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Well, it's finally here. Our new eBook on Protecting the Family in Family Business. We apply our knowledge and experience with families, business consulting, and work with family businesses to five our readers ideas on how to minimize the risks and maximize the advantages to the family who works together.  We hope you enjoy it!

You can also get our other free eBooks below . . .

Engaging Your Team: A Framework for Leading "Difficult" People

Private Practice through Contracting: A path away from insurance dependency.

New eBook almost here . . . and it's free!

Here's the cover . . . Credit Andrew Miller

I just got the final version of our new free eBook--Family Legacy: Protecting Family in Family Business--and it looks amazing! Thank you to Andrew Miller, graphic designer at Andhedrew. Once we have the download set up we'll send out a link to where you can download it.

Work to live . . . or work and live?

Unsplash Photo: Credit to Laura Lafurgey-Smith

A recent Gallup publication identified a number of "changing traits" of today's employees; including:

• They want their work to have meaning and purpose.
• They want to use their talents and strengths to do what they do best every day.
• They want to learn and develop.
• They want their job to fit their life.
• And they're willing to look for a company whose mission and culture reflect and reinforce their values. (Gallup: State of the American Workplace preview)

For some of us from earlier cohorts--the Baby Boomer generation in my case--most of these items are familiar, motivations that we would have embraced as young people. In fact, it is only the last two that seem to represent a real change. There does seem to be a shift in focus that could be characterized as a move from an attitude of "work to live" toward a construct of "live and work." The choices--and demands--that younger workers are making, combined with the changing skill-set needed in the workplace today, is definitely revolutionizing many corporate policies and practices.

Yet, I can't help wondering if these younger workers have "jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire." Yes, they are getting a "Pixar--Google" work culture, unlimited vacation, remote work . . . and lots of other perks to help fit work into their lives. Corporations continue efforts of "going green," becoming "For Benefit Corporations," and embracing a corporate activism unheard of in the past. But many of these "youngsters" are, never-the-less, still dependent upon a corporate culture which will effect their experiences with all the bullet items above.

So . . . What happens when their particular market sector turns down? What happens when the demand for their skill-set falls? What if the political winds change? Who really controls the satiation of their needs and wants?

It may be "old fashioned" but it seems that the surest way to have control of these factors is to embrace the idea of being your own boss. It be sure, being your own boss, especially in the early days may mean that the job "controls your life" instead of fitting into your life. Many entrepreneurs report working 90 or more hours a week in the critical early days of a start up. Stress management, anxiety, and security can be big challenges. The job at this early stage may not fit at all into the life that a young person dreams of having. But, in the long run, it may still be the most reliable means of providing a level of freedom and life-fit unattainable when working for someone else.

But, this is not easy for many people. Accepting responsibility for your own "fate" requires a willingness to face one's own demons. No longer can you blame a lack of work-life balance on the capitalist system, corporate self-interest, or a boss's lack of understanding or empathy. For now you are the boss, the corporation, the capitalist.

This quickly brings you to deal with another level of personal "demons."

Do you like to avoid issues? You may be forced to face them. Do you face issues but react with anger or feeling overwhelmed or defeated? You may have to find more adaptive ways to cope. It is a journey that will test you, challenging your real values, your personal integrity, your tolerance for risk, your prioritizing your responsibilities, as well as your need for meaning and creating something of value. It can be quite a ride.

In some ways, being your own boss is like a taking a canoe trip down the "rapids" . . . where at times you feel like everything but you is in control. But being your own boss is a trip in which, at least, you get to choose the river you travel, the companions you invite along, and the benefits of sharing the experience.

If you are a leader, check out our free eBook: Engaging Your Team: A framework for leading "difficult" people.

Two Factors in the Erosion of Relationship

Photo by Topich on Unsplash

A friend recently reminded me of the work of Kerry Patterson and the defining work "Crucial Conversations: Tools for talking when stakes are high," a good general introduction for those who have not been accustomed to working in environments where high emotion and the need for good communication commingle.

