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2010 International Coaching Week Feb 7-13- Free Call

February 2nd, 2010

The 2010 International Coaching Week is February 7–13.

Created in 1999, ICW exists to provide a time to educate the public about the value of working with a professional coach and an opportunity for coaches and their clients to acknowledge the results and progress made through coaching.

Since the inception of coaching there was a time when the concept was hardly known to today where hiring an outside coach has become quite common. There has been tremendous progress in coaching in the last ten years. In fact there is a new trend in coaching that is emerging and taking hold which is team coaching (where two coaches work with a client to provide dual perspectives) and the other is a mastermind that is facilitated by two coaches.

Local Master Certified Coach, Teresia LaRocque a founding director of the International Coaching Federation in British Columbia and Cheryl Cran, Certified Speaking Professional, have teamed up to create the Triple “M” Mastermind – Mind, Money and a Life of Meaning Program.

In support of International Coaching Week, Teresia and Cheryl are offering a complimentary informational call on February 10th at 5:30pm PST/8:30pm EST on the 3 Trends for Women in Business in 2010 and they are launching their Triple “M” Mastermind, six-month program on February 26th.

Please click here to register for the call.

http://www.triplemmastermind.com/

This unique program is specifically for women executives or women entrepreneurs, as research has indicated women’s innate values are collaboration, connection and community. It is these values that women are looking for in their work and in their lives. There is a new way of gaining success where women can leverage their time, let go of the lone ranger mentality and get results with ease and effortlessness.

Canada is the fastest growing country for self employed professional women and it has tripled in the last two decades. British Columbia is the fastest growing province for self employed professionals in Canada. In Canada one in 10 executives is a woman, and in the US one in five executives is a woman.

Teresia and Cheryl have been self-employed professionals for over fourteen years – each a success in their own right and they have worked with many women in their practice who are wanting to mastermind with like minded successful women.

The “Triple M Mastermind” is a model for powerful women to gather in a structured environment with two ‘master coaches/facilitators’ and 8 other highly successful and accomplished women and comes at a time when women are looking for a new way to success. This mastermind format focuses on how to support each other to higher levels of income, new ways of thinking and a deeper sense of connection and meaning.

Partial proceeds from the Triple M Mastermind will be supporting local charities and women in need in the local community. To find out more and schedule an interview with Teresia and Cheryl please contact:

Teresia LaRocque                               Cheryl Cran
http://teresia.com                             http://cherylcran.com
604 473 9824                                       604-682-3100

mastermind@teresia.com                     http://triplemmastermind.com

2010- Women Finding Success in a New Way

January 12th, 2010

On Monday January 11th my project partner Teresia LaRocque MCC http://www.teresia.com and I were guests on the Fanny Kiefer show this morning talking about our Triple M Mastermind Program.

We talked about the fact that women are doing more than ever professionally and most are still the main caretaker of the home and family responsibilites. Women account for 80% of all purchasing decisions and soon will be the primary breadwinners. In Canada, 1 out of 10 women are executives and Canada is the fastest growing country for self employed professionals. Women truly are doing it all!

We also talked about how women can leverage and embrace their success in a new more collaborative way: enter the power of the mastermind; the shift from “me” to “we”; letting go of the “lone ranger” mentality and being open to support and collaboration. In a future blog I will post the highlights of our 15 minute segment. Visit www.triplemmastermind.com and get a free audio on “The Power of a Mastermind and How It’s Different Than Coaching.”

2010 Create Your Year at a Glance

January 4th, 2010

Well here we are already January 2010!

If you were like most of us 2009 was a year of forced change- we had to adapt or risk losing ground.

I know for me personally 2009 was a year of major adapting, changing environments for my daughter, mother in law and in December my hubby and I.

3 moves in one year!

The value in forced change is that it causes us to become laser focused on what is important and necessary and it allows us to discard the superfluous. When we get rid of extra stuff such as tasks that waste our time, material items that have been taking up space or activities that do not contribute to our well being we find ourselves becoming clearer on priorities and what it is we ‘do’ want.

