610-793-6609 michael@achievable.com

How Will You Emerge From This Crisis

May 6, 2020 | Business Growth, Business Owners, CEOs, Leadership, Leadership Development, Strategic Planning, Success

If you are waiting to get back to “business as usual” you will be grossly disappointed. The world has changed, is changing, and will continue to change. Those who are waiting to go back to “business as usual” will be left behind.

So what do we do to thrive in the “new normal”?

As business leaders, our number one priority is to stay focused on strategy and provide direction for our teams.

You might be wondering what an effective strategic plan even looks like right now. Dennis Carey, Ram Charan and Tierney Remick wrote an article  in The Executive outlining 5 critical “pivots” CEOs must make right now to stay in business and ensure a successful future.

Make employees a top priority.
Keep the organization lean and nimble.
Redefine what a “responsible” balance sheet looks like.
Adapt to consumers’ changing needs.
Step up to social responsibility.
If you want your business to thrive you have to be intentional in your actions and not just reactive. Intentionality requires planning. Ask yourself these questions: Is your current plan still applicable?

Are your goals aligned with the aforementioned criteria? Are you taking action to achieve those goals? Are you communicating openly with your team and are you listening to their feedback?

How you and your business emerge from this crisis depends entirely on what you are doing right now. Are you thinking strategically and acting intentionally? Creating a One Page Strategic Plan is a good first step to ensure that you are.

Click here  for more information and to download the One Page Plan Strategic Checklist and get a jumpstart today!

Make It a Grateful Day

May 3, 2020 | Business Owners, CEOs, Happiness, Leadership, Leadership Development

Paul J. Meyer of Leadership Management International defines attitude as “a mental disposition toward events, people, or situations that controls behavior.”

This definition clarifies why it is so important to be mindful and aware of our own thoughts and attitudes. Our thoughts CONTROL what we do, whether consciously or subconsciously.

It is equally important for those who want to live successful lives to change negative thought patterns and attitudes through continuous repetition of new, positive thought patterns.

Attitude is essentially the perspective we take when looking at the world around us. Over the past few weeks, I discussed several different ways that we, as leaders, can look at adversity in a positive light.

Today, I want to discuss one fundamental and powerful perspective that is perhaps most often overlooked – Gratitude! Adopting an attitude of gratitude is a simple step we can take during these times to change our focus from problem to solution. When we start thinking about why we are grateful, our reasons to be grateful become more and more abundant. But how does this work?

Practicing gratitude changes the structure and function of our brains. The more we express gratitude, the more grateful we become overall. Although there is not enough space here to dive deeply into the neuroscience that supports this, you can find it here.

Research also shows that expressing gratitude positively correlates with being happier, healthier, and more professionally engaged. Madhuleena Chowdhury of Positive Psychology explains that regular practice of gratitude releases negative emotions, lessens pain, helps us sleep better, improves our ability to manage stress and reduces anxiety and depression.

As leaders it is our responsibility to model positive attitudes and behavior. If we adopt an attitude of gratitude, our behaviors will show this. We will communicate gratitude to our families, employees, customers and communities not only through our words but through how we live and do business. What a wonderful world it could be if we all behaved gratefully.

Do you want to get started on the journey toward an attitude of gratitude? Click here to download the Attitude of Gratitude worksheet today. Another way to express gratitude is to Celebrate Your Success. Click here to Download.

Adversity is Transformational

Apr 21, 2020 | Business Growth, Business Owners, CEOs, Leadership Development, Motivation, Success

The old saying, “This will either make you or break you” carries a lot of truth. Every contact we have with adversity gives us the opportunity to grow personally and professionally and to forge a great character. It is our choice to accept the challenge and proceed forward or succumb to the pressure and surrender to defeat.

It is in moments of adversity that we see what people are truly made of. Adversity brings out our internal resources. The Roman poet Horace said “Adversity reveals genius, prosperity conceals it.” When everything is going well, we coast. There is little stress, and we are operating on autopilot.

But when adversity comes, we begin to draw upon every resource that we have in order to conquer the circumstances at hand. Adversity, then, keeps us sharp and strong. Body builders work their external muscles to build them up. Leaders must do the same thing with their internal muscles.

Adversity strengthens character How will courage, discipline and perseverance ever flourish if we are never tested?

If we look at adversity as an opportunity for growth, we will come out the other side better than when we started. We can use our influence, as leaders and coaches, to hep others improve themselves as well.

