Category: Financial Planning

4 Tips to Stand Out at Work

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| Financial Planning

I once worked for a true genius. He was an ideas man – an innovator. He could see things in ways no one else could, envisioning products, partnerships, and solutions that wowed people. In theory. But his ultimate downfall (because, spoiler alert, he did fall down) was his inability to master the basics of the job.

Words like innovation, agility, digital – they often make a hiring leader’s mouth water. But the best ideas in the world are worthless if you can’t execute them. 

I often talk to leaders who are frustrated by things like team members missing deadlines or being unreliable. And it leaves me wondering if we’ve started to over-index on the sexy and lost sight of the basics.

If you’re striving to be a superstar at work, before you start innovating in an agile and digital manner, take a moment to take stock of how you’re landing the basics. Because if you’re not getting the essentials done, you’re not adding your truest value. No one wants to hire an idea-maker who doesn’t deliver on the promise.

Here are four of the essentials that will help shoot you to the top.

If you’re not getting the essentials done, you’re not adding your truest value. No one wants to hire an idea-maker who doesn’t deliver on the promise.

Tip #1: Be reliable

A former boss once told me “Rachel, when I ask you to take something on – getting a project finished, a question answered, a memo written – I know that as soon as you put it on your list, I can cross it off of mine.”

As compliments go, that one was pretty unsexy. But over time, I came to realize that she tended to give the juiciest assignments – the most important, the most visible – to me because I was her most reliable team member. Once I said I would do something, she never had to worry or chase it down. And that was incredibly valuable to her as a busy leader. 

Don’t underestimate the power of being someone who does what you’ve said you’ll do. It builds trust, credibility, and may earn you access to the work that matters most.

Tip #2: Be a team player

You’ve got a job to do – as do each of your colleagues. As a general rule, it’s not your responsibility to pick up someone else’s slack. That said, there are always moments of exception. And sometimes the very thing to do is step outside of your “official” job description and just get the thing over the finish line.

Maybe you notice a colleague struggling with overwhelm and you see something on their plate that you know you could knock out in minutes. Maybe a client has called you because their official point of contact is busy, and the client’s need is urgent. Can you resolve their issue without breaking a sweat? Or even just point them in the right direction? If so, go for it.

Being a team player is a mindset. It’s not about a willingness to take on extra work, but rather a commitment to an outcome and a desire to be flexible in the role you play. Leaders really appreciate that commitment and flexibility. It bumps up their confidence that the most essential work will get done.

Tip #3: Demonstrate accountability

Accountability has become a dirty word – a synonym for blame and shame. Today, I’d like to reclaim it!

Imagine you’ve called a customer service hotline with a question. The representative who picked up your call doesn’t have the answer – but she’s offered to transfer you to the right department. At this point that representative has two options: a “cold” transfer (she sends the call) or a “warm” one (she hangs on the line with you until she’s confirmed her colleague has picked up).

Having accountability is being a warm transferrer. Your job is not always to know the answer or to do the work, but rather to recognize the need, and do your part to ensure nothing slips through the cracks.

Maybe you work in finance and part of your job is providing data to the sales teams to inform their go-to-market approach. You’ve noticed that one sales team in particular seems to be lagging behind the others, and you suspect they may be missing or misunderstanding an important data point you provided. So you sit down with the leader, ensure she understands the critical information, and make a recommendation on how she can use that insight strategically.

It’s not your job to point this out. But noticing an opportunity to further an organizational goal with your expertise is accountability in action.  And your willingness to step outside your formal job description for the greater good won’t go unnoticed. Leaders love having team members who are focusing on the bigger picture.

Noticing an opportunity to further an organizational goal with your expertise is accountability in action.

Tip #4: Be a pleasure to work with

Clients hire me to design interactive experiences that help their teams deliver their best work. They refer me to others because I’m good at my craft…but also – and just as importantly – because I’m easy to work with.

Don’t misunderstand. I have and express strong opinions. I offer unsolicited advice that may be hard to hear. And I hold teams to high standards during my programs. But I do all of this with empathy and respect. I also make sure to bring fun and levity into the room. I check in with people to see how they’re doing. I show interest in their work as well as mine.

People like to work with people they like to work with. This is never an excuse not to do excellent work. But leaders want to build teams of people who are just enjoyable to be around.

This never means tolerating inappropriate or offensive humor or allowing your personal boundaries to be infringed upon. It just means showing up as someone interested in those around you – someone others want to spend time with.

So start a practice of asking your teammates how their projects are moving along, or periodically check in with someone just to see how they’re doing. You will be amazed at how much mileage this simple gesture gets you.

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How to Change Careers

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| Financial Planning

I finished my graduate degree ready to take on the world. And my first job was in Operations Management. Every day – donning steel-toed boots and a hard hat – I managed a team of 50 people in a warehouse using scanners, pick-trucks, and conveyors to get thousands of items from trucks to shelves. It was loud and fun and challenging…until it wasn’t.

Five years in, I had a baby and decided I was ready for a change. I wanted to shift from warehouse management to Corporate Human Resources.  Friends and family wished me luck…but gently told me not to hold my breath. “That’s a real 180, Rach” I remember a cousin saying.

But I did it. I made the pivot and I’ve never looked back. It took some focus and intention on my part. And today I’m going to deconstruct how I made it happen, offering you a roadmap for your own career pivot. 

Step #1: Mark a clear destination

There’s a world of difference between running away from and running toward something. When I decided to leave Operations Management, my quest began with a need to walk away – from the intensity and the demanding schedule of the job. I was, after all, a new mother, and my needs had evolved.

