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The Planetary Peace Power and Prosperity Legacy Foundation

Where Dialogue Meets Action: The Work of the Planetary Peace, Power, and Prosperity Legacy Foundation

The forces that shape human interaction aren’t always loud or visible. They’re often made of meaning—the stories people carry with them, the assumptions they come to treat as fact, the words that can turn a passing moment into a rupture. Entire relationships, institutions, and communities can pivot on language, on what is said, what is assumed, and what goes unspoken. For some educators, leaders, and organizers, the work begins there, not with policy or infrastructure, but with the dynamics of perception itself.

at&t

Thousands of AT&T Customers Report Phone Service Outages Across America

On Thursday morning, a large portion of AT&T’s customer base in the US experienced a network outage, rendering them unable to use the internet or make and receive calls.

Among the more than 74,000 reported outages as of 9 am, the top cities experiencing problems were Houston, Dallas, Los Angeles, and Atlanta, according to the tracking site Downdetector.

While some Verizon and T-Mobile customers also experienced outages, the companies stated that those affected were likely attempting to reach AT&T users. As of 7 am, 3,000 Verizon outages and 1,100 T-Mobile outages were reported by customers. Verizon told CNN, “Verizon’s network is operating normally.”

“Some customers experienced issues this morning when calling or texting with customers served by another carrier. We are continuing to monitor the situation.”

AT&T acknowledged the outages in a statement but did not specify why the system failed.

 “Some of our customers are experiencing wireless service interruptions this morning. We are working urgently to restore service to them. We encourage the use of Wi-Fi calling until service is restored.”

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The company did not provide a timeline for when the system would be completely restored, but it did say that portions of the network are starting to recover. AT&T has been directing people to contact customer service via direct message in their online responses to customer complaints.

According to CNN, an anonymous source in the industry said that the problem seems to be associated with the way cellular services hand off calls from one network to another, a process called peering. The source also stated there is currently no evidence to believe that a cyberattack caused the widespread outages.

A significant concern is that due to the outages, some individuals might be unable to reach emergency services by dialing 911.

On X, San Francisco’s Fire Department told users they were aware of the issue and the trouble it posed for people in crisis.

“We are aware of an issue impacting AT&T wireless customers from making and receiving any phone calls (including to 911). We are actively engaged and monitoring this. The San Francisco 911 center is still operational. If you are an AT&T customer and cannot get through to 911, then please try calling from a landline. If that is not an option, then please try to get ahold of a friend or family member who is a customer of a different carrier and ask them to call 911 on your behalf.”

Officials from emergency services nationwide, including Ohio, Michigan, West Virginia, and Georgia, have stated that the outage is affecting their operations. Many of the departments advised relying on Wi-Fi for calls.

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On Thursday morning, members of the New York Police Department informed CNN that their AT&T phones could not make or receive calls or emails unless they were connected to Wi-Fi.

Officials from emergency services, such as those from The Massachusetts State Police, also told residents not to test their service by placing 911 calls.

“Many 911 centers in the state are getting flooded w/ calls from people trying to see if 911 works from their cell phone. Please do not do this. If you can successfully place a non-emergency call to another number via your cell service, then your 911 service will also work.”

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens released a statement saying the city is gathering more information to address the outages adequately.

“Atlanta’s e-911 is able to receive inbound and make outbound calls. We have received calls from AT&T customers that their cellular phones are in SOS mode.”

The company’s FirstNet network is still up and running, according to an AT&T representative. As a more robust network than AT&T’s commercial network, FirstNet offers coverage for police, fire departments, and first responders during national disasters.

satellite

Former Disney Star Bridget Mendler Is Launching A Satellite Data Startup 

Former Disney star Bridget Mendler, known for appearing in programs like “Good Luck Charlie,” “The Clique,” “Lemonade Mouth,” and more, is not embarking on a new venture that will change how satellite data moves from space back down to Earth. 

Mendler has spent the past several years gaining various degrees and studying at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as well as Harvard Law School. Mendler spoke to CNBC about her new career in the space industry as CEO of Northwood Space, a startup based in El Segundo, California. She began this journey after “falling in love with Space law” throughout her educational journey. 

“The vision is a data highway between Earth and space. Space is getting easier along so many different dimensions but still the actual exercise of sending data to and from space is difficult. You have difficulty finding an access point for contacting your satellite.”

