Author: Jen Wilfong

Jen Wilfong Lake Worth Beach, FL Carmel, IN
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365 Coaching Tips: 97th, 98th and 99th

April 7th Coaching Tip: Portal Positives.

Last night, the Florida Gators men’s basketball team won the NCAA championship in an intense battle against a very strong Univ. of Houston team. Give the staff and these players some credit for winning this championship, as they were down 12 points, stayed focused, and only had the lead for just over a minute in the 40 minute contest. Florida added a number of pieces to their team from some smaller schools: most outstanding tourney player (Mark Clayton) formerly played for the tiny Iona Gaels. Another “strong as an ox” guard, A. Martin, came from Florida Atlantic Univ, and he also played in the Final Four last year. Surrounded by them was a 6’10” sophomore from Nigeria, by way of Washington State. W. Richard, a senior from Belmont University, was a starting guard. One of their backup centers transferred in from Marshall Univ.

There’s a lot of complaining about the transfer portal due to the amount of players in it. I totally get that, it’s excessive and the poor timing of opening the portal during the NCAA tourney are both valid complaints. However, in our family, we have a belief in “betting on yourself” and five of the players who played for Florida last night did indeed bet on themselves. They were under recruited, went to smaller schools, developed and got better…and transferred. They came together under a new, young coach, on a sunny Florida campus in Gainesville, trained hard, molded together, and won on college’s biggest stage. Instead of complaining about the portal in college sports or that there’s “no talent in the workplace”, challenge yourself to go out and embrace the talent that is out there. It’s there, and so many positives are in the portal. As a leader, it’s your responsibility to bring together and lead talent who know your vision and embrace it, know their well-defined role, and then allow them to soar!

April 8th Coaching Tip: Three S’s.

Coached a group of new advisors, who are making 25 to 35 outbound calls per day to leads that are provided from another part of the enterprise, i.e. they are already clients. These new advisors were in a bit of a lull and needed a bit of a pick-me-up session. After introductions of these four advisors and myself, they shared what are they most proud of. Then we discussed what are they struggling with and what’s creating the lull. After hearing their examples, we dug in a lot more and they identified that they couldn’t get people to make a decision. Delays by the clients were their “competition”. Another problem is that few of their calls are being answered, so they feel like they are just leaving voicemails.

We practiced what they are saying (script) to the clients and how they are leaving voicemails. I then asked them about their timing: when are they making these calls and leaving voicemails. After some practice, we landed on the 3 S’s: slow the script down a lil bit and do it with a smile. Yes, Slow down, personalize the Script just a bit, and have the client feel your Smile thru the phone or voice message.

April 9th Coaching Tip: Be Prepared.

Met with a team that I had never worked with before and it went great. Why? Because I really prepped BEFORE meeting with them. It actually felt like I knew their numbers as well as they did, and some of the key numbers, I knew well and they felt it. Because of that, our scheduled 30 minute “intro” meeting quickly turned into a very valuable 45-minute meeting, that was “informative, productive, forward looking, helpful” (their words describing our intro meeting). We were able to prioritize six items that they were willing to get to work on and we will have an accountability checkup in 90 days.

After the meeting, the son of the founder stayed and asked it I had a few more minutes. He realized that we both grew up around horses, so he really wanted to talk about it. He thanked me for being prepped; he said he quickly realized and said to himself, “she’s no joke, she knows our numbers!” We went from not knowing one another to having an action plan and a common horse connection…all because of prep. Be prepared; it’s appreciated.

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365 Coaching Tips: 94th, 95th & 96th

April 4th Coaching Tip: Leadership Standards.

Had the opportunity today to coach the lead advisor, on a medium sized team, who is expecting others on his team to step up. He indicated that they just haven’t stepped up for years. I pushed him for examples, and he shared that as he travels, his advisor colleague is not coming into the office. Two of his assistants are not getting their registrations done, and those opportunities to get registered are about to expire. One of his assistants is calling in sick frequently. Another junior advisor is not giving the lead advisor an update on his weekly activity.

After listening to all of these examples, I asked him to share his leadership standards. He paused, and sarcastically said the word: accountability. And I proceeded to ask more about accountability and who can help him drive the accountability (because it is obviously not working with him). He is going to begin leveraging his new business manager/operations manager. His business manager already is setting standards: No means no. Yes means yes. She is explaining the difference to the team members, holding one on one’s, setting up smaller team meetings, tracking key metrics in her first 30 days on the team, and beginning to deploy simple leadership standards. Have standards, and as a leader, implement them.

