Anyone who follows my blog knows that I have a fascination with flowers. Here are the latest pictures.
Managing Difficult People
It is a fact of corporate life-you will probably have to manage or interact with a difficult person at some time or another. I love Talent Management Magazine and always seem to find informative articles on a variety of topics. In this month’s issue, Pelan’s article titled, “Managing Difficult People” has some sound advice.
There is no question that effective communication skills are mandatory when working on teams-especially given that most teams are diverse, global and even virtual, at times. Pelan argues, “When employees understand their communication style, they can modify and adjust to improve their situational effectiveness.” There is no doubt in my mind, though, that without the awareness of one’s style and how to adjust the style based on the situation and personality, it is pretty difficult to navigate the slippery slope of a difficult personality. I highly recommend taking an assessment such as Myers-Briggs or DISC to help you determine your communication style.
Some tips for handling problem personalities:
- “Recognize the situation and clarify in writing.
- Define action steps.
- Use assertive and objective language and use ‘I’ statements.
- Be prepared to disagree assertively or to state an opinion.
- Use appropriate body language.”
Check out the entire article to learn more.
Summer
Nothing says summer like shrieking, laughing kids running through a sprinkler! My neighbor wanted to water her lawn and offered to let the kids run though it while it was getting watered. It did not take long for the kids to congregate and have loads of fun.
Summer also is signaled by cherries…and so I made a cherry clafoutis. It is the little things that make me smile!
Backyard Transformation
We bought a house one and a half years ago that in my mind “needed very little work” yet we have been non stop in improvement mode! The latest project was the backyard. We really wanted to create something that was usable three quarters of the year in the rainy Northwest.
We began with building a garage last August and then six months ago by removing a very big Birch tree. Then we perused through books and magazines trying to find our inspiration. Eric drew up the plans and I vetted contractors and prices. We settled on a contractor, and although not without lots of frustration, the end result is exactly what we wanted. We even hired a landscape designer just to litmus test our design. She turned out to be totally worthless and we stuck to our original plan.
Excavation took two weeks and four guys since it all had to be done my hand. The unfortunate part was that once the excavation was completed, our contractor did work in dribs and drabs which really prolonged the project. But he did have insight and knowledge that really helped define the project.
The land was leveled (and raised in the fire pit area), a new back fence was built, pavers were brought in (115 of them at about 70 pounds each!), and the fire pit area created with salvaged sauna benches from 1994! We looked for a fire pit, but could not find one we liked so we had a welder create what we wanted. The welder also built the metal legs for the benches. Then the garden box was built and plants were put in. We bought a new natural gas grill last weekend and the final piece is a few more plants and to build the chicken coop. We cannot wait to hang out in our new backyard all summer!
Zucchini and Thai Basil Pancakes
As I peruse magazines, I am always tearing out recipes that I want to make. In the May 2012 issue of Sunset Magazine I saw this recipe and had to make it. What could possibly be better than zucchini and basil together?!
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/zucchini-thai-basil-pancakes-50400000121009/
The results were quite good.
Knowledge Sharing
In this month’s “Chief Learning Officer” there is an article titled, “Talk That Talk” by Brandon Hall. As a life long learner, his article resonated with me because I believe we should never stop learning and stretching the boundaries of what we are comfortable doing. Hall argues that there are flexible and mobile sources out there that provide “powerful, unique and intense knoweldge sharing from today’s noteworthy leaders”. Here are some of his suggestions:
Charlie Rose
TED
Book TV
iTunes University and podcasts
Fresh Air.
I have not heard of Book TV or Fresh Air so I will explore those resources. What about you? What do you do to constantly learn more and push your own personal boundaries?
