Raise your hand if this has never happened to you: you see a picture of someone from high school online and think, “Wow, what happened to Bob*? He looks like an old dude now!” Maybe this says a lot about my age, some deep-seated shallowness, or an inability to feel social shame. I’m hopeful it says more about perception. Perception is our way of understanding or interpreting something. It's our mental impression and the stories we make up about the way things are. It gets a lot of … [Read more...]
March 24, 2016 By Leave a Comment
Want to be more influential and a better leader? Get clear on your purpose. Ready to stop quitting your job all day long while "technically" still working there? Same answer: find your purpose. Getting clear on your purpose only takes 10 minutes. Ask yourself some questions: What did you especially love doing when you were a child, before everyone told you what you should or shouldn’t like or do? What have been two of your most challenging life experiences. How have they … [Read more...]
January 25, 2016 By Leave a Comment
I talk to people I don’t know - a lot. You know how some old people just randomly talk to people? Yep, it’s like that only different. Maybe that’s not so weird here in Portland but it sure seems quirky after living in California for many years. Back there it went like this: get into your own little pod (okay, Mini Cooper, Tesla or whatever) and zoom from place to place until you eventually pull back into the “airlock” of your garage and quickly slip inside. When this came off … [Read more...]
September 15, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Joseph Campbell once said, “A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” Reading a quote like that takes me to a mythical place, somewhere lofty, and expansive, where I wonder what it would be like to make a BIG difference to an entire company, country or all of humanity. And then my email dings, and I snap back into the present and I start to think about a different kind of heroics. The kind I hear about with certain types of clients … [Read more...]
April 12, 2015 By 1 Comment
What's the before and after shot for your team? Lately I've been working with teams going through tough stuff: conflict, confusion, misunderstanding, things not getting done, you name it. I wish I had before and after shots of the teams I work with – you know, like the ones you see in magazines when someone or something gets a makeover? Since I don't have photos (and wouldn't share them even if I did), here’s my take on what's in and what's out when it comes to helping your team with a … [Read more...]
April 9, 2015 By Leave a Comment
It’s been 3 years since I started Positive Disruption and in that time there’s been a lot of reinvention. Like reinvention from my cushy corporate life to the nail-biting that can sometimes come along with starting up a business. There’s been any number of iterations on what is it that I really do, or don’t do – are you a consultant or a trainer, do you do coaching, or what? Finally, in the last year it became crystal clear to me: I am at my best helping client teams navigate the … [Read more...]
March 13, 2015 By Leave a Comment
6:30 Tuesday morning. It’s dark out. Slowly, our neighborhood starts to come to life: lights go on, teeth being brushed and so it goes. I take the mascot on her walk and as we make our way through the park, we run into Bobby and Alex. As usual, Peaches greets them with exuberance, her tail wagging as if this is the best day ever - just like yesterday was the best day ever, and the day before that, and the one before that. We talk as we often do: it’s warm and humid today, the magnolias are … [Read more...]
February 10, 2015 By Leave a Comment
It’s 10 PM and one of your direct reports sends you the budget updates you’ve been waiting for. He’s spent all day and into the night working on them, trying to get them as close to right as possible. You take a quick look at the spreadsheet and frown. It’s not bad but you feel like something is missing or they’re not as complete as you’d hoped for. It’s not really telling the story you wanted. And the formatting is just ok, even if he did use the standard template. So you … [Read more...]
December 18, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Last week, a dozen Santas full of Christmas “cheer” cruised down my street on skateboards shouting about elves! By this time of year in Portland, several Santacons have already taken place and the Christmas ships are about to finish their run. I guess you could say we love a holiday spectacle. As many of us approach holiday visits, which can be spectacles in their own right, I am reminded of a friend who recently said she doesn't go home for the holidays because “I like my family too … [Read more...]
September 12, 2014 By Leave a Comment
One million air miles, two continents and at least 14 places called “home,” 7 schools, 5 careers, and 1.2 million emails. This is the story of my life, up until now. If someone shared these stats with me and I didn’t know who they belonged to, I’d have said, “Now there’s someone who has no idea what she wants to do and can’t settle down.” And yet, if you ask just about anyone who knows me, they’d say I’m one of the most decisive and stable people they know (or at least I … [Read more...]