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According to Mendler, Northwood will mass produce ground stations, which are normally large with circular antennas that connect to satellites in space. 

Northwood is also already attracting high-profile venture investors with around $6 million in initial funding. Some of these investors include the Founders Fund. Andreessen Horowitz, and Also Capital. 

Besides Mendler, Northwood has two other co-founders, the startups Chief Technology Officer, and her husband Griffin Cleverly, as well as head of software Shaurya Luthra. 

Mendler told CNBC that the name “Northwood” comes from a lake in New Hampshire, where she was with her family during the Covid-19 pandemic when the idea for the company came to her. 

“While everybody else was making their sourdough starters, we were building antennas out of random crap we could find at Home Depot … and receiving data from [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration] satellites.”

“For me, why the ground-side matters is because it actually is about bringing the impacts of space home to people,” Mendler said.

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Cleverly told the news outlet that the general growth of the space industry proves that there is a “colossal” amount of data currently trying to travel back to Earth from various satellites. 

“We need an approach so that those companies can get the data down reliably in the quantities that they need,” Cleverly said. 

Northwood is working to start their initial operations quickly. They want to build ground stations with fast production and deployment flexibility as the priority, according to Luthra, who also said that they want to deliver these ground stations “within days, not months.” Luthra explained that this will make it easier for current satellite operators to avoid reconfiguring their networks. 

“If you want a detected antenna, you have to wait 18 months to get the antenna delivered, installed, and built out for you,” said Luthra. 

Northwood will also be reaching out to services who don’t want to spend the money to build their own ground station networks. 

“Traditionally, when I wanted an antenna or site to use, I would first have to ask, ‘Do you have availability, or is it already rented out to everyone else in the world?’ A lot of times very key sites were already rented out,” Luthra said.

Northwood is aiming to conduct their first connection test with a spacecraft currently in orbit later this year.

iphone

First-generation iPhone Set to Sell for $50,000 at Auction

An unopened, factory-sealed 2007 first-generation iPhone went up for auction on Thursday. It is estimated to be worth around $50,000.

The owner of the phone, cosmetic tattoo artist Karen Green, appeared on the daytime television program “The Doctor & The Diva” in 2019 and said she was gifted the iPhone around its release but never broke the seal. At the time, she was happy with her current device. An appraiser on the show valued the phone at $5,000 at the time.

LCG Auctions listed Green’s phone with an opening bid of $2,500. In October 2022, another first-generation iPhone was auctioned off for over $39,000. The listing says the phone is almost 16 years old.

“The phone presents magnificently, showcasing sharp corners front and back, rich color, and ‘case fresh’ features.  The labels on the reverse are pristine beneath the seal, and shelf wear is minimal.  This is the first original iPhone in acceptable condition to hit the auction block since the record-breaking sale in October.  A truly remarkable piece with great appeal to both collectors and investors alike.”

The first Apple iPhone originally sold for $599 and offered a 3.5-inch screen, 2-megapixel camera, 4GB or 8GB of storage, internet access and iTunes. There was no app store, and it could only be used on AT&T’s 2G network. Despite its limitations, it was groundbreaking and was named Time’s Invention of the Year in 2007.

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Lev Grossman, the writer of the Time magazine article that awarded the phone with that title, accurately predicted that the iPhone would continue to rise in popularity for years to come.

“The iPhone has sold enough units—more than 1.4 million at press time—that it’ll be around for a while, and with all that room to develop and its infinitely updatable, all-software interface, the iPhone is built to evolve. Look at the iPod of six years ago. That monochrome interface! That clunky touch wheel! It looks like something a caveman whittled from a piece of flint using another piece of flint. Now imagine something that’s going to make the iPhone look that primitive. You’ll have one in a few years. It’ll be very cool. And it’ll be even cheaper.”

The introduction of the iPhone and smartphones more broadly altered so many facets of modern daily life. Technology has changed how we interact with one another socially and professionally. Many companies saw their popularity decline due to the rise of smartphones; this included manufacturers of camcorders, MP3 players, flip phones, and other portable electronic devices. However, the iPhone simultaneously spawned other businesses and startups.

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At the 2007 Macworld expo, former Apple co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs began his keynote address with the words, “We’re going to make some history together today.” Jobs promised the attendees that the new smartphone was a “revolutionary mobile phone” that would include an iPod and would be able to communicate with the internet. The ability to use a phone as a full-fledged internet browser was a game-changer.

