Embrace Every Season of Leadership

It rained hard last night and woke me up several times.

But I shouldn’t be surprised. I live in Portland, Oregon and this is the season of rain.

I whine about it all the time. It’s cold and it keeps me indoors. Yet, it is that very same rain that keeps Oregon green and beautiful. And rain represents a different seasonal cycle welcomed by many. For them, it  represents a change in lifestyle as the winter months shake things up a bit.

So today, I’m going to try and embrace the advent of the rain and stop griping about it.  In this process, I started thinking about the cyclical seasons of leadership. There are sunny times with lots of activity and connections, and then there is the colder, rainy season, when things by necessity slow down. 

It’s a time of planning and indoor reflection. A time to reinvest in employees and plant seeds for new relationships that can be activated through the year. It’s a time to pause and learn, personally and with staff (when they all aren’t on vacation).

The season of winter…of rain and snow in many parts of the country, offers leaders many opportunities to:

1. Invest in staff training to grow your employees
2. Host an annual all staff meeting, to jointly plan for the coming year
3. Re-dedicate yourself to servant leadership, meeting with each employee to support their annual goals
4. Be creative, encouraging staff to brainstorm, using the right brain – drawing and writing
5. Investigate and explore new stakeholders and meet with them
6. Share, laugh, enjoy the camaraderie of your colleagues, with indoor activities.  How about a monthly potluck lunch? 
7. Read a new leadership book
8. Dedicate a day to volunteer as a team with a local nonprofit. This season can be hard on vulnerable populations

The change of pace as the rains return can be a fruitful time of great productivity and creativity.

So, I’m going to try to smile and embrace this particular leadership season, quit complaining and celebrate the precipitation all around me. 

~hcollaborative.com~

The Season of Giving Thanks: Every Day!

"Give yourself a daily gift of five minutes to give thanks in awe of everything and everyone you see around you - the many miracles."
 -  Wayne Dyer

We are approaching the season of giving, receiving and thanking. It is often a time of warmth among friends, family, and workplace colleagues. Yet, for many it can also be a time of sadness, loneliness and disappointment. It seems our culture makes a big deal about this particular time of year, which can set us up for unfilled expectations.

What if we consider every day the “holiday season” and reach out to others, showing our appreciation and thanks to our teammates, friends and family members? And what if every day, we showed the same warmth and appreciation to strangers, even those who don’t look like us?  It seems we all can look harder to and see the little things, the small gifts we receive every day and give thanks. And in turn it may be the little things we do for others, not just during this season, that will bring more wonder and kind-heartedness into the workplace, our homes and our communities.   

Focus, Not Fret!

“Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life.”  - Omar Khayyam

Unleash Creativity and Productivity by Being Present
The Cambridge dictionary defines focus as “the main object or interest, or attention given to something.” That seems straightforward to me. Yet in our overly busy worlds of juggling and worrying about the past and present, I often find myself struggling with focus. Too often my attention and interest are scattered, “all over the map,” planning, plotting, fretting, trying to figure out the next action or conversation. In sum, I waste a lot of time.

Mindfulness teaches us to “to be here now,” in the moment.  This allows us to focus, and not worry about all those pesky thoughts and conversations in our head, and negative thoughts that distract us. Certainly, it’s easier to say than do. But I’m going to try to focus more on the beauty and creativity around me… people, relationships, nature in the moment. I like being more creative and productive.  Sounds like good medicine for the workplace as well as home!

Let's Get Real About Work Culture: Lessons From the Bird Feeder

It’s been cold. The wind has been blowing and winter is around the corner. 

And the birds that flock to our birdfeeders seem to know may be a hard winter here in the Northwest. I’ve had to fill the three feeders every week.

I watch them from my office window as they dance, cavort, and “muscle in” for the suet and seed. And then the squirrel bounds into the scene wanting to get in on the action.

At times, I’m mesmerized and forget about the emails and texts flashing.

Nature teaches and as I view their antics around the feeder I’m reminded of our own work culture-- the hierarchy, the pushing, the showing, and the collaborating and trust that can occur.

