Working On Purpose

What if we lived every day of the year as if it were Christmas – and as if we were Santa Claus? What if we let ourselves be called into a higher state of being that embodied love, gratitude, and giving, every day – not just during the holidays? It’s a good bet that not only would our own immediate life and well-being skyrocket to a higher level, but the ripple effect could literally cascade across the world. Christmas is a state of mind that is available to us all, no matter what religion we observe. Let it live on every day of the year and thread us together as a unified, grateful whole.

A company’s success is heavily determined by the quality and transforming potency of the talent it can attract. Companies that selectively hire for their culture and the vision they are growing into position themselves to win while inspiring the new employees with meaningful work and a bright future. Part of this growth strategy entails training front line managers with “boots on the ground” tactical skills to increase productivity and reduce friction from otherwise poor communication among team members. Cast a compelling vision that people want to be part of creating, enable and power the team with effective training, and then get out of the way!

“It just feels right” or “I go with my gut” are very common ways we have been encouraged to make decisions. Yet in today’s complex social and business environment, this emotional or instinctual approach simply does not serve us well and has actually been proven disastrous for leaders. More than 100 known cognitive biases have been identified and represent reminders that to be effective we must learn to engage our rational and logical brain to intervene. In this episode, we explore some common cognitive biases that interfere with effective decision making and diminish desired results in relationships and business and provide a powerful decision making model that improves the quality of everyday life and the bottom line results of business.

Most of us ache to live a full life of contribution and impact, one we're proud of and leaves us fulfilled. At 71, having made large waves in the Public Relations and Fashion industries early in her career, Lynne Franks launched a global women's leadership platform 20 years ago that continues to build steam and momentum. This while she champions human rights, women's empowerment, and climate initiatives to help transform our planet into a more equitable and sustainable place for the generations to come. May we all find just a fraction of her passion and purpose for ourselves.

Unconscious bias is a short cut technique we all employ to try to deal with the constant onslaught of information we confront every day. Using it in the workplace often results in limited input to decisions to hire, promote, and develop individuals within the organization. The more we can be challenged by others and ourselves to consider and re-evaluate how we perceive and judge others, we develop acumen to more quickly recognize our unconscious bias and become effective in joyously dancing with life. And like this episode’s guest, the more intentional and aware we can become about how we take in the world, the more we can literally dance with it to enjoy it deeply, make a greater impact on those we encounter and serve, and thread together the different aspects of our lives that stitch together into a rich tapestry.

Anxiety and depression are the most common mental health diagnoses in the US, followed by substance abuse disorder. This is due in part to our tendency as an individualistic society to assume alone more day-to-day burdens than our collectivist society brethren who rely on a broader community to handle the pressures of daily life. This conversation encourages us to become enlightened as to how the trials and tribulations of everyday life can impact our mental and spiritual health. And in the most helpful and optimistic way, it reminds us that we should embrace how the miracle in us can become a powerful energy to offset the debilitating affects of what can otherwise emerge as anxiety and mental or spiritual depression.

Serve first. Never stop learning. These are just two of the key lessons shared from top business leaders that distinguish their careers of service and impact. In this fireside chat with Bruce Waller, we highlight the 10 most valuable lessons he’s learned from top business leaders, career advice from his book “Finding your Lane, and his key takeaways serving as a Texas SHRM State Council District Director as he seeks to inspire people to navigate their career with purpose.

Military men and women face an enormous challenge transitioning from active duty to the civilian world, often describe it as the hardest thing they’ve ever done. Leaving behind a life and mission governed by purpose and putting their own life on the line in service to it, veterans often find re-entry to civilian life lacking and thus isolate themselves without help and resources. The GallantFew organization exists to help veterans reclaim hope and purpose in their lives as they reintegrate socially and professionally back into the civilian world.

Is this you, the aspirational human, aching to realize your potential? Do you have a desire to grow and evolve, but are not acting on it? Do you live with a constant nagging feeling, a dissatisfaction with your life, a persistent unhappiness from not meeting your potential? Then, you are likely perpetually carrying the discomfort as wasted days and self-contempt. The way out is to embrace that discomfort without numbing it away, welcome fear as a co-passenger in your ride to achievement, and develop a new mindset that emboldens your thoughts and feelings in transit to a new and brighter future. Guest Rachel Stewart will teach you how.

Today’s business climate calls for a move away from a focus on shareholder primacy to one that includes serving all stakeholders – customers, employees, suppliers, communities, and shareholders. Doing business in that world means more than ever, employees and customers are in the driver’s seat. And that translates to customers favoring trust-based relationships for purchases AND employees taking on more responsibility for their own engaged efforts on the job to ensure their own success. Welcome to the new frontier!

