Shutdown Affects Food Benefits for 220,000 Colorado families

 In response to the partial federal government shutdown, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has asked states to issue February’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits early -- by Jan. 20th -- which has the potential to affect 220,000 Colorado families. The early issuance of benefits also means that Colorado SNAP recipients whose eligibility is due for recertification at the end of January need to submit required documents as required immediately in order to receive food benefits for February. It is imperative that SNAP recipients whose food assistance eligibility is up for redetermination are processed no later than noon on Jan. 15th to ensure they receive February benefits on the expedited timeframe. “We need help from the media and our friends and partners in the advocacy world and the counties to help us get the word out to vulnerable Coloradans,” said Ki’i Powell, Director of the state’s Office of Economic Security, housed at the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS). “We need folks to understand how important it is to act quickly so they won’t see a disruption in their benefits.” Colorado families receive approximately $55 million per month in SNAP benefits. To be clear, the early release of benefits is not additional funding. This effort is intended to get February benefits to eligible recipients before current funding for the program lapses as a result of the partial federal government funding. If the federal government shutdown continues, benefits may not be available after February. Furloughed federal government employees who are in need are also encouraged to apply for SNAP. If the shutdown continues, local food banks and social service agencies may see an influx of clients who are seeking aid elsewhere. Powell, of CDHS, said the Department is encouraging Colorado communities to donate funds to or volunteer their time at local food banks or social service agencies.

I Dare you to NOT Glorifying Busy

Have you ever noticed that when someone asks “How are you?” people respond, “Busy”.

I am as guilty as anyone using this answer.  Not that I am lying. I AM truly BUSY!  But is that really what someone is asking? Or have we just become a society of always moving and going that we cannot even answer with a simple. I am fine and how are you?

I love being busy! I admit to being one of “those” people. I have always had things on my To Do list and I consider myself a slacker if I do not get them all done. At the end of the day, I am already creating my busy To Do list for the next day.

What is it that drives me to be busy? Is it a society that glorifies being busy?  After doing some limited research I found American’s work harder than their peers in most all other similar countries.  My guess it is part of the American way of thinking. We work harder to achieve more and to have more. Which makes me wonder are we really accomplishing that? I have traveled to many of these peer countries and I visited families similar to my own and they had similar lifestyles to my own, yet they worked fewer hours per week and took longer more relaxing vacations. So, I had to again wonder is productivity we seek or do we just glorify busy.

My next thought was; are we more stressed than other countries? From the limited research I did, we are more stressed. According to this article, the key reason was American’s try to fit a lot into their days so we have fuller lives. Ummmm….Are we just shooting ourselves in the foot? Cutting our nose to spite our face? Have we become a culture of busy = success and relaxed or paced = lazy and unsuccessful? For me, the busy has become my badge of honor that I work hard and have earned my home, car and vacation. Which leads me wonder is anyone really watching my glorified busy? Somedays I think I gotta slow down. Then the To Do list mentality kicks in and I have so much I HAVE to get done, that I drive myself mad trying to get it accomplished. Only to be exhausted and still have more to do.

This survey looked only at affluent consumers, and not at other people in these countries, and they found that affluent consumers in the U.S. were the most stressed.

  Percentage of people’s stress levels several times a week per Country.
           Global            55%
           USA               66%
           Australia         63%
           Japan             60%
           Canada          58%
           UK                  54%
           France            54%
           Mexico            51%
           Italy                49%
           Germany        42%
           Brazil              35%
           Hong Kong     31%

Americans also work the longest hours. Again see the connection to busy?  

Tips I Dare myself to do to reduce my “busy”

1.)  Take lunch away from my desk at least 2 days a week. I know I should do this daily. (Baby steps to 5 days a week)

2.)  Create the To Do Lists. I do one for personal one for professional-getting all the things out of my head usually allows more space in there to plan and develop strategies to accomplish all those great ideas without feeling frantic.   

3.)  Reduce the number of items on my To Do list daily. Instead of making a daily To Do list with 10 must do items. I commit to 1-5 items-which allows me to take a breath during the day and deal with the inevitable whirlwind that demands my attention during the day.

4.)  Make my To Do list late on Sunday after reviewing my calendar. Do I really have time for all this stuff?

5.)  Instead of automatically answering the question “How are you?” with “Busy!”  I answer “I’m fine” or “Terrific”. By not focusing my response as “busy” I shift my thoughts to being fine or terrific. Life is a mental game we play every day. Our words matter whether we say them to ourselves or others. 

