Certainly, 2020 and into 2021 have been marked by tremendous loss. First, for many of us, we lost parents, siblings, children, and dear friends. We might have watched our businesses plummet, our communities locked down, our gatherings minimized, and possibly even our faith diminished. What we once took for granted might now be a rarity. How does one lead when faced with a Rubik’s cube of such complexity? As I pondered these questions for myself, certain thoughts arose. Certainly, wisdom passed down from elders, mentors, and sages said the same thing: start small. Start with me. And since none of us operate in a vacuum, it means gathering my team around me so that I can model and create a space for their loss. Consider these actions: Acknowledge the obvious loss and the not-so-obvious emotions. This can include the loss of people, clients, finances, even job titles. Encourage your team—on an optional basis-- to share in a similar fashion. Ask what support might be offered to those who experience loss. Who might be in need of a kind word, financial assistance, a hot meal—heck—even my famous lemon cake. Simple things connect us as humans. Practice empathetic listening to your own heart as well as the hearts of others. Begin crafting a preferred future scenario with the team. This is not the time to hunker down on details but rather to become expansive in what might be a preferred future. What small actions can be taken to move from the loss into hope. Action is the antidote for anxiety and putting things in motion allows us to feel more in control of what might have felt quite uncontrollable. Stay in touch. First—with yourself. Begin every day in at least 10 minutes of quiet mindfulness. Consider writing two intentions for the day and two things that bring a sense of gratitude. Encourage team members to do the same. We will get through this time of loss. New possibilities will rise. We just need to build the bridge from what is to what can be.

Introduction: Heather Hansen offers a fascinating guest post in which she explores the power of words to influence how we feel and act in life. Those of you who have heard me lecture, know that I agree with over 20 years’ research that concludes resilience can indeed be taught. It begins with the patterns we create in our minds. Now read Heather’s words… and decide what reality YOU wish to create. The words you use impact your confidence. When you speak to yourself nicely, you’re bound to feel nice about yourself. When you give yourself the gift of praise, you start to shine. Some people even believe that the words you use when talking to yourself can impact your health as well. For example, Dr. Masaru Emoto was a Japanese author famous for his water experiments. His published work “Messages from Water” contains experiments with words and photographs of ice crystals.(5) He’d put water in different containers and speak to each container differently. With some he’d use kind, supportive, and loving words, and with others he’d use hateful, negative words. The water that he’d spoken to with loving words contained beautiful crystals under the microscope, while the water that he’d spoken to with hateful words was ugly under the microscope. Question: If up to 60 percent of the human body is water, are you running on mostly mud or mostly crystals? Canadian author Danielle LaPorte followed up Emoto’s water experiment with an experiment done on Instagram and dubbed #theappleexperiment. She encouraged people to cut an apple in half and put half in a jar and speak to it with positive, loving words. The other half went in another jar, where people spoke to it in hateful words. The pictures of the apples on social media appear to show that the apple that received the loving words was less rotten, brown, and shriveled. Words impact reality. The words we use also influence how we see things. One of my favorite examples involves keys, and it helps to remind me that words are the key to advocating. In the French language the word key is feminine, and in the German language the word key is masculine. Researchers asked native French speakers who had lived in the United States and spoke fluent English to describe keys. They also asked native German speakers who had lived in the United States for years and spoke fluent English to describe keys. The French described keys as tiny, delicate, and intricate. The Germans described them as heavy and strong.(6) The words they used influenced the way they saw the keys. Words influence the way you see the world as well. The words you use create pathways. If you look at a path in the woods or in the snow, it’s created by repetition. People have walked that same way over and over until it has created a path for others to follow. Recent research on the neuroplasticity of the brain tells us that our neural pathways respond the same way. Our brains create actual physical paths when we act the same say, do the same things, or speak the same words. Those become our neural pathways, and in time they determine who we are. When you want to influence and persuade your Inner Jury, you have to be intentional about the words you use and the pathways you create. You have to know what words mean—what is the definition of the ones you’re using—and be aware of how you’re using them in your inner self talk. Once you’re keenly aware of the words you’re choosing in talking to yourself, you can more carefully use them to advocate. (5) Masaru Emoto, Messages from Water and the Universe (Carlsbad, CA: Hay House, 2010) (6) Lera Boroditsky and Lauren A. Schmidt, “Sex, Syntax, and Semantics,” Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, 22 (2000); retrieved from https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0tj9w8zf. This excerpt of Advocate to Win: 10 Tools to Ask for What You Want and Get It was provided by Heather Hansen. Heather Hansen is the author of the bestseller The Elegant Warrior: How to Win Life’s Trials Without Losing Yourself. She is also the host of The Elegant Warrior podcast. She is an attorney, has psychology degree and is a trained mediator, coach, consultant as well as an anchor at the Law & Crime Network. Heather has appeared on NBC, Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, CBS, and Sirius Radio.

