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Archive for the ‘Coaching’ Category

Today I was delighted to read a post that was a topic bouncing in my brain for some time. Karima-Catherine beat me to it , (and it’s all kind of awesome) but in essence, it relates to the plight social media professionals have when we get that email asking, “Can we grab some coffee so I pick your brain?”

How many times have you gotten that question? I believe this happens to all kinds of freelancers and other professionals. For me, it’s common, happening several times a week. For the price of a cup of coffee, the sender (maybe innocuously) thinks it would be great to sit and let me share my ideas, tools, and strategies. Suffice to say, I’ve gotten more tight-lipped and cautious about what I share, often just referring people back to the web. My insides want to jump about and share everything, but I can’t, or rather, I shouldn’t. Why? Because I have spent a small fortune in time and resources to become sharp and knowledgeable in the spheres in which I consult. As professionals, that’s our duty. If I share all I’ve learned in a free chit-chat, what would be left and what value have I placed on my work? Precious little.   The rest of the story...

The most well-intentioned plans, the most heart-felt desires – they’re great.
That’s the fuel that can help things get done.

But that passion can also be blindingly detrimental, strangling the life from an otherwise excellent venture or project.

Sometimes your passion will get in the way of your success.
Sometimes your passion will paralyze you.
Sometimes your passion is actually setting you up for failure.

How, you say?   The rest of the story...

• By giving you the false hope that what you’re doing is the best way to do it.
• By allowing you to rationalize procrastination as “due diligence.”
• By helping you to stubbornly refuse seeking or adopting better tools or methods.
• By ham-stringing you with the thought that with a change, all your work will be undone.
• By making you dig your heels in because you didn’t come up with the idea first.
• By painting the illusion that it’s too hard to learn something new or better.
• By filling you with a fear that it will be too scary to make changes.

In running a small business, you as the owner might have a problem trusting your team. It’s not necessarily because you don’t have faith in the skills of the team, but mainly because as owners, we tend to believe we’re the only one that can do the job right. This thinking is harmful to the fiber of your business. Why? Because your team starts believing that they are powerless, instead of powerful. They operate more pensively, and tend to come to you constantly for guidance on even the smallest of tasks, fearing they can’t move without your knowledge or direction. After all, you know it all, right? This is an exhausting and debilitating way to conduct business, for everyone.

Boiled down, I call it the “truck theory” – you’ve heard variations of this, but it simply means that if you (the controlling force in your business) get hit by a truck, with you lies all the knowledge and skills that go into running your business. Will the business fail if you’re absent or will your employees be able to carry on for a little while without your presence? Can your team run your business without you controlling it 24/7/365? If you answered, “No”, then more delegation is likely not only necessary, but critical. Here are a few tips to help you navigate this new terrain:   The rest of the story...

While many business owners are evaluating the impact of 2009 on their operations, I say this, savvy readers: Get your tail in gear; there is much work to be done and worrying about this last year is merely a distraction keeping you from your goals. There is no shortage of bad news, but you’re still standing-be grateful. Some luck could be involved, but to avoid becoming a statistic in the next decade, it’s time you prepared a plan of attack. I’ve compiled a brief outline of things to make you more profitable and fleet-footed in 2010:

To Do List: Use it, print it, churn it. There are nifty free ones and you’re big kid now; Google it and pick the one you’ll use. I like Tada.

Slash and Burn:If you’re currently providing a good or service that is not in demand, or has had waning interest from your customers, it might be time to can it. If it can be re-engineered easily or in a way that makes it sizzle, revamp it, however, don’t paralyze your business by overthinking it. Move on it or table it.   The rest of the story...

In a previous post, I talked about volunteering. It was heartening that many others feel the same way, giving time and skills to issues or organizations that move them. I purposely timed that post to coincide with no particular holiday, but I decided on the eve of Thanksgiving, it would be  appropriate to write this little reminder of sorts.

This is that time of year when we pause and give thanks. So what am I thankful for? It’s cliche′, but everything: the opportunity to work as I do at what I love, to enjoy my family and friends and live a life I’m proud of, to take in as much hockey as my legs allow, and spend my spare time engrossed in hobbies that feed my soul. I’m also very thankful that I can then turn around and help others, not just nonprofits, but businesses and individuals, for if things were not okay with other areas in my life, this would be difficult.

  The rest of the story...