by Nick Miller of Clarity Advantage

In which we are reminded to engage our clients on what’s top of mind for them right now rather than on what’s top of mind for us.

I live near Boston, Massachusetts.  The Red Sox are finished.  Winter is coming.  Around the Miller household, we are preparing our house and garden for the winter.  Storm windows hung up, hosta cut down, lime and fertilizer spread around. Early days, still, and we’re working our way through the list, week by week, toward the inevitable arrival of sharply colder temperatures and snow.

As a business owner, I’m feeling like I’m in the same position now – another economic winter is coming, and I need to prepare.

The news coming out of the Eurozone ranges from “not encouraging” on a good day to “frightening” on other days.  U.S. and foreign stock market heaves and rolls leave me sea sick as my investment values bounce up and down, almost carelessly. The political and regulatory environment in this country leaves me shaking my head.  Our clients’ outlooks for 2012 range from guarded optimism to bracing for a crash.

by Nick Miller of Clarity Advantage

In which we are reminded to follow our “broad” questions with very specific questions that tease out the detailed facts we need to propose value-based solutions.

With apologies to y’all in Texas and other states who haven’t had rain or grass for a couple of years:

I mowed our  lawn on Saturday. Beautiful day for mowing, just a little bit of cool fall air with brilliant September sunshine.   Thanks to recent rains and the fall dose of lime and fertilizer, our lawn is thickly green, punctuated with early fall leaves.

One small hitch in the giddy-up.  The ride-on lawn mower we use for grass and leaves at this time of year features wide front and rear tires that matt down the grass so that the mower blades ride over the matted grass which can get pretty long, even when we’re mowing weekly. So, after we mow, we rake portions of the grass, teasing up the matted down long bits so that we can clip them with hand-clippers or mow them with the standard rotary mower.

by Nick Miller of Clarity Advantage

In which we are encouraged to ask others to help us identify and correct old habits that hold us back.

From the “I can’t believe I’m going to tell you this story and you probably won’t either and there won’t be many secrets left after I tell you this one” department: for several decades, I have had a problem eating. Actually, I haven’t had a problem “eating,” as in chewing, swallowing, and enjoying the multiple benefits of a balanced diet. I had a problem getting food into my mouth reliably. (I can see my spouse and children rolling their eyes now.)