Cracking Open Hearts
Earlier this month, I attended a crab feed fundraiser to support the Sacramento Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) organization. Highlands sponsored the event, and I was happy to attend especially given my lifelong love of shellfish! Just as I began to savor the endless amounts…
Read MoreCreativity and Collaboration: How Improv Transforms Business
Improv, short for improvisation, is an art form that involves creating spontaneous performances without a script or predetermined plan. At first glance, it may seem unrelated to the business world, but I recently realized its profound impact on my professional growth. Here are three ways…
Read MoreThe Value of My Summer Internship
If you were to ask a college student, “what do you aspire to be?” or “what career path do you want to pursue?” many (including myself) would say “I don’t know yet” or “I am still figuring it out.” I was fortunate to have had…
Read More3 Success Factors for Virtual Process Improvement Teams
Working remotely isn’t always easy, especially during real-time business process improvement (BPI) efforts involving many stakeholders. In the past year, we’ve evolved three success factors for facilitating BPI sessions virtually: Take time to scope the effort to avoid rework. Though it can be tempting to…
Read MoreFocusing on Our Strengths
At Highlands, we have a passion for learning. In fact, it’s one of the top five values we share as a firm. Each of us has a yearly training stipend to grow in our chosen areas, but to kick off 2021 we came together as…
Read MoreConnecting Digitally – Together Mode in MS Teams
These days it’s easy to feel disconnected, especially if you are working from home full-time. Gone are the casual hallway conversations, replaced by days filled with virtual meetings. As wonderful as it is to see other people (even digitally), virtual meeting fatigue is common. To…
Read MoreHuman Learning Theory… for All Ages!
All projects require learning of some kind – to work with a new team, to understand new processes, and/or to use new systems. As managers lead teams through the learning process, they can draw upon learning theories such as andragogy, constructivism, behaviorism, and cognitivism. But…
Read MoreManaging Change: The Quest for the Perfect Apartment
I am a tried and true “homebody” so when I am faced with finding a new home it can be a truly daunting experience! During my short time living in Sacramento, I have rented two drastically different apartments as a result of drastically different approaches,…
Read MoreThe Beauty of the Daily Standup
Life moves at a very fast pace, and work is no exception. Often, we find ourselves hidden within cubical walls, working independently without much interaction, rarely taking a break to accomplish our fast-paced objectives. Gone is the “office water cooler” where we used to discuss…
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