The Dog Days of Summer

by Elisa Spain Comment Closed
What if we simply accept August as the time to recharge our batteries, then get started on next year's personal or business strategic plan in September? The “dog days” occurred in late July to the Greeks and Romans, when Sirius appeared to rise just before the sun. They referred to those days as the hottest time of the year, a period that could bring fever or even catastrophe. Today we think of dog days as the time of the year marked by lethargy and often inactivity. Here’s another spin: What if we were simply to accept August as the time to recharge? And then once we charge our batteries, we get a jump-start on what we want, personally and professionally, for next year? All of us possess an inner reservoir of positive energy. It is this positive energy that enables us to move forward. And the human body, like all other energy-powered machines, needs to be charged regularly. Most of us think of recharging...
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Better, Better, Maybe Not?

by Elisa SpainNo Comments
The notion that we can constantly make ourselves and our companies better, in theory, is a great idea. But when does it become too much? For me, the best way to answer this question is to notice our strengths and work to enhance them. As an executive life coach, I refer to this as discovering and working in our genius. Sometimes we become so focused on achieving that we cannot appreciate who we are or what we have already accomplished. When we are constantly reaching, it's a recipe for perpetual dissatisfaction.  What? Wasn't I just quoting Florence Nightingale a few weeks ago, who said discontent leads to innovation? Yup. It is indeed a delicate balance, isn't it? For me, the subtle difference between striving to make the world a better place and pausing to celebrate accomplishment comes with self-awareness. The stoics said it well. We must be careful not to become reactionary or to accept, without question, the status quo. We must know ourselves, know our geniuses, and...
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Is it Time for a Different Approach to Strategic Planning?

by Elisa Spain Comment Closed
This is the time of the year that most companies begin their strategic planning process. While it's fun to host and participate in an off-site, the end result sadly is often put on a shelf until next year. Mostly the plan is a continuation of the last one, and mostly the plan calls for growth, usually growth that is based on internal expectations. And, unless the plan is translated into numbers and then becomes part of the budget, expectations are infrequently measured against actual outcome. No wonder the reality of strategic planning and the hope are often not aligned. If you are interested in doing it differently this time... Chris Bradley of the McKinsey Consulting firm offers four practical suggestions to tackle the particular problem of bold forecasts and timid actions: Don't hide the hairy back in the bottom drawer Calibrate your projected results to the outside view Build a momentum case Focus on moves, not promises This short article Hockey Stick Dreams and Hairy Back Reality should be required reading...
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Radical Transparency

by Elisa Spain Comment Closed
In publicly held companies, company performance and executive compensation is, just that, public. All shareholders receive both an annual report and a proxy statement and this information is contained within these documents. Additionally, it is a simple matter for a non-shareholder to obtain this information, sometimes with a simple web search, or at least with an inquiry to the company. Yet in many, perhaps, most, privately held companies, this information is closely guarded and not shared. Why not? Lots of reasons. The reasons differ depending on the stakeholder we are discussing. Focusing on employee stakeholders, some of the responses I typically hear are: Why do they need to know? They won't understand the financials. There will be resentment if they know what the owner(s) are paid. There will be resentment if they know what their colleagues make. What if instead, you considered radical transparency? What if: you educate your employees so they understand the balance sheet and the income statement? employees learn the investments the owner...
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The Way

by Elisa Spain Comment Closed
Most of us learned, "the way" early in life. Some of us learned it from our parents, some from our teachers or other adult role models. The way, we learned, was the way they did it. We observed or they told us, how to live our lives; and in what order to do things. Typically it went something like this, get an education, get a job, get married, pursue/advance in a career, have kids, retire, enjoy our grandkids. For some this may still be the way, and for more and more people, this is only one of many choices. Today we have more choices and for most of us, a longer time frame during which we might choose multiple ways. For example, I know a grandmother who became a lawyer in her 70's; and recently heard about an architect who became a restaurant owner in her late 40's. So, as you think about your way, whatever stage of life and transition you are in, give some consideration to...
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Time to Make the Donuts

by Elisa Spain Comment Closed
Dunkin' Donuts ran this ad back in the 70's and even those born since then, resonate with the concept "time to make the donuts", as in, get up, get ready, get to work, do the work, go home, start again tomorrow. Whether working in the factory or working as an executive, it's easy to fall into the habit of doing, problem solving, doing some more, and then starting again. The good part of this is, we get sh*t done. The challenge is, we sometimes lose sight of the why, i.e. our purpose. Whether it's our personal why or our company why that drives us, before we crash into ourselves coming and going, as in the last frame of the ad, perhaps it's time to stop and ask "why did I choose to start this donut making business, or work for this particular donut making business and why are we making these particular donuts"? Why Vistage Works Elisa K. Spain...
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Begin At The Very Beginning

by Elisa Spain Comment Closed
I am often in conversation with people I coach where the person is focused on action. I hear things like… I am experiencing turnover, what can I do to stop or reduce it? Not sure if my people feel valued or are contributing to their full potential? We have a diverse group, wondering how do I get them to bond and behave like a team? Much has been written including various techniques to answer these questions. While these are important questions, and I am sure techniques for monitoring and evaluating these challenges are valuable, for me, it is difficult to address these issues without a pause. For me, asking these questions is starting in the middle rather than starting at the beginning. If we were to start at the beginning, these are questions I would ask: What is the purpose of this team or workgroup? What do I as the leader expect, what is my vision of success? Do I and the...
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Here’s To The Crazy Ones…

by Elisa Spain Comment Closed
As my regular readers know, I collect quotes, share them here and on my website. Typically I publish one quote a month, but this month you get a bonus quote. In the last few weeks, I have been writing about listening. The quote below from Steve Jobs is a wonderful reminder that ideas only come and change only happens, when someone has the courage to speak up and disrupt the status quo and we listen to them. “Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people...
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Making the Most of Downtime

by Elisa Spain Comment Closed
When was the last time you wasted time? When you were “wasting time,” did you feel joyful and creative, or — if you’re like me, did you feel even a tiny bit guilty for "being unproductive?” How much better might it have been, how much more would you have enjoyed your time — how much more would you have gotten out of it — if you didn't feel guilty about it or feel the need to explain it? Here’s a fact: wasting time is a key part of our lives. However, wasting time poorly is a sin (or whichever word you prefer), because not only are you forgoing the productivity, generosity and art that comes from work, but you're also giving up the downtime, experimentation and joy that comes from wasting time. If you're going to waste time (and I hope you will), please do it well; and find inspiration by nurturing your butterflies within. Why Vistage Works Elisa K. Spain...
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Meditate On It

by Elisa Spain Comment Closed
What Do You Do When You Get Stuck? We've all been there. Working on a project and we just can't seem to get to completion. Or at least not to a completion we are satisfied with. The project could be something short term, an assignment for a client, writing the next blog, or it could be something big,  perhaps a life decision. Some of us power through, get to an acceptable answer and move on. Some of us pause, ruminate, perhaps even beat ourselves up for not getting to the "right" answer, or even stop completely. Whichever is your default modus operandi, I invite you to consider this one: meditate on it.   Meditation can be... Sitting quietly in the traditional form of meditation, perhaps for a day or a week or even more, depending on the scope of the challenge. Scheduling what one of my clients refers to as, "library time".  Scheduling time with yourself to write, to think, to plan. Or, it could be reading something that inspires you. Or...
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