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By Bobbe White
I asked a friend to recommend a book that had been helpful to her during a tough time as I needed an idea for a struggling friend. She cited Anne Lamott’s bestseller, “Help Thanks Wow: The Three Essential Prayers.” The ironic thing is that I had given it to her in 2012! I like this book. So much so, that I reread it this weekend. It’s a brief book and full of ideas on ways to offload problems that are bugging us (HELP!). She shows the benefits of being grateful for seemingly insignificant things (THANKS!) and to acknowledge amazing occurrences (WOW!) I decided to practice below. Here goes... HELP! Our refrigerator died. Conked out. Just. Like. That. I moved salvageable food to our basement freezer, gathered coolers, and made multiple trips for bags of ice. THANKS. We appreciate our new dorm-sized fridge. Jeff argues, “It’s not dorm-sized. It’s 5 feet tall with a freezer compartment.” Okay, so it’s graduate school size. I’ve named her, “Short Stuff.” She’s more efficient than coolers, even as the freezer door pops open when you shut the refrigerator door. Kind of like the Beverly Hillbillies: the phone rings; they answer the doorbell. WOW! It’s amazing how cold Short Stuff keeps the contents. Or “wow”, is that garage hot or what?” And, “wow,” think of all the weight we’ll lose, because it’s too hot in the garage to fetch food or treats that we don’t need anyway. THANKS for this opportunity! But, HELP! The reverse is happening. I’m consuming more than ever. It’s easier to just eat the rest of something than going out to the hot garage. Sigh. HELP! Our new fridge was ordered June 1. It’s slow, due to parts being from China. You know why. THANKS! Store tells us our new fridge landed in St. Louis. (That’s two hours south for east and west coasters readers! In other words, it’s getting closer!) WOW! Installation is in two days. It’s a pretty big deal as you can imagine. Here’s another example... HELP! Last Monday, after work, the house felt warm. The thermostat read 27 degrees Celsius. “Hey Siri! Convert 27 Celsius to Fahrenheit.” Siri says, “That would be 80 degrees Fahrenheit.” Great, Oh hell, I mean, oh HELP! It’s going to be a long night. THANKS to our fans sleeping was fairly comfortable. Also, THANKS to Jeff who got Wayne, an air conditioning repairman, to come the next day. We’ll be really thankful if it simply needs a charge and some freon. HELP! The A.C. is kaput. We need a new unit. But “WOW!” Wayne can install the new unit in a few days for $3,000. So, that’s what that stimulus check was for. THANKS Congress! Also, THANKS Jeff for installing an A.C. window unit in the bedroom. Sleep, glorious sleep! HELP! The installer had heart palpitations. He’s having tests on installation day. Install tabled for now. But, hey God, seriously, THANKS for the cool front! At 64 degrees this morning on our deck, I was thankful for my sweatshirt. Have you gotten the gist using The Three Essential Prayers? Anyway, it’s Sunday, a day of prayer for many people, so a logical day to experiment with Help, Thanks, Wow. There are many things to pray “HELP!” for: our country, racial unrest, the economy, health, students, teachers, parents, and healthcare workers –– basically anything COVID related –– which seems to be everything lately doesn’t it? There are many things to say, “THANKS!” for. It’s okay if you have to get creative. Like our one cucumber plant, that now spans a 10’ x 4’ foot garden plot. HELP! Cukes have overtaken the garden. Still, “THANKS!” A garden of any vegetable is a good thing. And WOW! There are so many of them. Also, there are myriad ways to pray and personally, I’m thankful for an additional, non-traditional, logical way. THANKS for reading my post. Now, this is your cue to yell, “HELP!” if needed, say, “THANKS,” when you can and amaze yourself with WOW-worthy things! Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success!
