The Best Thing To Do Before Handling A Problem

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWVSoTfmnr9eMJDdMGtouOape9LuqrLAMvKwbrSdjxZpFP8rxvQ3aFXKm8DRL8fuylP0BpWVmmNe4KZhiD62X8Ck5RZoaJoMMglHxEo5Syu6wVuObd_rL42xPVvXqy4OqvLUlY_tcYG_c/s1600/Conflict-problem.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The Best Thing To Do Before Handling A Problem" border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWVSoTfmnr9eMJDdMGtouOape9LuqrLAMvKwbrSdjxZpFP8rxvQ3aFXKm8DRL8fuylP0BpWVmmNe4KZhiD62X8Ck5RZoaJoMMglHxEo5Syu6wVuObd_rL42xPVvXqy4OqvLUlY_tcYG_c/s640/Conflict-problem.jpg" title="The Best Thing To Do Before Handling A Problem" width="640" /></a></div> <br /><br />"Not my circus, not my monkeys."<br /><br />-Common Polish saying.<br /><br />Before you enter the lion's den, discuss the elephant in the room, or address the monkeys in someone else's circus, try this: Think about their top character strengths. Believe it or not, your sworn enemy, your disgruntled boss, your depressed client, and the politician you hate—all have strengths of character.<br /><br />Research studies have shown that when therapists focus on their client’s strengths prior to a therapy session (called “resource priming”) that a number of positive outcomes unfold. These include:<br />Improved therapy outcomes<br />Higher use of strengths in the session<br />A stronger counselor-client relationship<br />More experiences of accomplishment (sense of mastery)<br /><br />In these studies, the task for the practitioner is simple: Take about 5 minutes to reflect on your client’s strengths right before you meet with them. That's it.<br /><br />The simplicity of this exercise and the benefits that emerge are palpable. So this has got me wondering….<br /><br />Perhaps this could be applied much more widely than just the therapist-client encounter? Might this be a useful approach for anyone to take before they approach a problem? If you're dreading talking with someone, maybe do some "resource priming" first? If there's a sensitive discussion you need to have with a family member or a sticky, complicated situation to address with a friend, could you consider their strengths before you talk with them?<br /><br />Envision the following:<br /><br />*Teachers reflecting on the strengths of their students and the strengths of their classroom-as-a-whole before walking in to teach a lesson. Further, they consider how they can help the students explore and use their strengths during classroom lessons and projects.<br /><br />*Managers reflecting on the strengths of their employees before entering a weekly meeting with them. Further, these employers take a moment to remember the best qualities of each employee before sending them an e-mail or phone message.<br /><br />*Parents reflecting on the strengths of their children before their next interaction with them. While driving home, working parents could spend time considering ways in which they can validate and encourage their child’s strengths later that day.<br /><br />*Romantic couples considering the strengths of their spouse or partner before engaging in a conflict or confrontation. Couples can consider the qualities of their loved one that they most cherish and appreciate (research shows this is connected with happier and more committed relationships).<br /><br />If you want to try this out, here are some questions to reflect on before the conversation:<br />What are the signature strengths of the person I'm about to speak with? <br />How have they used their unique personality strengths in the past?<br />What would a strengths-oriented discussion with them look like?<br />How might I improve upon past conversations by using my own strengths?<br />Are there strengths of mine that get squashed when I'm around this person? What might I do to ensure I can bring these forward?<br /><br />Final question for you:<br /><br />Why not? Why not prime yourself so you can see, appreciate, and reinforce the best qualities of those you are interacting with? What have you got to lose?<div> <br /></div> <div> <span style="font-size: xx-small;">credit:psychologytoday</span></div>

The Best Thing To Do Before Handling A Problem

"Not my circus, not my monkeys." -Common Polish saying. Before you enter the lion's den, discuss the elephant in the room, o...