Take some time to reflect on these things: What part of your character is being tested and built up? What resources have you employed during this time that you have not used before? What can you learn from these interesting times about yourself and others?

Remember, Setbacks are setups for future success and breakdowns are setups for future breakthroughs.

If you haven’t had the chance to read Dan Sullivan’s “The Scary Times Success Manual” yet, here it is again: Click here (https://achievable.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Scary-Times-Success-Manual-Dan-Sullivan-The-Strategic-Coach.pdf) to download.

This is Your Time to Shine

Apr 14, 2020 | Business Owners, CEOs, Ethical Leadership, Leadership, Leadership Development, Success

Many of us have endured the OPEC oil crisis, hyperinflation, stagnation, Black Monday, the Asian financial crisis, the Dot.com crash, 9/11, the Gulf War, the Great Financial Crisis, and many other blows over the years and we survived and some even thrived through the mess of it all

The reality is we already have the necessary skills for dealing with scary times like this because for most of us we have already been through challenging times just starting and growing our own businesses.

We have faced all kinds of challenges on a daily basis and have grown from them. Entrepreneurs and business owners face uncertainty every day just by virtue of being who we are and how we’ve chosen to live our lives.

We are continually creating a bigger future for ourselves which gives a higher level of clarity, focus and results giving us greater confidence and capability to do it again and again.

Our future is something we always create from our imagination and now is the time to crank up our creative imagination and that of our teams to move forward. This is the time to bring your new ideas forward, to launch new goals, to be proactive, creative and resourceful.

Victor Frankl wrote, “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” This is the perfect time to pull out our plan of action for the future and review and update our personal goals and business goals.

It is time to review our Strategic One Page Business plans and the ideal time to grow our mastery of key leadership skills that will help us and our teams moving forward. Now is the time to build relationships and create greater value for our employees, clients, and prospects.

Leaders, this is YOUR time to shine!

If you missed it last week, we want to share The Strategic Coach, Dan Sullivan’s “The Scary Times Success Manual” with our readers again this week. Click here (https://achievable.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Scary-Times-Success-Manual-Dan-Sullivan-The-Strategic-Coach.pdf) to download.

Why You Should Have an Others-Centered Focus

Mar 31, 2020 | Business Owners, CEOs, Ethical Leadership, Leadership, Leadership Development

Today I want to talk about how we can use our focus to create value in the challenges that we face as business leaders. Value can have many definitions but for the purpose of this post, I want you to consider the definition of value as equivalent to goodness. Good is defined by Peter Demarest of Axiogenics, LLC. as the degree to which something has all the attributes to fulfill its purpose. Thus, you are a good business leader to the degree you are able to lead yourself and others.

If what is most important to you right now is self-centered, it will be difficult to cope and adapt to obstacles. You may feel like the trouble you are facing now is a direct attack on you and your business. If you feel this way, you may want to reflect on your purpose and your organization’s purpose. Successful leaders are others-centered and their business purpose should serve the common good – family, employees, community, the world. What can you do right now to create value for others and can this be aligned with your goals? Perhaps it already is.

Look for what you can do that is good. When we focus on what is good, we develop a positive leadership attitude. How can you assist your employees? How can you continue to serve your clients and community? The answer to these questions will relieve you of the fear of uncertainty and give you direction in continuing on your journey toward success.

What Power Do Business Leaders Have Now?

Mar 25, 2020 | Business Owners, CEOs, Ethical Leadership, Leadership, Leadership Development, Motivation

The level of uncertainty in business and in life is rising in America and around the world, or is it? Did we ever really have certainty about the future? We made plans and we made contingency plans but many of us never planned for this. How can we continue to achieve our goals in business and in life? How do we begin to overcome the challenges we are facing and how do we help our employees do the same?

One quote from Napoleon Hill describes a positive perspective in answering some of these questions, Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit. Some sources quote Hill replacing “benefit” with “opportunity”. What can we learn from every obstacle we are facing and are we going to allow this adversity to improve our strengths or limit us? What good can we find in this? What opportunities are being placed before us today?

You might be feeling powerless over your circumstances, but you have power over your attitude and your actions. These will determine your success or failure – that is one thing that is certain.

Attitude is the lense through which we choose to see the world. We can choose to feel overwhelmed and then become defeated or we can choose to adapt our strategy to the current environment. We can be stagnant or creative. We can stand stunned like a deer in headlights or move forward. What do you choose?

Check out our blog next week as we continue discussing positive leadership attitudes and how we can find value in adversity.