The research should be disturbing. From a corporate perspective it is about productivity. From a personal perspective it is about fulfillment. They go hand-in-hand. It is the issue of employee engagement. The well-publicized research by the Gallup organization should open our eyes:

54% are not engaged and 17% are actively disengaged.

A fair amount of thoughtful insight has been written on this topic in the last five years. As with many issues, the question becomes … are we addressing the symptom or the root cause of the issue?

The seeds of genuine employee engagement are at the root … or, shall we say, at the core. Engagement is an issue of connection. Think of it as inserting a plug into an electrical socket. Insert a plug into a loaf of bread and nothing happens. Insert an inappropriate object into a plug and something happens … but it won’t be good. It is only through the appropriate connection that electricity can flow. Oh sure, there can be a strike of lightening, every now and then, that gets things moving. The lightening makes a big impact for a moment. But it doesn’t last.

Employee engagement is not only valuable. At the very core … it is an issue of values.

Corporate values are the socket and personal values are the plug. When properly connected the result is flow … there is engagement. Of course, a socket itself can be inoperable without being properly wired to a fuse box. Which is exactly where we find leadership … fueling the flow or not.

In GOOD to the CORE, I noted the overwhelming percentage of companies that either do not have stated values … or, for those who did have stated values, the overwhelming number of employees who could not state them! I also noted that the likely reason the employees couldn’t state them was rooted in their inability to state their own personal values. Gallup’s research notes that two-thirds of the work force is only moderately engaged or disengaged. There seems to be an interesting correlation to a work force that only has a moderate gut feel or intuition about their personal and corporate values … or have no idea about them at all.

Many would think of “values” as one of those “soft issues.” In organizations, “soft” is code for “one of those nice things … but not a business imperative.” Leaders who prescribe to the idea they are “soft,” rarely provide the electrical current to create employee engagement. They more likely are like bolts of lightning that create amazing moments with serious collateral damage. And they look at Gallup’s numbers and wonder what is wrong with the employees. When leaders boldly harness the value of values, something very different begins to happen.

The possibility for flow begins.

Employee engagement is nothing short of a “values” proposition. For organizations and the employees who work there, the bottom-line question might very well be … how are you wired?

So which direction are you living?  From behaviors to values or values to behaviors.  It may just clarify what you want and what you really need.

It’s not the summer I expected. Or planned for. Blindsided. On June 2nd, I had my second retinal detachment in six years. Yes, this time the “other” eye.

I didn’t exactly attend summer school for the last two months … but I did learn some things. It was my own “silent alarm.” I would have never chosen it. Nor did I like it. But I certainly didn’t want to “miss” it. You know … the lessons that come with any challenge if we choose to see them. Actually I would have preferred to hit the snooze and just gotten back to normal … whatever that is!

I was simply reminded of some things, saw some old things in new ways, and learned some new things. I don’t share them because they are profound insights. In fact, I hesitate to share them at all … for fear you may think “That’s it? That’s all you learned!” But, I’ll take that risk … knowing they simply are what they are. And just to minimize the risk, let’s pretend there were too many lessons to list here and so I just picked a few … for that holds some truth too!

1. What we anticipate would be our worst nightmare … usually isn’t.

After my first retinal detachment, six years ago, people would ask me if I was scared to death about losing my vision in that eye. I would always tell them that I was amazingly at peace through the whole ordeal. But I would always add, “but if something happens to my ‘other eye’ that would be my worst nightmare.” Six years later it did. It certainly came as a shock, but it was no nightmare. It was just my next experience. You reach deep and carry-on. It is not easy, but it is usually not the nightmare we anticipated either.

2. We do much more work than we need to do to create the results we actually need to create.

A week after surgery, my retina specialist, told me I could do a “few” things for work. (So glad he did not actually quantify “few”!). The truth is … I could only do a little. When you can only do a little … and you are trying to run a business … you pick very carefully. I am convinced we are doing way too much … with often meaningless results. And it comes with a huge cost. We incrementally keep adding on the pile, rarely deleting enough. If you only had 25% of your current capacity, what would stay and what would go? Not only work, but relationships. When you are forced into that reality … the answers become clearer. Why wait for the reality? Take the opportunity to do it anyway!

3. Some things you just can’t rush. You can only set the conditions for them to develop.

Retinal detachments are one of God’s lessons in patience. I guess I must not have learned it well enough six years ago. You can’t rush your vision back to clarity. It is a very slow process … especially when you want to see again. A dear friend once shared with me a lesson from her grandfather … “nothing good happens quickly.” We live in a world that wants immediate results … immediate satisfaction. I would suggest the most important and wonderful things in life don’t happen quickly. It’s true in meaningful relationships, it is true in great companies, and it is true with regaining your vision. It’s also true that if you patiently wait, you will appreciate the final results all the more.

