Sunday, August 12, 2007
Failure
"... the wise individual understands that failure isn't failure at all. It is a lesson, a temporary glitch on the way to accomplishing the goal." -Brian Azar, www.salesdoctor.com
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Why a Business Coach?
When I opened my email today I was happy to see the Thriving Bussiness newsletter in my in box. In the newsletter was a great article by Yvonne Weld titled Why a Business Coach? which she has allowed me permission to repost here.
Why a Business Coach?
by Yvonne Weld
One of the best things I ever did for my business was to hire a coach. I have worked with several coaches each with their own style of coaching. Finding a coach that is a good fit for your business can be as difficult as picking a life mate. Here are a few tips to help you make the right choice:
1. Complimentary Coaching Call
Most coaches offer a complimentary coaching call to determine if you will be a right fit for each other. You should look for someone that you feel comfortable talking to. If you are having problems openly communicating with the coach on the complimentary call then how will you talk to them about your goals, successes and failures?
2. Be Open
Each coach comes with their own unique style. Don’t be afraid to tell your coach what you do and do not like about the relationship. If something isn’t working tell them. In order to get the most benefit from your coaching experience you have to feel that you are getting something from each and every conversation.
3. Make a Commitment
The best coaching advice will come once a coach truly knows you and your business. The more that your coach gets to know you and how you react to different situations the more likely you are to get the responses you are looking for from your coaching experience. The best relationships are ones that you are willing to commit to for two or three months at a minimum.
4. Work with Your Coach
Don’t expect your coach to have all the answers. They are there to work with you to find the answers that are right for you and your business. They are solely there to guide you to find the answers that best fit you and the situation because each situation is unique whether it seems that way or not.
The biggest advantage for me to having a coach is accountability – when I tell my coach I will work on something I am motivated to work on that because I know at the next coaching call we will be discussing it. If I didn’t have a coach as a cheerleader and urging me to take on new challenges, I know for certain that I would never have the “guts” to step outside of my comfort zone.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Yvonne Weld is the author of The Ultimate Guide to Creating a Thriving Business and is the owner of ABLE Virtual Assistant Services. Have you truly created a thriving business? Could your business survive any obstacle thrown at it? For your FREE Preview Manual and for more information about The Ultimate Guide to Creating a Thriving Business and how you can ensure you have truly created a thriving business, visit the Web site at http://www.thrivingbusinessmanual.com.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Nonviolent Communication
Last night I attended the introductory workshop to Nonviolent Communication (NVC) at the Bay Area NVC. It was a 2 hour workshop on compassionate communication. NVC is a powerful form of communication that meets both people's needs in a conversation. We did a lot of role playing. We learned about the importance of paying attention to others needs, listening beyond the words to find out what their real needs are. The trainer described learning NVC was like learning a new language so it takes lots of practice.
We were a small group of people from all different walks of life. There was one woman who worked with the ex-convict, ex-drug addict population, another having issues with her sister, another trying to deal with her co-workers, etc... What I noticed was everyone had the same needs. It doesn't matter if you are a drug addict, a top executive, a teenager or a stay at home mom - we all want to be seen, heard, understood and respected.
I got the book, some CDs of the program and I plan to attend more workshops to incorporate this in to my coaching. Imagine being able to really understand your clients needs, going beyond the words and being able to give them what they need.
We were a small group of people from all different walks of life. There was one woman who worked with the ex-convict, ex-drug addict population, another having issues with her sister, another trying to deal with her co-workers, etc... What I noticed was everyone had the same needs. It doesn't matter if you are a drug addict, a top executive, a teenager or a stay at home mom - we all want to be seen, heard, understood and respected.
I got the book, some CDs of the program and I plan to attend more workshops to incorporate this in to my coaching. Imagine being able to really understand your clients needs, going beyond the words and being able to give them what they need.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Less is More!
Is your home or office full of clutter? Is it almost impossible to keep your desk clean? The problem may be that you have too much stuff. "You can't organize clutter, you can only get rid of it" - FlyLady
Take a look around you right at this moment? Are there piles of paper on your desk? What is in those piles? How old are those papers at the bottom of the pile?
