Recently, I began working with The Kellogg Foundation (full disclaimer – they are a client). Much of our work with the foundation focuses on overturning misperceptions about race and ultimately changing the misbehavior guided by those misperceptions.

Although debate continues, science has shown race is solely a cultural construct. Human genome studies have so far failed to turn up evidence that there’s such a thing as, for example, a Caucasian. Genetically, a black Kenyan man and a black Ugandan man are more different than a black Kenyan and a white Norwegian. Race has no basis in genetics. Yet, despite these findings, we cannot simply disentangle ourselves from the well-rooted paradigm of race we’ve all grown up with. If only it were that easy…

Race is a social construct, developed over centuries and passed from one generation to the next. Despite the hard science now available (though, it should have never been needed in the first place), racism continues to deeply influence individuals’ behavior and actions, and not always positively.

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There is a lot of advice from career coaches, on the Internet, consulting firms, and from HR Directors about preparing for interviews and how to answer specific questions, and while much of that is useful, there is not that much content out there that helps entrepreneurs or consultants with the tools and the behaviors that can make a difference after an interview.  I’ve been hiring, firing, and interviewing people now for over 10 years and I have paid close attention to the signs that people exhibit in their phone and live interviews that reveal what they are really like. In many cases, I do not believe that most people are aware of how small actions, body language or tone can make or break the final decision of getting the contract or not.

The actions and behaviors of a person often speak a lot louder than their words, as it is very hard to change your behaviors on the spot.  Not everyone is a master interviewer, but if you made it to the interview—you have something a company or person wants, and you must be ready to sell.  Most people are a lot better with interviews where they can have prepared answers, and know what is going to be asked. Behaviors are extremely important.  They are a part of your personality, culture and values, which take time to practice, and make a much bigger impact, so you must practice them in advance and learn the techniques as habits to sell your brand, products and/or services.   Continue Reading »

One of the components about working one-on-one with clients I am most passionate about is being able to empower them.  When the majority of my clients reach out to me, they are in rather terrible relationships with food (or, in Facebook terms, “it’s complicated”).

Most of the time, this is due to that “cute human trick” known as self-sabotage.  Many of us build ourselves a road with a shiny goal at the end, and then, before we even take the first step, litter it with hurdles, potholes, and confusing roadsigns.

Here are three common healthy-eating sabotages I often spot, and suggestions on how to get out of the rut.

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