Consider these stats from a recent OXFORD REPORT: Credit Suisse issued a report showing that companies where 24% or more of executives were women had annualized returned of 22.8% over the five-year period studied. Those with executive teams comprised of 30% women had annualized returns of 25.6%. Without these numbers of executive women, the average company's annualized returns were just 11%. A European study showed that, over three years, the share prices of companies with gender-diversified management teams rose 64% versus an average 46% for all companies. Within the S&P 500, companies with more women in senior leadership teams had a 34% better shareholder return than those companies dominated by men. Something to think about!!

Resiliency is a life skill, offering those of us who use growth potential strategies (GPS) as a way to become wiser, stronger, and better through times of challenge or opportunity. But strategies are not of the ready-fire-aim- variety. As we slowly move out of a Covid-19 lockdown, eager as we are to spring into action, may I suggest that waiting offers value. In our sped-up world of hypertext, hyperspace, and hypertension, we might all do well to consider what happens when we are forced to “wait”. I find myself mulling over all those moments in which stillness takes precedence over activity. Indeed, it is in the quiet of waiting that our creativity, imagination, and dreams take place. Some waiting contains optimism and others hold negativity. Some waiting we can control. Others we cannot. Stress occurs when we do not know the difference. Consider this list as a prompting for your own reflection on “waiting”. Expand the list and discover what lies dormant, resting until you decide to take action. Release those areas in which you must surrender to the outcome. Consider this an article for reflection, amusement, and remembrance. Waiting… the mental fingers-crossed image when the offer’s been made on the house Waiting.... the breathless time between first date and first kiss Waiting... the hush of morning stillness when sleepy heads listen for the morning paper to thud on the pavement Waiting... the eager anticipation of birth and the every-expanding stomach which hides your feet from view Waiting... the empty mailbox yawning for a letter from someone, maybe just anyone Waiting... the anxious moments when we visualize the worst news from the doctor Waiting... the tingly, giggly, squirmy endless march from Thanksgiving to Santa’s arrival Waiting... the boredom of watching airline repair crews work on your last flight of the long week Waiting... the stomach-growling grace-before meals while the smell of pungent Italian sausage drifts from the plate Waiting... the blank space from artist’s block to fruitful creativity. Waiting… the pause between the end of a speech and the audience’s response Waiting… the slow march of a decision from a loan officer Waiting… the pen poised above the signature block on the contract Waiting… the frustrating, maddening on-hold music while you wait for technical support to answer your software question. Waiting… for the check’s-in-the-mail arrival Waiting… the moments between dusk and dark and the fireworks display Waiting… the prayer and sorrow as a hand is held while death approaches Waiting…the interminable time when you finally can get out of your end-of-the-plane seat and exit the aircraft Waiting…the anticipation of seeing your family after months of distancing. Waiting… NOW, it’s your turn. How wonderful/ terrible is the verb/noun wait. And I’ll wait to see how you use my words to trigger your thoughts. Eileen McDargh, CSP, CPAE Professional Speaker, management consultant, author of Your Resiliency GPS - Growing Through Life & Work available now on Amazon

I’m betting that few people knew Spencer Ferguson Silver III who died May 8, 2021, at his home in Minneapolis. But I am willing to bet you have used a product that was the result of his failure: Post-It-Notes. Silver was a senior chemist for 3M, focusing on creating a strong adhesive that could be used in aircraft construction. Alas, that outcome failed but his work did result in an adhesive grip that was strong enough to hold papers together but weak enough to allow papers to be pulled apart without tearing them. However, it took another 3M engineer, Art Fry, to see the possibility of Silver’s adhesive as a way of keeping paper bookmarks from falling out of his hymnal when he sang. Fry patented Post-It™ as we know it in 1993. How’s that for a bonanza! Here is the resiliency lesson. Adaptability expands when we ask others to see what we do not see. The more creativity is brought to a situation, the better are the chances for success. Just decide ahead of time who gets the credit.

