Remember that client I told you about on Tuesday? The one whose energy was low, who was discouraged and started thinking about looking for another job? After we took a different perspective and she started to see a clear way forward she easily laid out a plan to get the outcomes she’s been looking for. She was so excited and energized to get started right away. But I slowed her down for a minute because I wanted her to see something… Who are you being? Part of “feeling stuck” was that the role she saw for herself involved a lot of work that she didn’t enjoy. Her company had some real challenges that needed to be overcome, there were clouds on the horizon that could turn into … [Read more...]

On Tuesday, I told you a story about how a change in perspective helped a client to see their situation in a whole new way. That new perspective offered her a way forward that engaged her creativity and energized her toward action. Many readers resonated with that story and replied to me with stories about how they had felt stuck until they talked the situation through with a trusted advisor, or, in one case with a rubber duck! Verified by science! Psychology researchers noticed something similar and created experiments that show how common it is to get “stuck.” Even though we recognize how much we’ve changed in the past, we all assume that change is less likely in the future. We … [Read more...]

My client got on the call and I could tell she was down. She’d had a tough couple of weeks — obstacles at work, disruptions at home. She’s feeling exhausted and discouraged. Because of these obstacles and disruptions, she wanted to talk about different directions she could take her career. “I just don’t love this job the way I used to. Maybe I should do something else…” This was pretty shocking to hear from her; she’d started her firm 12 years ago. She once described it to me as her dream job! Space for growth Before exploring a career change, I asked her if we could look forward to the end of the year. “Imagine,” I suggested, “that you’ve made it through the year. And when … [Read more...]

Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve been talking about how clarifying your role frees you up to be bored on Friday at 4 PM! The whole point of this exercise is that we want to do our job and only our job so that on Saturday, we don’t need to be doing the billing, writing a proposal, or catching up on email. We know how to get our work done during the regular workweek. Today is Saturday; we’re on the cusp of full-on Summer (here in the Northern Hemisphere). Let’s get out and play today! What’s play? It’s whatever you want to do. Take a napGo for a hikeBake breadRead a book (the fun one, not the businessy one) Everything in nature goes in cycles; we breathe in and breathe … [Read more...]

Last week we talked about focusing on your job, the things that are only yours to do. When I see agency owners getting clear that they start to get free of many tasks that were draining energy from them, and that didn't move the agency forward either. Theoretically, that should free up a lot of time and energy to focus on those higher-level tasks – but unless you take charge of your calendar, you can quickly eat up that time with meetings and other admistrivia. Instead of letting your calendar be a game of Tetris, where you’re squeezing in meetings followed by more meetings, you need to decide what work should go where. What do you need to do daily, weekly, or monthly? When do … [Read more...]

As we’ve leaned into getting ourselves out of the day-to-day grind by letting go of doing the thing and focusing on building the system that does the thing, I want to pause and think about “the why.” If you let go of the thing you trained your whole life to do; you need a powerful why! There’s a reason that is more compelling than money or building a bigger agency. Something exciting that’s calling you forward. How can I be of service? When I stop thinking about what is the most fun and fulfilling for me, and instead start thinking about what I can do that will enable me to be of the greatest service, a whole new world opens up. I think about the folks who mentored me when I was … [Read more...]

Over the last couple of posts, we’ve been talking about how important it is to let go of what you did as an individual contributor and embrace your role as the leader of a growing firm. But being an individual contributor was easy. I knew how to do that! I was clear when I had a good day or a bad day just based on what I created. But I don’t understand this new role you’re talking about! When we want folks to know what they need to be doing and how to evaluate their performance, we write them a job description! Today, we’re going to talk about your job description! The CEO’s Job scope The best CEO I've ever worked for had a saying about his job. He said that my job is to hire … [Read more...]

On Saturday we talked about how your job isn’t doing the thing. (The thing might be designing, writing, creating campaigns, storytelling, whatever it was that you were good at that you sold to clients to get the agency started!) Your job is to build the system. Your job is to create the container, the way the thing gets done. Every day, every hour you spend working in your business, delivering services to clients, is time you're not spending building your system. And that system is what’s going to enable your business to grow. If your time and attention is needed for the clients to have a great experience with your company, your growth is limited. There’s only so much of you, and … [Read more...]

Jerry Colonna coaches venture-backed CEOs, and he’s coached a boatload of them! He’s worked with the CEOs of Etsy, Foursquare, Intuit, and Soundcloud to name a few. But not just when they are big and famous; he works with many folks who are in their startup phase. On a recent podcast, he said of the CEOs he works with, I’d like you bored at four o’clock on Friday afternoon. Bored. Literally looking at your to-do list like, “I’m done.” (Jerry Colonna at 6:25 in Operator’s Manual #4) How would that feel? Does that sound crazy to you? The first time I heard him say it, I thought it was a little crazy! What is mine to do? One of the problems with running your show is that it’s … [Read more...]