It feels like a gut punch. You get a call from an important, trusted team member and it is not business as usual. He calls to give you his notice. What??? >
Category Archives: Uncategorized
How old is old?
I was in my teens when the mantra was “don’t trust anyone over 30”. Y2K was going to crash the internet but it didn’t. Singing about “when I’m 64” was hilarious until it was comforting. All those wise sages who said pay into retirement in your 20’s were actually right. I guess I am officially old. But, I don’t feel “old” How old is old? >
Survey says?
If you ever watched Family Feud, you are familiar with the phrase “survey says?”. Contestants guessed the most popular answers to surveys taken of a relevant group and won prizes for the most accurate answers. Vistage surveys its Members with less than $20mm in annual sales and you can find the August report here. >
Every day habits
Play that old game with me where you take a phrase and change the emphasis on the key word to explore how that changes the meaning. Let’s start with every day HABITS. >
Preparing FOR change
The rains have started as Hurricane Hilary moves on shore into California. The path has shifted east so Los Angeles will not be in the center. When we left Mammoth yesterday to make sure we prepared in LA, we didn’t think Mammoth would be directly in the path. Now it is. Mammoth had 70 feet of snow last season, so is a lot more prepared for big weather of this type. Preparing for change in business is a lot like preparing for this hurricane. You know it will hit, but you don’t know exactly where. >
Confirmation bias
How often do you catch yourself looking for only those opinions that agree with your own? That, my friend, would be confirmation bias: only looking/listening to those who agree with you. While that seems to be a time honored tradition in politics, it is not good in business. >
It’s squirrelly out there
Talking to 30+ CEO’s each month, in a variety of industries gives me a particular view of the economy that doesn’t always correlate with the national press. Often described as Main Street, not Wall Street, the best poll that aggregates their feelings is the Vistage/Wall Street Journal poll that many of my Members participate in. My descriptor of what they are saying is” It’s squirrelly out there”. >
Using humor in the workplace
As most of us know, using humor in the workplace is fraught with risk. It can drive people apart, shut them down, or get them fired. So, jokester beware. >
The value of things
Two days ago, our cruise ship, the Viking Mars pulled into Lofoten, Norway, where fishing for Arctic Cod has been a mainstay for over 1000 years. The cod spawn there each January and men from all over Norway would go there to fish. They would hang the fish to dry and because it doesn’t quite freeze and the winds blow all the time, the fish didn’t need to be salted to be dried. They call their product “stock fish”. That and meager farming provided subsistence for centuries. >
The power of writing it down
What are the things you write down every day? My guess is your to-do’s and calendar/schedule comprise 90% of what you write down these days – items you record for yourself with keystrokes or by hand so as not to forget. Most of our other keystrokes are messaging and emailing with others. Communication that used to be by phone or in person or in a letter. Did you ever sit down and write a friend a long letter? Who does that now?
I am not advocating for a return to handwritten letters especially given how awful most peoples’ handwriting is. Remedial penmanship for this leftie was one of my worst memories of Catholic School. Rather, I am advocating for a time to reflect – to come back to center in a too urgent world. How you do it may need to fit your learning style. If you are a reader/writer, writing it down might be the hack. More on learning style in a minute.
So what would you write down? If your reflection time is just before bed, perhaps what went well today, or what you are grateful for. Who do you appreciate? What was the funniest thing that happened today? What do you want for tomorrow?
If your reflection time is in the morning, how does your body feel? Where will your focus be today? Who or what do you want to spotlight today?
If you are an auditory person, you might want to record your thoughts. If you are a kinesthetic learner, you might want to dance or exercise or stretch in this reflection time. If we work backwards from how you unconsciously process your day, does it reveal that you are a kinesthetic learner trying to fit in the box of a reader/writer? Don’t do that if it doesn’t excite you.
You do you. Find your style and seize the moment…..every day. Find a way to track it that works for you.
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Image courtesy of https://chopra.com/articles/journaling-exercise-end-of-year-reflections