If you want to know your past, look into your present conditions. If you want to know your future, look into your present actions. ~ Buddhist Saying We love this quote! It’s a powerful reminder that if you want to create a future that’s different from your present, you have to start by changing what you’re doing presently—in your day-to-day life. Many of our executive coaching clients seek us out because their present situations are no longer tenable.…
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…
Let’s face it, there times in life when we’re going to fall down—either through the fault of our own doings or through the travails of daily living. The test of our strength and our character is how we get back up. Sometimes, life knocks you down and it takes the wind from your being. Sometimes, it’s good to sit and inhale a moment or two, letting your lungs refill with the force of life before you rise again. What’s…
We’ve had a number of conversations lately about the longing for a summer vacation. Not a week or two, but the whole summer off from school with, as folks have described, “enough time to get bored.” Many people do take a vacation in the summer, yet don’t find it to be quite what they are longing for. And many others haven’t had a vacation in years as they struggle with finances or work demands or family needs. It’s challenging to…
Change is hard. We all know that it’s inevitable, but most of us like the sense of safety and control that comes with a reasonable amount of sameness. Remember when we were hunters and gatherers? Predictability often meant a greater chance of survival, so change unnerves us—whether unplanned or planned. And, it often comes as a surprise to people that positive change can be as hard for us to embrace as a challenging change. As we move toward a positive…
Over the years, we’ve heard time and again that our clients aspire to do great things. And, that is something we deeply respect and value in the people we work with. Yet, what we’ve observed is that we can only do small things, consistently over time, with love and passion—and what we create, the impact that we have, and the impression that we leave is often quite great. As you think of your life and the things that you want…
“The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.” — Ralph Nader We define leadership as a willingness to influence your world and be influenced by your world. It is a way of being in the world, not a role or title. Therefore, great leaders nurture the leadership of others. Sometimes when we talk about the importance of leadership and of claiming your power, people get concerned that power and leadership are often steeped in control and…
This quote is a wonderful metaphor for all those times in your life when you have believed that you should abandon your needs for someone else’s. A successful life consists of negotiations—with spouses, children, bosses, co-workers, other drivers on the road, and the rest of the people that you bump into as you do life. Some negotiations are simple and they barely register on your radar, while others are big and require lots of thought and energy. When you’re faced…
We love the entertaining and quirky TV show Grimm that is filmed and set in our hometown Portland, Oregon. The show is described on the NBC website as: A modern twist on the Grimm Brothers’ tales. It’s often a fun romp and it always starts with an interesting quote. A recent episode started with: I’ve been bent and broken . . . but I hope into a better shape. What a wonderful depiction of life’s journey. It spoke to us especially deeply as we each…
If you’ve been reading the Monday Morning Business Coach for a while you probably know that we are big fans of small steps. When you take small steps, you’re less likely to evoke internal, psychological resistance to change and start to get traction. And when you take those small steps consistently over time you can end up in an entirely new place! “Small steps taken consistently over time will lead you to your goals faster than big steps taken from…