I have often said that the level of success (or lack there of) that you achieve in life is equal to the sum total of the choices that you make. To me this has always meant that what I choose to do or choose not to do is directly responsible for the results I experience; while other people and circumstances may play an influential role only I am ultimately responsible. That single thought puts total control over my experience of life squarely in my hands.  Truth be told though, it is a double edged sword.  While it is very empowering believing that only you are responsible for your life experience, all that responsibility can bring a certain amount of trepidation. 

This is why I have found that this statement arouses so much emotion in people even though the logic behind it is tough to deny.  For instance, someone who has just lost everything they own in a flood may say that it was a natural disaster and they can not control the weather.  While both of those statements are true are they really the whole story?  Shouldn’t the person have known that they were buying a home in a flood plain?  Even if they didn’t know, does that absolve them of the responsibility for making an informed decision? 

Our interview this week is with Sheila Thomas, author of a hot new program entitled “Interpersonal Skills for IT Professionals”. Ms. Thomas knows the subject literally from the inside out, having spent a career in the IT field. With an increased focus on how IT service can effect customer relationships we asked her if she could answer a few of our most pressing questions, and she proved her interpersonal skills were true-to-word by accepting an 11^th hour interview request.

You've just attended an eye opening seminar regarding the damaging effects of workplace bullying. The statistics shocked you. There was clear information regarding the effect on morale, productivity, and your business unit's bottom line. During the event, you could begin to feel a lump develop in your throat, as a supervisor of several employees in your department seemed to take shape in your mind as the perfect description of what an office bully looked like was laid out.

What would your workplace look like if it was just a little more fun to be there? Would employees take advantage of you, or take their performance to new heights? Those are some of the questions Adrian Gostick and Scott Christopher attempt to answer in their new best-seller “The Levity Effect” (Wiley, 2008).

 This feel-good affair is a bit different than many of the others we see on the marketplace, as the authors have taken a more academic, research based approach to the lighter side of workplace motivation – meeting the stiff bosses’ objections at the door and paving a path towards buy-in from their target market beginning to end.

In order to effectively reduce clutter you’ve got to improve your time management skills. This fun and engaging activity involves the use of play money in a mock auction to buy ideas for removing clutter and maximizing time.