As we approach the end of another year, I find myself drawn to a cherished tradition – putting up ornaments. Each ornament tells a story, capturing moments of joy, growth, and even challenges. These ornaments serve as tangible reminders of my family’s past. Above all, they call me to pause and reflect, if only for a moment.
Interestingly, a number of the ornaments in my collection have direct connections to ISI Consulting, reflecting our journey through the years. Here’s a glimpse into some of them.
2017 – The Coat of Many Colors: This ornament symbolizes the year ISI Consulting was born. Just like Joseph’s coat, it represents our commitment to standing out and being a different kind of consulting firm. It embodies diversity, creativity, and the unique approach we bring to every client engagement.
2019 – The Acorn: This year was tough, much like an acorn representing growth through challenges. It taught us resilience and the importance of adaptation. Each setback became a stepping stone, shaping our organization into what it is today.
2021 – The Light Bulb: We survived COVID and kept the lights on. It symbolizes innovation, and the business reaching more states and regions than ever before.
2023– The Big Broken Bulb: A colleague gave me a large glass ornament that looked as if it had been broken and glued back together in pieces. She shared that it represented the Japanese art of kintsuke, which uses precious metals like gold or silver to repair broken pottery and treats breakage and repair as part of an object’s history. Just like people.
2024 – Two Snowmen Bundled Together: This year’s ornament signifies teamwork and support. We could not do the work we do without key partners and friends. Just like snowmen bundled together, our success relies on collaboration and the relationships we build.
I encourage you to start your own organizational tree of memories. Consider inviting each team member to share an ornament they selected to reflect on a key moment, achievement or lesson learned from the year. What are significant milestones that have shaped your organization? What projects or initiatives have made an impact? What challenges have you overcome together? Then in 2025, you can reflect on those moments as you hang individual ornaments back on the tree. Maybe there will be new team members around the tree, and those shared stories about key moments will prove an excellent way to build team cohesion and collective history. Give this a try, and I’m almost certain you’ll find it becomes a tradition your team embraces each year.
On behalf of ISI Consulting, we wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. May we all be reminded of the need for each other and Jesus Christ.
As Thanksgiving approaches, many of us find ourselves overwhelmed by the pressure to create elaborate meals that impress. Especially if we spend any time on social media, where perfection is the order of the day. But sometimes, the simplest dishes can bring the most joy. One of my go-to recipes, which I’m often asked to bring to gatherings, is deviled eggs. This delightful dish requires only four ingredients: eggs, mayo, mustard, and paprika. It’s a crowd-pleaser that reminds us that great flavors don’t have to be complicated.
This Thanksgiving, let’s embrace the beauty of simplicity. Instead of stressing over extravagant recipes, consider focusing on the essence of the holiday: gratitude and connection. Gratitude is simply a sense of thankfulness for what others have done. The trick is it requires us to look outside ourselves. And that brings us to connection. To finding common ground, creating links, and forming relationships with others. Gratitude and connection – two simple ingredients with profound impact.
Think about your own favorite simple recipes. What dish do you love that brings warmth to your table without a long list of ingredients? This year, challenge yourself to create a meal that showcases the flavors of the season without all the fuss. Simplifying our celebrations allows us to spend more time reflecting on what truly matters—sharing moments of thankfulness with family and team members.
In the spirit of gratitude, take a moment to express your appreciation to those around you. More than just family and friends, be sure to include the folks you work with, both in-person and over virtual platforms. It can be a simple text message, a phone call or even a warm hug. Strengthening bonds with one another is so important – remember we are sharper together.
As we prepare for Thanksgiving, let’s make this holiday about savoring time with loved ones, sharing gratitude, and enjoying the deliciousness of simplicity. Happy Thanksgiving!
I have a friend whose car has been sideswiped in parking lots twice in the last three years. Twice! Neither time did the other driver leave their contact or insurance information. But that’s another story. Each time, there was a long, unsightly dent along the entire side of the car. Fortunately, she has auto insurance, so deciding to fix the ugly gash wasn’t a difficult decision. Call the insurance company, get an estimate, schedule the repair, wait around for parts to arrive, pay the deductible, and fix the problem. Fuming fiercely about thoughtless drivers was optional.
