Free Resources

Free Newsletter

Summer Newsletter (Newsletter Archives)    

July found me in Oxford, England at Merton College (circa 1264) studying Scientific Imagination-The Influence of Science on Culture. This class was one of ten offered by UC Berkley-Oxford's "Summer for Scholars".

Now home and processing the event, people ask me what I learned at "the class" —as if a finite number of data points could be summarized. For the fact-insistent, I learned words like armillary sphere, cabinet of curiosity, and the true meaning of alchemy. I learned about the battle between astronomers and horologists for deciding the fate of wandering sea captains. I learned to seek the scientific symbolism in paintings. I realized that closed minds literally killed ideas of natural scientists and that discovery is predicated on having the leisure to think. I amazed myself with what I remembered from years' past and despaired at every understanding the jargon, formulas, and how some scientific instruments work.

But there was more I discovered.

I found delight in the medieval and gothic architecture and amazement in an Oxford system that places students in a narrow stricture of study. I marveled at my professor's wisdom and breadth (in spite of the system) and was dismayed at the required reading list.

I was heartened by my ability to ferret out train schedules, decent food, and morning meadow runs. I made a home of my attic room, relished attending Shakespeare on the green, and found the British fun, kind and hospitable.

I discovered a new corner of the world while my husband and family operated well without my presence. (Although I hope, they were lonesome). I found a college willing to embrace technology with Ethernet installed in our rooms but clueless that one needed cables to operate. Once resolved, I loved sending my journal across the ocean and receiving daily web-tv notes from my 84 year-old mother.

Shandy beer proved tasty, fish arrived perfectly, and potatoes dominated every meal. I blessed the English wisdom NOT to tax books or permit political campaigning until a few weeks prior to elections. And I blessed the U.S. wisdom to pass the Americans with Disabilities Act. England has done little to assist the less-than-mobile on subways, trains, and streets-much less colleges hundreds of years old.

But perhaps my greatest learning came from this: watching the personal courage of so many "students" in these summer classes. Age predominated and crippling arthritis, hip replacements, bent backs, chemo treatments, and plenty of hearing aids were in profusion. I marveled at my classmates' tenacity and joy of learning. What courage to haul oneself up slippery, narrow granite stairs or to cross rough cobble stone streets. What bravery to move upstream against the swimming London commuters on the tube (subway) and take steep steps to street level. What grace to sit in echo-filled chambers or dimly- lit rooms. What fortitude to straddle wooden benches at dinner in the Great Hall or struggle to work antiquated showers.

So here's the final learning: The body ages. The mind endures. I have some new heroes to follow.

New Research Links Talent and Relationship Development to Profit

Thanks to the work of Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman of the Gallup Organization, there is now the first-ever quantified link between treating people well and revenue, profit and stock value.

Through analyzing 25 years of studies, spanning 12 industries, 24 companies, 250 business units and more than 80,000 individual interviews, Buckingham and Coffman come up with a new solution.

The data shows:
 

How putting the right person in the right place and working for the right manager drives employee engagement.

How employee engagement drives customer loyalty.

How customer loyalty drives sustained growth.

How sustained growth drives real profits.

How real profits drive the stock valuation.

This new research says the best managers select people for strengths and talents not just for skills and knowledge. This new research says the best managers build on each person's strengths, not motivating people to fix their weaknesses. This new research says the best managers find the right fit for each person, not just pushing them up the next rung on the ladder.

Something to think about.

Paul Revere's Mother: "I don't care where you think you have to go, young man. Midnight is past your curfew."

Michelangelo's Mother: "Mike, can't you paint on walls like other children? Do you have any idea how hard it is to get that stuff off the ceiling?"

Goldilock's Mother: "I've got a bill here for a busted chair from Bear family. You know anything about this Goldie?"

Tips for Energizing Others

Ohio-based Resource Marketing released a report on how to keep "e-tailing" customers. When I read the report, it occurred to me that just as e-customers call the shots, so too do employees in this tight labor market. Some of their advice for e- customers holds true for employees:

Earn my trust

Put me in charge

Play fair

Inspire me

Listen to me

Over deliver

Stay with me

Get to know me

Remember me

Make it fun

Energizing Yourself

Want to get that "second wind" when you feel run down? Try any of the following:

.refuel. Snack on fiber-rich munchies such as dried fruit, baby carrots, or rye wafers.

.breathe deeply. That's right, take five minutes inhaling as deeply as you possibly can and then exhaling as slow as possible. You'll feel a calmness and achieve mental focus.

.unload. Call a trusted friend and ask for no more than five minutes of their time. Gripe, whine to your hearts content but conclude with how you are going to handle the situation. Ask for their input to put a positive notion in your head. Don't forget to thank them and let them know you'll be available when the need you as a dumping ground.

.walk. Leave the situation if you can and take a brisk walk. Swing your arms, breath, whistle, hum. Now, return refreshed.

Must Read Books

Transforming Practices: Finding Joy and Satisfaction in the Legal Life, Steven Keeva, Contemporary Books, 1999 $24.95 ISBN 0-8092-2504-2).  As one who speaks frequently to portions of the legal profession, I was delighted to find a book written by a man with an inside track on a battered profession. Keeva is senior editor for the ABA Journal and knows well the unprecedented change, stress, and demands attorneys face. But make no mistake, this book also plays well for consultants, physicians, and anyone who makes a living on the billable hour.

NETWORLDING:Building Relationships And Opportunities For Success, Melissa Giovagnoli and Jocelyn Carter-Miller (Jossey-Bass, 226 pg, $25, ISBN 0787948195).  Networlding, say the authors, is the process of enlisting everyone you know in the furtherance of you and your career while at the same time, helping them reach their goals whenever possible. The book offers a seven-step process for creating your networld, 10 "Golden Rules of Networlding," and plenty of advice on building relationships.

Welcome To The McDargh Clan

Assoc. of Legal Administrators (Region 2)
Texas ASAE
SCHRM
Lions Leadership Forum (4th time!)
World Savings
Independent Bankers of Texas
National Assoc. for Healthcare Quality
Iowa Excellence Forum