Just because you are in a competition doesn’t mean you can’t be kind. Sometimes in business, it can feel like the only way to win is for someone else to lose, but if we think differently, we can often find a way for everyone to get what they need.

When is the last time you tried something new?

If you are anything like me, you find it easier to just keep doing what you’ve been doing then to go out of your way to disrupt your schedule.

Leadership sometimes means moving to the backseat.

Sometimes even when you aim at the same spot you end up hitting somewhere different. That’s how I felt when I spent an hour in beginners archery, but it’s also what can happen in our careers.

“Think Customer.” This was a corporate value that I used to spout as a leader, but it’s more than just a phrase to motivate a team to behave a certain way. It means proiritizing someone else’s needs above your own.

Traditions build a sense of community and the start of the year is the time to start building traditions. As you start to lay out the year for your team, now is the time to start thinking about ways to create shared experiences that can create connection and make the team feel cohesive.

I’m thankful for so many things and this time of year is the perfect opportunity to say thank you…so here goes.

“I can’t believe this is my life!” I say this several times a week on a regular basis, but the during week that I get to spend at the beach with my teenage children and their friends each year I say it multiple times a day!

Even after 15 years of Making Flex Work sometimes I have to admit defeat…last Friday was one of those days.

I’ve been talking in front of groups for decades, and in front of virtual audiences for years, but there’s something different when there’s an actual camera in my face.

Before my layoff, I’d take vacation time (and still work…my choice…check out my pre-2022 posts) and I’d love every minute, but there’s something special about not taking vacation time and working from the beach.

Sometimes Making Flex Work means reserving a study room in a south Georgia library to teach a class. That’s what it meant for me last week when I got the opportunity to join my husband on a trip to Tallahassee to watch some college football.

It was sunny 3 minutes before halftime when my husband went to grab more snacks (to beat the halftime rush) but then the weather took a turn.

I like to be in control. I like when I can plan ahead. I like when life is predictable. But that’s isn’t always in the cards (from my life or as a leader).

When I get a new team member, a new client, a new teaching assistant, or my children make a a new friend, I try to build an authentic relationship.

What can you learn from Pablo to be a better leader or employee or to manage your brand?

What’s your why? My why came when my now teenage son was just an infant and I felt like I was failing at everything.

Making Flex Work is about the ability to be the places you want while still delivering what is expected of you.

Treat everyone like a customer - it’s a lesson I try to remember and it looks like it is rubbing off.

In my house we are in the season of chaos…it happens each year between winter and spring and we are fully in it right now.