Junk mail is often a big contributor to piles. Sort your mail before before putting it down. Set up a system for yourself. Junk mail directly to the recylcing bin. Bills filed in your bill payment folder, box or shelf. If you do not have a specific place where bills go, create one now.
Less is more. When your desk and office are clean and organized you have more room for creative thought. More time to focus on your clients and building your business. More pleasure every morning when you walk in to your office and see your shining desk.
Are you ready to have a shining desk? Here is what you need to do. Set your timer for 15 minutes, spend the next 15 minutes going through 1 pile of papers. The rule is 1 piece of paper at a time. You may not put the paper back in the pile. The paper needs to be filed, dealt with or put in the recycling. When the timer goes off, stop, take a break. Repeat this exercise as often as necessary until the piles are gone.
Now that your desk is clean, going forward think about each piece of paper before placing it on your desk. It only takes a few seconds. Can you deal with the paper right now? Do you really need to save that paper? If not, get rid of it. Can this paper be filed right now? If yes, then file it. Another great saying I learned from the FlyLady community is DING (Do It Now Girl - or Guy!).
Take a look around you right at this moment? Are there piles of paper on your desk? What is in those piles? How old are those papers at the bottom of the pile?
Junk mail is often a big contributor to piles. Sort your mail before before putting it down. Set up a system for yourself. Junk mail directly to the recylcing bin. Bills filed in your bill payment folder, box or shelf. If you do not have a specific place where bills go, create one now.
Less is more. When your desk and office are clean and organized you have more room for creative thought. More time to focus on your clients and building your business. More pleasure every morning when you walk in to your office and see your shining desk.
Are you ready to have a shining desk? Here is what you need to do. Set your timer for 15 minutes, spend the next 15 minutes going through 1 pile of papers. The rule is 1 piece of paper at a time. You may not put the paper back in the pile. The paper needs to be filed, dealt with or put in the recycling. When the timer goes off, stop, take a break. Repeat this exercise as often as necessary until the piles are gone.
Now that your desk is clean, going forward think about each piece of paper before placing it on your desk. It only takes a few seconds. Can you deal with the paper right now? Do you really need to save that paper? If not, get rid of it. Can this paper be filed right now? If yes, then file it. Another great saying I learned from the FlyLady community is DING (Do It Now Girl - or Guy!).
Sunday, June 3, 2007
Technology & Integrity
Last night at a dinner party the conversation came to technology and the way the world is today. It’s a whole new world. Things aren’t really private anymore… anything goes. Googling someone has become the norm. Gossip can travel at light speed.
One of the guests at the party is a high school teacher. She said teenagers are taking embarrassing photos and videos of fellow classmates with their cell phones and uploading them to the internet for the whole world to laugh at. Can you even imagine being in middle school and having to deal with that? Remember the good old days when someone took an embarrassing photo of you all you had to do was grab the film and break it or in the worst case rip up the picture and cut up the negative and it was gone forever… those days are gone forever.
There are at least 2 schools of thought on the new lack of privacy or public world that we now live in. There are the paranoid people worrying about who is watching them and then there are the people doing everything possible to get attention; creating websites, blogs, writing articles, sending out press releases, participating in forums, etc.
The paranoid people are worrying that the government is checking their emails. They worry that the grocery store is tracking what they buy. Worry that the Fastrac highway system is watching where they drive. In reality, the government very likely is reading some peoples emails, the grocery store is tracking what you buy and the Fastrac system probably does know everywhere you have been with your car in the last few years.
So what are you going to do? If you are paranoid you can always stop using email as a form of communication, pay only cash when you shop and ride your bike instead of drive.
I am not sure what I think of the world today. But what I do know for sure is that living a life of integrity is the only way to live these days. I wonder what this is going to do to the teenagers of today. Pre-internet days you could gossip and it was all based on what someone else said, there wasn’t actual proof. These days… phone messages are recorded and forwarded, Instant Messages are copy/pasted, emails are forwarded, 3-way calls happen with only 2 of the 3 on the call knowing. It’s more important now than it ever was to live in integrity, be real, always be yourself and don’t say something about someone that you wouldn’t say to their face unless you are prepared to deal with the immediate consequences.
Think about this… if you are going to say or write something about someone… make sure it is something you would say to their face. If it’s not, maybe you should be talking about something else.