This is the environment however that you work in every day if you have engaged with individuals and groups as a human systems consultant. Whether it is a family-based business, a non-profit, or a conflict resolution situation the emotion can make having productive communication very difficult. People "walk on egg shells," avoid conversations, or try and use external controls to prevent further damage. Seldom does it work.

At its core, there is often one of two factors at play. One is a paralyzation due to the fear of losing the relationship. The other is an attempt to control the situation to prevent further damage. Neither one helps the core relationship to grow and strengthen. 

A classic example of the fear motivation is the old story of the "emperor's new clothes." You know the story, the emperor is bamboozled into walking around naked having been "sold" and invisible suit. everyone praises the suit, afraid to tell the emperor the truth until, a child, states the obvious and ends the embarrassing charade.

Many people walk in fear of being truthful. 

The second, is attempting to control a situation to prevent harm. I am always reminded on the executive who refused to leave the room when the executive council wanted to talk about his job performance or wages stating, "Nothing good ever happens when I am out of the room!" His attempt to control a situation which had caused a lot of hurt only exacerbated the problem. Frequently people in relationships struggles ask me--often in subtle ways--"How can I get in control of  this situation?" Often the truthful answer is simply, "You can't."

In my example, the goal was clear, the attempt was to control the team to enable trust and prevent further conflict. It wasn't working. I pointed out that the behavior was sending a strong message of his lack of trust for his team and one that may have been a strong indicator that his influence was already heavily damaged.

There is a "siren's call" to give into fear and control. They both, in their own ways, seem like a path to safety. In reality, they have a negative effect on relationships. Fear breeds mistrust, impulsive, reactionary responses to perceived threats. Control breeds resentment, suspicion, rebellion, antagonism, and conflict.

Honest, relationship building, conversations only happen in a safe environment where one or both parties can maintain a non-anxious presence and humbly work toward a solution or mutual respect in disagreement. Anything less is likely to be a bandaid on a festering wound.

Pragmatic Effectiveness and the use of Time and Money

Pragmatic Effectiveness and the use of Time and Money

Recently, a former student sent me a message on LinkedIn expressing "happy anniversary" wishes. In his note, The student, Greg, commenting on his experience in the classroom, noted how "pragmatic and effective your style can be"--I thanked him for the kind words.  The truth, however, is . . . that often . . . I am--wait for it--not so pragmatic and effective. For instance, I have a tendency toward the "cheap" when it comes to spending time and money--I blame it on the midwest "bailing wire" mentality where you value just "making do" with what you have. "Going to town," in this paradigm, to get a needed fix is almost an admission of failure . . . it takes you away from the work (time) and it requires the expenditure of money both viewed as slightly bad unless absolutely necessary.

This mindset is not all bad of course . . . but . . . when it comes to running a business . . . it can be a roadblock to evaluating the opportunity costs of your decisions.

Sometimes, a "cheap" mindset sacrifices efficiency in the business world and progress toward a pragmatic decision that would help "Git-R-Done." I know. I've often been slow to adapt--especially if the "cost" is in terms of time or money. But, I am learning.

Take my recent home project, for example--I am building props for our local home school melodrama that my wife have directed for the past 15 years. I needed to build an old-style newspaper rack for this year's version, a rack that will hide the revolver the hero retrieves to "save the day." The picture of the rack I wanted to re-create (from the internet) had tapered legs. No problem. I cut tapers regularly with my table saw. But, these leg tapers were tapers on a small piece (9 inches) of stock. (Truth be told, I've done this without the jig as well but it's a little, well you'll see . . .) This is definitely trickier and certainly more dangerous to do "free-hand." ("Real men" may now shudder over the fact I have done this in this cavalier way in the past.)

I decided that it was the "pragmatic and most effective" route to bite-the-bullet and spend the time and money to do it properly. Not only that, by creating a jig for this project, I would no longer be tempted to do it in the more dangerous "bailing wire" way. (After all, I really enjoy playing my guitar with all my fingers!)

