True Compass Commentary

Getting ready....

2008-12-06T10:35:00.003-05:00

Preparations have begun for my "rest of the year" push to get a rather lengthy to do list done by January 5. I started by canceling a few meetings that really could wait until January. But then I added two more meetings so I guess I am not really ahead of the game yet!

I am though, headed off today to Chicago to present half of a report to a congregation on the health of their church. Don't worry - there is someone else delivering the other half.

As I was getting ready this morning I was thinking about all of the things that have transpired to help me with this presentation. Not just for this particular church but for the last few months I have been "prepping" and getting "prepped" to do this type of presentation. The thought I had this morning was that I haven't been "getting ready" all on my own.

There is team of people that have helped me to do what I need to do in order to be ready to deliver this work to our client. I am thankful and blessed for the work these people do. They have talent and skill that impress me with each and every interaction.

Coach John Wooden writes, "Be sure you acknowledge and give credit to a teammate who hits you with a scoring pass or for any fine play he may make."

In my case the entire team deserves a big thank you from me for the work that they have done...to help me be better.

Who in your organization helps you score big?
How have you thanked and acknowledged them today?

the "rest" of the year...

2008-12-03T17:18:00.002-05:00

Time has flown by since I have had time to blog. There has been plenty going on but my writing skills have been at work on coaching and consulting projects as well as academic projects. Today is the first day in a long time when I have had to write.

In preparation for the rest of my week and an upcoming trip, I looked at my calendar and my "master" to do list. There are lots of things that I want to get done before the end of the year.

While many people are taking time off this time of year to rest, I like to use this time to get the "rest of my list" done.From December 9, the day after I return from my last trip of the year, until January 5, 2009 I am focusing all of my efforts on finishing the rest of my list.

It's not going to be a vacation that's for sure but I am hoping this extended amount of devoted time will help me re-tool some things that need attention.

Many of these projects are things that are "one man jobs" that I need to do myself. They are not glamorous by any stretch and to many of you may seem like odd things to do. Or you may wonder what's wrong with me that I could not get these things done. You may not even understand many of the things on the list. But the list is what it is.

BUT there is a way you can help. Pick one of the items on the list and hold me accountable to completing it by January 5, 2009. You have my permission to send me an email or call me to ask about any one item on this list. If you call/email and I DO NOT have the item you have chosen completed you'll win something. I don't know what yet, but it will be a nice little something for helping me be accountable.

Here is my list of things to do before January 5, 2009

Find a prize for the person that finds something on this list not done
clean out the freezers and fridge
rework the layout and format for both blogs
rework the layout and format of my constant contact newsletter
develop new coaching tip listing, format
switch email from outlook to google
get to know more about google
sign up for base camp account
set up account with Jott
clean out top of hutch in office
organize bookshelves - system of read, not read, etc.
clean up shelves and file cabinets
file 2008 paperwork
prep 2008 tax folders
put up the Christmas tree
clean up the basement craft/model area
organize coat closet - find donate items
take donation items to Cherry Street
update 2009 post it sheet goal list for Matt & Tracee
re-work desk area/functionality
clean up computer files/photo files
organize wedding photos
gather all garage sale items for 2009 in one place
flower arrangement/grape vine wreath completed
re-work media area for TV
clean out appliance closet
sock drawer - discard the mismatches
finalize 2009 goal list for TCC, CDM
planning calendar filled in for school, TCC, CDM
day trip w/Matt to Corunna, IN
Go to the zoo

Feel free to check back in between December 9 and January 5 to see how I am doing. And please feel free to hold me accountable! I am looking forward to the "rest" of the year!

Communication Issues? Possibly Not

2008-10-13T14:50:00.004-04:00

Words.
We use a lot of them. Some of us use more than we should. I am probably one of those people. I like to talk. Better, I like to make a point. Sometimes, I get really, really excited about making my point that I see how many words I can possibly string together to say what I think I need to say to make my point. In reality, I can make a point using concise statements but what fun would that be?

Words, placed in the right order, spoken a certain way can have a positive, powerful impact on conversation. Words, used poorly can have an equally negative impact on a conversation.

When this negative impact happens we often say we have "communication issues." Really the issue is that we didn't try hard enough to find the right words, or the right amount of words to help build a relationship or communicate instructions, directions, or news.

The challenge in the world we live in is not that we are not connected or that we do not want to communicate. Goodness, we have more means of communication available to us now more than ever before. People are connected and becoming more connected everyday. We have cell phones, I-phones, smart phones, blackberrys, and use all of those to update our facebook, myspace, twitter pages multiple times a day. We are more connected in our communication than ever before in the history of the world.

So why does it seem that we have so many "communication issues" within our organizations???

Could it be the words that we use? I believe it is. We take for granted that because we communicate so often that we communicate clearly. The amount of communication simply does not make up for the quality of the communication itself.

Have you experienced this challenge in communicating with people?
You don't need to adjust the methods you use. You may need to adjust the style and the words you use.

In coaching we use concise statements to help summarize or deliver a message to the person being coached. The concise statement is meant to clearly communicate what person being coached may already realize but is having a hard time putting into words.

Have you ever struggles putting words together?
Do you think you have communication issues in your organization?
What are some things that you might try to do differently to help with these challenges?
How might you go about making those changes?

Taking Flight

2008-10-04T13:47:00.002-04:00

I am sitting in a hotel at the Portland, Oregon airport. I happen to have a room that is on the side of a couple runways so I have a great view of the planes landing and taking off.

If there is one thing that truly fascinates me it is how planes fly. I never really flew that much and to be honest it used to scare me to death. I would aways here things like "it's safer than driving..." and all that but still the control freak in me never really liked it.

I don't mind it so much now. I actually find it's a great way to get work done.

The other thing that I used to hear about flying was that take offs were harder sometimes than landings. As I watch these planes I am thinking about why that is.

Landing a plane seems to me like it would be harder to do. You have the forces of gravity pulling you down and to me that seems like it could be tricky. After all it is a pretty hard surface you have to contend with.

Taking off seems like it would be easy. You get everything set, all the details completed, hit the throttle and off you go. I am told it's not exactly like that.

I am wondering if getting your plans and actions for life are similar to flying. You get everything set, but them sometimes we fail to "throttle up" with them. We also know that we have to fight against forces that try to keep us from flying.

What are the things that keep you from throttling up?
What might you do to work through those things?
Who can help? Do you have a flight crew to help with accountability?

What is your purpose?

2008-09-29T11:39:00.002-04:00

In the church consultant training I am working my through one of the first questions that gets asked is, "what is the purpose of this church?" The answers tell the consultants alot about the client (the church) they are working with.

As a coach that question, rephrased to, "what is your purpose?" becomes a powerful way to uncover and bring out alot of informaion that the client has within them. In coaching we try to help client to reach their full capapcity and achieve their own desired results. In order to do that we need to understand the purpose or the personal mission and vision that drives the person being coached.

There can be a number of things that motivate you. Motivation and purpose are not the same things. Consider what your true purpose is for your life, your family, and your career.

What are doing to live out that purpose?
How can you do better?
What are the roadblocks in the way?

What is expected...

2008-09-23T07:59:00.004-04:00

Today - a thought to consider from Coach Wooden

"Without supervision and leadership and a disciplined effort by all, much of our united strength will be dissipated by pulling against ourselves. Let us not be victimized by a breakdown from within." (pre-season letter to the team, 1965)

A disciplined effort by all. Not by some, not by one, not by a chosen few but by all.

If you are working in a leadership team or on any team for that matter, disciplined effort is critical from everyone.

What are some of the things that you may not be as disciplined in as you should be?
How can you improve in this area?
What steps can you take for improvement?
Who on your team can hold you accountable?

Essential Lessons

2008-09-18T12:02:00.003-04:00

I would not consider myself to be a sports fan really. I enjoy watching college sports more than professional and I enjoy watching local teams particularly the Toledo Mud Hens. Perhaps the most joy I get out of watching sports is watching the coaches and identifying their different styles. I think we would agree that there are some coaches that are only known for their coaching style not necessarily their win/loss record. Coach Bobby Knight comes to mind here.

