One of the keys to maintaining momentum when progress is slow is having people who are ready and willing to cheer for you. Celebrating small wins doesn’t come naturally for most founder-types, and we need folks who will cheer with us. When I first started my business I realized I needed someone who would cheer…
I’ve made a solid plan, considered every angle, and committed myself to the actions I need to take to execute the plan. I’m seeing progress, and there are signs of hope, but I haven’t seen things “turn the corner.” It will get really stressful around here if things don’t improve soon. I need to see…
“Don’t get too high with your highs, don’t get too low in your lows.” I have heard my clients, agency founders, describe leading their firm like they are riding a rollercoaster. One minute they were on cloud 9, they closed a big deal or had a client presentation dripping with insights, and their clients clearly…
Whenever I see someone’s calendar and it looks like a failing game of Tetris, it reminds me of that Anti-drug PSA from the ’80s. Because if I tried to manage that many meetings, changing topics and keeping track of everything, my brain would fry. One of the first assignments I work on with clients is…
You work hard, harder than you did when you worked for someone else. You are forced to learn about things, like employment law, or payroll taxes, that you don’t care to learn about. Over and over again you find yourself on the edge, a place where you learn a ton, and that also keeps you…
When I worked as a consultant, I frequently found myself having conversations with team members who reported to the agency founder that would go something like this: Team Member: If my boss would only do these three things differently, what a difference it would make… [Then I’d listen to a long explanation about ways the…
When last I wrote we talked about the fact that if you wanted to see change, in your business or your life, you needed to change. (Then Memorial Day weekend happened and I missed a whole week of emailing!) I got quite a response to that email! Some thought it was a little harsh, some…
I spent over 15 years as a consultant. During that time clients would hire me to fix a “problem” that they had in their business. Their new business system was broken, their margins were terrible, they had too much turnover, etc. They had a problem, my job is to fix it. Most of the agency…
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….
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…