Talking Story with Say Leadership Coaching

Hey Boss, Why are you Blogging?

Think you have a business blog?

Assuming your staff understands why?

Think again. They may not even read it.

When I started Talking Story in August of 2004 “blog” wasn’t a household word. I’m not sure we can think it is now. Back then I was giving talks on Managing with Aloha once or twice a week, and having my own learning jollies in writing Talking Story, I’d ask my audience “how many of you read blogs?” just for fun. Even in an audience of self-proclaimed networkers or media people I’d get two or three hands raised max. I kept blogging because I enjoyed it, and not because it helped with my business. It didn’t, other than selling a few more cases of books.

If I ask the question today, I can get about 50% of the room, but that’s still far from the “enlightened readers” that bloggers salivate for, especially when you consider that hands shoot up when they simply recognize the word (oddly, magazine covers and the “old school” print media has helped with that), and they don’t actually subscribe to and read blogs.

So why do I blog? The fun element still counts for a lot with me. Community and networking count a lot with me. My personal learning of online apps remains the biggest reason. The business element? Truthfully I am only now thinking that I should think about those possibilities more than I do. Up to now, blogging has been part of Rosa the writer, and not Rosa the businesswoman and entrepreneur.

One thing I have been certain to do however, is explain to everyone in my ‘Ohana in Business why I blog no matter what my reasons have been at the time. Of the three blogs I regularly write now, they know they are expected to be completely in sync with my free coaching within the MWA mission at Managing with Aloha Coaching.

I gave up trying to cubby-hole my personal and professional life a long time ago because trying to separate them caused too much frustration; today I know (and appreciate) that one life can best be lived with one ho‘ohana that is a pleasing mixture of both.

So while this may sound illogical or unnecessary to many other business people, my blogs have always been discussed in our strategic talk stories at Say Leadership Coaching and Ho‘ohana Publishing even though they haven’t been significant or even minor players in my business revenue streams.

What about you?

If you write a blog, and especially if you consider it a business blog, one that is crucial to your strategy, does everyone in your ‘Ohana in Business know why? Do they read your blog faithfully, and feel they are expected to? Is there any incentive for them to read it? Do they comment, and engage with you about your subject matter off the blog? Are you optimizing the opportunity you have with them as an audience? How would they classify your blog if asked to right now? A portal? A blown-up customer FAQ site? A toy for the boss?

What would be really great for you, would be if the question in my title would change to “Hey Boss, Why are we Blogging?” when considered from your point of view.

Great talk story to have in your next staff meeting.

Hat tip to Phil Gerbyshak for this post: He got me thinking about these things when I watched a TechCrunch You Tube video he shared, as you’ll see in the comment I left there for him. The video is a fun clip to watch too – would be a good way to open up this talk story I’m suggesting. Click over to Phil’s Make It Great! for Pop Goes the Blog?

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More on bloggy matters in the Talking Story Web/Tech index, such as,

• Arghh! Too many widgets, cookies, blog blingees and community toys
• Two to Read: Social Media and Online Community
• Web Awareness 101 for the Business Owner
• Shelf Life and Attention Span on the Web
• Take the Web/Tech index link to get them all on one page. We have had our talk story at SLC/HP about every one of them, boosted by the comments from people in this community much smarter than me!

A related post on Managing with Aloha Coaching:
The ‘Ohana in Business is a Place for Business Partners

Subscribe to Managing with Aloha Coaching by Email

Overdo Talking Story? Might be possible.

I can assure you this is not how The Daily Five Minutes® goes!

The drawn-out stuff happens when you don’t talk everyday and they are finally able to catch you, trapped and squirming...

Via Matt at Drawn - great site to add to your readers.

More from the artist at his site: Nathan Huang Illustration.

Mea Ho‘okipa Live Their Aloha Every Day

Talking Story has given me pure joy over the last month when I think about our Ho‘ohana Community. This was our eleventh forum on these pages and our twelfth one when I count A Love Affair with Books this past March on Joyful Jubilant Learning, and one might think that I have over-extended my welcome with you, and that you would start to ignore my requests to participate, especially with so many other forums to choose from as the blog-scape has grown. Not so.

You are stars. Your writing improves with every new entry, and beyond the pure BEing of the Mea Ho‘okipa you are, you dazzle me with your talent and your insight! You give ideas freely, you open yourself to conversation about them, and you support each other author-to-author with such intuitive empathy.

