When you are in the right business / job, one of the benefits of taking a real break, as I did during the Christmas to New Years stretch is that your brain starts to work in new and fresh ways. Your creativity is sparked. You see new solutions to old problems and opportunities where they didn’t seem to exist back in November.

This has certainly been the case with me over the years, and this holiday was no exception.

Keyword = Buzzing.

Lots of great ideas, and new points of view. So, here’s to…

I am having one of those weeks. A pile of small challenges amidst the regular load and pace of professional and family life. Nothing major. A dropped and destroyed cell phone. Bad traffic. An overload of kid’s homework projects. Small things really.

So, on this day before American Thanksgiving Day, I woke up being mindful of everything I have to be grateful for. I am grateful to have your attention. I am grateful for the privilege of advising you and thousands of others by doing things I love to…

You can feel the momentum and inertia of all of your professional and personal roles building and we aren’t half way through January yet.

There is a natural energy to the New Year. If you haven’t already, Schedule time in your calendar for some planning.

Personally, I write in my Moleskine, but whatever works for you.

Book some uninterrupted time to try and learn from the previous year and shape the new year.

Take stock:

• How do you feel about your job and career progress? 

• What did you learn about you…

Everyone is talking detox. Post holiday, we all need to lighten as it were…so, on the work front:

Before your inbox gets any bigger with 2007 stuff, book off a chunk of time and start processing and deleting. Get rid of the things you told yourself you were going to read, study, refer back to, or do, but haven’t come thought of or revisited in months.

Same goes for email and voice mail. Purge my friend. There is a great trick to get your inbox to zero from the O-Wise one Merlin Mann at 43 Folders.…

Applying truth in your professional career

The truth and managing your career. There are some not-so-obvious layers of meaning that you need to master in order to build a successful career. This concept is particularly important to grasp when you are heading into job search or career change mode.

Truth-Based Behaviour

The most obvious aspect of this theme is your behaviour and actions measured against ethical and legal standards. Not misrepresenting your qualifications. Dealing honestly with custom…

Achieving career development through determination

I am so glad to be writing about this topic this week. You see, more than 80% of resolutions are dropped by January 17th. Great intentions at the beginning of the month slide away in the face of day-to-day pressures.

If you are intent on doing something with your career this year (and I hope you are…we should all be developing professionally), then you need more than will power.

You need to establish what you want. And then, you need to set firmly …