Becky Robinson's Blog, page 42

What Is the Best Way to Give?

Is it better to give a thousand dollars to one person, or one dollar to a thousand people?

I still haven’t quite decided what my answer is.

One the one hand, a thousand dollars has the potential to make a much greater impact on someone’s life than a single dollar. I recently read about a couple who, while traveling the world and working remotely, started an organization that gives $1000 to individuals in extreme poverty. Giving a large amount can have a tremendous effect on someone’s life, and can be an extremely rewarding and humbling experience for the giver.

On the other hand, giving one dollar to a thousand people teaches you to give indiscriminately, to fight against any tendencies to assume that you know what this person is going to spend the money on. You may not make a large impact on anyone’s life, but you can bring a little more joy and abundance to a thousand people’s lives, which is also incredibly powerful.

Let’s put the receiver aside for a moment—what scenario is best for the giver? According to the Talmud, it’s better to give one dollar to a thousand people, because when you are compelled to reach into your pocket and share with someone else a thousand times, you grow your capacity for giving.

Maybe now I do not have the financial means to give a large sum of money to an individual in need, but I can, and most people can, push myself to give a little bit each day. The only way to build a habit is to do the desired task over and over again until it becomes second nature. If and when the day comes that I have more means to give larger sums of money, or more of my time or other resources, my hope is that I will be conditioned to give, and will more readily share with those in need.

Growing Your Giving Muscles at Work

Share credit as much as possible. It’s easy to feel accomplished when you can mark that task off as “done,” but remember all the people that contributed to that work. Humbly recognize that you are just a part of the picture, and acknowledge (publicly, but perhaps more importantly, to yourself) others.

Ask yourself “how can I help?” before thinking “what can I gain?” We all (or most of us) work to make money, so it’s easy to think, “I am working, therefore I do what it takes to make more money.” Generosity doesn’t work that way. As the saying goes, the more you give, the more you get, so before asking a coworker to help you with your project, or going in for the “ask” with a prospective client, stop to think: what value can I add to this person’s day/experience? When you can train yourself to first ask “how can I help?” before “how can I give?,” you will find yourself giving and getting a lot more.

Think about the next steps so others don’t have to. One of the most stressful parts of any type of business relationship is trying to anticipate the other person’s next move. By clearly communicating the next steps of whatever process you are engaged in, you are being courteous of the other person’s time and emotions. This make take some extra work on your end, but is worth it for the value you bring to others, and to yourself.

How else can you practice the habit of generosity at work?

 

Up Is Not the Only Way: Rethinking Career Mobility

Careers used to be predictable. There were ladders. Each rung led up the hierarchy. Then individual aspirations and company needs began to evolve. Old ladders became largely inaccessible. Some rungs disappeared, and the space between others shifted from steps to leaps.

Today’s marketplace demands an agile workforce. Organizational structures have become fluid and flexible. As a result, career mobility has emerged as essential for individuals at all levels. No longer is mobility just about physical movement or assuming the greater responsibilities that come with a promotion. Career mobility today is about flexibility and agility. Like the navigation systems we rely on to reroute our travels based on unexpected traffic congestion, shortcut options, and last minute detours, a career mobility mindset will provide a foundation for resilience in a changing world of work.

Up Was Never for Everyone

Move up or move out. When those two options appear to be the only ones, dissatisfaction grows and engagement suffers. In decades of studying careers around the globe, Beverly Kaye, Lindy Williams, and Lynn Cowart have found that, in fact, there are more options. And rethinking career mobility can lead you to them!

Career mobility isn’t just about moving to a new city or country. It’s about stretching, learning, and transforming. Whether you’re working on your own career or you’re a manager, a mentor, or a coach helping others, Up Is Not the Only Way offers you six ways to build successful mobile careers.

Keep the same job but discover multiple ways to learn and grow while staying in the same place. If a new job in the same company is in the cards, experiment and test possibilities. Make a lateral move as a powerful way to develop new skills. If stepping back is the right answer, discover how it can be done without derailing a career. Pursue a promotion when it’s the right time and role. And if it’s time to step out the door, the authors suggest how to make an elegant exit that maybe leaves open the possibility of a return one day.

