The Importance of Creating Your Secondary Family
When I was 11, Mom got the call that Gram was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. In that moment, Mom promised that she would never put Gram in a nursing home. Two weeks later, Gram moved in. For the next seven years until she died, we spent our days dressing her, feeding her and chasing after her […]
Your ABC(D) Guide To Being An Agent Of Change
Change is an interesting word. Depending on who you ask in your industry of choice, change can either be welcomed with open arms or send people fleeing. In a dramatically entitled Forbes article from 2017, writer Sam Page leads off with “Adapt Or Die”. While incredibly blunt, those words ring incredibly true. In the higher […]
Using Spring Fever to Make Your Team More, Not Less Engaged
A few years ago, I saw a funny post on Facebook that said if you leave the office in the middle of the day to go outside, and someone asks where you are, you can say you are “Out-Standing.” Ha ha – get it? OUT? STANDING? So maybe this isn’t hilarious to you, but to […]
Hosting a “Topsy Turvy” Retreat
For our last quarterly retreat, we decided to have the event on April 1, 2019. April 1 is obviously April Fool’s Day! As Mark Twain once said, “Today is a day that upon which we are reminded of what we are the other three hundred and sixty-four.” But not everyone enjoys being tricked, so we […]
The Four Big Myths of Dance Floor Theory
Dance Floor Theory is an engagement system that can be used by any team or organization to better engage their employees or members. We use dance floors as a visual representation of engagement within an organization. In the middle of the dance are the most engaged dancers. We call them 5s. The least engaged dancers […]
Better than a Raise: Connections are the Key to Employee Happiness
“From now on, we’ll use this white board to track every interaction you have had with a client. If you don’t meet your quota, not only will everyone see, but there will be repercussions.” “The funeral is in the morning, so you’ll be back in office in the afternoon, right?” “I heard you did poorly […]
Crafting SMART Goals that Allow Your Team to Be More Human
In life and in work is important to set goals for yourself that are measurable and attainable. But how do you keep your sights set on the big goals and not beat yourself up over the little losses? “Metrics must meet three criteria to be useful in a business plan: they must be actionable, accessible […]
When Employee Engagement Goes Too Far – Scary Sixes
Robyn works at a large cosmetics company where meetings happen every day, all day. Others on the team describe her as loud, excited, and never-ending. In meetings, there is often no reason for Robyn to answer questions, but she does anyway. Many times, the questions aren’t related to her job, and she doesn’t even have […]
Going Solo: 3 Ways to Push Your Team Past Stage Fright
“You should do pageants,” a family friend said. All I could think was, “Yeah, right. Be on stage all by myself. Absolutely not.” Since the age of 12 seconds old, I have been performing. I’m not kidding. There is a picture of me being born, arm first. Some see jazz hands and others see my […]
What Stories Are Your Forward-Facing People Telling?
Imagine expressing to someone that you are excited to see them, and they respond with, “Why are you here?” That’s basically what happened to me at a job and internship fair in college, though maybe not in so many words. I had always admired the MTA for their marketing on their own trains and buses. […]