Champions Series- Become a Champion

It dawned on me more than a year ago. People kept calling and asking to take me to lunch. They wanted advice. The advice they sought ran the gammut. But they all needed an ear- a professional, confidential, reasonable ear. I was honored they chose mine. However, I could easily spend 40 hours a week having coffee and lunch with these good folks- and not making a profitable business out of my work! So, I designed the Champions Series.

The Champions Series offers members a new hot topic each month. We learn together about something new- or something we need to refresh ourselves with. The Champions pick the topics. I run the show. We all win. They also get private consultations with me each month- to talk about whatever they like. Again, a win-win. And, I kept it at the cost of a decent lunch for two. $39 a month.

I'm really proud of the Champions Series. I love it. It works. We've had less than 2% of members drop out over the last year. We'll celebrate our first birthday in October!

In case you are wondering, more details are found below. Champions are all over the United States. Some attend our meetings, most prefer to receive a monthly audio file (via email) with the seminar. We welcome you to learn more!

(This month is an anomoly. We are closed to guests without prior pre-approval due to the nature of our meeting. We'll be doing some mastermind work with members. I pride our group on being particular about members. I guarantee the quality, professionalism and confidentiality of our members and their learnings of others in the group.)

Spahr Consulting
- A life coach for better living
Champions Series

For the price of dinner you can invest in yourself and your business- with other Champions! Finally -a flavor of coaching that fits your needs.

Champions Membership is open to those who are interested in personal and professional growth. A Champion is one who invests in him/herself and recognizes the potential for improvement in all areas.

The Champions Series:
- will introduce you to a HOT topic meeting each month and
- foster you in identifying and achieving your goals in a positive and productive setting.

Fifth Third is the official sponsor of the Champions Series. Thanks Fifth Third!

The Champions Series Meeting will be held Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Fifth Third Bank, 5834 Forbes Avenue in Squirrel Hill
3:30 – 4:30 PM

Champions Hot Seat

Champions will present their business, product or service to the group in person or via telephone. Champions will request the type of help they are seeking to promote their business/product/service. The event will simulate a mastermind group to grow the Champion and his/her specific goals.

Guests must be pre-approved for this meeting due to the nature of the discussions. Call Lisa Spahr at 412.867.9991 with your guest’s details at least two weeks in advance.

The Champions Program offered by Lisa Spahr has made a distinct impact in my personal and especially my business life. I worked with a personal coach in the past and had a negative experience, so I was really hesitant to invest in coaching again. The champions program was a perfect way for me to test the waters, and I am grateful that I took that step. In just two months, I’ve seen a distinct difference in the way I conduct my business. Having a coach keeps my goals front and center, and reminds me that I am accountable. Being in the champions program allows me to have coaching that fits into my hectic time schedule as well as my budget. I also enjoy being a part of a distinct group of achievers!- Beth Caldwell, Executive Director, Pittsburgh Professional Women We Help Business Women Succeed! www.pittsburghprofessionalwomen.com/

Join the Champions Series today.
Membership Includes:
Ø Weekly Electronic Coaching Moments
Ø Monthly Champions Meeting (attend or get the MP3 file)
Ø Invitation to 1 Guest Per Month to Champions Meeting for $10
Ø 15-Minute Personal Coaching Each Month (via telephone)
Ø Exclusive Options to Upgrade Coaching in the Future

If you do not have a Membership Application please visit http://www.spahrconsulting.com/ to download one.

We appreciate the opportunity to work with you and on your business. You can reach us at:
Spahr Consulting, 7731 Abbott Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15221
Telephone: (412) 867-9991, email: Lspahr@spahrconsulting.com



Owner, Spahr Consulting

What people are saying about Lisa Spahr and her coaching programs…..
…In the 6 months that I have been working with Ms. Spahr she has become one of my most valuable professional resources…. She has well exceeded my expectations of a consultant. She provides advice, suggestions, provides options….and allows me to make well thought out decisions. She listens and understands. Only after a few weeks of working with Lisa, I was “blown away” by her interest in my business and the results that she was providing…..

