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Memo
OCTOBER 2018
(888) 248-1219 | www.mometrixmedia.com
SETTINGTHE EXAMPLE FORGREATNESS
Performing physical activity in the morning or during a midafternoon break can do wonders for your focus. I’ve learned this firsthand. You feel energized. You feel all-around better. Again — the better the person, the better the employee. I’ve also watched Mometrix’s food culture change over the years. Early on, the snack selection was a little heavy on the sugar. You could grab a Coke from the fridge and maybe a few Oreos if you were so inclined. Or maybe even an ice cream bar. At one point in time, we had a lot of beverage options, but many of them were packed with sugar or high- fructose corn syrup. Well, that changed. We realized just how poor our diets were and how little we were moving. So the company opted to get rid of the sugary beverages. They even phased out drinks with artificial sweeteners. Over a period of about six months, the company — myself included — was weaned off of sugar. It wasn’t easy, but we did it! These days, the options are on the healthier side, though there are often a wide variety of options available to cater to different tastes. Of course, the company culture goes beyond health and wellness. There is a huge emphasis on promoting self-improvement. If you need something to help you be better at your job, more productive, or more well-rounded, the company will do what it can to make that happen. Mometrix really set the example for me personally when they reached out about developing a muscular dystrophy campaign. They gave me the tools I needed to make it happen — and now it does, every year. I can’t tell you how happy that made me and my family. This all goes to show how important a solid company culture is, no matter where you work or what industry you may be in. Mometrix helps people succeed on exams. At a glance, you wouldn’t necessarily think a company that produces study guides and flashcards would put such an emphasis on culture, but that’s exactly what they do.
Over the years, Mometrix has strived to create something great. That quest is evident in our company culture. Since the day I started, Mometrix’s company culture has come a long way. We’ve made impressive strides to grow and improve in every way. Some people have even gone so far as to call the company “the Google of Southeast Texas.” That’s high praise, and it’s well-earned. A lot of people collaborated to make our culture what it is today. A big part of it was shaped by the idea that the better the person, the better the employee. You can also think of that in terms of happiness — the happier the person, the happier the employee. Numerous studies have shown that happier employees are more productive. Mometrix learned from that idea and sought to create a work environment that promotes happiness. But how do you influence happiness? For a lot of people, happiness starts with good health. Mometrix did some serious research into employee health and wellness — something I’m benefiting from right now. The company has an option for sit-and- stand desks, which are considered much healthier than a conventional desk. Sitting all day, it turns out, is not good for your health! Everyone is regularly encouraged to get moving as well. To help with that, the company put in an onsite gym. If you want to lift weights, you can do that. If you want to play a little indoor soccer, you can do that too. And wallyball, we have you covered!
–Ja y Willi s
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POPULAR STUDYMETHODS THATAREN’T EFFECTIVE
Everyone learns and retains information differently. Some people are visual learners, while others thrive with repetition. However, when it comes to studying, some methods are not nearly as effective as others. A study out of Kent State University and published in Psychological Science in the Public Interest in 2013 tackled the subject of ineffective study methods. According to their research, one of the least effective methods is highlighting. Highlighters are a mainstay of just about every student’s supply list. In some cases, highlighting text or notes can be beneficial. When you want to draw your attention to a certain area of a page or keep thoughts organized, highlighting can be great. The problem is that when a student highlights text, they don’t often return to the material. The Kent State study found that highlighting and underlining had “low utility” — in other words, highlighting or marking on a page “does little to boost performance.”
That same study also looked at other forms of studying, including rereading text material. Rereading is the most common form of studying. In a survey of college students, more than 65 percent said they reread material to prepare for an exam. The problem is that rereading is one of the more time-consuming study methods. Additionally, you are unlikely to retain most of the information you reread. According to the Kent State University study, rereading did not increase participating students’ exam scores. Basically, rereading wasn’t worth the effort. Conversely, one of the best ways to study and retain course material is though practice testing. The 2013 study recommended doing practice tests utilizing textbooks and other course material. They also recommended utilizing flashcards and completing the questions or problems often found at the end of textbook chapters.
Additionally, the researchers found that highlighting “may actually hurt performance on higher-level tasks that require inference-making.”
‘THEARTOF LEARNING’ A CHILD PRODIGY RETHINKS SUCCESS
This is a book about a journey. It chronicles a life of international chess tournaments, high-stakes martial arts competitions, a boy who found too much success, and the man who had to relearn everything because of it. Yes, “The Art of Learning” reads like a gripping, emotional memoir, but make no mistake — Josh Waitzkin’s work doubles as an effective guide for business owners striving to attain perfection in their fields. Josh Waitzkin’s name will be familiar to longtime chess fans and movie buffs alike. As a child prodigy, Waitzkin won his first national chess title at age 9, which quickly made him an international sensation. His father, Fred Waitzkin, wrote the renowned book “Searching for Bobby Fischer,” chronicling his young son’s journey into the world of chess. This then inspired the movie of the same name. Now, one does not normally think of child prodigies as being great sources of insight into finding success. By definition, prodigies are exceptional — exceptions who operate on a different playing field than most. But Waitzkin firmly positions his journey through the chess world as the antithesis of what he calls “the art of learning.” As the author states, “The moment we believe that success is determined by an ingrained level of ability as opposed to resilience and hard work, we will be brittle in the face of adversity.” Waitzkin was very gifted at chess, and he didn’t have to push himself early on, but by the time he did find challenging opponents, he found loss and adaptation impossible to handle. It wasn’t until he stepped out of the rigid grids of chess and into the flowing movements of tai chi that Waitzkin was able to formulate a guide to success.
