Blog - Carpenter Smith Consulting, LLC

Benefits, Concerns, and Suggestions

March 13, 2017

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…

Rules to Live By

February 27, 2017

Monday Morning Business Coach

When Linda was in graduate school in psychology, she was influenced by an amazing family therapist, Cloé Madanes, who wrote an article on parenting that Linda found life-changing. The article talked about the fact that children deal with many rules from their parents and that those rules often change, making it extremely hard for kids to know what’s really important. Madanes suggested that parents need to land on 3-5 rules so that kids know what is expected of them, parents…

Image by Haragayato, used under a CC 4.0 license. Kintsugi bowl with cracks filled in with gold.

Broken

February 20, 2017

Monday Morning Business Coach

Many of us spend a lot of time trying to hide the ways that we’re broken. We hide the wounds we have from our family of origin, we hide the ways we feel stupid or unsure, and we’re always trying to cover up the wrinkles and age marks that reveal that we’ve lived. You’re probably thinking to yourself, “Of course we do!” And, it’s true that for many people it’s simply too scary to show the world your scars…

Leading When Times Are Tough

February 13, 2017

Monday Morning Business Coach

Today we’d like you to spend some time thinking about how you can lead your life and lead in your life. Our short exercise below can help you to: live in alignment with your purpose have some influence and control over your day-to-day life have a sense of connection and camaraderie have opportunities for doing good work and believing your work is meaningful Step into your own leadership. The power of intentionally leading in your own life gives you…

Beating Burnout

February 6, 2017

Monday Morning Business Coach

Last week we talked about the fact that chronic overwhelm can lead to burnout. Today we want to share some thoughts with you about what to do if you notice yourself getting burned out. It’s helpful to remember that burnout is in many ways a response to depletion. Think about it: you wouldn’t sit in your car and expect it to work without gas, or sit in front of a wood-burning stove waiting for the warmth without putting in…

Chronic Overwhelm will Burn You Out

January 30, 2017

Monday Morning Business Coach

This year we’re focusing on how to help our clients move from Overwhelmed to Outstanding. Today we want to talk with you about a very serious topic: how chronic overwhelm will cause you to burn out. What is Burnout? Burnout is a very real set of physical symptoms, cognitive challenges, and emotional reactions that can be quite debilitating—in some cases even lead to depression and suicide. And the tricky part about it is that it can come and go, making…

Make A Small Change in How You Talk to Yourself

January 23, 2017

Monday Morning Business Coach

We want you to matter in your own life. Period. If you can create a purpose-filled, rich, and satisfying life then everyone and everything you touch will be better for it. Your energy, mood, creativity, and openness are enhanced when you see yourself as valuable and worthwhile. That same energy, mood, creativity, and openness matter to the people you live with, work with, or even bump into on the street. These are challenging times in our world and our…

image of calendar for managing your time

Time Management or You Management?

January 16, 2017

Monday Morning Business Coach

Linda was at a conference a couple of years ago with a speaker who was talking about time management. Unfortunately, she can’t recall his name but she was totally caught by his message. In a room with 500 professionals, he said, “Raise your hand if you have ever read an article or a book about time management.” The entire room raised their hands. Then he said, “Raise your hand if you have ever taken a course on time management.” About…

Grieve… to Grow

January 9, 2017

Monday Morning Business Coach

Most of us understand the importance of grieving the loss of a person or a pet that we loved and were attached to. What’s harder for many of us to understand is the importance of grieving the loss of a desired or imagined future. You see, when you’re planning a future and it doesn’t materialize, there’s grief in that too. Before you can grow from it, you must grieve it. Let us explain. An executive coaching client of ours had…