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By John O'Leary. This was originally posted on JohnOLearyInspires.com. When John O'Leary was 9 years old, he suffered burns over 100% of his body and was expected to die. He is now an inspirational speaker and bestselling author, teaching more than 50,000 people around the world each year how to live inspired. John's first book, ON FIRE: The 7 Choices to Ignite a Radically Inspired Life was published March 15, 2016. John is a contributing writer for Huff Post and Parade.com. John is a proud husband and father of four and resides in St. Louis, MO. Order John’s book today anywhere books are sold
Does it seem like people are quick to anger these days? For many, it’s as if they go around seeking reasons to be disappointed, upset or infuriated. Have you noticed the hostility they share frequently makes things even worse? But what happens when an individual who has every right to be upset chooses instead to respond with grace? Years ago on an early morning Southwest Airlines flight, I had such an experience. After reaching our cruising altitude, the flight attendants took drink orders and passed out a snacks. They then began serving the requested drinks to the passengers. A hot coffee was set on my drink table and the passenger sitting directly behind me was handed a Bloody Mary. (Hey, it was already 6:30 AM… and probably 5 o’clock somewhere… Don’t judge!) Unfortunately, at that exact moment the plane hit turbulence and some of her drink spilled on the lap of the lady seated to her right. It was not a pretty scene. There was a lot of commotion, significant anger, and lots of words needing to be beeped out. It’s the kind of interaction we are, regrettably, too familiar with these days. Fortunately, another passenger came to the rescue, trying to help clean up the mess that was now seeping into the aisle. Unfortunately, in bending down she accidentally lifted up the tray of the gentleman on the other side of the aisle. It was like a sitcom, but with absolutely no laughter. A surprising response brings joy during a challenging situation. The messy dominos of life were now falling. And as it sent his freshly brewed cup of coffee into his lap, the dominos weren’t done, yet. Concerned that he might get burned, the lady with the Bloody Mary actually took what was left of her tomato juice and poured it on his pants. As a guy who’s experienced actual burns I can appreciate the gesture, but next time let him choose it for himself… and maybe with water, instead! As the carnage eventually began to subside, I watched this unlucky victim wipe at his hopelessly drenched pants. During a time when many feel they’re entitled to allow little things to infuriate them quickly, he responded in a most surprising way. Although clearly heading to a corporate meeting and badly needing a new pair of pants, a most unexpected expression appeared on his face: a smile. A flight attendant apologized profusely to him as he looked up from his pants, into her eyes, smiled again, and shared a quote I’ll never forget: “It’s only coffee… and tomato juice.” In the midst of the chaos, remember this truth. My friends, things will happen this morning and this week completely out of your control. Global pandemics will spread… and the media will cover it. The weather will be hot… or cold. It will rain… or the drought will continue. She’ll be late, or he won’t show. The kids will whine, or the silence will be deafening. But because of a man with a ruined pair of pants and a smile on his face, we now have a simple, better example on how to respond: Not to wish that life becomes less messy, but to become wise enough to remember that it’s only coffee… and tomato juice. Life remains a gift. Let’s choose to act like it. Today is your day. Live Inspired. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Courtney Clark
You could plod along a career path, taking whatever promotion comes your way, or you could set clear goals and get on a path to achievement. Which one sounds better? Probably the latter! Setting career goals is a great way to make sure you have the success and fulfillment we all hope for. But the process of goal setting doesn’t begin the way you think it does. If you think goal setting is as simple as deciding what future job you want, listen up! The correct way to set career goals involves a 4-step process that has you working toward something that’s about achievement and inspiration. First, Think Back… When people think about setting goals, they usually think about the future. That makes sense, because that’s when your goals will be achieved! But by thinking backwards, first, you’re giving yourself an extra perspective on your goals. Start by reflecting: how long has this been your goal? What led you down this path? Are you currently in the place you imagined, when you started? Have you reached the prior goals you’ve set? Did you get to where you currently are by achieving prior goals, or more by accident? Taking time to reflect on the past accomplishes several things: you can evaluate your experience with these goals, and you can also evaluate your relationship to goals in general (some people are great at goal-setting, and others struggle with it, so it’s good to know where you fall on the spectrum before you get any further into the process). It’s also an important reminder of how far you’ve come! It’s easy to just focus on moving forward, but getting perspective on how far you’ve come is great fuel for those days you get frustrated. …THEN Think Forward After you’ve reflected back, it’s time to fire up your imagination and think forward. Studies have shown that orienting our thoughts toward the future can be a powerful driver for success. In fact, having what psychologists call a “future orientation” can help you move through stressful and challenging situations more easily. That’s the reason dentists give kids candy after a teeth cleaning! When you have something to look forward to, it makes even difficult tasks go more smoothly. So what do YOU have to look forward to? What goals would thrill you to accomplish? When you keep those in mind, the day-to-day of work becomes much more enjoyable. Think Big Picture… As