Marriage & Family Therapist Kimberly Malloy is set to host a three-day series of intensive workshops in October and November based on the teachings of acclaimed shame researcher, speaker and author Bren Brown.

Brown, a research professor at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work, has spent more than a decade studying vulnerability, courage, authenticity and shame.

Malloy Chief Inspirational Officer and Certified Daring Way Facilitator at the Center for Relational Health LV in Las Vegas was inspired after seeing Browns first TED Talk.

I believe shame is a huge obstacle from us being the best person we can, and when we identify where we received the message, how it impacts us and how to fight it, we make the world a kinder and better place, Malloy said.

She plans to host three days of intensive workshops based on Browns best-selling book Daring Greatly on October 25-27, and three days of intensive workshops based on Browns best-selling book Rising Strong on November 15-17.

The Daring Greatly and Rising Strong books focus respectively on the power of letting ourselves be seen and getting back up and owning our story of struggle after we fall.

The Daring Greatly workshops will teach participants how the courage to be vulnerable transforms the way we live, love, parent and lead.

We help people let go and learn new tools so they can walk into any arena of their life and be their courageous self, Malloy said. The classes focus on understanding the story we tell ourselves andre-writing that narrative.

The Rising Strong workshops will show how transformative the ability to reset can be. This series will be for women only, with a special focus on how to Rise Strong after a divorce, break-up, closing of a business or forced career change.

Along with Daring Greatly and Rising Strong, Malloy also offers workshops based on Browns book The Gifts of Imperfection.

More workshops based on Browns work are planned for 2020, including additional three-day Daring Greatly workshops on January 24-26 and May 22-24, and a Gifts of Imperfection one-day workshop on February 21.

Malloy, who is certified by Browns team, also hosts eight-week groups and other trainings that can be scheduled upon demand. For more information, visit malloytherapy.com or call 702-449-7593.

MORE ABOUT KIMBERLY MALLOY AND THE CENTER FOR RELATIONAL HEALTH LV

Kimberly Malloy, CIO, LMFT, has a bachelors degree in communication and a masters in Counseling, Marriage, Family & Child Therapy (MFT). A licensed Marriage & Family therapist in the state of Nevada, she is also an approved AAMFT (American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy) Supervisor, which means she can supervise new interns entering the profession.

Along with Discernment Counseling, Malloy is trained in a variety of therapeutic interventions, communication and personality programs, including Color Code personality profile EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprogramming) and Level 3 Gottman Method. She also recently joined BOAR Courageous Community as an Executive Coach, launching a CEO Mastermind Group.

With a background in corporate training, providing customer service, leadership, management and forms of personal development for large corporate and small local companies, Malloy transitioned her career focus to therapy and currently serves as Chief Inspirational Officer at the Center for Relational Health LV, located at 8879 W. Flamingo Road, Suite 101, in Las Vegas.

For more information, visit relationalhealth-lv.org or call 702-533-8411.

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Center for Relational Health LV to Host Workshops Based on Bren Brown - Nevada Business Magazine

NJ university receives $1 million from Philadelphia-based esports company for investment in infrastructure and programs.

N3rd Street Gamers is fast becoming a powerhouse in esports infrastructure, providing gamers in the Northeast with robust facilities and big tournaments to play in.

But its latest project a $1 million investment into Rowan University might do more to change the esports landscape in the region than its recent gaming arenas near Philadelphias prominent professional stadiums.

N3rd Street is teaming up with Rowan to not only build a 7,500-foot gaming center on the Glassboro, NJ, campus, but it is also partnering with the university to develop esports gaming and academic programs.

Esports has evolved well beyond playing games; the most important aspect for Rowan is its academic component, Rowan President Ali A. Houshmand said in a statement. It will offer our students hands-on training via internships and knowledge in a variety of fields that will prepare them to become leaders in technology, engineering, business, computer programming and even broadcasting as it applies to this emerging industry.

Rowan says it will create curricula related to esports and also start varsity level-teams as part of the agreement. The building will feature a broadcast studio and other dual-purpose amenities. It will be modeled off existing N3rd Street Gamers esports venues in Philadelphia and Denver.

In return, Rowan has entered into an agreement to initially allocate $230,000 this academic year to purchase memberships for students to the N3rd Street Gamers network and provide them access to their gaming equipment free of charge.

Gaming is no longer just a form of entertainment. There are legitimate careers to pursue within this industry, but the paths arent always clear, said N3rd Street Gamers CEO John Fazio. This premier esports facility will give Rowan University students and the surrounding community the opportunity to learn both technical and professional skills that will benefit them for the rest of their lives.

N3rd Street Gamers, which helps facilitate social and competitive tournaments, made headlines recently for completing a $12 million investment to help build out and outfit esports spaces at discount retailer Five Below. It also recently helped open a dedicated area for gaming inside the Wells Fargo Center, which houses the Philadelphia Flyers and 76ers.

Butler Universitys Ryan Rogers has written a book titled Understanding Esports: An Introduction to the Global Phenomenonthat explores the rise of the esports industry and its significance within media, culture, education, and the economy. Rogers, an assistant professor of creative media and entertainment, has gathered contributions from 30 experts to give a general view of the esports industry. I felt like there was really a need to understand this phenomenon and build a body of knowledge around it, Rogers says. Ultimately, I think it provides a broad view of the esports industry so that academics and industry professionals alike can wrap their minds around it. The book is available on Amazon, Kindle and in major bookstores.

Alex Rink, League of Legends captain at Lackawanna College (PA): Weve turned into a college that people want to go to. This room was bare when we started. No computers. Nothing. No decals or anything. Everything has gotten so nice.

Curious quote from Randolph College (VA) president Bradley W. Bateman on his schools intention to launch esports: While academics will always be our priority here at Randolph, we believe a well-rounded college experience requires exposure to a variety of different endeavors and activities.

RMU PENNSYLVNIA HIRES COACH: Robert Morris University in Pennsylvania has hired Richard Zapp as its inaugural esports head coach. Zapp previously worked as a career coach supporting students in their personal development at Slippery Rock University. He also has had big success as a gaming competitor and coach over the past 15 years. Zapp will have the benefit of a new esports center on campus, as well as all new equipment for the team, which has joined NACE.

DEFIANCE JOINS CONFERENCE: After competing independently last season, Defiance College in Ohio is now a member of the Great Lakes Esports Conference. The Yellow Jackets join eight other programs: Muskingum University, Lourdes University, Marietta College, University of Mount Union, Mount Vernon Nazarene University, Ohio Northern University, Tiffin University, and Trine University. Under first-year coach Corey Parks, Defiance finished eighth in the nation last season in Hearthstone.

AMBITION AT BUFFALO: Among the goals of some students at the University at Buffalo is to host a massive esports tournament at the schools football stadium against other State University of New York schools. The stadium seats a little more than 25,000. Nearly 50 students have signed on this season to the Student Association-recognized team, which previously was dubbed an Overwatch Club. The team, which competes in several different games including League of Legends, is part of college esports association TESPA.

TOP OF THE HILL: Western Kentuckys esports program, which boasts Overwatch, League of Legends and Rocket League teams, has more than doubled since last season. One of the big benefits of being a part of a team: scholarships. All 28 of the Hilltoppers players and three coaches receive them. We want everyone to know that WKU has other engaging opportunities for students who dont quite fit the traditional routes to scholarships, says esports adviser Robert Unseld Jr.

