Though he was known for his athleticism on the grid iron and the big screen, Ronald Reagan felt his time as a lifeguard on the Rock River was the test of his strength. Reagan, who pulled seventy-seven people to safety, recorded each episode by carving a notch in a riverside tree. The greatest challenge of being a lifeguard, Reagan shared, isn't spotting the swimmer in trouble, or swimming out quickly enough, or even pulling the person back in to safety. The greatest challenge is overpowering the drowning person's second nature response to splash frantically, claw at, or try to use the lifeguard's body as a raft-in essence, dragging the lifeguard under the water. For the average person, Reagan could do this with his sheer strength. But, every autumn, after harvest, groups of huge, muscle-bound farm boys would come to Rock River to celebrate the end of the season. Inevitably, one or two would start goofing off and end up in deep water. Reagan knew these guys were too big for him to physically overpower. The key, according to Reagan, was to somehow get the person's attention, stun them into awareness, so they were able to make the conscious choice to do as he instructed. They had to be willing to let go of their second nature and trust him to take them to safety.

The Second Nature Challenge

I am fascinated by the role of second nature within individuals and organizations. Without question, second nature can boost organizational performance at every level. Think of it this way: consistent performance, comprised of repeated correct decisions, leads to small wins in the short-term, and, more significantly, repeated performance. It's what I call the "second nature" phase of organizational performance -- employees spend a small amount of time deciding how to take the correct action, without direct intervention of management. Doing the right things is second nature.

On the other hand, in most strategic initiatives, we want our employees to set aside an outmoded second nature and begin exhibiting the new, more desired behaviors we've identified. Yet, like the swimmers Reagan described, individuals find it difficult to let go of their current second nature behaviors-so they splash and struggle.

As leaders, we see the splashing and wonder what's wrong with those darn employees. We've told them what they need to do. We've trained them so they have all the skills and resources they need to succeed. All they have to do is - well, just trust us and do what we've outlined. But for some perplexing reason they leave much of their new-found knowledge and skills in the training room, then revert to the things they've always done (the outmoded second nature) when they go back to their job site.

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We simply assume that the way we see things is the way they really are or the way they should be. And our attitudes and behaviors grow out of these assumptions.
- Stephen Covey

One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar.
- Helen Keller

My philosophy is that not only are you responsible for your life, but doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.
- Oprah Winfrey

Act the way you'd like to be and soon you'll be the way you act.
- George W. Crane

People don't change their behavior unless it makes a difference for them to do so.
- Fran Tarkenton

Don't make excuses--make good.
- Elbert Hubbard

To know what people really think, pay regard to what they do, rather than what they say.
- Rene Descartes

She didn't know it couldn't be done, so she went ahead and did it.
- Bridget O'Donnell

When new turns of behavior cease to appear in the life of the individual, its behavior ceases to be intelligent.
- Thomas Carlyle

Rational behavior requires theory. Reactive behavior requires only reflex action.
- W. Edwards Deming

You lose your habitual behavior, which allowed you to sort of zone out. You have to be here, you have to be now, you have to be present.
- Sally Field

If you want to change attitudes, start with a change in behavior.
- William Glasser

To change a habit, make a conscious decision, then act out the new behavior.
- Maxwell Maltz

A message from Lynne Key and Tom Dambly

DiamondWinds is about achievement and movement. It's you and your people going from where you are to where you want to be. It is equipping and energizing others to get things done. It is helping our customers and their people thrive today and in the future.

During a recent planning meeting with two of our top solutions consultants, we were reminded of one of the essential differences between DiamondWinds and most other training and consulting companies. These sales professionals knew they could go for an easy and fast sale; one that would bring in big dollars for us and them, but little ROI for our customer. Instead, they decided-without any prompting from us-to craft a solution that would demand more time and effort in the sales cycle, but would bring real results for the customer.

Real Results: It's a DiamondWinds theme. In fact, over the last 4 years, we've declined to work with organizations whose leaders were unwilling to do the things, like those mentioned in Brent's article, to utilize training to bring real results.

Because we are a smaller and newer organization without a huge logistics train, we are able to live our commitment to real results. We think that's a significant advantage to our customers. We are free to invest our energies in ways that will make a genuine difference for customers. We are also free to walk away from quick, easy money for initiatives that we know will bring little or no value to the customer, instead taking the time and working hard to help those customers craft an initiative that will bring achievement and movement. We are wholly committed to helping every DiamondWinds' customer make a positive difference in their organization. Real Results. DiamondWinds. Because Trust Is The point.