Weekly Tools and Tips to Improve Any Relationship
Are you happy at work? Are we supposed to be? Don’t scroll yet.
What if we took that “happy” word that has so many meanings and consider this: what would happen if we took a different approach and planned for the pursuit of purpose while recognizing how we can find strength in our collective differences to improve our happiness?
Let me be clear. False happiness is worse than no happiness at all. If you are a person who is still working on finding your purpose, you are not alone. Even more, if you are not a “naturally sunshiney” personality, I would offer that greater self-awareness le
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During a 26-year naval career, one of my tours of duty brought me to the Washington DC area. It was around this time that I married and brought my new bride there to start our life’s journey together. She is an operating room nurse and eventually took a department manager position at one of the largest metropolitan hospitals in the area in the mid-1990s. Her hospital’s management team scheduled an offsite conference for all department managers, which included a Color Code workshop facilitated by Dr. Taylor Hartman. At the conclusion of the workshop, she and her colleagues were amazed at how accurately the descriptions of thei
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Let’s Get Organized! Oh, how we love our Yellows! The enthusiasm and energy these fun-loving creatures bring into our lives make the world that much more of an enjoyable place to be. With the world being such a fun-filled adventure, Yellows need the freedom to experience creativity in a work environment that maximizes their opportunities. Yellows are unique individuals and need to be organized in their own way. Even if you don’t understand their rhyme or reason, Yellows must have a degree of autonomy to build out their tasks for the day. I do recommend that when giving Yellows this freedom, refrain from barking at them t
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There have been significant changes. We've all noticed them. Buzz phrases like 'the great resignation' and 'the era of the employee' are all over the news and business blogs. There are help wanted signs in many establishments. The U.S. now has more job openings than at any time in history. Employees are jumping ship in record numbers. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that in September of '21, over 4.4 million people voluntarily left their jobs. It's being called, 'The Era of the Employee.' With nearly 11 million job openings in the U.S., workers have the advantage and are making decisions to improve their working condit
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“Hi I had a criticism of this questionnaire. There are some items where none of the responses applied. I would say that was true on about three or four of these. There should therefore either be a ‘none apply’ or more options, because this will skew results. I think your assessment is correct except that it is wrong on a couple important fronts — about how I am now. This asks questions about being a child, but for someone like myself, who has been on a path of self-development since a young age, the way I was when I was a child is different than how I was as a teenager and as an adult and also from the things I’ve h
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“To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and then we must use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others.” - Anthony Robbins Have you ever noticed how GOOD it feels to be really listened to? It’s impactful and conveys respect and value. The ability to effectively communicate with others remains the single most important factor on a leader’s list of attributes. A big part of effective communication is active listening. Unfortunately, one of the big communication challenges most people face is that we don't actively listen to understand.
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You might have heard the saying, “The best tools are the ones that get used.” This is how I feel about the Color Code. In my corporate career, I was exposed to the benefits of five different personality assessments. I loved each of them for their unique insights into my behaviors; however, after some time would go by, I would forget what I learned and fall back into autopilot mode. I would relate to others based upon my instincts and experience. This was the case for 30 years until I learned about the Color Code. I was first introduced to “The Character Code,” Dr. Taylor Hartman’s sequel to “The Color Code,” in my tran
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Recently, I have been re-reading the business bestseller, "Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High" by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler. Crucial conversations are defined as a dialogue where "opinions vary, stakes are high and emotions run strong." A principle premise of the book is that people well-skilled in language start to plan the conversation "in the heart." “Start with the heart” is actually the second step of the seven-step process. This refers to the questions you ask yourself when planning a crucial conversation. With over 4 million copies sold, these writers certa
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Research shows that giving a bad gift can hurt your relationships and lose business. So how can you be sure you choose something your recipient will love? Nearly every business around the world uses gift giving as a strategy to build relationships with its business partners, employees, clients and colleagues. The challenge hasn’t been whom to give to or even how much to spend. It’s always been what to give. When it comes to business gifting, there’s definitely a right way and a wrong way to go about it. According to the 2019 Knack Business Gifting Strategy Report, over 1,000 U.S. business professionals were surveyed and 70
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I work in Human Resources. It’s important for our employees to know if we are in the office when they come to the department with questions. The admin of our department (a purist Blue) sets up a weekly meeting reminder for us to submit our calendar for the following week to her by Thursday morning at 8:30 AM. Seems simple, right? The question really is, when is the deadline? We have three of the four of the color personalities represented in our department. The majority of us are Blue personalities. This makes sense, given Blue’s natural talent to serve others. Many of us think the calendar is silly, but we do what the admi
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