Getting Back to Fundementals

Often things are not going the way you want in a personal or business situation, I have a suggestion that always works.  The metaphor that helps me is from golf.  Often when my game is gone to pot, I start to tinker with my swing or some new technique.  When I really be

How Did I Get That Business

I have had many interesting consulting assignments over the years and I was recently thinking about where the business came from.  I think the first way you get business is to be looking for the business.  I always use the exanple if you just looking out the window you might

Warm-up

Anybody who has taken one of my consulting skills sessions knows how much importance I place on the warm-up.  In any interchange between people, I believe that everybody must get psychologically get in contact before business can be done.  The approach I find that is effecti

How to Stop …….. or Not

Often we tell or would like to tell somebody to stop doing something.  "Stop complaining about your boss or your situation."  "Don’t look for the magic bullet to solve your problem."  On and on.  I am sure we all can think of lots of "

Focus on People, not Things

In order to get things done, I often take the attitude "Damn the Torpedoes, Full Speed Ahead."  That is an old WWII expression but very apt.  Unless it is a emergency where things must happen quickly, paying attention to people is really important to the success of

Mood Changing Questions

If you find a colleague who emanating very negative vibes or appears to be in a bad mood, try some of these questions or similar ones and wait and listen to the answers.  "So tell me what is great in you life?" "Tell me something good that happen to you recently.&q

Escape Hatches

Jim and I played golf with Harvey Thomson over at Robert H Schaffer and Associates last week and had a great time. I spent my time exploring his experiences with Rapid Results and some of my challenges and opportunities.  At one point in the conversation Harvey mentione escape ha

Learning versus Training

In Rapid Results, Schaffer has a section on how managers can learn from experience.  I think learning from doing is far more effective than going away on some treining course or executive MBA.  Another ingredient that is important when learning from experience is reflecting

Content versus Process

I recall a question I was once asked in a training session.  "Do you want to be know as a technical expert or a great consultant with sound technical knowledge?"  I certainly wanted to be known a great consultant.  I therefore had to learn alot about the consu

CoffeeCAST – #28 – Disruption, Evolution and Change

Welcome to the 28th CoffeeCAST with Stephen Hayward of Project X.  Oh my god get ready to put those white shoes away it is almost labour day.  So it is a lovely day here and Labour Day is almost upon us. With all the activity over the last couple of weeks I have done some thinking on