Information from wire services and news releases were used in this report. Chris Burt is the Esports Conference Chair and Esports Editor for University Business.

Interested in technology? Keep up with the UB Tech conference.

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Rowan, N3rd Street team up on esports arena, academics | - University Business

The British economy has undergone major changes in the last 30 years, excelling in various areas while crippling others, such as construction, mining and manufacturing. Subsequently, this has placed the root of power in the hands of the capital, propelling the economic growth of South-East England to new heights through nurturing the latest innovations. This ultimately solidified the UK as a flourishing knowledge economy and global player for technological advancements. However, other areas once considered the backbone of the British economy, fuelled by traditional and practical skills, dwindled in obscurity.

Now with Brexit uncertainty leaving a country divided, this poses the question of whether businesses can continue to rely on recruiting talent overseas or instead rely heavily on the talent pool here. Currently, there are more than 11.9 million people aged 65 and over in the UK, and with some arguing the state pension age should be raised to 75, older people are becoming more readily available to continue working or step back into the workforce. However, as the economy focus shifts to utilising technology in order to propel various industries to heights, many traditional skills are proving obsolete. Because of this, many organisations worry about whether hiring older talent is worthwhile. What was once a clear path to a better quality of life through traditional learning has been mystified by the disruption of technology, and the saturated job market is filled with candidates with acquired skills proven outdated in the digital age.

However, once considered a hindrance to the ageing population, technology has the potential to bridge the gap between the seasoned worker and the savvy millennial with a start-up attitude.

Let's take a look in more detail.

As the UK population continues to age, the choice between continuous personal economic growth or personal wellbeing through retirement has become difficult for many. Seasoned workers must continue to work to ensure they maintain a better quality of life, so employers must consider different options to take advantage of older employees in the workplace. According to a recent report by Deloitte, organisations are already looking at different strategies to equip their workforce with the right tools as emerging technologies continue to rise.

Currently, tax preparations fate is almost certainly sealed with a 99% chance of being automated, leaving many peoples skillsets and jobs under threat by the fast-paced nature of technologically advanced industries.

This has driven many Human Resources (HR) departments to accommodate valued older employees by bringing a fresh approach to reskilling and upskilling through the power of technology. If implemented correctly, this could potentially eliminate labour exclusion, driven by outdated training programmes and software, as well as subsequently thwarting ageism in the workplace in a digital world.

Data analytics has already proven its value across many industries and has already propelled many businesses by providing key insight and market edge against their competitors. An example of this can be seen within the booming Fintech industry and its recent success of robo-advisors, showcasing how data can be leveraged to deliver compelling customer experiences. Now, HR departments can utilise this by collecting and analysing data collected within their organisations to not only personalise training programmes but also to spot specific skills gaps to meet the firms talent requirements. It can also be leveraged to pre-empt new skill sets necessary to drive the business forward. Key insight taken from the data can also give HR a clearer understanding of what areas employees struggle with, and what resources are needed to eliminate the risk of a complacent and antiquated workforce.

Personalisation has proven paramount in customer experiences, but it has the potential to greatly enhance employee experiences, especially for businesses undergoing digital transformation. Overhauling internal processes is a critical time for businesses and the people within it, and must not be taken lightly. The best method for minimal disruption during upskilling and reskilling is utilising an AI-powered vendor specialising in providing training solutions that can be tailored for the entire organisation.

A football coach continuously optimises his training strategy against changing opponents to curate a more valuable and adept team. The same can be implemented for organisations who wish to stay ahead of the curve, by continuously adapting and improving their learning and development strategy based on demand.

Lifelong learning reaps many benefits that can not only help upskill but empower your workforce. Seasoned employees can be invaluable and help educate their younger peers, and this must not be taken for granted. Creating a culture of cross-generational working, with workers who mentor and exchange knowledge with one another, is key to ensuring your employees have the key skills needed to excel against recurring challenges. On the flip side of this, younger employees can empower older employees with the knowledge necessary to pivot in a digital workplace.

One way this can be achieved is through an AI-powered Learning Platform taking a different approach to knowledge-sharing that can be integrated seamlessly between multiple employees on a single interface. This enables a full knowledge trail which is accessible to everyone within the organisation. It also allows for easy information sharing as well as making it easier to develop and learn new skills as new job requirements emerge. By leveraging an organisational memory, the platform can ensure businesses are not losing out on critical skills to competitors.

Businesses with a keen interest in utilising an older workforce can leverage a platform of this nature for employee empowerment and personalising Learning and Development (L&D) programmes, so key learning can be digested easily. Not only this, it can also be embedded into workflows, enabling continuous learning for professional and personal development.

In this economic climate, one thing is clear; in order to attract and retain top talent, innovative solutions must be deployed to upskill talent efficiently during the age of technology.

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Longer lives mean seasoned employees will need help to adjust to digital workplaces View - Euronews

To be successful in sales, you need more than money for motivation. Luckily, there are plenty of growing tech companies with business models to satisfy any ethical aspirations, covering everythingfrom admin efficiency in mental health care to carbon dioxide emissions in the trucking industry.

Oh, and they make money in the process.

To learn more, we spoke with reps at some of the top tech companies across the nation about how they stay motivated.

ZestFinancesmachine learning algorithms ingest thousands of variables to help money lenders make fair, transparent credit decisions. Founded by a handful of Google data science alumni, the technology has applications in auto financing, commercial lending, mortgages and more. The Burbank company has raised more than $200 million in funding to date.

Sales Manager Bobby Flanigan finds motivation in his companys mission to provide credit for those who may not qualify under traditional vetting practices.

Beyond a commission, what motivates you to succeed in your role?

I like to make an impact right away, and being in sales is the most direct way to help solve business problems. Zest software changes our customers core business in a major way were talking 10-to-50 times the return on investment in the first year. That makes these challenges extremely fun to solve. At Zest I get to work with some of the smartest people I have ever met, including rocket scientists, PhDs and engagement managers from top MBA programs. I learn from these people every day as we collaborate to create something awesome.

When hospitals and other medical facilities need nurses, lab technicians and other staff, they turn toMedelyson-demand platform. Professionals who value flexibility can find per diem work, while healthcare systems can shore up their staffing ratios and avoid surgery cancellations. Headquartered in Santa Monica, the company works with more than 3,000 healthcare facilities.

Senior Account Executive Blake Baird has enjoyed seeing Medelys technology taken up by thousands of organizations in the healthcare industry.

Beyond a commission, what motivates you to succeed in your role?

What really attracts people to startups is the opportunity to come in and make an imprint on the company. Im motivated each and every day by the big picture of what this can be. I have seen us grow from a single city to more than 60 cities in a few short years. Its validation that what were doing is making a difference, and for me, the possibilities continue to drive me each and every day.

While replacing binders and textbooks with sleek laptops has eased achy backs at schools all over the world, the digitization of school materials has created new challenges for educators and their students.GoGuardiansChromebook management software technology monitors, filters and prevents the theft of devices, helping educators manage how school technology is used.

Director of Customer Success Terence Davy loves the way his job allows him to learn new skills and confront stimulating challenges.

Beyond a commission, what motivates you to succeed in your role?

Learning and growth are core to my being, and the real reason that I get out of bed every morning. GoGuardian has provided constant opportunities to solve interesting problems and develop new skills, which is a great motivating factor. However, the thing that fuels me even more than my personal development is that I have the ability to observe and participate in the growth of the incredibly passionate, creative and intelligent people that make up my team.

