Total Engagement Consulting by Kimer | Total Engagement Driving Enterprise Efficiencies and Profitability

This blog includes several of links to explore, including the three outstanding organizations started by these three women.

For the second year, the Levin Jewish Community Center in Durham, North Carolina is coordinating a fantastic series called “Ignite Talks,” which presents local leaders in the business community as social innovators. FYI, link to last year’s blog where I featured Jim Whitehurst, President and CEO of Red Hat; and Kevin McDonald, founder and CEO of TROSA (Triangle Residential Options for Substance Abusers.)

The latest session I attended on December 4, 2014 was titled “Next Chapter: 3 Women, 2nd Careers, 1st Rate Leaders.” All three women started new ventures later in their careers which contributed substantially to our community and world. The three women:

• Debbie Horowitz, whose earlier career included being a real estate appraiser and breastfeeding counselor. She then founded PORCH, Inc., a grassroots hunger relief organization fully staffed by volunteers executing local neighborhood food drives.

• Carrie Norry, after spending her early years as a homemaker and raising a family, formed “JUST TRYAN IT,” which empowers children to compete in triathalon type events to raise money for childhood catastrophic diseases.

• Pat Nathan, retired as a Microsoft business executive and then founded the local Triangle, NC “Dress for Success” affiliate in 2008. Her organization promotes economic success for disadvantaged women by providing professional attire and other networking and career development support.

After sharing a little about their journeys and their ventures, these outstanding women shared some practically advice. First, challenges and learning from them:
• The importance of balancing time and setting boundaries.
• Recognizing where you need help – can’t do it all!
• Don’t doubt yourself and your capabilities.

Second, closing advice:
• If you have a dream, and idea, just go for it!
• Look for open doors leading your way and be inspired by them.
• Prepare yourself to be open; be willing to let something speak to you.

These three women as well as the entire Ignite Series demonstrates that each of us can indeed step out and do something to make a significant impact for good in our community and the world.

Closing Note: For my own personal venture, I am working with a coalition of partners to build a community center in Mtito Andei, Kenya, one of the most impoverished areas of East Africa. I look to have some significant news and progress to share within a few months.

I had so much fun doing this last year – looking over my website statistics to see what were my seven most read blogs during the year. I normally blog about my two areas of consulting a few times each month: Diversity with a specialization in the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) workplace and marketplace; and career and skills development based on my innovative Total Engagement Career Mapping process. However, once in a while I write a more personal column or rant about something that is irking me.

Happy New Year from Stan Kimer, founder and owner of Total Engagement Consulting by Kimer

Here are the “Top 7 of 2014” in reverse order:

7. During June, LGBT Pride Month, I got a little more personal and shared the summary of a talk I gave at a recent local PFLAG (Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) chapter meeting, “8 Lessons in my Journey as an Out Gay Man.” I hope these are useful life lessons for LGBT people and allies alike.

6. Many pundits were saying that by coming out as a gay man, University of Missouri defensive stand out Michael Sam may be hurting his ranking in the upcoming draft, but I completely disagreed and explained my business rationale in “Fortunate is the NFL Team that drafts Michael Sam!”

5. Written in July and then updated in December, is “President Obama’s Latest Executive Order Protecting LGBT Americans – The True American Thing to Do!” I provide some details of President Obama’s latest executive order, links to several relevant items and discuss how arguments that this order endangers religious freedom are totally preposterous.

4. In “A Rant: Figure Skating, The 2014 Olympics, Stereotyping and Prejudice,”I combine my personal hobby of attending figure skating competitions with my vocation as a diversity consultant, and discuss the disturbing comments people post online in response to articles about the sport of figure skating.

3. My most popular blog of 2013 was actually googled quite a lot and finished in as number 3 for this year: “Five Common Misconceptions about Gay People.”

2. From November of this year, with the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance, I wrote “Five things never to say to transgender people.”

1. and the top most read blog was actually published in 2011! As many people search for online resources about diversity training, they found and read my 2011 blog “Three Components of Diversity Training,” where I discuss the three major components required for diversity training and exactly who within an enterprise should be trained.

Thanks to all the readers who enjoy and share my blogs. In 2015, if you want to be notified each time I do publish, you can like my business facebook page (Link), or if you subscribe to my monthly e-newsletter, I include a short summary and links to the past month’s writings.

Wishing all my readers a wonderful 2015 filled with much contentment and success!