The Strategy Corner

As we continue our exploration of what it means to reconnect with other people, today I'll be focusing on the strategy of taking space to process. It seems counterintuitive that stepping away from people will give us a better connection to our friends, family, and coworkers, but I share how this strategy can help you deepen relationships in your personal and business life.

I would never have started a podcast, a blog, or even a business if I hadn't gotten curious about where it would lead me. This week's strategy is going to stretch you a little as you add in curiosity to your listening exercises, and get to know why people do the things they do in your organization.

Have you ever sat through an entire meeting without answering a single question? What would it look like if you spent more time listening and less time talking? If you want the potential to change your relationship with your bosses and employees, then today I'm going to share how listening might be exactly what you need.

A huge part of any business is salesmanship, but what if you're not a natural salesman? I review Steve Chandler's book The Joy of Selling and share my favorite excerpts and inspirational thoughts. No matter where you're at in your sales journey, Chandler's book can help you take the next step.

Small changes can add up over the long run. I share some small and deliberate strategies that I've implemented that have helped me work toward my goal. By choosing to focus on scaling back when something doesn't work out the way I planned, I'm able to keep the momentum building without overwhelming myself.

This week's strategy is designed to help you break down your Big Bold Goal into smaller bite-sized goals. We'll take your previous work and add to it to create a streamlined decision-making process that moves your momentum forward. By focusing on your 3rd quarter goals, I'll help you create a more actionable and realistic to-do list that moves you closer to the person you want to be.

Generic descriptions of what you want to be like aren't going to be enough to push you closer to your Big, Bold Goal. I share a strategy that helps you create a blueprint for your better self, and that will set you up for success no matter how wild and crazy your goals are.

How do you get to where you want to go? Moving toward your Big Bold Goal will take some personal change, so today I share how I plan on changing myself. Mentors, role models, and coaches can help you identify the qualities you'll need to develop to move the needle on your life's goals.

Let's take a deep breath, hit pause for a second, and refresh our goals for the second half of the year. Big, bold goals that stretch you out of your comfort zone will give you something to fail towards, and I share how that mindset shift can positively impact your business this year.

Are you ready to apply what you've learned from the pandemic to your company? We'll pull together all of our work from the last three weeks and reflect on how we can use these lessons to come out of this situation better and stronger than before.

In this episode, you'll have the opportunity to sit and think about your company's performance as a whole. In this macro-level view, you'll have the chance to ruminate on what worked and what didn't and address any problems you discovered as your company experienced the pandemic. What will you change as a result of this week's questions?

This week I'd like you to focus on your team and their performance during the pandemic. By setting aside some time to pause and reflect, you'll be able to move forward with clarity to accomplish your business goals and strengthen your team.

Spend some time reflecting on your leadership, and learn from your mistakes and successes. I invite you to answer 5 questions that require you to dig deep and get honest about what you did during the pandemic. Over the next few episodes, we will continue to explore this idea as we look at aligning our behavior with our goals and purposes.

Putting off a difficult conversation just because you're dreading it doesn't resolve your problem. In my book review for Crucial Conversations, I share my favorite ways you can orient your point of view to have productive conversations that lead to a resolution. I also provide quick tips for how to lead in a difficult conversation in an easy digital download.

The shift to working from home during a national pandemic has definitely shortened our attention span. Focusing on work when so much extra stuff is going on can be incredibly difficult. I offer strategies today that will help you reprioritize your work, increase your output, and center you on your goals again.

It can be easy right now to make excuses for why you're not being consistent in your business and your life. The crisis was a pretty huge disruption in all of our lives, but it's time to move toward our goals again. I talk about small and actionable ways you can add consistency back into your daily life again.

Disruptions have taken on a whole new meaning this year as we have had to get used to social distancing and staying at home. Getting clarity when everything we planned for has shifted takes some work. I walk you through some thought exercises that will help you slow down so that you can speed up again.

Have you ever scheduled a meeting and then dreaded that meeting? Do you ever sit down to do a task and find that your brain simply can't focus? Today I talk about some simple solutions for working through reluctance or outright resistance, and why your feelings are totally normal.

There are three negative phrases that can suck the joy out of your life. I introduce three new positive phrases that help you reframe your life with gratitude, and that helps you see the bright side of the work you're privileged to do. Reclaim the energy in your life by simply changing how you talk about the work you do.

