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5 healthy habits for staying sane while working from home
Caroline Goyder Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementIf you are working from home, you're likely spending much of your day video conferencing or teleconferencing. It should be wonderful, shouldn’t it? No commuting, no open plan office distractions, no hot desking. But unless you create some constructive habits when working from home, your days can quickly become a draining treadmill of calls. Here are a few healthy habits to adopt to help keep your energy up and your co-workers boosted and upbeat.
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Finding the upside of ‘Groundhog Day’
Anne Rose Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementDuring our worldwide quarantine, I've heard numerous groans about every day being "Groundhog Day," a reference to an old Bill Murray movie where every day was a rerun of the previous. But regardless of the lockdown, how many of us run busily through our days, repeating mechanically the previous day’s agenda? If you're going through rote motions of living, then you've already been living through "Groundhog Day." Well, this quarantine forces us to be still, to think. When we are moving mechanically and busily through life, we don’t often take the time to think; we just do.
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Keep the wrong people away from the planning retreat
Robert C. Harris Association ManagementAssociation planning retreats are convened every few years. They represent a significant investment in people’s time and meeting costs. Attendees are asked to create a three- to five-year roadmap. The results should best position the organization and communicate value to members. During the process, volunteers and staff will take deep dives into analyzing trends, assessing programs, creating initiatives and making long-term decisions.
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Preventing hate crimes: If you see something, say something
Linda Popky Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementAfter 9/11, when it became apparent we had to change our approach to security in the skies, as well as on the ground, the TSA was formed to manage new airport passenger screening protocols. A wave of mass shootings has led to enhanced security systems in public buildings. Because these measures alone can’t stop bad actors, we know we all have to be vigilant to what’s going on around us. If we see something, we have to say something. Now, we need to be on alert for a different type of threat. The number of hate crimes in the United States has risen consistently for the last three years.
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How the pandemic presents opportunities for association improvement
Bob Harris and Arturo Mariani Association ManagementThere are hundreds of stories about organizational and personal improvement during the pandemic. People are sharing ways they are adapting. Many of the changes have positive, long-term impact. The adaptations are necessary or organic to survive, sustain, and thrive. For example, what used to be a daylong board meeting requiring hours of travel is being replaced by a video conference. Groups that shied away from online technology are rethinking the concept, realizing governance decisions can be made without the expenses of in-person meetings, meals, and travel.
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Avoiding the two extremes in remote worker management
Eric Taussig Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementIf your company is one of the countless enterprises that has managed to stay afloat under COVID-19 quarantines by suddenly shifting to remote teams, it is probably comprised mainly of "knowledge workers" who process information for a living. Your managers, who are used to guiding these workers through face-to-face interactions, are adapting their skills to a new environment, and they're just now catching their breath amid the rapid change. In this new environment, many managers are gravitating toward an extreme focus on one of two management styles: widespread surveillance or total worker autonomy.
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What the leadership manual reveals about strategy
Robert C. Harris Association ManagementAssociation board manuals come in all shapes and sizes. Volunteer directors rely on them to understand their responsibilities. Some manuals are nicely bound in a notebook with a table of contents and tabs for quick reference. Others are designed as a virtual document, posted to a shared storage site or accessible on memory stick.
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The new normal may be anything but
Linda Popky Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementMaybe we've hit bottom. Three months into the COVID-19 lockdown, it appears that mitigation measures have "flattened the curve." Measures are being taken to reopen the economy on some level in just about every state in America. How far and how fast this will proceed remains to be seen. A common refrain is that we are trying to "get back to normal." There’s only one problem. Those days are gone — if not forever, for a very, very long time.
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8 ways businesses can help during COVID-19
Kris Putnam-Walkerly Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementIn the midst of all the unprecedented challenges that companies need to focus on during the COVID-19 crisis, there is also an immense opportunity to do good. Right now, the world needs philanthropists more than ever and corporate giving offers another way for your company to differentiate itself and go deep as a leader. So, before putting your corporate giving on autopilot, consider these eight tips to catapult your philanthropic impact. These suggestions apply to corporations of any size, in any industry, and in any location around the world.
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Rely on Lean’s basics to recover from a crisis, prevent flatlining
Mark C. DeLuzio Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementOne of the best things leaders can do in a crisis — or to get back on track with their turnaround — is to get back to the basic tenets of Lean. When times get tough, we're inclined to seek out the next silver bullet instead of digging in to better utilize the tried-and-true methods we already have. Instead of thinking, "These Lean concepts don’t apply to my business," you must shift your mindset to being an active, hands-on participant in your Lean transformation. Even when you are sitting in the corner office, this starts with revisiting the fundamentals of Lean and how to manage them.
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