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…
Yeah, I had a rough week with my emails. First, on Saturday, I send out an email about my new video helping owners of expert firms to make key strategic choices about how they build their business. BUT, I didn’t include a link to the video! Thanks for those of you who reached out for…
George Floyd’s death was just nine days ago. Since then, our country has been in turmoil. We’re trying to understand why it happened, and why it keeps happening—and then trying to appreciate the reactions of the protesters, and deal with the reactions of the politicians, and the police. I wish I could just turn it…
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote to you about a conversation I had with my coach, where she asked me, “When are you going to stop treating your body like a rental car?” It was a wake-up call for me when she asked the question several years ago, and yet, in my email a…
This week my wife assigned her nieces and nephews some homework. She asked them to write two letters to the Coronavirus. In one, she wanted them to start, “I hate you coronavirus…” and then write down all the crummy things that happened since the shutdown. In the second letter, she asked them to start with,…
There’s a lot of stress and fear right now. I feel the anxiety in every call! Where have all the clients gone? How long will this last like this? What’s next? No matter how successful your business was eight weeks ago, you’re going to have to make changes this year. You can do it out…