Give these online resources a whirl!

The Internet is full of all sorts of resources and tools that offer marketing and public relations suggestions and solutions. Below you will find links to pages we find useful—perhaps you will find one or two beneficial to your practice!

• Mashable: This online news site is dedicated to covering digital culture, social media, and technology. Mashable is an excellent source for articles and infographics, including these recent reads: like Which social network should you use – and when? and How to Perfect Your Elevator Pitch.
• Social Mention: This website allows for real time social media search and analysis. Conduct real time searches to see where/when your brand (or any other search term you choose) is used in social media. You can also set alerts when your search terms are picked up across social media channels. This tool is an excellent means of tracking your brand on the web.
• Hootsuite: This online source is the leading social media dashboard used to manage and measure your social networks. If you post messages across multiple social media channels, this is an excellent source for scheduling posts in a single, easy-to-use location.

What online tools and resources do you find beneficial? Share them with us here or over on Facebook!

Ready, set, organize!

April is Records and Information Management Month. Do your part by taking a look at your records—are they organized? Kept efficiently? Disposed of properly? Take some time this month to get a better grip on your records.

Organized records and efficient information management is key to increasing your overall productivity. It is also beneficial for better performance, encouraging free thinking and better brainstorming, and thus, better results.

Tips for better organization of your records:

• Include filing and record management as part of your weekly (or even daily) schedule. This will help you to avoid being lost in a mountain of files and will allow you to be better organized and know exactly where items are exactly when you need them.
• Peruse existing files and organize them. Take time to label or color code documents by type—are there files you use more than others? Files you only use for reference? Files you don’t use at all anymore? Organize them in a way that makes sense to you and dispose of those files you no longer need in an appropriate manner.
• Don’t forget about digital files! They are just as important to keep organized.

What are your tips for better record and information management organization?

Three key mistakes to avoid in setting goals

The below post first appeared on CBS MoneyWatch:

If you set goals for yourself or for others as part of your job, it is imperative you don't make the goal-crushing mistakes discussed below. You already learned how positive fantasies hurt real-world success -- namely, that when you imagine the positive result too vividly, you experience some of the joy and become less energized to actually do the work. But that's just the beginning. Not all goals are created equally. According to research from Harvard Business School, you need to avoid these common errors in setting goals:

1. Goals that are too specific. One benefit of goal is that is focuses your attention. It forces you to focus all of your attention, resources, and energy on a single objective, rather than a range of disparate and even conflicting goal. That can be incredibly powerful. People without goals diffuse their energy across multiple objectives. But have them train their sights on something specific and you will begin to see results. That's the good news.

The bad news? Goals can be too specific. The biggest problem is when you set the wrong goal. You decide to lose 15 pounds. Seems reasonable, but it may be too focused on a specific number and distract from what you really want -- better health. Remember Enron? Their goal was laser-focused on hitting revenue targets -- so much so that bonuses and other incentives were pegged to sales, when a much better goal would have been to target profits.

Another side-effect of excessively targeted goals is that you can become blind to important, but seemingly unrelated, issues. A tragic example of this is the Ford Pinto, which had a tendency to explode in rear-end collisions. The automaker's goal was to bring the car to market, overriding safety concerns.

2. Too many goals. According to the Harvard report, "Individuals with multiple goals are prone to concentrate on only one goal." But which one? Research shows that when we have both quantity and quality goals, we will focus on meeting the quantity goals because they are easier to achieve and measure. The lesson here is to strip away as many of your goals as possible and focus more intensively on a smaller number of objectives.

3. Inappropriate time horizon. We see this play out every quarter in the stock market. For many companies, it's all about hitting this quarter's earnings, even if if that harms long-term growth. It's the kick-the-can approach to goal achievement. And if your time frame is off, your goals may act as a ceiling to performance.

Take an enduring question that the Harvard report addresses -- why it is so hard to get a taxi on a rainy day. Too much people looking for a cab, right? Yes, but there is more to it than that. Cab drivers typically set daily fare goals -- usually double the amount it costs them to rent their cabs for their shift.

With rain comes more customers, so they hit their daily goal early and then go home early. In short, for cabbies the daily goal time-frame is not the most effective. If they set weekly or monthly targets, they could work longer hours when it rains and get off early on days when it is dryer (and slower).

