FutureNow Inspiration Journey NYC Sept 30 – Oct 2: Talent Management & Employee Engagement

FutureNow_StackedWho:  Exceptional Leaders who care about the future of their organization and the employees that make it what it is

What: A 3-day Inspiration Journey to ignite new thinking, unearth fresh insights, and build momentum to make the changes necessary for a better future.

Why: Today’s organizations are stuck.  We want to help unstick them and create workplaces where their people can thrive!

How: Inspiration through visits to cutting-edge host companies, insights through facilitated sessions with experienced innovation professionals, and action through planning, coaching and conferring with our experienced staff and your fellow delegates. Join a select delegation in a revelatory 3-day behind-the-scenes exchange with cutting-edge New York City business visionaries. You won’t leave with just a few good ideas…you’ll leave with a plan.

NEW YORK CITY SEPT 30-OCT 2:  TALENT MANAGEMENT & EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT:  TIME FOR A NEW EMPLOYEE RELATIONSHIP MODEL

Host leaders and companies for our June 17-19 Inspiration Journey include*…

  • Whole Foods Markets –  an inspiring model of distributed employee engagement through deep transparency, autonomy and accountability
  • Donorschoose.org – One of the most innovative companies in the world happens to be a nonprofit.  We’ll get special access to  their Founder, Charles Best, about what makes this organization so special to work for
  • Everwise Millennial UNPanel – Everwise’s, “The eHarmony of mentoring”‘s CEO and Founder Mike Bergelson will host our UNPanel with Millennials on the future of coaching and mentoring

…and more from the likes of Foursquare, Shapeways, Tapad, American Express and others we are finalizing to be part of our Inspiration Journey!

Each inspiration journey will visit 4+ host companies who are either famous for their engaging culture and/or are doing something incredibly innovative in the talent space. These visits are meant to inspire and unearth insights about the top items on today’s organizations’ people agendas. But beyond inspiration, we’ll run interactive events and sessions to help the delegates bridge from insights into action for their own organization. The group will be capped at a very small number, so they’ll be able to receive personal attention and coaching for their own challenges. The goal is for the delegates to be energized and equipped to move from inspiration to action once the tour is complete.

*speaker and engagement schedule subject to change  / still being finalized

Contact us today to save your spot before there are none left! Visit www.futureleadernow.com to learn more.

For a Millennial’s “Jungle Gym” Career, Mentorship is their Harness

Sheryl Sandburg’s 2012 HBS graduation speech famously coined a metaphor that most millennials have been embracing since they entered the workforce – career as a jungle gym, not a ladder: “(careers are…) not a ladder; they’re a jungle gym. …look for opportunities, look for growth, look for impact, look for mission. Move sideways, move down, move on, move off. Build your skills, not your resume. Evaluate what you can do, not the title they’re going to give you. Do real work. Take a sales quota, a line role, an ops job, don’t plan too much, and don’t expect a direct climb. If I had mapped out my career when I was sitting where you are, I would have missed my career.”

Now consider this:

  • We know that mentorship is a critical success factor in development and career success
  • Millenials ask for more mentorship, and seem to need it more to succeed than their peers, according to an in-depth study by Viacom.  Their results indicate that “an important distinction about Millennials in the workplace is that they actually want a “perpetual feedback loop.” Whereas Xers may have eschewed any feedback — even an annual review — Shore says, “Millennials are like, ‘Can you give me daily reviews?’ Their drive to self-improve is extremely high, and it reflects the world they grew up in, because they’re in a constant feedback loop.”
  • Millenials, and heck, the rest of us, are having a hard time finding a mentor in our current workplaces.  Whether it’s because we’re approaching our career with a jungle gym approach, causing lots of movement (inside or outside of a company) or we just work for a company that has very few individuals that would qualify as a good mentor, it’s hard to find someone to give you the sage advice you need at the time you need it.  Being “assigned” a mentor seems outdated, and Monica Higgins, a professor at Harvard’s Graduate School of Educate,  stated in this Bloomberg article“one senior person can no longer be the only place you turn for career support.”

So how to bridge the gap between the increasing demand for good mentors and seemingly decreasing supply?  In our upcoming FutureNow event we’ll be talking about this very topic with Everwise, an new kind of mentoring “matchmaker.”  This company is founded on the concept that sometimes the best mentors are outside of your existing organization.  Interestingly, Everwise was co-created by Mike Bergelson and former eBay COO and LiveOps COO, Maynard Webb, who continues to be a personal mentor of mine throughout my own “jungle gym” career.

