All By Yourself

It’s easy to step into a new position and immediately think about all of the things YOU have to do. This is because YOU want to do what needs to be done and YOU want to do it well. But doing can sometimes get in the way of leading. If you do everything by yourself, you’re not a leader, you’re …

One Less Option

I pulled into the drive thru line at Starbucks this morning. Nothing odd about that except for the sudden realization I had left my wallet at home. I don’t usually forget that. Now when I say wallet, what I mean is the small, money clip with the pocket for credit cards that I carry in my front pocket. I gave …

New Word: Critischism

Sometimes I make up new words. This one is a combination of two words that already have a place in the dictionary. Criticism: the act of passing judgment as to the merits of anything. combined with… Schism: division or disunion, esp. into mutually opposed parties. Simply put, critischism is when your opinion causes division instead of discussion. We see critischism …

A Mistake Is An Opportunity

Let’s be honest – we all make mistakes. Once you get past that (or embrace it and own it), there’s something good that can happen here. Mistakes create opportunities. Opportunities to laugh. Opportunities to learn. Opportunities to admit it. Opportunities to make a change. Opportunities to grow…smarter, wiser, better, ________er! It’s really not about the mistake as much as it’s …

Choosing Three Words for 2011

If you’ve followed my Twitter stream (@timage) you might have noticed that I don’t put much stock into New Year’s Resolutions. Here’s a few of my thoughts… Why wait for 1/1/11 to make that change? Start today! Your resolution needs a bigger reason than the calendar. 1/1/11 is not motivation enough to change. Decision + Discipline + Purpose = Daily …

Five Perspectives To Evaluate Your Experiences: #5-Recruit

If you whittle down your definition of leadership to its most basic function, it’s about people. I recently posted this on Twitter: Leadership is all about how people react to what we say and do. When you take the time to reflect and evaluate your experiences, there will be certain tasks that you will want to repeat (redo) and tasks …

Five Perspectives To Evaluate Your Experiences: #4-Revise

Most every professional athlete who reaches the top of his or her respective sport will tell you that it took a lot of hard work and practice to get there. Malcom Gladwell calls this the “10,000 hour” rule in his book, Outliers. It’s a process of focusing on a very few things and honing them to the point that the …

Five Perspectives To Evaluate Your Experiences: #3-Reward

Our lives are filled with rituals. There are things that we do on a daily basis that take on a ritualistic feel – the way we care for ourselves, the meals we eat, the daily commutes we make, etc. Evaluating one’s experiences can be a type of ritual, a traditional exercise that marks the conclusion of an experience. For me …