UNF Executive News Brief - Leadership Development

Great Leadership is the Only Sustainable

Competitive Advantage

However...you're not a leader if no one is compelled to follow you.

By Rusty Bozman

Throughout my career I've read many books and articles written by smart people who all tried to define what great leadership is. The very fact that there are so many different opinions on how best to define leadership suggests that "leadership" can be a relative attribute and express itself in many forms. For example, Mike Kryzewski, Nelson Mandela, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr. and Bill Gates are all examples of great leaders, and yet they each lead very differently. Regardless of how one defines great leadership, a universal truth remains for all leaders - you are not a leader if no one is compelled to follow you. 

During my twenty-five years of human resources leadership, I found most people want three basic things from their job: a purpose, the ability to master challenging work, and an appropriate level of input, recognition and autonomy (aka respect). These elements are a direct result of great leadership. I've seen employees turn down competing job offers for more money if their current workplace offered these three elements. While great leaders may come in many different styles, backgrounds and personalities, I've noticed people tend to follow leaders who:

Set a compelling vision:  Great leaders set a vision that inspires many people to achieve more together than they could ever achieve alone. They paint a picture of a desired future state that points the way forward. Visions must be shared and understood by everyone, yet research tells us they are almost always under-communicated by a factor of ten. Some leaders only share their vision with a select few while others mistakenly assume their vision is effectively cascading down to all employees through their management teams. This compromises performance because widespread understanding of a leader's vision provides employees with a purpose, a cohesive culture and serves to align their behavior, effort and action. 

Connect with the people they lead. Great leaders have high emotional intelligence and know they need others to accomplish anything. Without followers, a leader is just a person with a good idea. Consider the best leaders you chose to follow in your own life and career. It's likely that all of them cared about your well-being and success. They earned your respect by respecting you first, and earned your trust by acting with integrity, fairness and leading by example, consistently over time. They appreciated your contributions and demonstrated their gratitude by serving as your advocate, always putting the interests of the team before their own. Great leaders understand leadership is not about them.

Develop expertise and management skill. Human beings want to learn. Great leaders work to gain a personal understanding of their business, their function within the business and develop an expertise within that function or area. Then they teach others what they know (ideally this includes teaching others how to lead). Skills in areas such as problem-solving, decision-making, negotiation, communication, conflict management, goal setting, and the use of the most appropriate leadership style for each situation enable leaders to fully leverage their organizational impact and the impact of their teams.

Are competent and effective. Great leaders are accountable and are trusted to reliably deliver positive results. They must be personally organized. Effective leaders plan, schedule and control their own time and the time of their key people so that everyone is optimizing the best use of his or her time*. Effective leaders are also transparent communicators who share information, organizational results, changes and even challenges as appropriate. They are effective budget managers and ensure their teams have the tools and support they need to be successful.

Are confident and positive. People naturally follow competence. The greatest leaders are comfortable with who they are - leveraging their strengths while understanding and accepting their own shortcomings. Great leaders are confident enough to hire team members who complement their own deficiencies and ensure the capacity and competence of the group is always better than that of the best individual in the group. Great leaders can give honest feedback without creating an emotional charge in themselves or their employees because they have the employee's growth at heart. They are also able to receive criticism in the same way. Great leaders have the confidence to accept the brutal truth about a situation and remain positive and optimistic for those around them. Joe Badaracco, a professor at Harvard Business School, wrote, "If leaders disclosed all their concerns and doubts, stock prices would plummet, their competitors would be all over them, and employees would be jumping ship."

There is a difference between doing, managing and leading. At each stage the focus shifts from the task to the people completing the tasks. There is a significant chasm in learning between doing and leading, just as there is a significant chasm between being a leader and a great leader. May you lead greatly.

*Steven Covey developed one of the most effective models for personal organization through his four-quadrant urgency versus important dimensions and is taught in our Leadership Development Program. 

RSVP to Info Session Here: http://www.unf.edu/ce/RSVP_-_Leadership_Development_Program.aspx

FREE CFP Info Session - Jan. 11!

Attend our FREE CFP^® information session Jan. 11 (W) 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. to learn more about our Certified Financial Planner program! Meet the instructors and have your questions answered by experts in the field.

