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SUCCESS TIPS

 

2nd Quarter 2007 CEO LifeMentor Success Tip
Ask your Partners what you can do to help them, and let them help you.  All of us have extra overload days, weeks, or months that are incredibly hard to successfully manage. These drain us. Even a desired, yet difficult client or unexpected situation adds a heavier load to handle.  Often just a bit of help and relief gives us that extra breath to truly achieve our goals.   You may only be able to give a moment of compassion and moral support.  Look for opportunities. Your Partnership and you will soar the more everyone does it! Talk with Rosalinda about your confidential partnership and practice development consulting and retreat options.

I wish you well. For more success, you can reach Rosalinda O'Neill at 1.888.99.MENTOR or Rosalinda@ceolifementor.com.

2nd Quarter 2005 CEO LifeMentor Success Tip
You magnify your own success when you give away the wisdom you have gained in becoming successful. When you pass on that wisdom to others without thought of personal gain, you create a lasting earthly legacy, helping others to build their own success and magnifying your own.

In June 2004, I started a Rosalinda O’Neill Future Leaders Scholarship at
El Camino Real High School in Los Angeles, California. I knew the US National Academic Decathlon Winners’ high school would be a good source for students
who worked to achieve success with counselors and teachers who did their
part for them. My Scholarship has a sizeable annual cash award towards
college expenses at any college for any serious course of study. I also
award the winners on-going non-fee “mentoring” by me. This is one of my investments in the future and I dedicate a percentage of my company profits
to fund it.

My 2004 winner went to UCSB and has completed her first year with many
honors. My two 2005 winners are going to UC Berkeley and Kenyon College
in Ohio. All three well-mannered young people were leaders in their high
school, community, and families. They wrote 1200 word essays that got my attention and they were even more impressive in person.

In May 1968, a month before I graduated from Miami Edison (Florida) Senior
High School, my counselor and teacher Elizabeth Hach gave me an application
for the John F. Kennedy Teaching Scholarship. Mrs. Hach told me to fill out the papers and bring them back the next day. I obeyed. Busy with school and
family commitments, I had no previous thoughts of college, though my
grandmother was a master’s level college graduate.

Of course, I got the JFK scholarship. I then went onto University of Miami
(Florida) for a BBA in Finance, Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles
for a Masters in Counseling Psychology, became a California Licensed
Marriage Family Therapist, and have had my own California-based national corporate consulting mentoring company and practice since 1979. I am still
Betty Hach’s star graduate and will see her soon at her 60th Wedding
Anniversary celebration. She is one of my mentors and a lovely human who
chairs the State of Florida Retired Teacher’s Scholarship Program and is
active in her church and community.

I created my future leaders scholarship to honor Betty Hach’s contribution to
me and begin to formally help others in a similar way. In just two graduating
classes I have been given new stimulating relationships with young people
who live to enjoy learning, life and contribute to others. Their enthusiasm
has given me new ideas and enriched my life greatly, and we have just begun
this journey. I expect many of my scholarship winners will teach me more about leadership, responsibility, and success.

This summer my 2004 and 2005 winners, in paid summer internships with me,
are assisting me in developing a Success Skills for Girls Seminar Program.
We will make it affordable for every young girl and young woman to learn the
skills to become successful, in any field of study or walk of life. Think about
how you can or do give back your wisdom. Enjoy how your life is enriched.
It might be mentoring an employee at your business, a young person, or
anyone. Please let me hear your stories of your way of giving back and your
rewards from doing so.
Click here to view our 2005 Award’s Night pictures.

I wish you well. Let me know when I can help at Rosalinda@ceolifementor.com.

1st Quarter 2005 CEO LifeMentor Success Tip

Success & Commanding
Your success depends upon your ability to be a successful Commander.
Managing or telling your vice-presidents or managers what you want them
to do succeeds only if they respect you. Your wisdom, your preferences, your
style, your presence in your position: must all be recognized as powerful and deserving of their best efforts and devotion. This applies to whatever position
of leadership you are in: CEO, GM, VP, manager, attorney, CPA, doctor, etc.
When your direct reports are frequently undependable and questionable to
you, you are not their Commander. You are just their boss. You, and they, will
fail because of this. You must change it.

You are the head of your company, firm or department. You are the head that
wags the tail of the dog. You need your people to give their commitment, energy
and wisdom to support the goals of your command, and to do that with their
direct reports. Just like an armed forces regiment, you demand dependability,
results and teamwork.

  • Lead with a mix of discipline, mentoring, patience, respect, and teamwork. Graciously demand accountability, dignity, and support from them. Give it
    to them as you give them your wise counsel and resources.
  • When mistakes happen, discuss them respectfully. Humiliation and punishment destroy creativity and devotion. You need both from them.
    Hold them accountable for demonstrating they understand how the mistake happened and their part. Reprimand sparingly.
  • They may be argumentative or otherwise sabotaging of others. If they are sabotaging below you, they are sabotaging you.

Become a Commander. Strengthen your success and develop a greater
competitive edge as:
1) Reports and responses to your other requests are turned in on time, and accurately.
2) You are kept updated on critical information on HR, customer/client and all operational matters.
3) Your counsel is sought when concerns or difficulties begin to develop, not
after a crisis occurs.