Rather than do a big written list of resolutions or goals for 2010 I recommend doing the ‘year at a glance’ exercise. All you need is a 2010 print calendar and do the following:

- Take some time away from noise and get comfortable

- Think about December 2010 and what you would like to say on December 31st as to the highlights of 2010

- Go through each month in the calendar and write a high level ‘outcome’ you would like to create for example in January 2010 I want my new joint project with Teresia LaRocque www.triplemmastermind.com to successfully launch, in February I want my manuscript for my next book to be ready for edits and so on

- When you go through the year month by month you can also look at personal goals- for instance in July I want to finally go to Italy with my hubby

By looking at the year in a high level ‘outcome per month’ perspective you are able to focus on both professional and personal goals if you are more of a visual person you could also do this on a big year at a glance wall calendar OR if you are a techie you can put your monthly ‘outcome’ in your reminders or calendar.

I hope 2010 is a fantastic year for you!

The Robin Hood Story of the Recession

November 20th, 2009

In a interesting blog post here is the link: http://blog.taragana.com/n/younger-americans-find-vast-opportunities-in-recession-while-older-generations-struggle-187519/
the author points out that although many baby boomers have lost financial gains the younger generations are the ones who are gaining in many ways.
The house prices have allowed many younger people in to the market and while someone in their 70’s may have lost money in the stock market their plans for retirement have changed.
Many see this recession as being a great equalizer- allowing younger people who previously were up against barriers to prosperity and more seasoned people to re-think their attitudes about making money and when to retire.
It will be interesting to see where it all ends up in the next five years.

The Upside and Opportunities of the Recession

November 16th, 2009

In a recent blog post http://upsidetothedownturn.com/?utm_source=Starting+Your+Week+on+the+Upside&utm_campaign=ec8ef52ca9-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email

The authors provide four different types of attitudes towards spending since the recession. It is interesting as they have indicated age groups and attitudes towards money. Take a look and see where you are. It turns out I am more like a Gen Y in my attitude as I am an apathetic materialist.

Regardless of what type of spender you are there are some upsides and opportunities for all of us post- recession. Personally this past year has helped me to re-focus on what my true priorities are and how I want to make a greater impact on the world through my work. In addition it has caused me to look at where I spend my money and to focus on spending it in a way that brings me satisfaction but also provides value to the person or company receiving it.

The upside and the opportunities of this recession are:

  • Corporate and individual review of excess spending, frivolous spending and necessary spending
  • Increased focus on ‘global abundance’ and how our spending is affecting the global economy
  • Greater awareness around ‘impact spending’ by asking questions such as “How will this money make the biggest impact on our company or on me personally and for the company or person receiving it?”
  • Laser focus on our company and personal values and asking ourselves the following question, “Is spending this money on this aligned with our/my core values?”

The recession certainly affected us all and the opportunity to learn from it and change our behaviors for greater global prosperity is very exciting.

Zoomers Refuse to Age!

November 3rd, 2009

You’ve probably heard of TED – where the world’s top thought leaders are asked to provide 18 minutes of provocative ideas at this most fascinating conference. This event – which features pioneering thinkers sharing their most passionate dreams and best-practice tips – is described as “Riveting Talks by Remarkable People.” Previous speakers include Tony Robbins, Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Bill Clinton, Paul Simon, Sir Richard Branson, Sir Ken Robinson and Bono.
TED is expanding their reach around the globe with events being sponsored in dozens of different countries. Vancouver is holding their first ever TEDx event on November 21 of this year, and has asked me- Cheryl Cran to be one of the featured speakers. The theme of TEDX Vancouver is “Forever Young”.
I will be speaking on Zoomers Refuse to Age which is based on Moses Znaimer’s theory that Baby Boomers today are modern, hip and younger behaving than their parents. The event will be videotaped and watch for postings on the site to see this unprecedented event. Find out more at http://tedxvancouver.com/

Professional Development Still A Priority in Turbulent Economy

October 14th, 2009

In the USA Today October 14th issue they did a quick poll asking organizations whether their company’s professional development programs changed compared to 12 months ago- here are the responses:

45% said there has been no change

26% said yes reduced

28% said yes expanded

1% said don’t know

The good news is that a combined total of 73% of companies saw the need to continue professional development and a percentage of that actually spent MORE money on professional development. Fantastic news!

This shows that progressive companies recognize that training and development were areas that needed continued funding in order to be competitive post-recession.

It would be interesting to do a follow up survey a year from now asking the same companies how they are faring. My guess would be that the 26% who reduced their professional development will not have as high a competitive advantage as the companies who continued to invest in the education of their people.

There is a need for more learning, training and education in a fast changing and fast paced global economy and it’s great to see that companies see the value of investing in their people.

