by Liz Clark | Aug 2, 2015 | Business Matters, Pursuits, Team Building
Remember that awful feeling in the pit of your stomach when your teacher announced a new group project? Whether the teacher chose the groups or you got to choose didn’t matter – no one liked group projects. I liked to work alone because I was the nerd kid who ended up doing most of the work for the entire group. I always thought the other kids must love group projects. But, no. They hated them, too. We didn’t realize it, but “group work” is an educational theory to help students develop something beyond learning the subject matter at hand – skills like teamwork and leadership. You know, to “prepare for real life.” I’m not sure if that worked as well as the theory postulated it would. But, it is true that teams are an inevitable part of real life: at work, in business, sports, church, with friends and family – every project has the potential to need a team. We may still be groaning and rolling our eyes on the inside at the idea of having to work as a team, but “resistance is futile:” we cannot simply avoid “group work” forever. As a business consultant (and as a human!), I’ve worked with many teams over the years, and it is truly awful to be on a losing team. But, it’s also incredibly amazing to be part of a high-performance team. How do you know the difference? One way is to measure is results: is the team achieving what it was meant to achieve? But, any quick study in human behavior will tell you: achievement is only one measure of success. You can scare, manipulate, bribe (read: “incentivize”) people into “delivering results” – that doesn’t necessarily...
by Liz Clark | Jul 13, 2015 | Uncategorized
My great-grandfather died long before I was born, but my grandmother remembered him fondly. He was a hard-working man. He worked with type setting for many years. It was honest, hard work and he developed a reputation for his excellent quality. As time marched on, industrial innovation marched in: big machines that did all kinds of fancy new things faster and “more efficiently” than my highly-skilled great-grandfather. The machines were quite impressive – and not at all something that he understood. My grandmother said he tried. He worked to try to understand these new machines at first. But he couldn’t adapt. He began working less and drinking more and – years later – became very ill and passed away well before his time. My grandmother said she believed he really died of a broken heart. She watched her father change from a big, joyful man who carried himself with pride and a twinkle in his eye – to a shell of a man who lost the will to live. Why the heck am I sharing such a sad story? I see this same dynamic play out in our modern world. Technology is hurdling forward at an unfathomable pace. My children make me feel older every day as they navigate technology and try to explain it to me with words that I’m pretty sure they made up. I’ve been feeling strangely akin to my great-grandfather these days. I’ve built a successful “brick-and-mortar” business. Now I am expanding and building an online platform. Some days, I look at this big machine called the internet and I think – “Wow, that’s impressive. But...
by Liz Clark | Jul 9, 2015 | Boundaries
I lay awake in bed trying to calm down. Staring at the flitting shadows cast by the ceiling fan. Breathe in. Breathe out. A beautiful Saturday afternoon shone brightly behind the room-darkening shades pulled low over my bedroom windows. I was up early that morning to do laundry and clean the science-experiment-gone-wrong that was supposed to be my kitchen. Knowing I had to leave for work in an hour, I told myself that taking a “power nap” would help. But lying there, I only felt a sense of dread: soon I would have to push back the covers and face the world. “Pull it together,” I said out loud, trying to ignore the elephant-sized weight that felt as if it was sitting on my chest. You see, this version of me – this person hiding in bed with the shades drawn – wasn’t a familiar person. As far back as I can remember, when I would make up my mind to do something, I committed my plans to God and just got busy getting it done. Period. No matter how hard it was. I had dreams, a willingness to learn and a stubborn refusal to give up. That was the only “me” I knew. I knew about overcoming adversity. I put myself through college juggling 3 jobs to pay the bills. I spent the first 6 years of my marriage having 400 kids (ok, 4 kids, but I swear there was enough sleeplessness for at least 400 kids). I survived my husband’s Army career, including a deployment overseas, while working my fingers to the bone to get out of...
by Liz Clark | Jul 5, 2015 | Uncategorized
I’ve spent a long time thinking about this website. Thinking about what I wanted it to look like. Thinking about what I hoped I would have the courage to write. But, thinking was as far as I got for almost two years. I filled up my already-busy days with distractions to avoid working on it…because my focus was in the wrong place. My focus was on ME and MY thoughts. Slowly, with the help of a unique community of Dreamers and Builders, I began to understand that this website is not about ME. It’s about helping and connecting with a community of people. What kind of people? People who know there is more to life, but need a little encouragement or guidance to reach it. People with compassionate hearts and incredible dreams that are fighting doubt and fear. People who need practical advice and an inspirational advocate who knows how to overcome adversity and isn’t afraid to help you overcome it, too. People who are willing to be part of a community by encouraging others and participating respectfully. People like YOU. Once YOU became the focus, my daily schedule changed. I found time. It was hard. Some days I am still amazed at the interest that people have shown in what’s being built here. So, why did I start this site? What’s it all about? I want to use my writing, my experience and skills to help you find and reach what really matters in life and business. I want to build a community of like-minded folks who are reaching for what matters and are willing do so together. Last weekend, I...
by Liz Clark | Jun 21, 2015 | Family, Mom Matters
Once upon a time a long time ago in a land called Ohio, a tired mom was facing a problem. It wasn’t really a big problem, but to her, it felt like one. She didn’t really “see” the problem until she got to church each Sunday. It was as if something magical happened when her growing family pulled into the church parking lot. She would suddenly “see” her 4 kids in a whole new light: toothpaste smeared on shirts and mouths, mismatched socks, cowlicks – why hadn’t she seen any of this before they left the house? She was tired of looking like a Target-ad-gone-wrong and made a special effort one Saturday to make absolutely sure her family had their Sunday best ready to wear to church the next day. She ironed. She steamed jackets. She matched socks. She rose early Sunday morning and administered the getting-ready-for-church ritual with military-like precision. As the young family neared their church building that Sunday, she felt relieved. FINALLY a Sunday where she didn’t have to walk in feeling a little embarrassed. She was wearing a dress and her husband and kids were all wearing button down shirts, dress pants and jackets. It was then that she saw bright orange balloons. People wearing bright orange T-shirts along the church’s driveway holding signs waving enthusiastically. What was going on? The mom hung her head as it dawned on her: This was “Biker Sunday.” The ONE Sunday a year where the church hosted an “outreach” to Bikers including a contemporary service followed by a church picnic / pig roast outside. Everyone was wearing jeans and orange t-shirts. How could...
