Your 10 Step Career and Life Plan for 2024
After two decades as a CEO in various roles there are definitely distinct lessons I've learned over time from the challenges and successes I have experienced. I share these at this time of year because I know you may be thinking about the New Year. When we put thought into our actions we end up with results. When we let the year carry us without intention, we often end up disappointed.
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Here are '10 Lessons from the Corner Office' and a link to a FREE tool to help you plan your career with intention in  2024.
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- When we focus on what we have to give instead of what there is to get we realize our value.
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- When we are curious and compassionate, we become servant leaders instead of command and control dictators.
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- There is power in having your bossâs back. Find a way to do that or go somewhere you can. Donât stay and poison yourself, your persona, and the culture.
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- Good people leave organizations because of bad managers who donât position them to learn and advance ...
Compassion is Hard When We Have Nothing Left to Give
Compassion is powerful. We all think we have it. And then we see something that makes us uncomfortable and we forget how to show it.
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đ Iâve been paralyzed by this too. I had to work on how to feel, then demonstrate compassion when I had little of it for myself during a difficult divorce.
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đ Lack of compassion shows up when someone close to you is grieving and you donât know what to say or do so you avoid, when someone is suffering and you start wondering if their situation might happen to you, when you start comparing their situation to yours, when youâre frustrated that you canât fix their situation, and when youâre so spent you donât have anything left to give.
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đ In all of these instances we make someone elseâs suffering about us. Yes. Weâre in our own heads and not their pain.
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đł At work and in life this can look like detachment, cold, unfeeling, self-consumed, and ambition driven.
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â Compassion is an action. It is where you demonstrate your consideration and that y...
A Special New Yearâs Message and Gift for You
Yes, itâs the week most people are doing the âwhat am I going to do in the new year?â struggle. We reflect on the past year and wonder, even worry sometimes, about what the plan will be for change in the new year.
 Resolutions are pointless because theyâre not tied to a linear system to create practices that make them happen. Most people donât stick to resolutions and end up feeling more defeated when they canât. Â
So, they dummy down real goal setting to things like, âI wonât swear.â Or âIâll lose 5 pounds.â Or âIâll get that project finished on time.â These are simply notions. All of these are not tied to defined values or a mindset and plan that changes habits. They likely will not occur either. More defeat. Â
It makes me sad to watch great people undercut their happiness. Â
This week my clients do something else. They use a tool to guide them through a healthy reflection of the past year. In doing so a clear vision of what they want to change in the coming year energes. No need...
No More Doubt - This is for You!
Everyone is carrying their own version of, âIâm not good enoughâ which deep down means âIâm not lovable.â Some people have had this message reinforced more than is reasonable.Â
What if you could turn down the volume on that message to allow for a message to emerge from your core, not your protected self?Â
What if you could stop identifying with things that happened in the past and allow for who you are without that situation to step forward and direct your thoughts?Â
What if you could be the one person who shows a difficult person that they matter today?Â
Thoughts lead to feelings that lead to actions. Honor the feelings so as to release them. In that space you are the creator of new thoughts. Â
Thoughts are not edicts. They are energy. We choose our thoughts. New thoughts will lead to new feelings. And thereâs no limit to the actions youâll take there. Youâre ready.Â
When you put down the heavy load you've been carrying you can move much faster toward what you want. Thatâs freed...
Can We Please Nomalize PTO?
Can we all please normalize appreciating PTO. Arnie and I decided a long time ago that we have to be the ones to prioritize our wellbeing. We didnât wait for retirement to get the beach house. We donât wait for retirement to travel. We donât wait for retirement to regularly visit our children out of town. We donât wait for retirement to take up hobbies, new sports, creative endeavors, meet new friends. We donât have a bucket list. We live it every day.Â
I've spent most of my career as an execuitive at hospitals all to often seeing people retire, think they're going to do everything they've been waiting their whole lives to do, and an illness stops them in their tracks. Don't wait. Scale your dreams to what is reasonable and live them now.
Arnie and I are both high achievers and realize that sometimes doing our best means reflecting on whatâs in the way of that happening.Â
The American culture has convinced many people that the work treadmill is necessary for success. That you must p...
