When we talk about boundaries, the conversation often focuses on saying “no”. And no is really important… but it’s not the only option. I know it’s popular to say “if it’s not a hell yes, it’s a hell no” and I would agree, that’s an excellent approach… when there’s no risk of shooting yourself in the foot. For example, sometimes as a founder you’re going to get requests from potential or current investors & prospective or active clients to which you shouldn’t just deliver a hard no… even if...
18 days ago • 7 min read
My first business was an artisan chocolates company. At the peak of its success, as we were shipping chocolates by the case nationwide, getting covered in the New York Times and Food & Wine Magazine and celebrating a front page article in the Wall Street Journal nine days before Christmas… I used to pull up to the commercial kitchen every morning and fantasize about firebombing the building. Not literally, of course. But also, kinda. It’s a common phenomenon among founders and business owners...
about 1 month ago • 7 min read
Every year, I feel like I crawl across the finish line of October, beaten, battered, exhausted and with an absolute train wreck of an office. It’s always, by far, my hardest and most exhausting month… a combination of celebrating both kids’ birthdays (and Ollie’s famiversary) helping my oldest prep to pitch in the Young Inventors Challenge, facilitating multiple annual planning offsites for clients, oh, and to cap it all off, Halloween. Not to mention, you know, all the usual things. I...
about 2 months ago • 8 min read
This issue covers: 7 Signs you’re experiencing an identity shift Warning flags that you might be in crisis mode 3 Business Frameworks to turn Personal Transitions into Platforms for Growth: Personal SWOT Analysis Gap Analysis Balanced Scorecard During the past week, I launched my website (finally!)… and the very next day, I began the process of completely overhauling it. I participated in a design thinking workshop for a startup building a solution to support other founders with the wind down...
2 months ago • 10 min read
The devastation unfolding this week in Western North Carolina is both unspeakably tragic & utterly mind-blowing. It has been hard to process for so many of us because of the scale of the devastation and the fact that it was an absolute mindf**k. How could a hurricane do so much damage in mountainous terrain so far from a coastline?! We never expected it. I was talking to my father about it early this week. My parents live in Asheville half the year and in Miami the other half. They and their...
3 months ago • 8 min read
This past week I lost my sh*t with my boys on two separate occasions. Over-tired, under-appreciated and flimsy boundaries are a tough combination to begin with… add in time pressure for me and it’s a recipe for explosion. And for disappointment. That is not how I want to show up. But was it a failure? That depends on how I look at it and how readily I can access my resilience. Resilience /rəˈzilēəns/ the capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness. If I tap into...
3 months ago • 8 min read
Personal growth is squishy in a lot of ways. Nonlinear, hard to explain, harder to measure and so gradual it can even be hard to notice. Its impact is felt through tiny shifts in mindset & behavior that are almost imperceptible, yet profoundly impactful. This can be tough for me. I like to measure things. My mind craves the concrete and the quantifiable. So I’ve always been drawn to (okay… maybe a little obsessed with) the idea of tracking & measuring personal growth. And while I haven't...
4 months ago • 8 min read
As a high-performing individual with multiple non-negotiable roles (executive or founder, parent, caretaker, adult…) you function at a fairly high baseline on any given day of the week. So when external circumstances generate additional demands — whether it’s the start of the school year, the holiday season, the month when everyone in your family has a birthday, performance review or budget season, an upcoming board meeting a fundraising road show — it’s crunch time. Your baseline gets pretty...
4 months ago • 6 min read
The next couple of weeks mark a significant transition in the lives of parents with young children everywhere: the start of a new school year. As kids brace themselves for the return of early wake-ups, enforced bedtimes & homework, parents rejoice at the resumption of structure, predictability & shared oversight. ‘Tis the season for long lists of school supplies that will barely be used, parent chat huddles over who’s in whose class this year, new expectations, responsibilities & privileges,...
5 months ago • 9 min read