Decisions can be perplexing, even excruciating at times.

To make it easier, consider using the “Force Field” Analysis—sometimes know as the Ben Franklin T.

The Force Field Analysis helps make the positives and negatives of making a change much easier to see, compare and understand.

Here’s how it works:

1. Draw a large letter “T” on a flipchart.

At the top of the T, write the problem or issue you’re considering.

At the far right of the T, write a brief description of the ideal situation you’d like to achieve.

Brainstorm the internal and external forces driving you  toward the ideal and list them on the left side of your T.

Next, brainstorm forces that are restraining progress toward the ideal state.

2. Prioritize the driving forces that can be strengthened or identify restraining forces that would enable the most movement toward the ideal state if they were removed.

Achieve consensus through discussion or by using other ranking methods.

Below is an example of the “Force Field Analysis” tool.

Adapted from The Memory Jogger 2—Tools for Continuous Improvement and Effective Planning by Goal QPC 2010

It’s a law that I’m convinced separates the sheep from the goats, the high performers from the rest and, honestly, the haves from the have-nots. And I’m not talking exclusively about money.

Bottom line is—those who obey this law are more successful than those who don’t.

From my observations, (not scientific…I’m not that fancy) they make more money,  have more friends, stronger families and are healthier and happier.

The law of entropy in nature and information theory have long, complicated explanations, but here’s what it means in business and in life:

In the absence of structure and accountability, order descends into chaos.

What you pay attention to gets better and what you ignore gets worse.

What you measure gets done and what you don’t measure get’s ignored.

What you think about most is what you get—and become.

Comprende?

Take your eye off a toddler and he’ll have your priceless collection of knick-knacks and pretty candles scattered all over the house in pieces.

When your teen figures out you’re not keeping tabs on how late she returns home, she arrives a bit later each time…until one day she shows up at daybreak on the back of a Harley driven by someone twice her age.

Ignore what you and you’re family are watching on TV, in theatres and YouTube and viola…someone is addicted to porn.

Expectations have to be clear and someone who  has the authority to deliver reward and consequence has to be watching the yard, or the inmates will soon run the asylum. That’s the law of entropy in life and in business.

How can you manage all this and still have time to enjoy life?

It’s one of those things that fall into the category of exercise and nutrition.

Do it and your energy level increases, you mood improves and your outlook is brighter.

Obeying this law is a habit— like stopping at a stop sign.  You stop, not because you’re afraid of getting a ticket, but because you know a crash is imminent if you continue to ignore the it.

DG

They will share their lessons learned on their journey to excellence and answer your questions about how to apply what they have learned to your organization. Your participation in these sessions can open the door to your own organizational excellence, build customer satisfaction, and improve your bottom line.

Three presenters recently won the National ‘best in class’ award in 2010 and presented at the Quest for Excellence national conference in Washington DC. They are the Studer Group – famous for their healthcare leadership systems, Montgomery Schools – nationally recognized for excellence in K-12 education, and K&N Management famous for best in class restaurant service in Austin Texas. Also presenting is a representative from Magellan Institute recognized for excellence in innovative practice design.

These are all benchmark type presentations that you can use to improve performance and be more competitive in this challenging business environment.  The cost is $125 which includes all conference materials and buffet lunch.   Please mark your calendar for June 9, 2010 and plan to attend.   For updates and more information, enter your name and email on the home page and we’ll forward registration details as soon as they are available.

A web development team (DevTeam) at a large software firm was struggling to deliver its primary product—entertainment related web features—on time.

This led to embarrassing, hat-in-hand conversations with both internal and external customers who were expecting their new features, like pop-up notices of movie listings and concert events for time sensitive marketing campaigns, to be completed when promised.

To solve the problem, the company brought in an outside advisor to help the DevTeam eliminate the fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD) growing in the minds of the teams customers.

To increase the number of features completed per development cycle and better meet release dates, the DMAIC model of problem solving used in six sigma projects to reduce variation, was used.

DMAIC is an acrostic for Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control

See the entire article, published in iSixSigma magazine, here.

But if you don’t trust the leprechauns with your future,  here are a couple suggestions on how you can create all the luck you need for a career you’ll love, plus more green in the bank and more peace of mind:

Look for opportunities to learn.  Eric Hoffer said, “In a time of drastic change, it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned find themselves equipped to live in a world which no longer exists.” Technology helps make our current, familiar and comfortable world obsolete almost daily. There are hunters, observers and prey. Be purposefully curious—a hunter for the new skill you need to compete in the new world of, literally, tomorrow.

Simplify and focus. There are always a handful of things, 20%, that you can do but aren’t. A select few that’ll make 80% of the difference.  The gap between triumphant success or bitter failure lies in the level of your commitment to earnestly seek out, study and apply the fundamental 20%.

Become financially independent by first learning to live from the income of your own personal resources.

Become successful not by working endlessly to acquire more stuff. Instead, attract true success by the person you become.

