Insights, inspiration, and practical leadership and business tips and advice for meaningfully integrating your life and work using the On-Purpose Approach by Kevin W. McCarthy
Career coaching isn't my specialty. As a business advisor my focus has principally been on company growth through improving the business acumen and leadership capacity of the people within a well-defined business strategy.
Over the years, however, many a client has come to me seeking career advice usually when they are in the midst of a tough shift -- job loss or job dissatisfaction. Most of us struggle with time management, but that isn't the issue at all. The real problem is we haven't identified what's most important to us... really important. Therefore, we take on too much, spread ourselves thin, and never develop to our true strengths, passion, and purpose. We're simply close, but still off-purpose. What a waste!
A Tough Shift™ happens when we're not making a smooth and peaceful transition. Often these transformations are due to a change in circumstances beyond our control. Sometimes we choose them in order to improve our situation or life.
A essential element of any tough shift is the ability to have a firm grasp on reality. Hindrances such a denial, blame, and fear cloud our progress. The management of changes is a core life skill to develop.
Do you need help making your Tough Shift? Today is the last day to join me in a new 6-week On-Purpose Leader Experience. The On-Purpose Process is amazingly simple to do, yet the effects will last a lifetime. Invest 5 minutes to learn more.
For your convenience all webcasts are recorded and available for replay at our private website where you can also post questions and interact with other participants and me. Here is the link for the webcast 1 replay from Feb. 1: http://InstantTeleseminar.com/?eventid=26215212
A Tough Shift™ happens when we're not able to make a smooth transition. Do you find yourself fretting, fearful, or discouraged? Take heart!
Tough shifts are events such as career changes, starting a business, having a baby, retiring, getting married or divorced, a death, a move, a job change -– they're all around us. Some are smoothly managed, others are not. That's when we need help (scroll to bottom for help).
As a kid, I remember learning to drive a stick shift in an ice blue 1962 MG Midget that our family owned. This car made today's Mini Cooper look big. It was basically a tin coffin with an engine and wheels and a removable lid. It had paper-thin doors, slide on windows, a pull starter, and it was absolutely the most fun car in the world to tool around town in. (I can't believe I found a photo online of one that looked just like it!)
My digression into my '62 MG Midget past is about learning to shift gears. I remember the first sounds and feel of that gearshift in my hand as I attempted to sync the clutch, the gearshift, and still steer the car. I find myself driving two-footed every now and then with one foot on the gas and the other on the brake. Growing up in the "South Hills" of Pittsburgh meant I needed to master it all fast, lest I drift into the car behind me at all stops! Today, driving a stick is still second nature thanks to what I mastered at age 16.
Tough shifts in life are similar to my learning to drive a stick shift experience. They can be difficult, noisy, rough, clashing, and damaging with the threat of even worse things happening. On the other hand, once mastered, the ability to make what used to be a tough shift becomes an opportunity to efficiently go places. The skills are transferable to other "vehicles." The lessons learned stay with us.
Do you need help making your Tough Shift? Join me in a new six-week On-Purpose Leader Experience starting on Wednesday February 1, 2012 at 12:05 PM Eastern. For your convenience all webcasts are recorded and available for replay at our private website where you can also post questions and interact with other participants and me.
Job loss, underemployment, a part-time job instead of a full time job, less pay for less rewarding work. Or perhaps you just don't like the job you have. You are in the midst of or contemplating a Tough Shift™. Don't go through it alone! (Check out The On-Purpose Leader Experience below - starts this Wednesday!)
You are not alone in the transition of your career. As of December 2011, US unemployment stands at 8.5%. The under-employment rate -- those persons working in jobs below their skill set or prior earning capacity -- is estimated in the 18%-20% range. My observations of many business owners are showing sales off anywhere from 30%-70% compared to pre-recession numbers.
When the US Economy catches a cold, the whole world sneezes! This unfortunate effect has many people spinning and caught in a round of chaos and confusion. Couple this with technology changes and the personal fallout from job loss and underemployment-–it all amounts to a serious world wide tough shift.
Change is never easy, but change under duress is even tougher. Fear, worry, doubt, and anxiety creep into us. This affects us at some profound subconscious level and begins to be communicated. Our nervous vibe causes others to view us as desperate and risky. This perpetuates our greatest fears from the tough shift.