But her car drama got me to thinking about the dents we all face. Fixing big dents – problems – in your work is almost always an easy choice. Fix them. They’re unsightly, damage your reputation, and generally make the rest of the project more difficult. If you want to be known for your skill and professionalism, you do what it takes to make things right. Just like fixing that big dent in the car.
But fixing a little dent can be quite another matter. You know, those dings you get when a rock tossed up by a truck tire hits your hood, or when the kids let the grocery cart bump into the tailgate little too hard. You don’t have to fix them. After all, most vehicles have a few little blemishes, and nobody notices. But gather up too many of them, and the car starts to look raggedy. Beat up. Something we’re not too happy to be driving.
Or…maybe we decide that we’re just fine driving a car with a few dents. It’s dependable. There’s no car payment. The kids are still young enough to spill juice boxes and snack crackers on a regular basis, and who wants muddy soccer cleats on pristine upholstery? And by now, we all know you can buy that new car smell in a spray can. Above all, it gets us where we need to go, and we’re not trying to impress the neighbors. We’re happy with some dents and dings.
Fixing those little dents in our work often means we have a deep commitment to quality. We want to consistently deliver our best efforts. I know that taking care of the little things often ensures the big ones take care of themselves. On the other hand, living with dents is a way to focus on what really matters, not just on what can be fixed. Are we willing to live with some imperfections to ensure every voice is heard? Are we working on early stages of a project that is bound to improve over time? Is this something where “good enough is good enough” or are we striving for perfection when it’s not necessary?
It’s the little dents that will make us ponder. But there’s nothing wrong with that.
I’ve always loved swimming. In fact, I was actually part of a synchronized swimming team in college. So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that one swimmer I’m always excited to see is Katie Ledecky. World record holder, winner of nine Olympic medals (including one as the youngest swimmer ever to win Olympic gold), and 21 world championships, she is widely considered to be the finest woman swimmer in the world. So how did she get there?
In her book, “Just Add Water,” Ledecky notes that a strong genetic line of persistence runs through her whole family. Once one of them gets an idea, they execute it. And that, in large part, is what has driven Ledecky since she started swimming at age 6. She hasn’t always had the best technique or the most natural ability. But when her coaches through the years have been asked what has enabled her to swim the way she does, their answer is inevitably the same: hard work. Ledecky has always believed that the effort she puts in today will pay off down the road. She believes in the swimming mantra “no shortcuts”. There are no shortcuts to developing the skill and stamina required to compete at the highest level, just as there are no shortcuts to the end of the pool…you have to swim all the way. Powering to the wall is how she wins races.
Ledecky has taken to heart a key theme I’ve seen in successful leaders in a variety of fields. She thrives not on winning, but on continuous, unrelenting improvement. A knowledge sponge, she takes feedback eagerly and implements change as soon as she can master it. Never one to hit the snooze button, she is willing to set scary goals and take the steps necessary to achieve them. For example, she has long set what she calls “want times”…ambitious swim times that were private, but which became more and more reasonable as her swimming improved. So, let me ask…are you setting stretch goals for yourself? Are you willing to seek out feedback, even if it might be hard to hear? Above all, are you willing to implement change and work diligently at that every single day?
Above all, Ledecky remembers the most important life lesson of all. Doing right takes commitment. And being successful hardly matters if you can’t look in the mirror and be proud of who you see looking back at you. Above all, what everyone else does in the pool isn’t your business. Your business is to do your absolute best with complete integrity. Every single lap.
As former White House press secretary Jen Psaki notes in her book “Say More: Lessons from Work, the White House, and the World” the first step in successfully navigating a difficult conversation is to accept mutual discomfort as inevitable. Someone is going to be uncomfortable saying something, and the other person is going to be uncomfortable hearing it. Whether it’s discussing the realities of racial and economic inequality, dealing with subpar employee performance, or announcing a new direction for your organization, we’re all going to feel that squirm inside.