It’s companies like this that are thinking innovatively about what mentoring means, and how to equip and support a future workforce that will continue to rely more on themselves (vs. the organization) for development paths and opportunities.  Future-thinking organizations must also think about the best ways to provide productive coaching and mentoring to this new workforce, as they are our future leaders, and ultimately the success of the organization lies in their hands.

FutureNow, a 3-day Inspiration Journey is happening June 17-19 in San Francisco and September 30-October 2 in New York City.

FutureNow Inspiration Journeys – San Francisco June 17-19 || NYC Sept 30 – Oct 2

Who:  Exceptional Leaders who care about the future of their organization and the employees that make it what it is
What: A 3-day Inspiration Journey to ignite new thinking, unearth fresh insights, and build momentum to make the changes necessary for a better future.
Why: Today’s organizations are stuck.  We want to help unstick them and create workplaces where their people can thrive!
How: Inspiration through visits to cutting-edge host companies, insights through facilitated sessions with experienced innovation professionals, and action through planning, coaching and conferring with our experienced staff and your fellow delegates.

Join a select delegation in a revelatory 3-day behind-the-scenes exchange with cutting-edge Bay area business visionaries. You won’t leave with just a few good ideas…you’ll leave with a plan.

SAN FRANCISCO JUNE 17-19:  FUTURE LEADERSHIP:  THE WHO, WHAT & HOW TO ENGAGE?

NEW YORK CITY SEPT 30-OCT 2:  TALENT MANAGEMENT:  TIME FOR A NEW EMPLOYEE RELATIONSHIP MODEL

Host leaders and companies for our June 17-19 Inspiration Journey include*…

  • eBay, Inc. – Dane Howard of Global Brand Experience (Paypal, eBay, etc.) about the intersection of brand and its people, plus others from eBay’s innovative leadership group. Learn how they’re attracting and retaining future leaders.
  • Achievers – A company whose main product enables engagement through technology for its clients, but also walks the walk when it comes to their own culture!
  • Gap, Inc. – We’ll engage with other Gap executives in HR and Talent Development and run an insight session on Future Leadership where we will invite Millenials (from both inside Gap, Inc and outside) to develop insights around what leadership looks like to them, and how organizations need to be thinking to develop this next generation of leaders
  • Everwise & Citrix – Everwise’s, “The eHarmony of mentoring”‘s CEO and Founder Mike Bergelson along with Diana Joseph, the Director of Education at Citrix, are offering a session with other HR leaders in Silicon Valley to explore new solutions to current workplace challenges
  • Box – The SVP of People, Evan Wittenberg, and other Box leaders will reveal how they’re approaching their future talent pipeline while scaling and creating an incredibly engaging, award-winning culture

Each inspiration journey will visit 4+ host companies who are either famous for their engaging culture and/or are doing something incredibly innovative in the talent space. These visits are meant to inspire and unearth insights about the top items on today’s organizations’ people agendas. But beyond inspiration, we’ll run interactive events and sessions to help the delegates bridge from insights into action for their own organization. The group will be capped at a very small number, so they’ll be able to receive personal attention and coaching for their own challenges. The goal is for the delegates to be energized and equipped to move from inspiration to action once the tour is complete.

*speaker and engagement schedule subject to change  

Contact us today to save your spot before there are none left! Visit www.futureleadernow.com to learn more.

Is your workplace thriving or dying? Why you need to know the answer.

Light Streaming Through the Crown of a TreeYour people ARE your business. If not for them, you would have nothing.  Creating a workplace where your people thrive is paramount not only to the growth of your company but also to its very survival. 

A mind shift needs to happen so that we believe that creating an engaging workplace, one where employees enjoy their work, get to share their strengths and passions, and are able to grow and develop, is not just something “good for the employees”.  We need to believe that a focus on creating a thriving workplace and the changes you are brave enough to make are a win-win.  They are good for you, for them, and for the organization at large and your customers.  When your people are thriving, everyone wins.

With everything that we know about what motivates individuals to do their best work, there are still very few organizations making innovative strides to align their organizations with those motivations.  According to Dan Pink’s book DRIVE:  The Surprising Truth Behind What Motivates Us, individuals are not primarily driven by money, as traditionally believed.  Once they are paid at a level they believe is commensurate with their work, financial incentives actually start to work in reverse.  His book points to truckloads of research that says what really motivates employees is three things: Mastery – the need to continue to develop and learn, Autonomy – the desire to be self-driven and not micro-managed and Purpose – an alignment with the “what” of what the company is creating.   And yet, we still think that if we provide a good salary and benefits that that should be enough.  It’s not.