REGISTER NOW  HERE! 

The demand for CFP professionals is expected to grow by 32% in the next decade, according to CNN and Payscale. Employers in the financial industry are seeking talent to support this industry certification.

Our certificate program will provide you with the knowledge and skills you need to help clients meet their financial objectives.

UNFCE is registered with the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. (CFP Board) to provide the certified financial planning program.

Successful completion of our program meets the education requirement, making you eligible to sit for the CFP® Certification Examination. 

PMP Certification Preparation Course

Are you seeking your Project Management Professional (PMP) certification? Do you need to complete your 35 hour certification education requirement, and learn testing techniques?
UNFCE’s PMP certification preparation course helps you do just that!

Our PMP course meets the 35 hour certification education requirement specified by PMI. The prep course also prepares you for the test as you will learn testing techniques and be provided with sample test questions to help you thoroughly prepare to pass the exam.

So why wait? Sign up for UNFCE’s PMP Certification Preparation Course today!

Our next course begins Jan. 10, and continues to Feb. 4, with 5 sessions in total.

PMP certification is now becoming required by many employers and is desired by most. With the certification, you can become more marketable and can, generally, obtain a higher salary according to the PMI Project Management Salary Survey. Sign up for our course today!

UNF Certified Financial Planner (CFP) Certificate Program

Are you currently employed in the #FinancialServices industry, or looking to pursue a career in the financial service profession?

UNF Division of Continuing Education’s “Certified Financial Planner Certificate Program” will provide you with the knowledge and skills you need to help clients meet their financial objectives.



As a CFP Board-Registered Program, our courses satisfy the board's education requirement, allowing an individual to sit for the CFP® Certification Examination.

To SIGN UP and for more information, visit: http://www.unf.edu/ce/cfp/

This 273-hour certificate program was established to meet professional’s needs to plan, assess and evaluate a client's financial future through the development of a comprehensive financial plan.

The program curriculum includes: general principles, insurance planning, income tax planning, investment planning, retirement planning, estate planning, and capstone.

Some of our past program attendees were employed by major financial services companies such as Merrill Lynch, Fidelity, Transamerica Financial Advisors, and many more.

Our courses deliver comprehensive financial planning instruction, provide the education requirements for the #CFP certification exam, and provide professional networking.

(Attend our Information Sessions: 12/13/16 from 6p.m.-8p.m., and 1/11/17 from 5:30p.m. – 7:30p.m.)

ATD NEFL Annual Event

The ATD NEFL Annual Event hosted by UNFCE today (11/10/16) was a success!
Thank you to everyone who came out to the event and to other sponsors who helped make the event possible! We hope you all enjoyed it!
 
At the event, attendees learned how to leverage communities of practice to cultivate collaboration that could contribute to the success of their talent development efforts. The Communities of Practice consisted of: Learning & Development, Learning Technologies, Science of Learning, and Management.

Throughout the highly interactive event, UNFCE along with other corporations such as NSU, Webster University, Right Management, ATD, One Call Care Management, and Lee Hecht Harrison, provided extensive networking opportunities by tabling, conversing, and interacting with attendees.


Prizes were awarded by raffle, and Bingo cards were disseminated for attendees to get signatures from each sponsor's table for an opportunity to make connections, and to win a prize as well.

ATD NEFL is a non-profit organization that is the region's leading resource for professionals in the workplace learning field.


For more information about UNFCE, visit: www.unf.edu/ce
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+ and LinkedIn: @UNFCE

Refocus this Fall

Feel-good ways to get your head back in the game.

By Sonja Rocha

After a summer of trips, kids and time spent with family and friends you may find yourself struggling to get your head back in the game - and we're not talking about your fantasy football league. There are still three months left in 2015, Don't blow 25 percent of your year. Stop online researching next summer’s vacation, close Facebook, turn off the TV and put these refocus strategies to work.

Set VERY attainable goals.

The best way to get back on track is to start with a success. What do you need to do to finish 2015 strong? Set goals. Make them easy.

For example, walk a little more this week and start thinking about healthy habits again by parking on the far side of the parking lot. It’s an easy goal to achieve and you can accomplish it tomorrow. Park far away. Walk in to work. Done! Put a check in the “I’ve accomplished something good for my health” box! Keep it up all week. Any type of exercise will help refocus your mind.

