Archives for bluewater

Once – I say it and hear it all the time.

Once – I say it and hear it all the time.

January 19, 2022

Professionally: Once I get through this week Once we get a bit of breathing room Once this project is done Once we get through to the end of this year And personally: Once I get the house organized Once the credit cards are paid off Once we get to our summer vacation Once the kids are older The destination is always different but the sentiment is the same –  we must endure our current situation until some distant point in the future when things will be better and we will find happiness, joy, contentment or peace. While in some respects
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What if we are both right?

What if we are both right?

October 19, 2021

  What does this age-old image bring to mind? If you are like most people who attend our trainings where we use this image, you are likely to say, perspective. This image represents that we all have our own perspective on situations, and we must remember that while interacting with others. My response to that, is yes, you are half-right. This image is so powerful but for a reason that to me, goes beyond simply understanding that we all have different perspectives. The REAL power of this message is that sometimes…we are both right. All too often, when engaging in
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“I am starting to wonder if she can’t do it or if she just doesn’t care.”

“I am starting to wonder if she can’t do it or if she just doesn’t care.”

August 30, 2021

Teamwork. Good communicator. Adaptable. Forward thinker. Active listener. In our line of work, we hear these words all the time. They are the words we have come to use so frequently when talking about how our organizations and teams need to operate, we could list them in our sleep. In coaching conversations, I hear clients say, “I told my direct report that I need her to be a better listener, but I continue to have others on the team come to me and say that she still is so hardheaded in meetings.” When working with leaders I hear, “In our
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Why am I so tired?

Why am I so tired?

November 12, 2020

In my world, November was supposed to be less busy than the three previous months were. However, as of November 12th, that has not been the case. I still feel like I am living at warp speed, putting on the polish and showing up for my clients every day while in reality my batteries are draining faster than ever. And as I continue to coach individuals around the country, I hear that same things from them. In a conversation earlier in the week with a coaching client, she shared with me how she knows that she has a bigger willpower
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A To Do List is Not a Plan

A To Do List is Not a Plan

July 20, 2020

“P.S. Had the most productive day today in a month because I took 5 mins last night to PLAN and I set aside my first hour today to NOT LOOK AT EMAILS but to get my high priority tasks done FIRST. LOVED IT SOOOOOOOO SO, SO, MUCH.  THANK YOU! I will definitely be keeping this going AND recommending it to others!!!” This piece of magic was sent to me in an email earlier in the week. I was on a one-to-one call with a woman participating in our current leadership program when she shared that she was feeling overwhelmed and scattered
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If Taking a Vacation = Work Stress, It’s Your Own Damn Fault

If Taking a Vacation = Work Stress, It’s Your Own Damn Fault

July 14, 2020

“I just got back to work after vacation, and need another vacation!” So here we are, the weekend after 4th of July weekend, and I feel obligated to leverage some basic business principles I had the opportunity to share with three different managers and executives this week.  And the point is – if you feel like you need a vacation after going back to work after vacation, it’s your own damn fault.  Bear with me now and I’ll unpack this thought as efficiently as I can. Unfortunately, well-meaning managers experience an increased level of anxiety: Just before they leave for
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Space: The Final Professional Frontier

Space: The Final Professional Frontier

January 6, 2020

  Instead of setting New Year’s Resolutions, my partner, Mark Debinski and his family choose a word for the year. A mantra, if you will, to focus on, remind themselves of and inspire them for the year.  I love this idea and have adopted it the past few years. This year, I have settled on the word, space. I, much like most people, lead a very busy life.  Somedays it feels like I never stop moving from the moment my eyes open in the morning until the moment they close at night (usually on the couch immediately after putting the
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Those 29 Minutes

Those 29 Minutes

December 11, 2019

30 minutes.  That’s about how long it would take to do your personal banking in 1990.  You would get in your car, drive to your bank, fill out your deposit or withdraw slip, stand in line, make your deposit or withdrawal and drive home or back to work. Today, by banking with an app and face recognition technology, that same banking transaction can take just a minute.  That’s 29 minutes back in your day, thanks to technology and our smart phones. This is just one of 100 examples that could be listed as to how much “more time” technology has
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Get Your Own Damn Diet Coke

Get Your Own Damn Diet Coke

November 7, 2019

A Diet Coke.  That’s all I needed, a large Diet Coke. I walked up to the counter at my local McDonald’s and after a long pause, a manager walked towards me from the back.  As I smiled at her and started to say, “Just a large Diet Coke, please. I have my own cup.” (I purchased a 32oz reusable cup and straw to reduce waste a few months ago and it’s been AWESOME!) she walked around the counter and motioned me towards the self-service kiosks.  I looked at her, confused.  She began to push the necessary buttons to ring in
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The Secret to Business Success: Think Like a Goalie

The Secret to Business Success: Think Like a Goalie

May 15, 2018

At Bluewater, we spend a lot of time speaking with individuals and training professionals on the power of self-reflection, the realizations of our behavioral blind spots and inspiring the action of going inward daily for self-care.  In our incredibly busy personal and professional lives, it can be hard to separate ourselves from the “doing” of our work and focusing on personal and professional growing. When we speak to professionals about self-care and reflection, almost every conversation involves a discussion about how it is hard for people to move past the immediate fires and demands of having too many to-do items
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