Know this: Your aloha spirit gets evermore enriched with the warmth of lokomaika‘i, the generosity that comes from good heart. I hope you feel this too; that you have received while giving.

There are times I think I could continue writing about the values of our lives forever, and this is one of them. They ARE universal, and they DO shape our lives because of the way they have shaped our CHOICES. Yet every day it becomes much clearer to me that I will never be able to learn all there is to learn about them in my lifetime —even those values which I am most passionate about.

These forums illustrate something for me that I say to my coaching clients and the managers and leaders I mentor over and over again, without a care about the possibility they may be tired of hearing it from me: We learn best from other people.

When others lay out their welcome mat, willing to share their experiences with you, stuff your pockets (and your head) with every shred of humility you have, and take off your shoes so your bare feet can feel each thread of that welcome mat. Open up your spirit and listen well, for another’s willingness to teach you their life-lessons-learned is the greatest gift they can give.

Mahalo nui loa. From my learner’s heart and the aloha of my soul’s spirit, my deepest gratitude to the very talented and giving authors and Mea Ho‘okipa who wrote for us this month. You are Kūpuna, my respected teachers.

Remember that these authors are your neighbors in our Ho‘ohana Community, and in this, my recap listing for our essays on Ho‘okipa, the value of hospitality, I have linked both their articles here and the sites at which they normally write so that you may visit them often. I know they have their welcome mats waiting for you there too.

So remember, step onto them with bare feet!

Our learning about Ho‘okipa:

Ho'okipa Via The United States Postal Service by Deb Estep, author of Deb Inside.

NEVER, EVER let anyone tell you that snail mail is a thing of the past. It’s almost as if the paper of the card or letter is ~charged~ with the Spirit of Ho’okipa. From your hand and heart, to the receiver’s hand and heart. A most powerful thing indeed!

Build Energy then Go Where the Energy Is by Lisa Haneberg, author of Management Craft, 2 Weeks 2 A Breakthrough, and Essay a Smile.

I just came back from a 40 day, 9,400 mile motorcycle book tour. I visited 34 states and connected with thousands of people. Long trips are great for helping us see patterns and insights we might otherwise miss.

Hospitality: Our Gatherings Seek to Meet a Need and Our Gatherings Nudge Us Toward Collaboration, both by Reg Adkins, author of Elemental Truths, Hero of the Week, and Faith Based Counseling.

Well guided gatherings have the following characteristics of hospitality ... A good meeting host knows the aspect of a meeting which embodies the feeling of professional hospitality.

Successful hosts guide discussions to involve all viewpoints and make sure group members know they have open-door access.

The Mingwe (Mingo) native peoples of the Appalachian mountains had a wonderful method for insuring every member of the group had an opportunity to participate in meetings and yet no one individual could monopolize the attention.

When matters were of significant importance to require a meeting of the group the host (usually the eldest member of the group) would begin the discussion by holding a symbol of attention (the talking stick).

Hospitality: The Key to Peace on Earth by Maria Palma, author of Customers Are Always, and The Good Life.

As I sit here and reflect on what hospitality means to me, I start to wonder how much better the world would be if each and every one of us was taught hospitality at a young age.  What if it were a class like English or Math?  Do you think the business world would be different?

Ho'okipa: A Mother's Love by Dave Rothacker, author of Rothacker Reviews and Radioback.

She was dog tired.  Worked nine hours, picked up Jen and Liz from day care, stopped by the grocery store, got home and made dinner, cleaned up and gave the kids a bath.  The kids weren't ready for bed so she read a little Dr. Suess to them. She heard the words coming from her mouth, but her mind began to drift...

Dissecting Hospitality and The Business End of Southern Hospitality by April Groves, author of My Beautiful Chaos and Making Life Work for You.

Hospitality is an idea. Ho'okipa is a series of events. A manner of treatment. A dedication to excellence. Take a new look at an old practice with fresh eyes.

Living in the South, the word "hospitality" gets used a lot. It is a badge of honor to be considered a good provider of "Southern Hospitality" in your home. This comes in the form of cold tea, hot biscuits, a good meal, and warm pie. You would never be rude to company - maybe family, but never company. A covered plate to take home would always be offered. Don't mind about returning the plate - you can keep it. Wonderful friendships are formed in these circumstances.

Writer, reader, place: writing with ho'okipa by Joanna Young, author of Coaching Wizardry and Confident Writing.

