Tagged With "Idle time"
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eXtension Foundation Welcomes Karl Bradley as Leadership Development Specialist
The eXtension Foundation is pleased to announce that Karl Bradley will be serving as eXtension’s Leadership Development Specialist. Karl originally joined the eXtension Foundation team in April 2020 as the Leadership Development Fellow while transitioning from full-time active duty service in the United States Air Force. His internship with the eXtension Foundation was made possible through the Skillbridge program offered by the Department of Defense for active duty service members...
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False Humility
Have you ever worked with or been around someone who constantly apologized for almost everything? They offer great suggestions. They offer great ideas. They offer great advice. But " sorry " seems to come along with everything. If you're a bit confused (like me!) in these situations...deep breath...that's totally natural. This was an issue for one of my colleagues. The barrage of apologies would disrupt the whole flow of work when they happened...and they happened a lot! Several of us tried...
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Ask Extension In Transition
Ask Extension (formerly Ask an Expert) has been an important national digital service and content asset since 2006. During the peak summer season this year, over 1100 experts handled about 11,000 questions per month. This year, eXtension launched two new projects with funding from its USDA-NIFA New Technologies for Ag Extension Cooperative Agreement: Building an artificial intelligence platform that provides information from a wide range of Extension educational resources Modernizing the...
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Leadership Mistakes
"Leader is a position. Leadership is a behavior." While there are many versions of this out in the world it remains a great distinction. To the originator of this, we thank you, whoever you are! Leader is likely in your job description somewhere. It's in our leadership behaviors where we most often find problems. It's inevitable...we're going to make mistakes. We're human after all. The only real failure is not learning from failure. Here are some mistakes we (humans) can make when leading...
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ICYMI: Getting Ready to Tell Consumers about MyPlate and the 2020 – 2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans
Yesterday we had a fabulous panel from the USDA Center for Nutrition Policy & Promotion talk to us about MyPlate and the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines. 500 Cooperative Extension professionals joined us and brought some great questions with them for the 30 minute Q&A portion! If you didn't get a chance to catch it, the recording is now available . Additionally, @Barbara Jirka was kind enough to provide a copy of the slides and a handout - I've attached those to this post!
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Recap of Video Production in Cooperative Extension Virtual Chat
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many Cooperative Extension professionals are branching out to add simple video production to their skillset.
In our virtual chat “Video Production in Cooperative Extension,” participants across institutions and job roles helped us understand more about training resources and needs related to video production in Extension.
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Good, Cheap, Fast & Urgent or Important
You have a big presentation coming up & just discovered a stain on your favorite outfit. Quick, to the cleaners! Your regular shop is perfect but they have a standard 3-day turnaround so that won't work. There is a 99 cent shop a couple miles away, they could get it done but you can't risk them not taking great care of your expensive suit. Your only choice is a designer shop, the one in the fancy part of town, they'll do a special for you. And you're off! We all pay companies for...
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Re: Email issues? Read this!
Karl, These hints are quite helpful. I've preached and practiced making the subject line helpful to the reader. I often add a date if there's a deadline. I appreciate the same for others. Your article brought some new ideas which I intend to incorporate. I also like the logic structure you suggest for the action oriented emails. I find it's helpful to understanding and cuts time when the sender makes it clear what I'm to do with the email. Bonnie Braun
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2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and New MyPlate Resources
The 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans along with new MyPlate resources were released this morning! Big thanks to @Barbara Jirka, USDA-FNS Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion for sharing this. Attached are two documents that contain information about the release.
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Time for Extension to go BIG!
Longview Engagement Associates announces a new web presence and associated blog series on universities’ changing roles. Effectively engaging communities and their problems, opportunities and challenges requires the full spectrum of university knowledge focused on transdisciplinary solutions. Read and respond to the inaugural blog Time for Extension to go BIG! - Longview Engagement .
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Get More Done in '21!
Wow, there was a ton thrown at us in 2020 and we're all looking forward to a new start in the new year. With every new year comes a new beginning, thinking about priorities & how to accomplish our meaningful choices. The attachment in this post from Hubspot highlights some aspects from their blog post on " How to stop the most common productivity prohibitors" Make Every Minute Count Keep Your Workspace Tidy Get Laser-Focused Reset & Recharge If you're curious about time-blocking or...