Here is what I’ve observed about the “pecking order” and hierarchy of this avian ecosystem. Perhaps you will see the similarities in your own workplace. Here are some lessons that fly with me:

1.  The bigger birds, like the jays, with power and dominance scatter all the other birds and begrudgingly allow a few birds to share the seed. They don’t come often, but when they do, the other birds fly away… in deference, in fear.

2. Many of the mid and smaller-size birdswill often flock to the nearby bushes and wait. When one ventures to the feeder, then the others follow… as if it is “now safe.”

3. Often one species of bird, be it Rufus, Chicadee, Junko or Fitch fly in as a group and take over the feeders. They feel safe among their kind.

4. The smaller birds, particularly the Chickadees, as if understanding the power of the “team,” always seem to huddle together with 12 or more sharing one feeder, causing it to swing with their collective weight.

5. The squirrels can’t reach the feeder, but know there is scattered seed on the porch below the feeders. When all is quiet, they swoop in and grab a cheek full of shells with a few nuggets and stay in charge until the dog comes out!

6. Over time, many of the birds learn to overcome their fear and remain at the feeders, when I quietly step out to observe them as they begin to trust the outsider.

Six observations, call them Mother Nature’s lessons, that remind me of our work culture, and who doesn’t love a bit of anthropomorphism to shed light on behavior.  

Anthropomorphism: an interpretation of what is not human or personal in terms of human or personal characteristics (Merriam/Webster)

What is important, is not the facts or realities of my observations of winter birds at a feeder, but rather that their presence caused me to think.  It provoked a stream of conscientious … to ponder the porch bird feeder, as a metaphor for the real culture in our workplaces.  

Lessons for Conscientious Leaders abound in Nature, if we open our eyes, ears and hearts.

Up with Wisdom!

“Knowledge speaks but wisdom listens."

-  Jimi Hendrix

Recently, I’ve been trying to listen more recognizing I don’t really know it all. And I don’t always need to interrupt with my opinions, my expertise. But, there is so much knowledge out there today as Google easily make us “know-it-alls.”  Yet, it was Socrates who said, “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” 

Wisdom thus comes from carefully keeping our ears and eyes open and our mouths shut. We need to be seeking to understand, interpret, and then use our best judgement to assimilate what we have heard. It’s not always about book smarts or Wikipedia smarts, rather every day I have opportunities to learn from others, from my experiences, from nature. These teachers help us understand ourselves and lead us toward wisdom and sound judgement. In fact, I think I’d rather be called a wise woman than a smart one!

3 Palms, Mission-Driven Organizations and How They Connect

It was 95 degrees but it was a dry heat.

I had just taken a sip from a frosty cold cerveza and glanced skyward observing the 3 palms blowing gently in the breeze. After a couple of days of rest and relaxation, my mind was fully disengaged from its usual fretting about commitments, deadlines and financial obligations.

And I thought to myself, what stories this trio of frond producers could tell of people and life they’ve seen over the years. What trials and tribulations they witnessed. The stories of love and loss they overheard.

And then that famous quote was confirmed to me yet again. “Curiosity is the lust of the mind,” said English philosopher Thomas Hobbes more than 330 years ago. 

We just have to know.

We’ve got to find out.

We must quench that thirst.

All of which brings me to the "content and mission-driven organizations" part of my title.

Are your posts and articles engaging or should I say “magnetizing” your readers? Does your title promise a story worth reading? Does the content fulfill on that promise?

What I'm saying here is that curiosity helps you in content development because it gets your “need to know” overriding everything in your head. It's what I call my "silver bullet" when it comes to engaging content. And it’s a safe bet that if that topic stirs your mind, it’s going to do the same to those coveted readers, ambassadors and potential evangelists of yours.

Just how do you that, you ask?

Engaging content starts with one action: Asking a question.

For example: How specifically did your organization help a family in need after living in their car for 17 months?

How many trees did your employees plant on a forgotten city lot only known for its piles of litter?

Or how did your contribution help seniors lacking access to medical care?

Then your content answers that question by being specific and personal.

By personal, I mean add your own emotional viewpoint about what you saw and how it made you feel. Don’t hold back. Authenticity is not only highly valued in our world today, it is mandatory if you’re to be a trusted communicator.

