You’re welcome to join me.
The exercise is fun, simple, and brings clarity to a chapter in The Story.
The effort supports sustained focus, energy, and growth — personal, professional, and organizational growth.
Over the years I’ve made it a practice to identify a theme for the year, Chapters in the Story. Here are the guiding keywords for the past five years:
2014: The Year of Breakthrough
…
“Life has piled up on me,” Sara confided in me. “I don’t know how much Tom has told you…”
“Not much,” I assured her.
“That’s fine. It doesn’t matter. My life outside of here is affecting my performance at work. I’m sure that’s why I’m talking to you.”
“Actually, your manager and the owner care about you,” I responded. “What’s going on?”
“A lot of stuff … my…
“It’s been weeks since Diane, and I’ve connected,” Joe said to me during our 1on1 coaching session.
Joe plays a crucial role in the business. Diane is his manager.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“That’s the point, I’m not sure. I feel out of touch, disconnected. While I want to be confident and believe I’m doing a good job, I feel anxious, unsure of myself…you know. I’d like to…
My phone rang, it was 8:45 pm CDT. “He’s gone,” my nephew quietly said. It was the evening of September 1st.
My brother, Greg, finished his Journey after a half-dozen years of his battle with an Alzheimer-like opponent. Last March we visited him and his wife, Bobbie in Southern California. He didn’t recognize me, and it was clear he was slipping away.
He was in Hospice care for about…
“Steve, your phone is ringing,” I heard Rita say jolting me awake. A quick glance at the clock was not reassuring.
“Son, your mother fell, I need your help,” Dad spoke quietly. It was 1:05 AM.
We headed across town to the retirement village where my parents have an “independent living” apartment. It was an easy drive except for the flood of questions that hit me.
As we pulled in…
In my previous article, “Where Has Fear Got You?” I shared the story behind the re-launch of this blog, The People Project. For 18 months my writing was focused on my new book, LEADERS CREATE SPACE. Like a correctional officer, fear held me captive for several months as I contemplated re-engaging with you in this space. Worth noting: When there’s a relationship gap, it’s easy to imagine the…
“How do we want to celebrate the grandkid’s birthdays this year?” I asked Rita. “What we’re doing has been good but what does “better” look like in 2017?”
As grandparents, we volunteered to guide the celebration of our grandchildren’s “family birthday party.” Over the past couple years we developed the following ceremony.
