In the Mix with Aaliyah Miller

“Try not to become a man of success. Rather become a man of value.” ― Albert Einstein   I really love the above quote from Einstein. In two simple sentences, he covers a lot of ground. His words help push my own thinking on the differences between success and value. When it comes to your work, what percentage of your time is focused on winning and having your project be a success? Is it more or less than 50 percent? Take a minute to think about your answer. Now here’s your follow-up question. Do you prioritize success over value and if so, what may you be missing as a result? Einstein’s quote reminds me to press pause on my notion to drive for success and instead think of how my work helps to bring value to others. How we understand and perceive the differences matters to how we deliver on our individual goals. When you hear of success, recognition tends to follow. While our reputations are built on successful outcomes if we’re not careful, success can inflate our ...

There was fake news and now we’ve moved onto alternative facts. Media coverage of Spicer’s comments on the attendance for   President Trump’s inauguration numbers and his declaration he lost the popular vote by three to five million due to illegals voting is a real time reminder of how quickly and easily one can be put on the defensive. When your message is not factual and people perceive you’re disingenuous, you lose control of it. In this social and digital age, content has the potential to go from zero to viral in a click of a button. As content enthusiasts, it’s what we aspire to do for our clients, however, at the heart of effective communications is trust and relationship building, when those begin to fray your audience can turn against you can quickly. Thanks to social channels, discontent of one can become millions within minutes. These tidal waves in our distribution channels remind us how high the stakes are. Getting your message right is key and havin...

Here’s a riddle for you. What’s more precious than gold, but cannot be bought, earned, or saved? If you said time, you’re correct. I don’t doubt each of us has a running list of tasks to do, people to see and places to go. We live in a fast-pace on the go culture and we do our best to keep pace with it. Time is the one thing we all can’t ever get enough of. Have you said to yourself, “I need to find the time?” As a new mom with twins, I’ve had to make a lot of adjustments. I knew this going in, but how it’s played out in practice differs from the many theories I received before they were born. Joining the parenthood continues to be a learning and rewarding experience. However, the sleepless nights, endless list of house chores compounded with trying to find a moment of peace with my husband or times to connect with family, friends and personal interests has left me feeling like I’m on a never ending roller coaster ride. Lucky for me I have a mom who acts as my emergency brake ...

Like many Americans, accepting the election results has been tough. It's not because I'm surprised by Hillary's historical loss (I'm not, I recognized her flaws and accepted them), it's because of how president-elect Trump won. Divisive rhetoric that at it's core was meant to ensure that white Americans who felt threatened by the United States changing demographics weren't going to be forgotten. The covert message resonated and to Samantha Bee's point, "White people. I guess ruining Brooklyn was a dry run!" (Watch it.) During the campaign president-elect Trump constantly talked about how the election was "rigged." In his win I can finally see the truth in that statement. Hillary had the cash, the pollsters, the experience, but one thing she didn't have was the media. Trump edged her out on that front and in the end I think media spin played a significant role in killing her presidential campaign. Social and main stream televisi...

When you accept a job offer, it's just not about the salary, the benefits package your potential employer will offer also matters. Overtime many workers have come to expect 401k matches, paid time off (PTO), life insurance coverage, wellness benefits, etc. But what about paid family leave for birth or adoption of a child? Currently the United States is the only industrial nation that doesn't mandate paid leave for new mothers and fathers. There have been some companies, mostly the tech sector (Facebook, Google, Amazon) bucking the trend by offering this benefit.  However, many workers don't get paid-leave and if you are one of the lucky ones it probably only covers a woman's postpartum bonding with child for six weeks for a vaginal birth and eight weeks for a c-section under short-term disability (STD). For me the fact that we classify child birth as a disability is a part of the problem. If you can afford to stay home longer you'll get up to 12 w...

I wasn’t sure what to expect at my first improv class. I wondered about the people who would be there. Twelve people were in the room, more than I expected. Their ages ranged from 16 to late forties and their careers were diverse. There was a stand-up comedian and actor and that made sense for improv; But I didn’t anticipate a social worker, retired military, librarian, or educator in the class! Despite our varying backgrounds and being a mix of introverts and extroverts, we were all there for the similar reasons. Some were looking to be more creative in their work, others wanted to improve their public speaking or being comfortable with speaking in front of others and a few wanted to use improv to be more responsive and collaborative with others. The class was very active. We started and ended every class with a physical group ice-breaker that focused on a communication or active listening skill. In improv, you learn the importance of thinking fast on your feet and reacting to yo...

When you hear the word improv, also referred to as improvisation, leadership probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. Instead you probably think of the show, “Who’s Line is it Anyway,” or the famous improv group “Second City” . Maybe you’re familiar with famous artists like Bill Murray, Steve Carroll, Wayne Brady, or Tina Fey, who all got their start in improv. You don’t just have to be a comedian, actor or entertainer to reap the benefits from improv. These days we’re all challenged to bring our ‘A’ game to work. It doesn’t matter if you’re on a stage in front of a few hundred people or leading a team of seven, there’s a need for all of us to be innovative and creative! In my role as a communications consultant I write a lot. It’s not just sharing information, I’m telling stories. In managing an online community at Aetna I’m focused on understanding our audience’s leadership and professional development needs and providing content that resonates with them while...