© Rhoberta Shaler, PhD
www.ForWomenEntrepreneurs.com

Last night,  I was facilitating one of my “Conversation Clinics.”  (Those are online and onsite groups that help participants with how to best manage current issues in their lives and businesses.)  And, last night, the conversation turned to living the values one professes to hold in day-to-day business.

I told them about a corporate group I had worked with in the afternoon. This is a team in trouble and the last resort was to call me in to “fix” things.  I facilitated conversations and offered training and coaching for three months. Yesterday was the last session.  The participants were very unhappy to know it was the last session. They asked the boss in attendance why that was so. His response:

“I cared enough about this team to bring in the best person I could to bring about the changes that are necessary. She gave you the tools, the insights and strategies that would make the differences required. I know she did because I have been here with you.  In three months, you have received all this information and not one thing has changed.  So, Dr. Shaler, tell them what you think.”

Wow! What a hand-off to me! I was prepared, however, and I said this:

“There is a huge difference between information and knowldge. I gave you the information. Only you can make it knowledge, by internalizing it. Only you can take responsiblity for turning information into knowledge that is demonstrable in your approach to your work and each other. I believe, from watching your interactions and speaking with each of you privately, that, despite my warnings, you were all waiting for someone else to change. You could take a hundred courses and have piles of handouts, books & DVD’s and they will not make a whit of difference until you integrate the information with who you are and what you choose to do each moment. That is why the boss has withdrawn my services from you. You have done nothing with the information.”

My question to you, dear fellow women entrepreneur: how much information are you spouting that only went from your head to your mouth? Until it goes through your head, heart, thoughts, words and actions, it’s just information. Now is the time to reflect on who you are and who you want to be. Once you know that, for sure, you can decide on how to offer your expertise and experience to the world in ways that are aligned with your vision, values, beliefs and purpose. That’s a integral component of business success and can make all the difference in your success in 2010!

If you want help with that alignment, or, want to ask a question or get feedback on an idea or strategy, you can book a forty-minute (I’m throwing in an extra ten minutes over the usual)  introductory mentoring session for only $59 for new clients. That can really kickstart your business confidently!   Register now at ForWomenEntrepreneurs.com/mentoring/index.htm

Here’s to extrordinary business growth in 2010!
Rhoberta

Rhoberta Shaler, PhD
Consultant. Counselor. Coach. Catalyst.
Success Solutions for Life, Work & Business
www.ForWomenEntrepreneurs.com

You are invited to:
Follow my blogs:
www.WrestlingRhinos.net/blog www.ForWomenEntrepreneurs.com/blog www.SoulWiseWays.com/blog

Follow me on Twitter:  www.Twitter.com/RhobertaShaler
Join me on Facebook:  www.profile.to/rhoberta & on LinkedIn: www.LinkedIn.com/in/rhobertashaler

Share on Facebook

©  Rhoberta Shaler, PhD
www.ForWomenEntrepreneurs.com

Yesterday I was involved in an affirming seminar that reminded me of many principles on which I have long based my life.  It’s always good to be reminded, especially by a young person who is really excited about the ideas. His enthusiasm let me remember what that time of discovery was in my life.  Thanks, Mat!

We were talking about focus and how specific it needs to be. There are various perspectives, of course. Some folks focus on the minutiae and get bogged down terribly. Others have such a big vision that nothing gets done. What’s up for you in that arena?

For me, I had to play with my personal zoom lens quite a long time to get the right perspective over the years. And, I’m always making slight adjustments. I do think, however, that my business is laser-focused. It’s all in the size of the laser beam.

My business is focused on the PsychoDynamic Success System I have created and how it applies to life, love and livelihood. It is a single focus, however, I had to get the accurate focal length to see that.  Yes, I help women entrepreneurs build their businesses by aligning their vision, values, beliefs and purpose with their expertise and experience.  And, I do it by helping clients to integrate the psychological, mental, emotional and spiritual in their lives.  It works when clients are having personal, relationship or business issues, or all three. After all, who can separate these things?  So, my focus is on creating PsychoDynamic Success in life, love and livelihood.

That lead me to think about the people who encourage us to have a niche market.  That’s an excellent idea. We do again have to adjust our focal length to the appropriate height, width and depth of the niche we serve.  Once that is established, we again laser-focus.

There is something called Principle 212. It’s all about the fact that water boils at exactly 212 degrees.  At 211, the water is very, very hot. At 212, it becomes steam and releases enormous energy. As it was explained to me, the purpose of Principle 212 was to tell folks that they had to put everything in one pot and  turn up the heat. That’s the way to get something to really percolate.

I agree. But, as I thought about it and discussed it with my partner, it became clear that you can have any size pot if you have a heat source powerful enough. The bigger the pot, the larger the flame and the longer it takes to boil. Simple formula.  This helped me clarify my business today in the most important place: my mind.

To Your Successes!
Rhoberta

Rhoberta Shaler, PhD
Consultant. Counselor. Coach. Catalyst.
….leading you to create the life, love & livelihood that fulfills you
www.ForWomenEntrepreneurs.com

Share on Facebook

©  Rhoberta Shaler

Are your systems supporting you?  Do you know what needs to be done? Do you have a business plan? Do you know what your marketing campaign looks like? Is it all on the calendar broken down into do-able chunks?

It’s so easy for me to know that I should have all that, but, I resist doing it.  Not that I don’t do it.  I do. But, oh, how I resist!  I want to get on with things, right now. All that thinking through and organizing and making file folders, yuck! I’m just champing at the bit to get on and do things.

