3 Questions to Break Decision-Making Paralysis

Personal and business leadership requires the ability to make decisions. But decisions can be difficult to make. Some of them so much so that they keep us awake at night, limit our ability to concentrate (or even notice) other issues/people around us, and in more severe cases, the whole process can lead to declining health.

 

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Theodore Roosevelt suggested that, “In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.”

Being paralyzed at the crossroads of decision is a difficult place to be – the place of having options, but not being sure how they will work out. Possibly more difficult is the place of misguided thinking – where the options we think we have are not real. What a relief when we come to a place of clarity, even when that clarity is death to a dream. “Yes” and “no” are both clear – it is “maybe” that causes us the most grief.

During one of my posts as a turnaround CEO, I remember being in such a situation. I had worked through  Please Continue Reading …

A Wholehearted Solution for Exhaustion

How do you respond to the questions, How are you doing? How are you? or How is work going?

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There are many perspectives we could choose as a basis for response, but which ones serve us best? We could talk about how energized we feel, how others are responding to us, whether or not our goals are being met, and more. However, given that we know so little about what will come our way in the next minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and years, I wonder if the most accurate perspective is one of alignment; whether or not we are in alignment within the present moment.

I’m not trying to play with semantics here – hang in there. Alignment is an issue of posture. It is the stance that enables capacity and capability. Think of what happens when you  Please Continue Reading …

Warm Memories: Your living epitaph

My father was just 42 when he was permanently disabled and institutionalized. My mother was just 37 when she died. These two events have forced me to take the pursuit of the meaning of life seriously.

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Some have suggested that when we think about the meaning of my life, we should think about what we want our eulogy to be, or what we would want to have on our headstone. While these may be valid, I think there is an additional way. Please Continue Reading …

Enabling Joy Through Alignment

I have been training for a back country hike in Yoho. I am not concerned that I will not do well on the hike, but I know that the better prepared I am physically, the more likely I will be to en-ABLED to en-JOY the whole experience, physically, mentally and spiritually as well.

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The picture above was taken during this past summer’s hike to Siyeh Pass in Glacier National park. I have vision, and am well motivated for my upcoming trip!

As I have been training, I have been carrying a pack on my back, and gradually increasing the weight of it as I also increase the length and elevations of my routes. One thing I note in doing this is the importance of alignment. There are many adjustments  Please Continue Reading …

Culture 101

What is culture? One of the simplest definitions/descriptions of culture is, “the way we do things”. Those who follow this blog will know that I hold culture as “leadership behavior”. In truth, there is no way around this one…leadership shapes culture through word and modeled action…either intentionally or otherwise.

How far a reach does culture impact within an organization, a community or a society?

“Culture consists of the beliefs, behaviors, objects, and other characteristics common to the members of a particular group or society. Through culture, people and groups define themselves, conform to society’s shared values, and contribute to society. Thus, culture includes many societal aspects: language, customs, values, norms, mores, rules, tools, technologies, products, organizations, and institutions.” (Cliffsnotes)

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