When you are an expert, you make things look easy.

I put this question to my panelists on this edition of ‘Quick Hits.’ Life coach Sara Oblak Speicher gave us an illuminating answer: “What comes easiest to you is what you should charge the most for.”

 

Clients want expertise. But they might presume that if expertise comes easily to you, then they might not need to spend too much on it. But they have to understand that time and situation-tested experience doesn’t come at a bargain.

 

Communications consultant Philip Tate gave us an Italian word that captures exactly what we’re giving: Sprezzatura. It means ‘graceful conduct or performance without apparent effort.’ No matter how easily or quickly we provide it, the client will get our expertise.

 

Mike Sicuranza, CEO of Affinity Wealth Management, also reminded us of those people who “have imposter syndrome and are afraid to charge what they’re actually worth.” We should always remember that our expertise can provide great value which deserves adequate compensation. If someone wants something for free, there’s no need to negotiate with them. Let them find someone who will do it for free.

 

What tips or tricks do you use to help your clients understand the value you provide?

 

Connect with the panelists:Philip Tate: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philiptateaprfellowprsa/

Sara Oblak Speicher, MBA: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saraospeicher/ 

Michael Sicuranza: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelsicuranza/

Dr Robyn Odegaard: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robynodegaard/

 

Want a summary of the Quick Hits I post every week, plus the links to the LinkedIn pages of each of the panelist to show up in your in-box every week? Just let me know where to send it: https://drrobynodegaard.com/quick-hits-notifications/

 

#QuickHits are designed to exercise your brain by letting you listen in on an unscripted conversation to get other people's thoughts on pertinent subjects. If you would like to join a conversation or have a topic you would like to hear discussed, please message me. https://www.DrRobynOdegaard.com

 

#QuickHits #Expertise #Value #Sprezzatura

If you were on the bus or in the grocery store and passed by someone speaking loudly on speaker phone, is it intrusive to offer them a thought about their conversation? Or has that person indirectly included you in their conversation?

 

I once read an article about a woman who works with deaf students. She had to explain to them that if you’re a hearing person, then hearing is not something you can choose to do. It’s like smelling - if there’s a smell in the room, you’re going to smell it. And I wonder sometimes if people realize that when they are so loud in a public space.

 

“We assume a sort of privacy if we’re around people we don’t know,” says Simon Cole, CEO of Amphora Research Systems and one my guests on this edition of Quick Hits.

 

“Some people just like to be heard,” added consultant Dr. Bob Choat. “There is that ego thing…But a lot of people are also not self-aware that this is happening and maybe if we let them know, we could help them to tone it down.”

 

Under what circumstances should we butt in? Are there times when it’s merited or does it always invite unnecessary conflict?

 

Career Polish founder Lisa McDonald suggested that it also matters whether the person you’ve overheard is having their conversation on the phone or with others physically around him. “If it’s in person, I’m more likely to butt in. But if it’s on the phone, I’m really good at pretending that I don’t hear things.”

 

I had a wonderful time discussing this tricky subject with these three brilliant minds. I hope you find our discussion engaging and enjoyable.

 

Are you likely to butt in or pretend you can’t hear?

 

Connect with the panelists:Lisa McDonald: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fearlesslisam/Dr. Bob Choat: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobchoat/

Simon Coles: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sjcoles/

Dr Robyn Odegaard: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robynodegaard/

 

Want a summary of the Quick Hits I post every week, plus the links to the LinkedIn pages of each of the panelist to show up in your in-box every week? Just let me know where to send it: https://drrobynodegaard.com/quick-hits-notifications/

 

#QuickHits are designed to exercise your brain by letting you listen in on an unscripted conversation to get other people's thoughts on pertinent subjects. If you would like to join a conversation or have a topic you would like to hear discussed, please message me. https://www.DrRobynOdegaard.com

 

#Quick Hits #Overhearing #LoudInPublic

Some of our friendships are very easy to maintain — each person gets an all-around good feeling from keeping contact with their friend.

 

But there are some relationships where the energy just fades. Keeping up the friendship becomes more work than it’s worth. At what point do you know that the friendship has run its course and no longer merits the effort to reach out to that person on a regular basis?

 

I put this sticky question to my guests on this edition of Quick Hits. They all had helpful insights into how we can navigate the difficult waters of an uneven friendship.

 

Diane Helbig, founder of Helbig Enterprises, told us that “I struggle with friends when I’m the only one making the effort.”

 

We all agreed that a worthwhile friendship is one in which both parties feel invested. As Jim Lee, a financial futurist at StratFi said, “The important thing about friendship is that we both reciprocate.”

