When things are shifting and uncertain, it’s tempting to try to think our way out of the uncertainty. If I can get more information; if I can talk to more people, or work out a more through plan… That’s not how uncertainty works. In fact, that’s how our anxious brain works. Our anxious mind runs…
Last week’s email about “Focus increases Traction” produced this response from one reader: I’m prompted by your email about trying to do too many things at once and how much you can get done when you finally focus with a group that will hold you accountable and help you workshop your ideas. Over the last…
Let’s say it was your job to get 3 large stones up a hill. Would you pick up one stone, move it 3 feet, then go back and pick up the second stone, move it 3 feet, and then move the last stone that same 3 feet? Repeating that process over and over until all…
A pattern that I see with agency owners in the growth stage is that they are the biggest reason their firms aren’t making progress. Don’t believe me? How many projects or initiatives are waiting on something from you? Your team is committed to a content marketing plan, but you are responsible for producing (or even…
I have gotten a number of replies to my email about Riding the Roller Coaster of Entrepreneurship. Clearly it hit a nerve with some of you! I wanted to share some of the things that helped to make the roller coaster less taxing. Here’s a few (edited for length): “I’m learning more and more to ask…
Delegate or outsource everything except the stuff you’re awesome at. It allows you to focus on the tasks you’re amazing at. ~Cameron Herold We’ve all heard advice like this. Focus on your strengths. Stay in your “Zone of Genius.” If you’re not good at it, find someone else to do it. There’s one problem with…
I used to read business books voraciously. Peter Drucker, Jim Collins, David Maister, Patrick Lencioni, I loved reading and learning from these business giants. They taught me so much! But, after a while, my desperation to voraciously consume business books started to wane. As I look back on it, I was so voracious because I…
In the recent ESPN documentary of Michael Jordan’s last year as a Bull, there’s an incredible quote that I’ve watched almost every day since I’ve seen it. Michael was asked, “Has it [your success] come at the expense of you being perceived as a nice guy?” You should watch the video all the way to…
With cities starting to re-open after the COVID pause business owners are asking the question, should I re-open my office? If you are thinking about re-opening your office, you’d better have a good reason! Your company has spent the last two months working at home, and there’s a number of them who are liking it….
It’s 3 AM; you’re wide awake, unable to go back to sleep. What’s on your mind? When I’m awake at 3 AM unable to go back to sleep, my fears are running away with me. I’ve done something terribly wrong, I’ve miscalculated my expenses, my clients are never going to pay me again, I’m defaulting…