Susan Scott's Blog, page 106

Fierce Tip of the Week: Declutter Your Life

While spring is typically the time when we all roll up our sleeves and break a sweat by doing a deep clean, the start of 2013 presents the perfect time to do some early decluttering.

This week’s Fierce tip encourages you to take inventory of your relationships, your space, and your inbox then do a cleanse. It is amazing how easy it is, in our modern lives, to accumulate both physical and emotional attachments we don’t need.

So whether it’s a slow good-bye you start now or a quick toss of something to the nearest trash can – this week take the opportunity to get your world looking and feeling the way you want it.

Fierce Resources: 3 Steps to Defining Your Corporate Values

This week’s Fierce Resource was first seen on the Fierce blog and was written by Fierce CEO & President, Halley Bock. With the New Year beginning, we wanted to share with you 3 Steps to Defining Your Corporate Values.

In this blog, Halley breaks down step-by-step how, as a leader, you can guide your team through the process and what a positive experience it can be.

“Defining your company’s corporate values can seem like a daunting task given its importance in setting your corporate culture. After all, your culture determines how your employees will achieve all those lofty goals you made. While it isn’t an exercise to be taken lightly, it doesn’t need to be weighed down in process.”

To read the full blog, click here.

A Wish for You

As I consider 2012, and also the many conversations with the Fierce team, our clients, friends and family, and importantly with myself, here are a few suggestions for 2013: six don’ts and six do’s.

First the “don’ts”…

Don’t let anyone shut you up, erase your personality, shut you down.
Don’t make up stories about people and behave as if they are true.
Don’t mistake rearranging your prejudices for thinking.
Don’t teach your children to hate.
Don’t make a list of characteristics for your ideal man or woman.
Don’t dwell on what’s wrong, on what you don’t want in your life.

Now the “do’s”…

There is only one you. You have a voice. Enrich the conversation. With courage, compassion, and skill.
Before you get upset, ask people if your interpretation of an email they sent, or something they said or did is correct. Be willing to be wrong. If you were right, ask questions. Lots of them.
You will not always be right, so invite and encourage competing ideas. Listen intently, without interrupting. Say “Tell me more.” Say “Thank you.”
Teach your children to love themselves and others. Watch Bernadette Peters sing Children Will Listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gey1PtXYwLI. In the movie, The Help, the maid, Aibilene, tells Mae Mobley over and over, “You is kind, you is smart, you is important.” Doesn’t get better than that.
Be the ideal man or woman. Be your list.
We bring into our lives whatever it is that we have the most clarity about. Sadly, we tend to have the most clarity about what we don’t want. So that’s what we get. This world has its troubles, but there is far more good out there than evil. Focus on that. Add to it. Be a force.

And lastly, this excerpt from Advice to Myself, by Louise Erdrich:

Don’t keep all the pieces of the puzzles

or the doll’s tiny shoes in pairs, don’t worry

who uses whose toothbrush or if anything

matches, at all.

Except one word to another. Or a thought.

Pursue the authentic-decide first

what is authentic,

then go after it with all your heart.

Your heart, that place

you don’t even think of cleaning out.

With fierce affection,

Susan Scott

Fierce Tip of the Week: Make Your New Year’s Resolution Count

This week brings a new year, and with it, a chance to make yourself better. Whatever it is you have committed to – a healthier lifestyle, learning a new skill, being on time – accomplishing your goal depends on grounding it in reality and being honest with yourself.

This year when you commit to your New Year’s resolution, make it count. Change based on fantasy never has long term success. New behavior quickly can revert back to the old way.

Start 2013 by having the conversations necessary to become clear on where you are currently and put your best foot forward into the New Year.

Fierce Resources: What Are You Waiting For?

This week’s Fierce Resource was first published last Friday on Seth Godin’s blog.

What Are You Waiting For? challenges you to explore what is currently holding you back. This week on the blog we looked at ways to finish 2012 strong and felt that this could be another resource for you.

“Being clear about what you’re waiting for makes it far more likely that your art will happen and far less likely that you’re merely stalling.”

To read the full blog, click here.

3 Ideas to Finish 2012 Most Successfully

It is the week of Christmas, and 2012 is coming to a close. As I look around  my desk, I see that it has practically become a bunker with stacks of paperwork that have been put aside, just waiting  for the opportunity to be filed. There are post-it notes of contacts covering my monitor that need to be entered into my address book, and I sigh knowing that one of the Fierce principles, Tackle Your Toughest Challenge Today, is exactly what I need to do.

With the holidays upon us, the end of the year is the perfect time to close the loose ends and finish the year strong while still being festive. Below are three ideas that help me embrace the holiday spirit and use this time in the office to get organized for the new year.

Tackle Your Mental Block

Starting the new year fresh and organized is what we all aim for every year, and the most difficult part can be beginning. It is like the old adage: the hardest part of going to the gym is putting on your shoes. I feel the same way when sitting at my desk looking at these mounds of important notes begging to be sorted. Tackling that mental blockade is the first push, and once I fall into rhythm, I am amazed at how much I can accomplish.

