Work Better, Not Harder

The best boss I ever had told me I was a crappy listener. Those weren't the exact words he used, but Carlos was always blunt and to-the-point during performance reviews. I was young and confident... and completely surprised to be told I had this failing. After surprise came denial, reluctant acceptance, and finally, a desire to learn to do better. Twenty-five years later, I recall that discussion with both chagrin and fondness. I'm still not a great listener but I'm a better listener than I was then. And I'll continue to improve. Now, as a small business owner, I'm so very fortunate to have a few strong people supporting me who have no fear of telling me when something is not so good. Feedback and advice are both important for doing good work and continuing to improve. Whether it's what we want to hear or not, honest, thoughtful feedback comes from people who truly care about our success. Whether you are a new business owner or an experienced pro, inve...

Survivor fans might remember WWMD - "What would Monica do?" - from Season 34 Game Changers . Brad Culpepper often reflected on what his wife Monica would do in a given situation. He considered Monica his hero as she had made it to the final tribal council on an earlier season. This introspection seemed to work as Brad also made it to the final tribal council. Recently I wrote to a trusted colleague describing the help I want from her as "What would Alison do?" After all, Alison Knott is an expert at branding and that's exactly the kind of help I was writing to her about. There are other heroes in my life - business and personal - whose advice I call upon often without their knowledge... by thinking, "What would *my hero* do?" I'm so fortunate to know and love them, to appreciate their expertise and learn from it. Do your heroes guide your daily business activities? Do they shape your decision-making without even knowing? Now might be a...

Long ago and far away, when I worked for a multinational, sometimes I brainstormed with my team by email. I was working in Georgetown ON and had staff in Toronto, Regina and Abbotsford. Email was fairly new back then, and a welcome alternative to scheduling group conference calls across the time zones. I could start with a discussion question sent to the customer service reps, asking them to add comments and send onto the production planners. The planners would give their input and send it on to the warehouse staff. Eventually, I'd get back an email that loosely mapped out a process. I've never used email so productively since. Now, I don't have staff but I still have a team. And I'm usually brainstorming ideas, not processes. Here's the funny thing, I can sit by myself and scratch notes on paper... and get overwhelmed with ideas. So I start writing an email to my cohorts explaining and asking for feedback. And through that process, I often find clarity - wit...