Tag: Coaching

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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: 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: 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.

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365 Coaching Tips: the 67th, 68th & 69th

March 8th Coaching Tip: Coach Kids.

If you want to improve your leadership skills, coach kids. Yep, I said it, coach kids. If you can get second graders to 1) listen to you, 2) execute what you ask them to do, 3) have fun doing it, 4) win and lose, 5) develop themselves thru coaching and practice, and 6) deal with the second graders’ parents with calm, integrity, and respect, then you can lead adults. You might just find that coaching other parents’ kids is the best way for you to fine tune some leadership skills and even learn from the kids, too. Today I watched two of my very special friends coach second graders, and they both were so good with them. One of them is a referee for kids’ games, while the other is now the director of a youth basketball league. Coach, referee, and director roles are great ways to improve your leadership skills.

When I was 24 years old, I coached sixth and seventh grade girls basketball. These gals had little confidence, but the parents really wanted me to coach them. I agreed, and we got to work, had a blast, and won. How did we win? We ran simple plays, played intense defense, and made our layups. To win, we realized that that we had to improve our dribbling and passing the ball better, so that we could hit the layups after creating steals with our impressive defense. The kids had fun winning and developing their skills; the parents enjoyed watching their girls’ confidence skyrocket. Coach kids.

March 9th Coaching Tip: Don’t Delay.

Tax Day (approx. April 15th) comes every year here in the USA, without fail. And as an adult and as a business owner, you know it’s coming. This evening, I got one last list of questions from my CPA on remaining items that needed to be answered. What a relief, it’s all darn near done, and I’m not rushing to get it submitted.

For me, getting important projects done a bit early started back in college. By my junior and especially my senior year, I was prioritizing my surge of studying two evenings before exams. For example, if the exam was on a Wednesday, I was doing the bulk of my studying on Sunday and Monday evenings. This allowed me to think thru the materials on Tuesday, and if need be, it allowed me more time to dig in to the areas that I needed to tighten up. It also allowed me to rest and have a clear mind. Decades later, I do this same tactic when I am asked to speak: I will work one to two weeks in advance to fine tune the exact timing of the topics, how and when to intertwine the audience, and when to ask my colleagues on stage questions. This prep feels natural and allows me to be smiling with calm instead of being anxious and underprepared. Don’t delay!

March 10th Coaching Tip: Here for you.

There’s that phrase that many people use when offering help, “I’m here for you.” How do you respond when they do need you? Today, this happened three times in my orbit. One was at work, with a very significant leader and her team was requesting my input on a Letter of Intent to potentially buy another business. I received it(the draft LOI) last week, printed it off, read thru it twice, and provided feedback. I was there for them when they needed me. Then my mother was called by her neighbor, and my mom said, “well of course I will take you to get your bloodwork done. I’m here for you.” And the third example was a public figure. She called me today, wanting to know if I could meet her tonight in Miami. I explained that I’m in New York City, but I gave her options on when we could connect. It was apparent she wanted to talk privately about something very important, and do it face to face; we will make that happen. As a reminder, when you tell people that you are there for them, then make sure you honor that and be a model of integrity: here for you.

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365 Coaching Tips: 64, 65 & 66

March 5th Coaching Tip: Step Up.

In a couple of my coaching conversations today, the advisors that were leading their teams were frustrated with the lack of consistent, high-level execution by their teammates. As I listened to them, it was clear to me that it was time to have the discussion, “step up or step out” with these underperforming teammates. However, as I drove home, it got me thinking, “what has the leader done to help them execute better? how are these leaders coaching and developing their teammates? what would the teammate say about the leaders and do the leaders give clear and fair instructions to complete tasks?” Both the leader and the teammates need to step up. If, and only if, after all the coaching and developing has been done, then it may be time for the teammate to “step out” and find a better role or fit elsewhere.

March 6th Coaching Tip: Remain Curious.

As we were driving to the airport this evening, we looked out the window to the south and there was something we had never seen before. It looked like a drone with lights was falling and spinning a bit out of control. We just couldn’t figure it out. Once I got to the airport, I started reading online to see if anyone else noticed it or even recorded it. Sure enough, within a few minutes, figured it out: the SpaceX Starship had a fiery breakup, after launching from TX and flying over the Gulf. This is the second explosion in the last two launches. Thank goodness there were no humans on board.

For all of us, remain curious if you see something different or out of the ordinary. This applies to darn near everything in your life…including the engineers at SpaceX. I’m sure they are now very curious about why their efforts failed two times in a row. And it applies to your life, your personal safety, your kids, your home. Remain curious.

March 7th Coaching Tip: Keep it close.

You can’t win everything and always be atop the leaderboard on everything. With life comes losses. With life comes challenges. With life comes new or younger talent. If you can’t win, keep it close. My beloved Indiana University women’s basketball team really gave an outstanding team effort against the Univ. of Southern California team the second-round game of the Big Ten tournament. USC had much more talent than IU, but the IU women never gave up, kept up their intensity high until the end, and only lost by five points.

With basketball or business, it’s challenging. Be ready, as someone or some other company or team is always after you/your business. It might be developing a better product, selling something at a lower price, advertising more, etc. It maybe new, younger and quicker talent on the court; or more mature players who can execute under pressure. Bottom line, it’s hard to win at everything, all the time. If you do lose, do it with class: learn from it, evaluate your next steps, and keep it close. Always.