What a long time to be apart with many miles in between.  In the past seven weeks I have been with numerous groups and am sad to report the number of times Coach was in the damage path of bad bosses; trying to rebuild, re-energize, reengage, refresh wonderful people who are mission driven, hard working, heart totally in the game people.  Bad bosses, you are put on notice!  Today Coach delivers a wake-up call to all bad bosses who shut down people’s potential and make our organizations less competitive. 

“UggaBugga,” Ray is the signature phrase we would hear from our porter, Tom, on the recent cross-country train trip while on the Southwest Chief.  Tom Fleshman, a true professional, a credit to his profession and one of the unsung heroes who creates a great customer experience every day;  not because management is watching, not because it is an Amtrak standard, but because it is Tom’s standard.  It is who Tom is.  Today we explore “Why Care?”  The art of delivering great customer experience. 

Music by: Bensound.com

Wow!  What a great and big country we have;  just returned yesterday from a business trip on Amtrak’s Southwest Chief.  Not only does one get to see incredible country all across the southwest, but you also meet a wide variety of people…from Jim who was just riding the trains for 11 days, to vacationers from Queens to business travelers who prefer trains to planes.  What quickly becomes apparent is the wide range of social skills and personal influence people have.  Today we explore “moving beyond you”…some simple lessons in improving your charisma and power.  Be here after weather and sports on WTIC where we Care to Coach.

music:  bensound.com

 You in a good mood this morning?  I brought some donuts to put a smile on your face and get your day moving in a positive direction.  Got some sprinkles here, or maybe you’d prefer the maple frosted, or how about this nice jelly stick?  Do you realize what we are doing right now is a good thing to do for the people around you.  Research out of Ohio State Business School proved that people’s moods at the start of the day affected how they felt the rest of the day.  Today it’s time to check the “mood in your tude” right here on WTIC where Coaching Counts after weather and sports.

It is time to get control of how you come across to other people and stop those self-sabotaging behaviors.  Image management…on you?  You bet.  Today we decide to enhance our image and manage the perception of “looking smart.”  Didn’t say you were smart, but there is a lot you can do to make others think you are.  I just finished working with a multinational group in Norway and I saw this in action.  Want the keys to your future success?   Be here right after weather and sports…WTIC where we care to coach.

Music:bensound.com

Hey, Ray, smiling faces…you remember what the Temptations said about them…they lie!  Remember what the O’Jays said about them…back stabbers!  Songs like these get written, and we all sing-along, because there is a kernel of truth in them.  Brace yourself as we get ready to explore the darker and hidden side of people…and YOU.  Beware; they could be right beside you at the table or in the next office at work.  Smiling faces will be unveiled right after weather and sports riding on 50,000 watts of pure WTIC coaching power.

music by: bensound.com

Memorial Day weekend 2016 has arrived.  A time to memorialize, remember, the deeds of valor done for us.  Started three years after the Civil War to pay respect to the fallen, it was originally called Decoration Day and observed in May as spring flowers are plentiful.  Memorials are built as reminders.  Have you erected memorials in your life?  Are they touchstones to your future or tombstones to your past?  Sounds serious.  Be here after weather and sports as we dig into Saturday Morning Coaching.

music by: bensound.com

What a week!  I am seeing an interesting theme start to emerge within organizations that can best be summed up with three words; not only in the organizations but in our state and nation.  We seem to be swimming in it without even noticing it.  It is subtle, it is dangerous and it can threaten your livelihood.  Just three little yet powerful words.  To prepare, go to MyValueTree.com and take today’s assessment on your Emotional Quotient and be here after weather and sports as we explore “10 hands.”

music powered by bensound.com

We have people getting ready to make decisions today based on the myths they tell themselves.  They have been listening to the message in the myth for so long that they miss the marvelous moments in life.  People are self-sabotaging; they believe the lies they tell themselves.  Get today’s handout “5-S’ing Your Mind” at MyValueTree.com and be here after weather and sports as we “mulch the myths” guiding our lives.

today's handout:  http://myvaluetree.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/5sYourMind.pdf

music by:  bensound.com

Be on guard for indifference creeping into your life.  A theme emerged from all the people I met this week and the stories they told me.  It is a disturbing theme with real root-cause drivers grounded in research.  Today, Coach is going to ask you to make a commitment to care…and it begins with cultivating your empathy.  A great assessment is posted for you at MyValueTree.com under STARPOWER.  Get ready because Coach is going to get “real” with you right after weather and sports.

