jalléCafe

Slowing into a fast daily flow

Sometimes I have to remind myself to slow down for the important things.  For example, it's now lunch time.  My "to do" list remains fairly full.  Two of six things checked off.

Because I felt that - on balance - I had been a little too task focused on Friday, I consciously moderated my style this morning.  I said, "Jill, you know it is the wide range of strong relationships with people you enjoy and value that have already made the most difference.  Don't forget to pick up your head from your desk and take a look at the specific opportunities for that in your day." Quality of results does not always come from a pen in my hand or a keyboard under my fingers...

So I spontaneously invited a colleague who I had not seen in a while for a hot chocolate to start the day.  And later, I took just a few more minutes to laugh a little with another colleague while we were working on a project together.

These few extra human moments make me feel good as I sit here before my lunch break full of errands.  They also inspired me to remember that such conversations often stimulate creative ideas.

And there's still hope for my "to do" list overall with some after-lunch discipline. I'm sure of that. My inner-voice says, "Girl, you got something right this morning. Good going.  Now try to remember that tomorrow too!"

Remembering my vegetables

I started this morning wandering out of my apartment abruptly realizing I could have used my gloves, then happily shopping with cold hands through the farmer's market on my way to work.  Not quite fully light at 8:30 a.m.

Bought my vegetables for the weekend. Mom would be proud of how many green things I eat.

Ten minutes later I was in the office and tackled lots of admin still as I organize for the rest of the year. But also managed a bit of focus on our seminar plans. 

I realized several times this week - and even through today - that I'm in the flow a little.  I know exactly what to start on every day, wha feels most important next among the list of key things that I hope will make a difference.  I still have some serious topics ahead next week:  budgets for 2010, final seminar details.  Must address them directly, creatively and postively. One at a time. Not all at once.

So as I'm about to wander out near-dark to enjoy a slow walk through the city home, I'm going to try to practice a little more: be grateful for the little steps and the good days that feel fun and productive.  Try not to think about what "might happen" or "might not work" or "might fail."  Drink a prosecco.  Remember to grab my vegetables on the way out the door.

Lost days?

Last weekend, I saw the movie "Julie and Julia" with Meryl Streep.  In addition to making me hungry, it also inspired me to think about my own blog.  What's cool about Julie's blog is that it had a clear goal: cook 536 Julia Child recipes in 365 days. Gave it an intrigue to see if she would meet the goal.

Could I add intrigue to my blog, I wondered?  A plot?  Problem is that my blog is about my life - well, the on-going goal to make my life fit with my work and, after mixing it all together, feel like it is meaningful in the end.  I don't think Julia wrote a recipe for that.

But I think I'm going to try.  Goal: Grow my business, really be an entrepreneur with a successful little boutique consultancy that reaches more people than my current friend "fans" and my Mom.  And while doing it have a life, not just work.

There I said it.  That's what I really want to do.

Of course, soon after I thought of it, life got in the way: I woke up Monday night sick.  Spent yesterday dragging around (having realized I did not have a fever and was not throwing up on anyone, I probably was not contagious) from appointment to meeting.  Slept 13 hours last night.  Loped into work today just before lunch. Albeit, feeling better.

So if my 365 days started on Monday, 12th October, I'm already three days into it and the only recipe I've tried so far is "slow down and let yourself sleep until your body is ready."

Keeping it simple

"Being simple and clear is a lot harder than letting everyone do what they want," a leader said recently during a workshop.  

He was referring to the time and effort required to lead something well and to the work required to make communication simple.

Isn't it true? You just know that when something seems clear, simple and easy, it was most likely because a "heck-of-a-lot-of" work went into making it that way.  The same effort underlies an athlete who makes it look easy to land a quadruple axle or ski with grace down a slalom run at the speed of light.

I've been updating what seems like a myriad of my own marketing web sites and tools.  I realized as I thought about this post that they are not yet as simple and clear as I desire.  I am now working on that.  I know they can and must get there.  There are no shortcuts.

In our instincts, we know when we reach elegant simplicity.  Never underestimate the beauty and power in that.

Autumn glory

Autumn glory, originally uploaded by jalléCafe.

Back in July, I showed you a garden planted to grow around the structure of an old industrial building. If I liked it then, I'm in love with it now.

Look at its Autumn glory!

During the last months, I've raced past photography classes, local street workers, students and executives all taking a break among the metal and vines.

Haven't taken the time to sit under it myself yet. But I managed to pause a moment with my camera.

Why I don't have a tattoo

One day this week - during those few minutes gathering with others by the train door waiting for it to stop at the station - I noticed a man with an intricate, even lovely, tattoo from wrist to shoulder.  As I prepared to dash out and race for my next meeting, I thought, "Now there's the difference between my life and his, when would I ever have the time (or patience) to sit for as long as that tattoo would have required?!"

As I nearly scampered down the street to my client's office, I remembered one of my favorite tattoo encounters nearly 15 years ago with a wonderful, creative communications manager Doug. He actually convinced me to allow a photo of a woman with a tattoo on her shoulder to be printed in a product brochure for my industrial product marketing role.  It illustrated "The Permanence of a Lasting Commitment."

And then I remembered that the agency involved working with Doug was Gibbs & Soell Public Relations (G&S), the same agency whose Zurich office I managed for the last two years - until yesterday.

So G&S and I have had a lasting relationship with changing and evolving commitments to meet our changing and evolving needs. I have fully appreciated that. As of writing this post, our relationship has taken on yet another form.  I hope it still lasts and evolves.

That's why I don't have a tattoo, too.  How could I ever possibly choose one visual image to fit my entire life?  I prefer changing my clothes!

What to like about anchovies

A guy recently told me that he hates anchovies.  HATES them. Especially on pizza. And I said "yeah I can understand that, but I like them in a real Caesar salad dressing."  And he said, "well, that's an American creation."  True.

What I hate is having my photo taken. HATE it.

But unlike anchovies, sometimes I need photos.

So I had some new ones taken because I want to update my web site and the half dozen other on-line forums that keep me connected.  Here's one of them.