April 5th Coaching Tip: Go See It.

It was going to be 3.5 hours of driving, but I chose to go visit the farm that my grandfather bought over 50 years ago. Since I was already in the Tampa area for the Women’s Final Four, I had Saturday with a few hours of free time and called my mom and told her I was going up to Ocala to see it. Glad I did. I was able to connect quickly with the neighbor (to help keep the relationship positive and reciprocal). I texted with the tenant farmer. I walked the property and noticed a few things that need to be addressed, per our land lease. On the way back to Tampa, I got to have a quick chat with a friend who was nearby (those spontaneous and quick diet Coke conversations are worth it). I could have easily convinced myself NOT to go on this drive; but so glad I did. Warm weather and a convertible made the ride pleasant too, especially when the interstate got backed up and I took an alternate route thru the country…which took me by a locally owned farmstead that had an attractive farmstand. Of course, I had to buy that mixed berry pie, a big bag of oranges, two containers of blueberries, etc. because my friends and I were having ice cream sundaes and pie later that evening. As I returned to Tampa, my friends asked how was my trip. I pleasantly responded that I was so glad I went. It’s easy to say no, but “Just go see it!”

April 6th Coaching Tip: Momentum Changes.

UConn women’s basketball won its record setting 12th national championship this evening, beating South Carolina by 23 points, 82-59. Although UConn had been up by 15 points in the 3rd quarter, the UConn coach (Geno Auriemma) calmly and quickly called a timeout with 3:12 remaining, with UConn up 50-39. Geno sensed something, and it could have been that one of the SC players (MiLaysia Fulwiley) was subbed in and quickly made an impact with a rebound, made a shot, blocked a UConn shot, grabbed a steal, and had an assist for another teammate’s score. Geno was NOT going to let these momentum changing plays by this SC player continue; he was having no part of it, no way. He called the timeout to help slow the game down. I watched him closely. He didn’t even go into the huddle; he let the players talk. This timeout worked. UConn regained the momentum and they were leading by 16 points at the 2:33 mark. In less than one minute, the UConn lead increased from 11 to 16 points. Momentum changes happen on the court and in your life. How are you taking quick timeouts to evaluate what is happening?

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365 Coaching Tips: 91st, 92nd and 93rd

April 1st Coaching Tip: Ask For An Exception.

Recently I was working with an advisor who is three to four months from announcing his retirement. He received a major curve ball: his succession plan (with a female advisor that has been his business partner for more than 13 years) is in limbo. The female advisor now faces an existential health situation. It’s drastic for her and also is creating havoc for the soon to-be retiring advisor. After we discussed this tragic situation, we thoughtfully started discussing options. By the end of our very important and focused call, we had identified seven options. And the 7th option ended up being “ask for an exception to the policy.” He’s now working the details on that option, because as he says, desperate times require desperate actions. He’s going to ask for the exception; my bet is that he will get it due to his story and prep, and his relationship with leadership.

April 2nd Coaching Tip: Isolating “T” Words

As the workday wrapped up on April 2nd, threatening weather with severe thunderstorms and tornadoes scattered from Dallas, TX to Toronto, Canada. And in Indiana, there were multiple sightings and touchdowns of tornadoes within one mile of our rental homes in Carmel, IN. But before all of this threatening weather started occurring around 8pm, the United States announced new and higher tariffs, after the stock market closed. There was an immediate and thunderous loss in the markets across the globe. Lots of “T” words, that can and will drive anxiety, fear, anger, and isolation. Think of how when a tornado is nearby, we quickly move to isolate inside in a safety room/basement/closet. When thunderstorms arrive, we tend to get inside, too. When tariffs are announced, this tends to drive isolation by countries…self-preservation versus decades of collaboration.

April 3rd Coaching Tip: Hopeful “T” Words

Today, I’m thankful that none of my friends, family, and rental homes were impacted by the tornadoes in Central Indiana last evening. It’s Taco Thursday and Thirsty Thursday, so let’s make it through the day to celebrate an upcoming weekend. With the tariff announcements came a sell off of the stock market; this timing might just be a good time to jump in the market and buy when prices are lower. I sure took advantage of it!

How YOU respond to daily and weekly announcements, happenings and untimely realities that impact your world is on YOU. It’s YOUR decision. Your attitude and how you respond will be remembered by others, but more importantly, it will help you be resilient thru these times.

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365 Coaching Tips: 88th, 89th & 90th

March 29th Coaching Tip: 2.8 Seconds.

