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What Are You Going to Create Today? Plus a Birthday Story.

I was graced with the creative gifts of my church friends at my 60th birthday dance party. They crowned me Dancing Queen and serenaded me with personalized lyrics to that song, preceded by a memorable poem about me.

What creativity might be in you to be manifested, whether in your career or personal life?

After their gift, I shared a favorite song by Motown artist, Eddie Watkins, Jr. that speaks to creativity and enthusiasm for life.

“What are we gonna create today?

The universe is ready to play.

Spirit surely will lead the way.

Just say Yes.”

The lyrics are from his song, “I’m going to Say Yes to Life.” Eddie has recorded with Marvin Gaye, James Brown, Diana Ross, the Pointer Sisters, among others.

What might you be ready to say Yes to? If you would like to explore more career enthusiasm and creativity, I’d love to help.

I enjoyed creating my birthday party, “Dancing through the Decades with Karen.” From Dancing in the Moonlight on the back deck to a grand finale of Katy Perry Firework with sparklers, creativity sparked my energy.

Inspired treats were a Buy Local theme, featuring products from the Swissvale Farmers Market and four Swissvale restaurants.

Related to the buy local theme of my party, I stumbled on beautiful mandala products the week before at a Mind Body Spirit Fair, and purchased four lovely coasters with quotes on the back. Artist, Mara Carlini, shared that her art came from creating a mandala for her wedding for guests to sign. From experiencing the powerful energy of the messages in her home, she was inspired to create pieces infusing them with specific intentions during the creation process.

I met another inspiring artist during my 60^th birthday vacation retreat on Lake Erie in Cleveland. Walking into the warehouse-sized Waterloo 7 Studio/Gallery, I felt I was in another world. Jerry Schmidt takes used materials and recycles them into mind blowing, often larger than life sculptures. Jerry told me he was drawn to this work from seeing his father only be happy when he was in his artist studio. He shared that instead of going to bed concerned about troubles, he drifts off thinking about creative art possibilities.

My Air BnB vacation spot was hosted by Cindy Barber, owner of Beachland Ballroom in the Waterloo Arts District of Cleveland. Another creative visionary. After big unhappy changes at her employment, Cindy purchased an old Croatian club in 2000 where she cofounded this music venue that hosts performers from across the country on a daily basis. This was the cornerstone of rejuvenating a section of Cleveland, creating this arts district. It was during a monthly Walk All Over Waterloo that I met Jerry Schmidt and many other artists. Cindy’s made a real difference in her community.

What might you like to create in your career, your community, your life? I’d love to help you explore your passions and talents.

As for me….I’m excited about the next decade and saying YES to life!

October 30, 2019/by Karen Litzinger

News, Newsletter

The Future of Work

There’s no magic crystal ball showing the jobs of the future. However, my respected colleague, Jim Peacock, wrote an excellent newsletter in July about the future of work with fascinating links I want to share.

My favorite is from the World Economic Forum even though it is 18 months old. The article, 4 Predictions for the Future of Work, shares this (in the article’s exact words):

AI and robotics will create more jobs, not mass unemployment — as long as we responsibly guide innovation
Cities will compete against other cities in the war for top talent
The majority of the US workforce will freelance by 2027
Education breaks out of the silo

Click HERE for the complete article.

The other three articles that are worth a read are:

Want a Job in the Future: Be a Student for Life by Wharton, University of Pennsylvania. I particularly like the guidance to be a problem-finder, not just a problem-solver. A fascinating statistic shared is the predication that due to new technology, 75 million old jobs will go away by 2022 and 135 million new ones will be created.
AI and the Future of Work: 4 Leadership Skills to Create Tomorrow’s Workforce by David DeLong of Smart Workforce Strategies
The Next Digital Economy by Policy Horizons Canada. Comprehensive and big picture. The executive summary is a good read, parts of the rest a bit scary.

It’s all a reminder that no jobs are secure, and we need to be doing career planning on an ongoing basis.

August 14, 2019/by Karen Litzinger

News, Newsletter

The Etiquette of Introductions

Introducing yourself to new people or making an introduction to someone new doesn’t have to be awkward. A few simple steps and phrases will serve you in any circumstance, whether socially, at the office, or at a networking event. Also read on for help when you forget someone’s name.

To introduce someone to someone else:

Start with the name of the most important person. In business, this would be the person at the highest seniority level for internal introductions. If one of the people is a customer, client or guest, that person is the most important, so start with their name. Socially, importance is often based on age.
Use introducing phrases. Examples would be “I’d like to introduce _______” Or “please meet___.” More common language may be “I’d like to introduce you to ______” Or I’d like you to meet _____. “
Share brief, relevant background of each. This might include job titles or role, business at hand, or a segue into a conversation.

Example: Ms. Client, I’d like to introduce you to Sam Smith who is Vice President of Sales. Ms. Client, is Supply Chain Manager at ABC company and is here for a meeting about our new XYZ product line.

Example: Mayor Jones, I’d like to introduce you to my colleague, Sally Singh, who is Director of Community Relations for our bank. We were just talking about what a nice event your town is hosting.

Proper etiquette is to not use first names until invited to do so. Norms can vary by industry and organizational culture. Public officials and religious leaders should always be addressed by their title until invited otherwise.

Introducing yourself:

You may need to do this at a meeting, networking event or if someone is not making the introduction:

Example: Hello, my name is Hello, my name is Nora Numbers, a staff accountant. Welcome to ABC&D. (or How do you do or It’s nice to meet you)

Example: Hi my name is Fred Fundraiser from ABC agency. I don’t believe we’ve met yet.

If you forget names:

Do something rather than hope the person hovering will go away or that someone will save you.

Example: I’d like to introduce you to Markita, who is one of our staff attorneys. (Markita will likely then extend a handshake and the guest whose name you forgot will introduce him/herself by name.)

Example: Mr. Client, I’d like to introduce you to one of our sales team members. I’m so sorry, but I blanked on your name even though I remember we worked together on the ABC rollout. (And that person will then introduce him/herself.)

For more help in negotiating business etiquette in social situations, consider engaging me for my workshop: Power Mingling: Network with Ease and Effectiveness. It is highly interactive and includes mock reception exercises. Click HERE for a small excerpt that is more in keynote format.

August 14, 2019/by Karen Litzinger

Call: 412-977-4029 • Email: [email protected]

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