According to a Forbes article entitled “Why Millennials are Ending the 9 to 5”, freelancing and self-employment are on the rise.  The article also notes “Millennials are leaving their companies in less than three years. With 87% of companies reporting a cost of between $15,000 and $25,000 to replace each lost Millennial employee, industries need to start paying attention to structural changes.”

Start paying attention to structural changes, huh?  I say, start paying attention to the people.  You want them to come.  You want them to stay.  You need them to thrive.

Follow me and my blog as I take you on a journey into workplaces big and small, and what they are doing to start creating the workplaces of the future, today.  We’re all in this together, and don’t you want to create a workplace where the next generation can work in an environment where they can shine?

Working for the Weekend? Working for Now.

yes - notepad & penThis phrase flitted through my mind the other day and for the first time since I heard it, I stopped and thought about it.  Working for the weekend.  What it implies is that the only time in your week that you actually enjoy, or want to actively participate in, is the weekend.

I know way too many people who unconsciously live this way.  Their workdays are a series of to-do lists, “must-do’s” and “just get through it’s”.   They take their first real breath of the week as they walk into their home on Friday, and then Monday comes and you hear the response to “how was your weekend?” – “way too short”.

What if every moment of your life was worth “working for”?  What if you were working for NOW?  Many of the clients I work with are dealing with overwhelm, frustration and overall exhaustion.  Even if they WERE able have a moment, take a breath and enjoy any of the spoils that came with all their hard work, they are too worried about everything that hasn’t been done or what they should be doing or are so exhausted that they miss the weekends too!

I know that there are things that have to be done that none of us particularly enjoy.  It takes bravery to pause, look up, and ask yourself if you can do better – if you can create a life where you enjoy the now? 

Why wait for the weekend?  

Get Comfortable with Your Boundaries (and Beyond Them) from Fear.Less

This post is taken from the Fear.Less newsletter I received today.  Thank you Fear.Less for inspiring, as always.  To subscribe to their posts:

fearlessstories.com

You can take it with you. Your comfort zone, that is. You know, that cozy place that all these books and seminars and gurus keep telling you to leave. Leaving is scary, so sometimes even if you claim to be seeking “discomfort” (oof), maybe you really aren’t. But see, a zone is like a territory, or like a country. And the thing about leaving your comfort zone is that you’re not a tourist, visiting these risky new places for a little while and then retreating back home. No, you’re an imperialist, putting forth a considerable effort to extend your borders over an area that wasn’t always yours. There’s a reason that board game is called Risk. But once that happens, your zone is bigger, and you are comfortable doing more things. You can survive job interviews. Extreme sports. Awkward social situations. What I find people forget to tell you about leaving your comfort zone is that you’re not supposed to return to it, wipe your sweaty brow and say “phew, well that was ultimately healthy, I’m sure. Now to never do it again.” The idea is to make the uncharted realm the newest part of your zone and say “I don’t necessarily have to come back here again, but at least I know I probably can if I want to.” Always making an effort to test yourself is important, but don’t forget to take stock of where you are, and how your recently contested comforts are developing. fearlessstories.com

What Do You Want? FeMBA Highlights

“What do you want?”

This was the first question posed at the 3-day program called FeMBA (a mini-MBA for women entrepreneurs) I attended with Seth Godin at the beginning of last month. I was stumped. He was asking it in the context of my business, but I cannot address that question one-dimensionally. Like most working women I know, my whole life is intertwined in who I am and what I do. I want a career. I want to have an impact. I want to accomplish something significant. I want to be independent. I want to love and be loved. I want to be there for my children when they are sick/need cupcakes/want to be read to. I want to be a role model for my daughter. I want to be my son’s best friend. I want to work hard with amazing people. I want to go on vacation with my husband. I want to make lots of money. I want to do yoga. I want to connect amazing people. I want a lot. So to ask me that question…to ask how I might create a business that can enable all my dreams and desires is difficult and scary – I am having a hard time wrapping my head around a job that will enable all of it. But I am not one to avoid the scary path. The real question for me is what do I want to do first? And then next? And then have faith that the how will follow.  And I do.

So first up:  I want to connect all of you to each other.  You with me?

Thank you, Seth, for the gift of you, your questions, your ideas, and for connecting me with my new posse of FeMBA Phenoms.

FYI – for highlights of the FeMBA program, go here.

