePrayerOther “Doers”

Physical ConditionThought Process

GodFamilyWorkPlay (Self)

God, I ask that my company succeed in terms of:

Giving back to you Supporting my family Helping people and

businesses Developing me as a person

Congregation First (Me)

FamilyFriends

Colleagues/Clients

I eliminated work related suppliers because I felt the corporate work environment was not best for me and was not in line with my long term goals. I will start reading the Bible with the book of Genesis. I will try to read daily for at least twenty minutes.

I will stop drinking. I will walk at least three

times each week for at least thirty minutes. I will pray when I walk.

I will quit eating fried foods. I will get my family to church every Sunday. I will go to lunch at least three times per month with a friend or client.

I need to call family members more during the month.

I will join at least one civic group to meet other doers.

I will get more involved at church by joining a weekly men’s bible study group, attending a weekly men’s lunch at the church, and attending a weekly men’s study group. I will order my prayer life according to this list.

Step Two of Continuous Improvement: TPD(Do)CA

• Faith without works is dead• Ask/Believe/Receive• Be in a spirit of doing

Planners and Doers of the World

Stuck in a rut and may not know it

May not be doing the right things

Stay at a macro level

Movers of the world, leaders

Great DoersPoor Doers

Poor Planners

Great Planners

Start Doing• Overview:

– You planned and asked for something. You have it written down as a reminder.

– Now, sit back and wait for it to happen, right? No, you must move into the second phase-Doing.

• Faith Without Works is Dead!:– You must act as if you already have what you asked for. Start

Doing in accordance with what you asked for– My grandfather always told me “Hard work and perseverance”

• Consequences of Not Doing:– What I learned from working in corporate America.

• Movers up the ladder: I and others were often critical of people that moved ahead of us on the corporate ladder. We called them silly names like brownnoser. But looking back, I realize that they were doers. They expected to be promoted and acted accordingly. The thought of not being promoted never entered their thought process.

Role Models for Doing• Truett Cathy: Creator of Chick-Fil-A Restaurants

– Hard work and perseverance, doing according to principles• Abraham:

– Consistent faith and consistent doing. • Joseph:

– Strong faith and strong doing. • If you think you have it bad, consider what happened to Joseph before his

thirtieth birthday:– His brothers threw him in a pit and left him for dead– His brothers sold him into slavery– He was falsely accused of sleeping with his slave master’s wife. This

landed him in prison for two years.» But in the midst of mass negativity, Joseph never felt sorry for

himself, never stopped trusting God, and kept doing good deeds for others. He did not know when things would get better but knew they would and the way he carried himself influenced others.

• Moses: – Tested faith and humble doing

In the Spirit of Doing…

• Overview:– By doing and thinking positively, you open

your eyes and ears to opportunities: • Three personal stories:

– Graduate school– The story of my father– The story of my business

Step Three of Continuous Improvement: TPDC(Check)A

• Making Choices and Decisions• Having Standards • Keeping a balance point

Overview• The Voices in Your Head:

– While continuing to Do, you may struggle with your thoughts and voices may say you can’t. This is normal and you should take comfort in the fact you are not the first person to experience this and you will not be the last.

• If We Are not Careful, the 5Ds will Take Over Our Thoughts:– You start doing with vigor and enthusiasm. When the results don’t

immediately come, you may encounter at least one of the 5D’s of negative thinking:

• Doubt: You question what you are doing• Discouragement: Focus on what is not • Diversion: Makes wrong things seem more attractive• Defeat: Makes you feel like a failure• Delay: Makes you put off something so it won’t get done

• The Critical Moments:– There will be points where you must make ethical and/or moral

decisions.

Making Decisions or Choices

• Good Quality Decisions or Choices:– As we continue to Do, it is important to make correct

decisions and choices. We should not hastily decide nor deliberate too long. But we must respect this point of the cycle and approach it rationally:

• WWJD

• Poor Quality Decisions or Choices:– Michael Vick– Cain/Able– Adam and Eve

Good Quality Decisions or Choices: Manage Variation

• Be Prepared:– When these decision points arrive, we must

be prepared to think correctly and rationally respond to the situation at hand

• How to Prepare:– A good understanding of variation helps

create this perspective:• There are two types of variation:

– Common Cause – Special Cause

Food and Drug Administration’s Inspection of Chinese Imports

MarFebJanDecNovOctSepAugJulJun

250

200

150

100

50

0

Months of 2006 to March 2007

Numb

er of

Shipm

ents

Ref

used

in M

onth

_X=147.3

UCL=235.1

LCL=59.5

Food and Drug Administration Monthly Refusals of Chinese Imports

This shows the number of Chinese imports rejected each month by the FDA. Though no rejection is good, this picture exhibits a steady process which appears to be in control. It seems that the monthly number of rejected imports averages 147 and could be as high as 235 and as low as 59. Performance between these extremes would be considered normal and resulting from common cause variation.

