One of the big reasons people don’t do things is that they don’t think it will make any difference. Who cares? What difference will it make? Those questions are generated from a point of view that is addressed in this TED video by Peter Diamandis. If you really think the world is going to hell in a handbasket, then it doesn’t really matter what you do.

However, if you think there is a reasonably good future ahead of us, then making a positive contribution toward a brighter future  seems like it makes sense, even when some of your activities may feel tedious to you. We’ll deal more in a future post about how you decide what to do and the role of self discipline!

In the meantime, enjoy Peter’s 16 minutes. I only wish he had smiled a bit through such an encouraging message!

Now many people including my daughter, have jumped out of airplanes. They fully understand that, gravity being what it is, they are destined to move toward and rejoin the earth at a rate of speed determined by how they maneuver their parachutes. However, no matter how long one is in free-fall, one remains connected, if only by gravity, to the earth.

Up where Bruce was, gravity is just about zero. He was floating, weightless in space. He did have a nitrogen powered, jet-propelled backpack, known as the MMU or Manned Maneuvering Unit, with which he could maneuver through space, but . . . he was totally unconnected! At the time this photo was taken, Bruce was alongside and approximately 320 feet from the Challenger.

After the Challenger disaster on January 28, 1986, NASA  discontinued use of the MMU because it was deemed too dangerous. However in 1984 and 1985 astronauts were literally walking in space!

Imagine what thoughts were going through Bruce’s mind as he drifted untethered, with an expansive view of the entire Earth!

What would you have thought, if that were you floating out there in space? What emotions would you have felt? And after you had taken your “little ride,” exactly what would you then think is impossible?

For more details and another amazing photo see this article in Universe Today.

For more details on the flight, see NASA or see Wikipedia.

Photo Courtesy: NASA

Reading the article and post referenced above could start you thinking about the unconscious rules you use to run your business or your career. Are you really being smart about what you do and how you lead?

And if the point of the Zen Habits article strikes a chord, try this book by Stephen M. Shapiro to see if you really want to keep setting goals! Success without goals, hmmm. Less stress, more serendipity, more success. Depending, of course on how you define success.

No matter what stage of growth your business is in, this is an extremely valuable question. When you answer it, you’ll have a much better chance of developing a successful, sustainable business. Tim Berry in this article from Entrepreneur, suggests three questions for people to ask themselves prior to writing their business plan. But question #1 is the most important and can make an important difference in how you think about your business at any stage.

How do you define success?

Did you know that for many people, the answer is not profits or revenue? Your definition of success might seem random to others but it’s your company and knowing your own criteria for success will help you align your rational and emotional intelligences and greatly increase your chances of “getting there”, wherever “there” happens to be!

So what’s your definition of success?

Yet today, most of our businesses are run as if the guy/gal at the top knows everything, knows how to best accomplish each task and you better do it their way because otherwise it’s the highway! This mistake starts when the founder, working alone figures out the best/right way. As the organization grows, instead of passing down the desire to reach company goals, the edict is some version of “do it my way.” But the Army doesn’t do it that way any more and hasn’t for a long time. Why? Because listening and evolving their strategies based on front-line suggestions simply is more effective!

What can you learn from this article about a different way to run your company?

‘”There’s a temptation in our networked age to think ideas can be developed by email and iChat” he said. “That’s crazy. Creativity comes from spontaneous meetings, from random discussions. You run into someone, you ask what they’re doing, you say ‘Wow’ and soon you’re cooking up all sorts of ideas.”‘

So in designing Pixar’s new headquarters, he insisted that it be designed to promote encounters and unplanned collaborations. When the building was completed, Pixar’s co-founder, John Lassiter, said Steve’s theory worked from the day the building opened. From day one, he kept running into people he hadn’t seen in ages, even though they’d worked in the same company for years!

How does your company promote informal collaboration?

Do you have a deliberate strategy to make your everyday decisions effectively? If not you might want to take a look at this short article from FastCompany to discover three things you can begin doing right now to make wiser decisions!

Although this article’s headline make it sound like Apple is not interested in profits, too many decisions have to be made in a company Apple’s size for profits to be totally ignored. Like, how do they decide to price their products, if not at an acceptable margin above their costs? Nevertheless, the point about focus is well made!