One of my all time favorite coaches is John Wooden. Basketball is one of my favorite sports. I even played while in junior high and high school. Yes, it's hard to believe that some one who is vertically challenged like myself could dominate the court...but I was fast on my feet and that made a difference.

John Wooden is known for his leadership style and this leadership style became the foundation for his coaching style. A lifetime of learning, losing, and playing, combined with an attitude of humility and positive influence created this legend of a man. I recently picked up his book, The Essential Wooden, (like I needed another one of his books...) and started to flip back through all the leadership lessons printed within. I remembered the first Wooden leadership book that I received as a gift and how it still sits on my shelf. Filled with highlight marks, underlines in red ink, post-it marked pages, it reminds me of a style of leadership that I want to model and help others model as well.

In a time when it seems like we can't seem to get our act together and leaders from government to business continue to let us down I think it's a good reminder to us all that we all have the capacity within each of us to lead in our style. We all have the capacity to live, learn and make the most of the chances that have been given to us.

Perhaps with all that is going on in the world of business and government now is the time to take the essential lessons of leadership from humble servant leaders like John Wooden and put them into action in our own lives. Now is the time to discover the leader that is in each of us.

My recommendation - Put down the newspaper filled with all the things going wrong in our world, turn off the TV and stop listening and watching the pundits playing games with our government and read something that will inspire you to discover how you have within you all you need to be a leader in your own home, community and workplace.

If you don't know where to start...as Coach Wooden says, "You cannot change the past, and you can only influence the future by what you do today."

So start today to begin to unleash the capacity already in you to be a leader.

Mentors – From Zero to Heroes….

2008-09-04T17:04:00.002-04:00

In preparing for my Christian Coaching Training I received information regarding the follow up work that would be taking place after the initial training next week. In this information we are instructed to review a list of potential coaches that we could ask to be assigned as our mentor coach for the next few months of our training. Bios were provided and we are being asked to review them and decide next week who we might want to choose.

This exercise got me thinking about mentors. I have been blessed and honored to have some pretty cool mentors. I have also, somehow, gotten a hold of some pretty bad ones too. If you didn’t think it was possible to have a bad mentor believe me, you can. It has been a while since I have had a real mentor. Perhaps because of these previous bad experiences I never really pursued it and then when I did pursue “looking” for a mentor the people I picked turned out to be duds.

But now it seems mentors are coming out of the woodwork for me. I have a mentor for the church consulting work I am pursuing, I have a mentor for my school work, and now I will have a mentor for my coaching practice. I went from zero to three in less than three months!

At first I wasn’t too sure about the idea of adding more people into my life that would ask me questions and hold me accountable to do what I say I am going to do. I mean really, sometimes you think that those “people” just get in the way. They are always the ones that want to slow you down with the facts and reality of a situation when you would rather sail on down the road of life not being accountable and not worrying about facts and reality at all. Sure facts are important but do you really need to be reminded of them all the time?

The truth is that we do. All of us need to have these “people” (AKA mentors) in our lives. They prove to be a valuable resource for us when we need them the most and sometimes when we think we need them the least.

Mentors provide knowledge, wisdom, and the sharing of life experience that friends, family, co-workers and peers simply cannot. Mentors can come and go throughout your lifetime but the lessons that they teach remain with you forever.

One other key aspect of having a mentor is being a mentor. We all know that at some point in our lives we must give back. What better way than to share the knowledge, wisdom and lifetime of experience that you have gained than to be a mentor?

In closing I would like to add this. Sometimes, not always, but sometimes mentors, can be your heroes too. I would caution you though people make mistakes and even your mentors/heroes are not going to get it right all the time. So, unless you have a real dud for a mentor, cut them some slack to if they get it wrong and do not put too much pressure on them to be something that they are not.

I think I am pretty lucky right now…my mentors are fast becoming my heroes and I am pretty excited about that. Even as I squirm in the face of becoming more accountable I am fortunate to have these people in my life. I hope that someday soon I can return the favor.

Who are your mentors and heroes?
Are you becoming a mentor to someone else?
Should you be?

The rules are changing....

2008-09-03T13:22:00.002-04:00

Business relationships are funny. Over the last month I have had some pretty unique things happen that have made me really start to reconsider some of my positions on business networking, referral relationships and building relationships among business peers.

Because of some really cool and awesome things going on in my professional as well as personal life I have been traveling more. My schedule fills up quickly with trips, meetings, seminars, school assignments and other life assignments that require my attention. Because I could foresee some of these things taking place earlier this year I made the decision to leave some networking groups and lessen my involvement in a few other groups that required more time and responsibility than I could give them. These groups made requirements of me that really didn’t help my business and made it almost impossible for me to pursue my personal mission and purpose for being on this planet. At the time I really didn’t feel any personal attachment to some of these groups. I did however remain in a couple of groups that I felt were based more on the relational ties I had with the individual members.

Recently, while traveling out of town, I received an email asking that I “resign” from one of these groups because I was not able to meet their attendance requirements. Apparently, I was letting down the entire group by not being there to support everyone else in their endeavors to improve themselves and their businesses. I was okay with the first part because to be honest – it was true, I had not been able to attend as I should have. But it was the last part that struck me as odd. I was not doing enough to support them. Uhmm….

I got to thinking, and reading, and listening. My inbox, text messages, facebook page and voicemail seemed to be filling up with the occasional message here and there from people wanting to know how things were going, where I was traveling to next and in general wishing me well and asking to get back together to “get caught up” as soon as I was back in town and had some free time. What I found most enlightening is that not one of these messages came from this group. The resignation email was the last communication I had from anyone in that group, so I must have really offended them by not supporting them enough. But that leads me to the question…how were they supporting me?

This got me thinking about how we build relationships with people and why we even involve ourselves in groups, organizations and professional networking clubs. This led me to the following questions…

What is our real purpose in becoming involved in groups and organizations?
Do we really need to be involved in multiple groups?
What is gained by the pressure that we put on ourselves to be “actively” involved in so many things?
How deep are the relationships that we are building when we are spending large amounts of time meeting requirements instead of really get to know each other?

I am becoming more and more critical of professional networking as it seems that it has become more and more centered on rules and requirements than on building relationships. It seems like we are desperately trying to participate just for the sake of saying “look at how good I am at being involved,” instead of building quality relationships with people that are genuinely interested in helping each other.

As things start to take shape in my coaching practice and this takes me in a new direction I am still going to be actively networking. I love meeting new people and talking with them about their mission and passion in life. But effective immediately I am throwing all the rules and requirements that I have learned about professional networking out the window and starting from scratch. The professional networking box is one that I don’t want to fit into any longer.

My only requirement now is that we be friends first, foremost and always. Oh yeah and I am requiring that you all get on Facebook and post to my wall every now and again and let me know how you are doing.

From this point forward – friendship and relationships are most important to me….I will let someone else worry about all the rules.

Thinking Ahead....

2008-08-07T15:37:00.003-04:00

Over the next few weeks I am going to be traveling extensively to places I have never been before. I am excited about what is in store and what it means to the growth of my business and my passion of helping individuals and organizations discover and live out their vision and mission.

I am wondering if the people that I will be working with over the next few weeks are as excited as I am. I tend to follow the Steven Covey "begin with the end in mind" axiom whenever I start a new project or begin a new endeavor. I can already begin to see the results of my work and know that what lies ahead will also produce some pretty big results. Over the next several weeks my business will begin to take shape in to the type of business that I really had a vision for. I never really lost sight of what could happen - but my lack of patience seems to get the better of me at times. But I was always thinking ahead to what I knew my work could be like and I never gave up on the vision.

There will be much more to come about this in the next several weeks and much of this today may not make sense but there are big things ahead. I hope that you are thinking ahead and have a vision for the big things that can come your way.

Leaving a Legacy

2008-08-03T11:00:00.002-04:00

In conversation the other day I was talking with someone about how to leave a legacy. Not because we were discussing death or any one's demise but because we were wondering for ourselves at our current age what our legacy was going to include. What are we doing in the world right now that will have a lasting impression long after we move on to the next thing that comes our way. We were also talking about how it seems that people do things for all the wrong reasons when it comes to serving or giving back. In many cases it's become about naming rites instead of giving and sacrifice.

