|
|
| |
|
Index section
|
|
1. Welcome to Elements!
2. Balance Personal and Professional
3. Inquiry Based Decision Making
4. Links: Treasure Hunt, Lower Bills, 50States,
Newsletters
5. Coaching Notes
6. Newsletter Notes
|
| |
Welcome to Elements! |
|
9/11/01 - I hope
that we all will find peace in our own time and way...
Welcome! I'm
glad you are here and I'm looking forward to sharing insights and
information with you this month.
My son complained to me, "Summer went by too fast and we didn't do
anything at all." I agreed and added, "Yeah, we didn't take a
vacation and I didn't make much money. What did we do?" We started
listing our activities: Visit to Boston, tour of the Fenway, trip
to Burlington, VT, playing summer baseball and hockey, summer sports
camps (I went to camp, too), going to Red Sox and Spinners games,
hanging with friends, playing golf and boating. I then listed my
coaching and consulting achievements. We were amazed at everything
we had done.
"Whoa, this was the best summer ever," he then exclaimed. And I
commented that I had made lots of professional progress. His
statement and the exercise of remembering caused me to appreciate
the conscious choices I made before summer started. Those choices
made it one of the best summers. We did what we loved to do. The
biggest improvement for next summer will be to figure out how to
deal with teenage attitudes and sibling fights. I have all year to
work on that. Suggestions?
This month includes an article on making choices for balance and
knowing the pitfalls when the correct choices aren't made. Then
there is an article on what your cooking style might be saying about
you. I've discovered two great business advice websites. One is from
a respected local businesswoman. Finally, there are some quotes from
people I've coached that will help you to better understand my
coaching style.
What are your favorite websites and what types of articles would you
like to see? Feedback please!
Thank you,
Star
|
|
top |
2. Balance: Personal and Professional |
|
You have 168
hours in a week. Do you know how your time is spent? Is it spent
doing things you love and want to do rather than what you must or
should do? How do you balance everything? Balance is very
personal; it is driven by you and by changes. I just completed an
intense three-day coaching for balance class. The gist of the class
was to guide people towards making conscious and powerful choices by
selecting the experiences they wanted most. The focus was to guide
people to select what was right for them, rather than too much, too
little, or nothing at all. At the core of balance is choice. First
you need to have a clear understanding of your choices.
Sometimes all of your choices are not obvious and it's important
to brainstorm and try alternative choices and perspectives to find
the one that's right for you. After all the possible choices have
been reviewed and explored, the next steps are to make a plan,
commitment to it and do it!
Achieving the right balance can be difficult. Here are four typical
ways of being out of balance that I experienced and observed these
from a personal and professional perspective:
A. NO CONSCIOUS CHOICES MADE
In this out-of-balance situation, the most immediate task is
accomplished or the most visible person or situation is attended to.
The same choices are made out of habit. Important and larger tasks
don't get done. The outcomes are stress, burnout, crisis management
and the feeling of being out of control.
B. NO PRIORITIZATION OF CHOICES
While an understanding of choices exists, the
easiest-to-complete and the most visible-to-produce tasks get done.
The results are that longer-term important things don't happen. And
there are feelings of being overwhelmed with too many things to do
that are too large to accomplish.
C. TOO MUCH PLANNING and CONTROL
In this out-of-balance situation, all the time is spent in
figuring out the goals and doing the planning. The person is not
"doing" or "being" and spontaneity is non-existent. With
traditional projects, where the desired end result is known, roughly
30% or more of the time should be spent on planning. The outcome
here is lack of enjoyment, no accomplishment and a feeling of
missing out.
D. TO MANY CHOICES - TOO SEGMENTED, NOT INTEGRATED
We are the sum of all of our time and choices. A project is the
result of all the tasks and choices made along the way. If time is
divided and managed into too small and distinct segments it become
so overwhelming and difficult to focus on the whole project. One
segment may be successful at the sacrifice of other segments. For
example, someone may be very successful at making money, but have no
fulfilling relationships. An out-of-balance situation is when
extreme focus put on project quality with no money reserved to
manufacture the product. In many cases combining, overlapping the
segments of balance, and stepping back to view the whole is
necessary.