But I wanted my next career to be born out of intention – not desperation. So I took a beat and really reflected on what pieces of the Operations job I loved, and which I was ready to leave behind.  

And for me, it was about the people. My success as an Operations Leader had little to do with my expertise in conveyor technology or logistics, but rather in my ability to recruit, train, and develop the right talent whose expertise in those things would deliver results. And this reflection pointed me in the direction of Human Resources.

Being mindful of what you’re striving for will help you craft a clear path forward. So begin here. You may know what you want to leave behind, but are you clear on where you want to arrive Consider your current role. List out the things – activities, responsibilities, projects, and tasks – that give you energy, and those that don’t. Maybe for you, it’s the writing, the mentoring, and the educating clients you love most. Have you considered a transition into education?

Really invest in this upfront reflection. It will serve you well later on.

List out the things – activities, responsibilities, projects, and tasks – that give you energy, and those that don’t.

Step #2: Focus on continuity 

The on-the-page job descriptions of an Operations Manager and a Human Resources leader are pretty dissimilar at first glance. One focuses on physical safety, logistics, transportation, and managing large teams, while the other focuses on knowledge of human motivation and learning styles, building training programs, and managing performance. 

But if you look closely there are indeed similarities. Both roles require attention to detail, intellectual curiosity, an ability to connect with people, to understand and tap into their motivation and skills.

Your job is to find and highlight those similarities for a hiring leader so they can envision you transitioning from your current job into a new and different one. What are the elements of the job you’ve been doing that will carry through into the job you want?

My friend Jess had been privately teaching yoga for years before she decided she wanted to shift into a marketing role with an agency. Big change!

So we focused on finding those points of continuity. Her yoga practice has required her to connect meaningfully with her clients. Understanding what they were experiencing, how they wanted to feel at the end of a session, and choosing the right poses and rhythms were the keys to her success.

Being a successful marketer requires much of the same. The expertise may be different – and we’ll talk about that next – but finding the skills and experience you leveraged in one job and could bring to the next is key.

Step #3: Mind the gaps

Whether it’s experience, technical knowledge, or a credential or certification, the reality is that some career choices will require something you don’t currently possess. But that’s okay. Your job is to know what the non-negotiables are and establish a plan to start building them. 

For Jess, she needed some hands-on marketing client experience. So while still in her yoga practice, she reached out to her network and offered to do a few small marketing projects for free, in exchange for testimonials. Within six months she felt ready to hit the ground running.

What will you absolutely need in order to qualify for your chosen industry? And what can you do to ready yourself? Do you need to begin a teaching certification? Start a side hustle? Or maybe watch a bunch of instructional videos or start a blog to showcase your writing or knowledge or point of view?

What will you absolutely need in order to qualify for your chosen industry? And what can you do to ready yourself?

Step #4: Craft your story

You are a story to be told – not a set of bullets on a resume. So climb into the drivers’ seat. Don’t let a hiring leader make lazy assumptions about you and your limits.

Tell a compelling story. Have you loved onboarding clients onto a new marketing platform, teaching them how to engage, training them on new features? And do you have a passion for educating young minds? Then that’s the story of why you’re seeking to transition from corporate to education – and what makes you uniquely qualified.

What makes you excellent at your job today? What has it taught you that you’ll carry into your next role? And how will that set you apart from the others applying for the job from within that industry?

My own story was about how I’d been training, coaching, developing learning solutions all along – but in the trenches, alongside my employees. This gave me real-time data on what worked and what didn’t – data most traditional HR practitioners didn’t have access to. My story made my pivot an asset – not a liability.

What’s the thing you’ll carry from your present job into your future one that your employer will view as a benefit?

Reach out to your network rather than sending your resume into the black hole of internet job postings.

Step #5: Tap that network

In order to ensure your story gets told, you’ll want to reach out to your network rather than sending your resume into the black hole of internet job postings. Let people in your circle know you’re looking – what you’re seeking and why. 

Practice telling your story, get feedback, and refine as you go. Be broad in your outreach. Have virtual coffees (or actual ones!) with people who can give you insight into your optimal industry, who can make introductions, who can provide feedback on your resume, or who can just offer support and encouragement.

You never know where that open role will come from. So lean in and don’t be shy. 

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How to Make Your Life Effortless

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| Financial Planning

Essentialism is the discipline of choosing the right things to focus on – the things most vital to your success. Effortlessness is the art of doing those things well – simply and efficiently “so that you can sustain the effort and not just achieve success, but to be able to be successful at success.”

So began my conversation with Greg McKeown, author of Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less and Effortless: Make it Easier to Do What Matters Most, and host of the What’s Essential podcast. Greg has dedicated his career to discovering why some people break through to the next level—and others don’t. He is an author, a speaker, and an active social innovator, having worked with clients such as Adobe, Apple, Google, Facebook, Pixar, Salesforce.com and more. In this conversation he shared his wisdom around why we tend to get in our own way, and how we can better focus on identifying what’s essential and making it effortless.

Listen to the full conversation on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform, or just click the audio player above.

Essential things aren’t always the most difficult

“There are two kinds of people in the world: those who are burned out and those who know they’re burned out," Greg shared.  Some of this comes from our collective instinct that for something to be essential, it must be difficult. 

“There is this assumption that the more essential a thing is, the harder it's going to be. And there is a kind of Puritan type logic that reinforces that…It’s like a distrust of the easy. If something’s easy it must be trivial.”  

“There are two kinds of people in the world: those who are burned out and those who know they’re burned out."