Do you feel like your schedule is too full for everything you really need to do? Scheduling in transition time is a trick to pad your calendar with more flex time to get even more accomplished. I talk about what that might look like for you, and how it has worked on my own calendar.

By utilizing the strategy of asking yourself why you do or don't want to do something, you can dive deeper into understanding your actions or inaction. This understanding can help you move beyond the way things have always been done into a more productive, fulfilling business strategy.

When we plan big yearly goals, it's best to take some time to assess where we're at, and the end of the first quarter is the perfect time to do this. I review my own goals and talk about why I succeeded at only some of them. By not personalizing my failure, I'm able to learn from my mistakes and plan better for the second quarter.

How do you win in life when there are no finish lines? Inspired by Simon Sinec, I talk about the idea of an infinite mindset, and how that translates into the business world. By setting long-term goals and focusing on the short-term goals that move your business plan forward, you too can embrace the idea of always growing.

I love reviewing books that I really think will help you, and in this episode, I talk about Dan Sullivan's book, Who Not How. As a powerhouse in the coaching industry, Dan's enthusiasm for solving business problems is inspiring. I read some of my favorite quotes in this book, and talk about how you can apply them to your own business.

Golf is a little like your business goals. It doesn't always matter if you hit the ball; it matters who you become when you hit that ball and the process you went through to get there. I share 8 golf rules that are applicable to the business world, and how they can help you better strategize your business goals.

When things feel out of balance, what does that look like for you? When you recognize that things are leaning too heavily to one side, I have some strategies that can help you. I share what balance looks like for me, and give some questions for you to ponder about where you can shift the load in your personal or professional life.

If you're feeling overwhelmed by a to-do list, developing a solid plan of action is the first step in tackling it. But what about all of the daily distractions found in modern life? If crossing things off your list doesn't happen because you're reflexively checking your phone twenty times an hour, then I have some productive strategies for you.

If your days feel full of activities, and you can't seem to find time to move forward with your goals, then it's time to let go of some things in your life. But how do you choose what to cut out? I give some examples and then provide some questions you can ask yourself to winnow out the things that are just not necessary in your life.

Diving deeper into the idea behind why we might break our promises to ourselves, I explore the thought process behind the decisions we make. When we make goals that we continue to fall short on, it is more helpful to carefully think about why we are doing that and how we can change that than putting the same goal on our to-do list every week. I walk you step-by-step through that process.

Setting goals, creating a schedule, and committing to a plan of action sounds fantastic in theory, but what happens if you don't follow through with your promise to yourself? I talk about the disconnect between our plans and our behavior, and some actionable ideas you can try to move your vision forward.

When you're moving between goal posts, what worked for you before won't continue to work moving forward. But how do you accomplish something you've never done before? Taking that first step toward your goals requires a lot of out-of-the-box thinking, and a determination to move the needle on your personal and professional life.

If you're spending a great deal of time wishing that you could fix your boss or your employees, then today's strategy might feel radical to you. I delve into ways that you can change your mindset and free up your mental energy to truly change the world around you. And it all starts with some serious introspection on your part.

How do you know if you're ready to take the next step in your business? More planning and more preparation isn't the answer. Get quiet and think about your goals, your skills, and what your first step will look like.

Djukich's book Straight-Line Leadership offers insightful idea after insightful idea about how to change your stance within your business. I cover the most powerful concepts in this comprehensive book review designed to help you really pause and think about where you're at personally and professionally, and where you want to go.

Welcome to Episode # 19 of The Strategy Corner, a podcast by Michelle Zink that helps second stage businesses or executives learn now to TAKE ACTION on simple easy strategies.  In this episode, Michelle talks about a strategy of creating your 1st Qtr 2020 plan. LET'S TAKE ACTION!

Welcome to Episode # 18 of The Strategy Corner, a podcast by Michelle Zink that helps second stage businesses or executives learn now to TAKE ACTION on simple easy strategies.  In this episode, Michelle talks about creating 2020 utilizing the strategy of answering questions as if it is 12/31/2020.  Have fun and LET'S TAKE ACTION!