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Practicing Reflection
If your year started like mine, it left you reeling from a packed schedule and more on your plate than you thought you had. I came into 2021 with a peaceful mindset, having just taken the bulk of two weeks off, but somehow still felt a little blindsided when my first day back at work came around. I decided I needed to do something before I allowed my year to continue down this path. So this past weekend, I spent some time reflecting and planning and now I feel even more ready for whatever...
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Colorado State Extension Mindful Engagement Project “Ready to go in a way we wouldn’t have been”, thanks to the Impact Collaborative Summit
Mindful Engagement is a newly conceptualized project from Colorado State University (CSU), led by Sue Schneider, an Extension agent in Family and Consumer Sciences and Community Development based in Fort Collins. The team also includes CSU Extension’s Lisa Auer, who serves as the site coordinator for the Larimer County Family Leadership Training Institute (FLTI); and Tony Lynch, a community champion who is a member of the 2020 FLTI cohort. The team was one of 25 groups from across the...
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Motivational Messages
Inspiration can come from anywhere at anytime. Words have power. Power to cause action. Action that causes change. Change that helps us transition to a preferred future state. This ripple effect takes place every day yet we know being the change begins with something between your ears. Have your words caused this chain reaction? Have others' words had a profound effect that caused you to act? While you ponder those questions, ponder the action that was inspired by these messages. "If your...
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Atomic Habits: An Extension Conversation About Moving Forward in the New Year
James Clear’s book, Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results , was the subject of a recent Connect Extension Virtual Chat. The hour-long interaction stimulated participants to extend Clear’s lessons into vignettes describing their personal and professional experiences with habits. The recorded chat can be found here . Atomic habits are intended to be small and easy to do-thus reinforcing their value by becoming a part of one’s identity. Multiple atomic habits can begin to influence...
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Simple Plan that Matters
Time is not a renewable resource. It seems we never have enough. This isn't anything new, it's an age old issue. While no amount of money ever bought us a second of time, here's a simple concept that could...for free. Don't touch anything twice. Open the email, move it on. Get the laundry out of the dryer, put it away. Get those everyday tasks done & move on. Don't wait for the timing to be just right or when you're in the mood. Choose putting effort (time) into opportunities of the...
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Impact Collaborative Announces Rev-Up Your Virtual Leadership Series for Extension Professionals Leading Five or More Peers
For 2021, the eXtension Foundation’s Impact Collaborative program is hosting a series available to eXtension Foundation member institutions . This series is led by Karl Bradley, Leadership Development Specialist, eXtension Foundation. Last year we all pivoted quickly as we redefined how to accomplish our work almost exclusively in shared virtual spaces. The topics in this series are a result of our work with individuals & teams from across Cooperative Extension wondering: What does...
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Good Soil!
The people we surround ourselves with are more valuable than words can often express. Recently, an old friend popped into my mind so I reached out to catch up. He was amazing, generous & supportive as always. We spoke about many things but the most prevalent & surprising was workplace culture. He spent some 27 years in the newspaper business only to be unceremoniously let go in the name of “progress”. Their loss was another’s gain. His one-of-a-kind voice & magnetic temperament...
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Future You
Leonard Bernstein's father was asked in an interview if he supported his son's aspirations in music. He answered with a lukewarm response. The interviewer was shocked and asked "why not?". He responded...Because, how was I supposed to know he would become Leonard Bernstein? He's right, we don't know how our kids lives will go. We protect, guide & nurture and then wait & watch. It's not quite the same with ourselves. We are intimately involved with our own decisions & actions.
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Shhh...It's a Secret!
In life, you get what you want. Really. Think about it.... The way your life is, truthfully, you wanted it that way. If you wanted something different you would have changed things. When was the last time you were late for something? Chances are, if you were late for it twice you didn't really want it. While we know we can control our attitude & effort there's something else going on. You've probably heard of the universal law of attraction. You've probably been curious as to what it is.
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Handful to Ponder
It's not about you It's all about you It's about what you're doing for others & how your intentions provide the evidence of your authentic intentions. Realizing & doing them is leadership to me. Behavior Change The hardest part about leadership development. The start is what stops most people. Coach People Fix Processes You don't have to be better than another person to help them, to coach them. You just have to care a whole awful lot. Help people do their work by removing the...
