Karen’s Articles
Should I Brush My Teeth?
This morning I was thinking, “How can I stand here in this warm and lovely bathroom brushing my teeth while bombs are exploding on the the other side of the Atlantic?” I often watch TV news at night. In the morning, I read the top stories online. At midday I...
Just Give Me a Smirk
Occasionally, someone I work with tells me that I am funny. That’s music to my ears, but truly, I know I am not a comedic genius. I just try for the “give me a smirk,” or if you are under the age of 30, perhaps an eye roll in disbelief of how corny my joke was. My...
Should Your Business Be Named Meraki?
On a recent business trip to Las Vegas, our group decided to go off the beaten path and try a well-reviewed Greek restaurant. Since we were over-ordering, rather than allowing us to make a mistake, the waitress asked us how hungry we were. We adjusted our order....
Cinnamon, Spice, and Black History Month
One of the frequent questions that I hear from participants after I have conducted Diversity and Inclusion work in their organization is, “How can I be more supportive of this effort?” Personally, I am always seeking new and effective ways to walk the talk! In June...
We All Facilitate
Facilitation is quite an art. While it may seem similar to presenting, during a presentation you are perceived as the expert and everyone in the audience is there to listen to you. Facilitation is also distinct from training, where you are conveying a skill. As a...
The Importance of Feedback
The more specific, the more terrific! You can't improve if you don't know what you're doing wrong. In reality, many of us complain about underachieving co-workers, but we don't give them the type of explicit feedback they need to do their jobs better. -- Karen...
No Question is a Dumb Question
I helped my son’s friend prepare for an interview last week. We started out talking about common interview questions, which evolved into a discussion of which ones are more and less effective. Below are some of the questions we agreed were interesting, some from...
One Day at a Time
After graduating from college, I had no interest in going back to school, yet I knew most of the careers I was interested in required more education. One day Johns Hopkins University sent me an advertisement for a class taught by a famous author, and it looked...
Holiday F Words
At holiday gatherings, my family of origin played word games (video games hadn’t been invented yet.) It’s natural, then, that I’d use words to facilitate your fantastic family festivities. Here are a few words related to work, work groups, and celebrations. (Some...
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