“Success is almost totally dependent upon drive and persistence. The extra energy required to make another effort or try another approach is the secret of winning.”  ~Denis Waitley

Success in implementing non-mandatory Saturdays requires the consistent application of best practices to engage your people and have them win – and ultimately you and your firm win.  These “people engagement” practices will help you have a successful busy season that is not predicated on “face time,” and will allow you to create a culture where your team members have the flexibility to balance their schedule and personal commitments while achieving the results expected of them at work and in serving their clients. 

I thought it would be a good reminder as we enter the second half of February when workload, deadlines and client demands are heating up to review these best practices so you can identify which one (or more) you may have stopped doing (or not consistently be doing).  Then, you can put that practice back in place so at the end of April you can say that you were successful in implementing non-mandatory Saturdays.  Then, you will be poised to tackle the next change you’re committed to make to drive your firm forward!

Consider these following employee engagement best practices and identify which to focus on first:

• Communicate– a key change management strategy is to share with your team:
  • What your commitment is (i.e. non-mandatory Saturdays)
  • What you see will be different because of this change (i.e. flexibility and ability to manage personal work preferences)
  • What will remain the same (i.e. revenue and charge hour goals, commitment to excellent client service, and meeting or exceeding timelines and budgets)
  • What it will take to get there (i.e. clearly identifying and communicating expectations – see below). 
  • You’ll need to communicate these points often because people forget – as did some of the firm leaders I’m working with.
• Set and manage expectations – and do so at least weekly!  It is imperative when you are shifting from a culture that values face-time to a results-based culture that you identify and communicate the results that you expect and report the status weekly. For example, consider setting expectations for number of returns expected e-filed daily (even compared to the prior year), revenue generated per person, charge hours, and other metrics important to your firm.  This is the only way for people to know how they are doing – and to know that the expectations that you have set are important and have implications when they are not met.  It is also important to ensure you have a process for resetting expectations when conflicting priorities arise or circumstances occur that will not allow for the original commitment to be met.  This is especially critical given the interdependencies between your team members and the work that they are doing.  Don’t forget to manage expectations and reset them with your clients when appropriate, too!
• Keep your commitments – employ a “Do as I do” approach and ensure that all team members – especially your leadership team – are meeting commitments related to turnaround times, by-when dates, resetting expectations, firm processes, and client communications.  Your people want to be part of a winning team and one of the fastest demotivators is allowing non-compliance with firm expectations by your leadership team.  
• Acknowledge and reward results – take the time to celebrate successes, even small ones at the very beginning of any change that you’re implementing.  It could be as simple as acknowledging everyone for having their time in weekly or for keeping commitments in agreed upon timelines.  You might acknowledge individuals for their unique accomplishments or new habits that they undertake, too.
• Collaborate – seek input from your team about how it is going from their perspective and what ideas they have to make improvements or address challenges that are sure to arise.  Include team members in your client scheduling and be upfront about those client engagements that may require Saturday time so team members can plan accordingly. This also allows the leadership team to ensure that engagements that will require Saturday time are spread across team members where possible. This kind of collaboration will promote creativity in generating solutions and greater ownership in taking the agreed upon actions.

Those firms who have consistently implemented these “people engagement” ideas are reporting early success and are ahead of deadlines, hitting target charge hours and total hours, and meeting (or exceeding) client expectations so far this busy season. Communication is improved, too, with clearer expectations for all team members, proactive status updates and balanced workload and schedules.

If your firm is currently embracing a Saturday-optional busy season this year, share your successes with us or the challenges you’ve encountered and what actions you’ve taken to overcome them so others can benefit!

Warmly,

Tamera

www.convergencecoaching.com

I have noticed that putting energy into focusing on my vision makes the picture of what I want to accomplish clearer.  It’s as though I am looking through the lens of a camera at something that is out of focus, but when I turn and zoom in, there it is.  I begin to see it, feel it, and now can almost touch the change that I believe in.  I also imagine what the change would sound and taste like.  I want to involve all of my senses in this project.  I meditate and thank my Higher Source for participating and supporting the hidden spiritual qualities that can empower this change.