Dress for Success Volunteer Appreciation
Tuesday night Dress for Success held their volunteer appreciation event. This is an organization I have volunteered at for 14 years. The difference this group makes to women’s lives in outstanding (and sometimes truly unbelievable). I have heard and witnessed countless lives changed by what we do as a united group. Unfortunately I missed the event because of a lovely migraine but Dress for Success is one of my top priorities for where I spend my energy and time. Consider volunteering or making a donation today!
https://www.facebook.com/DFSOregon
http://www.dressforsuccessoregon.org/1/post/2012/06/volunteer-appreciation.html
Two Recent Books Reviews-“The Vertical Garden” & “Mediterranean Landscape Design”
The Vertical Garden
The Vertical Garden by author, artist and botanist Patrick Blanc is a book beyond your typical garden book. The book opens with nine chapters devoted to natural habitats such as waterfalls, cliffs and epiphytes, just to name a few. Blanc has traveled the world and has captured some stunning photos of plants and their habitats. The book then moves to the impact of plants on architecture. Again, Blanc has countless photos detailing superficial, hazardous and destructive impacts. For many of the pictures, you must look at them several times in order to believe it is real. Blanc’s passion is obvious. He invented the concept of the vertical garden in 1991 and believed he could make a building transparent or invisible with plants. He offers step-by-step photographs detailing the incredible process. The book then closes with almost 100 pages of photographs and details of many of his works. This book is a testament to Blanc’s vision, dreams and artistry in a life-altering way. You will be mesmerized from beginning to end with the intricate plans and the attention to detail that is not often seen.
Mediterranean Landscape Design
265 tantalizing, breathless photographs grace the pages of Mediterranean Landscape Design by Louisa Jones with photographs by Clive Nichols. Jones asks “What is the role of human beings in nature?” This book reviews mountains, stonework, earthwork, woodwork, clipped greenery, meadows and field geometry with that vision in mind. She explores the inspiration of age-old materials, skills and sites to give the reader lots of ideas. The garden tapestries chapter was especially beautiful and the seascapes and gardens of Venice romance the reader with the pictures and the words. Mediterranean Landscape Design places the reader in the middle of the Mediterranean landscapes of Greece, Spain, France, Morocco and Italy. After you have viewed this book, you will almost feel like you have just returned from a stunning, relaxing Mediterranean vacation.
What’s Going on in Retail Training
I was recently asked by a client to do some recent on current retail training methodology. I did a tremendous amount of research and even connected with some old retail buddies to get a sense of what is going on out there. I will write several posts in the next few weeks, sharing snippets of what I learned. Comment back if you have additional insight or questions.
According to the National Retail Federation, almost 30 percent of all retail workers are age 30 or younger, and nearly half of them have college degrees. Today’s employees have been immersed in technology almost since birth, and based on their experiences as students and consumers; they have come to expect technology in the workplace as well. The pervasiveness of social media and social computing is a big part of this expectation, as well as, comfort with technology. These expectations have to be factored in when trying to recruit, retain, motivate and train younger employees.
Many retailers have empowered their employees with the right mix of tools and information, and have invested in mobility solutions that help them answer customer queries, look up price, confirm item availability and know their customers. In-store associates are using handheld applications not only for information, but also for guided selling, check out and replenishment. Retailers have implemented new features for online chat so that associates can perform sales and support activities to better serve their customers during transactions.
Enhanced features in employee touch points have allowed customer service associates to use real-time information to provide product features, benefits, recommendations, product availability and price information. Enhancing employee efficiency and customer experience are value drivers to implement mobility solutions at the store front. Concerns like security, infrastructure management and integrated solutions have been the primary reasons for slower adoption of mobility solutions. At the same time, improved technology, along with some killer applications to support functions and infrastructure, has helped faster adoption of mobility solutions. A classic example is Apple which took customer service to a new level by adopting mobile solutions for all business functions in their stores. Apple offers the Genius Bar, free workshops, personal setup, personal pickup and EasyPay; all of this could not happen unless their staff was trained and trained very well.
The House of Tyneford
I am reading “The House of Tyneford” by Natasha Solomons and it an engrossing read. Nineteen year old Elise Landau is forced to leave her comfortable, bourgeois lifestyle in Vienna to become a maid in England because her parents want to keep her safe. Being Jewish in 1938 is a dangerous prospect when her sister leaves for California, Elise goes to England and her parents stay behind waiting for their Visas. Elise worries about her parents as she begins her new life as a servant. Her life changes, though, so read on to find out what happens.
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