San Francisco Bay Area Executive Coaching

The Secret of Success – 17 Success Principles

The Secret of Success – 17 Success Principles

“Before success comes in any man’s life, he is sure to meet with much temporary defeat, and, perhaps, some failure. When defeat overtakes a man, the easiest and most logical thing to do is to quit. That is exactly what the majority of men do. More than five hundred of the most successful men this country has ever known told the author their greatest success came just one step beyond the point at which defeat had overtaken them.” ― Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich

Napoleon Hill is considered one of the greatest writers on success. His ideas are as helpful today as they were 100 years ago. His 17 Principles of Personal Achievement are examples of his belief that “Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve.”

• Develop Definiteness of Purpose
• Establish a Mastermind Alliance
• Use Applied Faith
• Go the Extra Mile
• Assemble an Attractive Personality
• Create Personal Intiative
• Build a Positive Mental Attitude
• Burning Desire & Enthusiasm
• Enforce Self-Discipline
• Think Accurately
• Control Your Attention
• Inspire Teamwork
• Learn from Adversity & Defeat
• Cultivate Creative Vision
• Maintain Sound Health
• Budget Your Time & Money
• Develop Positive Habits

Napolean Hill refused to accept that success was the domain of luck or background or the gods, and wanted to provide a concrete plan for success that depended entirely on us. Think and Grow Rich is a distillation of the success secrets of hundreds of America's most successful men (not many female tycoons in the 1930s), beginning with his patron, steel baron Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie had given Hill letters of introduction to the likes of Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and FW Woolworth, and he would spend 20 years synthesizing their experience and insights.

Money and the spirit

Near the end of Think and Grow Rich, Hill admits that the main reason he wrote it was “the fact that millions of men and women are paralyzed by the fear of poverty”. This was in the America of the 1930s, still scarred by the Depression, when most people were focused on avoiding poverty rather than getting rich. That Hill's book did not stop at poverty avoidance, but dared to be about becoming fabulously rich, may have forever classified it in some minds as a greed manual, but this is precisely what gave it its huge attraction.

The link between spiritual values and making money is something non-Americans may find difficult to take seriously or even comprehend, yet it is the very expression of American morality. Wealth creation is a product of mind, combining reasoning, imagination and tenacity. Hill understood that uniqueness, expressed in a refined idea or product, would always eventually meet with monetary reward.

The concept that all earned riches and achievement comes from the mind is commonplace now - it is the basis of the knowledge society/information age. Yet in 1937 Hill was already talking about 'brain capital' and the marketing of one's self as a provider of non-physical services. The sage-like qualities of the book are encapsulated in its title: 'Think and grow rich' is effectively the motto, not of Hill's, but of our era.

Desire

Hill relates the story of Edwin C Barnes, who arrived on Thomas Edison's doorstep one day and announced that he was going to be the inventor's business partner. He was given a minor job, but chose not to see himself as just another cog in the Edison business wheel, imagining himself as the inventor's silent partner. This he eventually did become. Barnes intuitively knew the success secret of willingness to burn all bridges, ensuring there is no retreat to a former, mediocre life. Definiteness of purpose always yields results, and Hill includes a six-step method, developed by Andrew Carnegie, for turning 'white-hot desires' into reality.

Hill counsels never to worry if others think your ideas are crazy. Marconi's friends took him to a mental hospital for believing that he could send `messages through the air' (he invented radio). Hill's famous statement is: 'What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve', but his great insight is that no more effort is required to aim high in life than to accept an existence of misery and lack.

Infinite intelligence

A defining feature of this classic is its respect for the ineffable, being possibly the first of this century's prosperity classics to suggest that mental attunement with `Infinite Intelligence' (the Universe, or God) is the source of wealth. Hill realized that consciousness was not confined to the brain; rather, the brain was an element of the great unified Mind. Therefore, to be open to this larger mind was to have access to all knowledge, power and creativity.

He mentions Edison's retreats to his basement where, in the absence of sound and light, he would simply 'receive' his ideas. A person receptive to this realm is likened to a pilot flying high above where normal people work and play. Such vision allows them to see beyond the strictures of regular space and time.

The subconscious and our connection to Infinite Intelligence

Hill illustrates the concept of Infinite Intelligence through analogy to a radio receiver. Just as we can receive important messages if we are tuned in, thoughts we hold about ourselves are effectively beamed out to the world through the subconscious, boomeranging back as our 'circumstances'. By understanding that our experiences matter only because of how we perceive them, and becoming the master of our own thoughts, we can control what filters into our subconscious. It becomes a better reflection of what we actually desire, and 'broadcasts' to the infinite realm clear messages of those desires.

