Did you know that it takes the average person seven seconds before forming a first impression of another?
After more than 2 1/2 years of working virtually and figuring out "Zoom rooms" and the like, I was surprised to find that so many people are still struggling with appearing as professional as they should when meeting virtually.
Written by Joe Curcillo
As the sales team takes their seats in the boardroom, CEO, A.C. Tosser, rises from his seat and begins to address the staff.
Tosser begins by explaining how the next level of sales will positively affect the commissions and bonuses for the people in the room. He chides Mary, “You could finally get that new pool you have talked about,” and, “Fred, you will finally be able to start saving for Little Fred’s college tuition.” He continues, “If sales continue to rise, we will be implementing a program to support the local dog rescue. Ed and Anna, will I be able to get your help on that?” “Oh, and, by the way,” he adds, “we are confidentially trying to arrange to hold this year’s Holiday Party in Las Vegas. It will depend on our mid-year totals, but I just thought you’d like to know.” As he continues, the tone is not only a discussion, but the staff begins to become excited and the room fills with energy!
Written by Juli Shulem
Sleep is one of the key factors for our cognitive functioning to, well…function. You can probably recall a time when you didn’t get enough sleep and you were not as effective as you could have been: You forgot important information, your memory was foggy, and maybe you weren’t as speedy or focused as you normally are. There is a reason why there are so many sleep aids available – because it is simply too important NOT to have a good night’s sleep. For years I have been sharing sleep information with my clients who either don’t value having a regular sleep schedule or can’t seem to make one happen consistently. It’s worse when you are actually in bed trying to fall asleep and then can’t sleep because you are so worried about NOT falling asleep. There is a name for that: Sleep Onset Insomnia (SOI) and a neuroscientist at Washington University in St. Louis shared that the pre-sleep stage (when your lights are off and your eyes are closed and you are starting to ‘let go’ of your day) is necessary. If you can’t fall asleep because you have too much on your mind – think of something else – like name cities that start with the alphabet in order…anything to help your mind let go.
Sometimes we have so much on our minds that we need to be able to give our brains a rest – literally! I recommend a bedtime ritual where you spend a good 45-60 minutes ‘getting ready’ for bed and sleep. When we were babies, our parents had us on a schedule and we got accustomed to it. As we got older and went to school, we may have skipped a few steps. As adults, we may do nothing beyond a few minutes to brush our teeth and change our clothes before falling into bed. For some they sleep – for most they toss and turn. If you take time to let your body ‘wind down’ and you adhere to some consistent rituals every night, that will signal to your brain (and most of your thoughts) to slow down and get ready to sleep. It works.
Written by Machen MacDonald
Readers are leaders. In addition to reading, leaders READ to succeed.
It is said that knowledge is power. The acquisition of knowledge can come from books, videos, courses, and the like. However, there are plenty of knowledgeable, informed, and smart people that can’t get out of their own way and stay stuck in mediocrity. Real power is putting knowledge into action and getting traction toward your goals and objectives.
Written by Susan Fitzell
Corporate conversations about diversity in the workplace often spotlight gender and race. The variations in thought processes that define neurodivergent people are left behind in the shadows. Now that progress has been made in the mainstreamed areas of inclusivity; it is time to prioritize the less-discussed facets of humanity, like neurodiversity.
Neurodiversity is a term that is related to all of human existence. It refers to the diversity of the human mind and its endless variations in brain functioning. Unlike a social identity, neurodiversity is a biological fact that describes the different processes through which we receive, understand, and relay information. In short, it directly refers to the incredible diversity that exists in the spectrum of neurocognitive functioning.
Written by Dr. Dorothy Martin-Neville
The Impact of Values
Our values permeate everything we do, and everything we are. No matter what we do in life, there is always someone who will know more or will know different aspects of what we do. What makes us special, and/or makes people want to work with us, is who we are and what values we emanate from every pore of our being.
Written by Machen MacDonald
The old adage - plan your work and work your plan is a cornerstone to the foundation of success. It has never been more true than right now. The challenge for most small business owners and entrepreneurs is they don’t know how to effectively plan for growing their business. If they do plan, they typically struggle with implementing the plan.
The one thing we can plan on is the plan not going according to plan. To that point, it’s important to have a process to anticipate and adapt to the ongoing calibration of the plan so that in the end, the intended objectives are achieved and there is cause for celebration.
Written by Dr. Dorothy Martin Neville
In reading a powerful book, Shattered: The Boston Marathon I Never Wanted to Run, Jennifer Kauffman speaks of the many traumas in her life, including being 15 feet away from where the first bomb went off at the 2013 Boston Marathon.
As my friendship with Jennifer develops, I witness her work supporting others who suffer from a wide variety of traumas and PTSD. I can’t help but see as well how many others of us hold onto traumas and suffer PTSD in silence, perhaps not even recognizing it, even though it impacts our every thought, our every decision, and our sense of self. Yes, she works with Vets returning from war, rape or incest survivors, refugees, mass shooting survivors, and so many others, but what other traumas exist for each of us?
Written by Joe Curcillo
(And, how to do it)
Millions of people have made the decision to be entrepreneurs, and millions more will follow. One thing that many of them have in common is preparing for the unknown. What nobody tells those who decide to become self-employed is that there are numerous things that will get in the way of your plan and that there will be some people who second-guess what they are doing or simply walk away. The good news is that the fear of the unknown doesn’t have to rule. There are proven ways to become a successful entrepreneur.