As a CEO, or person in another position of responsibility, you earn respect as Commander as you:
A) Hold yourself to high standards of conduct, ethics and work practices.
B) Keep yourself accurately and currently informed, and model desired behaviors.
C) Excel at confrontational, informed and results-oriented collaborative leadership.

I wish you well. Let me know when I can help at Rosalinda@ceolifementor.com.

4th Quarter 2004 CEO LifeMentor Tip

Tough At The Top
It will always be tough at the top for those of us who
want to achieve success in our business and professional life. It is even tougher
when you add having a personal and family life on top of taking care of our health. There is not enough time in anyone's day to do it all. Here are a few of the secrets that keep us going, achieving, and having joy and satisfaction in the process:

1. Remember you are the "Gate Keeper" of your day and your life. Look seriously
at your options, plan and prioritize all of your activities on one schedule: daily, weekly, monthly, etc. Include your personal, fitness and other activities with your business schedule. Put it on your daily calendar in the time of day you plan to do it and how much time you think it will take to get done. Without planning, we either do not achieve even the simplest thing or we add unneeded difficulties or stress.

2. Look around you. Who and what do you have around you that is helping you succeed in the life you want to live? What additional resources, personnel or IT or ???, do you need to meet your expectations? Do not be cheap with yourself
here. Your success does depend upon those around you. Reduce or eliminate
those elements of your life that take away from your peace of mind, clear thinking, and productivity. Be honest and gently ruthless. You will get things done if you are supported and not undermined. Delegate as much as you can but have good people to whom to delegate and depend upon.

3. Take care of your body. Get some rest and relaxation. We are human and we need to take care of this physical body if we are to function well. A car gets the
right maintenance, care, fuel, and handling. We know everything has limits. Even
though I regularly work out, walk my dog and do other forms of taking care of my physical health, I still have times where I think I can skip that workout so I can get something else done. If I keep that up, I find my back starts to complain and only my return to my fitness routine gets me in balance again and better able to
succeed. Fitness is good for problem solving and clear thinking. Do things that you enjoy or just do something. Don't wait for an illness or it might be too late.

The secret is, it NEVER ends. There will never be enough time to do all you want
to do right now. However, if you plan and pace yourself out, you can win the
Triple Crown of your life's race. I hope you end up with blue ribbons, smiles,
and pride in how you live your life and the people you love. I am a believer in
having it all. Being successful and enjoying life is one of the ways I define power
and success. Good luck and let me know if I can help at
Rosalinda@ceolifementor.com. I wish you well.

CEO LifeMentor August and September 2004 Tip
Multi-tasking is a habit we all do to some degree. New data shows we need to modify how much we multi-task if we want to be powerful and successful, and not undermine ourselves. Forgetfulness, stress, and accidents are just a few of the downside results of multi-tasking. After reading the data I made a few
modifications and noticed they were right. Imagine that.

In particular, I reduced the number of things I do at one time. I am also taking
time to recharge my batteries and allow my brain to have the rest it needs to keep up with me. A little seems to go a long way. With these changes I am less stressed, know who I am calling and am more relaxed when I make a business or personal call. On a daily basis I remind myself to slow down now so I will be at
my full mental strength thirty years from now. My grandfather died of Altzheimer's Disease when I was only 40 and I know how traumatic dementia is for everyone. I have a great personal and professional life with a wonderful husband, family, home and business world. I already take care of myself quite well physically with decades of low-fat eating and exercising. I want to retain the richness of my creativity, personality and thought in the lovely world in which I live. I see where too much multi-tasking is a detriment to the quality of life as we want it to be.

Work and LifeBalance is a main area of my work with CEOs and others who want to live and enjoy powerful and successful lives. As I am a strong believer in taking charge of our lives, I am attaching this article for your review. Please let me know how it helped you at Rosalinda@ceolifementor.com. I wish you well.

CEO LifeMentor June and July 2004 Tip
Success is not Leadership. I see many individuals and companies succeed, at least temporarily. I see few with good leadership for lasting success. The skill and talent required to be a good leader can be learned by most, but not all.
Business reports of losses in earnings and marketshare, and talent leaving, are evidence of poor leadership. A leader with subordinates who are failing or disgruntled as a group is a poor leader. A smart leader wants lasting success for themself and their company. They do whatever it takes to become the leader their company or firm requires. Sometimes the leader's problem is being too nice. You deserve people who work for you who are capable, dependable and
responsible, and don't cause you problems that take away from productivity and profitability.

No CEO or other senior executive can achieve the success they are capable of without subordinates who can lead. Think about how much time and productivity
loss they cost you this week. Your subordinates are the greatest sign of your
abilities and good subordinates welcome the opportunity to do better. Just like
you do. Make this one of your top priorities and you will have less stress and do
more of what you like to do. That new marketing or production idea cannot be
achieved unless your company works like a champion.

