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There’s Always More to the Story…

Like millions of people up and down the East Coast of the United States, we braced for and rode through the heavy rain and high winds of Hurricane Isaias.

We were very fortunate. As we looked up and down our street after the worst of the storm had passed, we saw leaves and some branches were strewn around, but no problems otherwise. We and our family were safe; we had power and water and an intact house. For a few minutes, it looked as if the storm had not been as bad as the weather forecasters had painted it.

However, when we connected with other people in our various networks and scanned the media, we found that our initial perceptions were limited. What we learned was that there was much more to the story that we needed to consider before we drew conclusions and made decisions about venturing out and how to best help others…  Read More

Keeping Balance in Your Life During the Holidays

Jen Slaw

For many CEOs and C-Suite executives, holidays can be particularly stressful. Many people tell us that although they may be on vacation at some point during this time, they never feel like they can completely go offline and relax.

Yes, we all know that it’s important to shut off devices and tune out so you can restore your mental and spiritual reserves. But there are always competing demands for time and attention. You don’t want to miss out on opportunities, but burning out is not a good option either.

So how do you balance everything and truly refresh over the holidays? One way that we’ve found to juggle all the “balls” of our lives, including downtime, is to… Read More

Pam Harper returns to the Small Business Advocate Radio Show

Based upon a recent Growth Igniters® Radio episode about the increasing pressure to always be “on” at work, I was invited to share my unique views on this issue as a guest on the nationally syndicated radio program The Small Business Advocate Show with host Jim Blasingame.

In the first segment, Jim and I discussed the elephant in the room regarding happiness at work, and who is responsible for creating a positive dynamic.

In the second segment, Jim and I discussed the myth about who is stressed at work. We also discussed how identifying and resolving gaps in perceptions and expectations between employers and employees is a critical path to increasing happiness at work for everyone.

In the third segmented, Jim and I discussed the role that fun plays in getting through the stresses of work, and the importance of creating fun that’s in keeping with your company’s culture.

To hear our conversations, click the “Listen Now” Buttons below. Each segment is between 5 to 10 minutes long.
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Sharing Exciting News About a Growth Igniters® Radio guest

Staying first, fast, and foremost in the hearts and minds of customers is no easy feat. This is especially the case in an industry as competitive as retained executive search.

That’s why we were delighted for our friends at The Alexander Group when they shared the news that for the third time in a row, Forbes included them among the Top 50 Executive Search Firms in America. This year they rank #31.

So what has led to this repeated honor? Read More

Visionary Business Leaders Praise Growth Igniters® Radio

Growth Igniters® Radio with Pam Harper and Scott Harper is entering its 5th year!

This news and praise for our podcast was featured by over 150 media outlets including MarketPlace (NPR), Yahoo Finance, and more.

Thanks for being a listener! Can you help us spread the news about Growth Igniters® Radio so that people in your networks can listen as well?  Here is a link to the press release on PR Newswire.  Feel free to share it with friends and colleagues.

Here are highlights from the press release “…Since the bi-weekly’s podcast’s launch in February 2015, prominent guests have included notable CEOs such as:  Read More

What does “Tidying Up” have to do with your company’s growth?

Like many Americans, we’ve become hooked on watching Marie Kondo’s Netflix series Tidying Up. It’s fascinating to see how Marie (a Japanese “tidying expert” who exudes peace, energy, and joy) works through a translator with American clients. Her principles help them become more mindful and create a more meaningful and joyful space to exist in the present and grow into the future.

This got us thinking about the implications for business — if you are leading a company that’s going through transformation and game-changing growth, you might well be facing an opportunity for a similar “tidying up” experience… Read More

How Buzzwords and Jargon Can Actually Be Valuable

Call them “corporate speak”, “buzzwords”, “jargon”, or something else. The conventional wisdom is that we should banish this language from our vocabulary in favor of speaking more plainly. But now we just saw an article in the Harvard Business Review that challenges this belief: Why Business Jargon Isn’t Bad.  

As a matter of fact, for years we’ve been saying that there are legitimate reasons why every company culture reinforces all kinds of acronyms, buzzwords, and jargon.  We came up with three theories for this: Read More

Why Connection is a Strategic Advantage in 2019

Happy New Year! I (Pam) started out the year by returning to The Small Business Advocate Radio Show® with host Jim Blasingame to speak about the power of connections.

Find out why the more we depend upon digital technology for processing information, the more we need the wisdom and art of nuance that comes from connecting personally with each other. Look for this to become a recurring theme during the year.

To listen to our conversation in three segments, click on the “Listen Now” buttons for each segment below.
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Juggling Life At The Holidays?

Jen Slaw

For many CEOs and C-Suite executives, holidays can be particularly stressful. Many people tell us that although they may be on vacation at some point during this time, they never feel like they can completely go offline and relax.

Yes, you know that it’s important to shut off devices and tune out so you can restore your mental and spiritual reserves. But there are always competing demands for your time and attention. You don’t want to miss out on opportunities, but burning out is not a good option either.

So how do you balance everything and truly refresh over the holidays? One way that we’ve found to juggle all the “balls” of our lives, including downtime, is to… Read More

In Memory of Judith E. Glaser, A Game-Changer in Leadership

judith-e-glaser

We are sad to share news of the recent passing of our friend and colleague, Judith E. Glaser, Founder and CEO of Benchmark Communications, Inc. and Chairman of The CreatingWE® Institute. She was widely acknowledged as one of the most pioneering and innovative change agents, consultants and executive coaches in the consulting and coaching industry.

Judith was the world’s leading authority on Conversational Intelligence® (C-IQ). Her transformational approaches use neuroscience and anthropology to enable leaders to raise their Conversational Intelligence and build agile and higher performing individuals and teams. She was the author of 7 best-selling business books, including her most recent best-seller, Conversational Intelligence: How Great Leaders Build Trust and Get Extraordinary Results.

Over the years, Scott and I have been powerfully impacted by Judith’s research and framework for Conversational Intelligence®, which makes complex scientific concepts simple to understand and apply. As described on her website, “Conversational Intelligence is a framework for knowing which kind of conversations trigger the lower, more primitive brain and which conversations activate higher-level intelligences such as trust, integrity, empathy, and good judgment.”

Judith definitely lived into her philosophy. We enjoyed our conversations with her so much that she held the honor of being our most frequent guest on Growth Igniters® Radio over the past three+ years. She was willing to discuss anything that would be helpful to us and our top executive listeners, no matter what was happening in her own life. In fact, she was always so bright and engaged in our conversations that during one of our recording sessions Read More