Cognitive Improvements through Eating and Exercise
By · CommentsHave you ever been at work and found it very difficult to focus or think clearly when you needed to? More and more studies are showing that nutrition and exercise directly impact improvements in cognitive function and help the mind actually function better. If you think about it, it really does make sense. If we break it down, when you eat you are fueling your body, not just to have energy to do all the things you need to do in a day physically, but also to feed your mind.
When you exercise, you are increasing the oxygen flow through your body and breaking up that stagnant, slowing effect that can become apparent when you are lethargic and not eating well. Have you noticed people who regularly run or exercise as well as pay attention to eating well in your office? Often they are the ones with annoyingly high energy, friendly attitudes and on top of their game with ideas and organization with their work!
A U.S. News & World Report health article reported a study on 124 men and women to show a difference in high blood pressure from added healthy diet and fitness, but also showed improvements in cognitive function. The two things focused on in this study were eating and exercise. In terms of eating, they focused on reducing portion sizes and altering habits like snacking. For exercise, it was a minimal program which consisted of 30-minute workouts 3-4 times each week. This study was done for the duration of 4 months and showed a 30% improvement on average in mental function.
In my humble opinion, this shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. There have been numerous studies showing drastic improvements in children’s behavior patterns and ability to learn in schools that had healthy lunch programs. Why would it be any different for adults? It is amazing, however, to think that there could be as much as 30% improvement in your cognitive activity from just four months. This should be enough to inspire each and every one of us to change our bad habits, as we could get more done and be more efficient in our work without it being a struggle or depending on that fourth cup of coffee to carry us through!
Microsoft has just released Outlook Social Connector, an add-in for Outlook that links your emails and contacts to your LinkedIn network. It’s available as a free download for Outlook 2003, Outlook 2007 and Outlook 2010. It allows you to view existing LinkedIn connection profiles, their profile picture, recent updates, and allows you to add new connections without ever leaving your Outlook inbox.
While you are reading your regular e-mail messages in Outlook, you can see the “People Pane” below the message and view the picture, name, and title of the sender. You can also view your history of communication with that person by clicking on their name and see recent e-mail conversations, meetings, and shared documents. This feature has been a big time saver for me because I can immediately see all communications with an individual and no longer have to spend time searching for past emails.
Do you see this tool as being helpful for you and your business?
One of the best features of this add-in, in my opinion, is the addition of a new Outlook contacts folder with your LinkedIn contacts – even if you haven’t added them to your normal Outlook contact list. The display of contacts in the LinkedIn folder includes each contact’s photo (if they have one on LinkedIn) and other information accessed from LinkedIn. It’s a concise way of seeing some of your most valuable connections. If you’re new to LinkedIn, or only a light user, this is a great opportunity to get more involved with your connections. And for those more involved in the network, this just enhances the opportunity LinkedIn provides you.
In The Connectors
Once you activate this add-in, the People Pane can be turned on and off via Outlook’s View menu and you can also change the size of the pane. For more information on Outlook Social Connector you can go to http://blogs.msdn.com/outlook/archive/2009/11/18/announcing-the-outlook-social-connector.aspx.
Power Up Your Networking With 3 Key Strategies
By · CommentsBy now you’ve gotten the message that networking is a crucial element of career success.
If you’re going to make it you’ve got to connect.
And you’ve read the rules – dress well, be sincere, be interested in the other person, follow-up to develop and build relationships, and so on.
Does it still sound intimidating? So much so that you’re still holding back?
Or maybe you’ve put a toe in the water to give it a try but feel like you’re still not quite getting the hang of it?
Try these three key strategies to make your networking efforts that much more successful.
Network In Your Own Way
It has been nearly 15 years, but I can still remember the amused, sideways glance a colleague shot in my direction when I asked whether he entertained clients socially on a regular basis. He was right to give me “the look.” A reserved introvert with a magnificent brain he was the opposite of a social butterfly and it should have been obvious that socializing with clients was not a priority for him. No doubt he would sooner have a root canal without anesthesia than entertain regularly. He did, however, maintain a wide professional network.
How did he do it?
By being true to himself.
