Seven Ways a Personal Brand Can Help Your Career
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Heard of personal branding but not sure why you should bother? This article explain how branding yourself can help you move your career from good to great.
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3 Reasons Law Firm Strategy is BS & Why it Matters
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Most lawyers think that “excellence” is a strategy. It is not. Discover how a real strategy can help you create a more successful and satisfying practice.
Read MoreNo-Lose Decisions: Moving Beyond Fear
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A classic paradox of free will is the story of a donkey that is both hungry and thirsty but is equidistant from a bale of hay and a trough of water. It can’t decide between the two choices and consequently starves. Absurd though this example may be, from time to time, most of us are guilty of making no decision, even when any of the available options would be an improvement over no action at all. Failure to make a choice is always disempowering. Yet, this issue comes up all the time.
Read MoreKick 'em to the Curb: When to Fire Bad Clients
/This article focuses on business relationships, but really the same exercise is applicable for friendships, romantic relationships, etc. Just think of the “bottom line” as your happiness, contentment and achievement of your life goals. The only place where I do NOT recommend using this approach is for evaluating close relatives and spouses. You are busy. You don’t have time to waste on people (and businesses) that don’t add significant value to your bottom line. Do you have trouble making enough time for all your clients AND marketing? Are you having trouble deciding for which potential new clients you should offer special discounts? Then this exercise is perfect for you. This month I am introducing a quick trick to help you decide which of your clients you should “kick to the curb.”
Read MoreHold, Raise or Fold? - When to Stick With Your Plan and When to Retreat
/Last month I discussed how to decide whether to persevere and continue to pursue your goals even in the face of setbacks. This month’s article is basically part two. If you decided that your goals ARE worth pursing, how do you decide if you should stay the course or if you should revise your plan? Here are some of the questions to ask yourself:
Read MoreCareer Decision Making: Is It Calculated Risk or Foolishness?
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Very often “brilliance” is really just a risk that turned out well. If a situation ends badly does that mean pursuing that avenue was foolish? After coaching people for more than a decade, this is my two cents on the subject. The difference between a calculated risk and foolishness is that a risk is something that you feel you must do in order to be true to yourself. It is not always easy to determine, but this is a very different inquiry from evaluating what is objectively the best, smartest, or most sensible choice. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that robbing a bank is not something that anyone does to be true to themselves.
Read MoreWhen Intolerance is Good
/Here we are in mid-summer. It’s hot and humid and as good a time as any to get fed up with the circumstances of our lives and make a change. We get what we are willing to tolerate - not what we deserve, not what we were born into, not what fate gives us. We get what we are willing to tolerate. If we are willing to endure a lousy work environment, or bad relationships, or a schedule that is too busy for exercise, then that is what we will get. One of my favorite coaches describes the difference between coaching and therapy as “therapy helps people to tolerate the circumstances of their lives while coaching helps people to see circumstances as intolerable.”
Read MoreBeing Powerful in Challenging Circumstances
/When faced with new or challenging circumstances, it becomes more important than ever to stay grounded in your values, create an inspiring vision for your future, maintain your integrity, and take good care of yourself.
Read MoreChanging Your Self-Talk: What Would Superman Do?
/Has that post-New Years malaise set in yet? You know, I'm referring to that time period when the initial energy has worn off and that resolution starts to feel more burdensome than inspiring. Rather than just getting resigned or angry with yourself, do what a superhero would do. Look for an antidote. Like so many things, the antidote for the New Year’s blahs is simple but not always easy. The key is to focus on revising how you think about yourself rather than focusing on changing behavior. Human beings resist change.
Read MoreMind vs Heart: Moving to Turkey!
/Greetings from Istanbul! Some of you may be wondering why you haven’t heard from me in a while. The quick summary is that my father died in January, I became depressed, and decided to shake myself out of it by moving to Turkey. So, I have been busy getting settled, trying to learn Turkish, and developing business here. YES, I AM STILL COACHING CLIENTS IN THE U.S. I do most of my work by phone, and my phone numbers haven’t changed. Don’t hesitate to call. (Turkey is seven hours ahead of Eastern time, ten hours ahead of Pacific time. Call anytime, though. I work odd hours and turn off my phone at night.)
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