Of all the smartphones offered today, Apple’s iPhone still holds the largest share of the market at 28.43%. Unsurprisingly, some collectors want the original iPhone that ushered in a new era of communication and discovery.

The auction will be open until February 19 for bidders.

Scientists Develop The World’s Thinnest Electronic Device

Scientists have developed the world’s thinnest piece of technology in a tiny device that’s as thick as two atoms stacked on top of each other. The device is meant to be used to store electronic information. 

The device itself consists of two different layers, one made of boron and the other nitrogen. The two layers are arranged in a repeating hexagonal structure, and scientists explained that because the device uses a process called quantum tunneling, electrons from both layers are able to zip through the gaps that are created and thus encode digital information. 

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According to Livescience magazine, “this is similar to the way current state-of-the-art computing devices work. The hearts of computers contain many tiny crystals, each consisting of roughly a million atoms stacked in multiple, 100-atom layers.” 

“By shuttling electrons across gaps between the layers, computers are able to switch between the two binary states (0 and 1) that form the basis of the basic unit of digital information, the bit.”

“In its natural three-dimensional state, this material (the crystal) is made up of a large number of layers placed on top of each other, with each layer rotated 180 degrees relative to its neighbors. In the lab, we were able to artificially stack the layers in a parallel configuration with no rotation, which hypothetically places atoms of the same kind in perfect overlap despite the strong repulsive force between them (resulting from their identical charges),” Moshe Ben Shalom, a physicist at Tel Aviv University and a co-author of the study that developed the new technology, said in a statement.

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The process of quantum tunneling, according to Shalom, allows electrons to pass through seemingly impassable barriers. In this case with this device, the electrons passing in between the boron and nitrogen layers create a charge that allows information to be stored on the device itself. 

The team said that “the two layers do not perfectly align, instead preferring to slide slightly off center from one another so that the opposite charges of each layer overlap. This causes the free electrons (negatively charged) to move toward one layer and the positively charged atomic nuclei to the other, creating a small amount of electronic polarization — one side being positively charged and the other negatively charged — inside the device. 

“By adjusting how one layer relates to the other, the polarization can be reversed — changing the device from one binary state to the other, and with it the stored information.”

So what exactly is the purpose of a device that’s so thin? The scientists behind the technology claim that the faster electrons are able to move in a given plane, the faster a device will likely go. So a device with minimal density would allow electrons to move at a quicker rate, and thus create a more energy efficient device. 

“We hope that miniaturization and flipping (the polarization of the device) through sliding will improve today’s electronic devices, and moreover, allow other original ways of controlling information in future devices,” lead author Maayan Vizner Stern, a doctoral candidate at Tel Aviv University, said in the statement.

Hundreds Arrested In Global FBI Sting Operation Using Undercover Messaging App 

Law enforcement agencies announced this week that hundreds of criminal gangs around the world have been divulging plans to move large drug shipments and carry out killings on a messaging app that was secretly being run by the FBI. The agency said that this was a “global sting operation that dealt an unprecedented blow to organized crime in countries around the world.”

The mission itself was known as operation Trojan Shield and led police to gangs in 16 nations. Over 800 suspects have now been arrested and over 32 tons of drugs were seized; including cannabis, cocaine, amphetamines, and methamphetamines. Additionally, 250 firearms, 55 luxury cars, and more than $148 million in cash and cryptocurrency were seized. 

The operation initially started when law enforcement shut down EncroChat and Sky ECC, two encrypted platforms that were known for being used by criminals to communicate without worry of outside interference. 

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After these lines of communication were cut, the FBI developed their own covert app called ANOM that was installed onto modified phones. Over the past 18 months the FBI has been secretly providing phones using an unsuspecting middleman that infiltrated over 300 gangs operating in more than 100 countries. 

Calvin Shivers, assistant director of the FBI’s Criminal Investigation Division, spoke at a news conference this week about the major operation. 

“Intelligence gathered and analyzed using this app enabled us to prevent murders. It led to the seizure of weapons and it helped prevent a number of crimes. The operation dealt with an unprecedented blow to criminal networks worldwide.”

“There was a void that was created by a lack of these encrypted platforms. So that created an opportunity for collaboration with our international partners, to not only develop the specific tool but also to develop the process of gathering the intelligence and disseminating the intelligence,” Shivers explained. 

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“The ANOM app became popular in criminal circles as users told one another it was safe. Meanwhile, the police were looking over their shoulders the whole time.”

