Does the world seems as if it has turned up-side down, and the daily grind has found you joyless, weary, tired and burned out? Does it feel like everyone around you is whining, moaning and complaining about ....well, everything? Think their attitude is catching? But wait, there's hope! You can be a catalyst for change by adjusting your attitude and your influence. How can YOU be up in a Down world? The answer is simple: Control your Attitude. In this session participants will review and learn abut the four components for having a positive attitude. The key issues to be covered include:

• Optimism: Understanding that you have a choice in seeing whether a glass as half full, or half empty.
• Objectivity: Being honest with ourselves is sometimes very painful; however, it will help your self esteem and lower your anxiety.
• Deliberation: It takes a conscious effort to change the habits and expectations you have developed over time. You must deliberately focus on creating good habits intentionally.
• Determination: Never stop moving forward! If you find that you are becoming discouraged or frustrated, then dealing with those feelings becomes part of the challenge. Spend some time deliberately strategizing for getting a better outlook.

When you think of workplace attitudes you must ask yourself the simple question: would you want an employee who is extremely good at his or her job but has a bad attitude or an average employee who has a positive attitude? I believe the overwhelming response would be for the later because we all have learned the hard way that bad attitudes can reduce the effectiveness of ones organization. The fact is that skills can be taught but an attitude is often difficult to change. The question often asked is what is an attitude? To some it's a mindset, a way of thinking but that's only partly right. The bigger picture is that an attitude is a habit of thought. It defines how one looks at their world and workplace. What employers want are people with attitudes that think "I can," not "I can't." This one day seminar is devoted to the building blocks that lead to positive attitudes. Our trainer will show participants how to find, keep and maintain an approach that leads to a positive outlook. This highly interactive course includes interactive session as well as self evaluations to help individuals create an open mind and heart to developing a more productive, meaningful work life. This session will look at:

• How does one understand the importance of having a positive attitude
• How to develop and maintain positive feelings and thoughts in the workplace
• How a positive attitude leads to more productivity and a commitment to doing things right
• How attitudes impact and influence those around us
• The relationship between positive attitudes and internal and external customer satisfaction
• Identifying personality and attitudes - our true "colors"
• Creating personality matrix-the value of it
• Emotions and attitudes
• Anger-when, why, how, who
• Attitude "revamp", a process and project

Almost everything we do in our work is done within the context of a team effort. More often than not, the difficult part facing the person responsible for leading others is inspiring individuals to work together toward a common end or goal. This seminar is designed to assist participants in learning the skills of being an effective team builder, the effectiveness of teamwork, the importance of being an effective team leader. Additional topics to be covered include:

• Why some teams succeed and others fail
• Some of the pitfalls of a team
•  What you can do to help your team succeed
• How to reduce and resolve conflict on a team
• The results of team members not treating each other with dignity and respect
• What to do at the first hint of dispute
• Setting appropriate ground rules for team members
• Maintaining control
• Remaining impartial

Few would ague that life and work are hard enough without the complications surrounding self-defeating emotions, behaviors, and habits. The multiple forces that bear down on us every day can eventually take their toll. No wonder people often feel anxious, resentful, taken advantage of and even trapped. This one-day seminar is intended to help participants understand how to stay focused on their goals, whether work or personal, while ups and downs occur around them. Participants will gain insight into developing ‘personal' flexibility to deal with uncertainty and to find meaning in what they are doing. This seminar will focus on the important personal skill of emotional self-control. Participants will learn about what role emotions play in their life, the ways they are expressed, how to manage emotional ups and downs, to deal with stress and how to handle crisis situations. Over the course of the day, the class will learn how to make ‘better' choices at work and elsewhere, how to practice self-discipline, and control emotionally difficult situations. In addition, others issues to be covered include:

• Build confidence by learning to respond correctly to difficult situations and people
• Explore ones attitudes and how to use anger constructively
• Control how one reacts to emotional situations presented by other people
• Embrace how to ‘let go' of the old and accept change
• Learn to eliminate habits that tend to pull you down and work against you.

How serious can we be about humor in the workplace, and how humorous can we be about the seriousness we often find there? According to an international survey, only 15% of workers are fired because of lack of competence. The remaining 85% are let go because of their inability to get along with fellow employees. When asked about the qualities of an effective employee, senior administrators and human relations personnel check humor as one of the choice attributes of a desired employee. Wonder why? The simple answer is that humor is our greatest asset in personal and professional growth. In this fun and interactive workshop participants will:

• Discuss the physical and psychological benefits of humor at work.
• Explore using Humor as an effective tool in communication.
• Discover humor in everyday places.
• Dissect the true meaning of Optimism.
• Define Reframing a Situation.
• Route how thoughts, feelings and beliefs drive attitude and actions.
• Engage that inner child as a Life Management Partner.
• Strategies for Creating a Positive Workplace

One of the more difficult tasks any leader faces is learning to effectively manage their job and that of others. The realities of shorter deadlines, competing priorities, endless meetings, constant interruptions, and higher quality expectations are just a few of the challenges individuals face on a day-to-day basis; yet, the number of hours in the day remains the same. In order to be effective in the job, leaders must be a good manager of time, learn how to delegate effectively, how to put organizational tools and techniques to use, and how to analyze, plan, and schedule activities based on priorities. The purpose of this training seminar is to assist participants in learning all of the above as a means of being more effective in their jobs. Topics to be covered include:

• Learning how to develop and use a "Can Do" attitude
• How to establish goals
• Know what to prioritize
• The keys to analyzing how your time is spent
• Developing a master plan for being more effective
• When to do things by scheduling
• How to control interruptions
• Learning to improve meetings
• Conquering procrastination
• Developing team work

The stresses and strains of everyday life are something that we all face. Unfortunately, these outside forces often migrate to the workplace and are coupled with issues specific to that environment which further impacts individuals. The outcome of these internal and external problems can be seen on individual performance, the workplace environment in general, and the workforce as a whole.

