Seeing Red Cars: Driving Yourself, Your Team, and Your Organization to a Positive Future - Softcover

Goodrich, Laura

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1605097276 ISBN 13: 9781605097275

Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2011

Synopsis

Surely you’ve experienced something like this: you buy a red car, and suddenly red cars appear everywhere. Why? Because you’re focusing on red cars—and you get more of whatever you focus on. But much of the time, consciously and unconsciously, we dwell on what we don’t want, and that’s what we get. Drawing on the latest scientific research, Laura Goodrich shows you how to stop fixating on negatives and rewire your brain to focus on positive outcomes.

Unique and practical exercises—including a free online toolkit—and dozens of enlightening real-life stories help you identify what you truly want so that it drives everything you do. And Goodrich shows how Seeing Red Cars can build organizational cultures in which employees are playing to their passions and strengths, focusing on what they want, and achieving breakthrough results.

About this title

About the Author:

Laura Goodrich is co-owner of On Impact Productions, an integrated content company that produces books, digital stories, and worldwide speaking and production tours. She is also a radio, television, and film host.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:

INTRODUCTION
Focus on What You Want

You could be getting more of what you want—more new ideas, more teamwork in your department, and a more positive attitude in the company. I believe that people want to succeed in their jobs, in their relationships, and throughout their communities. I believe that people want to build the lives they want and be a part of something productive and positive. Too often, it doesn’t work out that way.

Through my experiences in workplace dynamics, change, and the future, I have learned one overriding truth: You get more of whatever you focus on. Let me repeat: You get more of whatever you focus on. I call it Seeing Red Cars because the metaphor is one that everyone can relate to. Here is the premise:

Say you recently bought your dream car—custom wheels, full chrome bumpers, and it’s red. Driving it home for the first time, you start noticing something. It seems like there are a lot of red cars out there. The next day, what do you notice? There are definitely more red cars on the road. By the end of the first week, you’re thinking, “Is everyone driving a red car?” You’re seeing red cars because that’s what you’re focused on.

Or how about this: It’s every golfer’s nightmare. You’re standing at the signature hole, elevated T to a large green, a short par 3, only 130 yards over water— lots of water. You take out your pitching wedge and stare at the water. You take a last look at your ball and you’re thinking, “Don’t hit it in the water. Don’t hit it in the water!” Finally, you hit the ball. Where does it go? Splat—straight into the water.

One more example to make the point: One of your coworkers is really getting on your nerves. To make matters worse, you keep running into this person in every meeting, in the hallway, at lunch, in the parking lot. You can’t escape.

Who’s putting all these thoughts of “red cars,” “don’t hit it in the water,” and “I can’t get away from this person” into your head? You are, of course. It’s what you’re focused on. And remember what I said: Whether good or bad, you always get more of what you focus on.

Even when someone’s intentions are genuinely positive, their actual behaviors can come across as negative without their knowledge. Here is an example:

Several years ago, I received a call from a client in desperate need of answers (we’ll call him Ted). Ted was managing a high-profile project. The stakes were high, and the project was off track; timelines were slipping, budgets were busting, and the dynamics of the group were strained. He proceeded to describe his observations. Team members were avoiding him at all costs. In meetings, tensions were so high that he didn’t know what was worse: the angry outbursts or the deafening silence that followed. People were blaming others, and without conscious intention, they were coming to meetings late or not at all. Ted was chasing the excuses without success and was at his wit’s end. We decided I would shadow him to see if we could flush out the culprit for the unproductive behaviors.

I followed Ted for a day. I stood next to him through his team one-to-ones and meetings large and small. It didn’t take long to see what was going on. I watched him begin each conversation and meeting with statements like these: “You know, we don’t want to miss this timeline, we don’t want to seem uncooperative, we don’t want to go over budget, we don’t want to fail.” When I share this story, people always ask, “Was he clueless? What was wrong with him?” To this I say, “There was nothing wrong with him. He was doing something that was unconscious. He had the best intentions for the team and the project. He had seen projects fail and was committed to avoiding the pitfalls. He had a laundry list of things he did not want to have happen, and he was quick to make others aware of them. He thought he was being helpful.”

In actuality, his team worked hard. As a result, they had missed family gatherings and their kids’ games and had taken little time to rest and rejuvenate. When Ted began each interaction with a reminder of what he did not want to happen, he inadvertently sucked the energy, motivation, and spirit out of each person.

