Category: Articles
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Boundary Setting = Peace
The theme of the week personally and professionally has been “set those boundaries.” In the course of a day, I generally am met with people who are skilled at navigating emotions and feelings, because that’s who I choose to spend time with. But when I step outside my safety zone, I’m always honestly surprised at…
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Get the fancy chair – and other desk optimizations
When I was 23, I had a boss that bought these crazy expensive chairs and had me build them. She told me that years of desk work to not get work related sitting injuries was important. The day I finally realized that my work was transitioning from adventuring and physical labor (my early twenties was…
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Recruiting Candidates – I learned the hard way so you don’t have to.
I have seen so much junk on social media trying to pin poor candidates on trying to hire for diversity – and I want to emphasize that it is junk. There are two ways to hire: passively or actively. It is as it has always been: we are lazy creatures and the idea of looking…
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Harness the Power of ChatGPT: A Guide for Climbing Gym Operators
The bricks and mortar of our climbing gyms may only stretch so far, but the capabilities of technology know no bounds. With budgets stretched thin and multiple tasks vying for attention, many gyms find hiring skilled professionals a luxury they can’t afford. Here’s how ChatGPT, an advanced AI developed by OpenAI, can help you maximize…
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Our best Child Development Books
My husband and I have two elementary school-aged girls. I posted a book that we have and my friends indicated they’d like to know what other books we would recommend to add to their library, so here goes! Series I love the Conscious Stories series. We have them en Espanol and in English as my…
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The Proximity Principle: Don’t Ask, Attract, Your Dream Boss
The Proximity Principle: Don’t Ask, Attract, Your Dream Boss She’s awesome, but she’s put the work in. Are you worth her energy and investment, yet? Not long ago, someone approached me for a job opportunity, and regrettably, I had to decline. I’ve come to realize that when someone reaches out and says, “Hey, I admire you — let…
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Challenge the Status Quo: Recommended Leadership Books for Managers Who Want to Drive Change
Challenge the Status Quo: Recommended Leadership Books for Managers Who Want to Drive Change I have had more than a few present and past employees ask me for recommendations of books (I’m a voracious reader) to make them better at their jobs — and at life — so here is my ever-evolving list of must-reads, by category. ALSO — I use Blinkist…
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From Sonnets to Syntax: How you can use ChatGPT
From Sonnets to Syntax: How you can use ChatGPT Once you start, the ideas start blooming. I had ChatGPT write the alt text for this. It’s glorious. I think ChatGPT and its ilk can do a lot of good in the world. It can help us start to balance human productivity in a healthier way — getting less…
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How This CEO Stopped Wasting Time on Low-Impact Projects and Prioritized Ideas for Maximum Impact
How This CEO Stopped Wasting Time on Low-Impact Projects and Prioritized Ideas for Maximum Impact As our CEO Kristin Tara Horowitz holds the magazine aloft, a mischievous twinkle in their eye suggests that they’re secretly plotting. She’s really just supporting her friend in the article. You know how things come at you and they feel really urgent…
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Conflict Aversion in the Workplace
Conflict Aversion in the Workplace Having a highly empathetic work space is a lovely thing, but we’ve also been trained by society that we should go along to get along. Brene’ Brown says “Clear is kind.” Make it a workplace mantra and you’ll see exactly why. If you see behavior that doesn’t seem right, but…
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4 Day Workweek — For Equity
4 Day Workweek — For Equity Today was late start Monday at the elementary school. That means that families who work need to secure childcare or go into the office late so that teachers and staff can have an extra hour to do whatever is on the agenda that day. It’s always like that — and I like it on…
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I reject job applicants and they thank me
I reject job applicants and they thank me Make your process worth it and nobody will hate it. Especially not you. Maybe it’s not straight ahead with us, but it’s a veer to the right place, instead. I just had to send my first round of rejections to applicants I interviewed, and a couple came back with…
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I’m not afraid of being fired: woman-friendly policies matter
I’m not afraid of being fired: woman-friendly policies matter Balance only works for so long — building in employment that recognizes the scales tip more than they stay stable is important. Twice this week, I’ve had two key staff members tell me that working for me is the first time in their whole life where their kids and…
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OpenGrip Management — training employees for success
OpenGrip Management — training employees for success I used to be an English professor, and the basic pedagogy of teaching is: Teach the material Have them practice the material Quiz them on the material Assume they got it or didn’t and keep going That’s how we all got taught (if we were lucky), and that’s a default expectation…
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Ground Squirrel Management
Ground Squirrel Management These are my notes from Farm Bureau’s presentation on California ground squirrel management, arranged by what I thought were good take aways for regular people (it was a course designed for professional farmers and pest controllers) — but everyone keeps asking. All of this information is available at this website. Know your ground squirrels…
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Top 5 benefits of woman-led business from the 2022 US Chamber Winner of Woman-Owned Business of the Year
Top 5 benefits of woman-led business from the 2022 US Chamber Winner of Woman-Owned Business of the Year I applied for the award because I’d had a lot of messaging around “you don’t get what you don’t apply for” and “awards help with recruitment and retention.” That was it. My husband and I structured our businesses…
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Ditch the Resumes: How This CEO Hires Better
Ditch the Resumes: How This CEO Hires Better Not having a formal business education (I was an English lecturer at a community college back in the day), the weakest part of my processes has always been hiring. I knew it every single time we expanded. I knew when the candidates we interviewed were wasting our time…
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Should you declare your pronouns?
Should you declare your pronouns? Child’s hands painted with a colorful rainbow. It is becoming common practice in certain circles to put your pronouns (she/he/they/zey, etc) in emails and social media bios as well as have meetings start with, “Hi, my name is Kristin and my pronouns are . . .” But why do it? It normalizes discussion about…
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Achieving Nirvana — and how I wish it for everyone else
Achieving Nirvana — and how I wish it for everyone else Photo by Marc Wieland on Unsplash — For me, Nirvana is dark and tumultuous Okay, I’m not a Buddhist monk. I’m not even Buddhist. I’m Jewish, in fact. And I was raised Catholic, and I explored Sufism for a time and . . . I was a wisdom tradition seeker. Being a…
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What 2021 taught me about going viral
What 2021 taught me about going viral And why it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. I got a lot of exposure three times in 2021. One was intentional, one I wish never happened, and one was due to hard work and hardship. As a professional marketer for work, once a journalist locally and internationally, and…