The book includes important questions to consider—about interests, skills, values, and timing—when choosing to enrich or make a change. For each option, Up Is Not the Only Way explores how managers, coaches, and employees can have rich career conversations and partner to determine the best courses of action.

Rather than narrowing aspirations to one dream job or role, Kaye, Williams, and Cowart encourage readers to take a “kaleidoscope” view—to be open to ever-shifting patterns of options, opportunities, and possibilities—to build a rewarding career.

Meet the Authors

Beverly Kaye is an internationally recognized authority and bestselling author on career development, employee engagement and retention. She has dedicated her life’s work to helping individuals and organizations grow in a workplace that fosters greater commitment, fulfillment, and humanity. A sought after, dynamic, and committed speaker, her presentations are known for engaging participants, stimulating learning, and inspiring action. Founder of Career Systems International (CSI) a talent management company, Beverly Kaye’s innovative and cutting edge thinking have helped organizations solve their greatest challenges in employee engagement, by creating impact with measurable and sustainable results. She was among the first to recognize the importance of career development as part of an organization’s development process.

Lindy Williams is a designer and senior consultant with Career Systems International (CSI). Her extensive background in training, human resource development and career development enables her to partner with clients and internal subject matter experts in leveraging internal support processes while building innovative approaches to manage today’s issues while preparing for tomorrow’s opportunities. She has held roles in operations and human resources before stepping out of the corporate world to work on designing and implementing award-winning development processes. Lindy is a gifted speaker, workshop facilitator, career coach and author.

Lynn Cowart is the Vice President for quality delivery at Career Systems International (CSI). She brought twenty years of HR experience working with some of the most successful and powerful names in business to her current role ensuring CSI delivers solutions that are simple, engaging, flexible, and business focused. She has spoken at many conferences and facilitated executive coaching, change management, and strategic staffing initiatives for mid and senior-level executives as well as career transition programs, retention and engagement strategies, assessment interviewing, and training for all organizational levels.

What People Are Saying


“I loved how this helped me develop a game plan for my career. I see growth possibilities that I had never thought about before. If you want easy-to-read-and-apply strategies for planning your professional future, this is one of the best books I’ve ever read. Highly recommend!”

—Tami Wentzel, 5-star Amazon review

“This book is a priceless gem at a time when career moves are more confusing than ever. You will find options for yourself and a clear way to guide your vocational journey. PLUS–if you manage others, this is a great resource to help OTHERS to develop.”

—Eileen McDargh, 5-star Amazon review

“Anyone interested in career growth, meaning and purpose will be interested in this book. There are great tips not just for career advocates but for anyone who wishes to change anything about their present job/organization. I absolutely LOVE the delightfully engaging style of the writing. . . . there are many visual examples that help make the writing more visual and colorful. ”

—Lori Ann Roth, 5-star Amazon review

“This book presents a new way of thinking about career mobility. I particularly like the idea of looking at kaleidoscope-type patterns for a career. As you turn the kaleidoscope, new patterns and new opportunities present themselves. I love the format of the book – it’s easy to scan and focus on important things with the ‘word images’ and the thought provoking questions are very helpful.”

—Marian Wacek, 5-star Amazon review

Learn More

Sign up for the 30-minute private Q & A with the authors on Sept 21 at 12 PM (ET).
Buy your copy of the book, or share a review of it, on Amazon.
Visit the website to learn more, download a sample chapter, and find shareable content.

Work-Life Balance and Flexibility

Having a flexible schedule is something any employee can appreciate. As a millennial, it was something I desired, but didn’t realize how available it was fresh out of college.

The Future Workforce Desires Flexibility

Traditionally, people were led to believe one must work for several years before they acquired the level of flexibility available for the Weaving Influence Team; but thanks to the amazing abilities of accessible technology, that’s not the case.

The future workforce is very vocal about our desire to have a stable job, but also one that provides flexibility. Some may think it’s asking for too much, but considering the evolution of the human ability to connect in the 21st century, it makes sense. Having the ability to have a healthy work-life balance is desirable for any one and a flexible schedule is an avenue to obtain that.