My uncle texted me and said, “looks like overtime!” He was assuming that 2.8 seconds wasn’t enough time for the University of Houston to score and beat Purdue. After a timeout, both teams came out on the court, Houston got the ball under their basket. All Purdue has to do is defend well, since the score is tied. Official hands the ball to the Houston inbounder. He ball fakes, makes the Purdue defense move, and then he waits even longer to survey his 3-4 options, and right in front of him a few feet away, is his open teammate. He throws a perfect pass to his center, then the inbounder expertly jumps inbounds, and the center throws a perfect pass…right back to that inbounder and Houston scored. Game over, Houston wins by two points, and only 0.8 second left on the clock.

What happened to allow Houston to make not one but two passes? A complete breakdown by the Purdue defense and perfect execution that had been practiced numerous times by Houston. The Purdue defender who was guarding the inbounder actually turned his head AWAY from that inbounder who had the ball and was then consumed with the other players moving. Then two other Purdue players didn’t switch well on defense, which allowed the two passes and the shot to be made. Know your job and do it. Had Purdue better defended the inbounder, the result most likely would have been “overtime”. A lot can be accomplished in 2.8 seconds.

March 30th Coaching Tip: That Letter “C”

Met with one of the largest advisors in the firm today, and after approximately five hours together, we landed on a list of 8-10 items as next steps. She has a team of 10 teammates, and seven to eight are highly committed and talented. The remaining two to three are not as committed or not as talented. We identified next steps, which revolved around words that begin with the letter “C”.

Improve the team Culture. Interview 100% of the team’s Colleagues, to help drive Cohesiveness. Increase Capacity by Coaching up under-performing teammates. Recognize Collaboration and equalization of workload. Segment the Clients. Identify a future Chief Operating Officer (COO). Review the team and individual Compensation. Bottom line: as meetings are happening every single day, how will you summarize it for easier and clearer understanding? I chose to embrace letters or words, so that recall is clearer. Go C’s!

March 31st Coaching Tip: Consider It A Gift

Consider it a gift when someone is asking for time with you. They are willing to share something with you that’s very important to them, and they are entrusting you with this information, insight, advice, or problem.

Recently, I had a popular person (so called, “public figure”) reach out to me and say that she wanted to run an idea by me. She asked when I was available, and we got that on our calendars. But the most important thing that I noticed was that she didn’t want to text the topic. That is a clear indication to me that it’s important, new, or highly confidential. The fact that she is entrusting me to discuss it is truly a gift. When we meet soon, my whole goal is to stay present and truly listen, remain curious, and have zero of my own intentions cloud or confuse my ability to listen. Consider it a gift, when someone needs your presence.

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365 Coaching Tips: 85th, 86th and 87th

March 26th Coaching Tip: Find The Yes.

Too many of my coaching conversations revolve around people’s frustration from being told “no” or “nope, can’t do that” or “no way”. For example, today I had two different leaders being told that they can NOT hire additional employees. Instead of just settling with the answer that they are hearing of “no”, I coached them to figure out how can they get a “yes, you can hire”. As we looked thru their business, it was evident that their competitive metrics as compared to others were quite average, i.e. 40-50% on a 1-100% scale vs. their competition. And then as we dug deeper, these realized that their development of a current newer hire has not gone as expected, and that person is job-failing. My coaching question was pointed: “what do you own in getting the answer of, “no (to a new hire)”? After some silence, the leader admitted that he hadn’t run his business like he was intending. And after some more intentional questions from me and answers from him, we developed a monthly accountability plan for him to run his business better and to more intentionally develop his teammates. Time will tell, but I hope that this coaching will help him find the yes.

March 27th Coaching Tip: Don’t Rain…

Don’t rain on other people’s parade. When someone is really excited about something that they deeply care about and are telling you all about it, listen, smile, and celebrate with them. Whether you like it or not, it is important to THEM. Be curious, ask questions, learn more about them and their “parade”, and they will think you are a rockstar. Why? Because you listened to them and didn’t rain on their parade. For example, my oldest brother and mother own harness horses together and love to talk and share about their horses, race results, and the new baby foals. All I have to do is listen, ask questions, and then celebrate their successes…or be empathetic when things don’t go well. For example, recently one of their favorite mares died as it was having a baby foal, and the foal died, too. They were grieving, and so we all started sharing photos of this super special, winning racehorse when she was winning, training, and enjoying time in the pasture. Don’t Rain on other people’s parades. Just don’t.

March 28th Coaching Tip: End of Quarter.

