So what can you do about it? Instead of fretting about what was supposed to happen, what you hoped would happen, consider this: monkey wrenches enable

1) Strategy evaluation
2) reorganizing
3) Creative thinking
4) Expansion of ideas
5) Opportunity for employee growth
6) New analyses of current, past and future
7) Change for some who need just that
8) Opportunity in a way previously not realized or foreseen

“Everything we do has some effect, some impact.” His Holiness The Dalai Lama

Every once in a while we find profound examples of personal and leadership development trajectories. These are great moments essential to the teachings of leadership skills, highlighting personal honesty, integrity, leading by example, motivating teams, seeing the forest through the trees, and the ability to admit when things have gone array. All leaders, and human beings for that matter, need to take a step back and evaluate their path at different points in their lives. For some, the opportunity to re-evaluate is thrust at them from an external source of tension, which appears to be the case for many executives in this current economy. At other times, a personal change occurs from within. Either way, a true transformational leader identifies and acknowledges the opportunity and seeks greater growth and transformation during these times. Case in point – Citigroup’s CEO Vikram Pandit. Here’s a leader who last February took a step back and for reasons either personal, professional, or a combination of both, determined his salary to $1.00 per year until the company was back to acceptable fiscal health. Yes, you read that correctly – one dollar annual salary, no bonus. True, I can psychically hear many of you saying ‘that doesn’t account for compensation beyond salary and bonus.’ Nonetheless, in the short term, what it does signify is a commitment and responsibility for him to Citigroup and its success. In the long term it points to a level of ethics and responsibility that needs to be at the forefront of business management. This could explain why terms like Corporate Social Responsibility and Social Entrepreneurship are getting millions of hits on google these days.

My life shattering to do list ….

• Just think about it.

Oh, and… follow me (and others) on twitter: @linesexcellence

“Time and health are two precious assets that we don’t
recognize and appreciate until they have been depleted.”

– Denis Waitley

Here it is: Top 10 that we’re all guilty of. Read them & weep, or read them and make some changes now… before it’s too late and you’re left feeling angry and resentful during this ‘joyous’ time of the year.

1. Cutting out routine exercise to fit in things we really don’t want to do

2. Taking on too many tasks knowing we’re already overwhelmed

3. Not saying NO when we really want to

4. Buying shrink-wrapped lipstick (sorry guys, that one’s for the ladies)

5. Not taking a sick day when we’re sick

6. Not taking time off from work to manage the increase in holiday tasks

7. Hanging outdoor lights when we don’t have the time (but feeling compelled to do so because the neighbor’s got an outdoor musical light show this year!)

8. Not saying NO to excessiveness (excessive anything: spending, working, meetings, baking, etc)

9. Mailing holiday cards to people because they mail them to you

10. Not making donations for important causes in lieu of holiday cards or gifts

Got any ideas now? Can you take one or two, make some changes and stop undervaluing the cost of your precious time.

“A person’s worth is contingent upon who he is, not upon what he does, or how much he has. The worth of a person, or a thing, or an idea, is in being, not in doing, not in having.”
–Alice Mary Hilton

Easier Said Than Done Back to my dilemma – the Conference & Workshop, or my health. I noticed that even without my daily dose of caffeine, I was feeling quite on edge lately and the muscles in my shoulders were beginning to feel like an intensely tied knot (I won’t even mention the back pain).

Then, riding the subway to meet a client, I realized – I am not practicing what I preach! And… I postponed the Workshop and opted out of the annual Conference. I wavered for days on my decision.

The moral of this story – it’s much easier to guide others and see the forest through the trees in others’ lives than it is in our own. So if you’re constantly thinking you’re not doing enough, rethink those thoughts – neuroscience tells us that we can retrain our thoughts to think differently. Give yourself a break, accept that sometimes we cannot ‘do it all’ and that is okay. Pick and choose your tasks wisely and create a natural ebb and flow according to your work needs and those of your family.

Tips to Let You Know When It’s Time to Let Something Go:

• Increased muscle tension
• Increased headaches
• Irritability
• Sleep disturbance
• Change in appetite, caffeine intake, alcohol intake, etc.
• Thinking to yourself “I can do this for a short time”

Here’s where you can identify areas to cut back on & make immediate changes… achieve success through enhancing work/life balance.

Your homework –

If you endorsed any of the above points – it’s time to think about taking one thing off of your plate:

• Begin by making a list of ‘Must Do’s’
• Make a list next to it of ‘Should Do’s’
• Compare the two
• Figure out at least one thing that can be moved from a ‘Must Do’ to a ‘Should Do’
• Take one thing off of the ‘Should Do’ list and make yourself a note in your calendar to review the item for attention at a future date.
• Try to move that one thing forward by days/weeks/ or even a month.
• Begin thinking about tasks that could be delegated from either list.
• Pick one to delegate starting today.