In the past few conversations with clients who range from financial service firms to hospital information professionals, it seems that we’ll be entering a hybrid work world where some fashion of remote work remains. Resilience will always be a skill to cultivate—particularly in the not-so-abnormal world. Here are three tips for managers who find themselves in this hybrid: If everything is important, nothing is important. To keep focus and to resist overwhelm, make sure each team member knows the short-term goals and the top 3 most important things. Continue to make mental health a top priority. Even as the pandemic and COVID restrictions appear to be lessening, 16 months of living with anxiety, fear, loss, and a world that seems to explode in hate, lies and violence take a toll on the human psyche. Check in with everyone. Listen with empathy. Create mini “what’s good” chats with a team. And, if you can, have a mental health professional or trauma specialist on call. Involve your team in designing a better future. Time to open wide creative ideas and the gates to appreciative inquiry. The latter seeks to answer the question: if this would be true, what would need to be in place? What would be our demonstrated behaviors and values? Remember: Post Traumatic Growth can be the outcome of these past 16 months.

Quick! What do old denim jeans, wine corks and ice cream have in common? Nope—not a funky picnic! Not answers to crossword puzzles or items to wear and eat during a Covid lockdown. The answer: Sustainability! It blew me away to discover that more than 11 million tons of textiles end up in U.S. landfills a year. Now retailers like Levi’s and Madewell are collecting used denim and turning it into—Ta DUH—building insulation!!! Check it out at www.bluejeansgogreen.org. AWESOME! As for wine corks, no need to throw them in a garbage bin. Recork.com has collected more than 110 million natural corks to reuse as shoe soles and other items. Imagine, that sandal with a cork sole might have been from a bottle of Chardonnay. Yummy. And speaking of yummy, how about reusable containers filled with ice-cream. Check out www.loopstore.com It’s an online store that sells not just ice-cream but bath and body items, cleaning products, oral care, and more. All in packaging you send back for refills. Kroger and Walgreens have joined Loop to work on zero waste!!! You must visit the site to believe it. Now that’s positive news for the week.

April 22 – Earth Day-- has come and gone. But for those of us committed to saving a planet, the work is never over. And for my GRANDdaughter, Clare, her commitment extends way beyond a recently completed degree in Bachelor of Science Degree in Environmental Science and Policy. It’s one thing to get a degree. It’s another thing to REALLY live it. And Clare is. She’s been writing a blog, Simply Sustainable, that offers so much first-hand information and her personal research: about how to get rid of plastic, where to find shampoo for glass bottles, how to buy products that also promote social justice! She’s found a job with a national nursery company and this week, she moved into her first apartment – a minimalist apartment. “I only brought from home what I absolutely needed,” exclaimed Clare as we Face-timed a walk through her tiny apartment. She brought in the bumble bee salt-and pepper shakers we gave her and two cookbooks. She has Nature Conservancy magazines from my sister, and cooking utensils from my daughter. I’m thinking there are probably only two sets of sheets and towels because, after all, you clean one set and use the other. She proudly showed us the chair she found at Goodwill and a desk from a nearby thrift shop. She cautioned us that she wants nothing for her upcoming 23rd birthday. She explained, “How can I live a sustainable life if I am surrounded by stuff?” Good question. Stuff surrounds me. Lots of stuff. Too many sets of dishes. Too many clothes. Too many purses. Heck- jeans, bunny slippers and a decent shirt work just fine in this virtual world. You get the idea. Now It’s my turn to be guided by my sustainable GRANDdaughter. Let me hear your thoughts!