Robert Pagliarini

What are your goals? Are they too focused? Do you have too many? Or do you have time limits that aren't realistic? Review each of your goals so you don't commit the mistakes above and to ensure your goals are designed for maximum success.

Robert Pagliarini is a CBS MoneyWatch columnist, bestselling author, professional life coach, and founder of Richer Life—a community for people who want to achieve more at work and in life. He has appeared as an expert on 20/20, Good Morning America, Dr. Phil, Dr. Drew's Lifechangers and many others. Sign-up for Richer Life Tips at RicherLife.com to get a daily email that provides inspiration and insight each morning.

Coaching international style : starting a coaching practice while living abroad

Coach training programs have become truly international. I am currently completing a program at CoachU and I am impressed by the number of coaches who are training at locations around the world. In any given class more than half of the students may be in a location outside of the United States. Many of these people, like myself, are expatriates living and working abroad.

I am an American living and working in Copenhagen, Denmark. Before Denmark, I lived in Hamburg, Germany. I have been living and working abroad for about two years. I felt drawn to the field of coaching and decided to do my coach training program while abroad. The coaching field is witnessing a growth of expat coaches – people who live outside of their country of origin due to work or family and who are coaches.

In living abroad and starting my journey to creating a viable coaching practice, I wanted to share some ideas and tips I picked up along the way:

1. Coaching is perceived differently in different countries. Some countries have a very advanced understanding of coaching while others have a very basic understanding - or no knowledge at all. When creating a coaching practice abroad, it’s important to evaluate whether the local culture is receptive and knowledgeable about coaching. If your country is new to coaching, creating a business will require extra effort and extra client education about the benefits of coaching.
2. Don’t focus on coaching expats. Usually expat coaches focus their ‘niche’ on coaching local expats. The problem with this is that the field is usually pretty saturated with coaches in your new country who got the same idea. Unless you have years of expat life and coaching experience, it’s often hard to establish credibility and compete with other coaches doing something similar in your local area.
3. Learn about starting a business in your new country – in some countries it’s prohibitively difficult to start a business. Or creating a business may adversely affect your family’s tax situation. Find out the rules and regulations of creating a business and paying taxes. You may discover that you need to structure your coaching practice a certain way for maximum tax and financial benefit.

Starting a coaching practice is never easy and the added pressures of living abroad can make it seem impossible. However, I meet successful coaches abroad every day. If you are determined to start a coaching practice don’t let living and working abroad be a deterrent.

For international coaches or expats who are coaching abroad, do you have any suggestions you can share with the coaching community?

Robin Patin

Robin Patin is an American living in Copenhagen, Denmark. Before embarking on her international adventure she lived and worked in San Francisco as a Managing Consultant for a healthcare organization for five years. Robin had a passion for all things international, so in March 2010 she took two suitcases and a one way ticket and moved to Hamburg, Germany to teach English abroad.

She has a Bachelor degree in Finance and Psychology from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a Master degree in Health from New York University. Robin is completing her coach training through CoachU and has a TESOL (Teacher of English to Speakers of Other Languages) certification.

She writes a blog for those folks who want to sell everything and go abroad called ‘The Choosy Beggar.’ http://thechoosybeggar.wordpress.com/.

Do not save time...you already have it

"Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein." H. Jackson Brown.

The most valuable resource a manager or employee can have is none other than time. As a famous English writer once said, better three hours early than one minute late, more and more business people with important leadership roles in organizations tend to compromise their relationship with other employees around them just for the sake of saving time. I believe it is a situation you are familiar with: unanswered e-mails, inefficient communication, confused employees etc. Basically, while trying to save more time, we alter our relationships with people around us, by forgetting to approve certain meetings, answer questions or finish a certain task. But how can we earn our business partners’ respect if we are constantly blinded by this “I need to save more time” hypnosis?

- Or how can you earn your own respect by finishing everything you have to do on time?

