Maurilio Amorim

Month: August 2011

  • Instead of More Effort, Try a New Strategy

    “That guy works hard, but he has looked the same for the past year,” was the remark. It was true. The man at the gym we were watching was no slacker. He had been hitting the weights hard for nearly an hour and the sweat dripping down his face was proof of his commitment. Sadly, however, he had not made any gains in muscle size, weight loss, or definition for a long time. While there are a lot of factors that go in changing one’s physique–from genetics, to diet, exercise form, etc–one thing stood out to me: he has had the same exercise routine since I had first noticed him. As I contemplated this man’s dilemma, I thought of all the effort we put in other areas of life with seemingly little or no return.

    change new strategy

    It’s part common sense, part human nature to press on towards a break through. If we are not producing at work, we just work harder, longer hours. If our organization is not growing, we work the same plan harder. It seldom seems to occur to us that “more” or “harder” might not be the answer. Sometimes the only thing that works is “different.”

    It’s the old definition of insanity that’s so overused these days but that still works: “insanity is doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results.” I’ve tested this theory several times. Most recently I did it with my workouts and diet. I have always been active, but in order to get to single digits body fat and put on about 10 lbs of muscle I had to completely change my diet and exercise routine. Same effort + a new plan = different results.

    It sounds so obvious and elementary as I write this, but much like the man who is stuck on a no-change routine, we get stuck more often than we care to admit. I know there are other areas of my life that I need this lesson. If I were completely honest with myself I would have a self conversation that says, “you’ve got to do something different. Quit the insanity and change strategy”

    Have you ever been in a high-effort, little-result situation? How did you deal with it?

  • The Rule of Five

    “You are the average of the five people closest to you.”

    you are the average of the 5 people closest to you

    I have been thinking about this statement for several years now. The more I analyze it, the more it seems to ring true, even though I cannot prove it.  If it’s true, those closest to us have a tremendous influence in our total well being. They impact us:

    professionally

    financially

    spiritually

    physically

    How do you feel about the idea that you are the average of the five people closest to you?

  • Why Non Christians Cannot Lead Successful Christian Businesses

    Christian industry businesses run by non Christians cannot succeed. I know that’s a bold statement, but after years of watching large conglomerates buying Christian music labels, publishing houses, retail stores and failing to make it work, I’m more convinced than ever that a non-believer cannot successfully lead a Christian businesses. Here’ s why.

    Greedy business man and Christian business

    It’s all about the message. Unlike any other industry, the Christian message is key to product development. If you don’t understand, relate, and more importantly, believe in the message, nothing else matters. If the power of the message is not there, then you no longer have a compelling reason to sell your product and you are competing in the same crowded waters as everyone else. Your focus then, has to be on price, packaging and marketing–the product becomes a mere commodity. At this level your uniqueness is gone and you have to do your best to outsmart the big players of in the secular arena.

    It’s also about the audience. There’s a big difference in creating products that you hope people will buy and creating product you believe will change their lives. One is a simple product. The other is a personal mission. The motivations are years apart. Most of the Christian industry businesses have been started by churches, movements, and individuals whose goals have first and foremost been to resource God’s people with music, literature, tools that would enrich their relationship with God. They sprang up from a revival, from a movement that swept across the land, from a vision given to a man or woman to make a difference. Along the way they found a way to monetize their resource and make the organization sustainable.

    The day the focus becomes solely on profitability, market share and the bottom line, the very reason a Christian business has for existing begins to die. The internal culture changes. It has too. The mission that once wanted to resource now wants to sell. The visionary who wanted to enhance the lives of believers is now replaced with the executive who needs to deliver dividends to his stockholders. After all his very job depends on it. And so the culture changes.

    I’m not naive to think Christian businesses don’t face the same issues other business do. No matter your foundation, whether Christian or secular, if you are not profitable or at least sustainable, you won’t be around, period. Good business practices help every one. But if you remove the heart and soul of an organization and replace it with people who don’t believe, understand and cannot relate to the original vision, it will not succeed. And if it does, I guarantee you, it will no longer be a Christian business.

    How do you feel about this? Am I being unreasonable?