People often think that they need to have a lot of money, be materialistically wealthy or have a place of great power and control to leave a legacy. That is not true. I think many of us know that we don't need all of these things in our life. We know that there are things that we can do everyday to leave a lasting legacy without it having to do with money or possessions.

What are the things that you can do or what are things that you are doing right now that can contribute and have a lasting effect on the world? This can take shape in many ways. You do not need to look far to see your legacy taking form right now.

It could be in how you raise your kids, or even better how you helped make the world better by helping children that are not even your own.

It could be that you helped your community or a community that you never lived in.

It could be that you are helping people that need more that what just giving them money can provide.

Think about how you live. Think about the people that you interact with. Think about the chances that you have everyday to leave the world a better place. Think about giving hope to those that may not even know hope is possible.

You don't have to write big checks, you don't need to be in a position of power.
You don't need to have a building named after you to leave a legacy.
One person.
One day.
One thing that you do can change and leave the world a better place....forever.
Now that's how you leave a legacy.

Tips to Not Getting Sucked In....

2008-07-30T11:09:00.003-04:00

I consider myself to be a nice person.
Too nice.
I am always getting myself involved in something that usually ends up being a time killer for me, taking me away from what I really should be doing.

Actually, I used to be that way. Over the past few years I have been cautious in where I commit my time. So I made huge improvements in not letting myself get involved in time killers.

I make an effort to not get sucked in.

Sure there are times when you need to help a friend, business associate, family member or another important person in your life and that should always take precedence.

Are there things that you can do to make sure that when those types of things come up, you can help without feeling like you got sucked into something that you never should have gotten involved in to begin with? I have a found a few things that work to help from getting sucked in.

When reviewing a project, program, or organization to get involved in consider the following:

Does it fit with your personal mission and vision for where you are and the direction you are heading with your business, life, family?

Do you need to take time to develop some new talent or skill or does it naturally fit with a talent and skill you already posses?

Are you passionate about this?

Will this help you grow in the right relationships with the people that you want to be in relationship with. (it never hurts to meet new people, but sometimes new people can steal more time for the wrong reasons)

Do you fully understand what is required of you?
Is there a time commitment?
Are you fully aware of what the time commitment will mean to other commitments already existing in the life you live?

Is this something that fulfills a purpose or passion in your life that you have always wanted to explore?

Is your involvement based on the involvement of other friends, family, co-workers? Do they understand the commitment???

Asking the above questions will help you determine if signing on to a new program or project can lead you to success and help avoid you just being sucked in.

Routines

2008-07-29T15:41:00.005-04:00

What is it about changes in our routine that makes us want to run for the hills and hide in a cave?

It seems that I am bound and determined to go through each and every day totally different from the previous day.

I used to have a routine. Stuff I did at the same time every day. Each day of the week. Now, not so much.

Are things out of balance?
Are the wheels coming of the cart?
Are the monkeys that secretly help me direct my ship all jumping overboard?

No...I don't think so.

I think it's that this is the day and age we live in. My life, your life, the life of those around you may never be subject to routine again. And I think that's okay.

It's okay if Monday is different from Tuesday which is definitely different from Saturday or Thursday. It's really okay if you thought you could do the same things at the same time each day and now realize that you can not.

I think we need to stop worrying so much about getting into the routine of living everyday and go about just living everyday.

Sure we need to plan and make lists and check things off of lists. That just common sense. But I don't think we need to plan, plan, plan every single day down to the minute.

A little secret about a change in my routine....
I used to routinely, without fail, write all of my appointments, contacts, notes and task lists down in my Franklin Planner. I recently got a new Palm Smart phone. While the smart phone does make me feel, well, less than smart at times, it has become a great tool to get me out of my routine. I use it now for everything, all of my appointments, calendar, contacts, oh yeah and it's a cell phone too. I don't have to carry my planner anymore. This has lightened my load a great deal in the briefcase.

My new routine though...remembering to sinc the phone! (ok, so there is a catch) but it was a nice move on my part to push me into getting more into the technology age that we are living in. Pushing the boundaries and barriers of my routine has turned out to be a great learning experience.

Are there barriers and boundaries that are holding you back in the form of a routine. Is there a change that you should try? What can you do to push yourself beyond being reliant on a daily routine?

On Line Networking

2008-07-23T20:12:00.002-04:00

It's been quite some time for me to post. There's been a lot going on and I guess I totally left behind the entire idea of why you have a blog to begin with...to tell people how busy you are. I am getting ready for some big trips and some big coaching thigns are on the horizon. It will be interesting to see how all of this plays out through the end of the year.

I wanted to take a moment to chat a bit about online networking. I have been spending alot of time on facebook. Probably too much time on facebook, but I have made some interesting connections there. In my upcoming travels I will be leveraging some of those new friends and taking the opportunity to meet with them and do some business. People I have never met and didn't even know...now have become linked to me and can be valuable resources.

Online networking is good too because I do not have to be any where at any specific time to do it. And I like that...I like that alot.

So tell me, what is your favorite on line networking site...facebook? myspace? linked in?
Which one works best for you and why?

Leadership - It's in YOU!

2008-04-10T15:12:00.009-04:00

I have a friend that is struggling with leadership right now. He feels a great deal of pressure to lead and step up to the plate in a job that he has had for many years. Times have changed a bit in his organization and now there is tremendous opportunity for him to lead.

The problem...he doesn't see it in himself to step up and lead. Even though he has been leading for a long time. He has the qualities. He has a vision for what he wants his team to do and understands the mission that drives the organization. Others see it in him. He doesn't see it in himself.

Not everyone was born to be a leader. For some, leadership is a natural calling, for others it comes with experience, time, trial, and error. For some it's in their DNA, some learn it and gain leadership through experience. I would also agree that there are a number of people that are in leadership positions that should not be. More in some organizations than others I am sure.

But what do you do when others see in you what you do not see yet in yourself? I say yet because I think once someone else sees it in you, you can't deny it's there for very much longer. It will begin to show and reveal itself to you in more and more ways. I think this is true for leaders, even when they think they are not leading, they are. And they are probably doing it quite well.

So how do you get comfortable bringing out the leader in you? Start small and stay consistent. Don't change how you do things, continue to work harder and smarter on how you what you do well. Begin to look for little glimpses in yourself of what is already there. Journal it, document it somehow and learn from it. Get comfortable stretching yourself further in those situations.

There's a leader in you that is waiting to come out....suppressing it only sets you off in the wrong direction, and you and your organization will lose your vision, mission, and purpose, quickly.

Don't fear the leader already in you.

Ownership

2008-04-10T14:47:00.006-04:00

Recently I have noticed something taking place in business conversations.

Lots of assumptions and excuses are being made about how businesses will be impacted by the economy. Owners seem to be looking to everyone but themselves for reasons as to why things are "slow" for them. I have talked to a few business owners that seem to "get it." They know they are in for the long haul and that if they want to stay in business - they, themselves will figure out how to do it. The problem though is that a lot of small business owners do not seem to want to take this type of ownership in their businesses when the going gets tough.

Ownership is a big thing with me. Being responsible is another. I am not a fan of owners that assume they have all the answers about their business but even more so I really have a difficult time with owners that place blame or offer excuses. This includes things like not knowing or understanding key elements of what makes your business successful. How can you not take ownership and capitalize on the things that really make a difference in your business?

After all - you got yourself into this, how can you not take ownership to either make it work OR call it quits and move on to the next "thing" that may be for you?

Seriously folks, the economy is what it is (for now) and what you have to do is to know more about what works in your business more than any consultant, coach, financial planner, banker, CPA, lawyer or any other professional you seek advice from. YOU need to take ownership.

Once you get the concept of ownership down...you will be setting off in a direction that will lead to success.

Why friends are always better...

2008-03-31T22:20:00.005-04:00

Today I had the great opportunity to have lunch with three friends. These folks started out as being part of some of the same professional networking groups and now we have just kind of evolved into more of a friendship relationship.

