Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?

Question: Why did the chicken cross the road? 

Answer: To get to the other side of the road, of course.

It’s an old joke that just about everyone had heard, told or modified in some way.

Just recently I was standing on the porch, talking with my sister when suddenly I saw a chicken crossing the road; really, no kidding. It was a real live chicken crossing the road in a small town in Kentucky, but it was a chicken nonetheless.

My sister said I made the oddest facial expression, and then calmly asked her if indeed it was a chicken crossing the road.

I’m sure you can imagine the hilarity that followed, when everyone in the house was brought out to: #1) hear the story, #2) see the chicken, and 3) to send the tweens down the street to take a photo of him. We are so easily amused…

Although this is funny, and I truly enjoy laughing at myself and with others, the experience also allowed me to consider why I make the decisions I do, both personally and in business.

We all know that good decisions are based on accurate information, and used as strategic stepping stones toward the completion of a goal.

Like the question about the chicken, what about the goals? Why did I (or you) choose those particular goals, or set the bar so high (or low)?

Generally, goals are set to achieve a specific end, often in conjunction with one or more others as well. I think the goals we set for ourselves are formed by our personal experiences and perspectives.

Each of us has a slightly different perspective on life, even if we grew up in the same house and shared the same experiences. However, often times those different perspectives between individuals give rise to differing ultimate goals, automatic responses in similar situations, and sometimes drive a wedge of misunderstanding between parties.

This is life. As human beings, it is inevitable that we will disagree with someone on a daily basis; some minor and others as big as an immovable boulder.

In business, you may have personality conflicts with a co-worker, peer, partner, or that very annoying customer that everyone passes off to someone else.

This doesn't mean that you are an awful person. You just have to try a little bit harder to work cohesively with your team and those around you.

Then, like the chicken, you have to decide if you want to stay on that side of the road or walk across it seeking another opportunity.

If you want to stay, then seek a mentor to help you with workplace challenges such as personality conflicts.

If you want to move on, then do so, thereby ensuring that you benefit from a new opportunity to build on your success somewhere else, and the company you leave has an opportunity to hire someone who can better help them fulfill their mission or reach their strategic goals.

So, tell me. Why did your chicken cross the road, and where was it going?

Editor’s Note: This post also appears on LinkedIn.

Before founding her own consulting firm, Dawn Gannon served as a respected project management and administrative operations professional in the military, higher education, and healthcare fields for 25 years. As a Lean/Six Sigma Green Belt, Dawn’s commitment and personal mission to improve the lives of others through service to the community focuses on providing administrative and volunteer management, consumer education, public outreach, event planning, relationship-building efforts, and strategic planning. She is a contributor on LinkedIn, the author of the Management in Motion blog, and has written a number of articles for RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association on the topic of childfree living.

The Merits of Multi-Tasking

We are a society of multi-taskers.

There is absolutely no doubt about it.

Just yesterday I witnessed a woman choosing groceries through several isles in the grocery store, while carrying on what appeared to be a very serious conversation on her cell phone. As I finished my shopping and moved to the checkout lane, there she was again, emptying her cart while continuing the sometimes very animated cell phone conversation. Finally, the checkout staff had to interrupt her conversation to ask her to pay for her purchases. Although the store employee was very nice about it, the customer was clearly offended about being interrupted.

As I was watching this play out, I thought, “Wow. When did this behavior (on the customer’s part) become acceptable in our society?”

Contrary to popular belief, multi-tasking is not a new behavior. People have always been able to multi-task when it comes to running a household and caring for children or others in the home. No one thought anything of it until women began trying to “have it all” by building a successful career while balancing home life.

When cooking a meal, sometimes I have active pans on all my stove burners while I’m cutting an ingredient on the side. My goal in this case is to have everything finish at about the same time, somewhat like a project manager who schedules tasks to complete simultaneously so the next phase of the project can begin.

As business leaders and employees, we multi-task on a daily and sometimes hourly basis; this is just the way it is. Think about the job descriptions you have seen lately – they all include the ability to multi-task and prioritize responsibilities. 