That colleague picked situations which he found manageable, went to these however briefly, and was himself when he was there. He made connections. He maintained these connections by showing up again and again and also by having additional contacts in ways that were more comfortable for him– sending a personal note or making a quick phone call.
You can mimic this technique to carry out your networking within your own comfort zone.
Does going to a completely unfamiliar organization sound like a bit too much? Start your networking at an internal company event. Or at a community gathering at your gym or local school.
Do you hate the idea of going alone? Grab a friend and make a plan to attend jointly – not joined at the hip but in concert so you’ll have someone to talk to if it is slow.
Zero in on what it is that makes networking feel hard for you and see if you can do something to minimize the challenge. Count an event as a success if you go for just a short period of time; or give yourself a reward for staying longer or talking to more than one person.
Building some connections in this easier and more manageable way will give you confidence to reach out even more.
Take The Time To Develop Relationships In One Group Before Branching Out to Another
In the long run, networking is about the relationships you build and how they support your career and allow you to support others. Building relationships is central to making this happen.
Relationships aren’t built merely by introducing yourself with a memorable “elevator pitch” at a meet and greet event. They require a quantity of contact and a quality of dialogue. Once you’ve chosen to include a specific group in your networking program, make the effort to interact with its members:
- Attend meetings regularly
- Join a committee or take a volunteer post
- Add the group members you meet to your LinkedIn network, facebook tribe or Twitter feed, as appropriate.
- Make outside of meeting contact with people you want to get to know better – exchange information, tips or just a social wave to build community.
Applying these techniques consistently will take an investment of time. Your return will be a web of relationships within that group that will makes you feel as if you belong. When you feel comfortably settled on the path to create those relationships in one group you can devote a similar level of attention to another one. In other words, your network will grow and you can then grow it further.
Consider Creating Networking Goals
In some ways the broad mandate to “build a network” itself can feel overwhelming. Setting some networking goals is a good way to break the task down into manageable, more comfortable parts.
Let’s say you’ve decided you should expand your contacts amongst your professional peers. You know there are several ways you can do that. You might:
- join a local alumni association
- join the local chapter of a national professional organization
- attending an upcoming conference
- find ways to meet people with similar job descriptions in other nearby companies.
None of these options are leaping out at you and taken as a group they sound like an enormous chore.
Let’s say instead that you set a goal of expanding your peer group by 4 people per month for the next 3 months. At the end of 3 months you will have grown your network by at least 12 people. In the meantime, though, instead of focusing on the big task of broadening contacts with professional peers you can focus on the smaller, manageable task of meeting 1 new person each week.
You can use goals to break down other networking goals into more manageable tasks in a similar way. Once they’re resized, networking goals frequently become more attainable because they feel more less overwhelming.
Try applying these three techniques to your own networking efforts. And see if they make this important, ongoing task, a big more manageable for you over time.
Anne Clarke is an executive and personal coach specializing in supporting women in achieving their professional goals. For more information about her services visit her website www.setting-and-achieving-goals.com
Leadership and Meryl Streep
By · CommentsI must admit, that while Sandra Bullock is a super actress, I was so sad and unhappy that Meryl Streep did not win the “Best Actress” Oscar at the Academy Awards Ceremony last night.
I’ll go on the assumption that both films are worthy. I’ll go on the assumption that both actresses are wonderful. And yet, maybe it’s my own sentimentality, maybe even a bit of loyalty. Meryl has been a “bridesmaid so often” it was time for her to walk down that aisle of accomplishment and claim the prize.
I began to wonder if she is not the cool, elegant woman and performer she appears to be. I thought about the fact that there may have been some jealously that made people vote for young, sweet Sandra. I wished I could have cast my vote, actually many, many votes.
And then I thought “What if I was Meryl Streep, what would I do now?”
First, my thoughts went to a very basic human emotion: revenge. I would snub Sandra and maybe even stomp my foot on the hem of her dress! Then I got real and spent time thinking about what to do and how to handle a public situation where no matter how you word it, you were rejected…..again.
I will offer my personal ideas next week. For now I would love to hear from you. The best answer will get my new book “KaChing: Family Patterns and Finances” hot off the press as a gift; also, a free coaching session on any topic, professional or personal.
