Author: sybil

Categories
Engagement

How Will You Approach the New Year?

Are you preparing to greet 2020 with hopeful anticipation? Or perhaps planning to play it safe with low expectations?

Like many people, I have mixed feelings about the new year — a new beginning offers new opportunities as well as uncertainty. But I’ve come to understand that my expectations and attitude about this new year and decade make all the difference.

“When we have higher expectations at our core thinking and philosophies then it becomes easier and easier to identify and react to the bombardment of negative’s that are thrown at us throughout our daily routines.” Art Costello, author of Expectation Therapy

That’s why I’ve chosen to feature this wonderful and timely excerpt from my dear friend, Yvonne DiVita, entrepreneur, blogger, and author of A Little Book of Big Thoughts.

Happy Day to the World 

Today, the sun is out. All’s right with our world.

Yes, life has become harder … We all wonder what the New Year will bring, and some of us are dreading it.

Some of us, however, are celebrating friendship, camaraderie, good health, love of family and pets, and expectations for better times. I am one of them.

There is a world of opportunity for all coming – an exciting year waiting for you to create the bells and whistles that will lift up those around you …

… and by doing so, lift yourself up, onto the path of success. I’ll meet you there.

And I’ll be there as well. Wishing you a fulfilling and successful New Year!

[Photo: Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay]

Categories
Engagement Marketing

Strengthening Your Company’s Brand from the Inside-Out – Podcast Interview

What a joy to be a guest on the “Profitable Happiness™” Podcast, hosted by bestselling author and musician, Dr. Pelè, who focuses on workplace happiness as a key to success.

In our engaging 30 minute conversation, we talk about what lead me to bridge marketing and human resources with internal marketing to create a positive workplace culture that values employees and customers. We also discuss interesting issues such as how to identify happy workplaces, how to save money on outside consultants, and how to have a positive impact in a toxic environment.

Listen here for our conversation on Internal Workplace Wellness Marketing.

To learn more and listen to Dr. Pelè’s other interviews with “successful workplace happiness experts, executive coaches, and entrepreneurs, check out his website.

 

Categories
Engagement

What to Ask When You Want to Feel Grateful

[Note: Not just in the spirit of Thanksgiving, but all year long we can be thankful. That’s why I love this post from Curt Rosengren, “Passion Catalyst” dedicated to helping others “love their work and change their world in a way that feels personally meaningful to them.”

Special thanks to Curt for allowing me to share this on my blog. For more great content, check out his Aliveness & Impact Blog.]

35 Gratitude-Prompting Questions That Can Change Your Life
by Curt Rosengren

How much is there in your life to be grateful for? How frequently do you notice it? If you’re like most of us, you’re probably leaving a lot of opportunity for gratitude on the table. And that’s unfortunate, because it can have a powerfully positive impact on your life.

I often call gratitude the well-being wonder-drug. Extensive research has shown a wide range of benefits, including increased happiness, improved relationships, better physical health, and less depression. It can even help you sleep better.

There are many ways to incorporate a gratitude practice into your life, from gratitude journaling, to writing a daily thank you letter, to making it a goal to find 10 things to say thank you for each day.

However you decide to bring gratitude into your day, it all starts with one thing – noticing!

Until you start to build that automatic gratitude muscle, that can sometimes feel easier said than done. Most of our lives are awash in things to be grateful for, but we are so busy with life, its worries and preoccupations, that we don’t always see them.

To help you get started, here are 35 gratitude-prompting questions to explore.

  1. Who do I appreciate?
  2. How am I fortunate?
  3. What material possessions am I thankful for?
  4. What abilities do I have that I’m grateful for?
  5. What about my surroundings (home/neighborhood/city/etc.) am I thankful for?
  6. What experiences have I had that I am grateful for?
  7. What happened today/yesterday/this week/this month/this year that I am grateful for?
  8. What opportunities do I have that I am thankful for?
  9. What have others in my life done that I am thankful for?
  10. What have others done that I am benefiting from in my life (even if I don’t know who those people are)?
  11. What relationships am I thankful for?
  12. What am I taking for granted that, if I stop to think about it, I am grateful for?
  13. What is there about the challenges/difficulties I have experienced (or am currently experiencing) that I can be thankful for? (e.g., What have I learned? How have I grown?)
  14. What is different today than it was a year ago that I’m thankful for?
  15. What insights have I gained that I am grateful for?
  16. What am I able to offer others that I am grateful for?
  17. What opportunities to help others am I thankful for?
  18. What can I find to be grateful for in this very moment? (Challenge yourself. Make it a game.)
  19. What do I see right now (with your eyes) that I can be grateful for?
  20. What is associated with something I’m grateful for that I can be grateful for? (For example, if you’re grateful for the cup of coffee you’re enjoying, there’s the potential to be grateful for everything that went into it – the farmer who grew it, the earth it grew in, the sunshine and rain, the people who picked it, the business and people who involved in getting it from there to where you are, the roasters, etc.).
  21. What can I enjoy right now that I can be grateful for? (For example, looking out my window I’m enjoying the color contrast of a branch of a juniper tree that has both live green and dead brown tips – when I really stop and notice it, it’s quite pretty.)
  22. What do I hear that I am grateful for (birds? music? the sound of children giggling?)
  23. What do I normally take for granted that I am grateful for (clean and readily available drinking water? flush toilets? an abundance of food?)
  24. What interaction(s) have I had lately that I’m grateful for? (the funny barista? the gentle smile from the person you walked past in the grocery store? the compliment from a co-worker?)
  25. What have I learned lately that I’m grateful for?
  26. Who am I grateful to for teaching me something lately?
  27. What do I get to do that I’m grateful for? (hobbies? work you enjoy? helping someone? going to a good movie?)
  28. How have other people helped me that I’m grateful for?
  29. What opportunities to help others have I had that I can be grateful for?
  30. What do I find fascinating? Can I be grateful for that fascination?
  31. What emotional feelings am I grateful for right now?
  32. What physical sensations am I grateful for right now?
  33. What is the subtlest thing I can notice that I can be grateful for? (a gentle breeze? the lingering smell of a delicious meal?)
  34. What have I seen others do that I can feel grateful for seeing (chasing somebody down to return money they dropped? giving up a seat on a crowded bus? giving a stranger a genuine compliment?)
  35. How is my life made easier? Who contributes to that?

