It doesn’t matter whether your goal is to lose 5 or 50 pounds, quit smoking or stop drinking. New Year’s resolutions and other goals are hard to keep beyond the first month. Change is hard.

Why? Because the brain is tricky. No matter how sincerely we want to break a habit, we have an inherent immunity to change.

This means we’re physiologically “lured” into doing what we’ve always done, no matter how strong our intentions. And yet, some people do succeed. We all know ex-smokers, ex-drinkers and former fatties.

You cannot fix an adaptive problem with a technical solution. A diet, for example, is a technical solution to being overweight: To lose weight, eat less and exercise more. But the problem is much more complex. Unless you change your mindset (an adaptive solution), you won’t sustain new habits.

Einstein said that how you formulate a problem is just as critical as how you solve it. One of the biggest mistakes goal-setters make is applying a technical solution to an adaptive problem. It doesn’t matter how much you change what you do. If you don’t shift the way you think, you’ll revert to doing things as you’ve always done them.

This is a brief synopsis of an 825-word article and Article Nuggets* suitable for consultants’ newsletters for executives and leaders in organizations. It is available for purchase with full reprint rights, which means you may put your name on it and use it in your newsletters, blogs or other marketing materials. You may also modify it and add your personal experiences and perspectives.

If you are a Content for Coaches client and your account is current, no need to order. Send me an email to confirm that you wish to use this article for your next newsletter.

All others please use the order links below.

Order Links to purchase this article:

1.    Competing Commitments, 825-word Article with Full Reprint Rights, $57 –

2.   Competing Commitments 3 Article Nuggets* with Full Reprint Rights,  $64 –

*Article Nuggets: The same article broken up into 3 blog-style sections suitable for a series of blog posts or shorter newsletter articles.

“Some of the most important and insightful learning is far more likely to come from failures than from success.” ~ Former Procter & Gamble CEO A.G. Lafley, interviewed in Harvard Business Review (April 2011)

How we respond to failures and bounce back from our mistakes can make or break our careers. The wisdom of learning from failure is undeniable, yet individuals and organizations rarely seize opportunities to embrace these hard-earned lessons.

Harvard business professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter is unequivocal: “One difference between winners and losers is how they handle losing.” Even for the best companies and most accomplished professionals, long track records of success are inevitably marred by slips and fumbles.

Our response to failure is often counterproductive: Behaviors become bad habits that set the stage for continued losses. Just as success creates positive momentum, failure can feed on itself. Add uncertainty and rapidly fluctuating economics to the mix, and one’s ability to find the right course is sorely tested.

Long-term winners and losers face the same ubiquitous problems, but they respond differently. Attitudes help determine whether problem-ridden businesses will ultimately recover.

Luckily, most of us can learn to become more resilient with training and coaching.

This article summarizes the latest expert thinking about bouncing back to become stronger and more resilient.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

This is a brief synopsis of a 1700 & 900-word article suitable for consultants’ newsletters for executives and leaders in organizations. It is available for purchase with full reprint rights, which means you may put your name on it and use it in your newsletters, blogs or other marketing materials. You may also modify it and add your personal experiences and perspectives.

The complete 1700 word article includes these important concepts:

• The Best of Times, the Worst of Times
• Optimism and Resilience
• Learning from Mistakes
• Cultivate Self-Awareness
• Cultivate Political Awareness
• Develop New Strategies
• Blameworthy or Praiseworthy?

————————————————————————————

If you are a Content for Coaches client and your account is current, no need to order. Send me an email to confirm that you wish to use this article for your next newsletter.

All others please use the order links below.

Order Links to purchase this article:

a.     Text, 1700-word Article with Full Reprint Rights, $79 –
         Leadership Resilience: The Art of Bouncing Back – 1700-word article, reprint rights

b.     Text, 900-word Article with Full Reprint Rights, $57 –
         Leadership Resilience: The Art of Bouncing Back – 900-word article, reprint rights

c.     5 Article Nuggets, a series of blog-style content with Full Reprint Rights, $89 -
         Leadership Resilience: The Art of Bouncing Back – 5 Article Nuggets, blog-style, first-person
         pronoun, links

Given the results of procrastination – hurried work, mistakes, stress, missed deadlines – it’s a wonder why anyone would put off what can be done right away. And yet who doesn’t let projects slide, especially ones we don’t like doing?

If you find yourself procrastinating on a task, try thinking of it in very specific and concrete terms to encourage you to complete it sooner.

It’s important to not let your mind wander by trying to analyze why you’re stuck and why you’re putting it off. Instead, focus on breaking the project up into small, manageable parts.

