Article published in Progress in Lending for July 2014

Dealing With Negativity in the Workplace

Do any of these symptoms of negativity appear in your workplace through employees or even leadership? Complaining; not listening well;finding only the negative aspects of any situation; not offering solutions to problems; not seeing that someone's behavior affects others; someone attempts to create discontent in the workplace; blaming others; disrepecting others; resisting organizational change;disclosing too many personal problems; getting easily angry or upset; alienating themselves from co-workers. The list could go on and on. If these type of situations aren't addressed or changed quickly, the negativity can spread like a disease throughout an organization. There are two types of negativity - situational and chronic. Situational is linked to an event or occurrence that is impacting someone's life situation(think divorce, a death in the family,a change in a position at work, etc.) If the person is normally not a complainer or negative they can work their situation out over time, get some help or possibly leave. A chronic negative person walks around with a lot of baggage, stress, are not happy with their life, etc. This type of negativity can put a damper on the positive and productive environment of a workplace and spread like wildfire throughout the company/organization. These individuals need guidance and boundaries established between what's happening with them as a person and the work that needs to get done. It's up to management/leadership to address these situations on an individual basis. If you manage negative staff, there is a great opportunity to have a conversation with the person by asking them what's going on; sharing with them how their negativity is affecting the workplace and have them share with you what some solutions could be to address the issue. If you have allowed this negativity to fester for a long period of time, it will take a longer period of time to change behaviors. If the person is a complainer, immediately ask that person what would they do if they were in your shoes as the manager/leader? Maybe you can help them create a plan they can implement to be less negative. Asking "how can I support you?" and "who else can support you?" are great questions as well. One practice involves holding conversations on what's going on. Two sentences that can be used to help turn around the negativity are: "I know I'm being negative right now; I'm just really stressed out over _________________. I'm trying not to let it affect others." or taking responsibility for their part of a negative environment "I think I am not working at my peak - what do you think? Maybe I need to focus on________________________ until I get myself together." A manager or leader can request that the negative person create sentences like these or use them to practice instead of simply complaining. The more comfortable management can get in having regular communication on what's going and how things impact the business without someone feeling they have to defend themselves, the better. Try it or hire a coach to help change these sitatuions.

The incredible story of how leopard Diabolo became Spirit - Anna Breyten...

Team Coaching Explained

Royal Yoga - Spinal Twist

Clash of the Titans: Gen Y and the CFPB

The latest article co-authored by Barbara Perino and Becky Walzak - Clash of the Titans: Gen Y and the CFPB

Right Sizing The Mortgage Industry

Here is the latest article co-authored by me and Becky Walzak:  http://progressinlending.com/blog/2014/03/14/right-sizing-the-industry/

The BEATLES "Birthday" song - celebrating my birthday tomorrow!!!

Safe Inside Yourself: Cynthia Loy Darst at TEDxOlympicBlvdWomen

Words of Wisdom From a Successful CEO

Had the privilege of sitting in on a lecture facilitated by Keith Koenig, President of City Furniture. FAU Business School offers a series of monthly lectures by prominent and successful local business leaders. The audience is comprised of MBA students, some faculty and local business people. By coincidence (and I don't believe in coincidences) he parked right in front of me and we both had to get our parking tickets.  We chatted briefly, me sharing I had come to listen to him and complimenting him on all the great things people had to say of him as a leader.  He was very humble. We introduced ourselves to each other, shook hands and met again on our way to the room where the event was being held.  Nice man with great words of wisdom he shared with the students.

After going through the history of how he got started after finishing a masters degree at Flordia, his brother opening a water bed store, Keith joining his brother and the store evolving into City Furniture.  Key words he shared in his success over the good and bad years of the economy, conservative business decisions, being reserved when it comes to money - accumulating money; testing the market, hiring good people and staying private. He also talked about how furniture stores are impacted by the housing market and he predicted that Florida is going to be a place to buy real estate now, encouraging the folks in the audience to buy soon if they can.  He was also a proponent of our federal government as there are many things we are doing well and we will always be a world leader.

He was smart in the sense of asking the audience to share their perspectives on buying furniture on-line vs. going to a showroom and when do they go to a showroom.  He is very aware of the Millennial generation being the largest generation now and in the future and how imporatnt is was for him as a leader to recognize their buying power and habits. City Furniture makes it a practice to hire college grads and grad school grads and is one of the largest companies, probably in Florida to do so.

