E-mail can be more effective if you use direct mail tactics!  

by Karla Brandau, CSP

Bill Russell played Center for the Boston Celtics through 11 NBA champio nships and is often thought of as the best defensive center to ever play the game. Russe ll writes in his book, Second Wind: Memoirs of an Opinionated Man, of playing in the zone, that place you don’t talk about but where play is effortless. You know how the play will unfold  and where the ball will bounce.

by Karla Brandau, CSP

The State Fair was always the event of the year with all the lights, sights, a nd sounds that make kids think they are in wonderland. Mom and Dad would pack all the kids in the car to make the trip from New Plymouth to Boise, Idaho. 

 I can still the taste the delicious cotton candy. However, my most vivid memory is of my fickle sister, Joan. When we were on the tilt-a-whirl she wanted to be on the ferris wheel. When we were on the ferris wheel, she wanted to be on the roller-coaster. And when we were on the roller-coaster, she really wanted to be in the fun house.

Your daily routine holds the secret to the blue skies of the future.

by Karla Brandau, CSP

The blue skies of the future are straight ahead. You will be there, the question is this: will you be there better than you are today?

 The beginning of the calendar year gives every member of the human family a sense of renewal and motivation and while providing a pause to reevaluate personal dreams.

From the vantage point of January, personal dreams with just a little bit of luck will be fulfilled this year and appear in the immediate future. The emotions of hope, the beliefs of potential and possibility are strong. Foremost in the mind is “This is the year I will put my company on the top, my division will be the most profitable, I’ll start my own business, or I’ll get promoted.

by Karla Brandau, CSP

New Breakthroughs in Personal Productivity

Many executives and futurists are saying that the world is experiencing another paradigm shift. A paradigm is a mental model of how we see the world and view reality. A paradigm shift occurs when our basic view of our world’s perspective changes to a new, wider perspective, much like when the inhabitants of the earth realized that the earth rotates around the sun and is not the center of the universe or when masses of people comprehended that the world is round, not flat.

by Karla Brandau, CSP

Even though this is an old cliché, it still packs a powerful punch for today.

Throughout the years, planning has been done on napkins, backs of envelopes, the insides of candy wrappers and miscellaneous scraps of paper. Planning diehards used more sophisticated planning methods provided by date book organizers from the Day Runner sold in office supply stores to expensive date book organizers sold by a myriad of private companies.

How to Improve Focus and Reduce Wasted Time

by Karla Brandau, CSP 

 Most teachers probably don’t give much thought to their student’s writing utensils. Pencils and pens come in many disguises but the usage of the wrong type can waste time.

Pencils reduce wasted time for the student because correction of mistakes is simple: just turn the pencil over and erase. A simple rubber eraser provides far neater correction of mistakes than correction fluid, not to mention the elimination of spills and students losing valuable brain cells by engaging in solvent abuse.

by Karla Brandau, CSP  

I was watching a T. Rowe commercial with a man jogging along the beac h. W e’ll call himAndrew. A man came from the bushes and as a fresh runner, easily ove rtook and ran right past Andrew. Of course the short burst of steam caused the man from  the bushes to soon stop and catch his breath. Andrew ran by him and soon left him in the dust.

Help Your Employees “Make” Time

 Because of thunder storms in Atlanta, the flight from Dallas to Atlanta had been delayed twice. On the third attempt, we were boarding and I felt hopeful of actually getting off the ground. My hopes faded fast when the tired-looking flight attendant came down the aisle quietly announcing that if we were not permitted to take off in the next 15 minutes, the crew would have exceeded their 16-hour work day and we would have to taxi back to the terminal and await another flight. 

Is it Possible?

by Karla Brandau, CSP

Do you ever feel lethargic and lost at work? Do you ever feel vulnerable and powerless, like a tiny cog in a huge machine? Do you wish that you could be truly happy at work?

“Happiness at work is elusive,” says psychiatrist Dr. Kerry J. Sulkowicz. Sulkowicz teaches that a better goal is to enjoy your work and strive for high performance. That is more realistic. Why? Happiness is complex. It is difficult to sustain for long periods of time. It often ebbs and flows with the people around you. Ultimately, however, it has to come from within.