4. It is amazing, when you are forced to keep your eyes closed for several days … what you will see!

There are so much visual stimuli in this world … more every day. I am convinced that our vision sometimes blinds us to what we really need to see. It often keeps us distracted from what is real. It certainly keeps us from what is real important. Ironically, it makes things blurry. If you look within … it becomes clearer what you can really do without. It is no wonder we make bad decisions in business and in relationships. Try closing your eyes … and look around.

Most importantly, I learned to deeply appreciate the kindness of so many people who reached out in so many ways. I have especially appreciated the prayers of hundreds of people as far away as Australia. They have reminded me, most, that you are never alone … which is why it was not the nightmare I thought it might be.

Maybe we should have left this on the “cutting room” floor.  But then again, maybe not!

Without core values, we end-up needing what we want rather than wanting what we need.  What is it that you really need?

Warning: There is not one new idea in this article. But then again new ideas are often over-sold. Recently, one of my clients shared with me some great wisdom on development:

People don’t need to be taught as much as they simply need to be reminded.

This is so true! In July, I will take time-out to attend the National Speaker Association’s National Convention in Orlando. Most participants will arrive hungry for new ideas and insights. Many looking for that “silver-bullet” to skyrocket their business. I will be among them. But I’m going … just to be reminded. Maybe participants should consider taking an extra suitcase filled with all of their handouts and notes from all prior conventions. You know, all those files you created with great intentions to “go back” and take action!

I realize one of the great benefits of any meeting is the face to face conversations and the relationships that are started or further nourished because our paths have crossed. Participants might be best served by just attending all the social events but stay in their hotel room during all scheduled sessions. That’s right, sit in their hotel room and pour over all those previous great ideas that have wilted from being fed with the junk food of great intentions, but starved from the lack of the real nourishment of taking action.

Learning new things demands little from us. It is like “brain candy” that feels good in the moment, but is quickly followed by the sugar slump. I have often felt if I would put into action only half of what I already know … I would be amazed at the results.

Maybe you can relate. Or maybe you just need to be reminded.

I want to put out an unlikely challenge. I am sure I will hear from all of my friends addicted to innovation! But here goes anyway. For the next month … try to learn nothing new. That’s right … it is the hot and lazy days of summer in some parts of the world and the sleepy winter in the rest. Seriously, “chill-out” and learn nothing new!

Instead, starting on July 1st … for the whole month, create your own “reminder retreat.” Schedule a few moments each day to pour over what you already know … but haven’t yet embraced in your work and in your life. Some days it might be a few moments just to sit on a deck or look out your office window and think about great ideas and insights that have faded. Some days it might be actually pulling out those fading notes of wisdom that have been filed away. Other days it might be lunch with a friend or spouse discussing what you have known … but forgotten. Another day might be creating an ice-breaker for your monthly conference call or department meeting with a simple question: What are some great ideas we have forgotten?

You will likely be surprised just how refreshing old ideas can be!

There is an inherent risk this “reminder fest” will lead you down the deadly path of guilt. Don’t you even think about it! Rather, let it fuel your engines to rediscover the gems you can best see only by looking back over your shoulder. You see … old ideas can always be new again. Not because they have changed, but because you have. In fact, I should probably warn you. If you choose to take up this challenge to learn nothing new … you will probably fail no matter how hard you try. For you will quickly learn that your “reminder retreat” will make it virtually impossible to avoid learning something new!

I look forward to my upcoming convention. Alright, so I will attend the schedule sessions. They are always incredible. And as the presenters share their “new” ideas, I will have my notepad ready to take notes … on what I rediscover and hope this time to remember!

As you ponder to rediscover … make a new list of your old ideas. By the end of the month you will have created a great list of reminders … making them easier to remember. Don’t you dare file it! For August will be patiently waiting … for action!

Knowing and living your core values helps you withstand the very loses you may need to endure to ultimately find meaningful success!

Sometimes you have  to face your own message.  After experiencing my second detached retina in seven years … I have been reminded of the vital importance of attitude.  It can change how you see things!

 Today’s post is the featured article from the May 2010 issue of The Front Porch Newsletter. If you would like to automatically receive The Front Porch e-newsletter on the last Thursday of each month just click here to sign-up for your complimentary subscription.

Shortly after we published Silent Alarm, an executive and friend at KPMG sent me a copy of Chasing Daylight.  He knew I would like it … and he was right!