Mark Baggesen - Don’t Work Stupid, Coach Yourself: 40 Things Managers Won’t Tell You. A Step by Step Guide to Coach Yourself

by Mark A. Baggesen

Title: Dont Work Stupid, Coach Yourself

Subtitle: 40 Things Managers Wont Tell YouA Step by Step Guide to Coach Yourself

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Copyright 2019, Mark A. Baggesen, All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, copied in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise transmitted without written permission from the author. You must not circulate this book in any format.

ASIN: B07Q5DN87N

Find Mark A. Baggesen at:
https://coachyourselfbooks.com

Dedication

May you be more successful than you dreamed possible.

The biggest difference is in the leadership. It was better for us. We had more coaches and mentors to help us. A lot of the younger players today suffer from a lack of direction.

~ Isaiah Thomas

Todays Workplace

Everyone knows that college is great for mental development, but it doesn't prepare one for the workplace. The only way for you to gain the skills to succeed is by learning from others, reading and coaching yourself consistently until you are successful. This book will guide you through that progress and provide dozens of additional resources for your development and reference.

The workplace differs greatly from 30 years ago. With the elimination of middle management in Corporate America, employees don't have the coaches or mentors that previous generations had available to them. They expect employees to do more with less because industry expected the computer to reduce work. In reality, it only reduced the number of workersthere is still a lot of work! Combine that and the lack of coaches and mentors and its easy to understand why employees today are at a huge disadvantage.

Coaches and Mentors

A coach or mentor is a trusted adviser or counselor. I have been one of those for about 25 years for people of diverse culture backgrounds from across the globe, those working face to face, those working remote, onshore and offshore for both professional and personal development.

• I have to imagine that if I were now in my 20s or 30s, I would ask these questions:
• How can I progress in my career and move to new levels of success with no road map?
• Other people have had great careers why arent they sharing what they know and paying it forward?
• Why cant I get that promotion?
• Is this workplace all there is?

This book will save you from having to learn a lot of lessons the hard way. I say that because I will teach you how to coach yourself.

About Me and this Book

I have been in middle and senior management for the last 25 years for Fortune 500 companies. During that time, it has been my privilege to manage and mentor dozens of people. I am an expert at turning chaos into success, recovering failed technology projects and complex problem solving. My work is my play and I enjoy it.

I wrote this book because my time here is finite. Each year seems to pass faster than the last. The only way to multiply myself through others is with this book. This is my way to pay it forward. I hope to help many people and maybe even create legions of new coaches and mentors. The price of this book is very modest. I have done that with a purpose: I want to make it affordable to all.

If this book is helpful to you, maybe when you are successful and older, you will mentor deserving younger people, who will mentor others, who will mentor others. This will start a cycle of goodwill and knowledge that will outlive you, me and all those you help.

Preparation

Consider using a notebook to write your answers to all the questions in this book. It could be a composition book or a loose-leaf notebook. It doesn't matter. What matters is that you answer all questions honestly and fully. This is the only way that this book will be helpful for you.

You can read this book without a notebook. Long term though if you want to maximize this books effectiveness for your career and life consider using a notebook.

I have a gift for you: A free collection of worksheets as well as a list of all online resources with hyperlinks mentioned in this book. Download free PDF Files

Print out the worksheet papers and use those as needed. Click on the resource links in the provided PDF file, to access dozens of other resources.

I recommend that you read this whole book through first (in a few days' time). Then go back and work through each chapter (in a few weeks). Allow yourself time and space to think about what you have read. Then answer the questions meaningfully. This is for you. You are worth the time!

The Past is but the past of a beginning.

~ H. G. Wells

This chapter requires you to be brutally honest with yourself. It is important to take stock in what you have done and where you have been in the past. For each question, take a few minutes to think about the answer and write it down.

Questions to Ask Yourself

Start by asking yourself these questions:

• Am I now where I thought I would be 5 or 10 years ago?
• Am I where I wanted to be in my career and life?

If the answer is yes: Outstanding! Congratulations!

If the answer is no thats okay. But its important to look at this. Ask yourself the following questions and write the answers:

• What did I want to be 5 or 10 years ago?
• What did I try to achieve that?
• Did I have a cohesive, well thought out plan? If, yes, what kept me from fulfilling that plan?
• Do I have any regrets about where I am in my life and career today?
• What would I do differently if I had the chance for a do-over?

The Past is the Past

The previous questions may evoke strong emotions in you. This is good! The purpose of this exercise isn't to beat yourself up. The purpose is to give you insight into how fast life moves and that time waits for no one. That said, the past is the past and we can't do anything about itit's done, finished, unchangeable, kaput, over. So, let it go. Your future will be fantastic!

Make a commitment to yourself right now. Commit 100% to making the next 10 years, a world of YOUR MAKING.

You can achieve all you want in your life and career. Begin by understanding that every day is a gift, and it is your decision how you use it. You can use it with purpose, or you can waste it and just let things happen. Once the day is over, its over.