Because I’ve been in sales and entrepreneurship my entire career, I have a slightly skewed view of the last days of the year. While my friends and family were often taking days off to calmly wind down the year, I’d usually be neck-deep in spreadsheets and napkins full of sales projections. Of course, that is if I wasn’t desperately trying to find a prospect who was in their office so I could hit my year-end numbers or get a head start on my goals for the next quarter. You've probably had some similar experiences. As I continue to work with sales professionals, business owners, and entrepreneurs, I’ve found just how important this … [Read more...]
How to Find Harmony in Business Like a Zen Master: Balance Strategy and Tactics
What's more important: strategy or tactics? What's your first impulse? Don't worry about getting the right answer, because there isn't one. It's a trick question. I think it's a false dichotomy and that neither is more important. It's likely, though, that your knee-jerk response favored one or the other. There's nothing inherently wrong with that, but it's worth noting which way you leaned. Your unconscious tendencies have a strong impact on where you put your focus. This means they also can give us clues as to what we are missing. I've built my career looking at how professionals can be more successful by paying attention to how … [Read more...]
Monday Morning Mash-Up – Calling an Audible
It might be a little early in the year to use a football metaphor, but I used this phrase a few days ago and I think it's worth sharing. Let me explain. Like most people, I have a number of goals that I'm working towards at any given time, personally and professionally. For example, I'm usually working on making better food choices to improve my health. I will often remove something completely from my diet for a month or two to give myself a definitive line of what I will and won't eat. Having set "rules" makes it easier to make decisions about what I should choose for dinner. These guides help, but I've learned that you can't be … [Read more...]
One of the Best Time Management Tools I’ve Found
I recently visited the Zen Garden at the Chicago Botanic Gardens, and found it a profoundly calming experience. Like many of us, I find myself bouncing around from activity to activity during the day. My mind is usually even more frantic as it works on what I need to do in the future and what I've done in the past. And, oh yeah, tries to pay attention to what I'm doing right now. For a few moments I was surrounded by the quiet in the Zen Garden. I could almost feel the cogs in my mind slowing down. My breathing became deeper and more relaxed. I was peaceful and felt a sense of clarity that is often elusive. When You Are Busy... … [Read more...]