you’re thinking forward, start to broaden out your goals and think about how your career goals will impact your life moving forward. Can you picture what your existence will look like once you’ve achieved those goals? Do your current goals conflict with any other goals, like family goals? Make sure that you’re making room in your personal and social life for the achievement you’re planning. What would come next, after you’ve achieved your goals? …Then Think Small Details Finally, flip that big picture thinking around and look critically at the goals. Do you know sacrifices you’re likely to have to make, and are you okay with that? Do you really have the time and the desire to work toward the goals you’ve set? Or are they the goals someone else thinks should be next for you? Make sure the goals you are setting are YOUR goals, and not just what society, or your dad, or your best friend, thinks you should want. I faced this decision when I was running my small nonprofit. I loved our mission, and I loved getting to sit at the head of a small startup community group. When I started thinking about moving on, my friends and colleagues couldn’t believe it. “But.. you’re winning awards!” “You’re on the front page of the newspaper!” I loved what I was doing and I was getting recognition for it, but I had seen how many nonprofits failed to thrive when their founder stayed in place for too long. I knew I needed to help it grow by getting out. It didn’t make immediate sense to the rest of the world, but that didn’t matter. It was MY goal. Your exact goal doesn’t matter. But having a goal matters, and setting yourself up properly to achieve your goal matters a lot. Follow these 4 steps to be successful, strategic, and inspired. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Amy Dee
Empathy defined Em ·pa·thy | \ ˈem-pə-thē. Definition of empathy the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner. A story about the power of empathy The power of empathy was reinforced while I was a psychiatric RN in a behavioral health hospital. One day, while working on our child unit, I met Kimi who taught me a lesson I’ve never forgotten. Kimi was 11 years old and completely shut down. She attended our groups and therapies but refused to talk. An outsider may have interpreted her behavior as entitled or oppositional, but we all knew she was hurting. So, I plopped down next to her during lunch and told her silly stories about my dogs and kids. Eventually, she laughed, and we started talking. After a while, she said, “I was five when I left my grandma’s home, and I’ve been in 22 foster homes since then.” Twenty-two foster homes in six years! No wonder she didn’t bother to engage! She didn’t trust us. Why would she? From Kimi’s point of view, there’d be no point in getting close to us. After all, she’d soon be moving on to her next stop. Once we appreciated her perspective, we knew to approach her extra slowly and earn her trust. Empathy ignored Shortly after that, a psychiatric resident introduced himself to Kimi for her first evaluation. Instead of slowly getting to know her, he immediately began peppering her with questions. Kimi shut down and refused to talk to him. Consequently, the resident became frustrated and left. While leaving, he said, “She won’t talk or look at me. Give her some assignments. She needs to learn to respect doctors.” At that moment, the resident ignored the Power of empathy. He didn’t “put himself in her shoes.” You see, Kimi didn’t care about his medical degree. After all, she’d been shoved around for years, so she trusted no one. Had he taken the time to see her perspective, he may have approached her differently and gotten better results. Sadly, in this situation, he didn’t bother. The power of empathy in leadership Unfortunately, leaders often consider empathy as an unnecessary soft skill. As a result, they ignore one of the most powerful tools we have when it comes to connecting and understanding one another. Leadership is about inspiring others to take action beyond their capabilities. A great leader guides them in a direction that is compelling and dynamic. Most certainly, understanding is the bedrock of those actions. Empathy is essential to effective leadership. Empathy is not Sympathy Sympathy and empathy are different. Sympathy is a feeling of concern for someone, but it doesn’t require seeing things from their perspective. You don’t “step inside someone else’s shoes” to grasp their perspective or recognize their emotions behind it. Empathy, however, requires you to consider the other’s perspective. It necessitates that you set aside your own thoughts and opinions to learn how someone else perceives things. The power of empathy at work and home Empathy lets us build friendships, cooperate with others, and help out when we see people being bullied. It has many valuable assets both at work and in our personal life. The Power of Empathy at work
Empathy builds connections. So, when employees relate to their customers, they form a relationship. Your company or hospital will stand head and shoulders above the competitors who don’t bother to encourage this connection. Therefore, empathy is good for business, according to Harvard Business Review. Power of empathy in personal life
When we take time to understand each other, we are more likely to accept them. As a result, positive feelings flow for them and for ourselves. We feel more connected, and that bonding increases our happiness and our wellbeing. Empathy doesn’t require agreement Empathy doesn’t require us to agree with another person’s point of view. Instead, it merely asks us to recognize and understand their perspective. We better understand each other when we withhold judgment and sincerely consider their perspective. I am grateful that Kimi eventually trusted me enough to tell me about her chilling, short life. Her stories helped us create a more effective treatment plan. But Kimi also taught me a valuable lesson during my time as her nurse. She taught me that the real power of empathy is in bridging the connection between two hearts. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Roger Crawford. This was originally published on Roger's blog.