According to a statement from Linda Staaf, the head of Sweden’s national criminal intelligence unit, “Swedish police prevented dozens of planned killings and have arrested what we believe to be leading actors in criminal networks.”

Finnish police reported that they have detained about 100 people and more than half a ton of confiscated drugs, along with hundreds of illegally owned guns and cash. German prosecutors reported more than 70 arrests in connection to the sting. 

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison told reporters the nation’s authorities “arrested 224 people and seized more than four tons of drugs and $35 million. Today, the Australian government, as part of a global operation, has struck a heavy blow against organized crime. Not just in this country, but one that will echo around organized crime around the world.”

“The success of Operation Trojan Shield is a result of tremendous innovation, dedication and unprecedented international collaboration. And the results are staggering,” Shivers proclaimed.

Post Pandemic Office

Creating A Positive Work Culture For Employees Going Back To The Office

As states throughout the US begin to reopen and employees return to their office jobs, employers are faced with the task of transitioning their staff back into office life while also keeping general morale up amid a worldwide pandemic. Work environments in general are not going to look the same for a while, but companies shouldn’t be aiming to return to complete normalcy until the rest of the world does the same anyway. It’s important to be lenient with your employees and allow them to have a solid adjustment period. 

Before returning to the office, it’s imperative to create a plan of action on how to handle the coming months and what needs to get done in person, and what can maybe continue to be done remotely. This is where the adjustment period comes into play. Give your employees who have job titles that really don’t require any sort of in-person interaction the option to continue working from home for now if they feel more comfortable with that. Or, suggest having certain employees come into the office one or two days a week as opposed to all five. Things like that will not only make your employees feel more comfortable, but will also strengthen the workplace bond between you and your staff, as they know that you really do have everyone’s health and safety as the top priority; which should be everyone’s top priority. 

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Bringing your staff back to work is obviously going to be a step-by-step process, hence the importance of writing out a literal step-by-step guide for returning to the office. Some ideas for specific topics you should cover in your new guidelines should include information on clocking in and out, break room/cafeteria activity, office layout, hand washing/sanitizer stations, any hygienic precautions your office will be taking, and information regarding scheduling; as previously mentioned. 

“Instead of forcing everyone back into the office at once, [I] recommend a partial return where individual departments come in one or two at a time. Another option would be having employees or departments alternating days between working from home and being in the office. Despite what many employers previously believed, remote work has been proven it can be done. Therefore, employers shouldn’t feel rushed to bring their employees back into the office. It’s best to err on the side of caution and phase employees back in until the CDC informs businesses otherwise,” said Monica Eaton-Cardone, co-founder and COO of Chargebacks911.

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Communication is already one of the most essential elements to a healthy and happy workplace, but especially now when everything in the world is so uncertain, it’s important to be as clear and communicative with your employees as possible. Give them updates as you receive them so they feel involved, informed, and like an important member of the team. 

Also ensure trust and empathy in your employees, and make it clear that you understand these are some of the hardest times in all of our lives and that you’re all in this together. Don’t put all the pressure on yourself, as the leader, to be the main source of comfort for your employees, but instead create a sense of comradery that lets your workers know we can all help each other as we continue to navigate this pandemic. 

“This is an opportunity to embrace the blending of our already blended work-life balance and provide the worker with more control over their time-where trust is given and trust is returned. If an employee needs to work at home longer or a few days a week, employers should be understanding and willing to accommodate those needs,” said Troy McAlpin, CEO of xMatters

The main takeaway here is to be compassionate and communicative with your employees the same way you would want your employer to do so. We’re all struggling and scared of what’s going to happen next, but we’re also all strong-willed and hard-working individuals who will make it out on the other side of this much stronger individuals (feel free to use that on your employees).

Business People Working Together

The Key To Excelling At Work? Self-Compassion

Our relationships with ourselves are complex and vast. It’s the longest relationship we’ll ever endure here on Earth, so it’s important to make sure it’s a healthy one. In a modern world of social media standards, reduced attention spans, and systemic pressures to be successful, it can be tough to be nice to ourselves, especially at work. However, the way we treat ourselves can have intense effects on the way we run our everyday lives, and how well we perform our jobs/daily tasks.  

