Beth Staley

Background

About Beth Staley

My passion for content begins with inquiry, which has fueled my research and leadership work in the academic and nonprofit sectors, as well as my marketing and copy strategy work for B2C and B2B businesses focused on community engagement. Whether pitching, executing, or supporting a project, I always draw from the skillset gained while wearing a variety of hats: writer, copyeditor, thought partner, project manager, mentor, and university lecturer in the humanities and business. Today, I collaborate with subject matter experts to develop content and thought leadership about how organizations achieve and sustain people-first transformations. My professional interests include operational excellence, performance development, and workplace experience. My research interests include 19th-century American literature, social and restorative justice, and sound studies. Off the clock, my newest interest is metalsmithing. A question I like to ask my network is: What does your ideal workday look like? Mine is based on the 50-25-25 rule that I used as a competitive figure skater. After an initial warm-up, I'd enter the rink, ready to dedicate 50% of my time to footwork (what accelerated my performance), 25% to jumps (what drove my performance), and 25% to spins (what challenged my performance). Now, as a team leader and individual performer, I try to ensure that: After an initial freewrite based on business news (my warm-up), I log into my computer, ready to dedicate 50% of my day to the overall knowledge-skill-and-project work that will accelerate my KPIs; 25% to the collaboration and information sharing that drive those KPIs; and 25% to the tasks or reports that challenge them. Of course, deviations from the ideal are inevitable, and I learn a lot from them. As I said, my passion for content begins with inquiry, a process that often breaks the 50-25-25 rule. When this happens, my ideal workday is governed by the messiness of growth and innovation, which will quickly require structure. Then, it's back to the 50-25-25 rule:)