So, let me hear from you. In the meantime, I am sending an email to Meryl telling her how much I respect her. I’m sure it will be one of millions.
Growing through the Red
By · CommentsIf we operate 100% of our career in the black, we never get the growth opportunities that only occur in the red. I know that may be contrary to Wall Street or even your street, but there is something to be said about the valleys as well as the peaks. If the only training ground we have is at peak level, we’ll never be prepared for even the slightest of valleys.
So why do so many people running projects run scared at the possibility of seeing red; or even seeing a little pink? Some won’t even utter the words “at risk” until it’s almost too late to do anything about it; even worse, they change the “requirements” to keep the project from going red. No one wants to run below par, but changing the rules doesn’t fix the problem. I’ve never understood that concept. If something is broken or if more information is required, what is it in our business society that keeps people from telling the whole truth and working through the issues? Is it fear? Is it pride? Is it stupidity? Maybe it is a combination of the three.
However, I’ll say it again, if you don’t have sufficient practice in the “reds,” you won’t have what it takes to climb to the highest “blacks.” To become a great leader means you have to be able to adapt and overcome to just about any situation—this goes for being a leader in your home to being a leader in your company to being a leader in your community. It’s good to have a healthy dose of nail-biting uncertainty every now and again, but when faced with a downhill slippery slope, there are three simple steps to reporting and righting the red.
- identify the issues (all of them—large or small)
- ask for the right help from every source (up or down the ladder)
- allow the people who have solutions solve the problems
It may sound oversimplified, but in 2003 DirecTV suffered four years of losses only to achieve a $4.9 billion gain in 2009. They weren’t afraid to ask the right questions and get the right help. Their strategy may have entailed a bit more than simply identifying, asking and allowing, but that was the basic premise of their turnaround. If it worked for DirecTV, it can work for you.
Part of the problem is that people try to make it more complicated than it has to be. Simple is good. Three easy steps are good. Identify, ask, allow. These steps work well in all of our business matters and relationships, especially when we’re in the red—and my favorite power shoes? They’re red, too!
What are you worth? The cost of branding you.
By · Comments“The cost of doing business” speaks for itself. You have to put money out to make money; feed the investment so that it grows becoming lucrative and prosperous. A fundamental basic that business leaders process regularly, right? Absolutely!
Why then do many business professionals treat themselves and their own career marketing tools with substandard expectations? As a career strategist and resume writer, pricing of services is one of the top #3 questions asked of clients. Certainly understandable and always welcome!
If you are willing to spend money on high end clothing, hair salon upkeep or high end handbags, perhaps you may want to redistribute where you are investing your hard earned dollars. Are you buying into someone else’s brand or are you taking care of your own?
While most professionals realize the time, complexity and strategic writing that goes into developing a solid and effective marketing tool, there are always a few folks who see their resumes as a typeset piece of paper tracking the basics of their work history asking, “Why does it cost so much”?
Top 5 Reasons Professionally Written Resumes Cost Money
You are paying for a customized marketing tool reflecting your most important commodity…YOU. Customized, one-on-one marketing takes time and a specialized set of skills from a writer who has the ability to dig deep into extracting your key skills and accomplishments.
- A behavioral based trained professional writer has a unique skill set in individualizing and interpreting your core competencies in writing. This takes credentialed training and years of practice which is more than just being a technical writer.
- Strategic writing and appropriately targeting a clients goal is factored into a professionally written resume. When I am asked to write a general resume, I educate potential clients that this is not a service that I offer. A general resume is as useful as trying to catch a variety of fish using one type of bait.
- Researching industry trends, verbiage and current job marketing opportunities takes time. Behind the scenes, a top notch resume writer is busy collaborating with industry peers, researching web sites and bringing forward new information to support the needs of the client.
- Credentials cost money. Most writers have a varied assortment of credentials, education and training to support their writing. For a writer who is continuing to learn, refine skills, seek out new credentials and advanced exposure to global assessment programs, know that the cost of doing business will be aligned according to skills being offered.
Lesson: Invest in your professional brand by having the appropriate tools. If you are going to drive a fancy car, wear high end heels or expensive jeans, become truly authentic and coveted by having a top notch resume in your tool kit.