Modern workplaces can be extremely discouraging in terms of self-love, especially in a corporate office environment. When working with so many individuals of all different ranks and roles within a particular company, it’s easy to compare yourself to how efficiently and well you’re working versus your counterparts. Any slight shortcoming can feel like a major failure when those around you are exceeding, especially if it’s a new job. 

Regardless of how long you’ve been working in a particular field, mistakes will always happen. It should go without saying that we’re all human and deserve to cut ourselves some slack, however, so many of us overlook this crucial part of living a happy and fulfilled life. Don’t ever compare yourself to those who have been working in your field for longer than you have. They have more experience with the ins and outs of not only the job itself, but the particular company you’re working at. Every place of business has a particular way of running things, so when you mess up on a logistical issue specific to that company’s environment, give yourself a break. 

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“The practice of being self-compassionate [is] treating yourself with the same type of kind, caring support and understanding that you would show to anyone you cared about,” said Psychologist and researcher Dr. Kristin Neff.

In fact, showing yourself some compassion is what leads to fewer mistakes occurring while in the workplace. When you’re so focused on not messing something up, you’re more likely to actually mess it up because you’re fixated on a possibility, and not the reality of the task at hand. So simplify it; when given a task, lay out the process in front of you, visually. Write out some steps or bullet points if that’s what will help, and if there’s lack of clarity within those steps, ask a trusted co-worker or mentor for guidance. 

You should never be afraid to ask for help with anything. Healthy means of communication is a necessity for any type of relationship, especially at work. You should be able to trust those around you to help when you ask, and they should expect the same of you. Be preemptive as well, for example, if you’re nervous that something you’re writing in an email isn’t specific enough, ask a supervisor or co-worker before you hit send, instead of being too nervous to ask for help. No one wants to see you fail, we often get so caught up in our own thoughts that we forget humans are compassionate and want to help us, so instead we remain quiet, which can lead to even more mistakes.

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Having the confidence to ask for clarification on something should be your main goal. One of the biggest issues that we all face when it comes to self-confidence in the workplace is assuming that everyone wants the worst for you and won’t want to help. No matter what level you’re at or how long you’ve been working in a particular office, someone else there has been in the exact same position as you, and will have no problem clarifying something they also found confusing when they were in your position. If you’re in a hostile work environment that doesn’t feel like a safe space to ask questions, talk to someone in human resources as to why that is. Everyone deserves the right to succeed and feel safe enough to ask a question. 

Accept the fact that you don’t know everything and won’t have all the answers. It sounds simple, but if you go into a meeting confident that you know your stuff, but not everything, you’ll be more ready to speak up for yourself when you become confused. The people you work with will see when you’re genuinely trying to understand, which should make that line of communication a lot stronger. 

The reality is, when we’re kinder to ourselves and exude self-compassion, our work feels the effect and we’re more likely to excel. Remember that everyone is just trying to do their best, and regardless of how much any of us try, our best will never be perfection, and it shouldn’t be, so don’t expect it to. 

Social Media

Social Media has Become an Essential Part of Any Real Estate Business

There’s no doubt that, for better or for worse, the explosion in popularity of social media has fundamentally transformed the way that human beings communicate with each other and conduct business, and the real estate industry is no exception to this rule. As such, a strong social media presence is absolutely necessary for any real estate enterprise in the modern era, and given the high level of competition, it can be difficult to figure out how to leverage social media to stand out from the crowd. As such, it is instructive to understand the various ways in which social media impacts the real estate market, as this serves as a guide for determining how best to manage social media accounts. No matter where you are in the world, your customers almost certainly use social media avidly, even when they are looking to buy homes or other properties. As such, this article will outline some of the key factors that separate a successful social media campaign from a failed one when it comes to real estate.

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Of course, one of the most important elements of a successful real estate business is marketing, and in the modern era social media provides perhaps the best vehicle for getting the word out about your real estate business. As homebuyers are more likely than ever to use the Internet to find their next home, it’s important to leverage this medium as a marketing opportunity. In a crowded and competitive business environment, it’s important to publish frequent social media posts, which combine quality content that is likely to engage readers with information about your brand to spread the word about your professional services. An essential component of this strategy is understanding your audience and tailoring your content to this target group; fortunately, most if not all major social media platforms provide businesses with analytical tools that offer insights about how your audience is engaging with your content, which you can use as a base for determining what direction to take your social media presence.

