Alloy Solutions Leadership Blog

Leadership Lessons from a Newborn Baby, by Haley Hansen

Just a few short weeks ago, our family got a little bit bigger as we welcomed Mackenzie Hansen into the world. We were blessed with a healthy, happy little girl who has brought great joy to our home. Two months later, it amazes me how much this tiny little human can teach me. Here are just a few leadership principles Mackenzie has helped me realize in her first few weeks on the job:

1. Rest is Refueling

Any parent can relate to this. If you have ever cared for an over-tired child, you know how they can reach new levels of emotional distress. And the more upset they become, the more they resist the call of sleep. This cycle can be hard to break, and an absolute nightmare for anyone around when it is happening. While it's easier to spot in an infant, I found that the same principle holds true for me. Even though I don't always need to be sleeping to get some rest, taking time for myself can offer similar relief. Already, I have...

Harnessing Moments to Create Experiences, by Haley Hansen

What if I told you that there is a science to creating positive, memorable experiences for your customers and your employees?

Thanks to authors Dan and Chip Heath, there certainly is! Dan and Chip are academic researchers - Dan works with Duke, and Chip is a professor at Stanford - and they also happen to be brothers. You might know them from their books Decisive, Made to Stick, or Switch, and I recently finished reading their latest book, The Power of Moments. This book is all about how and why certain experiences really stick with us and leave a lasting impact, and how we can use what we know to create lasting experiences for others.

As the Heaths explain, experience and memory are tricky concepts to quantify. The thing is, neither one really follows the pattern we would usually expect. However, we know for certain that memorable experiences - which the Heaths call "Defining Moments" - leave a long and significant impact in...

Comparison Done Right, by Haley Hansen

If you are anything like me, you have an intense desire to grow and succeed. I find myself constantly looking forward: to the next goal, the next challenge, the next destination to pull me out of my comfort zone. This takes many forms, like a fitness goal or a plan to read more. Last year, I started giving something up for a month at a time to challenge my self-control. It is only a month, but I love that feeling of accomplishment!

When you are looking ahead and above, it is natural to start looking at the people you perceive to be ahead of and above you. “Look how well they are doing,” you say to yourself, “I want to get to where they are. I want to do what they are doing.” Then you look back to your progress and cannot help but notice how far you still must go.

This experience was very real for me a few weeks ago, on a ski trip with my husband, Ryan, and some college friends. Now, Ryan and I are at different...