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A Plan to Stick Together
"So much of what we call management consists of making it difficult for people to work." -Peter Drucker We never really get clarity, we're always seeking it. Here are some points of clarity to help bring people together because... "We don't have to do it all alone...we were never meant to." -Brene' Brown Leadership vs Management Let's stop calling leadership, management & management, leadership. Management is for resources, leadership is for people. The Scarcity of Time When a critical...
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Cornell Extension LIVCO Project Team Finds Impact Collaborative Was “An amazing team building opportunity”
A team from Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) of Livingston County came together at the recent eXtension Foundation Impact Collaborative Summit. Their association is situated on a park-like campus of more than one hundred acres. They had an idea of turning their campus into a learning laboratory for the community, with demonstration gardens and more. The team was one of 25 groups from across the country that participated in the first ever virtual Impact Collaborative Summit , held in...
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Register Now: Labor Management on Small and Medium-Sized Farms Seminar Series
Highlights from recent research on labor management and decision-making on small and mid-sized produce and livestock farms across the US.
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ICYMI: An In-Depth Look at the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025
A couple of weeks ago, we had Stephenie Fu and Elizabeth Rahavi join us from the USDA Center for Nutrition Policy & Promotion to discuss the new Dietary Guidlines for Americans for 2020-2015. The U.S. Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Health and Human Services (HHS) recently released the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025 to reflect the current body of nutrition science. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans is the nation’s source for nutrition guidance to promote health and...
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Workplace "Bill of Rights"?
How many "rules" do you have where you work? How many of them help your daily work? Too many can be hard to remember & overwhelming. Let's unpack "rules" a bit... Rules or Procedures or Values Rules are guidelines. They carry more weight than suggestions & sometimes are even laws. For example, driving rules increase safety & can save lives. Don't throw gum on the sidewalk is also a good one. Procedures on the other hand guide behaviors systematically. You wouldn't want the Doctor...
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NEW! Assistant Project Director for Immunization Education
Extension Collaborative on Immunization Teaching and Engagement (EXCITE) Assistant Project Director for Immunization Education Position Description This project is a collaborative effort among the Extension Committee on Policy (ECOP), eXtension, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It grew out of efforts undertaken by the ECOP Health Innovation Task Force. eXtension anticipates receiving funding for Immunization Education efforts. Key Extension leaders on this project...
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Transformational Engagement in an era of Reskilling and Economic Recovery
New blog at Longview Engagement illustrates reskilling priority. Read and respond-- Transformational Engagement in an era of Reskilling and Economic Recovery - Longview Engagement Eric Dunker, Associate for Business Strategies, Associate Vice President and Dean: Business, Technology, and Workforce Partnerships, Arapaho Community College For over 100 years, universities and community colleges have brought practical research and relevant education to their local communities and industry...
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ICYMI: Take a Tour with the MyPlate Team: Walk Through The New Personalized Digital Tools and Resources
Yesterday, we had three guests from the USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion to learn about the new MyPlate website and suite of digital tools and resources that were launched upon the release of the Dietary Guidelines, 2020-2025. In this webinar, we explored the MyPlate tools to help you reach audiences at every life stage. Here are some resources from that webinar: Recording MyPlate National Nutrition Month Playbook (Attached) Slide deck (Attached) Q&A questions answered in...
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New! Extension Foundation Project Management Assistant
The Extension Foundation is seeking an individual to assist in the management of projects, project communications, management of the project database, and general support. This contract is 1 FTE and will include supporting the work of the Extension Foundation Project Management Specialist, Partnership Development Specialist, and Leadership Development Specialist. This position will assist the leadership of people, teams, and partners with communications and project management support. This...
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Old You...New You
The hardest aspect of leadership development is behavior change. Often, we lose momentum on creating new habits. Could it be because we don't think about all the great stuff we are choosing to keep? Let's unpack this in 3 parts... Old You What is it about the old you that you would like to maintain? Preserve? Protect? There's more in here than you think. Write them down. Feel good about them. Share them. Celebrate your decision. Stop Doing We spend a lot of time thinking about & deciding...
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Make Every Bite Count, Even Little Bites!
During March, National Nutrition Month(R) we recognize the new recommendations from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025.