I will say that the thing this photographer manages to do is capture something that resembles the real me - in between my self-conscious moments and moments that I hate him for standing there with a camera, even by my choice.

And look at that cool background.  It's in a cafe near where I work.  Like the other photo on my blog, it's around my real life and great colors.  Same photographer three years later.

You know what amazes me? This guy, the photographer, thinks he is not creative. Yet that day last week he also captured beautifully the women in PWG and one other photo of me (at 10:00 in the morning in a bar no less) that I must say is really me whether I like it or not. Show you that one later.

What he does is look through his lense with his own way of observing things to get a view that is of his own combination.  If not creative, it is admirably authentic. 

Like with anchovies, a person you respect can sometimes find a way to help you appreciate the thing you think you hate.

When the days finally end

Last night, I managed to land at home just before midnight.  The Professional Women's Group of Zurich held its monthly event, which is turning into a rather large affair these days.  More than 80 participants, plus last night we invited four speakers and a professional photographer.  Our all-volunteer team nearly hosts a conference every month now.  My role facilitating so many invited guests was a bit more challenging than normal - a good little stretch and practice for me professionally too.

After three years, I find PWG rewarding because our members seem to thrive on the energy and to genuinely appreciate our efforts.    So of course I felt good about the whole thing.

But then when I was home, I could not settle down to sleep.  I needed an energy outlet for myself personally.  Reading wouldn't do it.  I couldn't turn up my stereo at that hour.

Finally, I ate some chocolate chip cookies at 3 a.m.

Tonight will also end late after a team dinner.

I wonder what I will do then?!

Learning to wait for the colors

Waiting for the colors, originally uploaded by jalléCafe.

Tonight while walking home I finally stopped - spontaneously on a perfect last summer or maybe first Autumn evening - to watch the sun set on the lake. One of my favorite feelings with the breeze, the sounds, the warmth.

Lots of people gather for it. Then the minute the golden ball sinks over Uetliberg hill, they all walk away.

Not me anymore. I've learned to wait for the real colors that follow.

Took me years to learn to wait. I'm going through a little sunset at work, too. I tried to explain this feeling today to some important colleagues that it is important to wait a while to see the real colors. So many emotions go into decisions. It's hard to wait to see what the evening brings, not to mention the nighttime stars and the sunrise.

Maybe I should have brought us all to the lake for a beer! Sometimes nature explains things better than words.

Weekend: redefined

This weekend, I have not worked.  Well, not at my business.  Well, not if you don't count that I wrote eight pages in my journal while sitting on a rock by the lake today and that at least two of the eight pages will later become an essay and show up on my company web site around October.

It didn't feel like work.  It felt like sitting in the sun drinking coffee on a beautiful day.  (I feel simply naked if a pen is not in my hand at that moment.)

I made a little observation about me and my habits lately:  I run at full speed, then crash, recover, tell myself I need to learn something, and do it all over again.  :-)

So today, I clipped my garden pots, added to my "little house with a garden" and "cabin" picture collection. Jogged.  Ate an ice cream bar for lunch.  Found a bunch of old recipes I had stuffed once in a cabinet - researched how to make meatballs, which I will attempt next. 

This week, I also had two lunches and two dinners with friends.  And by Saturday, I felt great for it.

That's one week.  Personal life survived the weekdays.  Professional life successfully barred from the weekend.

It will be months, maybe years before I see if this time I actually learned something.  But it's fun trying to find out...

First week back; back-up plans required

Having returned 100% to work, I was all set to write a post last Monday, then the unexpected and oft-feared happened:  my laptop (which serves as my primary business computer) crashed.  Well, crashed is a strong, active sounding word. In fact, it simply wouldn't boot up at all.

Yipes. I hoped my back-up system worked!

Of course, my entire week became a work-around to keep business moving while recovering documents.  I had great support from my IT consultant, Raymond.  Thankfully.  But as of this writing - while I will recover all documents and programs in the end - I will be without them until I return to work tomorrow.

The good news:  my back-up plans worked better, but differently, than planned.  I have a second computer in the office, a shared drive where I had manually saved some documents before traveling, and a computer at home.  These days we also have web mail and remote access to PCs in other locations.  Amazing.  It worked with relatively little stress and will in the long run help me clean-up a few systems that probably needed it.

The most emotional moment of the entire process was on Tuesday when Raymond walked out with my laptop saying it would never return. 

Years of wear and tear.  The problem was physical, not the hard drive itself.  I bought it the year I opened my business and carried that laptop with me everywhere in my purse (lovely little thing it was).  Lately, we'd been to New York and Buenos Aires together.  It was my connection to the world and home during those trips.  I was in truth just trying to make it last through year-end when I could replace it with the latest operating system.  But I wasn't expecting to "part" so soon.

I managed to resist the temptation to give it a little pat or kiss as Raymond stepped out of my office.  I have to start being a grown-up sometime.

Painted toes in hiking boots

Painted toes in hiking boots, originally uploaded by jalléCafe.

Ok. Some days on vacation I'm not barefoot!

If you want to see where I wandered, click on the flickr link.

Later this week, about 30 minutes into the Orange Cinema outdoor movie - a flu attacked suddenly. Really, with practically no warning other than a little fatique that I chocked up to too many sunny boat rides.

At least I got to watch the big screen arise over the lake on a beautiful night with friends, before being helped drag myself home to bed.

Thankfully, my flat is also a decent place to watch the sunshine (well, once I was awake to notice)!

It is all a good reminder to enjoy what's there to do when I can do it; life does not make any promises to follow your plans!

The color of "holidays"

First rewards, originally uploaded by jalléCafe.

It's August. Summer. I'm on vacation.
Barefoot.

Late nights.

And of course, mountains.

Moving office day

As my business has evolved, I've invented for myself the "moving office day."  I get away from my desk and take advantage of the tremendous Swiss train system while I read, plan and write.  I wrote all of the essays for Rearchitecting this way and now use my Moving Office a day every month or so when I can.

