04-06mill

Greetings!

Ever been sitting there during a presentation but your mind was in another place? You suddenly realize that you haven't heard a word in the last 20 seconds. Especially terrifying is the fact that you were personally asked by the CEO to be on the company Safety Committee, and you just missed hearing "step 7 in the 10 steps to successfully administering CPR." It doesn't help that the CEO has a known heart condition!

Or, it could have been a sales call where, instead of listening, you were thinking about taking the kids to soccer practice and missed a buying signal that would have earned you a nice commission. Our business lives are full of meetings. Are you constantly trying to juggle your attention span during them? You're not alone—and it is costing you money, time and the quality of your daily performance.

It's not just in the business world where being "in the moment" is crucial. This year I was asked to manage our son's baseball team. Anyone who thinks that baseball is a slow and unexciting game should climb into the manager's shoes for 6 innings. There are literally dozens of thoughts and scenarios playing out in your mind while situations are forever changing on the field. At least the pros are supposed to have a good grasp of the game. Beyond the game, I was worried if someone had their glove on, was watching the 6:30 flight to LA, or had their shoes tied. More than once, I caught myself thinking of something at work and missed a chance to give the steal sign.

A recent article on CEO fitness in Fortune Magazine talked about the idea of being a corporate athlete. Along with diet and exercise, focus is so very important. Practicing disciplined concentration and living "in the moment" are essential to performing well—especially under pressure.

The author states that "stress is good, multitasking is bad." Stress is a natural byproduct when you compete in anything. The idea is to balance the stress with "rituals of recovery." Tennis players look at their strings between points, baseball players step out of the batter's box to adjust their gloves between pitches—executives can roll their shoulders every hour. When the moment comes where your attention has to be at peak levels, put the blinders on and get 110% into the situation.

Learning to be fully "in the moment" is actually liberating in that, like many other things, you get what you put into it. Whether stressful, peaceful, or just average undertakings, you have a heightened sense of awareness and discover the finer nuances of the experience.

So, whether you've chosen to be there, or have to be there, make the most of your next experience. You can think about other things later, most likely with more focus and less distraction. You'll not only notice the difference, but those around you will too!

Tim Padgett
tim@peppergroup.com

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

“The ability to focus attention on important things is a defining characteristic of intelligence.”
     —Robert J. Shiller

“The key to realizing a dream is to focus not on success but significance–and then even the small steps and little victories along your path will take on greater meaning.”
     —Oprah Winfrey

“The secret of concentration is the secret of self-discovery. You reach inside yourself to discover your personal resources, and what it takes to match them to the challenge.”
     —Arnold Palmer

George's Going to Market: Productivity Tools

Do you use a computer? Do you want to make your life better? Do you want great stuff for free?

If you answered “no” to these questions, then what are you doing out of your hole? For the rest of us, here are some great new tools that you’ll love.

Internet Explorer 7

Microsoft has announced delays for its new operating system, but Internet Explorer 7, Beta version, is available for a free download. If you use Firefox now, the new features will make you yawn, but for those of us in the masses who use the outdated and clunky Explorer 6, this version is great!

Version 7 delivers tabbed browsing, which allows you to easily move between open web pages within one window. Plus, with one click you can see a thumbnail view of all the pages you have open. In addition, you can finally print a web page without a portion of it getting cut off. Version 7 automatically resizes the page to fit on a sheet of paper. The interface is cleaned up, letting you see more of the website you’re viewing and fewer horsy icons at the top. A search bar is embedded and you can set it up to use any search engine you want. And you can finally reap the benefits of getting automatic news and information updates via RSS feeds without being a techno-geek.

I’ve been using it for quite some time and would never want to go back. Microsoft has a nice page at www.microsoft.com/ie that explains it in more detail and lets you easily download the free upgrade.

iTunes Podcast store

You’ve probably heard of Podcasts. But did you know that iTunes just celebrated the one-year anniversary of the Podcast store? The number of new Podcasts being added daily is mind-boggling. And though a lot of Podcasts are quite amateurish, there are many that contain great, well-produced content. There’s something for absolutely every taste.