So, he explains, we fall into the traps of perfectionism and overachieving – but often we’re just making things harder than they need to be. The essential thing may be as simple as taking a moment of silence to process what you’ve learned. It may be sitting with someone important to you as they experience a challenge. 

Sometimes what’s essential is the simplest thing we can do.

But sometimes essential things are difficult or complex – and our job is to make them as effortless as possible.

Effortlessness calls for asking better questions

Greg shared a story about Kim – a university manager he was coaching. She carried the mindset of “If I’m not exhausted, I’m not doing enough.” Her boss called one day and asked that she film a series of classes.

Being a proud overachiever, Kim immediately went into action – researching production equipment, recruiting staff to help record, readying her sound engineers. This was going to be the best darn recording the university had ever produced.

But when Greg asked her what the intended purpose of this recording was, she realized she had no idea. So she asked her boss and discovered that a student was going to be absent for a few days, and simply needed some footage of the lectures so he could catch up on his homework.

“She had this turnaround moment,” Greg says. Instead of asking “How can I achieve the best results by pushing harder?” she needed – we all need to be asking “How can I achieve better results by making it effortless? How can we make it easier?”

Ultimately, Kim asked one of the student’s classmates to record the lectures on his phone and share them. The solution was so simple. But it required Kim to pause before moving into overdrive.

Effortlessness calls for reframing the problem

Greg also shared the story of Henry Kramer, a British industrialist whose ability to reframe a problem contributed to innovation and progress in human-powered flight. Following the unmanned flight achieved by the Wright Brothers in Kitty Hawk in 1903, the aviation industry was trying to solve the problem of how to make flight safe for people. 

For years, aviation experts would develop hypotheses, invest heavily in building prototypes, test them, experience failure, and head back to the drawing board. These experts were essentially asking – and trying to answer – the question of “What’s the ideal flying apparatus to achieve human flight?”

Seeing this play out for years, Kramer decided to ask a different question. “Why,” he wondered “can’t anyone seem to solve this?” And the answer came to him. The real problem wasn’t the absence of the right answer – because right answers often follow a series of wrong ones. “Everyone’s trying to solve the wrong problem. Everyone is trying to build the ultimate machine, the sophisticated, elegant, usable machine… And that's the wrong problem. The right problem is – can we build a machine that can crash and be fixed again, cheaply?”

And with this reframe, Kramer discovered the solution required an ability to test and experiment again and again at a low cost. So he and his team ultimately developed what looked like a broom stick with some tape on it – and it allowed for iterative testing that ultimately led to the desired solution.

How to make the difficult, effortless?

Greg recommends we begin with two key practices:

1. Replace your “to-do” list with your “done today” list. Instead of a perpetual, endless list of things you’ll never complete, try spending a few moments every day jotting down a list of accomplishments you’re proud to celebrate. 

2. Choose and stick with an end-of-the-day. Now that so many of us are working and living all in one place, Greg says we all need an official end to our day. State the time upfront, make sure clients or team members know what it is, and be intentional about shutting down when the hour strikes.

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6 Hidden Costs of Starting a New Business in 2021 + How to Reduce Them

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| Financial Planning

If the upheaval of the past year has taught us anything, it's that there are no guarantees in business. But one hidden benefit of mass closures and unexpected downtime at home is the opportunity to reevaluate our careers. Many have taken this time to rethink what life and work really mean to them and decided to start their own businesses.

The thought of going out on your own may bring a mixture of fear and excitement. Maybe it's something you've been thinking about for a while, and now fate has forced your hand. But before you take that step, there are some hidden costs you may not have considered. It’s important to know your market and understand the costs you’re up against when starting your own business

Hidden costs for new businesses

Anyone who has ever worked long hours at a dead end job may have dreamed of being their own boss someday. Maybe you have a side hustle or a hobby you've wanted to expand into a business.

However, being your own boss is challenging, and it’s definitely not for everyone. The reality is that working for yourself often means working harder than you ever have before — not to mention barely breaking even for quite some time.

Costs like office space, equipment, and payroll are to be expected and may be easier to calculate. But, there are many expenses that might take you by surprise when you launch your startup. Everything from the hidden costs of website maintenance to acquiring the right kind of insurance can set you back if you don’t plan for them.

Before you take the leap, here are six hidden costs that you should know about, plus some tips on how to make them more manageable.

Startup funding

You might think that you can just start your business small and build upon it. But even a stellar business idea requires some capital to get it off the ground. Unfortunately, this is also one of the hardest parts of starting a company.

Some new business owners don’t understand the finances behind starting a business well enough to present their financial information to loan officers or potential investors. What’s more, women, persons of color, and other minorities underrepresented in the startup space face additional bias and challenges. For example, one study found that black business owners were 10% more likely to apply for startup assistance but 19% less likely to be approved.

Rather than trying to obtain a bank loan — or using your personal savings — consider crowdfunding or angel investors.

You could also look into small business grants, which don't need to be repaid.

This may be the nest egg you need to get your business off the ground in the event you are unable to acquire a loan or other funding source.

Startup fees

It would be a mistake to avoid the two crucial expenses for starting any business: hiring an accountant and a business lawyer. Regulations about licensing vary from state to state, as do tax filing deadlines and fees. These also vary by the type of business or service and corporate structure. You can cut some of these costs by only using a business lawyer and accountant for your initial consultation about corporate structure, tax obligations, and insurance requirements.

Budget management is also critical from day one. One of the first things you acquire for your business should be quality accounting software. Make sure your accounting tools come with crucial features such as robust small business accounting reports and accountant-friendly software to avoid any regulatory headaches or overlooked expenses on tax day.

