Written by Juli Shulem

Worried & Anxious? These Steps Could Help

Feelings of anxiety can affect anyone, and for a variety of reasons. Sometimes the sensation can be overwhelming and paralyzing making getting through the day challenging at best. Many clients I work with express their feelings of anxiety, worry, and stress --- and we work through this from a coaching perspective. The majority of the time the anxiety is reduced or quelled entirely in a matter of minutes with a short conversation and reframing their mindset.

Here is the process in 3 easy steps with 2 Questions and 1 Mantra:

Question #1: “What expectation is not being met?”

When we can think through a problem in order to discover the expectations, we may have that aren’t being met, then we learn what we are working with. What are you anxious about right now? What had you expected would happen with respect to that situation? Did someone not
deliver something you have been waiting on and now the task you need to do is delayed? Was
something scheduled to happen and it didn’t and now you are ruminating on the ramifications
of that mishap? Write down what expectation you had that fell short in whatever way, and sit
with it for a minute and assess if that is the root of the anxiety for you right now. Once you
have found the real culprit for your anxiety - move on to this question: What decision are you
afraid of making moving forward? What would such a decision mean for you or others? Are
you able and capable to implement the next move?

Now ponder Question #2: “What is the worst that can happen?”

Written by Michael Goldberg

One of my favorite activities at the gym, other than training, is watching the people around me. It’s fun to see how others operate.

Today, I noticed a young man in excellent shape using an abdominal crunch machine right near me that I never realized was there. I liked the range of motion the machine seemed to provide.

Written by Machen MacDonald

Are you caught in the busy trap? Do you wonder, at the end of the day, what you actually got accomplished? You know you were mega busy and worked harder than those around you. You may have even checked off a couple of items from your to-do list; even the ones you wrote down after you completed the task. Those count too. However, you can be more productive.

If you are like most people, you may have either forgotten that voicemail, email, Skype, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter are tools for your convenience and efficiency, not the other way around. These tools may have crept into your life without you even being aware of how to really leverage them for your productivity and efficiency. Each of these is a tool in the physical environment within which you work or operate. The trick is to learn how to set up your physical environment, as well as the tools, to serve you better so you can be more productive.

Written by Joe Curcillo

Some of the best problem-solving and innovation comes from efforts by groups of people from different departments and with diverse knowledge and skill sets. When a team is assembled that has people from various backgrounds and disciplines, ideas flow more freely and fully. These unique teams are known as multidisciplinary teams, or MDTs. When I first encountered MDTs as a prosecutor, I knew that they were well-rooted in the medical field.

Multidisciplinary teams are now occurring throughout the corporate world. The diversity of knowledge that these teams bring together is gaining more traction and recognition in today’s professional world.

Written by Susan Fitzell

32+ apps to improve teaching and accelerate learning for school and career
Technology has revolutionized the way we approach learning. When I think back to my schooling and how I struggled through lectures and fell asleep on my textbooks trying to cram for my exams, I am a little jealous of the technology college kids have at their fingertips today. But mostly, I am excited for the opportunities it presents for different learning preferences and the neurodiverse to learn effectively.

Recently, I had the honor of being a guest on Shock Your Potential, hosted by Michael Sherlock. We discussed ways to learn faster to advance your career. In our conversation, I presented some ways to hack your brain to help you take in and retain information more effectively. And each of these methods has a corresponding app that you can download — often for free — to help you accelerate learning.

Written by Stephen Trimboli

Lawful cannabis consumption in New Jersey is on a roll. There now are twenty recreational cannabis dispensaries in the state. Recreational cannabis sales in the third quarter of 2022 alone totaled $116,572,533. But measures to detect and remedy cannabis impairment in the workplace have not kept pace.

New Jersey’s “Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act” (CREAMMA) prohibits employers from taking adverse action against employees based solely on drug test results that are positive for cannabis. The positive test result must be accompanied by “a physical evaluation in order to determine {the} employee’s state of impairment,” to be conducted “by an individual with the necessary certification to opine on the employee’s state of impairment … related to the usage of a cannabis item.” The Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) was directed to create a program for the certification of such “Workplace Impairment Recognition Experts” (WIREs). But while cannabis sales explode, the CRC has yet to develop, or even propose, such a program – leaving employers in a quandary.

Written by Machen MacDonald

To win the game of business and the business of life you must first master the Responsibility Game.

So, what is the Responsibility Game, you ask? It is simply responding with your abilities rather than falling into any of the three traps that drain you of your success and fulfillment. Simple, yet not easy. You can learn to play and win this game at the office with your team and colleagues, in the field with your clients and prospects, or even at home with your family.

