How many excuses do we use on a daily basis without thinking about them? How do these excuses limit our (personal and) professional growth and that of our organizations? In his most recent book, Excuses Begone, self-help guru and motivational speaker Dr. Wayne Dyer lists 18 common excuses that people use to rationalize not taking action or striving to improve their lives. While the excuses were written primarily to reflect personal mental roadblocks, they are just as apt in regard to professional, organizational, and career roadblocks—i.e., defeatist thinking that causes organizations, managers, and individuals to flounder rather than thrive.

Q: A teacher recently shared with a colleague that she rarely eats more than one meal per day due to allergies, generally feels unwell, and sometimes "binges." The colleague responded that, as a matter of health and safety, she felt she was obligated to inform me (Head of School). When I spoke with the employee, I encouraged her to seek the support and help she needed. The teacher said she would consult with a nutritionist. I said that I would like to follow up with her once she has a plan in place. Before I knew this information, I had already decided that I was not going to rehire this employee. She has received two warnings in which the need for improvement was clearly articulated. However, I never specifically said that her job was in jeopardy. Now that I am aware of a health concern, are there legal implications? If she requests a medical leave, must it be granted?

For the past several years, it has seemed as though the Department of Labor issued a press release once a month touting its hiring of more “wage and hour” investigators and promising to go after employers who fail to pay nonexempt employees overtime pay. We’ve been mentioning this in our workshops for quite a while now, and it has been going on long enough that it isn’t news. However, on the radio the other day that was a new occurrence.

Attention Business Managers: ISM and NBOA’s extended partnership can help your school save 10% off your in-force LTD and AD&D insurance plans. If you’re a NBOA member school, you might have seen the letter that was mailed out on February 9, 2011, from Jeff Shields and Roxanne Higgins announcing the extended partnership along with the details. If you missed it, here are the highlights.

(Editorial) ISM Staff A few weekends ago, I was in yoga class taking those few minutes before we began our sun salutations to try to find my center, when I couldn’t help but overhear two teachers chatting about their approaching in-service days. One of the women was excited—genuinely excited. Although I should have been focusing on zoning all external noise out, her excitement captivated me. I have friends who teach, several who teach for private schools around the Philadelphia area. I can’t recall any of them ever talking with excitement about an upcoming in-service day. In fact, I can’t remember too many positive conversations around their in-service days at all. They typically refer to them as “info-cram days,” often without focus and rarely with a plan to follow-up what they’ve accomplished for the day.

“Thank you.” Those are powerful words, particularly when you are thanking a donor for supporting your school, no matter what the size of the gift. Thank yous are an integral part of donor cultivation, and will help keep your donors in your school family. The University of Connecticut Foundation recently e-mailed a special thank you to its supporters, which Director of Annual Giving Karen Santasiere shared on the CASE Advancement listserv.

This month, ISM Development Consultant Paula Schwartz and Adjunct Development Consultant Michael Christopher, Assistant Headmaster-School Advancement at Lausanne Collegiate School (TN), tackle the following question submitted by an e-Letter reader. Q: I am trying to figure out (and defend!) the size of my staff based on metrics. For an organization over 125 years old that has only 350 students, and also has nearly 6,000 alumnae and 4,000 other constituents including parents, past parents, parents of alumnae, Trustees, past Trustees, vendors, grandparents, etc., what size Advancement Office is “typical?” With three full-time professional staff and one support person, who have all only been here less than a year, we currently raise about $370,000 but the Board seems to think we can and should raise closer to $555,000. Is there any guide about office structure and size relating to fund-raising yield?

It’s a game that seems too stodgy, stiff, and complicated. Dare we say geeky? In this age, when kids are tuned into electronics and love zapping aliens in fast-action video games, can chess, an old-world strategy game that requires measured, thoughtful action for success, resonate in schools? Does it help the game’s image that Harry Potter and Ron Weasley had to make all the right moves on a magical chessboard to get out of the Chamber of Secrets in one piece?

Would you know where your classes would be conducted if a disaster struck your school? Having a risk management plan that incorporates a business continuation protocol addressing this question is critical to your school’s present and future. However, many schools (especially smaller campuses), are operating with expired or untested emergency manuals.

Teachers are all over Twitter. They’re tweeting to their students articles of interest, to friends notes about their favorite sports team, and to the Twitter world in large anything and everything. So, where are all the school administrators? If you’re already out there, follow us. We’re looking for private-independent school administrators tweeting the latest and greatest about their schools, their goals, and their articles of interest. If you’re not on Twitter yet, read on for how to get to started.