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I’ve found that one of the hardest skills today is just listening and being with someone. We’re constantly barraged with things demanding our attention.
The biggest attention-grabber is that device in our pocket. As if it’s ever actually in our pocket.
But as humans, we crave to have relationships with other people. To be understood and appreciated for who we are.
Read the rest of this entry »A lot of us want to improve the state of where we live. It’s a way to make life worth living, and attract great employees, customers, and partners. Which is all fantastic.
But community isn’t limited to your city or town.
I’ve learned that you can think of many kinds of groups as “community”, something worth nurturing and supporting. Some powerful examples:
Read the rest of this entry »Many businesses are struggling to build their teams right now. This is a recurring topic, of course, but magnified by the pandemic and recent social unrest.
The media and politicians like to focus on minimum wage, which is often a source of unfairness and discrimination. But that’s nowhere near the whole story.
Minimum wage attempts to provide a baseline. But it doesn’t apply to many situations, and certainly doesn’t provide a living wage in Northern Colorado.
Read the rest of this entry »How much do you trust those you do business with?
I’ve talked a lot about delivering to expectations, but this is something different. This is about trust and integrity.
The fact is that society only functions well when people are able to trust each other. Not only on a transactional level, but also at the personal relationship level. Let me give you an example.
We usually talk about selling products to customers. We deliver something of value, they give us money in return, and everyone’s happy.
But it’s not ever that simple, because we’re human. The exchange of value is actually pretty complicated, and doesn’t happen all at once.
That’s why I’ve been using the phrase “being of service.” Because it hints at the deeper human connection which is taking place.
Read the rest of this entry »Zoom has become an absolute lifeline for many businesses. How would we have gotten anything done at all without the ability to do office jobs from home?
But we’re finding out something very important about what it means to work with others via video-conferencing: It’s not just about performing work tasks.
Yes, it’s very easy now to pull together a meeting. We discuss. We make decisions. We follow an agenda. But … it’s not enough!
Read the rest of this entry »For most of us, 2020 was a brutal year. I’m hopeful that 2021 will be better, but it’s going to be a slow improvement, likely with many false starts and surprises.
So how do we remain optimistic in an environment like this? It’s about the learning.
Challenges, problems and failures provide a richer learning environment than when things go well. I find that a bit annoying, but it’s true. It’s about being observant and thoughtful despite the emotional turmoil of things not going according to plan.
Read the rest of this entry »A network designed for introverts? Sounds like an oxymoron!
So I was really intrigued to hear Chrysta Bairre talk about the group she founded back in 2017. She Goes High is a powerful women’s community focused on relationships, accessibility, support, development … created by and for introverts.
Don’t expect the usual barrage of elevator pitches in this group! Nope, introductions take place in a far more natural way.
Read the rest of this entry »Perhaps you’ve noticed that some relationships have drifted a bit over the recent months. The fact is that all connections will tend to wither if not tended to, and communication has become difficult.
For me at least, it seems like I’m doing a lot more communicating than I did last year. With end-to-end Zoom meetings and a deluge of emails, I certainly am having many conversations. But are relationships suffering?
Well, there are different levels of communication. Humans are inherently social animals, and we need regular interaction to be happy and get things done. Yes, even introverts.
Read the rest of this entry »What’s the motivation behind your marketing efforts?
This is a real struggle for many businesses right now, because many existing efforts don’t seem to be working. They’re advertising like crazy, but sales have dried up because customers are extraordinarily cautious.
And the strong “buy my stuff!!!” messages can seem overbearing and insensitive.
The Values-Based Business 