One of the things that I have thought about more recently is what makes someone truly happy in their work? We can talk about perks, fellow team members and benefits, and all those things are important, but there is another layer. It’s feeling like your work matters. The key, according to expert David Rock, is …
Yesterday, we sponsored a Leadership in Diversity & Inclusion roundtable held at The Lakeshore Foundation. The third in a series, this session focused on inclusion for our international community, a particularly poignant topic since The World Games will be in Birmingham next month. Carlos Alemán, CEO of the Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama (¡HICA!), served …
With the exception of the last couple of years, I have visited Augusta on several spring trips. I have seen a lot in that time spent here–trials and tribulations and some great golfers. If you have not been to Augusta National, you might not know that the topography sets it apart from most other PGA …
For the last few years, I’ve served as one of the directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s Birmingham Branch. This country is fortunate to have a strong central bank. When congress founded the Fed in 1913, it was explicitly stated that goals should be “maximum employment, stable prices and moderate long-term interest rates.” …
A long time ago, I made the decision to vocalize the good I see by giving genuine compliments as often as possible. I don’t mean, “You look nice today,” compliments. While those are valuable, they are at surface level. I means something more like, “I watched you in that meeting and you have a real …
I recently read an article from the Rotary magazine about resilience. This sentence from the opening paragraph stuck with me: “Each of us is genetically hardwired to recover after a failure, some more quickly than others…Whatever degree of resilience we possess, we can always work to increase it.” The piece goes on to discuss practical ways …
These days, we have a solid group of both office and field management who are leading Stewart/Perry well, probably the best we have had. Because of this, I felt like I could make the commitment to assist the Mayor of Birmingham when he asked me to serve our city by being part of his transition …
I recently read an article saying there are two kinds of job candidates: Experienced and Trajectory. Upon being hired, experienced candidates can jump right in. They have the wisdom of experience and require very little coaching. They also command a higher salary. Trajectory candidates are hired not for their proven track record, but for their …
For the last couple of years, building and maintaining relationships has been harder than I have ever seen in my career. Zoom, along with its video conference first cousins, has been a bandaid for our mental health, but these have eliminated a lot of sidebar and casual conversations that use to take place while walking …
Quality, value and price are often big deciding factors as to what lands a job. If those things are equal, or close to it, what drives the transaction? The answer might be simpler than you think. We all would rather do business with people we like. In my book, likability–being relatable and making that personal connection–is one of …
Too often, I have seen folks change jobs because they think the grass is greener only to find out they have made a mistake. It’s been happening even more in these recent times, and I always counsel people to proceed with caution. Instead, I would like to make the case for “stickability,” where one finds …
Last weekend marked an important date–20 years since the September 11 Attacks. Like many, I spent some time re-watching the coverage and remembering. One of the things that stood out for me was the unity that our country felt in the fall of that year. In the shadow of that dark day, Americans felt less …