One of the guests at the party is a high school teacher. She said teenagers are taking embarrassing photos and videos of fellow classmates with their cell phones and uploading them to the internet for the whole world to laugh at. Can you even imagine being in middle school and having to deal with that? Remember the good old days when someone took an embarrassing photo of you all you had to do was grab the film and break it or in the worst case rip up the picture and cut up the negative and it was gone forever… those days are gone forever.
There are at least 2 schools of thought on the new lack of privacy or public world that we now live in. There are the paranoid people worrying about who is watching them and then there are the people doing everything possible to get attention; creating websites, blogs, writing articles, sending out press releases, participating in forums, etc.
The paranoid people are worrying that the government is checking their emails. They worry that the grocery store is tracking what they buy. Worry that the Fastrac highway system is watching where they drive. In reality, the government very likely is reading some peoples emails, the grocery store is tracking what you buy and the Fastrac system probably does know everywhere you have been with your car in the last few years.
So what are you going to do? If you are paranoid you can always stop using email as a form of communication, pay only cash when you shop and ride your bike instead of drive.
I am not sure what I think of the world today. But what I do know for sure is that living a life of integrity is the only way to live these days. I wonder what this is going to do to the teenagers of today. Pre-internet days you could gossip and it was all based on what someone else said, there wasn’t actual proof. These days… phone messages are recorded and forwarded, Instant Messages are copy/pasted, emails are forwarded, 3-way calls happen with only 2 of the 3 on the call knowing. It’s more important now than it ever was to live in integrity, be real, always be yourself and don’t say something about someone that you wouldn’t say to their face unless you are prepared to deal with the immediate consequences.
Think about this… if you are going to say or write something about someone… make sure it is something you would say to their face. If it’s not, maybe you should be talking about something else.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Different Drums and Different Drummers
If I do not want what you want, please try not to tell me that my want is wrong.
Or if I believe other than you, at least pause before you correct my view.
Or if my emotion is less than yours, or more, given the same circumstances, try not to ask me to feel more strongly or weakly.
Or yet if I act, or fail to act, in the manner of your design for action, let me be.
I do not, for the moment at least, ask you to understand me. That will come only when you are willing to give up changing me into a copy of you.
I may be your spouse, your parent, your offspring, your friend, or your colleague. If you will allow me any of my own wants, or emotions, or beliefs, or actions, then you open yourself, so that some day these ways of mine might not seem so wrong, and might finally appear to you as right - for me. To put up with me is the first step to understanding me. Not that you embrace my ways as right for you, but that you are no longer irritated or disappointed with me for my seeming waywardness. And in understanding me you might come to prize my differences from you, and, far from seeking to change me, preserve and even nurture those differences.
Excerpt from Please Understand Me by David Keirsey and Marilyn Bates
_______________________________________
Spring Coaching Special ends on June 15th (or before) only 1 slot left! Contact me today for a free consultation.
Or if I believe other than you, at least pause before you correct my view.
Or if my emotion is less than yours, or more, given the same circumstances, try not to ask me to feel more strongly or weakly.
Or yet if I act, or fail to act, in the manner of your design for action, let me be.
I do not, for the moment at least, ask you to understand me. That will come only when you are willing to give up changing me into a copy of you.
I may be your spouse, your parent, your offspring, your friend, or your colleague. If you will allow me any of my own wants, or emotions, or beliefs, or actions, then you open yourself, so that some day these ways of mine might not seem so wrong, and might finally appear to you as right - for me. To put up with me is the first step to understanding me. Not that you embrace my ways as right for you, but that you are no longer irritated or disappointed with me for my seeming waywardness. And in understanding me you might come to prize my differences from you, and, far from seeking to change me, preserve and even nurture those differences.
Excerpt from Please Understand Me by David Keirsey and Marilyn Bates
_______________________________________
Spring Coaching Special ends on June 15th (or before) only 1 slot left! Contact me today for a free consultation.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Welcome!
Welcome to the Coach Sally blog! I am going to use this blog to share information I find helpful, inspirational and motivational. I am also going to post information on events, specials and other exciting things that are in the works for Coach Sally. Thanks for stopping by. For more information visit: Coach Sally
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