Yolofsky Law November 2018

Yolofsky Law November 2018

THE HERO I N S I DE R

www. yol of sky l aw. com (305) 702-8250 NOVEMBER 2018

FROM THE

Yolofsky Office

We’re now in the homestretch for 2018, and what a wonderful year it has been. We launched a new website, new video, and thanks to your referrals — the practice has grown. We are eternally grateful. Thanksgiving will be extra special this year because we truly appreciate our readers for following our journey as we continue to help people transform and become heroes to their families and their businesses. Speaking of heroes, we must mention the importance of this month’s second weekend. Nov. 10 is the 242nd birthday of the U.S. Marine Corps (Wow! AJ is old). And Nov. 11 is Veterans Day, and we extend our gratitude and respect to the men and women who have served our great country. Notice how commemorating the Marines leads the way into the holidays? As you celebrate, please take time to live in the moment. It goes by too quickly. Before you begin the shopping craziness, take an extra photo or just enjoy the stories from your loved ones.

GRATITUDE IN THE WORKPLACE Should Be a Year-Round Initiative

Odds are that your company hosts some type of Thanksgiving festivity. Office potlucks are delicious and great for camaraderie, but there’s one element of the holiday that should be part of your company culture year-round: gratitude. “If we think about gratitude only once a year,” notes author David Horsager, “we overlook the immense power of practicing it daily, especially in a business context.” A study from the University of Warwick found that happier employees are 12 percent more productive. One of the easiest ways to put a smile on the faces of your team is to express your gratitude for them. It sounds simple, but it’s something far too many entrepreneurs, executives, and managers overlook. The holiday season is the perfect time of year to reflect on whether or not you’re saying thanks enough. Over the course of his career as CEO of Campbell Soup Company, Scott R. Conant wrote more than 30,000 notes to employees expressing gratitude and appreciation to them. “On the face of it, writing handwritten notes may seem like a waste of time,” Conant told Harvard Business Review. “But in my experience, they build goodwill and lead to higher productivity.” The number of studies that confirm Conant’s assumption are too numerous to list here, but there are a few that should raise the eyebrows of any business owner. A study from the University of Pennsylvania, for example, found that grateful leaders motivate their employees to be up to 50 percent more productive. Gratitude and acknowledgment have also been linked to increased self-esteem, happiness, empathy, and a better response to stress and negative feedback. And the benefits affect both the person expressing their gratitude and the person receiving it. THE BENEFITS OF GRATITUDE

See you next month!

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EVERYDAY APPRECIATION

Other companies have a thank-you wall or shoutout email chain where employees can share their kudos. The most important thing isn’t the method you use, but that you make it an important part of company culture. It starts with leadership. If you aren’t taking the time to recognize and appreciate people, how can you expect that anyone else will? Instilling a culture of gratitude within your company doesn’t require intensive training or extensive investment. All you need to do is encourage a certain perspective and approach.

raising money for a local food bank or donating turkeys will go a long way for a family during Thanksgiving. Holding a company-wide fundraiser brings your team together and gives them a sense of purpose that’s much more powerful than a paycheck alone. Certainly, the power of donating to a worthy cause is reason enough to participate in some philanthropy this holiday season. As a bonus, companies that engage in outreach projects consistently demonstrate higher levels of employee engagement and retention, which goes to show what happens when you get the upward spiral of gratitude in motion.

During the holidays, it’s easy to take a moment to say thank you to the people who’ve made a difference in our lives over the past year. Sharing your appreciation, however, is just as important in March or August as it is in November. Gratitude begets more gratitude, creating what researchers Robert Emmons and Michael McCullough call an “upward spiral.” Once you set the spiral in motion at your workplace, you’ll see an attitude of gratitude multiply and spread. The easiest way to start is to create a public forum where employees can acknowledge one another. “We have an all-hands meeting once a week, and we finish the meeting by ‘giving props,’ which is recognizing people on the team for their accomplishments that week,” says Badger Maps CEO Steven Benson. “Anyone on the team can give props to anyone else on the team, which fosters an atmosphere of appreciation and teamwork.”

OUTSIDE THE OFFICE

Businesses don’t operate in a vacuum. They’re all part of the communities they inhabit, and your company’s sense of gratitude should reach beyond your staff and customers. Community outreach is the best way to show your neighbors that you care about them.

GO FORTH GRATEFULLY

Creating a culture of gratitude and appreciation will benefit your company long after the last piece of pumpkin pie has been eaten. So take a moment this year to say thanks and show love to your team. And don’t stop doing it, even after the holidays have passed.

During the holidays, there’s so much you can do for those in need in your area. Simply

Experience vs. Potential What Matters More in New Hires?

Scaling a business is one of the most complicated challenges for entrepreneurs. Developing a model that allows for consistent growth while maintaining profit margins and effective systems is a substantial task for business owners. But once the proper blueprint is in place, a new test presents itself, and how well you perform will undoubtedly define the future success of your company. Hiring plays a significant role along a company’s path to success. It’s not a landmark or a checkpoint on the map; it’s the vehicle that takes you to your destination. Your business is only as good as the people who propel it forward. You need individuals who fit into your culture, possess the necessary skills to be effective, and have a desire to continue learning best practices if you’re ever going to achieve your goals. Some qualities are universally known to be linked to good hiring practices, but there’s still one important question that divides the masses: Do I hire for experience or potential?

working knowledge of their craft can provide a sense of security when hiring. With new employees playing such a pivotal role in growth, many employers want to limit uncertainty and ensure they aren’t gambling with their company’s future. But experience doesn’t equate to competency, which is why some employers elect to hire for potential.