For example, I visualized increasing my client base to include more people locally within the healthcare sector.  I told an office colleague and she referred me to a nearby clinic.  I contacted the recruiter and now have been engaged as a consultant.  This group has a new contract with a managed care firm and this has added additional hours to my original contract.

Since this began, I have also updated my website, created an event with other office mates for an Open House, planned a speech in my Toastmasters group about goal-setting, and participated in an exercise to create a Vision Board with pictures that represent what I want to realize in the future.  Yesterday, I received an invitation to my healthcare group’s annual Provider Services meeting.  What began as an opportunity to be a consultant for a small local clinic has become a chance to network with several others who are providing different kinds of services for a national firm.

As you plan for the next several months, I hope that you will be able to use some of the following suggestions to visualize and then produce new work projects:

1. Visualize the end result internally (with imaging) and externally (with pictures and by discussing it with others)
2. Make a list of what you plan to do and by when
3. Then, Just Do It
4. Notice what worked so that you can repeat it next time or make modifications
5. Give thanks to yourself, your Higher Source, and anyone else who has participated in your achieving your goals

Where are you turning your dreams into a realizable vision?  Share your successes with me!  It will inspire others who read this blog and will also give me new ideas to pass on.  You may also let me know where you have met roadblocks.  I’d like to help you make adjustments and other readers will have that opportunity as well.

With Warm Regards,

Sylvia

As our society continues to get increasingly busy, it seems we are also getting more and more distracted.  We are all multi-tasking to try and complete everything we have to get done on a daily basis, and the rush of it all has become detrimental to our well being.

Unfortunately, this fact became a reality for my family on October 20, 2011, when my brother-in-law – Brian; 43 years old, and in the prime of his life – was struck in a crosswalk by an 18 year old driver.  He sustained a severe head injury and was unable to recover; sadly, he died on November 3.  The police report stated that the driver failed to yield the right of way, and was inattentive.  As you can imagine, our family was devastated, but out of every tragedy we must find a message and try to make a change for the better.  To honor Brian, our family has begun to raise awareness about driving while distracted, and hopefully we will save at least one life by sharing our story.

We found the following statistics staggering, and I think you will too.  According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2008:

• 4,378 pedestrians, and 716 pedal cyclists were killed in traffic crashes
• 69,000 pedestrians and 52,000 pedal cyclists were injured in traffic crashes
• On average, a pedestrian is killed almost every 2 hours and injured every 8 minutes
• 12 percent of all pedal cyclists killed were between 5 and 15 years old.

On the road, our distractions are increased by the demands of the job, efforts to be efficient, and the goal of getting home at a reasonable time.   However, one of the most dangerous distractions is the increased use of cell phones during our drive, whether for texting, emailing or talking – even with a blue tooth.  The New York Times recently did a series of articles on this issue and in one of them it states:

“With virtually every American owning a cell phone, distracted driving has become a threat on the nation’s roads. Studies say that drivers using phones are four times as likely to cause a crash as other drivers. Yet Americans have largely ignored that research.  Device makers and auto companies acknowledge the risks, but they aggressively develop and market gadgets that cause distractions. Police in almost half of all states make no attempt to gather data on the problem. The federal government warns against talking on a cell phone while driving, but no state legislature has banned it.”

And companies are paying a big price; last year, International Paper reached a settlement to pay $5.2 million because of a 2006 accident in which an employee on a phone hit another driver, whose arm had to be amputated.  In addition, insurance companies are starting to consider whether companies have policies on cell phone use.

Are we really more efficient, better employees by multitasking while we are driving?  The research says no.

• At a basic neurologic level, researchers at University of California, Los Angeles, used brain imaging to show that multitaskers were less effective learners.   According to that research, a person focused on a single task remembers what he has learned using the hippocampus, a part of the brain critical to storing and recalling information. But when that person multitasks — like trying to learn something new while driving — the brain relies more on the striatum, a part of the brain used more for learning motor skills. The researchers concluded, “Don’t multitask while you are trying to learn something new you hope to remember.”

