How to Coach Yourself to Success and Happiness. Tip #4

Watch the below brief video tip.

Tip #4 on How to Coach Yourself to Success and Happiness. Yes, I too use these tips for self-coaching and have created two of my own businesses doing what I'm passionate about while helping others receiving benefits as well. Please feel free to send me your suggestions, topics or questions regarding a particular challenge, struggle or goal that you'd like help with and perhaps, I'll address it (with your anonymity insured) in a future video. I hope you find this video tip as well as the others helpful.

Tip #4 What Are Your Intentions?"

Tip #3 How to Choose What You Want.

Tip #3 on How to Coach Yourself to Success and Happiness. Yes, I too use these tips for self-coaching and have created two of my own businesses doing what I'm passionate about while helping others receiving benefits as well. Please feel free to send me your suggestions, topics or questions regarding a particular challenge, struggle or goal that you'd like help with and perhaps, I'll address it (with your anonymity insured) in a future video. I hope you find this video tip as well as the others helpful.

How To Gain Buy-In 101

"Get buy-in before you start on that project." You hear that all the time. But how do you do it and how do you know when and if you've got it? What follows is getting buy in 101.

There are only two things that motivate people: (1) something they will gain, such as respect, knowledge, prestige, a promotion and material gains; or (2) something they'll lose, such as respect, power, money and security. Understanding this is fundamental in preparing your buy-in strategy. People also want to know that if they buy what your selling, i.e. a new platform, training initiative, or strategy they'll be recognized for helping it to be perceived as successful. (That's the respect and security elements.)

Of course, there's more to it than that. Below is a partial list of things to consider for getting buy in from others:

• Determine what management values
• Understand what motivates them
• Lear how they make decisions
• Propose your ideas and projects in terms they can understand: not tech terms
• Learn to think like they do
• Show them what's in it for them
• Let them know that they helped to develop the idea
• Know your facts and figures: be the subject matter expert
• Show them tangible results from competitors who took a similar actions
  
• Make them a mentor
  
• Break it down into palatable chucks

Lastly, keep in mind that their reputation is always on the line. Help your leaders and managers to be a better than they are. Coach them without them knowing it. That's part of your job.

You'll know when you have "buy in" when you hear, "Good, now run with it."

To Do or Not to Do?

"If you really wanted it badly enough you'd do something about it!" Many people have said this to me and others countless times in the past and some of this statement holds truth however, some of us just can't seem to do anything "about it" no matter how badly we want it. What’s the matter, fear of success, fear of failure? Does it really matter? Well, it doesn’t matter any longer to me because I’ve been around long enough to know that ‘it’ won’t happen unless I take action. Even if that action is just one small step. If you’ve just had a twinge of anxiety after reading the last sentence than this is about you. Has this ever happen to you: driving down the road at a snails pace or standing online at the motor vehicle department a great idea hits you between the eyes. Your follow-up thoughts to this great idea of yours may have been, wow, I can’t wait to get started! Or, that’ll never work. Besides, someone else has probably already thought of it. Okay, you know the drill; you believe you are what you tell yourself you. You also know that there are countless examples of people, other people who actually took action on their ideas and made their dreams come true. We’ve all read about ‘them’ and yet, it hasn’t propelled you to take action. Can you relate?

All those ‘other people’ out there are just that, people. They are no different from you and me. The only difference is that they took their ideas and took action. Maybe, their first step was to take an hour to investigate if their idea is doable or, they ran the idea past a supportive friend or colleague to get their take. Here’s the secret you’ve been waiting to read: the idea, the dream, the new life won’t happen unless you take action. Impressed? I thought you would be. You’re probably thinking, this guy’s a genius. I know I need to take action but I just can’t seem to get started. Here’s secret number two. Are you ready? Hold onto your seat because it’s so simple a concept that you’ll probably smack yourself in the head after reading: it’s okay if you do nothing. Really. It’s absolutely fine to do nothing at all but daydream. You’ll still be loved by your friends and family but and this is a big BUT will it be okay with you? Will living with the thought If, I had gone through with that idea I had I could be living the life I always wanted, be all right with you? If you answered yes then that’s fine. You’re the only one who can make that call. However, if you continue to do nothing and have an ongoing and accompanying mental thorn in the back of your head that talks to you on a daily basis and says, something’s not right, please change it! Then it’s time to take action. Then ask yourself, what tiny, teeny action can I take today? And on a daily basis ask yourself, are my actions bringing me closer to achieving my goals or further away? It’s truly that simple. The work of getting what you want is just that, work. Even those “other people” whose vocations are their avocations still have to do things that are not their favorite tasks. Start somewhere. Start today, right now. Ask for help. Have an idea party. Stop daydreaming and start day-doing.

Feel free to contact me with questions which, is an action that will bring you one step closer to getting what you want.

