Don’t Go It Alone Being a solo entrepreneur doesn’t mean you’re all alone. Although lately it’s been feeling like that to me. My own fault really; I have a tribe, a group of professional friends who are always glad to consult, confer and commiserate. But I still have a tendency to get lost in the vortex of too much to do in too many different areas. All I really want…
Categories:
Married To Your Business
I was coming off some very good years: several hit songs, touring with famous folks and making money through music. Julie and I were at a coffee shop and I was talking about my plan to go independent and start my own publishing company. Julie quickly volunteered that she’d like to be my song-plugger and work in the publishing biz with me. Without hesitation, I said yes and away we…
Team Building, Injustice and Superheroes
I don’t claim to be a superhero, fighting injustice wherever I see it. In fact, most often I’m too slow to react. And then I’m filled with regret for what I might have done, had I only had the wherewithal to step right in and fix things. However, I care deeply about systems, fairness and invitation. By ‘invitation’ I mean, inviting new people into teams, tribes, groups and helping them…
Team Building Goals
“I don’t know where I’m going, I’m not sure how to get there, but I know I want to be there.” Not exactly a model for a strategic plan, but a good summary of a creative life plan. When I teach about creative process and provide tools to help people become more creative I do stress that being in the process and not being goal oriented is important. This is…
Create A Culture of Listening
As part of my continuing series of DIY team building ideas, here’s something you can do yourself. Try it at your next meeting.
Building Team Trust
The optimal push-pull of trust and limits is an age old challenge and an important subject for leaders to understand and utilize wisely.
Celebrate Team Success
Re-frame your employees or co-workers in the new-kid-on-the-block frame and see how much the energy level of your team goes up.
Engagement Catalyst
The contemporary workforce demands engagement in ways that require more than just financial compensation. Being part of a team, sharing a sense of purpose, belonging, and shared mission are vital to promoting positive corporate culture and engagement. Employees want to co-create their shared vision of what they do. Believe it or not, I didn’t just make that up. We often hear from business owners who worry about their team lacking…
Every Day Team Building
I’m resistant to change and I don’t like to be told what to do. I don’t think I’m unusual in this way. And so when my wife, Julie, told me I “needed” to move my clothes from bins in our bedroom to a dresser in another room, I resisted and quietly did nothing! About a week later, as I was complaining about not being able to reach my clothes without…
Counter Intuitive Creativity
I almost always find myself in a creative mood when I fly. As much as I travel, there’s still something counter-intuitive to me about being suspended in the air 30,000 feet in a metal machine that weighs tons. This sense of vulnerability brought on by doing something counter-intuitive makes me a little emotional and my emotions are the fuel for my creative thoughts and actions. Knowing that I’m going to…
Coffee & Creativity
That’s the mystique and challenge of creating. There are no guarantees, no promise of return on investment, only the hope that we’ll stumble upon something magical, or at least something that works quite well!