TODN Bulletin Board

True Secrets to Habit Change
Friday, March 25th - 8:30-10:30 AM - (near Streets at Southpoint mall in Durham)

Are you tired of making decisions all day long?  Have you made up your mind to change something only to find it lapsing after a few days?
The important thing is to know ourselves and to choose the strategies that work for us.

Habits are the invisible architecture of daily life. We repeat about 40% or our behavior almost daily so our habits change our existence and our future.

In her new book Better Than Before:  What I Learned About Making and Breaking Habits  Gretchen Rubin explores the value of habits, and how you can create, modify or discontinue them in a manner that suits you.  “Be Gretchen” is her motto throughout the book while encouraging others to "be themselves."

Fay Krapf holds an MS in Organizational Behavior and, for over 20 years, has provided coaching in career development and career transitions for mid- to senior-level professionals.  She also makes pottery in her new retirement chapter. As an avid “personal growth” junkie, Fay was inspired by hearing Gretchen Rubin on the People’s Pharmacy podcast December 31, 2015, especially when she discovered she could create or change habits “her way."

Debbie Laxer has 25+ years in the field of organizational development and design.  She holds an MBA and SPHR certification.  Debbie is entering her encore career where she is focusing solely on business coaching. Debbie is a habitual "habit maker and breaker" and is inspired to make the right habits guide her every day.

For more information, contact SIG leaders, Vickie Bevenour  or Mary Charles Blakebrough (919-493-5424).

Hope has been successfully engaged in helping C-suite executives and High Potential Leaders and their teams become measurably more successful since 1991, when she joined Farr Associates, in Greensboro.  She started her own consulting business, Circle Consulting Group, LLC in 1998. She has coached at least 24 CEOs and owners in Fortune 50-100, Non-profit, and Family businesses.

She has led a number of non-profits and taught in three Doctoral programs in Counseling Psychology: University of Missouri, Wisconsin and Marquette.  At Missouri, she founded the Multicultural Counseling Program and International Students’ Organization. One of her Korean students (1990) recently asked her to come to Korea to speak. That resulted in a trip to S. Korea and China this past October.  Her last teaching “gig” was in the MBA program at Marquette University teaching Organizational Behavior.

On a personal level, Hope has had 9 foster children and adopted one of them. She plays the cello and has been married to a symphony French Horn Player for 18 years (after meeting on Match.com!!)  She was the president of the Durham Symphony and is a published author.  She and Dave live in Durham with their cat, Snickers and dog, Lexi.

For more information, contact SIG leaders, Vickie Bevenour  or Mary Charles Blakebrough (919-493-5424).

Levels of Involvement AND "Change Transition Curve"

Chris Williams of Interaction Associates will be giving us a taste of two exciting business models -- "levels of involvement" AND "change transition curve:"

In order to achieve 'maximum appropriate involvement,' a leader must first (1) be clear about the decision to be made, and then (2) decide how much to involve key stakeholders in the decisions. To build trust, it is critical that leaders be transparent about power dynamics within a group, including how involved employees are in decision making. Come explore your default involvement preference, factors to consider, and learn and practice a powerful framework for seeing maximum appropriate involvement without giving up control of a business decision.

Having a great idea will likely not be enough to win the support necessary for implementation.  Stakeholders may seem resistant to what you believe is a novel and great idea. Innovation is about new and potentially disruptive ideas – and the subsequent change associated with them.  Come learn and discuss about the emotional and complex transition process we experience in change. To manage transitions well requires an awareness and appreciation of the "change transition curve."

Chris William’s experience includes work in operations, recruiting, and complex research. He has supported senior-level executives in a variety of industries including economic development, government contracting, and strategy consulting.  Chris holds a BA in Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Masters in Public Administration (MPA) from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. He has done pro bono work with The Interaction Institute for Social Change, Rose F. Kennedy Greenway Conservancy, Habitat for Humanity Boston

For more information, contact SIG leaders, Vickie Bevenour  or Mary Charles Blakebrough (919-493-5424).

Big 2015 AH-HA for You? Annual Tips & Tricks Exchange    Friday, December 4th [Nov/Dec DATE] - 8:30-10:30 AM - (near Streets at Southpoint mall in Durham)

This is our annual SIG Holiday TIPS & TRICKS EXCHANGE and the agenda is one that we have had for fifteen years. We gather to share something that has impacted us either professionally or personally during the year. 

We ask that you bring a book, a tip, a technique, a brain-friendly recipe, a picture, a poem, a great quote, or anything else that has inspired, pleased or touched you in the past year. If it has been surprisingly successful that's even better.

You can share your tip or trick with the group by telling us about it and/or making copies for everyone. We've found this to be one of our best programs - always full of surprises and a real GIFT to all of us!

NOTE: Vote at 11/13 FEED YOUR BRAIN program was to feed ours after 12/4 SIG. Feel free to join us at nearby restaurant open for lunch.

For more information, contact SIG leaders, Vickie Bevenour  or Mary Charles Blakebrough (919-493-5424).

After the awesome information that Fay Krapf and Hope Hills put together for our March 27th program, along with input from Marguerite Lawn and Mary Charles, about neurological brain research going on, especially in the area of using food to improve memory, change auto-immune disease quality-of-life, lose weight, and other good things, the attendees voted to do a follow-up program in October.

