WOW Word-Of-the-Week #516: EI
June 26, 2014 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on WOW Word-Of-the-Week #516: EI
EI – emotional intelligence; aka EQ.
Did you know that it’s you EQ not your IQ that counts? Did you know that your IQ gets you hired but that your EQ gets you promoted? Would you like to work with a staff of top performers?
In 1995 Daniel Goleman wrote the book titled, Emotional Intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ. I read the book and loved it and created a seminar based on the key factors. Then this week the San Diego UT ran an article on the front page of the business section titled, Emotional Intelligence: companies find that workers with high EQ are most productive.
So here we are almost 20 years later and it’s still big news! Erinn Hutkin writes, “Measuring a person’s emotional intelligence may seem like a “touchy-feely” concept, but it is one that is proving to be a successful method to hire, promote and retain highly productive executives and staff.
Essentially, assessing emotional intelligence (EI), also known as EQ, helps businesses address or identify problems with someone’s behavior when it comes to
how they manage emotions and how self-aware they are, particularly in stressful situations.
Christine DiDonato, founder of career Revolution Inc., a group that helps companies turn young professionals into leaders, said when top performers have been studied, up to 90 percent of them test high for EI. Since there is a high correlation with EI and performance, if a company can further develop EI throughout their workforce, they should expect lifts in productivity, not to mention a much more self-aware culture.
She goes on to say “Most organizations lack the resources to provide the right kind of development for enough of their workforce to make a real difference to their bottom line. If a company needs to address why they have a disengaged workforce, increasing turnover or declining revenues, they should invest in tools and resources that make a difference in how their workforce interacts.”
The last paragraph reads, “We know that happy people are productive people. And productive people add value to their customers, the economy and the world they live in.”
This week’s focus is on Emotional Intelligence. Does your work involve human resources and/or hiring staff? Would you like to reduce your turnover? Would you like to have a highly productive staff?
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FUN-travel: Good ole US of A! – St. Augustine, FL
June 23, 2014 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Good ole US of A! – St. Augustine, FL
Day 2 – Savannah to St. Augustine, FL – drive 177 miles
- 8:00 – coffee (just so-so)
- 9:30 – breakfast – pretty average
- 11:00 – depart
- 1:45 – arrive
Good News – parked on the main street – A1A – and fed parking meter $4.50 for 3 hours – takes credit cards – you don’t need to pay $10 in the visitor’s lot.
- 1:50 – lunch
FUN-food – Meehan’s Irish Pub – recommended by the tourist booth 2 blks down – food arrives fresh daily (no microwave, no freezer) and good! mussels & entrée salad +2 ice teas = $39.00
- 2:45 – stroll through historic city includes:
- Original city wall
- Colonial Quarter – a 2 acre living museum depicting life in the 1740s when it was ruled by Spain
- Old City – lots of shops, restaurants & bars
- Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse
- Castillo de San Marcos – oldest masonry fort out on the water – in really great shape
- Really pretty, well maintained city w/grand architecture & landscaping
- 4:45 – drive off for Palm Coast
- 6:15 – arrive Hampton Inn
- 7:30 – dinner @Tomato Pie – in strip mall – good Italian food & pizza
FUN-facts – St. Augustine is the oldest city in the US – founded in 1565 – and is the next best thing to going to Spain without the jet lag. It is very well preserved and has lots of shops and restaurants.
Oldest Wooden School
More FF – We stopped here on our way down from Savannah to the Palm Coast for my speaking engagement for the Florida CMAA Chapter.
Lesson Learned – Always check alternative airports. It was actually cheaper to fly into Savannah and out of Orlando than to fly round trip to Jacksonville.
Castillo de San Marcos
WOW Word-Of-the-Week #515: Pleasure
June 18, 2014 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on WOW Word-Of-the-Week #515: Pleasure
Pleasure – the excitement or happiness produced by the expectation or enjoyment of something good.
Do you find pleasure in your everyday life? Do you find enjoyment in your job? Have you identified the things that you are passionate about? Do you have the freedom to pursue them?
This is the final WOW by Jonathan Clements Wall Street Journal Sunday article titled, “Some Life Advice for the Class of 2014.” His son Henry graduated from Washington University and he had 7 good points of “parental wisdom” to give him. Today I will share the last two.
- Money buys a lot of happiness initially – but, after that, not so much. If you can lift folks out of poverty, you can vastly improve their happiness. But from there, it seems to take a lot of money to make people measurably happy.
- The reason to accumulate money is so you don’t have to worry about money. It’s sort of like health. It’s only when you’re sick that you realize how great it is to feel healthy.
