1. ACHIEVEMENT CATEGORY ABSTRACTS
 CORE BRAINPOWER MINDSET POSITIVE IMMERSION TRAINING

EAGLE'S NEST
ACHIEVEMENT TRAINING CATEGORY

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    The following abstracts contain "outlines and extracts" from hundreds of books, audiotapes and videotapes. As you consider the basic context of the scientific factual ideas, you can instantly navigate both to and from each of the following abstracts or to and from the twelve keyword brainpower mindset categories by clicking on the above Eagle's Nest image or link.

    Your memory skills can be enhanced by using "mindmaps," which make it possible for you to draw your ideas and their relationships to each other in "visual" patterns. Mindmaps can help you organize concepts and measure the degree to which they are based upon solid positive life-affirming factual ideas or unvalidated wishes and opinions. These "patterns" of coherent thought that you document in writing will be remembered easier and longer since they are part of the "sensory immersion" enhanced memory process. It can help you think more clearly and systematically about your most important goals and how you plan to create "action plans" to accomplish them.


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    The nature of your SELF is such that it must continue ACHIEVING (growing and evolving) throughout your lifetime.

    The best way to apply your new "brainpower knowledge" is to study the following factual ideas of experts. The scientific ideas can guide your self-analysis. If you can imagine the researchers and writers as your "personal mentors," then you can use their objective factual ideas to train your brain to protect you from the automatic negative thoughts or ANTs that are likely to be crawling around inside your brain's memory resources.

    The cumulative impact over many years of your ANTs is the creation of your own negative "Self-Critic." Your Self-Critic consists of the negative thoughts from your past which are stored in your long-term memory resources and which must be confronted before they can be banished from your memory forever. Your mind is simply the higher thinking and feeling parts of your brain that you are conscious of as you do Self-Analysis and seek Self-Control on your lifetime journey of Self-Liberation from learned negative cultural values and your own self-imposed negative automatic thoughts which can scramble your feelings.

    You can achieve maximum value or Self-Esteem in your life by simply recognizing the profound truth that you exist with an amazing brain that can be understood! Also you need to be aware of the fact that you can use your own brain to help you achieve your own unique meaningful existence and determine your own values and goals for the future by yourself with just a little coaching and counseling, if you have developed some bad thinking habits in your youth.

[1] ACHIEVING HAPPINESS FOR THE GREATEST NUMBER OF PEOPLE
    We desperately need a concept of common good or shared purpose. Conclusions for today's world:

      [1] Happiness matters

        (1) Happiness is an objective dimension of all our experience

        (2) We are programmed to seek happiness

        (3) It is self-evident that the best society is the happiest

        (4) Our society is not likely to become happier unless people agree that this is what we want to happen

      [2] Sources of happiness

        (1) Humans are deeply social beings

        (2) As social beings, we want to trust each other

        (3) People are also deeply attached to the status quo

        (4) Human beings are also status conscious

        (5) Human beings are also very adaptable

        (6) In any case extra income increases happiness less and less as people get richer

        (7) In fact happiness depends on your inner life as on your outer circumstances

        (8) Public policy can more easily remove misery than augment happiness

    Happiness comes from outside and from within. The two sources are not in contradiction:

      HAPPINESS IDEA #1 --- The secret of achieving true happiness is to strive for compassion towards oneself and others.

      HAPPINESS IDEA #2 --- The ethical principle of the GREATEST HAPPINESS FOR THE GREATEST NUMBER OF PEOPLE is essentially the expression of that ideal.

    Perhaps these two ideas could be the cornerstones of our future culture.
Book Source #1: (Happiness --- Lessons from a new Science)


[2] WINNING DECISIONS --- GETTING IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME
    1) The three factors that determine outcomes or the "quality of achievement" are:

      (1) DECIDING --- the thinking and decision process

      (2) DOING --- implementation and other factors under your control

      (3) CHANCE --- uncontrollable factors, such as luck!

    By definition, you cannot control the factors in the "chance" category --- although you can seek to move more factors under your control and leave as little as possible to chance!

    The "outcome" in most real-world decisions depends not only on the quality of the decision process, but also on a mixture of implementation and chance that is difficult to disentangle. The closest thing to a guarantee of a "good outcome" is a good thinking/decision process followed by good implementation!

    The outcome or "results" do matter --- but judging solely on results is a serious deterrent to taking risks that may be necessary to making the right decisions. Simply put, the way decisions are evaluated affects the way decisions are made!

    The public would be better served, and their elected County officials, would be able to do a more effective job, if government customer service judgments were based on the quality of decision-making instead of focusing solely on outcomes or results!

    2) A good decision-making process --- Dividing the decision-making process into four stages can provide a reliable guide for any decision process, since consciously or not, every decision-maker goes through them. They are:

      (1) Framing --- It determines the viewpoint from which decision-makers look at the issue and sets parameters for which aspects of the situation they consider important and which they do not. It determines in a preliminary way what criteria would cause them to prefer one option over the other.

      (2) Gathering Intelligence --- Intelligence-gatherers must seek the knowable facts and options and produce reasonable evaluations of 'unknowables" to enable decision-making in the face of uncertainty. It's important that they avoid such pitfalls as overconfidence in what they currently believe and the tendency to seek only information that confirms their beliefs.

      (3) Coming to Conclusions --- Sound "framing" and good intelligence do not guarantee a wise decision.Staff cannot consistently make good decisions using seat-of-the-pants judgment alone, even with excellent data in front of them. A systematic approach will lead to more accurate choices!

      It usually does so far more efficiently than hours spent in unorganized thinking. This is particularly true in group settings!

