A Nod And A Smile Among The 4 New Ways That Replaced The Handshake…

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Is the traditional handshake a thing of the past? Has it been replaced by fear? Caution reigns with its mighty power. Yep, the worldwide Pandemic has infiltrated business and traditional code of ethics for greeting colleagues, business partners, interviewees and networking. But as things change we need to adapt. The Society of HR Managers (SHRM) shared its 7 Alternatives. When next we connect in person, it might be a nod and a smile ingrained in a touch of social distancing in the midst. Here I share my top 4 pulled from the SHRM list.

Handshake Alternatives

  1. Offer a Nod and a Smile
  2. Make a Good First impression … a pleasant wave will do
  3. Focus on eye contact
  4. Develop a workplace code (corporate cultural adjustment)

It’s the new normal. From the list above which do you intend to use? Do share. We would love to hear.

Cheers!

 

 

 

 

Fear. Overcome It…

Play the fear game. That’s what we do. At the onslaught of a challenge, we become afraid. We binge-watch the issue in our minds over, and over, and over again.  We can’t sleep. We play the Fear game.

Success Strategies

Don’t Dwell On it.
My daughter text and said “Mommy, I‘m afraid”. I asked “what are you doing”? She replied “watching the news all day and social media. Now they’re talking about the effects of past hurricanes.”
Stop. Turn the TV off, or change the channel.
Aren’t we all like that? When we fear something challenging coming up, we become afraid. We binge-watch the issue in our minds over, and over, and over again.  We can’t sleep. We play the Fear game.
It might be nervousness for an impending interview, it might be a change in position and we feel ‘they’re going to find me out’. For sure they’ll discover that I’m a fraud….I can’t manage the work for the promotion.
It might even be that you’re getting married. The closer you get to the date, fear or anxiety sets in the midst…

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The Strong Survives…..

Be Flexible. Bend easily but don’t break. The strong survives. Conditions are different. Adapt your perspective as applicable to achieve your goals, your dreams and your purpose.

Cheers!

What’s Missing For You To Feel Less Stressed Now?

Culture Change Ethics Leader, Chris Bauer asked the question “what would be helpful for you to feel less stressed right now? Not what’s been helpful but what’s missing for you? Professional jumped in:

  • More crisis governing and less political posturing.
  • Seeing disenfranchised people and knowing how much they are going through.
  • As a parent to young adults it is very sad to see them being neglected by the system.
  • A hug. To hug loved ones . Miss physical connection with loved ones.
  • Being able to leave my house and feel comfortable not having to be 6 feet away from everyone. Hand sanitizing constantly. Washing my hands the minute I get home. Not seeing people in face masks, and touching my face without fear. Going to the grocery store these days is a rather stressful experience and I feel so much for our brave grocery cashiers, clerks, stockers and baggers not necessarily getting as much kudos as doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers… but heroes nonetheless.
  • I just want to hear “you are free to move around anywhere you want, and also that the world is safe now. Won’t happen for 12-18-24 months
  • The ability to meet with people in person both personally and professionally.
  • An end date. You can survive anything as long as you have the end date.
  • An Exit plan.
  • Staying in the day….always helps

So what about you? How are you feeling in the face of this worldwide Pandemic? Do share. We would love to hear.

Cheers!

 

The Rainy Day: It’s Here…

Rain

Yep! The rainy day is here. The day that most people save for. The worldwide Pandemic has brought it right to our shores. Many have fallen sick. Some have lost loved ones. Others lost jobs, career, health and now most live in fear. Fear of being touched…in error, on purpose or worse, even being looked at directly. 6-Feet apart is the social distance. Yep… the rainy day is definitely here.

Dollars Falling

Dollars falling. Nah …not the government’s stimulus check. It’s the news report that a restaurant decorated its walls with dollars. Yes you heard it right. They decorated the walls with dollars! There was a story behind it. Don’t know what it was but one partner had encouraged the other that it might come in handy one-rainy-day. Now with the Corona virus worldwide scare, the day is here. They used the money to help pay their workers and assist those in the community who needed a hot meal during the pandemic. So yes, the rainy day is here.

