Can't Do It All!

By nature I am a Type “A” personality. When I am working on a project, I will scrutinize every detail just knowing that I am going to miss something! If I am not careful I will spend hours hovering over one sentence. It took me three tries just to write that last sentence of this article! But, I also need to maintain a life full of other “stuff to do.” We heap our proverbial plates full of activities, events and projects with an absolute conviction that we can do it all! There are a few things in life that will bring a humble realization that you sometimes just can’t do it all… As a matter of fact, thinking you can will only lead to burn out and inefficient results. We all have demands on us. Some we place there and some that life places on us. Sometimes the challenge is determining which of them are self-imposed and which are life-imposed. Many times in my life I’ve had to clear the plate. I have done a self audit and cleared the clutter of busyness in my life. Clearing your plate will require honesty and a commitment to being just a little less busy. It all starts with a statement like, “I don’t need to do everything” or “I am not able to do everything.” The best thing to learn is the word no. NO does not mean ever and NO does not mean that you are uninterested or unsympathetic to the needs of others. It simply means you don’t have the ability to do it right now. Change also means that you are going to need to keep an up-to-date calendar. For me, I use the calendar in MS Outlook and I sync the calendar with my smart phone. This way I have my up-to-the-minute calendar with me and I don’t end up overbooking. I am able to place events, phone calls, meetings and other important information in a place that reminds me of what I am doing and where I am going. In maintaining a calendar, one should also take into account travel and preparation times. Clearing your plate is going to take time and effort but anyone can do it. If you feel you might need help in bringing your life back into balance, a life coach can help. Visit http://www.maximumchange.com or call us (615) 216-5667 for more information.

Doing the Right Thing...

It's happened to you I know! Like many people you have experienced horrible customer service. It appears that long gone are the days of believing the customer is always right. Here we are in the early 21st century in the year 2010 and in the midst of what is now being coined as the "Great Recession". Businesses can no longer take their customers for granted or even take Advantage of their customers. There is an excellent book out Called "Raving Fan" and I think this book illustrates well the art of creating a Raving Fan. But this is my blog and not the authors of that great book, so allow me to offer a few examples from my life of Customer Service nightmares.

I had hired a well respected and well known sign company in my state to create a lobby sign for the company I worked for. The sign company advertises on certain aspects of customer service and quality which were appealing to my search for a company - that and they were the ONLY company willing to take on a custom lobby sign project. It took the company nearly 2 months to finally come out and measure the area for the sign and then it took another 3 months for them to build a small custom sign. The sales manager kept giving excuse after excuse and we could never get a clear story out of him. FINALLY, they delivered the sign -- it was not what we had asked for and was over the amount we agreed to pay. Needless to say, I wrote a rather terse letter to the owner of the sign company with the details of what had happened and included a copy of the book Raving Fan. Less than a week later I received a personal phone call from the Owner of this rather prestigious sign company. He personally thanked me for my honesty and the book. He told me what he was going to do to correct the experience I had with him, including revisions to the bill and even told me that he was going to buy a case of the books Raving Fan and make ALL of his managers read it both current and future. You see, this guy understood the value of doing the right thing and certainly the value of a happy customer.

Now for a not-so-happy ending... I had been with a certain phone company from about 1990 through about 2007. So, at least 17 years I had some kind of service with this company. I was very happy, for the most part, with the service I had been receiving and had no desire to leave them. In 2007 I had accumulated 2 cell phones from this company and only needed one. Remember, I had been with them 17 years. When I called the company.. their party line was that I would be charged $175 to shut off the second phone because it was still under contract. Never mind that I had been with them almost 20 years and I was willing to sign up for another 2 years of service with the phone I was going to keep on. You see, it was more important for this company to collect $175 than to keep me for another 20 years! Something is wrong with this picture. So, they lost me as a customer for life and every chance I get I tell my friends how horrible this company is and that they are better off going with the competitor.

You see - it is about doing the right thing. Companies cannot hide behind the statement of "its not our policy" or "I can't help you at all." If you're a business owner at any level - please hear me. A healthy company has Happy Customers. Now I realize you can't give the house away. But my experience is this... the examples I've given ended up costing the company more if nothing was done. If you're going to have a customer service department - those individuals who answer the phones should be trained and given authority to REALLY help a customer. Again, the world of business has changed forever because of the Recession we are in. We can never do business the same way again. People are more careful with the money they spend - they expect a bang for their buck and if your company wont give it to them, they will find someone who will meet their needs.

