Ted Forrand

A combination of hard skills, soft skills and IT or technology application skills will provide for a well rounded result. It isn't enough now or moving forward to be one dimensional. For example, for a welder to be rigid in their craft in such a manner as only focusing on welding without having favorable personality traits that compliment their craft might cause customers to seek welding services elsewhere. In contrast, a person with sales and marketing expertise that gives little consideration to the technical and vocational value of the welder might not be able to make the sale. The same… >>>

Working in teams can also eliminate the so-called "work" component from - work. Example, if any number of individuals is not pleased with a related project individually, pulling and pooling individual resources might result in a favorable result thereby creating a more harmonious work environment. 

Employment related stress especially when it comes to mergers deserves greater evaluation. The emotional stress employees experience can be viewed as tangible in that their value as employees translates to tangible goods and services. So-called procedures to “stop, breathe, reflect and choose” do little to comfort employees that have committed themselves and invested in professions, vocations, skills and crafts only to be marginalized by those who will be afforded the lion’s share of the benefits from such corporate decisions. My take is that the tangible stress anticipated and recognized is also a direct responsibility of leadership, including human resources, to… >>>

Stress like pain exists for a reason – that reason is to know when limits have been met! Being organized in it of itself will reduce stress. Being organized is a sign of control. Often times stress is a result of being out of control or not being in control of a given situation. That brings about COPING with stress. The external factors that contribute to stress need to be addressed also. Being overweight, excessive alcohol consumption, smoking all lead to an overall degradation of physical well-being that lends itself to a reduced sense of self-esteem. In other words,… >>>

Stress originates from a variety of sources – depending on the individual. I think maturity has a lot to do with how people cope with stress. At the same time, a person can be stressed and not know it but people around them see behavioral traits that are ignored and or are not acted upon. If someone is stressed out or “pinging” due to something as simple as an overhead projector template not fitting properly, chances are there is something else going on in that person’s life. Then there is the issue of an instructor stressing out over course content… >>>

• Priorities = Time Management.

Priorities define time management. Being an instructor/teacher might appear to some as an occupation, vocation or profession that operates on a clock. Sure, school/class starts at 0700 and ends at 1500 with a 30-minute lunch and 10-minute breaks at each hour. The demands of being an instructor/teacher reach beyond those times, so it is incumbent for each teacher/instructor to establish priorities within those time constraints. Instructor/teachers have to also build in flex-time so they can address issues that do not perfectly fall in place with a defined schedule. Previously described is a 9-hour day of which… >>>

Time management, procrastination, immediacy, urgency, priorities, “to-do-lists,” can make anyone insecure. To someone that procrastinates time management of any kind is the equivalent of immediacy or urgency. People who are “on-fire” all the time have a sense of insecurity about them that can stem from any number of pent-up social abnormalities. My professional and vocational existence began long before email, text messaging and social media. Each of these forms of communication are immediate and can alter priorities with little or no notice. These never ending streams of data are generally distractions. That being considered, it is imperative that the priorities… >>>

The ultimate disciplinary response is to remove a student from the class. The same goes in the employment world students are signed up to enter. However, as instructors, class leaders or managers, it is incumbent for instructors to be resourceful in making every reasonable effort to help a student recover from their woes. Some students might be experiencing external struggles that lead to diminished performance in class. This could be academic performance or episodes of bad behavior. In most instances, the students we are guiding towards becoming productive citizens, are young and lack maturity and critical thinking skills. In this… >>>