I really like his style of speaking because he engaged the audience throughout his lecture, very interactive.

The Art of Extreme Self-Care: Transform Your Life, One Month at a Time

The Importance of Play in the Work Environment

We humans take ourselves too seriously at times. While walking around, be aware of how many people are smiling and laughing in a normal business day. Are you one of them?  I believe the Millennial generation does this more than the other generations and I say good for them.  Do you notice when you get in an elevator that everyone is really quiet - you can hear a pin drop at times. People are deep in thought or just being quiet to get where they are going. And, they typically are not smiling.

It's really important to goof off once in awhile and laugh at ourselves.  The definition of "play" is time spent without purpose.  Far too often in our American culture we feel that we have to have our nose to the grindstone, be productive, having our day planned out, working, cleaning, taking kids to practice, having a structured day, every day.  It's really important that we make time to just have fun without achieving a goal.  This is vital to our health and our human development.  Creativity and innovation stem from play. Check out the environments of Google and Zappos. People have freedom to be creative and enjoy their working environment.  More and more companies are creating these type of work environments especially in the technology fields.

Please don't save play just for a scheduled vacation. Incorporate fun into your life regularly through taking time to develop a hobby, being outdoors enjoying nature, being with your family and loved ones - maybe grabbing a cupcake after lunch or a yogurt or going to a great movie, having people over for dinner, etc. There are so many ideas you can explore.

Some suggestions around integrating play into your life are: 1.  Create a list or a couple of activities you could do for hours on end and forget about time - reading, playing a game, running, etc. that you really enjoy and maybe have forgotten about. 2. Schedule some unstructured time on your calendar and commit to play without feeling guilty. 3. Include others - family, friends, kids, a coworker.

Your mind and body will thank you for this believe me.

Write a Love Letter to Yourself - Man on the Street

Happy New Year - Auld Lang Syne by Sissel (Live) Movie

Happy New Year - Auld Lang Syne by Sissel (Live) Movie: Receive my simple gift of Love Wrapped with Sincerity Tied with care and Sealed with blessings To keep you happy and safe all the life long. Happy New Year!

Happy Work Places

Being happy in a work environment should not be taken too lightly.  Studies have shown over the years that high performing employees are also typically happy employees.  Did you know that happy employees take one tenth the sick leave of their least happy peers?  Are six times more energized in the workplace; intend to stay twice as long in the organization, especially millennials; are twice as productive.

iOpener Institute conducts data studies and did one on happiness in the workplace.  Their Performance-Happiness Model is made up of five components

• Contribution - what you do (I add, ask yourself "is what I docontributing to the organization?"
• Conviction - short-term motivation ("what is your short term motivation?")
• Culture - feeling of being a good fit with the company or organization (ask yourself - "is this culture a good fit for me?")
• Commitment - your long term engagement (ask yourself  - "what would I like to be part of here long term?)
• Confidence - self-belief (I am confident in my abilities and value I bring to this organization)

It's the job of the leadership team and human resources to constantly work on creating a better work culture. Part of this includes understanding how people deal with change (which is unique for everybody), continually allowing and encouraging open dialog on topics that matter to the company and keeping everyone informed.

Zappos is the prime example of a happy company. Check out their culture on their website. 

14 New Year's Quotes to Inspire—and More!

Take a few minutes to read these exquisite quotes - all beautifully said.  Notice nature in all of the photos - where we find peace.

14 New Year's Quotes to Inspire—and More!

Happy, happy New Year.

The Power Behind Meditation

Buddha was asked, "What have you gained from meditation?" He replied, "Nothing!" However, Buddha said, let me tell you what I lost: Anger, Anxiety, Depression, Insecurity, Fear of Old, Age And Death."  I will add that meditation has brought me peace, serenity, present moment awareness and less and less judgmental thoughts.  Meditation is part of how I live my life. The more people embrace the practice, the less conflict will show up in the world.

When Messages Aren't Conveyed

I take a Zumba class at a local gym on Saturday mornings.  Love the class because the instructor is latin and the music is latin as well and we leave the class sweaty and smiling. The instructor at this class has been out an average of once a month but there has always been a substitute teacher to take her place. This Saturday was a PR issue for this gym - you know how the saying goes - see or experience a negative situation and the message gets spread to eight people who pass it on to eight people, etc.  Well that is what happened on Saturday. The instructor was there early, music playing, all set up, etc. Another instructor shows up and announces that the class is now hers (told by management  who also had her name on the class roster).  Management had failed to share this with the original instructor......not only an embarrasing moment for both instructors, but a big disruption for the members as we got to witness this go down.  Several ladies went out into the gym to commiserate with the original instructors for about 10 minutes, the new instructor is feeling and hearing the comments, disappointmented expressed by members, some members walked out and complained to the front desk.

