Topic: ‘Wingspouse Tips’

CEOs Make the Best Storytellers

Children aren’t the only ones who like to hear a good story. In fact, adults like to know the story behind almost everything that affects them. It’s a very adult way to get satisfaction of the why questions we never stop wanting to ask.

My husband frequently comes home excited about a story one of the shareholders told, because it brought insight into the motivation behind a company decision while also revealing a delightfully personal side of a powerful shareholder. These stories build respect and trust. They raise awareness of the seemingly insignificant actions that are not so insignificant at all.

If a leader is struggling with getting employees to buy into a procedure or mindset that is important to the company, perhaps it is time to uncover the story behind this priority. When a good story is told, people want to repeat it and then the message takes on a life of its own.

Job Relocation: Top 7 Places to Avoid

We can’t always chose to stay put, but we certainly want to go somewhere we won’t regret. Below are seven places to avoid when considering a new job or location.

Topeka, Kansas

Topeka City Council recently voted to repeal the city’s misdemeanor domestic battery law. In other words, if you move to Topeka your spouse can beat you or your child and get away with it. So much for common sense.

Anywhere in Michigan

Property taxes are high enough for long-timers who have been somewhat protected by increase limits, but property tax calculations are not as kind if you move to a house that can be reassessed by the city. Some folks report paying five figures in annual property taxes. Businesses are avoiding Michigan, too, because of the unrealistic tax burden they would suffer.

Miami, Florida and Long Island, New York

If you’re planning to need medical care, you may want to know which states are kind to doctors, and which ones chase them away with high malpractice insurance rates. California and Texas have caps on malpractice awards which has identified them as doctor-friendly states (according to Medscape Medical News). However, Miami, Florida and Long Island, New York top the list of places charging surgeons and obstetricians outrageous rates.

Knoxville, Tennessee

If you suffer from seasonal allergies, the beautiful Smoky Mountain view may not make up for the misery you experience in the spring. According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation, Knoxville has the highest pollen score.

Stockton, California

High crime rates and unemployment put Stockton, California on the top of the list of cities too dangerous to live in, according to the FBI. Don’t write off California all together, though. Irvine, California was rated the safest city.

East St. Louis, Illinois

Do you pick your city according to which schools are the best? If so, you may want to avoid East St. Louis, Illinois where Tomorrows Builders Charter Schools state test scores were too aweful to believe. Interestingly, though, five of the top 25 worst performing schools were located in South Carolina.

Team Players: Power of Peers

I am a member of a group of doctors’ wives. I first found these wonderful gals through a blog where I guest posted as a “seasoned” doctor’s wife (ouch!). The group later formed a private Facebook page where we now discuss personal struggles we don’t want to make public. The support is amazing. Inevitably, a new resident’s wife desperately reaches out for confirmation that her exhausting days and nights will not go on forever, and the pack of peers respond with amazing comfort. There are no solutions. There is no magic cut-off date to busting a hump. There is only the support of all of us who have learned to alter our attitudes, be creative, and use every resource available to us. (more…)

Is There a Gal Kawasaki?

Guy Kawasaki is one of my favorite business minds. I follow his blogs, watch his videos, read his books, and I often wonder what his wife is like. Guy has shared that his marriage weathered some rough storms (in his book Hindsights), and that there were lessons to be learned. The way he shares his experiences — whatever they are — is inspiring and  enchanting. I wonder if his wife, Beth, is as enchanting as he is. What makes a person so enchanting that good things happen? As it turns out, enchantment doesn’t happen to someone… it happens because of someone. (more…)

Come to a Secluded Place and Rest a While

My family has had a cottage in Michigan for many years. Grandma and grandpa were both ordained ministers, earning very little money. Their pay was the change left in the offering plate each Sunday (excluding dollar bills). And because Methodist ministers were moved from parsonage to parsonage, they didn’t own a home either. But grandpa managed to buy some swamp land during the depression, and little by little that soggy piece of land became a wonderful resting place for many generations. They names it The Mark 6:31. My father and his siblings inherited it when they passed. (more…)

Switch to our mobile site