Change

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Wanna Change It? Just Tweak It!

Okay, here’s a throw back for all you Brady Bunch fans. Of course you remember the “pork chops and apple sauce” episode, but what about the episode that dealt with Peter’s voice changing? The kids, adults, Alice the housekeeper and the whole neighborhood went down to the local recording studio so the kids could make a record. About Peter’s voice. Kind of. The record was all about change. Hmmm.

Just wanted to mention that here because even though that episode is a bit of a “golden oldie” now, the song had an important message that I find applies today.

When it’s time to change, you’ve got to rearrange who you are and what you’re gonna be

There’s no shortage of talk about change, is there? Change is hard. Change is inevitable. Change is us!

So what do we do with that knowledge about change? 

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Don’t Keep This A Secret!

Acclaimed financial advice guru Dave Ramsey was a millionaire in his 20s. He was in that wonderful 20-something decade of life – healthy, happy, and “living the life.”

Until he wasn’t.

He and his wife lost everything they had because, as he says, “we mismanaged our money and lost control of our lives.” They declared bankruptcy, and found out what it meant to be in deep debt and deep do-do, at a time when the journey should have just been beginning for them.

Learning for Living

Fortunately for most of us, we have not had to face the challenges in our 20s that the Ramsey’s did (or likely look back at that age and say we were millionaires either). Still, we can learn a few things from Dave that will help us in our daily lives.

I’d like to share one in particular. Read more

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Happy At Work

I’m involved in a happiness survey project right now. I get an email twice a day with a short series of questions that ask me things like how well I slept, if I’m interacting with anyone, and how I feel right now. I don’t have the result yet, but by in large, I’m a pretty happy person, and feel extremely blessed.

So the question comes – Do you ever take the time to check your emotions, level of satisfaction or happiness during the day? How do you feel in the middle of a challenging day, or at the end of the day?

I ask, because there’s most likely an opportunity to amplify your happiness, or help your employees biggie-size their own happiness. Read more

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Paradox of the Invisible Man

Not to go all “invisible man” on you, but a recent Appreciative Inquiry engagement with a client identified an opportunity for them to focus on transparency. 

The group I was working with had not been intentionally “un-transparent,” but creating the vision of what they wanted immediately took them down this path.

Words Create Worlds (and Action!)

By the end of our engagement, the team had identified and prioritized numerous actions – built upon the decision to put an intentional focus on being transparent.  Read more

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Where Leadership Lives

Last month, I met for the second time with a group called the “Sista Circle.” It’s a group of women brought together by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul for the purpose of providing encouragement and support in various ways.

The women of the Sista Circle live in an expansive group of apartment complexes where drug dealing and the sounds of gunshots are not uncommon. I had exposure to some of these women last year through the Leadership Cincinnati program, and was touched by their honesty and open hearts.

Strengths and Leadership

Why am I writing about these women? Well, because I’ve found a tremendous strength in these women and clear signs of leadership Read more

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