Following her own sage advice and life-long professional career of helping others, Terri Merritt-Worden, Vice President of Operations of the Blue Zones Project by Sharecare, celebrated the start of retirement. Upon request for advice about wisdom accumulated during her career, Terri shared her top ten suggestions for leadership, well-being and health during a final good-bye with the Blue Zones Project team. Senior Project Manager, Mandy Butters codified these recommendations, which are good for anyone from youth to old age. Terri was a big fan of David Letterman, so in his style, here is her Top 10 List:
TERRI'S TOP 10
- Whatever keeps you up at night, you have a colleague who can help solve it . . . don’t lose sleep, use the acumen of your team.
- Live the Power 9—I learned early in my career that well-being and chronic disease prevention include more than nutrition and exercise; in my opinion, stress management and community are equally (and may even be more) important.
- Be authentic. Walk the talk.
- Don’t assume your colleagues want to sit next to you on the plane to have uninterrupted worktime; they might need uninterrupted sleep time if they have little ones!
- You don’t become wise by being perfect—you become wise by making mistakes and learning from them. Wisdom trumps perfection.
- Trust your intuition.
- Trust the process and assume good intent.
- Develop good/strong relationships with your business partners (e.g., finance, HR, legal, and facilities). Take the time to orient them to your business and needs so that they can support you when you are “not in the room/meeting” and help with business strategy.
- Follow your passion, lead with your heart, and live your values.
- BREATHE! It is the most portable stress-management and centering/focusing tool. If you have never taken a breathing workshop or studied the science of breath, sign up for one this year or research it!
Terri’s recent contributions led to the success and a robust growth phase of the Blue Zones Project. Formerly, she was instrumental with the Ornish Reversal Program. Altogether, Terri has literally improved the well-being and health of millions of individuals, hundreds of organizations, and scores of communities.
Up on next week’s Blue Zones Bulletin, what makes for a successful retirement?
