Are you ignoring the most important (a.k.a. strategic) issues facing your business, your company, or your life because of the more urgent issues screaming for your attention?

If so, you're like the proverbial frog in the pot on the stove. He doesn't notice that he's getting cooked alive until it's too late.

We all need to take a step back and look at what's going on in our lives - work - businesses in order to determine if we're heading in the right direction. Ships have a captain. Planes have a pilot. Who is overseeing your life?

Coaching seems to be making its way into the mainstream. While at a recent social gathering, a woman asked my fiancé, “What does Paul do,” to which she replied, “He’s a coach.” The woman said, “Oh, like on that Scott Baio show?”

While it’s true, Scott Baio did have a recent VH1 reality TV show (Scott Baio is 45…and Single) and that one of the folks featured on it was his life coach, I hesitate to say my coaching is “like on that Scott Baio show.”

I was talking with an HR Professional last night about the unfortunate practice of promoting people into positions for which they are not suited as a reward for good performance, the impact of this practice on employee engagement, and the potential negative effect on performance.

On Tuesday, 9/11/2007, I was at my monthly Long Island Coaching Alliance meeting and our current president, Lynn Engeholm, mentioned observing a moment of silence in memory of 9/11 and the events of six years ago.

I must say, I was stunned at the realization that it has been six years since the attacks. I was working in New York City that day and, like many, will always remember that sunny Tuesday morning and the uncertain days that followed.

A few nights later, I decided to watch the 9/11 documentary DVD shot by Jules and Gedeon Naudet, the French brothers who had intended to capture the story of a rookie NYC firefighter, only to capture the events of 9/11 as they unfolded in downtown Manhattan.