Monday Mornings with Madison

Monthly Archives:
June 2013

Business Travel Tips

A half century ago, the average employee or manager at a company could go his or her entire life and never take a ‘business trip.’ Business travel was really just for top executives and traveling salesmen. That is no longer the case. Today, thanks to the Internet as well as and greater transportation options, companies have expanded their geographic reach. Local companies can provide their products or services regionally, nationally or even internationally, with the only restrictions typically from government rules and regulations. With such massive market opportunities has come a greater need for employees to visit clients and potential clients that are farther and farther away. Employees are also traveling more to conferences and trade shows to gain knowledge and hone skills. And, thanks to the expansion of travel choices – such as airlines that provide regular, non-stop flights to more cities and the expansion of fast rail travel — it has never been easier and more affordable for companies to send employees to far-away destinations for business. Likewise, companies are increasingly able to hire top talent in remote locations and have them commute to corporate headquarters as needed for meetings or training.
All in all, business travel made up over 48% of all air travel in the U.S. in 2012, which totaled over 460 million person-trips. However, although it is more affordable and there are more options, business travel comes with its own set of challenges for the person doing the traveling. Security considerations have made travel more tedious, exhausting and time-consuming. Time management is another challenge as employees look to make the most of travel time, and manage the impact of travel on family and personal life. For those new to business travel, it can be painful to learn the ins and outs of traveling. For those traveling for business more and more often, it can be just as challenging to lessen the impact of travel personally and at work. That said, there are ways to lessen the drain and maximize the value of business travel. Here are a few tips to make business travel a little easier.
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Mind Matters – Part 2

Everyone wants to have a good memory. It is essential for career success. But there are a multitude of factors that impede memory. Common memory reducers include things like lack of sleep, stress, vitamin deficiency and trauma. Less common memory cripplers include such factors as illness, diseases such as Alzheimers, poor blood flow to the brain, brain hemorrhages or injuries, and tumors. Beyond all these, there are a multitude of additional variables – such as ways that the brain works — that impact memory. Often memory is affected in ways that neurologists haven’t even begun to understand. Indeed, scientists agree that memory is one of the functions of brain that is still not well understood.

However, every day, researchers are learning more about memory…. How memory works and how it can be helped to work better. While memory research had previously been focused on what happens when a memory is first formed and on what happens when a memory is retrieved, it is the in-between time when it appears many aspects of memory storage happens. Numerous studies are finding that sleep is actually an important tool in the memory retention process. Here are the latest strategies and research on sleep and how it may be the key to improving memory.
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Mind Matters – Part 1

Professionals are always looking to have an edge over their competitors. Most people want to be successful, and bring their “A Game” to every endeavor. A big part of performance in any career is mental capacity, acuity, and agility. Memory plays a big part in that. However, until the last few decades, scientists and doctors understood very little about how memory works, where memories are stored, and what might improve or harm memory. But in the last 50 years, science has made great strides in understanding memory and the human brain.

Indeed, memory is one of the purposes of the brain, and it is described as the ability to protect acquired information consciously and connect it with the past. Having a good memory is a crucial ability in everyone’s life. History is peppered with scholars and leaders whose memories were so remarkable that they never forgot any information they learned in the past. Simonides of Ceos who lived 5th century BC was able to keep in his memory thousands of poems. Cicero was known for his ability to remember names. Ferdinand Marcos, the former Philippine dictator, claimed to have memorized complicated texts in one glance. He could recite the Philippine Constitution forward and backward. He also passed the Bar Exam in 1939 with an almost perfect score at 98%. When his score was contested and he was forced to retake an oral Bar Examination, he got a perfect score.

Everyone wishes they had such a good memory. However, many people complain about forgetfulness and weakness of memory. Nowadays, forgetfulness has become a very common problem among both young and older people. There are many variables that can impact memory. Let’s dub them memory killers. Here are just a few. Continue reading

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Time to Prepare

It seems that warnings to “be prepared” are everywhere. Across the central U.S., residents are being warned to prepare for possible tornados. Although tornado season had been relatively quiet this year — with only 72 tornadoes nationwide in April which was 70 percent below the 10 year average, — May brought a swath of tornados from Texas to Minnesota that included 16 twisters in a single day in North Texas and one that devastated the town of Moore, OK. Out west, California is already contending with forest fires in the Santa Barbara area and residents in fire-prone states are being warned to prepare for possible forest fires. States all along the Atlantic and Gulf coastlines just marked the beginning of this year’s Hurricane Season on June 1st. Last week was Hurricane Preparedness Week. Natural disasters lurk around every corner.

Just as individuals need to heed the warning to ‘be prepared,’ businesses are tasked with the same assignment. As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Preparation is primarily about anticipation and avoidance. Prevent loss. Avoid damage. Minimize harm. Is your business prepared for the next possible disaster… natural or otherwise? That depends on how much you’ve anticipated what could possibly go wrong and spent the time, energy and resources to prepare. It is time to prepare. Ready?
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