Three days ago, I got word that Dr. Jeff Salz, my cultural anthropologist friend and adventure traveler died from COVID 19 in Ecuador. It shook me to my core. Today, a number of us who fell into Jeff's tribe through his seductive wit and inspirational spirit will gather remotely to share memories, stories, and our mutual grief as we celebrate his life. The last 15 months have seen far too many deaths. Yet somehow, Jeff’s death not only caught me unaware but also prompted deep reflection about my own life. Perhaps it was because he was younger than I. Perhaps it was the tremendous outpouring from so many different parts of the world. Perhaps it was that the individual reflections demonstrated that each person felt that his/her adventures with Jeff were one-of-a-kind. I met Jeff years ago through the National Speakers Association. We’d chat and catch up and then he proposed an adventure to my husband and me: come to India for two weeks and trek the northwestern portion of the Himalayas. From riding in a jeep on the highest dubious roads in the world to sitting on the floor of a remote monastery to hear the Dalai Llama—from crossing dangerous whitewater rivers on foot to trekking up 16,500 feet—from discovering hospitality in a yurt to relishing Indian beer at the journey’s end—it was amazing. Not anything one would find in a travel agency. Two years ago, he came with another offer: explore regions of Ecuador that ranged from living with a native community in the Amazon to scrambling up the high active volcano in the Andes. Of course, we said yes. That was Jeff’s magic: he opened our eyes to parts of the world few would see. He embraced all cultures, traditions, beliefs, and native foods. Yes, I have eaten roasted worms and crispy ants—the latter about 3 inches long! Along the way, his cultural anthropology mind would expound in ways to enlighten and engage. I am now deeply pondering what would my death leave behind on this earth? Have I helped others see beyond the obvious to the richness of others? Do I approach each day with a curiosity to find the new and unique in my world? How easy is it to become mired in the Groundhog Day of repetition? So, my friend, you journey to a place I cannot go. But I think I will follow the footsteps you leave behind in the way of adventure. Namaste. PS: Get Jeff’s book from Amazon: The Way of Adventure.

Our recent national struggles have motivated me to revisit our nation’s history and dig deeper into how we got here. It’s also ruffled my curiosity about Americans who are less empathically supportive of our Black, Brown, Asian, Native and all other marginalized fellow citizens, who, for centuries, have been pleading to be seen, heard, respected, and understood by those who possess the power. Our past tapestries are too tightly woven with global stories of bigotry, discrimination, disenfranchisement, inequity, and hate so fierce it has led to genocide. Unfortunately, one can pick up a newspaper and read equally brutal stories today, around the world, and in this nation we love. History repeating itself? History doesn’t always repeat itself, but it usually rhymes. – – Seth Godin Pain, tears, and agony of ancestors echo in our halls of justice. So I wonder what verses we’ll choose to compose now. Will our prose of humanity continue to be a refrain of discord, dissonance, and dissension? Or, can and will we rise above, work to understand, and abstain from such stuff of our past? We have the opportunity to create couplets of compassion, sonatas of sustainable harmony, and cantos of coherence. But, will we? In solo, one struggles to have their voice heard and their past understood as an extension of today’s reality. However, a voluminous concert of humanity, united in vision, voices, and action toward the pursuit of a more perfect union increases the chances of rhythms of historic change, of hope, and an opportunity to step safety into tomorrow. Together, let’s shift from might and fight to what is right, left behind to being kind, injustice to justice, disparity to equity, disjointed into united, and disproportion into forward motion. We hold the conductor’s baton in our own life as well as the invitation to harmonize with humanity in the call for collective morality. Our choice. Life is calling . . . Today’s the day! Marilynn Semonick Once again, my soul sister Marilynn Semonick penned a powerful message in her Wednesday Wisdom. I use it with her permission. – Eileen

