You wake up, roll out of bed, brush your hair so you look presentable for your first video meeting with your team, and you pop in a Keurig pod of Starbucks coffee to get your morning started.You jump from one virtual meeting to another, only turning your video on if absolutely required. You have lunch…
We just saw the movie, Toy Story 5. It is a sweet story about developing real-life friendships in today’s digital world. In the movie, two prospective young girls, Bonnie and Blaze, begin a friendship by reaching out with a sweet compliment. Bonnie tells Blaze that she likes her boots, and Blaze tells Bonnie that she…
Sticks and stones may break my bones, and words really can hurt me. Many of us grew up saying a slightly different version of the previous phrase, asserting that words could not hurt us. However, we now know that words are building blocks for our self-image and personal expectations. Our words create worlds. The English language…
I am a pretty proficient texter, although I can't hold a candle to your average teenager. I recall when I purchased my first iPhone years ago, I was typing a text to my technology partner, Harry. I was encouraging him to do what he does best. I kept is short and sweet by writing, "Just…
It is important to be human with your team, but it is just as important to see the human behind the employee. The late Fred Rogers of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood was once asked by TV journalist Charlie Rose in an interview: “How many kids do you think are out there who in 30 years you’ve…
I proposed to Julie during our first trip to Paris, 38 years ago. The following day we walked up 430 feet to the hilltop of Montmartre, known for its beautiful vistas and abundance of street artists. We lingered amongst the local artists, many of them portrait artists, and all of them aggressive salespeople. We buckled…
How do I motivate my team, my kids, my spouse, my anyone? It’s an age-old question with a myriad of different answers ... too many to even summarize here. So, in our information-overloaded world, let me boil it down to this. If you want to motivate, then appreciate. We do more for those who appreciate us. The…
In an age when much more is being written than spoken, appreciation for the tone of the written word is being lost. For example, a typical cryptic text or email relies on emojis to communicate a serious, sarcastic, or playful tone. Even the craftiest emoji user loses subtle intended meaning. When you are speaking, the…
Most of us are so technologically connected that we couldn’t disconnect even if we tried. Many of us fear having to stare down that dark tunnel of technology withdrawal. What we are talking about, however, is connecting human-to-human versus being connected via technology. We live in a high-tech world, but building healthy relationships is still…
Although Harry Potter’s cloak of invisibility is a very cool accoutrement, invisibility is really the last thing that most humans want. Humans have a fundamental need to be seen and heard. Simply acknowledging people, their input, or their efforts is validating. We don’t require 1,000 likes from social media “friends,” but we do need human-to-human affirmation…
