Introducing the Managing with Aloha Jumpstart

I put my heart and soul into writing Managing with Aloha, and reviews like this make me rejoice:

“The universal principles presented by Rosa Say are applicable to any institution. She focuses on the heart of business. This book is one of the very best. Easy to read and worth reading again and again.”
— Dr. Dean Boyer

“When you finish Managing with Aloha, a couple of things might go through your mind: 1) If you are an employee, you wish that you could have Rosa Say for your manager. 2) If you are a manager, you want to start putting her ideas into practice as soon as possible.”
— Christopher Bailey

“I found it challenging to write about Rosa Say’s book Managing With Aloha. The book— actually, the very idea of the book— touches me in so many places that I didn’t know how to begin or where to end. There was no way for me to write about this book without writing about myself as well.”
— Dick Richards

Here’s the nickel tour of Managing with Aloha:

—My book talks about nineteen Hawaiian values which can be strategically harnessed for optimal success by managers and leaders in business enterprise; universally, not just in Hawaii.

—I wrote it because I want to bring greater nobility to management and leadership. I want managers to understand what a profound difference they can make when they assume their responsibility for leadership.

Beyond that nickel tour, there’s a lot packed into the book’s 260 pages. On the other hand, 260 pages is not enough to completely cover what we must learn as managers and leaders, and since Managing with Aloha has been published, that is where my blog Talking Story came into play, as a way to continue the discussion.

The talking about it is good; dialogue, debate and discussion is great. However sooner or later it will be time for proactive, positive action. Where do you begin? How?

If I were your coach, able to spend personal time with you on a regular basis, my goal would be to eventually help you identify a couple of things:

a) your personal values
b) your innate talents and strengths
c) your vision for a future of your own creation
d) your ho‘ohana, i.e. your passion for worthwhile work
e) how your role as a manager and leader helps you achieve success by putting all these things into play, success both for yourself, and for all those you manage.

My book was intended to help you on your own personal discovery of these things when personal coaching was not possible.

Just the way they appear in this sequence within the book, Aloha (your value spirit and intent), Ho‘ohana (your purpose and passion for worthwhile work), and ‘Imi ola (your vision and mission) form the logical, sequential beginning to managing and living with aloha, 1- 2- 3.

However, the reality of life is that you can’t always start at the beginning. We’ve all had experiences where we get excited about ideas we know hold promise for us, but there’s no going back and there’s no starting over. The trick it seems, is to just start where you are, and do what you can. You are already working. You already have responsibilities. You want to initiate small improvements one at a time, and as you can, simply starting from where you are right now.

That is where I have designed the MWA Jumpstart to come in.

As the Ho‘ohana Community has grown, I’ve had to ask myself how I could somehow provide even more support for you virtually, and give you more clarity. Our monthly Ho‘ohana on Talking Story was an initial effort, and we’ve learned how it can be effective at helping us achieve synergy when we harness the unified focus and synergistic efforts of our community. With MWA Jumpstart we’re turning up the heat and getting down and dirty, digging in deep for those who want to get serious about it.

This is the MWA Jumpstart plan:

a) It all starts with our values as our foundation. In 2006, our monthly ho‘ohana focus will return to the values of Managing with Aloha — think of it as a Value of the Month program where the book is the primer, and we continue our study, but study also translates into Next Action steps you take in real time within the work you already do. It is time to execute.

b) We will bring as much of our real time month into value alignment as possible. This will become clearer as we go along: as an example, I will give you suggested value statements to add to your email signature every month. I will suggest value-aligned topics you can discuss with your staff. I will suggest actions you can take for “value visibility.”

c) To manage effectively, managers must have a plan, and it must be proactive: you’ve got to work in advance of what you present for the rest of your staff. At best you’ve got to have your own experience to draw from; at the least you’ve got to have some foresight and intention. Therefore,

d) On the third Monday of every month, I will present a MWA Planning Module designed to help you prepare for the signature value of the next month to come. The first one will be next Monday, January 16th in preparation for February. This proactive work intention is where the name MWA Jumpstart comes from.

To help you visualize this accurately, it goes like this:

1/16/06: On January 16 you get a MWA Jumpstart Module on Aloha, because

2/01/06: Aloha will be our Value of the Month for February, and

2/01-28/06: The Ho‘ohana coaching on Talking Story all through the month of February will be on Aloha as well, bringing the coaching discussions on both blogs into alignment.

On February 20 you get a MWA Jumpstart Module on the Ho‘ohana Value for March, starting a 2nd Cycle.

On March 20 you get a MWA Jumpstart Module on the Ho‘ohana Value for April, starting the 3rd Cycle …and so on through the year

So today is January 11th. Reading this was Step 1. What else should you do before the first module is presented here on January 16th?

