A “pledge” is a promise you make to others. A “creed” is a promise you make to yourself. Here is a creed that helps us keep Black Belt Mindset as we strive for excellence in personal and professional life…

“Perfection is not a destination; it’s a never ending process…”

I dedicate myself to continual self-improvement and personal development. The Master is happy, but never satisfied with any status quo. The greatest opportunity for fulfillment is always the next one. I understand that the least selfish thing I can do for others is to improve my Self. By improving my Self, I bring more value to others and to the world around me.

Power is my ability to act and perform effectively. I dedicate myself fully to expanding my own power by developing Mind, Body and Spirit; maintaining Motivation and Discipline over Time and by applying Balance, Focus and expert Timing to every effort.

I understand the Secret of Personal and Professional Excellence: PRACTICE. I understand that Practice and preparedness most assure Confidence. I dedicate myself to the concept of Focused Practice and promise to share this secret freely.

I understand that innovation and creativity are the product of Focused Practice, continual personal development and awareness. I realize that Wisdom, rather than spontaneity generates innovation. I pledge myself to read, study, learn and grow and to add to my experience and knowledge every day.

I fully accept the responsibility of Leadership. I understand the concept of Leader as Servant. I understand that Leadership is only possible by developing willing followers.

I understand that my Power only expands through responsible Leadership and sharing. I pledge to share Respect, Wisdom, Compassion and Courage unconditionally.

I pledge to honor others through Respect and and humble my Self through Gratitude.

I pledge myself to personal and professional Mastery in all ventures.

I realize that the mind of the Master is the Beginner’s Mind. I pledge to keep a sense of wonder and curiosity at all times. I promise to share my enthusiasm for life, perfection and service with everyone in my organization and in my life.

The Black Belt is the ultimate symbol of personal excellence. I pledge myself to Excellence in all ventures and adventures and promise always to THINK and ACT…

…Like a BLACK BELT.

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As of this week…50,000 people THINK Like a BLACK BELT! Thanks to the 50,000 readers who make Black Belt Mindset part of your lives! As our numbers grow, so do our opportunities to change ourselves and the world around us through our continual commitment to personal and professional excellence! Please share this blog and help one more person THINK Like a BLACK BELT!

According to Paggu.com, 90% of business people think innovation is important…

“Studies have confirmed that all businesses want to be more innovative. One survey identified that almost 90 per cent of businesses believe that innovation is a priority for them. The conclusion is that the importance of innovation is increasing, and increasing significantly.”

Seems most people agree that innovation is important in business, but who knows exactly what innovation is and where it comes from?

Ask any group of entrepreneurs for a definition of innovation and you’re likely to get some form of the stock answer: Innovation is the development of new ideas, products, services and processes. The small biz website of the Australian government has an entire section dedicated to business innovation. They say that “innovation is important to the advancement of society around the world.” They say…

“In business, innovation can come from a variety of different sources. Sometimes it is the result of specifically focusing on creating new ideas, whereas other times it can be unexpected and the result of a spontaneous reaction to a particular need.”

I agree- innovation is the single most important factor in business success today. However, innovation is anything but “unexpected” and “spontaneous.” It only appears that way.

The source of innovation…

Innovation is the result of creative thinking and bold action. Innovation is the product of dedicated, focused individuals. Innovation is a practice.

Innovation never appears out of a vacuum. You need the Black Belt Mindset trait of Wisdom to be a creative and innovative person. Wisdom is that combination of knowledge, experience and awareness that opens your mind, as well as your eyes and ears, to new possibilities.

Innovation and creativity requires knowledge and experience in a specific domain.

It requires an acute awareness to see what the market will need and to see new and better ways to get the job done.

It requires discipline and focused (dedicated) practice to recognize and develop the talents and abilities that enable creative expression.

Black Belt Mindset is the key to innovation. We center our entire lives on the principle of continual personal development and self-perfection. Our secret is practice; dedicated, focused practice.

You could just turn people loose and let them come up with new ideas…

…that’s bullshit and a waste of time.

Real freedom comes from discipline. Real innovation comes from a focused effort in a specific area to fill a specific need. To accomplish this and to create an authentic culture of innovation, you’ve got to provide domain specific training and the opportunity to develop experience.