I talked to Ted about the Seeing Red Cars mind-set: Focus on what you do want to happen. Once he became aware, he suddenly got it. He met with each team member to share his learning. The discussion was telling, as they described how his focus had made them feel frustrated, unappreciated, and unmotivated.

Together, Ted and his team members wrote personal and project “I want” statements (an intentional action step from Seeing Red Cars). He coached the team to share their “I want” statements, the status of each, and their strategy for moving the project along in one-to-one and project meetings. Team members were asked to align their professional “I want” statements with those of the project, and before long, they were back on track, working collaboratively, and producing the daily, weekly, and monthly actions needed to succeed.

As they adopted a positive-outcomes mind-set at both the individual and team levels, it eventually spread to other areas of the company and affected the division’s overall performance.

You Must Consciously Break the Pattern

Focusing on what we don’t want has a reach far greater than we realize. It is our natural tendency, and it’s been going on a long time.

Do you remember third-grade reading class? Most people I talk to remember the same thing. You’re sitting with your group at the reading table, and everyone has to take turns reading. Pretty soon it’s your turn. Chances are, while your classmates were reading, you weren’t even listening. You were mentally counting how many more students before it’s your turn. Your fear builds, your heart pounds, your hands tremble, and you can’t stop thinking how hard it is. Finally, it’s your turn. One agonizing word at a time, you finally get through the paragraph. And you make it through the day, and you make it through third grade. And it doesn’t ever really go away.

Now you’ve moved from the classroom to the conference room. They’re not your classmates, they’re your colleagues. You’re all supposed to give your reports. And you’re doing it again—wondering which direction they’re going to go around the table. You’re still focused on not wanting to make a mistake, on not wanting to look foolish, and your heart pounds. Why does this happen? Why do we spend time and energy dealing with fear and obstacles instead of taking action to move in the right direction? It’s so simple we can recognize it in others, and yet it’s so subtle we don’t see it in ourselves. That’s the problem. We don’t realize that we’re focused on what we don’t want.

Raising your consciousness will help you begin moving in the opposite direction. One small shift makes a big difference. It may sound easy, but it’s not. The hard work is focusing on what you want to happen and not on what you are trying to avoid.

Think It

Similar to the Law of Attraction, start by making a commitment to focus your thoughts on what you want, not on what you don’t want. Write down specifically what you want. Make a contract with yourself.

See It

Now picture it in your mind. The more vividly you can picture the desired outcome, with every detail, the better. Many people find and display pictures that illustrate their desires. They find it very motivational and effective.

Identify pictures that depict what you want. I’m not talking about material things. I’m referring to things like successful projects, growth and professional development, new skills, and an amazing family unit. What do these look like to you?

Focus on the goal. More important than the words you say to others are the words you say to yourself.

Do It

Put these intentions into action. Become aware of what you’re focusing on, and focus on what you can control instead of on what you can’t. Practice and be persistent.

I am a host on a Twin Cities television show called Life to the Max, produced by the Lifetouch Corporation (the K–12 school portrait photography and yearbook company). On the show, I tell the stories of people with special talents, people who persevere when it would be easier to quit, and people who have the self-discipline to put in the time. Renowned painter Jeffrey Hurinenko is one of those people.

In the interview, I asked Jeff what it takes to be as good as he is. He said, “You can have all the talent in the world. You can study art all day long. But if you want to get really good, you’ve got to be willing to put in the miles.” He calls it “brush mileage.” You have to close yourself off from others and put in the time with a brush and canvas.

In Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers, the author discusses the fact that people who have achieved greatness—whether in sports, music, or business—have clocked 10,000 hours of brush mileage or sweat equity to achieve success. Be persistent and practice.

Celebrate Success

All the while you are focusing on what you want and taking actions toward your goals, celebrate your successes. For many of us, our projects are long. Celebrating when they are completed could literally mean years. A sales executive once wrote me a note that it was this teaching point he most appreciated, and he is now a lot better at practicing it. His sales process is drawn out and requires input from multiple entities within his organization. He said that breaking the long, drawn-out process into milestones and celebrating along the way really keeps him going.

It Takes Awareness

It is very easy to slip back into focusing on what you don’t want. To turn things around, you have to catch yourself when your thoughts, actions, and words don’t line up. To illustrate:

No one would say: “What I want is to engage in a conversation and say something offensive so that the other person says something that is equally or even more offensive. I’ll then respond in kind and storm away from the conversation steaming mad.”

