Most service-based businesses (consultants, speakers, accountants, lawyers, etc.) who have been in business awhile have found themselves in a bind that sounds great to everyone else: you have so much business that you cannot handle it all yourself. While seemingly better than struggling to get clients, it is still stressful, and if you are not careful, will lead to overwhelm, lower quality work … [Read more...]
How in the world do you decide which training programs to do?
Awhile ago, a good friend posted a question on Facebook: "I'm looking for professional development opportunities. Think conferences, training or courses with the goal of improving skills and leveling up." There were a lot of great suggestions on the thread. But my training and development brain couldn't process answers without gathering some information first, like: What specific skills are … [Read more...]
The Accordion Principle
The start of a new coaching engagement is pretty predictable. The new client will say something like "I don't even know where to start. There are so many things going on right now, and they are all kind of swimming in my head." "Just start anywhere," I say. Little do they know that this is my favorite thing to do: capture a big mess of ideas and organize them into distinct buckets. I spend … [Read more...]
Let’s make impact in 2019
The end of the year always brings the self-development crews out en masse to help us choose our annual words, phrases, visions, plans and goals. As a self-development nerd and Virgo, I love all of it. And yet, it can feel really overwhelming to make so many choices at a time when the weather and social patterns slow us down. I look at the world through a Body of Work perspective, so for each … [Read more...]
How employable are you?
Last month, I had the great honor of keynoting the Geeky Summit, a gathering of women in technology in Calgary, Canada. The topic of my talk was making yourself continually employable by creating a powerful body of work. As I prepared for the keynote, then delivered it and had conversations with the participants afterwards, I thought about what it means to be highly, continually … [Read more...]
Is your leadership growing with your business?
I always take pause when asked in interviews (now hundreds of times) "What skills are most important for being a successful entrepreneur?" Perseverance? Analysis? Negotiation? Sales? Finance? My answer is usually some version of "All of them" and "It depends." The skills required for you to be successful in business have a very tangible side to them - all businesses require operational … [Read more...]
Community Builder’s Manifesto
Community Builder's Manifesto I don't know why I am surprised that my work centers more and more each year on my major in college -- Community Economic Development, with a focus on Non-Formal Adult Education. Rather than reject the wide-eyed aspirations of my youth, I am running more firmly toward them, convinced that many answers to our questions lie in the way we choose to belong to each … [Read more...]
When you and your business want different things
One of the big benefits of the Internet entrepreneur revolution these past 15 years is that we have so much more control over how to design a business. No longer relegated to cramming ourselves in uncomfortable blue suits to eat rubber chicken lunches in dim hotel rooms with coffee stained carpets, we can do business and build businesses where and how we want to. Working while camping out of a … [Read more...]
The Magic of The Sublime Turquoise Couch
A couple of weeks ago, I was walking to Jarrod's, one of my favorite downtown Mesa coffee shops. A new vintage store was preparing to open between my place and his, and had been slowly filling their display windows with furniture. When I saw this turquoise couch, I stopped in my tracks. I know the color had something to do with it (turquoise is my favorite and is all over the walls at K'é). But … [Read more...]
Lessons from my Dad, Lewis Stewart
Pictured: My Dad Lewis Stewart at my wedding. Photo: Sergio Lopez For those of you who don't know, my Dad Lewis Stewart passed away on June 1. He had been facing a private journey with a terminal illness. I don't think we are ever prepared for the death of a parent, as much as we might wonder what we will do when the inevitable happens. If you read Body of Work, you will remember that my Dad's … [Read more...]
- 1
- 2
- 3
- …
- 9
- Next Page »