Monday, June 11, 2012
Pull it Forward
On Fridays I enjoy having no appointments, especially as it helps me recall the mission of my work. See post titled Remember the Why. It's important for us entrepreneurs and introverts to recall our mission regularly and then pull it forward into our week.
Friday, June 8, 2012
Where Do You Draw the Lines?
My typical mode of operation includes no appointments on Friday. This allows me to stay diligent with administrative tasks of planning, preparation, scheduling and follow up with proposals, presentations or programs. So when it comes to scheduling meetings on Fridays, especially in the late afternoon, I draw the line.
Yet there are times I will bend it.
Where do you draw the lines?
Define your boundaries and you define your operational values. Also define how/when you will bend them so you establish your flexibility muscle.
Yet there are times I will bend it.
- a client/prospect has an already scheduled group meeting that day they invite me to attend to seek counsel
- my monthly business accountability meeting with my master mind group
- an out of town appointment that can be tied to an out of town engagement with my band
Where do you draw the lines?
Define your boundaries and you define your operational values. Also define how/when you will bend them so you establish your flexibility muscle.
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Can't speak up in time? Try this.
Consider the last time you were attending a meeting.
One of the agenda topics gets a few comments from other attendees, then a conclusion is reached and the facilitator moves on to the next topic. More comments are shared. Now you reach a point in your head that you wish you had expressed on the earlier topic. What do you do? For fear of looking like you waited too long to speak up, you say nothing.
If you are an introvert, like I am, this happens to you a lot. We introverts routinely think things through longer before we share our thoughts.
In meeting environments there isn't time for us introverts to think. Comments must be shared now so we can move on to the next point.
Save yourself the frustration with this one simple tip:
With the agenda in advance you can review the items to be discussed, give quality time to your experiences and/or understanding of them, consider the questions you have and the ideas you wish to share.
Meetings are times to demonstrate what we think. Don't give up this chance.
We introverts don't demonstrate much if we don't speak up. But if we have taken the time to think about the topics prior, we can get to the sharing point before the facilitator has moved on.
Want to speak up? Help yourself by giving yourself necessary time to think things through.
One of the agenda topics gets a few comments from other attendees, then a conclusion is reached and the facilitator moves on to the next topic. More comments are shared. Now you reach a point in your head that you wish you had expressed on the earlier topic. What do you do? For fear of looking like you waited too long to speak up, you say nothing.
If you are an introvert, like I am, this happens to you a lot. We introverts routinely think things through longer before we share our thoughts.
In meeting environments there isn't time for us introverts to think. Comments must be shared now so we can move on to the next point.
Save yourself the frustration with this one simple tip:
Get the meeting agenda ahead of time.
With the agenda in advance you can review the items to be discussed, give quality time to your experiences and/or understanding of them, consider the questions you have and the ideas you wish to share.
Meetings are times to demonstrate what we think. Don't give up this chance.
We introverts don't demonstrate much if we don't speak up. But if we have taken the time to think about the topics prior, we can get to the sharing point before the facilitator has moved on.
Want to speak up? Help yourself by giving yourself necessary time to think things through.
Friday, June 1, 2012
Remember the WHY
It's Friday, the most common day of the week to forget why we are in the business we are in. On a day like today it's often easier to remember what we are doing outside of the work day - through the weekend.
Yet for many of us, the anxiety of not following through with tasks outside our comfort zone that are crucial in our career leads us to search for distraction.
It is for this reason we must remember why we made the commitment to our profession in the first place. This gives us something to celebrate through the weekend and motivate our Monday energy.
Answer this question. What made you chose your profession?
Sure, the logical reason may have more to do with the pay and benefits. But what's the emotional reason? Why law? Why sales? Why research? Why serve the people?
The question is really asking - what's your story? Get to the heart of it. Then enjoy your weekend.
Yet for many of us, the anxiety of not following through with tasks outside our comfort zone that are crucial in our career leads us to search for distraction.
It is for this reason we must remember why we made the commitment to our profession in the first place. This gives us something to celebrate through the weekend and motivate our Monday energy.
Answer this question. What made you chose your profession?
Sure, the logical reason may have more to do with the pay and benefits. But what's the emotional reason? Why law? Why sales? Why research? Why serve the people?
The question is really asking - what's your story? Get to the heart of it. Then enjoy your weekend.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
The Value of Just Hiding Out
Last night I went to a networking event that I almost talked myself out of. I had a full day of work without appointments, so it was a temptation not to follow through with the evening event.
After a full day of focused work from home, why get showered and dressed for an hour or so?
Fortunately, after I received the invitation to attend the networking event, I invited about 6 others to join me there. That got me going. And like in most cases, once I was there, I was glad to have made connection with several new contacts.
But this morning I am once again glad to be appointment-less until noon. That's when it hits heavy - 4 appts in a row, including another evening event.
Here is why I am glad to have nothing in my schedule.
Especially for the introvert, but even for the extrovert who values thinking and focus.
Like this morning, I need blocks of time to review an upcoming presentation, follow up on calls and emails and get my energy engaged for an afternoon of appointments. Planning time is the core of my foundation. Without it, I get out of sorts, lose track of my focus and feel purposeless.