Insurance

Insurance is an expense you'd rather not need, but you'll be glad you have it when the unexpected happens. Plus, for some states and industries, it's a legal requirement. If you have any employees, you'll also need to consider workers compensation as well as health and life insurance.

Insurance is the one expense you can't put off, so it's best to shop around for the best rates and policies for your current situation. Consider only getting a liability insurance plan at first if that is feasible for you in terms of risk, and discuss your options with your provider.

You can always add coverage as your business grows, so it’s important to get flexible insurance plans.

Administrative costs

These are the little costs that you might have taken for granted when you worked for someone else, but they really add up if you aren't paying attention. Admin costs include big things like computers and software, in addition to little things like ink, paper, and other office supplies. If you're working from home, you will even have to consider the effect of running a home office on your electric bill.

If you meet certain requirements, you can deduct part of your rent or mortgage, phone, and utility bills for business use of your home.

Keep in mind that office supplies are less expensive when you buy them in bulk.

As for your tech solutions, consider the cost-benefit of leasing versus buying, outsourcing versus in-house, and SaaS or PaaS. These alternatives may come with upgrades and maintenance built into the contract.

Building your website

No matter what type of business you plan to launch, you're going to need a website. And one thing to beware of is that even "free" websites aren't really free. Hosting services that claim they are free will often make money by selling your data or forcing you to have ads on your site.

There's also a chance that you won't even own your domain or have the freedom to move your website later. When preparing to build your site, you'll need to consider the cost of registering your domain, designing the site itself, and finding a hosting provider.

Usually, the main expenses are domain registration and a reliable hosting provider. There are some trustworthy, inexpensive options out there, but be wary of hidden costs. According to Alex Williams of Hosting Data, you should be strategic about the hosting service you decide to use. This is because some hosting providers will try to up-sell, such as trying to get you to purchase add-ons that you could get for free simply by making clever use of your control panel.

“If your main goal is to save time without worrying about the cost, upsells won't bother you,” says Williams. “But for the budget conscious among us — keep a lookout for these features that improve upon your inexpensive plan – at a premium.”

Advertising

Perhaps you think that telling your friends and family or posting on Facebook is enough to get your business going. While your mom and your next door neighbor might account for a few sales, it's not enough to keep you going for more than a few weeks. Social media is only as good as the effort — and sometimes, money — that you put into it.

You can save money on advertising by leveraging digital platforms and letting technology do the heavy lifting.

You can pay a small fee for targeted ads on most social media platforms, reach out to influencers with sway among your target demographic, or look into affiliate marketing.

The bottom line

Our goal is to help you avoid the pitfalls that can derail your new venture, and funding issues are one of the most significant challenges for new businesses. As you’re starting out, keep these practical tips in mind so you don’t overlook any critical costs that might bring your business planning to a halt.

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7 Tips for a Successful Transition After High School

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| Financial Planning

Graduating high school is an incredible milestone for kids and their parents. The 18 years of preparation are coming to fruition and they're ready to take on the next phase of adult life. (Or so we hope!) Mighty Mommy has been here six times and as her seventh child graduates high school this week, here are eight tips to guide your almost-adult across the finish line:

Tip #1: Time management is a lifelong win

I was born a natural master of scheduling and organizing. Whether it was arranging my stuffed animals neatly, keeping on task with my studies, or managing my hectic lifestyle with eight kids, I thrive on keeping a running "to-do list."

Learning to manage your time is one of the most critical skills for leading a productive life. But it's also one of the most difficult to learn. I assumed that my kids would follow suit with my organizational skillset, but I quickly learned that most of them had no concept of managing their time. 

We practiced this skill a lot in our household. We made lists, figured out how much time every task needed, and worked backwards to understand when something needed to start in order to finish on time. It takes practice, but once they hone in on the concept of being in control of their time, they will master the rest of their goals much more quickly.  

Check out the episode Time Management Tips for College Students to prepare your high school grad for adult life.

Tip #2: Understanding personal finances is critical

When I was in high school (many moons ago), the emphasis was on algebra, calculus, and geometry. I don't recall one class that focused on personal finance. That has changed a bit now, but if there is one critical skill I'd wish for every high school graduate to take seriously, it's getting a handle on personal finance. 

Learning to manage your money means understanding how to keep track of your income and expenses. This includes managing a debit and credit card, setting a budget, saving money, and investing.

Quick and Dirty Tips' financial expert, Laura Adams, has lots of practical advice for all stages of life. Her popular episode, How to Create a Personal Finance System for Money Success, has tangible steps to understand and navigate your finances. 

Tip #3: Communication skills are key

Financial know-how is essential, but another winning skill for all high school graduates is the art of communication. Good communication skills include speaking, listening, writing, and non-verbally using body language, eye contact, and even posture. 

Effective communication takes practice, but now is the time for your young adult to pay attention to how he/she interacts with others so that this skill can be groomed and perfected. It will be critical for their professional and personal success.

Check out this helpful video, 5 Conversation and Communications Tips (With Exercises), that can help anyone kick their communication skills up a notch or two!  

Tip #4: Don't let stuff manage your life

It's easy to get swept away with the novelty of having the latest electronics, smartphones, sports equipment, trendy clothes, and other accessories. But at what cost? In my episode Here's What Happened When I Became a Minimalist Mom, I share the down-to-earth benefits of not letting material possessions rule your life. If your student can grasp this now rather than later, he/she will live a well-intentioned life.  

It's easy to get swept away with the novelty of having the latest electronics, smartphones, sports equipment, trendy clothes, and other accessories. But at what cost?

