things to you this morning.

I checked in with our team last week and it’s unanimous. The morale around here has flagged to a new all-time low, our performance is good but not great, and frankly, we just don’t like the way we are being spoken to – primarily, by you. We think you are a decent guy but you are looking a bit frayed and overwhelmed.

So we compiled this list for you. They are just a few items that we think if incorporated around here would improve our performance,…

"To penetrate the hardest armor, use the softest touch.”

~ Haven Trevino

I just ran Bloomsday.

Bloomsday is a 12-K run in Spokane that takes place the first Sunday in May. Although I love to run alone, I actually embrace running with over 50,000 of my closest strangers in this annual…

Table Manners Through the Ages

When I was growing up, my mom served up more than spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. At our house, we had a number of ground rules at mealtime. Be on time. Turn off the TV. Don’t answer the phone. Chew with your mouth closed. Don’t fork-stab your brother for a rude remark. And always, always clean your plate. Remember those starving kids half way around the globe?…

“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”

~Plato



The Spirit of March

I love college basketball. I spend many of my winter workouts on the treadmill enjoying televised games across the country. I root for my alma maters. And when the newspaper arrives in the winter, I grab the Sports section first (yes, before my husband).



Now the Final Fours are coming up (without my favorite…

~ Chögyam Trungpa

More Than Transportation

We just got home last week. For 44 days my husband Martty and I traveled in Camelia, our pop-up campervan, through the Southwest.  Instead of shoveling snow and bundling up for 6 weeks at home, we headed toward warmer outdoor activities this winter. Walking…

~ Pema Chodron

HEY, WATCH THIS!

A few years back I realized I was a top candidate for the Over-functioner’s Award should there be such a company tribute. I knew it was time to ramp it down. My zeal and the dysfunctional system were taking its toll – on my health, my colleagues, the organization.

I needed a tactic to stop the…

Yes or No to these statements.

1. When I hear that my co-worker has a problem, I jump in to help her improve the situation.

2. In my department/organization/project, I will help make situations and relationships “right” – no matter what. I give 110%.

3. My problem solving is very valuable. I often have to work extra hours to accomplish my own work after my co-workers go home.

4. I am good at anticipating and resolving problems.…

"Hot heads and cold hearts never solved anything."  ~ Billy Graham

So what is the most common problem at your work? Poor communication. Absenteeism. Bullying supervisor. Gossiping. Vanishing customers. Ghastly workload. Have any ideas?

Simply put, that depends. It depends on your perspective and perch.

Case in point. Years ago, I was discussing the various relational…

STAKES FOR GOOD DECISIONS.

Whether you are developing your business, leading a department, fund-raising for a non-profit, or struggling to complete a huge assignment, each of us faces workplace problems. No one is exempt from obstacles, hurdles, challenges, opportunities -- call them what you want. You’ve seen their forms: technical, relational, financial, political, highly important, time sensitive, survival, and complicated. The more of…

"It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer."

             ~ Albert Einstein

In the next few weeks, I will be discussing a 5-Step Problem Solving Process to be used in the workplace for relational and technical issues. Today we discuss the importance of a systematic problem solving process and Step 1: Identifying the Problem.

THE SITUATION.

Jeremy is having difficulty at work…

Right now, we are on a working vacation as we head down the Pacific Coast in our camper van. There’s no place I’d rather be than near an ocean. I love the landscape, craggy rocks, silken sand, the unruliness of the crashing surf, and the stillness of placid morning ripples. Its energy seeps into me.

Yesterday, we…

There’s the chiding co-worker. Your family wondering why you need that next certificate. You want to buy a new snowboard. I mean juicer. I mean labradoodle. You think that math has always been…

With every good calling of meaningful work, comes the pursuit of it. Last week, we jumped into an exploration of what your calling or heart’s intention looked like and how to uncover it. I hope some of you took the steps to identify a new calling or at least reinforced your current one that is already fulfilling and rewarding. If you didn’t -- see our Chalk Talk and Reflections.

While you were uncovering your calling, I found a…

"Most of us go to our graves with our music still inside us."  ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes

Have you ever thought if you get to live until 90, what life would look like in the rear-view mirror? Can you imagine the amount of work experiences you will have piled up by then? And the expertise you will possess? The relationships you will have fostered? Imagine at 90, just what would have been the purpose and meaning of your life?

In interviews with older adults, Robert…

Perhaps you or your employees are trying to decipher what is your reason for being at work. And more so, what is meaningful about your work?

To touch at the heart of meaningful work, here is a well-known story.* Three people are smashing boulders during the workday. Each is asked, “What are you doing?”

• The first…