Applying this to my business, here are a few things where I have had to weigh Pragmatic Effectiveness over Time and Money:

• Hiring professionals. Accountant, graphic designer, videographer, social marketing consultant, editor.
• Joining professional associations.
• Going to national conferences.
• Additional training and credentials.
• Hardware, software, and internet services.
• Yes, and even buying expensive books . . . it's that bad at times!

The bottom line is . . . the old adage, "You have to spend money to make money." certainly comes true. The same can be said of time. So in leading your business, do you see time and money as more important than growing and succeeding?

P.S.-- As a leader you do need to weigh the opportunity costs of decisions of course. I am not suggesting that you spend time or money "willy-nilly." Just don't over-value saving time or money where doing so will handicap your growth. Incidentally, I must be getting better at this! I hardly shuddered at all when--registering myself and an employee for the national conference--I pushed the "payment" button.

Here are pictures of the jig with a board where you would lock it in position, a close up of the legs I ripped, and the magazine rack itself (stage prop) . . . not yet painted. The jig worked quite flawlessly!

A little something for therapists who want to do "more" . . . or do "something else"

It was a pleasant surprise. Earlier this month, I got a message from a former student (see below) just to say, "Thanks!" "Thanks for what?" you ask. For introducing her to the idea that a professional, in the "world" of mental health, has developed a skill set that can be used for more than "just doing therapy."

The message came at the perfect time. Why? Because I had just decided--working with my graphic designer/social marketer expert--to offer, for a limited time, the book I wrote on the subject for free. This was the same content that students, like this one, told me I should put into a book. So, I did.

The book was published, used as a textbook for my course, and has been selling bit-by-bit for the last five years. (You can check it out, if you want--but don't buy it! I am going to give it to you free, remember? Here it is on Amazon)

Since publishing the book, a number of students and other professionals who read the book, have recognized the potential and have started contracting and working with organizations and businesses. For some it has been offering therapy services--such as an Employee Assistance Program--for others it has been business coaching or consulting. But "some" is not enough. There are so many organizations and businesses who could benefit from the support of a professional who understands complex human systems and who has "people skills". . . that I continue to doggedly "preach" to my colleagues the benefits of acting as a consultant.

Now, we are offering you this tool--a free tool--to help you jump start your thinking and consider what more you can do. Feel free to share it with other colleagues. (The book has paid for all it's publishing costs!) We want to see more and more organizations and businesses using professional "people experts" to help their work teams and organizations. We can't leave the role of "expert advisor" to business experts, accountants, and lawyers alone. They are very good at what they do--their areas of specialization. But so are we. They know business, we know people. Expertise in both is necessary for leaders and the organizations they lead, to be highly successful.

What is it? The book, Beyond the Couch, is over 200 pages of information, encouragement, and tools to help you begin to think and begin to engage in the role of a human systems consultant. It includes information on:

• identify potential clients

• develop proposals and get them funded

• decide how much to charge

• conduct and analyze projects

• utilize the skills you already have

• manage a consulting practice

• learn how organizations and leaders think about people

My student, as you will see below, decided to throw herself into full-time consulting work. Others have done the same. But most professionals have continued as therapists while adding contracts to their work. Either way, the book will give you a basic understanding of how to get your first contract and begin to help people Beyond the Couch.

One last thing. I will be hosting a video chat in the next month to tell you more about my experiences and answer questions for those who want a little more advice. When you enter your email to download the book you will be added to our list and we will let you know when the video chat will take place. This will also let you email any questions you would like me to address in the video chat.