Collect your tools, and Commit.

1. You do need to buy Managing with Aloha if you don’t yet have it. MWA was designed to be a workbook for all the MWA courses we teach at Say Leadership Coaching, and MWA Jumpstart will have several direct references to the book. I guarantee you will get your money’s worth. I will not be reprinting applicable excerpts here - I intend to devote my efforts to writing new, supplemental material instead.

2. Tool number 2 for you is a good calendar. Proactivity is the first new habit we are cultivating with some simple steps:

a. Highlight or otherwise mark the 3rd Monday of every month to receive your MWA Jumpstart Module for the following month, i.e. to read it here.

b. Next, block another 2-hour block of time when best convenient for you in the same week to do the “project work” of the module.

c. Third, highlight or otherwise mark the 1st day of every month for the Ho‘ohana coaching essay on Talking Story, and block another 2-hour block of time when best convenient for you in that same week to do the project work of the essay pre-assigned in the module you had received earlier.

These are your Managing with Aloha mindset markers and you have to devote the time to them. You design the times best for you in your present working and living situation, but then you must honor them. There are no magic pills here folks: if you want MWA to work for you, you must make the commitment.

It’s great if you picked up a RSS feed (and other articles linked in with MWA Jumpstart will appear through-out the month on the blog), but understand that’s not enough, for that is reactive reading, not proactive targeted reading for coaching and next action planning. Big difference.

3. If you are not yet in the habit of doing so, decide on another 2-hour block of time on your calendar for a Weekly Review. At minimum, every single week you should have your own ME TIME where you are evaluating your past week, and then proactively planning your week to come. This is critical, and it should be non-negotiable for you. When life happens, your Weekly Review may get delayed and rescheduled, but it is never cancelled. Believe me, you are giving yourself a gift: See Loving my Weekly Review.

4. If you have not done so already, catch up with us in setting a positive tone for 2006 with our January Ho‘ohana on Ho‘omau. This value is extremely powerful in framing  your forward thinking.

This is going to be good!

See you back here on Monday, January 16th for your first MWA Jumpstart Module.

Let’s manage and live with aloha,
Rosa

-------------------- Update: On board? Even if you are joining us late, you can jump in and engage! You have started in the right place.
2 Ways to choose from, or do both!

1) Go to the home page and just start where the rest of us are, after you have collected and prepped your tools as above, or
2) From this post, proceed next to this one: January Jumpstart.

At the very end of each post look for the words NEXT JUMP: and take the link offered if you want the next step in the original sequence.

[In each post’s TrackBack section you can find links offered by the other paddlers of the Ho‘ohana Community who are also on our journey. This is a virtual team program!]

Comments

[Felix Gerena]

This is simply great, Rosa. I don´t know any other leadership program who can provide this kind of experience via the net. Thanks a lot for your big effort, Rosa.

[Rosa Say]

Mahalo nui Felix,

I received an email yesterday from someone who in regard to MWAJ asked me, “Rosa, why on earth are you giving all of this away?” and with your comment you give me the opportunity here to share my answer with everyone.

In short, it is my ho‘ohana: my passion and my purpose.

I have also clicked into your blog BrandSoul today, and I love what you have offered us for thought-munchies there, and I quote you:

“Every predictive action should follow its own methodology. How am I going to predict if I don´t know where to start from. Searching for help in classic texts I have found a powerful reference on Aristotle´s Rhetoric. This is what the philosopher tells us:

“Necessarily, people do everything they do for seven causes: Through chance, through nature, through compulsion, through habit, through reason, through anger, through longing.”

[ Jumpstart participants, I urge you to read Felix’s entire post:
http://felixgerena.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/01/predictions.html ]

So why have I put together MWA Jumpstart, in the framework of Aristotle’s seven causes (learning is so grand!)

Chance:
I believe that responsible, thoughtful management and leadership are desperately needed in our world. So I thrill to the thought that even one person with a dormant calling within them to be a great manager or leader will stumble upon MWAJ and that voice within them will finally be heard.

Nature:
Nature has imposed some geographical limits on me in my personal coaching, however I must walk my own talk that the only significant limits a person has are normally self-imposed. Our virtual capacity has shrunk our world, and I have discovered it as a new frontier in my old conceptions of nature. I must take the journey.

Compulsion (and I defer to calling this one Trends as Rocky did):
We have a greater inclination to look at trends from a viewpoint outside ourselves — such as Tom Peter’s newest mantra, “It’s not your Father’s world,” and Dorothy’s classic line, “We’re not in Kansas anymore.” I delight in the trending of our own personal behavior and spirit, and in the discovery of our greater capacities.

