Every day, my inbox is overflowing with people who want to sell me something. I suspect you have the same problem. These sellers do not realize that the relationship comes first, then the sale. Worse, without the relationship, I will never buy from them. Do they realize that? I suspect not. Regardless of what you […]
How Early in a New Relationship Can You Offer Useful Value? Read More »
This is Johanna Rothman’s June 2025 Create an Adaptable Life Newsletter. The unsubscribe link is at the bottom of this email. Several of my colleagues and dear friends are in the midst of chaos. They want to do something new and create new opportunities for themselves. Tom is looking for a job. Andrea wants to
How Can You Tell It’s Time to Commit to a New Path? Read More »
By the time we start school, most of us have heard the word “no” a lot. Parents tell children not to do unsafe things—a form of rejection. Most of us learn from these rejections and decide what to do next. In school, we experience a ton of rejection. As a short child with zero athletic
When Can Rejection Help Us Create a Better Life? Read More »
I receive many requests to speak at conferences all over the world. Part of me is thrilled because that’s a sign they have found my content different and valuable. Part of me is a little resigned, because I have to start the conversation about what the conference will and will not pay for. I need
How Can We Start with Respect for People Instead of Commodity Thinking? Read More »
This is Johanna Rothman’s May 2025 Create an Adaptable Life Newsletter. The unsubscribe link is at the bottom of this email. A few weeks ago, I met a friend, Dave, for lunch. We’d had to cancel that lunch two weeks in a row. The first time was because I was sick. While I selfishly decided
How Do You Know When a Selfish or Generous Decision is Best? Read More »
We often hear “strength” used to describe leaders in our communities, at work, and certainly in politics. Often, those who talk about being “strong” equate that strength to “power.” While I do think there is a power component to strength, I don’t agree with literal power, where the “strong” leader uses/abuses his or her power
What Does Leadership Strength Mean to You? Read More »
I’ve been fighting a head cold all week. That means I’ve had various Queen personas: the Nap Queen, the Cough Queen, and the Sneezing Queen. I hope I am in my final iteration of being a Cough Queen because I have things I want to accomplish. That feeling of being pulled away from my objectives
How Can We Find Ways to Escape Our Various Undertows? Read More »
Do you feel as if the world is so complex that you need to somehow make it simpler—just to decide what to do next? If so, you are not alone. However, making things simpler is often not enough. Instead, we need to bring more critical thinking skills to bear on the various problems. We have
How Can We Embrace Complexity Thinking Instead of Wishing for Simple Solutions? Read More »
In last week’s question, How Do You Manage to Want to Keep Learning?, my last option was to sleep on the learning to reinforce what we learned. So an eagle-eyed reader asked this question: How do you force yourself to take that rest? (No one can continue to burn the candle at both ends—that’s not
How Do You Manage to Force Yourself to Take a Rest? Read More »
This is Johanna Rothman’s March 2025 Create an Adaptable Life Newsletter. The Unsubscribe link is at the bottom of this newsletter. Dave (not his real name) asked me this question: “How do you know when you have to quit? Or retire? Is it when you’re no longer on the top of your game?” (Being at
How Do You Know When You’re No Longer On Top of Your Game? Read More »