Take Action By Paper Napkin Wisdom

How are you doing on your goals for the year? Your New Year's Resolutions? Do you even remember what they were? So many times we're hard on ourselves for the early misses.  We say we're going to eat low or no carbs, three weeks in we've eaten some delicious pastry, fries, or even cake and abandon ship. We say we're going to work out every morning, wake up earlier, go to sleep earlier, read more, watch less TV, connect more ... whatever.  Whatever it is, it's important enough to declare and make a goal around, but behavior change is harder than that. It can take HUNDREDS of days to break a habit that you've had for many years. So here's an idea - celebrate NOTICING that you've repeated the habit you want to change. Smile and give yourself a pat on the back for noticing that you're repeating it and change then. Don't beat yourself up ... don't get down on yourself. Celebrate catching yourself doing something you wanted to change and change it.  The best time to have caught yourself may have been before, but the

A client is calling and they want a discount because something went wrong. An employee is missing on targets and results are slipping, they need to be realigned. The bank just called and a supplier took payment of a delivery early via automated transfer and there's a cash crunch. As a leader things come at us from all directions all the time - but how do we cope? Well, usually we need a little help to resolve all of these ... sometimes from the other party. We can't get their help with a closed fist - with a fight. Sure, sometimes we can beat them into submission. We can convince the customer that no - no discount that's the way it is. We can levy consequences on our employees and hold them accountable, force them to do better. We can scream at the bank, or the supplier. Or ... we can do the uncommon thing and be kind. Being kind opens the door to handling challenges from a position of opportunity, with an open hand ... also allows people around you to help. Leverage is all about getting people to help you -

Life and ledership is a contact sport. You need to make contact with people every day as a leader and in life. There's no avoiding it. So how do you build protection for the energy vampires that surround us? They are every where now. More and more. In the sea of all of that - remember that you need to bring protection with you. But where do you get it? How does that start? It's starts when you wake up in the morning. Remember your bedroom is a no-cellphone zone. No electronics and blinky shiny lights to move you to the danger zone.  Start by thinking great thoughts - better yet, write them down. But start somewhere ... and thinking about the great day that could be is a good step in the right direction. Then, think about your intention for the day. Who do you want to ... need to ... show up as today? What can you give to the people around you via energy and intent? Set that mindset up with visualization, repetition. Think, write, and FEEL gratitude in the morning - let yourself feel the momentum that will cre

This has nothing to do with an ACTUAL well. It has to do with the structure and support systems we need as leaders, as entrepreneurs.  It's such a roller-coaster of ups and downs out there that we need support to help keep us a little more level and a little more in the zone to be in flow ... to capture the momentum around us.  The challenge is that we tend not to do that when things are good - we're so focused on the ride up that we forget about creating layers of support and structure for the way down. What does that look like? It looks like truly transparent relationships that are nurtured with peers, people who are doing what you want to be doing in life and business. This transparency needs to happen in a rhythm, one that gets quicker when you need it (like a heartbeat). But is also there when you don't (also like a heartbeat). Focus on building meaningful relationships with people you aspire to be like, and show up with transparency - show up with challenges, opportunities, and problems that you haven't

It's so important to build transparency in the life of the entrepreneur, leader, and difference maker.  Too often we don't hold space for our most important relationships, the ones with our spouses, life partner, and families. We need to save space for them, and us, to share our dreams, our challenges, our hopes. Structure time in the evening to debrief on the day, and more importantly to brief on the day before you start. This is not an opportunity to vent, this is an opportunity to share a vision for the day. At the end of the day, it gives you an opportunity to share what you've learned, what you won, and what you're grateful for. Think of it as a night time huddle with your most important partner - the one you wake with and end with each night.  Give each-other a safe and soft place to land after another busy day and support each other to remember and restate your family, personal, and even business dreams. There is nothing more intimate than those moments of peace before and after falling asleep. If you

As leaders we discuss holding space for our team. We all recognize that we need to give them time and space to succeed, for their mindset.  How clear are you, as a leader, however, that you too need time and space?  Former Paper Napkin Wisdom guest and Big Data Expert John Johnson says that we are bombarded by more than 30 tractor-trailer loads of information each day. With all that noise (and most of it bad news) we need to hold space for ourselves and for our loved ones. The people we share our homes with ... Cell phones in our hands when we are talking to each other send the very clear message that the person in front of us is less important than whatever could be going on in the digital world around us. Protect the time and space for yourself and make your bedroom a no-cell phone zone. Yes, this might mean that you need to get a $7 alarm clock. So go get one. You can extend this policy to work. No cell phones in meetings - or in boardrooms.  Or you can go even further and make your home a no-cell phone z

Are you looking for uncommon results in your company? Or maybe just for yourself? There's a structure to build the uncommon results you crave for yourself and your team and it starts with transparency. I'm not just talking about 2% or 5% growth from year to year. I'm talking about double digit year-over-year growth. Even triple digit growth! This comes from taking your SMART2 goals to another level by combining Process and Volunteered Accountability. What does that mean? It means having your Team opt into sharing progress on Priorities openly with others on a regular schedule.  On top of that, they have to agree on how far someone can go with no progress and no problems. If there is no progress and no problems over a prolonged period of time, that should be a problem!  Take your growth to the next level by implementing The Structure of Transparency and earn yourself some Uncommon Results!   I want to help you. Please go to www.PaperNapkinWisdom.com and sign up, we’ll send you the e-book that contains the secr