At Weaving Influence, we are able to have flexible work schedules because we have resources that support that lifestyle. We can connect with clients from different parts of the globe and connect them with the masses all at our fingertips.

Photo credit: George Figueroa

Flexibility Creates Room for Adventure

I recently relocated from Northwest Ohio to Southern California. My fiancé and I thought about flying, but the thought of driving there would be a great way to travel and see more of the country, and it was. We were able to check out some of the lands our indigenous ancestors roamed and it was breathtaking. Flying would have definitely been easier, but with the ability to map out a trip on our phones, why not go for the adventure? Technology gave us the flexibility to change course safely and take a different path or return to the original one.

I have been eager to relocate to the West Coast for a while, and traditionally the tough part about that for anyone is making yourself hirable to a region where little-to-no professional relationships have been established.

Nevertheless, with companies like Weaving Influence who offer remote work opportunities, I can spend more time traveling — because, in a way, a job is available anywhere there’s a decent internet connection.

Flexibility Provides a Sense of Well-Being

Bob Johansen says in his new book, The New Leadership Literacies: “. . . the new ways of working will allow much greater flexibility and many more ways to make a living.”

Not only does flexible availability provide more freedom to roam for millennials like myself, but also for parents who want to cherish more time with their children and physically be more present for them.

Having the freedom to decide when to be available to work is great, even though that sometimes means being available for our clients and co-workers outside the 9-5. But honestly, I believe it brings a greater human element to the work that we do.

It’s not as simple as clocking in and out; rather, it’s trying to find the best way to establish a healthy work-life balance, all while knowing you can help others obtain and maintain one too.

 

Discover the Business of Sustainable Wine with Sandra Taylor

As a young US diplomat working in Switzerland, Sandra Taylor experienced her wine “epiphany” while visiting wineries in the nearby Burgundy region of France. Not being very educated about wines at the time, except enjoying the wines she tasted at diplomatic dinners, she was excited to explore this region with her colleagues who were experienced wine lovers.

Her first discovery was the warm welcome they received from the owners of small vineyards and wine makers as they toured wineries: “Each day ended with a delicious dinner, starting with champagne as aperitif and a different wine with each course, often-older vintages of the wines we had tasted throughout the day. They tasted so differently with the food!”

Since then, Sandra’s wine travels and studies have allowed her to get to know the geography, geology, and distinct grapes and tastes of wines from different regions.

“I have often fallen in love with the tantalizing mix of culture and cuisine – the food, the wine, coffee and tea — that are integral to a country’s identity. And I learned that for wine, it’s all about the grapes.”

Meet Sandra Taylor

As an internationally recognized expert on environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and sustainable agriculture, Sandra Taylor specializes in sustainability in food and beverage and consumer products companies. Taylor spent many years as a U.S. diplomat and as an executive with global corporations, where she directed Corporate Responsibility strategies and programs. Currently, she is CEO of Sustainable Business International LLC, a consulting business that assists companies at various stages of environmental and corporate social responsibility (CSR) practice.

Taylor’s unique blend of talents and leadership experience include legal training, corporate executive roles, marketing, and international commercial project design. She is a public speaker on wine for business audiences; a wine educator; and founder of Fine Wine Divas of Washington, D.C., an adventure in learning for women wine enthusiasts who attend monthly sessions to learn about wine regions, origins, sustainable growing practices, and how to identify and express their tastes and sensations in fine wine.

She is also a writer and a published author. She has written articles about supply chain management, marketing sustainability, and motivations for environmental and social responsibility in wine value chains. Her first book, The Business of Sustainable Wine: How to Build Brand Equity in a 21st Century Wine Industry, was released in July 2017.

The Business of Sustainable Wine

Modern agriculture is the largest single contributor to global greenhouse gas production, deforestation, and water consumption. Biodiversity, climate change, energy, soil degradation, and water scarcity are critical issues. Consumers are increasingly and justifiably concerned about where their food and beverages come from and whether they are produced in a responsible way, often without an understanding of how to determine the provenance of the products they consume. Wine is no exception.