One way to minimize the squirm is to remember the famous quote attributed to Maya Angelou: “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” How we feel is closely tied to a sense of being truly hear. So, if you want to navigate difficult conversations, become a better listener. Learn to let people feel heard.
The best listeners do a lot more than just nod. Paying attention to what someone is saying is all about being present in the moment. Good listeners make the process collaborative and interactive. They lean in. Use what they already know to make a connection. Ask questions. Probe for more information. Repeat back what they think they’ve heard. And they’re willing to be a bit uncomfortable if it lowers the barrier to engagement.
In an environment where it seems everyone is shouting instead of engaging, learn to listen. It’s often the quietest voices in the room that have the most to say. No matter how hard the conversation might be, let them be heard.
I recently read “Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All”, by Tom Kelley and David Kelley. I’ve always known that creativity is a key leadership competency, and it has been an integral part of ISI Consulting because we embrace its power. The authors, though, stress that creative confidence is like a muscle – it can be strengthened and trained through effort and experience, and anyone can build it.
Creativity happens whenever we have the opportunity to generate new ideas, solutions, or approaches. It’s why we recognize that there can be many possible approaches to a problem, although all of them might not be worth implementing. Sometimes we don’t know until we try them out. Failure can be a great teacher. Remember, you didn’t learn to ride a bike by simply hopping on and riding off. You fell – probably more than once or twice – and then figured out how to balance better and pedal harder. Don’t be so afraid of failure that you don’t give something a shot.
Another way to spark creative action is to put a fence around it. I know, that sounds odd, but it’s not. At the end of a brainstorming session, you might have a hundred ideas on Post-It notes. Constrain the excess by focusing on a doable piece of the problem. What ideas could you explore in the next two hours? How can you make progress right now? This will keep you from the “everything, everywhere, all at once” dilemma.
Finally, create milestones. I’ve always found it incredibly helpful to have “mini-deadlines” to keep teams focused and their energy up. Especially during a long project, if you have a small portion due or a dry run scheduled, it’s easier to stay on track. And don’t forget to celebrate when you reach a marker…it will encourage everyone.
No matter what your next project is, I challenge you to unleash your creative confidence to empower your team and practically guarantee success.
My children can be amazed by the simplest of things. The flashing of a firefly in our neighbor’s yard. Watching our dog, Buster Brown, with his ears flapping in the breeze riding on the front of our boat. The excitement of a bouncing hay ride to find the perfect pumpkin at the farm every fall. That sense of wonder children exhibit so freely is the engine that drives curiosity and helps develop a robust intellect. To put it simply, we are prewired to learn and to be interested in everything around us. Wonder fuels learning, no matter how young or old we are.
Sadly, our world today is largely designed to stifle wonder. We all know about the challenges of screens, technology, and mindless activity. That applies to adults as much as to children. To retain a sense of curiosity, we must be intentional. As difficult as it may seem, you and I must find time to read, acquire new knowledge, engage in deep and thoughtful discussion, let our imaginations wander, and finally, create in some way (it doesn’t have to be a masterpiece). That’s how we will generate wonder in our lives. And wonder will help us flourish in all areas of life by giving us a sense of purpose, well-being, centeredness, and faith.
My advice to you? Work on that sense of wonder. It’s not just for children.
Are you prepared to navigate conflict in your workplace?
Conflict is everywhere – around the globe, at the capital, in your city, at the local gas station this morning, and probably at your office (whether it’s in-person, hybrid or virtual). Recent surveys show that managers are using all of their conflict resolution muscles and more to combat simmering disagreements between team members. And that simmering pot isn’t going anywhere.
Are your new leaders and managers prepared? Probably not. Do they know how to engage in meaningful conflict? Or facilitate it with others?
No one is born with skills in conflict resolution. It is a skill that is learned over time, and your new managers and leaders need concentrated skill-building and coaching opportunities to grow in this area, or it’s going to eat them alive. Good leaders know this and make it part of their leadership toolkit; bad leaders ignore conflict resolution and pay the price, personally and for their teams.
