I don’t mean to be …
Be careful starting a sentence with “I don’t mean to be… (or seem… or sound… )”. Whatever you say after the descriptor may very well be an example of it. We use this expression as a way to soften a message or anticipate a certain response from the receiver. Though it can reveal more about […]
Must-haves vs Nice-to-haves
Any initiative we work on has unlimited options, which makes it hard to decide what to do. So here’s a simple exercise to help make decisions. Determine which elements are must-haves and which elements are nice-to-haves. What features must my product have, and which features are nice-to-have? What factors must my new job have, and […]
End meetings with action
Some tasks assigned during meetings are quickly actionable, such as connecting with a stakeholder or scheduling a calendar item. It’s a great practice to allow space at the end of a meeting to action these tasks right away, especially since it’s front-of-mind. Otherwise we let these tasks drift unnecessarily and struggle to get around to […]
Plan your recovery
When you run a marathon for the first time, it’s a thrilling experience. You prepare a lot to get to the start line, and then your singular focus is crossing that finish line. And when you do, you feel an incredible sense of accomplishment. And a lot of pain. Unfortunately, you only focused on preparing […]
Doing is quicker than starting
Some tasks feel like they take ages to complete. Yet on review, the “doing” of the task took very little time. It’s the “starting” of the task that took ages. And unfortunately, the longer we put off a task, the more we wrongly attach pain to the prospect of “doing”, when we should be attaching […]
Being vulnerable at work
I asked Bec what’s the difference between being vulnerable and oversharing, particularly in a professional setting, and she referred me to this fabulous podcast between Brené Brown and Adam Grant. It’s well-worth listening to the entire episode, but here is the key section if you were wondering the same thing. Adam: How do I figure […]
Claim your calendar
The more deliberate we can be with our time, the more effective our actions will be. This means protecting the spaces within your calendar as much as possible. Too often we treat these spaces as windows that can be filled upon request. But if these windows are vital for you to get things done, then […]
Carving out your niche
Walmart is a great example of identifying your niche and maximising it. The founder of Walmart, Sam Walton, understood the power of the discount model, but discounting wasn’t a novel idea. It’s how he applied this model that made an incredible impact. Sam Walton focused this strategy on small rural towns, which the big players […]
Friends were strangers
It’s cool to consider that every friend in your life started as a stranger. One person decided to begin a conversation, and this grew into something wonderful. We tend to lose sight of this with the good friends that we have. They’ve become such a constant in our lives that we forget what life was […]
Raise your prices
There can be a natural reservation to raising prices, out of fear that customers will go elsewhere. This assumption is worth testing, as increasing prices is the easiest and quickest way to increasing income. If you are hesitant about putting your prices up, start with a small increase and observe the result. You’ll be encouraged […]