Today I learned from this group of friends that:

One has a husband that needs a special type of prescription medicine just to stay alive

One has a husband that shops at Aldi and loves it

One took her soon to be ex-husband's pristine vet out for an afternoon drive in a driving rain and mud storm and let it set for three days so the mud would get nice and solidly set all over it. (note to self, don't ever "unfriend" this friend!)

I learned about their other social activities, what other groups they are in and how they spend their free time.

I learned that one doesn't like to force smiles all the time, because she doesn't want to be fake. I learned that each of them has in their past the opportunity to stand up for themselves in business and did so with lots of class.

We didn't "pass" any business today, there was no pressure to fill out slips, sign attendance sheets or be accountable for or to any weird networking rules. It was just plain fun. We were just being ourselves. We really learned about how we could help each other. We made suggestions and had great, honest discussion about our businesses.

I have done business with two out of the three friends and will look for ways to do business with all of them. Not because of a sense of obligation but because on a Monday they took time out of their business day to have lunch and just chat.

It was great fun and I am looking forward to the next time we get together. At the end of the lunch we didn't all whip out our calendars and set our next date...we simply left each other with a see you soon, have a great week departure.

Yes, we will definitely be getting back together soon, no doubt about it....that's what friends do. And in business friend relationships are always the better relationship to have! You can move mountains when you have friends - they are always better!

Breaking Up is Hard to Do....

2008-03-24T21:09:00.005-04:00

Last week I had to make the decision to leave the BNI group that I joined last year. Because of the great new directions my coaching business is now going in, it was going to be difficult to maintain a good attendance record. It was either leave now or end up being asked to leave because of not being able to attend or find subs. It would not have been fair to me or the group to continue so I decided better to leave now.

The choice seems like an obvious one and one that I knew I was going to have to make. But in thinking this through I thought of a couple other organizations that I really need to let go of, some business connections that I needed to give up on that never really "connected" and some extra-curricular activities that were just becoming time stealer's. In one 48 hour time period I was able to clean up a bunch of these items and end some things that were just in need of ending.

Sometimes we have to do that. Not long ago friend and fellow blogger Angie Weid blogged about what it can mean to your life to just learn how to say, "NO." This is so true and in my case it was just learning how to say - "good-bye" to some of those things that for whatever the reason, you just have to say good-bye to.

So what types of things do you need to say good-bye to? If you "broke it off" with these things would that leave more time in your schedule to build your business, pursue your goals and dreams?

Breaking up is hard to do, but sometimes it means that there are even greater plans and successes that lie ahead.

What's up with People?

2008-03-19T16:42:00.003-04:00

Lately I have been noticing that people are not as friendly to each other as they normally are. Many people I have talked to have been frustrated due to the weather, uncertain economic times, life events that have taken a not so good turn. All of this frustration seems to be coming out in the oddest of places. I am seeing a side of people that just doesn't seem to be, well, NICE.

In exploring this observation with a friend, she stated she thought it was that is was March. Yes, apparently the month of March is just that time of the year when people act out. Is this true? Is there some weirdness about the month of March that causes otherwise nice, courteous, professional business people to turn into something totally the opposite?

Is it because this is a transition month? End of winter, beginning of Spring? Filing of taxes and officially "closing out" the previous year? Kids on or getting ready for Spring break and the last stretch of the school year? Time in the business year when we start to look at the first quarter and wonder if our business was any better off than this time last year?

What is it about March?
OH - it could be the Madness...NCAA basketball brackets are out. Maybe your favorite team didn't make it? Or maybe you don't have a fav team and all this focus on something such as college basketball is a complete waste of time, talent and energy.

Whatever it is - I hope it passes quickly and April gets here soon... I know I sure could use the change in attitudes!

Networking - Pros and Cons

2008-03-02T19:54:00.006-05:00

Is your networking group filled with a bunch of pros or a bunch of cons?

Do you attend professional networking groups and meetings that are filled with sincere networking professionals that know the value of those relationships...

Are your networking groups filled with a bunch of con artists that are there just for the food and to see how many business cards they can hand out or collect. Are they there to gather "prospects" to fill their data bases for some generic marketing effort?

Do you even attend networking events at all?

I am pondering this question after having time to consider what happened a couple of weeks ago to me as I invited a couple business acquaintances to my BNI visitor day. Now I understand that small business people are busy - particularly independent small business owners that also juggle jobs, family, kids, school, etc. So I am not picking on people that are "too busy."

But some of the responses I got when I asked people to join me were just plain - funny.

"Those things never interest me. It's always the same people over and over. Why would I want to build a relationship with them?"

"I have to spend time working on my business, I don't have time to add another activity to my to-do list."

"I don't have the money to join those groups."

"It's too early in the morning..."

"I don't have my new business cards printed yet."

"My business is growing so fast...I don't have time."

Those were just a few. I am wondering if you knew that you were going to a meeting with professional networking people if it would make a difference if you attended or not. I bet it would.

Today's coaching directional...look for real professional networking groups to belong to. Pick two or three that you can attend monthly, be sure they are filled with quality people and not con-artist networkers. And when a fellow business associate invites you to attend, don't make up an excuse like those above. You just never know who your business friend wanted you to meet in their group or who you might have met through another connection made at the meeting!

Fear of Change...It's 2008 Get Over It!

2008-03-01T17:52:00.005-05:00

A bit of a rant for today that needed to get out of my brain....

I am so tired of hearing about how people fear change! And I don't mean the kind of change that rattles around in a plastic cup sitting on the dresser in your bedroom waiting to be taken to the Coin Star machine at Kroger's either. That kind of change has funded some very nice vacations!

This is the kind of fear of change that paralyzes organizations from achieving their full potential and living out their vision. I am convinced that you can do all the vision and mission planning in the world but if you are afraid of changing your organization to live out your mission then your mission statement is worth less than the paper it is printed on. And certainly not worth the cost of having it framed and displayed in every office in your company or printed on every piece of marketing material.

It's 2008 - listen carefully. You cannot allow yourself or others in your organization fear change. This is not simply about embracing change...I mean you really have to get over the fear and using the fear of change as an excuse as to why something should or should not be done.

Change is going to happen whether you like it or not. Change comes in every second, of every minute, of every day of the year. STOP letting fear of change dictate your organization's life.

Fear of change is not what you want leading the direction your organization is going in.
Plain and simple.
Just stop the fear.
STOP!

Targets or Employees

2008-02-29T20:31:00.005-05:00

How do you view your staff?

You know, the people that you pay to live out the mission and vision that you have for your organization. The people you hired because of their skills, talents, experience.....yeah, those people.

Do you view your staff as a mechanism to add value to your company? Have you thought about how well you treat, train, pay and communicate with them?

Staff, employees, work teams, sales force - whatever you choose to call them can really make or break any organization. I think that we can agree that employees are important players in any business. So why do we sometimes think of them in a way that appears that we have them walking around with a bulls eye painted squarely on their backs?

I ask this because in conversations over the past month about how bad the economy is and is going to get - I have heard people making recommendations and plans to cut staff.

They are overhead.

An expense.

But these are the same people that you have, hopefully, trained and invested your time and your money in. They have been with you through the tough times, but now as tougher times approach, they are the first to be sacrificed.

Business decisions are hard and business decisions in murky economic times are harder - but let's not enter into these tough times by first strapping targets on the backs of those that have the power, training, skill and experience to lead you to the light.

If you need to cut back on things look at the overhead expenses and things that can be taken away with out effecting your human capital. If you take away or cut back your human capital, service, sales, and your bottom line could potentially suffer a great deal more.

By putting targets on the backs of your staff you could be costing your business a lot more than you will save.

Is that the direction you want to take your business in?

Checking your brain at the door...

2008-02-24T19:11:00.005-05:00

Today's topic.....

Dumb sales people say the stupidest things to paying customers......

We are in the process of making some changes to a fitness membership that my husband and I have.

So let's be clear on the facts:

We have a joint membership to a gym
It expires in May 2008
We want to split the membership
keeping my husbands the same
deleting mine
we are paid current and have met the terms of the contract on our end

BUT and here's where it gets good...
The fitness center is being extremely difficult in assisting us with what we want to do. WHY? That I am not sure accept that I think that with the recent grand opening of a newer, bigger more advanced fitness center in town this place is scared to lose customers.

