Tag: Training

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Here are some fun facts about Thanksgiving to share around the dinner table.

• • The first Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621 over a three-day harvest festival. It included 50 Pilgrims, 90 Wampanoag Indians, and lasted three days.
  • Turkey wasn’t on the menu at the first Thanksgiving. Venison, duck, goose, oysters, lobster, eel, and fish were likely served, alongside pumpkins and cranberries (but not pumpkin pie or cranberry sauce!).
  • Abraham Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday on October 3, 1863. Sarah Josepha Hale, the woman who wrote “Mary Had A Little Lamb,” convinced Lincoln to make Thanksgiving a national holiday after writing letters for 17 years.
  • The history of U.S. presidents pardoning turkeys is patchy. Harry Truman is often credited with being the first president to pardon a turkey, but that’s not quite true. He was the first to receive a ceremonial turkey from the National Turkey Federation – and he had it for dinner. John F. Kennedy was the first to let a Thanksgiving turkey go, followed by Richard Nixon who sent his turkey to a petting zoo. George H.W. Bush is the president who formalized the turkey pardoning tradition in 1989.
  • There are four towns in the United States named “Turkey.” They can be found in Arizona, Texas, Louisiana, and North Carolina.
  • The average number of calories consumed on Thanksgiving is 4,500.
  • Butterball answers more than 100,000 turkey-cooking questions via their Butterball Turkey Hotline each November and December.
  • Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and the Philippines. It is also observed in the Dutch town of Leiden and the Australian territory of Norfolk Island.
  • The tradition of football on Thanksgiving began in 1876 with a game between Yale and Princeton. The first NFL games were played on Thanksgiving in 1920.
  • More than 54 million Americans are expected to travel during the Thanksgiving holiday this year.

Source: WorldStrides.com, History.com & Wikipedia.com

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor, and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professionals.

Invest in a  TAB® franchise, the leading business advisory and coaching franchise with over 30 years of proven success.

If you’re a business leader who’s been looking for a franchise opportunity where you can leverage your years of experience and have the flexibility you’ve always desired, TAB is the franchise for you!

As a TAB Franchisee, you will help your clients gain positive improvements to their businesses and personal lives.  As a TAB Franchisee, you’ll be in business for yourself- not by yourself.

TAB offers our Franchisee

• • • Minimal operational investment
    • Training, mentorship, and ongoing support
    • Multiple revenue streams
    • Flexibility to achieve a work-life balance
    • Proven equity-building business

Schedule time to learn more about the benefits of owning a TAB Franchise, email us at: tabfran@thealternativeboard.com or visit our website: http://www.tabfranchise.com

#Tabboards #franchising  #franchiseopportunities

We would love to hear your comments. Please contact us today!

Have you taken a look at our new book? Check it out today!

Click here to order on Amazon or to read more.

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor, and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professionals.

How to Develop Loyal Superfans of Your Business

Brand loyalists will be the greatest champions for your business. But how can a business create superfans? And what strategies can you use to attract real brand aficionados?

Customer engagement and brand loyalty can be a huge part of business success. Companies like Apple, Tesla, Starbucks, and more have all perfected the pipeline to create loyal fans of their brand. Believe it or not – gaining super fans can be a bigger challenge than it sounds! Here’s how your business can build customers who generate recurring revenue and positive buzz around your products or services.

Start developing loyal fans of your business today!

Focus on Unique UX (user experience)

User experience matters with products and services. Whether it’s a digital website, a physical product, or a consumable – the way that your customer interacts with it from start to finish matters.

Put time into how your product stands out and its ease of use. Take cues from other brands like Rare Beauty who have designed their products to be accessible to those with disabilities.

Enhance your customer experience for your target audience and invest in great packaging. If you stand out from the competition it makes it a lot easier for customers to justify repeat purchases or to champion your brand to others!

Niche Down and Engage that Specific Audience

Defining your target audience from the outset is critical as you design your brand, mission, values, and products. People will always gravitate towards brands that align with their own values and beliefs. If you can attract the right people then the rest of their community will often follow!

Testimonials – but on Social Media

Breaking through the foray into social media as a business can be hard – even for those with the most experience creating targeted ads. With that being said, companies stand to win if they can leverage testimonials on social media. Proof that your product works and authentic stories about how it fits into your customers’ lives are the perfect way to build loyal fans.

