Learner/Researcher – Page 9

Why I’m Going Against Yoda (and Mom, Dad, and Mrs. Merriwether)

by KimAugust 15, 2012

From Volume 5, Issue 8:Occasionally I challenge the wisdom of the Jedis by claiming that Yoda’s famous quotation from Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back—“Do or do not. There is no try”—is just not a productive attitude for most of us. Yoda’s words tell us that we should be able to step off cliffs and not plummet to our doom. Or drive a Rally Ford Fiesta in a World Rally Championship event and win. But if you buy into this thinking, you’re setting yourself up for a lifetime of frustration and feeling like a failure. There’s a better way to approach doing, and yes, Yoda, there is a try.

Running the Susan G. Komen 4K

by KimJuly 18, 2012

From Volume 5, Issue 7:It has not been unusual in my life for me to obsess about a small thing just to see the big goal go unattained, or even be obliterated. The problem is, I don’t know I’m doing it until it’s too late. The ego gets involved, and before you know it, that big dream you’ve been shooting for is whisked out of your hands. Take these race day stories as an example of what not to do when you have a goal in mind.

Breaking Down the Bureaucracy Within

by KimJune 20, 2012

From Volume 5, Issue 6:A client I worked with about 20 years ago recently discovered something shocking. The carefully created process his company developed to get from initial meeting to satisfied client—a process that worked well when I was working with them—had ballooned from 40 steps to more than 600! It had become a monster. As we discussed his problem, I realized that organizations are just bigger versions of ourselves, and that we’re all in danger of creating these kinds of monsters within.

A Moment of Clarity, April, 2012: What hiccups and arguments have in common

by KimApril 18, 2012

Click for more on Knower/Judger and Learner/Researcher.

HDClarity Tool Set: 7 Tools for a Clearer Picture

by KimFebruary 15, 2012

From Volume 5, Issue 2:Every article or video that’s appeared in this column is a tool for those who might want to change something, but who find their personal resources incapable of getting them there. We all need tools to enhance our innate capability to do things, and we often require a certain level of training and expertise to use them without hammering a thumb or cutting a finger. Here are a few of the many tools my clients and I use to get results and make changes, as well as quick links so you can learn how to use them effectively.

Moment of Clarity, January 2012, Information or Affirmation

by KimJanuary 18, 2012

Taking the High Road

by KimOctober 19, 2011

From Volume 4, Issue 10:My client Lawrence said something interesting the other day. I was talking to him about the tendency we have to operate from our Knower/Judgers because it’s easier and safer, and usually takes care of our immediate emotional needs. “Yes,” said Lawrence, “But that’s not taking the high road.”

Corporate CoDriver: Setting the limits

by KimSeptember 12, 2011

Entrepreneurs learn the hard way. I met recently with partners of a start up renewable energy company. They recounted a story of one of their early employees who had been with them from the start. This individual lost the “passion” for the mission some time ago, but for some reason or other was still in place, still plugging along.

Corporate CoDriver: Ready….Aim….FIRE!

by KimSeptember 1, 2011

During the American Revolutionary War, the British Military brought centuries of European military engagement strategy to the battlefield. In Europe, battling armies would walk up in lines within 25-35 meters of each other, raise their muskets and fire at the enemy (who was doing the same thing at them).

Corporate CoDriver: Pass it on.

by KimAugust 22, 2011

At a recent coaching session with a very talented IT client of mine (we’ll call her Marsha) she recounted a story to me about a particularly contentious negotiating (well, actually fault-finding) conversation she facilitated between a client of hers and her client’s client.