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December 2009 Newsletter
The Best Places to Work: Getting Things Done via Communications and Inclusion
This month we examine Getting Things Done via Communications and Inclusion. It was clear to us that when employees believe senior managers and leadership at all levels have a good grip on the execution of the business, they sleep better at night. This implies that these leaders know what it takes to succeed, who the competitors are, and what we need to do to win against those competitors. Additionally, these leaders need to include people at the proper levels and communicate with each individual regarding what they can do to make the organization nimble, secure and successful. When these things are done well, the organization can mobilize its workforce in a way that gives it a significant edge in the marketplace.
What an organization can do today:
Create an Open-Systems Approach - An open-systems approach is one that includes people whenever possible in the decisions, conclusions, and strategies of the organization. These can be called steering groups, task forces, focus groups or any number of other titles. They all have the same goal to include the workforce in the decisions and execution of processes, products, and issues important to the organization. The open system takes time and it can be a bit awkward. The skills to conduct an open-systems meeting are very different. Selecting and caring for members become critical.
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The Importance of Goal Setting
 When an airplane takes off, it is said the plane is only on course 5% of the time. The other 95% is spent correcting its course and fighting wind, turbulence and everything else in the way. The same can be said for our own careers and resolutions. The day to day demands sometimes set us back or all together hinder our efforts in the goals we set. If our work demands long weeks to get it done, it makes it difficult to make it to the gym or to go to a networking meeting. However, when we make attainable and measureable goals a priority, (like after several weeks of working out and eating healthy), we begin to have some successes.
As another New Year approaches, I am beginning to think about New Year's resolutions. Every year people flock to gyms and start the New Year's resolution to lose weight or to get healthy. After several months and the day to day rigors of life, we often forget or stop the effort to reach our goals. During a recent workshop, we spent time discussing goals for the New Year. Here are some questions to ask yourself and try to make good decisions around:
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Online Shopping Tips
 As a work at home Mom, I don't have a lot of time to go Christmas shopping. Fortunately for me and anyone else in a similar situation, we live in a time where just about anything can be purchased with a click of the mouse on our computer. Christmas shopping, or any shopping for that matter, can easily be done in pajamas at anytime in the day or night in the convenience of our own homes. As wonderful as this is, it is important to remember that online shopping is not always as straight forward as shopping in a store. If you are not careful, there is an increased risk of being taken advantage of. The key to safe online shopping is simply to be aware. I have written a list of the top things to keep in mind to ensure you have a smooth and safe online shopping experience.
Make Sure The Website Has A Secure Connection When Checking Out: Don't ever enter your credit card number into a webpage without checking to make sure you have a secure connection. A secure connection provides a reasonable defense against someone trying to intercept your credit card number or personal information. To make sure you have a secure connection simply look at the URL bar. The web address should start with https instead of http.
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If You Believe, The Rest Will Come
 You know how you get these ideas in your head while doing your exercises or when you are getting ready for whatever the day brings you? A couple weeks ago, I thought of a topic for this article that I felt should be written about and I had to quickly write it down with some notes so I'd remember to write it for December's newsletter.
Quite a few years back, I had heard for the first time two words that resonated with me so much that I've been thinking about it ever since. Those two words are "Inspiring Believables". I've always loved the word "Inspire" or "Inspiring" and have been doing a lot of research on the topic these last 20 years and my conclusion is that it takes a certain willingness and commitment to become better at inspiring others. I've seen tremendous results with people who take their leadership seriously, and can participate in skills-building events to help develop and learn about their style of leadership, how to motivate and inspire others, how to create a culture of coaching and mentoring, and, the always talked about, how to create participative teams.
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