Last week to kick off the new year, we discussed starting with a focus on creating or revisiting individual and/or organizational values. Values are a great place to set an ideal, but how do you make that a reality? As Brene Brown says about values: One reason we roll our eyes when people start talking about values is that everyone talks a big values game but very few people actually practice one. It can be infuriating, and it’s not just individuals who fall short of the talk. In our experience, only about 10 percent of organizations have operationalized their
Resolutions, Goals, Plans, and Turning Over A New Leaf. This is the stuff that New Years are made of. For individuals and organizations, the new year is always a natural place to think big and aim high. And there is nothing wrong with this. As 2023 came to a close, a theme we saw over and over again was the challenge many people were having in leading well. They were aiming high, but totally missing the mark. They had lost the people they were leading as well as themselves in the process, chasing some ideal they couldn’t even name. So
On November 15th of this year, Mary Ila was asked to speak on Character at the BBB Torch Awards. Her topic was inspired by our Horizon Point book of the year named Hidden Potential by Adam Grant. Mary Ila wasn’t able to attend, but Jillian showed up and presented in her place. We hope that you enjoy this special treat from this year’s event. Thank you for the opportunity to be here today. The BBB team across North Alabama does a tremendous job in fostering workplace ethics and we are happy to be a part of the organization as
“If there’s something stirring in you now, and you know what it is, do that. There’s no need to overthink it. A mistake here and there isn’t going to kill you, so don’t waste time worrying about that. It’s infinitely better to fail with courage than to sit idle with fear, because only one of these gives you the slightest chance to live abundantly. And if you do fail, then the worst-case scenario is that you’ll learn something from it. You’re for sure not going to learn jack squat from sitting still and playing it safe.“ On his 40th birthday
In the second paragraph of Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmul, Ed describes the offices of Pixar like this: It has well thought-out patterns of entry and egress that encourage people to mingle, meet, and communicate. Outside, there is a soccer field, a volleyball court, a swimming pool, and a six-hundred seat amphitheater. Sometimes visitors misunderstand the place, thinking it’s fancy for fancy’s sake. What they miss is that the unifying idea for this building isn’t luxury but community. Steve (Jobs) wanted the building to support our work by enhancing our ability to collaborate. In a whole book dedicated to explaining