Professional Latex Manipulator

At some point, someone decided that they were going to license everything. You used to be able to hang a sign on your door and practice massage. To be a blacksmith, you needed to have the equipment, do the work, and if you did it well, people would come back to you. If you decided to become a tailor yo painted the needle and thread on your window and began making clothes, if you were good at it, you had more clients, if not, you went out of business.

At what point did we decide that in order to have a job in a specific trade, you have to be certified by someone else? Who decided that "Bob" was the one guy who could certify blacksmiths? Who made "Julia" the official designator of who could and could not call themselves "textile professionals."

I see all kinds of business cards with CPLP, CMT. LMP, PRH, PLC, etc. Why is that? Why is it that it is often illegal to practice a profession that is a learned trade that can be learned on your own. I have been making balloon sculptures for over 15 years. I've made 30 foot balloon sculptures, arches, pillars, dresses, wedding decorations and a literal incalculable number of hand-held creations. Yet there is an actual Certified Balloon Artist designation that I need to pay a fee and take a test to qualify for. So after my 10th year of creating balloon creations I added L.M. after my name on my cards. I figured that since I was at the point of being able to make absolutely anything that people asked me to make out of balloons I was a professional Latex Manipulator.

Several years ago a new-age practice of energy work started turning up in the local solstice centers, yoga studios and more adventurous massage practices, Reiki. Then few years later I started seeing people with Certified Reiki Master. Now Reiki is essentially the movement of energy through the body, often without even touching the recipient. Now whether you believe in the effectiveness of this technique or not, how do you establish a set of requirements on something that is guided by intuition and not proven to have any foundation in science?

I'm all for free enterprise. If you want to open a massage studio without paying the $10 THOUSAND dollars to get "Licensed" I think you should be able to. There is a difference between being good at massage and being a therapist. I understand that for medical practices, there needs to be a bit more oversight & education. But people are amazing. They truly are and the demand for certification and licensing for everything from balloon artists to people moving invisible energy is nuts.

If you happen to be good at making clothes you should not need a degree in fashion design, or be a "Master Seamstress" if you already have the experience to do the job, perhaps better than the so called experts. This is not brain surgery, building bridges, or anything else that puts other people in danger. And if people practice professions that they are not qualified or skilled at, people will stop utilizing them. The End. *steps off soap box*

Inclusion is the new Diversity

Time to bring it into focus for our business and for yours. Inclusion is the acceptance that we ARE in fact different. Even in a whole team of white christian men over the age of 40, each team member is different. Companies have been trying for years to say that "we are all the same" but it is simply not true.

It is true that age, race, gender, sexuality, size & ability are not determining factors in one's capacity to do good work. But they are in fact differences. The strength of an organization does not come from hiding these differences by pretending they are not real. They come from harnessing these differences, finding the strength of each person and allowing those individuals to perform as they are best suited to. People behave and perform best when they feel comfortable and feel that they can be their whole self. This is not achieved through tolerance.

Tolerance in the workplace tells me, as a person from a non-majority group, that no one is allowed to treat me unfairly because of my class, gender, etc. It does not tell me that my differences are valued. They are tolerated. Not desired, not chosen, not accepted or welcome, but tolerated. Tolerated because the law dictates that it be so.

We need to move beyond this. It is time for the diversity trainers, companies, HR professionals, ASTD, SHRM, and everyone else who puts their hat in the arena of education and "soft skills" in the workplace, to redesign their curriculum. Diversity education needs to be about encouragement, empowerment, strength, unity and inclusion.

"We can do it." said Rosie the Riveter when the women were asked to come into the workplace and "put down their aprons" to help the country. Women were not men, but they could do the work. During the civil rights era Dr. Martin Luther King said, "Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better." Those same people, the creative dedicated minorities are working at your companies being told that, to succeed, they need to blend in and be like everyone else. This is your loss as well as theirs.

Include the differences of your people and watch your business thrive.

Is your business growing or just surviving?

