life goals

3 wonderful tips for our “groundhog-days”

Joerg Kuehn · Feb 24, 2021 · Leave a Comment

It was the first of February when weatherman Phil Connors, together with his producer Rita and camera man Larry, made their way from Pittsburgh to Punxsutawney, where, on February 2^nd, a groundhog named Phil predicts whether spring will come early or winter will continues its icy grip for another 6 weeks. German speaking immigrants initiated the tradition of groundhog day back in 1887.

Connors makes no secret about his dislike for the trip, as he finds the small town with its narrow-minded people “so uninspiring.” His plan is to get done with the groundhog day report quickly in order to be back in Pittsburgh for the 5pm news. But life has different plans for the obnoxious weather man as he enters an endless loop of waking up day after day at 6.00am to Sonny & Cher’s, “I Got You Babe” … and the same day he lived through the day before … with the same people doing the same things.

That’s how the movie Groundhog Day, starring Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell, starts out.

From handcuffs to a dream job – the power of setting boundaries!

Joerg Kuehn · May 25, 2020 · Leave a Comment

It was a Thursday evening in 2010 only a few days after her second daughter was born, when the police knocked on Peggy Chan’s door (name changed for confidentiality reasons). It turned out that her abusive husband had jumped bail and the police were searching for him with a warrant of arrest for Peggy. She was put in handcuffs and brought to the police station. She was released after the interrogation, conditional on her turning up on Monday for the court hearing, where she had to either provide her husband’s whereabouts, which she did not know, or pay a $20k bail fine. Peggy was devastated.

Her only way out was to ask her mother for help, despite not having a good relationship with her. Peggy’s mother agreed to help and saw how her daughter was being handcuffed and put in the docks on Monday. Peggy’s mother paid the $20k fine. After this incident, Peggy filed for divorce and had to move back in with her mother. This was far from easy. Her mother was a tough and strong-willed person and everything had to go her way. On the positive side, her mother pushed Peggy to further her education and so Peggy started a bachelor degree with an Australian university at the end of 2010 whilst working full-time in a customer service job and raising her two children as a single mum.

In 2013, shortly after she had completed her Bachelor degree, Peggy received the devastating news…

Dream of changing your life?

Joerg Kuehn · May 25, 2020 · Leave a Comment

Due to confidentiality reasons, names and backgrounds in this story have been changed.

It was February 2015 when Marie emailed me asking whether I would consider coaching her husband, Peter. Peter is a successful civil engineer, who has been thriving in his career across 8 different countries over the last 18 years. He is now working with a very well-known multinational company.

One would think the story of Peter’s life is a typical definition of success – he has the money, he travels worldwide for work, and he has earned his professional respect. But during our complimentary session, Peter, a man in his 40s, confessed:

“I admit, I am very good at my profession, and I have worked hard to achieve all I have thus far. However, what I do is not my chosen path, and I’m frustrated because I don’t even like what I am doing. It doesn’t give me satisfaction but a never-ending stream of regret at my hopelessness. But I don’t know how to move forward or change. Among the fears that inhibit me, there is one that torments me the most – that I will still be doing the same thing in the next 10-15 years.”

Self-Leadership Lessons of a 800km Walk

Joerg Kuehn · Apr 28, 2020 · Leave a Comment

Daniel Goleman’s quote “Exceptional leaders distinguish themselves because of superior self-leadership” inspired me to share some self-leadership lessons that I learned during an 800km walk.

Nearly 8 years ago I asked my manager at P&G whether I could take 4 weeks off to “take a walk”. Initially he said “no” but eventually gave me the green light. I had worked in supply chain management for 17 years and it was the first time I took 4 weeks off.

I wanted to walk the Camino De Santiago, a more than 1,000 years old pilgrimage in Northern Spain. People walk the “Camino” (The Way) to pay their respect to the Apostle St. James, but also to find new direction and hope in their lives. Before walking those 800 kilometres, I had no idea what a huge impact it would have on my life. Two years later I quit my job and started a new career and life as an Executive Coach. Looking back, I realized that the experiences I had on the Camino gave me the courage to take this step. I am glad to be able to share some of the 5 (sometimes hard) lessons I learned.

The ultimate way to meet your life goals

Joerg Kuehn · Apr 28, 2020 · Leave a Comment

This article was originally posted on Linkedin on 4 December 2018. Submissions for 2019 have been closed, however do drop an email if you are interested in future Life Compass programs!

Only a few minutes after I had opened the Bangkok Post on 15th of March 2003, I put it aside in total shock because of the following headline: “Procter & Gamble acquires Wella in a $7 Billion Deal.”

This news not only changed my life, but probably the lives of every single of my 17,000 Wella colleagues. For me, the years and months that followed felt like doing several MBA’s at the same time, as it not only meant relocating to Singapore, but also operating in a totally different working culture whilst learning new tools, systems, processes and acronyms every day.

Among the many new things, there was one tool that stood out for me: the OGSM, which stands for Objectives-Goals-Strategies-Measures.

life goals

This article was originally posted on Linkedin on 4 December 2018. Submissions for 2019 have been closed, however do drop an email if you are interested in future Life Compass programs!

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