What I Learned On My Summer Vacation That Will Make You A Great Leader

What I Learned On My Summer Vacation That Will Make You A Great LeaderWhat I Learned On My Summer Vacation That Will Make You A Great Leader I just returned from ten days traveling aboard an RV through Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons with my family. It was an off-the-grid trip that recharged my batteries and gave me enjoyable, quality time with my wife and kids. This time off also lead to several breakthrough business ideas and lessons that I thought I would shareR&D is a widely-used term in Entrepreneurs Organization . Instead of the traditional meaning of Research and Development, it stands for Rip-off and Duplicate. The idea is that, rather than trying to figure it all out on yur own or reinvent the wheel (which many entrepreneurs are known to do), its better to find processes and best practices that have proven successful (and unsuccessful) and then modify them to fit your needs and circumstances. This is exactly what my wife did in planning for our Wyoming trip . She collected itineraries from several friends who had taken the same trip before and learned what they liked and what they regretted doing/elend doing. By adapting their experiences for our trip, we saved a lot of time and were able to pack in a lot of wonderful adventures in our 10 days together. A few months ago, while on a flight, my daughter met a mother and daughter from Australia who had been traveling the entire world for six months. In her conversations with them, they shared that their favorite place was Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. This is elend the first time weve heard this. Im continuously surprised how many families weve met from Asia and Europe on this trip who have traveled so far to get here and we had overlooked it in favor of places further away, even though we live so much closer. In looking forward and seeking the new, we often overlook or take for granted the things that are in our own backyard, be it places, people or experiences. For example, we m ight conduct a nationwide search for a new employee while overlooking an existing team member from within our organization who might be a perfect fit for the role were looking to fill. The human eye is estimated to have the equivalent of about 480 megapixels, far more than any camera we use. Too often we dont take advantage of this built-in super HD camera and rely instead on technology to watch key life events. We worry more about preserving the moment than enjoying it, ultimately taking way more videos and pictures than we will ever be able to watch or enjoy. Ill admit, I took a lot of videos and pictures during this trip and got my share of Dad, not another picture groans. Upon reflection, the fruchtwein memorable moments of the trip were often when I just enjoyed it. This included our early morning encounter with a herd of Bison crossing the road and witnessing a solar eclipse, experiences that no camera could truly capture the magnificence of. Deeply ingrained memories are crea ted by engaging all our senses and I am going to work on doing a better job of watching events with my own eyes and creating more organic memories. Sometimes, crowds do know best. On a few poorly marked tourist sites, we decided to follow the crowd and it led us where we needed to go. That said, this should be done with caution. There were times when we saw a bunch of people pulled over on the road with binoculars and glasses. When we asked them what there was to see, they responded that they had pulled over because they saw everyone else had pulled over. Blindly following without asking the right questions can lead you astray. Living with four other people in 200 square feet of space for 10 days gave me some important perspectives. First, I was reminded that happiness is really not connected to material goods . Having less things (clothes, toys, gadgets, cars, shoes, bags, etc.) can be very liberating, especially as we traveled each day with all our possessions. Along our journey, we met many people who had sold their homes and belongings and were now happily living in their RV. They were fully mobile and enjoying life to the fullest. Although I didnt bring that many clothes, I could have brought half of what I did and been fine. Having constraints (space, monetary, etc.) forces you to be much more creative in solving problems and finding solutions , rather than just throwing money or resources at a problem. For example, we used duct tape and bungee cords in a myriad of different ways and a highlight of the trip was when we made an ice cream cookie pie in a frying pan over an open fire that will become a family tradition. We also got creative about recycling and waste, which you become aware of when you have to travel with your trash. Somehow, we have come to associate being busy as being better . We spend our weekends running from activity to activity and have a hard time saying no, something that we often carry over into our vacations . Im totally guilt y of this. I tend to try and pack in way too much in a short amount of time I over-schedule and then regret it. With only ten days to enjoy two of the most captivating parts of US, we knew we needed some sort of plan especially since we had kids with us. And while we scheduled hikes, swims and other fun excursions, some of the best moments of the trip were the unplanned ones. This included the kids playing cards on my sons birthday whilelooking for bears at sunrise on the side of the road roasting smores and playing do you remember from past vacations. Often, the desire to see and do everything ends up diluting the overall experience. We have decided to cut back on some activities this fall so that we can dedicate more of our weekends to family time instead of divide and conquer time.This entire trip would not have been possible had I not coordinated with team members, delegated my responsibilities and created processes and escalation paths that others could follow in my absence. For the very first time, I made the decision to completely walk away from my schmelzglas while on vacation , something that I was nervous about doing. I even removed my work email from my phone. Making and acting on the decision to truly unplug forced me to create long-overdue delegation processes. Was it a perfect process? No. But one should never expect a new process to be. Was it worth it? Absolutely. Now, I know what worked and what didnt so I can improve the process for next time. One thing that this email-unplugging experiment definitely did was allow me to see the value of permanently changing how I interact with my email going forward.Related to 8 above, this was my first real digital detox. As with any detox, I experienced some withdrawal for the first day or two, but it subsided quickly by the third day. It also helped that most of Yellowstone doesnt have cell phone coverage, so there really wasnt even an opportunity to cheat nor did I want to. It was a welcome change. There is a real fear that our technology hasbecome an addictionand that our brains crave the dopamine in the same away as other stimulants. Without the constant distraction, I was able to read and write more attentively. It was also really nice to focus on and engage with my kids, play games and simply enjoy each others company.A vacation away from the office is a great time to think more creatively and contemplate strategically about the future of your business. I highly recommend it Robert Glazer is the founder and Managing Director of Acceleration Partners , author of the best-selling book, Performance Partnerships The Checkered Past, Shifting Present, and Exciting Future of Affiliate Marketing and sought-after keynote speaker. For more information, please visit, www.robertsglazer.com .This article was originally published by FridayFwd.com . Reprinted with permission.

