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). 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
If I were in the Colorado Mountains of my birth, skiing down the almost 12,000-foot run at Breckenridge, I would know for SURE it was winter. Bitter wind would whip my face and my hands would be numb regardless of the hand warmers in my mittens.
If I were in Boston with my twin brother, I would know it was winter when we gathered for First Night, the city’s magical New Year’s Eve celebration where museums, theaters, churches and performance centers open their doors to Bostonians of all ages, shapes and sizes.
If I were in Portland with my daughter, the constant rain and the dreariness would convince me that winter had taken hold.
In Southern California, our winter is a weird sort of in-between nothingness. We move from a Santa Ana windy day in the 70s to damp fog dripping off the screen and wrapping a clammy cold hand across your neck. To be sure, the football gods will smile over the Rose Bowl, convincing TV viewers that we live in perennial sunshine and clear skies. Hah!
But for me, winter is not about temperature or holiday gatherings. It’s rather a time of drawing inward, of hunkering down, of silently listening. Winter is a time to lie fallow, to store and conserve energy before the rebirth of spring.
Even as I write this, I know my desire to “conserve energy” and my actions do not always match. And I’ll bet many of you are the same. We find ourselves making action-packed agendas, moving at warp speed through the holidays, and zooming into the New Year while the natural world is in a different cycle. Is there any wonder we feel out-of-sorts?
I’m going to lean into the natural season. Turn the computer off for at least a few days. I might have activity withdrawal but I truly want to shift gears. How about you?
Happy New Year,
Eileen
FACTOID
Technology market research conducted by the consulting firm, Basex, estimates that 22.3 trillion e-mails were sent in 2006. Electronic interruptions waste 28 billion US worker-hours a year, at a cost of $588 billion. The survey polled more than 1000 information workers.
Communication Skills Critical for Success; Sadly lacking in Young Employees
In the report, Are They Really Ready to Work, more than 400 employees identified professionalism, work ethic, teamwork and oral communication as the more important current and future skills for a competitive advantage.
The survey, conducted jointly by the Conference Board, Corporate Voices for Working Families, and the Society for Human Resource Management, sadly found that employers say more than 80 percent of high school graduates struggle with communication and 27 percent of college graduates are in the same deficiency level.
Americans More Socially Isolated Than They Were 20 Years Ago
Americans are more socially isolated than they were 20 years ago, separated by work, commuting and the single life, according to sociologists studying trends in the U.S.
Nearly a quarter of people surveyed said they had “zero” close friends with whom to discuss personal matters. More than 50 percent named two or fewer confidants, most often immediate family members, the researchers said. “This is a big social change, and it indicates something that’s not good for our society,” said Duke University Professor Lynn Smith-Lovin, lead author on the study to be published in the American Sociological Review.
As I look at this research, a number of unsettling observations occur:
1. Long commute times shorten our ability to spend time with family and friends.
2. Chat rooms and e-mail blasts continue to bombard us with one-dimensional “talk” that stifles the face-to-face, give-and take of friendship.
3. The pace of work leaves far too many people bone-tired to “socialize”.
Perhaps this year might be your time to break out of a sphere of isolation. Turn off the computer. Invite someone to a meal. Take your team away for the sole purpose of understanding and valuing what each member brings to the party. Gather colleagues to join in building a Habitat for Humanity house.
Remember — community is the antidote for aloneness. What will you do to create community?
Want To Engage Employees? Try “Rowe-Ing”
Best Buy is implementing a program that they believe will make a significant impact on their employee retention/engagement—ROWE (“results-only work environment”) that seeks to demolish decades-old business dogma that equates physical presence with productivity, and instead judge performance on output instead of hours. ROWE is now credited with reducing voluntary turnover, productivity, and quality of services.
By the end of 2007, all 4,000 staffers working at corporate will be on ROWE. Starting in February, the new work environment will become an official part of Best Buy’s recruiting pitch as well as its orientation for new hires.
A New Year’s Blessing from my Junior High School Principal
Sister Helen Lange continues to amaze me as she bustles about her retirement years at a Benedictine Convent in St Leo’s, Florida. In her 90s, she still sends out letters of humor, hope and happiness. Her Christmas note called to mind the words of author Rachel Remen, MD. “The capacity to bless life is in everybody. The power of Blessing is not diminished by illness or age. On the contrary, our blessings become more powerful as we grow older. They have survived the buffetings of our experiences.
“A blessing is a moment of meeting, a certain kind of relationship in which both people involved remember and acknowledge their true nature and worth and strengthen what is whole in one another.”
—My Grandfather’s Blessing
Actual T-Shirt Slogans. Enjoy—these are my favorites!
* “Frankly, Scallop, I Don’t Give a Clam,” (seen on Cape Cod)
* “That’s It! I’m Calling Grandma!” (seen on an 8 year old)
* “Wrinkled Was Not One of the Things I Wanted to Be When I Grew Up”
* “My Dog Can Lick Anyone.”
* “Party – My Crib – Two A.M.” (on a baby-size shirt)
* “The trouble with life is there’s no background music.”
NEWS FLASH… I LIED!!!
Ok, well, it wasn’t a LIE. It was just that I had NO IDEA when I announced the pending birth of my forthcoming book, Take a Hike, that I’d get a new hospital, a new doctor, and a new Baptismal name for my “child”. And I am thrilled :-)
San Francisco-based Berrett Koehler, the publisher of authors like Ken Blanchard, Meg Wheatley, Peter Block, and Beverly Kaye, will publish my book around September, 2007. The hardback edition is titled, Gifts from The Mountain–Simple Truths for Life’s Complexities.
I practically swooned when I read what Berrett Koehler’s CEO Steve Piersanti said about the book: “There is wisdom and often profound truth on every page…expressed is such a beautiful, economical and easy-to-grasp way.”
That letter made me a very happy camper. Drop me a note so we can reserve the first edition for you!
Fun Factoids
* In the last 4,000 years, no new animals have been domesticated.
* If you are an average American, in your whole life, you will spend an average of 6 months waiting at red lights.
* It’s impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.
* Maine is the only state whose name is just one syllable.
* Leonardo DaVinci invented the scissors.
Recommended Reading
The Culture Code: An Ingenious Way to Understand Why People Around the World Live and Buy as They Do by Clotaire Rapaille, Broadway Books, 2006.
This book was a gift from Doug Cody, VP Executive Communications for Carlson Companies. As he handed it to me, he said that he liked to give away books that stimulated his thinking. What an understatement! Rapaille is a cultural anthropologist and marketing expert who asserts that all of us acquire a silent system of Codes as we grow up within our culture. These Codes invisibly shape how we behave in our personal lives, even when we’re unaware of our motives. Read this book and discover how Culture Codes helped Procter & Gamble design advertising for Folgers and helped Chrysler build the PT Cruiser.
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 vice 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
McDargh Communications
(949) 496-8640
Eileen@EileenMcDargh.com
© 2011 McDargh Communications, All rights reserved.