Don’t major in minor things. Sure, there are details that need attention and the small stuff matters. But it’s easy to choose the wrong small things. As the late Jim Rohn said, “Lean how to separate the majors from the minors. A lot of people don’t do well because they major in minor things.”

Days are priceless. When you spend one, you have one less day to spend. You can never get it back. Be sure to spend each one wisely.

"The Prayer at Valley Forge" by Arnold Friberg, http://www.fribergfineart.com/

George Washington worked alongside many great statesmen who were much more educated than he was.  People like Ben Franklin, John and Sam Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, Hamilton, Madison, Dickinson, the Randolphs and the Lees.

Yet with all these brilliant men involved in forging a new nation, and at three major milestones (the Revolution, the Constitutional Convention and the selection of the first President) George Washington was their man.  Their chosen leader.

Why?

Washington was selected for many reasons, but perhaps primarily due to his demonstrated noble and incorruptible character.

Few would argue that he was in fact noble and incorruptible, but he was also good at balancing and managing many of the paradoxes of leadership, which was perhaps his greatest leadership secret.  How well do you balance:

• strategy vs. tactics
• goals vs. objectives

Abraham Lincoln is of course a national hero today, but when he became President, he inherited a real mess.  Here’s what he walked into…

• He was the first Republican President elected by only a minority of the popular vote.
• He was ridiculed in the press as a buffoon.  A gawky, ugly second rate country bumpkin lawyer unqualified for the job.
• His own hand-picked cabinet members were his rivals and considered him nothing more than a figurehead.
• Just ten days before he took the oath of office, the south seceded, taking all Federal agencies, forts and arsenals with them.
• There were rampant rumors of a military coup and/or assassination during the inauguration.

How would you like to have that on your plate the first day on the job?

What Lincoln went on to do for our country is legendary.

The lessons he left behind to help us become better leaders and inspire top performance from those around us are priceless.  And there are many.  So many, in fact that I wrote a five part series of articles on Lincoln’s leadership lessons in this newsletter in 2007.

But after surveying the long list of Lincoln’s leadership skills, I think the most profound is endurance.

During the colossal struggle to abolish slavery and bring the nation back together, Lincoln endured ridicule, hate, depression, grief (he lost his youngest son, Tad while in the Whitehouse).

Plus, he endured a series of bad hiring decisions.

He actually went through 11 generals in three years before finding Grant.  Now that’s turnover!

Franklin D Roosevelt was a man of action.  When he took office, he had to act quickly to begin lifting the country out of the great depression.

He said this in his inaugural speech:

“Restoration calls, however, not for changes in ethics alone. This Nation asks for action, and action now.”

Although action was his trademark, Roosevelt’s most striking trait as President was his confidence.

Even during two of the greatest crises in American history, the Great Depression and World War II, Roosevelt never seemed afraid–and he was able to communicate this lack of fear to the American people.

Who could forget his famous line during his inaugural address:

“So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself–nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.”

Whatever the problem, Roosevelt always exuded confidence.  He believed that solutions could be found and that he was the man to help find them.

Do you exhibit confidence to your team?  Can they count on you for solutions in tough times?

Ronald Reagan was known as the “Teflon President.”

Like Lincoln, Reagan knew good leaders don’t let public opinion or the dissention of their team sway them.

They are firm in their decisions when they need to be, but recognize when it’s prudent to compromise. Most of all, they have the confidence to stay the course and do what’s right, even when others are trying to talk them out of it.

But Reagan also had another well deserved nickname… “The Great Communicator”.

FDR was actually a hero of Reagan’s, and it’s no accident they were both skilled at painting a vision for the future.

From the beginning, Reagan inspired all Americans with the promise of  a better future, and he wove a tapestry with words that became a vision for America.

In his farewell address, he envisioned America “…still a beacon, still a magnet for all who must have freedom for all the pilgrims from the lost places who are hurtling through the darkness toward home.”

Enter the “Agile” method.

22 I.T. professionals recently attended the latest Agile/Scrum software development boot camp in Louisville, organized and delivered by the Continuous Improvement Center and Ebit Information Systems.

Out with the old, in with the new

Most software development projects are managed the old way, using what’s known as the “Waterfall” model.  The project is usually thoroughly scoped and all user requirements documented before the first line of code is written.  Things happen sequentially, with progress through seven phases seen as flowing steadily downwards (like a waterfall) through the phases of Conception, Initiation, Analysis, Design (validation), Construction, Testing and Maintenance.

The challenge with the Waterfall method, according to Agile practitioners, is there is a very long wait before any usable software is delivered, and by the time the project is at or near completion, the customer’s needs have often shifted so dramatically that coding changes create massive budget overruns or worse, scrapping of the project.

The Agile approach is a group of software development methodologies based on iterative and incremental development.  With Agile, customer needs and software solutions evolve through collaboration between self-organizing, cross-functional teams.  Usable software is delivered in two to four week iterations. Each iteration moves the project closer to completion, but users can begin leveraging what has been done to date.

For more on Agile methods, visit http://www.agilealliance.org/