People management nightmares don't get better without changes in
management skills. Confront this in a gracious, respectful and responsible manner. Get a leadership coach and team building training program started that does not interfere with productivity. The talent you have around you will shine through and people will work together better than you dreamed they could. You will be more successful. I guarantee it.

One international corporation introduced CEO LifeMentor's work with these lines as part of their introductory communique : "We must evolve and change to remain successful in an extremely competitive marketplace. Of course, it is never as
simple as just saying it. Always with change come new challenges connected with doing things differently and making new habits an everyday practice. We are beginning a process to provide employees with the proper tools to manage change and be more successful. This will serve as a common foundation for everyone at
XYZ to better understand our business challenges, overcome resistance to change, clear up the myths about change, and then ultimately to become an agent of change.
"

A privately held manufacturing corporation's President told their senior
management "We know there are problems with how things are run here.
I know I'm part of the problem and I have to change. We all need to change.
We are going to work with Rosalinda to find out how we can better work together
to continue to be successful. We will all participate and learn.
"

Our website has some publications you might want to read.
For more information call Rosalinda at 818.222.5469 or email
Rosalinda@ceolifementor.com .

CEO LifeMentor April and May 2004 Tip
Eliminate your stress and raise profits! What problem are you facing today that
puts you over the edge? Don't get overwhelmed and you will solve the problem
with less stress, and you will gain more power and respect. CEOs and department heads, lawyers and CPAs, every one of us has days when we are faced with serious problems and frustrations. You can win or you can get mad. You want success, so choosing to win is your choice. Turn these problems into opportunities for your success. Let your team assist you and free yourself to do other things.

The men and women who report directly to you are your Team. You will be much less stressed and more successful if you do the following:
1) Identify the problem and call in your Team to create solutions you are proud to deliver.
2) Discuss, calmly and creatively, what the goals and problems are as you see it. Never intimidate.
3) Ask them for their input and perspective, and treat everyone's comments with respect. Never bully.
4) Write out all the steps and prioritize them, using everyone's contribution to
create a team commitment.

5) Give your Team members the authority, resources, and support needed to
carry out their tasks. Your success is truly the result of their success.

6) Always be receptive and respectful of the need to change strategy. Show
winning leadership.

Do the above six steps and you will enjoy your leadership role much more. You will also create more loyalty, earn more respect, and be more successful. Guaranteed. For more support for your success call 1.888.99.MENTOR or email Rosalinda@ceolifementor.com.

CEO LifeMentor March 2004 Tip
The "Talent Drain" is a key indicator of a leader's effectiveness and determines
their success. Boards of Directors, the Press, and many others have begun to
realize this. Bottom line, if you don't lead so as to retain the talent in your firm you will not be successful. It is a constant top priority for everyone.

The leader of an accounting or law partnership, corporation or department determines who is put in positions. You want them to succeed and you do your best to choose someone who will succeed. It is better for you when they do.

So what do you do to contribute to their success? What kind of boss are you?
Would you succeed and be happy in that position yourself with a boss like you? Would you be a committed contributing player that could state the truth about
what you know, let alone believe in your gut? That is what you want from everyone you hire and work with. That is the way you maximize your success potential, and theirs. These skills can be learned. You can read books or
learn skills from an expert.

The first step is to accept your requirement to commit to being the best you can be in your leadership opportunities. That may sound hoaky but it is true.
You get these opportunities every day, many times a day, with people within your company and outside like clients and vendors. The personality and substance of all entities starts at the core. You, as the leader, are the role model and seed from which all others develop. It is that way with our DNA and why we blame or credit the head coach when a football or baseball team loses or wins. It is that way with leadership.

CEO LifeMentor February 2004 Tip
As leaders you require power and respect from your subordinates whether they are vice-presidents, partners in the firm, or department clerks. You fail without this and only you can create it. How and when did you ever have it? How do you get it?

The simple answer is you inspire the men and women who report to you to give
you this required power and respect. You cannot command it from them. You must deserve it. A new President, law firm partner, or department manager is given the benefit of the belief. They want you to deserve their gifts of power and respect. Do you? Can you?

If you are struggling as a leader, or professional, you are experiencing less stability and success than you desire. Look at yourself first. How and when are you creating opportunities for your people to have power, respect and success? What you give them comes back to you manifold. Go slowly and rebuild yourself and your team into champions of your industry or profession. Lead and nurture
your talent and you will win. Everyone at your firm will win.

CEO LifeMentor January 2004 Tip
Leadership doesn't have to be so hard all the time, even though leadership is often about making hard decisions. Make 2004 easier, less stressful and more profitable.

List six things you do in your leadership role to inspire the men and women directly reporting to you to be more accountable, constructive and productive. These individuals contribute strongly to your well-being and success, or stress and failure, as they frustrate, satisfy or exceed your expectations.

Rate yourself on how well you communicate your expectations, feedback and priorities. Rate your people on how well they meet these expectations. Be receptive to how they would rate you. Develop a constructive and realistic action plan geared to improving the ratings. You'll be less stressed, more successful and enjoy your leadership role as President or Managing Partner much more. This applies to all levels of authority and leadership in a partnership or organization.
Get success from this exercise by being constructive, honest and realistic.