Wherever we are right now is based on our choices. Want something different? Make another choice. Try a new approach. Find another solution. Nothing changes until we do, and a new year is a great time to change. Well, the one change that you instantly notice is that the newsletter is rebranded. Last year, I launched a podcast called Decisive Leadership Conversations™ and started writing a book with the same name, so it seems fitting to change the newsletter's name and better reflect the new direction for 2021. A few people have asked me about my 2021 goals and resolutions. I stopped ..read more

Six months ago, I did a consultation with Alicia Butler Pierre, and several action-items came out of it. After doing my quarterly review, I realized two things: (1) I've completed most of the action-items. (2) What isn't complete is in progress.  Here's my shortlist:  Update my website and add more pictures and videos of me because people buy from people, not companies. Build my personal brand and then work on the company brand.  Leverage social media. Once I started looking at my business as a media company, using social media became easier. Use Google Alerts to source ..read more

Atomic Habits So, I'm still reading Atomic Habits and learning even more about my own inclinations. As I reach the end of the book, the focus is shifting to routine and mastery. To master something requires practice and repetition. The more we practice something, the better we get at it, and then the novelty wears off. Over time, monotony makes the things we love less satisfying, so our interest fades. ​Clear says: "The greatest threat to success is not failure but boredom. We get bored with habits because they stop delighting us." ​ This statement made me stop in my tracks bec ..read more

Atomic Habits I'm reading Atomic Habits by James Clear, which focuses on how to change habits incrementally. Clear describes a habit as "a behavior that's been repeated enough times that it becomes automatic. It is a mental shortcut that you learn from experience." I also like Jason Hreha's definition. He says, "Habits are, simply, reliable solutions to recurring problems in our environment." When you think about habits this way, they can be beneficial, because they free up mental space and brainpower for more important tasks. But, here's the kicker. To change a habit that is not ..read more

Alicia Butler Pierre is a Business Infrastructure Specialist. In her book, Behind the Façade: How to Structure Company Operations for Sustainable Success, she describes business infrastructure as a system that links people, processes, and tools in your business operations. This fully integrated system is what allows businesses to have repeatable and sustainable success or continuity.  Most companies have a business continuity plan (BCP) or system so that their operations and core business functions can keep going in the event of a disaster or unplanned incident. Death ..read more

Alicia Butler Pierre is a Business Infrastructure Specialist. In her book, Behind the Façade: How to Structure Company Operations for Sustainable Success, she describes business infrastructure as a system that links people, processes, and tools in your business operations. This fully integrated system is what allows businesses to have repeatable and sustainable success or continuity.  Most companies have a business continuity plan (BCP) or system so that their operations and core business functions can keep going in the event of a disaster or unplanned incident. Death ..read more

Alicia Butler Pierre is a Business Infrastructure Specialist. In her book, Behind the Façade: How to Structure Company Operations for Sustainable Success, she describes business infrastructure as a system that links people, processes, and tools in your business operations. This fully integrated system is what allows businesses to have repeatable and sustainable success or continuity.  Most companies have a business continuity plan (BCP) or system so that their operations and core business functions can keep going in the event of a disaster or unplanned incident. Death ..read more

Alicia Butler Pierre is a Business Infrastructure Specialist. In her book, Behind the Façade: How to Structure Company Operations for Sustainable Success, she describes business infrastructure as a system that links people, processes, and tools in your business operations. This fully integrated system is what allows businesses to have repeatable and sustainable success or continuity.  Most companies have a business continuity plan (BCP) or system so that their operations and core business functions can keep going in the event of a disaster or unplanned incident. Death ..read more