Blog - Carpenter Smith Consulting, LLC

“Generosity of spirit and a gracious approach to problem solving are, with few exceptions, the most effective way I know to earn lasting goodwill for your business.” -- Danny Meyer

The Benefit of Generosity of Spirit

May 8, 2017

We regularly talk with leaders about the importance of approaching meetings, decisions, negotiations, etc. with a generosity of spirit, so we were delighted to be reminded of a quote from the 2008 book Setting the Table by Danny Meyer, that echoed our message: “Generosity of spirit and a gracious approach to problem solving are, with few exceptions, the most effective way I know to earn lasting goodwill for your business.” So, let’s spend some time today considering what exactly…

When FEAR Grabs You By the Throat

May 1, 2017

Monday Morning Business Coach

This week, we got a call from a client who asked to meet immediately. He came into the office and said he was “freaked out” after a meeting with a key client. He explained that, as a consultant himself, he’d gone to meet with a client—an important and quite large corporate client—and the COO had implied there were concerns about a project he’d worked on for the company. He said that he’d been professional and open in the conversation, but…

Person with their computer and a notebook, ready to see strategy instead of routine.

What’s the Problem You’re Trying to Solve?

April 24, 2017

Monday Morning Business Coach

As executive coaches, we often work with teams to help move an organization forward. Recently, in one of those team meetings, someone reported out about an activity that was taking 10-15 hours a week to complete, and bemoaned that the employee responsible for it simply didn’t have time for it anymore. People grumbled a little to hear that the employee was not keeping up with the activity, and then began to discuss who they could get to complete the activity…

What to Do When You Don’t Get the Job

April 17, 2017

Career Tips, Monday Morning Business Coach

Finding a good job takes time—but also an emotional investment. After an interview goes well, you usually get psyched up and imagine yourself being offered the position. But not everyone gets the job. The sad truth is that good candidates can get passed over. Sometimes you come really close… but ultimately the position goes to the other person. The process by which employers choose employees can leave us feeling confused and, when we aren’t hired, doubting our worth, our value,…

Life Isn’t A Straight Line

April 10, 2017

Monday Morning Business Coach

Over the past few years, one of our great privileges is running small groups for women in the process of claiming their power. Taking small steps consistently over time, these women make major changes in their lives and their world. This week, in one of these groups, one of the women talked about the surprising twists of this last year and seemed to almost feel apologetic for how difficult her life has been. Quite often, we see our clients…

Emotions in the Workplace

April 3, 2017

Monday Morning Business Coach

One of the hardest things about being human is that sometimes life hits us with very powerful and very painful experiences—emotions that we can’t just ignore. Emotional pain is one of the great disrupters in life and in the workplace. Good leaders don’t ignore pain, but they don’t succumb to it either: they lead through it and they find ways to help others do the same. When confronted with pain, a good leader will acknowledge it and then determine the…

A Great Kitchen Won’t Make You a Great Chef

March 27, 2017

Monday Morning Business Coach

We have a friend who has one of the most beautiful kitchens we’ve ever seen. This kitchen has everything: amazing appliances, workstations, lighting, and amenities. It would make professional chefs drool and is truly an inspiring sight to behold. When talking about the kitchen, we asked, “Who’s the chef?” We know that our friend (let’s call her Sara) can barely heat soup and so we were curious about who was going to be using this amazing kitchen. Sara stated, “Well,…

5 Career Killing Moves

March 20, 2017

Monday Morning Business Coach

We recently came upon some great research that describes the 5 habits that can derail a career. We thought this was a great list to help you as you lead and manage others. David Maxfield of VitalSmarts interviewed managers from different industries who identified the five top career killers they’ve witnessed in their employees: Being disorganized and unreliable. This person doesn’t spend the necessary amount of time planning, organizing, communicating, and coordinating with others. They fail to follow through on…

Benefits, Concerns, and Suggestions

March 13, 2017

Monday Morning Business Coach

One of the biggest complaints we hear from people who are passionate about leading others to success is that they have trouble getting them engaged and on board with important decisions. We’re not just talking about your work team or organization, we’re also talking about your family, your friends, a board you’re a member of, etc. So today, we want to share with you 3 simple questions that you can ask that will engage people with the decision you’re considering…

Revealing Your Inner Beauty

March 6, 2017

Monday Morning Business Coach

We were so touched by your responses to our recent post, Broken. It’s powerful to realize that we’re all broken in life in many different ways and celebrating how we’ve put ourselves back together is an important part of honoring how our brokenness has contributed to who we are now. This week we want share with you a way to think about life’s challenges and the difference between those that get you closer to your internal beauty, and those that…