Tip #5: Your health is not optional

I remember how alive and free I felt after graduating high school. I was active, healthy, and full of energy. Because I was young and wasn't sick often, I know I didn't prioritize my health. 

I consider myself lucky to have sustained good health with such a carefree attitude, but I remind my eight kids never to take their health for granted. As young adults start venturing into the world independently, they need to recognize the importance of maintaining good health, in both body and mind. Have open and candid health conversations with your kids, including recognizing the risks of substance abuse and sexual health and safety.

For more excellent health and fitness advice, check out the Get-Fit Guy and Nutrition Diva podcasts.  

Tip #6: Never stop learning

When we graduate from high school or college, many of us are ready for a learning break. It's normal to want to walk away from textbooks, structured curriculums, and course deadlines, but we all soon realize that life is a learning journey. 

Quick and Dirty Tips' workplace expert Rachel Cooke (aka the Modern Mentor), shared some excellent advice on how to stay hungry in the quest to learn more in her episode The 2021 Career Wisdom You Need from Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She shared a great quote from the late Supreme Court Justice in response to a letter from an eight-year-old girl: 

"Reading is the key that opens doors to many good things in life. Reading shaped my dreams, and more reading helped me make my dreams come true." 

There are endless ways to fill your mind with new information. Listen to podcasts, find topics that interest you on YouTube, explore your local library, visit museums, attend free talks at nearby universities. The only limits are the ones created by you. 

Tip #7: Cultivate meaningful relationships

High school is usually a time when kids bond and make some of their best friends. Once graduation happens, however, kids head off to different colleges or paths in life. New friendships will blossom after graduation, along with romantic partners, work relationships, and professional interests. 

Those of us who have had lifelong besties are truly blessed. In addition, having a close relationship with siblings, cousins, and other family members is also essential. 

Encourage your young adult to nurture quality friendships and special relationships as part of his/her's transition into the world of adulthood. The Mayo Clinic's article, "Friendships: Enrich Your Life and Improve Your Health," explains that solid friendships play a significant role in promoting our overall health and offer suggestions on cultivating these relationships. 

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How to Improve Creativity by Adding Constraints

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| Financial Planning

I’m in the business of facilitating interactive leadership experiences – workshops, group coaching programs, etc. Pre-pandemic if you’d asked me to deliver a program remotely, I’d have looked at you side-eyed. Impact without interaction? Couldn’t be done.

But when the pandemic hit, I was suddenly forced to figure it out. And the only way to do it was through massive creativity. I’m proud of – but not alone in – my craftiness. So many of us had no choice but to bring the impossible to life in 2020. Whether homeschooling your kids, working from a closet, or selling to clients you’d never met in person, every one of us has achieved something previously unimaginable.

So what’s the magic that unlocked our untapped stores of creativity? It’s the constraints that the pandemic forced upon us.

A constraint – a limitation or restriction – generally sounds like a bad thing. But sometimes when you’re struggling to get something figured out or over the finish line, a forced constraint is just the thing you need. We all have traditional patterns of thinking. But constraints force us to reimagine – challenging us to make new connections, to look at old things in new ways, and generally to be scrappy in our approach to solving problems.

So if you’re struggling to get something over the finish line and into the market, let’s talk about the different types of constraints you might help you get over the creative hump:

Time constraint

Let’s say you’ve got an idea you want to pitch to your boss – maybe it’s a new product or a new customer service strategy. This could be your big break. You want it to be perfect. And you’ve promised yourself as soon as it is, you’ll schedule that meeting with the boss.

So…the big news here is that perfection isn’t coming. Ever. And without a deadline – forced or otherwise – you’ll be polishing this thing until it becomes obsolete. What you need is not that final data set or a cleaner prototype, but a time constraint. Let your boss know you have an idea you’d like to pitch. Get the meeting scheduled. Now you have a finish line. Your task is to define “good enough,” find a way there, and stop.

Without a deadline – forced or otherwise – you’ll be polishing this thing until it becomes obsolete. What you need is not that final data set or a cleaner prototype, but a time constraint.

I remember building my first ever workshop. I designed it and was getting ready to sell it to a client. But I just needed to revise it first. And then again. And then again. Finally, I created a time constraint. I scheduled a bunch of pitch meetings and had no choice but to be ready for them. I made a simple checklist of what must be complete before I pitched it, and I let the rest go. 

My checklist included:

• Clarity on what problem or challenge this program is solving

• A clear description of flow and sequence

• A balance of education, practice, and conversation

• A discrete set of takeaways for each participant

Those were my essentials. I had to complete those ahead of my forced deadline. The rest could come later.

Now it’s your turn. Where do you need a constraint on your time, and what items will go on your essential checklist?

Resource constraint

In the days of in-person workshops and meetings, I would sometimes kick off an executive session with the infamous marshmallow challenge. It’s a team-building activity that invites leaders to problem-solve collaboratively…and creatively. The gist is that you split your group into teams, each receiving some dry spaghetti, a marshmallow, string, and tape. 

Teams are challenged, using only that strange menagerie of supplies, to build the tallest possible freestanding structure. The team with the tallest tower wins.

The activity has never failed me. I’ve watched a CEO climb on the shoulders of his CFO to the get that final marshmallow on top – pretty much anything goes. But what blows my mind about this challenge is the sheer number of different solutions I’ve seen teams come up with, using only those four items. The creativity seems boundless.

Having just a few resources at your disposal forces you to rethink the basics and how you might leverage them in new ways.

So now back to you and your product idea. What would you do if suddenly your data sets and technology platforms and potential funding vanished, and you had to make a splash with just the most essentials? What’s your version of dry spaghetti and a marshmallow?