6.)  Reflection on my priorities, “Does more stuff crammed into my day really equal a fuller life, more success?”

7.)  Learn to say “No” For me, this is one of the hardest things to do. I want to do everything that sounds like fun or could potentially help my career. Be selective and objective when saying “Yes”.  

 I dare you to stop glorifying busy in your life. Now stop and really do it! You’ll thank me later.

I DARE You to never stop learning

For nearly 5 years I have been planning and executing a yearlong Leadership Academy for folks wanting to develop their opportunities to move into Leadership roles within their careers, volunteer and personal lives. Every year I have around 20 candidates participate in a monthly day-long training. I hire, beg and trade favors to have leaders come and present to the candidates. I even do a couple sessions myself one on Generations in the Workplace and One on Leaders Handling a Media Request. 

When other presenters come in I sit through their presentation. At this point, I have heard just about every presenter 4 times or more and without fail I gain something I had missed the previous time they presented. Over the past couple years I try to bring some busy work to be a little productive, but every time I find myself drawn into the conversation and I get very little of my busy work done. 

Today was no exception the topic was Ethics. Yikes, I know BORING, right?! Not at all this gentleman Dr. Fred Rainquet is terrific and I have heard him present 4 times and I have enjoyed it every time. So what does this tell me? I'm a bit weird, well I don't deny that, but I think it has more to do with my deep belief that no matter your age you should never stop learning. Real leaders know there is always something more or a better way to accomplish a goal and with each class, book or seminar is a tool that may uncover itself to make you a better, stronger and effective leader.

I have always loved to learn from childhood through adulthood. There was a very brief time after I left "traditional" education that I was sure I didn't need to learn anymore because I was an "adult". Now that is FUNNY. Fortunately, for me, every day continues to be a new learning experience. First, in my career it was computers and how quickly they changed, then being a supervisor as I found out this type of leadership was not intuitive and I headed for Manager Training. My Mom skills work great, but some days grown-up skills are required in management situations. Some situations require more than a cookie to fix them although even with adults cookies can mend a good many things. Then the internet went wild and along came social media and my learning continued and continues daily. 

I really never plan to stop attending seminars or reading new books on leadership or social media or success. Even as a gray-haired lady I plan to continue that pursuit for knowledge. It is what keeps our brains supple and sharp. A Huffington Post/TED Talk holds the proof that humans can indeed grow new brain cells, this process is called neurogenesis. The way we grow those brain cells back is by learning new things. Pushing past that moment when it gets hard to understand that is when the brain cells are growing.  I know without a doubt I have killed many, many brain cells over the years. My only hope to stay slightly sane is to continue to learn and grow more of those brain cells.Now, I know this is possible and learning new things helps that regrowth. I Dare you to never stop learning new things and to continue to push the boundaries of what your mind can hold and regrow those brain cells. 

I Dare You to Look A Bit Deeper

I was in a 2-hour meeting this week. The topic of discussion was connecting people to issues and services within the community. We came to the conclusion that most of the woes of our community come from a lack of knowledge on any given subject. Whether it was access to the River Trail system or what is a bond issue for the local school.  People may want good things to happen but with busy lives and schedules some days we just don’t slow down enough to make finding out about the access to bring our family to the River Front Trail to bike or what exactly is a bond to pay for a new local school. Between school, jobs, kids, sports practices and homework most families just don’t have the time to read up on these issues and truly be educated. So much of our information is just what we pick up from well meaning, but totally wrong cubemates at work or from someone’s ranting about taxes on Facebook.  Most of us have so many responsibilities that craving out even an hour to read about a dry tax issue is inconceivable. Don’t get me wrong I believe most people really do want to do the right thing for our communities, but it takes time to read about it.  We always think I’ve got until November to learn about it before the next election. Then we have 20 minutes to swing by the election center and we have barely had time to think about how to fit voting into our daily schedule let alone learn about the ballot issues and who is running for elected offices.  How do we react either we skip voting or vote NO on everything since that way we are less likely to mess up what is not good, but at least we won’t be making it worse.

The same thing happens when we want to take our kids on a hike or bike ride. I’d love to do that, but by the time we figure out how to find the trailhead and research the supplies needed and find an open weekend to round up the family.  Suddenly time has flown by and the kids are 18 and 20 and have no desire to hit the trail with us.