Hospitality has to start with ourselves.  ...That ho'okipa is about knowing who you are and where you've come from.  And more than that it's about respect and love for the place where you find yourselves.  That means creating a sense of  place: helping people to understand and love the place they are visiting, that sense of being at home. It's about knowing (and loving) the place that you've come from. And it's about respecting and sustaining the environment that has brought us together, has brought us here.

Hospitality is more than façades by Dwayne Melancon, author of Genuine Curiosity.

You walk into a hotel, and it has a terrific lobby - clean, comfortable, well-kept, and inviting. So far, so good. You walk up to the check-in desk for the next layer of hospitality opportunities. This is your first opportunity to see the hotel's true colors ...

No Requests Required by Carolyn Manning, author of Thoughts & Philosophies and Productivity Goal.

When Rosa first brought up the subject of hospitality, I thought it would be an easy topic to cover.  After all, we're surrounded with all manner of hospitality in our lives.  Ah, but therein lay the rub,  It's almost too much subject for one subject.

After some thought, though, the filament in the mental lightbulb vibrated to warmth and the brightest word was "surrounded".

Hospitality: It feels like home, by Phil Gerbyshak, author of Make it Great! and becoming widely known as The Relationship Geek.

I thought first of organizations that don't make me feel like home. ... Then, I thought of the organizations I give up more too. They often have a personal cry for help, make real connections with me, and I know a few of the others in the group. Occasionally when I see my friends that are involved, we mention the group, their mission, if it's still worth our time, and usually we agree it is, so I'll go to a fundraiser and give a bit more of my talent, treasure, and time.

Be worth copying by Rebecca Thomas, author of Rebecca Thomas Designs.

I was flabbergasted. As far as I knew, we’d just sat there, processed people in to the event, snacked, chatted, and generally had fun while we worked. I asked her what specifically she would be stealing, and she said it was all about my organization and the spirit I cultivated around the gate by including food and encouraging people to come visit and entertain us. By doing so little, I’d made the gate crew, the first people seen at the event, a lively, efficient bunch. Sometimes, providing good service is as simple as taking care of those who are supposed to be providing the service.

 

Maria Palma brought us an added treat: Welcome to the Customer Service Carnivale! with the ho'okipa generosity of eight more authors.

1. Matt Hanson presented Building Visibility with Promotional Umbrellas posted at Matt's Creative Advertising Blog.
2. Jason Rakowski presented CRM Software posted at Learn Good Customer Service.
3. Meikah Delid presented CustServ: Customer Relations: The New Competitive Edge posted at CustServ: Customer Relations.
4. Charles H. Green presented Soliciting Customer Service Feedback: Motives Matter posted at Trust Matters.
5. Kate Baggott presented A Child-Friendly Restaurant for Grown Ups posted at Babylune.
6. Carolyn Manning presented Business Productivity Has Responsibilities posted at ProductivityGoal.
7. Robyn McMaster presented Hospitality Stirs Serotonin posted at Brain Based Biz, and
8. Service Untitled presented Does Customer Service Come Naturally To You?

My own writing for you this month:

• Value kick-off on Managing with Aloha: Ho‘okipa, the Hospitality of Complete Giving

• Value kick-off here on Talking Story: Talks a bit about my own history learning about Ho‘okipa at work in Hawai‘i.

• Then, in the Writing Elsewhere category, a bloggy kind of Ho‘okipa I wrote as a guest author: A Cracker Jack® prize for Steve, and Get in the Feedback Loop.
  

• Books on Hospitality. Still trying to grow this list! Help me out.
  

• Hospitality and the Comforts of Home, with Company. Within this post, I also tell you about Danny Meyer's concept that Service is Monologue; Hospitality, Dialogue.

• Send that Blackberry to Solitary Confinement. Not your home turf? That is no excuse to stop being hospitable.

• Make Sunday your Day to Comment. If Sunday commenting became your new practice, you would learn and gain much enrichment from our month within hospitality.

• “Most people think of hospitality as a social grace, something you remember to do like mom taught you, when you know guests are coming to visit.” Or maybe not... maybe we need A charge for the Ho‘okipa Brigade: Social Graces

• How to Capture an Expert’s Value: 12 Tips. With Ho‘okipa as our focus for the month, it seemed like the perfect time to bring back this article, one I had written for Lifehack.org just short of two years ago.

• Like my book inquiry, this is one I hope you continue to add to! What are your interview questions for the Mea Ho‘okipa?