Can you find something that is distracting you from getting to the finish line – maybe an excess of available data or too many website plug-ins – and just imagine they suddenly no longer existed? How might you expedite your journey to the finish using only what’s right in front of you?

Having just a few resources at your disposal forces you to rethink the basics and how you might leverage them in new ways.

Impact constraint 

And finally. You need that creative burst to deliver the thing that will change the world.

Or do you?

Maybe your opportunity is to shrink the scope of what you believe you need to deliver. One client, Jenny, reached out to me because she’s been struggling to get her team to collaborate. Months after she began striving to “crack this nut,” as she puts it, she’d gotten nowhere. “There are so many factors keeping them from collaborating and I just don’t know where to start,” she shared.

I challenged her to shrink the scope of her question. “What if,” I proposed, “instead of solving for everything keeping collaboration at bay, we start with just a single instance, and then expand our scope from there?”

So we started with a pair of client managers on her team. When we asked what keeps them from collaborating, they explained that they tend to work in silos, and neither had much perspective on what the other was working on. They simply didn’t realize collaboration could be useful.

To solve just this problem, Jenny decided to repurpose her weekly staff meetings. Instead of her providing updates to the team, she began inviting team members to share with each other some highlights of their current projects. This created a forum in which opportunities for collaboration could be identified, triggering it to happen more organically.

Once Jenny had gotten the ball rolling, she grew comfortable seeking further opportunities. She learned that finding the time, and having the tools and resources to enable collaboration were additional challenges, and she has since made headway on these fronts as well. But one at a time.

Sometimes the key to solving a big challenge is starting with a small one. Often your mini-solution will provide insights to inform a broader one.

Now it’s your turn. Back to that customer service solution you’ve been noodling on. Are you feeling stuck because your imagined solution simply doesn’t meet every customer’s needs? Why not start by solving for just one customer? Pay attention to what problem it solves and why and use that insight to make your solution more expansive over time.

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Not Feeling Valued at Work?

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| Financial Planning

You’re doing your thing at work – you’re hitting goals, making magic, keeping the train on the tracks, and … [birds chirping]. Where, you’re wondering, is the love? The pat on the back, the feeling of being recognized for your effort and achievements?  Does your company value you?

Feeling underappreciated at work can be painful. We spend roughly a third of our lives working. Shouldn’t we feel good about what we’re doing there all those hours?

If you’ve been feeling like your hard work is going unnoticed and underappreciated, then let’s talk about what you can do to reclaim your value.

Tip #1: Find your professional “Love language”

Nearly 30 years ago, relationship counselor and author Gary Chapman published The 5 Love Languages. In this book, Chapman explains that each of us expresses – and wants to receive affection in different ways. And understanding how we choose to receive that affection is critical.

Personally, my love language is Acts of Service. This means that when my husband wants to woo me, he knows that dropping off my dry cleaning or getting my cracked phone screen repaired will mean more to me than gifts of flowers or candy ever could. These, for me, are the greatest expressions of love. But he only knows this because I’ve told him so.

Too much information? Perhaps. But I believe the same concept applies in the workplace. Not in terms of affection, but rather recognition. In order to feel more appreciated, it’s important that you understand what your version of appreciated looks and feels like. 

So ask yourself this question: When do I feel valued? What has someone said or done to leave me feeling this way?

Some of us may be seeking a private thank you, while others want public recognition. Some feel appreciated upon receiving an award or spot bonus, while others strive to have their opinions sought out.

There are no wrong answers here, so be honest with yourself.

In order to feel more appreciated, it’s important that you understand what your version of appreciated looks and feels like.

Tip #2: Expand your view of recognition

So now you understand how you like to feel valued or recognized. But before you go ringing the alarm bells, ask yourself – is it possible that you are being recognized, but not in the ways you’re looking for?

Just last week I was talking to a client, Lucy, who was struggling with feeling underappreciated at work.

“I’m giving this role everything I have, “she told me, “but I haven’t received a single note of praise or thank you. In fact, all I’m getting is more work – I’ve now been asked to lead a committee which feels like punishment!”

In this moment, I could see what she couldn’t. This committee, it turned out, was positioned to be making some very important and visible decisions that would impact the company’s future. Lucy’s appointment to this committee was a huge moment of recognition for her. She just couldn’t see it because it wasn’t written in her love language.

“Lucy,” I told her, “you’re looking for an expression of gratitude, but you’ve been given a huge vote of confidence. Your place on this committee is recognition of your competence — of how much leadership values your opinion.”

This refresh was big for her.

Now it’s your turn. Take a look around. Have you been asked to join a committee? To mentor a colleague, to offer advice? Have you been invited to present or teach or lead a project? Challenge yourself to look for recognition in ways you hadn’t considered. It may be hiding in plain sight.

Tip #3: Talk to your boss 

If you’ve taken stock of the possibilities around you and you’re still not feeling the love, then it may be time to talk to your boss – or someone influential to you. Sit down with them, and be honest about your concern. How is your feeling underappreciated impacting your performance at work?

The goal is not to go in entitled or demanding, but rather curious about how you’re doing. It’s a great opportunity to self-promote (without feeling icky) – to highlight some of the achievements you’re most proud of. Your boss may just be taking your hard work for granted. So let them know both that you’d like to be recognized, and how they can most impactfully do this for you.

Some things you might say include:

  • "I was proud of that marketing campaign I launched that achieved X result, and I hoped it might earn me a chance to run an even bigger campaign. I was wondering if leaders weren’t as impressed with that campaign’s performance as I thought. Do you have feedback for me?"
  • "I’ve been enjoying the role I’ve played in onboarding our recent hires. I’d love to be asked to take on a formal leadership role. Do you think that’s in the works for me?"