Loyalty must be Rewarded

Fans don’t become fans without feeling rewarded and valued for their loyalty. Whether it’s exclusive access to new products, VIP sales or deals, or customer loyalty programs – rewarding loyalty can be lucrative in the long term for your brand. It may also encourage more interaction with the brand digitally and improve purchasing.

Go Above and Beyond Expectations

Delivering what’s promised is the bare minimum that customers expect from your brand. To evolve your customers into fans… you need to exceed their expectations in new ways. This can be done in innovative ways but you need to make sure that you’re providing an experience that customers will rave about.

Listen before Speaking to your Customer

A business that doesn’t listen and engage its customers is one that stands to fail over the long term. Regularly gather and listen to your customers’ feedback. Insight can be used to regularly improve your product or service over time.

How are you building customer loyalty? We would love to hear from you. Contact us today!

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor, and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professionals.

As a business owner, you have so many organizational dynamics to consider. Like productivity, profitability, employee retention, and company culture. Sure, you have plenty on your plate. But if you haven’t yet started implementing green initiatives and sustainability into your business planning and strategies, the time is now to implement ways to improve your business’s environmental footprint.

There is a growing consumer and commercial demand to solely engage with those companies that walk the walk related to environmental issues and eco-friendly business practices. Business’s return on this investment in sustainability isn’t just moral or theoretical. Those who adopt green measures may be rewarded with cost savings due to enhanced energy efficiency, regulation compliance, improved brand reputation, and fresh market opportunities. Indeed, sustainability in your business is not just about a healthier planet, but the forward-thinking, long-term position in a green-trending marketplace.

Why Consider Eco Initiatives

According to a recent Nielsen report, nearly 75% of global consumers are willing to change their consumption habits to do their part in reducing their own environmental impact. It appears that the younger the consumer, the more committed they are to adopting green initiatives. And they align themselves with businesses that embrace the same green positions. Increasingly, research indicates that businesses with a strong commitment to sustainability outperform the competition.

Still, businesses struggle with understanding their own part and onus in the green equation. The disconnect often arises from a perception that sustainability is more of an external concern than one that is part and parcel to the operations of one’s own business.

But more and more, green initiatives are becoming less of an ethical business choice and more of an imperative for customer acquisition, retention, and regulatory compliance.

A record $495 billion was invested in renewable energy in 2022. In 2021, businesses outside the energy sector spent nearly $70 billion on sustainability efforts. And fines are raking up for those organizations hit with environmental violation penalties.

It is clear that looking to green initiatives and sustainability just makes smart financial sense.

Your Business’s Green Path Forward

As we navigate the road to a sustainable future, business owners must recognize that green initiatives will increasingly shift the business paradigm and their own companies specifically. Businesses that adopt eco-friendly practices and integrate sustainability into Company Vision, Core Values, and Strategic Direction are quickly emerging as more the norm than the exception.

Here are five green implementations you can introduce now in your business:

1. 1. Launch Recycling Programs: Set up recycling bins for paper, plastic, and other recyclables.
   2. Energy-Efficient Lighting: Install LED or energy-efficient lighting to reduce energy consumption.
   3. Telecommuting Initiatives: Allow employees to work remotely to minimize travel and reduce carbon footprint.
   4. Buy Green: Opt for eco-friendly products and materials from sustainable suppliers.
   5. Go All-Digital: Replace all paper records, notes, and receipts with digital documentation.

Don’t be left behind in the race for sustainability. The time to embrace green initiatives in your business is now.

We would love to hear from you. Contact us today!

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor, and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professionals.

Are you Feeling Frustrated with your Team as a Leader? Ask Yourself this…

Here are 5 questions to ask yourself as a leader if you find yourself frustrated with your corporate team.

Being a leader will always be challenging. This is especially true while stress and burnout continue to plague corporations. A leader must undertake the constant mental strain to push their own work forward and to ensure that a team’s projects are being delivered to a specific corporate standard. Unfortunately, feeling extra judgemental about your work can be normal.

Even in the healthiest corporate culture, frustration still exists at the managerial level. Whether it’s frustration with your bureaucratic structure, your team, or pieces of a project that are beyond your control it can be hard to stay even keel.

As a leader, there are some questions that you can ask when you start to feel that frustration feeling creeping in. Begin with some self-reflection before directing your frustration outward and make sure that when you move to resolve it it’s a productive conversation or action that you’re taking.