To get your work and career back on the right track, take 15 minutes to review everything you have accomplished so far this year and pat yourself on the back. You deserve it! The feeling of accomplishment feels good, and feeling good is where you need to be when you start thinking about what you still want to accomplish this year. Make a plan to achieve your remaining 2015 goals. Keep each step toward the goal small and simple. Keep building on your successes. Always remember the work you do is important. Reviewing your accomplishments and revisiting your goals will provide the adrenaline boost you need to finish 2015 strong.

Regain focus and avoid distractions.

Focus is like a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it gets. If you have been in a brain fog for a while, you’re not going to wake up tomorrow and put in eight solid, productive hours. You’ll need to rebuild your focus stamina one day at a time. One effective method is to plan every minute of every day. Fill in your day scheduler in 15-minute blocks and stick to it! Start each morning with tasks that can be completed quickly. Build on your momentum. Move on to harder projects and the items you’ve been avoiding. Be sure to include scheduled time for e-mail, co-workers and planning.

When distractions come up and you get off track, don’t beat yourself up. Try to note why it happened. Was it a talkative co-worker? Was it checking e-mails? Keep a list of the alluring distractions so you can revisit them the next day at a scheduled time. You're likely to forget what that all-important distraction was about. You just took back 15-30 minutes of your life. When it’s a co-worker stealing away your time, try this line: ”I’m on a deadline now, but I’m available tomorrow at 11 a.m. Will that work for you?”

Next week, divide your focused time into 20-minute blocks and so on. Grow each work block to 45 minutes. The more you practice this technique the longer your focus stamina will become. Greater focus will improve your work quality while you get more done in less time.

Still can’t break Internet surfing? Then use the time productively. Update your LinkedIn profile. Then take time to write three recommendations for three co-workers or clients on their LinkedIn accounts. Doing something kind for others is a great way to break negative patterns and start new positive ones.

UNF Continuing Education offers numerous opportunities for both personal and professional development. View our online catalog here. Request more information here. Call our friendly Customer Care Team (904) 620-4200. They're always ready and willing to help you find the program(s) to fit your need.

Five Steps and Tips to Publishing a Book

 by Frances Keiser
Used with Permission

Do you have an idea for a book? Turn your idea into a published book by following the 5 steps below and using the 5 tips under each step:

Step 1. REASON: 

Why do you want to write a book? Who is it for? What is it for? Knowing your reasons will help you with your writing, publishing, and marketing choices. Here are some possible reasons:

Tool: How to Get Unstuck and Get Going!

by Barbara Pratt

Whether you work in the project world or not, from time to time everyone comes up against problems or opportunities that stump them… even if the stumpage is only temporary.

For many, a problem solving tool that takes you through a logical sequence of thought which results in super-quick clarity, understanding and control can help you break through the quagmire. 

Is This Really Scarier Than Snakes or Death?

by Wilbur Pike

Dozens of studies have shown that most of us have a fear that is more frightening than snakes or even death: the fear of public speaking!

Over the years that I have been helping people increase their effectiveness at work, this obstacle has come up again and again. Surely we can count it among some of the bigger reasons for preventing us from taking the next step. Most of us are fine in planning the next step, even creating details to achieve it, but if one of those steps includes having to stand up formally in front an audience and talk we hit the freeze button on our plans.

Surely, it IS a little scary to make a presentation to an audience, even if we have been invited to do it, are fully prepared and rehearsed, feel great about our presentation materials and know the audience is on our side.  After more than 30 years in the presentations business, I will readily admit to sweaty palms and an elevated heart rate just about any time I am presenting.

So what do we do about it?  Well, there are lots of techniques that we can easily employ that will move the nervousness needle from paralyzed to functional.

The first of those is to realize that the fear concept is better understood as a point on a continuum, rather than as an on-off switch. Is President Obama nervous before the State of The Union Address? You can bet that he is, but that fear is well within manageable limits. In fact, the research shows that a little nervousness is good for us. It fully engages our brain, puts on the balls of our feet, ready for action and excitement. That sounds like a great recipe for effective presentations. So the key is not eliminating the fear, it is managing it to a level that allows us to be at our best.

