Greetings everyone! For those of us in the United States, it’s the week we remember to be thankful for all we’ve got. And for those outside of the U.S., you get to watch us give thanks by indulging ourselves in too much food and overspending as we stampede to the stores on Black Friday. But the thing is, being thankful for what we have could be the simple answer to solving so many of our challenges. We see it in nature, science, history, religion, and philosophy. And yet we seem blind to it as we chase whatever it is we think will make us happy. So let’s take a look at why gratitude is the best gift we can give ourselves and the world.
According to the shelves at the store, it’s the most wonderful time of the year, which apparently now stretches from the second week of October through at least the first week in January. And the longer the revelry seems to stretch, the more obligations we get caught up in. How can you keep all the activities of the holiday season from sending you spiraling? Let’s find out!
It’s time to share the schedule of 2023 events. Our mantra has been, “we now return to our regularly scheduled programming.” But that’s not entirely true. During the pandemic, we learned so much about putting on online events and the community really embraced them. And we know for many of you it gave you more value with access to topics and people you wouldn’t have been exposed to otherwise. So instead, let’s return to our greatly enhanced programming. And if you keep reading, you'll see exactly what's on the schedule.
One of my favorite weekly tasks is sending out our newsletter. I know people really appreciate the chance to read up on topics that are important to them, and I love connecting with the community. The newsletter is full of great info, and I collect some of the best resources once a month right here. So, here’s the best of the best from our October newsletters!
With the community continuing to grow at a healthy pace, we now have more resources than ever before to support one another. This is 100% because of the ongoing support of our members. Keep reading to learn more about what's coming next year.
I’m a talker. I know that comes as a shock to those of you who know me. But we're humans, and communicating elevated us to where we are today. And miscommunication is often why that's a hot mess. At work, in our relationships, and in our communities. Maybe I'm a dreamer, but it doesn't have to be like this. The key to better communication is often setting expectations. And how do we do that? By talking and talking and talking. Oh! And listening! I always forget about listening.
Every day we face decisions that benefit us or others, whether it's letting someone merge in traffic or leaving a nice tip for exceptional service. We live in a society, and the only way we can move forward is to consider our impact on others. Let's take a look at when we need to choose what's best for the team over what's best for us.
Last week we looked at “Quiet Quitting.” Thanks to a few members, I now know that what we shared was one-sided and didn’t take the employee's perspective into account. It turns out the term “quiet quitting” is bad framing for what is really an effort to avoid overcommitting and burnout. It’s not doing the minimum to not get fired, which is how many of us understood it. With that in mind, let’s dive deeper into quiet quitting from the employee's perspective.
Our Bureau Member Slack conversations range from the silly to the serious, and every week we send out the most useful conversation topics in our weekly newsletter. But we also collect them here every month. So, without further ado, here is the best of the best from our September newsletters!
When I'm in the zone (which my family can attest is far too often), it's hard to get my attention. But there are also people who let themselves get distracted way too much and don't put in the time to do their job well. And folks who are just phoning it in because it's just a job. Let's take a look at what we're being told and what we know is true.
It seems like organization is a constant struggle for most of us, which is why nobody gets to see my closet. A lot of our companies are like cities that just grew organically over the centuries. They've got some amazing history but can be a mess to navigate. I hope your company isn’t like that in its operations, but this week we’re going to talk about one way to help rein in the chaos: process reviews.
We all need help. Ok, maybe that was too personal. But we all know it, the more opportunities we have to learn from others the faster we improve at our jobs. Reading books, attending events, listening to podcasts, and participating in workshops have made me better at my role in leading the community. Together we can get smarter so much faster. Investing in our teams (and ourselves) can pay off big time for everyone. That's why this week we’re talking about setting aside money for professional development. So let's get smarter!
A diverse team makes for a kick-ass workplace, right? Most of us have found that when we bring in people with different backgrounds they come up with better ideas that lead to better products. And if we're bringing in people with different experiences, then it makes sense they'll approach work differently. This also means they may work on a different schedule. There's been a lot of discussion in the community lately about in-office vs. remote work, but what about alternative work schedules? Personally, I'm best at creative tasks early in the morning and engaging with others in the afternoon. But by 4 pm, I'm fairly worthless. You may be completely opposite and do your best work as a night owl. So let’s dig into this and see why we should embrace flexible work hours.
I still learn new things every day when interacting with business leaders in the Bureau community, and each week we send out a newsletter filled with the most useful tips and topics. I recommend signing up for the newsletter. But if one more subscription isn’t your thing, I get it. Here is the best content from our August newsletters.
There are two types of people: those who dread the fall with its shorter days and cooler weather, and those who are completely stoked for Pumpkin Spice season. As summer fun winds down we can find ourselves in a bit of a slump, which negatively affects our relationships. If you’re feeling a little “bleh” toward the members of your team, this is for you! We’re gonna talk about how to fall in love with your team all over again!
Hey everybody and welcome to the end of summer! That means quite a few of us have kids that are heading back to school, an end to summer hours at work and a renewed push to accomplish annual goals. Especially knowing that the holidays are already staring us down. Even if you aren’t married or don’t have kids, there’s that sense that work is about to be more demanding. And I’m here to tell ya, don’t sacrifice your personal time no matter what.
Every shop owner is constantly trying to get ahead, using new productivity tools and bringing in the best people. But what if you could unlock a new level of business success by just giving your employees more information about how the company is doing? This week we’re talking open-book management!
Have you ever bought something just because a famous person said you should? I don’t know about you, but Spiderman was a formative influence on me growing up. Hell, he still is. While advertising is still big business, it's time to stop smirking at influencer marketing and take a look at how it can help us and our companies accomplish our goals.
The Bureau Slack is where members go to vent our frustrations, share cat memes, and look for new ways to improve our companies. You can get the best of this goodness distilled and sent straight to your inbox every week by signing up for our weekly newsletter. If you missed them among all the Spirit Halloween ads, though, here’s the best of the best from our July newsletters.
One of the first things I do every morning is go through my to-do list... and my to-don't list. And from what I've seen, project managers are the ultimate keepers of lists on any team. They really keep things humming. This week’s topic was inspired by a conversation in the Bureau Slack about when you might need more PM help and when an account manager might be a better hire.
