Many people wonder about the trade-offs between coaching in person versus over the phone. Most assume that in-person sessions are better, but that isn’t necessarily true. In-person sessions can be uniquely powerful, but as a coach and coachee I’ve been iteratively surprised over the years at how effective phone-based coaching can be. If you’re looking for a coach, but are skeptical about whether phone-based sessions are right for you, here are some thoughts to consider. Coaching in person: the pros As we often hear, over 70% of communication is non-verbal. And the bulk of that is neither fully conscious nor fully…
Built to Leap
One of the questions I’ve been asked most frequently in the past year is whether I think Google+ will put Facebook out of business. Or vice versa. Either way my answer is no. Some context: I am an early adopter and daily user of both platforms. I’ve studied their businesses and believe they work very differently. I predict both companies will continue to thrive for a long time. But there is one distinction I would make. I think Facebook today, for all its current success and momentum, is in a trickier position than Google. In the past year, Google has signaled…
Strategic planning made simple
I love strategic planning. When done well, at the right time, it’s useful and clarifying. When done poorly, or at the wrong time, it’s soul-sucking. Instead of accelerating your business, it can grind it to a halt. A quick web search will turn up many strategic planning resources, all describing the same elephant. Thankfully there is a general consensus about what a strategic plan is and does. Some of those readily-available frameworks are quite detailed, and in certain contexts, those details can be valuable. My tools however tend to be simple. Here is a format and conceptual process for strategic…
Ready, set, meditate
Daily meditation is part of my self-care and personal and professional development. Several people have asked me recently about the particular tapes and programs I use. Below are some of my favorites, which I’ve also added to the Next Us resources page. Meditating alone or with a group, guided or unguided, are all different experiences. Each one is worth trying. Personally, I find for my daily morning meditation that recorded instruction usually helps deepen my practice, leading to more calm and better insights. 1. Meditations to Change your Brain This is the companion audio CD to the excellent book Buddha’s…
Who is your customer?
Every business at every stage must be able to answer two questions: What do you want? Who is your customer? I’ve written about vision recently. Vision is essential because it focuses your attention. Where you focus your attention creates your world. Knowing your customer is also essential. But surprisingly, in all their day-to-day busyness, companies can easily forget exactly who they are trying to serve. The art and science of customer segmentation can get a bit complicated, but there’s a simple framework I’ve been using with enterprise, SMB, nonprofit, and startup clients for the past few years that seems to…
When your business needs vision
Unless you’re a serial entrepreneur, a lack of vision can be hard to diagnose. Here are the top three signs your organization has a vision problem: You don’t know how to filter the multiple good opportunities before you.You don’t know what big risk to take next.Your top priority is preserving the existing system. Vision is a goal. It is not a story, an idea, or plan. It is not a means to an end—it is the end itself. All systems are dynamic, so visions once achieved can’t be maintained forever without new risks, new goals—in other words, new vision. Is…
Dealing with dull
An advisor once told me: “Life can be pretty dull sometimes.” I did not appreciate the perspective. Normally, I like to think my life is pretty exciting. I live in the city of my dreams. I have a job that brings me great satisfaction, loved ones close to me, and hobbies that fuel me creatively. I’ve traveled the world and leaned into my growth areas. I’ve taken to heart the Helen Keller quote: “Life is a daring adventure or nothing at all.” My life is not dull. But his words stuck with me for several days afterwards… a sure sign,…
Resilience, innovation, lean startups
Resilience Resilience isn’t a concept you hear mentioned in too many boardrooms yet, but I think it’s a useful frame for conversation across many industries and endeavors. Resilience refers to a system’s ability to survive major shocks and spontaneously generate new order afterwards—like a forest recovering from a fire. The characteristics of resilient systems include redundancy, modularity, diversity, complexity, and emergence— all poor fits for many of the institutions and infrastructures we’ve been collectively building since WWII. Resilience can be described as a necessary response to predictable system shocks like peak oil, economic collapse, and the global and local impacts…
Networks, communities, tribes, cults
You are a change agent with an idea, and you need others to bring it to life. What kind of group do you create? You are a chief marketing officer who wants to nurture relationships with several external constituencies. Which digital tools will best support you? You are an entrepreneur who has built or inherited a group. How do you optimize and scale your organization to achieve its ends? I am fascinated by different models for organizing human activity. I think we instinctively categorize groups based on their intentions, geography, history, or legal status. But if we instead focus on…