Written by Michael Goldberg

How many times have you set a goal for yourself, and it fizzled? A fitness goal. Weight loss. Business. Financial. New job. That vacation destination you may never see, etc., etc.

Sometimes achieving a goal comes easy, which could mean that the goal wasn’t BIG enough. Often the goals are plenty BIG but they simply don’t get accomplished.

Written by Joe Curcillo

The concept of multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) has revolutionized the way in which businesses operate in the modern world. By bringing together a range of skill sets and perspectives, multidisciplinary teams can provide organizations with new ways of tackling complex problems and meeting their goals. In this article, we will explore the history of multidisciplinary teams and the impact they have had on the way we work.

Healthcare
The concept of a multidisciplinary team has evolved over the past several decades and, for those of you in law enforcement and healthcare, the phrase “multidisciplinary teams” has been around for a long time. The earliest form of this approach can be traced back to the 1950s and 60s when it appeared in the healthcare industry. Medical professionals, in all disciplines, began to realize the importance of working together to provide comprehensive care for patients.

Written by Michael Goldberg

Written by Susan Fitzell

There’s one approach to neurodiverse hiring that has not received much notice in the United States: apprenticeships. Data from the United Kingdom (UK)(HM Government, 2020), where renewed interest in apprenticeships has spurred relevant research, indicates that 89% of employers said apprenticeships helped companies develop skills pertinent to their organization. Over 74% of employers said apprenticeships helped them improve productivity and the quality of their product or service.

I remember a time when teens who weren’t into academics and preferred to work with their hands had the option of becoming an apprentice. Starting in secondary school or after graduation, they worked side-by-side with a plumber, electrician, carpenter, etc. They learned the trade hands-on. These opportunities are almost non-existent today. Now, they must (usually) go to a tech school. More school!

Written by Machen MacDonald

Are you thinking or are you thoughting? Most people don’t really think. They spend most of their day thoughting. Most people have over 80,000 different thoughts a day. The challenge is that 90% of those thoughts are the same things we thought about yesterday, the day before that, and the day before that.

In performance coaching, we know that our thoughts, ideas, and beliefs invoke feelings and emotions. It is your emotions that cause you to take action or behave a certain way and it is your actions and behaviors that lead to your outcome or results. Based on this, it is your thoughts that ultimately lead to your outcome.

Written by Susan Catalano

LinkedIn is a tremendous resource for B2B Lead Gen programs. It is a platform filled with members that have judiciously updated their personal data. Those same members are very open to the content on LinkedIn, using that content to do their jobs better and to grow professionally. These aspects of LinkedIn, plus the platform’s ability to utilize member data for targeting, make LinkedIn a powerful tool for BD and Lead Gen.

One of the best ways to begin a relationship with a LinkedIn member is to invite them to join your network. Unlike in times past, when people were suspicious of unsolicited connection requests, members have become accepting of the opportunity to connect to another LinkedIn member who might be in a position to help them. And this is not about getting a new job, although recruiters use LinkedIn extensively. This is about Lead Gen and Business Development, making connections, educating, conversing, proposing, and ultimately getting a referral or closing a sale.

Written by Michael Goldberg

Written by Joe Curcillo

Chase Your Dream

When you are working at home, the line between work, family, and play can be blurred. To keep this from happening, surround yourself with items that remind you why you are doing what you are doing. Keep your dream and focus and you will function better on a daily basis. For some new “home workers,” shaving and other regiments fall apart. Don’t let your dreams fall with them.

Written by Susan Fitzell

For all the acceptance that neurodivergence has been receiving, including workplace initiatives to recruit and train neurodivergent talent, we still have a long way to go to attain equity and full inclusion. Stereotypes still impact hiring patterns. Hiring practices are standardized around these stereotypes.

I am guilty of espousing the idea that neurodiversity is a competitive advantage. I’ve quoted corporate studies confirming the belief that having neurodiverse teams fuels innovation.

Written by Machen MacDonald

“Simple clear purpose in principle gives rise to complex intelligent behavior. Complex rules and regulations give rise to simple and stupid behavior.” If this quote by Dee Hock contains truth, then your business plan, game plan, or even life plan must be concise. You must plan for success.

When it comes to writing business plans, many people either numb out and don’t do it, hire someone else to do it that doesn’t know them or their business, or they attempt to create a plan for success that ends up being just a multi-page document that is an exercise in futility.