The Chief Operating

It turns out our President really likes working from home. In fact, according to David Axelrod, “Even as he is sober about these challenges, I have never seen him happier. The chance to be under the same roof with his kids, essentially to live over the store, to be able to see them wheneverhe wants, to wake up with them, have breakfast and dinner with them — that hasmade him a very happy man.”

As I work from my desk in my office in my house on the island of Martha's Vineyard, I can relate. I know I'm happier (and more productive) than I would be in an office. So, if the President can do it, what about you? Do you currently work from home or wish you could? How's it going?

I recently was blessed to have my fifth...yes #5...grandchild, and somehow it seems like a major milestone.  I have two biological sons (and 3 grown step children) and each produced two amazing children. And, that seemed to model my own life -- having two children. But, when my son, Rich, and wife, Lisa, had Griffin 8 weeks ago, that changed. I can't explain why, but having a fifth grandchild is making me rethink my work and life choices.  I've always worked, even when my children were small, and loved it ...and I still do. In some ways being a working grandmother is the best of all worlds. I pride myself on working toward the goal of feeling effective in my personal life and my career -- a daily challenge. I don't live close enough to see my children and grandchildren more that once a month, if that.  I know that's been hard for both sets of parents, as they don't have family close by to help with their busy lives.

I want to share another 'learning' from my training for the Avon Breast Cancer Walk. As I mentioned, getting ready to walk 26 miles in one day required a lot of time on the road. I found myself taking the same path every time I trained. After a while I wasn't even aware of my surroundings. I was on automatic pilot, just trying to get the miles in that I needed for training on a given day. Not unlike I can get in my day-to-day routine as I try to manage a hectic career and personal life.

The proposed  legislation provides a way to improve on what's already happening. Flexibility has been alive, but not necessarily 'well', in companies in the U.S. for decades. For the most part, companies have approached flexibility as an accommodation for a few  individuals who, once granted flexibility, were often seen as 'less than' or 'not committed' employees. However, research has shown that flexibility, when effectively implemented and managed, results in positive outcomes on a whole host of measures -- productivity, customer and employee  satisfaction and retention, reduced costs in terms of real estate and  turnover, and increased  shareholder value, among others -- while addressing the diverse career and  life cycle challenges of today's  talent. We can no longer afford to underutilize flexibility. The  proposed legislation encourages companies and  employees to openly embrace flexibility and leverage its true value as a powerful business  resource.

by Karol Rose, Chief Marketing Officer for FlexPaths
I've always been a walker, but I never thought when one my colleagues approached me 7 years ago about doing the Avon Breast Cancer Walk - 20 miles a day for 3 days - that there was even the remotest chance I would participate. Not only did it seem daunting to contemplate that distance, but you had to raise almost $2000 to do the walk (or pay it yourself). But, then I started thinking about all the women in my family - my mom, my sister, my first cousins, the mothers of my two daughter-in-laws - who had suffered with this disease, and I decided I needed to at least try. And, so I registered. I had no idea what I was getting myself into.