The Important Things In Life......

This weekend my mother (who lives in Madison, WI) was visiting me in Colorado.

She and I are from different generations of course (she is my mother after all)! We are not separated by only one generation ---- I am the youngest of nine (yes….nine) and was born when my mother was 45. We are two generations apart, with my older siblings representing the generation in between.


It’s no wonder I’ve had a life-long appreciation for generational differences.


During our most recent conversation the topic turned to thank you notes. Seems my mother is a little annoyed at one of the grandkids (there are 23 of them) for not having sent a thank you note for a gift she sent months ago. In my mother’s words “There are probably five really important things to learn in this world…..and the importance of sending thank you notes is one of them”. (In all honesty I think she is more annoyed that her children have not passed on the importance of thank you notes to their children after she spent so much time focused on this with each of us).


In any case…this got me thinking ---- if I had to list the five most important things in life to be passed on to my children (or, since I don’t have kids….to my nieces and nephews)…what would they be?


Here’s what I came up with….


• Do what you love and love what you do --- it makes the days much more enjoyable
makes you a lot easier to be around during and after work!
• Be involved – in your community, neighborhood, school, etc.
• Experience new things – see the world, experience and appreciate new cultures
and different ways of doing things – broaden your horizons.
• Be a great friend ----- and it will be reciprocated.
• And…for the sake of my mother….send thank you notes.


I’d love to hear what you might include on your list – please add your thoughts via the comment section or contact me through www.insightfulendeavors.com


Wishing you the very best with all your endeavors,


Nora A Burns, SPHR





Nora A. Burns, SPHR is Founder and President of Insightful Endeavors International, (IEI), Inc. IEI specializes in building innovative, sustainable teams to drive bottom-line results. In addition to working with corporations and associations, IEI offers public workshops across the United States. Fall/Winter workshops are being offered in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada and Wisconsin – registration is available here.

Henry the Eighth --- English Monarch or hit by Herman's Hermits?

Henry the Eighth --- English Monarch or 1965 muscial hit by Herman's Hermits?

Our generational ‘culture’ influences our interpretation of words, phrases, etc.

Each generation has been shaped by the events which occurred during their lives….particularly those which occurred during formative years….

Do you remember…..

• When construction began on the Berlin Wall in 1961?
• Sitting by the radio listening to news of John F Kennedy's assassination?
• Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster in 1986?
• The dismantling of the Berlin Wall in 1989?
• Your parents being laid-off from jobs they had expected to retire from?
• Watching television coverage of the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995?

Experiencing events like these shape how we look at the world. Imagine witnessing these events at the age of 10 vs the age of 30 and the impact that experience would have on you as a result.

Last fall I was in Beijing with a friend (who has a different generational reference than I). As we walked through Tiananmen Square I was thinking to myself “this is where it happened 18 years ago...this is where ‘The Unknown Rebel’ had stood up to the tanks”….... I looked over at my friend and realized she had a very different perspective of this place.

This did not represent a massacre site to her --- she had not heard news coverage and seen photographs of the events of June, 1989 flash across the television screen.

We were looking at the same thing at the same time and having completely different experiences. Neither “right” nor “wrong”….just different.

Sometimes when I say “tomato” and you say “tomahto” we are, indeed, referencing different things.

An understanding and appreciation of our differences.....developing the ability to communicate effectively to benefit from these different perspectives is key to developing innovative and sustainable working relationships......which leads to enhanced bottom line results.

All my best,

Nora A Burns, SPHR

Nora A. Burns, SPHR is Founder and President of Insightful Endeavors International, (IEI), Inc. A native of Wisconsin with 20 years experience in Learning & Organizational Development, Nora currently resides in Denver, CO with her insanely cute Labradoodle Bella and Bella's sidekick Baxter.

IEI specializes in building innovative, sustainable teams to drive bottom-line results. In addition to working with corporations and associations, IEI offers public workshops across the United States.

Registration for Nora’s upcoming workshop “V+BB+X+Y=??? : Managing Multiple Generations” is available here.

Hello, Hola, Dobar den, Ciao, Guten Tag!

For as many differences as there are across cultures and geographic locations, there are some things I have found to be consistent. In each city and town I meet mothers and fathers who love their children and want to provide a better life for them.....regardless of the language or dialect, there is always a word or series of words to say hello, please, thank you, you're welcome and it is nice to meet you.

