This holiday season, as we wrap up one year and begin anew,  I have had two acute reminders that the only thing we can expect in life is the unexpected.

Sometimes just one moment changes everything…

I had planned (and awaited with excited anticipation) a three-week hot, romantic holiday in Australia with the intention of exploring a new relationship with a great guy whom I’d met earlier in the year in the land down under.

I arrived to find my long-distance beau offering temporary accommodation to his ex-girlfriend who needed a place to stay and whom he couldn’t “put out on the street.” Hmmm. After discussing, and discovering, a rather awkward situation, I realized I had travelled almost 10,000 miles from Winnipeg to Melbourne – on a 45-hour journey due to weather and flight delays – to sleep in the guest room, watch “It’s a Wonderful Life” by myself and go for long walks among the gum trees… alone. (That said, we did go together to a fabulous Muse concert in Melbourne.)

It soon became apparent that the only intimate relationship I was developing was with “Mac,” my shiny, happy laptop that became the Apple of my eye.

Saddled with a few emotional issues, overdue work projects and some kind of an infection, my Aussie guy was not feeling well and was in no state to receive guests – let alone faraway girlfriends. On Day Five, he had an appointment with his doctor; and I had an appointment with Quantas airlines.

My holiday forecast of love in the sun had suddenly changed to cloudy with periods of rain and dark skies. I caught a last-minute flight to see friends in Sydney for a few days of warmth and glad tidings, and from there booked an early flight back on Dec. 24 just in time for a white Christmas in Canada. I was home by midnight on Christmas Eve, and I think saw Santa flying over the Pacific.

No regrets. I’d gone on a relationship reconnaissance mission… and found the information I needed. I got in, I got out and, as my astute friend in Sydney noted, I “fast-tracked” what sometimes takes others years to discover.

Mission accomplished. Relationship aborted. Minor wounds, no serious casualties. Alas, it’s time for a new mission in the new year… and I’m ready to advance.

On a much more serious note, my sister and brother-in-law had an unexpected turn of events yesterday, en route to Winnipeg to leave on a holiday to the U.S. and Fiji. They received a phone call that a close friend and business partner had just died after his plane crashed in a field near their home, about five kilometres from the small town of Boissevain. They called to tell me they were turning around to return home to comfort their friend’s wife (now widow) and his family.

Life can sometimes blindside us, and abruptly usher in new (and intense) experiences without any warning.

How we handle the new change, changes us.

What new plans, hopes and dreams do you have for this precious gift of another year?

Will you create, embrace or allow something new – or resist it? What will you do with what’s new?

Happy New Year everyone.

Greetings one and all!

Imagine if Mary, Joseph and the Wise Men had had the internet and social media to announce Jesus’s birth?
Christmas may have gone like this… check out this adorable, and rather clever, Nativity scene in the digital age.
And remember the true “message” of Christmas is best sent in person, or at least in spirit. So connect with those you love and have a wonderful worldwide holiday.

This past week I attended the CAPS (Canadian Association of Professional Speakers) Unconventional Convention in Montreal – and it delivered many ‘unconventional’ ideas and approaches that can be applied to business… and to life.

If you or your business is looking to roar in to the new year with new focus and new strength, Ian Thomas, an animal tracker and business strategist from South Africa, has a great model for you. Thomas talks about “The Power of the Pride” and how businesses can build teams that thrive by observing the most powerful group in the jungle – a pride of lions.

In the African bush and the business jungle, everyone loves the idea of eating their competitors.

Powerful teams are built by powerful individuals.

Lions choose to hunt together. Prides work because everyone has a “specialty” and knows what they’re superb at. Lionesses do most or all of the hunting because they’re fast, camouflaged and designed to hunt; males must protect the lionesses and hold the territory.

What are you superb at?

Thomas says when he asks business people that question, most of them panic. Very few are prepared to state it on paper. Some just don’t know their strengths, and others are unclear.

Does every team member know and understand the final goal?

If you are hunting big game, you must all focus on the same target.