This whole situation could have been avoided if the manager did her job and contacted the instructor to share that she was no longer needed, before Saturday.  I understand that this is not the first time this sort of thing has happened there. I don't know management of programs or how she is treated by the corporation but this could have been managed better.

Whatever message was being sent did not align with the intent of the gym, quite the contrary, what showed up was a lack of respect, professionalism, poor communication and whatever else. I sent an email to corporate explaining my perspective as a trained coach who works inside of companies and with leaders on communication.  I am very disappointed in how this was handled and I am hoping someone in higher level managment will see the need to maybe change some procedures around what is expected in communicating to others what needs to be said.  Certainly a coaching opportunity.

Why do so many business people and companies not value communication as key to success?  The "I assume they will understand" or "I really don't care what they think" way of thinking will not serve anyone moving forward.  Eventually it will bite you on the behind especially if the negativity is spread by others to others most likely in the companies "bottom line".

Lessons Learned From a Highly Successful Serial Entrepreneur

FAU a local college in Boca Raton offers monthly lecture series from successful business people with the audience typically made up of the business school's MBA program students.  Local business people are also invited and I attend when there is a speaker who I feel I want to hear their story.  Last night was an example of one of the better lectures I sat in on.  The speaker is a local success story in creating successful companies, selling them at the "right time", dealing with some challenges, learning from those and is very involved with the college.

He shared the following traits and qualities that helps make him a success when he starts a new company:

• Is naturally restless - can't sit behind a desk for too long. (Richard Branson doesn't use a desk)
• Short attention span
• Dreams up opportunities by simply engaging peopel in conversations and finding solutions to problems people deal which in his case is in the technology space
• Sees the importance of helping the less fortunate (Bill Gates is the same way); knows there is a higher purpose for his role in life. He used the words "hope and opportunity"
• Is a risk taker
• Deals with change and sees change as a necessary part of growth and new opportunities
• Likes being part of start ups and helping create a solid business foundation and when company starts growing, he knows it's time to move on
• Suggested first hire be an accountant - CPA and then a sales/marketing person
• Treat people like you want to be treated
• Be fair but disciplined to make decisions that will benefit the growth and success of the company
• Communicate, communicate, communicate with stakeholders, staff, business partners
• Surround yourself with good people who compliment you
• Understand the lessons you learn from successes and failures
• Recruit and hire people who you can Trust (a biggie) and who will fit into the company culture
• Build for stability first and then put risk policy in place
• Lead by example
• Get rid of people who don't fit the culture; you want a posititve team
• Manage stress and aspire to life balance as an individual and for the company 
• All leaders need breaks - so take vacations
• Surround yourself with business people who compliment your strengths

Many of these traits show up in articles, white papers and blogs on a regular basis describing successful leaders. Not everyone starting a new company will have these traits.  If you are the person with a great idea but do not have the energy or traits shown above, you probably want to align yourself with someone you know and trust who does, who can be your partner in your new venture.  If you partner with someone, the main thing is to get really clear on expectations and roles of each other.  

Things Happen When They are Ready to Happen

Have you ever felt frustrated with your current situation, where you feel stuck or concerned because you have to slow down and not be as busy as you usually are?  It happens to us all and it's a great opportunity to just BE with the process, maybe "simmer" in the learning or lessons you are getting.  This may sound a bit whimsical but sometimes it what you need.  I just finished working with six different organziations over the past six months that kept me really busy.  The month of October has been very slow business wise.  At first, the gremlins appeared whispering to me "oh, oh you don't have anything to do" and "what are you going to do now?"  I kept focused on new opportunities, relaxing a bit more than I have and knowing that opportunities appear when they are ready. And, they have. All of a sudden, all kinds of new opportunities are showing up, things I love doing.  And, over the past six months, I was able to create and experience new business that others can use and I am very proud of myself for how I showed up and helped others be better at communicating, etc.  So......here's to being OK when things seem slow and you don't know what's going to show up next - something will if you believe it and put it out there and the "it" will be just what you want and need.  Try to be OK with this. You may be pleasantly surprised.