Week 21.38 Adding By Subtracting
Scott Osman
CEO @ 100 Coaches | Co-Author WSJ bestseller Becoming Coachable, named to Coaches50 by Thinkers50
This past week was Yom Kippur, a day of fasting, reflection on the year past, and on the year to come. We often forget how powerful and immediate taking something away can be. Subtraction, stopping the action, or simply silence are the quickest ways to change the current situation. Steve Jobs is often quoted as saying that focus is not about saying yes. It means saying no to 1,000 things. Subtraction gives us a quick way to create the change we want to see. For leaders with imagination, it is a crucial tool. Great leaders know when to say nothing and give their team space to take the initiative. As leaders of our own lives, we can draw on some ancient wisdom of subtraction to make positive changes in our life.
For cultures, the idea of the Sabbath, the day of rest, includes giving something up. For over a decade, Tiffany Schlain has promoted Tech Shabbat, giving up technology one day per week. By subtracting technology from one day per week, we are adding our ability to be open to whatever else is around us when looking at a screen. By agreeing as a group to the tech Shabbat, this subtraction gives the bonus of seeing others in ways that are often overlooked when screens intervene. If subtraction of all technology seems too severe, choose one device to start. Perhaps it's no TV, or no phone, or no computer for the day. Whatever you choose, it's fine. Notice the space you are adding through subtraction. Notice what you see, smell, taste, hear and feel when you are not absorbed in the digital world. To find out more check out Tiffanies book 24/6: The Power of Unplugging One Day a Week for more info.
Slightly more obscure and infinitely more intriguing is the concept of the shmita year. "During shmita, Jews are commanded to let the land of Israel lie fallow — the laws only apply to the land of Israel. They may not sow, harvest or even buy and sell crops they produce from the land. They can only pick what grows on its own." (1) It is a biblical prescription to allow the land to rest for a year so that it can recover. What's good for the earth can be good for us. Subtracting something for an entire year is extreme. That's the point. By subtracting something for a year, you can try new things in the space you are creating. And when you return, it is with fresh eyes. And let's face it, if COVID-19 has taught us anything, it is that we have the power to give something up when we need to. Perhaps you want to give us dessert for a year, or maybe only ice cream. Pick something you can accomplish, set your focus and intention, and begin the journey of giving up one thing for the whole year.
You can do this, and here is one more idea that will guarantee your success if you do it. Decide what you are going to give up. Keep it simple. Write it down. Every day, ask yourself, on a scale of 1-10, did you try your best not to do things you decided to subtract? Write down the number and then let it go. The next day, try your best again. Observe what happens. Each day you get a fresh score, a new chance to accomplish the goal for that day. Feel the power of subtraction give you control and affirm the ability to make a decision. If the first goal was too ambitious, make it a little easier. A day without becomes a year with less. As you build your ability, think about other places in your life that you can add by subtracting.
Week 42 of 52 Weeks of Giving: Humanitarian Crisis in Myanmar
Armed conflict, natural disasters, intercommunal violence, and the impact of COVID-19 continue to drive humanitarian needs in Myanmar. Some 336,000 people have been displaced across the country. Some 250,000 of them are in situations of protracted displacement. An estimated 600,000 Rohingya people in Rakhine State cannot move freely, with some 126,000 effectively confined to camps or camp-like settings. Help the United Nations and humanitarian partners rapidly provide food, shelter, clean water, and health services to those who need it most. Myanmar: 1 Million people need humanitarian and protection support ? UN Crisis Relief
You CAN Change Other People by Peter Bregman and Howie Jacobson
We hear all the time, “You can’t change other people. You can only change yourself.” ?And I get why we believe this; it’s frustrating when the people we care about are behaving in self-defeating and annoying?ways, and when we try to talk to them about it, we just make things worse. So we tell ourselves it's impossible and then try to bite?our tongues until we explode. But it is possible to do and say things that create the space for change and lead to new behaviors and new outcomes. In fact, not only is it possible if you’re a leader or manager, it’s your job to get the?people around you to act differently to accomplish meaningful work. If you’re a parent or a teacher, it’s your job as well. ?And if you care about people around you who are suffering or not reaching their potential, it’s your longing. Because we all change people for a living, we know it can be done. That's why Peter Bregman and Howie Jacobson have a new book dropping?this week?called,?You CAN Change Other People: The Four Steps to Help Employees, Colleagues—Even Family—Up?Their Game.?It's a?straightforward, step-by-step manual to engage in mutually satisfying conversations that lead to effect positive changes. Here is the Social Media page they created to make it easy to share news about the book with your following:?https://bregmanpartners.com/share-you-can-change-other-people/?
