Join Marshall and Michael for a free 45 minute teleclass on Monday March 29th at 12 noon Eastern share tips and insights on how to keep your Mojo and do more Great Work.

=> Register here

When times are challenging and demands on your energy, focus and time are only increasing, you need to have practical strategies to not only succeed but to flourish.

In this session you’ll hear Marshall and Michael share:

==> What’s at the heart of Mojo – and why you need to find it and keep it.

==> What’s the difference between Good Work and Great Work – and why Good Work can be part of the problem.

==> Three key tactics to help you keep your Mojo.

==> Four ways to Stop the Busywork so you can focus on your Great Work.

We expect this teleclass to be popular, and there are limited lines, so please register now

=> Register here

Marshall Goldsmith is one of the world’s leading executive coaches, and author of numerous New York Times best-sellers, including What Got You Here Won’t Get You There and his latest, Mojo: How to Get It, How to Keep It, How to Get It Back if You Lose It. You can pick up free Mojo resources at www.MojoTheBook.com

Michael Bungay Stanier is the Senior Partner of Box of Crayons, a company that helps organizations do less Good Work and more Great Work. His latest book is Do More Great Work: Stop the Busywork. Start the Work That Matters and you can find free resources at www.DoMoreGreatWork.com.

A final reminder that I’m running a free telelcass tomorrow with Tom Heck, President of the International Association of Teamwork Facilitators.

It’s on at Wednesday, 1pm Eastern – and you can register here.

Come along and you’ll learn:

• What’s the difference between Great Work and Good Work – and whether you should care or not
• How to help a team or an organization focus on the work that makes the most difference – and how to deal with the work that doesn’t
• Two words that will significantly increase the power of your facilitation questions

We’ll be using a new technology that allows us to do small group breakouts on the phone – so this won’t be the usual one-hour monologue. (But it also means you’re unlikely to catch up on much email during the call…)

“If I had to pick a person to have dinner with, when I need to be prodded and challenged and inspired to think about the things I really am committed to think about for myself and what I’m doing, I’d pick Michael Bungay Stanier. He has an ability to shake our tree and make us more conscious and responsible about what we know but aren’t willing to admit we know yet. And the best part – he makes it easy and fun. Great work, Michael!”
~ David Allen, 
Author of Getting Things Done

Tom Heck, President of IATF (International Association of Teamwork Facilitators) is hosting a Great Work teleclass a week from today – 1pm on Wednesday 28th.

=> http://tinyurl.com/ylppvqn

This will be a fun, practical and interactive session – and free to boot.

It’s based on my Find Your Great Work book – and you can read some nice things said about that below.

In the teleclass you’ll learn

• What’s the difference between Great Work and Good Work – and whether you should care or not.
• How to help a team or an organization focus on the work that makes the most difference – and how to deal with the work that doesn’t
• Two words that will significantly increase the power of your facilitation questions

So jump on in – the water’s fine…

=> http://tinyurl.com/ylppvqn

“If I had to pick a person to have dinner with, when I need to be prodded and challenged and inspired to think about the things I really am committed to think about for myself and what I’m doing, I’d pick Michael Bungay Stanier. He has an ability to shake our tree and make us more conscious and responsible about what we know but aren’t willing to admit we know yet. And the best part – he makes it easy and fun. Great work, Michael!”
~ David Allen
, Author of Getting Things Done

In the world of teamwork there is something we call “synergy”. When a group of individuals work together with passion and focus, they produce a result that is much greater than the sum of the individual effort. When interviewed, team members will use the word “magical” to describe these types of experiences. Creating teams that work in this way are what managers dream of. For too many managers the dreams are never realized because they don’t know how to help their team members do more Great Work. I love Michael’s book “Find Your Great Work” because it provides a powerful, step-by-step system managers can use to help coach their team members to making the shift from good (or even bad) work to great work. How many team and leadership development books have you read that leave you wondering how to implement the author’s wisdom? This book is different. Michael literally maps it out for you. We’ve entered a new age in teamwork – - the inspiration age – - and this book will help managers build inspired teams.
~ Tom Heck, IATF President & FounderNew

Follow Michael Bungay Stanier/@boxofcrayons on Twitter

We relish news of our heroes, forgetting that we are extraordinary to somebody too.
~ Helen Hayes

I’m a big big fan of identifying your heroes. They’re often a terrific clue as to what Great Work might be for you, as it is something they’re doing or somehow that they’re being that is calling you forward. (Sort of like that scene from Jerry Maguire).

Here are four things I know about knowing your heroes

1. Often, getting clear on your heroes brings mixed emotions. As well as admiration, there is some degree of jealousy, inferiority, sense of lack. Or maybe that’s just me.
2. They’re human too, with their fair share of frailties and flaws. That’s actually part of the secret of their success.  And realizing this helps with #1.
3. You can contact them. Or at least, you can try. I’m in touch with a number of people I really admire – Seth, Chris, David, Molly, Andrea, not to mention the cool people of  The Great Work Interviews – because I rang them up to say hello. And that helps you connect with #2, which in turn lessens #1.
4. They can offer you a mirror to see your own potential greatness. What’s in them that you want to grow within yourself? What do they stand for that you want to stand for? Which takes us back to #1 but flips it on its head.

Speaking of heroes…

There are two upcoming opportunities to see some heroes of mine in action.

Friday October 16, Tom Peters, Marcus Buckingham, Jeff Jarvis and David Allen are speaking at The Art of… in downtown Toronto. These are three smart, thoughtful guys. I’ll be attending and it’s something I’m really looking forward to it. Are you coming too? If so, let me know.

And two days earlier – Wednesday October 14 – David Allen is speaking in Montreal on the Getting Things Done concepts. I count David as a friend and colleague, and he’s been kind enough to offer Box of Crayons readers a 15% discount on the event. Learn more about the seminar here, and to register and pick up your discount enter boxofcrayons on the checkout screen

On Tuesday at 3pm Eastern I’m speaking with Howard Behar (former President of Starbucks and author the leadership book, It’s Not About the Coffee) and Tim Kelly (author of a new book, True Purpose: 12 Strategies for Discovering the Difference You Are Meant to Make)

==> You can register here > http://tinyurl.com/nggjuv (it’s free)

It is no secret that the last year or so has been on the miserable side of miserable in the wake of the economic melt down. Canada’s making a modest recovery – we created some jobs last month – but the US is still struggling to stem the bleeding.

If you’re in an organization, big or small, you are most likely figuring out how to keep your colleagues/employees engaged, maintaining your customer base and strengthen your brand – all while running the business of course.

It’s worth stopping for a moment and realize that some companies are actually flourishing right now. Companies like Whole Foods and Southwest Airlines are actually thriving, and a significant part of that success comes down to being absolutely clear about their purpose and why they’re in business – and using that to inspire employees and expand their customer base.

Tim and Howard both have first-hand experience on what it takes to be a remarkable leader who inspires employees and customers alike, and I’ve got an opinion or two on the matter as well. We’ll be sharing insights and discussing specific strategies and tools to help your organization not only survive but begin to flourish so you don’t want to miss this!

Go ahead and register, even if you can’t make the live call. Elizabeth Marshall, host and founder of AuthorTeleseminars.com will send you a recording after it’s over.

==> Register here > http://tinyurl.com/nggjuv

Questions? Please email Elizabeth directly, as she’s hosting this call. You can reach her here: host@authorteleseminars.com