OH yeah...and then that's what a salesperson actually said to me over the phone...that they are not able to discuss letting contracts expire because they are losing too many people to the competition.

Nice.
This poor treatment also shows in how we have been treated and the run around we are getting. I often think in these situations, how can I handle this better? Is it me? Am I not communicating? Am I not seeking to understand the other side?

Well in this case I am confident in my answers...yes to all.
Is fear of competition a reason to get dumb in business? I don't think so. I hope that as business people we are better able and prepared to handle it when a little competition comes our way. If not I guess we are just left with checking our brains at the door.

In this case the brain is one muscle that is not getting a 360 degree work out with these employees!

The weather...

2008-02-21T20:23:00.003-05:00

It's been cold here in northwest Ohio for the last several days. I mean really cold. I am beginning to wonder if I have somehow been transformed back to the ice age. I don't like the cold, I like snow, but no the cold. I am getting lots of things done though inside that do make me happy even though my mood and attitude has not been the greatest - all because of the cold.

This has got me thinking...about how much we let external things get in the way of what our internal hearts and minds say we should be doing. I wonder if we really get off track, not because we are unorganized and unfocused but if we let little external things have control too often. I know it happens, you may be setting there saying, "Suck it up, don't let the weather get in the way of running your business..."

Yeah - I hear ya....but really how many of you have thought twice about going out for that next sales call, or driving across town at sunrise to meet that client, or going to an early morning networking meeting just wasn't going to happen. Come on, fess up...I know you are out there.

It's okay to let those things happen once in a while, but we know we should not make a habit of it. It's touch to get up and at em when that means putting on four layers of clothes and knee high insulated snow boots. Weather is an external thing that can easily get us side tracked.

But let's not let the weather get us down....this too will pass. AND it will pass into hot, humid, northwest Ohio summer where we won't want to leave the air conditioned office.

So let's make the best of the weather...don't let it get you down, don't dwell on it. Let's bundle up and chat about what great business we could do together over a nice hot cup of coffee!

The Most Important Post You'll Read Today

2008-01-07T08:21:00.000-05:00

BUCKS!!!

Adventures in 2008

2008-01-06T20:49:00.000-05:00

Lately I have found myself using the word "adventure" in conversation a lot more than normal. It came out in conversation with Pastor Steve a few days ago and today he did a sermon on journey and adventure and the fears and joys that come with every adventure. I wish he would stop stealing all of my ideas for his sermons!!!!!

My husband and I are getting ready to go on our first international adventure together. We are going to Guatemala on a Habitat for Humanity building trip. We are very excited about this adventure.

I have added a few new professional projects that will bring more adventure to my business and my life than ever before.

Yes, there are things in the works that will push me way beyond what I am normally used to or even comfortable doing. But isn't that what life is all about. You can't just sit back and experience all the fear and none of the joy that comes with life's journeys. Think of what you would miss.

So - we are off for all kinds of adventures in 2008. Ones that will be filled with fear, joy, success, failure, fun, hard work, happiness and sadness.

What types of adventures are you planning for 2008?
What type of journey are you on?

The Essence of Process

2007-12-14T13:06:00.000-05:00

This week I had the opportunity to attend a training program from a new consulting opportunity that I would like to start in 2008. More on this later.

In this two day program we were provided lots of information on how to effectively move organizations through a consultative process. The particular organization I am working with is Church Doctor Ministries based out of Corunna, Indiana. Dr. Kent Hunter has developed a process to help churches grow and carry out the mission of the Great Commission. He is very knowledgeable, passionate, and motivated about the work that he is doing.

Besides being an accomplished speaker, writer and pastor; Dr. Hunter has also developed a process that can be applied to almost any church in any part of the world to help them grow. The processes that Dr. Hunter has in place are second to none. This combined with a strong support staff has made this program into one of the top consultation programs in the world in my opinion.

But it's not all about the staff, Dr. Hunter, or the consultants that carry out the work of the ministry - the real success to this program comes from the detailed, consistent process that is followed for every consultation. It is almost mind numbing the depth of knowledge and information that is gathered through a highly developed process for every consultation.

On the drive home as my mind and heart raced with excitement about the potential for me to be even a little bit involved in this ministry. I was really excited to know that not only would I have great support staff to lean on, I would have great processes in place to help me be as effective as possible.

Process, creativity, passion, knowledge - all things that help make for very effective work. I like the idea of process, many people don't, but what a really great way to replicate what you do well. And waht a great way to replicate success.

New directions for a New Year

2007-11-05T09:19:00.000-05:00

OK - so maybe you think it's too early to start thinking about 2008 but it is right around the corner. If the stores can have all the Christmas products out before Halloween I can certainly write about planning for 2008.

Directions - they can be tricky. Whether you are trying to follow them to make a cake or get your husband to follow them to go pick one up, directions seem to give some of us more challenges than others.

It's time to start thinking about about the direction you want to take your life and potentially your business in 2008. There are already some big changes in store for my own business in the coming year. I have a laundry list already started of the things that I want to accomplish, goals I want to achieve and a mission and vision I want to see come to life.

How about you? Are you still focused on trying to hit 2007 goals that you have not even begun to think about 2008? Are you worried about staying on course to finish the year strong that you don't have time to plan for the next? I would encourage you to start now. Start thinking about what you want 2008 to look like and where you want to be at the end of that year.

Make a list, check it twice, you won't be alone...there will be a lot of that going on from now until December 25!
Enjoy the day.

The blog is back - the website is UP!

2007-09-26T10:00:00.001-04:00

Greetings loyal readers and friends!
Yes, it's been a while. but have no fear I am still here!
It's taken some time but I needed to do some re-tooling and get a few large projects finished. one being the construction and formatting of my website. Please take some time to visit www.truecompasscoach.com We are still adding, editing and putting new information on there but it's LIVE! thanks to my friend Jeremy Harrison and the fine staff at Spire Advertising and Media.

Please continue to check back in. I have a slew of things to post about, everything from business issues, water in a basement, our three legged dog - Jimmy, and a new direction we are taking True Compass Coaching that is very exciting!

Stay TUNED in here!

Communication - It's not you, it's me, really.....

2007-07-20T16:00:00.000-04:00

Lately I have been struggling with communicating effectively with one specific individual. This struggle goes beyond my normal "oh I am sorry my mind wondered for a moment" fight that sometimes takes place between my ears and my brain. I am in a full blown struggle to understand and be understood. It's really quite terrible at times.

When relationships end you typically hear one party make the statement, "it's not you, it's me..." When I heard that at the end of a relationship I always thought what a nice way that was of saying, "I really can't stand to be around you anymore...hit the road." The difference is this is a relatively new relationship that I would like to cultivate.

The struggle to communicate effectively is felt by both of us. The communication barrier is being built one brick at a time as fast as possible by none other than yours truly. This is a case where it really is "me."

The person I am writing of is in a particular profession that I have had some serious issues with in the past. Notice, I say, profession, not person. The person, as I have gotten to know them is actually very likable. In fact, is very fun to be around and I do enjoy our casual conversations. But when we start talking about business, his profession and what he does, I grab my bricks and mortar and back to building the wall I go. All because of the preconceived ideas that I am carrying over to this person. Now, it's nothing illegal or weird, so that's not an issue. But this is a direct transference of something that happened a long time ago that I am placing on this person in the here and now. Wrong? of course it's wrong, I know that.

Now, you may think you would never do that or be that way with any one that you know, but I am willing to bet that at some point you have. I read recently in another friends blog about people running hot and cold with each other and how to perceive that and handle those mood changes. Those are changes in communication style that may be all about you and your perception and not the other party involved.

You may think that you are a great communicator, but do you harbor any type of feelings that become road blocks for effective communication? ANY TYPE, even the slightest issues can prevent you from achieving good communication with another person. I know I am beginning a process to work through this issue, in the meantime I will try not to use so much effort in building the wall between us and more time in getting over myself.

Thoughts on communication issues are welcome!

Where have all the professionals gone?

2007-07-19T08:26:00.000-04:00

This post is a bit of rant, but it has really been bothering me lately....

