What are the things that make you the happiest in your life? Those times or activities that make you feel like life is worth living, that feed your soul. When I was brainstorming this, I came up with: Spending time with my children Visiting National Parks and experiencing wild places. Live music and dancing! A…
Maybe owning a firm hasn’t turned out to be what you thought it was going to be. You’re doing mostly sales, bookkeeping, and administration when you thought you’d be having client strategy meetings and developing breakthrough concepts. The days are long, and the rewards are, so far, thin. The honeymoon is over, and you’re left…
It’s nearly the shortest day of the year, and after a long year filled with new opportunities, unexpected changes, loss, serendipity, and work – lots of work, it’s time to hibernate for a couple of weeks. If you’ve been reading along all year, you’ve seen 142 emails come your way from me, almost 30,000 words….
This week I’m reprising some emails I sent out early in the pandemic to help remind folks of the basics and make sure we’re still focused on keeping everyone connected. Earlier the subject was the team and clients; today I want to talk about taking care of your company’s #1 asset, you! Tame the anxiety When…
So, you made it to the first week of December 2020. Congratulations! Well done. Have you noticed that, even during the pandemic, December is the crazy-busiest time of the year? Clients want stuff done before the budget year is over. You’ve got your own year end stuff to work on. There are family traditions and…
One of my mentors likes to remind me that when we are working hard to build a business, when we are learning new things to grow our capabilities, when we take care of our bodies and minds, we are doing it to be of service to others. Thank you for reading along as I have…
Confucius said: We have two lives, and the second begins when we realize we only have one. I talked with an agency owner this month. He was earnest about growing his business. “I’m just going to burn hard on my business for like 10 years, then sell it and enjoy life,” he told me. I…
Being an entrepreneur might sound like a glamorous and lucrative career, but the reality is that entrepreneurship is more of a roller coaster ride. If you aren’t expecting the ups and downs, then you aren’t prepared for the experience. Running my own business has been nothing less than some of the best experiences of my…
I’ve worked with clients who have kept their businesses growing through some pretty dire circumstances. I’ve seen folks grow through major recessions. One of my clients famously told me that she was “not participating in the recession.” And she didn’t! I’ve worked with clients who have lost key staff members, even seen whole departments quit,…
In his famous book Good to Great, Jim Collins writes about interviewing Admiral James Stockdale, who was a POW in Vietnam. There’s one line from that interview that has remained seared in my brain ever since. Collins asked Stockdale about how he dealt with the cruelty, the deprivation, and the uncertainty of not knowing if…