Another technique is preparation. It may be hackneyed, but that’s for a good reason. When we have done our homework, created great slides or other materials, practiced in front of a mirror or better yet, a practice audience, our chances of success have gone up exponentially. I still practice my presentations in the car on the way to the event. I listen to phrases that work and ones that don’t. I try different approaches, different topic sequences, variable stories that illustrate my points, pace and volume. This is especially valuable for the first and last couple of minutes of your presentation.

For most white North Americans, eye contact is vital in the successful process of presenting information to any audience. While there are many cultural variables in the business of eye contact for most of us most of the time it is an important part of your presentation success. But, most folks without training actually use eye contact to increase nervousness, not reduce it. They scan their audience. They sweep their gaze over their audience without actually focusing on anyone specifically. Scanning produces exactly the wrong outcomes for reducing nervousness. It produces effects like “wow, look at how many there are out there”, or “they all look so stern, even angry” or “they aren't smiling, they already hate me”.  Not the stuff we need to feel confident and functional, eh? That’s because our brains need more visual data than scanning produces. What works much better is to slow the scan down to at least 5 full seconds per face. That’s just what you’d if you were one-on-one with that person. When you stay focused on that face for a full 5 second count you are only presenting to just one person and that’s so much easier than the whole gathered group. Of course, we move from face to face, staying on each for a full 5count, until we are fully into our presentation. My rule is to try to remember who smiled and return to that face whenever I need a save place in my presentation.

Lots of people have told me that they found great reassurance as presenters once they have gotten out of their own way and focused instead on the value of their message for their audience. Lots of people have told me that they found great reassurance as presenters once they have gotten out of their own way and focused instead on the value of their message for their audience.  While your heart may be racing as you move the front of the room, the audience is not thinking about your nervousness, except maybe as thankfulness that it isn't each of them up there where you are. No, instead they start on your side. Their hope is that you’ll be good, that your message will be relevant to them personally, that you’ll be captivating and fully engage their attention. They start out with positive expectations for you, your content and presentation skills.

In fact, your success as a presenter is NOT determined by how slick you slides are or whether your jokes are funny. Your success is determined by whether or not the information in your head is successfully transferred to your audience. You are up there for a reason, often by invitation, to give something of value to your audience. The degree to which that information transfer has been made or at least initiated is the only measure of your success as a presenter that matters. Bottom line: it’s not about you, it’s about your audience.

What have you found helpful in overcoming the fear of public speaking? Leave us a comment below.

About Wilber:

Wilbur Pike’s career in the field of human development spans more than 30 years. He has worked internally in the field of social services in the YMCA, in manufacturing, in finance, insurance, government and multiple other industries. As an independent consultant, his work has taken him through hundreds of assignments with companies all over the world.

Mr. Pike’s academic background includes an undergraduate degree in Secondary Education and an MA in Organizational Psychology. He has devoted much of his professional career to the study and practice of effective management behaviors as well as within the broad field of interpersonal effectiveness.

UNF Division of Continuing Education is delighted to bring Mr. Pike's expertise to your organization as part of our Customized Learning Solution. The Customized Learning Solutions department of the UNF Division of Continuing Education brings the up-to-date knowledge and techniques right to your place of work, shaped by the objectives and culture of your organization. While all of the courses are available on the UNF campus, most can be taught at your facility to maximize time, coordinate with shifts and schedules or to dovetail with your internal training and development resources.

The Dos and Don'ts of Moving Forward in Your Career

by Nancy Dering Mock

As a management consultant and former HR Executive, I am often asked why some people seem to “get ahead” and others seem to “get stuck” in their careers.  This blog post will share some of my observations about what does and doesn't work.

First, my list of what doesn't work:

1) Hope 

There are those people who believe that if they show up and do a good job, someone will notice and they will be propelled up the corporate ladder.  In my experience, this alone doesn't work.  We all know many people who have been loyal, kept their nose clean and worked hard whose reward has been to languish in the same job.

2) Fate 

There are other people who subscribe to the “right person in the right place at the right time” theory. They believe that advancement is all a matter of timing and waiting for “their turn.” We all know people who have retired still waiting for their turn.