…I worked with a business coach before and the results were not favorable for my business or my view of the coaching process. However, working with Lisa was very different. She has helped me feel more confident in my business and in my decision-making. She brought me out of my comfort zone, which is really hard, to highlight areas of growth, development and potential. I’m grateful for the opportunity to have met her and worked with her.

… I worked with Lisa in April and May and in that short of time, with her help and encouragement, I went from 52% to 90% YTD. It was Lisa Spahr who helped me achieve my goals, but most importantly helped me achieve balance with my family and my work, and I thank her for that.

… I attended your session and we spoke about motivation and staying on target. I've been reading your blog ever since, and wanted to touch base with you to tell you what an impact you've had on me. Thank you for being such an inspiration.

Vacation in Your Own Home

What is it about being on holiday or vacations that makes us so happy?

Some people live for the weekend, others live for the few times each year they vacation. Still there are others who vacation every 10 years. I wonder if they simply don’t like vacations that much or really enjoy their day-to-day lives that much! Either way, good for them- if it works.

I was thinking about why I love to travel so much or go on vacation. And, it hit me that it’s a temporary burst of living in a way that I really enjoy (but would ultimately grow bored of if it were for a prolonged period- we really are built to work and without work we lose ourselves… but that’s for another blog).

Some of the things we love about vacations:

• The flexible schedule


• The ability to catch up on sleep


• The newness and difference of the landscape


• Being with other vacationers or those who enjoy what we do


• Having others do things for us (cooking, cleaning, no laundry, etc…)


• Forgetting about our day-to-day tasks and responsibilities


• The ability to focus on one another more


• Having the time to play
  

So, what if I told you that you could have these elements in your daily life? Would you call me crazy? Yes, I imagine many of your would. But, if sit back to consider it for a few minutes you’ll see that I’m right.

• You do control your schedule (although you like to blame it on others or fail to blame your own obsessiveness)


• You can arrange a sleep schedule that is conducive to being healthy and happy


• You can explore new people, places and things within 25 miles of your home (in most places)


• You can surround yourself with others who have the same interests


• You can hire (or barter with) others to help you with daily chores


• You can change your day-to-day tasks and responsibilities to be those you WANT to remember and do


• You can focus on anyone you choose throughout the day


• You can play- and yes there is time for it- if you make it a priority
  
  

So, learn to vacation more at home. It will make the time in-between your trips more enjoyable.

Happy vacationing.

A Dose of Reality is Always Good

As my longtime readers know, I read the New York Times daily (thanks Matt P for drilling the importance of this into my head in 1998). For me, it shares the habitual stage with the likes of Inc, Fast Company, and Real Simple. These reads each satisfy different parts of me and they keep me sharp …and regular.

Last week the NY Times had several articles that became dinner-table talk in my house. One was titled The Women’s Crusade. It was a lengthy, high quality article about how women and girls can and will save the world- if we let them. It details the plights of women all over the globe.

Some of the stories were heart wrenching. Others offered a sense of optimism unparalleled in any story I’ve heard of late.

If you are a woman, a girl or know one… read the article before it falls off the online pages. It was a real dose of reality that may enlighten you in ways you could only imagine. Click on the title bar of this blog and it should take you there. Otherwise, search on the New York Times homepage.

As a coach, I encourage you to have a daily, weekly and monthly reading list. And, make time for it. You need to feed your brain with activities outside your office and your home, often. Read to learn. Learn to grow. Grow to be your best each day.

What’s Your Love Language?

Do you know which of the five love languages is yours? How about your partners?

It’s a good idea to explore Chapman’s book, The Five Love Languages, to better understand what love looks and feels like to you. Its an easy way to identify, specifically, how you need to be loved to feel “full”.

My husband and I took a course on the Five Love Languages before we got married. We weren’t in any crisis. We just love to learn. And, we are committed to learning about and with one another.

I learned that he and I share a love language, quality time. We both see it as imperitive to spend a lot of quality time together. I also learned that I am a bi-lingual. The Love Language, affection, was also at the top of my list. Being touched and having affection shown to me is as equally important as spending quality time. Gifts were, on the other hand, not even on my priority radar. (Not that I don’t enjoy them!) J They simply don’t equate to LOVE for me. They don’t FILL me with a sense of being loved. They may you- and that’s why you’d want to learn about the Five Love Languages.