Many people say without product there are no customers. I say, if there are no happy customers, there is no need for a product or service. It's time we change how we look at our customers. We can no longer afford to assume that anyone HAS to do business with us. We need to move from being the companies of "NO" and "CAN'T", to a business oh "How can we serve you?" We must learn to DO THE RIGHT things when it comes to our customers or we too will be in the unemployment lines.

Permission

The longer I coach the more I find that people are often looking for permission to start working on their dreams and goals. Of course, that is assuming that they even remember what their dreams were! My entire life my passion, my dreams, and my calling have all been right in front of my face and I consciously was aware of them much of the time but I am human and I get caught up in the turbulence and excitement of life and many times lose sight of what it is I wanted to do, felt lead to do, or even NEED to do! In my last post I asked you what your "WHY" in life was. Why do you do what you do, why do you want to do it and what will you get from doing it? I hear it all the time "I don't know what to do next?" Here is a secret... if you're too close to the tree, back up a bit and look again! A 10,000 foot view is much better than a 1 inch view much of the time. I want to encourage you with this... you can do what ever you set your mind to. You likely have more than enough ability, smarts and will power to start working on your dreams and goals even right now. So what is stopping you? Oh yeah! I want to give you permission to start dreaming again. People laugh when I say that. Dreams are for children. NO! Dreaming starts with a child and think about it... a child's mind knows few limits. What is stopping you from reaching your full potential? Probably the gray matter between your ears. The Bible talks about Child-like faith and that is what I am talking about too. I'm not talking about being irresponsible or stupid. I am simply inviting you to look past your own doubt and see if you can look at life through the eyes of a child - where every day is new - the possibilities are endless and you have the belief you can be ANYTHING you want to be when you grow up!

Your Why?

Ok... so you want something. You have a goal to achieve or gain something out of life. The question is, "WHY?" What is the answer that will get you up off the couch and out of rut you find yourself in? What is it that will empower you to overcome the things that have roadblocked your life till now? Have you ever wondered WHY someone would climb the highest mountain, dive the deepest seas? Have you ever wondered WHY someone was able to go from obese to a healthy weight? What is it that has to change for us to overcome? What is it that we need to do to achieve? What is your big WHY? What would the answer be? It could be as simple as the need to be alive and to provide for the family. If could be as simple as the need to help others in this world. It would be that you are actually CALLED to be something more than you are presently living out. In speaking with someone recently who was dealing with being morbidly obese, they said that they were unable to be effective in life because of their weight. The answer... the Body is a temple of the Lord and they are not honoring the lord by the bondage of obesity. When we look at the things that hold us in bondage we have to understand that we have been given authority to break strongholds and overcome the bondage this world tries to lock us in. What does it really take to live our your why? A choice... a simple decision that the things that hold you back no longer own you. No longer take authority over you. Is this an easy task? No... it is hard and is a journey. But, if your why is strong enough... the reasons... you will climb your highest mountain, you will dive your deepest sea and you will overcome those things that seem to be in charge of your life. You can do it... You CAN be more than you currently are... Just ask what your why in life is... and GO FOR IT!

Resolution Time Again

A New Year often brings about the need for personal reflection and resolve to make much needed changes in one’s life. These resolutions cover everything from time, health and money.

While many utter their resolution, most do not put action behind their words. Saying something is often a lot easier than the taking the steps required to manifest change you so much desire. Change requires us to push through some kind of resistance to birth a new reality of who we are or what we desire to be. Change requires a choice to be earnest in a desire to change and the persistence to see it to the goal. Many times it becomes easier to tolerate where we are and we quickly forget the reasons we wanted the change in the first place. Resigned to the idea that the change we desire may be too hard for us to achieve. We must remember, if we say “I can’t” you have already decided you won’t!

Effective change comes when we resolve to make a “Lifestyle” change rather than a short term resolute goal. For example, we often say we will go on a diet and lose weight the first of the year. While this goal is admirable, it indicates a short term change in habits for a momentary goal. A more effective thought process would be to desire a lifestyle change rather than a temporary goal. One should understand that to replace an old habit with a new one will take time and the courage to commit to that change. Effective change can take up to 90-days. As a result of a need for a long term commitment, goals should be Specific, Measureable, Actionable, Realistic and Timed for the best chance of success.