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Clinton Says She'll Call Trump Unfit To Handle Economy

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2c_SUWz-Ub8xxVBT-fRC-v_-Ut0leL2W8SSTt5ATO91KGb7Kq0ivEdCzXafNn_j0RUk5yGgpV5x9tVdssEOjBHdqeXbueGgfAOXg8nTclGUw_Eyx1a0vV3Yoc3GfJ-tRv75sBQuQaWXI/s1600/636015971476006333-AP-DEM-2016-Clinton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt=" Clinton Says She'll Call Trump Unfit To Handle Economy" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2c_SUWz-Ub8xxVBT-fRC-v_-Ut0leL2W8SSTt5ATO91KGb7Kq0ivEdCzXafNn_j0RUk5yGgpV5x9tVdssEOjBHdqeXbueGgfAOXg8nTclGUw_Eyx1a0vV3Yoc3GfJ-tRv75sBQuQaWXI/s640/636015971476006333-AP-DEM-2016-Clinton.jpg" title=" Clinton Says She'll Call Trump Unfit To Handle Economy" width="640" /></a></div> <div> <br /></div> Hillary Clinton told USA TODAY on Wednesday she plans to make the case for why Donald Trump is "temperamentally unfit" to manage the nation's economy and pledged to end a tax loophole for wealthy Americans by executive action if necessary in a preview of a second major policy address, scheduled for next week, that casts the real estate mogul as dangerous and unqualified.<br /> <br /> In her first interview after meeting with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders on Tuesday night in Washington, Clinton also did not rule out one of his key demands as his Democratic presidential bid winds down: that party chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz be replaced. While Clinton praised Wasserman Schultz for her commitment to defeating Donald Trump, she noted that she had not appointed the Florida congresswoman to head the Democratic National Committee and vowed that Democrats would go forward "with a new and invigorated party."<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/2016/06/02/hillary-clinton-attack-donald-trump-unfit-lead-nation/85284902/">Earlier this month in San Diego</a>, Clinton delivered a blistering speech that cast Trump as too dangerous to serve as the nation’s commander in chief due to his proposed temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States, lack of foreign policy knowledge and his temperament. She's continued those attacks in the days following Sunday's Orlando nightclub massacre, the worst mass shooting in U.S. history.<br /> <br /> In a speech in Columbus next Wednesday, Clinton said she will make "a similar case on the economy that I did on foreign policy: that Donald Trump is erratic and temperamentally unfit to be responsible for the world's largest economy."<br /> <br /> Clinton pointed to one example of Trump's "incoherent" economic argument by noting that the billionaire has built his populist appeal around leveling the playing field for lower-income Americans, even though she said his tax plan gives a $3 trillion break to millionaires and billionaires over the next 10 years.<br /> <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/06/14/clinton-trump-orlando-response/85869074/"><img alt=" Clinton Says She'll Call Trump Unfit To Handle Economy" height="400" src="http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/9065941e142eb769bb76794c742e08d1e14ee558/r=300/http/www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/9065941e142eb769bb76794c742e08d1e14ee558/r=300/http/www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/0b8cc30cce00c99f70f886edfc1a305c7f967d81/c=540-0-3345-2805/local/-/media/2016/06/14/USATODAY/USATODAY/636015059102873370-AP-DEM-2016-Clinton.jpg" title=" Clinton Says She'll Call Trump Unfit To Handle Economy" width="400" /><br /></a><br /> <br /> She pointed out that his proposal would lower rates for hedge-fund and private equity managers by creating a new, lower 15% bracket. "They would actually see their carried interest rate cut by one-third, making the loophole worse rather than closing it," she said. Previewing her speech next week, she said, "He's either completely incoherent or he hasn't thought one bit about his plan."<br /> <br /> Clinton said she’ll pledge that, if Congress does not act, as president she'll ask the Treasury Department to use its regulatory authority to end a tax advantage, commonly referred to as the carried-interest loophole, that allows hedge-fund managers to pay a lower rate than other taxpayers by counting their income as investment income. Clinton will unveil a middle-class tax cut plan at a later date, according to her campaign.