3) Dependence on Others 

These individuals believe that their boss or the HR Department will take interest and invest in their future. They defer and rely on others to enroll them in training or set their developmental goals.  In my experience, this places the responsibility with people who may not be that skilled or interested in helping others advance. 

Now, let’s explore a few things that do work. 

(These ideas are borrowed from two current Continuing Education workshops, “Charting Your Future,” and “14 Best Strategies for Being A Standout.”)

1) Get a Mentor.

Find someone outside your chain of command and challenge them to challenge you.   Set regular times to meet and set development goals. Pick his or her brain for ideas, contacts, professional groups and other ways to learn and grow. 

2) Keep a Journal.

Keep track of your accomplishments, at work and outside of work. Keep a running list of observations, networks and contacts for future reference. Use your journal to note issues and questions you’d like to explore with your mentor. This journal will be priceless in constructing your resume and preparing for job interviews.

3) Be the “Can-do” person.

Develop a reputation as the person who can get things done. Say “yes to the hard stuff,” those assignments others back away from. Do your homework; always arrive totally prepared and ready to be a contributor not merely an observer.  Find solutions to problems. Look for ways to improve current processes and propose changes.

4) Never, never, never stop learning.

It is often the people who challenge themselves to learn and grow who are tapped to move into more responsible work. Think about and ask for assignments and experiences that would give you new skills or networks. Think “breadth, not depth,” in broadening your experience and perspective. Set developmental goals for yourself and pursue them through workshops, on-line learning, college courses and professional organizations. Note your developmental goals and accomplishments in your journal.

5) If you want it, ask for it.

People are not mind-readers. If you have development and job goals, share them with people who have influence in your career. How does your boss know how you are doing? How do you know the requirements for that next promotion? How do you know what training and development opportunities are available to you? Does your boss know your career goals?  These questions can only be answered by your opening the conversation and sharing your goals and interests. After clarifying for yourself what you want, make sure that others are clear on what you want, too.

So, starting today, stop relying on hope, fate and reliance on others to advance your career. Start by adapting a few of these ideas that do work, take that next step and take control of your career and your future.

About Nancy:

Nancy Dering Mock is a management consultant, specializing in Strategic Planning, Leadership Development and Change Management.Her career has included founding two consulting firms, serving as HR Executive for an 80,000 employee organization and significant community leadership.She shares her experience with UNFCE workshop participants through interactive sessions which explore real-world challenges and offer real-world solutions. Learn more about Nancy at www.nancydering.com

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Join Nancy at her upcoming one-day workshop "Demystifying HR: Human Resources Management for Non-HR Managers" to be held on April 9 from 9:00 until 4:30 p.m at UNF. Click here for information and registration.

Mystified by the jargon, acronyms and requirements of Human Resources Management? This full day session is designed for professional/technical managers with little or no background in managing human resources. It explores the roles and responsibilities of managers in managing other people.

Through discussion, the participants identify their most pressing Human Resource management challenges; formulate a plan for addressing them and for partnering with HR professionals in the process.

The Three Steps to Happiness All Successful People Know

by Jan Spence, ©jan spence & associates
Used with Permission

 Experts say that we spend the majority of our lives at work. So our career and life are very closely intertwined.  Sadly, many people are unhappy, unfulfilled and feel like they may even be in the wrong field, position or company!  That’s no way to live!

Regardless of whether you are currently working in a career field, have yet to graduate, or are looking to make a change, there are several steps to follow to enhance your fulfillment in life and career.

Step One: Discover your Direction.  You must first identify your core values and let them guide you in your decisions.  Core values are those defining principles that guide your life. They are your “non-negotiables”.  They are those qualities that will be etched on your tombstone and whispered at your funeral!  By defining these first, we can use them as a measuring stick for the rest of our life choices when we are planning to “take the next step.”

For example, if “Spending Time with Family” is a core value, yet you choose a career field and job that will have you working crazy hours so that you are rarely available to have family dinners, attend dance recitals or just throw the football in the back yard, then your core values are not in sync with this career choice.