Make Someone’s Day: Becoming A Memorable Leader in Work and Life by? Howard H. Prager
The most powerful words someone can say to you are, "You made my day!" The premise behind Make Someone’s Day is that you haven’t just committed an act of kindness when you hear those words. You have done something at the right time and in the right way that may turn someone’s day, or even life around, inspire and motivate them, or get them unstuck.? With many examples and short exercises, Make Someone’s Day teaches you to make people feel like VIPs. ? The book includes an easy-to-learn model, the VIP method, that helps people improve their success rate in making someone’s day. ? It contains examples and exercises in every chapter that will allow you to embark on making someone’s day.? It also provides the neuroscience behind the concept. ORDER THE BOOK HERE??(Kindle edition is only .99 today!)
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From Dorie Clark, author of The Long Game (#1 new release in Business Management), If Networking Makes You Feel Dirty, You’re Doing It Wrong
For the past several years, Dorie had been researching the question of how we can become more effective long-term thinkers and bring that mindset into our professional relationships. Networking makes plenty of high-achieving professionals uncomfortable—and for good reason, if they’re equating the practice with exploiting others. But when you reframe the experience, it becomes a win-win that even the most hardened lone wolves may embrace. In this article, she shares four strategies we can use to become better—more comfortable, more authentic, and classier—at professional networking. Here’s how to get started.
In The Long Game, Clark shares unique principles and frameworks you can apply to your specific situation, as well as vivid stories from her own career and other professionals' experiences. Everyone is allotted the same twenty-four hours—but with the right strategies, you can leverage those hours in more efficient and powerful ways than you ever imagined. It's never an overnight process, but the long-term payoff is immense: to finally break out of the frenetic day-to-day routine and transform your life and your career.?ORDER THE BOOK HERE?
Visual Thinking with Todd Cherches
Words have been the traditional tool for conveying our ideas, communicating, and leading. But a picture, as we know, is worth a thousand of them. Todd Cherches, author of VisuaLeadership: Leveraging the Power of Visual Thinking in Leadership and in Life, is a pioneer in the application of visual thinking techniques to the practice of leadership and executive coaching. In this #Thinkers50 session delivered to you in partnership with Executive Networks, Todd -- shortlisted for the Thinkers50 2021 Leadership Award -- explains the art and science of applying visual thinking as a leadership communication tool to help you turn your vision into reality. Tuesday 9/21 at 11:00 am-11:45 am ET on LinkedIn Live with Thinkers50 founders Stuart Crainer and Des Dearlove!
Congratulations to Thinkers50 2021 Ideas into Practice Award Shortlist
Gabriela Teasdale for the Transformation Begins with Me initiative in Paraguay.
Gaby Teasdale is an author, businesswoman, social entrepreneur, and leadership coach. Born and raised in Paraguay, she was educated in Paraguay and the United States. She is a Marshall Goldsmith 100 COACHES coach and is the founder of Pro Líder Training, a leadership development organization dedicated to developing leaders in different countries. She is also the founder and president of Transformación Paraguay, a nonprofit with a vision to train one million Paraguayans in leadership values.?Working in collaboration with the John Maxwell Leadership Foundation, Gaby and her team have trained more than 300,000 people to date. Transformación Paraguay also teaches leadership values to young people in more than 2,000 public schools all across the country, reaching more than 150,000 people.
Subir Chowdhury for his work in quality and the relationship between literature and leadership
Subir Chowdhury?is chairman and CEO of ASI Consulting Group and has helped hundreds of companies to transform their organizations by embracing quality and developing processes that increase profitability by saving billions of dollars and increasing market share. Born in Chittagong, Bangladesh, Subir is the author of 15 books, including?The Difference?(2017),?The Ice Cream Maker?(2005),?The Power of Six Sigma?(2001), and?Management 21C?(1999). In 2017, the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur established the Subir Chowdhury School of Quality and Reliability, the first school of its kind in the world to promote education and research on quality.??
With love and gratitude
Scott
Founder & CEO - AcComm Group | #1 Coach in Asia - Marshall Goldsmith Coaching Awards | Award Winner of Asia's Woman Leaders
3 年Thank you for your amazing support and keeping MG 100 members across the globe connected and growing
Scott Osman , my weeks are always that much better when I have the chance to engage with you and 100 Coaches. Thank you!
Ranked World's #1 CEO Coach | Thinkers50 "Coaching Legend" | NYTimes Bestselling Author | CEO Readiness Book with Harvard Bus Review 2025
3 年Thank you for your loving, courageous leadership Scott Osman
I help transform corporate culture | 20+ years experience | 500+ leaders coached | Keynote Speaker | Ready to improve your company culture? For business inquiries, [email protected]
3 年Scott Osman so good to have you in my life, thank you for your friendship!
Change Agent. Author. Keynote Speaker. Independent Board Director.
3 年Appreciate the recognition, Scott. And here is to subtracting whatever is necessary so we can all add what makes our life a little more delicious.