Archive for the ‘Self-Growth’ Category

Better Than Santa Claus…

Monday, December 19th, 2022
 

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you!

As I think about my life growing up, I loved Christmas because, well, we would get presents! And as a kid, that was a really cool thing.

Be Present with Others

As an adult though, I’ve learned that there’s something even better than receiving presents and that is being present for other people.

Being there with them. Listening to them. Hearing what’s going on in their lives. Finding ways to help them!

That is the great opportunity!

So as you begin this holiday season, think about how you could be more present to those that you love—to those that you love at work. And let’s face it, we do get to love the people we work with because we often spend more time with them than we do with our own families.

Learning to be present with others brings great power. Let’s give it a try.

Merry Christmas to you.

– Roxanne Emmerich


Set the intention to surpass your mentor

Monday, December 12th, 2022

Everyone needs a mentor. In order to achieve any level of mastery, we have to find mentors in the areas where we need to grow in next. We need to find the kind of people who want to take us on. One thing to recognize as you’re choosing a mentor: don’t hang on forever. We are in that relationship for a period of time to learn a certain thing. And our goal should be to surpass the mentor—that’s the best gift we can give to a mentor.

Now if somebody chooses you as a mentor—first of all, what an honor. But don’t allow the feeling of honor to blunt your usefulness. Remember that the best mentors know how to be abruptly truthful with the mentee. Sometimes we get stuck, and we just need someone to slap us around a little bit—figuratively, of course—to help us understand that there’s something more for us.

Years ago, I had a mentor. And I said something to him. I don’t remember what it was, but I’ll never forget his response. He said, “I’m appalled by your thinking. That’s very pedestrian thinking. That’s not how you think. You need to think at a higher level.”

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When the Answer is Always “Now”

Monday, November 28th, 2022
 

How could I create a ‘wow’ experience here?

What if you thought about every encounter with the customer as a chance to create a “wow” encounter?

Let’s face it, you’re either going to have a “wow” encounter or an unwow one. It’s never a neutral event. So we need to constantly ask ourselves, “How could I create a ‘wow’ experience here?”

Now as we’re thinking about “wow” experiences, we can’t forget the internal customers—you know, those who are working within our organization and who need to support those outside of our organization (AKA the customer). These internal customers need to have “wow” experiences as well.

So whether you’re an internal customer service person or an external customer service person, think about the “wow” encounter and never forget what Guy Kawasaki talked about, “No matter when your supervisor asks for something, the answer is always ‘now.’”

When they’re asking for something to be done, make sure to prioritize what they need because they probably have an outcome and a customer experience that they need to create. AND them having to wait means that they cannot create that “wow” experience for their customer!

Always approach every encounter with every person that you work with—including your customers—as the potential to create a “Wow, That was amazing!” type of experience.

What if you started approaching it that way today?

– Roxanne Emmerich


One of the Best Ways to Earn the Respect of Your Team…

Monday, November 21st, 2022
 

Focus on Quality

When I go into one of the workplaces of the clients that we work with and see a sign that says “Clean up behind yourself. Your mother doesn’t work here,” I got to tell you… it rubs me the wrong way.

I find it just a little bit insulting. That said, there is a message there that is probably more important outside of the break room. And that is this: we are all required to do our job well, which means it’s absolutely important to double check—and sometimes triple check—the quality of our work.

When we don’t focus in on that quality, we leave messes for those behind us.

Be Attentive and Have Respect

Listen… You’ve got to get your ego in check and realize that you too make mistakes and that you need to respect the need for accuracy.

Maybe you’re the kind of person who is always accurate anyway (Really though, you’ll still probably want to double check for accuracy).

If you know that you’re not all that accurate, you probably need to check three—or maybe four—times to make sure that you don’t get a reputation as the person being told  “your mama doesn’t work here” and making somebody else clean up behind you.

Be attentive and have respect for the quality of what you put out. You will earn the respect of those on your team.

– Roxanne Emmerich


The Brain Chemistry of Accomplishment…

Monday, November 14th, 2022
 

More work to do than the time you have to do it in

Do you have more work to do than the time you have to do it in? Well, welcome to planet earth. That is the world we all live in now. And listen, here’s the thing, people sometimes run from a job like that yelling, “Ah, I am overwhelmed!” Then they go someplace else, where they’ll still have too much to do! And now they’re in a brand new job with far less experience, and it takes them even more time to get less done…  So, it just got a whole lot worse!

Here’s the thing: we have to accept the fact that we live in a sped-up world. There is a requirement to do more with less. Faster with fewer. And do it all better than ever…  What an opportunity!

Knock important things down because it feels good

If we let this crush us; If we define ourselves as being inadequate because we’re always feeling behind as opposed to saying, “I knocked that one down. I was super powerful today. I moved something else through;’” and if we don’t focus on the completion—we will stay in the world of being overwhelmed. So knock down those tasks, have it be a blast every time you move through it, give yourself a high five, and check it off the list! I don’t know about you, but I add things to my list just so I can check it off because it feels good, and there’s a brain chemistry shift that says, “Good job, You knocked something down!”

Create systems that ensure you are knocking important things down and feeling good about the fact that you’re focusing on what matters the most.

– Roxanne Emmerich