My Way Is Best…and So Is Yours

The other day I had two dear friends over for a play date and lunch. I met them both when we all lived in Chicago; we were single, working, and playing flag football on the weekends. We all grew up in the Midwest and went to Big Ten universities. One worked for a large cable network, one a well-known marketing firm, and I was working for Andersen Consulting. We were the epitome of our generation of women, forging through choices presented to us of potential mates, potential careers and all that goes with it.


16 years later, all of us are married, all of us with kids…but…
…one is a stay at home mom who loves the suburbs. Her trip to the city marked the first for her 16 month old daughter.
…the other, also now a stay at home mom, lives in Palo Alto and finds herself in San Francisco often meeting her husband for dinner after work, or to meet up with friends.
…and then there’s me. I still live in the city (NYC now). I own my own business and I live in a two bedroom apartment. My kids ride the subway with us on a daily basis and think back yards are public parks for anyone to play in.

From an outsider’s perspective, we could be perceived as very different. We could be analyzed, even…how did three women with similar upbringings have such different outcomes with regards to career and family? Who’s happiest? Who took advantage of the opportunities presented to them and who fell prey to social and cultural pressures?

I see similarity more than difference. We were all brought up to follow our hearts and do what makes us happy. And that has lead us each to where we are now. And only by being true to ourselves and our needs could we so confidently be happy with our lives and still be dear friends. I know that my two friends think I’m crazy for doing what I do, but they are happy for me. And they know that I could never live the life they do, but I am 100% supportive of the choices they’ve made.

Because we made the choices that align with our values, not with what the world wants us to be, we have ended up all exactly where we should be: happy. So here’s to the best way – which is any way that’s value-based and makes you happy.

6 years…it’s okay

A warning to anyone who reads my posts normally…this is a break from my normal thoughts on personal development…this one is well, just plain old personal…

My mom passed away suddenly, of a stroke, 6 years ago today.  I forgot.  I mean, I didn’t forget she died, I just forgot today when I woke up that today was the day.  September always brings such hope with the start of the school year, with a new spring in my step, and then…

…something felt wrong.  Off.  On. Off.  Then a message from an old friend:  “Thinking of you.” and another “sending love and friendship today and always”. Right.  Right.  Today’s the day.  They remembered.  I forgot.

Maybe that’s a good thing?  Maybe it’s the most terrible thing ever.  Ever ever.  I’m now mad my husband didn’t remember.  That’s ludicrous.  Even as I’m thinking of it I’m realizing I’m projecting my own frustration and disappointment.  6 years.  SIX years.  What happens in six years?

Others who have asked me, when it happens to them, if it gets better…I say yes and no.  Because right now it’s no better.  But this morning, before I remembered, it was better.  It was.  Really.  Or was I just not thinking about how not better it is?

I miss her just as much.  And as the gap gets bigger I see how much she’s missing.  And how much I’m missing.  My little girl’s first words.  “Peas?” for please.  My son’s first spelling “DDD D!  It starts with the letter D!”  His first day of school is coming.  I can take a picture.  I have no one to send it to.

I sometimes still grab my phone and realize I have no one to dial.  I have no one that understands me the way she did.  No one to call when I have five minutes.  Where just five minutes is okay.  Where just five minutes is everything.

Six years.  I was a different person then.  The girl with the mom.  Now I’m the girl whose mom died.  Years ago.  Not as powerful anymore, right?  It was years ago.

But the thing is because it’s been years more things have happened that she has not been here for.  There are more reasons to miss her.  The hole has gotten bigger.  The wound has gotten deeper.

And yet.  I am my mother’s daughter.  Not one to dwell.  Not one to make others uncomfortable.  I’m fine.  I’m good.  I’m good!  I am healthy.  I am loved.  She loved me.  I loved her.  My last words to her were “I love you, mom”.  She knew, I knew.

Tonight I saw her twinkle in my little girl’s eye.  Sigh.  Tomorrow”s another day.  6 years and a day.  It’s okay.

Branding Basics Book Giveaway!

I have read this book from cover to cover, recommended and given it to clients, and applied it to my own work.  Maria Ross’s book, Branding Basics for Small Business recently got great reviews from both Midwest Book Review and MarketingSherpa.com.  It’s a must read for any entrepreneur or small business.

And so, since many of you, my community, fall into this category I am doing a giveaway (my first!)!  To qualify to win a copy of Maria’s book, you most post a comment here answering this question:  which three words do you think most perfectly describe your brand.  This can be your personal brand (“superwoman!”, “energizer!”, “motivator!”) or it can be your company’s brand (“tactical”, “empathetic”, “innovative”).  I will pick the winner at random tomorrow at 5PEST from the respondants!

Can’t wait to see your brands boiled down into three words!