It was a hard-learned lesson that creating systems actually saves me time, frustration, anxiety and concern. I know when things are due. I have created a schedule of the tasks required to be ready by that due date and I usually meet the deadline easily.

This is what Michael Gerber wrote about in the E-Myth when he said that we have to take the time to work ON our businesses, not just work IN them. It’s seductive to think we are really progressing towards success when we are only working IN our business. Working ON the business seems to be, for most of my clients and certainly earlier for myself, to be so tedious.  Not so.  I can tell you that I certainly feel much better taking the time to know exactly what I’m doing, why I’m doing it and when so that nothing falls off the turnip truck!

If your systems are not supporting you, you are not supporting yourself. That’s what I’ve learned.  So, take a day to organize.  Hey, it’s only one day away from the joy of “doing” that will pay-off a hundredfold.  If a day seems like a trial, how about an hour a day for two weeks?  Just do it. You’ll be glad you did.

To your success,
Rhoberta

Rhoberta Shaler, PhD
Consultant. Counselor. Coach. Catalyst.
…leading you to the life, love & livelihood that fulfills you…and makes money.
www.ForWomenEntrepreneurs.com

Visit our site to hear interviews with successful women entrepreneurs. They share their stories, strugges and successes to shortcut your journey!

Share on Facebook

© Rhoberta Shaler, PhD

Now is the time to stick to the knitting!   When Tom Peters and Robert Waterman wrote “In Search of Excellence” in 1982, they offered some excellent advice that still applies today…and keeps that book at the top of the charts even now!  One of their eight common themes they posit are responsible for business success is:

“Stick to the knitting – stay with the business you know.”

For some people this seems to come quite easily. They pick an area of interest, expertise and experience and simply stay doing it, improving it, enhancing it…and sticking with the knitting.  For others, this is difficult. There is always a new idea, a new path, a new interest that seems exciting, but, always seems like the right next thing that needs immediate attention.  I fell into the latter category for a long time and have had to work diligently to balance my nature to stick to the knitting when the pattern is good and the garment needs finishing.  I used to be the person with a million unfinished projects. Now, not so much.  So, I think this gives me some insights to share with my clients.

We need a balance between the two and, it’s called a business plan. I’ve written about it a couple of times before here, and, I’ll no doubt keep on about it.  Why? Because it is so easy to say, to pay lip service to, but most folks I work with begin without one. How about you?

• Do you know what garment you are knitting and why?
• Do you know “who it is for”–your ideal customer and target audience?
• Do you know when you want to have it finished and why?
• Do you know what you have to give up to finish it?
• Do you have a sense of how you will feel when it is done?
• Can you see the value of finishing it?
• Is that value of greater important than leaving the unfinished garment in a bag under the bed and running after another pattern, wool or needles?

These are important considerations. What you are currently doing right this minute needs to be thought through. If it is carefully chosen to match your values, vision, beliefs and purpose, and you believe in it, pick it up and keep knitting.  If you have not looked at the pattern in a while, re-visit it.  If you realize the garment is too small now, or inappropriate, carefully choose a new pattern.

I know that I have to ask myself the questions above frequently, and re-assess the way I use my time, talent and money often. The problem is obvious: if we don’t “stick to the knitting,” we’ll never have a garment.  So, if you are in search of excellence, choose the pattern, the yarn, the needles and the size thoughtfully, and then JUST KEEP KNITTING!

I knit and crochet, making shawls for folks who have big changes in their lives and could use what I call a “perpetual hug.”  So, this metaphor works for me.  If you don’t knit, you get the picture anyway, I’m sure.  What are you making?

To Our Successes!
Rhoberta

P.S.  My new book, Prevent Free Fall: Pack Your Own Parchute, is now available and filled with tactics for taming tense times in life, at work and in your home.  Very practical and a quick-read.  Get it now for only $8.97 at www.OptimizeShop.com It’s also available there as an e-book.

Rhoberta Shaler, PhD
Consultant. Counselor. Coach. Catalyst.
www.ForWomenEntrepreneurs.com

Share on Facebook

© Rhoberta Shaler, PhD

Monday morning, first thing. What do you do when you set yourself to working on your business?  You’ve had your coffee, supported yourself with what feeds you physically, mentally and spiritually, and now you’re ready to get to work.  What do you do?

For many folks, the first thing Monday morning would be a create a “to-do” list. But there is something more important than that: review your business and marketing plans.

“What do you mean?  I already know what’s there. I can just jump in.”

“Not so fast, grasshopper. Take the time to remind yourself of who you are, what you do, where you’re going and how you have planned to get there. Then, decide what is the BEST thing to do today!”

It’s not just what is the next thing to do. It’s what is the next best thing to do. Without the clarity of remembering your carefully thought-out  plan and referring to it at least weekly, you can get mired in activity and miss the progress!

To Your Success!
Rhoberta
P.S. Need help with aligning your values, beliefs, vision and purpose with your business and it’s planning?  That’s what I help you with.  Visit www.ForWomenEntrepreneurs.com and let’s start working together to get you the progress and results you want.  Group or Individual Coaching is available for you to jumpstart your plan.

Rhoberta Shaler, PhD
Consultant. Counselor. Coach. Catalyst.
…leading you to the life & livelihood you long for.
www.ForWomenEntrepreneurs.com

Share on Facebook