Are you married to your best friend? A recent study by Shawn Grover and John Helliwell of the Vancouver School of Economics shows life satisfaction is higher for married individuals whose spouse is their best friend. Their research revealed, “the well-being benefits of marriage are on average about twice as… [Read more]
You Should be Training, not Trying
When most people want to modify behavior or an attitude, they start by trying. You hear remarks such as, “I am trying to be patient,” “I am trying to lose weight,” and “I am trying to be more positive.” But trying to change is a mistake; instead you should be… [Read more]
You Need to Laugh
You’ve made a lot of choices today, haven’t you? Or perhaps not. What if you were responding not with reasoned choices, but predictably with habitual responses to various triggers? In The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg, he states, “Most… [Read more]
Handling Change
I’ve worked at an assortment of small companies and change happens frequently. Change rarely comes easily, and how you handle it can have a profound effect on people. Handle changes poorly and you suffer decreased morale and confusion. But do them well, and people will be aligned and proponents of… [Read more]
How to Deal with Discouragement
With pandemic-driven isolation on the rise, discouragement is knocking on many people’s doors. What can you do when it comes calling? Here are six ideas of ways you can deal with it. 1. Acknowledge It Everyone deals with discouragement at some point. Don’t be ashamed. Attempting to suppress it only… [Read more]
Five Blessings of Marrying a Farm Girl
I live in a small city and enjoy many urban conveniences. But I grew up on a remote farm in a life far different from what I know now. I was blessed by the experience, but even more, by marrying a farm-raised girl. Her parents owned an fruit orchard. They… [Read more]
What to do When you Screw Up
Our client was chosen to give a presentation at a prestigious developers conference. It was an honor for him, and he asked us to create a demo for his session. However, we had few free consultants and the conference date was rapidly approaching. He pleaded, and we agreed to do… [Read more]
Four Tips for Effective Delegation
Every day, we use internet applications that require a username and password. When that application connects with other systems, it doesn’t send your username and password (unsafe). Instead, it uses a “delegation token” that represents you. This token is passed from system to system to grant access. In the same… [Read more]
Why Your Team Doesn’t Think As You Do
Because you don’t let them think at all. Like a wine glass knocked to the floor and shattered into hundreds of shards, my coherent thoughts abruptly splintered into tiny fragments as I heard the voice over my left shoulder sneer, “Watcha working on?” The familiar refrain was coming from my… [Read more]
Decide Before You Have the Choice
Big life decisions involve significant consideration before proceeding. For example, selecting a university, marrying a spouse, or buying a home. These choices are worthy of much forethought. But those weighty decisions are few; most of the choices we make each day are trivial. What you will wear, what you will… [Read more]
Better or Best?
My wife and I once spent a relaxed weekend in Langley, an island town known for its quaint shops and wonderful food. In the window of one antique store was a weathered hand-painted sign, with the phrase, Langley’s Best Yet is Better. I liked it (the old-fashioned way, with emotion,… [Read more]
An Ideal Response
A useful exercise is to define an ideal, one-sentence response you want from each customer after you’ve performed your service or delivered your product. At the conclusion, what is the first thing you want them to say? “Thank you,” is an option. But that is a low bar. You could… [Read more]