Welcome to Gems & Gemisodes®

Easy-to-digest insights on workplace, personal, and leadership optimization

Dive into our most popular gems for actionable insights  to help you optimize

gem = standalone article | gemisode = two-part article

We speak candidly about the workplace, leadership, and personal optimization insights you need to know, but others often shy away from.

In sharing our perspective, our goal is simple: to spark curiosity and inspire the actions needed to create a more optimized future for all.

Ever wondered why you miss small errors in your work even after hours of perfecting it? It turns out, the brain's quest for efficiency is to blame—overworking leads to missed details and biases that hinder optimization, but with the right mindset and tools, you can train your brain for growth and success!

The Keys to Personal and Business Optimization are...

gem | Organizational Optimization

When you think of leadership, do introverts come to mind? This post challenges traditional views, highlighting how introverted leaders—like Charmaine—excel through deep listening, empathy, and thoughtful decision-making.

Quiet Strength: Embracing Introverted Leadership in Business

gem | personal optimization

Grief knows no timeline. Supporting grieving employees is essential for cultivating a compassionate and resilient workplace culture. This post delves into how leaders can create environments where grief is acknowledged, employees feel supported, and both emotional well-being and productivity are strengthened, fostering a more loyal and engaged workforce.


































Grief and What Every Leader Needs to Get Right

gem | personal optimization | leadership optimization

Overhead view of empty communal wooden office desk with four yellow chairs.

of relationships and business. Why? Because assumptions can ruin relationships, reveal biases, and be perceived as a lack of care or consideration by the party on the receiving end of them.  Cambridge Dictionary defines assume as “to accept something to be true without proof or question”. When we assume, we actively erase the reality and […]

Assumptions Impact Retention…

Gem, Organizational Optimization, Personal Optimization

Light trails of traffic at night

“Ma’am, this is your time, take it, you don’t have to rush” …. the words said to me by the check-out associate as the pressured feeling to pack my groceries quickly set in after glancing at the line behind me. As I left the store those 12 words began replaying in my mind and forced […]

Is Hurry Hurting You?

Gem, Leadership Optimization, Personal Optimization

A pair of gold rings on a stone surface

Is your organization optimized for employee engagement? For many, the answer is no. We’ll tell you why and what you can do to change your no into a yes… Employee engagement has been researched and studied extensively by academics, management consulting firms, and organizations around the globe for decades and while slight language variations may […]

Optimized for Employee Engagement?

Gem, Organizational Optimization

Volcano erupting against dark blue background

In part 1, we discussed the leadership failure issues associated with the statement, “I’m disappointed but firing them is not an option.” This statement was made by a c-suite executive to an employee who had worked up the courage to report the prejudiced and bias-based behaviors of another leader. As is true of every statement […]

Leadership Fail Statements, Gemisode II, Pt.2 (What To Say Instead)

Gemisode, Leadership Optimization, Organizational Optimization

Volcano erupting against dark blue background

“I’m disappointed but firing them is not an option.” We’re back with another publication of Leadership Fail Statements, a gemisode series dedicated to examining the impact and harm of the actual statements made by organizational leaders in response to issue(s) that were brought to their attention. If you missed parts 1 and 2 of the […]

Leadership Fail Statements, Gemisode II, Pt.1

Gemisode, Leadership Optimization, Organizational Optimization

white desk with laptop, glasses, succulent plant and white coffee cup

In the final gem of 2022, we encouraged you to reflect on the year’s “accomplishments and opportunity areas through the lens of your overall health”. Specific to overall health, we referred to “holistic health — physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and any other related measurement that matters to you”. With Lunar New Year now days away, […]

Hacking 2023 & Beyond…Optimize Your Life With these Cheat Codes

Gem, Organizational Optimization, Personal Optimization

Gregorian calendar year 2022 is preparing to come to a close and many end-of-year holiday (Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Omisoka) celebrations are either under way or are being meticulously planned for. However, amidst the celebrations, personal and/or business end-of-year reflections can begin to dominate our thoughts. While the practice of examining our actions, beliefs, thoughts, and […]

Assessing 2022, How’d You Do?

Gem, Organizational Optimization, Personal Optimization

For failure to demonstrate consistency in its application and create sustained change. FOMO, the other ‘f’ and once the primary concern amongst netizens, has been replaced by the fear of being “cancelled”. If recent headlines about artists changing song lyrics, celebrities, politicians, countries, brands, and everyday people being publicly shamed are any indication, this trend […]

Cancel Culture Deserves this F…

Gem, Leadership Optimization, Personal Optimization

torn teddy bear sitting on floor

A Gemisode™ Series – Part II Systems, policies, and people eventually fall short of their intentions and as such “all paths to progress begin with acknowledgement”. Whether harm is experienced due to race, gender, ethnicity, religious identity, ability status, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, body shape and/or size, or any other intersectional identity used to judge […]

The Fundamental Flaw of Resilience – Part II

Gemisode, Leadership Optimization, Personal Optimization

torn teddy bear sitting on floor

A Gemisode™ Series – Part I You’re overwhelmed, perhaps exhausted, and juggling more thoughts and responsibilities than you can fathom, yet the ever-pressing demand surrounding you is, ‘be resilient, be, be resilient’!  The American Psychological Association offers that “resilience is the process and outcome of successfully adapting to difficult or challenging life experiences, especially through […]

The Fundamental Flaw of Resilience

Gemisode, Leadership Optimization, Personal Optimization

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