This helps get the ball rolling and reduces the size of the task (and the accompanying emotional baggage) so it immediately becomes more doable. Start with something small and then move on to the next step.

This requires that you ignore six things:

1. Your mind
2. Your emotions
3. The clock and the calendar
4. Your stress
5. Distractions
6. Your excuses

This article presents practical steps for finding motivation, focus and concentration to bust out of procrastination.

__________________________________________________________________________

This is a brief synopsis of a 950-word personal development article suitable for coach newsletters. It is available for purchase with full reprint rights, which means you may put your name on it and use it in your newsletters, blogs or other marketing materials. You may also modify it and add your personal experiences and perspectives.

If you are a Content for Coaches client and your account is current, no need to order. Send me an email to confirm that you wish to use this article for your next newsletter.

All others please use the order links below.

Order Links to purchase this article:

1. Click HERE: The Lure of Procrastination, Text, 750-word Article with Full Reprint Rights, $57 –

2. Click HERE: The Lure of Procrastination, 3 Article Nuggets*, with Full Reprint Rights, $64 –

*Article Nuggets: The same article broken up into 3 blog-style sections suitable for a series of blog posts or shorter newsletter articles.

“Many high performers would rather do the wrong things well than do the right thing poorly.”
~ Thomas J. DeLong and Sara DeLong, “The Paradox of Excellence,” Harvard Business Review, June 2011

Leaders are high achievers who continually grow as professionals. But in many organizations, there are high achievers who are floundering. They’re smart, ambitious professionals who aren’t as productive or satisfied as they could be.

If you’re a high achiever, then you’re used to winning and accustomed to turning out remarkable performance. But what happens when you’re in over your head or on an accelerating treadmill that’s going nowhere fast?

For example, when challenged by new technologies or strategic game changes, you’re probably unwilling to admit it and often refuse to ask for help. The very strengths that led you to the fast track can steer you toward poor performance.

High performers exhibit eight typical behaviors which can be overcome with practice.

This article suggests six steps to break out of the traps typical of high-achievers in order to develop character, virtue, and executive wisdom.

—————————————-

This is a brief synopsis of a 1800 & 1000-word article suitable for consultants’ newsletters for executives and leaders in organizations. It is available for purchase with full reprint rights, which means you may put your name on it and use it in your newsletters, blogs or other marketing materials. You may also modify it and add your personal experiences and perspectives.

The complete 1800 word article includes these important concepts:

• 8 Traps of High-Achievers
• Breaking Out of Traps
• 6 Steps to Practice
• Making Good Use of a Coach
• Developing Character and Wisdom

—————————————-

If you are a Content for Coaches client and your account is current, no need to order. Send me an email to confirm that you wish to use this article for your next newsletter.

All others please use the order links below.

Order Links to purchase this article:

a.     Text, 1800-word Article with Full Reprint Rights, $79 –
8 Traps of High-Achievers – 1800-word article, reprint rights

b.     Text, 1000-word Article with Full Reprint Rights, $57 –
8 Traps of High-Achievers – 1000-word article, reprint rights

c.     5 Article Nuggets, a series of blog-style content with Full Reprint Rights, $89 -
8 Traps of High-Achievers -  5 article nuggets, blog-style, first-person pronoun, links

“The person who figures out how to harness the collective genius of their organization is going to blow the competition away.” ~ Walter Wriston, former CEO Citicorp

If your people continue to think and act as they do now, can you expect to achieve the results you need?

If your answer is no, then changing your organizational culture is not an option—it’s an imperative.

The ultimate responsibility for both the Colombia and Challenger shuttle failures fell on NASA’s organizational culture and the executives who ignored, dismissed or minimized the engineering experts.

How can changing organizational culture prevent disasters? And conversely, how can we use culture to drive spectacular results?

Research shows that the right culture champions high levels of performance and ethical behavior. When organizations design and support a culture that encourages outstanding individual and team contribution, they achieve amazing bottom-line results.

Optimizing your culture should command as much attention as performance metrics, operations, finances, sales and every other organizational discipline.

In Change the Culture, Change the Game, authors Tom Smith and Roger Connors write: “Either you manage your culture, or it will manage you.”

This article examines how culture drives results and how you can rapidly effect change in your organization by optimizing the culture first.
———————————————————

This is a brief synopsis of a 1500 & 850-word article suitable for consultants’ newsletters for executives and leaders in organizations. It is available for purchase with full reprint rights, which means you may put your name on it and use it in your newsletters, blogs or other marketing materials. You may also modify it and add your personal experiences and perspectives.