Finally, here is the student's note (It is unedited except to protect confidentiality. Used with permission.):

Good evening, Dr. Miller, I was one of your students at _____ in the MA in Counseling program. I wanted to share something with you. By the time I took your class, I had already started my clinical internship and, to my dismay, I didn't like it. I spent most of my time doing paperwork and very little of my time actually helping people. Even when I was helping people, each hour felt like I was doing the same thing over and over. It was challenging, but only because I was so bored. The problems people faced were results of systems larger than themselves - and I wanted to tackle systemic problems. However, I was about to finish a degree in counseling; didn't that mean I should become a counselor? I was frustrated and a bit panicked. Then I took your class. In class, you discussed that you did consulting on the side. After class, you spent a little bit of time with me explaining the consulting work and it piqued my interest. I did a lot more research after speaking with you and tucked the idea in the back of my mind - mostly like wishful thinking. Fast forward. I have been working for a little over 3 years now for ______ with their Organizational Consulting unit. I work with an I/O psychologist and have consulted with NUMEROUS organizations - both public and private. The changing projects, brilliant colleagues, and constant challenge is a much better fit for me. I would even love to start my own consulting group some day. I say all of that to simply say thank you. I knew I wanted to help people and I knew I was skilled in understanding complex relationships, but I wouldn't have thought to use those skills in consulting had you not shared your experience with me. I wish you all the best.

Mosaics and knowing your role

Years ago i sat for hours in an upstairs "apartment" (really just a room in a professor's home) with my wife helping her create a piece of art called an Encaustic.  What is an Encaustic you ask?  It is "applying pigments with hot wax" to a surface. In our case, it meant melting crayons on a hot plate to be applied to a stretched canvas. At that time, my job, in keeping with my artistic abilities was to . . . melt the crayons and not let them ignite.

Fast forward a couple of decades and I once again was called on to help with an artistic project. We had moved into a new home and we were installing wood stoves. As we installed the first one, my wife came up with a creative idea to create a Mosaic for the "heat shield" behind the stove. I helped.

What does this have to do with consultation? I'll tell you . . . then we'll get back to the story.

To be successful, you need to be "ruthlessly realistic" about your abilities and your role as a consultant. Consultants who get themselves--and the organizations they are supposed to help--into trouble usually do so because of compounding a few simple errors:

• they take on, or expand into, a project that is outside their core competency
• they remain unaware of operating in a unfamiliar territory
• they don't recognize earlier warning signs
• they try to "push through" (not really knowing what to do) or they "leave the field" when things get tough

Usually, if they only commit the first mistake then they can recover. It is compounding the mistake with several more than causes a crisis and potentially a dramatic failure.

By the way, I really did help my wife with the Mosaic. I bought the tiles and broke them with a hammer. Hey, even Michelangelo was dependent upon the workman at Carrara to query and deliver the marble. I know my place in the world of art--I am the un-lauded workman who makes the art possible. Knowing where you are gifted and when to step aside . . . there's no shame in that!

One of the Mosaics in our home. My job? Break the tiles. Oh, they did let me put on one . . . and only one . . . piece . . . with lots of consulting.

Leaders: Experts at "What" confused about "Why."

Photo Credit: Unsplash

Several years ago, I was asked by a local church to give an introductory talk about the different types of "love languages" for a class that was kicking off a study of Gary Chapman's popular book. As part of the preparation, I decided to retake Chapman's quiz and re-identify my preferences. Then I decided that I should take a shot at predicting my wife love languages in ranked order fashion (I guess I was feeling particularly brave that day!). Later, I asked my wife to take the quiz. She consented, took it and I compared my rank order "guess" with her results. It wasn't bad. I switched two items in the middle of the list but otherwise was on target.

(Now, before you think I am overly-self congratulatory . . . I should have done pretty well. I am a trained marriage and family therapist. I worked for years with couples in a clinical setting. No new territory here.)

What was surprising was when I asked my wife what she thought my primary love language was. "Gifts," she said confidently. Nope. Not even close. Now, I'm not trying to be hard on my wife. She is not a marriage and family therapist. She has not studied, spent hour upon hour thinking about, and struggling, to understand couples. But her answer did raise my curiosity, so I asked, "Why did you think it was gifts?" "I remember," she said, "when your brother and sister-in-law gave you a gift and how moved you were by it!" She's right. I was.