Who You, Mature?

Are you a self-actualized and mature adult professional? If not, you may want to stop reading. This is a post about one question that every parent and manager needs to ask themselves: what are my intentions?

If your child comes home with a less than satisfactory report card, is it your intention to shame and blame them or to coach and develop them? You probably answered, coach and develop. If so, then what did you say to them when they sheepishly revealed their grades? Did you react with frustration by saying, how the heck did you manage these grades! Or, did you study?! Do these statements represent care, coaching and development or shame and blame?

Take the above scenario to the office when it comes time for employee performance appraisal. Your employee who has been under performing is sitting across the desk from you as you peer down at his dossier. Your goal is to get his production levels up so, aptly you say, what are we going to do about this? Are your intentions to develop or to enhance your own ego by shaming and blaming? This is where self-actualization, maturity and professionalism come to play. If your ego is at peace and you are confident within yourself then shaming and blaming will not become a component of your conversation.

Parents, managers and leaders must lead by example - a really great example. So, before any interaction I always ask myself, "What are my intentions? Am I here to help and guide this person or do I want to humiliate, embarrass, or shame?" If, my goal is to coach and develop an employee who reports to me, I would ask a lot of questions when it comes time for his performance review. "What is your understanding of our performance agreement? Did I give you all the help that you asked for. Did I help you in the way that you needed? Are their circumstances here or at home that are preventing you from reaching your performance goals?" Of course, if your intention is to develop this employee, as that should be your objective and it is your job as a manager, then your language and tone will be one that reflects caring, understanding and helpfulness.

With the one-hundred plus management models available out there in the learning and development world none of them will be effective if you are not fully aware and honest about your intentions. To do this on a consistent basis takes maturity, discipline and knowledge of our true intentions.

Free Coaching Session

Here's an opportunity to get help and guidance on achieving your dreams and goals: a free one-hour coaching consultation. Whether it be help with finding the job or career that's your calling, creating and delivering powerful presentations or how to manage and lead others, you'll get the results that you want and need. Learn how I can help you and email or call (+1 646-265-5009) me to register for a free one-hour coaching session.

Some areas for coaching are listed below:

Life and Career Change
Getting Beyond Resistance
Leading Difficult People Through Difficult Times
Balanced Mind, Body, Spirit
Getting in Physical Condition
Staying Committed
Goal Setting
Group Coaching
Small Business Start Up, Growth and Development
Stress Management
Releasing the Artist Within
Presentation Skills Coaching
Influencing and Negotiating
Procrastinating
Starting an exercise plan
Creating a financial spending plan

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Credit Crunch Help

As if we need to be reminded from both Presidential candidates, that we're living in very tough times...

Have you lost your job? Lost your direction? Lost your motivation? Help is here: Credit Crunch Coaching

Together,you and I will develop strategies and realistic plans to help you reach your personal and financial goals. I can help you set a budget where you won't feel like you're giving up too much and at the same time put money in the bank. If it is a new job/career that you are looking for we will work collaboratively to design an employment search plan that will provide you your desired results.

In the mean time here, are 11 tips that may be of help to you as you navigate through the financial crisis:

1. Put it all in perspective - Yes, times are tough but compared to what? If you ate one meal today consider this: more than 840 million people in the world are malnourished — 799 million of them live in the developing world. If you have a roof over your head count your blessing because up to 100 million people are homeless worldwide, of which 20 million to 40 million are adrift in major urban centers.
2. Stop worrying and be concerned instead - Worry will not fix anything. There's a big difference between worry and concern. Worry keeps you up at night, concern helps you make plans.
3. Stop thinking so much - Thinking not planning is of not much use yo you when you are under stress. Put a gap in the unrelenting thoughts by meditating or exercising.
4. Start counting your money - Keep a record of every transaction you make and at the end of the month look at areas where you can count your spending.
5. Create a spending plan not a budget - Design a plan of how you want/need to spend your money and pay yourself first.
6. You are resilient - Human beings are very resilient, tenacious and powerful. Don't under estimate your capabilities to not only survive but to prosper.
7. Remember to laugh - Laughter is the best medicine and it really works plus it's free and anyone can do it.
8. Talk with others - It helps to remember that you are not alone. The majority of us are in the same boat. Talk to others and share your thoughts and frustrations.
9. Get creative - During every recession and even during the last Depression people made a lot of money. Host an "idea party". Create a consortium of like-minded people - two or even five heads are better than one.
10. Keep it simple - This old phrase is so true. Simplify everything. Study after study has shown that money does not make people happy. It buys a bit more physical freedom yes but not happiness. Take a lesson form those giggling children you see playing - they don't need a lot of toys to create their own little world of happiness; they just keep it simple.
11. Ask others for help - If not me ask someone to help you. It's a sign of strength to seek guidance and ask for help. The goal is interdependence.
    

