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 ...

Did you put together a list of New Year's Resolutions?  When you were putting it together, did you think "if I can just achieve this, I will be happy?"  Have you felt that enthusiasm start to fade as "life" takes over and those resolutions get pushed to the bottom of your to do list?  Already thinking about doing a New Year's Reboot (no, really, from here on out I will do X.)?  Are you willing to consider a slightly different approach? Here's my recommendation to you… Download the unabridged Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh from iTunes or Audible.com, order the book from Amazon.com or BN.com, or pick it up from your favorite books store.  Whatever you do, don't put getting the book on your list of things to do later.  Do it and check it off as an item complete.  Print this article and keep it with you while you are reading.  For extra credit - grab a notebook and start your professional development journal with your reflections.  (Discl...

How do you interpret Einstein's quote?  Write about one thing you learned yesterday, one thing that made today special, what you hope for tomorrow, and what you question in the world, your life, or your career.  

I am struck by the number of amazing leaders I hear lately saying "there is nothing I can do to make things better for my team given the climate in which we work today."  Times are difficult, particularly in the federal sector where employees are facing furloughs, an increased workload, or both.  But how can you expect to maintain or increase employee engagement when you yourself are slowly disengaging either through burn-out or personal advancement disappointments? Albert Einstein said, "Setting an example is not the main means of influencing others, it is the only means." If you expect your team to weather the storm, you better be the first one in line with an umbrella and a raincoat.  Seriously. When leaders say there is nothing that can be done, they convey that they have given up.  Why would an employee keep pushing forward when their leader has given up? Does this mean that you should start pumping the soundtrack from the broadway musical Annie through...