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

Communication

The Three Why's of Wisdom

The Three Why's of Wisdom

We recently listened to a TED talk by Ricardo Semler (FIG’s new hero!) and were blown away by the parallels to something we’ve talked about in past offerings rather a lot. He believes that if “we simply ask why we do things and devolve power to employees, we’re able to to create wiser companies - ones that are simultaneously more productive and have a happier workforce.” In the talk, he discusses the 3 “whys” we as professionals ought to be asking ourselves. He says “the first “why”: you always have a good answer for. The second “why”: it starts getting difficult. By the third “why”: you don't really know why you're doing what you're doing.

Ahh yes, that elusive “WHY!” Why is “why” so important? One of the most pervasive questions we received developing FIG 6 years ago was, “What’s your “why”’ for starting this thing? It’s an important inquiry, and one which has taken a ton of intentional introspection, thought and time to answer. It’s an evolutionary process that has expanded in nuance as FIG has matured; But enough about our company. Let’s dig in and talk about “why,” shall we?

Are We Showing Enough Gratitude?

Are We Showing Enough Gratitude?

Are we?

I had a dental appointment recently, and, per usual, the office called the day before to confirm I’d be there for their scheduling purposes. When I called back to confirm, the scheduler said “THANK YOU so much for calling back!” with so much gratitude in her voice it made me wonder if I was unusual in my response. As it turns out, I was. When I went in, I asked her about it and she told me that most patients never bothered to verify their appointments and she was so grateful that I had. It was a tiny exchange, but her reaction was so notable it got us thinking: are we showing enough gratitude in our daily lives and in business specifically? Apparently not…..

Relationships involve gratitude - relationships in business especially. According to Google dictionary, the definition of gratitude is: “the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.” Alfred North Whitehead said “No one who achieves success does so without the help of others. The wise and confident acknowledge this help with gratitude.”

Indeed.

We’re human beings going to work. The business-savvy and generous among us recognize that there are unspoken yet patently understood rules, standards and norms in helping our colleagues succeed, a quid pro quo if you like. If we can make someone’s day easier by returning a phone call, of course we're going to! If we know a colleague is facing a challenge and are able to make an introduction to another professional who might be able to help, of course we’ll make that introduction. If we know two people who might be terrific networking referrals for one another, of course we’ll facilitate that encounter. Won’t we?

Not Responding and The Clear Message it Sends

Not Responding and The Clear Message it Sends

In our fast paced business world (which seems oddly even more busy tethered to our computers instead of traveling to meetings and commitments), it’s SO easy to become mired in the singularly focused worlds of what we do, how we plan our days, what we want/need to accomplish by what time and who we need when we need them. Makes sense. We need to get stuff done, and in our currently remote situation, which hopefully will end very soon, this is even more challenging: deadlines, Zoom calls, business development, responding to immediate needs of our colleagues, personal life challenges of homeschooling kiddos, designating work spaces, and maintaining home and hearth. It’s a lot, absolutely no question.

We’re humans working with humans, each with our own lens and view on any given situation and interaction. Do we take the time to think about how our actions or inactions affect others? They are certainly easy to forget, particularly in our “home bubbles.” without the personal, non-verbal cues that we receive by being present together in an office, that our actions, inactions, responses, and non responses, do in fact affect others, and that there’s a concept called “common courtesy” that we sometimes forget in our busy lives.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: Yep, We're Going There!

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: Yep, We're Going There!

Whew! A HUGE topic - have you heard it? DEI? It's a subject permeating just about every organizations’ leadership or future planning discussion that we’ve been honored to be a part of - everyone’s talking about it. This movement is a “thing,” folks: a critically important, long overdue focus on what our organizations stand for, believe in, and espouse which we covered from a different angle a couple of weeks ago. This imperative discussion and focus is WAY late, frankly, but, at least we’re finally acknowledging, recognizing and emphasizing the gravity and significance of the topic. At least we’re talking about DEI.

Oi! But HOW? The “why” is obvious: this country is (overstating the obvious) diverse! So ought to be businesses. But why are the topics so hard to talk about? Why has it taken us so long to engage with each other about them in the workplace specifically? What gives?

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"Ok Boomer" and "Damn Millennials:" A Generational Dilemma Explored in Audio

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"Ok Boomer" and "Damn Millennials:" A Generational Dilemma Explored in Audio

Recently we’ve tackled the concept of “words we throw around professionally.” We’ve made an effort to disseminate an initial understanding of leadership, relationship culture, etc. Here are a few others we can toss into that mix: “Ok Boomer!” “Damn Millennials!”.

OK, so what’s up with this? What’s up with the vilification of “other” generations? As often repeated, there’s a reason for everything: here are a couple:

May We Have Your Attention: The Attention Economy

May We Have Your Attention: The Attention Economy

Shifting a bit from “words we throw around a lot,” this week, there was an article written in the Sunday Review section of the New York Times, February 7th, 2021, by a man named Charlie Warzel that really got our attention as it relates to FIG. Warzel talks about his interview with Michael Goldhaber, who, in the 1980s, “outlined the demands of living in an attention economy, describing an ennui that didn’t yet exist but now feels familiar to anyone who makes a living online….. “His epiphany was this: One of the most finite resources in the world is human attention. To describe its scarcity, he latched onto what was then an obscure term, coined by a psychologist, Herbert A. Simon: ‘the attention economy.’” We’re really and truly sorry to disabuse you of the notion that we are able to multitask effectively. Sadly, study after study proves otherwise. “When you pay attention to one thing, you ignore something else.” Goldhaber prophesied.

So! May we beg your attention for the next few minutes?

Leadership: What IS it?

Leadership: What IS it?

Continuing the dissection thread of last week, that is, “words we throw around a lot,” casually drop into conversations, and don’t give a lot of thought to what they actually mean, let’s take on “leadership,” shall we?

How many of you have read The 7 Habits by Stephen Covey, or Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg or any of the other, literally, thousands of offerings on leadership you can find with a quick Google search? With certainly no intention of reinventing any wheels, we thought we’d look at leadership through a FIG lens, read: a human lens. Are you with us?

The Core of FIG: Relationships

The Core of FIG: Relationships

As we alluded to last week, the word “relationships” is another amorphous piece of language we throw around a lot, in both business and in our personal lives. But what exactly are they?

For the purposes of this piece, Dictionary.com defines the word as: “a connection, association, or involvement; an emotional or other connection between people.”

OK, a good start, but how do we initiate, develop, nurture and sustain them is what interests FIG. Why do they matter? Why are they important? What do they mean? And why should we care?

Truly Living Your Company Culture

Truly Living Your Company Culture

Culture is another one of those words that we throw around a lot, like “relationships” or “leadership” (more on those later); But what does “culture” actually mean? And what does it mean in business?

According to Merriam Webster, culture is defined as “the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or organization.” Right…. but in business, what does that look like and how do we create it?

The Implied Imperative

The Implied Imperative

Does anyone out there feel overwhelmed with a seemingly endless firehose flow of emails? Texts? Social media requests? Solicitations? Phone calls? Picking up your phone to make a call, and seeing 3 text messages that you probably ought to respond to, completely forgetting to make the call you initially intended? Back to back video meetings? Phone calls? The occasional “in person” (socially distant) meeting, requiring planning for travel time - actually getting fully dressed, which is a practice we have not exercised consistently in a year?

Is anyone out there attempting to juggle all this with getting actual work done - important work like meeting deadlines, accommodating your clients, building your business through marketing efforts, networking and speaking engagements and, oh yeah, making money doing so?

These are ubiquitous experiences - AND there are a couple of solutions to these implied demands on our time and schedules.