Read what others have to say about their successful coaching experiences with me. All they had to do was take the initial step, say "yes" and ask for help.

Tommy Takes A Risk

“Most people never run far enough on their first wind to find out they've got a second. Give your dreams all you've got and you'll be amazed at the energy that comes out of you.”
—William James (1842-1910), psychologist, philosopher, author

Tommy Walks The Walk and Talks the Talk

Thirty-six year old Tommy was facing an important decision. In 2006 he was working for a large invest bank in their IT department. As an experienced and highly skilled engineering manager, Tommy was responsible for twenty-three people who reported directly to him. The responsibility was huge and the pace at the bank was frenetic. The internal customers that Tommy and his team serviced were extremely demanding. The pay was good and so were the benefits but Tommy wasn’t happy. A native of the Deep South, Tommy was homesick living and working in Chicago. On his daily two-hour commutes, he imagined a better work-life balance and started thinking about making a change.

Over the last decade most companies stopped offering long-term job stability. With the economy bouncing around like a rubber ball, Tommy knew that he needed a financial cushion if he were to relocate and find a new job. He spoke with his employer about a role in Charlotte, NC but with hiring freezes and other issues it didn’t work out. Like so many people who want to change their lives, Tommy felt between a rock and a hard place. After one of his long train rides home from the office he told his wife, "I am sick of the cold Chicago weather and if I had enough money I would just quit and move!"

“What about the account you set up when we first moved north?” His wife asked. Tommy was so good at planning that he forgot that he set up a “relocation” bank account six years prior when he arrived chilly Chicago. When he arrived at his office the next day he checked the balance of the account to find to his surprise, that it was quite significant. Combined with his 2006 bonus he walked into his boss’s office that morning and quit on the spot. He was back home by noon.

Tommy didn’t have a job waiting for him but he had a feeling that Charlotte, NC was the place to be on the map. He made his decision to relocate and find a job when he got there based on hope, fortitude and survival skills. Eight days after quitting his job, he and his wife’s belongings were shipped south. Leaving eight inches of snow behind them, they spent some time living in their RV, meeting very old friends and fishing until the wee hours of the night. One month later Tommy landed a position with a new employer.

Tommy and his wife went from living in a cramped Chicago neighborhood to four acres of seclusion just thirty minutes from Tommy’s new job. Besides having more space, he and his wife can't see or even hear his neighbors. He went from doing engineering work with twenty-three direct reports straight into managing a first line support desk with just three reports. He explains that it is a significant step backwards professionally but the quality of life is exponentially better and his salary took a pretty significant jump. “I am much happier now. It was a pretty risky move on my part but seems to have paid off well in the end.”

It turns out that this wasn’t the first time Tommy had done something like this. Many years ago when he moved to Chicago on a wing and a prayer he placed an ad in the "Work Wanted" section of the Chicago Tribune as a Webmaster. “My thought at the time was that even corporate recruiters need a handyman or yard work done and if I could put my number in front of them over coffee on Sunday morning they might call. It was a desperate move but I ended up getting more calls from that than I did from two weeks of shopping my resume around. The recruiter that ended up brokering my hire at the time, kept that ad on his desk for as long as I knew him as a reminder to himself to never give up and to always think outside of the box.”

Tommy’s risk paid off. He walks the walk and talks the talk. He wanted something better and was willing to put in the effort. But what’s most important is that he refused to accept that he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. I have a feeling that even if he didn’t have the once forgotten “relocation” money set aside, he would have found another way to make it work. He also admits to having put the skills that he learned in the training classes and coaching sessions that I facilitated into practice.

Sometimes important decisions seem like crevices larger than they really are. Take a deep breath and start planning a route across. Take a leap of faith, a risk. Nothing is as imposing as it seems. Once in your new ‘life’ you’ll take a backwards glance and see that it really wasn’t so difficult. Today, take one step, any step, which will lead you closer to where you want to be.

Stress-Less Holiday Strategies

Does the thought of the pending holidays cause your shoulders to ache and your stomach to turn? Aren't the holidays suppose to be a "joyous" time of year? Yes, they are but more often than not they leave us with more stress and less happiness.

This holiday season protect yourself with a plan of action to keep yourself and others' stress levels at a minimum with my Stress-Less Holiday Strategies.

For yourself, or as a gift for others, Stress-Less Holiday Strategies Options include:

• Individual coaching sessions to manage holiday stress
• A Holiday Stress-Less Plan for reducing stress and maximizing relationships
• Tools and techniques to stay calm and relaxed
• Learn how to say, "No"
• Learn how to enjoy the holidays
• Unlimited email with your coach
• Two 'Emergency' stress calls in addition to your coaching session

Contact me to arrange your Stress-Less Holiday Strategies to ensure a happier holiday season.

