Publications

Does This Look Good On Me?

By Tracy MacDonald

Apr 2021

Raise your hand if you’ve wondered if your pants will fit following weeks, months, or even a year of working remotely or just plain moving around less.

Raise your other hand if you’ve been tempted to keep that more casual work wardrobe going even if you’ve returned to an office. Or if you’re tempted to because now that so many others have been working from home, when you always did, perceptions may have changed.
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Tell Your Story

By Tracy MacDonald

Mar 2021

“Wait. Let me share my screen.”

How many times have you used or heard this phrase? If you’re like most people, the answer is “too many.”

While remote working and video calls enabled us to keep our businesses going, redefined business models, or taught us how to do things differently, people are becoming screened-out. And yet, until face to face meetings return, this may be our future for a while. But this future doesn’t have to mean death by powerpoint.

Silver Linings With a Green Impact

By Tracy MacDonald

Feb 2021

It’s been almost a year since the global lockdown. We learned how to do business differently, live without a commute, stay away from family and friends, juggle more at home than ever before, and change our backgrounds to more desirable places while on video calls. And while too much screen time may have become a term that relates to adults now as much as children, there are likely some new habits we can take away from this and hopefully some of them relate to more sustainable business practices.

We Can’t Solve All The Problems

By Tracy MacDonald

Jan 2021

Problem solvers and solution finders unite!

Now, step back, take a breath, and pause. Your future self, your team and your employees will thank you later.

Being a problem solver and solution oriented person is a great quality and inherent among leaders. The challenge is that if you’re solving all the problems, then you may be on the road to burn out, depriving yourself of the time to focus on strategy and future goals, and preventing your colleagues from having the opportunity to embark on their own problem solving missions. It can be difficult to give up the problem solving behavior, but there are advantages to you as well as to your team if you do.

Leading Change

By Tracy MacDonald

Dec 2020

If the past 8 months have taught us any kind of lesson, it’s that change is inevitable. Sometimes it’s beyond our control and we just need to deal with it. Sometimes we are in a position to lead change. If you’re leading change, there is a lot more to remember than just the change itself.

As leaders, we have to realize that people are emotionally attached to what they know. Any change that is implemented will affect your team, and your customers, in a way that can be thought of as “below the surface.” For example, a new organizational structure for a department may involve one, or all, of the following: new people, new roles, new goals, new technology and new processes. If we look at two of these areas, process and people, we can see both above and below the surface components.
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Difficult Decision

By Tracy MacDonald

Nov 2018

In business, difficult decisions are made every day. They can be at any level, effect a few or many people, require immediate action or a delayed response. In the end, those affected by the result of the difficult decision may be able to understand where it’s coming from, but that doesn’t make the situation any easier for them. As a leader, the way you manage the delivery of this decision can contribute to your brand, your future workforce, and your growth and productivity following these changes. If you have never experienced this type of situation personally, here are some strategies that may be useful.

The First Job We Should All Have

By Tracy MacDonald

Oct 2018

There are many twists and turns that a career path takes. Each new responsibility, each new team, each new challenge leads to new skills, new relationships, and fresh opportunities. These experiences, successes, and failures shape who we become professionally and is based on our own unique experiences.

What if everyone had to spend a year in a particular job? And what if that job was the kind of job that didn’t pay a guaranteed salary, and compensation was based solely on your success? What would you learn? How would you survive? And more importantly, how would the skills you learned shape the future of your career?

It may seem radical, but there is value in learning to survive and thrive, early in a professional career. And as challenging as some of those skills may seem, we do not doubt that they pay dividends in the long run: time management, strategy development, problem-solving, and especially overcoming fears. We all have parts of our jobs that we are “afraid” of; these are the things we don’t like to do or don’t feel confident doing. One of the most difficult things to do, for many people, is to pick up the phone, call a stranger, and ask a question. Think of how easy it has become to find just about anything we need from a quick Google search. From there, we can start a live chat or send an email, get what we need and never have to deal with a human. On the flip side of that, when we receive an email from an unknown source it’s very easy to ignore it, hit the delete button, or unsubscribe from a mailing list; all without speaking to a human.

The Great Walls of Business

By Tracy MacDonald

Sep 2018

The Walls of …

Productivity. Creativity. Inspiration. Implementation. Completion.

In business, we hit “walls” all the time. Although metaphorical, that doesn’t make them any less frustrating, intimidating, or challenging. Depending on your perspective though, those walls could become inspirational.

The walls are real and need to be dealt with to move from problem to solution. There is obviously no “right” way to deal with walls; a lot of that depends on the source of the wall and how much control one has over going through the wall, around the wall, or over the wall. Different types of walls require different types of strategies. The first thing to do is to recognize which walls are within our control, and which are not.

Culture Change with Face to Face Meetings

By Tracy MacDonald

Aug 2018

face2face

In a time of needing to get several things communicated quickly (email) or elicit a response immediately (texting) or stand out from the rest of the communication tools (messaging), it’s easy to forget about the value of face to face time. Yes, our time is precious. Yes, we are all multitasking, all the time. No, there are not enough hours in the day, but there never really have been. And while we have made it possible to walk around with a computer in our pockets, they have also made it very easy to step away from the thing that has connected people for thousands of years; face to face engagement.

A Million Dollar Idea for Success in Business: Step-by-Step Detailed Guide for Startups

By Tracy MacDonald

Jul 2018

Ready to learn how to start a business?

In A Million Dollar Idea for Success in Business Andrise Bass, Ph.D., lays out the blueprint you need to take your business startup from idea to incorporation. Each chapter is broken down into simple, actionable chunks, which serves as a guide for new business owners looking to learn the basics. Bass uses her business development and entrepreneurship background to help you cross your dot your I’s and cross your T’s for a better startup.

Download your copy.