Blog

  • Not just one of the girls

    Posted April 4, 2020
    Recently, a male CEO referenced his female staff as “the girls”. At the moment, I didn’t address the micro-aggression. I’ve reflected end decided to use this blog as an opportunity to unpack what happened and what I wish I had done differently. learn more »

  • Connect: It's what I do

    Posted February 18, 2020
    Because my background is varied, I often am asked, “What do you do now?” The short answer is; I help people connect to themselves, to others and to Earth. learn more »

  • Connecting to the Outdoors: Lessons from Roundtable

    Posted February 5, 2020
    We need outdoor connections because they are critical in creating stewards for tomorrow, outdoor communities across the state and health and wellbeing for everyone. learn more »

  • Renewed by Nature

    Posted December 19, 2019
    We are all a part of nature, whether we care to see it or not. learn more »

  • Raising with Resilience

    Posted December 5, 2019
    Resilence is key to recovering from adversity. learn more »

  • Gemeinschaftsgefühl: Building Community in the Workplace

    Posted November 15, 2019
    The building of community around purpose in the workplace is a difficult and rare feat but is possible. learn more »

  • Fighting for Personal Freedom

    Posted July 2, 2019
    This year’s freedom topic focused on personal and spiritual freedom. learn more »

  • Wellness Free Forum July 2018

    Posted July 2, 2019
    Living Free was the theme of last year's forum. learn more »

  • Go Beyond the “I Don’t Know”

    Posted May 14, 2019
    There is both power and danger to saying those three little words; “I don’t know”. Here’s a quick summary of the good and bad of saying this phrase. learn more »

  • Inviting Imperfection

    Posted March 29, 2019
    Let’s focus on the desire to live. I worry that a focus on suicide prevention leads to more suicide when unbalanced with the need to prevent perfectionism. I will provide a 3-step process to revise your thinking about perfection. learn more »

  • Cultivating Conversation

    Posted March 5, 2019
    It’s only been within fairly recent history that women have a say in how the farm is being managed. This change is a good thing and requires a major adjustment in communication. learn more »

  • Hunting: Embracing Embeddedness

    Posted January 4, 2019

    I’ve been searching for a way to challenge the hunting community to rethink how the activity is portrayed. There are random thoughts on notes posted in various places in Evernote, Trello, an outdoor notebook and on the notepad on my phone, but they never really came together until I… learn more »

  • No real darkness in nature

    Posted December 21, 2018

    I love when I can bring nature and its benefits into a conversation. As a budding Ecopsychologist, I’m finding it pretty easy to incorporate my love of the outdoors into every conversation, especially when it has to do with living well. In preparation for a Wellness Forum on Lightness… learn more »

  • Successful workplaces want you to give a f***

    Posted December 18, 2018
    Emotions affect how humans operate and inspire every action. Using specific examples, this post will unpack why withholding emotions could be holding progress back. learn more »

  • Closing a Meeting with Energy and Commitment

    Posted July 31, 2018
    When leaders aren't closing a meeting by reviewing accomplishments, addressing feelings and committing to next actions, meetings don't succeed. learn more »

  • A Professional Hunter in Africa - What's That Gig Like?

    Posted July 16, 2018
    Professional Hunter, a title some hunters assume due to their hunting prowess and success. But, it’s an earned title in Africa. On my recent 10-day hunt in South Africa, I meet some wonderful professional hunters – or “PH” as they’re called. A PH is required to accompany every foreign hunter there. learn more »

  • Leading Meetings: A Plan for Success

    Posted July 3, 2018

    Please, not another meeting! Photo by Bernard Hermant on Unsplash

    “Wasted time”, “Redundant”, “Nothing is accomplished” and “No clear purpose;” these phrases appeared on sticky notes after I’d asked participants to post a meeting complaint. The question was asked as a part of a facilitation training I conducted…

    learn more »

  • The Sounds (and Squirms) of Summer

    Posted June 7, 2018
    We are bonded by those special things in nature that each group enjoys. For our summer neighborhood, it is sunshine, the lake, the neighborhood lawn and yummy fish (caught with a few extra special worms). learn more »