Camp Commitment

Welcome to Camp Commitment

Are you having trouble staying committed to the plans and goals that you set? Do you even have any plans or goals? Does the word prioritization frighten you? If so, help is here! Camp Commitment will help you stay committed to your goals by committing them to other committed campers like yourself. Committing to another person or a group will help keep you focused and steadfast on completing your goals. A team working together towards the finish line is stronger than a single rower.

Camp Commitment works like this: groups of four to ten people will meet telephonically once per month for one to two hours depending upon the size of the group to set and plan individual goals. Acting as the group's coach, I will facilitate group meetings insuring that feedback and support is conducted in a safe and productive manner, as well as keeping the group on track insuring that we have productive sessions. I will also be available for unlimited email and if you desire, individual coaching outside of the group.

For more details and costs, please contact me.

Contact Information:

Email: bruce@katlinconsulting.com
Telephone: +1 646 265 5009
Skype: katlinbr

I look forward to seeing you at the Camp.

Welcome

Welcome to bruce's blog!

My first entry is connected to the importance of having good presentations skills, especially when representing yourself and your business.

Last night my wife and I attended a one-hour workshop on blogging hosted by the non-profit organization, The American Craft Council in NYC. Amy Shaw & Rena Tom were there to present, "Blogging the Handmade: Creating Community, Conversation & Commerce." Both Amy and Rena run their own businesses Greenjeans and Rare Device were enthusiastic about the crafts industry, their businesses and blogging. I came to learn what I could about blogging, as I have just started using this medium. Amy and Rena’s presentation started out with promise, as they appeared warm and friendly and eager to share their experience and knowledge of blogs using a laptop and a PowerPoint presentation. Both of these small business owners and bloggers have a lot to offer and are successful in their own right.

I have been teaching presentation skills to both groups and individuals for many years and one of the first things we discuss, is to know your audience. Amy and Rena conducted an on the spot audience analysis by asking for a show of hands who runs their own blog, you reads blogs and who comments on blogs. With this information they could tailor their talk. Another component of creating successful and inspiring presentations is to have a main message. The main message is different from the topic. After listening to Amy and Rena's presentation for about ten minutes I wasn’t sure what their message to the audience was. They spent a lot of time sharing screen shots of theirs and others’ blogs none of which, we the audience could see, as the slides were to small. Also, it's important to have a strong opening line to get your audience's attention. Their opening consisted of the usual welcome’ and ‘we’re glad to be here etc. None of which made me sit up in my chair. Both presenters sat on a tabletop with the laptop between them with the lid facing down, so that they had to turn completely around to look at and read the slides. The result of this was not only could we not see their faces we couldn’t hear what they were saying.

55% of the way we communicate is through our body language, so when you sit on furniture it tells your audience several things: (1) you feel relaxed enough to sit instead of stand, although this was a professional environment; (2) you're not invested enough in your presentation nor your audience; (3) you are not confident. It also affects your energy levels, which will quickly sink.

Voice accounts for 38% of the way we communicate. Voice includes pitch and tone and when you speak, as I like to say in one color your audience’s ears very quickly close . When asked to speak up when reading a document Rena shifted her weight and continued to speak in a low and monotone voice. Amy had a perky voice but used just one tone, which became tiring after 20 minutes or so.

The words we use account for just 7% of the way we communicate and are important only for the information that you want us to walk away with. As I am constantly telling my clients and myself when I lead Standing Ovations Presentations (copyright 2006) at KATLIN CONSULTING to watch their filler words such as, "like", "um", "you know", "sort of.” I counted fifty “ums” in the first twenty minutes from just one speaker! All of these filler words grain the brain of the audience and are used as a pause because the presenter does know their presentation backwards and forwards. Around this time the energy in the audience sank and I was surprised that the presenters did not realize this and did not shift from their position on the table to standing and facing the audience. Unfortunately, I was actually looking at my watch several times to see how close we were to getting out of there.

I wanted, as most audiences do for these presenters to sweep me off my feet and inspire me to change or do something different. Their presentation actually affected my desire to decide if I would want to purchase anything from their stores or not. My thought was, “If, they’re not interested enough in taking the time to deliver a concise, professional and inspiring presentation, I’m not so interested in checking out their in-store and online merchandise.” That’s a shame because if I was thinking this others probably were too. I like to give people three chances. Maybe they were rushed or had other comments so they couldn’t put as mush time into the presentation as they would have liked. Maybe they were not feeling well. I really wanted these women to shine. I was rooting for them but by the time the presentation was finished I couldn’t wait to get out of there. Of course, I did get something out of it, I'm writing this blog.

If, you would like presentation tips or further information on presentation coaching or the Standing Ovations Presentations (copyright 2006) course for your organization, please contact me: bruce@katlinconsulting.com