Since all thought tends to find its physical equivalent, we create the right conditions for manifesting our desires. This is why it is important to write down the exact figure of how much money we want to possess. This amount, once entrenched in our subconscious, is removed from the conscious mind and its doubts, and helps to shape our actions and decisions towards its realization.

The concept extends to prayer. Most people give up on prayer because it doesn't work for them, but Hill believed this to be essentially a failure of method. Whatever we seek through prayer has slim chances of eventuating if it is just a heartfelt wish, muttered through the conscious mind. What we desire cannot remain at this level - it must become part of our unconscious being, almost existing outside of us, for it to really have effect.

Summary

Think  and Grow Rich covers faith, persistence, decision, procrastination and creating a mastermind of people around you. The book goes beyond money. He makes an effort at the outset to define 'rich' in terms of quality friendships, family harmony, good work relationships and spiritual peace. Further, he warns us not to rely on position or force of authority, remarking that most great leaders began as excellent followers and that we have to learn how to serve before we can achieve.

Hill's central idea, that the source of wealth is non-material, is yet to be fully appreciated - we still tend to worry about our level of education or amount of capital more than about intangible assets such as persistence, vision, and the ability to tap into the Infinite and shape the subconscious. Successful people are shy of attributing their wealth or influence to such 'spiritual' abilities, but Hill knew their importance.

TIP:

Read more about each principle at Success.com . Pick one or two principles to work and act on each month.

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.
- Steve Jobs US computer engineer & industrialist (1955 - 2011)

Are you working in a company where executive coaches provide leadership development to grow emotionally intelligent leaders? Does your organization provide executive coaching for leaders who need to inspire a collaborative vision? Sustainable leaders tap into their emotional intelligence and social intelligence skills to create a more fulfilling future.

One of the most powerful questions you can ask yourself is “Do I believe that I can achieve what the mind conceives?” Emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent organizations provide executive coaching as part of their transformational peak performance leadership development program.

Working with a seasoned executive coach and leadership consultant trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating assessments such as the Bar-On EQ-I, CPI 260 and Denison Culture Survey can help you achieve success. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence and social intelligence, and who inspires people to become fully engaged with the vision, mission and strategy of your company or law firm.

Working Resources is a San Francisco Bay Area Executive Coaching Firm Helping  Innovative Companies Assess, Select, Coach and Retain Emotionally Intelligent Leaders; Strategic Talent Management; Leadership Development; Competency Modeling; Succession Management; and Leadership & Team Building Retreats

About Dr. Maynard Brusman

Dr. Maynard Brusman is a consulting psychologist, executive coach and trusted advisor to senior leadership teams. He is the president of Working Resources, a leadership consulting and executive coaching firm. We specialize in helping San Francisco Bay Area companies and law firms assess, select, coach, and retain emotionally intelligent leaders.  Maynard is a highly sought-after speaker and workshop leader. He facilitates leadership retreats in Northern California and Costa Rica. The Society for Advancement of Consulting (SAC) awarded Dr. Maynard Brusman "Board Approved" designations in the specialties of Executive Coaching and Leadership Development.

For more information, please go to http://www.workingresources.com, write to [email protected], or call 415-546-1252.

Subscribe to Working Resources Newsletter: http://www.workingresources.com
Visit Maynard's Blog: http://www.workingresourcesblog.com  

Connect with me on these Social Media sites.
http://twitter.com/drbrusman
http://www.facebook.com/maynardbrusman
http://www.linkedin.com/in/maynardbrusman
http://www.youtube.com/user/maynardbrusman

 

The Magic of Mentoring

The Magic of Mentoring

When people think of mentoring, they often associate it with an older executive who counsels a promising newbie. The senior leader advises the junior employee on his career, navigating office politics and what’s needed to get ahead.

But mentoring has dramatically changed over the last few decades.

In “Demystifying Mentoring,” a February 2011 Harvard Business Review blog post, Contributing Editor Amy Gallo identifies four common mentoring myths:

Myth #1: Mentoring is a formal long-term relationship. Because the business world moves fast and people frequently change jobs, a long-term advisory relationship may be unrealistic. Mentoring can be a 1-hour session; it needn’t be an official 6-month assignment.