Most of all, you must provide the opportunity to train core mindset characteristics that develop and unleash the power of the creative mind. These characteristics are:

• Discipline
• Focus
• Perseverance
• Wisdom
• Courage
• Dedication to practice
• Commitment to continual personal development

These are the characteristics of Black Belt Mindset! The high-performers of today, and of tomorrow- are those of us who are willing to embrace the challenge to think beyond what is probable and expand the confines of possible. If we want to be change the world as well as ourselves, we’ve got to provide innovative solutions to future as well as current needs and demands.

Want to realize peak personal and professional performance? Want to develop a culture of innovation and creativity in your organization?

THINK Like a BLACK BELT!

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This week we’ll talk about what happens when we THINK Like a BLACK BELT in business from the C-suite to the front lines…

Nobody likes delayed flights. Some even say their worst nightmare is to be stuck in an airport terminal for hours with no food, no lodging and no options for alternative travel.

No- my worst nightmare would be to fall out of the sky because the airline ignored a “minor” mechanical problem and flew anyway. For the record, there are no “minor” problems in aviation; there are problems that can be fixed quickly and others that take time.

Groundings and delays happen. Customers have no choice but to make the best of it. Sadly, airlines and airport personnel seldom seem to seize the opportunity.

Another recent story of passengers grounded in Midland, Texas provides an opportunity to demonstrate how Black Belt Mindset can save the day and make you a hero instead of a goat in the eyes of your customers.

Here’s the scenario:

A passenger becomes critically ill and dies on a flight from Orlando to Los Angeles forcing the pilot to divert to Midland. Upon landing, the ground crew discovers a mechanical issue that needs attention and further delays the flight. There are no rooms available to accommodate the 150 stranded passengers.

Let’s keep our perspective. If any one of us experienced the death of a family member or dear friend on a flight, we would hope the crew would put down at the nearest available airport and let us deal with this terrible situation. We would also hope that our fellow passengers would understand and tolerate any delay.

By and large this group of passengers was extremely tolerant, however, after several hours of waiting with no food, no beverages and no lodging…the mood began to change. Finally, one of the passengers asked if there might be a 24 hour pizza joint nearby and suggested a delivery.

You’re an employee at the airline or the airport. What would you have done?

Since we THINK Like a BLACK BELT, we would see opportunity in this disaster…

We would have ordered a food delivery. We would not wait for approval from a supervisor. If we didn’t have authorization for the expense, we would have simple taken up a collection from the passengers and offered to go out and get some food as soon as possible. If the food service stations at the airport were shuttered for the night, we’d be making phone calls and telling the proprietors that they had a golden opportunity waiting for them if they could get to the airport right away.

We would have called our local chamber of commerce and found businesses willing to rally to the call. We would have made this unscheduled stop a shining example of Midland hospitality. We would have found restaurants willing to make a delivery. If we couldn’t find rooms for the passengers or assuming they simply couldn’t leave the airport, we would have found pillows and blankets or sleeping bags.

We would have found out if anyone had any special needs. In this particular situation, there was an autistic child on the flight.

We would suggest to our employers that in the future, we stock an inventory of non-perishable snacks, bottled water, blankets and pillows for just such an contingency.

We certainly wouldn’t make the passengers have to file for their “Passenger Bill of Rights” rebates and privileges; they’d have a coupon in their hands for another flight as they re-boarded the plane.

As if on cue…another story of flight delay drama. This time passengers revolt when the airline’s solution to a delayed flight is a 5 hour bus ride…to another plane…after a 19 hour delay! Click the video for full story…

The airline wasn’t wrong in this situation. They certainly should keep a plane on the ground if it needs repair. Legally, the passengers are not their responsibility once they’re on the ground- they’re not running a hotel or a food service.

The airport really wasn’t in the wrong either. They did, however, miss an opportunity. These passengers will no doubt talk about this incident for the rest of their lives. Instead of talking about being stranded with no food or water for 16 hours, they should be talking about the amazing hospitality in Midland, Texas.

Black Belt Mindset is the mindset of courage, confidence and innovation. It takes entrepreneurial courage and confidence to step outside policy and do what’s right in the moment. It takes creative thinking and innovation to find a solution to what seems like a insurmountable problem.

When you THINK Like a BLACK BELT you know the power of focused practice. We would rehearse for just just a scenario and have contingency plans in place and ready to implement.

This will not be the last time a group of passengers will find themselves stranded in an airport after the food vendors have pulled down their steel gates for the evening. If you work in any of our airports or serve on the ground for any of our airlines…and if you THINK Like a BLACK BELT; this should be the last time your passengers go hungry or thirsty the next time it happens!

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