As I mentioned, the driver that killed Brian was a teenager and I am sure many of you have teens driving.  So what about our teens?  In the United States, 1 in 4 crash fatalities involve someone 16 to 24 years old, nearly twice as high as other age groups. The Allstate Insurance website provides the following facts:

• Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among American teenagers, killing between 5,000 and 6,000 teenagers every year.
• Teenage drivers account for 12.6 percent of all drivers involved in fatal crashes.
• The fatal crash rates among 16 to 19-year-olds is four times that of older drivers.
• Risk is the highest at age 16, when the fatal crash rate is 40 percent higher than for 18 year-olds, and 30 percent higher than for 19-year-olds.

The reasons given for these alarming statistics:

• Cell Phones
• 56 percent of teens said they make and answer phone calls while driving.
• Talking on a cell phone can double the likelihood of an accident and can slow a young driver’s reaction time to that of a 70-year-old.
• 13 percent of teens said they send and respond to text messages while driving.
• Also listed among the reasons for teen accidents were speeding and peer pressure.

So what is my message?  My brother-In-law was killed by a distracted driver.  Our family never thought something like this could happen to us, but it did – and we want people to learn from this situation in an attempt to prevent this tragedy from occurring in others lives.  Here’s what you can do:

• Pay attention to the road with a single-minded focus.
• Pull over to make calls or return emails.
• Delegate tasks to office personnel if you are traveling.
• Share this story with the teen drivers in your life and educate them about the serious consequences of distracted driving.
• Consider putting a rule in place to put teen cell phones in the car trunk or hatch when driving to avoid temptation but still allow for access if they did need emergency road-side assistance.  Alternatively, there are wonderful new technology solutions that can block cellular signals while the car is on or in gear that can be installed to remove the temptation altogether.

There is no sale, deal, engagement or business transaction or issue worth to the risk of injury or taking another person’s life or your own.

What change can you make in your life to become less distracted?  Please share any ideas you have, we would love to hear them.

There are certain times in the year when the pressure can seem overwhelming.  For our CPA clients and friends, that time starts now – and lasts through April 15 (and sometimes longer).  For others, there may be quarterly or year-end deadlines or even weekly hurdles that provide extra pressure.

When people tell me to “just relax” or “loosen up” when a deadline is looming, it’s much easier said than done.  However, if I stop to have a good laugh – especially with others – the path to the finish line somehow becomes clearer and seemingly easier to manage.  My list of “to-dos” were weighing me down at the end of last week when I stumbled upon a link to a fun flash mob video produced by and starring CPA firm WithumSmith+Brown, performed to LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem” as a follow up to their first “famous” “I Gotta Feeling” flash mob video.  Not only did watching the video make me laugh and interrupt the “worry” of my task list, it reminded me that we all should have that much fun every once in a while – even at work.

Though WithumSmith+Brown must have a lot on their plate with a recent merger with EisnerLubin, which has offices in New York City where part of the new video takes place, more than 150 team members dedicated time over a six week period to practice for this endearingly goofy video shoot.  The camaraderie among team members – led by their truly fearless leader, Bill Hagaman, Managing Partner and CEO – is evident in this video.  I started to think things like, “Wow.  It must be fun to be a team member at that firm” and “I bet they get their fair share of recruits for internships, college graduates for entry level spots, and even experienced workers who like to have a little fun on the job.”

I think we can all strive to have a little more fun on the job, especially when the pressure is high.  Perhaps we can’t all get our team to dance on a subway or a busy sidewalk, but we can engage in other stress relievers and have some fun as a group.  Building a culture of fun attracts talent, relieves stress, and bonds you as a team. It can also:

• Stimulate creativity
• Motivate team members
• Enhance communication and appreciation of individual differences, especially with those you may not typically connect with
• Provide renewed focus on tasks at hand once the fun activity is over
• Increase productivity when you create needed “break time” (whereas working straight through breaks and lunch periods can actually decrease productivity)

Try one or more of these “fun” stress busters during your firm’s busy period:

