The Lights of Winter

There is a famous old Peanuts cartoon. Linus, ever philosophical, quotes “It is better to light one candle rather than curse the darkness”, whereupon Lucy, ever the pessimist, says something like, “You stupid darkness!”

Whether you celebrate Ramadan, Diwali, Hanukkah, Yule, Christmas, or Kwanzaa, we’re in the season of lights, at least here in the northern hemisphere, where daylight is at its yearly minimum. So what are you doing about the darkness?

Before you answer, consider the advantages of being a Lucy.

• You never have to expend much energy finding the candle and lighting it.
• You don’t have to actually achieve anything, so you don’t have to put forth any effort.
• You won’t have to challenge any of your old beliefs, even the ones that make you miserable.

Are you with me? There is a choice here to be made. To do something positive that causes the light to be lit – or to curse it for not lighting itself.

Make no mistake about it, there is a lot of darkness. You may not be feeling very positive about searching for light, especially if this has been a particularly dark year for you. If it has, the only positive thing may be that you are tired of cursing it.

So here are some suggestions for making sure that the lights of whatever holiday you are celebrating are reflected in your spirits and hopes for the new year.

• One candle might not seem like much in a sea of darkness, so find other holders of light. They are all around, but even if you can’t see them, their flames will keep yours lit.
• If you find yourself among the cursers, refuse to join. Instead, consider turning their curses into kisses by thanking them for their caring about whatever it is that they are cursing.
• Remember, curses pass the tongue quickly but linger in the atmosphere. Before you are tempted to curse the darkness, look around. Do you really want to snuff out those candles, or would you rather let yourself be warmed by the lights of others?

With all our wishes that you feel lightness and joy, today and throughout the coming year,

Dr. Janice and the TGI Team

PS: This was our Winter message to our friends. it was followed by a special offer which, in the spirit of holiday giving, I’d like to offer to you too.

Whether you’re an HR or search professional or consultant, business executive or manager, or just interested in improving human infrastructure, you’ll find our webinar-based training time well spent. And, there will be NO CHARGE! Here are some details:

The course prepares learners to provide basic support to users of Role-Based Assessment, and to apply for Certification. Certification requires passing a written examination and continuing to meet acceptable standards.

At the completion of the course, participants will understand and be able to apply key principles of the theory underlying Role-Based Assessment and the CHI Indicators.

They will:

• Know the difference between quantitative and qualitative metrics, and how to integrate their usage into hiring, development, and teambuilding scenarios
• Understand the significance of level of Coherence and how it is used as a quality of hire metric
• Be able to identify Roles, encourage appropriate Role partnering, and promote an environment and culture of Role respect
• Utilize knowledge of Teaming Characteristics to identify best-fit people for a specific organizational mission
• Be able to read RBA reports in depth and apply the knowledge to situations such as hiring, coaching, and teambuilding

That’s a lot of business value!

The course is delivered via GoToMeeting, and provides one Strategic and three General HRCI recert credits. There is no charge for the training or certification, and participants also receive their own RBA reports at no cost.

To register, just call 215-825-2500 and ask for Jenny or Paul, or email jperiquito(at)thegabrielinstitute(dot)com.

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