Banks are conservative by nature, and tend to flee any kind of business that they deem risky. The result is that a broad range of organizations from nonprofits to hunting retailers find it tough to gain credit card processing services.PaymentCloudhas stepped into this gap, offering the necessary technology for tens of thousands of businesses.

Senior Account Manager Amanda Castro said she loves to help merchants grow their businesses.

Beyond a commission, what motivates you to succeed in your role?

What motivates me the most is being able to help our merchants. A lot of them have struggled to find an appropriate solution and are relieved when they finally hear that they are approved. Merchants are proud of their businesses and being able to provide a resource for them before, during and after approval can be invaluable to their success. I love being a part of the last step to growing their businesses.

Video gaming has become an inherently social activity over time, allowing users around the world to meet, socialize and chase each other around with laser guns in cyberspace.Mobcrushis one of the foundational technologies that helps these interactions take place, with a video streaming platform that helps gamers broadcast and watch streams, and chat in real time.

Head of Eastern and Midwestern Sales Lee O'Connor helps Mobcrush fund these efforts by bringing gaming content creators and like-minded brands together.

Beyond a commission, what motivates you to succeed in your role?

I am motivated by the constant innovation and opportunity in the live streaming space. There is no other medium out there that can create instant buzz and brand awareness the way live video can. Since the advertising community hasnt had as much experience in the live realm, its also an opportunity for me to constantly learn and help to educate the industry. I love that we can give a brand amazing results while also contributing to the success of the creators we work with. Its a win-win-win.

Pasadena-basedRedgate Softwarebuilds tools designed to help businesses get the most out of the Microsoft Data Platform. With digital tools designed to service various stages within a companys database DevOps process, Redgate focuses on building technical tools that are tough to build, yet easy for users to get the hang of.

Enterprise Account Executive Stephen Fontanella highlighted Redgates leadership in the field, and the culture that has grown up around building data tools for customers.

Beyond a commission, what motivates you to succeed in your role?

Im primarily motivated by the culture that has been built at Redgate. I care for the people I work with and I know that the company is invested in me because of the programs theyve put in place, from ongoing professional training to office-wide activities. Going above and beyond my sales target means that we can invest more in our solutions, we can acquire well-built technologies that integrate with ours and, most importantly, we can expand our workforce. Those are difficult goals to attain if I dont make my sales quota, so my main objective each day is to be a part of our collective success.

Darla Iuliucci, Regional Field Sales Manager, previously closed the books on herteaching career, but shes taken hersyllabi/notes with her. That academic information and motivation has come in handy at herNewselasales role. She told us that doing a job shes passionate about (among supportive teammates) makes the work significantly easier. Shes always been a lifelong learner and shes not going to stop now.

Beyond a commission, what motivates you to succeed in your role?

As a former classroom teacher, Ive seen first hand how great content can open up a students world. And when their curiosity carries beyond the classroom, students become more empathetic, engaged global citizens. With Newsela, I get to support that on a larger scale, which makes my role all the more energizing. I not only love that Im helping make a true impact on K-12 learning, but I get to do that with an incredibly supportive team (from our sales training and enablement leaders who teach me about our users and buyers each week to our sales engineers who join me on large, complex sales to my sales colleagues who celebrate our collective wins).

Andrew Nagelberg has his plate full atSevenRooms. The Senior Account Executive pitches the operations, marketing and guest engagement platform to organizations in the hospitality space. Their software allows users to plan out reservations, reduce their fees, and streamline a large portion of what can quickly become otherwise clunky in an ever-evolving industry. Nagelberg takes his wins and losses as they come, but is always looking straight ahead.

Beyond a commission, what motivates you to succeed in your role?

It is incredibly exciting to be a part of a company that is turning an industry on its head. Having a real sense of ownership alongside amazing teammates in a fast-paced, high-growth environment is an experience unlike any other. Working through challenges, learning from losses, and celebrating wins is all part of the fun.

For Peter Miller, Account Executive atTeampay, its important that everyone in the company from the CEO to summer interns is on the same page about product transparency and continued growth. Hes on board with selling a product that saves users time and allows them to, quite simply, do their jobs. Teampay uses Slack as a communication tool to merge and condense expense-related tasks. Below, Miller explains why he loves to show it off.

Beyond a commission, what motivates you to succeed in your role?

I am motivated to do what I do because when I succeed, we all succeed. The camaraderie and support of the team here and not just people in sales hits me when I walk into the office each day. I feel grateful to work for a company that values and invests in its employees. From Andrew (our founder and CEO) on down, everyone is on the same page, dialed-in and enthusiastic about collaborating to reach our company goals.

Freight forwarding isnt necessarily dinner-party conversation. The concept can seem difficult to understand and unnecessarily complicated. While it might still remain in the transit, supply-chain ethos,Flexporthas made it their mission to change all that. Maryana Kessel, Senior Global Account Executive at Flexport, told us how they go about creating a seamless experience from beginning to end.

Beyond a commission, what motivates you to succeed in your role?

When our customers have an exceptional experience with Flexport, it not only improves their daily workflow but also ultimately helps their businesses be more successful. In numerous situations, my clients have been able to allocate resources to strategic priorities when working with Flexport, instead of spending time connecting the dots of spreadsheets and emails. We have helped customers execute critical product launches, rerouting cargo when one store sells out faster than another. I love being in the trenches with my customer. Every critical shipment, product launch, or streamlining opportunity is a moment to see the inner workings of another business unfolding. Its a privilege to have such a meaningful impact.

Taking business risks can be a good thing. In fact, most C-suite employees are not usually known for their risk-averse nature. But opening up your companys security to possible loopholes isnt a risk anyone wants to take. Thats whereComply Advantagecomes in. They use data science and machine learning to better understand risk and keep their clients apprised of potential breaches.

AML Sales Executive Rodrigo Regi told us exactly why hes so excited about the future of the business.

Beyond a commission, what motivates you to succeed in your role?

What motivates me is having a real impact in the growth of the US market, and being aware that my success here will have direct effects for the next round of fundraising and development of the product. The more we grow, the closer we will get to reaching our IPO.

Social media influencers attract views and engage their audiences online. Chris Curtis ofCreatorIQattracts marketing professionals who manage those social media influencers. He might not do so with glittery filters or witty captions, but dont think he doesnt take his clients success seriously. The Senior Director of Sales tells us how he keeps up in an industry that changes at the drop of a tweet.

Beyond a commission, what motivates you to succeed in your role?

The success of the clients I work with truly motivates me. I get to watch their careers advance due to the success weve helped them achieve. Weve also been incredibly effective in putting together a team of thoughtful professionals who teach me something new every day. Its hard to not be motivated when you look across the office and see a unified team striving toward a common goal.

When ex-Amazonians Dan Lewis and Grant Goodale learned that a third of the trucks on American highways are hauling empty trailers, they saw a problem waiting for the right software to fix it. Account ExecutiveClaire Mackeytook us through howConvoyis boosting profit margins and reducing the environmental impact of an $800 billion-per-year industry.

Beyond a commission, what motivates you to succeed in your role?

There is a constant buzz of excitement that flows through the halls of the Convoy office. Big things are ahead for us as a company. As a sales team, we take each individual win as a step forward and we celebrate each step together. The teamwork mentality that surrounds me is a huge source of motivation. I want to be a part of the team which completely changes the freight industry, which cuts down on industry wastes, which improves the work lives of both truck drivers and shippers and which contributes to a more sustainable future.