• Hold theme dress days with prizes for the most outrageous costumes
• Have an office or neighborhood scavenger hunt
• Play childhood games like musical chairs or “duck-duck-goose”
• Have “themed” potlucks, such as Italian, Mexican, Caribbean, or Thai or a chili cook-off
• Bring special treats in house every couple weeks to wind down at the end of the day together
• Bring in lunch and show “favorite” YouTube or other videos in the firm conference room (appropriate submissions only, of course)
• Set up a “fun room” with a dart board, putting green, Wii, Xbox, or PlayStation console (ask team members to bring their favorite games), board games like chess or Scrabble, or even game tables (like ping pong, air hockey, or foosball) if you have the space and encourage all staff levels to get together on breaks and lunch hours

When I am under pressure, a break and a good laugh can make the whole day seem so much brighter and more manageable.  I hope you can have a bit of fun with the video links in this blog and will consider implementing one or more of the stress busters suggested here.

What helps you release stress during your busy times?  Please share how your firm loosens up and beats the stressful periods so others can benefit.

Warm regards,

Krista Remer

P.S. For more ideas to build positivity during peak times, attend our Harness the Power of Positive Thinking and Manage Stress Positively web seminar on March 20^th.  More information is available at www.convergencelearning.com.

Last week a friend of mine asked me how my book was coming along because I had previously shared with him that one of my goals for the year was to write one.  I started by explaining that I hadn’t made much progress because I have been busy trying to complete a project that is due on February 15^th.  I reasoned that I would resume working towards my goal after February 15^th.  As the words came out of my mouth, I felt the slightest bit guilty because I knew that what I was really doing was giving him an excuse.  I know that there are some steps that I could be taking in the meantime to move me closer to my goal.  They may not be huge steps forward but taking a baby step still brings me closer to the end result than standing still.  I realized that even with the teeniest tiniest step, I could be creating and maintaining momentum.  Standing still in an area of my life that is very important to me is not an appealing prospect.  And I’m sure that you aren’t crazy about standing still in an area of your life where you would like to grow and improve or accomplish something either.   But, in the midst of busy season, this is precisely what happens to so many accounting professionals we know.

When busy season begins, unfortunately many new habits and important goals fall by the wayside.  Suddenly you stop or interrupt your exercise routine, your stress management activities, your personal growth goals, networking and business development activities, investing in people development and strategic planning tasks because they may not seem “urgent enough” compared to the pressing client obligations that you have.  It is easy to reason with yourself that it makes sense to put off some of the goals that you have set for yourself until after April 15^th.  But, consider that by doing this, you lose an entire three months.  Now, instead of having twelve months to reach your goals for this year, you have only nine!

Don’t get me wrong, I understand that busy season workload may mean that some of your goals will have to wait.  But it’s probably not true for all of them, especially the most important ones.  On January 11^th, in her blog post entitled “Empower Your Vision,”  my colleague Sylvia Lane encouraged you to create a vision for something that you would like to realize in 2012.  My hope is that you have an idea in mind of where you would like to be by the end of the year and that you have set some goals for yourself accordingly.  My fear is that you will wait until after April 15^th to start making them happen.

When the people that you shared your goals with ask you about your progress and you tell them that you are waiting until after April 15^th to start moving forward, they will probably let you off the hook and maybe even express some sympathy for you.  But don’t let yourself off the hook unless you have been completely honest with yourself about what is possible in the next three months. Review your goals for the year and identify the ones that are most important to you.  Ask yourself, “How much do I want it?” Then consider what the cost is of waiting an entire three months.

It may be that you spend fifteen minutes per day, four days out of the week for a total of one hour per week on your goal.  Those hours will add up.  And most importantly you’ll be creating momentum for yourself.  If fifteen minutes is too much, simply wake up five minutes earlier and spend that time planning and strategizing about your envisioned goals.  Regardless of what increment of time you decide that you can allocate, you can use that time to engage in one of the activities that Sylvia suggested in her post, “Empower Your Vision.”   Perhaps you can undertake a visioning exercise, plan and strategize about the necessary action steps, or share your goals with others and ask them to take actions, too, or help hold you accountable.  Most of Sylvia’s suggestions can also be done during a lunch hour or while you enjoy your coffee or tea on Sunday morning.