My own gratitude practice ebbs and flows. When it flows – when I prime the pump and really start noticing what’s there – it never fails to blow me away how much there is to be grateful for. And the more I notice to be grateful for, the better it feels.

And my life isn’t particularly unusual or special. As you go deeper into gratitude, I have no doubt that you will find the same to be true for you.

Try making it a 30-day experiment. You could write a daily gratitude journal. Or keep a notebook with you and jot down things to be grateful for as you notice them. Maybe you can do a daily gratitude exchange with a friend or family member, sharing something you’re thankful for that day (perfect for the family dinner table). I particularly like the idea of taking one question a day and doing a deep dive using that question as a lens.

However you do it, gratitude is a gift you can give yourself that can pay big dividends.

[Image credit: photo by Gabrielle Henderson on Unsplash]

Categories
Engagement

True Confessions: I’m Tired of Employee Engagement

I started working on employee engagement long before the “e” word came into vogue, and I’m tired of it. Here’s why.

Overused as a business buzzword, the term “employee engagement” has become meaningless. It gets talked about in executive suites and management meetings, yet few companies actually do anything about it because too much effort is required to change a culture that needs fixing and artificial attempts in a cultural vacuum only make the situation worse.

As a result, I’m just plain tired of:

  • the endless rhetoric and discussions that go nowhere
  • the naysayers who don’t think engagement matters
  • executives frustrated with engagement because it’s not a quick fix.

Employee engagement 1.0 and beyond
When I started Quality Service Marketing more than 30 years ago, my work involved helping clients gain employee commitment to marketing and organizational goals. Managers wanted to know how to get employees motivated and willing to work with them to take care of customers.

Engagement’s scope has evolved since then to recognize that employee and employer each bear responsibility for it. Employees need to show up to work ready, willing, and able to do their best, and employers need to provide a workplace where employees are respected, trusted, and eager to do their best.

Work and workplace expectations have also changed. Employees want meaningful work with flexibility and fair pay. And while some companies proactively engage them as valuable partners, too many still consider them as labor to be manipulated in response to short-term market pressures.

That’s the main reason I’m frustrated with employee engagement. We haven’t fully transitioned from the industrial age of management control over employees-as-commodities to a better model of management with employees-as-respected-partners sharing in responsibility and ownership of results.

Not ready to give up
Despite my frustrations, I’m encouraged when I meet with employees who tell me how great their employers and workplace cultures are. Ditto when I hear and read about successful organizations where employee-care is as important as customer-care.

Despite the clueless-in-charge, there are still leaders out there who value their employees and genuinely want to do better with and by them. So I’m not giving up – because people matter and they deserve better.

[Image credit: photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash]

Categories
Engagement Training & Development

An Accidental Facilitator’s Simple Tool for Improvement

An admitted “accidental facilitator,” I love what I do. Here’s why.

I find my role in guiding the process of discovery among groups to be:

  • challenging – because it requires a high level of customization to meet a client’s specific needs while being unable to predict the outcome
  • intense and exhausting – because it involves being fully present to listen and observe what’s happening as well as being focused yet flexible to adapt on the fly as needed
  • exhilarating – because participants find their active engagement in the experience to be worthwhile, and so do I.

Facilitation is also rewarding in that it provides an incredible opportunity to learn and grow. That’s why I keep a special journal that helps me continually improve my skills.

In it, I briefly review each experience using a simple outline that includes:

  • Project name and date 
  • What worked that may prove to be useful in other projects, if applicable
  • What didn’t work that I should avoid doing again
  • Lessons learned from the experience that is also based on feedback compiled from participant evaluation forms.

Each journal page contains just enough info to refresh my memory about the experience. Viewing the pages individually and collectively yields valuable insights and ideas to consider with each successive facilitation project.

