Quiet cracking is when an employee experiences a gradual decline in job satisfaction and engagement, often without noticeable outward signs like decreased performance. It's subtle and differs from quiet quitting, where one might intentionally reduce their effort. Quiet cracking can manifest as a general feeling of being unfulfilled, stuck, or undervalued, and it can lead to decreased well-being and even physical symptoms like headaches or sleep disturbances.

Today, a quick perusal of LinkedIn will show nearly everyone wears multiple hats and identifies as more than a single job title.  Since when did a single job title become a bad thing? If you are a Chief Financial Officer (CFO), must you also be a strategist, author, and “Wizard of Light Bulb Moments (yes, that’s a real thing), all within your title line?

Would you put yourself in isolation- no friends, family, or technology, for a health break?

Companies often respond instead by pushing for individual resilience or providing onsite stress management programs, such as Employee Assistance Programs (EAP), yoga, or intermittent onsite massage therapy.

In this conversation with Luminus Media CEO Tim Bouchard, I share the reality that all the marketing efforts in the world can't fix a poor product or service and why sustainable growth requires brutal honesty about your capacity, capabilities, and what you can actually deliver to patients.

Remember that an organization that focuses on thinking, collaboration, and skill development keeps employees engaged, is agile, and can adjust to new challenges, industry changes, and market demands.

I studied anthropology and journalism, and both helped me become a better listener, be mindful of body language and cues, and develop better self-awareness. I know these are my strengths, so I use them to my benefit and to those around me.  Developing and honing self-awareness is a continual opportunity for growth. 

In this episode, Michele Hart, Director of Marketing and Communications at BostonSight, shares how she built a marketing function from the ground up for a unique nonprofit healthcare organization that operates both clinical services and commercial product lines. Michele discusses the strategic challenge of managing brand identity across multiple business verticals while serving diverse audiences including patients, medical practitioners, and donors.

People might not be taking vacation time because they are unable to tune out work when they are away. And what’s the point of sitting on the beach if you’re taking Teams meetings in your sunhat? If policies and support aren’t in place to allow workers to truly have time away, then companies must re-evaluate workloads and backup systems.

Can you tell fact from fiction? It’s just going to get harder thanks to AI. As a marketer, I am well aware of AI’s capabilities in writing and design. It’s a useful tool for strategy and outlining, in my opinion, but it still has a long way to go as far as replacing humans for solid, responsible output.

MLMs are a cult. I experienced one firsthand.

One of the company execs came out on stage, multi-colored lights flashing, rock music blasting. The crowd erupted, and everyone stood, screaming and shouting. It was like being at a rock concert in the eighties.

Need to roll out a new organizational initiative or protocol? Change in organizational culture comes last, not first. You cannot tell a team to change its culture and expect it to happen, but you can create buy-in and make the process smoother by following these 5 simple steps.

In “The Art of Woo” by G. Richard Shell and Mario Moussa, the authors outline five leadership approaches to persuasion:

1. Driver

2. Commander

3. Promoter

4. Chess Player

5. Advocate

Core values act as a north star for an organization, providing shared purpose and guideposts on whether an initiative is a fit with the organization. They tell the public who you are as a company and what they can expect, and core values align internal staff on how to operate so that the organization can succeed. Use this simple set of questions to find your Core Values.

In 2000, when I was 25, I went on my first solo overseas trip. It was Thanksgiving, and I took advantage of an extra few days off from work to travel. I booked a trip to London and stayed in a hostel, using it as my base to explore the city. In the mornings I’d have breakfast with a woman from South Africa, whom I met at the hostel, and in the evenings, I read Franny and Zooey at the pub down the street over a beer and cottage pie.

According to surveys of participants, 71 percent of respondents reported lower levels of burnout, and 39 percent reported being less stressed than when they began the test. Companies experienced 65 percent fewer sick and personal days. And the number of resignations dropped by more than half, compared with an earlier six-month period. Despite employees logging fewer work hours, companies’ revenues barely changed during the test period. In fact, they actually increased slightly, by 1.4 percent on average.”

As a marketer I think daily about how AI may or may not affect my career. Marketing tools and metrics already change on a seemingly weekly basis. We are constantly chasing the latest information on where best to post links within our social posts, what the correct layout specs are, and the ever-changing marketing jargon and acronyms. Marketers are used to change, and are well equipped to move with the rising tide of AI.

Being mocked is a powerful reinforcer.  It is difficult to be the individual who begins to behave, dress, speak, and act as they believe in their heart to be true to themselves.  This requires risk and the possibility of being ostracized.  We adhere to cultural norms to fit in.   

How can you handle a difficult situation at work, especially one that has you feeling ignored and disregarded? You might think that the instigator should be the one to fix the situation, however, the only person you can truly change is yourself, so you must start within.

Our emotional responses to workplace situations serve as valuable data about organizational culture. Feelings aren't obstacles to professional judgment but rather sophisticated intelligence systems that detect patterns, power dynamics, and cultural inconsistencies that formal assessments might miss.

This survey is being conducted to research workplace burnout in office and healthcare professions. Your responses will help inform a book about modern workplace challenges. All responses are anonymous and confidential. The majority of the questions are simple multiple-choice questions, and the survey is designed to take less than 10 minutes.