How To Get There From Here . . . The Ten Lessons That Have Served Me Well - Softcover

Peterson, Coleman H.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1468537458 ISBN 13: 9781468537451

Verlag: AuthorHouse, 2012

Inhaltsangabe

"THEN AND NOW In 1971, as an undergraduate student at Loyola University of Chicago, I often sat on the steps of the Chicago Water Tower during class breaks. I watched the traffic flowing north and south along Michigan Avenue’s bustling Magnificent Mile. As a kid who hailed from the housing projects on the west side of Chicago, I marveled at the late model cars, beautifully tailored pedestrians and the expensive boutiques that lined the street. I often wondered, “How do you get there from here?” In 1994, I arrived in Bentonville, Arkansas to assume my new post as the Senior Vice-President of the People Division for Wal-Mart Stores (Sam Walton’s term for human resources). Soon to become the world’s largest retailer and private employer, a Fortune #1 company and among the Fortune 100 Best Companies To Work For. I had experienced an exciting and satisfying journey. Today, residing on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina I enjoy my role as consultant and corporate board member for several public companies. Over the years, I have shared my thoughts on “getting there from here” in many places around the world. Why not finally put them in a book? Good question. This book is my answer. Enjoy."

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

"Coleman Peterson Cole Peterson is President/CEO of Hollis Enterprises, LLC, a human resources consulting firm founded in 2004 following his retirement from Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. He specializes in executive coaching and keynote speaking engagements globally. Peterson, known as America’s top people person, served as Executive Vice President of People for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., where he had the distinction of being the Chief Human Resource Officer of the world’s largest private workforce (today: 2.1 million associates world-wide). He headed human resources during Wal-Mart’s most aggressive global expansion and helped diversify its workforce. Today, Wal-Mart is the country’s number one employer of African-Americans and Hispanics. Peterson serves on the corporate boards of J.B. Hunt Transport of Lowell, Arkansas, Build-A-Bear Workshop of St. Louis, Missouri and Cracker Barrel Restaurants of Lebanon, Tennessee. He is chairman of the compensation and development committees and serves on the nominating and corporate governance committees on both the J.B.Hunt and Build-A-Bear Bear boards. Peterson’s numerous recognitions include: The Award for Professional Excellence, The Society for Human Resource Management’s highest honor; the Lifetime Achievement Award for Human Resource Excellence from Linkage, Inc.; The Chancellor’s Medal for Volunteerism from the University of Arkansas and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Arkansas MLK Planning Commission. His most recent recognitions are the National Association of African Americans in Human Resource Professionals Trail Blazer Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Arkansas Society for Human Resource Management State Council. Peterson is a Fellow of the Academy of Human Resources, and a member of both Kappa Alpha Psi and Sigma Pi Phi fraternities. Peterson is a native of Birmingham, Alabama and grew up in Chicago where he obtained his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Loyola University. He and his wife, Shirley, have two adult children and reside in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina."

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How To Get There From Here ... The Ten Lessons That Have Served Me Well

By Coleman H. Peterson

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2012 Coleman H. Peterson
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4685-3745-1

Contents

Foreword...........................................................1Dedication.........................................................3Introduction.......................................................5About the Author...................................................71. Have a Goal.....................................................92. No Shortcuts....................................................173. Work Hard.......................................................254. Education is an Opportunity and a Privilege.....................355. Listen: Understand the Power of Feedback........................496. Develop Your People Skills......................................577. Have Humility...................................................678. Get a Life......................................................759. Help Somebody...................................................8510. Be Thankful....................................................95Endnotes...........................................................101

Chapter One

Lesson 1

Have a Goal

We're off to see the Wizard ... —Dorothy

How often have you heard the saying, "If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there"? It is so true. When you aim or strive for something, you know at least that your personal drive should move you in that direction; so if you do not hit the mark, at least you will be in the neighborhood! Dorothy found herself in an environment where she was not familiar, without friends and without experience. Yet, her outcome was successful. Why? Because, she developed a goal: follow the yellow brick road to see the wizard! As motivational speaker Les Brown says, "Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you will land among the stars."

Growing up in the inner city of Chicago, my favorite time of year was around the Christmas holidays. My mother would always take my older brother and me downtown to see the Christmas lights and all of the department store windows beautifully decorated with their colorful winter scenes. We would stand on our tiptoes and press our noses against the windows, amazed at the beauty and excitement of it all.