Gen Y’s Focused and Accountable

October 8th, 2009

I came across this blog written by Tyler J. Durbin a Gen Y

http://www.genyjourney.com I am re-posting it because I found it so impressive

that this emerging Gen Y leader was being highly accountable. It is quite good.

Enjoy!

Are you ready to be better today than you were yesterday?  In today’s work environment, it is important to be a well-rounded contributor to your organization.  That means you need to be achieving at the highest level at all times…what is holding you back from accomplishing this?

1.       Recognize a Weakness is Present

Recognizing that a weakness is present is vital.  Sure, your performance may be sufficient for now, but will your habits propel you to achieving at a higher level?  Do yourself a favor:  Take time weekly (or even nightly) to review your work habits and performance.  Be honest with yourself and find weaknesses that you can improve.

2.         Identify the Causes

This may possibly be the hardest part of fixing poor work habits.   In my current position, I need to do a great deal of prospecting.  I’ve been experiencing low success rates in my cold calling which is making it difficult to reach my sales goals.  My weakness is not being able to increase my call volume.  But why?

Whether it’s fear of failure, completing tasks in front of co-workers, or just a lack of any type of intrinsic or extrinsic motivation, you must identify the reason(s) this habit is occurring.  What is the source of your issue?  What factors are contributing the bad habit?

3.       Know what you can control – and CONTROL it!

In trying to fix a weakness in your performance, make a list of all the things you can control.  Here is my list:

•         Number of phone calls I make per day

•         Effectiveness in communicating my message

•         Exhibiting higher confidence

•         Getting excited to speak with business owners

No matter what your job entails, find things you can control and adjust them to perform at a higher level.  Whether it takes setting a daily routine, becoming more proactive, sharing your ideas with others, listening to others – no matter the issue – there are elements that you can control….Now CONTROL them!

4.       Set a direction – Stay the Course

The most important part of fixing weaknesses in your performance is to have a plan to fix the issue.  Set small goals that will help you reverse your habit or weakness.  Write the plan down and share with others.

My goal each day is to increase my number of calls per hour by 1.  While that doesn’t sound like much, by the end of the week, I have added up to 20 calls per day to my total (puts me closer to a yes!).  To hold myself accountable, I’m continuing to track my results, sharing my goals and results with my boss and posting on my social networks for tips and encouragement.

You now know your weaknesses, what is causing them, what you can control to fix them and have created a plan to achieve success…All over the course of one evening.  When you wake up tomorrow, know that you are a better professional than you were the day before.  This realization will breed a new level of confidence…build off of it!

How A Gen Y Leads

September 23rd, 2009

Gen Y’s typically do not seek leadership the way Zoomers (Boomers who refuse to age) did or do. Many Zoomers felt that positions of leadership were signs of progress in their careers.
Gen Y’s see leadership as something extra that is added to their work load and they don’t want to be in charge the way it has been done by their Zoomer counterparts.
A Gen Y Leader looks at leadership as follows:
* Provide me with the training and skills to be a good leader I don’t want the job if I can’t be set up to succeed
* Don’t expect me to work as hard as you have or long hours in the office- I will get my job done and lead by using media, technology and I don’t need to be in the office to do this
* I don’t want to ‘boss’ people around- we are a collaborative team and I will be a interactive team leader
* We are solution oriented and we don’t always look to the past for the answer- please allow us to find new solutions that may require changing how we have done things

As you can see Gen Y sees leadership as a team effort not a hierarchical top down role. Gen Y is not impressed by seniority – they do not equate time on job with being highly efficient and productive.
We are seeing more Gen Y leaders and they are creating interesting dynamics for organizations acrosss North America.

USA Today Survey- There IS a Generation Gap

September 14th, 2009

In today’s USA Today September 14th a quick survey showed that 79% of those born in the 60’s say there is definitely a generation gap. 69% of those born in the 70’s say there is a generation gap and 79% of those born in the 80’s say there is ‘for sure’ a generation gap.

The implications are big for both big business and small business. If there is such a gap in perceptions, values and ideals between the generations then it means we are not on the same page and if we are not on the same page there will be further challenges getting teams to work together with synergy.

Although HR experts may be sick and tired of hearing about the generations the issue is not going away any time soon. Progressive companies are focusing energy and resources on bridging the gaps of understanding to increase productivity and ultimately profitability.
Technology offers the common interest for all generations to get on board.
However we still need to work on the ’soft skills’ to go with the ‘tech’ skills.