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Update From Eileen
The Rites of September:
A new school.
Graduation.
A new school.
Graduation again.
A new school. The pattern continues.
It starts in kindergarten with five year olds wearing paper mortar boards. It moves through the excitement of middle school, the angst of junior high, the pressure of high school, and the bravado of college. And still it continues. Most of us discover that adult life requires more learning, graduation to the next level, new learning, graduation. The pattern continues.
Some years, September holds an almost catalytic prompt for me to seek what is the NEW. I must learn and graduate to another level. Yahooooooooooooo!
And other times, I don’t WANT to learn. Can’t I just stay put for awhile? Keep the routine, the known, the patterned, the dependable. Oh noooooooooooooo!
This September, McDargh Communications is straddling the “oh no” and the “yahoo”.
(1) Our web site requires vast overhaul. Oh nooo! The new design and navigation shall be ready soon. Yahooo!
(2) My current preview video STILL doesn’t come close to capturing the true results and energy of my work. Oh nooo! A new preview video should be completed before the end of this quarter. Yahooo!
Ever learning,
Eileen
Energize Your Workforce With a Family-Friendly Setting
Although salary continues to be an important aspect of job selection, support for working parents is also a key issue when professionals choose a new job or decide to stay at their current job.
Family-friendly companies must have six traits to make Working Mother magazine’s list of the “Best Companies for Working Mothers.” The first trait is an established philosophy concerning balance between work and home, and the second trait is the existence of flex time and other alternative working arrangements. The third trait involves available child- care options for employees, and another trait is the availability of adoption assistance, paternity leave, and sabbaticals. The fifth trait involves women in executive and managerial positions and the final trait is the existence of work/life balance training for employees.
I can attest to the last trait. Benefits do not equal balance because most of us have never been trained how to examine the different facets of our life and make wise choices. More and more I am being asked to keynote or present in-house programs on balance. The issue is a growing concern around the globe!
Must Read Books
The World Café: Shaping Our Futures Through Conversations That Matte by Juanita Brown with David Isaacs (2005, Berrett Koehler, ISBN 1576752585)
Tired of same-old meetings? Wish that you could truly have conversations that actually resulted in bringing people and ideas together. meaningful ideas and meaningful results? This is a book of case studies that demonstrate the various ways a world café conversation works. Connection is at the core of what I do and conversation is the key. This book offers a look at high level conversations-the place where, one day, we’d all like to be.
Must Watch Movies
March Of The Penguins. If there was ever a lesson in team work, responsibility, tenacity, and determination, it is found in this fascinating documentary on the life of the Emperor Penguins of the Antarctic. The human species has it easy compared to the male of this bird kingdom. For a sequel, I want the film of the intrepid photographers who filmed this sucker!
Workers Average Only 3 Productive Days A Week
A global survey undertaken by Microsoft states that workers average only three productive days per week! The Microsoft Office Personal Productivity Challenge (PPC), which drew responses from more than 38,000 people in 200 countries, rated workers’ individual productivity based on their responses to 18 statements about work-related practices.
Unclear objectives, lack of team communication and ineffective meetings are among the top time wasters that workers around the world say make them feel unproductive for as much as a third of their workweek on average, according to results of the online survey.
How productive is your organization?
Happy Workers… Happy Stock
Sirota Consulting tracked the stock prices of 28 companies that had monitored their employee morale during the past four years. Companies with a “high morale” saw stock prices increase more than five times those of the half dozen “low morale” companies. The stock performance of high-morale companies bested the industry average by 16 percent versus 6 percent.
High morale companies are hallmarked by fair treatment and a send of achievement in their work, pride in their employer and productive relationships with other workers. Employees who work for companies where one of these factors is missing are three times less enthusiastic and less productive. (David Batstone, http://www.rightreality.com)
Welcome to the McDargh Clan
TPI-Global Sourcing Advisors
Chubb Western Car Wash Assoc.
Cleveland Memorial Hospital
TGI Fridays-Eastern Region
Overview and Contact Information
Is life leading you instead of you leading a life?
Is work working you instead of you doing the work?
You’re not alone! It’s the challenge of our times.
From business leaders to rank-and-file workers, the competitive 24/7 world of heart-stopping change has left many feeling in need of new tools to answer these questions:
- How do I engage more of my talent and that of the folks around me in meaningful work?
- Why is it that resiliency is a word I think of only with rubber bands?
- Why does it seem that we compete more with each other than the competition?
It’s tough when the rate and pace of work leaves you feeling disconnected, unheard, and certainly not aligned to produce results that matter in the long run.
Then there’s the issue of joy. Flat out joy. You don’t want “work” to become exclusive of play. Leave your spirit and heart at the door, and it’s hard to be creative and productive. You want to be connected with people who respect you and visa versa. You want to do good work— no, make that GREAT work– in the bargain. You want to spend your time in a place that lets your spirit soar and your talent shine. My joy is in helping individuals and organizations rediscover the joy of living and the joy of satisfying work.
If you want results that go well beyond the bottom line—contact us. Since 1980, we’ve been engaging the human spirits of individuals and organizations. Now—it’s your turn.
Call 949-496-8640 or send email eileen@eileenmcdargh.com