  Ever wonder how there are some small teams that just get it done time and time again? They are tight and nothing comes through the cracks in their communication, organization, service, or delivery? How do they do it?  I call this the X Org Chart - or the Exponential Org Chart. It's the way that teams (small and large) can create more dynamic and important communication, collaboration and accountability. It starts with the leader creating a strong sense of focus, aligning the team with it in a structure that promotes communication and collaboration, and finally momentum. You need to create action for The X Org Chart to come to life. Organizations that operate here, in this form, beat large competitors who are 10 or even 100 times their size because they have each-other's backs. I want to help you. Please go to www.PaperNapkinWisdom.com and sign up, we'll send you the e-book that contains the secret structure that will build more scalable, even exponential results than you had thought possible. You have so mu

It's vitally important for leaders to feel like that they can trust their teams. Trust them to complete their tasks, to be strong for the team, complete tasks well, execute on the priorities we have set individually and collectively.   If we do this well, we are delegating tasks to them and they are getting them done. If that is going REALLY well - the team has a sense of ownership and they feel empowered. There's another level to this though that is even more important, and that is Trust 2.0.  This sort of trust involves our team feeling like we won't change how we feel about them, even if they get it wrong. In fact, we should wonder the opposite.  We should be highly suspicious of the people on our teams that effortlessly get all their stuff done without any questions, or issues. In growing organizations we are always doing things for the first time - new things, that's the hallmark of growth. So if we're doing new things and not facing any, we're either lying or hiding, or not trying hard enough. Leaders n

This is the time of year when so many of us start to take stock of the year that passed and the one that's coming. It's that time that we start to think about what could be for the year ahead.  There have been studies done that show that most people only accomplish a small fraction of their goals from year to year. Yet there are others that do much much more.  There's a simple way that you can make more of your goals happen, and more of your team's goals happen, that requires little effort from you other than setting up an uncommon structure for them that involves transparency and dialog around progress ... the ULTIMATE leading indicator. Great teams do this way better than the rest ... update your goals to SMART2 goals and make your results change like never before. If you want a structure to help you do this, I want to give it to you. Please go to www.PaperNapkinWisdom.com and sign up, we'll send you the e-book that contains the secret structure that will build more scalable, even exponential results than y

I so often hear about entrepreneurs, leaders, and difference-makers wanting to get more results - scalable results - exponential results. They talk about their hearts being into it, but they are not driving the results they want. The answer is simple, you have to couple passion and process to get crazy results - exponential results.  You have to be wildly committed to the goals that you set, and make progress on them every day. You cannot do this without a process that permits you to focus on them, to relentlessly execute on them. If you want a structure to help you do this, I want to give it to you. Please go to www.PaperNapkinWisdom.com and sign up, we'll send you the e-book that contains the secret structure that will build more scalable, even exponential results than you had thought possible. You have so much to give, you had better start now. Take Action is a short podcast, usually between 3 to 5 minutes long, and the focus is on the small, 1% improvements we can make in our businesses and lives. Small c

  Too often we get stuck.  Caught. Stopped dead in our tracks.  Usually we end up blaming ourselves for something we did or got wrong in the past. Or because we "wish" we were doing something else right now. Remember one thing: You are frekkin' unstoppable ...  Remind yourself ever day, all the time. And take epic action ...  Move forward, you can do it. In fact, you're the only one who can. Take Action is a short podcast, usually between 3 to 5 minutes long, and the focus is on the small, 1% improvements we can make in our businesses and lives. Small changes make a big difference! This podcast will help you make small changes that will change your world, so we can together save the world one entrepreneur and small business at a time! Based on The Book Paper Napkin Wisdom: Your 5 Step Plan to Life and Business Success ... get yours now on Amazon or at Paper Napkin Wisdom.

  It's time to draw a line in the sand and end the double standard. With recent public events on my mind, I've been paying a little more attention (and asking questions) of my female teammates, colleagues, and other entrepreneurs, leaders and difference makers and have been stunned to hear their stories of having to "work harder" to be heard than their male colleagues. I'm not saying this is everyone's story - in fact I've been mostly oblivious to the issue in the bubble that is my entrepreneurial world. I say it's time to draw a line in the sand and for men to ensure they #ManUp and no longer let their male counterparts, colleagues, and teammates to treat women in any lesser way than their male colleagues. I know that the events of the last week will lead to other women, in other walks of life, to come out and speak about what's happened to them in the workplace.  Let's make sure they're heard. And let's end this ... Take Action is a short podcast, usually between 3 to 5 minutes long, and the focus is on the