At about age 9 or 10, I remember noticing all of the business people making their way through the crowds. They were sharply dressed in suits, overcoats, and hats, with the ever-present briefcase clutched in one hand. They always appeared important and self-assured, but in a hurry. I was fascinated by them. Even though I had no idea who they were or what they did, I told my mother, "Mama, I'm gonna do that one day." "That's good, baby," she would say.

Twenty years later, while heading up the executive recruiting function for one of the retail divisions of the May Department Stores Company (now Macy's), I flew into Nashville, Tennessee, late one night. I was pretty preoccupied as I deplaned and walked briskly through the airport. As I exited the terminal, I saw a young boy being tugged along by his mother as he pointed at me and said, "See, Mama, that's what I want to be when I grow up!" I was startled out of my own thoughts, back into reality; he was talking about me. As I turned to wave and smile at him, I caught my reflection in the airport glass: I was rather nicely dressed in my business suit, overcoat, hat—with my ever-present briefcase in hand. The power of imagining and goal setting had come full circle.

So what exactly is the difference between "goal setting" and "pipe dreaming"? You have had situations where a friend or acquaintance has shared his or her plan for the future, and you sympathetically rolled your eyes and thought to yourself, "Get a life and a real job, pal, 'cause this ain't gonna happen!"

My own view is that dreaming is helpful in goal setting. Any vision or picture of the future that motivates you and causes you to put one foot in front of the other in pursuit of that objective is a good thing. After all, how many people do you know who are aimless? They are going through life going through the motions, without enthusiasm or joy about its possibilities. Which way would you choose to move through life?

Dreams are a wild fancy or hope. They are also a target at which you can aim. However, dreams can be as big as you want them to be. Dreams can have an indefinite or clear-cut timetable for fulfillment. Dreams are your eventual targets; goals are mileposts that mark the way. Dreams are what you ultimately want and goals get you to those dreams. Dreams do not have to be outlined as specifically as a goal. Goals require more effort to achieve. To achieve any goal, you have to want to change more than you want to stay the same.

Over the years, in both my professional human resource career and my personal life, I have had occasions to coach and counsel people about goal setting. I never try to discourage dreams; rather, I approach making dreams come true by translating them into actionable behaviors—these become goals. For example, many people's favorite goal is financial success: "I want to make $100,000 by the time I am 30 years old." This is fine; however, the question becomes, "How do I get there from here?" It will require specific actions that may not appear to be that grandiose. For example, finishing high school would be a good start (goal one), finishing college would be another good step (goal two), and acquiring a good entry-level job after college would be great (goal three). I would add that the major you pursue in college could influence how quickly you reach your long-term goal after college. The physician is much more likely to make those kinds of dollars than a social worker or teacher! Yet, if your goal is to change lives in an entirely different way, the social worker and the teacher are clearly special in their contributions. Once you begin employment, you then set both occupational and financial goals. So, what others might see as `pipe dreams' are simply your long-term goals. Every dream begins with the first step.

How will you know when you have achieved your dream? Goal setting is knowing where you want to go and setting up a plan for getting there. When you know where you want to go in life, then you know where to put your efforts. Because your focus should be single-minded toward your goals, you will be able to see distractions very quickly. Seeing distractions is good, because this will compel you to get back on track and refocus. Therefore, goal setting is a great thing; however, make sure your goals are attainable, motivating, and specific.

Let's examine how this looks in black-and-white. For instance, you say that you want to lose 25 pounds, be healthy, and have a sleek physique. The goal is the marker along the way to the dream. You have to set specific steps. For example:

• Start an exercise program of working out at least three days a week.

• Cut down on your carbohydrate intake.

• Drink more water.

• Eat more fruits and vegetables.

These steps take your dream from being a dream to a goal. Then, you can even take your goal to the next level by specifying which days of the week you will work out, for how long each day, which carbohydrates you will cut back on, and even how much...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: AuthorHouse
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2012
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1468537458
• ISBN 13: 9781468537451
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 108
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: GPSR Kontakt; gpsr@libri.de; ; Friedensallee 273; Hamburg; 22763; Deutschland