Posts in “Health and Wellbeing”
When the Disease of Stigma Kills More than the Disease Itself
Have you ever had the flu, chicken pox, or measles? Nobody ever asked to get infected with any of these viruses. Nobody has ever asked to get infected with the HIV virus either. One in five people in the US carries the HIV virus and doesn’t even know it. You can’t treat what you don’t know. If you are young and healthy and your friends look young and healthy, it would not even cross your mind that any of them may have the virus. Today is December, the month of HIV and AIDS awareness, as next year is the 30-year anniversary of AIDS awareness, and already celebrities and influential politicians are discussing how to move forward.
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The Danger of Bias
By: Dr. Gaby Cora
Natalia, my daughter, was only six years old when she came running home from school one day, eager to tell me what she had just learned in art class. I was in my early thirties at the time. I’d had her when I was twenty-two and then graduated from med school as a doctor at twenty-four, with her and my son in tow. So when she told me this story, I was a young mom as well as a young doctor training in psychiatry at the time.
Natalia was so excited, she didn’t have enough breath to tell me everything that had happened to her in the one minute she got to me. It was odd for her to be so thrilled, almost agitated by whatever she had to tell me.
Her excitement suddenly made sense when she told me she had learned about Vincent Van Gogh and his amazing story. She loved his art, but wow, what a story she had to tell about his personal life! Almost immediately after talking about his art, she blurted out: “You know, Mom? He cut off his ear and then he killed himself.”
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Is Your Brilliant Personality Killing Your Business?
By: Dr. Gaby Cora
“Manners Maketh Man” was our school motto. I was so young I couldn’t even read when this was said during our assemblies but I came to understand what it meant early on. We could be the greatest at what we did but the way in which we interacted with one another spoke more about our greatness than our intellectual or physical ability demonstrated during debates, competitions, and daily activities.
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Do you hold your loved ones hostage?
By: Dr. Gaby Cora
There are multiple ways in which people reciprocate their feelings: some exchange love for love and create lasting relationships that help one another experience happiness and growth. Others control their loved ones through guilt, money, or power.
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Privacy, What Privacy? The Era of Public is Here
By: Dr. Gaby Cora
My daughter started college at seventeen. During one of her assignments she was given an option: to either submit a series of papers versus participating in student research by completing surveys. The professor was stunned when I declined to give consent for her participation. He was even more surprised when he learned that both my husband and I had been researchers in the past. How come we would not allow our daughter to contribute to the sublime cause of furthering research? The answer was very simple: completing the assignments was part of her learning experience and a direct benefit to her. Participating in research had no learning experience and it only benefited them.
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Stay Awake While Working at Night
By: Dr. Gaby Cora
The Federal Aviation Administration suspends a controller for watching a movie during his shift. This is another incident to add to other suspensions, mostly for sleeping on the job. Who’s at fault: the controller or the system in which the controller works? Although workers may focus better at their daytime job, night work offers a challenge: how do you stay awake when you are alone and when you are not so busy?
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The Seemingly Impossible Feat of Transitioning an Empire
By: Dr. Gaby Cora
With the iPad2 launch, even financial analysts are both praising such innovation while also wondering about Steve Jobs’ gaunt looks and overall health. In January, Jobs decided to step down from day-to-day operations at Apple… again. He returned to Apple after a monster multi-organ transplant surgery, gaining our undivided applause and admiration for his resilience. We would all love to live forever and yet, how do we prepare to set up transitions to transfer an empire smoothly, efficiently, and effectively? How do we ensure continuity in day-to-day operations and in creative and innovative processes that will allow our vision to live on?
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The Other Blind Side – Is Public Misbehavior Plain Bad Behavior or Mental Illness?
By: Dr. Gaby Cora
Watching Charlie Sheen become his worst enemy over the past few weeks was embarrassing. His overt aggression with his teammates has made it very difficult for the public to show empathy for his situation. Unfortunately, his public behavior has also resulted in the cancellation of a multi-million dollar business, leaving a substantial group of people without a job. Can you afford similar consequences in your organization?
On New Years and Effective Planning
By: Dr. Gaby Cora
One month into the New Year on the day of the Chinese New Year, most business owners, entrepreneurs, and companies are well immersed into their business plans already. As I prepared for our upcoming chapter meeting with the Women President’s Organization, I intended to follow-up on guiding the group to go deeper into the SWOT analysis with my co-chair, Linda Lane Gonzalez (President of Viva Partnership). This follow-up in addition to a conference call I participated in yesterday with my fellow chapter president elects in the National Speakers’ Association (a call that became focused on using a one-page business plan), spurred me into putting my thoughts together and narrowing down effective business plan processes.
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Leading Under Pressure
What do BP’s disaster and J&J’s recall have in common? Both ended in early executive transitions and change of leadership with massive impact on people, the environment (BP), shattered consumer trust, low morale in the workplace, tarnished corporate integrity, and increased government control. Although most of us may feel self-righteous and point fingers at the perceived culprits, those of us with real life experience in leadership in the business world well know that these damaging decisions can be made by the best of us.
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