Instead of focusing on the long term, think of mentoring as a tool you can access when you need it. Of course, advice and guidance may be more relevant if they come from someone who knows you and understands your goals. But you still need to build relationships so you have connections in place when you require advice. In some instances, you may wish to consult people who don’t know you as well, but can offer a fresh perspective.

Myth #2: You have to find one perfect mentor. It’s actually quite rare these days for people to get through their careers with only one mentor. In fact, many people have several esteemed advisors. Seeking a variety of perspectives on a crucial issue may be warranted.

Myth #3: Mentoring is just for junior-level employees. Many people assume they need a mentor only when starting their careers. In reality, professionals at every developmental stage can benefit from a mentoring relationship. You may be surprised to find that reverse mentoring often occurs (a senior manager, for example, learns technology skills from a junior employee).

Myth #4: Experienced professionals mentor out of the goodness of their hearts. It can be an honor to be asked to mentor someone, but the relationship is about more than respect for a trailblazer. Mentoring should be useful to both parties. Think about what you can offer a potential mentor:

• Can you provide a unique perspective on his role in the organization?
• Do you bring valuable outside information that can help your mentor in her job?

While not a direct barter, you may be able to offer your prospective mentor a promise of future assistance.

Do’s and Don’ts

Mentoring can take many forms, but your goal is to find the right kind of advice, from the right person, at the right time.

Gallo offers the following guidelines in her Harvard Business Review article:

Do:

• Build a cadre of people you can turn to for advice when you need it
• Nurture relationships with people whose perspectives you respect
• Think of mentoring as both a long- and short-term arrangement

Don’t:

• Assume that your success or experience precludes your need for a mentor
• Rely on one person to help guide your career
• Expect to receive mentoring without providing anything in return

Encouraging Reciprocity

“Fundamentally, mentoring is about growing—mentors growing with protégés, protégés growing with mentors.” ~ Chip R. Bell and Marshall Goldsmith, Managers as Mentors, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Third Edition, 2013

An effective mentoring relationship can be best described as a mutual search for wisdom. It’s grounded in a true partnership that thrives on reciprocal facilitation of learning.

Such reciprocity requires the mentor to surrender power differences to build rapport and trust. Learning cannot occur with fear in the room.

Bell and Goldsmith encourage the “SAGE” approach to forming the foundation for an effective mentorship:

S = Surrendering. Power, authority and command (or the protégé’s perception of these traits in a mentor) can doom the dialogue necessary for learning.

A = Accepting. Strive for a safe relationship. The protégé must trust the mentor to provide an environment that encourages risk and experimentation.

G = Gifting. A mentor should supply advice, feedback and/or focus. This stage is actually the most delicate. If the mentor has failed to pave the way for Surrendering and Accepting, the  protégé may ignore, undervalue, resist or reject the gift of knowledge.

E = Extending. A mentor must help the protégé apply information to real-life experiences so self-directed learning may occur. Creative teaching tools include role-playing, feedback and storytelling.

Quick Tips for Mentors and Protégés

The quality of your mentoring relationship will determine its ultimate success. Each partner must accept responsibility for making it work. When something isn’t gelling, be sure to communicate your concerns. When expectations are met, let go and move on.

Bell and Goldsmith offer some fundamental tips in Managers as Mentors:

For Being a Great Protégé:

• Select a mentor who can help you be the best you can be—not the one who can ease you into a promotion.
• You can sometimes learn more from people who are different from you.
• Clarify your goals and expectations for the mentoring relationship, and communicate them in your first meeting.
• Be yourself. Be willing to take risks with new skills and ideas.
• When given feedback, listen well and say thank you.

For Being a Great Mentor:

• Mentoring is a partnership to help your protégé learn. It’s not about being an expert or authority.
• Don’t instruct; foster discovery. Ask powerful questions instead of giving smart answers.
• Be authentic, open and sincere. Establish a comfortable and safe environment.
• Act more like a friend than a boss.
• Be curious and attentive.
• Give feedback with a strong focus on the future, not the past.

Are you working in a professional services firm or other organization where executive coaches provide leadership development to grow emotionally intelligent leaders? Effective mentoring is essential for leadership development. Does your organization provide executive coaching for leaders who want to be effective mentors? Mentors tap into their emotional intelligence and social intelligence skills to collaboratively grow others and help create a more fulfilling future.