If you’re not a “techie” (i.e. you’re over 23 and can’t text message at 80 words a minute nor write your emails completely with acronyms), there’s no need to worry. It’s actually really easy. The Podcasts are free. And you don’t even need an iPod.

Just go to www.apple.com/itunes and download the free player. In iTunes, there’s an icon on the left called Podcasts. Search what’s out there, click it to listen to see if you like it, and if you do, click “subscribe.” That’s it. The latest audio issues will be automatically downloaded for your listening pleasure as they become available.

Google Desktop

The company that is quickly taking over the world has now given us the tools to finally take over our own computers. If you’ve ever tried to find that lost document, you’ve experienced the pain. Which folder is it in? Why does the search tool take 4 days to scan my files? Why can’t I find it? Arrrgh!

Not only does Google Desktop search your documents much faster and much more effectively. It also gives you results for all kinds of files. It’s almost scary how much it knows. Just enter a search term and you’ll get results just like you get on Google, except they’re all from your computer—even the websites you visited recently that are related to that search term. And, just like Google, they’re ranked by relevancy. Not only that, it tells you when you last accessed the file and how often.

Google assures you that they’re not spying, but if you’re skittish, you may want to pass. Also, if you have a lot of stuff you don’t want found, this is not the way to keep it hidden (if you catch my drift).

If nothing else, you can always uninstall it. But this is one of the best and coolest productivity tools out there. You can check it out at www.google.com/desktop.

In fact, Google has all kinds of great, free tools including Google Alerts which I’ve found invaluable. Just go to Google and click on “more” to see all of what’s out there.

These have been great tools for me that I’d now never want to do without. And I hope these freebies bring you many benefits as well. Enjoy!

George Couris
george@peppergroup.com

Todd's Tidbits: There’s No Place Like Home

It’s easy to think of faraway places when planning an adventure, but this year nine friends and I chose to stay within northeastern Illinois for our annual summertime bicycling excursion. Since we all live near Elgin, our three-day loop officially started and ended at the Pioneer Memorial statue there. In between, we traveled though Chicago, Libertyville, and Crystal Lake, averaging about 50 miles per day. Each rider carried their own clothing and supplies on their bike so that the trip was fully self-supported.

We were able to utilize many trails along the way so that those who were uncomfortable with street riding were still willing to join the trip. On the first day, we took the Illinois Prairie Path to Maywood, where we spotted an unusual sign on a building that demanded “No Pissing.” We were happy to comply as we worked our way up to Augusta Blvd. in Oak Park for a trip through some amazing neighborhoods.

Augusta is a designated bikeway into Chicago and, except for choice words from a few west-side residents who didn’t appreciate the grandeur of our journey, it was safe. We arrived downtown at the Best Western River North in plenty of time for a swim before dinner. The hotel was gracious enough to let us bring our bikes up to our rooms for the night so we didn’t have any worries about security. The slow parade of bikes individually going up the two-person elevator drew more than a few stares though.

The next morning, we connected trails north along the lakefront with short jaunts on streets while taking time to tour the spectacular Bahai Temple in Wilmette. When we reached Lake Bluff, the North Shore Bike Path took us inland to the Des Plaines River Trail and we took that north to the Holiday Inn Express in Libertyville.

An early morning trail ride around the lake at Independence Grove Forest Preserve was a brilliant kick-off for our final day of the trip. We then rode westbound through Mundelein, the breathtaking (in more ways than one) Lakewood Forest Preserve trails, Wauconda and Oakwood Hills on our way to the McHenry County Prairie Path in Crystal Lake.

I think the highlight of the trip for me though, was our lunch at the 85 Brink Street Bar & Grille in Crystal Lake. Located less than a block from the trail, the refreshing air conditioning was counter-balanced by the warm charm of our friendly server. A charismatic cook brought us our meals complete with this bit of sage advice, “You only become old when you stop being young.”

Trips like this one certainly help keep the years from taking their toll.

Todd Underwood
todd@peppergroup.com