Written By Machen MacDonald
When it comes to creating the life you love and the vocation of your desires, it takes careful and mindful planning. This can be done at any stage you may find yourself. Once you design a plan you have to execute your plan, but the very thing you are looking to create or improve somehow becomes the obstacle to it. Therefore, you need to plan and execute as you have never done before.
You have something great within you. You are here to integrate your learnings and experience into greatness and share that greatness with the world. Regardless of your current success, you are absolutely capable of more. The sustaining of the quest need not be exhausting nor daunting. In fact, the bigger and clearer the vision, the greater the fuel it will yield to propel you beyond the gravity of where you are today.
Written by Susan Fitzell
What’s good for neurodivergent adults is often good for neurotypical adults, too!
Every day, neurodivergent people face the burden of navigating a world that doesn’t always have their needs in mind. Modern learning and working environments are riddled with sensory stimulation. Looking beyond the stress of deadlines and workloads, neurodivergent folks must also worry about their sensory, social, and other needs. This can quickly become exhausting and overwhelming.
Written by Dr. Dorothy Martin-Neville
Have you ever had one of those weeks where you are busy every minute of the day and it still feels as if you are barely treading water? Welcome to humanity!
Between clients, speaking engagements, meetings, scheduling, networking, and working “in” the business as well as “on” the business, it can feel like an absolute necessity for you to make a conscious decision at some point to simply stop…. It is.
Written by Joe Curcillo
The Ten Be’s of Virtual Presentations
Virtual Presentation Tip # 1 – Be Ready
Written by Machen MacDonald
In every area of life, we are on a journey. Health, relationships, career, and finances are just a few of the obvious ones. The question to answer is, are you aware of the game within the journey and are you bringing your “A” game on a consistent basis?
I invite you to imagine what would be possible if you found a way to bring the best, wisest, most resourceful version of yourself to every situation in life. How would your life be improved if you consistently made better decisions and choices? What would life look like if you acted on those choices?
Written by Susan Fitzell
Why It’s Important to Neurodivergent Employees
Company Culture Has Changed in the Work From Home Era
Written by Dr. Dorothy Martin-Neville
I’ve just completed facilitating a 3-day global conference that was a year in the making. I had an incredible team working with me who each brought their A-game to the table. If I do say so myself, they were a gift beyond words.
For the first half of the planning stage, we dealt with people leaving the team due to life challenges, new folks coming in, and switching from planning for a live event to planning for a virtual event due to Covid and every country having different and changing guidelines. Finally, we settled in, and boy did each person’s strengths come to the forefront, but the real proof was during the actual event when each person’s strengths and willingness to have each other’s backs were loud and clear. My decades-long motto of Humor and Faith was proven again and again.
Written by Stephen Trimboli
The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) administers most of our significant federal anti-discrimination laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Among the ADA’s provisions is a prohibition against employers subjecting employees to “medical examinations.” An employer may subject employees to medical examinations only when it is “job-related and consistent with business necessity” to do so. Mandatory screening for COVID-19 infection is a “medical examination.” The EEOC had taken a lenient – and quite practical – approach for the bulk of the COVID pandemic, allowing employers the flexibility to utilize this measure as a means of preventing workplace spread. However, matters have changed.
As recently as May 28, 2022, the EEOC had advised that mandatory testing was permissible “because an individual with the virus will pose a direct threat to the health of others.” But on July 12, 2022, the EEOC revised its official guidance. Mandatory testing will now be permissible only if the employer meets the “job related and consistent with business necessity” standard “based on relevant facts” of each employer’s specific circumstances. Examples of the “relevant facts” to be considered are the following:
Written by John Rod
Congratulations, you have decided to create a new website for your new or thriving business. A well-designed website can be a company’s most important sales tool and an effective way to capture leads and gain new customers. Follow these tips to ensure better search ranking before you get into the nitty gritty of website development.
Research! Check out your competition and identify other companies like yours who are already doing a great job and ranking high in search engines. Always ensure to use unique content and be sure not to copy the hard work of others (Google has ways to identify plagiarism and will penalize you for copying others' content). But if you research which is coming up first, it may give you insights into why and allow you to rank higher as well.
Written by Dr. Dorothy Martin-Neville
So much sadness, so much horror is out there in the world. When dictators know nothing about boundaries, about borders, and live only in regards to feeding their egos, it reminds us all of the worst of who we, as humans, can become. To counteract that, how can we, as one world, as global citizens, support those suffering under this barbaric act? How can we express the best of who we, as humans, can become? That is a choice each of us needs to make. Brutality calls out the best in each of us to support those who are suffering in any way we can.
It also calls us to remember that we need to be aware of the choices we make, of how we have chosen to think, grow, and act. We may never reach such a level of debauchery, of brutality, but our microaggressions, our intentional wounding of those we dislike, those we have no patience with, those we feel better than, are all signs of a brutality we have the power to eliminate quickly, even immediately, if we choose.
Written by Betty Monroe
I am certain many of you have either heard or even used the term “The New Normal” in reference to the current climate regarding work environments and our personal lives.
This begs the question, can we really define what is normal?
