Looking out of a Cessna is much more frightening than actually jumping and free-falling (yup, been there, done that too!)  I remember standing on the threshold of the plane at the open door looking down.  My hands clutching the door frame, with the wind blowing in my face. I can’t breathe. I know that I cannot hesitate, so I jump.  And then it’s done and I can breathe again and take time to enjoy the amazing view. 
 
We’ve also taken a leap here at myPractice.  We've recently merged with a boutique management consultancy, BottomLine Group (BLG). 

This week I moved from a PC world to Apple. I had to learn several new programs and how to ‘talk’ to my new "track" pad. No more double clicking in the middle of the pad. Now I had to remember to use my left hand on the lower left corner of the thing. What! I have to work tow-handed now? Oy...
 
I’m also rehearsing a new one woman show and have about 30 pages of script to memorize.
 
The skill of challenging one’s self to learn something new requires practice. More and more I encounter people in the workplace who avoid learning new things. In the last 6 months at various client sites I’ve heard:

It’s February and it’s a month that we all feel to be too long despite its true length.  The month is nearing its end and looking back, it’s become a month with true aspirations.  There are the expectations of Valentine’s Day to live up to and then the inspiration of President’s Day in the US and of course, here in Ontario, we are all getting used to the new concept of ‘Family Day’.  All of the sudden February feels quite substantial, deserving some recognition.

This past long weekend (in between the call of the ski slopes) I afforded myself some time to catch a flick with my friend, Jocelyne.  We shared the pleasure of watching The King’s Speech in all its cinematic and cerebral beauty. 

Business lives and dies by the desires and needs of its customers. So how can business say no to a customer request without risking the loss of its customers? How should it handle a customer who, for example, asks for additional services outside the scope of an already agreed upon contract?

myPractice was offered the challenge to help a group of Senior Tax Planners at a Professional Services firm puzzle out this exact question.  We quickly realized what the group needed: negotiation skills. Specifically, Interest-Based Negotiation skills.

The Professional Services firm had gotten into a pattern of positional bargaining with their clients. For example, if the client wanted to extend a contract by 6 months without an additional fee, our client would ‘bargain them down’ to 3 months thinking this was a good compromise.

Consider the following business strategies from several of our clients:

• We will become suppliers of a world-class Customer Service Experience
• Our goal is to Be THE Trusted Advisor of our clients
• We are a company with the Highest Employee engagement in our field

All of these strategies are based on the ability of employees to create strong relationships and trust. These strategies demonstrate that companies are looking for ways to go from being perceived as small to being experienced as big.