Gone In a Flash

A report tells of a 40-year-old woman whose fear led her to the bank. She withdrew thousands of dollars from her account. Her intent…to keep it safe at home. Unfortunately, eyes pierced her actions and snatched her life’s savings just as she drove into her gated community. Her rainy day saving was taken away, just like that…in a flash.  Authorities searched, but to no avail. She wanted to protect what was hers safely at home to use during these rainy days. That day became a lightening flash ripping through her very soul. Gone. In-a-flash.

Tis sad. Lots of pain and sorrow these days. But rest assured….it will pass. Protect yourself. Stay home. Stay strong and let not fear become your own.

Thoughts?

What are you doing these rainy days? Does it seem hopeless as if the wait will never end? Do share. We would love to hear.

Cheers!

Your Fears are Real. 3 Things To Do About It…

Your fears are real! Let no one tell you otherwise.

If ever there was a time that most people are afraid it is now. The worldwide Pandemic has put most countries under lock-down. Stay-at-Home. Keep safe is the cry from most. Yes indeed, the world is afraid. Job loss is rampant. The loss of loved ones, be it family or friends. The future. Our goals, plans, ideals. All seems to be going up in the air.

Yet still I dear say that all is not lost. While there is life there is hope. Yes…Fear is real.  But here are 3 things that you can do about it.

3 Things To Do About Your Fear

1. Don’t Avoid it. Do it in-spite of your fear. Whatever your goal, go after it.

2. Prepare. Research. Gather information. Find out what you can do to alleviate your fear. For example once I was inspired to do a skydive (crazy adventurous me). Naturally I was afraid. Jumping 14,000 ft high from a small craft in the air is no easy task, but I worked on my fear. I researched. Found the best skydiving school with zero failures (eyes rolled …ha ha). Then I did other things but the fear rose to greater heights when they had you sign a gazillion release documents before they moved on to the exciting part…the actual jump! It was exhilarating! I did my research and it put my mind at ease. Try it and watch your fears dissipate.

3. Take Small Steps. As you embrace your fear, take it a step at a time. For sure you will overcome as you release it.

When were you afraid? What did you do about it? Do share, we would love to hear.

Cheers

8 Societal Changes To Expect After The Pandemic ….

The New Normal. The Insights. The Vision. 8 Changes to Expect Post-COVID_19

Since I last shared The Insights: What Will We Do After Corona? 15 Projected Changes… the changes are fast approaching. Here I share in graphic form for those of us who enjoy the delights visuals gratify.

Can’t wait to hear your own thoughts as our society continues to evolve during this Pandemic.

Wash hands even with gloves and Keep safe.

Cheers!

The Insights: What Will We Do After Corona? 21 Projected Changes…

To stand still is to be left behind

COVID_19 will incorporate changes throughout the USA and worldwide. Gone are the days of resistance to societal changes. There will be some who still resist but soon they will be dormant. To stand still is to be left behind.  But while we wait for the cure, a new vaccine and more, we practice safe measures, quarantines and more.  Here are a few basic gleanings that’s highly possible will become the norm for businesses and individuals:

