I've muted my mic. And I've recorded a whole video like that, start to finish.
The audio isn't what it should be. Anyone who knows anything about sound will wince. I could do it again, properly, and nobody would ever know.
No second take. No perfect audio.
I post it anyway.
Why I didn't re-record it
Because what I said matters more than how polished it sounds.
I wrote a whole book called Done Beats Perfect. I'd be a bit of a hypocrite if I sat on a useful video because the sound wasn't right.
The idea in that video is too useful to sit on a hard drive waiting for a better recording. So here it is again in writing, where the sound can't let me down.
The Point of Power
It's one of my favourite ActionCOACH tools. It's called the Point of Power, and it's simple enough to draw on the back of a napkin.
Draw a line. Below the line live blame, excuses and denial. "It's the economy." "My team just don't get it." "I'd have done it if I'd had more time." "That's not really a problem."
Above the line live ownership, accountability and responsibility. "What part did I play in this?" "What can I do about it now?"
The moment you shift from below the line to above it, things start to change.
I think of it as a line in the sand. In every moment, you're either above it or below it.
Below the line feels safer. If it's someone else's fault, there's nothing you have to do. The price is that there's nothing you can do either. Above the line is less comfortable, because it puts the next move in your hands. That's exactly where its power comes from.
Ten seconds before the day grabs you
I don't always get this right. Nobody does. A bad email, a late payment, a client who moves the goalposts, and I can be below the line before I've finished my first coffee.
What helps me is a ten-second check before the day pulls me in. Before the emails, before the messages, before I start scrolling, I ask myself one question.
"What would it look like to stay above the line today?"
It reminds me that I get to choose how I respond, and that my reactions are mine to own.
So where are you right now, above the line or below it?