Radu is one of the key employees in the construction business he works. He was responsible for organizing the entire sales process and the business connection with the clients. He knew how to handle his job and many could’ve learned from his work experience. However, Radu had one major flaw: he was easily influenced by his lack of time – meaning he was always in a hurry. If he wanted to delegate a task for another employee, then everything had to be well understood from the very beginning, because he never had or thought he could find the time to give further explanations. His priority were always his clients, which sometimes, made him forget that he was part of a team and that they all worked for the same goal. If a colleague wanted to ask him something or require his assistance for a particular task, he would have had to wait for a long time because Radu was not willing to waste his time on things that “could wait.” However, things got worse in time, because while trying to save more time, he spent too little with his colleagues, sometimes even speaking too directly to them, using harsh words like “ You must finish this right now” or “Bring me the latest chart on our monthly profit.”

Nobody could properly talk to Radu because he was always on the go. He thought that he needed to do things faster so that he could make sure he would finish everything on time. Because if he didn’t finish the job, another company would, thus making him loses his clients.

The department was run in this manner for a while, until one evening, when everyone left the office, Radu overheard a conversation between two of his colleagues. They complained that they didn’t understand a thing from the past few months in this company and that they couldn’t find a solution because Radu was never there to help them. This conversation wouldn’t have been a problem for Radu if the ones who took part to it were simple employees in the company; however, these two individuals were Radu’s key partners. This was the first feedback that made him realize that there are far more important things than time. After this, he started to work with a coach.

Sometimes, when we feel we don’t have enough time, we tend to become irresponsible with the people around us. But the problem is not our lack of time, but our impression that we don’t have enough time. I have met numerous business people who were always needed at the office, but despite their busy schedule they were the ones who answered to e-mails or who maintained a direct communication with their clients, without complaining they don’t have enough time.

Because there is no such thing as “lack of time,” but a lack of collaboration and delegation with the people around you; a lack of trust in yourself and your ability to finish things on time and a lack of trust in others, because you don’t believe they could finish the job properly.

Rodica Obancea, ACC

Every manager values his time and it is ok not to waste your time with irrelevant activities. The challenge, however, is to trust yourself and believe you can finish on time, while collaborating with others. This is what a team really is.

Rodica Obancea, ACC is passionate about change, emergence, living systems. She works within business environment, with managers, teams for achieving ambitious results. For more information, visit www.successcoaching.ro.

Create a better conversation…next week and beyond

Next week, November 21-27, is Better Conversation Week. This week is set aside to create better conversations with those in your life (from your significant other or your best friend to a client or acquaintance). Even those who converse constantly can use a simple reminder to consider their own conversations. [Non-meaningful conversing is an unfortunately simple thing to do…and we are all guilty of it in some form or another.]

If you add up how many different conversations you have in a given day, the number for many would be pretty significant. But how many of those conversations are “good?” I know what you are thinking... “What is a good conversation?” I think most people would agree that a good conversation is one in which both parties are genuinely interested, both parties listen, and both parties allow the other to speak.

Now consider your daily interactions. How many of those conversations would fall into that category? Probably less than you realize.

Not only that, but consider what your conversations are about. Is it small talk? Is it practical conversation (around whose turn it is to do the dishes, who let the dog out, etc.)? Is it substantial (where you walk away feeling fulfilled)? All of these forms of communication can be good…but your entire day’s worth of conversations should not fall under a single category. Like everything else in life, there needs to be balance. A really good article I came across on The New York Times website, though almost two years old, is a really interesting look at the correlation between the kinds of conversations you are having and how happy you are: Talk deeply, be happy?

So my thought for Better Conversation Week is to not only focus on creating better conversations…but really pay attention to the kinds of conversations that dominate my talk life. What about you? Share your thoughts below in the comments field, over on our Facebook page or via Twitter.

Three easy things ICF members can do this week

So you belong to the ICF…but are you really maximizing your membership? This occasional topic series will highlight those things you can do to ensure you are making the most of your connection to the ICF.

1) Are you aware of the ICF Resource Partners? ICF Resource Partners offer discounts or special pricing to ICF members on their various goods and services. Currently, there are 15 partners offering such resources as audio services, insurance, and everything in-between. Learn more about each and how they can help grow your business.

2) Do you know about the member-only tools and resources at Coachfederation.org? Various marketing materials exist at Coachfederation.org that can assist in growing your business. Examples include: Top ten indicators to refer a client to a mental health professional, How to write an effective press release, and Tips for an online media room. These items are saved on a page called Assets and Tools. Take a look at available Assets and Tools.

