I had looked forward to attending this workshop all year. It usually sells out. I know. I have been on the waiting list far too long. My invitation was finally here, crisp and ready to be replied to. As I scrolled over all the usual mumbo jumbo, an acronym scrolled across the bottom that stopped me, BYOD. With the continual degradation of traditional acronyms, this could mean anything. When in doubt, Google it. In 30 seconds I had my answer.
Read MoreWhat do I do? Do I succumb to the shiny object in front of me? A day of being unplugged? To forgo the accountability and tasks, meetings and outreach that was all scheduled, so strategically might I add, on this day? It would be disastrous to my business goals. I would be behind, by January 5th.
Read MoreI just crossed a big one off the 2017 goal list and I will not deny, it feels good. It took months of hard work, planning, organizing and perseverance, but in the end it was worth it. While it had nothing to do with Synergy Business Coaching, in some ways it had everything to do with it. Training and running for the Mendocino Trail 50K(That is 31 miles for you Americans) taught me that life is work and work is life.
Read MoreLast week I opened my email, for the fourth time that day and found 6 newsletters in it. A few from current clients, one from a past and various reach outs from companies I have possibly given way to much money to over time. With the limited amount of time I have, I found myself naturally prioritizing what I needed to read, wanted and would never even open. Each week, I find myself doing this more and more and wonder, can there be too much information?
Read MoreAs small business owners, referrals from existing customers are one of our easiest and best ways to gain new customers. If you’re like me, asking for a referral might not seem natural. I realized I had never asked this client for a referral, instead I was hoping—like so many business owners do—that my great service, stellar personality, and the results we achieved would simply speak for themselves. But building a business on hope is a bit reckless. So how can we make the process easier?
Read MoreYou can’t avoid social media. It is the only way to be social now-a-days. Personally, do what you want. I don’t care if you want to hide forever, lurk around and follow people or be the 10 times a day posting master. However, when we are talking about business, it is different. Being social in business is vital to the grassroots marketing that has to happen if you want to look fresh, young, hip and inviting. No one wants to be stuck in the past and not letting your business be social on the WWW is, well, unsocial. Therefore you might as well be #d2m.
Read MoreOne thing is clear and that is Santa is a Christmas leader. He takes on the greatest roles and actions to ensure holiday cheer is bestowed on us all. With strategy and a whole lot of marketing, he ensures Christmas is here, active and bringing happiness to all. Wow, that is a big responsibility. Wonder how he does that. Does he hire managers for that type of work? Supervisors? How does he really pay those elves? Do the reindeer do anything else? So, at a time many of you are questioning your own decisions and actions, let’s be clear about the big guy and what he does to ensure his company runs as efficiently as possible.
Read MoreFinding confidence in leadership is tricky. You wouldn’t be in the position you are without it, so you have some, but usually not enough. Otherwise you would have that feeling…you know what it feels like. Knowing that you are responding, answering, deciding, doing and being exactly what you should. We have all felt it, even if it was generated by someone else. Yet, creating it for your self, by your self, using tools that you have control over, is the ultimate freedom. I say it is a freedom we all craved when we set out on this crazy journey of owning and building a business or even a life.
Read MoreThe tool that was supposed to revolutionize work, improve productivity and increase capacity has actually spun us out so badly that some of you are drowning in your own creation. Is it possible to get back to the basics, using it as it was intended or is our only salvation to melt down and find our support group?
Read MoreI will break it to you gently. Simply building a business is a thing of the past. Focusing on activities, vendors, locations, marketing, hiring, firing, promotions, and the myriad of tasks related to operating will get you so far from where you want to be you might as well end up on Mars. Don’t get me wrong, those things are all imperative to survival. But, if it is just about surviving, then sign me up for something else.
Read More#suckitsven was something you would expect to hear in one of those Ted talks. Witty, organic, and unscripted, it resulted in one of the finest examples of marketing ingenuity I have seen in years. I couldn’t have thought of it on my own, yet when I pick it apart it has all the foundational marketing pieces I coach my clients in.
Read MoreHowever, in the end he screwed it up last week and I was resorted to picking through an inedible salad and grumbling at how customer service used to be. Of course I call and speak to the manager, only to be told the counter guy is new and to give him a chance and next weeks salad is on them. I have come in once a week for four years, have ordered the same thing and I should “give him a break”? This just leaves me feeling like it was my fault.
Read MoreThe dreaded top 10 list. They are everywhere I look. I think what I hate most about them is how victimized I feel after I click the link. The promises of instant gratification are alluring, yet so gutless. It would all be too easy if something could be fixed, identified or resolved in 10 quick steps.
Read MoreWhen my clients talk about overwhelm, it often sounds like they relate to it as if whelm were the sleeper wave. Arriving and engulfing them unexpectedly, it overpowers them by sheer strength. Unable to do anything about it, they are, to varying degrees, incapacitated….victims to their experience of the Overwhelm.
Read MoreWhat do you get out of being overwhelmed? When clients come to a call and use the “O” word, I know the conversation is about to get rich. While there are a number of questions I ask, the one with the most kick is, “What do you get out of being overwhelmed?” In other words, “Do you benefit in any way from being overwhelmed?”
Read MoreIt is important to realize that each of those characters or aspects, has a particular point of view. In other words, a way of looking at and seeing things, as well as a basic approach to thinking about and dealing with issues. It’s not that any of them are necessarily right or wrong, however what occurs as extremely relevant from one point of view is not the same for the others. Their perceptions are different. And perception shapes reality.
Read MoreNot too long ago, when times were simpler, we found entertainment through means other than a screen. Yep, kids played outside in creeks, we went to the local theater to see live plays, the yearly fair would come to display all of our prized creations and the circus would come to town. If you are too young to have experienced these simple pleasures in life, go take your grandparents out to lunch and learn about entertainment that wasn’t attached to a screen.
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