Strengthening your resilience is like strengthening your muscles. Both can be accomplished with a program of regular stretching and exercises. Attitude stretching requires no special clothing or expensive equipment, just awareness. Here are nine keys to improving your resilience: 1. Believe Success is Possible. Resilient thinking is the foundation of resilience. Even if you weren’t “born resilient,” you can learn to reframe negative events into positive challenges, giving yourself extra energy and endurance. Start by paying attention to how you talk to yourself each day. 2. Flex Your Humor Muscles. Flexibility is essential for controlling stress, increasing business opportunities, improving personal relationships, and dealing with change. How can you limber up? Let go of the immobilizing perfectionism and give yourself permission to notice the genuine humor that is all around you, and you will automatically increase your flexibility and vitality. 3. Bank on Your Past. Draw strength and inspiration from what you’ve done and what has happened to you. We’re often told, “Don’t look back” and “Don’t dwell on the past,” but when you know what to recall and use the information positively, you can tap some of your most valuable assets. 4. Stay Hungry. The most basic human instinct is a powerful tool for maintaining resilience. Learn the difference between money and true wealth, and where and how to direct your hunger for knowledge, adventure, and positive personal relationships. 5. Use All Your Resources. Make a realistic inventory of your assets. As you compile your catalog, you’ll discover some surprising and important skills and resources that you never realized you had. 6. Seize Responsibility. Decide what you can control. Then take responsibility for it. What an important life skill, yet unresilient people fail to grasp it, and feel overwhelmed much of the time. When you learn how to these two decisive steps, you put yourself in control, no matter what life throws at you. 7. Harness the Power of Purpose. Having clear goals and an action plan to reach them is absolutely mandatory for success. “The Five E’s of Goal Setting” in chapter 7 of my book How High Can You Bounce, will show you an efficient new way to plan and achieve. 8. Develop Your Inborn Leadership. Everything you say and do affects the resilience of others. No matter who you are or what position you hold at the moment, you become a powerful leader at work, at home, and in your community when you learn to share your resilience. 9. Embrace Challenges. Learn the difference between planning and preparation, and how the resilient prepare for life’s many challenges. Even when fate delivers an unexpected blow, you’ll be able to draw on your storehouse of resilience to identify the new and exciting opportunities that await you. Each of the nine chapters of my book show strategies for acquiring one of these nine skills. You’ll learn how to stay in optimal mental shape by nourishing and exercising these resilient qualities each day, the same way you nourish and exercise your body. As you strengthen your skills, you are building an invincible core of resilience that will always be there for you to draw on. Too often, when people suffer a major loss, they also lose their sense of identity and purpose in life. But with a resilient core, you keep a clear inner vision of your strength and flexibility in the face of challenges. Planning your virtual event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to book your healthcare speaker! By Vicki Hess
COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on the world of healthcare with extreme highs and lows. Leaders have been so focused on the crisis of the day that some employees are left feeling disengaged and unsure. Now is NOT the time to put engagement on the back burner! Healthcare leaders are telling me, “We haven’t had the time to focus on engagement. We have too many other priorities right now.” I’m here to remind you that engaged employees are the backbone of your organization. You can’t possibly achieve your mission and vision without them. Here are 3 things you can do right now to re-focus on engagement: 1. Measure & Monitor Engagement There might not feel like there is a “right” time to measure engagement moving forward. It’s likely that there will always be something you think will get in the way of finding out how folks are feeling. I’m not suggesting a full-blown engagement survey – now is the time to use technology to crowd source engagement sentiments. If you’ve let leadership rounding and one-on-one meetings fall through the cracks, now is the time to get back out there to round on all departments in all locations. This is the best “local” way to check in and informally measure engagement. When you ask the right questions, you’ll quickly get a sense of what’s important to your team including what’s working and what isn’t. 2. Put Engagement Back on the Agenda at Leadership Meetings Leaders in your organization are looking to the executive team for direction. If engagement isn’t on the organization-wide meeting agendas (Town Halls, morning huddles, Management Council, etc), then the perception is that it’s not important. When senior leaders make engagement a key focus, and frontline managers and employees follow through on their part of the equation, then patient experience, quality, safety and all other metrics you measure improve. 