3) Are you using the ICF logo in your marketing initiatives? If you aren’t, you should! The logo is downloadable at Coachfederation.org and is a great way to show the world your affiliation with the ICF through your website, business cards, e-mail signature, etc. The logo is available in different file formats and in color or black and white. Download the ICF logo.

How are you maximizing your membership?

Evaluate Your Life

Today, some people will celebrate a lesser known “holiday” known as Evaluate Your Life day. October 19 is a day to STOP and really consider your life—where you are and where you’re headed.

The day can be as simple or as detailed as you want it to be. The entire point of acknowledging this “holiday” is to take an inventory of your life—and to make decisions and goals to supplement what you discover about yourself.

Some people will focus on a single aspect of their life. Be it work life, love life, family life, social life, etc. And others may focus on more tangible subjects, such as appearance, home, etc. Whatever area of your life you feel could use an inventory, take time today to stop and think. Find a quiet place where you can be alone with your thoughts. Pull out a journal and take a few notes. Determine those adjustments your own life can use. And put them to work!

If you need a nudge, a simple Internet search turned up a listing of these 35 questions that you could use to evaluate your life.

Other questions to get you started include:

• Where are you?
• Describe your current situation in three words.
• Think back to who you were five years ago. Are you (today) where you thought you would be?
• Where are you headed? Is it where you want to be? (If it isn’t, how can you get on the path you want to be on?)
• What adjustments must you make?

The bottom line? You have one chance at life. Make it the best you can while you can!

Keeping your own counsel

Last night I was flicking through a book of mine which discussed that people join groups as they have a need or a want to be lead. One thing that struck me in this book was that because humans have an unrelenting need to belong to a group, these very groups (like church, self help groups etc) can begin to act as cults. Cults typically have a negative connotation so I looked at its meaning on the trusty Webster’s Online Dictionary:
 
Cult - “Attentive care; homage; worship”, “A system of religious belief and worship”.

I don’t want to get into the whole cult debacle because that could be a subject for another day, but my book stated that essentially (and this is in my own words) groups become a cult when we stop seeing our own greatness or brilliance and rely on the person or thing we worship or pay homage to, to give us answers or direction. In other words, we choose to follow a leader rather than follow our own soul. It was at this moment in the book that I sat up and took notice – not because of cults and what they mean because I have certainly experienced them in my lifetime (my brother belonged to a cult along with a very close friend) – but because we can often seek out others to give us answers rather than rely on our own inherent wisdom.

So let me pose a question to you. When you have a decision to make, what’s the first thing you do? Do you discuss it with all your friends and family to get their opinion (and sometimes feel even more confused) and eventually make a decision after you have heard all their advice? Or do you keep your own counsel and go within for the answer with the belief that you know what feels true or right for you?

Women are always willing to help friends and love ones with decisions and it is usually done with the best intentions. However, this ‘advice’ can often be fraught with projection, judgment and a very personal take on the world. By asking everyone’s advice on a pressing decision we inadvertently end up giving away our own power, our own sense of worth, because we think they have the answer, or the wisdom, not us. We want to be told, or lead to the answer. As well, the more we discuss the decision or issue with our friends and family or work colleagues, the more entangled we become in the ‘drama’ of it rather than the solution.

A great deal of research has been done on ‘paralysis by analysis’ which means that the more choice we are given, the harder it is to make a decision. Supermarkets experiment with this all the time. When they offer customers too much choice, sales go down, but when the choice is more limited, sales go up. Malcolm Gladwell illustrates this point beautifully in his book 'Blink' and states that your first initial gut feeling, or intuitive feeling is often correct and that too much choice hinders that initial knowing.

Perhaps one of the greatest things I love about coaching is that as a coach my job is simply to extract the knowledge, the wisdom, the experience and the intuition which already resides within the client. And I can tell you, when the answer they need suddenly breaks forth, it ALWAYS feels true to them and they walk away with a greater sense of ownership.

So next time you have a pressing decision or are unsure which path to take, before you go anywhere near your girlfriends, your family, your work colleagues or whoever you go to, try and go within for your answer as that’s where it resides. You may well need to do research; you may need to speak to experts, but start getting used to using your own counsel and trusting your own inherent wisdom and knowledge. As you get used to trusting yourself, you will most likely find the decision making process a whole lot easier. And that can only be a good thing.