Additionally, social media is well known for its ability to help individuals network, both in a personal and a professional capacity. Indeed, social media companies thrive by taking advantage of the natural human desire to connect with other people by leveraging technology to optimize and streamline this process. As such, you should view the social media component of your business not only as a marketing tool but as the foundation of your professional network. Platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn can be used not only to generate new leads, but to re-engage former customers by reaching out directly to them. Networking is also useful in the sense that it allows business owners to monitor the behaviors of their competitors, cluing them in to business trends and news and helping them to keep up with the competition.

As time passes, a generation of digital natives, who use social media as one of their primary means of communication, will become the prime home buying demographic.

Of course, any successful social media campaign will be incorporated deeply into one’s business model, but it shouldn’t be the only vehicle for outreach and marketing. Indeed, traditional marketing strategies like online advertisements can be combined with social media to optimize a business’s marketing efforts. Short videos can be shared on the web both directly in the form of ads like YouTube “pre-rolls” and posted on multiple social media accounts simultaneously, and there exist many useful software tools to streamline this process. One of the benefits of advertising via social media is that social media posts don’t require a substantial financial investment in the form of paying another company for advertising space; however, this traditional method of advertising is useful for reaching out to people who otherwise would not have learned about your business.

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Finally, social media can be used to drive traffic to your website, thus increasing the likelihood of winning clients. Quality social media posts will be shared organically by their audience, and assuming these posts direct viewers towards your website, viral posts can offer a tremendous benefit. This is why ensuring that social media posts maintain a high quality is essential, as accounts that churn out low-quality content are likely to be ignored and regarded as spam, at worst turning off potential clients. Another way to ensure that posts are more likely to be shared is by incorporating SEO friendly terminology, ensuring that posts show up more readily in search engine results.

As time passes, a generation of digital natives, who use social media as one of their primary means of communication, will become the prime home buying demographic. As such, it is becoming increasingly essential to master this form of communication with potential clients and competitors. Doing so could be the key to success in a rapidly evolving information landscape.

People Working

How To Create A Workplace Culture Of Learning And Growth

Workplace culture is extremely important from any perspective. According to Forbes Magazine, no matter what kind of workplace you’re either running or a part of, creating a space for constant learning and growth from one another is the recipe for the most success. When you go into a job and view the environment as one where everyone has an open line of communication with one another, you’re less likely to feel negatively towards that job. It’s up to employers to create this sort of workplace energy, luckily it’s not that hard to let your employees know that their voices matter. 

Forbes reports that seeking input for company projects, especially in their initial stages, from any and all employee’s will help create an environment of open discussion and learning. Learning from one another is a huge key in the success of any business. Having monthly check in meetings with an entire staff about areas in which the company can improve will allow for the group to build off one another and where they all agree more work needs to be done. These check in meetings should also allot time for employees to share what’s working well, and successful aspects of the business. This not only can inspire different branches to learn from one another, and what skills or tools they can adopt from each other, but will also allow employees and employers to praise one another on a job well done. Hearing that validation, no matter how small, will surprisingly increase overall motivation to keep up the good work, and also inspire others to aim to reach that same level of success. 

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According to Forbes, incorporating real-world experiences and stories into work related conflicts, or projects can help employee’s brainstorm and learn from each others past. Lindsay Tanne, the CEO of LogicPrep, an education company that helps families navigate the college admissions landscape, wrote with Forbes about how her and her employee’s like to bring in their real life experiences from on the job and outside of work to help each other learn from one another. 

“We’ve found that incorporating real-world experience and discussing actual case studies helps participants to see the immediate relevance of the discussion. In a recent session, I actually asked our college consultants to bring current student files to the table so they could learn from one another and immediately apply the lessons to their students. In order to make this happen, especially in a service business, I like to encourage my team members to think about the most formative client experiences they’ve had and bring them to the group.”

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If you want to learn from your employee’s or employer or just want to create a workplace in which everyone is constantly learning from each other, the best way to do that is to just straight up ask. Ask your employee’s for feedback on a completed project and what they thought about their role in it. Ask where they felt everyone could’ve improved, and what worked the best. If you’re an employer, it’s important that the people who work for you respect your authority and position, but are never afraid to approach you with questions or even critics on how something is running.

As previously stated, creating an environment for open communication will lead to the most success because everyone feels comfortable enough to work with one another and state their discrepancies if they have any. Success is the general goal for everyone, regardless of position or title. Going out of your way to ask each other for feedback, experience, ideas, and new ways of function are the keys to learning and growing with each other as a company.