This is why Americans suffer from vacation deprivation

This is why Americans suffer from vacation deprivationThis is why Americans suffer from vacation deprivationAccording to travel site Expedia.comsrecently released2017 Vacation Deprivation report, roughly half of American employees say theyre somewhat or very vacation deprived. Forty-three percent of American workers say they dont take vacation days because of their budget.U.S. workers in these fields are among the fruchtwein deprived 73% of those in Real Estate, 60% in Food Beverage, and 56% in Health.Heres why Americans arent taking as much time off as they couldAside from budgetary reasons,Expedia foundthat 30% of respondents reported holding off on using vacation days so that they could use them at later date for a longer period of time. Twenty-two percent said they couldnt get away from work.The company found that millennials are the most vacation deprived among generations, at 62%, and get the smallest amount of leisure time off.Heres why you should consider taking that vacatio nOut of many reasons, here are a fewYou might just earn more cash or scale the corporate ladderPrior research has found that within the last three years, 84% of U.S. workers who took all their allotted vacation time took home extra cash in the form of a bonus or raise, versus 78% of those who gave up days.More people who used all their time off were promoted over the previous year than those who didnt.You might come back feeling rechargedExpedia found that almost all Americans surveyed - 94% - agree that taking time off is a critical part of general health and wellbeing. When heading back to work, 46% felt more productive, 60% had a better attitude, 93% felt more rested, and 96% were happier.Ninety-four percent reported feeling less stressed.Yourvacation prep checklist has already been made for youAfraid you wont know how to tie up loose ends before taking leisure time off? Weve got you covered - this is one less thing to worry about.Outside of putting your email autoresponder on , do things like making sure your colleagues are clear on how to fill in for you, being crystal clear on when you will (and more importantly, wont) be available, being aware of what to expect when you get back, and coming up with a plan for if a work disaster strikes when youre leid around.

4 Signs Youre Getting Bad Career Advice - The Muse

4 Signs Youre Getting Bad Career Advice - The Muse4 Signs Youre Getting Bad Career AdviceYou dont know what youre doing. You thought you knew what youre doing. You thought it actually might be somewhat doable to transition into that new job, new field, new whatever you want to do professionally. But all the stuff youve been trying for the past three months?Its not working. And today, its occurring to you You need career advice.You, naturally, begin by Googling every variation of job search, best resume writers, and top career consultants that you can possibly trommel up. And you find, literally, a zillion options. And a zillion pieces of advice.Made worse, now that your friends and family members know youre considering a change, theyve begun doling out more unsolicited advice than you can possibly digest in one sitting (or 10).So, how do you tell if the career advice youre receiving is good? More importantly, how do you steer clear of the ridiculous, reckless, or just plain terrible career advice as you navigate this challenging period? If youre worried that the help youre getting might be bunk, here are four ways to detect that this might not be the very best advice for you.1. The Person Giving Advice Has a Vested Interest in Your DecisionYour husband means well. But he may really want you to take the job that gets you out of work at 330 so you can pick up the kids. Your mom completely has your back, but shes always been pretty nervous about everything in life, and may want you to follow a career path that doesnt seem too risky.When you ask certain people in your life for advice, always consider if they have a horse in the race, and what that is. And if you suspect the bias may get in the way of solid counsel, consider asking other people for their thoughts. Ideally, people who have no stake in the decision you make.2. The Advice is Filled With PlatitudesIf you seek counsel and the main gist of it goes something like, Do what you love and the money will follow , or Follow your passion, or If its the right job, it wont feel like a job at all? Then you may want to sleuth out a second opinion. Platitudes, clichs, and positive mantras can all be grand if they light a little fire of motivation beneath your rear, but if thats the crux of the advice? Thats probably not going to get you to the finish line.3. The Advisor Focuses on Which Type of Paper Stock You Should Use for Your ResumeRun. This person was probably an exceptional career coach back in 1994, but much has changed as digital media has emerged and the world has shifted to online, well, everything. Dont get me wrong- working with a seasoned advisor doesnt automatically mean the advice is stale. Not at all. But if you suspect that the person has failed to keep current with how staffing and recruitment works today? You may wish to consider a fresher perspective.4. The Expert Doesnt Have Much Relevant BackgroundIve got a little secret There is absolutely no barrier to entry when it comes to launching a career as a career coach or resume writer or job search expert. That said, you will run into an enormous sortiment of talent in this arena. How do you determine if you should trust the counsel of the so-called expert youve discovered on Yelp? Check out the experts bio page or review her LinkedIn profile. What career path has led her to the position she holds today? Do you relate to, trust, and admire that path? If so, great. If no? Reconsider. The right career advisor for one may be the absolute wrong one for another. Trust your gut on this one.While the sheer volume of career guidance available, both online and through the people you know IRL, can be overwhelming. But, if you decide on a short list of people youre going to trust and follow as you navigate a career move?You just may find the input both incredibly helpful and, in the long run, life-changing.