Recently a friend of mine sent an electronic mail inquiry to his HR Director regarding a new position that was soon to be available in his company. This was a new job, with a new job description within the department that my friend worked in. It was very public knowledge that this position was created and many in his department were already discussing who would be applying.

The reply was short and to the point and while it really didn't answer the questions presented in the email there was something else that really irked me when I read it.

The reply was signed simply with the first initial of the HR Directors first name.

That's it? There's all there was, no more.

The note was signed as you might sign a note to your best friend, golf buddy, spouse, etc. In my opinion, not the way a professionally trained human resources director representing a very large multi-division, publicly traded company signs a corporate email. This company is not small by any stretch and my friend is not the best friend, buddy, golf partner, etc. of the individual replying. He deserved better than that type of casual reply from a senior executive in his company.

This leads me to my question - Where have all the professionals gone?

I am a firm believer that casual Fridays have not only led to the downfall of professional looking people but to the downfall of professionally acting ones every day of the week. This is not really a rant on how people dress or what people wear in the workplace. In a former life I trained retail store employees on how to comply with a twelve (yes 12) page dress code. I am done with dress codes.

But this casual attitude in the workplace has contributed to professionals being too lax, too informal, and for too much unaccountability for individual actions, words, and performance.

We learn as business owners that we cannot befriend our employees or get too involved. We must stay at a professional distance so that we can maintain objectivity while evaluating performance. How can you possibly do that when you create and maintain a work environment that focuses on everyone feeling warm and fuzzy and being every one's buddy? When you are signing emails with just the first letter of your name?

There is nothing professional about signing an official company email in that manner. Even if company is huge, and by huge I mean billions in profit, crazy successful, making more money than the owner can possibly give away each year, I would doubt that any official type of correspondence would ever get signed with one initial.

We can't all work for Microsoft and wear jeans to work every day. Although there are some business owners that can do that, if you are just starting out, or working in any type of corporate environment you need to work, dress, act, and be professional. There are companies that have created casual environments but they have maintained standards and professionalism all along the way.

Going back to my question, where have all the professionals gone? I know they are out there, I know there are people that still like to dress and act in a certain way. I have seen them, they still walk among us. THANK GOODNESS!

when the time is right....

2007-07-13T13:55:00.000-04:00

As we have move into the heat of the summer I am thinking back to just a few weeks ago when it was Spring. We had such a nice Spring this year, one of the best I can remember.

This was my first Spring in the house that I live in now with a nice back porch. My husband has been working hard on the landscaping and creating the perfect backyard sanctuary. A family of robins thinks very highly of our back porch too and created a nest there this Spring. The babies have hatched, flown the nest, and until recently the nest sat empty in it's location.

What was interesting was watching the babies during the time they were getting ready to leave the nest. They were making one heck of a racket for a few days, chirping, eating, and flopping around. There were four of them so you can imagine how close they were living in that little nest. As the time came for the babies to leave, both the mother and the father appeared. Each taking their time to inspect their little ones. I am assuming this ritual is done to make sure that all of their hard work is not for nothing this Spring.

As each of the babies literally "flew the coop" I noticed that each took their time. One after the other perched themselves on the edge of the nest, took a leap and started feverishly flapping their wings. Experienced pilots they were not, but this was a fascinating sight. As the first three went through what appeared to be a pre-flight checklist with a parent looking on, we noticed the fourth baby not really doing to much but hanging back in the nest.

As the first three left the nest the fourth stayed put. We anticipated that the fourth baby would go soon after the first three. It was a period of days before the fourth bird finally took flight. All the while the parents were coming back to the nest coaching the baby along, making sure it was fed and cared for properly.

This experience with the babies and their nest made me think about all of us who have gone out on our own and started our own business. If you are contemplating starting a business, a career change, or trying something new, this applies to you too so think about this.

I have heard people say that they are waiting for the time to be right. The counter argument to that is if you keep waiting the time will never be right or perfect and you will never really be "ready." I get that a lot now on when my husband and I are going to start a family....."you can't wait for the time to be right for kids, it's never perfect." Yes, I know, I got it. The clock is ticking. Back to the birds.

Here is something to consider along with all of those great words of wisdom. Just like those baby robins needed some time to be mature enough or strong enough to leave the nest you need to need to be mature, strong, and prepared to start your new venture. You have the idea, passion, and you know what you want to do, now take a little bit of time to make sure you know how you are going to do it. There is a fine line we are walking here - so be careful about too much time.

You will never be fully ready or prepared for everything that comes at you in life or in business. It doesn't hurt to take time to make sure you are not going to fall flat on your face on your very first flight out of the nest. I am not suggesting that you not take the risk, I am a firm believer now in taking risks and leaps of faith. I am in the middle of a "leap" right now.

But if things are not going right for you in your job, you dislike what you do and you want to do something different think about that fourth robin sitting all alone in that nest after everyone else had left him. He had his coaches, consultants and other "peeps" their to support him but they left it up to him decide when it was time to jump. That's all I am asking, gather your information, then think about the leap you want to make.

It's important to know that any risk or jump will come with feverish flapping until you get a handle on things. It's better to be confident and prepared when the time comes to make the jump, as it makes the jump much more worthwhile and could mean the difference between falling flat on your face or a wildly successful flight.

Good Customer Service...eventually

2007-07-11T14:26:00.000-04:00

On our recent camping trip we had a bit of an issue at the campground we stayed at. On our last night of tent camping a group of young men came in at 11:50 p.m. Yes, right when we were going to bed, in they rolled. They were up pitching tents, talking loud and celebrating our nation's Independence with some adult beverages. I am sure they were all "legal" but the more celebrating they did, the louder they got. On top of the celebrating they were attempting to pitch two tents straight from the boxes they just purchased them in from what looked like Cabelas. Picture tailgating at your favorite sporting event then add assembling two tents in the middle of it all. It really wasn't a pretty site or sound.

They had their car headlights, their camping lanterns, their flashlights and their loud voices bouncing all over the campsite into the wee hours of the morning.

As you will soon learn, I am a stickler for rules. I like rules. To me, rules provide the necessary guidelines to keep people from doing things that ruin things for other people, people like me. It just so happens that this campground had some pretty specific rules against doing all the things this group was doing. But at the time there was no enforcement.

As we checked out from the campground later that same morning I inquired about the rules and if what we had experienced was the "norm." We really liked the campground, location and amenities were nice and it was clean. Best showers and bathrooms we have ever had. It was just that one experience that was about to end any possibility of a return trip.

My inquiry about the night's events led to a long discussion, longer than what it needed to be with the manager of the campground. It seemed that others had complained as well. But it seemed to take a long time for the manager to see it from our point of view. As each camper checks in they are to sign off acknowledging these rules. Rules that are meant to be followed and will be enforced. Their lack of enforcement of their rules ruined our night. But the manager didn't want to listen. Didn't want to understand our concern.

Until we told him that we would not be coming back. You could see the attitude change on his face instantly. We were not longer whiny campers that couldn't handle a couple guys enjoying their summer break. We meant something. Money. Dollars. Sales. Bad Testimonials. Walking out the door. His door. His campground.

"Oh, it was that bad?" he said.

"Yes, that bad, we won't be back, it was that bad," I said.

He got it. He finally got it. He made us a couple offers for future discounts, stated he didn't want to lose our business and apologized for not responding and reacting to the issue. He assured us that those things are not typical for his campground.

Will we go back. Probably. We really liked the location. We would be willing to give it one more chance. We did get good customer service, eventually. It just took a lot of patience and explaining on our end. It should not have been that hard.

Makes me wonder though, why should it be so hard sometimes to get the service that we are promised from people that want our business? Getting good service, particularly after a bad experience shouldn't be, should it?

Can working in your PJs really be work?

2007-07-10T20:24:00.000-04:00

Can you really work well in your PJs?
I have been pondering this question for the last few weeks. Perhaps it's not so much that I want to work in my pajamas as much as it is I am wondering if I should have my office in my home.

Recently, I relocated my office to a building closer to home, no, not in my home, but my official office is in a building that I pay rent for in the town that I live in. I love the building and have great relationships with the people that work in the building. So there's no issue there.

