2nd Quarter 2022 Macro View of the Economic Environment Since the beginning of the pandemic, over $5.2 trillion dollars have been pumped into the US Economy.   The stimulus was successful in preventing catastrophic economic consequences.  Unemployment is holding steady at 3.6%, wages are rising, and there are more jobs available than there are unemployed Americans.  Coupled with robust consumer spending since the great reopening, it is easy to see why consumer demand has outstripped supply.  Complicating the matter are continuing supply chain issues and the Russian-Uk ..read more

Curious Questions from Observing the Everyday   Fear of the Unknown     Recently, at an outdoor yoga class, I noticed a carpenter bee. She was doing her thing, boring holes in the wood. But unfortunately, she was also making the entire class nervous. “No worries,” I said to my fellow classmates. “She just wants to hang out with the wood.” I resumed my intentional breathing and focused on re-centering myself. As I did so, the carpenter bee landed on my shirt. She surprised me. I saw her legs moving and instantly felt nervous. Reminding myself of the words I’d just shared wit ..read more

What Business Owners Can Learn From Home Organization Projects By Jen DuBois, VP of Prosper for Business Services We’ve all been there: Perhaps it’s your busy season at work, or you’ve just wrapped up an extended period of hosting house guests. As a result of your unusual busyness, things at home are in disarray. Your closets are busting at the seams after a period of neglect. For a while, you just keep shoving things in there with an “out of sight, out of mind” approach. But eventually, it becomes too much to ignore. Somewhere along the way, you start to feel inspired. Just think how good it ..read more

The First 90 Days: The Prosper for Business and Spring-Cleaning Comparison By Jen DuBois, VP of Prosper for Business Services We’ve all been there: Perhaps it’s your busy season at work, or you’ve just wrapped up an extended period of hosting house guests. As a result of your unusual busyness, things at home are in disarray. Your closets are busting at the seams after a period of neglect. For a while, you just keep shoving things in there with an “out of sight, out of mind” approach. But eventually, it becomes too much to ignore. Somewhere along the way, you start to feel inspired. Just think ..read more

Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience by Brené Brown About the Book: In Atlas of the Heart, Brown takes us on a journey through eighty-seven of the emotions and experiences that define what it means to be human.   As she maps the necessary skills and an actionable framework for meaningful connection, she gives us the language and tools to access a universe of new choices and second chances—a universe where we can share and steward the stories of our bravest and most heartbreaking moments with one another in a way that builds connection. &nb ..read more

We’ve scoured the internet so that you don’t have to. Consider this our monthly roundup of relevant news articles and thought leader pieces to get your wheels turning.   4 Major Obstacles Every Entrepreneur Must Overcome Halfway into 2022, many are becoming even more discouraged by an ongoing economic downturn. However, veteran investors will all be quick to tell you that there are opportunities for success even (or perhaps especially) during troubled times. The trick is to seek out promising new products, services or efficiencies where others aren’t necessarily looking. Anticipating the ..read more

Mackey McNeill, Founder & CEO of MACKEY, The Prosperity People & Why Settle sits down with Kevin Edwards of the Real Leaders Podcast (https://real-leaders.com/podcast/#) to talk about impactful leadership, balancing profitability & purpose, arguing for your own limitations and more. Check it out. A full transcript is provided below: SPEAKERS: Mackey McNeill, Kevin Edwards   Kevin Edwards  All right, 3 2 1 and welcome everyone to this episode of the Real Leaders Podcast. I’m your host, Kevin Edwards. Joining us today folks is the founder of MACKEY, Prosperity People and Wh ..read more

Curious Questions from Observing the Everyday   Business Lessons From an Abundant Crop of Homegrown Berries    It’s berry season, which means if you stop by to visit me at Red Sunflower Farm, you’ll likely be inundated with the smell of strawberry jam simmering on the stove, offered a helping of strawberry shortcake, or served up a fresh salad topped with ruby red fruit. This time of year, Mother Nature is especially giving, offering up an unrelenting supply of produce for a fresh, delicious, and nutritious feast. Just last week, my grandson and I spent the early morning tenderl ..read more

We’ve scoured the internet so that you don’t have to. Consider this our monthly roundup of relevant news articles and thought leader pieces to get your wheels turning.   Why We Should Retire Traditional Performance Reviews Despite our best efforts and intentions, the traditional approach to performance management has failed managers, employees, and our organizations. Most of today’s performance management approaches, no matter what we call them, are often complex, emotionally burdensome, and time consuming, resulting in the most dreaded task we have to do at work. But before you assume t ..read more

What if there was a system that allowed you to consistently price your projects and ensure profitability? Ding, ding, ding! Enter The Profitability Triangle, our foolproof process for perfectly profitable projects. Establishing a rate for a project shouldn’t be a game of hope. But oftentimes we are so busy and hungry for business that we quote a client before we’ve even established scope or budget. This is backwards. And it can result in a lot of nasty byproducts: overstressed teams, overstretched financials, and oversold deliverables. A profitable project requires careful attention to pricing ..read more