It’s been a roller coaster week. My mom, Pat, and my dad’s cousin, Maxine, celebrated significant birthdays. These firecrackers are now 88 and 90 years young. They are two of the most significant women of my life. They have impacted my education, career choices, religious beliefs, service to community, dedication

Most people know I went to law school but not everyone knows I first graduated with a Broadcast Journalism degree. During that time, I was a DJ at Texas Tech’s radio station and a news intern at KAMC-TV, the ABC affiliate in Lubbock. If you promise not to laugh at

I am beyond thrilled to be named the Hall of Fame Speaker for this year’s HRSouthwest Conference. This honor was a surprise and is a very big deal to receive from a community I value you so much. My friends Julie Burch, President Julie Burch Speaks Randy Anderson, CSP and

We just returned from spending a week with our daughter and her husband in O’ahu. They live next to the Dole Plantation, near North Shore. Hawaii has gorgeous beaches, incredible views, and delicious food including fresh fruit and seafood. We saw breathtaking sunsets, exotic fish, and sea turtles. The weather

This has been a week of graduations and celebrations. Some of my negotiation students Andin Lac, Lotusie Nguyen and Jermmy Wilson competed in The University of Texas at Dallas capstone project competitions. Other UTD students graduated. Posts were filled with graduate school, university, and high school graduation ceremonies. There were

This week I was the guest on The Negotiation Center’s podcast hosted by negotiation expert Remi Smolinski, the Founder of The Negotiation Center. People are afraid to ask because it might bug the person they are asking.❓Are you this person?❓Do you know people who stop themselves from asking for what

Often we discuss determing the value of an item or a service. In my negotiation and dispute resolution classes at The University of Texas at Dallas, we focus on being of value to others in all our connecting and dealmaking. However, the experience with these students this past semester has

Who are your go-to people? You know, your friends who have your back and are there through the good times and bad? This digital age with several ways to connect can separate us, too. It saddens me to hear someone say they don’t have true friends. Here’s what I know

Were you watching the astronauts who were scheduled to return to earth after eight days, but were stuck in space for 278 days beyond what they had planned? It reminded me of the TV show Gilligan’s Island where the ship and its passengers are scheduled to go on a three-hour

There is a running joke between the Naveen Jindal School of Management, UT Dallas technical support team and me. As a new professor, I request and rely on their support quite a bit. And, good naturedly, they show up to correct whatever technical errors I’ve created. However, this back up

Last weekend, the National Speakers Association held its #Thrive Conference in Orlando. Hundreds of professional speakers gathered to learn business practices, stage presence, marketing and sales information and to be inspired from some of the best speakers in the world. This year has been incredibly busy, and I had competing

This week, our neighborhood experienced storms. High winds knocked out our electricity for two days. The storms damaged homes and trees were lost. We didn’t have the devestation of the fires in California or the flooding experienced in North Carolina. Ours was more inconvenience. We still had hot water thanks