This year, America turns 250. This blog odometer turns 1900. One is the celebration of a nation. The other is a collection of thoughts, observations, lessons, mistakes, questions, and truths gathered one day at a time. Both have something in common. They were built slowly. One conversation, one lesson, one day at a time. When I started writing these blogs, I didn’t know where they would lead. I just…
“Most serious mistakes are not being made as a result of wrong answers. The truly dangerous thing is asking the wrong question.” Peter Drucker When people begin to work through issues, often they tell stories, give examples and rehash events and conversations. Rarely do they slow down, take time to think and pause long enough to determine the root cause of the symptoms they are ruminating in. They defend…
When your core values align, with your employees, clients, partners and vendors, you can make mistakes. When trust is high, and you’ve delivered on what you said time after time, you can make mistakes. When you go the extra mile, especially when it’s not required or expected, you can make mistakes. When you’ve done none of the above, don’t be surprised if it only takes one mistake to lose a relationship, an…
Do you want solutions? In sessions, I’ll be coaching a team while solving issues and they’ll stray from the topic at hand. They’ll dive into multiple competing discussions piling onto the issue while wasting precious time circling the issue, afraid to say what’s really at the core of it all. A simple process clears this up. When you use it, your time becomes maximized, you solve more, and get to the heart of things. It’s four simple steps: While step…
Over time, I’ve learned that life rewards action over intelligence. Being trapped in a cycle of overthinking, holding back from taking the necessary steps to move forward rarely leads to a better outcome. I’ve come to realize that courage is the missing ingredient that brings intelligence to life. Being smart doesn’t guarantee success or fulfillment. When I step outside my comfort zone and take action, I begin to see real progress. Challenges become a…
How do you change the outcome when you feel overwhelmed, hopeless, or stuck? You need to ask a new question. What a mind-blowing concept. I was introduced to a powerful question from Dan Sullivan. He said when you consider doing something new, ask “how can I achieve this doing nothing?” What? I’m a doer. A question like this has never occurred to me other than this moment. Yet when…
There’s a big difference between inspiration and motivation. As a leader, your job is inspiration. You are the one who has to dig down, find the goodness and communicate it even when the circumstances around you suggest otherwise. Your message is always what’s possible, where we’re going, not where we are and you need to generate an experience of certainty when things feel chaotic and uncertain. Is it easy? Not always, but that’s part of…
We all have competing priorities happen. How do you decide what comes first when everything seems important? Here is some criteria to help clarify, but remember, the best answer is to prepare, plan, and bust up your own procrastination. Most of us believe there’s always more time. There is not. Ask these 5 questions in any order when your priorities are on a collision course: The best answer? …
Discipline. It’s not a popular subject. It often gets confused with punishment. It’s not at all the same. Discipline is closest in my mind to commitment. The kind you make to do something even when it’s challenging; when it’s not convenient; when it’s unpopular; when you’d rather not. It’s a rare thing to witness discipline in action. Ask anyone who’s mastered anything, and they will say it’s about being disciplined, being persistent, being committed to something greater than comfort. It’s the not-so-magic ingredient…
Every situation in life is transitory. We fall into a sort of comfort with life at times thinking it should be occurring according to our plans. When we can embrace and accept the changes with grace, we become nimble, creative, and resourceful. When we bristle, thinking life should occur on our terms, we are disappointed a majority of the time. As…