Strategic Serendipity

A little over twenty years ago, my friend and I jumped in her car the day after finals and moved to Washington, DC, without a place to live or a job (both of which were remedied within 48 hours of arriving in DC - ahhhh the good old days).  Today I pack up again.  Now I have a legal career I am proud to have served in, a new business in Executive Coaching with certifications in multiple areas, a two-year old son I couldn't be more proud of, and a new chapter ahead. While I will return to DC for work over the next few years, I will have a new home in the heart of the Midwest.  I will miss the friends I have made here but I look forward to renewing old friendships, making new friends, and reconnecting with family I have been away from for too long.  I leave the comfort of having four Starbucks within walking distance and a grocery store in the basement of my condo for the comfort of having both parents within a mile of home.  The nearest Starbucks will be about ...

Living life is more like driving a boat than driving a car. When you are driving a car you must stay inside the lines. When you are driving a boat you pick something in the distance and steer towards it. I was spending time with a friend I hadn't seen in years and I said this.  I've been thinking about it since.  On so many levels, I realize that the harder I try to keep my life "between the lines" of the path I have planned out the harder life is.  When I pick an end goal and keep open to opportunities that arise, things seem to fall into place.  Does that make me a slacker or procrastinator?  Maybe not.  I recently attended a lecture where the speaker said the days of "simple" strategic planning are gone and leaders must become adept at scenario planning.  When you plan for multiple scenarios, you are able to jump on opportunities that you might otherwise have missed if you were tied to one plan. From a business perspective, where strategic plan...