What she didn't know, because I never told her, was why I was so moved.

More about this in a moment. However, this basic misunderstanding of confusing what with why is a primary problem, not only with couples, but with leaders as well.

When interviewing employees I often find it common for them to have a naive belief that the managers/supervisors really don't know "what is going on." They are usually wrong. Even when the environment is hostile, closed, secretive, or even "toxic" the managers typically have a pretty good understanding of what has happened and what is currently happening that contribute to the issues they face.

If those employees could sit in on the discussions with those leaders they would find that the description of what has, and is, happening is usually pretty close to what the employees themselves tell us in interviews we have with them.

But, leaders are less adept and telling me "why" things are the way they are. Why is this you wonder? It can be for numerous reasons . . . fear, projection, past history, generational shifts . . . you name it. So when leaders have the wrong idea about "why" there attempts to fix "what" often fails.

These leaders need a process where employees can safely and confidentially tell them 'why" things are the way they are. Leaders need a radical commitment to hearing this so that they do not operate of a false premise and waste time, effort, and lose the good will of them employees--who will see it as one more example of how leadership doesn't know "what" is going on.

Want to understand your team better? Download our Free eBook: Engaging Your Team: A framework for leading "difficult" people.

What the expert doesn't do . . . CAN hurt you!

The old MS 260 on bottom. (See the new screw in the brake handle just above the label?) The new saw, a 251C, on top. Now, I'm good to go!

A "Not So Old" Saw

I had a problem. My chainsaw, a new-ish purchase in the last few years, suddenly had the anti-kickback bar (the mechanism that cuts the power to the chain if your saw recoils toward you) dangling by one end. The problem? It had lost a screw . . . or so I thought. Therefore, I dutifully quit cutting and made the trip to, let's call it, the Local Shop that sells, among other things, Stihl saws.

I go to this Local Shop because it is convenient--it takes 10 minutes to get there. It's in a moderate-sized town and they have sold me oil, chains, and other chain-saw essentials. I didn't buy my saw from them but had noticed that they sell Stihl saws and do have a shop.  (A few years ago I took my first Stihl saw to them for a repair and they pronounced it "dead"-now I'm wondering about that diagnosis . . . based on the experience in the rest of this story!)

The store where I bought the current Stihl, Nick's Farm Store, is a one-and-a-half hour round trip. It's in a very small town (which may disguise their true expertise . . . or expose my bias toward larger town repair shops), since they have always seemed very knowledgeable, very service-oriented, and their shop looks like a serious shop--for instance I noticed this time that they have a wall full of 55-gallon drums filled with various weights of oil and a large sign that reads, "Notice: Do NOT leave while filling!" (I immediately looked at the floor for signs of a past deluge of oil but if there was one there is no evidence. The shop floor looks clean and dry.)

I arrived at the local shop and tell them about my problem. The helpful clerk immediately consulted the computer, located the needed screw, secured the part and we attempted to install it. No go. He got a flashlight and we investigated further, "It looks like the screw broke off down in there," he said. I groaned inwardly. "This isn't good," I said to myself. He began to take apart the housing . . .  .

I will spare you the details of the process, however, the result was that he called the "shop-guy" who looked it over and tried a few things while making a few comments such as, "I thought we might be able to get to it, but it's broken off down in the aluminum block.." later, "I guess a guy could try to use a reverse drill-bit and see if they could get it out of there," then, "I not sure it's going to be easy to find a small enough bit and getting it centered so that it might back out could be tricky." His final solution? To suggest that I could try to drill it out myself or they could repair it but they might have to get a new block and the labor would be expensive enough that "you might as well buy a new saw."

It didn't seem right to me. They are after all  . . . the experts. it seemed reasonable to assume that they, unlike me, who has only dealt with this kind of problem once before, would have some experience with "broken-off screws" and a few "tricks up their sleeve" on how to approach the problem.