The Business of Sustainable Wine offers a new view of how the industry can be an important actor in sustainable agriculture, and provides a unique insight for the consumer on what to look for on supermarket shelves, by analyzing sustainability trends in wine regions around the world. Drawing on case studies from a multitude of commodity industries, consumer products and consumer packaged goods, Taylor gives producers the tools to integrate sustainability into their winegrowing, branding, and marketing; and retailers’ procurement managers will learn how to assess sustainable attributes of wines on offer. Like fair trade cocoa and shade grown coffee, wine must, sooner or later, meet the powerful demands of social activists and a growing consumer contingent for ethical and organic products.

Learn More

Visit DiscoverSustainableWine.com to learn more about best practices, sustainable vineyards, and Sandra Taylor’s wine recommendations.
Buy a copy of the book or share a quick review of it on Amazon.

Flexibility, Autonomy, and Work-Life Integration

Remember when work-life balance was the goal of the well-rounded business person? You were told to keep your personal life at home and your business at work. But with the growing use of mobile phones, email and the internet those lines got blurred. The new phrase is work-life integration, which more mirrors reality.

While some might chafe under the cross-contamination, I personally enjoy it as a solopreneur. I see the flexibility to switch between the two segments as a key to autonomy, which is a major component to the optimal motivation spoken of by motivation expert Susan Fowler.

According to Susan, autonomy “is people’s need to perceive that they have choices, that what they are doing is of their own volition, and that they are the source of their own actions.” Obviously, there are people that will view taking business calls outside of work as an attack on their “choice” to disconnect. But to me, the flexibility goes both ways. Sure, you might have to do an after-hours email — but is it worth it to be able to check out early for a family event later? To me, it is.

For over seven years, the ability to create my own schedule, set my own work environment, make my own rules, and succeed . . . or fail . . . by my own careful planning (or lack thereof) was my own. It hasn’t been easy. I’ve certainly been tempted and had suggestions delicately directed my way to get a “real job.” But how do you explain the value of flexibility? And the benefits of autonomy – the ability to have and make actual choices about my work-life integration?

That flexibility allowed me to take my mom to work and doctor appointments, leave in the middle of the day to get to the accident scene of my sister, and sit with my husband when a family emergency brought us to the hospital. Those are occasions when life crashed in on work unannounced — and the flexibility of work made room for it.

Flexibility, autonomy, and work-life integration form the work of the future. Millennials are clamoring for work with meaning — work that places value on the really meaningful things in life, like family and community. Businesses are exploring ways to make work flexible and give more autonomy to employees. Employees are embracing work-life integration as they look at how different work — and even different jobs — enrich their personal lives.

I truly believe this is the direction of the business world. The days of sticking to the 9-5, with a top-down approach to work, is fading fast. The value of autonomy and flexibility in work-life decisions is increasing. With all the ups and downs that come with being a solopreneur, the benefits far outweigh the struggles. After seven years, I truly appreciate, the freedom that a flexible work environment affords me.

Work-life integration doesn’t have to be a negative thing.

I encourage everyone to look for ways to create more flexibility and increase autonomy as this trend increases in the work world. You’ll find it can help achieve more satisfaction in both your work and personal life.

Take Charge of Your Feelings with The Mood Elevator

Mood swings. We all experience them from time to time, whether as a result of fluctuating hormones or changes in circumstance or fluctuating energy levels. But what if we could learn to level out those swings, and keep ourselves at the upper end of things? What if you knew how to control your moods despite the harsh rumors at work, discouraging news headlines, disagreements with family, or other undesired turns of events?

Think of your moods like an elevator, and you’ll quickly recognize that you ride up and down it every single day, sometimes more than once. That’s normal, right? But it doesn’t have to be! As the author of today’s book points out: “There may be events that stimulate our thoughts, but it is the thoughts that determine our moods.” We can learn to control our mood swings by controlling our thoughts — no matter what’s happening around us — and enjoy a nice long stay at the top levels of the Mood Elevator.

