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Summer 2007 Newsletter (Newsletter Archives)     Download Adobe Acrobat Version

Well, at least scratch through the lazy and hazy mention. Crazy still remains.

I am jazzed up, pumped up, high-fiving and jump’n jiv’n about all the marvelous things that are blooming from seeds planted over the last year.

• Talk Ain’t Cheap-It’s Priceless (http://www.eileenmcdargh.com/shop_books.html) has hit the desk. Wow! It’s only been out two weeks and already we’ve sold 1500 books to the leadership team of INOVA, an award-winning non-profit health care system in Northern Virginia.
• The fall catalog of Berrett Koehler has been shipped and in it—full page—is the information about my new hardback book, Gifts from the Mountain: Simple Truths for Life’s Complexities. This is a dream come true.
• My husband and I are trekking the Indian Himalayas on an eco tour led by my adventurer buddy and fellow speaker, Jeff Salz.
• Our office will be literally closed from August 16 to Sept 2. Yahooooo!
• Be on the lookout for amazing tales and great pictures on the web site!

Does this sound like I might be starting to play bigger in a world of possibilities for a world of difference?

I would like to think so. “Play bigger” was the intent I wrote in my New Year’s journal. Intention followed by action does make amazing things happen. And that is no secret.

How fares your summer? I’d love to know how your “seeds” are blooming.

Warmly, and a little crazy,

Vacations Energize Vocations

With workplace stress and burnout already costing the United States more than $300 billion a year, why is it that current research indicates that only 14% of Americans will take two weeks off this summer? Research posted by Take Back Your Time http://www.timeday.org a major U.S./Canadian initiative to challenge the epidemic of time poverty, states that more than half of U.S. workers won’t even take a week. A depressing 55% of Americans plan on using what vacation days they have to extend a weekend here and there.

That’s just plain nuts! There’s growing evidence of increased productivity as a result of taking a REAL vacation. When the mind and body are rested, there’s room for creativity and the energy that comes from a fresh start.

If you are one of the many who resist taking some well-deserved time off, here are some suggestions:

• team up with a workplace buddy and cover for each other during the time away. Make sure you share the critical aspects of a project, service, or customer relationship.
• use your e-mail system to alert senders that you will not be answering e-mail until a specific date. And by the way, some 60% of all e-mail is not essential.
• get over self-importance. The truth is, no single person is the keystone. You can always leave a contact number for emergencies (unless, of course, you’re in the Himalayas!)
• leave the PDA in the luggage. For many, this is like being weaned. Unplug and unwind.

Remember, there will always be too much to do. Let it rest. The ONLY person who ever had their work done by Friday was Robinson Crusoe!

The McDargh Clan!

• INOVA
• Intel Women’s Network
• QEII Nurses-Halifax
• Pike’s Peak Workforce Center

Must Read Books

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip & Dan Heath, Random House, 2007. These super-bright brothers have captured six straight-forward principles that have me rethinking my business and marketing efforts. You’ll find yourself wondering what you can do that is simple, unexpected, concrete and credible. You’ll look for ways to get people to care and you’ll wrap it in stories. Bet I’ve got you thinking already!

The Anatomy of Peace: Resolving the Heart of Conflict by The Arbinger Institute,
Berrett Koehler, 2006. If you are like me and feel despair with what seems like a spiraling of global violence, this book offers hope. This semi-fictional narrative (influenced by actual events), draws you into a wilderness-camp for out-of-control teens. But the storyline is merely a setting for parents to understand the root of conflict from two facilitators: a Palestinian Arab and an Israeli Jew. You’ll find hope here for your family, your workplace, and your community. If we started there—maybe peace would spiral outward.

Silent Alarm: A Parable of Hope for Busy Professionals by John Blumberg, Greenfield Press 2007. Silent Alarm is a parable of hope for busy professionals. For some, it is a message of inspiration … and for others, a wake-up call for their very survival. For everyone … it is an experience you won’t soon forget!! I promise you- read this book and you won’t hit the snooze button again. I loved this book! Go to: http://www.keynoteconcepts.com/silent_alarm.htm

The Parent’s Dictionary

AMNESIA: Condition that enables a woman who has gone through labor to make love again.

DUMBWAITER: One who asks if the kids would care to order dessert.

FAMILY PLANNING: The art of spacing your children the proper distance apart to keep you on the edge of financial disaster.

FEEDBACK: The inevitable result when your baby doesn't appreciate the strained carrots.

Bullies Belong in Bull Pens—not Cubicles

It's not my imagination: we've become far too accepting of jerks at work. Bullying behavior is on the rise and it's not just on playground—but in work places.

Look around. Have you noticed some certifiable jerks? These are folks who constantly demean, ridicule, put down, or purposely ignore those with less "power" than they have. And it's tolerated.

One health care organization told me of a physician who regularly, verbally assaults nurses and interns. A vice president in a development company uses the silent treatment as a way of telling an employee that she's a non-entity, even going so far as to threaten staff if they speak to this employee!

A law firm keeps a rain maker despite the fact he eats colleagues and administrative assistants for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

We've made heroes of other jerks—even tolerating jerk-like behavior in some folks who represent the United States.

Sadly, behavior ignored is behavior endorsed. Complacency equals complicity. The organization and its leaders develop a reputation for arrogance and insensitivity.

It makes little sense. Getting and keeping good talent is one of the top two worries of CEOs. Who wants to work with jerks?

Research also indicates that performance and productivity actually increase when jerks are eliminated.

Here’s where to start:

• Create a NO JERK rule and mean it.
• Confront jerk behavior as soon as it happens.
• Train everyone how to identify jerk behavior and how to react,
  respond, and report.
• Look yourself in the eye and ask for honest feedback. We all carry some of the jerk gene inside of us.

Words to the Wise:

• The first rule of holes: If you are in one, stop digging.
• When you're finally holding all the cards, why does everyone else decide to play chess?
• It's not hard to meet expenses. They're everywhere.
• It is easier to get older than it is to get wiser.

Sometimes You Just Gotta Laugh

Walking out of Costco last month, I did a double take. There, lined up with the larger items like floor coverings and counter tops were caskets. CASKETS!?!?

Wait! Let me play this through in my mind. Costco is known for quantity. So, is this buy-two-get-one free? How many caskets does one need at one time? What do you actually do with your casket? How does it fit in the economical Prius? Or maybe only the Expedition car owners can purchase them? Whatever do you do with it when you get it home? I fantasized dozens of beers chilling in this huge metal box with satin lid insert. Or how about an extra bed for when one-too-many overnight guests appear? Maybe it could be a pond for water lilies or a watering trough for your Great Dane. You know, the four legged one. Not only quantity is an issue but what about size? Does one size fit all? What about me? I’m short. Maybe you’d just refrigerate me until another stiff comes along to use the extra space. Gives new meaning to the lay-away plan.

Makes you kinda wonder who does the buying for Costco? I doubt it’s the funeral directors of America. You just gotta laugh!