Glorious Discretionary Time
Discretionary time is a precious resource. How often do you own your day? How often do you get to decide what you do and when you do it, according to…
I Saw The Sign
I am a big fan of Stephen Covey's Time Matrix, which compels you to consider the urgency and importance of a task before deciding to do it (or not). You…
Meaningful Consequence
In Switch, Chip and Dan Heath argue that knowing something is not enough to prompt change. You have to "find the feeling". My version of this concept is "meaningful consequence",…
Flip a Coin
Whenever I am approached for advice by someone facing a difficult "either/or" decision of personal significance, I typically follow a two-step process: Talk through the pros and cons of each…
Advance relationships and tasks via regular meetings
It is tempting in our virtual world to convince ourselves that the best way to make progress on our work is by communicating almost exclusively via email or other electronic…
Gratitude – With or Without a Journal
It is easy to find a lot of support for the practice of keeping a gratitude journal. One such very comprehensive article in favor of the practice points out the following,…
Being Part of Your Solution
I have really been enjoying the coaching part of my business lately. It has inspired me to focus on increasing my coaching capability, so I can provide continuously enhanced service to…
Good or Great?
In Good to Great, Jim Collins identified what "great" companies do differently as compared to "good" companies. He had specific criteria for defining these two subjective terms; however, for the…
Control vs. Influence
QUICK QUIZ: Is this something you can control or influence? 1. Someone else’s behavior: __________ 2. Your own behavior: __________ 3. Someone else’s reaction to your behavior: __________ 4. Your…
Raising children to be aware of their surroundings
When she was younger, I often coached my older daughter to "be aware of your surroundings". I used this directive in many contexts including but not limited to safety, emotional…