New Planning Routine

I co-host a weekly chat with my friend Ken Rosen; it’s on Mondays at 3 PM ET. It’s called #usguyschat . Typically some time before Monday we put our heads together and come up with a topic and questions to guide the chat.

I am committed to developing new routines this year, so when Michele Price (@prosperitygal) generously offered to help brainstorm some topic ideas, I immediately took her up on her offer. Michele is a well-known speaker, coach and she hosts her own weekly radio show, so I knew she would have a lot to teach me.

We quickly set up a Skype call and what followed was one very productive call.

Michele really knows how to organize and plan. She helped me understand how valuable a simple mind map tool can be. In a matter of minutes, I had a framework for the entire year.

Next, we started talking about topic ideas. Michele helped me to think about the idea of themes and topics in a whole new light. She shared her best practices of observing chats and watching for questions or comments that could open doors to deeper follow-up chats.

Then she provided some ideas on finding guests to participate in our chats.

Here are a few of my takeaways.

1. Have a plan – I knew this intellectually; however, Michele brought this concept to life for me. But most important, she taught me how to fish (as the old saying goes), she didn’t do it for me.

2. Develop a process – You need a mechanism to work the plan. Here, Michele gave me a way to think about the plan. She showed me some new ways to connect and link ideas and concepts.

3. A good tool can really help. While I have dabbled in mind-mapping tools, I finally realized how helpful it can be.

4. Be generous. By helping others, we gain from new experiences, interactions and thoughts.

5. Accept help from others. Adopt a growth mindset and constantly look for opportunities to learn and grow.

Michele, thanks so much for your generosity, insight and support.