I have suprised myself over the years as I see that some of my best ideas that I ultimately use come from my Moving Office.  Let's see about today...

I took a train to Luzern and then a steam boat to the little lakeside town of Weggis.  It was a perfect day to ride across the lake and enjoy lunch outside.  I worked on my marketing plans for Six for Yourself ^TM and read a lot in Social Media Marketing An Hour a Day by Dave Evans. 

One thing Dave says is "just get out there on the social web and do something!" (paraphrased)

I came home all fired up with my first podcast idea for my business, recorded it immediately from my desk, and uploaded it to YouTube.  Here it is! I learned that I need a better webcam for podcasts.  Yet, it is so authentic - truly spontaneous, background noise and all - I just had to blog it.  What do you think?  Am I made for the movies?

What I found in the forest...

It's National Day in Switzerland.  Swiss Flags flying and all shops closed (well, except at the major train stations and the airport).  The day is progressing beautifully:  cool enough for a jog before long hours of sunshine now heating up Zurich.

Earlier, at about the 10 minute mark loping along in my not-best jogging gear (it is a holiday after all!), I reached the top of an uphill path in the woods where I normally make a right turn and head along a flat-ish, shaded route which eventually opens into a lovely view of fields and distant mountains.  A reward well worth the effort.

But instead of the occasional fellow jogger or dog walker at this crossroads, I found a whole bevy of people lining up for a picnic.  And I do mean lining up! 

In addition to Swiss flags (some carried by children in strollers), flew a banner:  FDP (Federal Democratic Party).  Holding a picnic in the woods. 

I made my right turn and found myself on the "path to the picnic" instead my solitary route to the mountain view.  Every person I passed (I was going the opposite direction) said "Scheonen Erste August!"  Happy National Day!  "Likewise," I panted.

By the time I circled back (having enjoyed the mountain view), the line was across my path such that I had to go around the people of all ages, most wearing red pins with the white Swiss cross and dressed for a social event. 

The local politicians had also arrived.  How did I know?  A politician has a universal stance, smile and ability to position him or herself at the front of the line.  Even in the woods.

I had a smile, too. 

Complimentary personalities

Since my last post during the first week of July, I returned to Zurich bringing Mom with me for a two week visit.  She's been here enough to know her way around and has always been easy to have as a guest - flexible, helpful, curious, interested to know my friends and nearly always in a good mood. 

But one little thing used to drive me nuts:

I would make a note of how long Mom could be in my apartment before she looked at some shelf, counter, corner or wall and said, "Jill, you could really use a ____ there."  (Usually 30 minutes or less...)

I mean, really, I'd lived many months without _____ (a picture, vase, plant, gadget) and without any apparent damage to my life! 

I'd respond that _____ (said vase, plant, picture, gadget) just wasn't a priority right now in the scheme of some big client, project, etc.  But while cleaning closets during the last few months, I was reminded of one of my weaknesses:  I just cannot see details and anyway don't enjoy them.  Those little nice-to-have items would never be a priority. And part of my life was kind of a mess for it.

I am a big picture person, conceptual; I see strategy in chunks and priorities.  Someone needs to remind me where I put my car keys.

So this time, I tried responding, "OK, Mom, maybe you can help me find one?" What a great bonus that proved to be.  See here a few things acquired that way that I'm really using. 

Go figure.  Mom sees details the way I see concepts. Our different perspectives fit perfectly. And my life is better for the new vase, garlic clove holder, cookie jar, paper towel dispenser and bucket for my cleaning stuff.

Timeless

I have just visited NYC for the first time in a decade.

Everyone still on cell phones.  Still buying hot dogs from corner stands.  Well, one or two more fruit stands on the corners with them.

More Blackberries. Still many languages, hairstyles, women walking in tennis shoes with their business suits.

New York.  My dream of timelessness.

Experience since 2001 included, no doubt making it wiser and even tougher underneath, it still pulses.

Summer evenings

Zurich returned to summer temperatures for a week or so.  I've been busy preparing for my next business trip. 

What's great is that it stays light late enough that I can grill a healthy meal, even perhaps at an unhealthy late hour - after meetings and deadlines.

Don't we often ask for "more" in our lives?  For me the "more" is usually for more time.

I read a book titled Less while traveling to Argentina a few weeks ago.  It said, take a look at the things causing your "busyness" and see what you can do about that. 

Taking time for my little grill picnic and even to read a magazine happened because I finally set firm dealines for "stopping" other work.

Hope it lasts longer than sunny weather usually does in Zurich!

Fresh edges

I took this photo a few weeks ago while walking to a first meeting with a new client.  Focused as I was on the new project, this innovative garden compelled me to pause a moment.  It's an old factory site, with the edgy structure of an old building grown over with flowers.  A shadow of the industrial age blooming in the sunlight. 

I love that contrast of old and new, artfully combined. 

I felt that contrast last week during my first trip to Buenos Aires.  Jet lag occasionally reduced the artful charm and brightness for me, but I can appreciate the contrast of doing something from my old life (the topic in this case) in a new environment, in a new way, with new people.

That's the challenge of life, isn't it?  Reinventing, remaking, recovering - without losing our own edges.

When everything is interesting

Hola!  Yesterday, I flew 13.5 hour for a business meeting in Argentina.  My first visit.  Every moment of the travel gave me a new view.  RIght over Africa!

I sit here drinking a cup of coffee that tastes different than any coffee with which I've started my day.  Hoping my Latin American clients will truly live up to their  "8:30 means more like 8:45" cultural reputation.

They didn't - adapted to living in Switzerland like me I guess.

Must run.  I think this trip will remind me of my first travel to Asia.  All senses involved.  I am, of course, hoping that includes the taste of a nice, thick Argentinian steak!

Why do you always have to wear red shoes?

I heard this voice chanting through my head as I listened to the sound track of Chocolat  while taking a warm bath to relax my muscles.  In my bright yellow bathtub.

