Expanding Excellence Blog

  Have you ever thought of having a relationship with money? It can be a love/hate relationship for sure. When I first started my financial fitness journey, I had to think about money differently than I had before or I was never going to change my habits around money. I have mentioned this in previous posts, but it is worth repeating because it doesn't cost anything but saves a lot! Money has a purpose, just like people. We have a stewardship to use money for positive purposes. Be respectful and responsible with how we spend and save. The truth is that money is not the root of all evil, the worship of money is. When we are not trapped by debt and instead live within our means, we can do great things with money and can realize how good our hearts can be. #money #budget #financialfriday https://expanding-excellence.com/f/improve-your-relationship-with-money

  One of the biggest challenges implementing Lean in any organization is getting buy-in. Employees fear that someone who thinks they are smarter is going to come in and tell them how to do their job when they have been doing it for 20 years. Or worse, they will no longer be needed once they share what they know. Those of us in the industry know that these fears are simply not valid. In fact, these employees are our best resources so they have a higher value to us. I have found that the garden hose method works better than the fire hose method when it comes to implementing Lean. Start with a small stream of information focusing on helping them do their job better. Are they frustrated that their tools are worn or missing? Is the technology outdated or slow? Have conversations with the subject matter experts and learn about the history of what they do, and the obstacles they have already overcome, and offer to help remove other obstacles for them so they can do their job better. ...

  Enterprise architecture is a beast of information on its own, so we will keep this definition high-level and simple. In Enterprise architecture the artifact refers to the documents that aid in decision-making, communication, and planning and can include policies, flowcharts, idea briefs, standard operating procedures, etc. Maybe we will tamper with them less and we can think of our documents as more precious if we consider them as artifacts.  #learning #leadership https://expanding-excellence.com/f/artifact

  It's "Tammy's Tiny Tip Tuesday" where I share bite-sized nuggets of information regarding time management, that are easy to digest. We will build on these small habits weekly. By now we are about 4 months into the year and have applied several time management tips so far. It is important to pause periodically to reflect and monitor your progress. Don't get caught up in perfection, just be better than you were. It is a journey so give yourself some grace and continue your hard work to improve your time management. #tinytiptuesday #timemanagement #productivity https://expanding-excellence.com/f/monitor-your-progress For my favorite planner go here: https://bit.ly/3G3YR4I

  I love this quote from John Updike. Dreams do come true; I am a living testament. In fact, so are many of my friends and family. I believe we are given dreams and visions for a reason. I believe our dreams teach us about ourselves and what is important to us. I believe that God speaks to us through our dreams, and we have a responsibility, even a stewardship to follow those dreams. I believe that dreams come in many sizes. We should never criticize anyone else's dreams because we don't know why it was put in their hearts. I believe we all have dreams because they come true, if not, we would not have them. #motivationalmonday #selfdevelopment #dreamscometrue https://expanding-excellence.com/f/dreams-come-true

  I have to share something crazy with you all that is especially useful if you have recently purchased a home. Did you know that making even 1 extra mortgage payment a year can significantly impact how much compound interest you pay over the lifetime of your mortgage? There are extra payment mortgage calculators available online to help you. A common misconception is that in order to make a difference, I need to pay a significant amount each month. The truth is that even $20 extra a month can make a big difference. One aggressive example is on a $320,000 mortgage financed for 30 years. By making an extra $500 per month payment the loan would be paid off in 17 years and 9 months (12 years and 3 months early!). And it saves over $210,000 in interest! Obviously, terms and conditions vary so you will want to plug in your information to get the most accurate calculations for your situation. Is the idea of making an extra $500 too much for you? Then start with $20 or $50 for now and wat...