Visioning is a powerful exercise and a crucial part of achieving your goals.  Fortunately, you can do it for short periods of time, and engage in it anyplace, anytime, even on your drive to work in the morning.  Consider, turning of the music or your favorite radio show and instead contemplate your vision.  Imagine it and visualize what it feels like in your body when you get there.  As the amazing and wonderful Dr. Wayne Dyer points out, “All creation, positive or negative, begins with contemplation. What is in our experience and what surrounds us is due to our previous contemplation or thoughts and feelings.”

I’m not asking you to put more pressure on yourself to get more done.  I am asking you to consider your dreams and goals and ask yourself how badly you want them and if you want them enough, to carve out a few minutes each week to draw yourself closer to what you desire.  As you do this, please be kind to yourself and be realistic in what you can expect, and at the same time, stretch yourself just a little and don’t let yourself off the hook. When you spend time moving closer to the things that inspire and excite you, you will find that you will actually walk away from that time feeling more energized!  I’d love to hear your thoughts on this and I’d especially love to hear about your goals for the year.  Please send your intention out to the universe by writing a comment and sharing how you will forward your vision, dream and/or goals over the next three months with us.
Best Regards,

Michelle Baca

Twitter (www.twitter.com) has a bad rap.  Most of us think of it as a platform that celebrities use to share meaningless information about their most recent meal or to promote their latest product.  But the application has unbelievable power and reach – all at your fingertips and free of charge that it is foolish to dismiss it.  In this blog, I’ll share five of the important Twitter benefits I’ve experienced since my foray into tweeting (the Twitter term for posting content) in early 2009.

Twitter is…

1. A fast and free news source.  Even if you don’t want to post any tweets on Twitter, you can still establish a free account and subscribe (or “follow” which is the Twitter term for subscribing to another user’s tweets) to various news outlets, associations and publications in the industries, specialties and other interests you follow.  I focus my Twitter usage in five areas:  accounting, leadership, marketing, social media and personal development.  I subscribe to the Journal of Accountancy (@AICPA_JofA), Accounting Today (@AccountingToday), various state society associations (a few include @GSCPA, @IllinoisCPA), and a variety of social media news resources including Mashable (@mashable).  Often, I follow links to new articles that are tweeted and I read them online.  When the paper publications shows up at my office, I have frequently already read a good portion of the news they contain – sometimes weeks earlier!  How much better are you when you can receive important news and information instantaneously?  How much better are your competitors if they access accounting news weeks before you do?
2. A great place to connect with people outside your normal networking circles but still inside your target focus.  Twitter has allowed me to connect with many great leadership experts outside of the accounting profession including @LeadToday, @Leadershipfreak, @mikehenrysr, and @DennyCoates.   It also brings me into “conversation” with some of our country’s best business leadership gurus including Tom Peters and Stephen R. Covey.   I have met scores of CPAs using the platform and keep a private list of over 300 to whom I’m directly connected.  The “list” functionality of Twitter allows me to segregate the users that I follow and then I can “visit” my lists and see what the members of each group have had to say without being overwhelmed by the many tweets that the sum total of 2,669 accounts that I follow are sending.   How many conferences around the world would I have to attend to meet the nearly 2,700 different people that I follow – and at what cost?
3. A free place to share news and content with your followers.  Each tweet is limited to 140 characters, so Twitter forces its users to be brief and creative.  You can attach links to your tweets to expand the information you share with your followers.  The Twitter posts or tweets that most users appreciate are those that add value to them.  Ideal tweets share news, provide important tips, further ideas, share articles or blogs of value, include quotes from others, invite followers to events and generally seek to enhance the tweet reader’s lives.  While it is fine to tweet the occasional service promotion, followers do not appreciate being “sold” continuously and they will abandon accounts that to not add value to their Twitter experience.  I can publish important information about our firm or post content we’ve developed on our blog to nearly 2,500 people in accounting, leadership, marketing, social media and personal development who are following me with a few key strokes and one click for free using a very cool, self-updating communications database called Twitter.  How many of you have those capabilities with the databases in your firm? 
4. A platform on which you can position a “famous person” in your firm, develop a niche following or further your firm’s brand.  When your content is of value, people will begin to follow you.  There are all sorts of payment-based tools to help you get followers more quickly, but they are rarely of quality followers within your target focus.  Instead, I have built my following of nearly 2,500 (I hope to surpass that number this week) organically, a few followers at a time, which requires patience but is considered to be the best way to cultivate a quality “list” to communicate with and “listen” to.  When I post things other users find valuable, they “retweet” my posts or they may recommend me as an account to follow to their followers.  This kind of grassroots Twitter “word of mouth” allows my communications to reach into entirely new spheres of influence.  What is the value of being referred to new networks and promoted as someone who adds value to those in your sphere of influence?   
5. Not time consuming.  I tweet an average of 100 times per month, or about 3 times a day.  I do most of my tweeting in the evenings or on weekends, but I occasionally tweet during the business day.  I currently average 30 minutes a week managing my Twitter presence.  According to Klout (www.klout.com), I actively influence over 300 people as a result of my Twitter activity and this influence is measured by my ability to get those people to act on something I post by clicking on a link, or retweeting or sharing my content.  So, for an investment of 30 minutes a week and no hard dollars, I have the ability to motivate over 300 people to take some kind of online action. How much do you spend on e-mail campaigns or hard copy mailings to get news and information out?  Could it reach as many as quickly?