What might be the solution? Here is a thought, after the kids go to bed do some research online about the next school bond issue and share that info pros and cons (notice I said pros and cons) with your significant other and then maybe 4-5 of your friends at work or your close friends at the next BBQ. If everyone in the community took on one issue gained some solid knowledge on it and then just shared with 5-10 people every year we could increase the entire communities’ knowledge exponentially.  Maybe it is one issue a month in a year. You and your significant other might have 20 pieces of information that would be worth sharing. It could be how to prevent child abuse or suicide or which trails are within walking distance of your home or how does the local government pay to repair those potholes in front of your house.  We have become so busy being busy that we are missing important stuff. We believe we are just too busy to educate ourselves and our circle. This type of commitment may only take 5 or 10 minutes of reading a week. The average person spends 2 hours on social media a day with no real results to impact our community or families.

I Dare You to commit this week and every week to spend as little as 5 minutes reading or researching or investigating new things that impact your community.  Additionally, schedule it on your calendar and check back with yourself weekly so this new goal doesn’t get away from you. Technology has made it super simple just ask Google and then ask again until you have the full story then share that story. My only caution I Dare you to be open-minded and willing to examine all possibilities before making and sharing your research. I Dare You to look a bit deeper. 

I Dare You to Hire Keynote Speaker For Your Next Event

I love to public speak! Yes, I admit I am one of the weird ones in the world. Public speaking generally ranks up there with death when it comes to things people most try to avoid. Also known as glossophobia, the fear of public speaking. 

Hiring a professional keynote speaker can truly be one of the best things that could be done to pump up your next conference or event. I remember as a teenager looking forward to a particular summer conference, because of the great keynote speakers. Some organizations shy away from keynote speakers due to cost, but really most planners pay more for the coffee service than they budget for a speaker. Don’t get me wrong I don’t underestimate the power of coffee, but keynote speakers can truly enhance an event. Here are a couple things to consider when looking for a keynote speaker.

• When setting up your budget, plan to include your keynote speaker in the event budget plan. A keynote speaker can range from $5000-$20,000 and more. Remember to include their travel expenses in your budget as well.
• Decide what type of keynote speaker fits your audience. Do you want a speaker to entertain, train or inspire? Will your guests want a speaker that addresses similar themes as other workshops throughout the day or will this speaker be more for fun to break up the day or end the day with inspiration?
• Start early contacting your speakers, up to 6 months or more. Although, some speakers may have holes in their calendar so don’t hesitate to contact them even on 6 weeks’ notice.  
• Starting the search for a speaker can be daunting. A Google search will likely yield you pages of Speakers Bureaus and Agencies. I recommend non-profit Speakers Bureaus from your state. These membership organizations usually train and promote statewide talent and the speaker doesn’t pay a fee for you to find them.
• Once you contact and confirm the speakers, expect them to have a contract and they generally require payment before the event to ensure your spot on their calendar.  
• If you are booking their travel plans do that immediately and email the speaker all the confirmations.
• The day of the event have someone in charge of finding your speaker, as the main planner might be out of reach with other possible challenges.

Tips from Kaleene Toback, Events Director Denver Metro Apartment Association.

With this knowledge in hand, I Dare You to hire me or any truly great professional speaker for your next event. 

I Dare You to Execute

Now let me get it straight I don’t mean becoming a sword-wielding executioner in the literal sense. I don’t intend for you to start swashbuckling your cube mates around the office or yelling “off with their heads” during the next staff supervisors meeting. While there might be some value in that type of visualization for stress release carrying out such ideas will get you in hot water!

The type of execution I am referring to is execution on your goals. I know eye roll. The issue is that most people have problems not setting goals or making them, rather executing on the goals set. We all learn from early in life how to set a goal and make plans. Every New Year’s Eve millions of people make goals and statistically speaking most are forgotten shortly after Christmas decorations are packed away. So, what’s my answer? I’m glad you asked. My team embarked on this journey and use of the 4DX tool a little over two years ago. This is a team lead by some pretty remarkable visionaries. Due to that team visionary mentality, this team of senior leaders kept having an issue with executing the projects and goals they were out to achieve as a team and as an organization.  They were great goal setters, but they kept missing the next steps and in the process, they were wearing out their teams and staffs with every good idea that came along and not completion.  That is by some odd chance the Executive Director ran across a YouTube video on the Franklin Covey 4 Disciplines of Execution. The Four Disciplines are really simple in theory, but far more challenging in practice. Why? Because after Discipline 1 set a Wildly Important Goal (WIG) the next 3 steps are all about being disciplined. Discipline 2 Act on the Lead Measure-which means what are 2 things you/your team can do to achieve the Wildly Important Goal. Discipline 3 Keep a compelling scoreboard. It should visible to your team on the wall where every team

