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Update From Eileen

On the second day of Spring, furrows of farmland beckon on either side of the dirt road. The pungent manure from a nearby barn throws heady aroma in the cold dawn air. Leafless limbs let me watch cardinals chase each other across branches. Fat robins pull hapless worms from turned dirt clods and a flicker pecks away on brown bark. Green mounds butt against the cold ground, promising a pending display of daffodils, crocus and a wayward hyacinth. The moon still hangs in the west while a wild mixture of geese and sea gulls cuts patterns against the daybreak sky. By what mysterious scent do sea gulls find their way to the Amish country?

The wisps of clouds on the eastern horizon began to melt into soft peach as I steadily walk the empty road. By what mysterious scent do I find myself pulled, like the sea gulls, breathing in the utter peace of a new morning?

Perhaps it is the fact that I am mentally preparing to conduct the last day's facilitation of a two-day women's retreat at a nearby center. Perhaps it is the yearning to see the magical change of season that does not happen in my home town of Dana Point, CA. Perhaps it is the pain in my heart that cries over the war in Iraq and comes into the countryside for some message of hope.

In truth, I am pulled for all these reasons.

The retreat is over. The women are remarkable, courageous women of great strength and determination. In the end, it is they who minister to me. The mental image of Spring in the Pennsylvania Dutch countryside flies home with me. As for the message for my heart, the farmland gives me a small clue: if I want peace and love to grow, these must be the seeds I sow.

Ok. Not a huge ah-hah. But for today, it's the only one I can work on.

Be gentle to yourself and the life around you.

Adaptability Skills Promote Resilience

Security rests in adaptability. Our current uncertain times can either freeze us from action, or create a space where we strengthen our ability to adapt. Remember, survival is based on "requisite variety". That's a fancy biological term that basically means the organism that has the greatest number of responses to a situation has the greater chance of surviving.

Watts Wacker, a noted futurist, offers six things we can do to gain more options for ourselves:

Learn to be a better listener. You don't learn when you are talking.
Read a trade magazine from a different industry. Find two things in every issue that relate to your business.
Let your kids tutor you in a subject they know more about than you do.
Volunteer, and see the world through a different window.
Read what has stood the test of time. Read Aristotle, Shakespeare, Adam Smith.
Reading the great books helps frame your thinking.

Energize Yourself With Spring Cleaning

Pitch out and clean up! Nothing feels better than removing clutter from your life. Who likes opening a closet and then ducking to avoid the tumbling stuff? Or staring in dismay at a desk piled high with papers. Or despairing about ever remembering under what name you filed that VERY important paper. (For the latter check out Barbara Hemphill's software, Taming the Paper Tiger at http://www.thepapertiger.net.)

Start small if the task seems overwhelming. Go for one drawer or one closet at a time. Make a pile for your favorite charity. Donate usable but rarely worn clothes to places like Working Wardrobes. Take the books you KNOW you will never reference or read again and give them to a local library. Hire a professional organizer. You can find them at http://www.napo.net.

You'll be amazed at how a fresh start creates a fresh YOU.

Must Read Books

Zapping Conflict in the Healthcare Workplace by Dr. Judith Briles. Mile High Press, 400 pp., $29.00, ISBN 1-885-33108-8.
This is not a book for the weak that want fluff and stuff. Briles, in her characteristic "take-no-prisoners" style uses the case studies of over 1,600 men and women to identify conflict and sabotage examples within the health care setting. She then systematically offers "zaps" for handling such situations.

P.S. You do not have to be in healthcare to learn from this book.

Off The Chart Results... Get Them Now

What do folks like leadership gurus Dr. Warren Bennis and Dr. James Kouzas have in common with Dr. Margaret Wheatley of chaos theory fame, Dr. Bob Nelson (1001 Ways to Reward Performance), Lorna Riley and ME?

Answer: we are all individual chapters in a new book, Off the Chart Results. Using an interview format, each expert relays their perspective on what can generate (or hamper) getting off-the-chart results. My interview centers on the resilient organization and resilient managers.

Call or fax my office—or go online to the web site (shop.html) and get your copy at 25% off the retail price. If you want multiple copies, ask us for a discount. Let me know if you want them personalized when I sign them!

Energize Others Through Different Rewards

Looking for ways to encourage performance and commitment? Think about adapting some of these best practices:

Starbucks gives "The Mug" for uncommon greatness. Its Bravo Award is for outstanding achievement, and the Spirit of Starbucks honors passion and spirit.

MBNA provides limos on employees' wedding days and gives them a $500 bonus and a week of vacation.

Merck offers four major awards: Excellent Performance, Sustained Excellent Performance Beyond What is Expected, Strategic Contributions, and Outstanding SCIENTIFIC Achievements.

CDW celebrates employees' birthdays by flashing their names on a huge electric sign on a major highway.

Compuware practices the unexpected. When an employee failed a key company exam, they sent him a box of cookies and a note of encouragement. When he passed, the employee got 500 shares of stock.

Funny Stuff To Ponder

A backward poet writes inverse.
Dijon vu—the same mustard as before.
Practice safe eating—always use condiments.
Shotgun wedding: A case of wife or death.
A hangover is the wrath of grapes.

Pass Along The Newsletter—FREE

A couple of clients posed this question to me: "Eileen, how can we get your newsletter in the hands of our employees and management team?"

Great question! Here's the answer. You can send out an e-mail blast, asking if they'd like to receive a BRIEF, practical yet fun e-newsletter four times a year. If they say yes, just have them go to http://www.eileenmcdargh.com and viola! Thanks for asking!

Welcome To The McDargh Clan

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MPI of Minnesota
Mayo Clinic Women's Conference
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Women's Food Service Forum
WellPoint Network

Subscription Management:

You can now manage your subscription to The Energizer on the web! Just e-mail us at eileen@eileenmcdargh.com and let us know what you need. All new subscriptions are by e-mail only.

MISSION STATEMENT

McDargh Enterprises—Energizing the Human Spirit since 1980

Our mission is to transform the life of work and the work of your life.

We work with and speak for organizations that want people to create meaningful relationships with all their stakeholders and to develop a resilient leadership capacity for living a life of balance, engagement, productivity, and meaning in a changing world. We value laughter, life-long learning, and leadership through service.

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Testimonials

"Thank you for speaking at the Office of Inspector General Third Annual Recognition conference. Your presentation was entertaining and informative, and my staff enjoyed it tremendously. You gave us many helpful insights and tips on how to improve the balance between our home and work lives. It is always a pleasure to witness such a dynamic, energetic presentation. I am appreciative that you took time from your busy schedule to share your knowledge and ideas with us.

- Office of Inspector General