Like the plant that only ever gets watered when it looks wilted and depressed, many businesses only pay real attention to their people when there is an issue or concern to be addressed. Diversity classes become mandatory after enough lawsuits. New motivation & retention programs are implemented when someone realizes that they are losing all their best talent. This is not a solution, it is a reaction.

Take the time to look at the long term needs of your people. If you are one of the people, take the risk and talk to your manager/boss and say, "We need education, motivation and training BEFORE it becomes an issue. Because by then we are done."

Especially when dealing with the younger generation of employees, many of them are not going to give you the luxury of a two week notice. You'll be lucky if they even say goodbye. I've heard more stories lately of young employees leaving for lunch and not returning, taking a call (presumably confirming a new job somewhere else) and just walking out. These people don't give you the chance to change, because history has shown that business are slow to change, why not just move to somewhere that has already made the changes you want.

Foster and help your people not jus tto work well, but to LIKE their jobs and want to be there. Not just want the paycheck, but want to see the company improve, profit, and grow. This cannot be done with reactionary management and training. It can only be done with collaborative and preemptive action. You can do it, We can help. :)

Trust is not a 4 letter word, it's 5.

We trust people all the time in odd situations. I just left my bag in a coffee shop, and said to the stranger sitting next to me.

Me - "Will you watch my stuff for a moment?"
Her - "Sure thing."
5 minutes later
Me - "Thanks. And hey all my stuff is still here."
Her - "Yes, and all your stuff is still here."

The tone in her voice said to me that she didn't quite catch the sarcasm in my voice. Of course my stuff was still there. That's because the chances of finding that one stranger who is actually going to grab your bag and run as soon as you enter the restroom is about the same as winning the lottery.

We trust people like this in the airport, because we believe anyone who has gotten through security must there for be trust worthy. Or that no one in OUR coffee shop or neighborhood would do such a thing. But then we go to work and most of us aren't trusted to enter certain buildings, see all the files or have keys to the office.

Why don't we trust our employees more?
If you don't trust them enough, why did you hire them?

How to make even health insurance fun.

Here is the e-mail I got from the smartest health insurance company I've ever seen:

Because doctors don't offer double-coupon Wednesdays.

You can cut coupons for groceries. You can cut coupons for oil changes. But we don't recommend cutting coupons for medical procedures. And to make sure you never have to look for a doctor offering weekly specials, there's Tonik. Tonik is simple, affordable health coverage from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia. You get three plans to choose from, and chances are one's going to be right for you. If you're under 30, we can help cover you for $65 to $196 a month. Prices are subject to change and vary depending on your age, gender, where you live, and your medical history. Know someone who always keeps an envelope of coupons with them? Forward this to them.

They got my business and I am sure a number of other younger individuals who would not have taken the time to get health insurance. With plans like The Thrill Seeker, The Part-time Dare-Devil and The Calculated Risktaker I feel far more connected to their understanding of who I am as a customer. They are having fun with their business and with me. I don't want to sign up for a Differed Medical Plus package with a $500 deductible. That's not me. Oh but a Calculate Ristaker, that's more my style. $130 a month with a $40 co-pay? Sure I can swing that. It doesn't matter that the deductible is $1500. It sounds like ME. It has personality.

What kind of personality does your business have? Would you want to "go out with" your business?

Relative Income (or Give Yourself a Raise - part 2)

OK, so you make $40-80K per year and your work 50 hour weeks. You own your business and spend your evenings answering e-mails, and all day planning meetings, going to meetings, and networking to get more clients. Your weekends are often scattered with you meeting with clients and answering e-mail on your PDA when your partner isn't watching.

Want to make more money? Spend less time. If you value your time for yourself as greatly as you charge your clients for it, (Which you should.) then you are wasting your own money by taking your time for granted.

Let's say you are a massage therapist who charges $60+ an hour for your services and you spend 5 hours this month trying to get your books in order... (5 x $60 = $300) How much money would it have cost you for a local bookkeeper to do it for you in half the time? Perhaps $80 per month? So by spending $80 on a bookkeeper for the month, you save $220 this month. And you now have 5 more hours to spend with clients, go on a date, or something else that brings you pleasure instead of causing you headaches.

