Hello World

Welcome World!

Although the world of blogging is brand new to me, the world of helping others excel and  sharing ideas is very comfortable territory.  For the past 20 years, I have worked as an executive/leadership coach, conflict resolution practitioner, teacher and facilitator. I am in the business of helping others – to achieve better results, enhance the quality of their workplace and personal lives.  In the spirit of adding value and helping others, I join the ranks and am now  officially a blogger.  I am excited to start this blogging journey, with sprinkle of nervousness on top.  

What pushed me into the new role of blogger? In mid-June, my book Anytime Coaching: Unleashing Employee Performance (2^nd Edition) written with my co-author Teresa Kloster was published by Management Concepts Press. Our book is now available on Amazon.  The book’s release was the first impetus to blog –   to publicize the book and share our exciting new content on leadership coaching, mindfulness and neuroscience. But, what truly inspired the blog was the support of others. These folks deserve a big shout out: Vicki Stearn of Think Out Loud Media &  Karen Baratz of Baratz Communicatio, two marketing pros who read me the riot act about the importance of blogging: Mark Montgomery – a Tufts University graduate school friend,  blogger ninja and college placement guru (greatcollegeadvice.com). Over dinner at our class reunion, Mark persuaded and influenced me to move forward with the blog.

Finally,  I  owe a big tribute to a marketing expert that I have never met but gave  me the encouragement to just do this. I found him through twitter– Mark W. Schaeffer, author of wonderful book Tao of Twitter and Born to Blog.  Mark writes that blogging and social networking are about creating  “meaningful content and authentic helpfulness” (@markschaefer).  Once I read Mark’s words, I knew that I could blog and tweet because authentic helpfulness is in my DNA.  Thank you Mark and kudos on your work-  www.businessesgrow.com/blog.

Here is my manifesto on what you can expect in bi-weekly blog posts.

1. Helpful: I am super busy, so is everyone. So, my first commitment is to publish content that is immediately practical and useful in both your workplace and family lives.  
2. Best Practices:  I will be sharing best practices in the world of coaching and leadership development. This information will draw upon the work from Anytime Coaching but from real world experiences in the leadership field.   
3. Interconnected Topics: The way I see the world of work is through the lens of many interwoven themes: Leadership, values, coaching, conflict, influencing, neuroscience, neuroleadership, emotional intelligence, communication, mindfulness and positive psychology. I will be covering a wide swath of topics in the leadership world that are also applicable to individuals, parents, your community and family members.
4. Backs of Others: I am a huge reader and consumer of knowledge, especially books and articles. I typically read (more like skim) 4-5 books at one time. I will be sharing my favorites and giving full credit on the backs of others that have inspired and motivated me. You will get a sense of what is on my kindle and night stand which changes frequently.
5. Short: I am very committed to keeping the blogs short, to the point. They will be blog posts that I want to read, so they have to be succinct.
6. International: You will learn that I also work in many developing countries, with a special fondness for teaching in Latin American and Africa. One personal goal is to find followers and overseas readers to help create community and promote best practices in leadership globally.

Hello world, I am ready. Now, time to hit the publish button.