Consistently, within any population there are those willing to reach out and help a complete stranger --- including those who do not look like, sound like or act anything like they do.

On my most recent international journey (which started in Denver and went through Canada, Germany, Hungary and Serbia to Macedonia), I met people who were willing to reach out their hand to help a stranger. Lifting a suitcase into the overhead bin, offering translation assistance in shops and kiosks, demonstrating how the beds of a sleeper car fold down, sharing their meal, providing directions...the list goes on and on.

For two weeks during this adventure I have had the distinct pleasure of working side-by-side with members of the Habitat Global Village Team (13 from across North America) as we partnered with volunteers from Macedonia to work on a home for a family in Veles, Macedonia. For the most part, the team members were strangers to one another having been introduced a few days or a few minutes before starting to work together.

Together this team dug trenches, cleared brush, loaded/unloaded lumber, cut re bar wire, etc. What a wonderful experience to be able to part of this incredible team and witness their interaction firsthand!

The team represented quite a mix.....

• 22 to 76 years of age
• Men & Women
  
• First international trip to third passport in past fifteen years
  
• MBAs and lawyers to high school graduates
• Canadian, Mexican, American, Macedonian
• No less than 5 distinct religions represented
• Analytical, Social/Relational, Structural and Conceptual thinkers
  

.....and together we laughed, joked and worked in the heat of the Macedonian sun. All for the good of a family we met only a few days ago. And yet more than the family is benefiting --- we have all learned from one another ---- through our differences we built a stronger, more functional and innovative team!

It's amazing how much was accomplished by ~22 strangers working together.

Are the differences on your team drawing you together or forcing you apart?

Learn how to connect with those who have difference approaches to life in my engaging, energetic and insightful workshop "Meetings of the Minds : High Impact Communication Through Emergenetics" --- you'll be glad you did!

For a preview of Emergenetics and my facilitation style click here (or search YouTube for "Insightful Endeavors".

Wishing you the very best with all your endeavors,

Nora A Burns, SPHR
www.insightfulendeavors.com




Nora A. Burns, SPHR is Founder and President of Insightful Endeavors International, (IEI), Inc. IEI specializes in building innovative, sustainable teams to drive bottom-line results. In addition to working with corporations and associations, IEI offers public workshops across the United States.

Registration for Nora’s upcoming workshops available here.

Finding the Silver Lining....the story of Joan & the woman who gave her the news.....

Early in my career (okay, okay, in the 1980s) I was brought into a Wisconsin-based Insurance Company to assist with a major corporate down/right sizing effort (19% of their workforce). An opportunity to put my text-book knowledge to work - an opportunity not to be passed up.

As a rookie I made a rookie mistake on this consulting gig -- I ate lunch in the company cafeteria. (No, the mistake wasn’t eating the food served in the cafeteria!) By eating in the cafeteria I got to know many of the employees personally--- I met husbands and wives who worked together, saw photos of employee’s children, learned about the child with Down syndrome, etc.

After a few weeks on the job I received the initial list of employees whose jobs would be eliminated. There I saw the names of the couples --- both jobs would be lost in one fell swoop. I saw the name of the delightful woman from accounting who was raising her grandchildren, and then there was the name of the mom of the five year old with Down syndrome. The names of the people on the list had personalities and I was now on an emotional roller-coaster ride as the realization set in that I would be delivering the news to these people that they no longer had jobs.

Intellectually I knew the jobs needed to be eliminated. I had seen the company’s financials and understood if the organization did not make significant cuts all jobs would ultimately be lost.

It was time to come up with a plan --- to find the silver lining.

My boss was gracious enough to hear my pitch ----- and to enthusiastically embrace it. We set aside a room by the “Personnel” area (I did say this was in the 1980’s correct?) for employees to work on their resumes and receive coaching on interviewing. A job fair was arranged and local employers, staffing agencies and government agencies were invited in to assist those who were losing their jobs. Within two months of lay-offs being announced over 80% of impacted employees had job offers from other firms. The silver lining was solidified. It may have been a rookie mistake to eat in the company cafeteria....AND it is what ignited an outsourcing program.

