It’s a very exciting day today! My book “Quality In Quality Out: Caring Workplaces Inspire People to Do Their Best” finally has been published! As many of you may know, I have been on this journey for the past five years, ever since launching my eponymous blog. My personal aspiration has been to spread a […]
Finding Purpose in Empowering Others
Teresa Hamlin of Azerbaijani Socks is interesting on so many levels that it’s hard to decide where to begin telling her story. When I first met Teresa through our mutual friend in Baku, she amazed me with her fluent Azerbaijani and the way she pronounced her name – Tereza – just like the locals do. […]
How to Build Connections across Cultures
More than a Culinary Journey to the Caucasus Cultural differences can stall team performance by impeding people’s ability to work effectively towards shared goals. The reason is the misconceptions and tension caused by focusing on differences. Workplace diversity experts agree that people from different cultures have more similarities than they realize. In today’s globalized marketplace, […]
The Flag Once Raised or 5 Lessons from 100 Years Ago
Where I come from, in Azerbaijan, as well as in other parts of the globe, that are home to Azerbaijanis, May 28th is celebrated as the Republic Day. And if all previous years this date was important, in 2018 it’s signified further by the 100th anniversary of the inception of the Azerbaijani Democratic Republic. Why […]
How to Deal with Workplace Conflict
Workplace conflict is inevitable. We can’t ignore it hoping that it would go away. In most cases, not only it will stay but will grow into bigger issues. How to deal with conflict in order to preserve productivity and positive work environment? Not all conflict is bad Some amount of healthy conflict is actually […]
The Leaders and the Gatekeepers
Have you ever noticed that truly successful, self-made people, who achieved higher highs in their profession and their life, are, usually the humblest ones too? They treat others with the utmost respect and are quick to point out what’s good in people. On the other hand, those who only have limited power in their hands, […]
“SOS! My Boss Has a Shiny Object Syndrome!”
A couple of weeks ago we talked about the Shiny Object Syndrome. After that post, one of my readers shared her workplace experiences with a boss who seems to suffer from this condition. The reader finds her work frustrating as the direction they are headed seems to be changing way too frequently and sporadically which […]
A Dream Team – the Formula for Success
The ultimate goal of any business is to produce results and be profitable. Results are what allows us to live our dreams, so what is the best way to steadily grow those results year after year? I would find the answer to that question soon after I was promoted to Division Manager back in 2011. […]
Lonely at the Top?
Have you ever climbed the success ladder only to find out how lonely it is at the top of it? If you have, please share what you see from your new heights. I don’t have the first-hand experience of being at the proverbial top to back up my words, but I have a hard time […]
Sense of Urgency
Years ago when I worked for a daily newspaper, my first job ever, we had a constant sense of urgency at work. Every day we had a goal of filling the newspaper pages with content – relevant, timely and meaningful content that would sell. Among other things, our staff had to find newsworthy stories, write […]