Strategies and Hints

There is a lot of “noise” swirling around us every day. I call it background noise – like music on the elevator or the buzz of chatter in a crowded room. It’s the hum of life – undercurrents bombarding your brain. From the inside out or from the outside in, there are countless messages competing for […]

Once in a while you bump into a service practice so bad it’ll have you shaking your head in disbelief. A (BIG) company I do (A LOT) of business with sent me a letter today with a compelling offer – a way for me to save money on the services I use with them. I […]

Even for an “almost” unflappable traveler, this had been a tough travel day. All the elements of delay were working overtime – broken planes, weather and traffic jams in the sky. It was on the last leg of this “endless trip” that I met one of the most amazing communicators on the planet. This was […]

We can learn a lot about each other and ourselves by putting together a jigsaw puzzle. I can still remember the puzzles of my childhood. It was a tradition around the holidays to set one up and work on it a little at a time. We reveled in finding a really hard puzzle for my […]

As a student of strategy, I search for the future. I am also grounded in the present. One eye on here and one eye on there – constantly measuring the gap between those two places and calculating the next steps. It is important to know where you are and where you are going. I think […]

Welcome back! Thank you for the great interaction on Facebook regarding the post “Emotions Make Bad Drivers.” As always, your comments add a depth to the discussion that is refreshing and thought provoking. We left the disgruntled employee plotting her “I’ll-Show-You” strategy after receiving critical feedback from her supervisor. (If you’ve not read the story, […]

As the group gathered for a workshop, one young woman made a grand entrance. She marched into the room, slammed her bag on a table and made quite a show of slamming herself into the chair. She had a “don’t-you-dare-ask-me” look on her face, so of course…I asked. (Isn’t that what don’t-ask looks are really […]

There is a whole lot to worry about, so you better get started right away! For many of us worry is a constant, all-too-faithful companion. (That’s fair, because in many ways we “invite” her along for the ride. We don’t like her, but honestly some of us don’t know what to do without her!) Once […]

Here’s the thing about opportunity. “She” has a wardrobe filled with disguises. Sometimes opportunity just doesn’t look like opportunity! If you aren’t watching for her, she may brush right by you unnoticed. I’m learning that opportunity doesn’t always knock. Sometimes she waits in the wings or behind the scenes. For example: . She attends the […]

Sarah Palin has given us a lot to talk about this 4th of July weekend. Her announcement to step down 18 months before her term ends as the Governor of Alaska has created quite the buzz. Many people are ready to offer opinions about what it means. I’ve seen everything from “brilliant” to “irresponsible.” Speculation […]