The key elements in these examples are:

  • You’re highlighting achievements without bragging.
  • You’re letting your boss know what brand of recognition you’re seeking.
  • You’re inviting feedback without being entitled.

Let this be your winning formula.

Tip #4: Recognize others

One of the best ways to bump up the recognition you receive is by role-modeling the practice. You may not be in a position to hand out Cadillacs like Oprah, but surely you can express gratitude to highlight a colleague’s hard work or bold idea. Or you might proactively seek someone’s expertise in order to let them showcase their hard-earned knowledge.

There are so many ways to show someone you value them. If it’s not happening organically on your team, then why don’t you get the ball rolling? 

Be the example you’d like to see. Others will follow your lead.

There are so many ways to show someone you value them. If it’s not happening organically on your team, then why don’t you get the ball rolling?

Tip #5: Be patient in this moment of uncertainty

The pandemic of 2020 changed the world of work overnight, and in some ways possibly forever.  That may sound dramatic, but we are in a collective process of redefining what, where, when, and how we work. And candidly, many leaders are simply distracted right now. Figuring out how to maintain client engagement, how to do research and development, how to coach, develop, and manage  their teams – these are all open questions sitting on the shoulders of our leaders.

It’s not an excuse for anyone to lose sight of the importance of recognizing their team members. It’s simply a possible explanation. Your boss may be overwhelmed right now. Still, get on their calendar and have the conversation. Be proactive and ask for what you need. But be mindful of what they may still be wading through, and offer them just a bit of grace.

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How to Manage Distractions and Become More Productive

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| Financial Planning

You know how you strive to stay productive during the day…only to get sidetracked by the notifications on your phone or the donuts in your kitchen? If you’ve ever felt like you could be so much more productive if only those distractions would quiet down, then get ready to feel empowered.

I invited Nir Eyal – author of Indistractible: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life – to join me on the Modern Mentor podcast today. Nir's research has uncovered tons of actionable advice on how to take back the reins and stay in the zone of productivity. 

Nir Eyal

Nir Eyal writes, consults, and teaches about the intersection of psychology, technology, and business. Nir previously taught as a Lecturer in Marketing at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford. He was dubbed “The Prophet of Habit-Forming Technology” by M.I.T. Technology Review and Bloomberg Businessweek wrote, “Nir Eyal is the habits guy. Want to understand how to get app users to come back again and again? Then Eyal is your man.” He is the author of two bestselling books, Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products and Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life.

You’ll want to hear Nir’s story firsthand – in which case you’ll need to listen to our interview. But in summary, we talked about the importance of noting and managing our internal triggers (like boredom, anxiety, or loneliness) in order to manage our relationship with external triggers (like technology, food, drink, or anything that temps us away from our focus). And more importantly, he shares how he does this – and suggests how you might do the same.

Here are some of the big ideas we covered:

Begin by understanding distraction

“The best way to understand what distraction is is to understand what distraction is not…The opposite of the word ‘distraction’ is ‘traction.'” Traction is the thing that pulls us toward the action we want to be taking, and distraction is the thing that pulls us away.

Any action can be traction or distraction. The key is in your intent.

If you’re trying to stay focused on getting that report written but your fingers keep hitting that refresh button on your Insta feed, then technology has become a distraction. However, if your plan was to finish the report and then reward yourself with 20 minutes of scrolling, then your scrolling has become your traction. Because you set and intention and you executed it.

Technology isn’t always the enemy. It’s all about setting an intention. It's absolutely OK to scroll through your feed as long as it's what you planned to do.

Traction is the thing that pulls us toward the action we want to be taking, and distraction is the thing that pulls us away.

Manage your internal triggers

According to research in Nir's book, the “pings, dings, rings, and things” we point to as distractions are only about 10% of the problem. The main reason we turn to our phone – or the donut – is due to an internal trigger. It’s what’s happening within us that truly prompts us to seek a distraction.

When we experience something emotionally uncomfortable – like boredom, stress, anxiety, or loneliness – our human instinct is to comfort that feeling with something soothing. And our phones are delighted to play that role.

Nir says, “Time management requires pain management.” And we need to understand what’s triggering the need for the distraction, in order to then manage the habit or behavior.

So next time you realize your fingers have wandered somewhere unwanted, ask yourself what's going on.  Are you anxious about that job interview coming up? Are you tired of writing this report you've been working on for weeks? Start by noting – and acknowledging what experience you're having.  This self-awareness is the first step in becoming Indistractible.

Next time your fingers have wandered somewhere unwanted, ask yourself what's going on.  Are you anxious about that job interview coming up?

Form a plan – then implement it

What distinguishes truly indistractible people from the rest of us? “They don’t have tremendous self-control. They don’t have tremendous willpower. What they have is a system in place," Nir explains. “They know what to do when temptation rears its ugly head.”

Now that you know why you're turning toward a temptation, you can devise a plan to manage it.

“The antidote to impulsiveness is forethought.”  One of the many techniques Nir employs? The 10-Minute rule. Instead of telling yourself you can’t have or do the thing you want, tell yourself you absolutely can. You just have to wait 10 minutes. If at the end of 10 minutes, you still must have it, then go for it. Ironically, research shows that more often than not, 10 minutes is all it takes for an urge to subside.

Instead of telling yourself you can’t have or do the thing you want, tell yourself you absolutely can. You just have to wait 10 minutes.

Another tactic to try? Time-boxing. Instead of falling into a pit of eternal report-writing, try committing to 15 minutes of focused writing. Then, have a plan to take a break and watch a cat video.

