Matt Spielman - Inflection Points

Do they look me in the eye when speaking? How does their body language change? What about the tone of their voice, their facial expressions, and speed of speaking? As we discuss various topics, they may sit up straighter, relax the furrows in their brow, and maybe even smile slightly. Generally, when I tell my clients what I've seen on this energy trail, they're responsive, intrigued, and inspired toward further exploration. It's a very natural progression, asking questions and observing a client's intuitive answers. Energy is how we express ourselves on the most fundamental and honest levels. What lights you up?

There is one thing that is vital to understand: the change (or changes) you need and want might not be a giant one. Drastic overhaul is not for everybody. You may not need to completely jump industries or change companies—or even roles—to find the sort of transformation that will reinvigorate your existence. Thousands of coaching sessions say drastic change is often not required.

In traditional coaching, the task involves identifying where someone isn't excelling, and finding a way to fix it. But I've found that approach is not a one-size-fits-all. My philosophy of coaching is strongly informed by Positive Psychology. I am not going to focus on what's wrong or “broken.” Positive Psychology looks at what makes people happy, and how to truly enhance quality of life. I've seen that when we play to our strengths, we're not only gratified and more fulfilled, we also accomplish more. We're more successful, and we feel better about it. The key is confidence. When we can tap more into ourselves, it feels natural and effortless. It feels good.

Coaching from this positive angle, my clients and I focus on where they excel and what causes them to feel animated and alive. We then ascertain the concrete changes they can make to help draw more of those positives into their lives. I also use a variety of tools to identify their strengths, innate preferences, and predilections—and we put those to work.

There's a reason I named my coaching company Inflection Point. It's a term from mathematics that shows a single point on an XY-axis where a slope changes direction. The formula of an inflection shows where a line will go, and how its course will change.

Metaphorically, an inflection point is a decisive, catalytic moment that alters the trajectory of a person as an individual, or a business as a whole. That inflection point can be a dramatic one that sends you in nearly the opposite direction from where you were going before. But it can also be a subtle correction, a minor recalibration that brings you more in line with the way you should really be living. We experience inflection points more often than we realize. Probably, at this very moment, you find yourself at an important crossroads from which you can proceed in several directions, each of which could lead to radically different outcomes.

Whether the change is macro or micro, the most important thing is taking that first step toward finding your contribution to the world. This is the path that gives your life meaning.

Your path may be running a Fortune 500 company. It may be going on your own as an entrepreneur and disrupting an entire industry. It could be teaching the fourth grade. It could be performing as a cello virtuoso. It could be to thrive in your current role or excel in one to which you were just promoted. Everyone's answer is going to be a little different. That's the way it should be. The important part is finding what will help you embrace your strengths and develop a position that will allow you to put those assets into play, and make way for your success.

I am passionate about energizing other people's lives. I love being there as clients meet their true selves, and feel their souls stir. This newfound momentum empowers them to use that knowledge as a catalyst to build a rich and satisfying life free of nagging self-doubt and dissatisfaction. My joy is seeing individuals step into their own renaissance, powered by the energy they find within themselves.

It took me decades to recognize the difference between what I should do and what I wanted to do (what really…); moving from clue to clue, I learned how to organize my life in such a way that I could pursue my interests and passions, completely unfettered. I've synthesized my own lessons to create a simple and practical, yet powerful, system that anyone can tailor to his or her own needs. This book will save you years of wandering and misplaced effort. It may also prevent a fair share of pain. Know that it really is possible to live the life you've always imagined, one based on the activities and values that enthuse and engage you. Otherwise, you're just circling the vast cosmic highway, with no idea where you are and no clue as to where you'll end up.

Every business that seeks to move into new markets, add team members, open new stores, or expand their horizons in any manner runs into the same challenge: How do you preserve your unique culture as you grow? The founders and the original team members have a strong sense of what their business is and what it stands for. But as more and more new hires come on board, and as you expand to additional locations, perhaps in states or even continents far from home, newer employees may simply see your company as offering not a mission but a job.

You could call it the “last mile” challenge. How do you deliver the same level of care for new customers or clients, when the people who are actually in contact with those customers are new to the company? They may have never even met the founder or have a clear sense of what the company's culture is meant to be. How can they represent your values to the buyer?

This was the dilemma facing a Paris-based fine jewelry company. Its founder and CEO wanted to work on two issues in our coaching sessions. First, the company was poised for expansion throughout Europe and even planning a flagship store in New York. How could they preserve the culture that had made the company so successful? The founder and his wife had been the main drivers of the company's success. How do you keep that same feeling of a family business when your ambitions point toward global expansion?

In addition, the couple wanted to fulfill a long-time dream of theirs: relocate from Paris, where the main shop and most of the employees were located, to Switzerland. How do you make a shift like that without upending everything you've built?

We began by looking for the adjectives that best described what made the company's culture so special. Those carefully chosen adjectives summarized, in a few pithy phrases, the culture of the company. The founder could now evangelize using those terms and explain to new team members just what the company stood for in language they understood. As the firm added new people, the executive leadership team was also using those same key words, over and over, as a way of explaining, “This is who we are. This is what we are working toward. This is how we go about our business to get there. And this is how we play together in the sandbox.”

Before long, the new language became part of the interview process. Even before people were hired, they were exposed to the terminology that explained what made the culture of the company unique. As a result, the jewelry company was able to maintain its culture even as it expanded throughout Europe and beyond.

And as for the move to Switzerland? They no longer had to be afraid of it. As part of my client's Game Plan System, in the visualization step of the ACHIEVE model, he added a photograph of a particular home in Switzerland that he thought would be wonderful for him and his wife. A year later, they both moved into that very home, confident that the business would not suffer. As I always say, the power of visualization is not the sole possession of athletes or even businessmen! After all, seeing is believing—in the professional and personal spheres!