<br /> <br /> Clinton’s speech will seek to undercut Trump’s appeal to middle- and lower-income Americans who’ve been drawn to his populist pledges to bring back manufacturing and coal jobs by slapping fines on China and cutting better trade deals.<br /> <br /> The goal is to demonstrate how his rhetoric does not match his policies, which would disproportionately favor wealthier Americans, according to the campaign. The tax plan could be a ripe target since Trump initially indicated a willingness to raise taxes on the wealthy, then subsequently backed off those comments.<br /> <br /> Regarding the meeting with Sanders, the presumptive Democratic nominee left open the door to several of his demands as he refuses to concede the race to Clinton, including changes to superdelegates and that Wasserman Schultz step down. Clinton and Sanders met after she carried the final Democratic primary in Washington, D.C.<br /> <br /> “I’ve seen how committed she is to making sure Donald Trump is not the president,” Clinton said of Wasserman Schultz. “I’ve not heard any conversations in the party about changes,” she added, noting the Florida congresswoman was appointed by President Obama. "Obviously, we're going to go forward after this election with a new and invigorated party," she said.<br /> <br /> As her campaign vets potential vice presidential candidates, Clinton gave another nod to Sanders, indicating she is prioritizing those with a progressive profile. “We've got a great group of Democrats that are progressive and who agree with me about the direction of the country,” she said, also noting that she is “just beginning” the process.<br /> <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/06/14/bernie-sanders-meet-senate-democrats-hillary-clinton/85826716/"><img alt=" Clinton Says She'll Call Trump Unfit To Handle Economy" height="400" src="http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/9065941e142eb769bb76794c742e08d1e14ee558/r=300/http/www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/9065941e142eb769bb76794c742e08d1e14ee558/r=300/http/www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/8f272cedaee5bc1c5edd2dbe9b2098218083910f/c=768-0-3840-3072/local/-/media/2016/06/14/USATODAY/USATODAY/636015174137488142-AP-DEM-2016-Sanders.jpg" title=" Clinton Says She'll Call Trump Unfit To Handle Economy" width="400" /><br /></a><br /> <br /> As for Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee has doubled down on his proposed temporary ban on Muslims following the Orlando shootings and even proposed broadening it. Republican leaders, including House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, have been critical of the proposal, yet they have not withdrawn their endorsement of Trump as the party’s nominee.<br /> <br /> "It's something that not just Democrats and the press are noticing but a lot of Republicans are noticing as well," Clinton said.<br /> <br /> "Now he is accusing our president of somehow encouraging terrorists and it is really offensive, even pathetic," she said. "And I do wonder how Republican leaders like House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell can stay silent while their presumptive party nominee suggests that the President of the United States supports terrorists."<br /> <br /> Finally, Clinton said she still has not heard from the FBI regarding its investigation into her private server as secretary of State. "I just hope they wrap it up soon," she said.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <img alt=" Clinton Says She'll Call Trump Unfit To Handle Economy" src="http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/43607b3a0ae8ddf1032622efe3a95067daed10b0/c=154-0-4132-2991&r=x393&c=520x390/local/-/media/2015/08/26/USATODAY/USATODAY/635762048836482948-AP-DEM-2016-Clinton.jpg" title=" Clinton Says She'll Call Trump Unfit To Handle Economy" /><br /> <br /> Clinton meets with local residents at the Jones St. Java House on April 14, 2015, in LeClaire, Iowa. Charlie Neibergall, AP<br /> <br /> <span style="font-size: xx-small;">credit:usatoday</span>