In this conversation, we covered a lot of ground. But a few key takeaways I carried with me include:

  • Being distractible does not make you flawed – only human.
  • White-knuckling your way through temptation – gripping your fists and saying “I can’t have it” only makes you want it more.
  • Managing your internal triggers (your emotions and sensations) will make the external triggers (the temptations calling your name) less powerful.
  • This gets easier with time and practice as you build self-efficacy. So just start somewhere today.
  • Becoming indistractible is a superpower. It’s the “skill of the century.”

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How to Design a Life You Love

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| Financial Planning

In the earliest days of my business, I wasn’t so much running toward a passion or purpose but running away from my disengaging full-time job. And that absence of purpose scared me. This was the next phase of my life, and I wanted it to be infused with intention.

And also… I had no idea how to achieve this.

Then one day, browsing aimlessly in a bookstore (a tactic I recommend anytime you’re struggling with literally anything) I stumbled on a book called Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life, by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans.

At first glance it sounded a little squishy. But I noticed the book is based on a course of the same name, authored by two professors who famously teach at Stanford University – an institution not known for its squishiness. So, I grabbed it.

Its purpose is to help you answer this question: Can we apply design thinking to the “wicked problem” of designing your job, your career, and even your life? Evans and Burnett believe we can.

Design thinking is a means of user-centered design. It’s about designing not the best outcome, but rather the best path for a particular user. In the case of this book, the user is you. Today I’ll introduce you to the five phases of the design thinking process, and how Burnett and Evans might encourage you to harness it in designing your ideal life.

Whether you’re on a quest for joy, change, or a fresh start, welcome to your new beginning.

Design thinking … is about designing not the best outcome, but rather the best path for a particular user – in this case, the user is you.

Step #1: Empathize

Design thinking begins with empathy because you can only design for a user you understand. And since you are the user, this phase is about self-awareness. So how can you get to know you a little bit better? There’s a process Burnett and Evans describe called wayfinding, which is a simple method of self-discovery that puts you in the direction of where you need to go.

Through wayfinding, you’ll discover which activities engage you (leaving you feeling inspired and “in the zone”) and which sap your energy. The process is simple: keep a journal (here's a good example of one). For the next few weeks, keep track of your work and home activities throughout each day. Whether it's writing a sales pitch, reorganizing your sock drawer, or anything else. For each activity, grab your journal and log how high or low your engagement was during the activity (did you enjoy your time spent?) and how you feel afterwards (energized or exhausted, positive or negative?).

This process will reveal some important information about you!

Step #2: Define

The next phase of design thinking is to define the needs or insights you’ve gained through empathy. So after a few weeks, take a closer look at your journal and do a bit of reflecting. What captures your attention? Any surprises? 

When I did this exercise, I validated some things I already knew – I love spending time with people and learning about topics of interest. But the news to me was that I was also enjoying writing copy for my website. This insight led me to start publishing an email newsletter which has since become critical to my business growth.

Now it’s your turn. What insights pop out for you? What assumptions can you validate, and what new things did you discover?

Step #3: Ideate

Now it’s time to develop a set of possible solutions. This phase is meant to be playful and exploratory, leveraging the insights you’ve collected.

Burnett and Evans call this Odyssey Planning. I love this phrase – it sounds more like an adventure in the wilderness than a planning process. How you craft your odysseys is up to you – you can draw, write stories, brainstorm or create a mind map.  But the goal is to generate possibilities using pen and paper.

“Each of us is many,” Evans and Burnett say. “The life you are living is one of many lives you will live.”

So start with three possible lives:

  • A better version of the present – what your life would look like if everything stayed the same, but you added in more of the engaging and stripped out some of what leaves you drained
  • An alternate version of the present – what your life would look like if suddenly your job went away
  • A what-if-money-were-no-object version – what your life would look like if finances weren’t a constraint

Let your creative brain take over here. None of these will be your final life design, so don’t be hampered by too many rules. This is only about possibilities.

Step #4: Prototype

This phase is about collecting data to inform how we turn ideas into action plans. Now that you’ve crafted three possible lives that sound great to you. What can you do to test and validate those assumptions?

Who in your life has lived pieces of your envisioned lives? If one Odyssey involves you opening a restaurant or becoming a stay-at-home parent or launching a side hustle, who do you know who has done these things?

Find and interview people who you trust to share the good, the bad, and the ugly of their experience. Arm yourself with as much information as you can, so you can ultimately make informed choices about how to proceed.

Find and interview people who you trust to share the good, the bad, and the ugly of their experience. Arm yourself with as much information as you can.

Step #5: Test

The most valuable thing I learned while going through this life design process was that change needn’t be wholesale. You don’t have to throw out one life and take on another. You can take just one step at a time. Here’s where you put your insights, your possibilities, and your data into a blender and take small sips of the smoothie that emerges.

Maybe in your current job you spend a lot of time in meetings that drain your energy. This doesn’t mean you have to quit your job or boycott meetings. But can you craft a small experiment in which you opt out of one meeting per week and replace it with something that really lights you up? (Go back and check your journal to find the things that make you happiest).

This was my approach. I didn’t throw out my business. Instead, I started turning up the dial on things I believed would make me happy – choosing different clients, saying no to certain projects and yes to others.

If I was right, I kept going. If I was wrong, everything was reversible because I was doing this in small steps, rather than giant leaps. This process can be fun and invigorating. The beauty of human-centered design is that there is no right answer. There’s only the outcome that lifts you up.

And now it’s your turn. Are you ready to build the life you love?

 

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