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Studies confirm that the best managers and leaders have rich personal lives. Is your company realizing the power of time away from the job?


Archives for October, 2009

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With 42% Dive in Top Talent’s Loyalty (insert alarm sound), What Does the Future Hold?

Imagine cutting your workforce then losing your best people? New data shows that top talent in many companies already have one foot out the door. But with eight pragmatic interventions outlined in this just-released book (October 12th),  a company vying for “employer of choice” can hold tight to a bright future and beyond.
The source: Top [...]

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Sagmeister, Stefan

Sagmeister’s One-Year Sabbatical Idea Not Extraordinary

Super successful designer (Stefan Sagmeister) waves good-bye to clients (HBO, the Rolling Stones, Time Warner) every seven years for a one-year sabbatical. His shop (Sagmeister Inc.) is closed. Ideas generated during the sabbatical year fuel the creative genius and the firm’s bottom line grows substantially during the next six years – all a result of the one-year sabbatical. Sagmeister is on his second sabbatical.

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Scan20006

Sabbatical Lessons for a Small Business Owner

Dave Withbroe is one of two active owners in Dental City, a dental supply firm.  In 2000, he took a one-month break from the business to tour Europe with his girlfriend.  “It was the trip of a lifetime,” he said. “I got to check a whole bunch of boxes.” (Like running with the bulls in [...]

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Patton, Claudia

Cultural Exposure Brings Career & Personal Benefits

Claudia Patton of Edelman took a five week paid sabbatical to the Himalayas, visiting China, India, Tibet, and Bhutan. “I have much deeper relationships with my colleagues in India now that I have shown some interest in their government, culture and way of doing business,” she says. Patton encourages her team members to take a similar break to step outside their own experiences. “Immerse yourself in another world and bring that awareness back to Edelman. In doing so you become a more fully 360 degree employee.”

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working mother

Majority of 2009 Working Mother 100 Best Companies Offer Extended Leave

Of the companies on this year’s Working Mother 100 Best Companies list, 83% of them allow employees to take leaves, paid or unpaid, of six months or more and return to a comparable job. This includes leaves taken for any reason outside of parental or medical leaves, like sabbaticals. We’ll be leading a “Next Big Thing” roundtable discussion – all about sabbaticals – at Working Mother’s WorkLife Congress in New York City, October 27-29.

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TED

Sagmeister on Sabbaticals

If you don’t know about TED’s “ideas worth spreading”, then you absolutely must. If you haven’t been invited to its invitation-only global conferences, I am feeling your pain.
Renowned for album covers, posters and his recent book of life lessons, designer Stefan Sagmeister invariably has a slightly different way of looking at things. He views sabbaticals [...]

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sunny-trinh

Surf's Up For Sunny

During his sabbatical, Sunny Trinh started 9 Fish Surfboards, which he now runs in the evenings, outside of his management position with Arrow Electronics. “By starting a business, I learned quite a bit that I bring to my job at Arrow,” he says. “I am also able to use the surf business to build relationships [...]

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lisa-skluzacek-web

Lisa's Sabbatical: Sailing Across the Atlantic

With four weeks away from her job at General Mills, Lisa Skluzacek sailed from the Canary Islands to St. Lucia in the Caribbean. While she was away, her co-workers experienced cross-functional training, and the team became more closely aligned. For Lisa, the trip was a “huge personal accomplishment and really increased my confidence.” She also [...]

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