Discover ‘The Mood Elevator’

We all ride the Mood Elevator up and down every day. How well we do it impacts our relationship, our personal effectiveness, our career, and our experience of life. Most people take that ride for granted and don’t think it can be influenced. But what if we knew the right buttons to push to move to the top of the Mood Elevator? Wouldn’t it be useful if there were proven ways to make visits to the lower floors less frequent and less intense?

In this very practical guide, Larry Senn provides an operating manual to keep you out of the emotional basement. He shows how to recognize when you’ve become so accustomed to being stuck on a lower floor – worried, stressed, anxious, and judgmental – you don’t even realize it, and what to do to interrupt those negative thought patterns and start going up again. He urges us to cultivate mental attitudes like curiosity and gratitude that will keep us on the higher floors, and explains how to quiet the mind and nurture positive thoughts without succumbing to Pollyanna-ish denial. And as someone who took up triathlons at the age of seventy, he speaks from experience when he emphasizes the inseparable connection between physical health and mental health.

Meet Larry Senn

Dr. Larry Senn is the founder of Senn Delaney, the culture shaping unit of Heidrick & Struggles. He has been referred to in business journals as the father of corporate culture, based on his pioneering research on organizational culture. Senn Delaney has worked with over 100 Fortune 500 CEOs and their teams, university presidents, state governors, and members of U.S. presidential cabinets.

Larry’s personal purpose is to help an ever-widening number of people live life at their best mentally, emotionally, physically, and purposefully. The Mood Elevator is one tool he has created to make that a reality for tens of thousands of people. Larry is a culture consultant, highly-rated conference presenter, and author. His earlier books include the best-selling book Winning Teams, Winning Cultures and 21st Century Leadership.

What People Are Saying

“I am impressed by the proof that Larry Senn presented in how mood changes thoughts on a personal level and culture on a corporate level. Whether you want to improve your outlook and behaviors in your life or improve what happens at work, this book will teach you. These sixteen chapters make sense, especially in these turbulent times.”

— Jane Anderson, 5-star Amazon review

“This small book packs a whole lot of punch. It strengthened my ability to learn how to stop, breathe, and trace my thoughts. Mindfulness is a new found path for me, and this book helps me continue to follow it.”

— Patricia Lomelin, 5-star Amazon review

“The value of ‘The Mood Elevator’ is not just in bringing new ideas to the attention of us all … it’s in the comprehensive and engaging packaging of that information. The author has a conversational style, well seasoned with real-life examples (sometimes using himself), and a nice way of wrapping each section up and tying it to the others.”

— John Smith, 5-star Amazon review

“Larry Senn uses scientific research, personal experience, and effective anecdotes to help readers find their own path to understanding what moods mean and how to be in control of them. Not a positive thinking book, ‘The Mood Elevator’ offers real, useable information that everyone can benefit from. It’s logically laid out, the right kind of challenging, and worth reading a second time.”

— Dawn-Marie, 5-star Amazon review

Learn More

Visit the website to download a sample chapter, watch the video trailer, access the free Mood Elevator graphic, and find tweets and graphics to share across your networks.
Watch the recent webinar with Larry, where he shares more about transforming our lives simply by becoming more aware of our moods.
Add the book to your Goodreads shelf.
Buy your copy or share a review on Amazon.

Take Charge of Your Feelings – with The Mood Elevator

Mood swings. We all experience them from time to time, whether as a result of fluctuating hormones or changes in circumstance or fluctuating energy levels. But what if we could learn to level out those swings, and keep ourselves at the upper end of things? What if you knew how to control your moods despite the harsh rumors at work, discouraging news headlines, disagreements with family, or other undesired turns of events?

Think of your moods like an elevator, and you’ll quickly recognize that you ride up and down it every single day, sometimes more than once. That’s normal, right? But it doesn’t have to be! As the author of today’s book points out: “There may be events that stimulate our thoughts, but it is the thoughts that determine our moods.” We can learn to control our mood swings by controlling our thoughts — no matter what’s happening around us — and enjoy a nice long stay at the top levels of the Mood Elevator.

