Stop Self-Editing
I've written 49 books which appear in 11 languages. I've worked with major publishers' editors for 25 years, 90 percent of whom have been helpful and improved my work, and their recommendations have been subtle, nuanced, and never involve major
Immediate Improvement
• Stop ending declarative sentences on a higher note ("uptalking"). It makes you sound uncertain and seeking permission. Women are worse than men at this, but men do it, too. • For the love of the epicurean gods, get a book
Tips from the Million Dollar Consulting® Mentor Hall of Fame
Here is a summary of some best practices that emerged from our annual Hall of Fame meeting in New York this past week. In my global communities of thousands of people (and hundreds of thousands of readers) there are about
Creativity Quickly: What’s Your Story?
Quick trip to creativity: 1. Select a brief, true story you often tell. It can be personal or professional, recent or dated. 2. Articulate the real moral of your story. What did you learn? Why is it a good story to tell?
Organization
If you reflect on my prior postings here on self-esteem, you'll recall that "organization" was a key element to gain control and power. Let me drill down: 1. Organize Stuff Clear your desk, your garage, your car, you closet. Get rid of
Keep Your Eye On The Ball
I was reading where Wayne Gretzky claimed he was successful because he skated to where he thought the puck would be, not where it was. In warfare, people firing at planes from the ground were taught to "lead" the plane
Self-Esteem and Control
I've been called on to do more work in coaching and mentoring with self-esteem than any other single issue. And this is, indeed, the main obstacle that solo practitioners face. "Why would they listen to me?" or "I'll send an
A Consultant’s Calling
We all know how much hard work is involved in coaching, so when Matt Kolbusa made a trip from Hamburg to spend a couple of days with me we buckled down for tough times. My wife caught us in mid-work
Strut Your Stuff
Early in my career, a veteran consultant, arrogating wisdom, gave me some really bad advice—"Be humble and low key," he said, "don't overwhelm the prospect." Shortly thereafter, the briefly low key Alan was facing a buyer who said, "You don't
Self-Esteem and Skills
I've found that continually building skills can be undermined if one's self-worth (reflected in self-talk) isn't commensurately improved, and building self-worth can be dysfunctional if the requisite skills don't accompany it. In the chart above, you can see that strong self-esteem