  • Customers: Knowing is Growing

    Posted May 25, 2018

    Not knowing customers is messy business. Photo by Phad Pichetbovornkul on Unsplash

    You may be thinking; “Of course you know your customers or you wouldn’t be in business.” Now, if your business is consistently growing, you could be right. If growth isn’t happening, let me share some advice.…

    learn more »

  • Stress and Success: A Conflict Primer

    Posted April 13, 2018
    Prior to acting on a conflict, understand the basics of conflict and stress. Here are three pre-requisites to approaching conflict and why good facilitation of conflict matters. learn more »

  • Hunting for a New Perspective

    Posted April 5, 2018
    A women-centered authentic hunting movie that even the non-hunter will appreciate. It's a story that is long overdue in the telling. learn more »

  • Better meetings ahead

    Posted March 23, 2018
    Well-planned and well-facilitated meetings give energy and clarity. My most successful meetings have been where I’ve spent nearly as much time in planning as in the meeting itself. Positive meeting outcomes are achieved because of preparation and maintaining meeting tempo. learn more »

  • Carrots: Good for Your Eyes; Not Your Employee Motivation

    Posted March 15, 2018
    Do you ever ask yourself, “Why can’t I get my staff to [fill in the blank]? I used to be able to get them to do things fairly easily but now it’s so exhausting.” Consider that you might be practicing the “carrot and stick” method of motivation and influence. learn more »

  • What It Takes to be a Great Mentor: Part 2

    Posted March 11, 2018
    n Part 1 of my two-part series on what makes a good hunting mentor, I covered the need to discuss expectations, develop a relationship, positivity, and safety. Today, I’ll cover three more important aspects of mentorship if you are to succeed in becoming a great mentor to new people finding this challenging, yet exciting and healthy activity. learn more »

  • Evolve to Become Your Best Business

    Posted March 7, 2018
    Your typical customer of today will not be your typical customer of tomorrow in who they are or how they behave. Avoiding this reality will do you no good. But, it might give your competitors an advantage over you. learn more »

  • What It Takes to be a Great Mentor: Part 1

    Posted February 28, 2018
    A majority of hunters grow up “learning by osmosis”. I like to say; experiencing it throughout childhood with an experienced adult. For those of us without the fortune to grow up in such fashion, we have to find other options. This could be self-learning or guided learning, i.e. mentors. Here are the first four ways to become a great mentor. learn more »

  • Why is Mister Cool's Cool?

    Posted February 19, 2018

    How does a small, Main Street business compete for customers in our online, ever-connected and exaggeratedly competitive world? Every business needs to evolve with the times; so the answer isn’t easy but it is fairly simple. Let me use a recent suit purchase at my local men’s clothing store, … learn more »

  • Make Anavah Your Compass

    Posted February 14, 2018

    Original post appeared on LinkedIn September 18, 2017. Photo credit: Josh Bis on Flickr.

    People frequently ask me the meaning behind the name “Anavah Consulting,” and I address this question here because the answer reveals my approach to business. I found the word “Anavah” while reading one…

    learn more »

  • What does customer experience have to do with the outdoors? Everything!

    Posted February 6, 2018

    Credit: Shane Indrebo

    If you haven’t quite figured it out yet, we live in what some call “The Experience Economy.” Read the book with the same name, written by Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore and see if you agree. Then, just take a look around.…

    learn more »

  • Plan now for a successful 2018

    Posted December 19, 2017

    Working with small business for over fifteen years, I’ve seen the high level of resistance to planning. With so many day-to-day tasks to complete, taking time to plan ahead can be a daunting – seemingly impossible – idea. In an article I wrote for the November/December 2017 issue of Archery… learn more »

  • 3 ways to ensure the demise of your future archery range

    Posted December 19, 2017

    Some years ago I traveled to a small Minnesota town to check out a “new” archery range. This was before my work on the Archery Park Guide, a tool created to help communities navigate archery range development. The city’s existing range had to be moved and… learn more »