Specific means just that, a specific declaration to a specific object. Measureable means that you have a way of knowing when the goal has been achieved. Actionable is defined as the actual ability to act on the goal. It is realistic in that you have some ability to reach the goal and timed means you have a time frame in which you plan on reaching that goal.

So a SMART goal could be: I am joining the XYZ gym and hiring a trainer and nutritionist by January 5, 2010. As a result of my work with a nutritionist I will change my diet and workout in accordance with the program my trainer designs for me. My scheduled workout time will be after 5pm Monday through Friday and I have a specific goal to lose 25lbs and tone up my muscles by June 30, 2010. Once I have met my initial goal I will work with my trainer for additional goals as appropriate for my condition.

Many times what we need most is someone who can help us best define our goals and then hold us accountable to achieve those goals. We must choose to put action behind those words of resolve we utter New Years Eve. Whatever your resolution or goal – there is a high probability that you will not achieve them unless you take them serious and Act on them. Set your mind to and get moving!

Don’t let another 360 days pass before you get serious about changing your life for the better.
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For more information on Life Coaching or for FREE resources– visit www.maximumchange.com to start your journey to a fulfilling life.

Philip Foster holds a Masters of Art in Organizational Leadership with an emphasis on Coaching and Mentoring. He works with individuals to help them find and reach their full potential in life. E-mail him today to start your journey to change today - philip@maximumchange.com or visit www.maximumchange.com for more information.

Economic Upswing

These past few years have been challenging from a Financial standpoint. There is no doubt that businesses have struggled and some have even closed their doors. The economist recently made it official that we are in a recession. That seems to be the bad news... the good news, the economist believe it started in the 4 quarter of 2007. Most economist also believe, based on historical data, that a recession will last on average 18 months. IF this is true, that would mean that our present recession will end somewhere around the summer of 2009! Presuming that the economists are right, I began to wonder what businesses were doing to get ready for the upswing in business. I began to wonder if they would be ready or would they be playing catch up with the businesses poised to take advantage of the swell in the business market wave! Its like surfing, you can ride the big wave if you're not in the water and ready for it.

So what can a business do to prepare? Well the very first thing that should be done is to secure expert advise. Someone who can stand beside you and help you prepare for the business ahead. As a Life Coach I work with businesses all the time to help them streamline, focus, and strategize their next move. If you feel like your company can benefit from a life coach, please contact me today. I want to see you ready for the business upswing that is coming. Its no longer a matter of IF....

Maximum Change Christian Life Coaching
maximumchange.com

Control the email monster

Control the E-mail Monster

By Philip A. Foster, MA

If there is one thing I understand, it is this... we are all very busy. Recently a client of mine told me that they receive over 300 e-mail messages a day in their mail box. So many e-mail messages come in that they spend nearly a quarter of the day (and I mean after 5PM as well) watching their e-mail box to keep it clean. Unfortunately, most of the mail this person receives in from internal discussions because the executive staff is spread out over the country and a lot of ad-hoc meetings take place via e-mail.

Here are some suggestions I had for the client that I hope will work for you...

1) If you are able to - put a stop to Ad-hoc meetings via e-mail. An appropriate response could be - "This sounds great Susan, lets schedule a meeting next week to go over it with the team..."

2) Turn on your SPAM filter or ask the company to turn on a SPAM filter. I once worked for a company that received on average over 5,000 spam e-mails a day. The staff of 30 people never knew about this spam because it never made it to them. And the occasional SPAM that did make it to them went into their SPAM folder on their local computer. That is almost 200 SPAM e-mails a day for each and every employee. IF you use the SPAM tools you already have you can reduce that number significantly.

3) Set up an additional email Box on your computer or on a FREE service like Yahoo, Google, etc where all of your OPT-IN e-mail is sent. That way you can keep only important company e-mail flowing to your current box.

4) If someone sends you e-mail, you can respond to them with one of the following

a) Please keep sending this sort of critical information

b) Send this to a responsible person on my team (and that person is.....)

c) Please do not send me this kind of information anymore.

5) Develop a company policy that states that e-mail is for company use and not for "FORWARDS", "JOKES," etc...

After a couple of weeks your e-mail load should be under better control.

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Philip Foster holds a Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership with an emphasis on Coaching and Mentoring. He works with individuals to help them find and reach their full potential in life. Sessions start as little as $75/hour. For more information, visit http://www.maximumchange.com