Here are 5 questions to ask if you’re feeling frustrated as a business owner…

1: Have I been clear with my preferred project outcome?

Communication is the ultimate key to great leadership and healthy corporate culture. If, as a business owner or manager, you’re not adequately expressing your expectations then it’s an almost impossible task for your staff to meet them. Ensure that you’re identifying what success looks like for your team members with regard to projects, roles, and deliverables. Provide support and ensure that your team knows that there are open channels of communication (without judgment).

Before you allow frustration to overwhelm you – ask how you’ve communicated your preferred project outcomes. Take steps to reiterate it and ask your staff if they’re clear on the work that they’re doing. Check-in throughout the project to ensure that the quality is meeting your expectations prior to final delivery.

2: Am I being reasonable for this project?

Take a look at your expectations for the project and ensure that you’re being realistic and reasonable. If your deadlines, resources, or scale aren’t matching reality then it’s time to find a way to ground your expectations.

A stretch assignment may be a useful way to challenge employees but be careful with going too far. Ensure that your employees feel supported and guided through a project that seems less reasonable than others (or has a rush deadline). Don’t allow your frustrations to be born out of your unrealistic or perfectionist tendencies.

3: Have I reflected on the truths about this employee?

If you’re finding yourself particularly frustrated with a single employee, take some time to reflect on the capabilities and positive qualities that they have. Oftentimes mistakes or poor performance may be born out of a tough personal time. If you sense an employee isn’t performing the way that they typically do – take the time to have a direct and kind conversation about what is going on.

Don’t allow frustration to overwhelm your judgment of the employee without taking the time to find out what’s going on. Communicate your expectations of the employee during this time and ensure that they know you are there to support them.

4: Has my standard for employees been consistent?

Unconscious bias can be a source of frustration in the workplace. All managers understand that employees bring various strengths and weaknesses to the table. Being aware of your preferences with regard to employees and their work is important because it can help defuse frustration when it comes to results.

Take conscious action to not compare work but to maintain a consistent standard for your employees across the board. This means that you’re fairly treating employees without having to check yourself on daily and question if you’re being “fair”.

5: Am I providing actionable feedback and being kind?

If you have concerns about the quality of work, ensure that you’re being timely with feedback. Don’t take weeks to review projects before providing constructive criticism (especially if you rushed the employee or deadline to complete it).

If you find yourself frustrated by the quality of a project, be sure to feather your feedback gracefully and depending on the employee communicate in a style that they will hear it clearly. Some people prefer brutal honesty and others can hear minor criticism clearly even when it’s included in a myriad of compliments about the final project. Don’t let issues fester on either end about your feedback style and ensure that you’re providing actionable constructive criticism so that your employees can continue to grow in positive ways. 

We would love to hear your comments. Please contact us today!

Have you taken a look at our new book? Check it out today!

Click here to order on Amazon or to read more.

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor, and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professionals.

Unlock Your Income Potential with StratPro

While TAB® peer advisory boards are fueled by the collective wisdom of business owners from various industries, StratPro® supports entire leadership teams within one organization, allowing for a deep dive into their unique business needs. Franchisees leverage their own business expertise to facilitate workshops that teach best practices and unlock strategic solutions that align with overarching business objectives. More importantly, as a StratPro certified facilitator, TAB business owners provide leadership teams with practical tools, a clear roadmap, and actionable steps to make impactful changes.

There has never been a better time to unlock your income protentional with the power of StratPro. Franchisees who take advantage of this additional revenue stream stand to gain an array of benefits including but not limited to: expanded service offerings, differentiation in their market, and enhanced client retention.

Learn more by visiting: www.tabfranchise.com or emailing us at: tabfran@thealternativeboard.com.

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor, and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professionals.

Employees are Struggling with Burnout – Here’s how to Address this Organizational Issue

Chronic job stressors, environmental factors, and a looming recession can cause burnout across the corporate board. There are some ways that management can address this workplace threat.

Burnout can emerge from any number of factors or mismatches when it comes to human needs and job roles. Burnout factors can include lack of competence, belonging, and psychological safety. While many extraneous factors that contribute to burnout (such as a looming recession) are out of the control of leadership – some factors can be mitigated or addressed in the workplace.

