Kevin Pokorny Consulting

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Stop Multitasking: Focus On One Thing at a Time

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focus stop multitaskingFeeling scattered? Pulled from here to there? Not enough time for…? Do things faster? “To do” list getting longer?

Why is it so difficult for us to focus on one thing at a time? This has been one of my biggest challenges in life. Anxiety sets in and I get sidetracked on projects.

“Being conscious of engaging fully in one task at a time” is a mindfulness practice.  This takes practice, attentiveness, and a commitment to change. My way to deal with this was to try to do more, work longer hours, shorten lunch time or get up earlier. I realized this was delusional thinking. It was nothing more than a trap. I was fencing myself into a place that I did not enjoy.

What do I enjoy? Flow, space, acceptance, trust that all will work out, engagement, creativity, and clear mindedness. Now, I recognize these traits will not always be present for me. But, this is what I strive for in my daily life which creates space for me to be attentive to my family, friends, clients, and the work I’ve chosen to do.

So, how can one move to “being conscious of engaging fully in one task at a time?” [Read more…]

How to Avoid Thinking Traps: Boost your Resilience

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thinking-trap-leadership-kevin-pokorny
Okay, let’s be honest. How many of us have jumped to conclusions or attempted to mind read another person’s thoughts? What was the result? We may have caused embarrassment, made an unwise decision, or damaged a working relationship. But, for some reason, we think we’ve got it all figured out when things happen to us.

In the book “The Resilience Factor: 7 Essential Skills for Overcoming Life’s Inevitable Obstacles,” the authors, Andrew Shatte and Karen Reivich, point out the one skill to boost your resilience (how we respond to what happens to us) is to avoid “thinking traps.” [Read more…]

The focus of your attention creates your experience

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kevin-pokorny-leadership-focusLeaders must choose where to focus their attention. José Ortega y Gasset, a Spanish philosopher and essayist, said, “Tell me to what you pay attention and I will tell you who you are.” What leaders focus on expands in opening up or shutting down possibilities.

If leaders focus on weaknesses, the weaknesses expand. When leaders focus on ideas and behaviors they value, they grow.

What do you want to expand in opening up possibilities? Here are two examples. [Read more…]

Partner with the Midwest’s Pre-eminent Expert to Solve Your Toughest Workplace Challenge

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As a small business owner, HR executive, or a leader within your organization you face challenges every day.

  • Are you struggling to find the right strategy to meet your quarterly goals?
  • Do you want to develop emerging leaders within your company but aren’t sure how to go about it?
  •  Are you looking for an objective outsider to facilitate difficult discussions?

I have more than 20 years of consulting expertise that can help!!

As a master trainer, curriculum designer, consultant, facilitator, moderator, speaker and coach, I have helped a wide variety of clients deftly handle sensitive situations.

The secret to my success is that I am much more than a vendor to my clients… [Read more…]

What does luck have to do with business success?

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kevin speaks to groups

We all know what ROI means.  But, what about ROL?  Return on LUCK.  Jim Collins and Morten Hansen just released a new book called Great by Choice that examined entrepreneurs who built small businesses that outperformed their industries by a factor of 10.  They call them 10Xers, for “10 times success.”

Their research led them to the question, “Just what is the role of luck?”  To what degree did luck play in the success of the 10Xers?  How do you measure luck?  And, what about bad luck?

Collins and Hansen found “230 significant luck events” in their research.  What they found was that the 10X cases “weren’t generally ‘luckier’ than the comparison cases.”

What is told in the Sunday N.Y. Times story “What’s luck got to do with it?” is their study of how luck played out in several businesses, one of which is Microsoft and Bill Gates.  They contend Bill Gates was really lucky.  However, Gates’ choices he made at certain times in his life led him to success.  Choices that anyone else could have made, but didn’t. [Read more…]

Leaders – Let Go of Your Anchors!

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Let go of your anchors!

Let go of your anchors!

Ships have anchors to hold it in place.  Is the anchor useful?  Absolutely.  Without the anchor, the ship drifts aimlessly.  But what happens when the anchored ship is caught in a sudden storm?  If the ship’s crew doesn’t let the anchor go, the ship will be swamped by waves.  The crew cuts their ties to the anchor to ride out the storm in the sea.  “They needed to be free from what was normally a useful source of stability.  Their lives depended on it.”  So, the anchor can be an ASSET and a LIABILITY.  A paradox!

Individuals and organizations have their respective anchors that serve both as an asset and a liability.  As individuals, our systems of beliefs or “ego” are our anchors.  For organizations, anchors are imbedded in their culture or “ego.”  These anchors are sources of stability in how best to cope in our world. [Read more…]

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