My husband and I fostered our understanding of one another through this course. We realized what was super important and what was less important to always keeping one another filled with a sense of being loved. The book can help you in any stage of your relationship (new, challenged, near divorce, post-divorce, etc…)

Who doesn’t LOVE that?

Note: The book is in the biblical genre. You don’t need to be religious to read or understand it. I encourage you to enjoy it for the journey it will take you on.

What’s Wasting Your Time?

Imagine I told you that you could go on your “dream vacation” but you had to leave in 1 hour. Aside from wanting your bags packed appropriately, what would you spend your hour doing?

You wouldn’t believe the things you can get done in a crunch. And, each one has to be weighed by how high a priority it is. The lower ones, they fall of the face of the earth in that next hour. (Fantastic!)

When you are about to do a task I encourage you to ask yourself the following questions:

• Do I really need to do this? If yes, what purpose does it serve?
• Does it need to be done today or can it go on the schedule next week?
• How does doing this task make me look GREAT? (Hint, if it doesn’t you may not need to do it)
• Can someone else do it? Better? Cheaper?
• What have I done in the last hour for myself?
• What have I done in the last hour towards achieving my goals?

You’d be amazed at how many things can drop off your “to do” list and never have an impact! Let them go! Feel relieved and rewarded with some extra time on your hands to do important or worth-while things.

Bonus challenge: Make a list of worth-while activities and why they are worth-while. When confronting a task, check to see if it’s on your list. Ask yourself the questions above and drop it if you can. Then, do a worth-while activity to celebrate your “harnessing your time!”

Find and Support Your Passion/s

I recently posted a video on YouTube and my Facebook account on Passion. I was prompted to post the video based on two articles in the New York Times. I highly encourage you to watch the video and then identify and support your own passions.

You can see the video by going to my Facebook account or click on the title bar of this blog and it will take you to YouTube (if anything fails, you can also search “lisa spahr” on YouTube).

Thanks.

Women can be the Worst Offenders!

Women support one another. Recognize the benefit of uplifting one another. Give to gain. It works.

I remember the first time I encountered professional jealousy and attack from a woman in the workplace. I’ll never forget it.

I had the wonderful fortune for working for a “class act” supervisor, Matt, in a majority male environment. That wasn’t odd for me; in fact, it was common for the roles and fields I chose. He was exemplary. He fostered both my personal and professional growth. He gave me opportunity and responsibility. He trusted my judgment while cultivating my skill-set. He was a Marine. And, I was a 24 year old out of college for just a year. He sent me around the country representing our service organization to veterans, active-duty personnel, families and the defense department at large. I met by day with epidemiologists and conducted town-hall meetings in the evenings.

One day I heard some commotion in the hallway. It was one of our senior “secretaries” yelling at Matt. (We still used the language “secretary” back then.) She was a very seasoned woman who had been at the firm for 20+ years. She worked her way up to being the secretary for a director. Matt was an assistant director. This was his boss’ secretary. I heard her telling him that I should be answering his phones and writing his letters, doing his copying, etc…. He kept saying, “No, she doesn’t do that. She’s not my admin. She’s not my secretary. She’s one of my staff.” Their voices escalated. He walked off in a huff as did she. The conversation never came up again. I went about my duties as normal- likely flying out to a new destination that afternoon.

It was this experience that taught me that women can be our worst offenders and holding us to a particular place- even if it isn’t where we belong.

Honestly, it transcends male or female-ness. I titled the blog that due to my personal experiences and observances. But, it is sex-less. Men and women hold each other down for no good reason other than it makes them feel better. It helps them stay stagnate to demand that you do too. These offenders don’t want you to reach ranks that they can’t or don’t aspire too.

Are you one of them? If so, change your ways. Focus on YOU. You’ll gain a lot from doing so. You’ll be happier and healthier. Not to mention a far better colleague. Learn to support rather than present obstacles.

