Leadership Training

The following employee testimonial has been provided courtesy of MGM Mirage as a follow-up to our interview with Cynthia Kiser Murphey, Senior Vice President of Human Resources.

“I wouldn’t be sitting here today if it wasn’t for MGM MIRAGE,” said Nona Pollard, Employee Relations Specialist at Luxor. Nona has congestive heart failure, a condition in which the heart does not pump enough blood to the body’s other organs.

After losing her mother and sister to heart-related issues, suffering from high blood pressure, and being hospitalized four times, Nona was convinced she wouldn’t live long enough to raise her two children and her sister’s two children. But while previously working at Mandalay Bay, the property introduced the Healthy Living program.

Taking charge of her life, Nona began following the Healthy Living program by eating at least five servings of fruits or vegetables daily, wearing a pedometer to track her daily steps, and closely monitoring her blood pressure and fluid intake. When her doctor asked what she had done to lose 60 pounds, Nona said “Healthy Living.”

Nona also manages other medical conditions, but is a perfect example of someone who is achieving the state of wellness. She has found balance in her life, despite facing health challenges that previously seemed insurmountable.

To her, it is much simpler: “I just try to live right.” And as if to prove her point to others, Nona was recognized with the Warriorship Award in her Diversity Champion Workshop for her integrity, impeccability, outrageousness and personal power. Congratulations Nona!

MGM Mirage, Nona Pollard, Healthy Living, employee testimonial

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall.”

- Confucius (551 BC – 479 BC)

Leadership, Motivational Quotes, Confucius

Cynthia Kiser Murphey is the Senior Vice President of Human Resources for MGM MIRAGE, one of the world’s leading and most respected hotel and gaming companies. MGM MIRAGE employs over 68,000 employees worldwide, and is the largest corporate employer in the state of Nevada. The Company’s 17 destinations are renowned for a winning combination of quality entertainment, luxurious facilities and exceptional customer service.

• Can you give us some insight on what a typical day for you at MGM MIRAGE consists of? What are some of your daily challenges and deliverables?

One of the exciting things about HR is that there really is not a ‘typical day’! We have a very, very dynamic organization; growing rapidly, changing rapidly, and we’re very much in the people business. So our days are about us being out in our properties, and out in the community, trying to have as many face-to-face interactions with people as we can. At the same time, when necessary we utilize technology to have audio and video conference calls. Either way, we need to be communicating with our employees and our properties as much as possible. So no two days are alike, and that’s what makes my position so interesting and challenging as well!

Especially at this time of year; there are some days I need to be at four different properties in one day. That’s when I take comfort in the fact that I work for such a great company with awesome people!

From an HR perspective, the last few years have been all about growing our company. The company has doubled in size twice in the last seven years, with the merger first in 2000 with Mirage Resorts and then the 2005 merger with Mandalay Resort Group, so you can imagine what type of activity that creates, and what kind of new planning initiatives that requires. We are constantly learning, and constantly meeting and communicating with people to put proposals together that meet our growing needs.

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Are you based in the Los Angeles or Washington D.C. area? Are you a human resources professional, or work for a Fortune 1000 company? Would you like to sample a proven presentation and communication skills training curriculum for FREE? Well now’s your chance!

Pinnacle Performance Company is conducting two half-day Communication and Presentation Skills for Leaders Workshops in the next two months. One will be held in Washington D.C. on August 23, 2007, the second in Los Angeles on September 21st, 2007. Both sessions will run from 9:00 a.m to 1:00 p.m, and both are FREE to qualified readers of Leadership Training!

These interactive, fast faced, energetic, and FUN workshops are a fantastic opportunity to sample Pinnacle Performance’s truly innovative training! Find out why companies like Oracle, Walgreen’s, Kodak, Capgemini and Health Net have sent thousands of their employees through this acclaimed program.

To request an invitation to this workshop, email bmcneany@pinper.com
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To request an invitation to this workshop, email info@pinper.com

Pinnacle Performance, Free Pilot Workshop, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Presentation Skills, Communications Skills, Training

Is it hard for you to remember the last time you took longer than one week off from your job? Are you afraid of losing your job seniority or relevance if you take an extended leave? Are you starting to get burnt out because you continue to stay at your post? If so, you’re not alone…

A recent article by Maggie Jackson highlights several career minded individuals who are “veteran vacation-skippers”. Take Chris Oldham, for example:

“I’ve had plane tickets purchased, family plans made, and two days before I leave, I’ll cancel,” says Oldham, executive vice president at J.M. Coull Inc., a Maynard construction firm, who gets three weeks annual vacation plus about a half-dozen paid holidays. “It’s a way of life.”

According to a survey published in April by the New York staffing firm Hudson, 56 percent of U.S. workers don’t use up all their allocated vacation. Furthermore, 30 percent say they take less than half the time off owed to them.

Are you one of those people? My advice is to MAKE TIME for yourself, and take at least one week a year to go off on a trip that recharges and refreshes you. It doesn’t matter if you work 70 hours a week or 30, or if you love your job or can’t stand it. Regardless, it’s always a good idea to take time out to step back and enjoy some time away from work!

vacation, skipping, Maggie Jackson, Boston Globe