What to do? This On-Purpose Business Minute offers some simple and calming insights. Are you ready to tackle the underlying issues, so you're tough shift proofed?
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Do you need help making your Tough Shift?
Join me for a new six-week On-Purpose Leader Experience starting on Wednesday February 1, 2012 at 12:05 PM Eastern. For your convenience all webcasts are recorded and available for replay at our private website where you can also post questions and interact with other participants and me.
As President Obama prepares to address the nation tonight, let me ask you one simple question, "What is the state of your American Dream?" Use your webcam to post your response to YouTube or Facebook and then add your link below so others can see what you have to say.
The only rules:
1. Keep it non-political. Hey, let's hear your story.
2. Be civil.
3. At the start of the video, please give your name and location.
Watch today's On-Purpose Business Minute then invest 15 more minutes to watch the Coca-Cola Content 2020 videos posted below. In them you'll see this On-Purpose concept put into action and then some and then some more. It is mind-blowing to see how Coke has moved from selling caffeinated sugar water to a global cause and conversation around its brands. Use the comments section (below) in my vblog to create our own conversation about the strategic implications to your business; your impressions; guesstimates on what it cost to write, create, and produce this; or whatever other lessons, insights, or feelings it stirred in you.
Frequently, I'm asked, "What is strategy or strategic plan?" Coca-Cola answers that question from the point of view of a world-class brand. These videos, while technically sophisticated in thought, bring strategy to life in a visually appealing and rapid manner. It may seem "liquid" but it is thick! Don't let it intimidate you. Instead allow it to inspire you.
(FYI -- it is purely coincidental that I happened to use a white board for this On-Purpose Business Minute. Coca-Cola and I have different production budgets! Ha, an understatement!)
Part 1 of 2 (7:28 Minutes)
Part 2 of 2 (10:18 minutes)
Here is the original text for this classic On-Purpose Business Minute that originally aired on Feb. 17, 2011.
Twitter, and the like, "social media." Media is a broad term in marketing that is associated with print, radio, TV, electronic, and, now, social. While the rest of the world is busy socializing, we business folks are figuring out a way to engage in their conversation a la Seth Godin's brilliant Permission Marketing approach.
Let's think of media as merely a channel or means to get out a message. For example, I'm in the business of getting out the On-Purpose® message. I leverage media to help me spread the word.
Far too many business people are struggling with making sense of this new media opportunity. The problem is their focus is in the wrong place, yet again. It is a classic case of fire, ready, aim. The technology isn't the key -- it is the means. The true challenge is the strategy.
There's a well-defined "chain of strategic command" that is too often overlooked with costly consequences. Social media is simply that latest victim of a busted chain and dangling tactical activities.
Put it in perspective. Invest in your core strategy and then bring it to life tactically. Activity in the absence of strategy is simply wishful thinking and lazy business leadership.
Ladies and Gentlemen, your manners distinguish you for better or for worse. Above all manners are voluntary, a choice we make as to how you choose to be and to present yourself.
Lately, I've been pondering both my language and carriage with a measure of concern. Our present culture is so accustomed to using and hearing profanity that we've lost our sense of what is profane.
Admittedly, I'm no Puritan as I'm apt to drop my share of curse words from time to time. When I'm real with myself, I don't like it when I do it. Cussing is typically lazy, dumbed-down language coming from the lesser me rather than the greater me. It tears me down and, worse, brings others with me, especially as a leader.
Yep, both my manner and manners matter. I'm working to be the best Kevin I can be. Will you join me in cleaning up your language? When you do, you're also becoming a better leader of your life by becoming a lady or a gentleman.
In this classic (April, 20 2010) On-Purpose Minute, you'll catch me at the Ritz-Carlton on Grand Cayman Island. After the video I do a quick 270 degree sweep of this beautiful resort. Special thanks to Daniel, the concierge, who suggested where to shoot the video and escorted me there. Truly a gentleman!
Business owners are anyone who works. In The On-Purpose Business I write about the Think Inc! mindset and the importance of taking on responsibility. One of the most important roles of a business owner is to set and create a culture or an environment. We can be slack about it or intentional.