One of the most powerful questions you can ask yourself is “Do I provide mentoring in the spirit of a mutual search for wisdom?” Sustainable organizations provide mentoring as part of their coaching and mentoring culture.

Working with a seasoned executive coach and leadership consultant trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating assessments such as the Bar-On EQ-I, CPI 260 and Denison Culture Survey can help you become a more effective mentor. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence and social intelligence, and who inspires people to become fully engaged with the vision, mission and strategy of your company or law firm.

About Dr. Maynard Brusman

Dr. Maynard Brusman is a consulting psychologist, executive coach and trusted advisor to senior leadership teams. He is the president of Working Resources, a leadership consulting and executive coaching firm. We specialize in helping San Francisco Bay Area companies and law firms assess, select, coach, and retain emotionally intelligent leaders.  Maynard is a highly sought-after speaker and workshop leader. He facilitates leadership retreats in Northern California and Costa Rica. The Society for Advancement of Consulting (SAC) awarded Dr. Maynard Brusman "Board Approved" designations in the specialties of Executive Coaching and Leadership Development.

For more information, please go to http://www.workingresources.com, write to [email protected], or call 415-546-1252.

Subscribe to Working Resources Newsletter: http://www.workingresources.com
Visit Maynard's Blog: http://www.workingresourcesblog.com  

Connect with me on these Social Media sites.
http://twitter.com/drbrusman
http://www.facebook.com/maynardbrusman
http://www.linkedin.com/in/maynardbrusman
http://www.youtube.com/user/maynardbrusman

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Millennial Generation Most Stressed-Out

I recently spoke with the VP of Human Resources of a San Francisco Bay Area company regarding providing executive coaching for the company CEO. She asked some very insightful questions to determine fit. She also was curious to know how I could help their different generation leaders collaborate to achieve team goals.

The VP of HR and I spoke about my approach to coaching, and my belief that possessing a psychological understanding of human behavior based on the latest neuroscience research is an important competency for coaching executives. We also spoke of the need for her organization to create a culture where innovation flourishes.

The VP of HR is interested in partnering with me in helping company executives improve their ability to work effectively with the millennial generation. We further discussed how high performing company executives can benefit by working with a seasoned executive coach and leadership development expert.

Millennial Generation Values

We can identify several differences in values. The new generation of workers has:

1. A work ethic that no longer respects or values 10-hour workdays
2. An easily attained competence in new technologies and a facility to master even newer ones with little discomfort
3. Tenuous to nonexistent loyalty to any organization
4. Changed priorities for lifetime goals achievable by employment

The most significant changes in perspective involve time, technology and loyalty. Millennials are more stressed than other generational cohorts.

Millennials and Stress Survey

Millennials are more stressed than any other current living generation, according to a new survey conducted by the American Psychological Association Stress in America Survey. The online survey, titled "Stress in America," included 2,020 adults in the U.S. who were 18 or older.

Overall, millennials -- defined by coordinators as anyone between the ages of 18 to 33 -- reported that they had a stress level of 5.4 out of 10. The researchers generally considered a stress level of 3.6 to be healthy. The numbers are also surprising because overall stress has declined across the country from 5.2 out of 10 in 2011 to 4.9 in 2012.

"Millennials are growing up at a tough time. They were sheltered in many ways, with a lot of high expectations for what they should achieve. Individual failure is difficult to accept when confronted with a sense you're an important person and expected to achieve. Even though, in most instances, it's not their fault -- the economy collapsed just as many of them were getting out of college and coming of age -- that does lead to a greater sense of stress," Mike Hais, a market researcher and co-author of two books on millennials including including 2011's "Millennial Momentum," told USA Today.

More millennials reported they had depression (19 percent) compared to 14 percent of adults between 34 and 47 -- from "Generation X" -- and 12 percent of adults between 48 to 66 -- "Baby Boomers" -- in addition to 11 percent of seniors 67 and older. Same went for anxiety disorders: 12 percent of millennials surveyed had been diagnosed, compared to 8 percent of Gen. Xers, 7 percent of boomers and 4 percent of the oldest age group.

Millennials in particular said work (76 percent), money (73 percent) and relationships (59 percent) stressed them out most. The Los Angeles Times pointed out that millennials might feel stressed overall because their unemployment rate is 13.1 percent, compared to the overall nationwide average of 7.8 percent.

For everyone of all ages, the most common source of stress was money (69 percent), work (65 percent), the economy (61 percent) and relationships (56 percent).Work, money and job stability were biggest culprits behind anxiety for the 18 to 47 crowd while personal or familial health caused anxiety in those 48 and older.