Don’t get me wrong; I don’t have any problem or issue with multi-tasking. Some who know me would dub me the Queen of Multi-Tasking. As you can see from the photo here, I also have phone conversations while attending a Major League Baseball game. Trust me, I am not the only one doing this.

What bothers me, though, is the rudeness of some multi-tasking situations, such as the grocery story example I mentioned above.

If the phone conversation was so important, why did the customer not stop what she was doing and give her undivided attention to the call, and then continue on with her shopping?

Why did she feel the need to continue the shopping process while sharing her one-sided version of the conversation with those around her, and then berate the store employee for doing his job by politely asking the customer to pay for her purchases?

This analogy can also mirror workplace multi-tasking situations.

Think about it.

How many times have you held a conversation with someone while you were answering an email to someone else, or talking on the phone while writing a report?

The rudeness of that aside, how can you give your undivided attention to two or more people or tasks at the time? You can’t.

Early in my career I was lucky enough to work for a supervisor who stopped everything he was doing as soon as someone walked in his office door or the phone rang. Granted, the person on the phone could not see that he wasn’t multi-tasking, but while you were in his office, it was clearly obvious that you – and you alone – had his completely undivided attention.

While I haven’t always lived up to his standards in that regard, the picture in my mind is as clear today as it was in 1991. As an employee, his behavior made me feel valued, and certain that my opinion or concern had merit.

23 years later, the difference between that leader’s conscious effort to engage whomever he was speaking with and the grocery store customer provide an excellent lesson on the merits of multi-tasking. While you can certainly do more than one thing at a time, choosing to stop multi-tasking and focus on the most important matter at hand for a short period of time is quite often the better decision.

Editor’s Note: This post also appears on LinkedIn.

Before founding her own consulting firm, Dawn Gannon served as a respected project management and administrative operations professional in the military, higher education, and healthcare fields for 25 years. As a Lean/Six Sigma Green Belt, Dawn’s commitment and personal mission to improve the lives of others through service to the community focuses on providing administrative and volunteer management, consumer education, public outreach, event planning, relationship-building efforts, and strategic planning. She is a contributor on LinkedIn, the author of the Management in Motion blog, and has written a number of articles for RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association on the topic of childfree living.

The Great Escape - Ingenuity & Determination

Editor's Note: This blog post also appears on LinkedIn.

Photo shared from the story
posted on www.breitbart.com

Webster’s Dictionary defines the word Ingenuity as “skill or cleverness that allows someone to solve problems.” 

As the World War II allies celebrated the 70^th anniversary of the D-Day invasion that started the liberation of France over the weekend, an 89 year-old British D Day Veteran living in a care home that was told he could not go to the celebrations used his gift of ingenuity and simply walked away.

His story, now being billed as the “great escape,” speaks volumes about his determination to reunite with his fellow D-Day veterans, and to honor those who gave the ultimate price for freedom. Telling care givers that he was just going for a walk, while accurate, did not convey the totality of his walk about, as Britons would say. He simply didn’t mention he was going to walk to a specific location to catch a bus, and then a ferry, to attend the ceremonies on the beaches of Normandy because “it was the right thing to do.”

I have always been awed by the Greatest Generation, and found myself awed once again while watching Queen Elizabeth II placing a wreath at the Commonwealth War Graves ceremony on Friday, when I realized that most of those attending the event were most likely small children or had not even been born yet when D-Day took place. She, on the other hand, was training and serving as a driver in the Auxiliary Territorial Service during World War II. Even as sheltered as she was as a Royal, she wanted to do her part because “it was the right thing to do.”

What does “the great escape” and Queen Elizabeth’s services during World War II have to do with business, you ask? 

Simply this: at times, true leadership requires ingenuity and determination to motivate a team, enlighten those who don’t yet see the vision clearly, and lead the charge onto the metaphorical business beach their organization is charged with taking to achieve their goals. 

It also requires leading with courage and valor like that shown by the Allied soldiers who participated in the D-Day event, because "it is the right thing to do."