   

This doesn’t mean that you should throw out the career field, but it may mean adjusting your choices to better support your core values.  And, you should also remember, that sometimes short-term sacrifices are made for long-term gain.

Step Two: Set Goals and Strategy to Support your Vision.  Once you have identified your core values, you can develop the vision for your life.  What is your “end game?”  Where do you see yourself five, ten, twenty years down the road?  We must begin setting our goals with the end in mine.

So often people are short-sited and don’t find fulfillment in their career and life because they never stop to take the time to think about what it is they really want out of life and what they were meant to give to the world.  

For example, my husband and I have the core value of “Good Stewardship” which means being a good manager of all that is entrusted to us – money, home, education, etc. We have the vision to live in a foreign country and be able to travel the world.  In order to do this, we set the goal to become debt-free.  From that goal, we chose the strategy to buy and sell a business as the means to achieve that vision.

Step 3: Seize the Start.  After you have clarified your core values and established your vision, goals and strategy, it’s time to get moving!  So often, people have good intentions, but they get stuck by never taking the first step.   One of my favorite sayings is “Just move!”  Just do something!  Just take action! Whether it is the right action or not, it doesn’t matter. The fact that you are breaking that inertia by starting the engine with create more activity and begin to clarify what it is that you need to be doing.

Don’t wait until you have all the answers. You will NEVER have all of the answers.  Just take baby steps and start the ball rolling.

Once you begin to take action, you will be energized to keep moving and discovering more about your vision.  When it is tied to your core values – those principles that define you- there is no way you can lose!  The world is waiting for you to live your best fulfilling life!

Come see Jan speak at the Hardy 2015 Administrative Professionals Lunch and Learn at UNF on April 22. Information and tickets here. Her topic will be: "Game Plan for Life: Life Lessons from a Former Pro Female Football Player."  As a former full-tackle football player in a professional national women's league, Jan has the crowd roaring as her story inspires listeners to believe that they truly CAN do anything if they want it badly enough.

About Jan: 

Jan Horton Spence is an international consultant, professional speaker, trainer and one-on-one business coach.  With contagious charisma and a zest for life which make her an excellent motivator and leader, the Georgia native has used her vast knowledge in sales, marketing, and business operations to help numerous clients including Pillsbury, Walmart, and Frito-Lay. Find out more about Jan at http://www.janspence.com

Connecting with Nature Through Eco-Art: Discover an Effective Tool for Engaging with the Land that Inspires and Sustains You

by Kelly Johnson

Eco Art is a broad term to describe genre of art that addresses the human relationship with the earth. Eco Art or environmentally based art is not a new art niche by any means, and I have found that it is an incredibly effective tool for engaging students of all ages in the process of exploring their own relationships with the land that inspires and sustains them. 

The New World Museum believes environmentally based art is “The intermingling of art and the environmental is a phenomenon with roots in some of the earliest known human works.”  Humans have been expressing their thoughts about nature since their beginning. Whether to relay information on animal migration on a cave wall, to please a deity, or to express elements of science and beauty of the natural world, artists work to understand the human relationship with nature.

At the dawn of the twentieth century, art in the form of nature journaling was often used as a tool to engage in nature study.  While grounded in natural history, art was a way to

appreciate and connect with a natural world that was quickly becoming transformed by industry. The mid-twentieth century saw the Land Artists expressing their connection, or desire for connection, to nature by vastly manipulating large areas of land. Late twentieth century artists began utilizing natural forms and nature itself to draw public attention to environmental spirit and consciousness. Now, in the twenty-first century, environmental artists’ work seeks to invite the viewer to address issues such as finding a balance between media, pollution, and development with a human need for nature connection in a culture of convenience that often comes at nature’s expense.

Today, Eco Art is explored in a wide variety of ways from the hands-on manipulations of natural materials to journaling in traditional art mediums to creating online content. This flexibility makes it very attractive and approachable to people of all ages and interests in the natural world. My favorite aspect of Eco Art is that it frequently focuses on process and connection with the materials rather than a finished product. Process over product is such an important lesson which once learned frees us of any fears related with not being a “good” artist, allowing us to just have fun with the materials while exploring forms, textures, and colors in naturally inspiring environments. 

