Speed seems to be the mandate these days. Yet "go slow to go fast" is a key phrase to keep in mind when focusing on productivity and managing personal energy. It's all about perspective. We live in an age of hyper connectivity with soundbites that compete for our attention at a deafening roar. The walls of our organizations are more porous than ... [Read more]
Are you an ambitious leader who is at a crossroads – with your team, career, or work/life equation?
I work with smart, successful, capable people, who make big decisions everyday. Sometimes it can be challenging to hold your own stuff when you are in the thick of it. My clients come to me as an objective third party who can hold the space for them, in a safe and neutral way, while they think through where they are, where they want to go, and ... [Read more]
Managing Oneself: An Evolution in Human Affairs
I continue to highlight excerpts from Harvard Business Review's book, On Managing Yourself. Peter Drucker's article, "Managing Oneself," gives a different perspective in how to stay engaged during the course of your working life. Because it is more commonplace today for people to outlive the organizations for which they work, and to be mobile, ... [Read more]
Go Slow to Go Fast
What does it mean “go slow to go fast?” When I googled to find an image for this, I was amazed at how many words and images I found. Here is what it means to me: when I am the most stressed, stretched or unfocused, it is precisely the time I need to slow down and regroup. And this is precisely when I am most resistant to doing it – it’s ... [Read more]
Follow up Friday: Fluid Priorities.
When I searched for an image for this post, I got all sorts things that portrayed “Fluid Priorities.” Many of the images were medical – how to know someone is hydrated, nursing moms, what do when someone is in shock, etc. I even got images related to oil changes. This week’s reflection question was: How do you stay focused on the task at hand ... [Read more]
Magic Monday: The Complexity of Priority Setting Today
Where can you find the magic at work today? Some people say that setting priorities is very simple - it’s a yes or no. Yes, focus on this task now. No, not now (defer) or ever (discard). However, in today’s current environment deciding which of these labels to put on your to do list in a given day or week can be more complex than at first ... [Read more]
Follow up Friday: The Bare Essentials -Taking my Laptop and Cell Phone for Sure!
This week’s reflection questions: If you have to pack yourself up and live or work somewhere else for a few days, what would you take with you? What priorities would you focus on and leave the rest for another day or just take off the list? If I was displaced for a few days, and I could still, or needed to work, I would take my laptop, cell ... [Read more]
Magic Monday: Happiness, Productivity & What’s Right with You
Words of Manic Monday by The Bangles and modified by Susan Shaner. Musician: Dan Brodax. Where can you find the magic at work today? Many years ago when I was in graduate school studying to become an expressive art therapist, I had a fundamental issue with the clinical model. It mostly focused on what was wrong with people. I saw clinicians, who ... [Read more]