Self Improvement Tips | Self Improvement Advice

In the previous two blog posts we talked about building a culture of safety and how it centers on our desire to belong. What are some steps we can take to create that culture? After all, very often it is easy to identify WHY we need to do something and WHAT needs to be done. But, it is the HOW that can hold us back. As a  personal development business coach in Houston  I am often reminded in collaborating with clients and even from my own experiences as a business owner, some of which were fairly large, that it is the start of instituting change that stops us. Yes, the start is what stops us. Here are some thoughts to get you started on building safety in your culture, in your life. And along with that to create a sense of belonging and collaboration. First you must be an active listener. Almost go overboard in letting people know that you are truly listening to them. In my personal business coaching in Houston and The Woodlands I have learned that I gain so much m...

In the last post I spoke about some of the foundational components to building a strong culture. It is necessary for people to feel safe and to believe they belong to something bigger than themselves. Also, for a culture to thrive it needs a clear mission, vision and an established purpose. As a  business coach in the Woodlands and as a business coach in Houston , a clear sense of purpose makes the possibilities for growth and advancement of an organization much clearer. Why? With clarity comes pointed and focused action. The individuals and teams who make up the culture have a clear purpose. Several years ago, a designer and engineer, Peter Skillman, held a competition to find out the following: Why do certain groups add up to be greater than the sum of their parts, while others add up to be less? To this end he assembled a series of four-person groups at three major universities and a few other places. He challenged each group to build the tallest possible structure usin...

One of the questions we must answer to have greater success in business and life is this: How can we change the errors in the formula for failure into the disciplines required in the formula for success? The answer is by making the future part of our current philosophy. Both success and failure involve future consequences, namely inevitable rewards or unavoidable regrets resulting from past activities. So what do we need to do daily to be on the path to success? We must develop the discipline to look down the road every day. Why are new disciplines so important? They cause us to amend our thinking to keep us on track to creating the successful future we desire. Also, disciplines tend to multiply. We start with one new successful discipline and we build momentum and self-confidence to develop others. Success is about paying attention to what we are doing each day to move us to the future we desire. Failure, on the other hand, is largely a function of neglect. And, not doing the things ...

Change, in most instances, is not easy. Why? It presents a whole new set of challenges to the people who have to learn to master it, not to mention, the other who work with them who can be directly or indirectly in the performance of their work be affected by the change. As we know when we throw a stone in the middle of a calm pond, the waves it creates will wash up on the shore in ways that we cannot see. To increase the odds of successful change we must simplify it to help those who are going to apply it. To simplify change we must make it something that people can remember and recall how to do it. When change can be remembered and recalled it can be applied. Simplification is important in another critical way. Simplification can allow us to achieve 80% of the desired results rapidly. Individuals love results. How do we do that? We focus on the 20% of all factors that are the key in allowing us to reach 80%. Moving rapidly to 80% keeps momentum and still is much better than never at...

Virtually every major change has its roots in success. In almost every case, the need for change is born of past success—of doing the right thing and doing it well. The first stage of change—The environment shifts and the right thing becomes the wrong thing. The frustrating thing is that, although the old right thing is now wrong, we still do it well. We start the second stage of change by finally recognizing that the right thing is now the wrong thing-we finally see the light. The third stage is the new right thing is new. We are usually not very good at it at first. Initially, we end up doing the new right thing quite poorly. See more at : http://www.selfimprovement-tips.com

Attitudes are affected by what we know since what we know determines he decisions we will make. Where our philosophy deals with the logical side, our attitude focuses primarily on emotional issues. What we know determines our philosophy. What we feel determines our attitude. Here is the key point to remember. In business and life it is our emotional nature that governs most of our daily conduct in our personal and business worlds. I have heard many well intentioned people say to others: “Be more logical. Don’t be so emotional.” That’s an interesting statement. Interesting because there is a strong emotion attached to it. Be more logical. All thoughts are things with some type of emotion attached to them. We must be aware of our thoughts and the emotions attached to them. Very often when we look at our emotions and the thoughts that go with them we will start to discover what is moving us forward or holding us back in our business, relationships and life. Why is this process of...

Leading change is one of the top core leadership competencies that is honored in successful businesses large and small. There is nothing more difficult to carry out, nor more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to handle than to initiate a new order of things. When we are leading change, we are leading reform. There is always a large group who profits from keeping the old order. They are quite certain in their stance. Then there are those who see the need for change and who could profit by the new order. Yet they are only lukewarm to it. How come? Most individuals do not believe in anything new until they have had actual experience with it. We are wired to resist random change for we fear the possible random consequence of being declared irrelevant and let go. We are wired, first and foremost to survive, so we hang on to what has worked in the past. The challenge in leading change is to get those who are resistant open to it. And to get those who are lukewarm, enthusiastic about i...

According to Dr.Henry Cloud in his book, Integrity, integrity is “courage to meet the demands of reality.” Yes, integrity includes other aspects including but not limited to habitual honesty through and through and having strong moral principles. Integrity is the quality you find in a good leader. A good leader will meet the demands of reality. Reality may be stormy seas. The leader will see how to navigate the ship to a safe harbor. Reality may be rapid growth. The good leader sees the danger of overextending the company financially and has plans and options to make sure the financial integrity of the company and the well being of its employees is not compromised. Leading by meeting the demands of reality allows us to lead from a position of strength, from integrity. How we lead, as Dr. Cloud points out, leaves a wake. Your wake determines three things.     The type of influence your character has.     Your degree of integrity     Your a...