Habit:
I love knowing that our habits are our constant companions, and that if we cultivate them well, they can be completely at our command and serve us exceptionally well. I think of habits as the “good children” of automatic pilot (sacred cows are the other kids). MWAJ gives me wonderful opportunity to explore the playground of habits I personally do not have, but should.

Reason:
There are far greater rewards than greenbacks to be reaped from giving away my knowledge and coaching in some instances than there are in charging for them. This actually comes into play in a few different areas, not just on the blogs … the arts and sciences of business illustrate so well how plentiful and various revenue streams are …
[and like you Felix, I have a couple of books to write this year!]

Anger:
I do get angry when those who are in management and leadership positions do not completely understand the depth of their responsibility when they accept these roles. If they read my blogs, they cannot truthfully make the statement of ignorance and not knowing.

Longing:
Ah! I long for a world where the word “work” brings joy to our faces, energy to our step, passion to our hearts, and meaning-fulfilled to our souls. Our work is our best tool for building our legacy. It is so very achievable, and we must Kūlia i ka nu‘u, reach for the very summit of our personal achievement in the work we do, the work we LOVE. I want to help in every way I can.

[Rocky]

Sounds like a great book and great leadership program.

[Rosa Say]

Aloha Rocky, welcome to MWA Jumpstart and to our Ho‘ohana Community.

I have just enjoyed a visit to your blog Hillbilly Ph.D and you have written exceptional posts on the qualities of passion for work that are very much in alignment with the tenets of Managing with Aloha; I also welcome you to the blogging community as a whole for your generosity in sharing your own mana‘o (your convictions and beliefs) and ho‘ohana (passion for intentional, worthwhile work on-purpose).

It is a pleasure to meet you, and I hope you will consider picking up a paddle here with us. Imua,
Rosa

[Luana McArthur]

Aloha Rosa!

I love the MWA Jumpstart! This is very exciting! I think it really breaks things down for those who have read Managing With Aloha.

I think that many people who have read the book first go through this process of measuring themselves against many of the things you say in the book. Then they say, "Where shall I start?" I think MWA Jumpstart really makes it so much easier to get started. You give us a starting point and kind of take us by the hand to move forward.

I suspect that there are others who have the book, thumb through it and say "Wow, this is fantastic stuff!" but are so busy, they aren't getting around to setting things up for themselves and most importantly, sitting down and reading the book cover to cover.

I think that people are going to be very excited about getting started. But, I do think that people may freak out a bit by the 2 hour committments. It will be a challenge to set aside these chunks of time. But I bet if they can get themselves to commit to this, it will make all the difference in the world. What you say makes a lot of sense.

The other evening, as my husband and I were discussing our goals for the year, he told me about a research study he read about on a group of Harvard graduates. As part of the study, they asked them, "Do you regularly set goals for yourself?" Only 3% of the graduates said that they did. Well, that 3% made more money than all of the other graduates put together. While money isn't always the ideal measure of things, I think it has a lot to say about how powerful goals are.

Thank you for MWA Jumpstart! What a gift!

[Kevin Eikenberry]

Rosa -
I often ask people if a book has ever changed their life. Typically, they say that one has and immediately want to tell me about the book. As quickly as I can, I interrupt them and say, I don't believe them. A book cannot change our lives. Only the actions that we take as a result of reading it can.

This Jumpstart program can really help change people's lives, because it is not about "the book", but about the action, the practice.

This program will make a profound difference for people, helping them put into practice the values that you have some beautifully outlined in MWA.

This is just one more proof of how brilliant you are. And how much you care about your readers around the world.

We are all grateful.

Congratulations!

Kevin :)

[Rosa Say]

Aloha Luana and Kevin,

As Kevin points out so well, when all is said and done, our own actions are what make the difference.

Back with October’s Ho‘ohana, we had talked about how we must start with an intentional decision, and then we must make the commitment. For me, W.H. Murray has always said this best: “…the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in ones favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would have come his way.”

So Luana, those two hours can be seen as the evidence of one’s commitment. However they also create a habit for us — a good habit. The strategy is to have habit be proactive and intentional, serving us well by their very nature as habits! When you think of the effect these two hours a week can potentially have, just two hours out of the 112 waking hours we have in a week, it’s a small investment to make in our own well-being.

I do think it’s that first decision most people will struggle with. I sincerely thank you both for your vote of confidence offered here for those who haven’t read the book yet and may be wondering if they should just jump in an take a leap of faith!

[For any newly arriving readers: You can find a free 28-page manifesto and two book excerpts by scrolling the right column.]