Discover ‘The Mood Elevator’

We all ride the Mood Elevator up and down every day. How well we do it impacts our relationship, our personal effectiveness, our career, and our experience of life. Most people take that ride for granted and don’t think it can be influenced. But what if we knew the right buttons to push to move to the top of the Mood Elevator? Wouldn’t it be useful if there were proven ways to make visits to the lower floors less frequent and less intense?

In this very practical guide, Larry Senn provides an operating manual to keep you out of the emotional basement. He shows how to recognize when you’ve become so accustomed to being stuck on a lower floor – worried, stressed, anxious, and judgmental – you don’t even realize it, and what to do to interrupt those negative thought patterns and start going up again. He urges us to cultivate mental attitudes like curiosity and gratitude that will keep us on the higher floors, and explains how to quiet the mind and nurture positive thoughts without succumbing to Pollyanna-ish denial. And as someone who took up triathlons at the age of seventy, he speaks from experience when he emphasizes the inseparable connection between physical health and mental health.

Meet Larry Senn

Dr. Larry Senn is the founder of Senn Delaney, the culture shaping unit of Heidrick & Struggles. He has been referred to in business journals as the father of corporate culture, based on his pioneering research on organizational culture. Senn Delaney has worked with over 100 Fortune 500 CEOs and their teams, university presidents, state governors, and members of U.S. presidential cabinets.

Larry’s personal purpose is to help an ever-widening number of people live life at their best mentally, emotionally, physically, and purposefully. The Mood Elevator is one tool he has created to make that a reality for tens of thousands of people. Larry is a culture consultant, highly-rated conference presenter, and author. His earlier books include the best-selling book Winning Teams, Winning Cultures and 21st Century Leadership.

What People Are Saying

“I am impressed by the proof that Larry Senn presented in how mood changes thoughts on a personal level and culture on a corporate level. Whether you want to improve your outlook and behaviors in your life or improve what happens at work, this book will teach you. These sixteen chapters make sense, especially in these turbulent times.”

— Jane Anderson, 5-star Amazon review

“This small book packs a whole lot of punch. It strengthened my ability to learn how to stop, breathe, and trace my thoughts. Mindfulness is a new found path for me, and this book helps me continue to follow it.”

— Patricia Lomelin, 5-star Amazon review

“The value of ‘The Mood Elevator’ is not just in bringing new ideas to the attention of us all … it’s in the comprehensive and engaging packaging of that information. The author has a conversational style, well seasoned with real-life examples (sometimes using himself), and a nice way of wrapping each section up and tying it to the others.”

— John Smith, 5-star Amazon review

“Larry Senn uses scientific research, personal experience, and effective anecdotes to help readers find their own path to understanding what moods mean and how to be in control of them. Not a positive thinking book, ‘The Mood Elevator’ offers real, useable information that everyone can benefit from. It’s logically laid out, the right kind of challenging, and worth reading a second time.”

— Dawn-Marie, 5-star Amazon review

Learn More

Visit the website to download a sample chapter, watch the video trailer, access the free Mood Elevator graphic, and find tweets and graphics to share across your networks.
Watch the recent webinar with Larry, where he shares more about transforming our lives simply by becoming more aware of our moods.
Add the book to your Goodreads shelf.
Buy your copy or share a review on Amazon.

Stay Flexible on Social Media

As social media managers, we constantly think ahead and plan content for next week, next month, and beyond. After all, the number one rule of social media is “post consistently.” Content marketing requires a constant stream of content. So we plan content and editorial calendars. We create project timelines. Tools like Buffer and Hootsuite allow users to schedule content in advance, making our lives much simpler. Facebook allows pre-scheduling on Business Pages and in Groups. It’s fantastic. All we have to do is set it and forget it.

Until events such as the ones in Charlottesville last week take place. I saw an ad on Instagram last Monday for a paint company, advertising using white paint to create an open, airy kitchen. The ad had the word “WHITES” in huge letters at the top.

On any other week, the ad would have been creative and, likely, effective. The kitchen was beautiful.