 

If we no longer feel that the relationship is balanced, transformational coach Cami Travis-Groves, has some sage advice: “It’s up to you to do a little self-check to find out if you’re spending more energy than you’re getting back from the relationship.”

 

Have you ever struggled to stay in touch with friends? How and when did you decide to just let it go?

 

Connect with the panelists:James Lee: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jleeadvisor/

Cami Travis-Groves: https://www.linkedin.com/in/goodjujucami/

Diane Helbig: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dhelbig/Dr Robyn Odegaard: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robynodegaard/

 

Want a summary of the Quick Hits I post every week, plus the links to the LinkedIn pages of each of the panelist to show up in your in-box every week? Just let me know where to send it: https://drrobynodegaard.com/quick-hits-notifications/

 

#QuickHits are designed to exercise your brain by letting you listen in on an unscripted conversation to get other people's thoughts on pertinent subjects. If you would like to join a conversation or have a topic you would like to hear discussed, please message me. https://www.DrRobynOdegaard.com

 

#Friendship #StayInTouch #SelfCheck

Planning is definitely useful in both your personal and professional life. But how useful is it to plan for many years in the future? To what extent does it guide you to your goal and to what extent is it just sheer fantasizing?

 

I discussed this topic with my guests on this edition of Quick Hits — mastermind coach Lisa McDonald; speaker and entrepreneur Coach MJ Tolan; and business consultant Kevin Wash.

 

They all agreed that long term goals can be very useful, given a number of caveats, such as the personality of that person and the nature of the goal. Plus, we should always pay attention to how we’re developing and remember that our goals can change.

 

“There’s so much baggage around goal setting,” Lisa told us. “It’s important to recognize where you are and ask yourself, ‘Why do I want this?’”

 

“Be careful,” Coach MJ advised. “Don’t get me started on how many people go emotionally bankrupt by trying to have their business be the all-in of everything.”

 

Kevin Wash agreed, adding that we shouldn’t get too fixated on our goals because “sometimes what you want isn’t as good as you think it might be.”

 

Talking with these three great minds gave me a great deal of clarity on the nature of goal-setting and I hope it does the same for you.

 

That said, do you think long term goals are useful?

 

Connect with the panelists:Lisa McDonald: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fearlesslisam/

Coach M J Tolan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/motivationalspeakertolan/

Kevin Wash: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-wash-23b90915/Dr Robyn Odegaard: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robynodegaard/

 

Want a summary of the Quick Hits I post every week, plus the links to the LinkedIn pages of each of the panelist to show up in your in-box every week? Just let me know where to send it: https://drrobynodegaard.com/quick-hits-notifications/

 

#QuickHits are designed to exercise your brain by letting you listen in on an unscripted conversation to get other people's thoughts on pertinent subjects. If you would like to join a conversation or have a topic you would like to hear discussed, please message me. https://www.DrRobynOdegaard.com

 

#QuickHits #WorkGoals #LifeGoals #FiveYearPlan

The label has been printed and slapped on an envelope (it might even be on straight). The return address is also a label. There’s a card (maybe it has been signed?) and a printed letter summarizing their adventures for the year.

 

Or – it’s from a realtor you used seven years ago or met once at a networking event – you’re not even sure.

 

I really wonder about holiday cards. I happen to enjoy sending them. I hand write them and sign them from Russ, me and Nebby with a little doggie footprint stamp (yes even for clients).

 

But for people who aren’t that into it and just send them out en masse, I wondered if other people felt like I did. It’s nice. I don’t mind getting mail like that. But is that “worth it?”

 

What about electronic cards? Can you just send those via email?

 

Fortunately, John Yaworsky, Glady Baradaran and Brandon Mahoney were up to the challenge of taking on this (maybe touchy) subject and shared how they deal with sending and receiving cards.

 

What do you think of the holiday cards you receive and do you send any yourself?

Connect with the panelists:

John Yaworsky: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnyaworsky/ 

Glady Baradaran: https://www.linkedin.com/in/glady-baradaran-msc-od-6238071a/

Brandon Mahoney: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandoncmahoney/ 

Dr Robyn Odegaard: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robynodegaard/ 

 

Want a summary of the Quick Hits I post every week, plus the links to the LinkedIn pages of each of the panelist to show up in your in-box every week? Just let me know where to send it: https://drrobynodegaard.com/quick-hits-notifications/

 

#QuickHits are designed to exercise your brain by letting you listen in on an unscripted conversation to get other people's thoughts on pertinent subjects. If you would like to join a conversation or have a topic you would like to hear discussed, please message me. https://www.DrRobynOdegaard.com

 

#holidays #networking #christmas

My guests on this edition of Quick Hits all have extensive experience as innovators, consultants and business leaders. They have dealt with a lot of managers over the course of their careers. Since our greatest lessons can sometimes come from our worst experiences, I wanted to know what they learned from the bad managers and mentors they’ve encountered along the way.

