Tag Archives: Organizational Development

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Rapt AWE! The spark that ingites the fire and engages others

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October was a tough month.

Rapt Awe
  • I came down with a bad cold/flu and was sick for two weeks.  During which time I spent way too much time watching news about the brokenness of the government in the country I love and call home.
  • I also spent too much time thinking about the fact that I’ve been in this new land six months and wondering “now what?”
  • (Note to self and to the world – it is never a good idea to do a lot of reflection when you are sick, tired, and run-down!)

As soon as I felt well enough to get out of the house I said yes to everyone I had been saying no to while I was sick.  And although I was thrilled to see them, I tried to do too much too soon.

iStock_000019482062XSmallThe good news is that October ended better than it started.

  • A book that we read for book club fueled deep reflection, a passionate debate and further dialog.
  • As soon as the posts on fear went live on Monday I felt lighter.
  • I spent this week doing a variety of things that challenged and fueled my heart, my soul, and my mind.

And I came home today feeling so thankful.  As always, I turned on the music that would reflect my heart and speak to me.  And then sat down to write.  As I looked through interviews I’ve done and thoughts I’ve been noting, I stumbled across this quote from Einstein.

He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed.

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Have you ever been Pickled by a Half-Truth?

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My mother is a great storyteller.  As I was growing up, there was one story in particular that I loved to hear her tell, especially if she told it to someone who had never heard it before ~ because before the story ended the people listening would usually be doubled over in laughter with tears running down their faces.  (With her permission I am sharing that story with you…)

When I was two and my sister was a baby, my dad was just out of the military, and my parents were re-inventing our lives in their home state. Dad had a new job and mom wanted to start a garden and can vegetables to contribute to the family.

It was during a time when stores were selling more convenience foods, and gardening and canning were not popular, so it was difficult to find the supplies needed to can. So my great aunt offered to give several old canning jars to my mother if she would be willing to dispose of the old pickles in the jars.

My mother was thrilled and agreed.

When she got the jars home she wondered what to do with the old pickles.

  • No garbage disposal.
  • No plastic garbage bags.
  • Perhaps she should flush them?  (After all they were about the same size as other items that are typically flushed…)

So she did…

Open a jar.  Dump.  Flush.

That seemed to work

Open another jar.  Dump.  Flush.

And another.  Dump.  Flush.

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The Enemy Within: Internal Customer Service Impacts Growth

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A shared vision impacts teamwork, service and growth

This is the second post in a three part series about customer service.  The first post asked the question, “Can great customer service be taught to anyone?”

This post examines the need for people at every level of an organization to share a vision and view each other as their customer:

  • Have you ever needed something from a co-worker in order to do your job but encountered red-tape or bad attitudes?
  • Have you ever gone in search of answers about data that was required for a critical report only to be passed from person to person and from department to department, finding that no one would provide a straight answer let alone take ownership?
  • Have you ever sat through a meeting where it was more important to point fingers and place blame than it was to look for solutions?
  • Has your organization ever laid anyone off because it wasn’t generating enough revenue, and you know that you know, that you know; that the biggest challenges they are facing weren’t created “out there”  it was created by the silos, politics and turf wars within the organization?
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Can Great Customer Service Be Taught? …To Anyone?

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It’s customer service week!!!

Last year I participated in a #PeopleSkills Tweet Chat.  At one point in our chat we were debating if Customer Service could be taught.

I KNOW that it can! As a high school student I worked a retail job after school.  I’ve always cared about people so I was polite and helpful but I’m not sure that I was remarkable.  In hindsight, I am also very thankful that this first experience was in a small town where we all knew each other – as I result I never dealt with an angry customer.

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Employee Engagement | Banging Pans and Throwing Fish in Corporate America

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Increasing Joy at Work Increases Employee Engagement

One evening several summers ago, my husband and I (who don’t have children of our own) were at a playground with my six and seven-year-old niece and nephew.  They took me to the highest part of a fort and told me that I was the princess, they were my guards, and that my husband was “the bad guy.”  I was instructed to stay in the tower and they would protect me!  In the moments that followed, my husband and I were transported back to a world we have nearly forgotten.

As I found myself savoring each second of that evening, I also found myself wondering why we don’t visit that world more often.

The entire experience made me think about the Disney Movie, Monsters, Inc., a movie about Monsters that power their world by capturing the energy in a child’s scream.  Through a series of events they discover that a child’s laugh produces much more energy than a scream.  …Ultimately transforming their entire world.  Do you see the connection to the workplace?