In the current political climate, though, the ad came off, at best, as tone deaf. I seriously doubt that the paint company set out to make a political statement with an Instagram ad. By not remaining flexible and paying attention to the world around them, that’s exactly what they ended up doing.

No longer can you set content in advance and forget about it. The social media world moves too quickly for that these days.

Does that mean you shouldn’t plan ahead?

Of course not. Campaigns still need to be planned out to maximize effectiveness. Pre-scheduling posts is still an incredibly helpful practice. Social media managers can’t just fly by the seat of their pants and expect to be successful.

We do need to remain flexible though and pay attention to the world around us. A well-intentioned tweet or post can take on an entirely different meaning based on current events. In some circumstances, pausing social media posting entirely may be appropriate. Christy Kirk wrote last year about why Weaving Influence took our social media channels and our client channels dark in response to the Orlando nightclub shooting.

Being flexible is also an asset in many positive situations. There are countless examples of brands taking advantage of a social media or cultural moment with huge success. Who can forget Oreo’s “You can still dunk in the dark” tweet during the 2013 Super Bowl blackout?

Being flexible allows you to take advantage of a trending hashtag on Twitter or to share a timely news story that relates to your brand, both of which will help you increase engagement and visibility on your social channels.

Social media moves quickly. Planning ahead is important, but so is staying flexible.

What examples of a brand taking advantage of a positive moment or event have you seen?

The Three Rules of Intelligent Restraint

We’re throwing it back! This week we’re showcasing a guest post from Alison Eyring about the theme from her latest book,  Pacing for Growth , which launched on February 20, 2017.*

In endurance training, you can apply simple rules of restraint to ramp up and ramp down your training program ahead of a race. These rules of thumb help you make important trade-offs between exertion and recovery.

For example, one rule of restraint I’ve always found helpful for running is the “10% Rule.” This rule says that each week, you only increase the length of your longest run by about 10 percent. You also can apply the 10% Rule to the total volume of running in a week. What’s important is ramping up running volume in a disciplined way.

Rules like the 10% Rule enable you to increase your training levels, but not so fast that you get hurt. At the same time, they restrict exercise volume to allow the body to recover and get stronger so that you’re ready for the eventual race.

There also are rules of restraint that guide recovery if you are hurt or injured, perhaps as a result of failing to pay heed to the rules about training volume! My sports coach advised me not to train for three days after experiencing a sharp pain, and to go see him if the pain didn’t go away.

Applying these rules of restraint helps me and other athletes build capacity without getting hurt. As the weeks pass, the body is able to go faster and farther without breaking down. The practice of restraint in endurance training is often the difference between an athlete who is still going at 60 and one who burns out or injures herself to the point of quitting the sport.

Unfortunately, we don’t have simple rules of restraint to help us build capacity in an organization or a team. The rules we have in business prevent us from breaking laws or standards of governance. For example, we have limits on the financial value of a gift, or a policy on what can or cannot be said in public about the firm’s strategic plans.

Rule #1: Focus Overrules Vision

Vision is important and gets you going, but focus is what gets you across the finish line. The right focus clarifies how to allocate resources like time, money, and support. Growth Leaders use focus to drive behavior that’s consistent with important values, and to build both “vertical alignment” and “horizontal alignment.” Focus conserves energy that is needed to perform today as you transform for tomorrow.

Rule #2: Routines Beat Strengths

Strengths are useful, but they can become a liability when overused. The right routines efficiently shape the new ways of thinking and behaving that we need for growth. Effective growth routines allow small change that can trigger larger changes to happen across the organization. Growth Leaders create and utilize routines that conserve energy as they make it possible to learn or change faster.

Rule #3: Exert, Then Recover

Exertion and recovery need one another for maximum effect. You have to train with the right levels of exertion to build your capacity, and you have to engage in the right kind of recovery to allow your body and mind to keep exerting. To deliver results and build capacity for growth at the same time requires high levels of exertion that consumes personal and organizational energy that must be replenished.

These types of rules are important. But while they keep us from doing bad things, they don’t help us drive positive things, like improved customer service or successful execution.

