Recently, I took a vacation with my family. I announced on my blog that I would be “unplugged” during this time. Philip wrote to ask me what I found when I returned and how I managed my “reentry.” He said…
Do You Know What You Are Especially Good At?
This is probably the most important question you could ever ask. The answer will determine how fast you advance in your career and, more importantly, how happy you are in your job. Many of us have had to figure it out the hard way—by trial and error.
The Importance of the Quarterly Review
The secret to staying on top of your personal and professional life is to schedule regular times for review and reflection. You need to assess where you’ve come from and where you are going.
The Importance of the Weekly Review
How to Stay Focused on What Matters Most
In his book, Getting Things Done he writes: If you’re like me and most people, no matter how good your intentions may be, you’re going to have the world come at you faster than you can keep up…. We book ourselves in back to back meetings all day, go to after-hours events and generate ideas and commitments we need to deal with, and get embroiled in engagements and projects that have the potential to spin our creative intelligence into cosmic orbits…. If the item requires me to take action, I can: Do it if it takes less than two minutes or add it to my Outlook task list to do later;Defer it by actually scheduling a time on my calendar to deal with it; orDelegate it to someone else for action and enter it into my Outlook task list using the “@WaitingFor” category.
Don’t Take Life for Granted
Every now and then we are reminded how fragile life is. You just can’t take it for granted. For example, a few years ago I was attending the early service at our church. My family was coming in a separate car and had not yet arrived. About ten minutes into the service, one of my friends walked up behind me and whispered in my ear, “Mike, your family has been in a car accident. You need to leave … now!”
Taking Responsibility for Your Mistakes
One key to leadership is the willingness to stand up and take responsibility for your mistakes. Good leaders do this even if they are guilty of 10% of the accusation or problem.