Time Article: Women Will Rule Business

Excellent articleabout how female leadership skills and work styles are positively impacting today's businesses. Read more at Time.com.

Daylight Savings Time

Did you enjoy an extra hour of daylight on Sunday evening?

I love when it stays light out later. But from an operational and business standpoint, I could do without Daylight Savings Time. Apparently a lot of other people feel that way too. Check out: www.standardtime.com.

What do you think? Should the US continue it's current practice of observing Daylight Savings Time?

The Coach-like Approach at the 2009 Academy Awards

Did you watch the 2009 Academy Awards?

I enjoyed it and really liked the way they had former Oscar winners individually introduce the nominees for Best Actor/Actress and Best Supporting Actor/Actress.

What struck me is how the introductions demonstrated the power of acknowledgement. This is something we coaches do with our clients and I think we may forget how powerful it is.

Perhaps the best example was Shirley MacLaine's introduction of Anne Hathaway. I felt like I was witness to an intimate conversation. Shirley spoke directly to Anne and Anne was visibly moved.

MacLaine: "Anne Hathaway We loved you as a princess, we loved you in Prada."

Coaching Point: The power of using a person's name when delivering heartfelt acknowledgement.

Camera cuts to Hathaway: She has her hand over her heart. She is so open and present, fully receiving what she is being told.

MacLaine: "And this year in Rachel Getting Married you fearless stepped into the shoes of someone struggling with addiction and grief. I think you are an amazing example. You're not afraid to show both your dark and bright side."

Coaching Point: Acknowledgement is most effective when you use specifics, detailing particular skills and situations.

MacLaine: "And by the way, I think you have an extraordinary voice, so keep singing too."

Coaching Point: Sharing what we see for our clients that they may not see for themselves.

Camera cuts to Hathaway: With teary eyes she says, "Thank you! I love you." Hathaway is so moved, so present and so real.

Coaching Point: Accurate, heartfelt acknowledgement is a wonderful gift we give to our clients!

Creating Your Part-Time Coaching Schedule

I just finished up a complimentary consultation with a new coach who is also a mother of 5. One of her biggest challenges is finding the time for her coaching business. When I asked her about her schedule she told me she blocks out two hours/day to work on her business and coach clients: 9am and 11pm. And it really wasn't working that well for her.

After a little coaching she realized she could actually re-arrange her schedule and devote one day per week to her coaching business. Although it's actually less blocked out time (7 hours instead of 10), I guarantee that she will be more effective during that time and gain a lot more momentum in her business.

If you are coaching part-time, here are some scheduling tips:

1. Create a schedule for your coaching business and stick with it. I know that "life" sometimes happens and you may not be able to follow your schedule exactly, but do your best. Make a commitment, put it in your calendar and treat it as sacred time.

2. Set aside blocks of time. Just like in the example above, you're time will be most effective if you put big blocks of time in your calendar, instead of an hour here and an hour there.

3. Let others know. Once you create your schedule, tell your partner, your children, your friends and your colleagues about your coaching schedule. Then they'll know in advance why you're not available during those times and if you're not being as diligent as you could be, they can give you the little kick-in-the pants you might need.

4. Having a schedule sends a powerful message. It can be challenging building a business part-time. When you set a schedule and stick with it you send a message to yourself, the universe and your community that you are serious and committed to your success.

Is Coaching Worth the Money?

Obviously I think so!

So does the owner of the business featured in this article and video from the Wall Street Journal about executive/business coaching.

Day of Marketing - New York City

Day of Marketing is an amazing 2 day event for coaches and therapists who are focused on building and maintaining a thriving and rewarding practice, even during a slow economy.

I am one of the experts on the business-building panel and will be doing individual marketing consultations with participants during Mastermind Saturday.

This is a top-notch event and I am honored and excited to be a part of it.

And, as one of my friends, you can save $120 on your registration fee. Just use this link: Day of Marketing Private Registration Page with special pricing.

Hope to see you there!

Day of Marketing
May 16 and 17
Columbia University
New York City

What's Keeping You Stuck?

Note: This article was originally published in the Coach & Grow R.I.C.H. newsletter, a free monthly publication featuring business-building strategies for professional coaches.

I was recently speaking with a veteran coach, let's call him Dave, who has been dragging his feet for a LONG TIME around launching a website for his business.

Dave felt he was stuck because he didn't know what to do and was worried about making a bad decision and wasting his time and money.

Reasonable concerns.

So we coached around it. Within 15 minutes, "not knowing what to do," was no longer an issue. Dave decided what domain name to register (his name) and learned where and how to register it (godaddy.com).

We clarified his objectives and desires around website development and support. I recommended he check out Web Power Tools and Indra Successful Coach Marketing, two reputable and affordable companies to contact. We even created an outline of the main pages and core content for the site.

We then addressed his fear of buyer's remorse, which was pretty easy to do. The action plan we outlined was within his budget. The time and energy required to fine-tune his message and write the copy are investments he needs and is ready to make.

Next I got permission and asked, "So Dave, when are you going to take action on this?"

After the initial, "I hoped you weren't going to ask me that," I got a whole lot of excuses.

Dave did need more information and guidance on "the how's" of launching a website, but that's not what has been keeping him stuck.

Sound familiar?

(I love this picture of Mud Maid at the Lost Gardens of Heligan. It's such a great depiction of stuckness, don't you think? I found it on freedigitalphotos.net)

Instead, Dave's need for things to be perfect and the underlying fear of really "putting himself out there" were the real reasons he was not moving forward.

If you find yourself in this situation, what should you do?

1. Do a Quick Cost/Benefit Analysis. Connect with your objective. Identify the benefits of achieving it and the costs of remaining stagnant. Dave was very clear that the big benefit would be a lot more business credibility. The costs were missed opportunities and an overall dragging down of his business.
   
   
2. Do Some Easy Things. Build momentum by getting into action around the simple, easy, obvious next steps. For Dave that was registering his domain name and researching/contacting the web development companies.
   
   
3. Be Okay with "Starter" Mode. For example, if you envision having a custom, fancy, interactive, fully e-commerce capable website but haven't done anything to make that happen yet, it's okay to start with a basic, 5 page "brochure" site.
   
   
4. Create External Accountability. It's easy to put things off until tomorrow. That's why you want to create external reasons to get things done. For example, Dave could set up a lunch meeting with some prospects that have been referred to him and use the meeting date as a deadline to get his new site launched.

While it is normal to feel stuck on occasion, the key is not staying there very long! The most successful people in business are really good at making decisions, taking action and getting things done.

As one of my favorite mentors, T. Harv Eker says,

"Indecision is the leading cause of roadkill."