During the first year of marriage, my wife and I decided to make a gratitude jar; well more accurately, my wife decided that we would make a gratitude jar. For those of you like me, that had never heard of this, it is a simple concept. Every time something good happened in our lives, personally or in business, alone, as a couple, or with friends, we were to write a little note and drop it in the jar. You cannot read any of the notes until the end of the year and if desired can open and read as part of your New Year’s celebration. When she first proposed this idea, I looked at the newly purchased decorative, chalk painted jar, looked at the excited expression on her face, and said, “Well, that sounds like a GREAT idea.” All the while in my mind thinking, “you just wanted to buy a fancy jar from Pier 1, and have somehow turned this into a project for me!” As it turned out though, as with most things in life that I begrudgingly try, I learned so much more than I imagined I would from the fancy jar on the dresser.

One of the biggest concerns my clients have when we begin working together is keeping their business out of trouble with the federal government. If this is of concern to you as well, I’m hopeful this article will help provide a bit of clarity for you as you navigate the muddy waters of federal contracting. I’ll be describing a process that I frequently go over with my clients to determine whether their organization is subject to additional regulatory requirements.

We all accept that good leadership requires a balanced, equilateral approach to our team members. Of course, we should never have a favorite employee; HOWEVER as human leaders, every one of us has had that one superstar team member that we rely on greatly and yes, even like a whole lot. It is not hard to prefer “Sally” as the employee who happily volunteers to fill in and rarely demonstrates even the slightest bit of stress. So while we would never have favorites, it is difficult to not favor Sally when her counterpart, Jimmy, is hiding the fact that Facebook is now his home page on the company laptop and that his longer and longer breaks are due to him hunting Pokemon in the back parking lot.

Ep 028: Why culture, clarity, and feedback are the keys to great leadership with Kathy Albarado I had the great pleasure to be interviewed by Halelly Azulay, founder of TalentGrow LLC, a consulting company focused on developing leaders and teams, especially for enterprises experiencing growth or expansion. Halelly is a leader I admire and is an author, speaker, facilitator and leadership development strategist, and hosts her very own podcast called, The Talent Grow Show. I encourage you to watch the podcast interview below! "Listen to Kathy Albarado, founder and CEO of Helios HR, an award-winning human capital management consultant who brings a triple-whammy perspective on leadership to The Talent Grow Show. As a leader in her own successful company, Kathy understands leading those who help her organization win awards and satisfy clients. As coach to her client leaders, she helps client companies achieve success. And as a community leader and philanthropist, she has built a unique platform that allows many companies share leadership best practices and success insights. Kathy speaks with TalentGrow Show host, Halelly Azulay, about her path to launching her own company based in her strong passion for great organizational culture. She describes ways you can create a great culture, as well as the importance of seeking clarity and feedback. And she gives specific examples, stories, and how-to's for doing just that."

I have to be honest, the past couple of weeks of my life can easily be characterized as blissful, upbeat, and downright thrilling! One might think the levity in my step is due to summer’s dynamic and awe-inspiring energy or the fact that my family vacation is right around the corner. While the aforementioned are also true, I must admit it has everything to do with the fact that the Cleveland Cavaliers won the NBA World Championship and simultaneously made history!

Human Resources experts see obvious value in creating organizational cultures that attract and retain exceptional people, yet we find it’s not always easy to convince other business leaders to focus on culture. In fact, lots of times, when we talk about spending time or resources on improving culture, leaders instantly think “culture” equals “fluff”: activities that ultimately make people feel good but don’t positively impact the bottom line or mission, and therefore, it’s not worth the investment. But, what happens if we don’t take the time to invest in culture?