Free Resources

Free Articles

Sometimes, you just want a quick read to pass along!

Quick content. Thought-provoking ideas. Simple truths.

Here's what Eileen says,

"Since the time I was 4 years old, a library card was held in one grubby little hand and a pencil in the other. When it came to writing, my twin brother and I would pen sagas on toilet paper and leave it for the other to find the next time in the bathroom! My writing has never stopped. I hope you enjoy.

This is a selection of articles organized by topic. You are welcome to read, download or reprint any of them. Just one request: Please give copyright and byline credit at the end of each article and a live link to this website at http://www.EileenMcDargh.com.

One of my articles has been nominated for the article of the week. Please click the graphic below to vote for my article!

Index Of Articles By Eileen McDargh:

Motivation/Inspiration

Stress Relief

Miscellaneous

Work/Life Balance

Play! The Sanity Saver For Tough Times—The opposite of work is not play. It's depression. Learn why play is critical in order to save your sanity and your work!

Forget Spring HOUSE Cleaning. Clean Your Life!—Using the metaphor of "spring cleaning" Eileen McDargh guides you through the process of cleaning your life.

Towers Perrin Study Discounts Workplace Myths; Work/Life Leadership Expert Expresses Caution with the Data—Eileen McDargh analyzes data released in the 2007 Global Workforce Study by Towers Perrin.

The Craft of Choosing Well-The Ultimate Success—From our careers to our lifestyles, from our life partners to our life's legacy, we have a vast array of possibilities facing us. Our ability to think clearly, to make wise choices in our life has everything to do with creating a world of our own choosing-the ultimate success.

Shut Up, Put Up, and Get Some Quiet Back—Jump off the merry-go-round of 24 hour accessibility to get in touch with yourself and the people you love.

Sixth Century Wisdom For 21st Century Changemasters—Learn work/life balance lessons from the citizens of the sixth century!

Getting In Control—Advice from an expert in work/life balance uses the acronym C.O.N.T.R.O.L. to help you get some balance in your life.

The Art of Balancing An Unequal Life—How does one swim with the sharks, squeeze the margins of an angst-filled financial world, and still lead a life of wholeness in spirit, mind and body?

Work/Life Balance For The Business Traveler—Stay connected to the critical areas of your life while traveling for business. Expect the unexpected and enjoy the outcome!

Work Is A Four-Letter Word—Consider turning your "job" into "work" and improve your career, your outlook and your life!

Customer Service

Sure Fire Ways To Drive Customers Away!—Stop driving away your customer or members and learn important truths about "relationships".

Branding Fiasco—Better be who you say you are!—Our experience as customers offers great instruction into the concept of branding. Join Eileen as she takes an unforgettable journey through "voice mail heck" while trying, in vain, to give a company more of her business!

Why Can't Microsoft Make "Soft" Packaging?—Customer experience is everything! Don't let your packaging ruin your customer's day.

Employee Retention

Five Sure-Fire Ways to Drive Good Employees Away—Learn and avoid the top five actions that pull the plug on employee energy.

Ideas For Employee Retention—Learn the keys to retaining top employees and keeping them happier and more productive.

Job Talk—The Heart Of Productivity—Communication is the heart of job productivity. This article outlines the steps you need to take an internal audit to improve communication and productivity and boost employee retention.

Retaining Employees and Customers Is A Family Affair—Nurture your employees as though they were family and use that family connection to hire and retain employees.

The Newest Case For Human Capital—Find ways to have extended, meaningful interactions which allow people to voice concerns, feelings, opinion, ideas, and questions.

Uncovering Soul In The Workplace—The San Francisco Chronicle recently reported "soul is in". In a headline calling it "the buzzword of the '90s" a front-page story reported that some 322 citations for the word appear in the current edition of Books in Print.

Winning the Talent War In Turbulent Times—Jettisoning employees in financial tough times can very well result in losing industrious producers, top talent, longtime workers, and top managers.

Leadership

Leaders With ESP For Tough Times by Beverly Kaye and Eileen McDargh—Published in the ASTD Journal June 2009. This document will open up in Adobe Acrobat. Want to listen to the article in audio? Click here.

How To Stand Out From The Herd And Be Heard!—What makes the difference between an average presentation and one that rocks your world? The answer sits in four building blocks that are essential for crafting a speech into a work of art rather than hum-drum blather.

From the World's Highest Mountains-Lessons for Leaders—What Eileen McDargh learned from expedition through two remote provinces of the Indian Himalayas

In Tough Times-Silence Is NOT Golden—Now more than ever, managers at all levels of an organization need to do that which separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom: TALK!

Top Five Mistakes Leaders Make in These Troubled Times—Common mistakes that leaders make during difficult times and alternative ideas from Eileen McDargh.

In Praise Of Failure—Eileen McDargh shares the wisdom that can and should be learned by our failures. Learn to see beyond the obvious to create something stronger and more durable.

Lessons in Leadership: What NOT to do from a Canoe!—Learn what not to do if you're a leader from a recent canoe trip that Eileen took with her husband, Bill.