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HANDLINGGROUPCONFLICT EFFICIENTLY
Whether it’s a school or work environment, you’ll be faced with working in groups at some point. As a leader in a group, you will need to speak for the group, direct the group’s energy, and handle group conflict. Conflict can slow a group’s progress or prevent it from achieving its goals, but it can also be used to fuel the group’s overall performance. Managing group conflict can be daunting, but when approached in the right way, you can sometimes turn a negative into a positive. Recognize Conflict When you notice the first sign of conflict arising in your group, don’t ignore it. Acknowledging a conflict within a group can prevent it from escalating into something worse. Conflicts aren’t always detrimental, but it’s important to recognize them as soon as possible. At the first signs of a dispute of any kind, discuss it with your other group members to see if they also feel there is an issue and get their perspective on it. Resolve the Conflict After the group has recognized the problem, come up with solutions as a team. A solution may include discussing how the disagreement can impact the team’s productivity and accomplishments. Give each team member a chance to speak their mind about the problem and what they think is the best way to solve it. Another option is to split the team into smaller groups to discuss the issue and then come together as a whole to talk about it at large. Discussing it as a group allows every member’s opinions to be heard, and this open communication can help the group come to a resolution together.
Prevent Conflict
When faced with conflicts, many people tend to shy away from or ignore the problem, but that doesn’t prevent the issue from growing. In a group setting, it’s important to push the conflict into the spotlight and address it as soon as it arises. Acknowledging the conflict quickly with clear communication and levelheadedness prevents it from becoming worse later on.
Conflicts don’t have to make a group unpleasant. Continue to work with your team, and you’ll soon find that any problems you encounter can be overcome.
‘HEADLESS’ APPLESONHORSEBACK
SUDOKU
A take on the classic “devils on horseback” hors d’oeuvres, this recipe requires only three ingredients. These little bundles of flavor are the perfect finger food for your next get-together.
INGREDIENTS
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16 very thin slices of pancetta (or cured, unsmoked bacon)
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3 ounces manchego cheese, 1/4 inch thick Toothpicks for skewering
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2 pink lady apples
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DIRECTIONS
1. Core apples and cut each into 8 wedges. Remove rind of manchego cheese and cut into 2-inch sticks. 2. Heat a grill pan or skillet to medium-high. 3. On a cutting board, lay pancetta or bacon slices flat and place an apple wedge and piece of cheese in the center of each. 4. Roll pancetta tightly and skewer with toothpick. 5. Grill until cheese is melted and pancetta or bacon is golden and crispy, about 5 minutes. 6. Drain excess grease on a paper towel and serve hot.
Inspired by Food & Wine magazine
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INSIDE 1
HowMometrix Sets the Example for Its Employees
Which Popular Study Methods Don’t Work? Discover ‘The Art of Learning’
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Facing Group Conflict ‘Headless’ Apples on Horseback
The Surprising Origins of Trick-or- Treating
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WHY THEREAREKIDSONYOUR PORCHASKINGFORCANDY THE HISTORY OF TRICK-OR-TREATING
As Halloween looms and you load up your grocery cart with candy, you may ask yourself, “Why do I provide these spooky gremlins with a sugar high every Oct. 31, anyway?” Well, when your doorbell starts ringing around 6 p.m. this All Hallows’ Eve, you can thank the Celts for this tradition of candy and costumes. Halloween itself is a kind of mishmash of four different cultural festivals of old: two Roman fêtes, which commemorated the dead and the goddess of fruit and trees (not at the same time); the Celtic Samuin or Samhain, a new year’s party thrown at the end of our summer; and the Catholic All Saint’s Day, designed to replace Samuin and divorce it from its pagan origins. Long before there were young’uns on your porch dressed as Thanos with candy-filled pillowcases in hand, the Celts believed that Samuin marked an overlapping of the realms of the living and the dead. To trick the spirits leaking into our world, young men donned flowing white costumes and black masks — a great disguise when ghosts were about. The Catholic Church was never a big fan of these pagan traditions, so they renamed it “All Saints’ Day” and gussied it up in religious garb. By the 11th century, people were dressing up as saints, angels, and
the occasional demon instead of spirits. Eventually, costumed children started tearing through town begging for food and money and singing a song or prayer in return — a practice called “souling.” But when did they start dressing up as Minions? Starting in the 19th century, souling turned to “guising,” which gave way to trick-or-treating in mid-20th-century America, and the costumes diversified. So put on some clown makeup and a big smile, scoop up a handful of sweets, and scare the living daylights out of ‘em — ‘tis the season!
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