Elevated my business and revolutionized my
Life – when I’m relaxed and having fun.
I often joke with my audience that I make most of my income on a ski hill. People smile. But they
get my point. You need to make space for your genius to flow. We get our creative bursts, those idea
torrents that take our business and personal lives to the next level, while we are skiing or drinking coffee in
a Starbucks or walking in the woods or meditating with a sunrise. Those pursuits are not a waste of time.
No way. Those pursuits are a superb use of your time. Creativity comes when you are relaxed, happy and
enjoying the moment. And when it comes, it can bring ideas that rock your world. All it takes is one good
idea to get you to previously unimagined results. Relaxing, taking vacations and making time for fun
actually makes you more successful.
And these pursuits make you money. Mireille Guiliano, the CEO of Clicquot, said it well: “We have
to take ‘beach time,’ a space for ourselves every day, because we live in a world of burnout. Even if you
take 20 or 30 minutes for yourself, you’ll be a better worker, a better colleague, a better person. It benefits
the people around you as much as it benefits you.”
Get this: Hewlett – Packard recently noted that constant interruptions of technology actually took
10 points off the IQ of an average employee in a work environment. And the U.S. software firm Veritas saw
something amazing happen after it introduced “email – free Fridays”: Friday became the most productive
and creative day of the week.
So have some fun. Laugh with your co – workers. Go for a walk at lunch. Go fishing or swimming
of golfing this weekend. Maybe sit on a beach for a week down in the Carribean or visit the great museums
in France and Italy. Or just take a nap and relax. And if anyone tells you that you’re wasting time, you have
my permission to say: “But Robin told me I’m being productive.” And then go back to sleep.
41.
The Two Magic Words
I sometimes get a little bothered by ingratitude. I try to treat people well, help them win and celebrate them,
so that they reach for their best life. Sometimes, I’d just love to hear two magic words: “Thank you.”
Yes, I know that if you do something good for someone with the expectation of a reward it’s not a
gift - it’s a trade. And I know that life has a very fair accounting system and as one sows, one will reap. But
I’d still like to hear those two magic words more often.
I had breakfast with a friend the other day. He’s helped so many people in his organization realize
their highest potential – as leaders and as humans. He looked at me and said: “Robin, after all these years
in business, I can count on one hand the number of people who have told me that they appreciate what I’ve
done for them.
I believe I’m offering you a very real point. According to Gallup research, the number – one reason
employees leave their organization is not because they were not being paid enough; they leave because
they were not given enough appreciation. Your talent goes to the competition because no one said thank
you to them. Max De Pree, the former CEO of Herman Miller, sagely observed: “The first responsibility of a
leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you.”
So today, take a moment and think about the people in your life who need to be cherished,
appreciated and told that their support has been helpful. Offer a heartfelt and enthusiastic “thank you.”
Those two magic words don’t cost anything. But they will make a world of difference.