By Greg Bell, Founder, Water The Bamboo Center For Leadership<\/p>\n
Have you watered your bamboo today?<\/p>\n
When I ask that question, I often get some rather puzzled looks. What does cultivating a crop of giant timber bamboo have to do with training, human resources, or even leadership for that matter?<\/p>\n
\u201cWater the bamboo\u201d is a metaphor for team and individual success. It\u2019s a concept based on the type of bamboo that grows like no other plant in the world:\u00a0If you water giant timber bamboo in the first year, nothing happens. If you water the second year, nothing happens. If you water the third year, nothing happens. But when you water the bamboo the fourth year, it will rocket up an astonishing 90 feet in only 60 days.<\/em><\/p>\n Timber bamboo farmers water the seed and tend to it faithfully, diligently, and patiently even though there\u2019s no visible evidence of growth for years. After more than a decade of working with and studying successful people, teams, and organizations, I realized how much we can benefit from understanding the principles giant bamboo timber\u2014and the bamboo farmers\u2014teaches us about amazing growth and success. We undoubtedly have evolved into a culture that worships immediate gratification and the clich\u00e9 of overnight success, ignoring the fact that \u201covernight successes\u201d usually come only after years of hard work. Timber bamboo farmers realize it takes many nights to be an overnight success.<\/p>\n Achieving the real and sustainable growth that\u2019s derived from committing to the Water The Bamboo<\/em> philosophy begins with what I call plan your crop<\/em>: What are your values, vision, and goals, and what relationships do you need to help you attain them?<\/p>\n Dig Deeper<\/strong>\u2014Unearth Your Values<\/strong><\/p>\n Dissatisfaction, frustration, and stress often are caused by people and teams engaging in behavior and activities that are misaligned with their deeply held values. Employees and organizations often get pulled in many directions, struggling to keep up with the pace of life, competitors, and the constant flow of activities and information that must be processed daily. Too many people spend too little time on the things that are truly important.<\/p>\n Success, after all, isn\u2019t derived from simply engaging in activity; success is about engaging in activity that matters most to you and your organization. This is why the road to success starts with unearthing and bringing clarity to your values\u2014both your personal values and those of your organization. Having this clarity enables you to:<\/p>\n The teams I work with that spend time developing their values and working in alignment with them are more focused, energized, and happier because they are clear about what\u2019s important. They often report dramatic increases in team performance and an improved work environment.<\/p>\n BAMBOO RULE:<\/strong> Avoid the temptation to make choices for expediency that are not guided by values<\/p>\n Create a Vivid Vision<\/strong><\/p>\n Bamboo farmers don\u2019t start in haste; they plan before they plant. So should you. After all, if you don\u2019t know what you\u2019re working toward, how will you know if you\u2019re making progress? Success requires having a compelling vision of what you want.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve found that in many organizations and teams, vision is either missing or hazy. Often, teams focus on implementing ideas or taking action before they have dedicated the time to establish a vision and communicate that vision to all team members. People do it, too. How often have you found yourself busy beyond belief, but not getting any closer to what you really want? What\u2019s the point of climbing to the top of the ladder of success if you realize, in the end, you\u2019re on the wrong wall?<\/p>\n BAMBOO RULE:<\/strong> Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.<\/p>\n No Goals, No Bamboo<\/strong><\/p>\n With your values and vision articulated, it\u2019s time to shift to the daily activities that will make it all happen: goals. Answering, \u201cHow do I get there?\u201d goals are the tactical activities that serve as milestones and help make sure you\u2019re moving in the right direction.<\/p>\n It\u2019s important that your goals are harmonious with your values and vision. For example, if your team\u2019s primary goal is to double sales revenue within the next two years, and your team members need to work 12 hours a day to accomplish that, you could have an issue if one of your top corporate values revolves around work-life balance. To be truly successful, the goals should be prioritized by letting them flow from your values and vision.<\/p>\n BAMBOO RULE: <\/strong>Obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off your goal.<\/p>\n Tend Your Relationships<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s who you know, not what you know\u201d is more true now than ever. Individuals and teams who understand this mantra will thrive in today\u2019s relationship age (yes\u2026 the information age is over; there\u2019s too much of it). By watering and improving your relationships, you will gain valuable resources such as knowledge, energy, work, efficiencies, income, ideas, and increased productivity.<\/p>\n In any group, and in most relationships, people bring different skills, experiences, and perspectives\u2014making the group stronger than if everyone were like-minded and similarly talented. One type of group that is particularly valuable in helping your bamboo reach its maximum height is the Bamboo Circle\u2014individuals who \u201cconnect\u201d regularly, who listen and brainstorm solutions and strategies, and who generally support and help each other be accountable. Creating and participating in a Bamboo Circle gives members the opportunity to:<\/p>\n BAMBOO RULE:<\/strong> The quality of your bamboo will be determined by the quality of your relationships.<\/p>\n Far from a simple feel-good philosophy, Water The Bamboo <\/em>is core to understanding that the hard work employees are putting in now is for the long term. Perhaps Chip Kelly, head coach of the Oregon Ducks football team, summed it up best in an interview after the team finished the 2009 season and was headed to the Rose Bowl (Kelly\u2019s first year as head coach), \u201cTo our players, the analogy of Water The Bamboo<\/em> is that you have to keep driving, keep playing, and it will pay off in the long run. And that\u2019s what those guys understand.\u201d The Ducks have since been to the BCS National Championship and won the Rose Bowl.<\/p>\n Greg Bell, CSP, is a thought leader, author of \u201cWater the Bamboo: Unleashing the Potential of Individuals and Teams,\u201d and founder of the Water The Bamboo Center For Leadership<\/a><\/u>. As an innovator and observer of successful leaders and teams, he distilled his findings into the WaterThe Bamboo approach to success, which has encouraged and inspired thousands of leaders and teams to identify and water their bamboo to create remarkable results. To learn more, visit http:\/\/www.waterthebamboo.com<\/em><\/a>or follow @WatertheBamboo. <\/em>Bell is also the founder of the just-launched Water the Bamboo University, an interactive library of goal-setting tools and multi-media resources designed to help teams and individuals create a game plan for achieving their goals. The University\u2019s first module, \u201cGrow Your Roots,\u201d is a step-by-step exploration and application of the principles of the bamboo farmer, teaching members how to\u00a0get clarity around their\u00a0values and vision, define their goals, and develop relationships to help them see their visions turn into reality. Throughout the 90-day course, members\u00a0will\u00a0learn how to create unshakable motivation and persistence, develop laser-like focus to avoid distractions, and apply the secrets of high achievers to create breakthrough results.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Greg Bell, Founder, Water The Bamboo Center For Leadership\n
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\nHave you watered your bamboo today?
\nWhen I ask that question, I often get some rather puzzled looks. What does cultivating a crop of giant timber bamboo have to do with training, human resources, or even leadership for that matter?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-9567","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-magazine","7":"magazine_issues-november-2012"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n