In my role as CEO, I often ask myself “What’s really important right now?”. I try to think long-term, and about what’s really vital, not just urgent.

I’ve noticed that my instinctive response to “what’s important” usually has to do with the biggest potential problems I see facing us. And there are always plenty of problems. But if I spend most of my strategic energy on what is not going well, and leave what is going well on cruise control, what happens? I may turn potential strikeouts into base hits, but what about my potential home runs?

I think there’s a gut-level reason for my tendency to emphasize problem-solving over opportunity-seeking. Strikeouts don’t feel good, so I want to avoid them. They feel like failure and they just aren’t fun. Problems threaten to undermine the success we already have, and that’s scary. Home runs are fun, but on an emotional level I’m fine with going home knowing I made nice steady base hits every day. I don’t feel so good on the days I strike out.

Of course reality is that opportunity-seeking is vital to the long-term success of any business. A proactive rather than defensive posture is key to success. Staying optimistic and proactive in frightening economic times is easier said than done, for sure.

So I’m trying to deliberately ask myself not only “What are our worst problems?” but also “What are our best opportunities?”. Doing that I’ve been surprised at how many great opportunities we really do have in front of us, and I’m feeling more optimistic and energized about what’s possible.

What questions do you ask yourself when you’re working on the big picture?

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been getting more sleep because I quit carpooling to work and slept longer instead. I figured I was just being lazy. But it seemed like the extra sleep gave me a much more positive mental outlook and sharper thinking. I wondered if it was just my imagination, so I read about it. Here are some key points from the research:

• Extra sleep does significantly impact both mood and mental performance. Sleep is also important for learning and problem solving.
• When you don’t get enough sleep, you accumulate a “sleep debt” which adds up in a roughly linear fashion. In other words, if you are short 1 hour of sleep 3 nights in a row, your performance will suffer as much as missing 3 hours of sleep in one night.
• “Normal performance” is actually “sleep deprived performance” in America. Research subjects with average scores on reaction time and mood tests scored well above average after receiving extra sleep for a few nights in a row. Performance and mood continued to increase for at least 7 to 10 nights of extra sleep.
• There’s a big difference in sleep requirement from one person to the next, but 9 hours of sleep per night seems to be about average for maximum mood and performance benefits.

So I’m wondering… What would I have to change to consistently sleep enough to perform at my best? Is it worth it? Maybe this is just another wishful should-do like eating better and exercising more? Since I often choose less-than-the-best, what do I really value more than health and top performance?

I love this video by Dr. Henry Cloud. It’s about how to accomplish big things (or any goal that seems out of reach). In my experience, he is 100% right about this. Brilliant.

Here’s a link to Dr. Cloud’s other videos on Facebook.

I saw two speakers share a stage at a conference today. Each gave a couple of talks.

They were both good, but I was struck by how affirming one of the speakers was. He said positive things about the other speaker’s ideas and content several times during his talk. He responded positively to each comment from the audience. When someone answered an audience question he’d say things like, “Say that again, I want everyone to hear what you just said.”

Even when he disagreed with the other speaker on an important point, he offered affirmation for the other speaker’s openness and maturity about the difference of opinion.

Who wouldn’t want to share a stage with a guy like that? I bet his affirming style contributes a lot to how many events he gets invited to and how many people become fans of his work.

Since I’m a major idea guy (with a minor in tasks), this was a good challenge to be constantly mindful that behind the content of what someone says, there is an important person with important feelings who will be impacted, positively or negatively, by how I respond.

I cried a lot of tears today at the funeral for Bob Emmons. He was a mentor to me during some vulnerable and pivotal years of my life and career. He was so skilled in the art of taking an interest in a person and coming alongside to support them. As people shared their stories at the funeral today, I think we all were surprised to find out that Bob shared his special sort of relationship not just with us, but with maybe fifty others at the same time, and hundreds over his lifetime.

I learned a lot of things from Bob. Here are a few of them:

• He taught me the power of believing in someone. Before I was an entrepreneur he took me and my ideas seriously. He believed I would succeed when I didn’t think I would. That has life-changing power.
• He taught me about asking questions and listening. He was excellent at both. I’m not, but his example is an inspiration to try.
• He taught me about patience. I had some crazy and critical thoughts in my head when I first met Bob. He must have had to swallow hard a few times, but he never, ever criticized me. I am so grateful for that. He invited me to some growth opportunities that I turned down. Looking back I just wasn’t ready. He always nudged and sometimes even pushed, but he never made me feel bad for where I was.
• He taught me about acceptance. One day years later after I had become a successful entrepreneur he visited my business. I remember his words as he left that day “It was everything I expected and more.” To a young man whose own father has never seen what he built, that meant an awful lot.
• He taught me about pursuing one’s individual genius. His genius was not in analyzing, strategizing, or leading organizations. His genius was his ability to encourage and support people to become more than they thought they could be. I couldn’t do what he did, and I don’t think he could do what I do. He seemed to embrace that. He used his genius every day to make a difference in lives like mine.

Good-bye, Bob. Thank you for everything.