Stuck for ideas and no palm trees in sight? Consider these time-tested, mind-freeing suggestions:

• Take a walk in a city park
• Visit an art museum
• Ride public transportation
• Eat in a restaurant you’ve never visited
• Listen to music you know nothing about.

My bet is you’ll come up with several worthy ideas that promise to make your audience curious (and engaged) indeed. Just as those 3 palms did for me as I dozed off for my afternoon siesta.

~hcollaborative.com~

Lesson of an Informational Interview: Who Really Benefits Most?

I didn’t know her. 

But she was referred to me by a friend for an “informational interview.”

And so we met for coffee and my day was brightened.

I’ve always enjoyed meeting with younger people, sharing any tidbits of wisdom and experience I may have.  Some call it mentoring, but I think this gift of time is much more than that. 

Miriam-Webster defines mentoring as, “someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person.” 

However, the coaching, nurturing, and encouragement that occurs during these sessions often goes far beyond this description. 

You see, I also learn as the mentor.

The hope and enthusiasm the words these young people share is refreshing and reinvigorating to a baby boomer gal who has been around the bush. As I listen to their aspirations and gently explore ideas and strategies around career directions, they inspire me and provoke new thinking.  I may bring expertise to the table, but they bring new thinking, new perspectives of another generation to me, and I soak up their energy and commitment.

Granted at times, it is important to steer the conversation and temper the eagerness with a dose of reality and offer some practical considerations – some time-tested counsel. But I think it is important to always do this with a sense of humility. 

After all, we are all in it together on this ship of life. And just as I hope they will value and respect my opinions as the older and seasoned professional, I need to appreciate and honor their thoughts and ideas that bring forth new energy and fresh thinking. Many of them are wiser than they know.

They will become our future leaders. And I believe many of them already demonstrate the traits of conscientious leadership.

Cause-driven. Belief in a sustainable world.  Embracing diversity.

They will create a better world, around the 3 “Ps” of People, Planet, Profit, the corner stone of Benefit Corporations, a growing national movement.

So, I will continue to give my time and accept any requests for an informational interview and be willing to share my knowledge as a mentor. Because I am rewarded with fresh insights and come away energized with the belief that future is bright.  

Today, this week, this month, take the time and say yes to that informational interview.  You may be the one that actually benefits and receives the gift.

~hcollaborative.com~

The Beauty of Disagreements

The Good News About Conflict

“Difficulties are meant to rouse, not discourage. The human spirit is to grow strong by conflict.”  -William Ellery Channing

The Beauty of Disagreements
Last week I was talking to a friend who shared that her work team was trying to eliminate conflict at work. And then, just two days later, another friend shared that he and his partner were going through some rocky times, and were trying to eliminate conflict in their relationship. Two friends both under the belief that conflict was a bad thing and should be eliminated.

I much prefer the phrase conflict management. I’m thankful for the occasional conflict to resurrect troubling issues and to clear the air. It can be healthy and valuable to ensure everyone is heard.  It allows for difference of opinions to be shared and for disconnects to be made visible, with goal of achieving a win-win scenario. Something that all parties can live with. Conflict when managed, can be a respectful and positive process for problem-solving. It’s a way of getting people on the same page, through listening, acknowledging the issues with an open mind and then hopefully moving forward with new understandings. For me, that means letting go of always being right. Which, of course, is a tough one for some of us.

Do You Truly Practice Collaboration? Lesson From the Aspen Tree

On our company's Facebook page, H Collaborative: Conscientious Leadership, you will see an image of an Aspen Tree grove. It’s a soothing, calm picture but many of you may not know that we deliberately selected this image as a metaphor for our philosophy.

Certainly, the Aspen tree is a treat for the eyes and ears. Not only is it a lovely tree, but it is also magical as when a breeze passes and the leaves flutter a peaceful humming melody is created that quiets the mind.

But our love of the tree goes deeper than its impact on our senses.

The Aspen tree uniquely connects through its robust root system with every other aspen tree in its vicinity- some over 40 feet away.  That is what we call collaboration … sharing a collective strength and resiliency that can overcome stresses and challenges like disease and fire.

Here are some other facts – thanks to Google:  

• Aspen trees are located throughout the world and Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) is the most widely dispersed tree in North America.  It is found growing in the high mountains of central Mexico, as well as in mountainous regions as far north as the Arctic Circle.