 

On Point Partners CEO Gary Fredericks told us about one of his first managers on Wall Street who would dismiss his ideas before passing them off as her own. “I learned pretty quickly that I needed to have confidence in myself and my abilities to make sure that my ideas stay with me.”

 

Stewart Wiggins, a fractional COO at Induna Advisors, told us that “The one thing I’ve learned from every person that you might consider a bad manager is exactly what I don’t want to be…The worst managers always want to blame someone else. No matter how bad the situation is, I will stand up and say I’ll take responsibility.”

 

We all agreed that if you find yourself working under a bad manager, you will be happier if you pack up and go somewhere else rather than try to improve that manager. As scientist and serial entrepreneur Dr. Mohan Ananda told us, “It’s very hard to change people…if the manager is dishonest or lacks integrity, you don’t try to change them. You walk away from them.”

 

What have you learned from a bad manager that benefited you?

 

Connect with the panelists:

Stewart Wiggins: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stewart-wiggins/

Gary Fredericks: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garyfredericks/

Dr. Mohan Ananda: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mohanananda/

Dr Robyn Odegaard: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robynodegaard/

 

Want a summary of the Quick Hits I post every week, plus the links to the LinkedIn pages of each of the panelist to show up in your in-box every week? Just let me know where to send it: https://drrobynodegaard.com/quick-hits-notifications/

 

#QuickHits are designed to exercise your brain by letting you listen in on an unscripted conversation to get other people's thoughts on pertinent subjects. If you would like to join a conversation or have a topic you would like to hear discussed, please message me. https://www.DrRobynOdegaard.com

 

#BadManagers #LifeLessons #Business

It can hard to recognize that the “status quo” in your life just isn’t for you — we all get used to our default routines and convince ourselves that our lives are limited to fixed possibilities. But sometimes we get an itch inside that tells us we need to have something more. Once you’ve resolved to obtain it — whatever it is — how do you go about doing so?

 

My guests all have admirable experience recognizing and transforming their status quo. I asked them to share a bit of their insights on this edition of Quick Hits.

 

Multimedia journalist Daisy Cedeño told us about how she pursued her career despite resistance from her parents: “You have to first be uncomfortable with the status quo. When something is bothering you, you feel uncomfortable, you’re not at peace, that’s when you realize, ‘I am not in a place where I’m growing.’”

 

Healthcare expert Dr. Laura Dowling agreed with that definition of the status quo: “It means no learning or growing is happening…I escape that dead zone by learning something new, trying something that I’ve never tried before or challenging myself to do a little better in a particular area.”

 

Ian Hendry, the owner of Elevated Elements, shared with us about how he was able to grow his business, despite starting it at the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic: “Fear of no money coming or how long it might take was a huge thing. But to get where you want to go, sometimes you have to take that leap.

 

Or as recovering academic Dr. Cole Galloway beautifully summed up: “You have the power to co-create.”

 

I so enjoyed speaking to and learning from these four great minds.

 

How do you recognize and escape the status quo? 

 

Connect with the panelists:Daisy Cedeño MS:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/daisy-cede%C3%B1o-ms/

Ian Hendry: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ian-robert-hendry/

Cole Galloway, PT, PhD: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cole-galloway-1ba715107/

Dr. Laura Dowling: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-dowling-dm/

Dr Robyn Odegaard: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robynodegaard/

 

Want a summary of the Quick Hits I post every week, plus the links to the LinkedIn pages of each of the panelist to show up in your in-box every week? Just let me know where to send it: https://drrobynodegaard.com/quick-hits-notifications/

 

#QuickHits are designed to exercise your brain by letting you listen in on an unscripted conversation to get other people's thoughts on pertinent subjects. If you would like to join a conversation or have a topic you would like to hear discussed, please message me. https://www.DrRobynOdegaard.com

 

#QuickHits #StatusQuo #GoForIt

This is one of those saying you hear “inspirational” speakers say. And people nod their heads like, “Yep that’s right.” But what does it actually mean?

 

I asked Jim Lee, a financial futurist at StratFI, and Dr. Jessie Carrie, a senior scientist at the Idaho National Lab for their thoughts. We all agreed that it’s OK to push through that feeling, because we can only improve through failure.

 

Jessie — who recently leg-pressed 790 pounds! — told us that, “You really can’t grow without being uncomfortable. You have to always learn new things and be open to failure and making mistakes.”

