How to Communicate Effectively Once You Return to the Office

by murika Comment Closed
More workplaces continue to reopen, but it's unlikely that the old rhythms of work will stay the same. Teams that have adapted during the Covid-19 pandemic shutdown are starting to realize that certain workplace rituals aren't nearly as sacred or essential as they once thought. As leaders sort through their hopes and plans for a post-pandemic rebound, now is the time to make smart shifts in how we engage the full potential of our teams. From generating new ideas to holding meetings and sharing feedback, leaders can turn the reopening into an opportunity for boosting their team's creativity, productivity, and growth in the weeks ahead. Read more ...
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4 Tips for Starting a Business in an Economic Downturn

by murika Comment Closed
COVID-19 has forced millions of companies to reassess their business models, but what about the businesses that are still just ideas in the minds of aspiring entrepreneurs? As mass layoffs and desperate bailouts dominate the news, few people are talking about what it's like to launch a business in the current climate.  But like other crises throughout history, the coming recession will create genuine opportunities for founders. As Michael Loeb, founder and CEO of Loeb.nyc, said, "Moments like these are like forest fires. The blaze will cripple some businesses, but they will also provide the heat to release new seeds into the soil. Many amazing companies have been born from the ashes of economic downturns and market crashes." Read More...
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How to Help Employees Manage Their Feelings on Returning to Work

by murika Comment Closed
"It's been bumpy," one of my coaching clients told me. She wasn't talking about closing down her business because of the pandemic. She was talking about opening back up. As an executive coach who works with startups globally, I've seen this crisis play out while working with my clients around the world. I've been with them through the various phases of shutting down and starting to reopen. Here's some of the advice that I've been sharing with my clients, particularly around handling your employees' emotions about returning to the workplace. Read More...
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Fear of Returning to Work: When You’re Ready but Your Employees Are Not

by murika Comment Closed
For business owners grappling with how and when to reopen their companies, one thing is apparent: Despite what local and national leaders may say, governments don't open economies--economies reopen when citizens feel safe enough to resume their usual activities. And it's possible many of your employees aren't there yet. Covid cases and deaths are still on the rise in some areas even as states begin to loosen their social distancing restrictions. So it's not entirely surprising that in a recent survey conducted by global human resources consulting firm Mercer of 735 U.S. employers, more than 45 percent said they are already struggling with workers who are reluctant to return to their workplaces because of fear of getting sick. Read More...
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How to Build a Brand Story That Buyers Emotionally Connect With

by murika Comment Closed
While having a great product or quality service is undeniably important, these aren’t necessarily the things that will win you loyal customers. More often than not, buyers are influenced by a brand’s ability to form emotional connections with them. In fact, Harvard Business School professor emeritus Gerald Zaltman says that 95 percent of our buying decisions occur in the subconscious, where they're fueled by emotions, rather than “logical processes.” The best way to foster an emotional connection that influences buyers is through your brand story, but if you want your that story to have any kind of power, you have to build it up right. Read More...
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Alexis Ohanian’s Resignation from Reddit is the Type of Leadership the World Needs

by murika Comment Closed
When Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian resigned from the company’s board last week, he generared immediate headlines. But in doing so, he also created a legacy for himself as a leader. In Ohanian’s actual words:  “I believe resignation can actually be an act of leadership from people in power right now.I have resigned as a member of the Reddit board, I have urged them to fill my seat with a black candidate, and I will use future gains on my Reddit stock to serve the black community, chiefly to curb racial hate, and I’m starting with a pledge of $1M to Colin Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights Camp.” Read More...
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5 Daily Wellness Tips to Improve Your Health Now

by murika Comment Closed
Meditate! Be Grateful! Journal! It’s starting to sound a lot like “Marsha! Marsha! Marsha!” from The Brady Bunch. I now know what Jan must have felt like. Daily, if not hourly, we are bombarded with much of the same information on how to improve our overall health and well-being. While all of those practices certainly work and are valuable, there are a few methods that do not get as much air time. The following tips might sound a bit strange and counterintuitive, but not only are they effective, but they are also cost and time-efficient. 1. Contrast therapy  Being told to take a cold shower and sober up may have more than one meaning after all. Contrast therapy or hydrotherapy is a process in which you take your body from one temperature extreme to the other through... Read More...
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CDC Provides Tough New Guidelines for Reopening Offices

by murika Comment Closed
Want to reopen your office? When you do, consider temperature checks for employees as they arrive at work, facemasks, and plastic dividers between desks that are closer than six feet apart. Those are just some of the new list of recommendations that the Centers for Disease Control just released for companies that plan to have their employees return to the workplace. The recommendations are just that -- they're not legally binding. But chances are these guidelines would come into play during any potential litigation over workplace safety. Besides, some expert say, most of these measures are very good ideas that you should consider adopting if you want you and your employees to stay healthy.  Here's just some of what the CDC wants you to do. Read more...
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Prof. Margaret Kamar: How my farm makes tens of millions

by murika Comment Closed
Did you know that Senate Deputy Speaker Prof. Margaret Kamar is a prominent farmer in the Rift Valley? Well, her farm is not just your ordinary farm. It rakes in millions in revenue as this feature shows. This feature was first published in the Seeds of Gold Magazine, a publication of the Nation Media Group. As you drive along the Eldoret-Iten-Chepkanga Road, you cannot stop marvelling at the hundreds of blue gum (eucalyptus) trees lining up one side of the thoroughfare. The trees on the vast farm seemingly stretch to eternity as they make a memorable pattern. Down further, it becomes clear that the expansive farm christened Elfam is not an ordinary one. Read More...
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How to Hold Remote Workers Accountable Without Micromanaging

by murika Comment Closed
In March, a viral leaked email from a Wall Street Journal manager instructed newly remote workers to keep managers informed if they're "taking a break, conducting an interview, in a meeting, or will otherwise be unavailable for a while."  This is how you ruin remote work.  Managers might as well ask to be informed every time an employee takes a bio break, eats a Snickers bar, ties their shoes, sneezes, scratches their elbow, or tidies their desk. I understand where the impulse comes from. Millions of people are working remotely for the first time, and managers are trying to adjust. Most are used to seeing their direct reports in person throughout the day, and think this gives them an idea of what exactly folks are doing with their time. But here's the thing. Good managers don't actually care what folks do with their time. They care if they get their job done or not. Read More...
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