LESSON: Adaptability

• Some of the first American Indians to arrive in the United States used the leaves of the Aspen to treat swollen joints, headaches and burns. Meanwhile, parts of the bark were consumed to alleviate stomach ailments and urinary tract infections.

LESSON: Versatility

•  Their root systems are connected and a part of a colony, sending up new trunks as older trunks die off above ground

LESSON: Connectedness (teamwork) for Survival

• Quaking aspen colonies are virtually impossible to kill. Individual stems can be destroyed by humans, wildlife, and disease, but the underground root system is resistant to almost all these external circumstances. 

LESSON: Resiliency through the collective

• When an aspen tree dies, chemical signals from the tree to the roots stimulate new sprouts to start growing. Through this regrowth, an aspen clone usually lives much longer than its individual trees.

LESSON: Together a legacy can be created

• Given the Aspen colony is one system, they help other trees in the grove.  “ If a tree  30 feet away is thirsty, the trees where water is more abundant,  will work in unison to pass water through the root system to the tree that needs it . If another tree is lacking in certain nutrients or minerals, these will be passed through the root system from one tree to the one in need," said Gail Lynn Goodwin of InspireMeToday.com. “

LESSON: Generosity and sharing serves all

Like the Aspen grove, we are all connected, sharing and collaborating in the spirit of “It takes a village to raise a child”.   Together we can accomplish things we cannot do alone. Together we can support one another and thrive as Conscientious Organizations.

Yes, Aspens are a fitting metaphor for what HCollaborative is all about. Please join us.

Let's Talk Expectations

Is It Time to Take Off Our 'Rose Colored Glasses' 

“If you align expectations with reality, you will never be disappointed.”
 – Terrell Owens

Is It Time to Take Off the “Rose Colored Glasses?”
We love to spin beautiful stories in our head about how life should be. How our workplace will be fulfilling and creative, our bosses and colleagues supportive, our projects always successful, our personal relationships always loving without rocky spots. Truth be told, that hasn’t been my experience in life. For these expectations, emotions about what may happen in the future can be realistic or unrealistic. And when things don’t always go the way we imagine, we suddenly find ourselves disappointed and hurt. (I sure have a few scars to show and would be glad to share those stories over a cup of tea or a glass of vino.)

Now, we can take a positive outlook and believe in the best outcomes. That is optimism, which is good for corporate America and for our personal lives.  However, to include only one scenario that fulfills our own needs and expectations without acknowledging clues from others, based on reality, may be setting ourselves up for pain.  

So, this week I’m going to try to keep my expectations in check. I will take off my “rose colored glasses,” and appreciate and be aware of the value of the here and now – which is mindfulness -- open to the reality and opportunity of today without any expectation.

Let's Get Real... Time for Authenticity

Authenticity: A Critical Value for Benefit Corporations

Authenticity is the path to trust. And today people, particularly Millennials, make choices about employment, what organizations to support, and where to buy things, based on whether they trust the organization or company.

Being authentic means there is no space between what you say, and what you do.  People may not agree with what you state, but they know where you are coming from, and your words reflect what you believe.  Authentic people don’t say things just to make a customer or client happy. Instead, they are candid, honest and real. 

It's not about spin, hype or packaging a message to be liked or to make the sale. It’s about delivering on your promises and sharing who you are without a wearing a mask.

This is why we are so enamoured with Benefit Corporations, whose mantra. "People, Plant, Profit" , reflects a commitment to being REAL.  These companies are dedicated to making a livelihood with an honest and authentic value system -- creating healthy communities through business. 

"Authenticity is alignment of head, mouth, heart --thinking, saying, feeling and doing the same thing – consistently.  This builds trust… and followers love leaders they can trust."
 - Lance Secretan

The Road Less Traveled - Take the Risk!

 “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the path less traveled by – and that has made all the difference.”  – Robert Frost

Risks and Rewards Await
So, there I was looking at the car I just high centered on a rock like a teeter totter after I decided to take that road less traveled. I made a mental note not to mention this to the rental car company and then proceeded to get it unstuck. Yet, I was determined and followed another dirt road not traveled, and soon found the beautiful, isolated beach I was seeking, with seashells unlike any other.  And I was further rewarded by stunning flowering cactus all around me, and a kind old rancher wizened from the sun, with a bountiful smile and kind words that made the whole ordeal worthwhile.

