Failure Can Be a Beautiful Thing

As you know, I enjoy traveling abroad each summer. This year I came across the most beautiful failure I have ever seen in Barcelona, Spain called Park Guell. In the early 1900's, Eusebi Guell hired the renowned modernism architect Antoni Gaudi to create a garden and public green spaces for a new housing development on a hill just outside of Barcelona. This housing development wasn’t a successful one, as the park at that time was far from town and only 2 houses of the proposed 60 were ever sold. However, it was here where Gaudi honed his skills as an architect/engineer and learned how to curve walls and bring the color and tile into his work that we see in his masterpiece La Sagrada Familia Church.

Although it was a failure as a real estate development, it is a monumental tourist success. When there was free admission, an estimated 9 million tourists per year would visit the park. In 2013, they established an entrance fee of 9 euros per person so they could maintain the site. Last year they had 3 million tourists visit the park for an annual budget of 27 million euros per year. You can't call this project a failure now. Time has a way of giving us all perspective about what success and failure looks like.  

Jeanne Dau

Jeanne Dau, MBA, CEDFP, is the President of Dau Consulting. For the past 20 years, she has coached hundreds of organizations on strategic planning, business development, sales, marketing, customer service, leadership, innovation and entrepreneurship. She has started and managed four successful businesses and has also directed business outreach departments for two universities. Jeanne is certified in many training programs and has been involved in the tourism industry and entrepreneurship education.

7 Steps to Managing Change

We all know that change is a constant and that most people resist it, but, as a leader, it is critical to engage and even inspire your team to make the most of change. As a leader of change, it is important to exude consistent positive energy and make a conscious effort to model the behavior needed to forge ahead. 

Assessing where your team is around the change, whether it is a new sales approach, different methods of doing your work, being acquired by a different company, acquiring a new branch, or whatever the environmental impact, your first job is to first conduct a self-assessment and determine just how you feel about the impact occurring and what the plan is to execute it. You need to be in alignment with the change before you can expect anyone else to have buy-in. Here are some steps for success:

1)     What exactly is going to happen? Be able to communicate clearly and quickly what changes are expected for the team and the organization. Accentuate the possibilities and discuss the “whys” if possible. Everyone likes to know what is going on and that helps to mitigate rumors and negative energy.

2)     Enable folks to provide input and feedback. Expect resistance and validate any concerns, once again, articulating the “whys” and tying them into the overall business mission.

3)     Develop a plan for rolling out the changes and include your team in the process even if it is just providing information.

4)     Determine what role each team member will play and tie that into the big picture.

5)     Meet periodically to “check in” with your team and continue to answer questions, respond to resistance, and encourage their participation.

6)     Model the behavior; be part of the effort to roll out the new and integrate it into existing work plans.

7)     Celebrate any milestones that are evident and reward those who are fully engaged in the success.

Change can be upsetting and scary for some and exhilarating for others. A good leader recognizes the signs and is able to facilitate change in ways that can be beneficial for the team, customers, and the business. 

Dr. Ann Beck, entrepreneur, former nonprofit executive and corporate trainer, has more
than 30 years of training and management experience in: leadership development, strategic planning, critical thinking, conflict resolution, coaching, team-building and fund development. She is currently the President and Co-owner of Flesor’s Candy Kitchen, a 2014 Martha Stewart American Made Food Finalist. She has helped raise funds and developed fundraising strategies for the Mattoon Area Community Foundation, Eastern Illinois TRIO program and the University of Illinois College of Education. She resides in Charleston with her husband Roger.

Stretch Away Stress

Stretch Your Body Stretch Your Mind
The Benefits of Corporate Yoga

Many surveys indicate that Americans identify stress as their number one health concern. The Journal of American Medical Association, reports researchers find that stress can lessen a person’s immune response and make them more susceptible to infectious disease.  A study done at the University of California at San Francisco confirmed that stress really does age you.

Companies are always looking for better ways to promote the well-being of their employees.  What better way than offering yoga at the office?

Corporate Yoga Can:
•    Increase ability to manage stress
•    Decrease anxiety and tension
•    Lower heart rate
•    Decrease sick time and absences
•    Increase productivity and communication
•    Decrease muscle tension and pain
•    Increase efficiency

Consider bringing a yoga instructor in to the office at least once a week.  Monitor your and your employee's improvement over time.  Are you experiencing any of the listed benefits?  What are some other ways your company promotes health and well-being?  

Susan Hanfland has a Bachelors degree in education from Bradley University and Masters in education administration from EIU.  In addition she has post graduate work in community development at the U of IL. 

Her experience is primarily in education and building collaborations between business and education.  Her interest in brain research and how the brain works has led to additional training focused on how we can use research findings to enhance learning and personal development.  The study of learning and the brain culminated in becoming an associate of the Gurain Institute,  and study with Eric Jansen.   

She is also a certified True Colors facilitator.