SAMPLE TIME SEGMENTS:
While the segments will vary by individual, identify
the segments names you want to balance and ask yourself how
you are currently balancing them and what you would want the
balance to be. Below are typical segments:
Life: Career /Job , Money, Health, Friends, Family, Personal
Growth, Fun and Recreation, Physical Environment
Project: Cost, Quality, Meeting Milestones, Tracking, Team,
Customer, Sponsor, Issue resolution
Project Managers: Technology, People, Process
Leadership and Management: Establishing Direction, Promoting Change,
Problem Solving, Organizing, Budgeting, Stability, Motivating, and
Aligning People
Balance Quote:
"In nature there is balance. Beasts destroy in small amounts.
Ecological systems are not eliminated en masse. Plants are
consumed and then grow. The sources of sustenance are dipped into
then replenished. The flower is enjoyed, the fruit eaten, the root
preserved." - Brian L. Weiss from the book, "Many Lives, Many
Masters" (Fireside, July1988)
|
|
top
|
| |
3. Styles
of Delivery - Cooking |
I don't like to
cook and, therefore, I don't do it often. Being envious of friends
that whip up treats and enjoy cooking, I began to observe their
cooking styles to learn from them. I've concluded that everyone has
a different cooking style and that his or her style is an extension
of himself/herself:
Virginia spends many weeks preparing to cook. First she'll scan
through her beautiful cookbooks and find some recipes she's never
tried. Then she'll make a list of ingredients and go to the store
and carefully and slowly select her items. When she starts cooking,
she has collected a group of people to "hang out" in the kitchen
while she cooks. She doesn't follow the directions exactly. She has
lots of discussions while in the process, some related to her
cooking, others not. The completed dish and then consuming it is
not as important as the process of social cooking. Virginia is
creative, likes to learn, and values a house full of people who are
enjoying themselves.
Molly is serious about cooking; she has a degree in it. Her
refrigerator, freezer and cupboards are so full that to place
something new in them she must rearrange the shelves or throw
something out. When she decides to cook, she's ready immediately.
She has all the ingredients and the tools on hand to create
whatever is called for. For Molly, cooking is a serious and
solitary job, despite the fact she is an easygoing, fun-loving and
expressive person. The first time she cooks she follows a recipe.
Subsequently, she will tweak it slightly for improvement or
variety. Molly believes in planning and being ready for everything.
She follows the simple motto, "If you're going to do it, do it
right". After serving the food and eating it, she gives a big sigh
as she reverts to her easygoing and fun-loving self.
Cindy has rules and tools for cooking. She is an expert. She knows
what type of cookies, appetizers, and entrees are appropriate for
each occasion and meal. She has a boatload of kitchen tools and
knows how to use them. She is always swapping hints, tips, and
recipes. She recently stopped in my kitchen and, after scanning my
utensil drawer, burst out in laughter at the antique stuff and lack
of proper tools. Cindy is traditional, energetic, smart, social and
always in the know.
My style of cooking has been designed for efficiency. It's one I
don't recommend. My objective has always been geared toward cooking
what takes least amount of energy that has the simplest ingredients
and is something that most everyone will find appealing. I barely
read the details of a recipe, if I use one at all. I
improvise lots because it's faster. I multitask a meal for speed
and efficiency by using the ingredients on hand and do overlapping
preparation of different food items at the same time. Having
observed their styles, I'm starting to incorporate pieces of
Virginia, Molly, and Cindy into my own cooking style.
Question: Can you identify with Virginia's, Molly's, Cindy's or my
cooking style? What is your cooking style and what does it say about
you? Does this style spill over to other areas of your personal or
professional life? |
|
top
|
4. LINKS: Business Planning and Advise
|
SmartFast -
http://www.smartfast.com/Newsletters/newsletters.htm
Jean Sifleet, a successful business owner and lawyer, has a website to
promote her SmartFast Method. It is an approach to solving legal and
business problems to help your company grow and prosper. This link
takes you directly to a section full of helpful articles from previous
newsletters such as: Email & Internet Use in Business, Business
Planning 1-2-3, Licensing is Leverage, Non-Compete Agreements, S-CORP,
C-CORP, LLC and many more. It's very practical, easy to read, down to
earth, and has lots of needed information for an entrepreneur.
