Getting Clear on What You Want
“Whatcha, whatcha, whatcha want?” -Beastie Boys How well have you defined what you want out of your career and your life? When I ask my coaching clients this question, most answer confidently that they are clear. Then the obvious follow-up question hits: “So what do you want?” And when they try to articulate what it […]
The Difference Between ‘BEST’ and ‘EFFECTIVE’
What do you think the difference is between the BEST tech staffer and the most EFFECTIVE? Over the past couple of years, I have experimented with a simple question. I ask technologists, “What are the attributes of the BEST tech staff?” I usually get statements about the most technically astute person they know. They tell […]
How to Get Anything You Want
For many years of my life, there was a dull hum in the background of my inner monologue. It wasn’t loud, but it was powerful. I wasn’t even conscious of it most of the time, but my actions and daily decisions were guided by it. What I realize now, is that there was a voice […]
Fear and the Art of Redirection
Learn to Conquer Redirect Your Fears for the Biggest Breakthroughs Were you awkward in eighth grade? I certainly was. It’s no surprise to anyone that knows me that being a dork was my everyday experience. On my face hung big thick-framed nerdy glasses, which were not in style. And I was skinny. Six feet tall, […]
Get Unstuck: A Bias Toward Action
Who are the most productive people you know? Think about their day-to-day actions. Are they prone to getting stuck? Or do they simply crank out work consistently and make it look easy? You can learn from these productivity wizards by adopting the mindset they all have. It’s called, “A Bias Toward Action.” They think, “If […]
Slowing Down to Speed Up
How Being Busy Hurts Your Progress “How are you doing?” “Busy – really busy!” Have you had a conversation like this recently? We go from being ridiculously busy during the holidays – to being super busy at the start of the New Year. We’ve got new resolutions, personal goals, and new work objectives and targets […]
How to Assess Your Value
This week I had an interesting conversation about value. The person I was coaching said, “I didn’t really do anything yesterday – I was a real piece of s**t.” And something really important clicked for me. There’s a huge difference between your economic value (what you output and give to society) and your inherent value […]
Remote Work: Is Anybody Watching?
How to keep your career on track while working remotely. Out of all the challenges of working remotely – working from home, a coffee shop, or other location – one of the biggest is how do you show your work? Are your results ‘seen’ or ‘unseen?’ If you work in a support role, you likely […]
How I Slowed Down Time with One Weird Experiment
“It’s only 9:30?” I said to my wife after a morning full of conversation, reading, and sipping coffee. “Yes, it is weird, isn’t it,” she replied. The oddities persisted all day – at 1:30, it felt like the sun should be going down shortly. And at 5 pm, it felt like it was more like […]
Three Keys to Giving Effective Presentations
All technologists need presentation skills, whether you’re presenting to one person or to many. As such, here are three tips that I’ve found particularly useful that can help you get your message across. What is the cognitive effect I want my audience to experience? Often times, we forget the audience when we’re developing our presentations. […]