Do meetings drive you crazy?
Dear Friends,
Did you ever feel that everyone is so busy but nothing important is getting done and meetings just add to your to-do list? Interacting is easier than ever, but true, productive, value-creating collaboration is not. Quality engagement is deteriorating. Every minute spent on a low-value interaction takes time away that could be used for important, creative, powerful innovation and activities.Â
Most leaders say they frequently find themselves spending way too much time on pointless interactions and meetings that drain their energy and produce information overload. As an alternative to weekly meetings where people share a look-in-the-rear-view-mirror perspective, short daily stand-up meetings or check-ins with the entire team can drive horizontal connectivity, creating the space for teams to understand what others are doing and where they need help to drive work forward without having to specifically task anyone in a hierarchical way.Â
Good questions when you are consideri...
Remove This
Dear Friend,
This image is so powerful to me. Iâve been an executive coach for more than 10 years and in everyone Iâve ever managed or coached I see a common theme coined by Mary Kay Ash that everyone wants to feel important. The more people seek validation of their relevance externally the more they are on the treadmill to nowhere. Imagine if you could feel important internally - knew that you were valuable and stopped seeking affirmation from outside sources. Youâd show up differently - more at ease, less needy, more confident, less judgmental, more yourself. Thatâs the shift to freedom.
 People often ask me, âHow do you know if you have executive presence?â I tell them, âYou have an understanding and acceptance of yourself with all your strengths and opportunities, know you have much to contribute, are curious and have a greater desire to get it right than to be right.â
Here's a short video I recently made if you are considering if executive coaching is right for you. This video ...
Not in Your Resume
People ask me all the time to look at their resume to which I suggest they step back and craft a resume based on a career plan that takes into account their transferable skills, measurable key accomplishments and fits into an overall comprehensive structure that ties together companies that match your values, ways to market your value proposition and a voice that speaks your unique career stories.
This is the document I give my clients to help create that synergy. Donât have an accidental career. Often more planning goes into a vacation than a 40 year career or a 90 year life. Success is freedom. Not more hours. You deserve fulfillment.
I am giving away this new executive career planning tool I give to my clients because so many people are suffering with anxiety about the future right now and need direction. Don't wander without direction. Be purposeful. >>> Eight Tip Career Plan When You're Not Sure What Industry or Position. Â
If you don't know where you'll be at the end of the year...
I'm Sorry
Ladies! Please stop saying, "I'm sorry" so much especially at work. Not "I'm sorry to bother you." Just "Do you have a minute?" Not "Sorry this is probably stupid..." Just "Can I run something by you?" Not "Sorry" when you bump into someone. Just "Pardon me." Men don't do this because their threshold for being sorry is far higher and more realistic. When is the last time you heard a man say, "I'm sorry can I ask a question?" Be direct. Be confident. Be authentic.
You're not sorry that you want to say something. You just want to feel that others want to hear it. Don't expect that they don't. Focus on listening so your comment will be most relevant. Set your ego aside as you focus on what's important. Play with the concept of who you would be without doubt?
The last person to speak has the most to say.Â
Many people are worried right now about their jobs and not sure if an industry switch or a position change is a good idea. I hear it every day. Often more planning goes into a summer v...
What to do with Entitled Employees
Iâve never understood why overbearing people think they have power. Itâs obvious they donât. Nobody trusts them or authentically has their back. They are always exhausted trying to make themselves look good at otherâs expense. Their insecurities reek in their behavior. And their leadership has no sustainable affect because the people they play to are the first ones off the ship when it starts to go down. Â
If you canât achieve your goals without manipulating, controlling, condescending to, backstabbing, and intimidating other people along the way youâre weak and you will ultimately fail. Period. Iâve seen it in corporate America time and time again. It may not be right away. But it will happen. And your legacy will precede you everywhere you go after that.Â
The real problem with mean people is that they are intrinsically unhappy, insecure and have minimal self-awareness. The root feeling behind their behavior is anger coupled with an uncomfortable sadness they donât want to deal with...