Kimberlee Castillo Yee

We are so lucky that we live in the age of technology. With smart phones and computers, we have access to instant information or people all over the world. But what we have gain in access and speed, we are losing something very important, face to face communication. My kids have grown up with technology. They both are at ease behind the computer and find no problem send a text message or email. I recently had to contact several college students to pick up their order of girl scout cookies. One after one, I called them on their cell phones and not a single one answered their phone. When I started text messaging them instead, they all replied within a matter of minutes. Yet none of them would answer their phone. What does this say about this generation? Are we teaching them that it is easier to send a text than talk to someone? Since face to face communication is the basis of human communication, how are they building strong or lasting relationships? It is no wonder that we are seeing mo

I was fortunate to work with a good presenter a few months ago on a workshop on conflict resolution. Michael brought up an interesting phrase, "blame storming". His definition was when teams get together and decide who to blame for the mistakes of the team. Now those of us who have been teaching leadership skills for many years, understand that this is not a good function of a cohesive team, but as managers and team leaders, do we foster this practice? Have we created an environment that does not allow mistakes to be made? Yes, we all know that no one is perfect, but is perfection the expectation? If we want our teams to be accountable for what they say and do, we need to give some latitude for failure. I have learned more from failure than I learned from success. Post-it Notes adhesive was designed from the failure of another product. Encourage your teams to take risks. We would much rather have "brain storming" than "blame storming".

As you all know, the San Francisco Giants won the 2010 World Series on Monday. Since 1954, the Giants have tried their best to win the series but with no avail since moving to San Francisco. The Giants have a beautiful ball park in the China Basin in the city and on the outside wall facing King Street there is a Giants Wall of Fame. Fortunate to have tickets to game two, my sister and I arrived early to the park so we wouldn't miss a single moment. As I walked past the wall, I saw the names and faces of all the Giants of previous seasons: Mays. McCovey, Clark, Bonds, etc. I have been a Giants fan since I was a little girl. I am so impressed of these individuals who made following the team a great experience. This year there are great names to remember: Posey, Lincecum, Renteria, Huff, Uribe, Sandoval, Torres, Cain, Brumgarter, Ross, etc. But the difference between those previous teams and this year's team was the ability of their manager, Bruce Bochy, to look at them as a team.

Sometimes we forget the one of our most valuable possessions is our integrity. It is hard to obtain and if we lose it, we may never get it back. Here's a great article from Dr. Alan Zimmerman about integrity. Read on.... -------------------------------------------------------------- Dr. Zimmerman's TUESDAY TIP: "The time is always right to do what is right." Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. What Dr. Alan Zimmerman's Personal Commentary: The elections are upon us, and no matter what the outcome, history is in the making. And history needs to be made ... considering the lack of integrity that is so rampant in so many of our so-called "public servants." In fact, I like the way one health care expert put it when asked about a particular elected official. He said, "I don't think they could legally put him in a mental hospital. On the other hand, if he were already in, I don't believe they could legally let him out." Well, it's easy to pick

In this electronic world, we are losing those small significant things that really matter. When I was a child, my parents would require me to write "thank you" notes for every gift that I ever received. How do you thank your employees? Recognition is so important today. Your employees are scared. They think that they will be the next one on the unemployment line. Give them recognition for a job well done. Say "thank you". Better yet, write in down.

I am finishing up an online course this week in Business Communication. I am amazed that there are so many people in my class that are terrified for public speaking. My question is that in today's environment with the expanded use of technology, i.e. email, IM, blogs, etc. are we losing an important skill set? I love to text message, but the interaction of one to one conversation isn't very intimate on a screen. Are we giving up closer and deeper relationships? Humans have a need to be social, but are we giving up the best part of it by relying too much on technology? Something to ponder.