Jean Sifleet's book, "SmartFast, The Desktop Reference Guide for
Business Owners", will be coming out this fall. It's a compilation of
the newsletters with some "from the trenches" perspectives.
PriceWaterhouseCoopers -
http://www.pwcerc.com /
They have an entrepreneurs Resource Center that offers you business
plan templates, financial models, benchmarks and more. They also have
a service called "barometer" that sends you mailings on the current
trends of the marketplace. The site is geared to selling their
consulting services.
|
top
|
5. Coaching Notes: Quotes from Clients
|
Last month, I
discussed professional coaching and the co-active model I use. Some
of my coaching clients have provided feedback on their experiences in
the quotes below:
"My coach has been an enabling agent in my life. It was NOT that I
COULDN'T CHANGE. I now have the tools and drive to make anything
happen. I'm looking forward to life at where I am and where I am
going. Everyday, I have a smile because I can just be truly
comfortable with the direction of my life and the changes which
occur." --Y. Harris, Project Manager
"Coaching is something that helps one find direction and maintain it.
Coaching is that gentle and pervasive prodding that keeps you on the
right path. And it's the boost when you need one!" --Pat Krusko
CLARITY and CHOICES:
"Coaching is drawing out what's inside so you can take a clear look at
it, for anyone with a choice, problem or to get perspective." --Client
"I began to realize that in order for me to recognize my career
destiny I had to understand where I stood today. This coaching
session led the way to that understanding." --Lisa
"I would highly recommend this to anyone in need of resolutions. You
have the ability to read people and respond with what works. You made
me take on commitments positively and touched bases regularly to keep
me accountable for my commitments." --D. Parsons, Project Manager
"I'm more aware of the choices I have." --Client
"I manage time more efficiently by making choices about how to utilize
nonscheduled time and scheduling for certain activities. I get more
done and can relax without feeling the pressure of a to do list."
--Lisa
COACHING and
TRAINING:
Coaching is the most cost effective way to ensure that training is
applied and necessary changes are made. Coaching client have stated:
"This experience is one of the best in all of my outside training.
I'm an extremely happy client at the level of confidentiality,
assertiveness, warm, and friendly that my coach exhibits." --Y.
Harris, Project Manager
"What I like most about the training was the opportunity to brainstorm
with an experienced facilitator." --Corporate Client
"Excellent teacher, a lot of useful information" --Corporate Client
"Friendly and objective views on everything" --Corporate Client
"The application of the knowledge to actual situations" --Corporate
Client
|
top
|
6. NEWSLETTER NOTES
|
|
Elements September 2001
Written by: Star Dargin
Edited by: Ruth Gleba, gleba@aol.com
Advertising will be accepted.
Contact Star for rates at:
stars@stardar.com
Personal submissions will only be published with permission from the
submitter, who is responsible for ensuring rights to the material.
Based on your preference, submissions can be published anonymously.
Elements will be published 12 times a year.
The deadline for the next issue is September 28, 2001
To subscribe or unsubscribe send email to
stars@stardar.com
The opinions expressed in Elements are the author's viewpoint. While
every effort has been taken to verify the accuracy of the content,
such information is subject to change without notice. Elements is
not responsible for inadvertent errors.
Star Dargin
34 Robinson Road, Littleton, MA
01460
978 486-4603
Star Dargin is an independent coach, consultant and trainer and is a
partner of Shared Learning International:
http://www.sharedlearningint.com/
As a professional coach she collaborates with individuals and teams to
provide focus and balance in achieving personalized results. As a
consultant, she specialized in bringing software methodologies and
project management to life for business, teams and individuals.
|
|
top |
| |
|