Trend of a Person’s Body Temperature

2512262011761511261017651261

102

101

100

99

98

97

_X=98.613

UCL=99.625

LCL=97.600

1

1

This shows the ebb and flow of a person’s body temperature. Over time, the average temperature is 98.6 and the normal range is from 97.6 to 99.6. At the end, something happened (ex. Virus) to cause a spike in temperature. This event was not part of the normal behavior and is due to a special cause.

Teenage BehaviorBehavior Governed by

Common Cause Variation: Friends, Social Environment,

Hormones, etc.

Behavior Governed by Special Cause: Drinking,

Drugs, Breakup, Bad grade

As a parent, your first thought is often to punish especially when they do “bonehead” stuff. But if their action was driven by common cause variation they really were acting normal for a teenager. A good dose of advice is the right medicine.

Sometimes they do things that are not normal. Their action was driven by a special cause. They made a conscious decision and the effect was negative. In these times, punishment is certainly justified.

Standards for Life• Why are standards important?

– Checking a business process involves frequently comparing actual practice to a standard which is typically a work instruction detailing what must be done convert inputs to outputs.

• If the practice deviates from the standard, corrective actions should be taken.

• We must have standards for living:– The Books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers– Truett Cathy: Never opens on Sundays– Curtis Martin: Never showboated

• The consequences of missing standards:– Without the standards, we will flail through life with no purpose

or direction and will never be able to check ourselves

The Spirituality of the Bell Curve

The bell curve is a graphical representation of a characteristic which has been measured in a large quantity. The behavior of the characteristic ranges from the left to the right.

The bell curve is symmetrical about a point in the middle. This “balance point” is the center of gravity for the data.

We Need a Balance Point

• The First Commandment:– The first of the ten commandments is “You shall have

no other gods before Me”. The others are anything that rule our lives: money, selfishness, work. If we break this commandment, we lack a balance point.

• Without Balance:– We let a source pull us too far right or left and soon,

our priorities are not in the correct order. – These drifts can be disastrous or hazardous to health.

They may affect or destroy families.

Step Four of Continuous Improvement: TPDCA(Act)

• Overview:– To this point, you have 5s’d your life-you see

opportunities and are more receptive to change• Sort: You eliminated negative thinking• Straighten: You asked for something• Sweep: You cleaned up the trash in your life by reaching a

balance point and holding on to standards

• Now the task is to:– Standardize and Sustain (ACT)

What Actions are Needed?• Learning to see:

– In lean manufacturing, 5s is a technique for organizing the workplace. Over time, workplaces take on personalities. Desks become cluttered and items are stored wherever space is found. Disorganization is not obvious because it is part of the scenery. After a good 5s exercise, people see the workplace in a completely different manner. They find items thought to be lost. They throw away hundreds of pounds of junk. They start to take pride in the way things look and vow to keep it that way.

– If you have lived the majority of your life, Not doing, With no balance point, With no standards

• To take on all three gives you a completely, refreshing perspective.

• At a minimum:– If you stay balanced, keep doing, and check yourself to your

standards, the actions will fall upon your heart.

How Do We Know What Actions to Take?

• Be Quiet and Listen• Read and Learn• Be thankful and grateful

Be Quiet and Listen

• How: – We all need time and a place for being quiet.– I find my mind is clearest when I walk which I

try to do at least three times each week. When I walk, I talk to God. The topics of conversation are ordered according to my customers as they appear on the future state diagram.

– If I consistently do this, I find that ideas come more freely and I am more aware of “things”

Read and Learn• How:

– One of the easiest ways to decide on actions is to read positive material- Words that inspire and offer new ideas and concepts.

– If preparing for a big exam, you would establish a routine for studying. You can wait until the end to cram, but adults know this is not the correct approach for learning. Think of the times you studied late into the night for a subject of no interest to you.

– Not many will argue that the Bible is a “How to” manual for life. Surely we can devote a portion of our day to reading and studying the book to understand what it means for us.

Be Thankful and Grateful

Appendix

Form for Current State DiagramSupplier Inputs Life Process Output Customer

Form for Future State DiagramSuppliers Inputs Process Outputs Customers

Write Down What You Asked for, Fold it, and Put it in a Visible Place