We would never say that, and yet it happens.

Let’s say the same person has created an “I want” statement with a mental and emotional image to support that statement.

The “I want” statement is: “I want to effectively manage conversations so that I bring out the best in others and create trusted and open communication.”

This person has thought of a mental image of herself and what she is thinking and feeling when she is engaged in an effective conversation, and she can recall the image, her inner feelings, and the associated thought process at any time. When she is in a conversation and happens to say something the other person perceives as offensive, she immediately recalls this image. Suddenly, she responds in a creative way that brings out the best in the other person and creates trusted and open communication. Without the guide of the “I want” statement and its mental and emotional image, these moments all too often head south.

I have had so many clients report a dramatic improvement in conversations and relationships, both personally and professionally, with “I want” statements and visualization of what they want. Additionally, once you see it clearly in your mind, you’ll naturally begin taking action toward what you want.

How Does This Apply to the Business World?

Companies can control the mind-set from which problems, challenges, and opportunities are communicated to the workforce. Here is an example of what often happens when a major change is occurring in an organization.

Acme Manufacturing has been slowly trending downward. Orders have been falling over the past few quarters. Mike, its chief financial officer, alerts CEO Jerry of the problem. It’s not Mike’s fault, of course, but the indicators of problems were more obvious from his vantage point. Jerry convenes an emergency meeting with his key leadership in which the need for change is made clear. After the news is out on the table, there is a period of time when the leaders simply try to get their bearings. After pulling themselves together, they begin to consider possible solutions. Once they identify the best course of action, they establish a strategy to support it. After much debate and planning, the day comes to reveal the circumstances and proposed change to the masses.

At that point, Jerry and his executive staff have been discussing the process for months. They have had plenty of time to think through the nuances and ramifications of the change, particularly as it relates to their own roles and responsibilities.

Jerry makes a big company-wide presentation with the hopes that everyone will see the light, they’ll grab hold of the new direction, and life will be sweet. People listen as long as they hear something that has the potential to really have an impact on their world. As soon as something is said that has direct personal implications, they redirect their attention inward and begin focusing on it. More specifically, they focus on what they fear and what they hope to avoid through the process. They don’t hear anything else Jerry says.

Jerry completes his presentation and steps down from the stage with high hopes. Instead, he is bombarded with expressions that show fear and questions. The resistance is obvious, and both sides of the equation are confused and, frankly, kind of mad. Jerry and his executive staff think, “Hey, everything we are proposing is for the greater good. Can’t you see this?” Truth be told, they can’t, not yet, and for some, not ever.

Jerry and his senior leaders let the moment pass with the hope that things will improve with time. Instead, they get worse. People begin talking and hashing out the details. Questions come up and are answered with assumptions rather than facts. The plot thickens. The leaders close their doors because the conversations aren’t fun and they quickly tire of the repetitive nature of the questions. They think, “My gosh, how many times have I heard this question? I already addressed this in the big presentation, but they weren’t listening.” As I said, they had retreated inside their own heads to consider the ramifications of item 1 on a list of 20. So the leaders are left to deal with the aftershock. They have their own concerns and would love to offer their honest two cents, but they gut it out for the sake of the organization.

Conversely, this is a real-life example of how a division leader used Seeing Red Cars prior to announcing a branch closing and was thanked for the humane way in which she delivered the bad news.

Carol is a division vice president for National Widget Corporation. The depressed economic environment forced Carol to make the difficult decision to close an entire branch of the business. A meeting of all employees was convened. Carol began by showing the Seeing Red Cars film. When the lights were turned back on, she spoke candidly about her disappointment in having to make the decision and how she knew it was disappointing for everyone. Then she asked for their help. Carol told attendees to break into small groups, each with a leader, and record the “I wants” of their group in light of this change.

When the participants had arrived, they had such thoughts as “I don’t want to lose my job” foremost in their minds. Once they were given the opportunity to have honest dialogue and discuss their feelings in a productive way, statements like this emerged: “I want to develop an opportunity for myself either here or elsewhere that makes use of my skills and talents” and “We want to contribute to realigning people and resources when this division closes to make the company even stronger.”

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About this edition

• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1605097276
• ISBN 13: 9781605097275
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 192