3. Keep Developing Your Leadership Team’s Engagement Muscles You don’t have to wait until you figure out what the “new normal” is to keep working on your leadership team’s knowledge, skills and abilities. Small doses of practical, tactical tools and ideas pushed out over time provide the best adult learning opportunity. The learnings should make sense, be easily accessible and be available whenever the leader is ready to learn. (For a great solution that offers all this, check out www.EngagementExcelerator.com) Executive level leaders can role model effective engagement behaviors by checking in on how their direct reports are faring specifically related to their own engagement and the engagement of others throughout the organization. The engagement levels of employees vary greatly since some areas of healthcare were on overdrive while others are or were furloughed. Now is a great time to make engagement a key priority again. Planning your virtual event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to book your healthcare speaker! By Andrew Busch
Key Takeaway: There is no returning to a pre-pandemic economic “normal,” but we’re dealing with it. We have seen the best our technology can produce when Moderna and Pfizer announced their vaccines at the end of December. The speed and efficacy are breathtaking and miraculous. As of February, the U.S. had given out over 57 million doses. At this rate, the Biden administration is easily meeting their goal of 100 million doses in 100 days as the nation is immunizing 1.69 million per day according to Bloomberg’s Covid-19 Vaccine Tracker. Yet even at this elevated rate, it’s estimated it would take 9 months to cover 75% of the population. The goal is to create herd immunity where there is a significant decline in the number of new infections as the pool of available hosts declines from the immunizations. We have already seen a dramatic decline in the number of hospitalizations from the virus. And the number of infections. All indicate an ebbing of the virus’ impact on the population and potentially on the economy. Fantastic. There is guarded optimism the U.S. will continue to see significant improvements as the production and distribution of the vaccines ramps up even further with output doubling in the coming weeks according to Bloomberg. Some researchers, like Dr. Marty Makary, think we could achieve herd immunity in April. Sadly, I gotta be the guy leaving the party telling the hosts, “Had a great time, but someone dumped a bottle of red wine on the white carpet, somebody threw up on the floor in the bathroom and your dog is loose.” For the red wine, the virus has mutated with strains from the UK (B.1.1.7), South Africa (B.1.351) and Brazil (P.1) all showing signs of higher infectious rates and mortality. (Read CDC descriptions here.) This is to be expected as it mimics previous virus patterns similar to the Spanish Flu in 1918-1919. Vaccine-makers are developing booster shots to help those who have already got the jabs. And other producers are developing vaccines intended to work on the new strains. The best news is that none of the tweaked vaccines are required to go through a large scale clinical trial to prove the jabs work. The second area is one we’ve covered in a previous article on the Top 5 Economic Risks for 2021. And it was the #1 risk on the list: vaccine hesitancy. If a large enough part of the population is not vaccinated, then it will be next to impossible to create herd immunity. CDC’s Dr. Fauci recently stated the U.S. will need 75-80% of the population vaccinated to achieve this goal. “We need to have some humility here,” he added. “We really don’t know what the real number is. I think the real range is somewhere between 70 to 90 percent. But I’m not going to say 90 percent.” (NYT) Polling has recently indicated more Americans today want to take the shots than in 2020. When I do virtual events for clients, I always ask the question of when people would get the shot to better understand the mindset of the audience. In May, the rate wanting to get the shot was below 50%. Over the last 2 weeks over 4 different events, the rate was above 70%. This is encouraging. Lastly, the administration of the vaccinations has been uneven in the United States according to Becker’s Hospital Review. New Mexico, North Dakota and West Virginia have done a great job on the roll-out and administered close to 90% of the distributed vaccines. Other states, like Illinois, struggle to get over 75% with Alabama the lowest at 63%. And these percentages are from the number of doses distributed to the state, not the total population needing to be jabbed to achieve herd immunity. (Think Venn diagram) Given these 3 factors, I believe we are now in the process of moving from a pandemic into a situation where the virus is endemic. In other words, we are never returning to “normal.” My guess is the virus will likely be with us beyond 2024 and likely longer. And maybe forever like the flu. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still an apocaloptimist and think the U.S. will continue to adapt and grow. How can you not be an optimist for the future when Moderna can create a vaccine over a weekend after getting the genetic code? For the economy, the trends supercharged by the virus will remain as will the virus. Let that thought settle in a moment. Think what it means for leisure & hospitality, concerts, entertainment and travel/transportation. While these sectors are adapting and bouncing back, they are still significantly below where they were at the start of 2020. If my analysis is correct, these businesses will never be the same as consumers and businesses have adjusted their behaviors. They can survive and grow, but not at the levels they achieved prior to the outbreak for a longer than expected time. In their latest “The future of work after Covid,” McKinsey states, “The pandemic accelerated existing trends in remote work, e-commerce, and automation, with up to 25% more workers than previously estimated potentially needing to switch occupations.” Hey, I wish I was just arriving at the party, instead of leaving after things got out of hand. But sometimes you have to tell the hosts what they should know before they find out for themselves. Planning your virtual event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to book your healthcare speaker! By Ron Culberson. With a master’s degree in social work, Ron Culberson spent the first part of his career working in a large hospice organization as a clinical social worker, middle manager, and senior leader. As a speaker, humorist, and author of "Do it Well. Make it Fun.The Key to Success in Life, Death, and Almost Everything in Between", he has delivered more than 1,000 presentations to associations, government agencies, non-profit organizations, and corporations. His mission is to change the workplace culture so that organizations are more productive and staff are more content. He was also the 2012-2013 president of the National Speakers Association and is a recognized expert on the benefits of humor and laughter.
When I was a kid, one of my friends had just learned to use a lawn mower and was mowing his yard for the first time. I sat across the street and watched as he mowed a strip of yard, retraced his steps on that same strip, and then moved over to mow the next strip. It never occurred to him that he could actually mow in both directions. I remember laughing so hard, I almost watered my own yard, if you know what I mean. Mowing the yard is a solitary, somewhat mundane activity. It involves a repetitive process of back and forth while being hypnotized by the sound of the engine. When I mow my yard, I usually take advantage of the solitude by blasting 70’s music through my earbuds while pondering some ideological thesis or real-world dilemma. I wish I could report that I spend my deep-in-thought, back-and-forth time developing brilliant solutions for my life or business. Unfortunately, what usually happens is that I obsess about some inane experience that has irritated me until I’m totally stressed out by the time the yard is done. During my most recent mowing experience, my mind was focused on something more significant—the challenges we have been facing in our world over the past few months. As I’ve read the news, followed social media, and engaged in discussions with family, friends, and colleagues, I’ve been confronted with the same dilemma over and over. I keep wondering, “What can I say?” You see, I am a speaker and author. I use words to share stories, create new perspectives, and hopefully, generate a bit of laugher. My industry is full of thought leaders, authors, experts, and motivators. I feel like we’re the ones who are supposed to have all the answers to life’s most perplexing questions. And yet, I don’t know what to say. I have no clear-cut answers. In fact, I feel like all I have are questions. In response to the coronavirus or the racial divisiveness in our country, I watch newspeople, political insiders, and community leaders make comments such as, “all we need to do is ____” or “what they should have done is ____.” And while sometimes I might agree with the comment, I soon realize that if the solutions were that easy, the problems would have already been fixed. The issues are complex, the solutions are multifaceted, and no one has all the answers. Interestingly, during all this unrest, I have found myself aligning with people who see the world as I see it, and discounting anyone who offers an opposing position. For those with whom I disagree, I don’t have to hear more