Saturday, December 15, 2012
Ten Ways to Improve Your Business AND Your Life
As we approach the end of the year, my inbox is flooded with suggestions for making New Year's resolutions..
Most are fluffy and feel good about life OR about business.
Most however, don't seem to marry the two together, most miss acknowledging that your busines is part of your life and you can only find limited success in your business if your are not also finding success through that endeavor in your life.
This list of Ten Ways to Improve Your Business AND Your Life is a simple starter to do just that.
Enjoy reading the list over at my website, www.cooadvisors.com
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Born To Make Mistakes
We tie ourselves in knots trying to work out how to both live our lives and run our business.
This comes up nearly every day in speaking with clients I coach.
In this, we are creating our own problem by being our own worst enemy!
Where did we learn to expect our businesses to run perfectly when life does not? Life is full of ups and downs, tries and fails, success and so-called failure.
Read more on this on my website, www.cooadvisors.com
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Signs of a Crippled Leader
I just enjoyed this piece from the Leadership Collaboratory on signs of a crippled leader.
http://linked2leadership.com/2012/03/28/7-signs-confidence-is-fading/
Monica Wofford writes of "Seven Signs your Confidence is Fading". I enjoyed this short piece as it speaks to an area generally not addressed, namely a leader losing confidence.
"Few are willing to discuss the very element that can quickly cripple a leader: Confidence."
7 Signs
1) Focused on Favorite on the Playground
2) Taking Things Personally
3) Getting Defensive
4) The Fear Factor
5) Reacting in Response
6) Quick to Hire, Slow to Fire
7) Too Much Letting Go
As you read through these, you'll find that you've seen most at play at various times in your career but perhaps not come to the conclusion that these are symptoms of a larger issue.
I particularly liked #1, focusing on the favorite. A leader on their game knows that not everyone will like all that they do. Being liked is not the criteria for leading. A good leader needs to be respected first. A leader with declining confidence though may spend more and time and focus on the local favorite as a boost to their own declining sense of confidence and morale. I've seen this one and the symptom was right on the money as an indicator of a larger confidence issue.
http://linked2leadership.com/2012/03/28/7-signs-confidence-is-fading/
Monica Wofford writes of "Seven Signs your Confidence is Fading". I enjoyed this short piece as it speaks to an area generally not addressed, namely a leader losing confidence.
"Few are willing to discuss the very element that can quickly cripple a leader: Confidence."
7 Signs
1) Focused on Favorite on the Playground
2) Taking Things Personally
3) Getting Defensive
4) The Fear Factor
5) Reacting in Response
6) Quick to Hire, Slow to Fire
7) Too Much Letting Go
As you read through these, you'll find that you've seen most at play at various times in your career but perhaps not come to the conclusion that these are symptoms of a larger issue.
I particularly liked #1, focusing on the favorite. A leader on their game knows that not everyone will like all that they do. Being liked is not the criteria for leading. A good leader needs to be respected first. A leader with declining confidence though may spend more and time and focus on the local favorite as a boost to their own declining sense of confidence and morale. I've seen this one and the symptom was right on the money as an indicator of a larger confidence issue.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Hometown Reality Check and Dreaming Big
I recently visited my growing up hometown back in the midwest for a family get together.
Late one night, I went out for a walk in the pleasant night air and found myself walking from the home where I had grown up to the grade school where I spent important, formative years in school.
If you have the opportunity to do the same, I encourage you to. You may well find as did I that along your walk, you meet a number of your dreams and intentions from being a youngster. Some could be from the ball field, some the library, some the park, some the neighbors house with your best friends.
At first, it seemed that some of the dreams had not been met. While I didn't ever want to be a fireman, becoming a renowned scientist was on the list. That didn't become a line I pursued.
As I continued the hometown walk, I realized the obvious, I had pursued dreams, some just different than the earliest ones but no less valid and no less successful.
In fact, some pursuits followed much bigger dreams than ever imagined before. I simply had never reached back into my memory stores to update the tally.
By the end of the hometown walk-about, I felt refreshed and at ease. My present and past much more congruent and without contradiction or feeling of loss that I hadn't become what I thought I wanted to be.
I realized that I had become a much bigger something. I had walked into a much bigger dream.
Leaders need to have dreams not only for their work as leaders but most importantly for their life. It's important to check in with your dreams and update what has and hasn't changed since last viewing.
An effective leader is acting from the strength of the entirety of their life and the strength of dreams pursued whether entirely fulfilled or not is a powerful backing for their action.
Take your walk about reality check and realize how you too have bigger dreams in which you succeed.
Late one night, I went out for a walk in the pleasant night air and found myself walking from the home where I had grown up to the grade school where I spent important, formative years in school.
If you have the opportunity to do the same, I encourage you to. You may well find as did I that along your walk, you meet a number of your dreams and intentions from being a youngster. Some could be from the ball field, some the library, some the park, some the neighbors house with your best friends.
At first, it seemed that some of the dreams had not been met. While I didn't ever want to be a fireman, becoming a renowned scientist was on the list. That didn't become a line I pursued.
As I continued the hometown walk, I realized the obvious, I had pursued dreams, some just different than the earliest ones but no less valid and no less successful.
In fact, some pursuits followed much bigger dreams than ever imagined before. I simply had never reached back into my memory stores to update the tally.
By the end of the hometown walk-about, I felt refreshed and at ease. My present and past much more congruent and without contradiction or feeling of loss that I hadn't become what I thought I wanted to be.
I realized that I had become a much bigger something. I had walked into a much bigger dream.
Leaders need to have dreams not only for their work as leaders but most importantly for their life. It's important to check in with your dreams and update what has and hasn't changed since last viewing.
An effective leader is acting from the strength of the entirety of their life and the strength of dreams pursued whether entirely fulfilled or not is a powerful backing for their action.
Take your walk about reality check and realize how you too have bigger dreams in which you succeed.
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