I found a short video on Dr. Mark Goulston’s web site that I found intriguing.  He features the top two never-fail questions for strengthening client relationships.  Take a look.  Have you asked your clients these questions?  Would you ask your clients these questions? If not, what is stopping you? What could you ask them?

To get the most value out of your work week it is crucial to work in chunks of uninterrupted time rather than long grinds filled with constant stops and starts for email and phone calls.   Yes, the good news is that by managing your energy levels and taking breaks, even very short ones, you can be far more productive and keep your stress levels down.

Tony Schwartz author of the book The Way We Work Isn’t Working, co-written with Jean Gomes and Catherine McCarthy, has concluded that to be top of our game, we need to integrate both intense periods of work and short periods of rest into the work-day.  Schwartz is featured today in a Globe & Mail interview “An R&R room at the office? It could be just what the company needs” by Wency Leung:

Q: Your book suggests it’s possible to get more done by spending less time at work. Can you explain?

A: I don’t think it’s so much about spending less time at work; I think it’s about shifting the focus from time to energy. The more continuously and longer you work, the less incremental return you get on each additional hour.

We are physiologically meant to pulse, and we operate best when we move between spending energy and renewing energy. We value spending energy and we are good at it, but we undervalue renewing energy, even though that’s a powerful way to improve performance.

I urge you to read the article and give this approach a try.  What is the impact on your effectiveness when you schedule in several periods for uninterrupted work during the day, with short breaks and periods for phone calls and email?

Too much to do, too little time.  I can’t think of a single person who isn’t dealing with this challenge on a daily basis.  Even the retired people I know report they are busier than ever!

I have had both men and women tell me that they feel they are failing at both main areas of their life – personal and professional because there is not enough time to fully dedicate to both.

Many of my coaching clients come to me because they feel out of control.  They are caught up in a whirlpool of deadlines and are desperate to find their way out and back to calmer waters,

In my work as a professional coach I have come across four simple principles that have made a significant difference for me and for my clients. They aren’t in themselves a recipe for success but rather a rough guide to what has worked for some of us along the way.   Read More

Our biggest hopes and dreams, the aspirations we cherish, are most often those we are called to struggle for.  Perseverance is the decision we make each day to keep trying, to hang on one more time, or to pick ourselves up and begin anew.

I am very excited about the new book Perserverance by leadership consultant, educator, speaker, author Margaret Wheatley, PHD.   I feel like this book is being released just when the world needs it most.

From Wheatley’s website:

“Perseverance is a day-by-day decision not to give up.  Wheatley does not offer the usual feel-good, rah-rah messages.  Instead, she focuses on the situations, feelings, and challenges that can, over time, cause us to lose heart or lose our way. When we feel lost, overwhelmed, betrayed or exhausted, we need to know we have a choice for how we respond.  And we have to nurture the rewarding times, when we experience the joy of working together on something hard but worthwhile, when we realize we’ve made a small difference. ”

I am going to immediately order three copies.