I first watched Chocolat on a transAtlantic flight during my big travel years. Soon, I'll be back at that travel again.  Sometimes anyway.  It was, in fact, my best way to watch movies.

"Why do you always have to wear red shoes?," Vianne's daughter cried as she scurried in from being picked-on at school. "Why can't you be like all the other mothers?"

"Well, it's not always easy being different," Vianne replied. 

I've always remembered that line. I began wearing red shoes when my triplet brothers were born.  I had no more choice in being different then than they had in being the same.

Then I moved away.  Finally overseas.  Thought I might try a new lifestyle.  A new profession.  A new life. A new business.

Why can't you be like...?  I even ask myself sometimes.  Life would more simple if I had just stayed in my hometown, or in the States, or in my marriage, or in a big company with perks...

But I realized between client meetings, working with our team, chatting with friends and generally getting through the week - and especially cleaning closets this weekend - that then I wouldn't be in Zurich, growing my little idea of a business that has my heart and intellect in it.  Living among my friends here who help keep me alive and active and always learning.

Today I watch Roger Federer win the French Open, worked on my accounting, answered PWG emails, made a short jog and finally took that bath in my bright yellow bathtub.  BUT my first accomplishment this cool Sunday morning (after a cup of coffee of course), was miraculously finding a good way to keep so many of my shoes found in my closets and cellar organized and easy to find.

So I guess I'll have to just keep walking in them.

Happy feet at last on the ground

Uploaded by jalléCafe.

After 5 years, I decided to use part of my time off to kick-start cleaning my last bastion of full disorganization: the basement storage room.  Well, actually, I hired help.  :-) 

The highly efficient man taking away about two dozen empty boxes went through everything carefully.  And he found something I had been frustrated about losing in the move: brass feet to my stereo speakers. I thought I had looked everywhere for them and took it as a sign of too busy a life with too many moves that their location had escaped my memory.  (I only remembered the US mover saying, "Now remember, I wrapped and put them here!"  I couldn't remember where was "here.")

This week, as I put them in place, I felt I had finally, properly moved in. My stuff is fully unpacked and available for living, like I feel now too.

Early summer

Favorite Sunday Morning, originally uploaded by jalléCafe.

I've been away from my blog in implementation - not in my mind or spirit! Fact is, I'm on an early summer break for 10 days. Staying home in Zurich purportedly to clean closets.

But it's been 30 C/88 F and sunny. And I've been distracted.

After a week of big events: 85 people at PWG on 19th May, a presentation through which I acquired an exciting new consulting project, a US colleague visiting our team with the typical dinners and fun, plus a seminar in my own biz.. I was as usual nearly sick and very tired. Happy and exhausted.

Now I've slept. Relaxed in the sun. Eaten well. Spent time with friends. Shopped. Cooked.

Still 7 days left on this break. You'll be hearing more soon because now the writing begins as it always does when I'm relaxed! :-)

Oh, and about those closets...

Out of my way

Today I heard the perfect description for having a bad day when my friend and follow blogger Helen said, "I had one of those days when I couldn't get out of my own way!" 

She hadn't really had such a bad day; she just couldn't seem to get motivated at her normal (very high) energy level. 

The quote actually came from her grandmother.  Lovely wisdom.  I said it was bound to become a staple in my motivation repertoire.

When I have those days, it is usually because I'm tired.  I bump into walls of unmotivation: pessimism, ambivalence, overwhelmed feelings, stress. You name it.

Fortunately, this weekend I wised-up:  slept, read, spent time with friends like Helen.  And laughed.

I also did an incredibily productive amount of good idea generating.  Amazing how sleep, friends, and good ideas can go hand-in-hand.

A little humor never hurts either! 

Herbs, straight-forward

Herbs, straight-forward, originally uploaded by jalléCafe.

Time for my favorite annual gardening-as-life analogy. On Saturday, a friend showed me one of the more beautiful garden centers I've seen here so far. I scooped up a few more herbs for my garden box and happily planted them before 10:00 a.m. during today's lovely sunny Sunday morning. Here they are: already looking more hopeful than the giants of 2007 .  Let the 2009 growing season begin.  May it bring small, positive steps forward that show in time.

Buzz and creating meaning

I know I'm genuinely engaged in my work when it compels me to read a few books about something new I want to try.  (Mom always jokes with me that before I make any decision I read 10 books on the topic.  It's true that I'm a voracious consumer of information about concepts that are new to me - although I rarely have time for all 10 books before decision-making these days.  And I always require myself to clarify my own opinion before taking a step, not just take someone else's word for what I should do in my life.) 

At this moment, I'm fascinated with developing new perspectives about word-of-mouth marketing.  I'm reading a book titled The Anatomy of Buzz Revisited by Emanuel Rosen.  Half-way through it, I've already told our team I find it a "must read" for today's new communications channels like Facebook, blogs, and Twitter.

Rosen published this revised edition in 2008, but the original dates back to 2000.  Our changing online communications world makes the new view even more relevant than the first.  (Yet another good example of a strong concept finding its time and footing after percolating over the years!)  The point is that the point of being on line is to stir-up conversations between people - primarily offline.  Get that?

I love it because I also prescribe to the view that life in the end is lived in-person, between people who are present. That's where real influence happens, in small moments of conversations.

I might have more to say about this later.  For now, I must go.  I have a few books to read!

On the street where we work

My creation, originally uploaded by jalléCafe.

Today, Zurich celebrates Spring through its annual Sechselaeuten parade and burning of the snowman. The parade starts in 20 minutes.  At 6 p.m. crowds will gather to watch the snowman explode atop a bonfire, predicting the length of our remaining winter. (I predict it's over already, given today's sunshine and 70 degree temps.)  If you want a real explanation of this long tradition, see my blog from last April!

We closed our office at noon. (Most businesses in the city closed the whole day, but our clients mostly worked - and therefore we did too.)

I walked out onto our street with our employees in order to demonstrate we would really close. (I'm infamous for saying we are closed and then staying a few more hours.) I then strolled around Zurich for a while, ate a junk food lunch at McDonalds after passing up at least two dozen grilled brautwurst stands, and sneaked back onto our street.

