As Seen in Entrepreneur Magazine....Again!

I trust everyone is having a fantastic Thanksgiving Weekend. I have forced myself to stay off the computer to get some much needed downtime and recharge which has been a very surreal yet enlightening experience. I think my little digits don't know what to do with themselves since they aren't having to pound away at a keyboard all day.

Well I didn't want them to get out of practice so I thought I would hammer out a quick post to let you all know that I have been again quoted in Entrepreneur Magazine. That makes three consecutive December's that I have been quoted in their magazine which is uber cool.

Actually this month's inclusion is in a special edition publication called Entrepreneur's StartUps 101 Great Ideas to Get You Started Today!

I have the honor of being idea # 10 of 101! You can check it out by clicking here or picking up your own copy of the magazine which will be on display until the end of January!

I also want to give a special thanks to Nichole L. Torres from Entrepreneur Magazine for continuing to dig the Ripple Guy enough to keep using me as a source. It is both an honor and privilege to know you Nichole and I very much appreciate the Ripples that always seem to occur after appearing in your magazine.

Ripple On My Friends!!!

Steve

Give Thanks Forward

First of all Happy Thanksgiving to all of my BLOG readers. When I sit before my Thanksgiving table tomorrow, I will be saying a little prayer of thanks for bringing so many of you into my life and work. I have truly been blessed this past year and I can thank so many of you for that.

As I was reflecting earlier this week on the concept of Thanksgiving I found myself caught up on the concept of giving thanks for what I have already received. I think Thanksgiving of course gives us all an ideal opportunity to look back, to reflect on all that has happened this past year and truly give thanks. I have done it for as long as I remember. But tomorrow I challenge you to do something a little bit different.

Instead of just giving thanks for what you have already received...Give Thanks Forward for all that you are about to receive in the coming year.

Imagine all that you would like to achieve, accomplish, earn, discover, learn, etc. in the coming year and give thanks as if you have already received all of it. I am a strong believer that if you open your heart and mind to all that is possible and act as if you are fully expecting that which you want to happen it will. Or at minimum, you at least put yourself in a better frame of mind to receive it should it come. Does that make sense?

I am not going off on one of those Law of Attraction ramblings. Just because you think it won't make it so. There is a lot of work involved in obtaining that which we really want and the only time success comes before work is in the dictionary. But getting yourself clear on what you want to be looking back on this time next Thanksgiving and truly giving thanks for can't be a bad way to prepare yourself for the upcoming year.

So I Give Thanks Forward for.....

Focusing on drinking up every moment of preciousness with my boys.
Getting into the best physical shape of my life.
Taking my speaking, training and my writing to a whole new level.
Being an all around better man, motivator and contributor to this world.

You get the picture.

Use the old noggin noodle a bit tonight in preparing for your moment of giving thanks tomorrow. What will you be giving thanks forward for?

Just a quick side note...If you really want to make an impact on someone else's perspective of Thanksgiving....try forwarding this BLOG post to them! Who knows what Ripples might come from this way of thinking.

Happy Thanksgiving to you my Ripple Friends!

Be safe and good to one another.

Ripple On!!!

Steve

Visible Leadership

Austin recently hired a new police chief and his name is Art Acevedo. Chief Acevedo came to Austin from California where he was the assistant chief of the California Highway Patrol. He takes over a police department that in recent years has been mired in controversy and has a significant public perception problem.

From the first day that Chief Acevedo took over he has been visible. A trait apparently that won him much fan fare within the Los Angeles community. Chief Acevedo pledged to earn the trust of the Austin public and so far he appears serious about this commitment. Most recently making public a video where a police officer stepped over the line and used excessive force to show both the police department and the public that this kind of action could and would in the future, be avoided. Furthermore, he took what I perceive to be a publicly embarrassing situation for the department and choose to use it as a training opportunity and a public omission that his officer's don't always get it right.

Visible leadership enables those that you lead to watch and see how you respond publicly. They get to see the rhetoric and motivational mumbo jumbo that is often retorted behind closed doors put out there and tested in the stern eyes of public perception. That takes guts and a real belief in one's own ability that the changes that they as a leader are expecting to make, can and will work.

Listening to the morning drive time news the other day there was a half minute story about Acevedo's desire to show more of a police presence during this upcoming holiday season. Statics have shown that alcohol related incidents increase during the holidays and that an increased police presence makes people think twice before drinking a little too much and jumping behind the wheel.

What impressed me most about this story was the fact that every available police office would be out on patrol throughout the holidays and that included the Chief himself. If I was one of Austin's finest and the boss was asking me to work and be away from my family during the holidays I might tend to be a little less upset when I looked across the parking lot and saw the big cheese himself jumping in a squad car to join the fight. That's truly putting his money where his mouth is if you ask me.

Visible leadership is more than just big words and big promises. It's about moving people enough to want to move the football from point a to point b. And yes as a leader, sometimes it means calling the play and keeping the football yourself just to show the team you can and you will. Real leadership isn't "do as I say or else." Well maybe it is by perceptionary (another Steveism ) and that's why so many organizations are seemingly mired in perpetual failure. But I contend that many a CEO and organizational leader could learn from the good example that Chief Acevedo's visible leadership is offering.

I suspect Chief Acevedo's visible leadership is creating a pretty big Ripple Effect. Not only is he getting the attention of the entire police force but it has to be getting noticed by the criminal element as well. Maybe they will think twice before deciding to pick Austin as a place to do their crime. The police officer that will catch them may very well be the Chief himself.

Welcome to Austin Chief Acevedo. I hope our paths cross one day....in a purely good way!

Ripple On!!!