Activating the best of you!

NorCal Fires: How Do We Get Back to Work?

Dear Readers, How the heck do we get back to work after the devastating fires that hit our community? Some of us had our houses burn to the ground. Most of us have friends, family and community members who have suffered great losses. Businesses, parks and lands have gone up in flames. Some neighborhoods and […]

Learn how to get right to the point. It’s a 1-2-3 strategy.

Dear Readers, Do you ever find yourself rambling on when a question has been posed? Have you ever been in an interview, answering a question and as you’re talking you realize you have no idea where you’re going? If you’ve had this problem, you are not alone! Many clients in job seeking mode admit that […]

We Make Mistakes at Work. Then What?

Dear Readers, This is a sticky topic and one that most people prefer to stay away from: Errors at Work. We all make errors; they are part of normal human functioning. We are not error-free beings. But the magnitude of the mistake and how it is perceived and responded to by our bosses,  managers or supervisors, […]

3 Do’s and Don’ts for Work Emails

Dear Readers, Like you, I probably get over 50 emails a day. And after years and year of receiving and writing emails and hearing feedback from clients,  I see a pattern of what works and what doesn’t work with emails. Here goes: Make it Short – If it is a long, complicated message, consider a […]

Career coach as fortune teller?

Dear Readers, today I  got a call from a reader asking if I could help her figure out her next career step. She is 55, facing job loss, and after decades in the financial sector, would like to start in a whole new kind of work. The funny part was when she asked  if I […]

3 Inspiring Retirement Stories – How to Stay Involved and Still Work Less

Dear Readers, It used to be that when you turned 65  you retired. You were done. You got your  gold watch, and you moved on. Perhaps you played golf, sat back, enjoyed the grandkids, and spent more time visiting with friends and family. But you were basically done. It was black and white. You were […]

The Surprising #1 Capability that College Grads Need to get a Job

Dear Readers, This is the time of year that recent college grads are scrambling to find a job. I often get asked what they can do to best prepare for the job market.   My recommendation is fairly unique. It is not the typical focus on problem solving skills, communication skills and perhaps computer skills. […]

Client Retention – Not Always Easy

Dear Coach Joan, I’m coming to the end of a 30 year account management career and need to transfer my clients to my partner or I lose out on my income payout for the next several years. The problem is that several clients are showing resistance to my  partner even though they gave me very […]