It’s a leader’s job to meet their employees where they are and to maintain a consistent channel of communication. If you sense burnout is threatening your team or a staff member, it’s time to take steps to address it.

Here’s how you may be able to address burnout from a management standpoint.

Consider Job Realignment to Meet Employees’ Needs

Improving an employee’s alignment with their job and its functions can help to ease the stressors in the workplace. This job realignment can be temporary such as working from home or flexing time during a challenging time. A job realignment can be long-term such as removing less effective tasks or projects off of an employee’s plate permanently to lighten their mental load over time.

Ensure that job realignment and rebalancing are well-communicated with employees. It should be as much their choice as it is yours to realign their workload. Employees should be consistently assured that it is not their failing but it is to ensure their continued success over time in the workplace. Don’t underestimate the power of positive words and complimentary rhetoric at this time as your employee may be particularly sensitive as a result of impending burnout.

Provide Attainable Goals and Monitor from a Distance

Employees who are struggling with burnout do not need the stress of fancy performance plans or KPIs. Following a realignment, management should provide simple and attainable goals to allow for “wins”. Lessening the mental load can allow for greater focus on a single project and better overall performance over time.

Once attainable goals have been provided, be sure to monitor your employee from a distance. Those who are struggling with burnout know that they’re capable but need the space to find that again. Micromanaging, constant check-ins, or the classic “How are you doing” may send the employee over the edge in terms of mental health. Ensure that the employee knows that you’re there to support them but that you also have tremendous faith in their skills and abilities.

Keep it Simple, (Stupid)

In line with the previous advice about fancy KPIs, your employees don’t need to feel as though the job realignment is overcomplicated. If an employee is mismatched in their job – rematching their role with who they are at that moment doesn’t need to be complicated. As stated previously, this can be as simple as offering flex time or work-from-home days to allow for better work/life balance during a challenging time for an employee. Don’t make it a big deal. Offer job realignments like this to everyone on your team if needed.

The best managers and leaders understand that if the work is being done, to a high standard, and being delivered on time – it doesn’t really matter where or when the work is being completed.

Build in time to Assess and Reassess

Taking the time to assess and reassess the job rematch it’s important. This gives both you and the employee who may be suffering from burnout time to ensure that the changes that have been made make sense.

This also means that when a temporary solution or situation is in place, it can be removed when the employee is ready. Don’t forget to communicate that changes may be temporary depending on the needs of the employee but that they can remain in place for as long as is needed to prevent burnout or mental health crises.

Are you worried about burnout as a manager?

Many leaders, CEOs, business owners, and managers are feeling an increased worry about burnout. If you’re sensing that your team is becoming disconnected or starting to disassociate with their roles it might be time to step in. A proper and sensitive response to burnout can mean loyalty, increased productivity, decreased turnover or work absences, and more. Burnout benefits nobody so be sure to keep a close eye on your staff to ensure that you’re taking a proactive approach to burnout prevention. *

We would love to hear your comments. Please contact us today!

Have you taken a look at our new book? Check it out today!

Click here to order on Amazon or to read more.

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor, and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professionals.

A Brief History of How Halloween Came to America

In the mid-1800s, Irish immigrants came to the United States, bringing their Halloween traditions with them. This included dressing up in costumes, asking their neighbors for food and money, and pulling pranks in the evening on Halloween. The celebration of Halloween was extremely limited in colonial New England because of the rigid Protestant belief systems there. Halloween was much more common in Maryland and the southern colonies.

As the beliefs and customs of different European ethnic groups and the American Indians meshed, a distinctly American version of Halloween began to emerge. In the late 1800s, there was a move in America to mold Halloween into a holiday more about community and neighborly get-togethers than about ghosts, pranks, and witchcraft. At the turn of the century, Halloween parties for both children and adults became the most common way to celebrate the day. Parties focused on games, foods of the season, and festive costumes.

Parents were encouraged by newspapers and community leaders to take anything “frightening” or “grotesque” out of Halloween celebrations. Because of these efforts, Halloween lost most of its superstitious and religious overtones by the beginning of the twentieth century.

By the 1920s and 1930s, Halloween had become a secular but community-centered holiday, with parades and town-wide Halloween parties as the featured entertainment. Despite the best efforts of many schools and communities, vandalism began to plague some celebrations in many communities during this time.