Similarly, it’s only when you don’t have enough money that you realize how great it is to be on a solid financial footing. More money may not make you happy – but not having money could make you extremely unhappy. You want to get to the point where money isn’t something you worry about.
How do we pull together these seven threads? The career that makes you happy today may not make you happy in 20 years. Instead, you may want to do something totally different. That something might be important, but it may not be lucrative.
My advice: Spend your first few decades in the workforce getting yourself in great financial shape so you have the freedom to pursue whatever career you want.
That means saving like crazy. And, no, you won’t be missing out on much. All those possessions you want will give you so little pleasure. Instead, what will give you pleasure is striving after the things you’re passionate about. I would encourage you to manage your financial life so you can do just that.
This week focus on what brings you pleasure. If you are just starting out what plan do you have in place to get yourself in financial shape? If you are in the midpoint of your life is there another career that you want to pursue? Are you striving for those things that you are passionate about and bring you pleasure?
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FUN-travel: Good ole US of A! – Savannah, GA
June 16, 2014 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Good ole US of A! – Savannah, GA
Day 1 – took the red eye w/layover in DC
Good News – saved the cost of a hotel night
Bad News – very uncomfortable! Even in 1st class
- 9:30 – arrive & pick up a car
- Only takes 20 minutes to get to historic district
FUN-fact – Staying at the Eliza Thompson House – built in 1847 – features 12 rooms in the “Main House” and 13 rooms in a “Carriage House” which overlooks the courtyard. Amenities include: continental breakfast, turn down service, evening reception with wine and hors d’oeuvres, and desserts and coffee.
Good News – get parking spot right in front – $12 pass from Inn gets you 48 hrs
Bad News – room not ready & tired – oh well!
- 10:30 – head off for nice stroll
- 11:30 – lunch
FUN-food – The Public Kitchen & Bar – really good 100% Natural Free Range Grass-fed Ground Burger & spinach salad + 2 ice teas = $32
- 12:30 – head to water front
- 1:30 – take Oglethorpe trolley thru historic district
- 4:00 – back to room for nap
- 6:00 – happy hour in front living room
- Lots of FUN people from around the world
- 7:30 – walk to City Market – 4 block area
- Dinner @ Vinnie Van Go-Go’s Pizza – (recommended by bartender @ the Public)
- cheap and fairly good – best part is sitting outside and people watching
- 9:00 – back to Inn for desserts
More FUN-facts – Savannah is the oldest city in Georgia and the 13th and final English Colony. It is known as America’s first planned city. The historic district is 2.2 square miles and the largest one in the US. The city was laid out in a series of grids that allowed for wide open streets intertwined with shady public squares and parks that served as town meeting places and centers of business. Savannah had 24 original park-like squares; 22 squares are still in existence today. Forrest Gump narrated his life’s story sitting on the bus bench in Chippewa Square. And Juliette Gordon Low who founded the Girl Scouts was born here in 1860.
WOW Word-Of-the-Week #514: Passionate
June 12, 2014 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on WOW Word-Of-the-Week #514: Passionate
Passionate – how you feel when you have great interests and enthusiasm in life.
Is there something in your life that you are truly passionate about? What do you have a great interest in? What do you feel most enthusiastic about?
This is the second WOW by Jonathan Clements Wall Street Journal Sunday article titled, “Some Life Advice for the Class of 2014.” His son Henry graduated from Washington University and he had 7 good points of “parental wisdom”to give him. Today I will share the next three.
- Twenty years from now, you’ll likely be less happy than you are today. Our satisfaction through life tends to be U-shaped, with our reported happiness hitting bottom in our 40’s.
It could be that our happiness declines through the first few decades of our adult lives as we come to realize that our youthful ambitions won’t be realized. In midlife, we come to terms with this, and that’s when our happiness rebounds.
- You want to design a life for yourself where you can engage in activities that you’re passionate about. Often, we’re happiest when we’re striving after goals that we think are important.
It’s OK to want the promotion and pay raise, so you can buy the house and the car. But if the price paid is working at a job you hate, you have set yourself up for misery. The journey is indeed more important that the destination.
But in a world where you can expect to live eight or nine decades, one journey may not be enough. To have a fulfilling life, you may need occasionally to change careers. And the striving doesn’t stop when you quit the workforce. In your 50’s and early 60’s, you should think hard about what will give a sense of purpose to your retirement.
- The secret to getting rich is no secret: You need great savings habits. Yes, some people inherit wealth or build successful businesses. But most wealthy Americans get there by saving diligently month after month.
This week focus on what you are passionate about. Are you enjoying the journey or is your focus the destination? What are the most important goals you are striving for? Have you ever thought about what will give you a sense of purpose in your retirement?
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