Blog

Coaching for Failure Skill Building

Sometimes I think I’m on one path and then find out I’m on a completely different one, learning things I really did not expect. For example, I started down this path of accomplishing a pivotal goal. A pivotal goal is one that accomplishes multiple things in multiple areas. This goal was more personal than business and yet I am sharing it here because I’ve experienced (and seen my clients experience) more business success by also setting and accomplishing personal […]

Coaching Values & Needs That Defy Logic

In my coaching and speaking I refer to an experiment where one person is given twenty dollars and told that they decide how much to give to a second person. The second person has one chance to say yes or no. The catch is that both people have to end up with some money or neither receive any. Earlier this week I did this with two volunteers at a speech I gave at a professional association conference. The volunteer […]

How Do I Give Powerful Feedback & Inspire Them to Change?

One of the most common challenges that I hear from my clients is about how to give feedback for accountability that will result in a change of behavior. In her book, “Daring Greatly” Dr. Brené Brown explains that both giving and receiving feedback is an act of vulnerability. It is very tempting and easy to “armor up” with protective anger, self-righteousness or threats when giving  feedback and unfortunately this rarely results in the desired change in behavior. I know I […]

Your internalGPS Cannot Function Without This!

No matter who you are, what you do, or where you want to go, you absolutely cannot do it alone. You need relationships. And if you want to have a journey that is more successful, fulfilling, smoother and more enjoyable, then you need to have great relationships with the people all around you. At work. At home. Even in the line at the store or in the car next to you on the backed-up freeway. Yes, even those strangers […]

Coaching & Programming Your internalGPS for More Creativity & Innovation

How are you programming your internalGPS to be (more) creative and innovative as we go into this new year? Every one of us is creative; I used to think this was reserved for my very talented Mother and Sister who always had (and still have) a creative project going. I’d say, “Oh I just didn’t get that gene.” What a bunch of crap, I have just as much creativity as the next person and this idea of not being […]

Putting the Happy in Happy Holidays!

This time of year can bring up so much comparison. Comparing what is to what was in my own past, comparing what is versus what I see on those holiday commercials, comparing to my friend’s pictures of their holiday cheer on Facebook, comparing to what our friends or family are planning and doing and how their houses look or don’t look, there is no shortage of comparison! And it can take the happy right out of this time of […]

Three Ways to Undermine Trust in a Personal or Business Relationship

1. Try and make them feel better by giving an example of how much worse it could be.   Business Example: “The failures of your product on our manufacturing line are causing us large increases in scrap costs.” A horrible reply would be, “Well it could be much worse, we could not be delivering at all” or “The failures are even worse over at company B.” Personal Example: “I am so upset, I just found out that my friend […]

A Great Tool If Your internalGPS Has You Lost

A common way that I get lost and my clients get lost is in feeling confused or overwhelmed with large amounts of data or many different options. One of my favorite tools for cutting through the confusion is a mind map. I found this great mind map (pictured below) of all the different benefits and uses of a mind map on Flickr, click on this link to see the detail,  The Mind Map by Zapckr on Flickr. The simple process […]

How My Experience As a Cashier Has Made Me Happier & More Productive 3

I know from experience that a lot of people don’t even look you in the eye, let alone talk to you, when you are a cashier. I see it now, when I watch people in the coffee place or at the store, they’re too busy talking to their friend, looking at their phone or just somewhere far away in their mind. It is easy to not even notice them. My prior years as a cashier gave me the gift […]

What Compelling Image Is Pulling You? 2

“Real motivation is that drive from within, you have a compelling image inside, not a travel poster on the wall.” – Dennis Waitly I coach and speak about creating a vision. A big clear and compelling vision that gets you (and your team) excited. It may start with a poster on a wall or a challenge from a customer or boss or something else externally but it will take flight if you internalize it so that it is truly […]