Today, I want to talk about something that’s been on my mind for a while. In the mid-1100s, the French Abbot Bernard of Clairvaux first coined the saying, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” Well, let me tell you, that saying has rung true in my life more times than I care to admit. But enough about …
AmyK Hutchens is all about personal & professional growth – one conversation at a time. She is an award-winning international speaker, the Amazon #1 bestselling author of GET IT: Five Steps to the Sex, Salary, and Success You Want, and The Secrets Leaders Keep. AmyK is also the founder of the global community shegetsit.com. As if that’s not enough, she …
A New Word: Back in 2005, during a leadership training class, I heard a new word, “Carefrontational.” I thought, “Wow! What a great word.” Very little further explanation was given. The instructor just used the word and knew we’d understand what was meant. I’m sure it is also apparent to you as well. Just in case, what we mean is …
Sustainable Advantage: I don’t know how we can claim we have a sustainable competitive advantage unless, that is, that we believe that advantage to be our ability to learn faster than the competition. Technology is moving much too fast for us to think that some sort of product or service is really our competitive advantage. But continuous learning, a willingness …
Embrace Doubt: Often, I will start out with a new client, project or endeavor with a considerable amount of conscious doubt. What makes me think I can do this? What makes me think I will be the best coach for this person? When will they find out I’m really an impostor? Frankly I can’t think of a time when I …
Mission First: But people always. Here’s my takeaway from the mantra: “Mission first, people ALWAYS.” It is true that we are always dealing with people. Ourselves, our leadership team, our employees, our customers and our vendors — all are people. At least for now! I’ve long said that we need to put our employees first. I know from experience that …
Expert On Every Thing: There was a time, I’m told, when it was possible for one person to know just about everything about everything. Now to be sure, that so-called “knowledge” had to be incomplete and even incorrect in many cases. Nevertheless, one could be a “Renaissance Man” (a term which may refer to a Polymath, a person whose expertise …
Optical Filters The optical filters with which I am most familiar are those that photographers use to enhance their images and videos. These particular filters screw into or clip onto the camera lens. I’m not going to bore you with examples of how the filters are used. Suffice it to say that filters modify the images recorded. Sometimes they are …
A Surprise We were at a breakfast meeting when I happened to mention that earlier in the week, a colleague had a need for a ride home. Of course, I offered to help. I was feeling empathy for the fact that he had “lost” his keys somewhere in his office. I lose my keys from time to time, too. He …
What’s Your Focus? In my profession (Executive Coaching), there is a lot of discussion around whether one should focus on strengths or on weaknesses. I have tossed this topic around myself and concluded that we should be aware of any weakness, but focus on our strengths. However, a recent podcast brought me up short and caused me to re-think this …