Since publishing The Clarity Papers a year ago, my business has really changed. My traditional core is in greater demand, as you would expect: Clients who want me to come in and lead their teams to greater clarity and better results, whether strategic planning, solving complex problems, or increasing the team’s ability to work together honestly and effectively. Executive coaching clients who work with me one-on-one as their trusted advisor to unlock their insights, challenge their assumptions, and enhance their ability to manage the host of decisions and situations they face with greater confidence and integrity. Keynote addresses that transform audiences into fans of clarity. What’s new:
I hope you took advantage of the opportunity last month to download a free Kindle version of my book, The Clarity Papers. If you did, don’t forget to check it out! The biggest problem with e-books is they tend to disappear, tucked safely away in an electronic folder, forgotten. Want to know what I do about that?
You don’t get to the top by being lazy. It takes a lot of hard, careful work. You need to be thorough and avoid mistakes. At the same time, you need to keep your eye on the big picture so you know when to push back and change course. You also have to be alert to your environment and know who can be relied upon and who needs help or watching. By the time you’ve earned a long series of promotions, you’ve made ultra competence your habit. That’s great! Congratulations! Now it’s time to stop that. It’s time to be lazier!
When I sat down with three executives at a large international bank in London, I got an earful of frustrations. Determined, hard-working, ambitious people, who would like to accomplish more faster, are susceptible to frustration. It’s only natural. It is also the reason they were talking with me.
January 1st is the day when you probably expect some pithy little gem of clarity that will make your business excel in 2019. Or maybe you are hoping for a quick tip on how this year’s New Year’s Resolutions can become success stories instead of fading wishes. Well, I am going to break with tradition. Instead of talking about your business or telling you how to make your resolutions succeed, I’m going to tell you what I think you should resolve to do! First, my reasons:
I am looking forward to a terrific year in 2019 and I hope you are too. Many of my clients and readers have told me they are anticipating greater results, confidence, and satisfaction in 2019 thanks to newly acquired tools for creating clarity. I am thrilled to hear that and would like even more people to benefit from similar discoveries. To that end, I have arranged for the Kindle version of The Clarity Papers to be free from New Year’s Day until midnight on January 5th. That’s five days – the most Amazon will allow – so please take advantage of this offer right away. The world needs more clarity – at work, at home, and in government offices worldwide. Here are three things you can do to start your new year off right and help others enjoy the power of clarity: If you haven’t read The Clarity Papers, now is your chance to grab a Kindle copy for free. Share this post on social media and encourage your connections to act before this offer expires on January 5th. Remember, clarity helps everyone, and it boomerangs. When others are clear, you benefit as well. Post a short review of The Clarity Papers on Amazon to help people worldwide discover the power of clarity. I’m sure you use reviews for your buying decisions. If you think The Clarity Papers provides value, please leave a comment for others to consider. Your colleagues will thank you. I will thank you. And, if we spread the word, clarity will enrich us all. Wishing you a Happy New Year and much, much more!
I’ve been writing about the tremendous power of strategic clarity to improve profits, productivity, confidence, and employee empowerment since 2004. My cumulative writings would fill more than six fat books. You can find my articles on numerous websites, especially Forbes.com and LinkedIn, in addition to UncommonClarity.com. Some of you may have read a significant portion of those articles as newsletter subscribers and social media followers from the beginning.
There is a formula for providing effective feedback. It is really pretty simple and many people know about it. Recently, however, I discovered a common and fatal flaw in the way most people apply that formula. The Feedback Formula The formula involves pointing out a specific, observable behavior and ensuring the other person understands the impact of that behavior. “When you {did/said a particular factual, observable thing}, {it made me/us/the company feel/think/suffer a negative impact}.” Once you’ve made your point, it is time to listen and understand the other person’s perspective on what happened and why. With this new, mutual understanding, you can work together to figure out how to prevent a recurrence. To make this work, you have to:
We moved earlier this year and I love our new town. Truly love it. Desperately want it to thrive. That love has changed my life. It feels great to protect and nurture your own community.
A client of mine was told confidentially by a third party that he was picky. That’s it. That’s all he was given. The messenger didn’t want to reveal the source and so my client was left with nothing to go on. Few people consider being picky a virtue. Especially my client, who was new to the job. When he told me about this, he had fashioned no fewer than three detailed theories about what he might have done and with whom that could have possibly led to this disparaging label. What a waste!