Questions to Ask Millennials

How can leaders harness a multigenerational work force’s skills? What is required to lead young people who believe Boomers are outdated and out of touch?

Leaders should ask themselves the following questions:

1. What do my employees want from their jobs, bosses and work experience?
2. How do salary, benefits and promotion opportunities affect loyalty?
3. How do my direct reports define themselves? How do one’s job and the company enter into this equation?
4. Do my newer workers believe in paying their dues for a given time period, or are they motivated by challenges and self-fulfillment right from the very beginning?
5. How self-sufficient are my younger workers? Are they still living at home? How much are they committed to their jobs as their only means of support?

Are you working in a company where executive coaches provide leadership development to grow emotionally intelligent leaders? Does your organization provide executive coaching for leaders in all generational cohorts? Sustainable leaders tap into their emotional intelligence and social intelligence skills to create a more compelling future.

One of the most powerful questions you can ask yourself is “Does our company providing coaching to help millennial employees manage stress?” Emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent organizations provide executive coaching as part of their leadership development programs.

Working with a seasoned cognitive executive coach and leadership consultant trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating assessments such as the Bar-On EQ-I, CPI 260 and Denison Culture Survey can help millennial employees become more stress resilient. Millennials can become future leaders who model emotional intelligence and social intelligence. It is important to inspire people in all generational cohorts to become fully engaged with the vision, mission and strategy of your company.

Working Resources is a San Francisco Bay Area Executive Coaching Firm Helping  Companies Assess, Select, Coach and Retain Emotionally Intelligent Leaders; Talent Management; Leadership Development; Competency Modeling; Succession Management; and Leadership & Team Building Retreats

Dr. Maynard Brusman
Consulting Psychologist and Executive Coach

About Dr. Maynard Brusman

Dr. Maynard Brusman is a consulting psychologist, executive coach and trusted advisor to senior leadership teams. He is the president of Working Resources, a leadership consulting and executive coaching firm. We specialize in helping San Francisco Bay Area companies and law firms assess, select, coach, and retain emotionally intelligent leaders.  Maynard is a highly sought-after speaker and workshop leader. He facilitates leadership retreats in Northern California and Costa Rica. The Society for Advancement of Consulting (SAC) awarded Dr. Maynard Brusman "Board Approved" designations in the specialties of Executive Coaching and Leadership Development.

Dr. Maynard Brusman
Consulting Psychologist and Executive Coach
Trusted Advisor to Senior Leadership Teams

Subscribe to Working Resources FREE E-mail Newsletter:
http://www.workingresources.com
Visit Maynard’s Blog: http://www.workingresourcesblog.com
E-mail: [email protected]
Voice: 415-546-1252

For more information, please go to http://www.workingresources.com, write to [email protected], or call 415-546-1252.

Subscribe to Working Resources Newsletter: http://www.workingresources.com
Visit Maynard's Blog: http://www.workingresourcesblog.com  

Connect with me on these Social Media sites.
http://twitter.com/drbrusman
http://www.facebook.com/maynardbrusman
http://www.linkedin.com/in/maynardbrusman
http://www.youtube.com/user/maynardbrusman

 

 

How to Discover Your Purpose

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

- Steve Jobs US computer engineer & industrialist (1955 - 2011)

Looking to live a meaningful life but feeling a bit confused and lost? Make it your purpose to discover your purpose!

Our purpose is more like a compass than a path. And the compass consists of our values (the things that are most important to us).

Don’t stress-out about picking the “perfect” path! Instead, start simple and remember that our purpose is about GIVING, not getting!

Try applying this formula: Strengths + Passions + Service = Purpose!

Neuroscience research is revealing to us what common sense has been saying for a long time. Using our strengths on a daily basis will make us happier. But that alone isn’t enough. We need to exercise our strengths to do things that excite us! And when we combine our strengths with our passions, and find a way to “serve other people” in the process, we feel intrinsically motivated On Purpose!

For now, ask yourself these powerful questions:

• What are my skills/talents? (your strengths)
• What most excites me? (your passions)
• And how can I serve the world taking action with them? (your purpose!)

List as many answers as possible for each question and then “purposely” play with putting them in the formula above, and using it as a compass to navigate a compelling future.

Your work is to discover your work, and then, with all your heart, to give yourself to it.
- Buddha