Entries by Shary Raske

New Year Resolutions? Get Obstacles Out of Your Way

Resolutions can bring so much excitement. New Energy! New Life! New Hope! Then by the end of February it’s as stinky and humiliating as a fart in church. What happened? One clue can be found in studying companies that grew too fast and collapsed under its own expansion. Set a pace that works for you. Build the […]

Fight, Flight, Freeze or More?

There’s More to Responding to Threat: Fight, Flight, or Freeze Most of us know the usual ways we respond to a threat: Fight, Flight, or Freeze. It’s an instinctive way to survive danger. There are other responses, too. For instance, armadillos jump straight up to appear bigger than they are when faced with a predator. […]

Conflict and Communication Distortions

We just weren’t on the same page. I said our meeting was at 10 am. He said it was at 11 am. After several attempts to resolve this by email, I picked up the phone. That’s when we discovered that he thought it was at 11 am because he just returned from the east coast […]

For Better Results, Be Better

I have a good voice, but not a great voice. I do not sing with power, and my voice cracks sometimes when I try to hit high notes. Yet something magical happens when I sing in our awarding winning choir. How do you create that kind of magic? For those of you in a career […]

Don’t Try to Enlist Dead People into Your Cause

You: Hi, may I speak to Charlene Morton? Operator: No You: When might she be available? Operator: Never You: Oh, I see. Is Charlene no longer with the company? Operator: You might say that. Charlene died nine months ago. Ouch! Talk about a cold call! If you make this kind of mistake, it’s hard to […]