Author: Rachel Hanson

Great building, great leading, great YOUing is always more about subtraction than addition. Cut away the bullshit. Cut away the fluff. Cut away the distractions. Most talk around the important things. They add committees, they add topics for discussion, they add a new routine, they add more, more, more. Cut out the noise. What's THE … Continue reading Flip the norm

Excellence and optimization can be at odds. Optimization can be fragile - dialing in the system so tightly that there are no inefficiencies, no slack in the system, everything is "just so." Excellence, however, requires curiosity and exploration. Excellence requires sometimes backtracking, often pausing to learn and grow. Where optimization is fragile, excellence is resilient. … Continue reading Excellence and optimization

Leaders can easily get stuck in task orientation. This is especially true when they’ve recently been in a doer role and rewarded (promoted) for being a doer. There’s a switch that must be flipped, if they’re to be successful in a role that involves leading others. The switch must flip from being a performer to … Continue reading Doer to leader

“Vronsky meanwhile, in spite of the complete fulfilment of what he had so long desired, was not completely happy. He soon felt that the realization of his longing gave him only one grain of the mountain of bliss he had anticipated. That realization showed him the eternal error men make by imagining that happiness consists … Continue reading Boredom

Do the work. Stop worrying about those that are ahead of you. Stop lamenting how far you have to go. Stop thinking about how great you could be. Stop trying to hype yourself up that you’re better than you think you are or better than others say you are. Do the work. Think less, worry … Continue reading Do the work

Entitlement and dysfunction in a child is largely created by well-intended parents, I believe. From the moment our child is born, we are wired to protect them. Protection is an essential element of great parenting, however only part of the equation. Our job is to both protect AND prepare them. Protecting them often comes naturally … Continue reading Protect and prepare

Why do we write? I've been hammering a couple of clients on writing lately. They struggle to find the time to write a lot. They don't know if it's helpful to them to look back. They've got a lot going on. They always mean to and it just never quite happens. These are all the … Continue reading Get writing

Let's do a little 4th of July inspired practice. Take a minute and write - what do you need freedom from? What vice has its claws in you? Or maybe what administrative burden do you keep taking on? What relationship cycle is taking too much of a toll? And what do you need freedom TO? … Continue reading Freedom