Home improvement and renovations can be a stressful and costly process, and helping people find contractors, solidify plans, take digital walkthroughs of finished projects and more is a key motivating factor for sales reps at Belltown-basedPro.com. Sales team Project ConsultantBrooke Archillasaid her company centers its services around people, not projects.

Beyond a commission, what motivates you to succeed in your role?

The ability to help individuals navigate decisions that directly impact their lives in a positive way is priceless. Homes are such personal spaces and I feel honored every time a client is willing to open up their doors and trust me to guide them down the often-stressful path of bringing their home project visions to life. Its also an incredible experience to see all the pieces come together and be able to celebrate those amazing end results with my clients. We really do love improving lives by improving homes.

SuplarisAI-enabled technology sifts through a business financial data to find overlooked opportunities to save money and protect themselves from potential risk. As Sales Account ExecutiveBrad Slitzexplained, this allows finance and procurement teams to move from simply laboring over exhaustive reports to a more strategic role within the businesses they serve.

Beyond a commission, what motivates you to succeed in your role?

The one thing that truly motivates me above all things in life is doing something that truly matters to the people I have the opportunity to work with. Suplari as a company truly cares about the people with whom we partner, and it shows in the way we spend time listening, understanding and crafting our platform to exceed our clients expectations.

Changing work schedules are the bane of any wage worker and their manager. However, managers and employees at companies that useShiftboardcan communicate, adjust schedules and improve overall operations through a single app. Vice President of Inside SalesTyler Kimseysaid this mission combined with Shiftboards motivated team makes it a great place to work.

Beyond a commission, what motivates you to succeed in your role?

This is a company that is growing, and its a culture where everyone is a shareholder. We work hard and were committed to success, but its also a lot of fun. Its incredibly rewarding to work with a small team, aligned around a common goal and celebrate reaching our milestones together.

Sometimes, its the mission that matters. Thats certainly the case for sales reps at Seattle-basedValant, which builds electronic health record software for mental health and psychiatric care providers. Account ExecutiveBrett Quelchdiscussed how boosting efficiency within this industry is a great motivator for him and his team.

Beyond a commission, what motivates you to succeed in your role?

Im motivated knowing that every sale has the potential to help providers provide better outcomes for their patients, and make their job easier. Getting to work with people who are passionate about Valants mission and overarching goal of helping providers also inspires me to succeed. Lastly, Im motivated by our sales teams ethos and collaborative approach. Our director treats everyone as a valuable member of the team. She solicits and listens to our ideas, and makes sure we know that our contributions are important.

Read more:
Sales Team Motivation Advice From 17 Reps - Built In

There is a strange parallel between successful sporting teams and businesses, in that decline is almost inevitable if the best people leave.

Maintaining the quality of those staff that drive a business forward is critical to the momentum of a company, and that simultaneously relates to both recruitment and retention of the most talented people.

If you dont believe us, then consider how many times youve read a business story about someone unknown who left a successful company to start their own, and ultimately eclipse the business they started at.

For smaller businesses, this is less of an issue, but in Enterprises knowing who the sharpest knives in the drawer are, and how inclined they are to stay is worth time and money to manage.

Here are some of the best talent management tools, for those that dont want to find that theyre now competing with previously ignored ex-staff.

(Image credit: Oracle)

A comprehensive offering with built-in metrics dashboards

Cloud-based solution

Finding, hiring and onboarding in one tool

Easy to use

Expensive

Steep learning curve

Any talent management tool needs to help recruiters find the best people while also helping retain the ones that already work for you. And, Oracle Taleo Cloud Service was designed precisely to deliver those two requirements.

Taleo is a cloud-based solution, allowing HR people to access applicants and exist staff profiles from any computer, at any time.

To enhance the quality of the information available, Oracle Taleo Cloud Service includes a mechanism to track Twitter and Facebook, allowing a better understanding of what employees are like when theyre not working.

But the key product strength of this tool is how it streamlines the process of filling posts. You can find the applicants, recruit them, bring them into the company and then develop them to make the best of their abilities.

Oracles pitch here is all about being efficient, getting the right people and keeping them from heading to a competitor.

The caveat to having such a powerful Cloud-based tool with the ability to manage hundreds or more employees comes at a high price when it has Oracle in its name.

And, it also comes with a steep learning curve for those wanting to get the most out of it.

(Image credit: Saba)

A suite of HR supporting tools

Cloud-based

Great Saba community support

Innovative social media use

Mobile apps need improving

Pre-built reports dont offer detail

Instead of putting all its abilities in one tool, Saba has a suite of service that handles the finding, recruitment, onboarding, personal development, coaching and workforce planning.

This segmentation allows companies to cherry-pick those services that they need, and not bother with other functions already provided through another mechanism.

In its marketing material, the phrase Candidate Relationship Management is used, even if that has an already accepted acronym.

What theyre refereeing to is the ability to make the best impression with a candidate from the outset, build a brand identity that would interest them, and then make an offer that seals the deal.

Once talented staff are on board, a whole new process can take over and enhance the employee with a tailored development plan.

Much of what Saba offers is a classic HR platform that utilises analytics to identify those talented people that might be overlooked or underdeveloped and allows them to achieve more strategic goals and deliver better performance.

And, product the right learning experience for each person to succeed.

Many companies are using Saba solely to produce and distribute learning content and find that it provides them with an effective closed-loop of education and involvement for staff.

Part of this process encourages staff to create social media groups, hold webinars, events and meetings all initiated within Saba.

The only complaints weve seen about Saba is that the mobile applications lack the refinements of the web interface and platform.

(Image credit: Bamboo HR)

Neat design and bags of functionality

Open API provides extensibility

Lacks benefits administration

Expensive

Where the likes of Saba break up their features into bite-sized chunks, Bamboo HR bundles all its features into a single platform that does a huge number of tasks.

Despite the functionality overload that comes with this choice, Bamboo HR is considered one, if not the best online HR software service for providing a complete pathway from recruitment to retention.

At the heart of this offering is the HR Bamboo ATS or Applicant Tracking System, a tool that organises candidate information from first contact, through to an offer and ultimately recruitment.

Its designed to enable recruiters to capture the right data to determine the perfect recruit for a role and deliver the right type of experience for the candidate.

As HR tools should be, this one is unashamedly people-centric.

Where other solutions are purely for enterprise-class operations, this is made with small and medium scale businesses in mind. HR staff can easily collect and maintain staff data, and then analyse it to improve hiring processes, onboarding and manage cost-effective compensation.

Getting talented people onboard is only part of the story, and Bamboo HR also has the tools to measure employee performance, how they feel about their job, and how they fit into the company culture. And, should staff need support or development, you can use this tool to create a plan of action and manage the execution of that.

(Image credit: Recruitee)

A fresh approach to talent sourcing

Easy to use

Simple pricing model

Less scope for customisation than rivals

Recruitee has a very modern website, and its product also has a very clean and elegant look.

The software breaks down the recruitment process into three phases that are called Attract, Automate and Predict.

The Attract phase is a multi-pronged approach to locating candidates that includes creating a careers site, seeding LinkedIn, using social media and free job boards. And, then effectively filtering candidates and acquiring data about them without implicitly entering it all by hand.

Automate then further processes this data to remove duplicates and process the applications to distil the top contenders for a position.