Outside our office I found our normally serious fountain decked-out as a butcher, which is the guild on our street whose band was loudly practicing for all who would listen - pretty good, too.

I popped up into the office to spend a short while collecting my thoughts, finishing email and to blog these photos I captured along the way.

I'm off now to catch the parade's opening. Hope no one who works for us here reads this! :-)

Human beings + work = miscommunication & misunderstanding

Several times over the last month, I've had to remind myself to take deep breaths and NOT to communicate when I'm stressed about something another person did. 

Several times during the last week, I've had to remind myself and others around me to communicate directly - and at first gently - with people involved in something that doesn't seem on the surface to be a good idea.  That we owe each other as human beings to ask the question "why" with an open mindset before accusing another person of being the problem.  It can be misunderstandings, different starting points, or bad intent.  But you never know if you don't give the other person the benefit of the doubt.

Normally that being open and asking why has been one of my strengths because I sincerely believe that most people are really trying to do the right thing and feel appreciated for that.  Yet, when I'm time pressured, I forget that I must adjust my expectations about how time is best invested = to gain understanding and resolve differences before they multiply. 

In other words, I become impatient and perhaps it shows.

Darned humans - always needing an adjustment from my perfect schedule and process! Ugh!

I find that life gives us reminders just when we need them. My slow talks with friends over the holiday weekend and step back to look at what's most important in the long run helped. 

I also read this newsletter article today from Fierce Inc in the USA (I met the owner Susan Scott at a conference in 2006 and remain a huge fan). The writer emphasized curiosity as a good basis for using your instincts to resolve misunderstandings.  Nice way to end my day before dropping the office trash in the bin and strolling home across Zurich.

When careers fit

The sun finally came out in Zurich this week; so, I walk to work most days.

Again this morning, I walked by this foot doctor's office near my neighborhood.  Look at the manicured lawn.  I always think the same thing:  now that guy should be a good foot doctor, just the precision I would hope for!

As for my authentic career, this week proved to be a race to the early finish line.  We will be closed for Good Friday and Easter Monday, both national holidays here.  We accomplished a lot, but definitely felt the stress of it a few days.

I am finding that my new web site works perfectly for what I wanted in it.  More people are signing-up for seminars.  But it's a slow process to find the time and a scramble to stay on top of the marketing as I juggle consulting deadlines.  Bet I'll ponder this a little over the holiday.

For now though, I'm headed out to demonstrate work-life balance in the sun and share some authentic prosecco with friends. 

Entrepreneurship on my mind (again)

It seems that my business follows me anywhere I go.  I think of ideas by the lake, ponder decisions about resources or employees while giving my garden box a Spring hair cut, and even now while grilling dinner, I'm blogging a few bits between turning pork chops.

It's not exactly work-a-holism.  It's that my most creative ideas often come in spare moments, when I'm not working on a deadline.

At brunch with friends today, we shared examples of how important it is that business owners stay hungry for growth and being on top of their games, even after years of previous success. If leaders become complacent with profits and long client relationships - and stop listening to feedback - they can fall in danger of the world changing imperceptably around them, of becoming less relevant. The main example was from my friend.  I've seen it, too, and realize I will always need to be energetic.

Of course I also heard myself say that I "might" work a little during this long Easter holiday weekend.   (We are off for Good Friday and Easter Monday.)  Need to rethink that one.  Entrepreneurs need breaks to stay healthy, too. 

Plus I know I'll be suprised by some great idea that pops into my head between devouring chocolate rabbits.

Chin-up and coatless

Last Friday, I wrote about remembering to turn on my relaxed emotions for the weekend.  It worked for two hours.  Then I came out of the networking meeting I also mentioned, to go home fairly early, and found that my (favorite, of course) winter coat had disappeared from the (very nice) restaurant's coat rack.

Relaxed emotions gone.  Felt like the world crashing after a busy week.

Three days later, the coat is still also gone.

But my very nice insurance agent (have a great one here) has quickly filed a claim.  And the restaurant manager will pay my deductible. I'll survive. It is only a coat.

But it felt like much more at that moment when I burst into tears.  And I realized I needed to get a perspective.  That incident has, in a funny way, helped me through this busy week of meetings. I keep saying "it's not like it's your favorite coat on a Friday!"

As this picture from my mini-Spring break in Thun shows, pretty soon I won't need a coat anyway! Chin-up, girl...

Friday, business or pleasure?

March is nearly behind us!  I believe here in Zurich we will finally set our clocks forward an hour this weekend.   Daylight Savings time over for another year.

For me, it seems like time is always "springing" forward.  Take this week for example.

I can look back on my to-do list and say, "that's a lot crossed off!"

Well, it's not all crossed-off.  In fact I will soon join an evening networking event for people who used to work for the same big company.  This will be my second visit to the "alumni" group.  Haven't decided if this is business networking or catching-up with friends.  Both, I hope.

One thing I always need to do at the end of the day on Friday is remember to turn on my "relaxed" emotions.  Think of my garden, something other than web content management and product logos.  Close the cover on the to-do's for a while.

Usually, the best way is to go out with friends.  Enjoy some wine and catching-up together.  The older I get, the more I manage to stop with few enough drinks to also enjoy the rest of my weekend.  :-)

Happy Friday!

Change, careers & diving boards

Not five minutes ago, I finally hit "send" on the first marketing campaign for my new product:  the jallé Six for Yourself.

I prepared for months.  New web site.  Whole new focus.

But as I approached the moment to hit "send" and "launch!" I felt a tension rising.  Excitement mixed with fear.

I realized that this new launch represents having again learned, discovered and CHOSEN the path of doing what I find most meaningful professionally (after three years with my own business).  I cut out all of the products and services that didn't fulfill me.  That is a risk, saying "no" to one thing and "yes" to another.  What if it doesn't work?