I realize that it is hard to imagine investing any more time on anything.  I hear you!  But you are likely reading news to keep up with your profession and target subjects – get it via Twitter faster and free.  Then, as you realize how easy that is, you may want to make the foray into posting content.  Or, you may want to assign someone on your team who already manages other communications to post content on Twitter for the firm.  You’ll be surprised by the connections, reach and impact you can have!

P.S.  I’ll be teaching an online web seminar on Twitter on Tuesday, February 7 at 11 a.m. ET/10 a.m. CT.  If you’re now motivated enough to get going but want some online education and a demonstration of the uses of the platform, you can register at www.convergencelearning.com.

With the New Year, many of us are making plans for our work projects for the next twelve months.  In my work, I hear many DREAMS about how things could be that are not attached to action plans.  I think of the dream as a product of the unconscious mind that is represented in a variety of images and can sometimes seem illusive.  When we generate a VISION from these images, we include an action plan, intermediate check points, and ways to determine the effectiveness of the design to fulfill that vision.  This gives us a chance to make necessary changes as we move forward and ultimately leads to a more positive result at the end.  This process is empowering because it is no longer hope and guesswork.

To illustrate moving a dream to a vision, last year, when a friend of mine, Teri’s husband Joe, became ill and could no longer manage the family business, she was left with the challenge to do it all herself.  She had been the “behind the scenes” office person but Joe had been a one-man show for sales, marketing and general management.  Teri had always had a DREAM to run her own business someday, so she visited clients and vendors and hired part-time salespeople.  Eventually, she realized that she was not – and could not be Joe.  She decided instead to create a business of her own that offered the supportive services she was accustomed to doing for Joe.  She was excited about this possibility and even discovered that many of Joe’s old clients would purchase the services that she had provided before as her husband’s office manager.  She developed a VISION for her business and designed a business plan, used residual income from Joe’s business for startup money, and began her own office services business.  She utilizes her already-developed skills and is passionate about the possibilities of growth for her new business.

What do you want for yourself at the end of 2012?  Do you have a DREAM that you should transition to a VISION?  Here are some ideas for bringing this about:

• Paint a picture in your mind of your desired and anticipated results using all six senses – sight, smell, taste, touch, sound, intuition
• Map a strategy to attain the end result, including:
  • What needs to be done when?
  • What resources do you need in people, money, time and supplies?
  • What other needs must be met?
  • How will you evaluate intermediate results and make adjustments along the way?
• Share your vision with a committed listener with whom you can report status and brainstorm solutions to challenges and roadblocks that are sure to arise
• Continue to visualize the necessary action taking place with the team that makes it possible
• Express gratitude to all concerned throughout the year

is your vision for 2012?  Start now by sharing it here – AND EXPECT SUCCESS!

