Shake up a snow globe, and the flakes swirl around and obscure the view. Let it sit, and things settle down. The view clears, revealing the scene that was there all along. When I run around, busy all the time, my brain keeps track of a thousand things. All those thoughts, loose ends, and unrealized…
I’m going to take the next couple of weeks off, so you won’t be hearing from me again until after the holidays. I used to be anxious about taking time off at the end of the year. Now I know, that there’s nothing more important than some time off; baking cookies, sitting by the fire,…
Do you ever stop what you are doing and listen to the chorus inside your head? I just took 10 sec, and this is what I heard: What do you notice about this list? How do you think I would react if someone walked into my office and started blurting that stuff out to me?…
Sometimes my head can get into a bad neighborhood. Does that ever happen to you? It could be a regular Tuesday, but something happens, and I can’t see straight. Everything looks dark or tilted against me. If I try to get something done, I see nothing but bad outcomes. My resourcefulness and creativity plummet. The…
This month I worked on a deal that would have been a dream assignment for me. I had the right contacts; I was the only resource considered. As I talked to the decision-makers, it was clear that they saw the value the engagement would create. The price was right for both sides. But it didn’t…
The Baltimore Ravens made a tremendous comeback drive against their rivals, the Pittsburg Steelers on Sunday. The Raven’s scored with 12 seconds left. If they kick the extra point, they tie, and the game goes into overtime. If they go for two and make it, they win outright. Jim Harbaugh goes for two and calls…
Last week on LinkedIn, I talked about the power of systems to help us get things done. Systems are great for problems with mostly known steps; if we’ve done it before, we can map out a plan. But what if we’re venturing into the unknown? (Or at least the unknown to us.) In that situation,…
Life is short. You’ve got limited time to make the impact you want to make on the world, or your industry, or your family. You can’t afford to spend time chasing money. First you serve, then you earn. If you want to maximize the impact you make, and earn good money, chase the impact and…
I hear you saying… But if you are serious about growing your firm, you can’t be talking like this. Victim or Creator In each of these statements, the person speaking is in a situation that they don’t like, that they’d like to be different, but none of those statements take any responsibility for the outcome!…
What happens when life speeds up? When my day gets packed with meetings, my work gets pushed into the evening or the weekend. If I’ve got commitments with my family or friends, I have to skip those or reschedule them. To keep my head above water, I start to drop commitments that I have made…