How did your quarter go? This was a question that was asked every single 90 days when I worked as a leader at Caterpillar. Same thing now happens at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch. Let me ask you: How was your quarter? What did you intentionally get accomplished? What slid and didn’t get executed to meet your expectation? What are you most proud of? What is the biggest disappointment? How did your personal goals progress? How did you celebrate others’ goals? Who on your team developed?

This evening, we just intentionally had dinner outside and talked about what we are proud of since the beginning of the year. We started with personal priorities, then pivoted to professional and work priorities. Overall, even though we both battled bronchitis and Covid, we beat it and remain standing strong. I also made substantial progress on my real estate businesses, with getting one home under contract (expected to close in mid-May), another home will be listed in mid-May, and the remodel project is right on track for completion in late summer. Regarding my coaching work, today I summarized all the coaching engagements that I started in 1Q2025. The impact that I’ve already noticed with these leaders and advisors is off to a great start, and by YE2025, results will be substantial. Look at your results, at the end of every quarter.

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365 Coaching Tips: 82nd, 83rd and 84th

March 23rd Coaching Tip: Friends First.

As I watched my IU Hoosier women’s basketball team wrap up their loss to South Carolina, I noticed that one of our IU players stopped and truly hugged one of the SC players. And then, after all the players shook hands, that same SC player came back thru the line and hugged and quickly gave a sweet cheek-kiss to that IU player. Why would they do that, aren’t they competitors? Yes, of course they are competitors. But they are friends first and have been friends for years. It was a pleasant site to witness, and the TV cameras even showed the parents of both of these players hugging each other. As you compete, remember to remain friends with those who really are friends. I’ve learned that I now have friends that I competed against or with daily in practice, and I’m so glad that many are still my friends. Friends first!

March 24th Coaching Tip: Evolve.

My word for the year is Reduce. One of my colleague’s word is Evolve. I like it, because she is our senior coach, with incredible experience, and more senior than me and our manager. She wants to continue to evolve by embracing new ways of doing business, learning from others, and working a bit differently. If you were in the last few years or months of your career, how willing would you be to evolve?

Many of my elders have shared with me that when you stop learning and growing, you start slipping and dying. Now that I have more grey hairs, I am fully aware of this and now truly support this thinking. Tonight, we watched “The Americas” series on Peacock, narrated by Tom Hanks. We kept watching episode after episode, consuming all of the incredible cinematography as well as the education on all of these animals, insects, and species. Keep evolving.

March 25th Coaching Tip: No 2am Texts.

My mother and I talk and text every single day. We share a lot and are very close. Over the last month, she has shared with me that someone in our family has texted her at 2am on a couple occasions and has also sent an additional 8-10 texts since March 19.

This story has helped me pull together a coaching lesson on emotional intelligence: 1) when you want a senior/elderly/84-year-old woman to help you, don’t text them at 2am. 2) when you want help, maybe call them and ask how THEY are doing and really care about what is shared. 3) if you are sending an additional 8-10 texts, look in the mirror, and ask yourself, “why aren’t I getting any response?” (from the 84-year-old woman). 4) and don’t deny it when you are called out for sending 2am texts, i.e. don’t lie.

I have texted my family member twice now, and let them know that my mom is busy now through tax time (April 15) and managing over 10 farms. I also requested that the 2am texts stop. Due to a lack of emotional intelligence, the family member (of course) indicated that they don’t text much, didn’t do the 2am texts, weren’t adding any stress to the situation, and indicated this was like high school drama. Bottom line: wake up, look in the mirror, own your errors, be more in tune with elderly people, and for goodness sakes, don’t be rude to them when you need a favor. Seniors (like my mother) have who multiple stents in their hearts and have had two hip surgeries in the last 2+ years, lost their husband of 63 years, keep their phone “on”, charged up, and nearby, and their Apple watch on their wrist…don’t need extra stress. Just stop and think, no 2am texts.

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365 Coaching Tips: 79th, 80th and 81st

March 20th Coaching Tip: Two Minute Test.

One of the most common coaching discussions that I have with leaders revolves around their inability to get buy-in from their teammates and colleagues. When I ask them to explain to me what they want to accomplish, many of these leaders have a challenge in clearly articulating what they want to get done and why. This question can also apply to people who lead groups or a family. Here’s an example in a family: “Our family listens and watches others, and that gives us confidence in how we execute. We take great pride in a preparation and calm execution, and that helps us know that we did our absolute best. We love. We learn.” You get the point.

