One of the underlying philosophies I use when I work with leaders and teams is "if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.” It is important to dig into whatever the underlying cause is of the challenge and only “fix” that part that isn’t working, rather than trying to fix everything. For example, recently one of the organizations I’ve been working with thought they had a problem [...]
Stubborn or tenacious... both flip sides of the same coin. And both characteristics that have served me well . . . and not well . . . in the last week! 😊 Let me set the stage. I had 2 days cleared on my calendar for a class that I’m taking out of town. This class meets once a month for a year and [...]
A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to lead a breakout on 8 Dimensions of Leadership at the Dynamic Women Succeed event. Before my presentation started, one of the participants said, “Aren’t you the time management lady? Did you change your business?” So - good news - she knew the main focus of my business is to help leaders and teams be more [...]
I was reading the book Deep Work by Cal Newport and was intrigued by one of his calendar scheduling tips. [su_youtube url="https://youtu.be/T5qvYeS912c" width="360" height="280"] First, a quick synopsis of Cal’s book: He believes that most people have lost the ability to go deep, spending their days instead in a frantic blur of e-mail and social media. They often don't even realize there's a better [...]
A year ago I read the book Clockwork by Mike Michalowicz. It changed my business. It changed how I worked with clients. It changed how I run my business. And then one of our NAWBO Cleveland board members reached out to Mike Michalowicz to see if he would be a speaker for our group. AND HE SAID YES! OK - obviously I’m a fan, [...]
23 minutes and 15 seconds. According to a study at the University of California-Irvine, it takes 23 minutes and 15 seconds to regain your flow once you are interrupted and distracted. [su_youtube url="https://youtu.be/tTuA_LXk3qA" width="250" height="195"] Co-worker stops by to say “hi” . . . 23 minutes and 15 seconds GONE! Email pops into your inbox and you choose to answer it while working on [...]
“I know that the most important thing I can do in my position is to think. Yet I find that even though I set aside time in my calendar every week to plan, reflect, review, and think about big-picture projects, I seldom actually keep that appointment with myself. There just always seems to be something more urgent. Ideas?” Whether you are a business owner, [...]
A fantastic woman left this message in one of my Facebook groups: "Something occurred to me about my delegation habits... I delegate, but I still OWN the task, like I'm the one checking up, and it takes so much energy. Almost more than just doing the task myself. Anyone else experience this?" First, this is NOT unusual! Especially for high performing individuals. You KNOW in [...]
While traveling home from vacation I was able to process eblasts and found this great message from Seth Godin. "Leave stones unturned. If it’s the wrong stone, walk away. Infinity is a trap. The frenzied search for more is a distraction and a place to hide, all in one. Pick the right stones and cherish them as you turn them over. That’s enough." Then, [...]
It’s easy to keep doing things the way you’ve always done them. In fact, it is super safe. (Think “wearing a big huge bomb diffusing suit to wave a couple of sparklers around” safe). And . . . it is the one thing that is guaranteed to keep you STUCK in your business! When you keep doing the client work yourself so no one makes [...]