This blog post first appeared on Anne Loyd's Professional and Personal Coaching Blog.

Anne Loyd

About Anne Loyd: As a coach working specifically with women, I am committed to helping women define and create their vision of a life they would love - in and out of the workplace. Creating a vision is the most passionate and wondrous way to live life. I help women reveal what they want to be, to do, to create, without the limitations of time, education, background and money that we shackle ourselves with. As a New Zealander living in London, I work with women all around the world who have the courage to make a change and who want to be an ordinary woman like you and I, doing something extraordinary. Learn more at www.anneloyd.com.

Is This Thing On? 3 Tips for Waking Up Your Full Voice

Barbara's book, available today.

Vocal habits area like any other habit – they’re persistent, unconscious, and difficult to budge. Here are three tips for making your voice come alive.

Break out of your “voice box”

Stretch your voice beyond the way you usually talk. Think of it as a kind of “voice yoga.” A good way to begin is to speak as different characters. Say the sentence: “I am a brilliant coach” as Darth Vader. Now as Luciano Pavarotti (go ahead and sing that one!). Now as Julia Child, the Wicked Witch of the West, and Marilyn Monroe. Notice the changes that occur in your voice. Which ones felt comfortable and familiar? Which ones made your skin crawl?

Challenge yourself to choose the right voice for the job
You unconsciously change your tone of voice all the time. (I hope you don’t talk to your pets the same way you talk to a prospective client!) I invite you to be deliberate about choosing a tone of voice that is congruent with your words and intentions. If you need to project authority, speak low and slow. If you need to incite passion, bring a little Luciano into your sound. If you want to extend compassion, speak with a warmer, gentler tone.

I explain this idea more thoroughly in this short video.

Invite your body to the party
Most of the vocal issues I see are a result of the “dead body syndrome.” The voice gets trapped in the throat. There isn’t enough breath to support a viable sound. The face goes flat and unexpressive. The simple act of bringing more vital physical energy into how you speak will improve your vocal presence.

Barbara McAfee is a voice coach, singer/songwriter, keynote speaker, and the author of Full Voice: The Art and Practice of Vocal Presence (Berrett-Koehler Publishers). She has released six music CDs and lives across the street from the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. She blogs at http://www.fullvoice.net/. Learn more at http://www.barbaramcafee.com/. 

Get a handle on your to-do list

Seems like most people these days have to-do lists that never shrink. Aside from those items that are routinely added on a daily basis, there are those items that remain on your list, no matter how much time passes.

Perhaps these never-crossed-off items seem too intimidating or time consuming to begin right away. Or maybe your never-crossed-off items get shoved to the bottom of your priorities for the simple reason that they do not seem pressing enough.

Whatever your list looks like, here are three simple tips to keep in mind when it comes to keeping your to-do list manageable:

• Chop your list into easier to handle lists. If your to-do list is so overwhelmingly long that you cannot even look at it without breakout out in a case of hives, you should begin by first categorizing and then breaking down your list. You might decide you want to rank your items by priority. Or maybe you would rather group like items together. Once you determine which way works best for you, create lists with no more than five items per list. Though you may have numerous lists, having fewer items per list will make it easier for you to work through your projects.
  
• Tackle tough projects early. Before your day gets too busy, devote the early part of your day to working on a larger or more difficult project. The morning is best for these kinds of projects as you start a new day with renewed energy and spirit. Likewise, plan to take on easier projects later in the day when your energy levels begin to drop.
  
• When you are working, focus on work. It is very easy to let your mind wander to non-pressing matters when more urgent items call for your complete attention. To ensure focus during your work hours, create time in the course of your day to take mini breaks when you can think about your evening plans, your grocery list or your next home improvement project. By taking frequent breaks, you will allow your mind time to focus on work when it is time to work.

One additional tip: no matter how many hours you choose to work in a day, stick to it! Having a balanced work-life schedule is key to keeping things fresh and your list manageable.

If you need help organizing your to-do list, many smart phone app stores have to-do list and time management applications that may help you. Simply search “to do list” or “time management” in your phone’s app store to find an app that works for you. Also, if you would rather create lists on your computer, simply search “to do list” in Google for resources to assist you.