Have Some Fun

The buzzing energy from the holidays sets the perfect tone to keep indulging with music and coffee. We can’t really sing into our hairbrush at work… can we? Is it a little quiet in your office? Embrace the chance to finish tasks you normally can’t while others are around, and have some fun while doing it. Whether it is dancing at your filing cabinet while you archive last year’s files, or attacking some data entry while you sing out loud, enjoy yourself!

Celebrate with Family and Friends

Just because you’re at work between Christmas and New Year’s doesn’t mean that you can’t celebrate the holidays. Spend lunch with a friend or family member – this provides the perfect social break in the day, and you don’t feel like you’re missing out on the festivities.

So, what challenge should you tackle today?  How can you close 2012 the most successfully?

Fierce Tip of the Week: Have the Conversation in 2012

This week marks the last full week of the 2012 calendar year. Before the clock strikes midnight next week, take the time to reflect back on 2012 and see if there are any missing conversations with your name on them.

This week’s Fierce tip is to have the most important conversation you need to have before the year ends. Don’t wait for tomorrow, next week, or next year – act today! There are only so many hours remaining this year so make the most of them.

Start 2013 with nothing hanging over your head or leaving a shadow in your heart.

Fierce Resources: ‘Tis the Season for Diversity

This week’s Fierce Resource was first published on the Little Pink book website and features Fierce President & CEO, Halley Bock.

‘Tis the Season for Diversity explores how organizations can incorporate multiple holiday traditions while making it a celebratory time for everyone.

“Offer a variety of holiday events for employees to choose from such as meeting in a conference room, having a meal, or a cake and coffee hour,” suggests Halley Bock, CEO of Fierce Inc, a leadership development firm. Most importantly, make these activities voluntary for everyone.

To read the full article, click here.

Fierce Conversations in Egypt

Fierce is privileged to partner with many learning communities around the world. From the U.K. to China, we have relationships with those who value the need and see the importance of learning how to communicate authentically and effectively.

Our partner in Egypt, Medhat Al Madany, CEO of Promark Corporation Limited, wrote us a beautiful email last week sharing what is happening on the ground in Egypt. Inspired by his commitment to helping the Egyptian people try and solve their problems through conversations, we asked him if we could share his insights with you, our readers. We hope you enjoy it!

The situation here is changing on a daily basis. The violent escalation is taking place on the ground between the people themselves, a fact that is so new to our culture. It is extremely alarming. A lot is being revealed and those who do not wish matters to stabilize are instigating more violence and regretfully they are succeeding to a certain extent as patience is running out and emotions are uncontrollable.

This week is critical as the referendum date (Saturday, December 15) approaches, we all are watching with anxiety and concern. Our office is very close to the presidential palace in Heliopolis district and whenever we go down to watch, we see an almost war zone from the number of tanks, armored cars, republican guards, cement walls and protestors. Amazing!

From another perspective, apart from the feeling of concern about the welfare of the nation, it is a great experience to be living/experiencing what is going on, witnessing, observing the unbelievable change in behavioral patterns, the reactions…just everything around us is a unique and unmatched life lesson to grasp. I am sure historians will document this era accurately, honestly for the generations to come. Or so I hope!

So much to reflect on and dwell upon!

With God’s will, Egypt will come back from this severe setback. It is a matter of time. We are tough warriors, our resilience and tolerance are still intact.

Our commitment to fierce has never been/will never be changed.

Personal regards to all, heart to hearts.

- Medhat Al Madany

Fierce Tip of the Week: Lean into the Pain

This past Friday in the United States there was, yet another, horrific act of violence. The shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, where 26 human lives were lost, with 20 of them belonging to 1st graders, has left our country feeling like quite raw.

Personally, I’ve retreated these past two days, and I know several others who’ve done the same. We’ve barely read the news stories, avoided all social media, and even have gone so far as to refuse to discuss the topic with friends and family – simply because we just can’t process what has happened.

And, we can’t continue to avoid what is unavoidable.

This week’s fierce tip is to lean into the pain of this catastrophe. Perhaps if we embrace the horror and allow ourselves to grieve, to honor every life, to recognize what has been lost, this incident can be a true paradigm shift for our country.

For the families of the victims, they have no choice – they have to do this. They cannot retreat because everywhere around them are reminders of the ones they’ve lost. This is their new reality.

We as a nation owe it to the victims, their families, and ourselves to join them in their pain and not run away or divert the conversation.

So, in addition to being thankful for the ones you love and hugging them a little tighter, make sure to not shut down your pain, your anger, or your questioning. Instead, truly embrace all of the different pieces that make up what you feel and don’t feel.

This week allow yourself to be affected.  Until we do this, we will not be ready to have the needed conversations to make sure this unimaginable tragedy never repeats itself.