  • How Not to Leave a Job. A Lesson From Caddy Steve Williams

    The way you leave a job says more about you than the way you started it. Recently Tiger Woods fired his caddy of 13 years, Steve Williams. Unfortunately for Mr. Williams, his public reaction to the event is a classic case of how not to walk away from a job. Whether or not Tiger was justified in firing Williams, the time and manner of it is truly irrelevant. The only thing Williams can control is his reaction. In Steve’s own words:

    “Following the completion of the AT&T National I am no longer caddying for Tiger after he informed me that he needed to make a change. After 13 years of loyal service needless to say this came as a shock. Given the circumstances of the past 18 months working through Tiger’s scandal, a new coach and with it a major swing change and Tiger battling through injuries I am very disappointed to end our very successful partnership at this time.” You can watch the video announcement below:

    The words “scandal,” “earn my respect,” “put my family through,” and “I’ve been loyal” do nothing to help a man who made 31 million dollars from his job as a caddy. If there was ever a chance of reconciliation between Tiger and Steve, I’m sure this interview killed it. If I were a professional golfer looking for a new caddy, I would think twice before hiring him.

    Being fired is beyond our control, but leaving a job well is a 100 percent in our hands. Had Mr. Williams said, “I’m disappointed but it’s Tiger’s decision and I wish him well,” most of us would have a lot more sympathy for the man. After watching the interview, I’m thinking: quit your whining.

    Have you ever left a bad work situation? How did you handle it?

  • Best Defense Against an Insult

    The best defense to an insult is a greater insult, but not back to the person who slighted you, but to yourself.

    The inherent problem with an insult is that often we don’t know if it’s meant as a joke in poor taste, a true put down wrapped in a joke for the passive aggressive or a true ugly slight.  Before I figured out how to deal with these, I found myself in no-win situations. If it was meant as a joke and I over reacted, I would come across as an insecure jerk. If the put down was wrapped in a joke and I called the person on it, they would quickly remind me “I’m just kidding. Where’s your sense of humor?” And if it was meant as insult, it was most likely there to bait me into an argument or a fight at the wrong place and time.

    Years ago I decided on a different approach: taking the insult a step further.  It has worked well. The approach makes me come across self-deprecating and humorous. It usually says, “hey you think you can insult me? I can do it better than you. Watch this.” Here’s a couple of come backs I have used in the past.

    Unfriendly negotiator: “I don’t think you’re worth that much money.”

    Me neither, but for some reason crazy reason people are willing to pay it.

    Guy at the gym: “It takes you longer to get ready than most women.”

    I know. If I looked half as good as you I could do it much faster.

    Usually there’s no come back when you take their put down and turn it up a notch. I find that for those watching the exchange, you’ll come across endearing and funny while the other person not so much.

    How do you deal with insults?

     

  • Workout Systems to Help Your Lack of Motivation

    I’m a naturally disciplined person. I exercise 6 days a week, usually early mornings. It’s not always easy. That’s not true. It’s never easy.  Getting up at 4:30 a.m., hitting the pavement for a run or going to the gym for a hard workout is often the last thing my body wants to do.  So I have come up with a few systems to help push through when motivation alone is not enough, which happens to be pretty much every day.

    workout partner

    Set up goals. Different seasons in life I have different goals. They provide me with the motivation I need.  I have trained for a 5k, 10k and marathon. I’ve done triathlons. My current goal is hitting single digits body fat. I’m almost there. If you have a goal, you’ll go much farther, faster.  It gives you a reason to say “no” to the warm cookie the flight attendant offers late at night after a brutal day, or to order the baked tilapia and steamed broccoli at Maggiano’s when your entire family is feasting on a mountain of delicious carbs.

    Schedule the workouts. On Sunday night I schedule my entire week’s workouts. If I’m traveling I try to find a gym near my hotel, and if I can’t workout, then I make that day my rest day. This week, for example, I’m doing chest, triceps and abs on Monday, back and biceps and running on Tuesday, shoulders and abs on Wednesday, running and legs on Thursday, arms on Friday and a long run on Saturday.

    Prepare the night before. I have a tendency to walk around aimlessly in the mornings. If I don’t pick my clothing and pack my gym bag the night before, I’m usually late for the gym and my workouts don’t get done. I get everything ready so all I have to do is get up, brush my teeth and get out. Self motivation is not enough.

    Have an accountability partner. I have a workout partner, several running partners and I even have friends in cities I visit often to get a good workout or run in. Knowing someone is waiting on me, forces me to get up and get going. I also work harder when I’m doing it with another person. But make sure you find someone who is reliable and who’s going to push you. A demotivating, unreliable partner can derail your plans faster than training alone.

    Have you developed systems to help when you lack motivation?