MULTI-ASKING. Nope. This is not a typo. I have officially taken the task out of multitasking.

I’m often asked how I can manage all the projects I have on my plate. I’ve thought long and hard about this, and I’ve come to this conclusion: It’s not about managing the tasks … it’s about managing the “asks.”

I believe that communication is the MOST important aspect of effective multitasking. In my efforts to learn and grow as a Project Manager, I’ve read a lot about the subject, and it always seems to boil down to three distinct areas: strategy, planning, and execution. I wholeheartedly agree with these factors, but communication needs to be the bridge that connects them. It’s all about the chatter. It’s asking questions, relaying the vision, updating timelines, celebrating progress, brainstorming obstacles, supporting the team, and most importantly … calling out for help.

It really is a bit of a mind-flip. I feel like the general consensus is that chatter slows the process, that more can get accomplished when you put your head down and power through. I don’t know about you, but I typically see bad things happen when people aren’t “looking up” (myself included). I’ve experienced a few project meltdowns as a result of this very thing. I absolutely subscribe to having a central person directing project traffic, but if that person isn’t constantly checking in and reporting on what’s happening, it’s really easy for things to grind to a halt. It’s like trying to drive all the cars on the road during rush hour by yourself. It’s impossible—and exhausting. I call it “project fatigue.”

Happily, there are tons of strategies for communicating effectively. Here are my top five go-to’s:

• Be clear, focused, and on point when giving direction. Nobody wants wishy-washy leadership!
• If you don’t know something, ask questions (come on, who can know everything?).
• Listen—really listen—to the answers to your questions. I like to repeat back what I hear to show that I understand.
• Tell the truth (about deadlines, obstacles, concerns, capabilities, expenses, and needing help). Being able to tell the truth is a huge strength and oozes confidence.
• Know how you’re communicating. Watch your tone (especially when you’re “up against it”). Managing projects = managing relationships.

The debate over the effectiveness of multitasking will rage on forever, but no one can argue with the effectiveness of multi-asking.

Come on … I dare you.

As an aside, it was like my parents consulted some sort of oracle in naming me Cathy. Chatty Cathy is definitely my calling.

Illustration by Hamish MacDonald.

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Illustration by Hamish MacDonald.

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My name is

My company is: Jill’s Table, offering kitchenwares, tablewares, specialty foods, cooking classes, gift baskets, and culinary tours. Freelance food writer for Sun Media (Free Press for 32 years).

I was born in: London, Ontario.

I currently live in: London, Ontario.

My first job was: a popcorn maker at Delaware Speedway for Parnell Foods.

My greatest skill is: being able to share a keen knowledge and passion for all matters related to food and cooking with my family, friends, customers, and readers.

I’m most inspired by: nature. I’m in awe of the seasons and how that drives what we cook and eat.

I’m most grateful for: my family and the great people I get to interact with every day, including my team and customers. I’m grateful to live in Canada, truly one of the most blessed nations on Earth.

The best decision I ever made was: to start Jill’s Table, despite having no previous experience with the retail sector.

My biggest advice for new entrepreneurs is: to surround yourself with great mentors, and get a good accountant and marketing team. Don’t give up when the going gets rough!

In 10 years I will be: enjoying many more Free Days*, traveling more with my family and friends to all the fabulous food destinations the world has to offer. I’ll still be cooking up a storm and sharing meals and friendship around my table. I’ll be keeping a bird’s eye view on my business that will have new partnerships and spinoffs.

*Free Days™ are part of the Strategic Coach® concept, The Entrepreneurial Time System®. A Free Day™ is a 24-hour period free from all work-related thinking and activities.

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Here’s her introduction to the book:

Introduction

In 1995, I started coaching the team members of entrepreneurial clients in the Strategic Coach Program. The Strategic Coach Program has phenomenal thinking structures, tools, and concepts to help successful entrepreneurs grow their companies. It reduces the complexity inherent in all business and increases the simplicity of how entrepreneurs handle their time, relationships (both personal and professional), money, and purpose. The majority of our clients’ companies are small businesses with three to 100 employees.

As I was coaching our clients’ team members, I realized that what I was trying to communicate to them wasn’t getting through. There was a way of thinking that was getting in the way. Many team members who had worked for larger organizations were expecting the same type of management and structure in their entrepreneurial company, and it simply wasn’t there.