Your time is so very valuable, and if you trade it simply for income, or even worse perceived income, then you are cutting your real wealth right out from underneath you.

To Know HR, read Know HR

In case you haven't used the nifty little widget on this page to see the blogs I have been reading, you should check out Know HR. His writing is humorous, pertinent, and refreshing. There are plenty of corporate training, HR focused, training & development blogs online. There are frankly, too many to read. Most of them parrot each other regarding the latest trends rolling out of Newsweek and T&D magazine. Frank Roche however, speaks from a different platform. See the smile?

He says, "I’ve been a professional dog handler, a polymer physicist, and a poet, but quickly realized that “being an artiste + $1.75 wouldn’t buy me a cup of coffee at Starbucks.” I write. I read. I pay attention."

I love his diverse background and unique perspective. Take the time, read good stuff, Know HR.

Give Yourself A Raise

It all comes down to perspective, but seriously think about this before you dismiss it as some hair-brained, granola ideal. Ride your bike.

Save over $500 per month.

It happens so fast. First you just start driving less. Using your bike on occasion and you that your monthly gas bill has dropped by let's say $100. That's less than 2 tanks of gas infind today's market. Just ride your bike enough to eliminate 2 tanks for gas. If you are currently driving an SUV, this will be even faster.

OK, So now that you're riding once a week you should notice that you are more awake when you get to work, you have more energy in what you do and you are saving money. All these things feel good. So you ride more often. You save more money.

Give it a few months at this level. If you have a gym membership (that you probably don't use enough to get the value from it) then you've just put yourself in a place to save that money too.

Now you have reduced your gas bill and your maintenance costs. Commute driving is the worst kind of driving for your car, and a reduction of this kind will save your brakes, your clutch, your oil AND your sanity. In a short while you've just given yourself several hundred dollars a month extra to spend. But WAIT, there's more!

If you can go this far, then perhaps you can go a little farther... How many cars do you have in your family? Do you and your partner both have one? If you have kids is there one for them? How much are you paying a month in insurance?
Why not get rid of one of those cars?
You've now saved gas, insurance, maintenance and your gym membership while simultaneously increasing your energy and improving your health.
Well Done!

Of course, bicycling isn't the only way to give yourself a raise. More to follow...

Hawaiian Shirt Day!

You may remember this from the movie Office Space. If not, you must watch it. It is a social commentary on the office culture and the ways in which we eat our young, strangle the potential of our employees, and cut off our nose to spite our face.

It's relevance to today is to illustrate the difference between effort and sincerity. My partner, Aicila, is often found spouting the lack of effort it takes to be fun in your environment. And she is right; it does not have to take much effort. It should, in fact, be easier to have fun than not. The trick is in finding that balance between putting in little or no effort, and not really caring whether people have fun or not.

Hawaiian shirt day can be fun. It can also be insulting, patronizing, and a few other words from the thesaurus that mean the same thing. So have fun. Enjoy your people. Do little things like casual Fridays, joke of the day and monthly birthdays. But MEAN IT. Your people can always tell the difference.

A Peak Presentation

Standing on the top of Flagstaff Mountain I spoke to the many incredible members of the Boulder Women's Leadership Group. The people smiled and proudly wore their diamond rings. I enjoyed my time, as I always do, with the BWLG. It was a marvelous way to start the day. I wish more days could start at the top of a mountain. It really gives you a different perspective. There will be no meeting next month as the Boulder Chamber of Commerce is having their annual Women Who Light the Community dinner. Check out the Chamber Website and attend to support this fantastic event. I'll see you there.

ROI

He speaks yet I do not hear.
What I hear he does not speak.
The message is wrong.
He's insincere.
He sounds just like her.

She rambles on my voice mail.
She sends empty essays to my inbox.
The message is wrong.
She's insincere.
Her words, to me, are stale.

Everyday I hear these cheers.
Everyday I am disappointed.
The message is wrong.
They're insincere.
They've been saying the same for years.

Someday I will believe again.
Someday I will have faith.
A message that's true.
A message, sincere.
Someone with visions of change.

-timuri