The world is slowly opening. Hopefully, our first trip will be to drive in mid-June to Corbett, Oregon. We haven't seen our daughter, her husband and our GRANDdaughters in 17 months. I remember traveling for our 30th wedding anniversary. We stopped in Portland for a brief touchdown and then off to Juneau and Glacier Bay. We would pick up a 24-passenger boat. A naturalist. One week. Kayaking. Hiking. AND... NO computer or email . YAHHOOO! If you travel at all, you know that flying – even before Covid-19 – has its own built-in stresses that can set the tone for any trip. Thankfully, we were on Alaska Airlines with Beth. How well I remember Beth. Beth greeted every passenger with a smile and helped folks get their luggage stored. (On today’s flights – this is NOT an easy task). She paused to talk and beamed when I told her the reason for the flight AND that we’d have a special, short visit with our GRANDdaughters. We told her we always brought them the little snack mix packet they handed out aboard. In a heartbeat she was back, dumping 10 little snack packs in my lap. “Here, she said.” “Take these to the children.” It was then that I looked closer at her official name tag, BETH. But what caught my eye was the wording underneath her name. Same official bronze tag. Only this one said: “committed to kindness.” I raised my eyebrow and pointed to the words. “My manager watched me work and figured that this was what I was all about so she made me this name tag.” Beth smiled. “It so touched me. I realize I cannot have a bad day when I look down and see the tag. Just can’t be wearing it unless I practice it. So—I buck up and forge ahead into whatever kind of day we are having.” What a concept! I find myself remembering that conversation and the name tag. When Beth’s manager called out this virtue to her, she created a self-fulfilling prophecy. Made me wonder if all of us were given little name tags that said, “committed to kindness”, would we change? If even a small percentage of us acted on that notion, our work, our families, and our community might be different. This memory has prompted me to get a face mask with the words KINDNESS on it. Maybe I can craft my own self-fulfilling prophecy. What about you? As we begin to slowly come back to our organizations, imagine what would happen if we named the virtue we see in our colleagues? Managers, what might you do to craft a self-fulfilling prophecy that helps staff feel treasured and unique? Surely something to consider.

Post-COVID: It’s time for new, simple, daily practices that change your day, and your life It’s finally happening. Those of us who survived… (Far too many did not…) and those of us who are ready to thrive again… (Far too many are still struggling…) are emerging from our year-long pandemic cocoon. Ready to create new and better normals. But what will you put in place to ensure that actually happens? How will you create your amazing future? =For decades, I’ve been simplifying global best practices into easy-to-remember, easy-to-implement ways of living and working. Here’s a great way to launch your amazing new post-pandemic normal: The 3-2-1 Rule for An Awesome Day. 3. Three Must Dos Every Day We’re all on overload. Far too much crap comes at us every day. And most of us are trying to get too much of it done. The reality is: Not all To Dos are created equal. The average person has only three (or less) To Dos each day that truly matter, that will truly make a major difference. Begin each day by selecting the three that matter most and focus, focus, focus! (I usually pick only two, assuming a third will pop up sometime during the day.) Do this and you’ll see your effectivenss and happiness sky-rocket! 2. Two Great Help Moments Every Day Helping others truly matters. (Beyond whatever help you’re already supposed to provide.) Besides the fact that this is just what good people do… Doing two Great Help moments every day tees up pay-it-forward-rewards that will come your way in the future. We are now in a networked economy. Your personal network is one of the most crucial factors to your success. If you make a daily practice of helping others, you are creating a wellspring of awesomeness that will come back to you! 1. One New Learning Every Day Constantly ask a question you didn’t ask yesterday. Seek out a new experience — from walking or driving a different route to doing something you’ve never done before. Every day. This is crucial because the pandemic was just the beginning — every day in your future will be filled with major disruptions. And the only way to have awesome disruption-filled days, is to train yourself to constantly adapt to changing situations. That starts small, with new daily micro-experiences. Doing so trains your heart and mind for the unexpected. You are creating a life where serendipity, adaptability, and personal agility are built-in. Three Must Dos ensure a focused great day. Two Great Helps keeps you in touch with your values and what really matters. One New Learning prepares you for whatever comes next. A simple approach to make every day awesome in a post-pandemic world! Bill Jensen, Mr. Simplicity, makes it easier to do great work. He is ranked as a Top 5 Global Thought Leader on the Future of Work, and a Top 5 Global Thought Leader on Change Management. Bill’s newest book, The Day Tomorrow Said No, is a powerful fable about the future of work, designed to revolutionize how we approach our future. Go here to get your copy for FREE! I’ve known Bill Jensen, "Mr. Simplicity", for years. Check out any of his books on Amazon and you WILL find strategies that can forestall burnout and add value. guaranteed! – Eileen