I decided I needed to design a tool that would help people adopt an entrepreneurial attitude so they could better understand the person they were working for (usually the owner), and from there, be able to develop strategies to help them be successful in an entrepreneurial company.

Together with my colleagues, I identified characteristics, ways of thinking, and actions that worked in our company and our most successful clients’ companies.

Out of that came The Entrepreneurial Attitude exercise, now a core tool in our Team Tools workshops. The Entrepreneurial Attitude lists 12 different success strategies that we consider essential to be an effective, valued team member at Strategic Coach. It’s also what I’ve seen demonstrated by the most accomplished team members I’ve coached from other entrepreneurial organizations.

This handbook will give you, as an entrepreneurial team member, an in-depth understanding of each of these 12 strategies and how to use them to further increase your value to your organization and your sense of fulfillment in your work.

I can vouch for how effective these strategies are because they’ve worked for me. I joined Strategic Coach in 1991 as a sales assistant, and since then have progressed to being a salesperson, program designer, director, speaker, coach, and creator of the Strategic Coach Team Programs using these tools. I’m thrilled to share them with you so you can grow as a person and as a professional, help grow your company, and fulfill your dreams.

To your success,
Shannon

Purchase your copies of The Team Success Handbook online or call 416.583.7003 or 1.800.387.3206.

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The pressure to make something of yourself as soon as you’re out of school is daunting, and I’m struck by how little guidance there is for us “youngsters.” I don’t mean classes on managing your money or finding a job; I mean something that helps you set goals and write out a plan for achieving them, something that introduces you to your strengths and encourages you to build on them—something like The Unique EDGE.

At nineteen, I was lucky enough to participate in Strategic Coach’s Unique EDGE program with my cousin. (My uncle, a long-time client of Dan Sullivan’s, wanted to share the world of Coach with us and signed us up.) By the end of the one-day workshop, my eyes were opened to a whole new way of looking at life. I realized that school isn’t the only form of education.

My epiphany came from interacting with others who were more interested in having life experiences than going to university—like Dan from the UK who’d decided during a grade 11 math exam that school wasn’t for him, walked to the principal’s office, and used their phone to start his own business.

School teaches us that if you work hard enough, you can become anything you want to be. Maybe. But it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be happy in that occupation. I would have appreciated if one of my teachers had said to me, “You hate working under time constraints and in loud environments—so why do you want to be a journalist?”

Instead, in Unique EDGE, I saw where my real strengths lie and thought, “Why not take my life in that direction?”

The Unique EDGE isn’t just beneficial to those taking the course, but to parents as well. My uncle told me, “I’m a lot more worried about my kids now than when they were younger.” Why? Because the rest of their lives will be shaped by the decisions they make at this age:

• Which school to go to.
• What career to pursue.
• What city to live in.
• Whom to date.

Unique EDGE helps you put all these questions into perspective. Instead of letting life carry you along, you can embrace uncertainty with the knowledge that you’re moving in the right direction.

The impact of Unique EDGE stayed with me, and when I graduated from university, my mind kept roaming back to Strategic Coach. How much could I learn if I got to work in an environment like that every day? So that’s exactly what I decided to do: I joined the Strategic Coach team a little over a year ago, and the opportunities to grow and learn seem endless.

So I stand behind The Unique EDGE as one of the most positive experiences the younger generation can take advantage of.

If you have any questions or would like to register someone for the program, please visit The Unique EDGE web page. To talk to someone directly, call Kathy Valant at 416.583.7180 or 1.800.387.3206, ext. 7180, in North America. Or call Rebecca Powsney on 01625 545 608 or 0800 389 3206, ext. 608, in the UK.

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Why? Why this imperative to grow?

Sure, the market benefits when entrepreneurs extend themselves, but growth is important at a personal level too. Growth is simply the best way to learn the mechanics of life, to learn about yourself, to make a contribution to others, and to have fun.

You’re going to put in the time anyway, so you might as well spend it doing something that’s constantly fascinating and motivating to you.

Some entrepreneurs are content to reach a certain level of success, then use their business as a lifestyle support system. This is fine, but they shouldn’t be surprised when they’re bypassed by someone who’s approaching the work with passion, creativity, and commitment.