Do you know one of them? Stay clear of them. Focus on YOU. Work closely with your supervisor and your support team to identify your next steps. Ignore their attacks. If need be, address the interruptions with their supervisor (after making it clear to them that you find their actions/behaviors distracting and unsupportive).

Go Women Go! Don’t make excuses and don’t be someone else’s excuse! Climb that ladder. And, don’t kick another woman’s rungs out from under her.

The Ethics Train… It’s Gone

Years ago, I published a paper on white-collar crime, specifically savings and loan fraud. I discussed the culture that fosters such behavior- makes it seem natural, normal and only a “little lie”. After all, many people feel they are owed more than they make, or they swear they had intentions on paying it back… the excuses go on and on.

How firm do you stand on ethics? Do you believe there are levels to lying... white ones and big ones and such? Would you want your politicians lying... wait, let me rephrase that… is it acceptable that a politician lies? What about a police officer? Your banker?

What do you lie about?

Here’s another question: Is it okay for employees to take materials from the office if they need them at home. Well, perhaps, if they have a home office where they conduct the same business as you expect them to do in the main office. If not, well then they could be seen as abusing office resources for personal use. Does it make a difference if I’m talking about a box of pens or a laptop? Now, does it make a difference it I tell you that this is a government employee? How about if they use the laptop to look at inappropriate material? Has the situation escalated enough for you yet?

These things happen every day. Many environments cultivate unethical practices better than they do their own businesses. Is yours one?

Inventory your ethics and that of your employees today. Get a reign on ethics… or it will bite you one day. And, some of the bites are harder than you might first surmise.

I Love to Fire!

I’m not talking about pottery. I’m talking about people. Yes, it’s not the most appreciated aspect of who I am, by others' accounts, but it is something I do well. I fire people.

I’ve had to fire friends. I’ve had to fire people around the holidays. Are you ready for this? I’ve never felt guilty about it. Why? Because I’ve done it right.

And now my friends, is the time to fire those who are not helping your business succeed. Well, in fact it was yesterday or last year but today is as good of a time as any day in the future.

You may wonder why or how I find it so easy to speak so lightly about a sensitive and life-altering situation. Easy. I’ve been the employee who resented having to work along side others who didn’t pull their weight, were “wastes of paychecks” and who brought the whole work force down. The bosses failed to do the right thing due to legality and we were ALL stuck in a toxic environment. Everyone suffers with a bad egg in the group. Especially the company. Oh, and did I mention profits... and reputation suffer too?

I was just talking to my husband about situations we’ve both experienced when people should have been “let go” but weren’t. One of my examples had to do with a colleague who impersonated a high level executive at our firm – as he traveled around the country, as we all did- and impregnated a woman in another city. He failed to call her back, after her multiple attempts to reach him, and so she called our top-brass. They quickly identified the culprit… and demoted him. Great lesson for us all, right? This man never worked anyhow, he manipulated others to do his work for him. When interviewed about my colleagues actions, it was like a “tell-all” story. My response was that he insulted each one of us every pay day by the mere fact that he had a job. And, they kept him!?!

When I became a decision-maker I vowed to never allow a toxic environment to exist. I have zero qualms of firing those who say, “It’s not my job” and those who do sub-par work. There's too much talent out there. There are too many hard working people to let the others have their jobs.

Do you realize how many top-notch potential employees are out there? Why on earth would you settle for a mediocre one in this day and age? It’s not the economic climate to settle for fifth-best. Go for the best. You can likely hire them at a bargain and let them earn great benefits in the next year or so as the economy straightens up.

If your people aren’t giving you your best you have to ask yourself why? Then you have to have a meeting with each one to come to an understanding. Develop measurable expectations with related rewards and consequences. Make sure they are agreeable. Then, get to work. In the time frame identified, let your employee show you what s/he is worth or let them make it easy to say, “We’ve had enough. We’re going to let you go.”

Clearly, work with your HR and Legal teams on this- but trust me, it CAN and SHOULD be done. You do each of your employees an injustice by letting a bad apple spoil the bunch… and the reputation and profit of your company. Shame on you if you choose to do so.