With Warm Regards,

Sylvia

When I called my mom to wish her a Happy New Years on January 1^st, she asked what my New Year’s resolutions were.  I told her I hadn’t set any yet – not even the old standbys.   I’ve been thinking about a question that my partner, Jack Lee, asked in one of his blog series in 2011 on goal-setting: “ My question for you is:  ‘Do You Really Want It?’”  I have been contemplating this question and taking seriously what it is that I really want and whether I am “willing to get better, to learn from failure, to change my ways, and to do the hard work that is required.”

To help me identify my resolutions for 2012, I’ve been thinking in terms of a feedback strategy that we teach leaders to use to provide feedback to team members, obtain feedback from clients, and solicit feedback about themselves and their leadership.  The feedback strategy is keep, stop, start (KSS).  When soliciting feedback using keep, stop, start, you consider:

  –  What should this person/I/our firm keep doing? (things you’re doing well or that are of great value)

  –  What should this person/I/our firm stop doing that they are doing now? (things that aren’t working or   things you need to give up, delegate or relinquish)

  –  What should this person/I/our firm start doing that they are not yet doing? (things that will benefit them, their team or the firm if they take them on going forward)

This is a very effective method to engage in honest and open feedback.  It does require vulnerability and your willingness to talk straight, share honest and open feedback and be willing to receive open and honest feedback.  I encourage you to try this approach when delivering performance feedback about an individual’s strengths, areas for improvement and areas of growth, and invite them to provide feedback to you about what they would like to see you keep, stop or start doing in your work relationship to help you both be more effective.  Or, consider using KSS when you’re meeting with clients during this busy season to find out how they feel you and your firm are doing and learn what more they might like to see from you going forward.

I am using KSS to identify what I want to keep doing, those things I want to stop doing (or maybe do less of) and what I’d like to start doing.  When I think about the things I want to start doing, I’m considering things I may have been dreaming about trying or know I should be doing (maybe even have done in the past, but haven’t made it a part of my regular routine or focus).  So, here are some commitments I have identified so far:

- I want to keep spending time with my kids at home, through their school activities, and family time; keep working with many great clients delivering training, retreat facilitation and marketing strategy services and keep up my health and ability to practice yoga, cycle, and run.

- I would like to stop running through drive-thrus so much – for health and financial reasons;   stop hanging on to things that could be better used by someone else; and stop working on my computer during “prime” family time.  As I thought about my list of things I’d like to stop doing, I ended up accepting that I must keep doing some things that I’d like to stop doing but  cannot if I want to achieve some of my keep and start commitments.

- And, I’d like to start going back to church on Sundays on a regular basis (Wednesdays have seemed to be easier this past year but I sure miss the Sundays!); start having more energy through my health maintenance and fitness goals; and start kick-boxing/boxing with my daughter.

This list is the beginning of what I’d like to keep, stop and start doing and it helps me discover areas where I could set some New Year’s resolutions and allows me to see all that I have to be grateful  for and changes I could (sometimes easily) make to have more of what I want in my life.  I will complete this list and set my New Year’s resolutions by the end of this month and share them with my family and my team at Convergence.

What about you?   What would you like to keep, stop and start doing in 2012 in your personal life, at work and in your firm?  What New Year’s resolutions could you commit to based on your KSS list?,  Feel free to share your KSS list or New Year’s resolutions so we can support you and potentially add to our list, too!

I look forward to creating more of what we want in our life and work with you in 2012! Happy New Year!

Tamera

A lot of the sounds that I’ve been hearing are those of anxious buyers worried that they don’t have the right gifts purchased, pressured workers trying to wrap up all of their year-end loose ends so they can take some much-needed time off, excited children building up to shred presents and advertisers trying to drive us all to last-minute purchases.  Yikes!

That’s why I’m intentionally taking time to center myself on the reason for this season.  Regardless of your religious affiliation, this season represents a time of selfless giving, brotherly and sisterly love and a time to bring peace, joy and gratitude to the people in our lives and communities.  I am praying each day to rise above the din of the commercial messages and the “must do this and must do that” to give thanks.