Which of these — focus, routine, or allowing for recovery — do you find to be most challenging?

 

*This post is an excerpt from Chapter 1 of Pacing for Growth by Alison Eyring.

Guess What? Work and Life Don’t Have To Be at Odds

When I was pregnant with my first, I heard the same saying over and over again.

“You have no idea how much you can love something until you have a child.”

It seemed like such a cliché.

I tried not to roll my eyes—mostly because this was usually used as some kind of punctuation to a long list of sacrifices and complaints shared by those wise parents who had gone before.

And then March 10, 2014, happened—and I knew exactly what everyone was talking about.

My love for Eleanor is indescribable and immeasurable—and somehow it keeps growing.

I knew having a kid would forever change my life, but I didn’t know by how much and how.

After having her, I never thought that less than a year later I would, uncharacteristically, quit my job with no real plan in place. After all, my adult life had all been perfectly orchestrated career moves.

However, after returning to work following my maternity leave, I kept thinking I would get used to being away from my child and only being able to see her for a few hours a day. But it never felt right.

In fact, everything about it felt wrong.

My boss scoffed when I resigned, and said I was making an irreversible mistake. Even my parents questioned my decision.

Thankfully, I found encouragement in the successful women who reached out to me to say they wished they had done the same—kids grow so fast, and that time is irreplaceable—and women who said they did the same and were able to continue their upward career trajectory after their kids were school-aged.

Lucky for me, within a month of leaving my job, I was introduced to Becky Robinson and her genius business model of Weaving Influence.

At Weaving Influence’s core is the understanding of the importance of the ever-elusive work/life balance.

But with Weaving Influence, work/life balance isn’t elusive. It’s attainable. Why? Because flexibility is one of its core values.

People can use their talents to help others and continue to grow their careers, all in the comfort of their own homes.

And, I dare say, everyone (workers, clients, and team members) involved with Weaving Influence benefits from the value of flexibility. Here’s how.

For the Worker

Happiness. Well, let’s start with the obvious. Being able to spend quality time with your family and loved ones while still growing professionally and helping others grow professionally is pretty great. I have to say I’ve never felt more balanced and happy since working a flexible job. And, it’s worth mentioning, that happier workers are more productive ones.

Family. I’m not the only one in my family that’s happier. I dare say my kids and husband are, too. Eleanor and Cal get the attention they need from their mama. And Jake and I are better able to work as a team because my schedule can bend with the needs of our household. The same goes for most others on the #WIteam.

For the Client

Greater access. Being in a flexible work environment means that our services aren’t confined to the 9-to-5 work clock. We answer emails at night and take calls on the weekend. Being flexible means that we shift our day to meet other’s needs and schedules too.

Better efficiency. Working during nap times or when grandma comes to visit means you have no choice but to be efficient. There’s no lollygagging when Weaving Influence work begins. It’s go time with a razor-thin focus. You never know when that kid is going to wake up.

For the Team

Communication. Because we have team members scattered around the globe and working all different hours of the day and night, the #WIteam knows the importance of communication. We can’t assume people overhear news in the hall, so we’re sure to share and document everything in our project management system. Emboldening these communication skills carry over into other parts of our lives, too. I’m way more organized since joining the virtual workforce.

Understanding. I have an admission to make—and I’m not proud of this: before I had kids, when co-workers would leave early from work for a family obligation, I sort of thought they might be slacking. I know, I know. It’s terrible.

Now, as a work-from-home/stay-at-home mom, I’m way more empathetic and understanding that people have other things happening in their lives than just work. This understanding is ingrained within the #WIteam and it makes meeting people where they are easier. We aren’t intractable in meeting times and modes of communication—and this makes ideas a reality faster.

Not to sound cliché (or maybe I should, because after all, clichés turn out to be truths), the flexibility of Weaving Influence has made my (and others’) dreams come true.

Sure, it’s not all skittles and sunshine—there are times when I’m on a conference call while trying to calm a crying baby and satisfy a demanding toddler.

But I have the opportunity to be present in my family’s life while still doing what I love professionally and, well, that is pretty darn amazing.