But what keeps running through my mind is this. Does it matter where your office is these days? With the entire "World is Flat" concept that follows the idea that everyone is or can be connected no matter where they live or work through better technology...does it matter where in the world you work from?

In search of opinions on this topic I have started to ask around. I have started talking to a few people that I knew would have not only an opinion but a really darn good reason for their opinion. I have first posed this question to Networking Guru, Debby Peters. Debby was quick to answer my question...with a question. Don't you just love those?!

After explaining that this topic had come up from some of my clients and that I had been pondering it myself Debby was then quick to give her answer. "I tell people my office is in Perrysburg, which it is, it just happens to be in my home in Perrysburg." Contining on Debby explained that it was better for her business this way. She can keep her overhead costs down, pass on that savings to her clients and that she really doesn't keep "normal" office hours. Being a self proclaimed workaholic she can work anytime/all the time she wants from her home office then retreat within a few steps to her easy chair with her vast library to read.

Of course, Debby, the Networking Guru, is hardly ever in an actual office...she is out NETWORKING! Good answers from Debby for me to consider.

Moving on...I have posed this question to others but what are your thoughts on home offices?
Do they work?
If you have one, do you have any tricks to share about actually getting work done?
Have you recently moved from a home office to an actual rented/owned office space? Why?

Let me know your thoughts as I continue to ponder this myself.

Back in the swing of things....

2007-07-09T15:56:00.000-04:00

The holiday is over and it's time to kick things into high gear this week and get back on track after the July 4th holiday. It seemed like everyone was taking some time off during the last week - so my husband and I decided to do the same thing.

We spent some time together just the two of us. Something that we have not done in a long time. We did something that we have never done alone together. We went tent camping. Just the two of us. We packed, actually I packed, all of the stuff and we hit the road. Watch here for updates on the trip and pictures!

YES - I am adding pictures to the blog. I figured out how to do it! Everyone keeps saying, "you need to add pictures!" So look out world - in the next few posts, there will be pictures.

OH - and for those who have been checking back to see if I have kept the blog updated daily like I said I was going to...it was hard to get a connection in the wilderness of northern Michigan. So you will just have to check back over the next week to get caught up. I have a very long list of blog topics that are just burning to be posted!

Enjoy the day!

What makes you the "go to guy?"

2007-06-28T08:56:00.000-04:00

I read an article recently about a very successful financial planner that over time became the "go to guy" for a very specific market. If you had anything to do with this man's niche market, he was the guy you went to for all matters financial. He was indeed the go to guy for not only his niche market but for anyone that could get an appointment with him.

It got me thinking about all the experiences I have had in both my professional and personal life over the last 15 to 20 years. I have known a lot of "go to guys" - both men and women. These are the people that you rely on for advice, counsel, or just rely on when you need them for whatever the issue. I began to make a list of names of my go to people.

There have been quite a few over the years.
Tim, H.K., Tom, Joe, Jim, Steve, Steve, Steve, Lori, Lori, Julie, Nancy......you all know who you are.

A couple things became clear to me... I know a lot of "Steves" and the following -

Yes, my life has been filled with great go to people, but what made them that way? Was it because of my personal relationship with them? No, because they were the go to people for many others. Were they all millionaires, with large fortunes amassed because of their wise business decisions? No, only one on my list was a true millionaire, at least that I am aware of. Was it that they were trained experts, extensively academically educated in their field? Well, to be honest, one of the guys on my list held a PhD. but that's not why he was on my list.

I believe that the real reason all of the people ended up on my list was that they were experts in life experience. It didn't matter what degree they held, what school they went to, how much money was in their bank account, the status that they carried with them, or how many friends they had. What mattered was that when I needed them - they were there with sound advice based on experience.

It was always what I needed to hear, not always what I wanted to hear.

So here's a thought for you, what makes you a "go to" person? Think about this question before you answer - what really makes you a "go to" person?

Into my cave I go...

2007-06-26T17:17:00.001-04:00

I have spent the majority of the last two days in my basement. Reading, writing, organizing, planning. If it had to do with planning anything for a business I did it. Why you ask would I take this time to hide from the rest of the world and work on such great summer days.

Planning needs to be done. Planning needs to be revisited after it's done. Planning is essential to the success of my business. Planning needs to be done repeatedly.

The way I figure it July 1 kicks off the sprint to the end of the year for me. There are a certain number of things that I know I need to get done this year and I needed to make sure that the plan I started with in January kept me on track for the sprint for the end of the year. Call this my mid year check up.

Of course as things always go, I needed to make some changes and adjustments to the plan I started out with. It is much better for me to do this now, rather than later. I can't make these changes on the fly so to speak. That would not be good for my business.

I have a series of workshops I am getting ready for, outlines for articles I want to publish and I want to start a series of coaching clubs for my business. I needed to take time and in the seclusion of my basement get this all figured out.

Was this mid-year planning session successful you might ask. Well I will tell you this, I need more days in the basement for planning - I could use at least one more day this week. But you can't bury yourself in planning either. There has to be a balance. As far as being successful, I will let you know at the end of the year!

Yes, mother, I write like I speak....

2007-06-25T10:34:00.000-04:00

I had breakfast Saturday morning with a friend of mine. She mentioned that she was reading my blog and enjoyed reading it because it was like hearing me tell the story. She said on a couple of occasions, "I could just hear you saying that."

PERFECT. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. GOAL ACHIEVED!

That is EXACTLY what I wanted people to say about my writing.

Here's a writing secret for you that a lot of the newer business, motivational and self development authors are adhering to. Write like you talk. Yes, I said, write like you talk.

On the other hand, my mother, who is still asking me to define exactly what a "blog" is, struggles with my writing style. In her feedback and commentary she said that she enjoyed reading my blog but that I had to watch my use of dangling prepositions.

WHAT? A dangling what? Okay, Mrs. Walter, my English and grammar teacher from grade school through high school would probably say the same thing. And yes, I had the same English teacher through all those grades - not because of my academic skill but when you only have 69 kids in your graduation class and come from a pretty small school, you have the same teachers over and over.

While I am sure that Mrs. Walter would take issue with my grammar, here is something that I am sure would make her proud. When I was in the 7th grade I walked into Mrs. Walter's classroom, above the chalkboard, in tall letters taped to the wall was the word that would change my life. THINK. Yes, there it was bigger than life. THINK.

Of course a bunch of 7th graders sat there and looked at it and really didn't get it. Mrs. Walter stated the following very bluntly and boldly; "Class you are in the 7th grade now and this is what you will learn from me. People, you will learn how to think." And we did. In fact, on my desk in my office is a little wooded sign with the word THINK in big letters. I look at it everyday and every day I THINK.

There are a lot of life lessons learned from Mrs. Walter but my point today is simple.
I write like I talk, because this is how I think. I don't think in terms of dangling prepositions, grammar and where the periods and commas go. I think in terms of the message I want you to hear and take away. I write like I talk so there is never any confusion about my message. Whatever it is, you have my guarantee it will always be one that I took the time to THINK about.

What do you THINK about that?

Mon Ami - Service at it's finest

2007-06-25T10:16:00.001-04:00

During our stay in Port Clinton for the weekend we decided to forgo heading over to Put in Bay and opted to stay in Port Clinton for the evening. We had never been to Mon Ami before and decided that is where we wanted to have diner.

After a quick stop at Cheese Haven, who could pass up seeing the selection of over 125 different cheeses, we headed to Mon Ami.

If you have never been there we would recommend that you stop in the next time you are in the PC area. We dined on the patio, enjoyed a wonderful seafood dinner and a couple great glasses of wine.

Now it may not sound like much but it was really a fantastic experience for us. The service was awesome and we truly enjoyed talking with our waitress. She was exactly what you would want in a waitress - funny, engaging, and not afraid to share a little bit of herself with us. Even though we live only 45 minutes away she was sure to share with us all sorts of great stories about the winery, the islands and how great it is to work at Mon Ami.

YES - she loved her job, her co workers, her boss and her customers. WOW. Oddly enough my husband and I were just talking about an experience we had at a local Toledo eatery where we felt like ordering a glass of water was an inconvenience to our waitress. Not Carrie - she brought water, wine, napkins, extra plates, anything we wanted, she delivered.

