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Archives for October, 2009

Four Sabbatical Lessons from Stefan Sagmeister

A good amount of attention has been paid to Stefan Sagmeister – on the social media sites, including the TED community – for his inspiring (although not unique, as we on this site know) year-long sabbaticals that he takes every seven years. The famous designer has taken two year-long sabbaticals. The first was in 2001 […]

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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: […]

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Solitude: It’s Often What’s Needed, But Are You Even Capable of It?

In 2006, then-struggling American indie folk singer-songwriter Justin Vernon left North Carolina with a broken heart and retreated to his father’s remote cabin in Northwestern Wisconsin. There, he recorded the songs that would become Bon Iver’s debut album, For Emma, Forever Ago, playing all the instruments himself. In isolation, Vernon says, he was able to […]

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No Matter Your Generation: Sober Up and Forget Retirement

How long will you live?  Stop dithering and find out. This calculator will change your life -http://calculator.livingto100.com/calculator or change the way you think about work and retirement. No matter how old or busy you are, you’ll anticipate that number popping up at the end - the one that tells you (based on genetics, health, stress, […]

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positano

In Happiness “Negotiations”, Men and Women Need a New Way of Working

“Happiness” was the topic of discussion among seven friends this past Sunday. We were eating breakfast around a table in a cabin in the middle of North Carolina’s Nantahala National Forest. Four men, three women. Three couples: one married nary a month; another to be married soon; the third - talking about it. And an […]

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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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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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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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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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Off on Sabbatical Without a Good Work Coverage Plan? Here’s What They’re Saying About You.

Who will do your work while you’re away on sabbatical?  While some people plan carefully for this aspect of a successful career sabbatical, just as many don’t. As a result, here are some of the worst things people will have to say about you in your absence: He just dumped his work on us without […]

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Business to Business

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 […]

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nrgseattle

Want Everlasting Change? Then Design a Sabbatical To Suit Your Need

We’re often asked about the staying power of sabbaticals.  Can a sabbatical experience change a person? Yes.  How long will the person be different? Forever and ever. Not every sabbatical holds this status.  If you lolly around and fritter away the time doing stuff that doesn’t mean very much to you, you’ll stay about the […]

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blasingam, jim-1

Jim Blasingame - Small Business Employee Sabbaticals Increase Retention

yourSABBATICAL’s Elizabeth Pagano and Michelle Rupp, owner of NRG Seattle, join Jim Blasingame on his radio show “The Small Business Advocate” to discuss the the idea of employee sabbaticals, plus tips and best practices.

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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’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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