Communication
Sarah Shuel
Change: Alter, Transform and Switch; To Become ...

: to make different in some particular : ALTER

: to make radically different : TRANSFORM

: to make a shift from one to another : SWITCH

: to become different

Ahh yes: “Alter, transform and switch, to become different’’.....these words resonate a lot in FIG’s evolution, we’re excited about a little bit of change (and a little apprehensive if we’re being honest!).

Change: Alter, Transform and Switch; To Become Different
Communication
Sarah Shuel
Technology Addiction: Yes, It's a Thing...

In her Wall Street Journal article: Digital Addictions Are Drowning Us in Dopamine, Dr, Lembke, a Stamford University professor and psychiatrist, talks about the scientific biological effects of addictions to our devices. It’s real folks. This is not FIG banging the drum of putting down our phones or any other technological apparatus and talking or connecting with our fellow human beings. No. This is concrete, physiological, measurable, science based fact that continuously interacting with our high-tech electronic leashes, gaming apparatuses and social media actually, physically, alters our brains to crave more of it, thereby de-incentivising us to engage with others on a human level.

Gasp, shock and awe!

Technology Addiction: Yes, It's a Thing...
Communication
Sarah Shuel
Mistakes: Perfectly Human

Mistakes. We all make them, we’re human beings and by definition 99.9% imperfect (with apologies to those of you who think otherwise), which results in, guess what? Mistakes (we make them hourly at FIG)! That gaffes, miscalculations and oversights are a part of our collective experience on this earth. Why (on earth!) is it so hard to admit to making mistakes, take responsibility for these human aberrations and move on after making a miscalculation or error? Hmmmm?

Mistakes: Perfectly Human
Communication
Sarah Shuel
Habits: The Good, The Bad, and the Intangible

We all have habits - some serve us well and some get in our way…...Google states: “A habit is a settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up.” Establishing a habit usually takes about two weeks to become routine and is subsequently supported and reinforced by practicing it daily.

Habits: The Good, The Bad, and the Intangible
Communication
Sarah Shuel
Life Happens

Ever had a “Monday” on any day of the week? Ever had your day perfectly planned, scheduled and organized only to have all your intended “to-do’s”: meetings, calls, oh yeah, actual “work,” utterly blown up by an unexpected interruption, complication, interference? Ever had someone insert themselves into your day with their drama, troubles or lack of planning (real or self-inflicted), requiring you to shelve your carefully laid out day(s) and requiring you to stop whatever you’re doing for their fire drill?

Yeah, us too.

Life Happens

returning to work

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Return to Normal? Now What?

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Return to Normal? Now What?

Interesting questions, both: What is our new normal and “Now what?”

Teasing apart these queries, we happened upon this space: what are the (clearly unintended!) awarenesses and gifts our time apart during this once-in-a-century pandemic has afforded us (and yes, we believe there are some important ones)? How have we evolved in regards to perceptions, attitudes and approaches towards professional relationships? What have we learned and what can we extract from the lesson(s)? Hmmmmm, food for thought indeed.

In her article for the New York Times dated 4.23.21, Kate Murphy asserts:

“The past year has forced a mass meditation on the nature and strength of our social ties. While our culture has encouraged us to accumulate friends, both on and offline, like points, the pandemic has laid bare the distinction between quantity and quality of connections. There are those we’ve longed to see and those it’s been a relief not to see. The full reckoning will become apparent only when we can once again safely gather and invitations are — or are not — extended. Our social lives and social selves may never be the same.”

We submit for your consideration, now that things are opening up - returning to “normal” - who do we really want or need to spend time with professionally? Who is important to us and our professions? Now that we’ve had this time in relative Zoom isolation, necessitating intense intentionality with interactions (we could no longer just bump into a colleague in the lunchroom and ask a quick question), how have we prioritized communications and exchanges in a meaningful, thoughtful manner? Obviously (this is a FIG offering, after all!), consequential, relevant relationships are important, but what’s the quality of these interactions? Like it or not, we were compelled to calculate the relative importance of who we chose to engage with, what we needed to accomplish, and why we were doing so (we didn’t have much choice in the “where” question: Home office? Living room? Kitchen counter? Backyard? Ok, so we had a few choices)?