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Re: 10 Leadership Theories
I enjoyed this summary of theories. You can see how things have changed over time and the generations. Thank you for pulling all this together a d providing a thought provoking summary. Maria
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Questions or Complaints?
“Only self-confidence makes freedom & dissent possible. An organization that brainwashes employees to think alike will only breed complacency & make itself unappealing to anyone who might inject some oxygen into it.” – Ricardo Semler Think about a time when you were offended by a complaint. Perhaps it was a question someone posed. Did it feel like it was directed at you in a meeting in front of others? Do you remember your response? Was it appropriate for the situation? Was it...
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Daily Habit!
Several years ago I started a habit of gifting myself a few minutes every day to read, watch or listen to something about leadership. It was rough at first as I fought off thoughts of how the time could be used for other things. It's been worth it though, I've learned so much. Here are just a few sources for a daily leadership content feed... The Marshall Goldsmith Coaching app gives you the ability to hear 3 weekly thoughts directly from the #1 Executive Coach in the world. Simple &...
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Story Lead Contest Winner Published in Farm Journal
Congrats to @Brian Whitacre and Oklahoma State University for submitting the winning story lead for the November 2020 contest. That month's contest was about Rural Broadband Access. The full story, Rural Internet Program Pairs Oklahomans with Cellular Hotspots, was published by Farm Journal and is now available. March 2021 Contest: Carbon Markets For this month’s Cooperative Extension feature, Farm Journal’s Trust In Food wants to ask you about the work you are doing to help farmers or the...
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THE QUEST FOR TALENT EQUITY: ENGAGEMENT IN THE REGIONAL TALENT PIPELINE ECOSYSTEM
Photo by Clem Onojeghuo on Unsplash.com Eric Dunker, Associate for Business Strategies, Associate Vice President and Dean: Business, Technology, and Workforce Partnerships, Arapahoe Community College As our society becomes more diverse, businesses and communities have moral and economic reasons to create systems with talent equity outcomes across the educational and labor market continuum. Higher education is rightly focused on educational equity, but this pandemic has demonstrated large...
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1890 Extension Leadership Academy Prepares Future Leaders To Act As Change Agents, Creates Culture of Innovation
The 1890s Extension Leadership Academy (ELA) is designed to prepare future and upcoming leaders in Cooperative Extension to act as change agents, with the goal of creating a culture that encourages and sustains innovation. The academy seeks to equip leaders to respond to critical challenges proactively. The ELA is offered in collaboration with Fort Valley State University & Extension Foundation , alongside key partners from Kentucky State University and Lincoln University. The most...
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Old Hat
Each of us probably have items we've held onto for a long time. The sentimental value pulls at our heartstrings so hard we can't seem to let them go. One such item for me is a New York Yankees hat. The Story My wife & I were on the road together in New York. One of the stops on the tour was New York City. We found ourselves with some time one morning & decided to venture out to discover downtown. It was a gorgeous sunny day & I wasn't prepared so naturally, I bought a Yankees...
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Giving Children and Adolescents a Healthy Start Through Nutrition
By LT Dennis Anderson-Villaluz, MBA, RD, LDN, FAND, Nutrition Advisor, Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion , U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Establishing healthy dietary patterns early in life can provide young Americans with the foundation to continue those behaviors throughout later life stages. Unhealthy dietary patterns and inadequate physical activity in children and adolescents ages 2 to 18 contribute to overweight and obesity — as well as increasing the...
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Your Leadership Puzzle (Part 1)
Clues to guide leadership development often prove to be more art than science. Many of these concepts live in the part of our brain that deals with feelings & not language. This fact alone can make conveying them difficult at best (I'll still try!). Here are some of the pieces we can utilize to begin the journey of putting together our leadership puzzle. PASSION We all find time to do the things that are most important to us. What do you spend 5 hours doing & it seems like 5 minutes?
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ICYMI: CONNECTING LATINO YOUTH/FAMILIES/COMMUNITIES W/EXT RESOURCES
Contrary with what many think, Latino/x population in the US is not a monolith, far from fitting the one-size-fits-all formula, the 60 million Americans of Latino/Hispanic origin represent over 20 Latin American countries, and a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds, education levels, geographic locations, histories, political affiliations. Visit this virtual chat archive to learn what extension professionals across the country have been doing to be successful in reaching the Latino/x...
