Are Wellness Experts as Clueless as Political Experts?
A small minority of political pollsters and pundits predicted Donald Trump would win the presidential election. Even some right-leaning commentators suggested a cakewalk for Hillary Clinton. And then, the election happened… I’ve been studying, writing about, and creating products for workplace wellness since 1992. And if the 2016 election taught me nothing else, it showed […]
“I Don’t Believe Anything a Wellness Vendor Says…”
Those words sting just a little bit. But the wellness director for a 5000-employee company — participating on a recent panel discussion in Washington DC — meant it. Sitting in the back of the conference hall, my mood alternated between anger at shady colleagues and frustration with wellness service consultants and buyers. Vendors Need to […]
Deck the Halls With Hope
From Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day, we’re steeped in cheerful music and hope-filled messages. But for many, hope is in short supply — and hard to hang on to. If your hope meter is running low, take heart. Dr. Brené Brown offers this positive, practical message: Hope isn’t an emotion — it’s a learned way […]
Get the Fire Inside
In the movie Rudy, the true story of a small-talent walk-on with the University of Notre Dame football team, there’s a scene where Rudy is alone in the locker room. He’s standing on a stool and pounding out a legendary Knute Rockne pregame speech. There was a fire in his gut that couldn’t be contained […]
Fitness Wearables: Love, Hate, and In-Between
“Oh man, I forgot to wear my Fitbit® today! Now that walk I took at lunchtime won’t count.” “I left my Jawbone® home; if I can’t track my walk, I might as well not do it.” Sound familiar? Sales of fitness wearables are skyrocketing. People are raving about these stylish bracelets and clip-on trackers as if […]
10 Keys to Creative Wellness Programming
We’re lucky to work in a field where creativity is a cornerstone of success. But the day-to-day grind can sometimes derail us from our creative intent. Keep these keys in mind to stay on track: Believe you are creative — if you tell yourself you’re not, you won’t be. Look for many possible answers; don’t […]
How to Avoid Well-Being Research Mistakes
We’ve helped several clients conduct simple to elaborate needs assessments recently. The seemingly illogical conclusions reached by some high-level managers have surprised us. When it comes to health data, managers sometimes toss market research rules out the window in favor of opinion or the way they think things ought to be. Here are 4 common […]
The Case for Well-Being Usability Testing
Although “hanging chads” from the 2000 Presidential election haven’t come into play since (thankfully), every year there’s some confusion about the proper way to cast votes. The challenge highlights what veteran well-being managers have known for years: people miss a lot, don’t read thoroughly, and often fail to ask for help when they’re unsure what […]
Making the Most of Well-Being Consultants
We can usually tell within the first 5 minutes whether a prospective client has had good or bad experiences with consultants. The conversation is very guarded and the prospect makes clear a litany of things they won’t pay for — before it’s even determined we’re the right people to help them. If you think using […]
Patriotic Well-Being Programming: Red, White, and Blue Wellness
Heading into the home stretch of the 2016 Presidential campaign is an ideal time to pull out old glory as a promotional theme. And if you’d rather avoid politics, see if there’s another time of year you can leverage. Some ideas for patriotic well-being programming: Election Day Campaign. Run a turn-out-the-vote style campaign, but gear […]