Several months later I was at a local grocery store when I heard my name being called (the really good thing about a name like Nora...when someone yells it in the mall or at a store there is a REALLY good chance they are talking to me).......I turn and see a woman behind the bakery counter frantically motioning for me to join her. “Nora!” she exclaimed “Hi!!!” “it’s me....Joan!”. Ah, I remember Joan -- she had been with the insurance company for over ten years and was working as an underwriter when her job was eliminated. My heart fell --- what was she doing here?

She went on to tell me, very excitedly, that getting laid off was the absolute best thing that had ever happened to her. When she went to work at the insurance company it had not been her intention to stay there more than a year or two....but with each passing year new and different financial obligations kept her at the job. She was content, liked the people she worked with and thought highly of the company as a whole. But her passion --- what she DREAMED of doing since she had been a little girl --- was to be a pastry chef!

She confessed that she would not have left the company on her own --- she was too comfortable and too logical. What was an emotional roller coaster at the time was the best thing that could have happened to her. She was now on her way to achieving her childhood dream and was happier than she could ever remember being as an adult.

If Joan can go from content underwriter to enthusiastic bakery apprentice YOU too can find the silver lining in any challenges life may throw your way! What are YOU passionate about --- and what can you do today to make your dreams come true?

Wishing you the very best with all your endeavors,

Nora A. Burns, SPHR



Nora is founder and President of Insightful Endeavors International, Inc. She works with corporations, associations and teams across the globe to understand how our differences (cultural, generational, personality, etc) are the keys to fabulous, innovative teams vs being barriers as we often make them out to be. To register for one of her public workshops click here!

Surviving No Man's Land

Later this month friends of mine will find out if they are part of a down/right-sizing at their company or if their jobs will remain intact. This is a challenging position to be in. Over the weekend we talked about the stresses they are experiencing while in “wait and see mode”. If you, like several of my friends, find yourself in this situation here is my (completely unsolicited) advice…

Be involved

No, I’m not suggesting you crash the Board of Directors meeting ---that would NOT be a great career move! I’m simply asking you to remember that it is YOUR life and you get to make choices. Do not allow life to happen to you without your involvement.

It’s possible the company will keep your position and you in that position --- doesn’t mean you don’t still have a decision to make. You make this decision passively every day you go to work – I’m suggesting you make it an active, conscious decision that this is what you want to do…and this is who you want to do it for. It will make a world of difference in your approach to work.

It’s the difference between I “have” to go to work and I “get” to go to work.


Don’t create invisible monsters

It is HIGHLY unlikely that you will, to quote the Chris Farley SNL skit, be “living in a van down by the river” if you lose your job. Don’t create invisible monsters. Focus on the real and plan accordingly.

True, this probably isn’t the best time to go on a major shopping spree or buy a new BMW..... AND…..you don’t need to be stocking up on canned goods in a Y2K kind-of way either!

Deal with what’s real --- it takes a lot less energy.


Be prepared --- it’s not just for Boy Scouts anymore

It’s always a good idea to have your resume up-to-date regardless of what’s going on. Why?....what if you run into someone at a networking event who shares that your DREAM JOB is available and the cutoff for resumes is that evening….you don’t want to be scrambling to put together a resume in that adrenaline-fueled moment!

It’s also a good idea to have one or two professional recruiters take a look at your resume to provide some feedback before sending it off in an attempt to land your dream job. The jobing.com career fairs offer this opportunity, you may have friends in the HR profession, and you could look into a personal career coach – I have heard good things about Coach Joan (http://coachjoan.com/) as well as Coach Cogswell (http://www.coachcogswell.com/) although I have not worked with either of them directly.

Be prepared....it reduces stress considerably!


Find the Silver Lining

Talk to 5 people who have been laid off down/right sized in the past five years and I’m confident at least one of them will tell you it’s the best thing that could have happened to them.

Sometimes people will share that they knew it wasn’t the right job for them…….but they stayed out of comfort until they were asked to leave.

Other times people will share that they had a secret dream they had never pursued until life gave them the opportunity through being downsized.

What is your silver lining??


***

In a future post I’ll share the down/right-sizing story of Joan from Wisconsin…….Until then, know that you can and will survive “no mans land”!

Wishing you the very best with your endeavors,

Nora Burns, SPHR
www.insightfulendeavors.com