Another reason for hiding out may sound strange to the extrovert - we introverts lose energy with each personal contact we make. Time alone gives us the opportunity to recharge while we prepare for what lies ahead with future contacts. In service-related industries we are at our best when we are fully recharged.
Do you have stacks of appointments scattered throughout your schedule? Schedule chunks of time to hide out. It will give you planning, preparation and even the energy you need to handle and enjoy them.
After a full day of focused work from home, why get showered and dressed for an hour or so?
Fortunately, after I received the invitation to attend the networking event, I invited about 6 others to join me there. That got me going. And like in most cases, once I was there, I was glad to have made connection with several new contacts.
But this morning I am once again glad to be appointment-less until noon. That's when it hits heavy - 4 appts in a row, including another evening event.
Here is why I am glad to have nothing in my schedule.
There is value in hiding out.
Especially for the introvert, but even for the extrovert who values thinking and focus.
Like this morning, I need blocks of time to review an upcoming presentation, follow up on calls and emails and get my energy engaged for an afternoon of appointments. Planning time is the core of my foundation. Without it, I get out of sorts, lose track of my focus and feel purposeless.
Another reason for hiding out may sound strange to the extrovert - we introverts lose energy with each personal contact we make. Time alone gives us the opportunity to recharge while we prepare for what lies ahead with future contacts. In service-related industries we are at our best when we are fully recharged.
Do you have stacks of appointments scattered throughout your schedule? Schedule chunks of time to hide out. It will give you planning, preparation and even the energy you need to handle and enjoy them.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
The More Difficult the Conversation, the Greater Use of Your Gifts
Lately I have been talking with law firm managing partners, business developers, recruiters/career coaches and others in professional service industries - all around the common denominator of handling/not handling difficult conversations.
These conversations include but are not limited to
These conversations include but are not limited to
- interviewing/firing
- sales/purchasing
- conflict resolution
- negotiation/argument strategy
- admitting error/holding others to account
It seems the tougher the conversation, the more practiced we must be in using our gifts.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
The Value of Understanding Yourself
This morning I had difficulty getting out of bed, and even more difficulty keeping up with my workout partner while we were out walking.
Several years ago I was monitoring my tennis playing technique and realized it takes me forever to leave the service line after I serve to my opponent. I spend so much time in analysis that I have analysis paralysis.
Move! I finally told myself.
So this morning, once we were on the return from our workout, I felt better and was moving faster. Although I will never be someone to jump out of bed consistently or to speed into an activity, I will get up and get out. It just takes me awhile to get going.
Knowing this, I can coach myself into setting boundaries that allow for a slow start. For instance, I like attending networking events early on. There is less activity, so it's easier to engage than later when activity is high - especially for us introverts who get turned off by high energy in these unstructured events.
Similar to lying in bed awhile after my alarm goes off, I don't immediately jump into the networking game but take my time.
I also allow myself to get used to things before I expect too much out of myself. I am usually slow to win at sports or cards until I have played several hands or spent some time warming up. This tells me I must also warm up prior to a presentation. I don't wish to waste the introduction warming up.
But if I'm playing tennis, I must tell myself to focus on moving. Similarly, movement out of my seat where I work on my computer, into public places for meetings, and to the telephone to return calls is best handled with little delay. Otherwise, I lose the ability to position myself to receive from others.
What do you know about your own patterns? How can you make use of this knowledge? You may find it's not easy analyzing yourself, so ask someone else what they observe about you. Don't be surprised by how right they are.
Understanding yourself allows you to value who you are, how you are and then to make good use of this knowledge. What you learn about yourself is key to how well you communicate with others.
Several years ago I was monitoring my tennis playing technique and realized it takes me forever to leave the service line after I serve to my opponent. I spend so much time in analysis that I have analysis paralysis.
Move! I finally told myself.
So this morning, once we were on the return from our workout, I felt better and was moving faster. Although I will never be someone to jump out of bed consistently or to speed into an activity, I will get up and get out. It just takes me awhile to get going.
Knowing this, I can coach myself into setting boundaries that allow for a slow start. For instance, I like attending networking events early on. There is less activity, so it's easier to engage than later when activity is high - especially for us introverts who get turned off by high energy in these unstructured events.
Similar to lying in bed awhile after my alarm goes off, I don't immediately jump into the networking game but take my time.
I also allow myself to get used to things before I expect too much out of myself. I am usually slow to win at sports or cards until I have played several hands or spent some time warming up. This tells me I must also warm up prior to a presentation. I don't wish to waste the introduction warming up.
But if I'm playing tennis, I must tell myself to focus on moving. Similarly, movement out of my seat where I work on my computer, into public places for meetings, and to the telephone to return calls is best handled with little delay. Otherwise, I lose the ability to position myself to receive from others.
What do you know about your own patterns? How can you make use of this knowledge? You may find it's not easy analyzing yourself, so ask someone else what they observe about you. Don't be surprised by how right they are.
Understanding yourself allows you to value who you are, how you are and then to make good use of this knowledge. What you learn about yourself is key to how well you communicate with others.
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