And finally Predict helps a company refine its hiring process, determine the best methods for sourcing talented people, avoid employing the wrong people and predict the likelihood that the prime candidate will accept an offer.

All this activity takes place on secure cloud servers, where candidate data is protected by a GDPR compliant system. The software can handle multiple companies, a range of languages that includes Dutch, English, French and German.

And, this system includes mobile apps for Apple iOS and Android.

Features aside, what it is attracting many to Recruitee is the flat pricing model. There are only three tiers; Professional, Expert and Corporate. These are priced $79, $149 and $299 per month, all with unlimited users.

And, these options differ only in the number of job openings and talent pools that are supported.

(Image credit: Zoho Recruit)

Zoho integrations

Affordable

Made for agencies

Lacks out-of-office hours support

If Zoho hasnt cornered enough markets already, it also has a recruitment solution that works alongside its other platforms, like CRM and Motivator.

Zoho Recruit has three faces designed to support staffing agencies, corporate HR and those agencies that supply temporary workforces.

Each of these areas is tailored to the needs of these customer types, and how those come into contact with potential candidates and manage them on the system.

Therefore, the staffing agency solution has a complete pipeline for finding and hiring, where temporary workforce management is more about scheduling, timesheets and flexibility.

What it doesnt do is provide much in the way of retention tools, once candidates have converted to employees, if thats applicable.

Where it is strong, especially in the corporate HR space, is in enabling companies to define a decision and reporting hierarchy where the managers that need staff, accounts and HR can all have a stratified contribution in hiring.

If this solution has weaknesses, they are that its not blessed with the best interface design and support is generally handled via email and not telephone.

But you do get lots of features for the very approachable cost.

Read the original here:
Best talent software of 2019 - TechRadar

Businessman Challenge. Concept for success

I need a business coach wasnt a phrase a CEO would even consider muttering 10 years ago. Now, it seems to be the biggest buzz word in Silicon Valley. So why are CEOs flocking to this new resource, and what exactly are they learning in these coveted sessions? Finally, is the mystery sauce that seems to be going on behind closed doors really all the helpful?

First, we do know the business world is changing. From large corporations to small startups, companies are moving toward a new human-capital business model, one where employee satisfaction and engagement is valued alongside bottom-lines. And while companies will prioritize profit, there has been increased awareness that retaining talent, increasing overall productivity and creating a culture where employees feel appreciated as individuals is actually the secret ingredient to creating a great company.

In addition, CEOs are also learning that while they may be experts in vision, making complicated decisions and crunching numbers, the realization has been uncovered that their personal psychology and leadership style has a direct impact on the strength and success of their company.

To explain a bit more, every person, whether you are a leader or a contributor has a personal psychology that will directly affect your relationships, whether in the work place or in your living room. We also know that your personal psychology has strengths and weaknesses. Many of us will know where we excel, however, when the classic interview question comes up, What are your weaknesses, few of us are quick to honestly answer; and some of us dont even know the answer.

At times, our unique personalities will get in the way of career successes; they can even can limit us. For example, you may have a fear of making decisions, an inability to stand up for yourself, procrastination, saying yes to everything, being overly detailed, an inability to meet deadlines, the list can go on and on. It is these very roadblocks that get in your way from excelling in your role. And it these roadblocks that CEOs are paying business coaches to uncover for them, and teach them alternative ways.

So what are these tools coaches are teaching CEOs? Here are 3 of the most favorite tips downloaded you.

Tip #1: Reexamining Your Beliefs

Whether we realize it or not, we all have ideas about who we are, what were capable of and what our limitations are. And while our beliefs may seem accurate, sometimes those beliefs are faulty.Yes, faulty.

The trouble is, beliefs are not facts, although self-beliefs can feel like facts. Heres an example of a self belief: I want to be a software engineer, but I dont have the skills or education.The self-belief or rather, internal voice, says, "that cant be me, so I might as well not bother." That is not a fact, but rather, something you installed all on your own.

Where do faulty beliefs come from? Contributing factors abound, from messages received in childhood, to cultural norms and gender biases, to everyday events that reinforce what we already believe to be true. Put simply, we each have a personal algorithm that subconsciously cherry picks information, which in turn creates beliefs about ourselves. Sometimes were able to go one step further and consciously examine this information on our own, but sometimes were left with self-selected blind spots.

The first step is to identify what assumptions youve made about yourself. And while you are identifying these assumptions, remember, these are simply beliefs - not facts. Next,try your best to craft a more objective narrative. What is standing in your way? Is it really not attainable, or is this fear-based? If youre scared, what are you scared of? Sometimes asking these difficult questions can begin to unlock the fear that is holding you back.

Tip #2: Removing Your Blinders

Its easy to get tunnel vision when it comes to your corporate career: promotions at set intervals, regular salary bumps, and new positions that never run too far afield of your established area. In the corporate world in particular, your future can seem neatly planned out, providing you a straight-and-narrow path to follow.

Yet theres one problem with a career thats laid out in well-ordered increments: too often, theres little room for self-growth.

The straight-and-narrow path is safe, and for many of us, it is in that safety that provides comfort and assurance. However, it is also important to challenge yourself. Discovering what dreams still lie within your career aspirations, along with re-defining new goals. Other times, you may need to evaluate letting go of something. A dream that didnt work, or a career that isnt right for you.

Your blinders, just like your beliefs can feel fixed, and yet they are fluid if you allow them to be. It is in your blinders that can make you feel safe, but paradoxically, can also limit you. Simply by challenging your assumptions can provide the next step to your career growth.

Tip #3: Having a Strong Psychological Boundary

A strong psychological boundary is vital to success, but many of us neglect this necessary element of our professional development. Whats a psychological boundary? Its an internal process (done in your mind) that that protects us from digesting irrelevant or untrue information from inaccurate resources. Unless this barrier is actively cultivated, it can be eroded by the messages we receive from those around us.

Many people will enter your career landscape, and each will have their own ideas about you. Even if your colleagues and co-workers dont state their opinions outright, their interactions with you will hint at how they regard you. For better or for worse, these direct or indirect messages can seep into your psyche and shape how you see yourself.

A psychological boundary is the decision to decide what messages you want to let in, and what messages you want to kick out. For example, a piece of constructive criticism from your trusted supervisor may be something you decide to take in. However, theEVP who never liked you from the get go, may share information about you that wont be coming from the same evaluation-based place. This is a message you would not take in. When you decide to not take something in, it simply means you dont digest that message. Put simply, you dont become a sponge to every piece of feedback, rather you become a strainer looking for accurate messages from trusted resources.

By actively filtering messages, you will create a stronger, more accurate work-place self-esteem. You will also be able to take on feedback in a new, more professional way. With feedback comes self knowledge, and it is with self knowledge that allows us to change and evolve.

In summary, whether you are a CEO or an individual contributor, it is crucial to build awareness about yourself. Take a good long look in the mirror, and ask yourself hard questions about what makes you unique, and what are your challenge areas. It is in the analysis of your imperfections that you will be able to unlock your roadblocks. And by being as objective as you can while being compassionate to yourself, you can begin to untether yourself from your self-made chains, and reach new heights.

Go here to read the rest:
The Top 3 Tools Business Coaches Give CEOs - Forbes

Living each day while pining for things you think you want, but certainly dont need, is the biggest force that holds you back. And heres the best part:

You and you alone have the control to stop and prevent this.

