This is a slide deck from my Spring 2021 section of The Art of Self-Coaching at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Course materials are archived at https://www.edbatista.com/the-art-of-self-coaching-course.html.

1. The art of
self-coaching
Ed Batista
Class 8: SUCCESS
Spring 2021
“Success Kid” photograph © Laney Griner, used with permission [link]

2. Photo by Theresa Thompson [link]
Warmup in small groups 10 mins
Remarks on success 15 mins
Discussion & debrief 35 mins
Remarks & for next time… 15 mins
Outside of class 25 mins
Agenda

3. Warm-up

4. Warm-up
In quartets with Professional Partners
10 minutes total

5. Warm-up
Reflect
Looking back at my GSB experience, what’s one
success I take pride in?
Looking ahead post-GSB, what’s one thing I’ll do
differently because of my time here?

6. Today’s guiding
spirit

7. Today’s guiding
spirit
Values
Strengths
Working Conditions

8. More happiness
Image by Public Domain Review [link]
myths…

9. I’ll be happy
Image by Public Domain Review [link]
when…

10. I’ll be happy
Sonja Lyubomirsky
Why doesn’t success make us happier?
when…

11. Features that act
like bugs
Photo by Steve Bremer [link]

12. Features that act
Competition
Social comparison
Hedonic adaptation
Beneficial for the species
Problematic for us as individuals
like bugs

13. Competition aka
© Getty Images

14. Goal pursuit
© Getty Images

15. Goal pursuit
Source: http://bit.ly/GoalPursuit

16. Goal pursuit
The critical factor in whether goal pursuit
makes us happy lies in enjoying the journey &
not in realizing the end-goal.
~Sonja Lyubomirsky

17. Goal pursuit
But when do we prioritize the journey?
And is now too soon?

18. Social
Photo by debarshiray [link]
comparison

19. Social
Those of us who typically rely on our own
internal, objective standards are happiest.
~Sonja Lyubomirsky
comparison

20. Social
Those of us who base our self-evaluations on
comparisons with others are the unhappy ones.
~Sonja Lyubomirsky
comparison

21. Social
Why might this be a bigger problem post-GSB?
comparison

22. Hedonic treadmill
Photo by E’Lisa Campbell [link]

23. Hedonic treadmill
The more we attain, the happier we become.
But the more we attain, the more we want.
~Sonja Lyubomirsky

24. Hedonic treadmill
Two chief explanations: We experience less &
less pleasure over time & our aspirations rise.
~Sonja Lyubomirsky

25. Hedonic treadmill
Are high achievers doomed?
How do we avoid settling?

26. So what
can we do?

27. Aspiration
Concrete experiences & observations
Gratitude & appreciation
Goal selection & framing
Values
management

28. Values
To work in an organization whose value
system is incompatible with one’s own
condemns a person to frustration.
~Peter Drucker

29. A value system

30. A value system
“Values” as in “What is valued”
Power & influence
Material rewards

31. A value system
Photo by Jack [link]

32. A value system
“Values” as in “What is right”
Ethical guidelines

33. A value system
Photo by Abdul Rahman [link]

34. A value system
“Values” as in “What is meaningful”
Highly subjective

35. A value system
To work in an organization whose value
system is incompatible with one’s own
condemns a person to frustration.
~Peter Drucker

36. With your group

37. A discussion
What am I learning about my values?
How are they influencing my aspirations?

38. Thank your group
Photo by Minda Haas Kuhlmann [link]

39. Debrief

40. Strengths
Photo by Jamie Jamieson [link]

41. Strengths
It takes far more energy and work to improve
from incompetence to mediocrity than it
takes to improve from first-rate performance
to excellence.
~Peter Drucker

42. A transition
Photo by McKay Savage [link]

43. Growth mindset?
Change is always possible…
What’s the opportunity cost?

44. Conditions

45. Conditions
For knowledge workers, How do I perform?
may be an even more important question than
What are my strengths?
~Peter Drucker

46. Conditions
Scale
Culture
Environment
Interdependence

47. Outside of class
Photo by Heinrich Böll-Stiftung [link]

48. Outside of class
What are my greatest strengths?
Where am I capable of excellence?
Under what conditions do I do my best work?

49. Thank your
partner
Photo by Singapore 2010 Youth Olympics [link]

50. To sum up
Photo by Pranav Yaddanapudi [link]

51. To sum up
Success may entail focusing on strengths
Managing aspirations will be key
Clarity on values can help

52. For next time…
Photo by Marco Ghitti [link]

53. Endings
Photo by Striatic [link]

54. Endings
William Bridges on transitions
Christopher Peterson on life & habits
& some feedback…

55. Photo by dotmatchbox [link]
Feedback

56. Feedback
For both of your partners
The worksheet is a suggestion
Use whatever format works best for you

57. Photo by Basti Hirsch [link]
More feedback

58. More feedback
Course evaluations
Look for email from EvaluationKIT
Your input matters to the school and to me

59. Other items…
I’ll email links to today’s video & slides on my site
One last assignment due Tuesday 9pm