It is not easy to dress for the masses, especially on television. In today’s race for the White house, the male candidates have it much easier. Their choices are simple because it comes down to the shirt and tie combination. Their main battle is the fit of the jacket. President Obama has his suits tailored to fit him so he always looks elegant and crisp. He is also tall and slim, so his main issue is look stately and in command in an approachable manner.

For the heavy set candidate, it can be difficult to not look rumbled and clown-like. Women, on the other hand, have an even more difficult task. Their clothing choices are either too bland or tend to look matronly. Another challenge is that they must look feminine but like they’re still in command.

Television will add at least 20 pounds so clothing choices must accent the slim side of women. We are now in the midst of a presidential campaign so look for the dress style wins in the candidates and learn from those that miss the mark.

Recently, I had a service person come in (happened to be the owner) who began to tell me what I had done wrong instead of saying there may be a problem but we will do our best to fix it. Can you imagine a consultant or coach like myself right off the bat, telling a client that s/he has tremendous problems? Or you, as a new team leader or team member telling the group: We have problems we cannot begin to solve?

I am not saying that we need to be a Pollyanna but can’t anything somehow be made better? I understand the owner might have been under tremendous pressure but if he doesn’t work for repeat customers, that pressure may just get a lot bigger and lead to more serious problems.

For those on the road more than three times a month for business or pleasure, here’s a refresher on what to pack. Always have a quick-start kit of toiletries, packed and to ready to go. Every third trip, refresh the see through bag  with items, such as certain hair or grooming products (women– makeup) (men- shaving and colognes), that may need substituting or replacing.

Keep some zip lock plastic bags in different sizes around. They are very useful to pack items that may leak (The Container Store also carries leak proof bottles.) or food/beverages you could not finish in the airport. Try to pack items in clear cases. I find Travel Smith is a great tool to pick up some new ideas on practical packing. http://www.travelsmith.com/travelcenter/tools/packing-guide/

Ben Wechsler writes a newsletter on success and has developed The Wechsler Leadership Program, Creative Problem Solving, and Strategy & Innovation. I recently interviewed him on what experiences led him to develop his coaching and leadership tenets.
Besides Ben being certified in all the above areas, he used his thirty years of technology and life experiences to craft the programs.

What I found refreshing, because, often we don’t appreciate our own steps towards achievement, is that he feels completing one goal can be a significant success. Sometimes, we expect to be the next Steve Jobs or the Oprah’s of the world which can be so defeating. He firmly believes success is when you achieve any measureable goal. Benhttp://benwechsler.com/success-network-how-aware-are-you-of-your-own-success.

Amy Wilkinson is a lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the author of The Creator’s Code. Amy’s two years of research can be found in the book. It turns out that leadership has nothing to do with age and more to do with mindset, skills and psychographics.

Successful leaders share the ability to:

1. Spot gaps in the market place
2. Maintain a long term vision
3. Iterate quickly
4. Fail smartly
5. Collaborate
6. Be generous

Folks with these skills tend to be revolutionary and attract people to work with them. They have the ability to cultivate, encourage and harness conflict. These leaders are not afraid of the unknown and constantly find solutions. They keep asking questions and probe until the best way to move forward is discovered.

The earth is about minimizing footprints, using natural resources and recycling. My mom was a saver to a fault. So, I learned one way of putting this in practice is about how you can save your clothing and at the same time reduce the wear and tear that occurs in over-cleaning.

Hang your clothing up once you get home to air it out, use spot remover to take out stains and save on cleaning and washing items. Recycle clothing by getting more wear out of them by sprucing them up. For example, new buttons can energize clothing and dresses can be made into blouses. Taking the sleeves off a jacket and turning the jacket into a coat vest is very popular now.

These are a few tips to help conserve your clothing while at the same time, saving the earth.

I recently attended a showcase where professionals shared their crafts and secrets to help their peers and colleagues grow in corporate careers and expand their learning. However, it was easy to spot the presenters who were only there to hawk their services. They provided surface content only. I firmly believe the folks who were truly sharing were passionate about their craft and wanted others to benefit. These folks are in my book and are leaders in their industry. What they give to others will result in them receiving it back 100+ percent along with heartfelt appreciation and respect.

Among recent news was commentary about a very successful company that surpassed Walmart as the biggest in sales and earnings. However, it came out in the news how that firm nurtured combative and take-no-prisoner behavior. The high producers get rewarded and deliver at all costs, often sacrificing health and family. Teamwork and relationship building counts for nothing.

These folks are sharks. Sharks win at all costs and get away with it. Don’t swim with them unless you are sure you can win no matter the cost to someone else. You have to embrace the win/lose mentality. You are the winner and they are the losers.

I was once in sales and a top producer for 10 plus years. I learned from the toughest sales people and attracted sharks as friends. One day I realized that this was not me. The sharkiness came out of me as a matter of self-preservation. Today, I stay away from sharks and if I have to work with them, I don’t fight them. I just stay out of their way.

Asking intrusive ones are definitely a relationship destroyer. Recently, a colleague lost his position through a major reorganization of his firm. He had been with the company for 30 plus years. It really was his whole life and, in fact, defined him.

Instead of peers helping him manage through this life-altering loss, all they could do was ask questions like, do you have enough funds to live on, what could you have done to prevent this and have you begun to think about the future?

However, the best question would have been, how can I help? He was basically in an unwanted divorce. The next time you have a friend going through a major change, don’t add to the pain by asking intrusive questions; instead, be a comfort.

Hitting the mark is the moment when what you have accomplished the task. It can be engaging the audience and seeing they understand your point. It can be as simple as getting a smile back when you have smiled. The point is to remember that sense of gratification when things don’t hit the mark. It will keep you going to reach that mark.

I work with many clients where I get that sense of gratification in our partnership when they get to a point where they see what needs to be done and embrace it. So many times we tend to look at the missteps as setbacks as instead of steps to get where we need to go. It is all a process. This is why I feel strongly about it. Keep that sense of gratification when you hit the mark of achievement and remember sometimes, it takes steps.