The purpose of Continuum's "Workplace Enrichment Series" is to assist in developing your workforce from the inside out. This series of courses will develop and promote skills needed for coping with and managing some of the forces that impact individuals both on and off the worksite.

The following seminars can be delivered in either one-half day or full-day segment, depending on your need.

1. Developing a Workplace That Fosters Growth
2. Strategies for Creating a Positive Workplace
3. The Keys to Building a Learning Climate in Your Workplace
4. It's not what you Say, it's How you Say it
5. Understanding the 21st Century Workforce: What Makes it Tick

Have you noticed that some people are always looking at a glass that is half empty or they always feel like they are in a rut, burned out, and beat up?

This fun and interactive workshop is designed and intended to help people discover how thoughts, feelings and behaviors can affect work performance, relationships, success and self worth. Participants in this unique session can expect to gain valuable insight into what is 'negativitism' and how can it be changed in order to make a difference in their life and their workplace. This seminar is designed to help participants break the cycle of negativity and empower them to do what others say is impossible! The concept behind the day long program is to understand that "change is possible and it begins with each of us!" Some of the topics to be covered include:

• Understand Negativity and its causes
• The high cost of Negativity in the work place: turnover, lack of trust, burnout, and lethargy.
• Explore the many disguises of Negativity: Blamers, Chronic Complainers, Nasty-Nicers Yes But-ers, Whiners, Procrastinators, and many more!
• Clearly define Pessimism and Optimism
• Learn how to replace Negative self talk with positive affirmation.
• Explore the affects of attitude
• Discuss the importance of Humor in every situation
• Define Reframing: Getting a new Perspective
• Acknowledge the power of THANKFULNESS AND GRATITUDE
• Empower and Energize attendees to bring about change in their own lives.

As we go though the day to day routine of life, it is easy to find ourselves in a rut of familiarity. Staying in a rut over time can easily become a grave. We stay there because although unproductive, it is what we know. It takes courage to break out of the mundane, and step into a new rhythm. This session is best described as a practical inventory for personal growth. It is a road map to overcome barriers to career and personal growth by dissecting the LESSONS OF LIFE. The Seven L's to be covered include:

• LOOK: Break away from the dullness of AUTO-PILOT Living. Learn how to focus on the present and re-energize your hopes, dreams, and desires.
• LISTEN: Become an engaged listener. Hear other people's desires, hopes and dreams.
• LEARN: Revisit the joy of doing new things, taking challenges, accomplishing those things long set aside.
• LAUGH: Having humor in your life is your single greatest asset. The ability to laugh, particularly at yourself, will keep you young, happy and healthy.
• LEAN: Re-evaluate the importance of delegation. It is far more effective to work as a Team, than to be an individual hero.
• LET-GO: The best way to let go of a negative situation is to quit visiting it over and over again. It is not only un-productive, it robs you of your present moment, joy, and energy.
• LOVE: As the song goes....it's what the world needs now! We will close this session with words of encouragement, and hope they will ignite you to start anew on your own personal mission.

Today's workforce is comprised of employees separated by four and even five distinct generational perspectives. Within the next ten years, forces will impact the workforce in ways never before seen and will require companies to adjust or be negatively impacted. Participants in this one-day session will gain insight into their complexities of their workforce, learn about the generational sub groups that are present in the workplace, and what makes them and workplace 'tick'. This day program is designed to assist current leaders in better understanding generational issues and in formulating strategies to maintain, improve, and ensure their workplace operations as well as maintaining effective internal and external customer service. Some of the topics to be covered include:

• Who make up the workplace?
• Generation wants, needs, and expectations
• Strategies for developing a strong workforce
• Understanding the importance of workforce planning
• Working together for the benefit for the organization

Our workplaces are undergoing significant and rapid changes within the workforce. We are increasingly being challenged by retirements and resignations which impact how we continue to carry on our daily business. With the ever looming challenge of workforce change and the out bound movement of Baby Boomers and the in bound shift to a younger workforce we must identify means for maintaining continuity and eliminating the loss of valuable knowledge. It is essential that organizations identify means for transitioning their workforce while maintaining service to their customers. While there is no way to be totally prepared for this eventuality, there are actions that can be taken to help mitigate problems. Some of the topics to be covered include:

• Understanding why retention is critical to an organization's long term operation
• The importance of developing a sense of unity in the workforce
• Leading in a multi-generational workplace
• Motivating employees to share knowledge, expertise, and information.
• Methods for collecting information to prepare for anticipated labor shortages
• Methods for retaining younger and newer employees

COURSE OUTLINE (7 Hours)

Schedule Time: 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. -- (5 minute break every hour)

9:00 a.m. Welcome / Course Overview

• The impact of retention in the workplace
• Multi-generational issues

12:00 Lunch

12:30 Part 2 - Key Actions for Successful Succession Planning

• Strategies that encourage the sharing of information in the organization
• Attracting and retaining a new employee
• Summary, Action Plans, Evaluations

4:00 p.m. Adjourn