Got to use: coaching tools

Last month, we asked our Facebook fans “what is your go-to coaching tool that you use the most frequently in your coaching practice?”

Several responses were shared and all are listed below for your reference. If you aren’t already using some of these tools in your coaching, consider how you can incorporate them into your own practice.

“My intuition.” (Allison Crow Flanigin)

“Quotes, they provide me with inspiration [from Believe in You, To YOUR Success and all the famous people out there].” (Queenie TCoach)

“Back to the Basics (usually the P2W method).” (Mimi Nelson)

“Open heart and intuition.” (Dóra Hegedũs)

“Lateral thinking tools, such as C&S along with PO.” (Daniel Tolson)

“My own intuition and opening heart.” (Sercan Savran)

“Curiosity.” (Michelle Clarke)

“Love.” (Zohra Dali)

“Transactional Analysis to help clients work out why some interactions go smoothly and why others go pear shaped.” (Redgate Consulting)

“The best coaching tool is…the Coach!” (João Catalão)

“Coaching is really a form of healing. Who you’re ‘being’ as a coach as a ‘model of excellence’ heals, intuition, mindfulness, etc. Which tools from which school of thought one uses plays a smaller role.” (Johnathan Brooks)

“I combine BEING present, focusing on desired outcome, curiosity and intuition. Holding these intentions allows each moment to unfold perfectly for my clients.” (Matt Naskrent)

“Silence. Learning how to actively listen—and then some—made all the difference in the world to my coaching success.” (Darcy Eikenberg)

“Listening intuitively.” (Ayca Gencoglu)

“The Core Protocols and Commitments.” (Vickie Gray)

“The creative use of ‘white space’ before and after each coaching session.” (Richard Pett)

“I go on a curious journey with the client to support them to find their own direction and actions that will take them where they need to go. Tools? Me being present and keep asking questions and give back what the client says.” (Jeanine Eshuis-Hamaker)

“I use Wheel of Life.” (Anil Santhapuri)

What about you? What is your must-use tool in your coaching? We’d love to know—share it with us on at Facebook.com/ICFHQ.

For your toolkit

If you are looking for a few tools to help grow your business, here are a few that are worth looking into:

Networked Blogs. Want to bring your blog to Facebook (and thus your Facebook followers) without using the Notes function? Networked Blogs is a Facebook app that allows you to promote your blog on Facebook and discover new blogs in the process. The neat part? You can set it up so when you update your blog, it automatically gets posted on your Twitter and Facebook feeds.

To use, simply click on “Go to the App” and then “Register a Blog.”

Another tip: You can add a Networked Blogs widget to your blog to show those followers who found you through Facebook.
Note: You will need a Facebook account to use this blog directory.
Access it here: http://www.facebook.com/networkedblogs

Google Alerts. Want to track what others are saying about you or your coaching practice? Google Alerts allows you to do just that. Came across a piece by Isabelle Bano that sums up how to use Google Alerts; check it out here.

You basically enter keywords that you want tracked (such as your name, your business name, your product name, your Twitter handle, your website, etc.). And then you determine the content (and frequency) you want to receive in these updates. Google Alerts will take it from there by monitoring news, blogs, and live feeds (like Twitter) and send you a comprehensive update.

Clientonomy suggests also including your coaching niche as a keyword.

Another tip: Isabelle suggests keeping track of competitors in this way as well.
Note: You will need a Google account to use Google Alerts.
Access it here: http://www.google.com/alerts

Google Analytics. Want to track how many people visit your website (including such details as average time on your site and how many pages per visit)? Google Analytics might be what you are looking for. This tool on the Google platform can show you your website traffic and will analyze the data for you.

This tool is a little more advanced and may require a bit more time to understand how to use it. Learn more about it here.

Another tip: If your blog and website are two separate entities, you can set them up in Google Analytics and keep track of traffic on both!
Note: You will need a Google account to use Google Analytics.
Access it here: http://www.google.com/analytics/.


Other cool tools:
Use namechk to see if your desired username is still available at many popular social networking sites.

Use bit.ly to a) shorten your links (for posting on sites where character limit is vastly important, such as Twitter) and to b) track your link traffic.

What are some of your must-use Internet tools?