GoHuman Blog

GoHuman is an ardent champion of “the little guy.” We believe that the strength of a nation comes from the strength of its communities, and the strength of those communities comes from its relationships — including the many small businesses providing local services and local employment. But how can small businesses compete with huge corporations? 

Over the last couple of years, there’s been a lot of talk about greed being one of the main drivers of the global financial crisis. And that talk rings true. After all, greed is an inherently selfish motive that disregards the harm it causes to others or to ourselves. And as the crisis has illustrated, the more power and influence a person or organization has, the more damage their greed can cause. 

Each Sunday going forward, as we are able, GoHuman.com will use our blog to highlight a different kind of service.  Service to members of our community by members of our community.  In this first post in the series, we’re again focusing on our new MicroCause partner, Belief for Relief.  Belief For Relief assists numerous families, and in this post we’re featuring Annette Greer, of Hempstead NY. 

When GoHuman decided to launch its Beta Phase on Labor Day we knew we had the right idea.  Political events in recent months have led to elected officials attacking the core ideas behind Unionism.  Highlighting the roots of, and what went wrong with the Union Movement, is critical to enabling U.S. Citizens to make better informed decisions.

Reflecting on this is also a good time to announce GoHuman’s interest in Yes! Magazine.  A headline article will help our members and readers understand why.  Not only do I personally live in Madison, an epicenter of the resistance against newly elected Governor Scott Walker, and not only does Yes! Magazine, in another recent article, highlight the connection to the Packers, of whom I just declared myself a fan, but our understanding of the causes of the problem, and the types of solutions we propose, seem to be in complete alignment.

This is why I recently gave a gift subscription to Yes! Magazine to several GoHuman Co-founders and other supporters, and why I’m reaching out to explore other areas of support and alignment with the Yes organization.  The problems we face are immense.  We’ve all got to sacrifice, even the teachers, policemen and other government employees.  But we need to do so with an attitude of positive cooperation, not with what amounts to a war-like attitude.  Solidarity with a magazine called Yes! seems timely and right.

One of the driving ideas behind GoHuman has always been, well, going human. Creating a online marketplace where blind leaps of faith aren’t required, because faceless transactions have been replaced by opportunities to do business face-to-face with individuals of integrity in your own community.

I’ve recently had the pleasure of producing a film, The Gran’ Scam of Things, that examines these same ideas.

It’s a colorful comedy whose main character, Gladys Weiss, is a vibrant elderly woman whose first experience with e-mail (and her Spam folder) leads her straight into the welcoming arms of an international crime ring.

It is a lighthearted comedy, but it also has a poignant message about online scams and elder financial abuse.  The film’s trailer can be viewed here.

There’s an important scene in Gran’ Scam which takes place in a bank, and we were lucky enough to be able to film it on location at a branch of the Los Angeles Financial Credit Union.  We specifically chose to partner with LA Financial because they represent the very best of what credit unions and community banks offer.  Namely, a financial services version of bringing business back to the local level, where new school technology and solutions are embraced but without losing sight of old school ideals.

The Gran’ Scam of Things was completed in late November, but we are currently raising funds to be able to screen the project at film festivals.   A successful festival run will allow the film (and its message) to reach its fullest potential and widest audience.  If you’re interested in supporting the film in this effort, and picking up some pretty great swag in the process, visit us here.

Thanks for reading, and hope to see you at the movies!

I married a Milwaukee girl and, expecting our first child, moved to Madison, WI in 2008.  The move had nothing to do with Cheeseheads, except for two of them – Grandma and Grandpa.  While I can enjoy football if it’s on, I never sought it out and know nothing about it.

Which explains why I didn’t know that the Packers are the only NFL team not owned by big money.  But last week an article titled “Support Green Bay, annoy the rich” caught my attention.  It explains that the Packers are “still, effectively, owned by the town of Green Bay, population 102,000.”  And more importantly, “The Pack has 112,000 stockholders. No kidding. None is allowed to own more than 200,000 shares — a tiny stake. That’s how they got to keep a major franchise in a town of just 102,000 people.”

It floored me that, according to the article “the NFL won’t even allow it anymore. No team is allowed to have ownership rules like this. These days, each team is required to have to have a small number of rich owners.”

Then and there my heart warmed to the Green Bay Packers, and the fans keeping their dreams alive.  Football may not be the place I would have chosen to stake out the issue of ownership vs. disenfranchisement.  But one of the reasons I co-founded GoHuman is exactly this point.  That ownership and control needs to be managed in a democratic, sustainable manner.

There’s something just wrong in millions of Americans supporting ideals they disagree with, because the rich and powerful keep their agendas hidden, and are adept at managing information, communication, perceptions, moods, attitudes, and ultimately, votes.

So the Green Bay Packers have one more loyal fan this year.  Go Pack!

We often remind ourselves how wonderful it would be to be young again. Children love and enjoy the planet they live and play on. They reinvent themselves every day. Their spirit is everywhere – flowing through the air.  Crack a window open and hear their shouts of joy, laughter and (on occasion) frustration, next door, down the road, at the school playground. “Hey! You’re not the boss of me!” Or, “You can’t catch me!”