Clinton Says She'll Call Trump Unfit To Handle Economy

Hillary Clinton told USA TODAY on Wednesday she plans to make the case for why Donald Trump is "temperamentally unfit" to mana...

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4 Things To Do Before You Quit Your Job

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGLnpSA7qjPY-pUjuy1EkiGjGDPKX4D9KLzj0T7uPPm6TGBw5_Aw52Z-_DgQdLHQJOF32XeW6PhQY9b72fVDpDgNsx4bJuxbD7oDNAzchoa39G-ZD3X7kCuNcVyinMyYnDkvq6kwWGllSM/s1600/When-to-Quit-a-Job.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="4 Things To Do Before You Quit Your Job" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGLnpSA7qjPY-pUjuy1EkiGjGDPKX4D9KLzj0T7uPPm6TGBw5_Aw52Z-_DgQdLHQJOF32XeW6PhQY9b72fVDpDgNsx4bJuxbD7oDNAzchoa39G-ZD3X7kCuNcVyinMyYnDkvq6kwWGllSM/s1600/When-to-Quit-a-Job.png" title="4 Things To Do Before You Quit Your Job" /></a></div> <br />Are you thinking of making the switch from a big company to starting your own business? Even while you’re still working, there’s a lot you can do to prepare yourself for the jump. <br /><br />Here are four tips:<div> <br /><h3> 1. Never eat lunch alone</h3> One of the best assets you have from your time at a big firm is an extensive network of professionals who (hopefully) think well of your work. In your final months in the corporate world, you should invest in tending your current relationships and even building some new ones.<br /><br />A strong network can provide leads for new clients, employees or service providers. Plus, you may never again have access to such a large group of people who are free to dine with you, only a three-minute walk from where you are sitting. <div> <br /><h3> 2. Learn new skills</h3> At a big company, even as an executive, you probably have a specialized role in one functional area. But in your own company, you will need to be a “jack of all trades” -- so use your remaining time at a big company to learn a new trade, on the company’s dime. You can join a cross-functional project that will increase your exposure to a new area, or take advantage of training and development classes.<br /><br />For example, my old employer offered a day-long introductory course in Agile Development open to anyone, regardless of job function. This would be a valuable investment of time for any budding technology entrepreneur.<br /><br /><h3> 3. Ask for advice on functions you don’t know about </h3> Don’t know anything about marketing? You’d think it would be a smart move to meet with a senior marketing leader at your company for a few tips as you start your new venture but you’d be wrong.<br /><br />When you are starting out, what you really need is practical advice. The responsibilities of a VP of marketing at a Fortune 500 company are completely different from what you’ll be doing marketing your small business. She won’t personally use any of the software tools you’ll need, and the agencies she would recommend are likely to be well out of your price range. Plus, the right marketing for an unknown startup is vastly different than for a well-known industry leader.<br /><br />So what do you do instead? Seek out co-workers who used to be entrepreneurs themselves, and ask them about how they did everything. What services did they use? How much did they pay consultants? What functions did they do themselves that they now regret not outsourcing? And what turned out to be easier than they thought? You’d be surprised about how readily people will share this information, and it will be practical advice you can use.</div> <div> <br /><h3> 4. Take advantage of your big company benefits</h3> One thing that’s vastly different when you start your own business is the loss of corporate benefits. As an entrepreneur, you’ll need to have medical and dental, but your plans might not be as comprehensive -- and all other benefits go out the window.<br /><br />So in your last few months, schedule that elective surgery you’ve been putting off, max out your 401K contribution, take that class using tuition assistance or make those contributions to your alma mater while you can apply for company matching funds. There’s nothing unethical about taking advantage of all your benefits as long as you are employed there.<br /><br />Making the jump from the corporate world to starting your own firm can be scary, but it is worth taking the plunge. </div> </div> <div> <br /></div> <div> <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 18px;"><b>credit</b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">: </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><i>entrepreneur.com</i></span></span></div>

4 Things To Do Before You Quit Your Job

Are you thinking of making the switch from a big company to starting your own business? Even while you’re still working, there’s a lot yo...

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