member passes by and you can tell if the team is winning at a glance. Disciplines 4 create a cadence of accountability. Each week same time, the same day the team checks in together and commitments to a small weekly goal that impacts the WIG. Each member reports out on whether they achieved last week’s goal and what next week they plan to commit to doing. We play differently when we keep score. This method has worked remarkably well for our team. We are not a group of sales professionals we are government workers who have learned to create efficiencies. I know government and efficiencies WHAT?? I’d love to share our story with you and explain how we achieved our results on execution; our story makes a great short workshop or luncheon speech. I Dare You to execute starting today, that’s “goal execution” no swords necessary.  

I Dare You to be a Family Friendly Workplace

Yesterday I attended an EPIC meeting. No, it wasn’t that kind of epic, such as beyond belief. Is there ever a meeting that could truly be called epic?  Non-epic meetings could be a topic for another post another day.

This meeting was hosted by a business organization called EPIC Executives Partnering to Invest In Children. Which is a nonprofit based in Denver. They are developing boards in other cities around Colorado. Their website states Our Mission EPIC works to harness the capital of Colorado's business sector to ensure that all children develop into healthy, educated and productive citizens. Our Vision Tomorrow's engineers, bankers, teachers, health care providers, military leaders, and business leaders are starting their educational careers today. At EPIC, we believe that it is our duty to ensure that the children entering kindergarten today will have the skills they need to be the leaders of tomorrow.

What was most interesting about yesterday’s meeting wasn’t about EPIC as much as the discussion on making a workplace family friendly. As a parent, the struggle is real to balance being at every kid activity and still fill out your time card and not lose the hours needed to pay your bills. I faced this dilemma when my kids were young then as my parents aged and had failing health issues.

The panel of speakers were local family friendly businesses, Hilltop, Bonsai Design and Bechtel & Santo each spoke on how they allowed employees the flexibility to attend community board meetings and kid activities made for a happier, healthier and a loyal workforce. That the flexibility they implemented saved money rather than the perceived cost to their businesses.  Each echoed that culture, inclusivity, empowerment, and trust were elements that not only gave them as leaders more ability to lead but also created an atmosphere which allowed their staff to innovate and solve problems for themselves rather than interrupting the boss for all the answers.

The room was filled with other business owners who also felt that giving employees the latitude to think like leaders made for less stress. Much of the conversation wasn’t around keeping employees in seats for a certain number of hours as long as the work was getting done well the business was in a win, win situation.

Michael Santos shared a statistic 1/3 of employees know they will leave within the first year after only being on the job for five days. Holy Moly that is a statistic that supports good onboarding, mentoring and keeping an empowered team culture!

Some other suggestions from these team leaders on being family friendly-

• ·             Allowing autonomy
• ·         Being a team not employees
• ·         Offer paid days off rather than just an extra day of pay for incentives
• ·         Hosting Family Friendly events
• ·         Non-alcoholic in office Friday afternoon Happy Hour
• ·         Allow/encourage team members to attend volunteer activities during business hours
• ·         Assist parents with getting caught up on child support
• ·         Support professional development activities and time to attend during regular business hours
• ·         Leaders doing regular walkabouts engaging with staff (weekly or more)

This list could go on for pages.

The EPIC team handed out a great resource called the Family-Friendly Workplace Toolkit. Included in this toolkit are the following-

The Family-Friendly Workplace Assessment (FF+)

• A 15 minute survey with free analysis of workplace policies
• Receive real-time feedback and up-to-date resources
• Identify priority areas to support total worker health
• Maximize work-life integration for all employees 
• Get connected to like-minded businesses throughout Colorado
• Gain recognition for being a family-friendly workplace
• Other resources

I am convinced adopting a family-friendly workplace is the answer to so many business and social woes. The idea that we can leave our personal issues at home and just push through at work is an idea that needs to die. There was some brief discussion about the social determinates of health, which I’ve heard about before, I'll save that one for another post later too.

Today, I Dare You and your business to become a family-friendly workplace. And guess what I gave you the tools to get it started today! I’m always all about execution on goals.