Posted on Monday, November 10, 2014

What’s Inside Your Pain Letter?

If you haven’t heard about them, pain letters are a brilliant way to reach inside an organization and show key decision makers that you understand their pains (the real problems they’re facing) and have the experience and skill set to help solve them.

Although it can be challenging as an outsider to identify the real problems facing an organization, it’s often just as difficult to articulate your own real pains as an insider. Trouble is, it’s easy to waste a lot of time, energy and money when you’re not sure what your real problems are.

So here’s what to do: Use the questions below as a guide, then quickly write yourself a bulleted pain letter describing your pains. You’ll gain tremendous clarity on the real problems you’re facing – and you’ll be better equipped to see your pain from the perspective of an outsider.

Posted on Thursday, October 30, 2014

3 Reasons Why Your Choices Aren’t Creating Impact

I get it. It’s frustrating.

You’re a respected leader. You do the right thing. You research your options. You seek out wise counsel. And you agonize over key decisions to ensure great outcomes.

Yet somehow your choices aren’t having the impact you had hoped for – and you’re not sure what’s missing.

Here are 3 reasons why your choices may not be creating impact, and what to do about it:

Posted on Tuesday, October 21, 2014

How to Take Control of Your Schedule and Stop Hijacking Your Own Agenda

Staying in control of your schedule isn’t easy – especially when you’re stressed out, pressed for time, or dealing with multiple deadlines and the demands of others.

But let’s face it: Sometimes the saboteur is you.

If you’ve ever created a great agenda for your day but found yourself doing something completely unrelated when you actually sat down to work, then you know exactly what I mean.

Having your agenda hijacked by someone else is bad enough, but when you’re the main culprit, the loss of control is even more demoralizing. But rather than play the blame game (haven’t you had enough of that?), let’s focus on solutions to the problem.

Here are 3 quick tips you can immediately put into practice to regain control of your schedule and stop hijacking your own agenda.

Posted on Wednesday, October 15, 2014

3 Signs You’re Not Managing Yourself Effectively (and How to Fix It)

Effective leaders pay attention to how well they’re managing themselves, because they know that when the first car in the train gets derailed, it’s not long before the entire train jumps off the tracks.

Here are 3 signs that you’re not managing yourself effectively (and how to fix it):

Ignoring Your Rituals: Mature executives and elite performers share this in common: They both rely heavily on rituals. Your rituals, which may include an early morning run, a time of meditation, a refocusing on your vision statement, or a nightly review of next day priorities, are the deliberately cultivated habits that give your life stability, structure and stamina. Ignoring your rituals is a red flag that you’re not managing yourself effectively, so if this behavior describes you – stop what you’re doing and make sure you’re fully aware of the why behind what’s crowding out your ritual. Perhaps you’ve been operating in fear mode and you need to confront your fears head on. Or maybe you’re in a time of major transition and you need to modify your rituals to better fit your new circumstances. Or it could just be that everyday life has overwhelmed you, and you need a reminder of why your rituals are important to you. Whatever the reason, take your rituals seriously and get back on track. You’ll be the first to thank yourself that you did.

Posted on Tuesday, October 7, 2014

How To Survive Your Own Change Initiatives

Have you ever had your life turned upside down by a radical change that you initiated?

It may have been a good change, or an unpleasant one which just had to be done. Either way, I’m willing to bet that somewhere in the middle, you almost lost it. Or you did lose it – and you barely managed to regain control. You had come too far to turn back, but you didn’t know how long you could keep going – or whether you even wanted to.

I’ve been through many of these personally-initiated changes, such as starting a new business, leaving or starting a job, moving to another country (and coming “home”), and I’ve discovered a pattern that I’d like to share with you – a pattern that you may find helpful in your current or soon-to-be change initiative.

I call this pattern the “3 Cs of Change.” Keep reading to see which stage best describes where you’re at right now.

Posted on Wednesday, September 17, 2014

The 1 Word That’s Holding You Back

There’s a word that you’ve been using, and it’s time to let it go. Time to erase it from your vocabulary.

You’re not the only one who uses it. I do, too. We all do. But it’s holding you (and me) back.

It comes up in conversation whenever we talk about our deepest dreams and aspirations. And it’s almost always said with a sigh – a wistful and defeating release of air from the lungs.

So what’s the word?

The word is “Someday,” as in, “Someday I’m going to…”

Just think about the last time you said it or heard it. For me, it happened just a few days ago. A friend of mine shared a magnificent dream that he wanted to pursue – a wonderful dream that’s entirely doable. But then he used that word, “Someday.” And he said it with that wistful sigh that always seems to tag along.

But someday is more than a wistful word loaded with longing. It’s a glass ceiling that’s meant to be shattered, and it’s preventing you from taking hold of your future.

Here are three reasons why “someday” is holding you back:

Posted on Monday, September 15, 2014

First Things First

This blog is for you.

My goal is to create content that matters for your life, your dreams, and your work. As a coach, author, speaker and teacher, I help dreamers to become doers, and proven and emerging leaders to excel by improving performance and increasing impact.

I plan to write about Getting Unstuck, Coaching, Leadership and Writing – and I welcome your requests for me to write posts related to these major topic areas. From time to time, I will also write about other topics that are relevant to your life and work. Let me know what matters most to you.