It’s that time of year again: the second week in November to the first week of January is what I call “excuse time.” During this time of year, you’ll hear people say things like, “It’s the holidays, we’re so busy!” Even though the holidays themselves only take up a few days, people tend to be less responsive and tell you they don’t have time to get together. It’s also a particularly difficult time to start with new clients. You don’t … Read more…
Where do you fall on the Spectrum of Ambiguity? In a past life, I helped develop and teach a consulting QuickStart class at Avanade (which is a joint venture between Microsoft and Accenture) where, over a 6-year period, we taught the class to more than 8,000 people. One of the core concepts we discussed in the class was about Ambiguity and the Spectrum of Ambiguity. On one end of this spectrum there are people who are just not okay with … Read more…
Did you know that, according to U.S. News, approximately 80% of New Year’s Resolutions fail by the second week of February? Essentially that means most people have given up on their resolutions already! New Year’s Resolutions just don’t work for most people. There are a lot of reasons why these resolutions don’t lead to long lasting change: Sometimes it’s because our resolutions were motivated by feelings of fear, pride, guilt or shame. Often these come from the “should” place verses … Read more…
During the calendar year, there are two periods I have coined as “excuse times” where people simply have a more difficult time getting things done. The first is from Memorial Day to Labor Day and the second starts the second week in November and runs through the first week of January. During these two periods of time, my clients notice that their clients are difficult to schedule. They see people pushing off their appointments, wanting to meet less or asking … Read more…
A lot of coaches I know are intimidated by the idea of setting up a system to receive payment from their clients by credit card. They either assume it will be difficult and overwhelming, or they think, “I only have ten clients – is it possibly worth it?” My answer is a resounding YES! As the saying goes, “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.” Here’s how I do it: when I start with a new … Read more…
Have you ever noticed that you avoid a certain business task even if it’s relatively easy? And when you finally do get around to doing it, you feel exhausted and burdened? On the other hand, have you noticed that sometimes you can spend hours mired in an intense deep-dive session with one of your best clients and leave the session feeling completely energized and ready to take on the world? This amazing aspect of business – the fact that some … Read more…