In this On-Purpose Business Minute I'm challenging you to truly reflect on an aspect of leading. Truth is this Business Minute isn't just for the workplace. It reflects an approach to life, marriage, rearing children, or volunteering for a committee at a not-for-profit.
Setting goals for the New Year is commonplace in most work settings. It is the natural time of the year for reflection and planning so the new year can be better than the previous year. There's a reason why, however, all those good intentions often fail to live up to expectations.
Goal setting -- everyone uses it, right? You know the deal. You show up at an organizational meeting at work, church, the PTA, a ministry, or some other group. After the introductions, the person with the agenda says it is time to set goals.
Suddenly a knot appears in your stomach. Something about this doesn't feel just right. You go with it because goal setting seems so right... and yet so wrong. After an hour or so, the team comes up with a list of goals and everyone goes home satisfied that a great deal was accomplished. And it has, but you have this gnawing feeling that very little is really going to happen next. Why, you wonder, is it so unsatisfactory? Why is the group so excited, yet you're worried?
Having watched the On-Purpose Business Minute, let me offer you an example. Here is my killer goal: produce and post an On-Purpose Minute every Tuesday and an On-Purpose Business Minute every Thursday. Sounds easy enough, right?
Hold on for one On-Purpose Minute! Consider the thought, planning, equipping, and disciplines needed to meet this simple "killer goal." I invested nearly a year in researching, experimenting, and learning what camera, lighting, and editing software to use. In the end, the technical and production stuff is actually the easy part. The concepts of the On-Purpose Minutes had to be conceived, developed, and tied to the business strategy and On-Purpose brand. An audience to reach had to be in mind. Finally, the content for each On-Purpose Minute has to be conceived, written, recorded, edited, posted, and embedded using YouTube.com and my blogging service. Here's one example where a Killer Goal without a clear purpose, plan, people, and process to support performance is bound to flounder or fail.
Take your leadership and management duties seriously so your team can thrive and exceed its goals. Learn to think more deeply about the breadth and depth of the assignment. The more you can talk about and plan early on, the better things will go for all involved. Avoid setting Killer Goals that kill the team. Learn that the slow path to achieving your goals may actually be the sustainable and more profitable fast track for reaching your stated goals.
Have you reached the point where you've said, "Something has to change! I can't go on living like this!" But then you just keep on pushing your scheduling and piling up the work at home and on the job.
Life in the fast lane requires a vehicle designed to go fast. To do otherwise is simply gambling with one's life. Aren't you blessed with the capacity to run in the fast lane? But, you've also been blessed with the wisdom to know that can't be sustained long term without negative consequences.
No research studies here to reference, but my gut tells me many of us are looking to simplify life with the hopes that decluttering will offer stress relief, healthier living, and a more peaceful existence. We're running so hard and so fast, that if we ease off the accelerator of our lives for a minute, we're apt to discover we're lost and without direction. We begin asking basic and solid life questions such as, "What does it really mean to be yourself? How do I find direction in my life?"
The desire to simplify our lives and the act of actually doing it are easily postponed. When a car needs maintenance, a dashboard light flashes on and we take it to the repair shop or dealer. When we need maintenance, we experience headaches, stress, grumpiness, and worse. Hypertension, adrenal fatigue, weight gain, and other risky decisions keep us flying down the highway of life in ill-maintained bodies. What do we do, we pop a pill to kill the pain or turn off the indicator. We're running ourselves into the ground at a frenzied, unhealthy pace.
"Clutter equals postponed decisions." That's what my friend Barbara Hemphill, author of the Taming The Paper Tiger series and professional organizer extraordinaire, says about all the stuff surrounding us. In essence, Barbara's telling us that physical clutter is a reflection of a life of indecision.
In the On-Purpose Approach, clutter is speedily and readily managed with the Want List and Tournament process. Download the free preview to the Discovery Guide by going to the Free Stuff page here on my blog. Use this simple process to sort and set priorities. In just about 10 minutes, your brain will be better organized and you'll be more productive. Use this tool every day with your Two Do lists or anytime you've got a project and can't figure out where to start.
Let me offer a different perspective for you. What if the demands, stresses, and strains of our modern society are actually blessings that refine and sharpen us to be more of who we are and are called to be? That means you are, in fact, an on-purpose person in creation.
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