POTENTIAL

The argument for hiring based on potential centers around two concepts. One is that by hiring someone with a bright future and helping them achieve their goals, you could gain the loyalty of that person and thus retain that employee for a longer time. This comes with the caveat that those who have potential also look for potential, so as an employer, it’s important to provide opportunities for advancement. The other argument is that potential combined with training can equate to a more effective employee in the long run. In truth, the disagreement that transpires is a moot point. You can hire someone with experience or an individual with potential and strike out just the same. All successful employees will have one important trait: passion. You can’t teach passion, but you can hire for it.

EXPERIENCE

A degree- or trade-specific education can certainly lay a foundation for an employee to be successful, but experience provides specialized training that cannot be found anywhere else. An employee who has a

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A Historic Veterans Day Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the End of WorldWar I

This year, Veterans Day takes on particular historic significance: Nov. 11, 2018, marks the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended the First WorldWar. Countries around the world will commemorate the signing of this peace agreement with moments of silence, centennial ceremonies, and historical exhibits. Unlike Memorial Day, Veterans Day is a celebration of life. It’s a day to honor the power of peace and the living veterans across the globe who have served their countries. This November, take a moment to remember the war that helped shape the international community’s dedication to peace and thank the individuals who served to defend it. THE GREAT WAR By 1914, a world war had been years in the making, but the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of the Austro-Hungarian Empire by a Serbian nationalist provided the spark that would eventually burn down much of Europe. A chain reaction of land disputes, pre-emptive attacks, and strategic alliances brought over 30 countries into WorldWar I.

The Great War that ravaged Europe resulted in a devastating loss of life, but from those ashes rose a renewed appreciation for the importance of peace and a global effort to ensure its place in the future. THE RESTORATION OF PEACE In 1918, Germany surrendered unconditionally, and the armistice ended the fighting at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11thmonth in 1918, though the war did not officially end until the signing of the Treaty of Versailles the following July. An estimated 16 million soldiers and civilians died in just four years, making it one of the deadliest conflicts inmodern history. VETERANS DAY Originally called Armistice Day, Veterans Day was first observed on Nov. 11, 1919, to honor the one-year anniversary of the armistice, and it became a U.S. holiday in 1938. Today, Veterans Day celebrates veterans who served their country honorably. The U.K., France, Australia, and Canada also commemorate their veterans in November. If you know a veteran, thank them for their service this month.

Take a Break

PUMPKIN CHICKPEA FRITTERS Ingredients Directions

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1 can chickpeas, drained

1. In a large mixing bowl, mash

together chickpeas and pumpkin purée until the majority of peas are mixed with purée.

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1/2 cup organic pumpkin purée

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1/4 cup sunflower seeds

2. Add sunflower seeds, apple

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2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

cider vinegar, spices, and flour to mixture. Fold until fully integrated.

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1 teaspoon garlic granules

3. In a large skillet, heat oil on medium-high. 4. Formmixture into golf-ball-sized spheres and roll to coat in panko breadcrumbs. Pat into flat cakes and carefully drop into hot oil. 5. Fry fritters, flipping once, until golden and toasty, about 2 minutes per side. 6. Transfer cooked fritters to a paper towel to dry and cool. Serve 5 minutes after cooking.

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1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

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1–2 teaspoons flour, for binding (optional) 1 cup panko bread crumbs, for coating 1/4–1/2 cup safflower or canola oil, for frying

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE From the Yolofsky Office PAGE 1 The Importance of Gratitude at Work PAGE 1 Debunking Experience vs. Potential in New Hires PAGE 2 A Historic Veterans Day PAGE 3 Take a Break! PAGE 3 Pumpkin Chickpea Fritters PAGE 3 A Closer Look at Your Cup of Joe PAGE 4 What’s the first thing you do in the morning? For most of us in the United States, it’s one crucial task: getting that morning cup of joe. Our obsession with coffee is nothing new. A paper entitled“The Consumption of Coffee in the United States,”published July 18, 1861, noted that“the people of the United States habitually consume more coffee than the inhabitants of any other country.”Its popularity has only increased with time; people in the U.S. consume an estimated 400 million cups of coffee a day. Of course, we weren’t the first to find out how great coffee is. Long before anyone in the Americas enjoyed the beverage, legend has it that an Ethiopian goat herder discovered the amazing effects of coffee beans —on his goats. He noticed that after eating“berries”from a certain tree, his goats became so energetic they didn’t want to sleep. News spread around the Arabian Peninsula, and cafes began to pop up, known as“Schools of theWise”for the intellectual conversations that happened there.

That Morning Cup of Joe Coffee and Its Relationship to Your Health

In addition to coffee’s long-standing popularity, science has found several reasons to give our morning habit the thumbs-up. In 2015, the U.S. Dietary Guidelines evaluated the effects of coffee and caffeine for the first time, concluding that coffee can be part of a healthy lifestyle “along with other behaviors, such as refraining from smoking, consuming a nutritionally balanced diet, maintaining a healthy body weight, and being physically active.”The guidelines cite “strong and consistent evidence” that consuming coffee within the moderate range (3–5 cups per day, or up to 400 mg of caffeine per day) is not associated with an increased risk of major diseases. In fact, according to observational evidence, caffeine intake may be linked to reduced risk for certain diseases in healthy adults. Scientists think that antioxidants found in coffee, such as polyphenols, might contribute to its positive effects.

consumed in moderate amounts, the sugar and other additives that many of us like to put in it get a thumbs-down. The Dietary Guidelines also note that health alone isn’t a reason to start drinking caffeine. Folks with blood pressure concerns should be especially careful and should consult their doctor about how much coffee is okay to drink, as studies have shown evidence of increased blood pressure with caffeine consumption.

Everything in moderation, as the saying goes, at least when it comes to caffeine.

There’s one major caveat, however. While coffee shows potential benefits when

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