The complete 1500 word article includes these important concepts:

●    What Drives Results
●    Manage Your Culture
●    How People Experience Work
●    Achieving True Accountability
○    See it
○    Own it
○    Solve it
○    Do it
●    When to Change the Culture
●    Change Begins with Desired Results

——————————–

If you are a Content for Coaches client and your account is current, no need to order. Send me an email to confirm that you wish to use this article for your next newsletter.

All others please use the order links below.

a.    Text, 1500-word Article with Full Reprint Rights, $79 –
How Corporate Culture Works to Drive Results - 1500-word article, reprint rights

b.      Text, 850-word Article with Full Reprint Rights, $57 –
How Corporate Culture Works to Drive Results – 850-word article, reprint rights

c.     Article Nuggets, a series of blog-style content with Full Reprint Rights, $89 -
How Corporate Culture Works to Drive Results -  3-5 article nuggets, blog-style, first-person pronoun, with links

It’s no wonder that so many people count themselves among the zombies who show up for work each day. When two-thirds of people report feeling tired or bored at work, it’s time to ask why—and what can be done.

If you feel as though you’re going through the motions, without experiencing any real joy from your work, it’s time to address the underlying reasons. Boredom’s causes vary, so you’ll need to stare reality in the face and see if you recognize any of these hard truths:

• You’re on autopilot
• Your energy level is low
• You find yourself conforming
• You’re underwhelmed
• You’re overwhelmed
• You don’t like your job

It’s easy to dismiss critical “stuck points” in your career as temporary boredom. In actuality, boredom is a sign that you need to do something else. The longer it lasts, the harder it is to get “unstuck.”

In the end, boredom can seriously undermine others’ perceptions of your potential, as well as your chances for more interesting work opportunities. Speak up and discuss its causes and solutions. Your brain craves interesting things to do.

_________________________________________

This article suggests action steps you can take right now to break boredom and start experiencing meaning and purpose once again.

_________________________________________

This is a brief synopsis of a personal development article, suitable for coach newsletters or blogs to individuals. It is available for purchase in 1000-word or Article Nugget format with full reprint rights, which means you may put your name on it and use it in your newsletters, blogs or other marketing materials. You may also modify it and add your personal experiences and perspectives.

If you are a Content for Coaches client and your account is current, no need to order. Send me an email to confirm that you wish to use this article for your next newsletter.

All others please use the order links below.

Order Links to purchase this article:

Are You Bored—or Boring?
The Brain Science Behind Boredom

Order Links to purchase this article:
1.  Click HERE:  Are You Bored-or Boring? Text, 1000-word Article with Full Reprint Rights, $57 –

2.  Click HERE: Are You Bored-or Boring? Article Nuggets, with Full Reprint Rights, $64 –

How many times have you screamed to yourself: “There is too much information online! Make it stop! Argh!”

According to a 2009 study conducted by the University of California, San Diego, Americans consume on average approximately 34 gigabytes of information a day. This translates to about 100,000 words of information in a single 24-hour period.

Our culture, work and media celebrate our unfettered access to music, video games, television, and websites. But overloading the human brain has negative consequences. Many people worry what this information gluttony is doing to their mental and physical health.

Rates of repetitive stress disorders, such as computer-related eye strain and carpal tunnel syndrome (from excess computer use), are rising, along with rates of Attention Deficit Disorder. Lack of focus is a common complaint. Lack of time is another.

An Internet search for things like “info overload cure,” reveals thousands of articles about what to do. Many of these articles have good advice. But there again, it’s possible to get snowed under by an avalanche of information about information overload.
—
This article suggests eight actions steps you can take right now to simplify your life and clear your mind.

———————————————–

This is a brief synopsis of a 1000-word article suitable for coach newsletters. It is available for purchase with full reprint rights, which means you may put your name on it and use it in your newsletters, blogs or other marketing materials. You may also modify it and add your personal experiences and perspectives.

The complete 1,000 word article includes the following concepts:

• Be Satisfied with Less
• Use the 80:20 rule
• Use Parkinson’s Law
• Use a Productivity System
• Meditate
• Cut Off the Flow
• Outsource
• Information Diet
• Tips 9 through 45,276

——————————————————————————–

If you are a Content for Coaches client and your account is current, no need to order. Send me an email to confirm that you wish to use this article for your next newsletter.

All others please use the order links below.

Order Links to purchase this article:

1.  Click HERE: Stop Information Overload Text, 1000-word Article with Full Reprint Rights, $57 –

2.  Click HERE: Stop Information Overload 3 Article Nuggets, with Full Reprint Rights, $64 -