Time passes and change happens.  How quickly what once was is now no more; it has gone beyond its useful life.  Brace yourself for some harsh realities as Saturday Morning Coaching soon begins.  Coach got coached this week by one of our great listeners, Randy Sweeny.  It is time to face into some tough truths as we must decide, “Is it time to be ‘side-lined or redefined?’”  Get today’s handout at MyValueTree.com and be here after weather and sports for the great lesson Coach learned this week.

6 ½ years ago we started on this STARPOWER journey together with one goal in mind…to thrive in uncertain times.  STARPOWER is the five-point model designed to get us into action;  it has been the backdrop for all our Saturday Morning Coaching sessions.  Be with us as we go “back to our roots” and re-engage our STARPOWER.  It is time to up our game. 

Saturday Morning Coaching is about to begin as we explore winning attributes.

Yep, 10 things you can do right now to make yourself more valuable.  Coach is giving it to you straight because I want you to be wildly successful…and in this market, that begins with keeping your job.  Be here after weather and sports as we enter the “no piker” zone.

Man,  o-man, o-man!  2016 is off to a roaring start:  Korean nuke, Saudi-Iran tensions, oil price collapse with all the sovereign debt impact, Puerto Rico debt default, Putin, stock market drops…whew!  Maybe the world is going crazy…but today, we have our lives to live right here at home.  Coach is planning on seeing 2017 with all of you.  Today we do 5-to-Thrive as we prepare for the New Year.  Get today’s handout at MyValueTree.com under STARPOWER and see you here after weather and sports.

Incompetent and unaware.  Did you know there is actual research and psychology behind the Dilbert moments you see in your life;  those moments where incompetent people get promoted and competent people end up making them look good?  The Dilbert cartoons have it right. Unskilled and unaware; how not to get trapped by your cognitive bias and be out maneuvered by other people’s illusory superiority.  Sound serious?  You bet!  Be here after weather and sports for Saturday Morning Coaching.

Get ready to have your thinking challenged this morning.  Recently, I heard a venture capitalist discussing the importance of the 10-minute pitch; looking for the “wow” factor.  You got “wow”?  Can you speak to an exciting future or have you “wost your wow”? STARPOWER Saturday is soon to begin.

Since we were last together, Coach has gotten worked up about disengaged employees and the management who is driving them there.  A Crisis of Caring is afoot!  Join us as we explore how to avoid this most dangerous, emotional place of, “I just don’t care.”  Go to MyValueTree.com and review today’s handout, the Caring survey, to prepare.

As I stepped over a pile of trash on the floor I was compelled to ask, “Who are these people?”  In what universe do people consider it okay to trash the area around them and leave it for someone else to pick-up?  Compare this to our experience when we got to hear the Mambo Kings with the Hartford Symphony at the Talcott Mountain Festival in Simsbury.  The fields are full of people and when over, there was no trash anywhere.  What makes the difference? 

Get that paint can, shake it up and get ready to graffiti all the people you have trouble with;  waaait, we’re already doing that, in our heads!  Graffiti Me?  Just finished delivering a great workshop this week on what Dr. Annette calls Leader-Member Exchange;  for the rest of us it’s called “in group/out group.”  Holster that spray paint, get today’s assignment at MyValueTree.com and be here after weather and sports to learn how your filters rob others of their potential.  Sobering, you bet; hopeful, definitely!

Ever found yourself sitting alone at work early in the morning or late in the evening grousing to yourself, “Why am I the only one doing all the work?  Where is everyone else? How come my boss doesn’t do anything about it?”  Welcome to the world of “overclaiming” driven by egocentrism.  Don’t believe you do it?  Be here after weather and sports and we will dive into the research that can refocus your life and keep you in the sweet spot of success.  Ready?  Saturday Morning Coaching is now!

How pure do you want your drinking water?  Everyone these days seems overly concerned about the purity of what goes into their bodies, but it is out of vogue to be concerned about the purity of character; what comes out of me.  Be here after weather and sports as Coach is going to give you some heat about “pandering and purity” or “the purity paradox.”  Do you think purity of character is important?   Get ready by reviewing today’s link at MyValueTree.com under STARPOWER.

Saturday morning at Luke’s Donuts in West Avon you get a glimpse of everything right in the world.  You see in action what it means to get along.  The last two STARPOWER sessions we talked about building your community through coaching.  Join us as we take a different look at building community:  why Luke’s Donuts is a model for peace in our world.  Weather and sports…and then Saturday Morning Coaching.

Spring is here and that means it is Spring Cleaning time...but not around the house and yard...it is time to clean-up and tune-up our thoughts, our wardrobe and resume.  Use 5-S to guide your cleaning;  sort, straighten, shine, standardize, sustain.

Yesterday's skills and projects become our "old pictures" hanging on the wall of today.  Memories of days gone by.  Today is the day to consider if you are living off the past.  It may be time for an upgrade!