They didn't seem to be very interested in finding a solution or, perhaps, they were not confident that their solution would avoid spending a lot of time for which they would want to be paid (no argument there).

So, with great trepidation (I am not overly-optimistic about my mechanical skills) i went home, found some 1/16th inch left-handed drill-bits (not an easy find) on Amazon and ordered them.  When they came, I began, aided by my wife, to try and get the drill-bit centered and to drill out the offending screw. Ringing in my head were comments made by the expert . . . "It would be easy to ruin the aluminum block," and "it's not going to be easy to get a small-enough bit or to get it centered," and "you might get lucky!" 

After an hour, or more, we had made no real progress.  There were two holes in the screw stud. One, a bit off-center, and deeper. The second, more central, but shallow. I got the feeling we were going to keep slipping into the deeper hole which was getting dangerously close to the threads I feared. The screw had not moved at all.

My wife, no more confident in my skills than I have in myself (having a father with Svengali-like knowledge, skills, and tools in all handy-man areas), said, "Maybe you should just take it back to where you bought it and see what they say." That was all I needed. It is what I had been thinking but I had not wanted to admit defeat, or make the time-consuming and potentially costly trip--remember it was going to cost as much as a new saw according to the expert! But the lack of success and my wife's encouragement ended the doubt. I packed it up and left immediately.

I'll spare you the rest of the painful journey, except to say that at Nick's I bought a back-up saw so now I have two in case one breaks down again, and I'll jump to the end of the story.  They looked at the broken screw, said "Yep, we''ll have to drill that out of there." Kept the saw for a week. Called that it was finished and I went down to fetch it.  The bill? $43. Yes, $43!  To replace the saw I had would have been almost $700. The "back up saw I purchased was only $400 plus change.

Moral of the story? Not all experts are the same. Nick's Farm Store have experts in repairing Stihl saws. My local guys? Not so much.  Undoubtably they are experts in other things but I won't consult them on my saws again. In fact, the next time I make the trip to Nick's I may take that old broken saw (I've kept it out of nostalgia . . . it was my first!) and see what they think of it. Maybe it's not dead. 

A Business Parallel

A parallel? In the consulting work I do, it is always interesting to me who leaders rely upon to help them with "people issues." Usually, it is a business consultant from a one-man shop or a large corporate consulting business. What expertise do they really have in understanding human systems?  Often, based on the recommended solutions, they remind me of the "local guys" they propose generic solutions that leaders themselves could implement, they warn that the solutions might be "too costly," they are content with-or limited to-proposing a solution that requires the leader to do the work and they leave them with a solution that may or may not work.

Leaders, if your problem is a business problem then by all means find a real expert who knows business.  But if your problem is a people problem then don't trust the "local" expert who knows about business, finances, legalities . . . and works with people . . . find someone who knows about people.  You see I need an expert in chain-saw repairs not in chain-saw sales. Get over the fear. Finding the right expert may NOT cost you more time and money.  A real expert knows how to solve the problem. They have the tools, knowledge, and skills to work efficiently which helps the bottom line. In the end, a $43 repair to salvage a good saw is better than "junking it" and making a $700 purchase-especially when it leaves you with only one good saw..

Epilogue

By the way, I mentioned that I bought a back-up saw at Nick's. Since they knew how to repair my MS 260, I knew my "second saw" did not need to be a professional grade saw. So I bought a "step down" from my original saw--a savings of over $240. For less than $500 I now have two quality saws.

The Local Store didn't totally lose out entirely. They sold me the screw for the handle and some oil. But they could have sold me a new saw and a repair. While I'll continue to buy my emergency bar oil and 2-cycle oil at the Local Store, I will continue to make the trip to Nick's Farm Store for any "important" purchases!

The day I finished this blog post I got a postcard in the mail.  Here it is . . .

Postmark . . .

Message . . . what a great store!

Driving traffic to your website

Using a landing page with a free offer of something valuable is a great way to drive traffic to your website.  Here, for example, is what has happened in the last week to the views of one of my landing pages . . . it is our-performing everything else on the website! This is the second week of the offer by the way so the number actually went down from the first week.