  Who among us doesn't want better results? So often we look at the bottom line and continuously set better goals and watch for the outcomes that we want to see. Whether it's improving the bottom line, better customer service, client retention or other outcome based metric - we want to improve them. Rarely, however, do we look to the process that created the outcomes and structure time and energy toward reviewing the process and making improvements. If you build a system around improving the processes of your organization, you're guaranteed to get better results over time. Try it out for yourself. The faster you apply the process improvements, the faster you can go up the hockey stick of growth. Take Action is a short podcast, usually between 3 to 5 minutes long, and the focus is on the small, 1% improvements we can make in our businesses and lives. Small changes make a big difference! This podcast will help you make small changes that will change your world, so we can together save the world one entrepreneur

Everyone is talking about the greatest PREDICTOR of success is how much "grit" or resilience someone has. How willing are they to slog through the rough stuff before reaching for the prize. Some call this delayed gratification, though I don't think they are the same thing. The secret source of resilience is within you ... it lies with passion, love, and faith. Feeling passionately for what you're doing, caring deeply about the work and the people you serve with and for, and faith in the vision are all lessons of the heart. Some call this the "soft stuff" ... I call this the tough stuff. Connect to that inner passion and you'll find limitless resources not just for you but for everyone around you.  Take Action is a short podcast, usually between 3 to 5 minutes long, and the focus is on the small, 1% improvements we can make in our businesses and lives. Small changes make a big difference! This podcast will help you make small changes that will change your world, so we can together save the world one entreprene

So many times our teams look to us to articulate clearly the future vision of the company or the project. It's up to us to detail it for them. We have to show them where we're going, what it looks like, what it feels like, what it smells like, even what it tastes like and sounds like.  How do we do that if we've never been there - it's a future state after all. It's a future vision that requires us to CHANGE what we're doing to make happen. The answer is simpler (but not easy). Take Action is a short podcast, usually between 3 to 5 minutes long, and the focus is on the small, 1% improvements we can make in our businesses and lives. Small changes make a big difference! This podcast will help you make small changes that will change your world, so we can together save the world one entrepreneur and small business at a time! Based on The Book Paper Napkin Wisdom: Your 5 Step Plan to Life and Business Success ... get yours now on Amazon or at Paper Napkin Wisdom.

Bottom line ... when we are under pressure and stress (or distress) out pulse quickens. We need to distribute vital energy to various parts of our bodies quicker in these situations. Our companies are no different. We need to speed up our communication rhythm in these situations and there is no doubt that there is value to having a regular heartbeat - a regular structure to daily, weekly, monthly communications. Take Action is a short podcast, usually between 3 to 5 minutes long, and the focus is on the small, 1% improvements we can make in our businesses and lives. Small changes make a big difference! This podcast will help you make small changes that will change your world, so we can together save the world one entrepreneur and small business at a time! Based on The Book Paper Napkin Wisdom: Your 5 Step Plan to Life and Business Success ... get yours now on Amazon or at Paper Napkin Wisdom.

Resilience is not an accident. It doesn't arrive at the moment of need by default. The reality is that resilience is there when we need it when we plan for it. Part of this is, of course, planning for it by having a great Playbook, aligned with your Path, and articulated with predictable communication structures to your Key Players. Without planning there's no chance that you'll have resilience when you need it. The thing is, however, practice is important too. How do you practice resilience? Listen in ... but it starts with building predictable structures of communication and collaboration. It continues with practicing these habits in good times - maintaining them during great times. Holding space for your team (and yourself) daily helps. Take Action is a short podcast, usually between 3 to 5 minutes long, and the focus is on the small, 1% improvements we can make in our businesses and lives. Small changes make a big difference! This podcast will help you make small changes that will change your world, so we

If you're a Rebel, Rule-Breaker and Renegade this is for you ...  If you're the kind of person that likes to follow along with all the rules (especially from other people) and loves doing JUST what their told this won't make sense. As an entrepreneur we like to color outside the lines ... even our lines.  STOP IT! It's the most challenging thing to do ... but in this week's episode I share why we need to stop and how it can move us forward. Take Action is a short podcast, usually between 3 to 5 minutes long, and the focus is on the small, 1% improvements we can make in our businesses and lives. Small changes make a big difference! This podcast will help you make small changes that will change your world, so we can together save the world one entrepreneur and small business at a time! Based on The Book Paper Napkin Wisdom: Your 5 Step Plan to Life and Business Success ... get yours now on Amazon or at Paper Napkin Wisdom.

As I was speaking to a group of entrepreneurs, we discussed the value of changing our Perspective as leaders to not think that we were out front, but rather out back of our teams supporting them as they charged forward. The discussion evolved toward understanding the value of how elephants lead. While elephants have obvious size and strength, that's not how they lead the herd. The alpha female is the leader of the herd and she leads from the back of the group using skills like Problem Solving, Social Intelligence, Openness, Decisiveness, Patience, Confidence, and Compassion to guide the group. Take Action is a short podcast, usually between 3 to 5 minutes long, and the focus is on the small, 1% improvements we can make in our businesses and lives. Small changes make a big difference! This podcast will help you make small changes that will change your world, so we can together save the world one entrepreneur and small business at a time! Based on The Book Paper Napkin Wisdom: Your 5 Step Plan to Life and Busin