      (4) Learning from Experience --- Only by systematically learning from the results of past decisions can decision-makers continually improve their skills. Further, if learning begins when a decision is first implemented, early refinements to the decision or implementation plan can be made that could mean the difference between success or failure!

    In real organizational life, the process is not quite as linear --- or distinct --- as these four stages suggest.

    Sometimes, information discovered in the "intelligence-gathering" stage may inspire you to go back and reframe your decision. Moreover, a complex problem may entail a series of smaller decisions, each of which may involve several framing decisions, several intelligence-gathering efforts, and several coming-to-conclusion steps.

    3) Deciding How to Decide --- The four decision stages consume almost all of good decision process. Expert decision-makers, however, know they must devote part of their time to making choices about the decision process itself choices which can determine the character of the entire effort!

    Remember, "A problem well stated is a problem half solved" (John Dewey).

    The following general questions should be asked at the beginning of the decision-making process:

      (1) What is the crux of the issue that I am facing?

      (2) How do I believe decisions like this one should made?

      (3) How much time should I spend on each stage --- as a first guess?

      (4) Can I draw on feedback from related decisons and experiences that I have faced in the past to make this decision better?

      (5) What are my own relevant strengths and weaknesses?

    4) Worksheet --- crucial questions for "deciding how to decide" --- These questions are especially important in group settings since changing the direction of a group can be like turning a battleship --- slow and awkward!

      (1) What is the crux or primary difficulty in this issue? Which of the four stages in the decision process will be most important?

      (2) In general, how should decisions like this one be made --- such as alone or in groups, intuitively or analytically? Where do my own strengths and weaknesses lie? Where do I honestly need help?

        PHASE 1 --- "DECISION-FRAMING"

          1. The power of frames

          2. Creating winning frames

        INTERLUDE --- A --- Improving your options

        PHASE 2 --- GATHERING INTELLIGENCE

          4) Avoiding distortion and bias

          5) Intelligence in the face of uncertainty

        INTERLUDE --- B --- Technologies for aiding decisions

        PHASE 3 --- COMING TO CONCLUSIONS

          6) Choosing --- a "pyramid" of approaches

          7) Managing group decisions

        INTERLUDE --- C --- Implementing your chosen option

        PHASE 4 --- LEARNING FROM EXPERIENCE

          8) The personal challenges of learning

          9) Learning in organizations

          10) Bringing it all home --- the decisions of RealHome.com

    Book Source #2: (Winning Decisions)


[3] ACHIEVEMENT AND SUCCESS IN BOTH WORK AND PERSONAL ACTIVITIES
    Successful achievement is not just a GOAL.

    Also it is a CONSCIOUS CHOICE and a RESULT!

    Lasting success is due more to ACHIEVING A BALANCE between your work and non-work activities than due to driving ambition and extra long hours at work.

    Successful organizations are the result of a clear, definite, pre-planned approach to your organization's MISSION!

    Work Performance "Standards:"

      Know the difference between "Excellence Standards" and "Adequacy Standards"

    Book Source #3: (The Achievement Challenge)


[4] ACHIEVEMENT IN ANY ORGANIZATION
DEPENDS UPON EIGHT PSYCHOLOGICAL INSIGHTS OR PRINCIPLES
    There are EIGHT VITAL INSIGHTS that reveal how to achieve balance in any organization. These are the "building blocks" of long-term vitality in a "turned on" organization.

      Insight 1) Build a strong foundation

      Insight 2) Make every customer feel special

      Insight 3) Have the courage to set bold goals

      Insight 4) Simplify, simplify, simplify

      Insight 5) Make technology your servant

      Insight 6) Measure well, act fast

      Insight 7) Unleash the power of people

      Insight 8) Lead with care

    You can measure the long-term "vitality" of your organization by using the "Vitality Scoreboard" in the book.
Book Source #4: (Turned On --- Eight Vital Insights)


[5] FINDING AND KEEPING GREAT EMPLOYEES
    PART 1 --- THE POWER OF "FOCUS"

      1) The great challenge

      2) The culture connection

    PART 2 --- THE FOUR "CORE CULTURES"

      3) A culture of "Customer Service"

      4) A culture of "Innovation"

      5) A culture of "Operational Excellence"

      6) A culture of "Spirit"

    PART 3 --- FINDING GREAT EMPLOYEES

      7) Best practices in staffing

      8) Staffing best practices in action

      9) Aligning staffing to core culture

    PART 4 --- KEEPING GREAT EMPLOYEES

      10) Retention --- best practices

      11) Retention --- best practices in action

      12) Aligning retention to core culture

    PART 5 --- GETTING AHEAD

      13) Leading the charge

        [1] Clearly embrace one core culture

        [2] Prioritize your alignment efforts

        [3] Obtain employee feedback on alignment

        [4] Create alignment initiatives

        [5] Implement alignment initiatives

        [6] Monitor and evaluate alignment initiatives

      Moving forward --- You must move forward! You face, on a daily basis, the great challenge of finding and keeping great employees!

      The longer you do nothing, the worse the "cycle of disconnection" within your organization becomes. Hiring simply for "job fit" is not sufficient to meet the challenge. There is only one option ---"ALLIGNMENT."

      To gain long-term competitive advantage, organizations must provide deep, long-lasting, and "purpose-driven focus" so that applicants and employees can best connect to their company and their jobs.

      This book provides the "information tools" you need to move forward and create those powerful "connections" so that you can find and keep great employees through allignment.

    Book Source #5: (Finding and Keeping Great Employees)


    [6] THE ACHIEVER'S PROFILE --- 100 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS TO SHARPEN
    YOUR EXECUTIVE INSTINCTS

    WHAT we measure we do,
    What we MEASURE we do,
    What we measure we DO!
Book Source #6: (The Achiever's Profile)

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