Today I worked with two very talented leaders in Scranton and Philadelphia, PA. They have an incredible growth mindset, but are concerned that everyone around them are not as excited about the growth, which may mean more extra work and then the need to add new or untrained teammates, etc. My assignment for these two leaders, after listening to them for 45 minutes, was for them as the two leaders to be able to clearly and confidently articulate what they are building, and why, in two minutes. Looking forward to hearing them tighten up their message. Two minutes.

March 21st Coaching Tip: Move On.

The transfer portal in college sports is getting a lot of attention right now, since teams have now been selected for the NCAA and NIT tournaments. In today’s world of college sports, the transfer portal allows student athletes to enter a transfer portal quickly to let other schools know that they are ready to “move on.” The sooner that someone wants to move on, the better. This applies in business, too. If an employee or teammate wants to move on, search for a new job, try a new career, take a few months off, recommend and encourage them to move on. Why? Because it will be better for the remaining team members. Those that “stay” want to know who is on the team and who is ready to get to work to achieve great things together. Move on when you know it isn’t right, simply move on.

March 22nd Coaching Tip: Tech Help.

Today, one of my colleagues helped me with some quick tech issues quite efficiently. We were able to jump on a Zoom, share screen views, and got three to four items resolved quickly. If you need tech help, go to someone younger (typically) who is really good at it. They can do it rapidly and they kinda get a kick out of helping you. Makes them look good, and you get your problems solved…without being on a 1-800 tech support line for minutes, hours, etc.

Ask someone younger for your tech help. My mom does it frequently, and I can help her with almost every single item with her iphone, ipad, or laptop. My god daughter jumped in my Tesla the day I got it at the Tesla dealership nearly three years ago, and she quickly touched the screen and displayed the screen that would navigate us to multiple restaurants that were within a quick driving distances. She also was curious to many of the items on the Tesla dashboard/dashpad. She started touching and investigating, and in the process, I was learning. Get tech help.

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365 Coaching Tips: 76th, 77th and 78th

March 17th Coaching Tip: Go Green!

It’s St. Patty’s Day and many cultures embrace and act like the Irish characters all around the globe. I made it a point to wear green and always have done so. It’s fun, unique, and honors a culture and country. And I really like this special day because it hints of springtime, so wearing some “spring green” feels good and fresh. St. Patty’s Day is always around college basketball’s March Madness, which is win and advance -or- lose and go home = green flag, go for the win! Lastly, green is my favorite color. Green was a favorite color of my grandfather (George), and he and I were buddies. Green signals a sign of life to me. Green is that hint of money, and when people have some green in their pocket, they have an extra kick to their step. Celebrating St. Patty’s is always fun for me. Go Green!

March 18th Coaching Tip: Trust Your Gut.

Currently in the middle of a remodel project of a 95-year-old home. And from the beginning, we have been working with one subcontractor that just didn’t quite sit right with me. Fast forward a few months to now. We received his quote for new cabinets in the kitchen, bathrooms and the laundry room. The quote was as much as a new car, and it wasn’t complete and a bit suspect. This isn’t my first rodeo of doing home remodeling projects. Thus, I trusted my gut and reached out to some cabinet suppliers that I utilized back in 2004. Sure enough, my gut was correct; the second quote was much more detailed, included taxes and installation, and was still 20% lower than the quote from the questionable contractor. Trust your gut, especially when it impacts three things: 1) YOU, 2) YOUR FAMILY, and 3) YOUR MONEY. No one will care more about those three things than YOU.

March 19th Coaching Tip: Ask For Flex.

The last couple mornings, my Oura ring was clearly indicating that something was off with me, i.e. elevated temp, high heart rate, poor sleep patterns, recommending rest mode. Yesterday, I tested positive for COVID. Not just one test, but two tests. I actually thought I only had a cold, since I have been traveling steadily for 60 days and had just returned from New York City.

Life goes on, and it’s my responsibility as a coach to be proactive. Before 9am daily this week, I’ve reached out to all of my coaching appointments letting them know I need some flexibility and gave them a couple options: email me an update or reschedule for the next two weeks. Quickly they responded with complete understanding, and most were willing to wait to talk to me/reschedule for next week. When you need rest, ask for flex.

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365 Coaching Tips: 73rd, 74th and 75th

March 14th Coaching Tip: Health Matters.