The decision to grow is nothing short of deciding to take charge of your own future. When you do this, new ideas, opportunities, and resources flow toward you, and positive effects ripple out from you as you help others learn, grow, and use their own capabilities to the fullest too.

We’ve identified 10 principles we call “The Laws of Lifetime Growth”:

• Always make your future bigger than your past.
• Always make your learning greater than your experience.
• Always make your contribution bigger than your reward.
• Always make your performance greater than your applause.
• Always make your gratitude greater than your success.
• Always make your enjoyment greater than your effort.
• Always make your cooperation greater than your status.
• Always make your confidence greater than your comfort.
• Always make your purpose greater than your money.
• Always make your questions bigger than your answers.

When you follow these principles, growth becomes a regular, sustainable, energizing force in your life, and it leads you away from the pitfalls entrepreneurs can fall into. The growth you achieve will give you wisdom, open up your imagination, and transform your life and the lives around you for the better.

To get a deeper understanding of these 10 laws and how to apply them in your business and your life, see our best-selling book, The Laws of Lifetime Growth.

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It’s the glue.

It’s no wonder that in such a competitive time, a brand’s purpose can get less sticky. It’s hard not to get pulled in a million directions, trying to capitalize on the latest and greatest “thing.” Here at Coach, we’re always trying to keep our focus on why we do what we do — to identify, support, and grow entrepreneurial freedom.

This got me thinking about my own personal brand as a team member and the importance of knowing how this lines up with the brand of my company. As usual, I took to Google to see what “people” are saying about this. What I found was lots and lots of lists on how to develop an impressive “individual brand”: Do great work, work hard, be a great team player, dress the part, make the “boss” look good, etc. etc. Obviously. But none of these things address why I do what I do. Isn’t that the essence of my brand? And shouldn’t my why connect to Coach’s?

I was recently directed to a great video on the importance of starting with why by Simon Sinek. In a nutshell, he talks about the “golden circle,” first identifying the why (the importance), then the how (the action), then the what (the result) of who you are and what you do. It seemed like such a simple formula, and I love simple. I loved this exercise!

For those of you who are wondering, here’s what I ended up with:

• Why: To actively contribute to an organization that creates value, pushes boundaries, and changes people’s lives.
• How: By championing ideas, rallying the troops, clearly communicating, and pushing the envelope.
• What: A project manager that is motivated and excited by knowledge and innovation.

This is my brand. This is who I am and how I approach each day. It gives me confidence and clarity in my role. But, most importantly, I feel like it fits into and connects with the spirit of Strategic Coach. (BIG sigh of relief.) My recommendation: Have your own teams do this.

Like with your company’s brand, the clearer your team is on their own purpose and motivation within your company, the less likely they are to get pulled in a million different directions (which, by the way, will absolutely leak through to the Front Stage of your company … yikes!). Instead, they will be confident, productive, and valuable. They will remain … the glue—really sticky, results-producing super glue.

Illustration by Hamish MacDonald.

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Here’s how to recognize each of these mindsets, so you can choose abundance—the worldview that enables entrepreneurs to make the biggest difference.

Illustration by Hamish MacDonald.

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Real estate dynamo and Strategic Coach Program participant Evan Johnsen is committed to having productive Focus Days, so he sent the following email to get his team members on board. It’s a great example of how to make this strategy work.


Hi Team,
We’re reaching some very important milestones in our business and shaping a new world order so to speak. Compass 2.0 is actually going to be more Oxygen focused. And I couldn’t be more excited.

The main goal of our outsourcing and the streamlining of our business model is to free ourselves to do what we do best.  We make buildings better, and small condos are the best way we know how.

I’m experimenting with taking a specific day a week to focus exclusively on critical business development stuff that drives our organization forward.

For every Tuesday this March, I won’t approve invoices, I’m not returning non-critical emails, and I won’t be checking on site progress or scheduling trades. I will be finding our next three projects and building the systems to make them easy.

I’ll still be in the office on Tuesdays but need to focus exclusively on the most important things before us as a team.

You can help by getting the thing to me Monday or waiting to ask the question till Wednesday. Or even better, allocate your Tuesday in a similar manner. And if you catch me slipping into a conversation with Alex about how a boiler is supposed to work, slap me.

Onward and upward,
Evan

Illustration by Hamish MacDonald.

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