Valley Guides Greg Dyche

Day 100 - All done.

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99 days. My odd experiment is coming to an end. Tomorrow is the last episode. Today, I thought I begin to reflect on what’s happened, maybe a part 1. I didn’t want to talk about something I’ve already posted, like so many of the podcasts. I wanted something new for today, so I’m starting with a blank sheet, and I’m going to see where this leads.

Emotions have played a larger role in my experiment than anything physical or mental. I didn’t lack skill, time, or money. The skill level required is minimum. I just did the best I can do. The time wasn’t much. The article and podcast took about 20 to 45 minutes depending on the day. The exercise was only 150 seconds. Money wasn’t required. Anchor.fm and LinkedIn are both free, and I already had the microphone.

The experiment was an emotional rollercoaster. The last week has been an all-time low, and I would have predicted it to be an all-time high. I thought I would be excited to be at the end, but I was almost angry at the futility of a few more days. Somehow I thought I had learned all that I would learn, but in the middle of that thought, realizing I was still learning how to finish when the fun was gone.

It’s about the finishing, even when it isn’t fun. It’s okay to switch of course, but only for real reasons, not for emotions. I’m not happy about emotions playing such a large role. I feel cornered somehow by my desire to have my emotions aligned with my objectives. Why do I “want” to relax, veg, read for fun, hang out? None of those activities are bad in the right context and allotment. I’m not saying to work all day and never relax. Actually, I believe being with the ones you care about is more important than any experiment. The point is what type of person do you want to be for the ones you care about. I know someone that lies often. He’ll exaggerate and explain away mistakes. I find him untrustworthy. I don’t value his friendship much. He’s not the type of person I aspire to be. I don’t think he’s the type of person he aspires to be, but maybe I’m wrong. I don’t know him well enough to say, but I can use him as a hypothetical to examine my own thinking. Is it possible he’s too busy with the mundane and immediate that he can’t take the time to ponder something long term and valuable? Could he be addicted to the easy road? I know first steps in any direction is a good indicator of the next step and direction. I like to say firsts beget seconds. If I read, I’m more likely to read. If I eat junk food, I’m more likely to continue to eat junk food. If I walk a little, I’m more likely to walk a lot. In this real sense, I can be aware of beginnings and set a course for a beautiful ending.

I haven’t really found my tribe yet. I have a few very dear friends that are worth the world to me. I’m not talking about that tribe. I’m talking about my hobby of investigating will power, decisions, and habits. I’m still searching. If you know anyone I should know, please connect us. If you are someone who finds this type of thing interesting, please let me know.

This isn’t an end. Tomorrow is my last episode for this experiment, and I will close tomorrow the same way I’m going to close today, to be continued.


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Where is work? It’s not a place. It’s an effect.

Stephen Ambrose in Nothing Like It In the World (page 130-131) tells a story about General Dodge's philosophy. “He [General Dodge] toured the country and had every soldier on the Platte in the saddle instead of by a fire in the stockades. Shortly, the general manager of the Overland Telegraph notified Washington that telegraphic communication had been resumed from the Missouri River to California. Grant wired him a query: “Where is Dodge?” The general telegraphed back, 'Nobody knows where he is, but everybody knows where he has been.'”

I can think of a better complement.


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Schedule it.

That's the best time management advice I can give summed up in one bumper sticker. Sure there's more we can talk about, but if you only remember one thing, schedule it.


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Have you ever stressed because you don't have enough time in the day? I hope so, and that's a good thing. I believe you can use this to your advantage.

Do you normally start out strong and relax a little as the day progresses? I hope so; you can use this to your advantage.

Boundaries and restrictions, like 24 hours a day, force innovation and creativity. One of my favorite movie quotes is from Platoon, "There's the way things should be and the way things are." When we talk about change in a corporate sense, we are trying to move from the way things are to the way things should be.

To paraphrase a quote by Bernard Shaw "At every dog fight, the owner knew which dog would win. When asked how he knew, he explained it was easy. He feed one dog and starve the other." I experienced the benefit of feeding the wining-dog firsthand. About 20 years ago, I sold service at a local car dealership. I was measured by how many hours my technicians were able to charge per customer visit. On days with less factory-paid warranty work, I'd have a higher average repair hour number. I told my boss that I couldn't control what warranty work would come through the door. He agreed and told me to book more customer-paid work, and I wouldn't have room for so much factory-paid work. I had to feed the dog I wanted to win.

Change requires a feeding plan. You must identify the behaviors required to adopt the new way of life, the way things should be and make a plan to encourage, require, or gamify those behaviors. Since we know our will power is stronger early in the day and wanes thin as the day progresses, we need to go big and go early with the desired changes. If you fill the day with the actions you want, you'll run out of time for the other actions.

Of course, this isn't easy. Of course, there are key behaviors. Of course, there's more to change than just a feeding plan. My point is that you must have feeding plan in addition to the other change activities.

What do you think?


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Definitions are powerful. What's your definition of success?

As a parent, my definition of success is simple. I have 6 kids now, and I formed this definition years before I had kids. I would add so much to it if we were discussing parenting today, but I still think it holds as a decent definition.

I'm the child of a teenage pregnancy. I've heard lots of stories about the hardships and struggles. I've seen a few as I got old enough to understand. I guess this is why growing up I considered teenage pregnancy such a burden. This type of mistake carries a lot of fear. Young people have a tendency to continue hiding a mistake, hoping it will somehow go away. I too was young once (long time ago), and I remember clearly thinking the world was against me. I had to do it myself. This type of thinking is dangerous. As we know now as older adults, a lot of harm can be avoided if we get help early and often. My definition of success as a parent is "Can my daughter come to me and say, 'Dad, I'm pregnant.'"?

As a leader, my definition is very similar. Does the team live in fear of failure? Do they hide mistakes, sweep mistakes under the rug, or think they'll make up for it next time? Remember the $2 Billion mistake JPMorgan suffered? Jamie Dimon explains in an interview how the mistake could have been so much smaller had the team admitted earlier what had happened. What's my definition of success as a team leader? Does the team come to me earlier and often to check in on mistakes? Do they trust that we'll push each other hard, hold each other to high levels of accountability, and still realize we have to take risks? Does the team believe we have each other's back?

What about the success definition as a seller? “Let's call Greg.” -- not “Let's look for a solution, or let's shop around.” Even if I don't have the product they need, I'll still help explore a solution. My definition of success as a seller is “Am I top of mind to the customer?”. Do they trust me enough to call early and say, "Hey, we're thinking about X." or "We have a problem. Not sure you can help, but we thought we'd start with you."

In life? My definition is a bit odd. I've always pictured a loud, chaotic, colorful Christmas. Too many gifts. Too much food. Kids everywhere. Laughter. Time together. As Inky Johnson says, it's we not I.


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