In a place of business full of adults, the shouts of joy are nonexistent. Where did they go? What happened? We grow up and decide we’re no longer creative, imaginative or extraordinary and so we quit. The spirit has gone into complete hiding, waiting only for a dramatic outside event to fire it back up. However, for many of us, quitting becomes too painful to live with. We don’t have to wait for such a crisis, we just need to find a way to wake up and live again, create again, dance again and love again.

Life is an eternal internal flame. We can reignite it and make it burn brighter than ever, if the will and commitment to do so is present. It all comes down to how we perceive ourselves and others. We can reignite that flame by finding the words to think, the words to say, and even the words to sing, if we want. Suddenly our life improves dramatically. Every moment is a new beginning and a fresh moment.

“At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.”  ~Albert Schweitzer

*Speaking of “reigniting flames,” stay tuned for more information to be posted here on my blog, about an elite women’s success group a colleague and I are starting called, “Ignite-Creating the Fire for Women in Business.” A launch date of April 1, 2011, is tentatively scheduled to kick-off our program…More information to follow.

Saying “thank-you” to a family member, a friend, a co-worker, or someone you’ve only met once, can make a world of difference for them and you.

Letting someone know you’re grateful for something they’ve done or for just having been a part of your life through a simple thank-you, will bring new, positive light to their day. Gratitude projects a feeling of pure and positive energy. When we’re grateful, we feel thankful and appreciative. The more gratitude we feel, the more positive energy we experience in our lives.

It’s important to communicate to others that we’re grateful for their friendship, their love and their support. It allows them the opportunity to share in our positive energy and therefore, they experience feeling good, themselves. According to the law of attraction, the more gratitude we express to others the more appreciation we receive in return.

A few simple tips to use and ideas to consider when letting someone know you’re grateful for something are:

• Write a short note thanking the person for their friendship, a gesture, a gift or for being a sounding board, when you needed someone to just listen.
• Make a list of specific people you intend to write a thank-you note to who have, in one way or another, positively impacted your life.
• Commit to a set number of thank-you notes each day, week or month.
• Replace thank-you e-mails with handwritten notes. People appreciate your personal touch.
• Choose noteworthy situations. A thank-you note for a routine situation can weaken the message.
• Always direct a thank-you note to an individual, vs. an organization/group. If the situation involves multiple people, address the note to the senior person, asking them to pass along sincere appreciation to the others.
• Thank-you notes are a statement of appreciation from one person to another. Carefully double check grammar and the spelling of all names. There’s no quicker way to reduce your credibility and sincerity than to misspell names.

I love this time of year! We find ourselves in such a magical place. The “Season of Giving.”  At this special time of year people come together in the most unimaginable ways.  We actually take the time to stop and acknowledge the many things we have in our lives to be thankful for.  And, most importantly, we realize the importance of “giving.”

Bring joy to someone this holiday season and put a smile on their face, by performing an act of kindness. Any act. Many acts of kindness don’t cost a penny, but the benefits gained can be priceless.

Any one can accomplish an act of kindness during the Christmas season:

1. Call a friend or relative who you haven’t spoken to in a long time
2. Shovel the snow from your neighbor’s driveway and sidewalk
3. Offer to do some Christmas gift wrapping for someone
4. Volunteer some time to help serve meals at a local homeless shelter or food pantry
5. Offer to watch a neighbors pet while they’re away for the holiday
6. Donate new/used toys / clothing to charity, so others less fortunate can receiving something that will surely mean the world to them.
7. Gather some family, friends or neighbors together and go Christmas caroling in  the neighborhood or an assisted living center
8. Sit and “listen” to someone who needs a shoulder to lean on
9. Extend a smile to a clerk who looks like they could use one
10. Let others know how thankful you are to have them in your life

The original Christmas story is about the ultimate gift given for the purpose of changing the world. Regardless of your religious beliefs, consider spending time this holiday season finding ways to help others. Pay it forward and perform an act of kindness today.

Whether willing to admit to it or not, most of us have experienced (and most likely participated in) some sort of dysfunction, within the workplace. Depending upon to what extreme or level of hierarchy the dysfunction occurs, if not addressed & resolved, it can be toxic, with the potential to cause irrefutable damage, throughout an entire organization. So, what happens when there’s dysfunction within a team, how does one deal with it and how much, if any of it, can be controlled?

Trust is the heartbeat of a functioning, cohesive team and without it, teamwork is impossible. Unfortunately, we use the word “trust” about as often as we misuse it. In reference to team building, trust is the confidence among team members, who have good intentions and no reason to be cautious about what they say/do around one another. Teams that lack trust, waste exorbitant amounts of time, energy and ultimately money, managing their behaviors and interactions with one another. All of which will result in reduced employee morale and increased employee turnover.

In Patrick Lencioni’s “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team,” he writes about how the most important action a leader must take to encourage the building of trust on a team is to demonstrate vulnerability first. This requires them to risk losing face in front of the team, to ensure others will take the same risks themselves. He continues to say the leader/s must create an environment that doesn’t reprimand vulnerability. Even unintentionally, leaders can discourage trust by scolding others for weaknesses or failure. Finally, when displaying these acts of vulnerability, it’s critical that the leader/s be genuine and not fake. One of the best and fastest ways to lose trust on a team is to fake it, in order to manipulate other people’s emotions. A leader who displays regular acts of  being inauthentic, will most assuredly, be left with no one to lead.