• What does your customer dream about? Ho‘okipa Coaching of the Day – Deliver on the Promise.

• The Customer and You; Together at Last! Customers and the businesses they patronize have a peculiar type of relationship most times.

• Are you a Hospitalitarian? Are you a Mea Ho‘okipa? Mea ho‘okipa are tireless advocates and builders of community, and here’s something else to understand about them: They advocate and build as well as they do as a “selfish act.”

• This is about curing a kind of workplace cancer. The Hospitality Cancer? Routine.

My last link for you is that for Rapid Fire Learning on Joyful Jubilant Learning this month: Keep in mind that you can learn with us there in the welcoming arms of 19 contributing authors --- and still counting! See Dean Boyer's August Challenge.

BE Mea Ho‘okipa. Aloha.

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Postscript: I WILL ask again! Our next Ho‘ohana Community Forum will be on Joyful Jubilant Learning through-out the month of September. If you want to be sure you are sent an invitation to contribute there, let me know!

Do you really need more convincing? Try these, all found at Joyful Jubilant Learning:

1. Learning through Blog Forums
2. Writing, Blogging, Business, and Learning Through it All
3. Write to Learn; Slow, Steady, Sure

Good thoughts for Reg, and a shout out for your suggestions

In what I sincerely hope will be a temporary fix here for him, I have replaced the links here for Reg Adkins’ Elemental Truths blog with links to Faith Based Counseling, where Reg had initially begun his blogging adventures.

Earlier today, Reg found that his Elemental Truths site had somehow been high jacked! When you follow links to his site, they take you to something that looks like a political advertisement written by someone other than Reg!

Elemental Truths is hosted on Google’s Blogger platform, and thus far, Reg has been unsuccessful in getting his own account back. Absolutely unbelievable and inconceivable. Reg has written a cease and desist request in the comments, and the hijacker has the audacity to publish them while continuing to ignore his request!

I would be crushed if something like this happened for the three sites I now write for, and my heart truly aches for what Reg must be going through.

This is the first time I have heard of such a thing, and it really causes you to think about the true worth and value of something that is “free” as is Google’s Blogger platform. If anyone reading knows how to deal with this, and has a suggestion we can pass on to Reg, please share it here. Mahalo nui loa.

Snapshots of our Culture

In an entry for our 7 Wonders of Learning at Joyful Jubilant Learning, Dwayne Melancon, author of the wonderful Genuine Curiosity, reminded me about a feed I think of as my Sunday evening and too tired to read anything else diversion, Post Secret. (New entries are normally posted every Sunday.)

54. According to Wikipedia, Post Secret began as an art installation for Artomatic 2004 in Washington, D.C. Three years later, it lives on as a fascinating look at today's culture   ...  Post Secret, "an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard."

I had to share two postcard secrets I took note of this past Sunday. This first one gets me to think about Ho‘okipa and hospitality; for I think it is very telling when it comes to what your employees might really be thinking when they deliver the exceptional customer service you expect them to give!

This second one is simply for women everywhere to smile upon and appreciate ... you can click on each photo to take you to the Post Secret site and see more.

Big Brother Blog, Little Sister Coach

Coaching and Blogging; could this be a match made in Business Heaven? They surely seem to be siblings growing up together in the same household.

Greg Balanko-Dickson did a posting at Joyful Jubilant Learning yesterday that got me thinking: Coaching could very well be an industry that will owe many of its growing points to the emergence of blogging, a little sister reaping the benefits of tagging along in big brother's footsteps.

It would actually be the other way around I suppose, with an older sister not getting her big break until little brother and his generation broke through a glass ceiling for her, for coaching is a much older industry. When I first started as a coach, the industry was nowhere near the degree of credibility and respect it enjoys today, and I am certain that blogging is one of the catalysts that has helped this happen.

Greg's article is called Coaching, Manipulation, or Collaborative Learning? and it's a great case-study of how a coach works with a client. It's also a good read whether you consider yourself coach, manager, or executive, for Greg wrote it specifically for Joyful Jubilant Learning from the collaborative learning inquiry described in the article's title.

It's also a very honest and transparent coach's record of how he does what he does.

Coaching is close to home for me, and I wonder: Can you think of another industry which has so totally embraced blogging as a way to freely publish their case studies and strategic philosophies, opening up 'comment conversation' to a critical analysis of their business models, incorporating all they receive in near instant feedback loops?

