Welcome to my weekly ABCs

Welcome to my weekly ABC's, sent every Tuesday morning, where I share three things, all of which are quick to read and easy to put into action.

A = Affirmation

My ToDo list does not define my worth.

It's always a great feeling to be able to "tick" off the ToDo list one task or many, it's something we all strive for, but we all know that's not how it happens. We start with a ToDo list (or what I like to call a success list), only to have extra tasks; usually, somebody else's responsibility, added and we get to the end of the workday, wondering what we did?

I feel lost without my task management tool called ToDoIst, which helps me keep track of things that I must accomplish on set days, the brain should be used for thinking, not storing lists, this is where the "worth" comes.

What you tick off your ToDo list is essential, it's even more critical to define and make sure everybody understands WHY you do something, that's the value, why you do something and the subsequent value it brings to you, the company or others.

Being busy is not what it's about; it's about being actively engaged and moving things that create value, forward.

B = Business Thoughts

Think and act like an Entrepreneur.

The days of rising the ladder as a corporate robot are over, well, in most of the healthy businesses at least.

Without the ability to think on your feet and sell your ideas (employees still sell their services to employers) you're dead in the water.

The top employees of this decade won't be salaried employees, they will be entrepreneurial gig type workers who have a portfolio, contract with many companies and use a variety of platforms to boost profiles.

Many already use a series of virtual assistants, freelancers and contractors. We are all living in this more contract-based economy. It no longer makes sense to be the "company" man or woman.

Here is an excellent article on Medium that expands on the skills needed in the immediate and near future, if you have 12 minutes to invest, it's worth reading.

C = Coaching Thoughts

Have you ever imagined where professional coaching began?

Here is a condensed version, thanks to various sources.

In the late 1960s, a man called John Whitmore became interested in Transpersonal Psychology and its emphasis on the principle of will, intention, or responsibility. He went on to apply this learning and the respective skills, to the world of sport and then to business. In 1970 he studied at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California, with the likes of William Schutz, creator of team development model FIRO-B, and then trained with Harvard educationalist and tennis expert Timothy Gallwey, who created the Inner Game methodology of performance coaching.

Sir John Whitmore founded the Inner Game in Britain in 1979 with a small team of Inner Game coaches trained by Gallwey. Initially, they coached tennis players and golfers but soon realised the value of the Inner Game for leaders and managers of organisations. Sir John spent much of the 1980s developing the methodology, concepts, and techniques for performance improvement in organisations. They showed it was possible to improve performance, increase learning and enjoyment, and find a sense of purpose in work.

Sir John Whitmore will always be best known as the co-creator of the GROW model, one of the most established and successful coaching models to this very day.

To learn a lot more, click here for Sir John Whitmore.

For my final Stoic thought, as Zeno of Citium once said:

"Man conquers the world by first conquering himself."

Thanks again for your attention this week, lookout for the next issue of the ABC's on Tuesday morning.

Onwards, Damian

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