Everyone likes to feel heard, seen, and respected…whether you agree with them or not. Below are just a few pointers that are helpful as we all grow.
Set the Stage (Accomplishes shared expectations and meaning.)
What are your boundaries? What are their boundaries?
Does your group have touchstones/community agreements/group norms that describe the behavioral expectations for your team?
How are you going to frame the conversation? What is the purpose of the conversation?
Where will it take place? For how long? When? In-person or virtual?
Invite Participation (Accomplishes confidence that their voice is welcome.)
How do you know if the team member feels that they are being acknowledged?
What do you do when you need to call out behavior that goes against your team’s community agreements/touchstones?
Is everyone being held accountable to the same degree?
I know this can seem like a lot to digest and to implement. If you are interested, I would love to talk with you about providing a customized training for your new managers and leaders in the upcoming months. Call me at (803) 920-1736 to schedule a time to talk.
As you know, I LOVE the Olympics. The pageantry, the competition, the reward for years of tireless practice and labor…the ups and the downs. What the athletes in these various events accomplish is truly awe-inspiring.
We hear constantly about the dedication and hours…even years…of practice it takes to get to this level of perfection in a sport. The sacrifices made, the injuries pushed through, and the disappointments suffered are all a well-known part of the process. We recognize and even celebrate those as part of the medal-winning formula. But never forget that success for one person is often built on the foundation of many helping hands.
What about all these behind-the-scenes heroes? The parents who drove those athletes to 5:00 am practice sessions in the dead of winter. The siblings attending untold numbers of competitions to cheer on that brother or sister who otherwise drove them bonkers. The unnamed coaches who caught sight of – and nurtured – a glimmer of talent in a squirrely-headed eight-year-old. The high school, college and professional coaches combining to hone raw talent into world-class skills. And even the parents or coaches or friends who were honest enough to say “You lost because that just wasn’t your best effort. You haven’t been concentrating or working hard enough. How badly do you want it??” True success is built on more than mere boosterism. It always includes a hefty dose of brutal honesty and accountability.
There are stand-out stars in your organization, I’m certain. But there are also far more behind-the-scenes heroes. Make sure that you look for and recognize them. No trophies or medals needed. A simple “Thank you…I needed to hear that (or be held accountable)” is enough.
In the summer, I think there’s nothing like a good hot dog with chili, coleslaw, and some shredded cheese. In addition to tasting fabulous, sometimes a good chili dog teaches you a lesson (other than don’t wear a white shirt while eating it!). Just this past week, I was making our homemade hot dog chili, and an incredible revelation hit me. You see, I had all of the ingredients – lean ground beef, yellow onion, garlic, chili powder, mustard, etc. – but I could not make the chili. There was no ketchup to be found anywhere in our kitchen. No Heinz. No Hunts. No house brand even. Nada. No ketchup, no chili. It only takes a cup and a half for my recipe, but it’s an essential ingredient with no substitute. And then it hit me….what I was staring at looks like a lot of organizational teams. They have the people, the plans, and even their “special differentiating factors” but they are missing the one crucial ingredient needed to make things work. They’re a chili recipe with no ketchup.
As I see it, the ketchup for groups is protected time to implement plans and new changes. You see, without the ketchup (and you really don’t need that much) you do not have hot dog chili. Groups need protected time – time when they don’t have a meeting, a phone call, a looming deadline, or whatever, to actually implement the work that has been decided. It doesn’t take a lot – I think for most groups if you just gave folks a day and a half of protected time to process the proposed changes, discuss new goals and objectives, call some key individuals to figure out what is needed, or update key documents with new work flows, you would get to effective implementation a lot quicker. If you don’t, your organizational team is likely to wander around without really accomplishing what you all hoped for.
So, this summer, I encourage you to make some hot dog chili with your team (for real and metaphorically). Dust off the plans and give folks protected time and space to move some ideas closer to the finish line. I promise you’ll enjoy the results.