This has happened very naturally in coaching for a couple of reasons.

• We seem to be a profession with little to no concern about competition. Coaching is a very personal relationship between client and coach, and that will always be the defining factor in whether or not a 'booking' happens. If there is no personal connection, and no trust between you, it will not work: Coach and client choose each other as people first. Therefore much can be freely given away online without any fear of infringement on your business.

• Coaches are obsessed with learning, and especially real-time current learning about the human condition. Besides the fact that we don't view other coaches as competition, we understand that we need to learn from each other for the sake of helping our clients in the best possible way, fulfilling the profound responsibility we have in coaching them. Best place to learn about coaching that works well is from other coaches publishing online, and blogging has created a kind of coaching university for us. No tuition, class is always in session when you have a period free to catch it, and you can switch between being teacher and student at will.

• Writing is probably a primary or secondary strength for all coaches. Many will tell you that they have had journals for as long as they can remember, and that those journals eventually started to create some intellectual property for them, and an understanding about how people are not meant to live alone: We can help each other in a wealth of different ways. Then too, the more we write in other forms, the more we improve our communication skills, and blogging is an exceptional skill builder!
  

• Blogging has given coaches the voice they needed to become credible and valued, way more than any coaching certification could. Many of us who have been coaching for a while remember the early days when customers would make us promise not to name them on client lists, for everyone else would think they were problem children who were desperate.

My goodness, we have come a long way.

For instance, and for another great read, visit Arnie Herz of our Ho'ohana Community at his blog Legal Sanity (have always loved the name of Arnie's blog!) He recently posted a short called Finding the right coaching approach wherein he shares some of his coaching results:

In a recent ABA Journal article titled Coach Me, Jenny B. Davis profiles the work of three professional coaches and their lawyer clients. I’m one of the featured coaches. The interesting thing about this inaugural run of the ABA Journal Coaching Project was it’s time frame. The coaches had just one month to help our clients “achieve peak performance.”

Coach Me takes full disclosure to a whole new level! Something to ponder as this was published by the American bar Association... What I especially liked about the article, was reading what the clients felt about their results - how do we get more of them to blog?!?

This is what lawyer Larry Koch had to say about his experience with Arnie's coaching:

“Something that will benefit” —Productivity501

Mark W. Shead is a consultant who uses technology to solve business problems. He recently introduced himself to me via Managing with Aloha, and I am so glad he did. When it comes to productivity writing online, his blog looks like it may be my new favorite in the genre to read!

Check out Productivity501, Pieces of the productivity puzzle.

Many of the productivity blogs which pepper the more “popular” pages of bookmarking and tagging sites like Digg and Del.icio.us, will add so much clutter to our reading, for the definition of productivity they actually demonstrate has to do with flooding us with posts about everything and anything. Productivity is a big word, and they prove it, by throwing every option they can think of in our direction.

In contrast, Mark's About Page hooked me in when I read this:

Productivity501 is a site dedicated to bringing you regular tips and tricks to help increase your personal productivity. This site focuses on original content so the publication schedule is a little slower than other blogs out there. Generally we try to have at least one new article each week, but the focus is on posting when we have something that will benefit our readers.

Outstanding!

I do want to be more productive than I am... who doesn't? However “a little slower” with more “focus” on “something that will benefit” sounds terrific to me!

The concept of being productive is meaningless without a good understanding of your values or what is important to you personally.  Being productive isn’t just a matter of being busy.  It isn’t a matter of doing a lot of things.  Productivity is accomplishing important things.

Many people try to get organized so they can do more, but really they are just trying to fit a bunch more unimportant things into their day.  Until they define what is really important to them, just scheduling a bunch of tasks won’t help them really accomplish more.

Sometimes being productive doesn’t mean doing more.  In fact sometimes it can mean doing fewer tasks each day.  When these tasks are carefully chosen to align with your values, they can have a much bigger impact on your overall accomplishments.

Read more, at Productivity and Values.

Visit Mark. Breathe. Read short and deep. Get more productive with “Something that will benefit” —Productivity501

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Update: Mark had written to me for this interview series, and I see that he’s posted part one of three today. I’ll add the links here as they’re published. He had asked us three questions, and with the first one published today, I see that he received 26 responses —there are a lot of great tips to learn from!

Question 1:
What is the single biggest way people waste time without even realizing it?

Question 2:
What change has made the most difference in making you effective in life?

