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janhoistad@drjanhoistad.com

Getting the Most out of Intergenerational Conversations

DJHP / Careers I recently had the honor of attending my cousin’s wedding in Kennebunkport, Maine. I was stunned by the beauty. The hotel, rehearsal dinner, wedding ceremony, even the wedding party was filled with beautiful people. It was picture perfect and it brought tears of joy to my eyes. Aside from the wedding, I also reunited with family members I hadn’t seen in years, had my fill of Maine lobster and seafood, and I met my nephew for the first time since his birth a few months ago. Emotions were running high and the weekend was delightful. You’re probably wondering what the point of all of this is. Well, here it is. As I was able to reconnect and meet new people, I realized that this event of my life had a much bigger impact on me than I could have ever imagined. The ages at this wedding ranged from 95 years old to 10 weeks old. Every generation was present. People from all over the country were in attendance. Each person had their own style and personality. Each generation brought traits and attributes that at times were difficult for me to decipher. I was appalled by certain behaviors and overjoyed by others. It was not until after I returned and had time to think about everything that I realized I had learned one of the greatest lessons I have in my life: the extreme importance of intergenerational relationships. If you find yourself in such a situation, take advantage of [...]

Stacking the Deck for Success: How Business Can Learn from the Medical Residency Training Model

DJHP /Leaders As roughly one-third of Boomers prepare to exit the workforce, companies are fast becoming aware of need for next generation of workers: Millennials. In fact, an estimated 86 million of them will be part of the workforce by 2020. That’s 40 percent of the total working population. This impacts both business and education alike. We’re working harder and faster than ever to figure out effective ways to educate and train this new batch of workers in the skills necessary for tomorrow’s workforce. Working closely with educational systems is important to develop long-term strategies, but what do we do in the interim? How do we ensure that we’re meeting the demands placed on businesses by the ever-changing marketplace. For the near future, what you can do is develop one strong solid part of your strategy to create a learning environment and consider the medical school residency model — which is education by apprenticeship — as an approach. Core Characteristics of the Apprenticeship Model TV shows like Code Black or the early days of Grey’s Anatomy capture some of this model. In the “emergency room setting,” they role-play a culture in which medical residents and doctors are all working from the same values and intent toward the same outcome. They’re individually and collectively: Hell-bent on learning, intense growth, and teamwork.Continuously reminded — implicitly and explicitly — of their higher purpose. They know their work matters.Given the tools, structure, and support around each task.Know that wisdom and experience is responsible for [...]

7 Tips for Creating Relevant Content

Marketing is a huge part of any business. Content is a key issue that takes time to craft and perfect. Dana offers some great advice for creating content that is relevant for your people. Content is king. As cliché as this may sound, there’s still a lot of truth in these three little words — even more so now with all the changes to Google’s algorithms. But in the rush to generate content, we often fail to question its relevancy. For today’s marketing efforts to work, content must be relevant. It must add value. It must get folks talking. It must be so good that it needs to be shared. If content isn’t compelling, it does nothing for your position in the market. In fact, just creating content for content’s sake can damage your credibility. Tip 1: Focus on consumers. When creating content, keep the audience experience in mind. It should be something consumers want to read, something they want to watch or hear. Try to address their needs. And take the time to interact with them.Tip 2: Optimize content. While the focus is always on relevancy, don’t go throwing SEO out the window. Content must be searchable if it’s ever to be read. Define your keywords and use them in the copy as well as the title and URL.Tip 3: Align content with goals. Sounds obvious, right? But people still create content that doesn’t quite match their objectives. And this idea goes deeper than just generating leads or landing sales. It’s about image, [...]

Seeking the Feedback You Need

DJHP /Careers As a Millennial, I’m quite familiar with all of the characteristics that make up a “Millennial.” There are hundreds and hundreds of articles that categorize, compartmentalize, and classify Millennials. Although I do not agree with every single thing that’s printed about us, one topic that consistently comes up is the need for feedback, and it really rings true. Specifically speaking, I’ve had a number of jobs where the level of feedback ranged from zero to 100 — 100 being that everything I did was nitpicked and critiqued. Although I crave feedback and thrive in environments where feedback is fairly consistent (and constructive, I should add), I’m here to tell you that you can’t always get what you want and to offer some suggestions or techniques that may help the situation. Here are a few suggestions that I’ve found useful: Ask for the feedback. The first place to start is to just ask for it. This is my biggest mistake. I’ve been in positions where I wanted feedback and was frustrated for not getting it. The problem wasn’t that my superiors didn’t have any; it was that they didn’t know I was open to it. Consider asking for a bi-monthly 10-minute meeting to discuss progress, answer any questions, and catch up. Seek feedback elsewhere. It may be difficult to get specific feedback about your position from others outside of the environment, but having a friend, mentor, or even just someone to talk things out can very helpful. Use these [...]

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