  1. Some organizations may incorporate work-from-home for some positions as a new way of working.
  2. Some employees delighted for the break, may never return to work in a physical office structure. We call it exposure to work / life balance.
  3. Some businesses may never recoup and go under.
  4. Some businesses will expand or diversify. For example, a business that provides recruitment to hundreds of hotels has been placed on hold as the hospitality industry was forced to a halt. Meanwhile the healthcare industry booms in response to the pandemic. Same business but incorporating different industries. We call it diversification.
  5. Some Celebrities will fade while others will enormously gain.
  6. Smaller churches and religious leaders exposed to the expanse of online possibilities to minister to the sick and shut-in. No doubt they will venture out bench-marking those well known preachers. Competition rampant even among churches? Yikes!
  7. World-wide Entertainment. The exposure of Digital media to those who didn’t have a clue of its existence (living in the dark ages, I’d say). Online movie-goers will expand into mobile users accompanying their musical mix. Expansion, expansion, expansion.
  8. Some parents… now introduced to the ‘joys‘ of home-schooling, will decide to do so as a way of life. Better Control and safety they’ll say.
  9. Some parents may even start their own school.  Hmm …the exhilarated insight to new entrepreneurship!
  10. Lets not forget healthcare as more patients, workers, laissez faires will be more willing to use telemedicine!  Yep! no more resistance to the doctor-on-call.
  11. Research and Development (R&D) will speed up provided they have the investment/ financial funding.
  12. Record numbers of census sign-ups…never seen before?
  13. Real Estate will see increased number of interests from homeowners who will want a dedicated space to work at home. Four bedroom anyone?
  14. More will be willing to purchase their dream cars online. Oh the delights to test-drive and return later for a better ride
  15. Some barbers and hairdressers will lose business as clients will try to do their hair at home. Yep! Mistakes get better with time.
  16. Other Masters of hair-care will expand as they become more mobile or more flexible… trying this, that, or the other.
  17. Virtual meetings will soar as those who didn’t know become exposed and be bold enough to experience the joys of technology …the virtual enabler.
  18. E-commerce will soar making virtuality a normality for sure
  19. Oh and what of governments, policies, and politics? We’ll leave that for you to explore.
  20. Individualized self-discovery, and willingness to learn will explode, giving rise to
  21. The escalation in anything new as we innovate, innovate, innovate!

 

Tons more will rise but for now it’s your turn. Any changes you have noticed that you would like to add? Do share. We would love to hear!

Cheers!

I Ain’t Gonna Lie. Leadership Ain’t Easy. 11 Hard Things You Have To Do To Be A Great Leader…

You have to try and fail and try again

I Ain’t Gonna lie. Leadership Ain’t easy.

The Hard Things – INC Lolly Daskal. Here I share Eleven.

  1. You have to make the call you’re afraid to make
  2. You have to give more than you get in return right away
  3. You have to care more about others than they care about you
  4. You have to feel unsure and insecure when playing it safe seems smarter
  5. You have to lead when no one is following you …yet
  6. You have to invest in yourself even when no one else is
  7. You have to deliver results when making excuses is an option
  8. You have to make mistakes and look like an idiot
  9. You have to try and fail and try again
  10. You have to run faster even when you’re out of breath
  11. You have to meet deadlines that are unreasonable and deliver results that are unparalleled

Does any of the above resonate? Any you want to add? Do share. We would love to hear.

Cheers!

What Happened To Friday?

Friyay! Yay! Every-day-a-Friday! Thank-God-it’s-Friday! All popular BC. Yep! Before Corona. The virus. Before the world became infected with the silence that’s so deafening. Questions prevail. What is Corona? How do we avoid? Will it ever leave? Panicked? Curious? Hopeful? Wash hands. Change clothes. Sanitize. Clean. Clean. Clean.

Remote Work

Now with remote work everyone is at home…but quarantined. Yikes! That’s not what we were thinking? Every-day-a-Friday meant being able to stay home, enjoy life, work when you want, go on vacations, long days at the beach soaking up the sun, time with friends and family… simply lounging around doing only what you want to do.

So what happened to Friday? For now its here everyday…though employers watch closely in the distance. Workers, co-workers, family feel more relaxed, yet hopefully more productive as work gets done in a more ‘soothing’ environment.

Tell it to Our Hearts

Tell it to our hearts. With kids at home away from school…maybe that’s not what we meant when we said every-day-a-Friday.

Hold strong. This too shall pass and our real Fridays will return. In the meantime, wash your hands. Keep safe.

Cheers!