Executive Coaching -

Work from Home & the Long Game

Posted by Ernest Lewison May 7, 2020June 24, 2020in Business Coaching, Change, Covid-19, Executive Coaching, Success Quotes2 Comments

As the economy opens back up, many people will be finding working from home as part of the new norm. Some business owners and employees want it, some not so much. Wherever you stand, if you have not settled into the WFH format yet, here are a few tips to get you there.:

Think Habits – Our habits determine our success. Do the right things, do them consistently.

Establish Routines – Get into a rhythm and stay there as best you can. Map out your days and your ideal calendar to help you stay on task and avoid distractions. If the first Monday of the month from 8:00 – 12:00 works best for admin work, make it so every month.

Be Professional – Some people can be productive in their jammies. If that is you, awesome. If you need to shower, shave, and put on a suit, do that. If you need to do a Zoom meeting, be sure to follow the prescribed dress code!

Find Your Space – If you do not have a separate home office space with a door, do your best to create a space that will work for you. Find a corner of the family room or basement, set-up a desk, put a calendar on the wall, and whatever else you need to say, “This is my work space and don’t bother me when I am here.” Train family to respect the work schedule and workspace as best as possible.

Self-Care – Be careful this does not get lost in the confusion of being at home vs being at work. Take care of yourself first so that you can take care of everything else.

• Take frequent breaks – get up and walk around, get a drink of water, etc.
• Disconnect when you need to especially from the social media blitz.
• Remember, me time is allowed and necessary.

Finally, WFH is likely to be a large part of the new norm. We were trending that way before Covid-19 and we are definitely there now. So, plan for the long term to WFH and remember a key element to a successful work from home effort is communication. When people are at a distance, we can lose sight of the need for and the effectiveness of our communication so…

Include this last tip into your routine: Call first, call often!

Let me know, how do you find success with WFH?

It’s Not About Change…

Posted by Ernest Lewison April 23, 2020May 19, 2020in Business Coaching, Change, Covid-19, Executive Coaching, Success QuotesLeave a comment

It’s about adapting to change.

Change is the norm. Always has been. Covid-19 has been a big change for sure and it’s effects are likely to continue for some time to come. So, the key is adapting and doing our best to adapt well for the long term. Here are a few key points for adapting to change.

The Three P’s

Be Positive – As much as possible, keep it optimistic. Our tendency is to initially fear the sky is falling but that rarely happens. Think about worst case and be prepared as best you can but hope for the best.

“Optimism, when applied to your life, develops strength and peace within you.”
– Norman Vincent Peale

Be proactive – Sudden change will give rise to fear and put us in a reactive mode, i.e. fight or flight. Self-directed change or change we prepare for allows us to respond in a more logical manner for better results. Develop contingency plans and robust systems so when the need arises, you are ready to go.

“It will never rain roses: when we want to have more roses, we must plant more roses.
– George Eliot

Be Purposeful – Set your goals, both short term and long term, based on your core values. Doing so allows you to go after them and move with purpose. That purpose gets you out of bed in the morning, it helps you dispel any doubts, and it helps you to be ready for any storm that may come.

“Occupy your thoughts with purpose and you will be so busy pursuing a meaningful future there will be no time for doubt, chaos and disappointment.
– Carlos Wallace

Do your best to be positive, proactive and purposeful and you will weather the storm.

Let me know…how are you handling the change?

Rock on!

Batten down the hatches…

Posted by Ernest Lewison April 8, 2020in Business Coaching, Change, Covid-19, Executive Coaching, Success QuotesLeave a comment

Weathering the storm is the norm right now. Battening down the hatches is necessary to help ships keep water out and stay afloat in stormy waters. In days long gone, the key elements “to batten” include the wooden grates over the hatches in the ships deck, the tarps thrown over the hatches, and furring strips nailed around the edges or ropes to hold the tarps in place.

Four key business elements that help batten down the hatches during troubled times include:

Map out your marketing strategy – having this in place and effective implementation are critical always but especially during the storm. Keeping your marketing active versus cost cutting approaches makes all the difference between businesses that survive and those that thrive.
Diversify your customer base and service offerings – As a part of 1. above, diversity helps to keep your business off the revenue rollercoaster through tough times as well as any usual seasonal effects.
Plan worst case…sound strategic planning includes what if worst case scenarios most of which won’t ever happen. But if they did, you are more likely to have a contingency plan ready to go and even if you don’t have just the right plan, working through scenarios is good practice and helps to ensure you and your team can meet the challenge when the need arises.
Set aside a rainy day fund – Every cent counts and even a small rainy day fund sets the right tone for your team from core values to daily cash flow management.

“If you would be wealthy, think of saving as well as getting.”
Benjamin Franklin

If you didn’t have these four key business elements in place before the Covid-19 pandemic hit, you might be feeling the pain. If so, triage your business and get through as best you can. When you get a moment and catch your breath, schedule a time for you and your team to take a look at the four key elements above so when the next storm comes, you can batten down the hatches!