 

We also agreed that we have to, as Jim put it, “Fail survivably. If it doesn’t work out, have a Plan B.” It’s one thing to be uncomfortable being uncomfortable, but it’s another thing to be comfortable failing. We want to avoid swinging to that side of the pendulum.

 

The three of us had a fun and fascinating conversation about how to do that in business and in life. Listen in and let us know what you think this saying means.

 

Connect with the panelists:James Lee: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jleeadvisor/

Dr Jesse Carrie: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jesse-carrie-70765036/

Dr Robyn Odegaard: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robynodegaard/

 

Want a summary of the Quick Hits I post every week, plus the links to the LinkedIn pages of each of the panelist to show up in your in-box every week? Just let me know where to send it: https://drrobynodegaard.com/quick-hits-notifications/

 

#QuickHits are designed to exercise your brain by letting you listen in on an unscripted conversation to get other people's thoughts on pertinent subjects. If you would like to join a conversation or have a topic you would like to hear discussed, please message me. https://www.DrRobynOdegaard.com

 

#QuickHits #Uncomfortable #FailBetter

All group discussions need a facilitator — otherwise they’ll inevitably go off the rails. And performing that function on Zoom can be a completely different ball game than doing so in person. There are a whole host of different tools at your disposal, as my guest, Better Conversations founder CEO Simon Coles, shared:

 

“In Zoom you can set yourself up with a flip chart and write the person’s contribution down…flip charts are a pain in the neck logistically, but writing people’s thoughts down makes them feel heard.”

 

The chat box also creates extra room to guide the conversation without outright cutting off another speaker.

 

“I really appreciate the chat box,” says Grand Canyon University professor Dr. Rhonda Bompensa-Zimmerman. “You can start to steer the ship beforehand and give them a heads up that you’re going to switch topics."

 

There are, of course, headaches on Zoom as well. For example, if someone has joined on their phone, they won’t be able to see the other speakers and will miss their body language and real-time reactions. To make a Zoom conversation flow well, the same principles apply as those of any conversation. My guest, dementia prevention coach Alexi Bracy, puts it clearly and succinctly: “Show empathy.”

 

How do you interrupt someone who is going on too long or in an unnecessary direction on Zoom?

 

Connect with the panelists:Dr. Rhonda Bompensa-Zimmerman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-rhonda-bompensa-zimmerman-138aa3b/

Alexi Bracey: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexi-bracey-34935a7/

Simon Coles: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sjcoles/

Dr Robyn Odegaard: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robynodegaard/

 

Want a summary of the Quick Hits I post every week, plus the links to the LinkedIn pages of each of the panelist to show up in your in-box every week? Just let me know where to send it: https://drrobynodegaard.com/quick-hits-notifications/

 

#QuickHits are designed to exercise your brain by letting you listen in on an unscripted conversation to get other people's thoughts on pertinent subjects. If you would like to join a conversation or have a topic you would like to hear discussed, please message me. https://www.DrRobynOdegaard.com

 

#Zoom #Interrupting #BetterConversations

When you realize a new hire is not a good fit, or you aren't fitting with your new job, you can often go back and pick out the red flags from the interview process.

It could be that the culture of the organization just does not match their personality. It could be that the candidate was just good at BS-ing their answers. It could be that the interviewer’s questions did not properly consider what purpose that open role is meant to serve.

 

That’s why the interviewer not only has to ask the right questions, but set the right priorities in the interview process. In order to find the right fit, they have to understand what “fit” means for their organization.

 

How do you do that? And what are those priorities?

 

I put this question to my guests on this edition of Quick Hits, all of whom have extensive experience with the hiring process. They are: Michael Vincent, co-host of What the Truck podcast; Gary Fredericks, CEO of On Point Partners; and Terri Hill, co-creator of the Emerging Entrepreneurs Academy. It was a joy and a pleasure to get some insight into their thinking. I hope you find it engaging and helpful.

 

What red flags have you missed during an interview, from either side of the table?

Connect with the panelists:

Terri Hill: https://www.linkedin.com/in/terri-hill-b2915a8/

Michael Vincent: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelvincent01/

Gary Fredericks: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garyfredericks/

Dr Robyn Odegaard: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robynodegaard/

 

Want a summary of the Quick Hits I post every week, plus the links to the LinkedIn pages of each of the panelist to show up in your in-box every week? Just let me know where to send it: https://drrobynodegaard.com/quick-hits-notifications/

 

#QuickHits are designed to exercise your brain by letting you listen in on an unscripted conversation to get other people's thoughts on pertinent subjects. If you would like to join a conversation or have a topic you would like to hear discussed, please message me. https://www.DrRobynOdegaard.com

#JobInterviews #HiringProcess #GoodFit