IN THIS ISSUE
Welcome
Feature Article - Arrogance and Blind Spots
Words to Inspire
Guest Column - Mr. Roger's Look and Listen Lessons

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WELCOME

Greetings and welcome to all of you. We are delighted to send you another issue of KEYS TO SUCCESS. Thank you for joining us.

As you read this issue I will be leaving for a week in the Caribbean to soak up some sun and fun with my husband. The wet, cold weather we've been having makes this trip very appealing!

The feature article describes what happens when we let our blind spots and arrogance control what we do. Discover ways to counteract those tendencies.

Some of you may notice the Resources For You section is missing this time. I am trying to shorten the ezine so it takes less of your time to read and less of my time to write. Please let me know your thoughts about this. Your feedback is appreciated.

Our commitment is to give you practical information and inspirational ideas to benefit your business and personal life. We are committed to "bringing out your best"! We welcome feedback so we can improve and offer real value to you.

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Arrogance and Blind Spots

Is there something you aren't seeing? Are you like a race horse wearing blinders so focused on your path that you are oblivious to what is going on around you? It happened to me as I was trying to find a theme for this article. I was so focused on not having a topic I couldn't see the answer. On the table in front of me was a deck of WhackPack Cards with 64 different ideas I could possibly use. One of my coaching clients suggested I just pick a card from the deck and use that particular idea for my article. What a fantastic idea!

I use WhackPack Cards with my coaching groups at the end of each session. The cards offer specific creative strategies for finding solutions. Each group participant randomly selects a card. Invariably the card reflects the problem they have discussed in the coaching group. Call it synchronistic or call it weird, it happens very time! The cards are a great reinforcement for taking the next action steps.

The card I so boldly and blindly selected was "Avoid Arrogance". My immediate response was to put the card back and select a different one! Arrogance isn't exactly one of those warm fuzzy words that's exciting to write about. This particular card belongs to a suit of cards in the deck that lends itself to evaluating an idea and deciding what to do with it. So please bear with me as I try to make sense of the wonderful card I picked.

Webster defines arrogance as a superiority manifested in an overbearing manner or presumptuous claims. Napoleon lost the Battle of Waterloo because of arrogance. A battle he thought would take a few hours to win turned into his fall from power. None of us want to be blinded by arrogance. We want to avoid it.

Most of us think of arrogance as a negative trait. There is a positive side to arrogance. It boosts our confidence and helps us believe in what we are doing. In moderation arrogance is a good thing. Taken to extreme it becomes a liability because it creates blind spots.

Did you get caught up in the dotcom hype? Did you buy stocks based on that hype only to have them become worthless pieces of paper? The arrogance of that industry had us all believing we could make a lot of money quickly and easily and the run would continue. We learned the hard way that easy come means easy go.

In recent times we have seen some CEO's take arrogance to the extreme. They made presumptuous claims about the financial picture of their companies. Blind spots were created with loop holes in accounting systems. It took whistle blowers to correct the picture when CEO's didn't avoid arrogance. Their egos drove their actions.

Have you ever had a 360 performance evaluation completed by your peers, direct reports, and manager? Did you discover you had blind spots? Sometimes the feedback isn't what you want to hear or read. "How can they say I don't listen?" If you take the information seriously, it is an opportune time for self improvement.

Psychologically, our blind spots can show up as denial, a major defense mechanism. A father who refuses to believe his son has a mental disorder or an alcoholic who refuses to admit he/she has a drinking problem are examples of denial. Until the denial is broken the blind spots continue to exist. There is arrogance behind denial.

How can you counteract and avoid arrogance? First, you need to take off the blinders and widen the scope of your view. Secondly you need to substitute arrogance with a little humility. Ask yourself if you need to be right all the time. Maybe there is merit in listening to others. Lastly, increase your awareness of what's going on around you. Look for new solutions and ideas to solve your problems.

Avoid arrogance by reducing your blind spots. The Battle of Waterloo doesn't need to fought and lost again!
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WORDS TO INSPIRE

"Listen or thy tongue will keep thee deaf."
American Indian Proverb

"The heart is wiser than the intellect."
Josiah Holland

"Being kind to others is a way of being good to yourself."
Rabbi Harold Kushner
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