One of the most empowering realities in this world is that we permit or prevent the thoughts that enter our minds. When were of stable mind, we have control mentally over our destiny.

We allow thoughts to blossom or wilt.

Part of having faith and living a confident lifestyle is adopting the mental state of living by necessity. Simply put there are things that we need and things that we want. Theres nothing wrong with wanting anything. Heck, this is imagination at its finest!

Weshouldwant a life lived on our terms. We should want to surround ourselves with people who bring out the best in us. All good things.

But we should never obsessively want and wish for things that we dont need. I know this all too well Ive found this pattern in my life through both the places Ive lived, and also the jobs Ive held. My natural disposition is toward a futuristic mindset. Im a planner and a dreamer who is mentally looking to fulfill future plans too far in advance.

In other words mentally, my mind can race and I lack patience. I can miss my family, old friends and the comforts of my hometown. I can get lost in the perks of what I believe my future career to be. But I have all I need right now.

Maybe you know the same feeling.

As you look at your life, no matter where you live or where you are in your professional journey, you do have what you need. What you need is how you live each day with maximum focus, energy and hope. The biggest thing holding you back is living too much in the past or maybe even worse yet, too far in the future that you forget the present moment.

Do you know what you want? What does your ideal day, week and life look like?

I know what I want. I want to help change peoples lives through my writing, coaching and public speaking. Im doing those things right now. I have thousands of people that reach out to me every week and this helps me reaffirm that what Im doing is right. Sometimes, its easy to wonder if Im on the right track.

How are the days results? How are my emotions?

Maybe youre right there on the journey with me. Living your best life, but sometimes struggling with what ifs and occasional regret. Youre working on yourself each day, implementing a strategy, routine and plan. Once you have everything in flow, youll have found the missing puzzle piece that connects everything together and brings complete stability to your existence.

Maybe.

Because tomorrow is never promised today. Setting goals, drafting plans and actively working toward your those goals is vitally important. But in the process, we must not lose sight of our current situation. Were in the midst of where we are for a reason. Theres no such thing as preordained wasted time.

Were not meant to waste time when we know what we want for both today and our futures. We need to make the most of the time in front of us the present moment and never squander opportunities! Our trouble is not so much the inability or desire to act, as it is the impulse and recognition of what opportunity truly is. Opportunity is all around us. Its not off in some distant future.

The trials and stages of life that we think we can auto-pilot or put on cruise-control are often remarkable, seminal periods of growth. If you take nothing else away from this article, please, recognize that opportunities are always right there, front and center in life. Theyre right there if you allow yourself to live and immerse yourself in the present moment.

Sometimes the opportunities are obvious. Sometimes theyre less obvious. And sometimes theyre concealed. Theyre in disguise. Or they appear to be something different.

When this happens, we often carry the weight of what we think we want, when what we have right in front of us. The life we want with our boyfriend, girlfriend, family, job, idea, spiritual journey or personal development project is truly all that matters in that moment. We have to learn to put the past behind us and to stop regretting a life that isnt actually ours.

The past is prologue. Whats already happened is helping you build for what you truly want. You shouldnt drain yourself over wishing for something that isnt part of your lifes journey, even though you once wondered whether it would be. You have to move forward and focus on the present. The future can wait.

Your grand designs for becoming a business owner are still going to be there for you. Youre not missing out today. Youre only missing out today if you punt your opportunity for thinking that the future is the be-all and end-all.

Right now is all that truly matters when it comes to opportunities and living. When you live in yesterday and tomorrow, you are hurting yourself. Youre stunting your growth. Ask yourself where has that ever gotten you?

Plan your future. Develop your definition of success. Start writing out goals and constructing an objective that really matters to you. Align your dreams, creative thoughts and deepest personal ambitions, and loves, to a plan that is measurable and achievable. But outside of that time, while you should always keep an eye on the future, you have to master your present through thoughtful, inspired action.

You truly do have everything you need in the present. Thats not to say that you have everything you need for a particular goal, career ambition or to even land the man of your dreams. But you have everything you need to live in the moment with clarity, joy and love in your heart. You have what you need to continue building for the big things that you really want.

Patience is preached and esteemed in its virtue for a reason because so many successful and happy people realize that all of their dreams dont just come true in an instant. Or six months. Or one year or even five or 10 years. Sometimes they do, but surely youve realized that it usually doesnt work that way. Like a tree, the seeds of your personal growth need to be nurtured and allowed time to take root.

Im not quite the professional I want to beyet. And, maybe youre not either. Theres a confidence and assurance in that. Theres aneedto embrace this state of mind. The happiest people embrace their current situation, in good times and bad, because they know that maintaining a positive attitude and equilibrium will benefits them in the long run.

Its the long game that matters. On this marathon journey of life its not a sprint! youre better equipped to peacefully and joyfully embrace the job you have now. The life you have in your one-bedroom efficiency with the slightly cracked window. Your long train commute to the job that you think you hate, but only because its not exactly what you want.

Because all of these things are stops along the way on the real ride toward the life you want most. Theyre lessons, signposts meant to be observed and not dismissed. Theyre all helping you grow and make sense of the person you are and who you want to be. All the things you dont have right now are not needs. Theyre (maybe) only wants.

You have today. And thats all that matters.

This article first appeared on Medium. Join my newsletter for emotional intelligence and productivity content! Get a FREE Coaching Call to Explore Your Emotional Intelligence, and Learn how to Achieve Your Biggest Goals! Check out my Amazon bestseller, The Value of You, which has helped tens of thousands of people develop the game plan for living their best life!

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The biggest thing holding you back and what to do about it - Ladders

No matter who you ask, everyone has a memory from their school years that stems from learning outside the classroom. Fieldwork and adventurous activity all impact on how we develop and enhance our wider view of the world.

At Epic Outdoors, we deliver beyond the classroom experiences designed to prepare your students for the challenges of a lifetime.

Educating the leaders of tomorrow is a dynamic process, especially as the future workplace is evolving at an exponential rate. By 2025, 75% of the workforce will be millennial. The favoured type of working life will revolve around the gig economy, meaning over the course of a working lifetime an individual can expect to have four to five different careers.

In many respects the current generation of young people are faced with the tougher challenges than any preceding it. The age of information means total exposure to peers, world events and social pressures. A recent survey conducted by the Central YMCA in the UK revealed the top two concerns of young people were a lack of employment opportunities and a failure to succeed in education. Whilst some of these concerns may have been present in their 1970s equivalents, many are new and made more acute by the instant feedback loops of smartphones and a plethora of multimedia.

We are in the position of asking more of our young people than ever before testing and academic standards, social awareness and pressure, increased competition for jobs and knowledge of longer-term financial pressure. We are juxtaposing that with fewer support networks and removal of core skills and life experiences from the school programme.

This combination seems to be building a perfect storm and it poses several key questions. What skills will millennials need to engage in the gig economy? Is the current education system preparing them for the future? How can education evolve to become more sustainable? How can we develop personal resilience in young people? We now as a nation have to factor in the great unknown the post Brexit landscape. How do we prepare for the unknown? We believe four key characteristics are key adaptability, resilience, creativity and diversity, or ARCD for short.

We believe that people are best outside, and that personal challenge is the foundation of confident people

At Epic Outdoors, we firmly believe that adventure education is key to developing the leaders of tomorrow. Connecting with our areas of natural beauty is also key for a generation that will need to place the environment at the core of all it does. We provide bespoke adventure programmes and Duke of Edinburghs Award Scheme delivery to schools and colleges throughout the UK.