As we consider a change in an unknown direction the idea isn’t to eliminate risk, but to reduce it to an acceptable level. And to believe that the challenges along the path that may deter others may reward you with unexpected benefits. In sum, seek out those with knowledge about your path. Research, question and debate the issues. Then proceed with acceptable caution with the expectation that you will have to adjust to changes as you go down the road less traveled…and believe that the prize awaits you – even one not anticipated. 

Dangers of the Status Quo: How an Organization Becomes Extinct

If you worked in ad agencies during your career (as I have), you quickly learn about being different.

Building a brand, developing a strategy, creating an ad is ALWAYS about differentiating.

Doing things as usual is almost never a good idea.

So why is it we see so many businesses and organizations not clearly setting themselves apart in the "how" or "why" they do what they do?

I think it can be summed up in two words: comfort zone.

We all love our comfort zones. We feel safe, confident, and it's easy to lead when we can fall back into the familiar.

Going out and exploring the unknown is scary. It's not a predictable investment of your time or money.

Yet, today with a global economy, an internet driven world of social media being increasingly led by Gen Xers and Milliennials, classic business thinking may no longer be a sacred cow. 

Organizations, at their very core, change rapidly. You see it every day as new models make old businesses extinct.

Think Uber, Airbnb and Netflix.

So how is that so many organizations and their leaders continue to practice the status quo? More importantly, how do you recognize the "trappings" of favoring such thinking?

Ask yourself these questions:

• Do you find yourself becoming more defensive than usual when staff suggest new ideas?
• Do you find yourself taking more "air time" at meetings and sharing the merits of your own ideas?
• Do you find yourself retreating into policies and procedures when a different opinion is expressed?
• Is your open door policy becoming more closed door as you retreat?

If you answer yes to any of these, you definitely need to rethink things.

To get you started, here are 5 tips from Stillettos on the Glass Ceiling, a site whose mission is to unite, empower and support women. 

1. Learn to Ask Good Questions: Asking the right questions can lead to eye-opening insights that are right there waiting to be found but that no one has taken the time to find out.

2. Embrace Golden Silence: After you’ve asked a question and the person responding pauses in their answer, don’t jump right in with your next question. Give the person space to add more

3. Check Your Assumptions at the Door: Assumptions can be some of the most detrimental thoughts we have because they limit our potential for growth and change.                                                                           

 4.  Shift Your Perspective: Like with assumptions, if we never change our perspective we will never grow. Building a project team with different and unique perspectives is one of the easiest ways to accomplish this. Just make sure to give all the people on the team a chance to voice their thoughts and insights.                                  

5.  Be Firm, but Don’t Be Antagonistic: Driving change with any group of people can be difficult. It is sometimes easier to give in to someone with a vice grip on the past than it is to deal with the pain of change. Many people fear change will lead to a loss of a job. Be firm about the need to move forward and how it will reap more rewards in the long run.

Today's successful organizations never got there by maintaining the status quo. Their leaders recognized that doing things differently whether it is a business cause or social cause was essential.

And if anything should remain the same, it should be that kind of thinking.

Watch for our new book "Putting Soul Into Business: How the Benefit Corporation is Transforming American Business for Good"

Juggling Takes Its Toll

“Life is a juggling act that sometimes requires you drop everything”
– Linda Poindexter

Less May Be More
Our lives are busy, sometimes frenetic and even chaotic. Often it feels like our major activity is juggling – activities, assignments, chores, relationships. We wake up, start our normal routine and then get bombarded -- with good and bad situations, events and circumstances. And our brain goes into "uber-drive" as we process, problem-solve and communicate, often way too fast.  An opportunity arises and we jump at it and take on even more --- tossing one more ball into the air to juggle. We end up overly stressed benefiting neither the body or the soul, and may even create angst among those closest to us.  

It doesn’t have to be that way.  We can learn to say no.  We can learn to delegate.  We can learn to reclaim our calm, by not falling into the trap of doing it all.  That is a fallacy often driven by our egos. In the bigger scheme of things, the cliché “Stop and Smell the Roses”, indeed speaks the truth.  Less may be more --- a calmer, more productive, focused and creative life, without juggling non-stop! 

