The Blog of Author David Allen

Author: D. Allen

  • Painless Leadership – Four Lessons I Wish I Had Sooner

    Children are like wet cement. Whatever falls on them makes an impression.

    Dr. Haim Ginott – Child Psychologist and Author of Between Parent and Child

     

    Formation: Teacher and Kids by cobrasoft

    My first leadership role came as a homeschool teacher to two children. Ironic, as I practice abstinence, a measure that I hope reduce the chances of having children later in life.

    I’m glad I did the teaching, however. The experience has given me many good things, among them patience, negotiating skills, and I have even been told that I am a relatable person. If that made me relatable, what was I before?

    An answer to that question can be found by looking at my now refined leadership abilities. The good news is that I have leadership abilities. The bad news: I’m no Winston Churchill.

    There are four things I have learned that you must know before stepping into a leadership role, which apply to business and parenting. Teachers have the same issues and can benefit from these as well.

    So listen up:

    1. The people we lead are entrusting themselves to us. The responsibility is greater if you are a Christian, because then God is also entrusting them to you.

    2. All the things you got away with doing as a child are about to bite you back. The presence or appearance of any character flaws and negative mindsets will be amplified and reflected back at you. Slacked off at work? So will they. Acted like a jerk to authority figures? Guess who’s the authority now!

    Come on, be happy. Isn’t this what you wanted? If not, you have two options:

    1. Abandon your post as fast as you can
    2. Work with friends, a lifecoach, a parent, or anyone else you trust so you can change your mindsets, acquire new habits, and communicate that change to the people you lead.

    3. Understand what is expected of you. The consequences of not doing so are a life of hard work, a bad leadership experience, and as a bonus, you get to make the person who made you a leader look like a real idiot. I don’t want that and neither do you.

    Once you understand what is expected of you, turn that into a vision for the future that you can explain to those you lead without lecturing. If you are teaching someone to read, tell them that reading gives them the freedom to learn anything THEY want to learn.

    4. Know how much you are willing to negotiate, and what tactics you will use if the people you lead do not follow well.

    If the people you are leading are better at negotiating than you are, then you will not get the results you are looking for. This is bad, especially if you cannot fire them. If this becomes your situation, learn how to say no and back it up with consequences. If you don’t do this, the consequences for you result in bad performance, no matter how many people you hire and fire.

    Companies have systems for dealing with people who negatively impact their coworkers and profit margins. Employment contracts, first and second warnings, suspension, and termination sound familiar to most of us. When your system is tested, enforce it, or else nobody will respect the value of your time, your words, or the vision you have for the future.

    Are there any lessons you have learned from teaching or leading others?

  • Plan B?

    Plan B (to do it or not)

    So what do you do if it doesn’t work out?

    When you have stated an ambitious goal to someone who is well-meaning, but intimidated by your commitment, you may have heard this question.

    The experts on success seem at odds with the concept of Plan B.  In some books I’ve read,  Plan B distracts from Plan A. Others still are strong supporters of multiple plans.

    Since it is a new year and you have thought of the goals you want to achieve for the next 365 days, it’s worth taking a look at Plan B

    Let’s straighten this out.

    Traditional View of Plan B:

    Plan A for John Doe is to get into film as an actor in Hollywood, yet culinary school is a great Plan B in case that doesn’t work out.

    From this perspective, Plan B may yet detract energy that could be put into achieving Plan A.

    When Plan B comes up in a debate, it creates a battle between the risk averse who see large mountains to overcome, and the risk takers who will climb those mountains with or without the supplies they might need.

    Plan B redefined:

    John Doe IS going to get into film as an actor in Hollywood. Plan A is to show up at auditions, enlist the help of agents and build a healthy portfolio. Plan B is to do commercials and network with independent film producers to build a fanbase and generate enough buzz to get consideration for those roles on the silver screen.

    What is the difference between the first Plan B and the second Plan B?

    The first Plan B detracts energy from your mind that you could use to further Plan A.

    The second Plan B doesn’t compromise your life goals. Plan B 2.0 causes you to think of multiple roads to get to the same destination, all of which would move you closer to the result you want.  With this type of plan B, you don’t put your emotional eggs in one basket. Your plans weave together to form a tight cord that connects you to your goals.

    Best of all, the knowledge that you’ve got several ways to make it will give you more confidence to succeed in Plan A, and all worthwhile commitments benefit from confidence.
    With this thought in mind, having a plan C, D, and E, even if you never use most of them, will make your mind sharper, give you better confidence, and enable you to move forward with your ideas.

  • The Founding of Emotionally Bulletproof – My Beginning

    Initiated Into a New World

    Image courtesy of Ian BrittonAlmost a year ago, I reached up and grabbed a cluster of grapes from my own vineyard. Owning a farm was never something that I had considered, but through a chain of circumstances, my co-author and I found ourselves in Argentina preparing to write.

    One question stayed in my mind: Why would I throw away the last 6 months of blogging about the music industry and abandon pursuit of a degree from Belmont University in Music Business?

    From the time I was 14, I was interested in the music industry, but I found myself in a very changing world, and after losing both my mother and father within a few short months, I realized there was more to life than becoming ridiculously wealthy and achieving rock star fame.

    I also realized that the music industry was changing fast, and the reality of the ubiquitous rock star looked more like a passing phase in history, a train that left the station several years before I arrived.

    As I looked at the future, understanding business from an entrepreneurial perspective became my new quest. I put my guitar in storage, along with my car, desktop computer, and the death certificates of both my parents, and embarked on an adventure. This adventure would lead me to bringing many people the same opportunity that I had been given when I met a mentor and coach who taught me about trust and relationships.

    A New Mission

    I dedicated my writing career to bringing people from a place of obscurity, where their ingenious ideas would have little value, to a place of recognition, where they can lead and change our culture. I made the decision to help people create and promote their ideas, to bring those people to international success.

    After publishing one book and writing two more, I found myself back in Alaska with my co-author trying to help him promote the ideas that had changed my life.

    Brian Shaul and Emotionally Bulletproof

    No journey worth taking is easy. Brian Shaul had labored in obscurity for over 16 years, working with individuals and teaching them three main principles for emotional health. In over 10,000 hours of one-on-one coaching, Brian had learned that trust is the foundation of all relationships, and that relationships are the foundation for emotional health.

    As I have worked with Brian to help him promote these ideas, I have become aware of the patterns of thinking that we all develop. The emotionally bulletproof system (EBP) helps you understand the healthy thought patterns that will help you be successful, as well as eliminate the negative thought patterns responsible for unhealthy reactions and unstable emotions. I am proud of the books and what they have become to the growing number of readers who study the principles inside them.

    Accomplish Your Mission

    As Brian becomes more and more successful as an author and a public speaker, I will use his success as a case study to help you achieve your own goals and aspirations, as well as provide insights from both the creative world and the business world to take your work to the next level.

    I will share the best of my experiences and the results of the challenges I take on through this blog. You are welcome to follow along to hear the adventures (and misadventures), as well as share what has worked for you on accomplishing your mission.

    It is a great time to be alive.