Real adventure, in beautiful places such as the Lake District, Snowdonia or the Highlands of Scotland, delivered by skilled instructor teams. We use adventurous activity to deliver your pastoral aims.

We work with you to develop a truly bespoke experience, ensuring each individuals personal development takes centre stage. We are licensed by the Adventure Activities Licensing service, an approved provider for the Duke of Edinburghs Award Scheme and an organisational member of the Institute for Outdoor Learning. We are passionate about what we do. We believe that people are best outside, and that personal challenge is the foundation of confident people. Adventure has never had a more important role to play in education, contact us today to make sure your young peoples experiences are epic.

E: info@epicoutdoors.co.ukW: http://www.epicoutdoors.co.uk

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Success through adventure - Independent Education Today

Devin Townsend was the guest on Full Metal Jackie's weekend show. The talented artist made the bold move of stepping away from his band after their last album, choosing to stretch himself artistically with the new Empath album.

During the chat, Devin speaks about not boxing himself in as an artist, how working acoustically has provided its own challenges and his desire to field different lineups of musicians to play his Empath music live. Check out the discussion below.

We're here to talk about the new album, Empath, which shows various elements showcased throughout your career. What's the prominent revelation about your musical development through the single context of this album?

I think the overarching theme of this is one that is of middle age, and what tends to happen as you careen towards 50 is unawareness of time and mortality and things such as this. It's a pretty typical story, but how that affected the creative part of this album is that it put me in the position to where I wanted to almost make a best-of album of everything that I've done in the past, but with new material. [I wanted to]analyze my relationship with each one of those sorts of musical aesthetics.

So the heavy stuff, or the orchestral stuff, or the top stuff, I put it all in one place. And I also think that the sort of awareness of time allowed me to take some risks with this record that, up to this pointI've just not taken; financially or thematically, or whatever. It's resulted in something that I'm really proud of.

In terms of composition and production, your music has often been elaborate. How will simplifying it on tour with an acoustic set redefine the perception of your songs?

I think that's a good question. I think the reason why I'm doing the acoustic is two-fold. One, it gives me time to think. The process of making Empath is just really, really arduous, and although I recognized the need to promote it immediately and tour it immediately, I wanted to cut myself a break, and not just do a nose dive into a brand new band immediately. So the acoustics show is giving me an opportunity to be present for an audience, promote it and spend some time thinking about my next step. So when I do get back there with this next group of people, it's not haphazard.

Then second of all, what the acoustics show has really underlined to me is the fact that all of this music that I've written, no matter the complexity of it, generally starts with me and a guitar in my room, or on tour, or what have you. And to be able to play these acoustic shows and include Strapping [Young Lad] songs or Empath songs, or orchestral songs, and still have it come across the way they do on the record emotionally, I think really demonstrates to the audience that this stuff is not entirely based on complexity of the production, but it really is rooted in the emotional content.

Devin, musicians can find their creativity inadvertently, bound by the music that made them popular. What made you consciously determined to never be defined by any specific style?

I think that fame is something that I actively try to avoid. And the older I get, the more conscious I get of how easily you can be defined by your work in the longterm, if you've had significant success at any one aspect of it. Some people would argue that you should seek that type of success. For example, making that one really commercial song, or the one really commercial album, as a means to fund your creative endeavors past that point.

However, it's a two-sided sword, because as soon as you start generating income that other people become dependent on, whether it's the label or management or the band or a crew on tour, the amount of pressure that gets compounded on your creativity to uphold that level of financial success, I think can really tempt artists to make decisions creatively that are in opposition to where as a person they need to go.

So I, in a sense with Empath, made a conscious decision to pull back from the success that was starting to happen with DTP because as much as I enjoyed those people and that band, it wasn't right yet. My pursuit of getting my vision right is such that I'm willing to sacrifice anything that is not in line with the truth.

Steve Vai and Chad Kroeger from Nickelback are two of numerous people playing and singing on Empath. Do you write with specific people in mind or is it a case of who can best convey something once it's written?

I think it's a combination of the two because all the creativity that I have engaged in with all these records are it's all hand in hand with the personal development. I think that ultimately if I was to define what it is what I'm trying to do, as a person let alone music, is I'm trying to become actualized as who I am but without any compromise, without any delusions of who I am within myself. That's a lofty goal. Will I get there? That's debatable, but that's the goal nonetheless.

So, within that process, you encounter scenarios that influence your writing and because of the success that I've to have up until this point and the number of people that I know within the scene and what have you, I know a ton of people. From time to time, those circumstances and those people that you know become important shifts in your creative consciousness. And when that does happen the music will typically be hand in hand with that. So I ask people to be involved with the songs specifically if they have been involved with aspects of that personal growth.

Chad or Steve or [Mike] Keneally or the orchestras, or whatever, are examples of people that I've just found in my life by circumstance. The circumstance clearly being involved with the music industry and what have you, but certain bands nonetheless. So as I'm listening through, I often think to myself I need another voice here. This song goes hand in hand with this situation that this person was involved with, therefore I will ask them.

You've been auditioning people for multiple touring bands, each meant for specific tours over the next few years. What exhilarates you about the nuances different players will give your music?

I think I have not had the opportunity to really stretch my wings, if you want to look at it that way, as a creative entity. I think up until this point I have peered stretching for whatever reason. Maybe I was financially dependent on a certain level of success, but over the past few years I've made shifts to my personal life that have accommodated a lot more experimentation and each time I've done that, and it hasn't fallen on its face, it makes me realize how many more things I want to experience as an artist.

So, when it came time to decide on what I was going to do with a live band, to play Empath in its entirety in 2021, it started with, 'OK well you need to put together a band to do that.' But that was something that imposed a parameter on me that I'm not yet ready for. As soon as you do this, well there's your album. That's what your doing, Bob's your uncle.

But what I decided to do instead was, 'Well hang on, I want to do three or four different bands that do very different things.' Maybe one of them can be really improvisational and really avant-garde. Maybe one can be really brutal. Maybe one can be really orchestral and choral. Maybe one can be really simplistic and minimal. Then by doing that, this acoustic tour being one example of that trajectory, by the time I get to Empath in 2021 I will have played the material in one form or another and I will have gone through enough musicians that I will know who the right people to be doing what it is what I want to do.

So it's a way of not only providing an audience something really interesting and really uncompromised and really in ways I've never been able to explore which brings excitement to it that I haven't felt in years. I have a final goal in mind, once I get to it, it will be unequivocal as a result of this.

Thanks to Devin Townsend for the interview. The 'Empath' album is currently available in the format of your choosing here. Townsend is currently on tour in support of the album. See all dates and get ticketing info here. Find out where you can hear Full Metal Jackies radio showhere.

2019's Best Metal Albums... So Far

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Devin Townsend Will Sacrifice Anything 'Not in Line With Truth' - Loudwire

The outline of Davionne Goodens new computer game may feel familiar: The main character must defeat villains to reach an ultimate goal.

But woven in are elements that set the game apart. The main character is stuck in a coma, and the villains are nightmares. Players confront issues of anxiety and depression. And, through an all-black cast, Mr. Gooden deliberately features the experiences of people typically absent from mainstream games.

If youre a white creator, you rarely think about that, he said.

Gaming is a multibillion-dollar business, and one that has remained largely white and largely male.