By the 1950s, town leaders had successfully limited vandalism and Halloween had evolved into a holiday directed mainly at the young. Due to the high numbers of young children during the fifties baby boom, parties moved from town civic centers into the classroom or home, where they could be more easily accommodated.

Between 1920 and 1950, the centuries-old practice of trick-or-treating was also revived. Trick-or-treating was a relatively inexpensive way for an entire community to share the Halloween celebration. In theory, families could also prevent tricks from being played on them by providing the neighborhood children with small treats.

Thus, a new American tradition was born, and it has continued to grow. Today, Americans spend an estimated $6 billion annually on Halloween, making it the country’s second-largest commercial holiday after Christmas.

Did you know? More people are buying costumes for their pets. Americans spent nearly $500 million on costumes for their pets in 2021—more than double what they spent in 2010.  Also, In 2019, a popular movement to move the date of Halloween led to the creation of National Trick-or-Treat Day on the last Saturday of October. However, Halloween remains on October 31, and how communities celebrate the new National Trick-or-Treat Day, if at all, depends on local organizers.

Source: Excerpted from The History Channel  and CountryLiving.com

Have you taken a look at our new book? Check it out today!

Click here to order on Amazon or to read more.

We would love to hear your comments.

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor, and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professionals.

Please say hello to a TAB Franchise Owner!

The Alternative Board is incredibly proud to welcome @Maria Stipic to our renowned team of TAB Business Owners, Board Facilitators, and Coaches. Bringing over 25 years of leadership experience in Sales, Operations, Customer Service, and Business Transformation, Maria is now leveraging her ingenuity in business to improve the lives, leadership, and success of business owners and CEOs in the Mississauga-Oakville area of Ontario, Canada.

Maria is a remarkable example of the type of business leader The Alternative Board is always looking for in our global team of TAB Franchise Owners – passionate people who are as invested in the success of others as they are their own. If you or someone you know are interested in considering a TAB Franchise opportunity, we’d love to talk to you.

For territory checks or to learn if a TAB franchise opportunity is right for you, visit our website at www.tabfranchise.com or email us at tabfran@thealternativeboard.com.

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor, and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professionals.

Eliminate Habits Holding You Back

You have the power to create positive habits for yourself.  Discover success both personally and professionally by taking control over bad habits and making changes to improve yourself permanently.  Breaking bad habits is hard.

Self-control is essential in breaking bad habits and it has huge implications for success.  High productivity and a strong work ethic proved to be the foundation of self-control that develops good habits. See the seven tips below:

Overuse of technology

Too much screen time prevents productive sleep.  Most of our favorite devices produce short-wavelength blue lights that affect our mood and sleep quality.  When you are exposed to this light for an extended time in the evening, your production of melatonin is affected. All devices should be avoided after 7:00 p.m.

Focus on your conversation 

Conversations are more engaging, effective, and enjoyable if you ignore all distractions.  Quit checking your phone for emails, texts, and updates on every dig.  Turn off notifications and silence your phone in order to focus on those around you and the tasks at hand.

It is okay to say “No” 

Research shows that it is easier to say “yes” than “no”.  There are many competing priorities in business and personal life and you need to decide what you can say no to every single day. You need to honor the projects and people that benefit your life most and say no to those that don’t.

Focusing on toxic people

There are always going to be toxic people who have a way of getting under your skin and staying there. Dealing with such an individual can be difficult and draining, to say the least. In fact, it may challenge what you know about yourself and push you to the limits.  Stop focusing on toxic people, instead, practice being grateful for someone positive in your life.

Multitasking

To be successful; you must give meetings your full attention.  Multitasking during meetings is disrespectful to your team and everyone else in the room.  It shows that you are not interested in what anyone has to say.

Gossip

Gossiping is poison to any team. It may be human nature for people to talk about each other, but that doesn’t mean you have to put up with it. Gossip pushes people apart instead of pulling them together, and everyone knows you can’t trust gossip.

 Comparisons

You can’t be happy when your life is spent comparing yourself to others.  Being contempt gives you the power to focus on your life and work.  By focusing on yourself, you become the master of your own happiness.

Change is difficult, but once you break the mold and focus on practicing self-control, you have the ability to accelerate your career to new levels.

We would love to hear from you. Contact us today!

Have you taken a look at our new book? Check it out today!

Click here to order on Amazon or to read more.

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor, and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professionals.