Reflecting once again on the enormity of the ultimate price paid by those on the beaches of Normandy in 1944, I am thankful for not only the freedom their sacrifice provided, but also for the examples of ingenuity and determination that generation still exhibits 70 years on.

Before founding her own consulting firm, Dawn Gannon served as a respected project management and administrative operations professional in the military, higher education, and healthcare fields for 25 years. As a Lean/Six Sigma Green Belt, Dawn’s commitment and personal mission to improve the lives of others through service to the community focuses on providing administrative and volunteer management, consumer education, public outreach, event planning, relationship-building efforts, and strategic planning. She is a contributor on LinkedIn, the author of the Management in Motion blog, and has written a number of articles for RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association on the topic of childfree living.

Missed Opportunities

Editor's Note: This blog post also appears on LinkedIn.

Conversation Overheard Between 2 Friends in December 1992

Bob: “I’m buying some stock in the Snapple Company. The company is doing really well, and I think it’s going to take over the market. Want to spend that $5,000 you have on $15 a share and join me?”

George: “I think the beverage market is really over-crowded, so I think I’ll pass. Thanks for thinking of me and asking though.”

Fast Forward to 2014

Today, the stock purchased for $5,000 in 1992 would have split several times and now be worth over $40,000. What a huge missed opportunity!

Many times over my life I have been presented with an opportunity and passed for one reason or another. Some decisions proved to be the right one, while others were later identified as a true missed opportunity.

Common business sense suggests significant research and data to support the options considered. After all, intelligent business decisions are made based on data, right?

What about gut feelings or intuition? Several times over my career, data suggested one action while my intuition suggested a totally different – and way out there – action. For the most part, the data-based decisions provided the expected results, but every once in a while, my gut reaction proved to be the better path instead.

So, how do you tell which opportunities are worth the effort and which ones aren’t? What if there is no data to support your intuition? As a business leader you have to make that call, taking both the credit if it works and the responsibility if it fails.

What happens if you don’t make a decision? Well, that’s a decision in and of itself.

There are several common reasons leaders choose to not make a decision or to do nothing about an opportunity:

• We don’t have enough capital right now
• There’s too much going on in the company/market place right now
• We don’t have the right people in place
• I’m the only one who wants to do it

What commonality do you see in each of those reasons?

They are all simply excuses for not leading.

So you don’t have the capital – get it. There’s too much going on – great! Your competition won’t expect you to do anything and you’ll gain a competitive edge. Don’t have the right people? Get them or hire contractors.

Last, but not least, no one else wants to do it. Really? Then refine the message of your vision and actively share that vision with your team. 

Just like Bob and his friend George above, perhaps they aren't buying the opportunity because you haven’t sold it well.

Before founding her own consulting firm, Dawn Gannon served as a respected project management and administrative operations professional in the military, higher education, and healthcare fields for 25 years. As a Lean/Six Sigma Green Belt, Dawn’s commitment and personal mission to improve the lives of others through service to the community focuses on providing administrative and volunteer management, consumer education, public outreach, event planning, relationship-building efforts, and strategic planning. She is a contributor on LinkedIn, the author of the Management in Motion blog, and has written a number of articles for RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association on the topic of childfree living.

I Am Now a Contributor on LinkedIn!

Exciting news! I've been invited to be a contributor on LinkedIn!!

So, instead of a regular post this week here on the Management in Motion blog , I thought I'd share this wonderful news and my first contribution here. 

With the Memorial Day Weekend just a few days away, and Fleet Week beginning in NYC, I chose to write about how great teamwork tackles the logistical challenges faced by our military, and those we face in business and life.

I also talk about the pride I feel in being a US Military Veteran, and acknowledge the sacrifice also willingly made by the families of those who serve.

As you celebrate the holiday weekend, be sure to thank all the veterans and their families that you know; or just thank them as you pass them in the street. If you are in the NYC area, check out all the activities of Fleet Week. Who knows, you might run into me there!