My 2002 diving board sketch (right) showed how I felt then about deciding to leave the corporate world behind me.  Saying "no, thanks" to a big company that had been part of my life for 16 years; "yes" to a different vision of myself.  Felt like a blind leap of faith.  Would I sink to the bottom of a deep dark pool? Seven years later, I cannot imagine another choice. 

This morning I jumped off of the board again.  A decision to start.  To go for it with both feet in. For me, that was one scary moment now overcome. 

A well-stated opinion that applies to a lot of things!

I don't normally consider myself very political.  I have tended to put all politicians into a mental class - say broadly less authentic than firemen or teachers or even the odd CEO - and finally vote for the "least of the worst" on election day.

A week or so ago, I had an inspiring conversation about change with a friend with whom I studied at Northwestern U.  We mutually pondered whether or not Obama could prove to be (and in fact is) authentic.  Is it wishful thinking that for once a politician actually cares at least a little more about the higher goal than himself and leads intelligently toward it?  In other words, that he meets the definition of a leader rather than a politician.  We will see, won't we? We both hope so.

My friend referred me to a blog post she had written. I was so happy she was blogging.  Then when I read her post, I thought it applied to many other situations in need of persistence and change.

So here it is: A view of change, inspired by Obama I want to remember it.  Warm thanks to you, Andrea.

Finally Spring

I take it as a good sign that I am present enough in my life to notice the first signs of Spring - natural or, as in this case, urban!

 

The cafes roll out!, originally uploaded by jalléCafe.

Catching a breath

Full bags, originally uploaded by jalléCafe.

Some days, finding time to post a blog feels like yoga. In these writing moments, I finally find a few minutes to center my thoughts and reflect on what's happening around me.

At this exact moment, I'm a team of one. Two employees are out sick and the third is not working this Friday afternoon. The quietude is OK after what I counted up as no less than 12 meetings this week.

I started my day with a little reward for surviving until Friday by drinking a hot chocolate at Spruengli on my way to work (early as usual!) As I sat there I realized that through the last three years since starting my business, I have found a rhythm that lets me shift fairly easily and enjoyably between corporate clients and entrepreneurial hectic-ness. I like the variety, the challenge, the focus and directness.

And of course, I love working with the clients, the employees, the vendors, the people who volunteer in our professional women's group. 

I do get pretty tired. But it is worth it.

What's new

You may have noticed that my blog categories have changed. 

I did not delete any posts (now up to 167 in two years and three months). 

I simply took a look back at what I'd written about and forward to where I hope I'm going.  Then I revised the categories to fit what I've really been saying.

These categories fit the themes that come up over and over again.  They align more, but not too tightly, with my business. 

Sometimes now I - and you too perhaps - can read over a theme to see what's been pondered about it, tried, achieved and if not, adjusted. In other words, what can be learned from the collected view in hindsight.

Thank you for reading even one single post.  I hope it catalyzes your own ideas!

Storm Spotters

It's been a while since I posted a Lesson from Mom.  Last week, she shared a classic:

Three generations of my family - Mom, two of her sons, and two of her grandsons - are currently taking training from the local National Weather Service to be certified as "storm spotters." 

My home town, which has recently been hit hard by DHL closing its US domestic shipping service (laying off thousands of people in the area) - is also long-known in the Spring as "tornado alley."  A warning siren system sounds each time serious dark clouds approach.  As children, we were trained to go to the basement or the most reinforced room in a one-story house.  We conducted tornado drills at school.  Dad put candles and flashlights together in a "survival kit."

Mom says she's tired of going to the basement all of the time; so, she's going out with my brothers to find the storms!  (Must be in the genes.  Her father also tended to pile the four grandchildren all in the car and chuckle gleefully as he drove through the farm fields chasing lightening saying "we are in the safest place because we are grounded by rubber tires!.")

But Mom is more educated.  "Lightening is not an indicator of storm intensity, " she informed me as I reminisced.

What I love is that - in the most dismal of economic times with 100s of For Sale signs in yards and families moving in together - someone is offering and my family is taking a course about a fascinating natural aspect of life in Ohio.  Tornadoes.

This, to me, demonstrates persistence at its best - finding something new to be motivated about instead of sitting around depressed.  In fact, I won't be surprised if the entire family becomes "Advanced Storm Spotters" by later taking the second course at the regional level. (They are already dreaming about it.)

Tornadoes don't care about the economy or respond to economic stimulus packages.

And Mom is not going to the basement either!

Life patterns

You can predict holidays (and vacations) in my life by my health:  if I'm about to start a few days or a week off, I'm sneezing and coughing or - as in the case of the last two days - I have not been able to successfully eat more than two pieces of dry toast.

Why?  Could it have to do with the fact that I started every morning early and then worked several nights later than usual, including Thursday when I later woke up to a rumbling tummy, so that I could be really caught up to relax during my break?

Will I ever learn to simply work when I work and stop when I go on holiday and NOT try to run across marathon finishing lines as if they were 100 meter sprints?

I've changed a lot of things in my life, but I still sit inside on one of the first lovely early sunny days of Spring, the first day of a week off of work.  OK, the view out my window looks good and I'm sleeping a lot, which will help me make the most of later days.  That's the positive view.

But really, it's time now to admit I need to break this old habit - and give the grippe less chance to get a grip on me.

The first thing I will do?  Put up reminders that life is a marathon.  That change starts with this blog!

Mondays

Mondays, originally uploaded by jalléCafe.

For lunch, late as usual, I tramped across the street and stood at the intersection where I walk nearly every day. Sometimes sunny weather makes me wonder why I seem to be the only person still working.

Sometimes we all share the same feeling: it's Monday.

So I went to McDonalds for chicken nuggets and french fries. It helped.

On the way back across the intersection, I felt new energy. Decided I would I try something creative on my blog to make the most of this mood: a "thin frame collage of Monday"

Nothing like a few fries for inspiration. No wonder Mondays are always the busiest at my health club.

