Who Are You Thankful For?

The oxymoron of time flying while standing still describes the 20+ months for so many of us. It’s a time of uncertainty and discovery: our relationships with work, co-workers, the concept of “work” and with friends, family, community, leaders, the world. During the next 6 weeks of holidays and ending 2021, which can be a very lonely time for many, show the people you’re thankful for that you are thankful ~ that they matter and that the world is better because they are.

A blessed Thanksgiving to you all.

What Will You Tell Yourself in 20 Years?

Graduation time is upon us - so much has been learned, so much learning awaits. Some things are cool to learn, some not ~ I wish I’d learned more from others and spared myself a lot of pain. So, to my students (and friends & clients of all ages), here’s some advice that those of us who graduated in the 20th century wish we’d learned upon entering the ‘‘real world.” Please add some and share them with me!

• Show, don't tell;

• Know what you can, and can’t, control;

• Show up!! Be Present!! Don’t wait around for things to come to you!

• Use your skills & interests (you have more than you think) - the more you say it, the more you become it! Volunteer! Engage!

• Be your own best advocate - don’t wait for someone else - talk about your talents & victories;

• Don’t be afraid to fail - it’s a form of learning & applying … and it means you tried;

• You may be able to have it all - but not all at once;

• Just because you get along well with your peers, doesn’t mean you’ll be a good manager;

• It’s good to feel out of your depth - it means you’re learning;

• Talk to people, ask them about their stories, meet them where they are - and say Thank you!

• Be willing to take time ‘off’ your career path for a sabbatical if you want;

• Change on a dime by putting in a nickel;

• Experience!

• Love yourself and those around you;

• Be joyful - it’s more meaningful and lasting than being happy;

• Ask for help! Not knowing takes guts, courage and it’s how we learn;

• Say yes to more hard things than you want to do - grow your comfort zone;

• If you believe it can be awesome, it can;

• Don’t be surprised by your successes!

• Always do something for someone else, always give back;

• Be curious, open and skeptical;

• …

You Want a Meeting for What‽

Clock over door to Honby library, Liverpool central library Picton reading rooms ℅ alamy.com

How’s zooming going? It’s fascinating how pre-COVID, so many shunned virtual meetings and now we’re over-meeting virtually because it’s ‘easy’ which has led to even more meetings! So, let me share a client’s habit for any and all of their meetings. It’s made a big difference ~ PPO (not PPP or PPE).

PPO is Purpose, Process and Outcome.  When you want a meeting, clearly state the Purpose, the Process to be used and the desired Outcome.  Here are examples from 2 recent client meetings:

Prioritize the top tactics for a key strategy:

• Purpose: Decide the top 2 tactics to be executed by 7/1/2021 for Strategy 1;

• Process: Take our current list of the top 6 tactics and prioritize those to the top 2 that have to be done immediately and why;

• Outcome: The plan for the 2 top tactics including each tactic’s champion, definition of ‘done’, due/done date, metrics, 90-day action plan of who is doing what when to reach the 7/1/2021 deadline and the tracking/monitoring schedule.

 Finalize who will be accepted to a leadership program:

• Purpose: Select the 5 people for the 2021-2022 leadership program;

• Process: Applying the program’s criteria along with each applicants’ career plans, prioritize the list of applicants to the 5 we will accept;

• Outcome: Final 5 identified with personalization verbiage of acceptance letter for each one, to be copied to their manager, and personalized letter of rejection to the rest to be sent by 2/25/2021.

This seems like a no-brainer, something we read in all the ‘effective meeting’ manuals, right‽ So, given our level of zoom fatigue, why not try it? Creating a PPO forces us to see if we really need a meeting, who really has to be there, and what we have to get done. It shouldn’t (ideally) take a lot of time to create the PPO.  And, it provides focus, choice and clarity – something we can all use these days! Try it this week!