Before founding her own consulting firm, Dawn Gannon served as a respected project management and administrative operations professional in the military, higher education, and healthcare fields for 25 years. As a Lean/Six Sigma Green Belt, Dawn’s commitment and personal mission to improve the lives of others through service to the community focuses on providing administrative and volunteer management, consumer education, public outreach, event planning, relationship-building efforts, and strategic planning. She is a contributor on LinkedIn, the author of the Management in Motion blog, and has written a number of articles for RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association on the topic of childfree living.

Mom Always Said...

Dotty Coleman & Dawn Coleman Gannon

As a child, I listened to what my mother said – sometimes.

However, as I have gotten older, I often find myself hearing her speaking inside my head when faced with specific circumstances in business and in life.

So, in honor of Mother’s Day this weekend, I’ll share the few words of wisdom from Mom that seem to come to mind most often for me, and apply them to business.

Honesty is Always the Best Policy – Even When It Hurts.

In business, honesty is always the best policy. But how far does honesty need to go when dealing with competitors and others whose focus is not the growth of your business? How much truth do you tell? Is not telling everything you know about a specific topic, project or program honest or even ethical?

I agree that honesty and transparency is always the best policy, but I also realize that some people just don’t need to know some things. 

Building and maintaining a reputation for honesty and integrity is fairly simple – you tell the truth, regardless of whether or not the person to whom you are speaking wants to hear it. 

However, once you cross the line of honesty and move into the gray area of half-truths or outright fabrications, regaining that reputation for honesty and integrity will cost you more in terms of time and resources than you can imagine.

I, for one, prefer to conduct business with businesses and organizations with reputations of high integrity.

Think Before You Speak.

Anyone who knows me well will tell you that this is one of the hardest things for me to do.

Many times I hear someone talking, or am reading an email, while at the same time inside my head I am preparing my response so I will be ready to jump out with my words of wisdom when they take a breath. In essence, I am preparing my response based on what I THINK they are saying, when in reality, I am not really LISTENING to what they are saying.

Growing up, my father always said that my brain was 5 steps ahead of my mouth. In support of my mother’s “think before you speak” advice, he was suggesting that I slow down and allow the mouth to catch up to the brain by truly listening to what the other person is actually saying before responding.

As a business owner, I have come to truly understand the value of this advice. After all, how can I provide a service if I don’t fully understand the service my client is seeking? 

One good way to do this is to take notes while listening and then responding by relaying back what you just heard.

For instance, you could say, “This is great! Thank you for asking. Before I respond, let me just ensure that we are on the same page. I heard you say that you need X, Y, & Z and …” This gives you an opportunity to clarify (or catch) information that you may not have heard correctly before moving forward.

Opinions Are Like Belly Buttons – Everyone Has One.

We've all heard this, or used other words in place of belly button. The idea is the same, however. In making business decisions, it is vitally important to consider the issue from as many perspectives as possible – especially those that differ from yours.

I don’t know about you, but every time I make a decision based solely on my perspective, it turns out that I missed something important, and then I have to spend additional time and resources changing course. 

In short, don’t make decisions without examining all the facts and perspectives.

Giving Back is One of the Most Important Things You Can Do.

My Grandmother Levitt,
Dotty Levitt Coleman (my mom),
Me, & Grandma Coleman
at my FCAHS graduation.

When I was in high school at FCAHS in Brooklyn, MS, my mother was a member of the South Central Bell Pioneers Clown Troop. She and her co-workers spent considerable time getting into costume/make up and then driving in a chartreuse-colored Aston Martin to an event for the Special Olympics or another community-focused group.

A few times she picked my sisters and I up from school dressed and driving this car … really.

While you are calming down from busting out laughing at the mental picture the last sentence provided, the important lesson I learned was that giving back to the community and to others makes a huge difference to those to whom you are giving. It also gives you a sense of pride and self-satisfaction.

What does this have to do with business you ask? Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a term that has grown in prominence and practice in business over the last decade. What does CSR mean for you? 

That’s easy – pick an organization or organizations that align with your business mission and goal, and support it (them) with time, resources and financial contributions.

Not only will the organization(s) benefit, but so will you and your reputation within the community. It’s a win-win for everyone!