What is a landing page? (Here's another example)  It is a page on your website that is meant to do one thing. In this case to offer a free eBook: Private Practice through Contracting if the interested party will provide their email address. That's it.

What is the value to you? Well, there is the obvious . . . being discovered. Now more people will know you exist and if they find your content useful may come back again or even use your services. However a more important one is that their email address allows you to keep them on a "mailing list" and to begin to send them follow up emails.

These follow up emails will provide more valuable free stuff--usually blog posts, insider tips, your own experiences and thoughts. They continue to get value and build a relationship with your "brand."  These emails may contain ads for things you are selling. They may have links to other content on your website that also has ads of a sales link.  Eventually, as your email list subscribers trust and value your content some will become customers.

The one "hidden" challenge to this process is that you still have to get the attention of people who would like to visit your landing page. I have found my account at Psychology Today to be a good market for Psychology-related offers. Marketing the free item is critical once you have the landing page ready to capture the emails and provide the free stuff.

By the way . . . I personally use Squarespace for my website, and Mail Chimp for my email list and delivering the automated follow up emails.  There are other options of course but I find these work well if you have some understanding of how to engage with technology.  I also find that they are popular enough it is easy to find tutorials and articles on how to set up your process.

Four Words the Helping Profession Needs

So, I challenge myself. Can I boil down what the Helping Profession needs to transition from a twentieth-century "healthcare" mindset to being an entrepreneurial force that reaches far more people? Big task.

Hubris? Why do I think that I can come up with four words to help redirect our profession? Well, to be blunt, somebody needs to do it.  Beyond that, I do have 26 years as a professional. I know the literature and taught graduate students how to expand their scope of practice. I have expanded my practice "Beyond the Couch" into contracting with organizations and business both for mental health services and business consulting on leadership and employee issues. Because I have been fortunate enough to know others who have escaped the "box" of traditional practice.

So, with that long preamble, here goes . . .

What are the four words that our profession needs to hear to get beyond the old medical-model and have a more dynamic and profound impact on others?  Here they are:

Broaden. "Expand the base" is a phrase we hear during the political season. We understand that these politicians need to reach out to more than just their core "base" to get elected. Professionals who want to thrive need to expand their thinking.They need to ask, "How do I broaden the market I can serve?" There is no reason no to--unless you believe that we dressing all the human needs that should be addressed already. Don't focus your practice on competing with the practice down the street. Find a new market. Expand beyond the "market sector" of healthcare and into the area of human needs.

Embrace. Accept that what you do is a business function. Understanding marketing, creating a business plan, accounting . . . isn't it just more paperwork? Isn't that what helping professionals hate already?  I am not saying that you shift your focus to being a business expert just that you take the reality of your business seriously. I have an accountant. I meet regularly with a social marketing expert. I talk to consultants in the field to develop my strategic plan. I don't do it all myself. But no one else will do it for me either. I need to "lean into" the business. I need to be the leader and plan for growth.

Act. Be audacious enough to dream . . . then act on it. "The first sale is always to yourself," consulting guru Alan Weiss writes. Courage. It seems strange for me to tell my fellow professionals they need courage. After all these are the people that brazenly face the pain, chaos, and conflict on the human condition daily. They are courageous in so many ways. But when it comes to believing in their own abilities I often find fear. out-weighs courage. This leads to . . .

Source. Our profession is resource-shy. What I mean by that is that unlike many industries we seem incapable, or unwilling, to use sources and invest money in developing ourselves and our business. Maybe its working in an industry that does not pay well. (You would not believe the offers that get thrown at my home-schooled, non-college, IT professional son.) Maybe its a lack of belief in our own value. But most professionals I know only attend the CEU trainings they have to in order to meet licensure requirements or that help them stay current in their particular cope of practice (Autism, ADHD, etc.)  Few develop a strategic plan for their career and develop new skill sets or pay for training to expand into new areas of practice.