Question 3:
If someone were to read just one post from your site, which would you recommend they read and why?

(RSS Feed for Mark)

Management as a “second career.” Empathy needed please.

When I first learned about blogs, one I’d read somewhat regularly was John Porcaro’s. John is a manager in Microsoft’s online marketing communications division.

Back in October of 2004 I sent a trackback to his blog, writing As a manager, which metrics are your everyday reality? in response to a posting on his blog called We're Listening.... I noticed that someone arrived at Talking Story after clicking on it today, and so I wondered if John had kept his blog going. Clicking over, I found a post in which he talks about attending a 4-day “foundational” training event for Microsoft, explaining,

“I took a similar class several years ago, but since the company has changed so much, along with our culture, I assumed that the management principles have changed too.

Today we covered many basic principles of management, but I was impressed that a lot of the day was spent speaking about the culture, and the role managers play in the ongoing climate.”

These were his observations;

One thing that caught my attention was the struggle that still exists as new managers in the room transition from individual contributor to manager.  In many instances (especially in the past), managers were assigned because of their technical skill--not because they would be good managers.  Many terrible people managers were brilliant technically, and even had a broad background that allowed them to be good strategists.  But without the right mix of interpersonal and communications skills, they drove good employees down (or out).

Some new managers express the fear of "losing their technical edge," and not being able to set the direction for the team, or not being able to make decisions about technical issues.  They don't realize that they're moving into a "second career," where new skills are required, and older skills become less important (in fact, could even be a liability).  The old adage of "hiring people smarter than you" is not just a good idea, it's a necessity.  Your team will be taking on things that you won't have the skill to do yourself.  Your value will come from a other things you do.    

I'm glad to see the company bringing a lot more focus on bringing managers (with or without experience) together to build a common foundation of expectations.  I happen to work on a team with some great managers (especially my own), and I'm seeing the value of management skills being recognized and valued more and more. 

If you are someone who manages other managers, he gives a lot to think about, doesn’t he.

While it is true that workplace cultures change continuously, there are some basic needs that managers have, particularly newer managers, that remain constant. They may seem to be new challenges just because the present-day context is new, but they aren’t. The only question is if you still pay attention to them, or if you’ve become desensitized to them.

“Been there, done that” still means empathy is needed daily. Yet another reason for the Daily Five Minutes. Your managers need to be on the receiving end of the D5M too.

You can see the joy in talking story even when you can't hear the words being said

This was taken by one of my favorite photo-bloggers, Sam Javanrouh of [daily dose of imagery]. Go to his post for the story behind the picture, and his bigger, quality-perfect shot.

Thursdays at home, on Talking Story

Thursdays just got different. You can now be sure to find me right here, at home with the Ho'ohana Community on Talking Story!

Several of you have fallen into a habit that's been a result of one of mine: Each Thursday, you've looked for my management and leadership column on Lifehack.org, expecting to find me there first, and here second. And you've been right in your expectations.

Back in September of 2005, I had the honor of being Leon Ho's very first guest author for Lifehack.org, when lifehack was a pretty new word. I remember explaining it on  www.managingwithaloha.com in an effort to understand it better myself, for Leon was more sure about me fitting in there than I was!

Managing with Aloha a Lifehack? In part, I wrote,

I’ve been reading Lifehack.org for some time now, and I have found that Leon does a terrific job at aggregating a wide spectrum of resourceful lifehacks for us; he provides managers with a great service. I am most appreciative of this wonderful opportunity he’s given me to share with a larger audience the tenets of Managing with Aloha which add richness yet more simplicity to our lives. As I said in my first post, ultimately, everything is personal, and that includes work.

Leon insisted that the site needed to have a management and leadership thread through it, and I clearly remember him rejecting my first submission because I tried to be too much like him, mimicking what he was already writing there, when he wanted more of me being me!

My first article at Lifehack.org became 5 Things Employees Need to Learn—from You. Since then, I have written 77 more, and Leon was right: They have all been about management and leadership, and the readers there have welcomed me warmly. I am very, very appreciative to every single reader who gave me the feedback I needed to write better, and to be a better management coach online.

Fast forward nearly two years, and Lifehack.org has grown to be immensely popular, with nearly 45,000 Feedburner subscribers as I write this. Leon has continued to hold high standards, and his stable of authors are recognized as some of the most respected - and most prolific - writers online. So my decision will surprise many of you, and believe me, it was a difficult one to make, taking me quite some time to come to it.