As all mothers do, my mother had many other things to say, but for the moment, I think I’ll stop here and wish all you moms a happy Mother's Day.

To those who are still struggling with infertility on your journey to motherhood, I wish you the peace of knowing you are not on this journey alone, and the knowledge that there are many who have been where you are, and are willing to help you (resolve.org & theafa.org).

In closing, please feel free to comment and/or share your own “Mom Always Said…” wisdom.

Before founding her own consulting firm, Dawn Gannon served as a respected project management and administrative operations professional in the military, higher education, and healthcare fields for 25 years. As a Lean/Six Sigma Green Belt, Dawn’s commitment and personal mission to improve the lives of others through service to the community focuses on providing administrative and volunteer management, consumer education, public outreach, event planning, relationship-building efforts, and strategic planning. She is the author of the Management in Motion blog, and has written a number of articles for RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association on the topic of childfree living.

The Definition of Success

Success as defined
by Merriam-Webster

Merriam-Webster defines the word ‘success’ as 1) the fact of getting or achieving wealth, respect or fame; and 2) the correct or desired result of an attempt.

For some, achieving wealth, etc., is the only correct definition. It is the only goal on which to focus, and those who don’t embrace this truism will always be less than they could be. In essence, nothing else really matters except increasing the financial bottom line and personal prominence.

For others, achieving the desired result of an attempt is the ultimate accomplishment, regardless of what that attempt entails. For instance, many people feel successful because they are able to live simply with relatively little stress and have sufficient funding to support that lifestyle. It is the simple pleasures in life, rather than driving the top of the line 2015 Audi to a multi-million dollar home, that defines success for them.

The definition of success 

is different for everyone.

Don’t get me wrong; there is nothing wrong with either opinion (after all, that’s really what it is). 

The fact of the matter is that the definition of success is different for everyone based on many different factors such as personality, life experiences, and exposure to, or opportunities for, resources to not only set, but to also achieve goals.

For instance, the difference between a nonprofit organization and a for-profit organization is simply the main focus of their efforts. Both want to be successful (whatever that means to them), but they go about it in different ways.

Nonprofits focus most of their efforts and resources on achieving their mission. However, none of that can be done without identifying and soliciting funding/donations to support the programs and services it provides. 

In some nonprofits, the development team is larger than the other organizational teams combined simply because the amount of funding needed to support the mission is so great. While increasing the financial bottom line is a measure of success for a nonprofit organization, it isn’t the most important one. The mission is always Priority #1.

For-profit organizations also have a mission to fulfill, but the most important measure of success for these boards of directors and stockholders is achieving an ever-growing financial bottom line. 

Just like their nonprofit counterparts, for-profits cannot provide programs or services without funding (stockholder and sales) support, so in this case, product sales and stockholder satisfaction are the highest priorities for the team.

Again, neither one is better than the other; they are just different.

For me, the definition of professional success includes the achievement of my academic goals (PhD) and sufficient client-base activity at Dawn GannonConsulting to support my family at or above a specifically-defined (and private) financial level. I have been somewhat successful in reaching these goals, and I know that only time, resources and hard work will make them happen. Without a doubt, there is still much to be done.

However, like everyone else, I also have a personal definition of success. For me, that includes family, friends, good health, and peace of mind. For the moment, I’m doing well there, but there is always room for improvement.

The closer I move to the magical age of 50 (6 months from now!), the more I understand that the underlying key for success for any person or organization is simply the definition. Once you are happy with the definition that meets your needs, all that remains is the journey to get there.

So, I ask: What is your definition of success? What words of wisdom can you share from your journey toward that goal?

Before founding her own consulting firm, Dawn Gannon served as a respected project management and administrative operations professional in the military, higher education, and healthcare fields for 25 years. As a Lean/Six Sigma Green Belt, Dawn’s commitment and personal mission to improve the lives of others through service to the community focuses on providing administrative and volunteer management, consumer education, public outreach, event planning, relationship-building efforts, and strategic planning. She is the author of the Management in Motion blog, and has written a number of articles for RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association on the topic of childfree living.