Broaden. Embrace. Act. Source. Do these things and we will expand the playing field, grow as a profession, and enrich ourselves and others to lead richer, fuller, and healthier lives.

Our new eBook, Private Practice through Contracting: A path away from insurance dependency is available! Here's where you can download it:

The Right Tools

For 18 months I have been working with a contractor remodeling a large three-season porch and kitchen in our home. We live in our town's old train depot--remodeled and moved to the country--where very little in the original construction conforms to your standard "balloon-frame" modern homes I am used to working on. The challenges encountered in the remodel have been multi-varied and . . . interesting. 

I say "multi-varied and interesting" because our discoveries, and the resulting discussions, go something like this . . . "Remember. the guy who moved the depot was a train engineer, used to working on motors, so he reversed the white and black wires." Did you know that wiring color--one "hot" and one "common"--in motors are the reverse of the colors used in standard house wiring? I didn't.  

Another one was, "What they did here was combine a patio, a small porch and a deck to make this three-season porch floor. Then they shored it up with extra posts." What?  Or another, "The floor boards here are planks instead of finished boards because this was the baggage area." How do you finish a floor with half-inch gaps between the boards? (Answer: You nail in strips of boards and spend $300 on wood putty.) "You see the ceiling here used to go all the way to the roof . . . you can see where they boarded up the windows and put in trusses to create a lower ceiling." Oh, that's why I have to duck under that 5 foot ceiling in the attic!

I mean it when I say "multi varied . . . and interesting!" 

But that doesn't preclude other words . . . frustrating, confusing, even maddening.

Suffice it to say that each change in the remodeling process has resulted in head-scratching and sometimes finding "out-of-the-box" ways to solve each new challenge. Some of these challenges would have stumped my limited ability and knowledge, were I on my own, to find a solution . . . thank goodness for a contractor who has the skills, knowledge, and tools to find a solution. But there is a "down side" . . . I find myself wanting, and buying, many of the tools we've used. Maybe its and "up side?"

One of these tools is a Kreg Jig. Do you know what a Kreg Jig is? Well, that's a "Kreg" as we call it in the picture at the top of the post. A Kreg jig helps you build cabinets, shelves and other projects where having tight, well fitting joints is important. What does it do? It simple helps you get the right angle and depth for your fastener (a screw) so that you have a strong joint. That's it.  A $100 tool to make sure you put your screw at the best angle and don't drill too deep. Now that's a specialty tool. I've been building for years and making do with the "eye-ball-it method" of setting my screws at an angle and drilling carefully. But, the results are not always what I hope for. The Kreg takes all the guess work out of it and produces a superior outcome.

It reminds me of consulting.

Organizational leaders can ask questions, conduct interviews, run focus groups . . . but the results are not the same. Consultants bring an expertise, technique, and the tools of the trade to the task. This enables them to help leaders come out with a better product.  These tools include consulting methods, business knowledge, business experience and a host of other features.  But consultants are more than just "tool providers" they themselves are "tools" leaders use to impact their work teams. As "outsiders" consultants contributions are different than the leaders contributions even if they are doing the same activity! 

As I said earlier, I have built shelves and cabinets which you can do without a "special" tool like the Kreg Jig. After all, the only thing this does is help you put screws in at an angle to make a strong joint. I can do that on my own can't I? The answer is "Yes," however the results speak for themselves.  Leaders do well when they consider, "Do I need a consultant for this job?" And if the answer is "yes," to further consider "which consultant is the right one to use?" In this consideration, the core discipline of the consultant, should be considered as well.  Do I need legal expertise, business knowledge, an understanding of the human dynamics? Focus on the consultant's core expertise as you ask . . . is this the right "tool" for this job?

Here are the cabinets and the plank flooring. . . the right tool is worth the cost!

Cabinets and plank floor. Floor sanding and finishing is pending. The stove?  It's called a "Flair" made by General Motors!

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