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THE 
WORD “COLLABORATION” has shown up for me multiple times this week. It must be a message!
I totally understand the reluctance to put your future in the hands of someone else. No doubt many of us learned the lesson in school that a “team project” would sometimes turn into all the work being done by the one kid who cared about grades the most. The others would let things slide a bit, letting the dedicated one pick up the slack.
Instead, let’s look at this from the standpoint of collaborations which work well.
My first example might surprise you: Read the rest of this entry »
THIS WEEK 
I had a chance to hang out with a bunch of inventors, writers and artists at the Quid Novi Spring of Innovation. What a cool idea! We had a chance to talk about what’s currently happening with innovation in northern Colorado and the rest of the world.
It’s clear to me that innovation has a slightly different twist in values-based businesses than it might in others.
In the previous issue, I talked about how we as coaches can help our clients build deep values into a business. In this context “deep values” refer to those motivations that are more important than just making money and delivering products or services.
I find that many coaches are seeking to build just this kind of businesses: one founded upon and expressing deep values. As a Christian coach, it’s likely that you want to include your own faith as part of the foundation of your coaching practice.
Do you want your coaching to make a difference in the world? Here’s a game plan for making that happen.
CHRIS HUTCHINSON heads up Trebuchet Group here in Fort Collins. They deliver extraordinarily powerful consulting for their clients, particularly around leadership development and organizational change.
I had the opportunity speak with Chris (CEO) and his wife Diana (COO) this week. I’ve been wanting to have this conversation for awhile, because I’ve been following the company for four years now and have been impressed with the distinct character that they’ve built.
THIS MORNING I read yet another article on “Why business plans don’t work.” It seems that these things crop up periodically, perhaps when people are frustrated, or just trying to display their mental superiority.
I hope I’m a little more humble than that.
Here’s how I view it: If you have unrealistic expectations of a business plan, then of course you’re going to be disappointed. Some people expect that a plan will remove all risk, and force reality to align with your desires.
That’s unrealistic.
YOU MIGHT THINK that this is a flippant question, but I’m serious. Our values DO change during the course of our lifetime, so it’s quite possible that a shift will occur which causes you to change the values of your business.
A common shift comes when you figure out that your business plan just isn’t going to work anymore. Even if it was successful at one point, you now know that you’re headed for failure. It’s time to pivot your strategy and take a different approach.
But this doesn’t necessarily imply any change to your values. It may totally change WHAT you’re doing and HOW you’re doing it, but not WHY.
WHEN YOU are building a company based on deeper values, it’s critical to align your actions with your employees.
No, I’m not talking about the plaque on the wall stating your principles. I’m not talking about your employee training program. Both are important, I suppose, but they lose their value to reinforce attitudes on a day-to-day basis.
In Corporate America lingo, I’m talking about Reinforcement, Recognition, and Rewards.
Reprinted with permission from today’s guest blogger, Jon Hokama!
“To have a firm persuasion, to set out boldly in our work, is to make a pilgrimage of our labors, to understand that the consummation of work lies not only in what we have done, but who we have become while accomplishing the task.”
-David Whyte, Crossing the Unknown Sea (emphasis mine)
While employed in corporate America, I drew strength and inspiration from David Whyte’s book, Crossing the Unknown Sea. I began reframing the challenges of that environment as an influence over my character which was being shaped for good at times and for ill at others. Remembering Whyte’s insight, a classic movie was the poetic inspiration that burnished a waypoint mirror for my current journey toward business maturity.
THIS WEEK I had a chance to participate in the CMAA Sacred Music Colloquium. That may not seem relevant to a business-related blog, but it actually is.
I do this because I’m passionate about the subject, but also because it re-centers me back on to some of the core values in my life. In this case, it’s spiritual, but I do other things to keep other values focused in my life.
When you’re trying to direct a values-based business, this is quite necessary. Read the rest of this entry »
THOSE OF YOU here in Fort Collins know how crazy it would be to leave OtterBox and their amazing employee culture.
Kristin Golliher did exactly that, back in February last year. To start a new business called WildRock Public Relations & Marketing. She has great passion for what she does: providing professional services to companies large and small across the nation.
But she has an even deeper passion for the kind of company she’s trying to create.
The Values-Based Business 