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Human Behavior & the Spread of Livestock Diseases
By Scott Merrill and Eric Clark, University of Vermont The Social Ecological Gaming and Simulation (SEGS) Lab is a multidisciplinary research lab designed to examine pressing problems in the interacting domains of natural ecology and human society. We work on problems ranging from water quality and energy, to looking at how Covid-19 related social distancing behavior changes in different environments – from the grocery store to the park. We also are engaged in trying to understand the...
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Your Leadership Puzzle (Part 2)
Every day we encounter a myriad of issues that can make leadership puzzling. One of these is the pace of change. The world is changing at a speed faster than humans have ever experienced before due largely to technological advances. This fact alone makes our leadership foothold paramount to balancing the needs of the people & enterprise we serve. Some of the same themes keep appearing. The human skills we often don’t realize we’re utilizing. Awareness is the key for those who’ve decided...
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RFA: Extension Collaborative on Immunization Teaching & Engagement (EXCITE) Immunization Education Pilot Projects (Activity 2)
Extension Committee on Organization and Policy, Health Innovation Task Force Extension Foundation EXTENSION COLLABORATIVE ON IMMUNIZATION TEACHING AND ENGAGEMENT (EXCITE) IMMUNIZATION EDUCATION PILOT PROJECTS (ACTIVITY 2) DATES: MAY 1, 2021 - APRIL 30, 2023 ELIGIBILITY: The RFA for EXCITE Activity 2 is open to all Land Grant University CES professionals. Each LGU may apply as part of an unlimited number of lead and collaborating applications for EXCITE Activity 2. At most, one project per...
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RFA: Extension Collaborative on Immunization Teaching & Engagement (EXCITE) Vaccinate With Confidence for COVID-19 (Activity 1)
Extension Committee on Organization and Policy, Health Innovation Task Force Extension Foundation EXTENSION COLLABORATIVE ON IMMUNIZATION TEACHING AND ENGAGEMENT (EXCITE) VACCINATE WITH CONFIDENCE FOR COVID-19 (ACTIVITY 1) DATES: MAY 1, 2021 - APRIL 30, 2022 ELIGIBILITY: The RFA for EXCITE Activity 1 is open to all Extension professionals at all Land-Grant Universities (1862, 1890, 1994). For Activity 1, one application per institution is eligible to be considered, determined at the...
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Tuesday Food Preservation Basics Webinar Series
Are you interested in learning about food preservation? Join us for these free webinars hosted by Ohio State University Extension. The first half hour will consist of a lesson on the below topics, followed by 30 minutes of open question and answer time. You are welcome to register for just one or all of them. Tuesday's May 4-June 29 4-5 PM EST Register at: https://go.osu.edu/summer2021foodpreservationbasics
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Accelerating Success: Q&A with Dr. Fred Schlutt
Dr. Fred Schlutt is a forty-year Extension professional. He worked in Texas, Wyoming, Maine, and Alaska. Dr. Schlutt served for 10 years as the Director of Alaska Cooperative Extension. He was the 2017-2018 chair of ECOP ( Extension Committee on Organization and Policy ). He holds three degrees from Texas A&M. Dr. Schlutt currently shares his expertise as an Extension Foundation Catalyst. Catalysts are Extension experts who support New Technologies for Ag Extension (NTAE) projects chosen...
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Get better at anything!
Had the good fortune of carving out some time to finish a book that has made a quick impact on my life; " Triggers " by Marshall Goldsmith. The most powerful aspect of this book for me was self questioning . Heard about this technique from one of his social media posts & had been half-heartedly going through the motions of this technique. I needed some coaching on it for sure. He states that active questions make the most difference because of how they frame the responsibility. They...
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Navigating the Grocery Store Aisle and Creating a Food Marketing Game: An Extension Project Update
Navigating the grocery store aisle is challenging for many consumers—especially those who want to buy the most nutritious food. Food manufacturers and distributors cover their boxes, cans, and bottles of processed foods with labels like “organic,” “all natural,” and “no sugar added” to suggest that their food has certain health benefits. But these labels are intended to improve product sales, not necessarily help consumers make healthy food choices. And when food marketing labels seem to...