Fay Krapf, Marguerite Lawn, Hope Hills PhD,  and Mary Charles Blakebrough will be pooling their collective experience and new information with food plans, coconut oil, Tapping, and extensive reading of books, blogs, and attending online Summits with leading experts. New books and research since March will be reviewed.

Join us for a discussion of how we could change our clarity, productivity, and outlook using current research and experience. Bring along anything you have discovered to add to our brain food "stone soup."

For more information, contact SIG leaders, Vickie Bevenour  or Mary Charles Blakebrough (919-493-5424).

Changing from Valuables to VALUES - An Introduction to Legacy Letters  --  October 9th  [DATE CHANGED due to BIG RAIN from 10/2] - 8:30-10:30 AM - (near Streets at Southpoint mall in Durham)

A Legacy Letter, also called an Ethical Will, shares your values, beliefs, and life lessons – the essence of who you are – with your family, friends, and future generations who may never meet you.  It bequeaths your values instead of your valuables, and is becoming increasingly attractive to today’s “Greatest Generation” and their Baby Boomer children. 

A Legacy Letter is typically between two and ten pages, although it can be as short as a paragraph or as long as a book.  Whatever length or format, your Legacy Letter will most certainly become a cherished keepsake. One of her favorite descriptions of a Legacy Letter is “a love letter from the voice of your heart.”

During her presentation, Katrina Solomon will explore the topics of legacy and Legacy Letters, as well as facilitate several exercises that can start you on the journey of writing your own legacy letter.

The Evidence-Based Approach to Workplace Success - Friday, August 28th 8:30-10:30 AM - near Streets at Southpoint Mall

Mason Lantay is a Psychology and Management Studies student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Since taking his first social psychology class in 2011, Mason has been fascinated with ways experimental psychology could be applied to improve employee happiness and productivity in the workplace. Currently employed in Kenan-Flagler Business School’s Center for Decision Research, Mason has worked for three research labs and is in the process of designing the University of North Carolina's First-Year Male Student Leadership Retreat for the Office of New Student & Carolina Parent Programs.

When addressing organizational issues, we pull from experience, advice, and intuition in order to come up with the best solutions; but how can we be certain that our plans will work? In the past 80 years, psychologists have used the experimental method to discover and virtually prove ways to increase worker motivation, happiness, and creativity, among many other aspects key to organizational success. 

However, despite the wealth of applicable information that psychology has revealed, many professionals remain unaware that this research even exists, and even fewer know how to correctly apply it. During this talk we will learn key findings about workplace behavior, how psychological research works, and how the experimental method can help to compliment your own expertise in the field of organizational development.

For more information, contact SIG leaders, Vickie Bevenour  or Mary Charles Blakebrough (919-493-5424).

Was That My Energy That Just Left?

July 31st [DATE CHANGED for July - 8:30-10:30 AM - (near Streets at Southpoint mall in Durham)

This is a fun and insightful mini-workshop Sharon Carrington has presented to groups in many locations around the East Coast. So many of us are "running on empty" with our busy lives!  There really is another way to approach the dilemma of not having enough energy. I developed this workshop to help all of us manage our lives better.  Come and take a fresh look at time and energy. You may use any part of this short workshop with your own clients. Enjoy!

Sharon's background includes Human Resource leadership roles in both the oil and pharmaceutical industries. She has had 6 different careers and her own consulting practice, which assisted Fortune 100 companies navigate changes in their companies.

Sharon is now mostly retired, but her last position was with a division of The Washington Post Company.  She coached executive (CIA, FBI, Homeland Security) faculty members to teach online master level courses for George Washington University.

For more information, contact SIG leaders, Vickie Bevenour  or Mary Charles Blakebrough (919-493-5424).

The Gallup Organization found “Four times out of five - people don’t leave their jobs they leave their bosses.   From a 2014 survey by Inc. Magazine, “Three out of four people interviewed, reported that their boss is the worst and most stressful part of their job”  “Bad bosses cost the economy over $360 billion in lost productivity every year” (Inc. Magazine) They bring down productivity, engagement and morale of the workforce and negatively impact the bottom line of the organization.

If you are a coach, trainer, OD practitioner, executive, manager, or on a team experiencing any of the following issues you may want to attend this Change SIG to learn common causes/effects and ways to help these individuals become more aware and effective.

• diminished productivity or persistent fatigue
• conflict with and among staff
• resistance to  leadership
• staff not meeting business objectives
• stress interfering with productivity
• difficulty transitioning or adjusting to greater responsibilities

Peter Metzner, MA, MPA, PCC, BCC is a Professional, Board Certified Coach and Peoplemap tm Trainer. He has facilitated hundreds of training programs for universities, hospitals, colleges, schools, non-profits, associations, professional offices and businesses. Peter has served as Vice President of Client Relations and Program Development for The Leadership Trust.  Before joining the Trust, he was employed by the Center for Creative Leadership, where he helped customize executive development and training programs for major businesses and corporations.

For more information, contact SIG leaders, Vickie Bevenour  or Mary Charles Blakebrough (919-493-5424).

I'll be hosting the 13th Annual Change Management Conference for The Conference Board, June 18-19.  I'm curious if anyone from our community plans to attend.

This is my fourth year as the program director and it's interesting how the topics and focus have "changed" each year.  Here's a link to our program, http://www.conference-board.org/pdf_free/agendas/993015.pdf