[“Ideas” image by Juan Marin on Unsplash. Photo at left is my facilitator’s journal.]

 

 

Categories
Engagement

Celebrate Working Parents

September 16th is Working Parents Day, a day designated to recognize “those amazing parents who work hard all year to provide for their families.”

It is described by one calendar source as an

“unofficial holiday [that] celebrates mothers and fathers who go to work while they are raising children. Those children are the most likely group of persons to take part in Working Parents Day. They might appreciate their parents for reconciling both: family life and earning enough money to afford a certain standard in life. Many parents do not have a choice, though, because alimenting a family is expensive and can become a financial challenge. Working Parents Day honors the ability to be a loving parent while building up a career.”

According to another source,

“Although the origins of Working Parents Day are unknown, it seems logical to suggest it was created by an overworked, under-appreciated mother or father, seeking some basic recognition for their efforts.”

Why celebrate all parents? 

Parenting is one of the most challenging and rewarding jobs there is – regardless of whether you’re a stay-at-home parent or you work off-site or from home. If your kids aren’t inclined to honor this designated “holiday,” I suggest you take time to celebrate yourself.

September 16th notwithstanding, everyday is Working Parents Day. Here’s to all of us!

Special acknowledgment: I dedicate this post to my beloved mother and father who were exceptional working parents.

[Image credit: Photo by BlueAngel16 from Pixabay.]

 

Categories
Training & Development

Why Read About Reading?

Because it’s good for your health.

That’s the key message in Read ‘Em & Reap: 6 Science-Backed Ways Reading Puts You on the Road to Achieving More and Living Longer by Tom Collins. [Disclaimer: I was fortunate to review an early draft of the book.]

Collins draws on research from neurology, psychology, cognition, education, and other fields of science to affirm reading’s benefits that positively impact both physical and mental health. Chapter titles include:

    • Reading Reduces Stress
    • Helps You Sleep
    • Improves Your Decision-Making Capacity
    • Makes You a Better Leader

A quick and enjoyable read, this powerful little book offers insight on “deep reading” to find answers and/or explore problems to generate meaning. Its readers will also find an interesting discussion in the print vs. digital debate.

Why I recommend Read ‘Em & Reap

If you’re a hesitant reader, you’ll get the encouragement you need to read more with help on how to develop a proactive reading plan.

If you’re an avid reader, you’ll appreciate the book’s “tips on adding more reading to your life.”

I enjoyed this book because it affirms the benefits of reading on so many levels. I read nonfiction for work to learn more, and I read fiction for pleasure to escape. Now I’m encouraged to go beyond reading just for work and play. Read ‘Em & Reap was the jump-start I needed to expand my reading even more.

 

Categories
Engagement

Summer Blog Break 2019

Photo by Anna Demianenko on Unsplash

July and August are a time to invest in sunscreen to avoid sunburn. For me, it’s also a time to invest in a break to avoid blogging burnout.

I enjoy this special time to step back from the pressure of posting. But it’s not a total vacation as I’ll be working this summer to help clients with their facilitation and training needs while continuing to stay active on Twitter (@SybilQSM), LinkedIn, and other social media.

In the meantime, I invite you to explore this blog with its abundance of evergreen content on improving employee, volunteer, and customer care with internal marketing tools of engagement.

Have a happy and safe summer!

[Image: photo by Anna Demianenko on Unsplash]

Categories
Customer service Marketing

What I Learned About Marketing Before I Knew What It Was

This is the story (more of a tribute, actually) about my beloved father.

He was a tailor by trade who ran a small alterations and dry cleaning business. I used to visit his shop to watch him work on a treadle sewing machine surrounded by rainbows of thread neatly stacked on shelves. Sometimes I would also accompany him while he picked up and delivered his customers’ dry cleaning.

I learned a lot from my father amid the colored spools of thread and smells of dry cleaning solvent. I especially loved how customers loved him. Whenever customers came into the store, my father would warmly greet them, inquire about their family, and then get into the specifics of their clothing alteration needs. He took as much care with customers as he did with their clothes. And they kept coming back, while referring new customers to him.

My father was not only a craftsman when it came to sewing, he was a master of relationship marketing.

He had no formal business training; it was just an intuitive way of how he did business. I was blessed to be his daughter and learn from him.

Happy Father’s Day, Dad, and thanks for a wonderful legacy.

[Image courtesy of Pixabay.]

Categories
Engagement

At the Heart of a Successful Brand

This powerful statement is from the late Bob Wood, former Chairman of Wood Dining Services, whom I had the privilege of interviewing for my first book on internal marketing, Taking Care of the People Who Matter Most: A Guide to Employee-Customer Care. 

Bob was the epitome of an engaged leader who truly cared about his employees and customers as reflected in this description of the company culture:

“The Wood Company’s recipe for success is developing and nurturing its people.
We value and understand the difference they can make in pleasing our customers.”

I wish there were more inspired leaders like Bob who knew how to nourish a successful brand from the inside out.