A Halloween Treat Does The Trick For Hilton and Me!—How to make lemonade from a lemon. Leadership lessons on dealing with unexpected adverse conditions.

Are You a Green Thumb Leader?—Leaders have much in common in gardeners. They both must seed, feed, and weed. Eileen uses a garden as a metaphor to teach us how we must be aware of how the cycles of business affect our leaders and how they can use those cycles to benefit their employees and the bottom line.

Don't Shrink—RETHINK!—Creative brainstorming for keeping afloat during difficult times. Eileen offers some alternatives to economic turbulence rather than the knee jerk reaction of cutting costs and laying off employees.

FROM THE COCKPIT: Lessons In Leading Through Crisis—Practical lessons for handling the fear and resultant anxiety which comes with unexpected and unwanted change.

Tough Times Demand Resilient Leaders—Daily news shows detail the difficulties that corporate leaders face. Resiliency has never been more vital for leadership than it is today. Eileen uses the acronym "Hope" to teach leadership key strengths.

Trust Withheld; Micromanagement Unveiled—Micromanagement and lack of trust are cries often heard in today's business arena. Learn about the unexpected gifts that come with taking the risk of trust.

Wanted: A Dictionary-Perfect Leader—Learn more about leaders and leadership with the help of the American Heritage Dictionary!

Motivation/Inspiration

Today's Economy DEMANDS A Critical Skill: Optimism—Although there is much to fear right now there is always hope. Allow Eileen McDargh to teach you learned optimism.

Intelligent Optimism Wins In Today's World—Learn to be more optimistic despite the constant bombardment of negative news and the erosion of our culture.

Run Your Own Race—At Your Own Pace—Don't let other set the pace for your life. Honor your abilities and your goals in order to get ahead in life and in business.

Memories, Meanings and Lessons For Life—A family emergency takes Eileen on the road the memories and lessons learned. Join her as she reminisces about her childhood, the role reversal that occurs when an elderly relative needs full-time care, and the lessons we can all learn from our past and from our present.

Patience Not Panic: Survive and Thrive Through Economic Turbulence—We've been through an economic roller coaster over the past few years. Let Eileen help you survive and thrive by applying a bit of patience and logic to this ever changing situation.

Plain Talk For Painful Times—Much has been written about September 11, 2001. But more needs to be said. Let us examine how we got to this place in time and what we can learn from the experience so that this kind of horrific attack can be prevented in the future.

Reclaiming Our Resilient Spirit—Battered and bruised by tragedy and financial difficulties our spirits need refreshing. Using the acronym "Resilience" Eileen will guide you to reclaiming your Resilient Spirit.

Storytelling— The Great Motivator of People—Change your company, your sales and your life with the greatest motivator of people—storytelling!

Stress Relief

When Your Get Up & Go Just Got Up And Went!: Five Tips to Refresh and Renew Yourself in the New Year—Eileen McDargh shares what you should do when the new year feels like nothing more than a new calendar in which to write down pages of non-stop activities, deadlines and commitments.

Be Here Now—We're overloaded, overworked and over stimulated. Join Eileen as she discusses the four truths about time and offers some tips for staying sane and staying present despite our overwhelming schedules.

Brainpower For The Overwhelmed—Another great article about our overwhelming schedules, information overload and constant, unrelenting stress. Eileen discuss how we got to where we are and gives meaningful tips to help us relieve stress and get in control.

Tips for Relighting After Burnout: Energizing Self and Others—Eileen discusses our current stressful political and economic situations, provides a list of burnout symptoms and then offers help on how you can regain control. A must read for those who are overwhelmed.

Miscellaneous

The Technology Trap for Talking Takes a Toll—Technological progress may not be progress at all in the realm of effective communication.

Speaker Partnership Offers Trade Show Value—Cost cutting at trade shows and conferences runs rampant. Hire a professional speaker and follow these suggestions for getting the most out of your investment.

Eileen McDargh Case Studies—Take a look at the real world results of working with Eileen.

The Power in a Gathering of Women—Don't underestimate the power of a group of women gathering together and supporting each other.

Are Your Meetings MINM or JAM?—Join Eileen as she discusses the hallmark of unproductive meetings and suggests how to make your meetings more meaningful to attendees.

Re-Think To Out-Think—Eileen introduces the Mastery Model as a tool for thinking about thinking. Use the Mastery Model to access and deal with available data to reach excellence.

Thank-You Notes—Revisit the long forgotten art of the thank you note—the most gracious of gratitude's.

The Compression of Time—Read the paper Eileen wrote about the seeming compression of time and our changing perceptions of time.

Workplace Fitness: A Gym Full Of Useful Advice For Continual Learning—Useful advice for continual learning based on the lessons learned at the gym.

Testimonials

"Your energy, positive outlook and enthusiasm for life made a lasting impression on all of us. Having your presentation early in the meeting energized the participants for the sessions that followed. In the weeks since the meeting, I have received many wonderful comments of appreciation for you and your work with us. Eileen, you were terrific as our Keynote speaker. This year's annual meeting was widely considered by our General Managers to be one of the best we've ever had and you made an important contribution to that success."

- SteinMart