We all know that waitressing and any type of food service work is difficult. The hours, the people, the overall general stereotyping of cocktail waitresses and bartenders, but Carrie as well as the rest of her team at Mon Ami seemed to overcome that. They were all pleasant.

Makes me wonder - how can we be better at taking some of the more unpleasant aspects of our jobs and every day lives and turn them into a different experience for us, and in turn, a better experience for our customers and clients. Is it possible to overcome these things and love your job, your boss, your coworkers and your customers?

Bike to the Bay Weekend!

2007-06-25T10:03:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to my husband, and all the other riders that completed the Bike to the Bay Ride for MS this past weekend.

I am particularly proud of my husband as this was his 10th year riding and raising money for MS. He has ridden over 1500 miles and without fail participates in this ride every year whether or not he has had time to fully "train" the way he would like to. It seems like every year he runs short on his time to practice and train for the upcoming event - but that does not stop him from moving forward and giving it his all.

In fact this year he set a new goal for his fundraising effort and exceeded his goal. Though he waited until the last possible moment to start his fundraising, he was still very successful and we would like to thank all of our friends, family, neighbors and co-workers that contributed. MANY THANKS!

One more thing - my husband does this, for MS, though we have not personally been touched by this disease. He does this not because he has had first hand experience but because he believes in the cause and he truly believes in taking his passion for biking and putting it to work for something that does so much good for others.

Isn't that something? It goes to show that when you are passionate about something that you think you only do for yourself, you can still help others. My husband bikes for the thrill, the miles, the speed - but he also bikes, along with thousands of others for a cure.

I am proud to have married such a man!

What things are you passionate about that you think you only do for yourself? Have you ever thought about taking that passion in a new direction?

Busy weekend!

2007-06-25T09:58:00.000-04:00

I will have a series of posts to cover the last few days. There was so much going on that it would be hard for you to follow each storyline if I wrote them all in one.

In summary though - I had one of those weekends that was just perfect for summer. Lots going on but all very fun, productive and meaningful. I had a couple of meetings Saturday morning then off to Port Clinton to meet my husband after his participation in the MS Bike to the Bay Ride.

Sunday it was home, to a graduation party and then hanging out with family on the front porch.

All in all it was a spectacular weekend.

Distractions....

2007-06-22T12:19:00.000-04:00

I get easily distracted lately. In fact, friends of mine are starting to tell me that I my attention span is very - VERY short these days. I bounce from one thing to another.

Here are a few examples -

I read a lot, but I read several books at a time. I am sure this lessons my reading comprehension but at this point I have no standardized tests in my future so I don't have to worry about that. But what concerns me is that I never finish these books - seems like such a waste.

I work on several projects at once - church projects, work projects, home projects - you name it and at any given time I am dabbling in it. I wonder how this effects the quality of the projects I finish. And yes, due to the nature of these projects I do finish them. Especially the church ones, I can't leave the big guy hanging you know.

I talk to several people at the same time - in conversation I will actually be carrying on more than one conversation with people around me. I used to think it was me just being social. But now I have noticed that I find it very difficult to stay focused on one person in a group of people. I have to challenge myself to stay in the conversation and then move on to the next. I am always afraid I am going to miss talking to someone. It seems like a networking nightmare to me.

These are just the distractions I bring on myself - think of all of the other distractions that others bring into my world!!!

I have to work hard to handle these distractions, to stay on plan, stay on target and to stay focused. If not, then nothing would get done. Everyone needs to have a plan or a method of handling distractions.

What's yours?

Happy Birthday

2007-06-21T18:40:00.000-04:00

Today is my big brother's birthday.

Happy Birthday to him.

It seems appropriate his birthday should fall on the longest day of the year. Talk about a labor of love for my mother!

Now he is grown and has kids of his own, we look forward to sharing birthdays with them more than our own. It just seems that as you age birthdays come and go, sometimes, many times, without us noticing.

Another friend of ours is celebrating a special professional career anniversary this weekend. A big party is being thrown in honor of the event. But my friend would like to skip out and rather not be the focus of attention. But my sense is a smaller, special acknowledgement of the day would be okay.

Remember when birthdays and special days were always so important and we wanted to feel that special everyday? It didn't matter so much if a big deal was made, just as long as something was done to make us feel special.

What things can you do to put that special feeling back into everyday life and business? What little things can you do with your family, friends, co-workers and customers to make them feel special - at least a little special - everyday?

I think I need to call my brother ....

Which way do you go?

2007-06-21T15:58:00.000-04:00

Today one was of those days when you start out early and come in late. I have been on the go since early this morning. Networking meetings, a mid morning appointment, a lunch event and finally a chance to sit at the computer, open mail and do some work.

But it's not over. In just a few hours I will be jetting out the door to another event. Actually, there are a couple other events I could probably attend tonight if I chose to.

Choosing which events to attend and how many to attend in one day can make even the best of planners and organizers crazy sometimes. The world is an abundant place full of opportunity, potential and chances to meet new friends. But how do you keep track of it all? How do you decide which way to go when you seem to be passing yourself coming and going?

You need to have a plan for the direction you want to move in. If you are promoting your own business, working on a specific project or just trying to network to meet new people, you need to have some idea about what direction you want to go in. A road map not only for the meetings you are going to attend - but how do all those meetings fit into your master plan.

My recommendation - map out a course and direction for your day and pause to think about how all of those events fit into your even bigger map of what direction you want to go in with your business. Take a step back and see the big picture. That will help you see which way to go.

What's in your wallet?

2007-06-20T16:27:00.000-04:00

I have two businesses and due to the nature of each business, two separate business cards. Today I had the opportunity to attend a very nice Chamber of Commerce meeting, one I had not had the chance to attend in the past. As I was chatting with the people at the meeting, making new friends and getting to know some new people I realized I had a dilemma on my hands.

Actually, the dilemma was in my pocket. As people asked me what I did I couldn't decide which business to talk about first. The concept of having two businesses is new for me and I have to admit, I fumbled all over the place with my introductions and my message.

Lesson learned here - regardless of how many businesses you have or how many different hats you wear, target markets you think you serve or people that are potential clients, have a game plan BEFORE you walk in to a new meeting. Have it in your head what you want these new people to know about you. Only take one set of cards with you and have them handy.

Don't make the same mistake I did and not know where to reach and which card to hand out.
Know what's in your wallet.

The Balance Sheet

2007-06-19T23:10:00.000-04:00

Something that my pastor said Sunday has been running through my head the last two days. His message to us Sunday revolved around keeping a balance sheet. In business and in life we all keep balance sheets either in print or in our minds. We know the people that we owe a debt to and those that are indebted to us.

In business of course it is important to keep an honest monetary balance sheet or our business would suffer and we would not be profitable. I am sure though that there are just as many business owners who are keeping mental balance sheets of debts owed to them.

Something along the lines of this ....
I give her all these great referrals and get nothing in return.
Those people never thanked me for sending them that huge account
So and so never replied back to my thank you note after our breakfast meeting.

Sound familiar?
Sure it does. But no one is perfect and no one can ever match unrealistic expectations and really why on earth would you want to keep score with your referral partners? Keeping score with your peers and affiliates is no way to run a business. Some one will always be on the losing side of the balance sheet.

My thought today -
Let go of keeping those balance sheets that only make someone else look bad. Keep the balance sheets that make your accountant happy and keep track of your own contributions and efforts to help others. But don't make doing business with you a quid pro quo event. Otherwise you will most definitely find yourself in the red on your real monetary balance sheet.

blogging

2007-06-19T13:41:00.000-04:00

Today I have spent the greater portion of the day trying to get my blog set up so that it "looks good." Now, you can tell me whether or not you think it was worth the time, but I am still puttering around with the template, colors, layout, etc.

Which makes me wonder how often do we get hung up on worrying about the superficial things when really it is the stuff down deep, the real content that matter most in life. Does it really matter what color the background is for this blog or would rather come here and read about some really cool stories, and anecdotes? I don't know the answer - but I think it's a fair question.

How often to we concern ourselves with what something looks like instead of fully understanding the meaning of the message and the feeling?