I am profoundly grateful for all of the blessings of this beautiful life that God has given to me, including:

• My special, loving husband, children, parents, siblings, and extended family
• The dedicated, caring and difference-making team of professionals that I work play with
• Our ambitious, committed and super-smart clients
• My health, which still allows me to run hills and drive hard as I “mature”
• This precious earth and all of its miracles

When your little voice tries to list its many priorities and worries, quiet it with prayers of gratitude and petitions for those who are struggling with illness, unemployment or loneliness.   I hope you are able to slow down and center your thoughts today, and this week, to hear the joyous sounds of the season – the uplifting music, the ringing of the bells, the squeals of delight, and the hush of the night. 

Make room in your heart for the joy and true miracles that this season brings.  Pray for peace people everywhere…listen to what I say!  (Click here to hear Carrie Underwood sing the carol this blog is based on — one of my favorites!)

P.S.  To celebrate the joy of this season and honor our hard-working team at ConvergenceCoaching, we will close our offices from December 23 through January 2, reopening for business on Tuesday January 3, 2012.   We appreciate your support of our team holiday and look forward to being of service to you in the bright New Year ahead!

One thing is for sure: time flies when you’re having fun!I

It’s hard to believe I am completing my second year with ConvergenceCoaching. I have learned a lot over the past two years working with our clients to help them achieve success. In this blog I’d like to share a selection of my newly attained wisdom.

• There is no success without succession. To be effective, succession planning must be part of the day-to-day operation of your firm, not a “life event” that occurs once every generation. Succession needs to be planned, so that client relationships can be properly transitioned, new roles can be learned, and the financial aspects can be adequately covered.
• Trust is a critical success factor in high performing and successful organizations, and fundamental to achieving sustained success in business and life. The lack of trust is like an additional tax burden on your firm, while an increased trust level is like a dividend. The bottom line: We must all get better at trusting and being trusted.
• Success is a “team sport. Many firms operate like a collection of sole proprietors sharing a common name, office space and administrative infrastructure. Rather than banding together for collective success, the focus is often on “doing it my way,” internal competition, and maximizing personal success. In such firms, we find little happiness or satisfaction. We are meant to succeed together.
• Most people, given the option, do not engage in any sort of personal or professional goal setting process.This often stems from the false belief that staying put is somehow “safer” and less risky than taking the bold action needed to achieve success. Those who do set goals often do so in an ineffective and uninspiring way, by aiming at “minimum performance,” setting too many goals, or setting “squishy” goals that lack specificity and measurability. Step 1 -Start setting goals. Step 2- Stop behaviors which “sabotage” your success.
• Goal setting is only an interesting mental exercise if you don’t transition to Step 3 – Goal achieving. Those who are really serious about achieving their goals willingly submit to a process of accountability, which includes: putting your goals in writing, sharing your goals with others, establishing a “return and report” process with interim action steps and milestones, and getting better at skills needed to achieve your goals (e.g., delegation, time management.) Achieving your goals still takes hard work and effort. Nothing worthwhile is easy.  
• The real value of a firm is in its people rather than its clients. The most successful firms succeed by developing and nurturing their people to become future leaders. Emphasizing people development addresses the “ripple effect” often caused when roles change as part of the succession process, along with increasing the capability, commitment and “bench strength” of the firm’s next generation of “rising stars.” And firms that provide a clear “path to partner” have a competitive advantage over those who chose not to take on this challenge.

All firms that I’ve had the privilege to work with are facing these challenges. This struggle is common and “normal.” But I have to ask, “Why be satisfied with “normal?” I don’t know about you, but my excitement goes through the roof when I think about the possibilities for the firm whose leaders choose to take on these challenges to success. So, as we end another year and prepare for the next, I strongly urge you to: Do Something New: Be Bold!

I look forward to beginning Year 3 with ConvergenceCoaching, to even greater learning, and above all to taking bold action in helping our clients succeed. If you have any BOLD ideas or experiences to share, please post them so others can benefit.

Best regards,
Jack