The Secret to Product Innovation

How many times have you heard it… Yes, we listen to the customer…. Yes, we are customer driven… Yes, we design our products based on the customer. But what really happens to all that customer input?

Generally, a lengthy and robust report is generated from customer focus groups, survey and informant interviews and then a beautiful powerpoint presentation is made to the executives about the key findings from customer research. However, in most cases it generally validates what is going well, with an occasional nugget or two around areas for improvement. I think the problem is that too much of this research is around basic satisfaction, or testing messaging that the organization has come up with that may connect with the customer. These are important things to measure, but companies are missing a real opportunity when they don’t do the “deep dive” and ask questions about the most important thing a company has… its core products.

We rarely ask this, because after all we hire  expensive experts to lead product development. Andcomplicated analysis and sophisticated pricing models are created  to determine profitability to come up with the product suite.

Let’s break this open and assume that our customers are just as sophisticated, and they can be the product leaders of our companies. What, you may ask,  what if they suggest something we can’t deliver, something that challenges the current business model. Well, maybe it’s time to break a few rules and challenge the status quo. Who says we can’t be creative and innovate with customers as our partners?

Some ideas to help you really listen and incorporate customer feedback into product innovation.

1. Don’t just put a bandaid on the product issue that is causing pain. Instead go upstream and eliminate the cause of the pain completely, vs. addressing the symptoms to make it tolerable.
2. Create a product advisory workgroup , made up of customers, that you consult during your product build cycle. This isn’t a focus group; it’s a roll up your sleeves, let’s generate products together.
3. Start the product development cycle with the phrase: what rules can we break to make things simpler? Every customer in my 20+ years of marketing wants things simpler.
4. Create a vision of what products your customers will experience a year from now, two years, five years and then work backwards to make this a reality.
5. Hire creative people. Yes, analytics are important, but listening to customers and thinking totally out of the box with their big ideas that may sound ludicrous at the moment, may have the germ of a practical solution.
6. Bring equality into the formula. It’s time to be humble – you don’t really know more than the customer. They are equal partners in product development, and listen to them with as much attention as you would your CEO.

Together with customers you can deliver innovation, but don’t do it in a vacuum synthesizing what you think you heard. Give them the pencil and let them draw the future.

Listening 2.0

“93% of communication occurs through nonverbal behavior and tone and only 7% of communication takes place through the use of words.”  
- John Stoker

More than the Words: Notice the Nuances
Conscientious leaders listen a lot…to their customers, their business partners, their staff. But listening is more than just hearing the words. This past week we facilitated several focus groups for a well-known nonprofit. I was particularly struck by the emotion and passion accompanying their comments and facial expressions. Their tone of language communicated an added ingredient and reflected when they were exited about an idea, when they were bored, when they were unsure, and when they really didn’t care. 

There are important yet often subtle clues that speak volume, but we sometimes don't notice.them.  We bury ourselves in our laptops taking notes, and we don’t stop to look up and observe the nonverbal behavior that tells the real story. 

Lesson in Leadership: Is Business Today a Blood Sport?

Ruthless.

If you watched nothing but “Billions” and “House of Lies” on cable, you would believe the business world can only be described that way.

Win the day at any cost just makes up the DNA of these colorful casts. Do what it takes to knock the other guy out. Leave nothing for them. Conquer and divide.

But I’m here to tell you that in the real world, I see a different picture.

Let me explain…

Last weekend my business partner and I attended the Oregon Small Business Fair at Warner Pacific College as one of over 50 exhibitors. We met all kinds of entrepreneurs, from web design firms to nutritionists, Six Sigma consultants to machine works engineers, and just about everything in between.

Not only did we find these small business folks friendly to us, but we witnessed them being respectful to each other. Even when a pair working the same niche would cross paths.

In our soon-to-be-released book about the rise of Benefit Corporations, we discuss the Triple ‘P’ Bottom Line. Where business is no longer just about profit, but also focused on people and planet.

At least that’s the way enlightened leaders of such companies as Nossa Familia Coffee in Portland, Soapbox in Virginia and New Seasons Market in Oregon see it.

