Rockwood Company

11/11/2021

Happy Veteran's Day! We thank all of our Rockwood Veterans for their services and sacrifices in defense of our national security.

Learn more below about Veteran's Day and how it evolved to honor all military veterans:

The U.S. holiday began as a celebration of the end of WWI. But in the wake of even deadlier conflicts, November 11 became a day to honor all military veterans.

11/05/2021

Today is National Stress Awareness Day, and stress is top of mind right now for those returning to their offices after almost two years of teleworking. Melody Wilding writes for HBR that while stress is contagious, those returning to work can overcome their anxiety of facing in-person office dynamics and pandemic fears through emotional regulation and resilience: https://hbr.org/2021/10/re-entry-stress-is-contagious-heres-how-to-protect-yourself

Six strategies for managers.

10/30/2021

Organizations don’t prosper unless managers in the middle ranks identify and promote the need for change. However, once you have an idea, it can be challenging to get buy-in from senior leadership. Learn about HBR's 5 tactics for obtaining leadership buy-in: https://hbr.org/2015/01/get-the-boss-to-buy-in.

Learn to sell your ideas up the chain of command.

10/25/2021

In this month's Perspectives, Rockwood's Sarah Scott explores the Four Tendencies framework developed by Gretchen Rubin. Rubin asserts that our responses to inner and outer expectations generally place us into 4 categories: the Upholder, the Obliger, the Questioner, and the Rebel. Unwrapping these tendencies can help employees and managers understand their and their team's motivations and manage them accordingly:

Unlocking your employees’ “tendencies” can help inform your management techniques.

10/18/2021

Congratulations to our Rockwood Rockstar, Michelle! Since joining the company this past spring, Michelle has become a true asset in delivering high-quality products to our clients. Her graphic design skills and idea creation are unparalleled, and she always brings a fresh new perspective to her projects. Michelle, we are so happy to have you on the team!

10/14/2021

Today, Rockwood got together to share best practices and change management tools. We’re grateful for the opportunity to work with a dedicated and mission-driven staff who are committed to each other’s success and continued growth!

10/13/2021

Have an innovative idea at work but concerned that blockers will undermine your change effort? Watch this interview with strategist and professor John Kotter, who outlines four common attacks and explains the best ways to defend against them.

John Kotter, emeritus professor at Harvard Business School, outlines four common attacks and explains the best ways to defend against them. He is the coauthor of Buy-In: Saving Your Good Idea from Getting Shot Down.

10/07/2021

We are so excited about our two newest hires, Marty and Ivana, who have already made themselves an asset to the team. Thank you for jumping in with fresh ideas—we’re happy to have you!

09/23/2021

“If you work in a professional setting, this situation may sound all too familiar: Two passionate colleagues discuss a workplace challenge, talk past one another, and each leaves the conversation frustrated by the other’s unwillingness to come around. How can these colleagues, in the heat of conflict, practice active listening and reach alignment?”

Learn about coherent listening and ways to bring it into your workplace by reading our new Perspectives article, “Eliminate the Drama by Listening,” available today!

Two passionate colleagues discuss a workplace challenge, and each leaves the conversation frustrated by the other’s unwillingness to come around. How can colleagues, in the heat of conflict, practice active listening and reach alignment?

09/20/2021

Congratulations to our third summer , Meghan Reckmeyer! Meghan went above and beyond to support new team members, plan for and support a strategy off-site session, and manage two high-impact projects. We’re happy to have you on the team!

09/10/2021

Congratulations to our second Rockwood Rockstar of the summer, Benjamin! Benjamin joined our team in the spring and quickly became an asset on several senior-level projects. He has been proactive in learning Rockwood best practices and finding opportunities to support the team, all while maintaining a positive attitude. We’re glad to have you on the team!

09/09/2021

Sometimes our professional intuition can create tunnel vision. That is why it is so important for leaders to logically work through information, broaden their thinking, and account for uncertainty when making decisions. Find out how to "outsmart your own biases" in this excellent 2015 HBR article:

How to broaden your thinking and make better decisions