Energize your day with the ENERGIZER newsletter!
SMALL—FAST—and WRITTEN WHEN THE MOOD STRIKES.
“What consultant worth her salt would be without a newsletter? It’s a dandy little sheet, written when the mood strikes (which is at least quarterly). To be notified when a new issue is available sign-up for my list in the box to your right. I protect your private information and will never, sell, rent or otherwise abuse what you have entrusted to me. And, of course, you can unsubscribe at any time! Unsubscribe instructions are at the bottom of the e-mail you received pointing you to this page.”
Update From Eileen
Dogwoods billow puff clouds of white and pink contrasting against the skeletal limbs of trees just starting to dress in soft green. Daffodils, tulips, and red buds join the debut of spring in Nashville. On business, I’ve come to address the National Association of College Stores for the fourth time. Their kind invitation creates that time and space for me also to come on another mission: the recording of a song I have written. The music flows from the creative heart of my dear colleague and triple platinum songwriter/keynoter, Jana Stanfield. The words flow from a place in me that wants to sing about remarkable women. It’s a magic experience. As John Denver would have said, “Faaaarrrr out!”
And frightening.
Where will I take this new creation and why? What other creative juices remain untapped and waiting to bud forth like the greenery dotting the Tennessee landscape?
I didn’t have the answer in the recording studio. I don’t have it now. But I am learning to really love the questions.
I pose this for all of us. Are there parts of us waiting to spring forth? Waiting for some warmer time, some place offered by a provident God? What creative urge have you hidden that just yearns to see the sun? It’s still there. Waiting for Spring.
I do believe Spring does come in its own time. Snow flurries danced across O’Hare Airport when I changed planes in Chicago. But Spring is coming. The Rockies were abundantly blanketed in white as the 757 flew over Colorado. But Spring is coming.
Enjoy this time. Stretch. Move. Explore. Experiment. Break forth into green. As it is written in the Talmud, “for every blade of grass, there is an Angel bending over it whispering ‘Grow. Grow’.” How much more so for us.
Until the next time.
Eileen
Sign Of The Times
A four-year-old girl was learning to say the Lord’s prayer She was reciting it all by herself without help from her mother. She said, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us some e-mail. AMEN.”
TIPS FOR ENERGIZING OTHERS (as well as the bottom line)
Human Resource Magazine reports a direct correlation between business benefits of work & family programs and increased customer retention. First Tennessee Bank surveyed employees and customers at their branches and found that by meeting employees’ needs, it encouraged employees in turn to provide more value to the customers.
To assure the effectiveness of work/life programs, address issues with a systemic culture-change focus rather than as a benefit. Examine traditional assumptions such as:
- hours worked are the only indicator of commitment and productivity;
- part-time workers aren’t as committed;
- single people can give more time to work;
- men have at-home wives;
- numbers of meetings attended equate to how you value the company.
Involve everyone in the organization. Management might change the assumptions but a co-worker could hold that a part-time peer is “shirking”. Examine workflow. Does the system reward people for working all night, even though the rest of the workweek suffers from sleep deprivation?? If work is cyclical, can there be flexibility built into the schedule? Can work be realigned to accommodate a task that needs uninterrupted, focused time?
Something to consider.
Read ‘em and Wonder
In a nonsmoking area: ” If we see smoke, we will assume you are on fire and take appropriate action.”
On a baby walker: “Please remove child from walker before folding and storing.”
On a bag of Fritos: “You could be a winner! No purchase necessary. Details inside.” (The shoplifter special!)
On an American Airlines packet of nuts: “Instructions: open packet, eat nuts.” (Ah, come on. I wanted to throw them!)
Economists only exist to give astrologers credibility.
If the only prayer you ever said in your life was “thank you”, that would suffice. Meister Eckhart
Your biggest competitor is your own view of the future.
These questions are never outdated: Who are we? What do we stand for? Where are we going?
Must Read Books
Revival—A Mid-Life Journey by Joe Calloway, ISBN:0-9675911-2-0.
Feel like you’re the only one who doesn’t have all the answers? Reached a point where life or love seem flat and stale? Are there times you suddenly say, “where has all my life gone?” Joe doesn’t have solutions. He has gut-level, from-experience insights.
Joe’s a buddy, a powerful facilitator and speaker. And a man who has dared to write his heart and mind in this book.
The Cluetrain Manifesto: The End of Business as Usual, Rick Levine, Christopher Locke, et.all Perseus Books, ISBN:0- 7382-0244-4, 2000.
Manifesto #1: Markets are conversations. Manifesto #2: Markets consist of human beings, not demographics. Hope I have tapped your curiosity with what I think is the most provocative, original, insightful and irreverent conversation concerning the digital economy and the workings of commerce in a networked world.
When you put together a Sun Microsystems engineer, a consultant from the likes of MCI and Carnegie Mellon, a Silicon Valley publicist and a commentator for NPR, there’s bound to be sparks flying. I consider this the most significant read to come out this year. You won’t think about business and communication in the same way again.
Energizing Yourself-in the Stock Market World.
Ever feel befuddled by all the terms bandied about this hyper hypnotic world of investment? My colleague Jeff Blackman suggests a resource: Just hop online and take a peek at the Investor’s Word Glossary at www.investorwords.com. Here you’ll find a financial dictionary with over 5,000 definitions and 15,000 links between related terms. Aside from being better educated, you too, can soon sound profoundly cool and pronounce: “Hogs? They don’t HAVE futures.”
Proverbs Completed by Children
As you shall make your bed so shall you… mess it up.
Better to be safe than… punch a 5th grader.
Strike while the… bug is close.
It’s always darkest before… daylight savings time.
Never underestimate the power of… termites.
Welcome To The McDargh Clan
Farmers Insurance Field Offices
ICAN Women’s conference
U.S. Postal Service Inspector General
Truckload Carriers Association
Henkel Surface Technologies
SteinMart
Manpower Franchise Owners
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