Mid-life business models

Before the holidays, I had an instinct that I needed to read about how Starbucks started.  So I asked Mom to go to a big US bookstore and request the most "classic" book about the company (there have been so many).  At Christmas time, she brought across to Zurich Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time by Howard Schultz and Dori Jones Yang.  It's the story of how Starbucks was founded, published now 12 years ago. 

I didn't get to read the book over the holidays because Mom had dived into it on the airplane and wasn't quite finished yet.  She eventually reached chapters about going public, investments and business decisions, which allowed me to finally get my hands on it because that part of the story "wasn't as interesting." Thank goodness! Or I might have needed to fly back to Ohio for it.

For me, the entire book was interesting - an important read at a key moment in my business choices. I felt I gained a little mentoring from Howard.

Among the aspects that kept coming back to my mind was a question: Why don't I have this passionate vision to grow big fast like Schultz did?  Am I lacking something in the entrepreneurial spirit?

A few weeks later, I figured it out for myself while writing at 6 a.m. from my sofa.  I'm starting my business later in life - not my late 20's or early 30's but in my ripe old 40's.  I already feel the tug of life passing faster than I can enjoy it.  I fully feel the passion, commitment and persistence for my new Six for Yourself program.  My heart is going into it. 

It's just that at mid-life I've learned to dream about more than business. Still, I'm going to try to learn something from Howard and grow successfully by caring about one participant at a time!

About love

I found a paragraph in my hand-written journal from last month that seemed perfect for today.  It is about the first man I loved in my life - my father - but I think it applies to loving many people.

Before this paragraph were some comments about what was not perfect, written like a daughter trying to understand her parents, especially a father now gone.  And then was this:

...but he did love us. And that's what matters most.  In the end, all those things you hated. Your criticisms.  Your painful feelings and your fears of somewhere deep down inside being somehow the same as the parts you don't like.  It all disappears.  And you end up just knowing that person really loved you.  And that is enough.

You might  also notice a new blog look today.  It goes with my new web site. The new web site now matches perfectly the thing I most loved doing out of everything I tried during the first three years of my own business.  It's not the same love I had for my father or other people in my life now, but it is a love - and a priveledge - to do work from the heart, too.

Happy Valentine's Day!

What a difference a tunnel makes!

Lugano 8 Feb 008, originally uploaded by jalléCafe.

I arrived in Lugano last night to attend a conference. As usual, the north side of the Gotthard tunnel was cold, gray and snowy. (See photo on flickr by clicking the link.) And some 15 kilometer's later - sun!

Well, by the time I was in Lugano, it was dusk with a lovely full moon. Warm enough to walk leisurely to the hotel.

That full moon inspired some other ideas last night.  Nice to be off to a new view of the week.

And sometimes life is just too busy

I am normally an optimist and rarely in a truly bad mood.  Or at least I can usually talk myself out of a bad mood quickly.  But yesterday I just stayed in an irritable state from dawn to when I hit my bed again.

So this blog post proves life is not always idyllic in Zurich or as an entreprenuer. 

There wasn't anything specifically wrong yesterday.  The sun even came out for the first time in weeks (which made me even more irritable about being irritable on such a beautiful day).

I just had so much to do that I felt I was walking knee-deep through quick sand. I needed to hit deadlines and to update computer software (which, as is inevitably the case, required hours instead of minutes) and to review graphic designs , and to answer 50 emails, and...

I finally capitulated at 7 p.m. and walked home.  Drank two proseccos.  Clicked through channels with my remote control - wondering for a moment why there wasn't a man doing it so that I could be irritable with him too.  :-)

Woke up on the sunnier side of the bed this morning.  Thankfully.  Some days just have their own karma.

Sometimes life is (like) a movie

Right into the picture!, originally uploaded by jalléCafe.

Thursday night, I walked out of my office and right into the movies: an actor was standing just outside the door, waiting to be filmed walking towards the well-known restaurant beside us.

It's a dream anyway to work on a lovely old street in the center of town. Often, when we walk out the door someone is taking a photo. Bet our team is in a lot of tourist pics!

The rest of my week was normal. Not Hollywood. Thursday and Friday proved to be both packed with meetings.  Long days with a wide range of deadlines.

Good to be busy.  I find that it is better anyway when I don't have time to listen too much to the news reports these days. I seem to deal with the world economic worries more optimistically when I just focus on what we can do in our little area of influence.

In our desire to be grateful for and attentive to continued client projects, if I'm not careful, I'll work all day every day and have no fun at all in my personal life. That's what happens when you are single, you like what you do every day, and you feel the responsibility to do what you can to earn your way.

Speaking of movies, I watched a lovely one this weekend, The Bucket List. It reminded me what the mountains always also say: remember to keep your heart open and find joy in life your own way no matter how busy you are. I'm trying!

Intuition and Mountains

Intuition, originally uploaded by jalléCafe.

Yesterday, I trekked again to Arosa for a walk in the mountain sunshine. (I've already shown you a lot of Arosa photos; so, I'll let you link to Flickr - click "Intuition" above -  if you want to see the latest!).

I realized suddenly, as I sat on a bench in the sun writing, that something I had once felt deeply and intuitively had really happened. I was being a kind of artist in front of a mountain.

This is the page from my Intuition Journal in which I said "yes" to the possibility that I could live more like my spirit and soul yearned to do. More creatively. That was 2002 far away from Switzerland. This is 2009.

I still do not draw any better than you see here. But I have found new technology that helps me express my view - the web, writing, photos.

And I now sit regularly in front of mountains and ask them what I should do next. They usually tell me. Exactly like this photo suggests. It needed practice.

Only one person really hears the most important voice

OK. I'm joining the millions of people for whom the 44th President of the United States is their blog topic today. 

Late last night, I realized unexpectedly the two things I liked most about our new leader:

#1 He smiles when the Ohio State marching band goes by in the inaugural parade.  Look at this!  I came home at 11:30 p.m. after a meeting of the Professional Women's Group of Zurich (which thankfully started AFTER Obama's speech).  I flipped on the TV, wishing I could stay up long enough to also see Michello Obama's ball gown (by an unknown Chicago designer).  Suddenly, I heard the Ohio State Fight Song.  I thought I'd started dozing off.  But no!!! There they were marching in front of the White House.  And Obama was smiling.  All of my favorite worlds collided - my college days where I first dreamed of being the kind of woman who could see the world outside of Ohio, Zurich which has helped me come near to that woman I dreamed to be, AND a smart, driven man whose perspectives I can respect leading our country.  Fantastic moment.