Five years after Gamergate exposed the kind of toxicity that can lurk in a community where diverse perspectives are underrepresented, little seems to have changed for minorities and women in the industry. Today, people like Mr. Gooden still confront an industry that infrequently reflects who they are.

Youve got to take it one day, one year, one game at a time. Davionne GoodenCreator of She Dreams Elsewhere

Three out of four people working in the gaming industry are men. Almost the same proportion identifies as white. And those numbers have hardly budged since 2015, according to surveys conducted by the nonprofit International Game Developers Association.

If youre a young person of color playing games, you dont really see yourself represented, said Mitu Khandaker, a professor at New York Universitys game center. That kind of instills in you this sense that maybe I dont really belong.

That lack of diversity in mainstream gaming games made by the handful of large development companies can be cyclical, turning people away from the industry, said Dr. Khandaker, who is also the chief executive of Glow Up Games, a research and development studio focused on diversity.

Women, for example, are rarely promoted to senior positions or made the heads of studios. Many gamers say toxic harassment online is still an everyday fear.

Some like Mr. Gooden, 21, see signs of hope. He started making games shortly after he got his first laptop in the fifth grade and discovered a game-developing program online. He never stopped. In Mr. Goodens role-playing game, She Dreams Elsewhere, the main character, Thalia Sullivan, navigates her own mind, battling nightmares as she tries to eventually figure how she fell into a coma.

The most recent I.G.D.A. survey found that 81 percent of those in the industry feel that diversity in the workplace is either very important or somewhat important, up from 63 percent in 2015.

And developers have more outlets to get their games in the hands of players, including online platforms like Steam and crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter, as well as gaming conferences and festivals.

Im an optimist, Mr. Gooden said. I hope that things will eventually be better as a whole.

I am just one or two steps removed from people who are like exploding in popularity in this very scary way. Squinky Creator of Robot Slow Dance

When Gamergate unfolded in 2014, the world was exposed to the toxic side of gaming. Spurred by a misogynistic post online from a game developers ex-boyfriend, mobs online publicly attacked female creators and players in a targeted harassment campaign. Women routinely received rape and death threats.

Dietrich Squinkifer, better known as Squinky, knew many of the victims.

Watching friends being targeted was scary, but not surprising for Squinky, who uses they and them pronouns. Squinky had tangled with the same culture before.

They began making games in the early 2000s. Squinkys first job in the industry was with Telltale Games, a company based in San Rafael, Calif., known for The Walking Dead, a zombie apocalypse adventure game.

Squinky, 33, said that as their career progressed, they increasingly tried to advocate a better understanding of race, gender and sexuality in the industry. Colleagues saw Squinky as a troublemaker, and bosses were quick to reprimand.

They burned out of mainstream gaming.

Now, Squinky pursues independent, artistic projects, like Robot Slow Dance. Its a game in which people use controllers to make two miniature foam and metal robots dance with each other.

I think thats part of the reason a lot of my focus in my work has gone more toward more experimentality, installation and performance art, following more of an art world tradition, Squinky said. I am to some degree scared of creating something that will get popular enough within the video game world community that it does receive that kind of backlash.

The game itself is a commentary on social gender norms, which are nonexistent for robots. They wont make the same assumptions as humans, Squinky said.

I like that its a way for me to express myself, and kind of take control of any situation that Ive had in my life.Emma KidwellCreator of Half

Emma Kidwells father is white. Her mother is Japanese. But growing up in the overwhelmingly white, rural suburb of Walkersville, Md., she felt detached from her Japanese identity.

Making games would help her reconnect.

She became interested in gaming as a child, watching her brothers play Xbox and PlayStation. About three years ago in college, Ms. Kidwell tried building games for a narrative design class.

Through games, Ms. Kidwell, 25, found she could tell stories about her personal life. She made one about the awkwardness of buying condoms at a store; she made another about watching her grandmother grapple with dementia.

In January, her grandfather in Japan died, rekindling Ms. Kidwells childhood uneasiness about her biracial identity. So she made the interactive, web-based game Half.

The narrative game takes the player through a series of Ms. Kidwells memories. She wrote about feelings of wanting to look more Japanese, about how her mother stopped talking to her in Japanese and about how she was mistaken for being Chinese.

Since then, I havent felt the same really weird self-consciousness, she said.

I want to show other people, similar to me, that they can create stuff like that that theres a space for it. Joyce LinCreator of Queering Spacetime

In Joyce Lins new tabletop card game, players role-play as girls with crushes on each other. One might become Avery, who is Japanese and Scottish and pansexual, or Ioh, a Korean tomboy.

Draw another card, and Avery and Ioh might meet at a gas station at 1 a.m., with one needing a ride.

Together, players craft a date: Will Ioh give Avery a ride? What is the best way the early morning can unfold, based on each characters personality traits?

Ms. Lin, 21, said the game, Queering Spacetime, is an attempt to put forth a positive representation of queer relationships, often overlooked in games and media.

Usually, in dating sims, you have to impress a character, she said, referring to simulation games. Its sort of one-sided.

Ms. Lin, who recently came out, said her game exemplified the queer form of resistance building safe spaces together as a shield against all that is harmful in the world.

Theres this culture that youre supposed to be good at gaming. For me, games are not about that. Julian CorderoCo-creator of Despelote

Julian Cordero, 22, loves soccer but hates its competitive culture. So, when he made a game about the sport, it wasnt about playing a match.

The game, which he made with his development partner, Sebastin Valbuena, 28, is called Despelote and is set in their hometown, Quito, Ecuador.

In first person, the player kicks a soccer ball around city parks, meeting people along the way.

Ultimately, the game for us is a game about soccer, but its not about the competitive aspect, Mr. Cordero said. Its quite the opposite. Its about the human aspect, and the relationships that sort of develop through kicking a ball around.

With Despelote, Mr. Cordero is trying to use soccer to reject the competitiveness of gaming, which he believes engenders the misogyny and consumerism that have been endemic to the culture.

Mr. Cordero wants people to know that he likes making and playing games, but hes not a gamer.

I wouldnt really call myself that, he said.

I saw there was a whole thing, a whole scene I never seen before. Aziza BrownOwner of Dynamik Focus

Aziza Brown is proud to call herself a gamer.

Ms. Brown, the founder and chief executive of Dynamik Focus, an e-sports and content creation team, said coverage of the industry erroneously dwelled on toxicity and Gamergate when discussing the lack of diversity.

Other, less sinister reasons lurk behind the demographics, she said, and they can be fixed.

Some people of color may be less likely to have access to the expensive, high-speed internet connections necessary to play at a competitive level, she said. Theres also what Ms. Brown called an information deficit not knowing which tournaments or clubs to go to or whom to meet in the community.

Ms. Brown, 39, points to her own experience as representative of how things can change.

Growing up in New York, she played many video games, particularly fighting games like Street Fighter. She played in some tournaments but then went to college at Stony Brook University and studied engineering.

When she returned, she set out to find a robust gaming community: tournaments, clubs, friends.

Through Dynamik Focus, she now tries to help others find their support groups. Ms. Brown was, for example, one of hundreds who attended an annual conference for developers of color in Harlem over the summer.

I had a talk with a woman in gaming, where I was like, please come to the offline communities, come to other places, because once the anonymous barrier is gone, you can see the person to their face, you can confront them, that behavior stops, she said.

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Fear, Anxiety and Hope: What It Means to Be a Minority in Gaming - The New York Times