Covid-19 Anxiety, Find Your One Thing…

Posted by Ernest Lewison April 6, 2020April 6, 2020in Business Coaching, Change, Covid-19, Executive CoachingLeave a comment

Covid-19 and social distancing for the last couple of weeks has been stressing me to my limit as it probably has for you too. Being off my routine, in lockdown mode (I know, safe at home) worrying about business stuff and family stuff and with a lot fewer warm hugs has really knocked me off my game. Can’t sleep, stress eating, not getting out to run (worsens everything) and a low level anxiety from everywhere have been the new norm…the negativity creeps on you and before you know it, it’s hitting you hard. Thankfully, my friend Tim Cole sent me a link to an insightful article by Mitch Albom in the Detroit Free Press which I really needed today. Mitch writes about Knox who has an incredible story…a blessed ray of sunshine all the way from Haiti that helped Mitch find his one thing.

My one thing…this weekend, my 9 year old son finally learned to ride his bike overcoming a ton of anxiety. He’s been putting it off for years. There was a super stress moment and some tears but he pushed through and of course, once he got the hang of it he didn’t want to stop. He rode about 8 miles before the day was done and he didn’t let me help in any of it except to cheer him from a distance and adjust the seat and the brakes a few times. This win was all him! I got a long warm hug for the assist and then he let go but came back and gave me a second long warm hug, bonus! :)

In writing this I also realize for the umpteenth time, that we have rays of sunshine all around us all day every day. We just have to get out of our funk and look for them. Life’s best things are the littlest things right under our noses.

As these next days and weeks come and go, find your one thing(s), your rays of sunshine, and count your blessings. And if you can, help someone else find theirs because we are all of us everywhere on quite the rollercoaster. Thank you Mitch and thank you Tim!

What is your one thing?

Why Coaching…

Posted by Ernest Lewison March 14, 2020March 21, 2020in Business Coaching, Executive Coaching1 Comment

Are you looking to achieve your personal best?

white all we have is now neon signage on black surface — Photo by Daria Shevtsova on Pexels.com

Do you want to grow and develop personally or help an employee be the best they can be? Do you want to grow your business? Do you want to create an inspired life full of purpose?

Then I want to help you do just that with honest feedback, straightforward analysis, and practical and effective tools that work!

Here are 5 reasons to work with a Coach.:

1) See the forest through the trees. I’ll help you to see and understand those things that elude us when we are in the middle of all that we do. Being able to step back and effectively analyze and evaluate our situation is key to working on the right problems, developing the right solutions, and successful implementation.

2) Get more done with less effort. If you are working too many hours, stressed to the max, putting off vacations and holidays, or just on overload, I can show you how to maximize your time and energy as a leader and be more profitable and still be able to go on vacation with a little peace of mind!

3) Be more successful. If you’re not reaching your potential, it’s time for something new! By using a step-by-step process with effective problem solving strategies, I can show you how to generate more revenue and hit your financial goals. Get the help you need in sales, marketing, systems development, time management, team building, leadership and professional development, organizational development and more!

4) Learn to strengthen and develop your team. Every business owner needs a solid team of employees as well as an effective support network. Recruiting, training and retaining the best people makes for a stronger, more stable, and more successful business and is the key to competing at the highest level.

5) Find your deepest passion for what you do…your Mojo! Motivating employees and ourselves is at the heart of business and individual success. I will show you how to light the fire in your company and help employees reach heights they never thought possible. Learn to help employees manage change, step-up when times are tough, go after new opportunities, and be committed to the organization for the long term.

Finally, I help you find your ACCOUNTABILITY! Accountability for effective results makes the difference between companies that survive and those that leap to the front. Having a Business Coach to help you and your employees face tough questions and decisions that keep getting pushed to the back burner time and time again will make the difference between so-so performance and becoming the leader of the pack!

To get started, contact me today at: ernest@ealewisconsulting.com

Motivation

Posted by Ernest Lewison February 23, 2015in Business Coaching, Executive Coaching, Running, Success QuotesLeave a comment

“Motivation is simple. You eliminate those who are not motivated.”
– Lou Holtz

It’s called…
Self-motivation
Real, honest, practical, necessary
Personal accountability
Tough love

What does it mean to you?

When People Miss the Mark…

Posted by Ernest Lewison January 28, 2015in Business Coaching, Executive Coaching, Success QuotesLeave a comment

When people miss the mark, screw up, under perform or just seem to not get it, it’s good to keep in mind:

They may be looking at a different target – My idea of “clean” is probably not the same as your idea of “clean.”

It may be the system – There may be things outside of their control that introduces variation in results, i.e. change in wind speed, different equipment, poor communication…

It could be the consequences – Very often the best employees get “stuck” doing what no one else will and their reward for doing their best is actually a punishment.

Solutions?

Start at home first – It’s our job as leaders to do everything we can to help them do the best job they can. Make sure you are doing that and…