To learn more about the Connect With Nature Through Creative Journaling class from March 23 through April 11, 2015 from 2 to 4 p.m. at UNF Continuing Education, please click here. Registration is going on now!

Work Cited: Natural World Museum, NWM. Art in Action: Nature, Creativity and Our Collective Future. San Rafael: Earth Aware, 2007. Print.

About Kelly

Kelly Johnson (BFA, MA) is an artist, author, Montessorian, and children's gardener in Neptune Beach, Florida. Through her books, workshops, consultations, blog, courses, and handmade garden accessories Kelly inspires children and adults to connect with their natural world through gardening and the arts. Follow her blog at www.wingswormsandwonder.com.

The Essential Four Steps to a Healthier You

by Claudia Wallace, RN, BSN, Certified Wellness Coach

Have you always wanted to eat healthier, maintain a long-term exercise routine , have more energy, or lose the winter pounds? If you answered “yes” then it’s time to shift gears by taking the next step.   Commit to change towards a healthier and maybe happier you. One of my clients has lost over 80lbs since working together and taking the steps below; literally, he took up dancing. It’s not only the weight he has lost but the new confidence and joy he has found by taking the next step and reaching his goals.

Know Your Core Values
The first step towards successful change is to connect our long-term goals with our core values.  Why is a healthy life, focused on wellness, important to you?  When we truly believe  in and value our goals we are much more likely to achieve them as opposed to just doing what we’re told is best. Do you want to lose the extra pounds to feel better about yourself, to prevent chronic diseases or to have more energy to do the activities you enjoy? It is important for success to spend some time thinking and even writing down what brings joy into your life and what makes you thrive. Knowing your values in life will inspire you to reach your potential or long-term goals.

Set SMART Goals
Now that you have defined your long-term goals and connected them to your individual motivators, it’s time to set weekly short-term goals. It’s important to set SMART goals. SMART stands for Specific, Measureable, Action oriented, Realistic and Timely. If your goal is to work out three times a week you want to be specific on what action you are going to do, where, what day and time and for how long you are going to do it. It’s important to start with small steps to build up confidence through early successes.  For example, if you are new to exercise you might want to start with a walking routine. 

Create a Plan
Plan for success by writing down your workouts in your calendar like you would any other important appointment. Use a digital reminder or sticky note, whatever works best for you personally as an additional aid for success. Sharing your goals with somebody you trust will make you more accountable for your goals. Inviting a friend or partner to join you for support and company will also make you more likely to be successful. Think ahead about any potential obstacles you might encounter and make specific plans on how to overcome them. If you are often too tired or busy in the evening to visit your gym, try getting up earlier for a morning workout.

Celebrate YOU!
Last but not least, believe in yourself and your ability to be successful with your goals. Many studies have shown that we are much more likely to be successful with any goal setting if we also feel worthy of change. Give yourself as much encouragement and support as you would give a good friend. Plan for potential setbacks and see them as learning opportunities. Celebrate early successes by rewarding yourself with something special. One of my favorite quotes is by Henry Ford “Whether you believe you can or whether you believe you can’t; you are right”.

About Claudia:

Mrs. Wallace is a Registered Nurse (Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Univ. of Massachusetts, Boston) and Wellcoaches™ certified wellness coach. She is CEO and founder of Horizon Wellness Coaching of Ponte Vedra Beach. In addition to her own clients, she has served as wellness coach to underprivileged patients at the Sulzbacher Beaches Clinic in Jacksonville Beach. 

Mrs. Wallace coaches individuals to lead healthier, happier lives through prevention and management of chronic diseases, such as obesity, hypertension and Type 2 Diabetes. In her coaching, she uses a holistic approach addressing nutrition, physical activity, stress reduction, self-compassion and sleep. Claudia also offers monthly wellness workshops for the community partnering with different health care providers and health oriented businesses.


The UNF Division of Continuing Education is committed to helping everyone reach their health and fitness goals. Visit our website to see all of the classes available for registration.