Today I received a call from a leader that I’ve known for nearly a decade. He was looking for advice on next steps for a work/career change. We discussed these three questions: are you living where you want to live, are you doing what you want to be doing, and are you with who you want to be with? After talking thru those questions, then we dug a bit deeper and discussed: are you living a healthy life? are you at the health and fitness level that you desire? Suddenly, the conversation turned to, “no, I’m not…I’m not happy with my lack of exercise and sleep, poor nutrition, less than normal vitals (weight, blood pressure, cholesterol).” Of course there are other considerations like annual compensation, long term or deferred comp, risk, management style, outstanding debt, buy-in from the family, etc., however, this leader realized that it was unhealthy for him to remain in his current role.

We will talk again in a couple weeks, as I gave him some follow up work to be completed. With a number of my coaching clients, the conversations start in one direction (about a job or a situation), but then it turns into a much deeper situation. In this case, health matters more than anything else. As a coach, it’s my responsibility to stay present to hear the nuggets of the true problem. Health matters.

March 15th Coaching Tip: Communicate in Advance.

Sometimes we have contracts or situations where we need a 60-day in advance notice. I have those with my tenants, as leases come up for renewal, i.e. 60-day notice if the tenant expects to exit the lease or 60-day notice if I decide not to renew the lease or sell the property. How do I stay on top of these 60-day notices? I put a reminder in my iphone calendar that is approximately 75 days in advance. This allows me to give plenty of a “heads up” to the other party, and it is usually met with a response, “thanks, I had forgot, let me/us get back to you.” Communicating in advance can typically help things move along smoothly and with less stress.

March 16th Coaching Tip: Three Options.

Ever walked down a grocery aisle and notice that there are 40-50 different types of whatever? Tortilla chips and bread are examples and the options go on and on in other categories. The mass amount of selections can be overwhelming. For years, I’ve shared with many that my brain thinks in threes or like the triangle figure. The triangle is the strongest structure, and it helps bring focus to me quite quickly. You may witness me bringing my thumbs and pointer fingers together to form a triangle, as I summarize or articulate three points. With my real estate remodeling projects, I tell my contractors to get me three options, and I can decide quite quickly.

Figure out what works for you. How do you simplify how you make decisions? Embrace a way to make decisions. For me, it’s three options. Make your decision and move on. Rarely do I have regret.

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365 Coaching Tips: 70th, 71st and 72nd

March 11th Coaching Tip: Take A Break.

The stock market has been chaotic recently due to a multitude of national and global situations. I was in back-to-back meetings with leaders who are leading themselves and their teams thru anxious and challenging times. All day, I was working in a beautiful New York City office overlooking the Statue of Liberty to the south and the 9-11 Memorial to the east. As it was approaching 5:45pm, I realized that it was time to grab a cab and go to the hotel. While in the cab, I called a friend who always makes me laugh…hysterically. She and her daughter had just returned from NYC and saw a Broadway show. Quickly I pivoted from work stuff to fun stuff. And by the time the cab dropped me off at the Bryant Park Hotel, it was game on: I’m checked in quickly, put on some comfy clothes and running shoes, and headed to see MJ, The Musical. It was two healthy and superb decisions: take a break. Call a friend to laugh.

March 12th Coaching Tip: Good Intent.

After coaching all day in back to back meetings, it was time to head to JFK airport. My problem was that it was rush hour, and I was at Rockefeller Plaza in NYC. I packed up my gear, started to head out and catch a cab. But, I decided to stop, ask two colleagues what they would do. With good intentions, they quickly recommended a route with four steps that would allow me more comfort, less cost, and a quicker trip. Now I faced a new problem with these four, unfamiliar steps, so I asked one of them to write down those four steps. He gave it to me on a post it note, I slide it in my pocket and away I went. The four steps: Cab to Penn Station; grab the Long Island Railroad to the Jamaica exit; go up the escalator to the AirTrain and take it to Terminal 5. Perfect instructions that had good intent, saved me money and time.

March 13th Coaching Tip: The Power of 3!

Earlier in the week, I was entrusted to read a Letter of Intent regarding a purchase. It was a thorough and well written, four-page LOI. But after reading it a couple more times, I felt that it might be best to summarize it with three words: scale, grow, win. When I received the LOI later, sure enough, the LOI had been simplified a bit, and the scale, grow, and win was a highlight.

The power of three is also a game changer for basketball teams. If a team has some players that can hit the three point shot, it stretches out the court and makes the defense guard more of the court. This stretching of the court opens up the easier shots closer to the basket. And when three point shots are made, it just takes four of these three point shots to get 12 points…while six two-point shots equate to 12 points. The power of three in basketball is game changing. And it’s also powerful when leaders are communicating in business.