While delegation comes naturally for some of us, others may struggle with it. Delegation is assigning responsibility to others and can consist of breaking up a large project into smaller tasks. If you manage a team or are a leader in your area, it is likely that you already delegate tasks. Some tasks may be large and some may be small, but delegating tasks of all sizes takes practice. (more…)
Can you think of decisions that you make daily? Of course you can! Now, what about a routine that you have daily? This might be tougher. For some, having a daily routine is how they function. For others, a routine may be a new concept.
Routines are a wonderful way to: (more…)
Sometimes it can be easy to forget to take time for yourself. Weeks fly by in the blink of an eye. But even during the busiest days, it’s important to set aside a bit of time to recharge. Below are six ways that you can incorporate exercise and meditation into your daily routine to help you refresh your mind, body and soul. (more…)
Finding that you need more time in your day is a problem for almost everyone. I mean, come on, you get up early, work all day, hurry home to spend time with your family while making dinner and getting ready for what tomorrow may bring…and then there’s finding the time to get enough sleep?! Oh, and don’t forget about the gym – that’s supposed to fit in there, too.
It can be extremely overwhelming. That’s why we have put together a list of tips to help you fit all of your competing priorities into your crazy day. (more…)
No one has ever said that running a restaurant is easy. It seems even more difficult if you are an independent operator. Consumer’s tastes are changing, with more dining concepts available than ever before. New technology keeps popping up, but staffing challenges never go away. And then there’s the chains, which seem to get harder to fight against. Indeed, The NPD Group’s Fall 2015 Recount showed independent unit counts declined -2%, while the chains grew +1% from the year before.
With the chains gaining ground in overall units, how can the independent compete? Fortunately, there are weapons at your disposal. Check out these five tips: (more…)
Okay everyone, let’s acknowledge the fact that Superman and Superwoman are fictional characters. No one is perfect, and it’s okay if you don’t devote 100% of your energy into every single thing you do.
The house isn’t perfectly clean? You left things unfinished at work last night? The school bake sale is tomorrow and you forgot to make those darn brownies…again? Believe it or not, this happens to ALL of us. But for some reason we still carry around this feeling of guilt. Why exactly is that when we all know that nobody is perfect? More importantly, how do we overcome this feeling? (more…)
Being a leader comes with many responsibilities. One of these responsibilities is setting smart and effective objectives. What does this really mean?
First, it’s important to point out that objectives are different than goals. Goals are what you want to achieve; objectives help you work towards achieving those goals. To begin, take a look at the overall strategy and objectives for your organization and your team. The targeted objectives you develop should support those larger strategies and objectives in order for them to be effective.
Here are a few steps you can take to create your own objectives that will lead your team and company to success. (more…)
I recently started reading a book called How Great Women Lead, co-authored by Bonnie St. John and Darcy Deane. The book is a mother-daughter trip around the world interviewing extraordinary women in leadership positions about their lives and how their experiences have shaped their leadership style in the professional world. It is an extremely interesting and inspirational read (I mostly like the life stories and the lessons they learned).
I’ve found that you can learn so much about yourself in reading about other people’s experiences – how your own life’s experiences may be relatable or entirely different but the moral is still the same. While Bonnie and Darcy have narrow focuses (happiness and leadership, respectively) I find the process of being a leader subject to all the ups and downs in our life journey.
Here are some questions to ask as we go through our life journey: (more…)
In every business, issues arise that involve having a difficult conversation with a coworker. Whether it’s letting them know that a deadline wasn’t met, discussing negative performance, or working out personal conflicts, these conversations will come up. Here are the Do’s and Don’ts from Rebecca Knight, who writes for the Harvard Business Review. (more…)
With politicians at all levels seemingly out of touch with many of us, it’s only natural to develop an attitude of “does it matter what I think?” Politicians are going to do what they like no matter what I think or say.
While this may have more truth today than was the case in the past, I would suggest that individuals and advocacy groups can still make a difference, and affect the direction of public policy.
I’ve been involved in a number of organizations or supported causes over the years that had a need for political engagement. I’ve testified at committee hearings in the state legislature and sat down with my United States Senator. In meeting and communicating with state legislators, members of congress or other political leaders I’ve noticed some common things: (more…)
