Greetings from Loveland, Colorado, where John Hale and his crew have done another remarkable job of creating mid-season training conditions by the middle of October. As I am out here helping prepare a variety of racers for a very busy early season of races, I have been thinking a great deal about what it takes [...]
As many businesses have learned the hard way in the last 15 years, becoming established and having short-term success is no guarantee of sustaining long-term success. Increased competition, financial mismanagement, professional missteps, and economic downturns can all contribute to the downfall of a once-successful business. The challenge for many companies, particularly small ones, is that they are so busy in the day-to-day operations of the business, the lack the time and energy to maintain an eye on the future that is essential for long-term success. To ensure that long-term success, you must engage in a comprehensive examination of your business that includes evaluating the past and “visioning” the future. This process involves what you have done and what you need to do to ensure that it has the “legs” to sustain itself for many years to come. Note: Apologies for the double-November newsletters. The first November newsletter, Focus is the Gateway to Business Success, was the belated September issue.
There is a growing body of research demonstrating that humans are far from the rational thinkers and decision makers that we would like us to believe we are. Research has shown, for example, that our mood even smells can alter how we perceive, interpret, and decide about people and situations. Despite our highly developed cerebral [...]
Focus doesn’t get the respect it deserves in the business world. We hear a lot about motivation, stress, emotions, leadership, and team culture, but not much attention is paid to the role that focus plays in your ability to be productive. Well, I’m here to change all that. Let’s first start with what focus is. Simply put, focus involves the ability to pay attention to things that will help and avoid distractions that will hurt your work efforts. For example, to finish a report, you need to focus on the relevant information and analyses that will comprise the report. You must also avoid typical distractions such as emails, being hungry or tired, or the people around you.
Setting expectations for your children is an essential responsibility of parenting. Expectations communicate messages to your children about what’s important to you and establish a standard toward which your children can strive. But expectations can be double-edged swords. They can be a tremendous benefit to your children’s development or they can be weighty burdens that [...]
This disturbing article describes the growing use of technology (e.g., tablets, smartphones, apps) among very young children (0-8 years old). Here's a scary quote, from a physician no less: "I know if I need Zoe to be quiet for an hour, I can hand her the iPad and I won’t hear from her,” said Dr. [...]
I was recently interviewed on Fox Business News on the topic of the Psychology of the Stock Market. In this interview I discuss the three reasons why many people are afraid to invest in the stock market.
Here's a very interesting article about how anti-intellectualism is becoming the new elitism in which I am quoted.
In my many years in ski racing, first as a racer, then as a sport psych consultant, I have studied and tested what I believe are the most important mental contributors to ski racing success including motivation, confidence, focus, and emotions. But there is one that I have recognized quite recently as being really important, [...]
Genius doesn’t usually interest or impress me. My work in performance psychology has frequently exposed me to child prodigies and assorted other geniuses in academia, sports, and the performing arts, so perhaps I have become inured to the experience of people born with special talents. Also, I think genius is often overrated. I have known [...]