than a sound byte before I’ve already turned them off. As I consider my behavior, it occurs to me that perhaps I don’t have the only perspective on certain issues. That being said, since it is my perspective, I tend to hold to it firmly. What if I’m mowing my yard one strip at a time and not even aware that there is a more effective approach? Since my yard still gets mowed, I have no need to find another way. Shortly after my wife and I were married, I decided to install crown molding in my dining room. If you know anything about installing crown molding, you’re probably shaking your head in anticipatory amusement right now. At the time, I didn’t have a clue. But a friend of mine was a carpenter so I asked him to show me how to do it. Crown molding sits at a forty-five-degree angle, diagonally covering the edge between a ceiling and a wall. That’s pretty straightforward. But when you get to the inside corner of a room, you have to saw the wood at a unique angle and cut it backwards. Essentially, the process involves some sort of witchcraft and the molding was virtually impossible to cut using the amateur tools that I owned. On one corner, I cut twelve pieces of wood trying to fit two together neatly. Finally, I just installed them anyway and squirted tons of caulk into the huge gap where they didn’t fit together at all. But here’s the thing: my carpenter friend understood how to cut crown molding and could do it with his eyes closed. He could even explain it to me in simple terms. Yet, not one word he said led to any understanding on my part. There was a huge disconnect between his perspective and mine. This is what the world feels like to me today. There are a number of gaps in our understanding which leads to confusion, frustration, and anger. When we see a friend on Facebook write, “I don’t mean to be political but…,” we immediately cringe, knowing that it’s not going to turn out well. When we see a corporate executive or a government leader hurl accusations at an another leader, we shake our head and wonder, “What happened to courtesy and respect?” And when we see members of our communities threaten one another in the midst of an unrelenting virus and continued racial and economic inequities, we must recognize a total lack of understanding. If we’re honest with ourselves, most of us hate to admit that we don’t understand something. I surely don’t want to be the guy who took twice as long to mow his yard because I didn’t understand how the process worked. That would be embarrassing. And I certainly don’t want to admit that I lack an understanding of my neighbor’s experience or whether health concerns supersede business concerns. I have always prided myself in being somewhat insightful and certainly empathic. However, if we as individuals, community members, and leaders want to create a better world for everyone, we must strive for greater understanding. Like I said earlier, I’ve been hesitant to say anything during this surreal time because I really didn’t know what to tell you. But I do believe in a process that was taught to me by my favorite social work professor who reminded us that we can never fully understand another person or their situation…but that we must try. So, maybe that’s what I can say. First and foremost, let’s try to understand those with whom we disagree, those who are not like us, and those ideas that seem complex. And perhaps when we sit down and explore the differences in our understanding, a light bulb will go off that reminds us that there are other ways of seeing the world than ours. And that’s what I was thinking about when I mowed my yard the other day—in both directions, by the way. As for the crown molding, I’ll leave that to the people who know more than me. Planning your virtual event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to book your healthcare speaker! By Mary Kelly
So, your life was progressing just as planned…and then 2020 threw everyone a curveball. The good news? Many organizations are eager to resume operations and full functionality. Which means you might be ready for that promotion in the near future. Like any achievement, getting a promotion can be gratifying. The key is to prove that you deserve a promotion and are the right person for the job. With a little planning, you can get a promotion and advance your career. Even if you’ve been stuck in the same job for years, it’s never too late to make new career strides. You can establish yourself as a valuable employee that deserves greater responsibilities. To get a promotion and revitalize your career, consider the following steps:
Remember, many employees aren’t willing to earn a promotion. You might have less competition than you think. However, if your best efforts fail, it might be time to look for another company. The perfect promotion for you might already exist somewhere else. Stay open-minded and pursue new opportunities. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! |
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