Welcome to Episode # 17 of The Strategy Corner, a podcast by Michelle Zink that helps second stage businesses or executives learn now to TAKE ACTION on simple easy strategies.  In this episode, Michelle talks about the Strategy of deciding your 1 Thing and how this constraint along with Dreaming can aid in creating a clear vision for 2020.  LET'S TAKE ACTION!

Welcome to Episode # 16 of The Strategy Corner, a podcast by Michelle Zink that helps second stage businesses or executives learn now to TAKE ACTION on simple easy strategies.  In this episode, Michelle talks about Building Your Foundation for a successful 2020 planning Strategy.  LET'S TAKE ACTION!

Welcome to Episode # fifteen of The Strategy Corner, a podcast by Michelle Zink that helps second stage businesses or executives learn now to TAKE ACTION on simple easy strategies.  In this episode, Michelle talks about Looking Back at 2019 as the first step to beginning the process of creating your 2020 Strategy for you life and business.  Michelle will be digging into the other aspects of creating an amazing upcoming year each Thursday in December.  LET'S TAKE ACTION!

Welcome to Episode # 14 of The Strategy Corner, a podcast by Michelle Zink that helps second stage businesses or executives learn now to TAKE ACTION on simple easy strategies.  In this episode, Michelle talks about the simple Strategy where you use Gratitude to Create Joy.  LET'S TAKE ACTION!

Welcome to Episode # 13 of The Strategy Corner, a podcast by Michelle Zink that helps second stage businesses or executives learn now to TAKE ACTION on simple easy strategies.  In this episode, Michelle talks about a Strategy on how to get your employees to solve problems for you.  LET'S TAKE ACTION!

Welcome to Episode #12 of The Strategy Corner, a podcast by Michelle Zink that helps second stage businesses or executives learn now to TAKE ACTION on simple easy strategies.  In this episode, Michelle talks about a Strategy on how to get over your fears.  LET'S TAKE ACTION!

Welcome to Episode #11 of The Strategy Corner, a podcast by Michelle Zink that helps second stage businesses or executives learn now to TAKE ACTION on simple easy strategies.  In this episode, Michelle talks about a Morning Routine Strategy.  LET'S TAKE ACTION!

Welcome to Episode # 10 of The Strategy Corner, a podcast by Michelle Zink that helps second stage businesses or executives learn now to TAKE ACTION on simple easy strategies.  In this episode, Michelle does her first book review on the podcast, "Reinventing Yourself" by Steve Chandler.  LET'S TAKE ACTION!

Welcome to Episode # 9 of The Strategy Corner, a podcast by Michelle Zink that helps second stage businesses or executives learn now to TAKE ACTION on simple easy strategies.  In this episode, Michelle talks about the Strategy of Time, and how you can play with it to gain more of it.  LET'S TAKE ACTION!

Welcome to Episode # 8 of The Strategy Corner, a podcast by Michelle Zink that helps second stage businesses or executives learn now to TAKE ACTION on simple easy strategies.  In this episode, Michelle talks about the Strategy of Productivity and how to increase it on a daily basis.  LET'S TAKE ACTION!

Welcome to Episode # 7 of The Strategy Corner, a podcast by Michelle Zink that helps second stage businesses or executives learn now to TAKE ACTION on simple easy strategies.  In this episode, Michelle talks about creating Gratitude Ahead of Time as a Strategy to help you create anything you are dreaming of.  LET'S TAKE ACTION!

Welcome to Episode # 6 of The Strategy Corner, a podcast by Michelle Zink that helps second stage businesses or executives learn now to TAKE ACTION on simple easy strategies.  In this episode, Michelle talks about the Strategy of Slowing Down To Speed Up.  LET'S TAKE ACTION!

Welcome to Episode # 5 of The Strategy Corner, a podcast by Michelle Zink that helps second stage businesses or executives learn now to TAKE ACTION on simple easy strategies.  In this episode, Michelle talks about Dan Sullivan's Strategy on Scheduling For Success.  LET'S TAKE ACTION!

Welcome to Episode # 4 of The Strategy Corner, a podcast by Michelle Zink that helps second stage businesses or executives learn now to TAKE ACTION on simple easy strategies.  In this episode, Michelle talks about the Strategy she uses to "Get Things Done".  LET'S TAKE ACTION!