Taking the Next Step to Ensure Your Company’s Survival and Future Growth

By Len Ferman

The pace of change in the world is accelerating more rapidly than in any prior age.  Adoption rates for new technologies continue to speed up.  To reach 50% household penetration took 71 years for the telephone, 28 years for the radio, 18 years for color TVs and just 10 years for the internet.  The 21st century business environment demands that companies embrace change or risk becoming irrelevant.  Exceptional companies such as Kodak, Blockbuster and Atari were once the dominant players in their industries.  Now they are relics of the past; defunct companies whose overwhelming leadership position provided no protection as they failed to act on changing industry conditions.  And they are not anomalies.  The corporate lifespan of S&P 500 companies has dropped from 61 years in 1958 to just 18 in 20112.  If companies in the S&P 500 are struggling to endure, then small and medium sized companies need also beware that their present business methods have limited windows of sustainability.  As a result, all companies need to take the next step now to identify how changes in their customers’ needs and their competitive landscape will impact their business.  And then use that information to develop plans for how to survive and thrive in the future.

It’s easy to take the next step.  The old proverb “well begun is half done” (attributed to Aristotle), applies here.  Most businesses fall into the trap of spending all their time focusing on business as usual and no time on planning for the future.  This is a natural tendency since it’s business as usual operations that bring in the cash.  Whereas planning for the future generates no revenue today and new initiatives have uncertain returns.  However, to ensure the long term health of the company there must be a balance.  Think of future planning as exercise for your business.  And once you start a regular program, you are well on your way to increasing your company’s lifespan. This is why I advocate a program of continuous customer innovation.

Continuous customer innovation involves creating the discipline in the company to perform three fundamental practices in a repetitive permanent cycle:

1) Explore changing customer needs, problems and market conditions
2) Generate solutions to those needs, problems and conditions
3) Evaluate and select the best ideas to implement.

Companies that adopt this continuous customer innovation process can help ensure they stay relevant to their existing customers and be attractive to new customers over the long term.
Adopting a continuous customer innovation process requires a commitment from the leadership of the company.  Leadership commitment includes both the adequate funding of the process as well as the acceptance of the process results.  This does not mean that every idea recommended should be implemented, but rather that leadership must at least consider, debate and evaluate the top ideas from each cycle.

Free Information Session
All companies should adopt a continuous customer innovation process.  But what are the specific steps to take?  How can you innovate to make your company more like Google, Apple and 3M and less like Kodak, Blockbuster and Atari?  The UNF Division of Continuing Education can help.  This spring a new course will be offered on the topic of business innovation.  The course will provide both classroom learning as well as hands on skill development in how to innovate for your company’s future.  For more information sign up for a free information session on March 25th.  

About the author:
Len Ferman is an adjunct professor of marketing at the University of North Florida teaching business innovation.  He is also Managing Director of Ferman Innovation, an innovation consulting firm.  Len holds a Masters in Economics and a MBA from Duke University.  He also has 25 years of experience managing innovation at Fortune 100 companies.  Until 2013, he was the head of ideation at Bank of America.  Len is also a frequent speaker at major business conferences on the topic of innovation and is a professional member of the National Speakers Association. For more information contact Len Ferman at Len.Ferman@unf.edu.

1 – Census bureau, Consumer Electronics Association, National Cable and Telecommunications Association
2 - http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/13/idUS206536+13-Feb-2012+BW20120213

Is your Next Step a Certificate in Transportation and Logistics?

by Ron Shamlaty, UNFCE Instructor 

Our US supply chains have been predominantly domestic in nature and we as a country have fallen far behind Europe's and Asia’s international commerce.   We must kick it into gear to stay competitive.  Whether we like it or not our world is now global and US manufacturers must begin to think globally or they will lose out to international competition.  If one stays focused on just the North American market, they will produce product and sell it to a mere 5% of the world’s population.  If they focus on the international  markets, as an example, they can build and sell to the other 95% of the world’s population.  

Oh by the way, the middle class in those countries is growing tremendously.   Take China for example,  Just a mere 5 years ago the average wage for its workers was 96 cents per hour.  Today those same worker are at $4.09 per hour.   Their infrastructure outside of the major cities was non-existent.  Today they have major highways and their government has spent billions on infrastructure.  If you just focused on Asia you could sell to 60% of the world’s population.  Guess what?  These consumers have more spending power, better infrastructure, and they want the same things you and I enjoy here in the United States.