Human trafficking is modern-day slavery and victims, often sourced through their vulnerability, are subject to force, fraud or coercion for the purposes of forced labor and/or sexual exploitation. With 24.9 million victims across the globe, this atrocity represents a waste of a person’s one, precious life and must be halted to usher in a world where all people are free to live beyond bondage to others, a decidedly higher plane of consciousness than we currently dwell. The United Against Human Trafficking organization stands to insure we live in a world that is intolerant of buyers and sellers of human beings.

19 years as an award-winning corporate businesswoman was not the ticket to fulfillment … until Michele discovered comedy as her platform for freedom and a way to help others through their struggles. It took realizing that inauthenticity was the way she was successful in her corporate roles – being someone she was not. Almost overnight, Michele found being true to and honoring her tragic past and the way she navigated through it, opened a path to a new career. Too many of us fall prey to making excuses to changing careers – “we’ve got too many years in one industry” or “we’re too old to start something new.” Once Michele came to terms with her past and embraced it as a unique set of circumstances that set her apart from others, she could no longer ignore the screaming inner voice that called her to her new career. This episode is her story.

As advances in medicine extend the lifespan, baby boomers and traditionalists are finding they have more years to live and experience life, post careers. Perspectives and even definitions of retirement need changing to usher in the choice of living life as either “an elder or old fart,” as Susan Sokol Blosser likes to say. In this episode, we talk about the new frontier of retirement, which includes managing loss, recapturing joy, and living with gratitude and generativity, which provides powerful purpose and energy to enthusiastically embrace aging.

According to the Boardroom Project, 51% of the population and almost half of the nation’s workforce are women, yet they are still significantly underrepresented in boardrooms across the country. The Government Accountability Office estimates it could take more than four decades of women’s representation on boards in order to approach parity with their male counterparts. The Boardroom Project aims to cut that target date by half by educating and exposing young girls to the business sector to kickstart their careers. This nonprofit also provides professional women the support they need to climb the corporate ladder through various board positions on corporate and non-profit boards.

In a world where so many people are desperately seeking greater meaning in their lives, the Japanese concept of “ikigai” just might offer the holy grail. Ikigai can be thought of as a framework for understanding who we really are and living a more meaningful life. With the inexorable rise of AI, machine learning, and automation, humans are often left wondering where we fit in. And as the pace of life gets faster and faster, an optimal work life balance seems evermore elusive. Ikigai offers us the structure to find meaning, purpose, and harmony.

How do you respond when life knocks you down? Way down? When one day you seem to be on top of the world, living the high life of running a successful business, playing golf at the country club, running for political office, and partying, to the next when you find yourself in prison for the choices you made along the way? Here is where choice and mindset play strong: You can continue down the spiral you have been falling down, or you can quite literally, change everything. Mike Rouse chose to change everything in his life post incarceration, in order to open a path to passion, fulfillment, impact, and success.

In our ever technology-fueled world, increasing our self-awareness and mindfulness is the order of the day. Doing so helps us cultivate creativity, compassion, and trust-based work, essential components for employees and companies alike to thrive. As more individuals work to discover their purpose and bring it into the world, human consciousness rises across the world and the possibilities for creating a whole new way of living and working are endless. And when leaders work on mindfulness and their inner dimension, focusing on cultivating more awareness and connection with the health and well being of their employees, customers, other stakeholders, and communities, conscious capitalism naturally follows. And business becomes a greater force for good, everywhere.

Creating a workplace culture that governs a company is guiding principles and mission and keeping it alive and vibrant is essential to compete in today is competitive marketplace. Customers and employees alike know when a company is culture is healthy and will opt in and out of it accordingly. Alkami is a recognized leader in innovative thought leadership in many areas, including its own distinguished culture. In this episode, we learn why culture is critical to meaningfully create, and then leverage as a governing force that informs and guides daily thinking, acting and connecting within the organization. Alkami also shares its signature culture compounds and some practices employed to keep it vibrant and strong.

We have been so conditioned to make a living and aim toward retirement from work so we can finally start enjoying life. Unfortunately as so many people have learned the hard way, it turns out this approach is not at all conducive to well-being or longevity. Withdrawing from the workforce and being a productive member of society often translates to reduced mental function, depression, poor health, and even an early death. While achieving financial means to sustain an ongoing life is essential, continuing to share our talents and be of service helps us maintain meaningful connection to others, continue to learn and grow, and give us a will to live. Please don’t ever stop working – whether you are being paid or volunteering!

Every one of us has had a childhood that has provided memorable experiences and critical life lessons. It is entirely up to us to exercise our freedom to choose the attitude we take to this set of experiences to make sense of and tell our life story. We also have the rich opportunity and responsibility to determine the life lessons and contributions all these experiences and encounters have helped us into becoming the distinguished person we are today. There is a unique human being that has emerged over the course of our lives as we respond to what life serves up. Can you articulate how your life lessons distinguish you, and are you sharing this unique being to make a contribution to the world? Hope Mueller is – and it’s inspiring and empowering!