This little experience caused me to think of #2:

Obama is a man who, one day in his life, said "it might be possible that I can become President."  "It might be possible that I can change something important."  Sure many people would have said he was crazy and even arrogant to have such a dream.  But I'll bet it was a thought that inspired and burned unlike any other for him - maybe he could become like other people he truly admired, someone he would be proud of.  There are plenty of people around who would say "no chance."  You can always find those people. But thank goodness for our culture that Obama's voice said "possible" and he followed it. 

Obama's inner voice was the main one that counts.  Because if he had said "not possible," he would not have changed in the direction of that dream.  And he would not be now in some way changing the world. That's the only thing for certain about his Presidency.  He illustrates how the most important voice that says "it's possible" is our own.  For me, that is the best reason to like him.

Sunday starting slowly

You remember that one of my goals this year is to be more "meaningful" (i.e. thoughtful, creative) with my friends in the little things? I got to test my resolve right away this week when three people had birthdays.  Two of them big ones: 40 and 60!

My new goal means that I cannot just pop into a shop for flowers or a bottle of wine.  I have to think of an idea that fits the person and find it.  So between meetings and deadlines this week, I searched book and department stores for ideas. I found a couple of great books for me. Typical. :-) And I did buy and write better cards than usual.

It finally all came together over the weekend.  I managed to take just the right book to a party last night (at least it is one of my favorites by an artist I also have hanging in my home - Real Reason by Brian Andreas  The book I gave was Mostly True, which includes my other favorite Brian Andreas story, Waiting for Signs). 

And finally this morning, after three cups of coffee, the newspaper and a little email, I've wrapped the third gift.

Perhaps the goal should have been stated as "meaningful" AND "on time." I think I'll get started on February now!  (Well, after I finally go to the gym and...)

Resolved

Back to work week.

My friends all say this year the return was slower.  We had a nice long break.  Being back in the office feels like waking up from a deep, pleasant dream - gradually coming to consciousness.

Just before Christmas, I happily received my little red watch back by mail.  I purchased it in the USA last September. It quit working two weeks after I returned to Switzerland.  I grumbled something like "I will always buy Swiss watches from now on!" as I shipped it back to New Jersey for repair. It's not that special, but it's fun.  At least I had it for the holidays.

Thing is, I wanted to know why it stopped running.  I dug through the papers in the shipping package and found this remark about the problem:

"time keeping issue"

Helpful. Yes, it sure was a time keeping issue. The hands didn't move to show the time. But why did it stop?  Sometimes I have a time keeping issue when I cook: I can't always get everything to be ready the same time. Maybe I also need a repair!

I think our New Year's resolutions can be a bit like this.  Right now, for example, a lot of people are working on their "body management issues" at the gym. If I arrive between 6 and 8 p.m., there are so many people with "issues," I have to stalk a treadmill to get it before someone else does.

Happily, the repair process goes fast in January.   In two weeks, a tremendous number of people will have apparently resolved their issues.  The pace of the gym will return to the lower key buzz of regulars with no waiting lines.

But I know more than a nice, corporate-sounding phrase about my issue:  I had stopped showing up at the health club three days/week and stopped jogging 3 kilometers per visit. And meanwhile I often replaced a few of those fitness sessions with prosecco sessions among friends.  All in good fun, like my little watch. And like my watch, I need to be both fun and running! 

Any other idea is still holiday dreaming!  :-)

Snowflakes

My year started in the snow:  Zurich enjoyed a little surprise snow and ice storm in the early evening that kept me at home on New Year's Eve.  I finally journeyed out January 1st on a beautiful sunny morning to spend the day with friends (where I should have been the night before!).

Now I'm hibernating.  Nearly literally.  Slept more than 10 hours each of the last three nights.

Normally, I would take one of these snowy days to walk in the mountains.  But instead, I have this feeling that I need total relaxation and space for myself.  Warmth and blankets in my own place.

By tomorrow, we will all be back to work.  Our holiday conversations always included speculation about what the year will bring.  This is the second major economic downturn of my adult career.  The first one brought both challenges and personal growth - maturity - to learn how to make decisions for the longer term.  No one knows what this one will bring. I just know I need to take it with a steady pace, flexibility and somewhat stubbornly persistent optimism in the face of gloom.

I wrote my 2009 goals using a process that has helped me for the last decade.  I read through all of my 2008 journals, then listed about five lessons learned.  I looked over my goals from last year to see how they worked (if I achieved them AND if they were the right goals in the end).  I did OK really.  In fact, I'd say 2008 was one of my more full years in terms of strong personal and professional development. I noticed that it started with some of my most stressful - and high work load - challenges in a while.  Perhaps some of the good feeling includes the reward of having overcome hurdles.

My goals always focus on what I will do new or different. (I assume, for example, that I will still jog regularly and be sure to take vacations - old goals from previous years that are now habits).  There are never more than five (any more is a list, not a set of priorities).  Here they are in short form:

1. Launch a program in my business that I've dreamed of now for a while. It will be the most high-risk step so far because it is new and will not bring in quick cash.  But it's where my passion tells me to go. 

2. Plus, we'll aim for the next year of steady progress with my largest client, working with and building the team that is a genuine pleasure every day in the office

3. Reach 200 members in PWG of Zurich with all that entails

4. Be more creative with meaningful little gestures for my friends

5. Return to playing golf after a five year lull.  (Next after golf: learning how documentary films are made)

So, you can see that hibernation for me is not exactly inactive.  It's time to watch the snow fly and ponder quietly a little.  The New Year came in on a soft, swirling snowflake as during the first silent hours of a snowstorm, before the snowplows take over.