Lions know what the goal is and focus on one goal. If a lioness is going to take down and 750-kilogram bull buffalo, every lion on the team must be there to support her. If even one or two lions are unclear and uncommitted the result can be failure… death or starvation.

In his work with business teams, Thomas says, on average, 40% of people do not write down the same goal. In other words, out of every 10, four people are doing something else. And in some cases, Thomas has seen whole teams that don’t know what they are trying to do.

In the animal kingdom – and business world – trust is essential.

The only reason a lioness is prepared to attack, and risk injury in hunting a huge target is because she knows the other six are coming in hard and fast to back her up, says Thomas. She has 100% trust her team is coming to help her.

Trust is huge, and if breached can destroy individuals… and the entire pride.

Out in the jungle, you have to trust each other, look after each other, and get over your ego or any self-serving attitude.

Trust is also the least understood. Trust is about knowing that if the team is focused, clear and each superb at her job, the team will ‘make the kill’ … everyone will eat, everyone will be healthy, and it will allow everyone to get more of what they want.

As soon as you do not buy into that goal, you become untrustworthy. And if team members don’t even know what the goal is, you’ve got no chance.

In the business jungle trust is equally critical.

You must know who your customers are, know exactly what they want from you, and be able to deliver the goods. And in joint ventures, partners must be confident in the other person’s ability.

Conflict or change can be healthy when it allows you to create powerful individuals who can lead a trustworthy team. Many of us fear the potential in someone else’s abilities. However, if we can learn to work with people’s strengths, and not against them, the results are magnificent.

The more powerful your team, the stronger you are to ensure a great future.

Lionesses know the importance of nurturing, protecting and teaching the cubs. They need these potential sprinters to protect the future strength of the pride.

The male lion king also knows his place on the team. He is a great tactical fighter but without his lionesses hunting for him, he is weak, hungry and, ultimately, dead. He secures the territory for the lionesses to hunt and raise strong cubs. The lion king and lionesses are a team with different skills but they back each other up… 100%.

Imagine if you could create that kind of trust and respect in your business,  family or relationships!

To create this kind of power – in business, at home or in life – act like a lion pride:

1) Build strength in the individuals.

2) Focus clearly on what you are trying to do – as an individual, family or team.

3) Look to one another for communication and support.

4) Develop trust by knowing your goal, buying into it and delivering on it. If you are unable or unwilling to deliver, say so.

5) Be competent. Know your strengths.

6) Back one another up!

Here’s to a prosperous new year of building stronger teams and businesses, with worthy targets.

Photo: Dogrando on Flickr under a Creative Commons License

Wow.  It’s December, the last month wrapping up another year and, in this case, another decade!

I love this time of year to reflect on the last 12 months and, like fresh snow, look forward to the fresh possibilities of the new year.

I have a tradition in December of my setting my intention for the upcoming year, based on a word, or theme, that captures what I plan to create, achieve or simply be open to receive in the next chapter of my life.

I believe intention rules everything in life; I set daily intentions to focus and ‘program’ my day, but especially like to envision my plans for the next year.

In 2010 my word-theme was “abundance.” In the past year, I found a new love, unexpected additional income, a new direction – and a new coach – for my writing business and, at the end of this month, what will be three trips overseas.

Cool. I love it when a plan comes together.

So I’m setting my intention for 2011 with excited anticipation. And to make it even better, my friend and colleague David Zinger gave me another idea; he sets a three-word theme to encapsulate what he plans to achieve in the next year. As a consultant in employee engagement, his 2011 mantra is Engage, Educate and Enliven.

Here’s my three-word theme for 2011: Build, Connect and Commit.

It is my heartfelt intention to:

build both my business and my relationships, personal and professional;

connect to my purpose and ‘my people’ (those who I might serve in the world);

and commit to my authentic self, my work and to making a difference where I can.

So there it is. I’ll get back to you on how the year unfolds.

In the meantime, what’s your intention for 2011?

Choose one word, or three, and let me know what happens!