Doing good with people means respecting all stakeholders in a business. From employees to customers, vendors to, drum roll please, competitors.

No longer do these small progressive companies see their niche peers as “the hated enemy.”

This is all a far cry from my early days in the ad agency business when the battle cry for new accounts went along the lines of “get tough or die.” When all that mattered was winning the piece of business, period. If the ‘enemy’s blood’ needed to be spilled, so be it.

And so it went.

Today, I see a different way business is approached. Sure, it’s still competitive. Sure, we want to win that account. But I will say that at least as small business goes, we wholeheartedly respect the peers in our niche. We applaud their efforts when they earn a win and we didn’t.

And from what I witnessed on Saturday, I’m convinced we are not the only ones who view business that way. Who says competitors can’t respect and even admire each other for brilliant efforts and outstanding work?

So to all who cast a wary eye on the business world, we humbly suggest there is room for a lot of optimism. Because as B Corps, Benefit Corporations and Benefit Companies become more common, a new standard is being set for companies in the 21st century.

And it’s a standard I saw up close and personal on a small college campus last Saturday.

~hcollaborative.com~

The Art of Compromise

The Art of Compromise

“Tolerance, compromise, understanding, acceptance, patience - I want those all
to be very sharp tools in my shed.”
--CeeLo Green

Stay Flexible and Chill
Whether it’s team members at work or family members, it’s safe to say we don’t always see eye-to-eye.  While these differences in opinions, approaches to planning and problem-solving can lead to creativity, they also can create stress and conflict. I need to remind myself that people don’t always do things the way I would do it.

So where does that leave us?  Quite simply, what often works is to pick your battles, compromise more and even let go. It is often our egos that demand people do it our way. There are indeed many ways to get to a destination. And it may even be less stressful and “good for the soul” to relinquish control and just go with the flow. Granted, there are some issues that are non-negotiable. But I submit that many things allow for room to compromise and even lead to more calm. As a trusted best friend tells me regularly, “Bend like the willow, when the winds come strong.”

Is It Time For An Attitude Adjustment?

Talk about a humbling experience. Try hiking Zion Canyon.

Our ego tempts us every day as it tries to validate our importance.  We believe we know stuff, that we are right, that people should listen to us.   After all, we know what is best if folks would only follow our advice.  

Many of my friends can testify to this.  They patiently listen to my ever present counsel – smile and then of course goes back to what they were doing before I interrupted !

But a walk in the canyons of Utah, puts us in our place.  Sometimes we just need a little attitude adjustment that results from a humility lesson.

Against the majestic peaks and boulders of Zion, my ego was checked.  I reflected and did some soul searching , among rocks and canyons thousands of years old that have endured over the millenniums…  

I was really just a brief moment in time.

And I wondered why I worry so much about the little things. 

Are the little bumps and annoyances in my life really that important?   Why do I stress over people and their behaviors that bother me, just because they differ from mine?

What if I let go… and chose to not sweat the small stuff?

What if I let go… believing my way was the right way?

The canyons of Zion smiled at me that glorious day as I hiked to among the cliffs. and I thanked them for that gift of perspective.

It’s time to give others the benefit of the doubt.  In the bigger scheme of things, my opinion may not be that important at all.  

The Power of Resiliency

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent,
but the ones most resilient and responsive to change.”  
- Charles Darwin

Mother Nature Survives: Can We? 
Many of us in the Northwest are deeply saddened by the fires burning in our beautiful Columbia River Gorge.  Our hiking trails scorched with many gone. Flames threaten historic sites. It seems incredulous that this majestic beauty in our backyard, which many of us take for granted, is now reduced to charred land and ashes. It is tragic, particularly when we know global warming dried our forests like never before, and human carelessness created the spark.

Yet, fires have damaged forests for thousands of years, and they do come back and create something new, different. The trees and animals are resilient and do survive. Sadly, it is human beings who struggle with major change and find difficulty in adapting. Merriam/Webster’s defines resilience this way: "The ability to recover from or adjust easily to change, misfortune, adversity or stress.” Resilience enables us to move forward through pain– often stronger and wiser. Mother Nature teaches us this lesson every day and gives me hope.

~hcollaborative.com~