Harmonics

One Golden Rule for Email Overwhelm for #NationalWorkplaceWellbeingDay .

We used to get the mail delivered once a day by the postman, it used to be around 1pm in the day where I grew up. On school holidays, I would look out the window in anticipation for the postman to drive into our yard to see if there would be any letters. The opening of the letters was done by my Dad with a sharp knife to ensure we didn’t tear the envelope. It was a daily event.

Now we get our emails delivered to our inbox at every time of day. We are overwhelmed and we will never get to open them all. Anticipation has been replaced by anxiety. The faster we respond, the more we set up the opportunity for another email to come flying back.

It reminds me of a tennis rally at speed that only stops when we fail to return the ball. Failing to return an email makes us feel like we are losing, we are letting someone down. Email has evolved to become a volley of shots we simply have to return as soon as possible.

My Golden Rule is to develop the habit of returning emails once a day. Once you start responding automatically, you are sending a message you are ever ready. If it’s an emergency, people can call you.

Focus first on your Intention and what you want to create and achieve. There will always be someone trying to get your attention.

Being ‘Ever Ready’ impacts you being #futureready .

We understand that as businesses evolve and change, their need for specialized support also changes.

At Harmonics we really care about our clients and the challenges they face.

When they look for support in the areas of organisation change, leadership development, executive coaching, recruitment or outplacement, we always look to diagnose well to offer the most appropriate solution.

Over the coming months we will be launching several new initiatives to bring leaders in Ireland together to share knowledge with individuals that want to adapt to the Future of Work.

So grab yourself some popcorn, dim the lights, and enjoy putting a face to some of the names on our core team!

My Mam passed away inside the past fortnight, she was a great age, and with the world in such a strange place, I have been reflecting on her life journey and wondering what three words any of us would use to describe our life journey to date?

In Mam’s case, it would be Faith, Hope and Charity.

Faith – She had great faith in God and prayed the Rosary fervently every day. I would call to the house in the evenings, and she would have Sally answering back the rosary. “What else have you left if you don’t have your faith?” she used to say to me. “Trust in God” was one her renowned sayings. It was a way that generation dealt with hardship. When they had little else, they had the faith to just keep on going. It’s on reflection when I considered these words. While My Mam’s generation had their faith, what have we? We might use words like ‘purpose’ and ‘resilience’ today but how much faith do we have in ourselves to overcome life’s challenges? My Mam grew up the second youngest of 8 sisters wearing hand me downs so lots of faith was needed?

Hope – She was a beacon of hope for me in my life and always had a smile on her face. I made the wrong career decision when I left secondary school to stay at home on the farm and she could see the tensions rising each day across the dinner table between Dad and I. She also could see history repeating itself in that Dad himself never wanted to be a farmer but was the only son in the family and here I was now going to do the same thing! She got me into my first job and off I went from there. Throughout my working life, she’s been my cheerleader and since starting Harmonics, was always asking me in hope if we had won any new contracts. Two comments stand out from sympathisers at the funeral, one said, “You always felt better about yourself after leaving Chris”, while another said – “she had an infectious enthusiasm for life”. What a great legacy to leave and I wonder what words people use to describe any of us when we leave them?

Charity -Our family home was at a cross-roads and an open-door meeting place for locals to debate sports, politics, or parish news. The kettle was always-on, and the smell of fresh tarts or scones still waft from memory each time I enter the house. My great memory of Mam is the energy she put into local community and fundraising for the parish. This generation of Mam’s had little of their own money but gave so selflessly to others. Photos were rare and for special occasions. Mam’s life was about putting the focus on those who in need instead of holding the smile to take the ‘just right Selfie’. One of my last drives with Mam was to bring her to see Dad when he was in last few weeks of life two years ago. I asked Mam would she like a 99 and her eyes lit up. My Selfie of us together was just right, the ice cream on her chin was a bonus and she laughed loudly as I snapped?

To everyone with a Mam – Never forget to capture the Magic Moments, they won’t last forever!