In 2021, I was working closely with a compliance officer named Mark, who had been given the job of implementing an ISO management system at his company. Mark was eager to learn and get things right, but he was relatively new to the world of ISO standards. One day, we created an internal audit record—a document that was supposed to capture the findings of a recent audit, serving as a snapshot in time. It was meant to document what was observed during the audit and remain unchanged as a historical record.

Implementing an ISO Management System often comes with the misconception that everyone in the organization should instantly embrace and support the changes. Many believe that they can simply ‘make’ people appreciate the value of quality and force them to comply with new processes. This approach, however, can lead to frustration and resistance. One of my students recently shared their struggles with trying to impose these changes on both their colleagues and top management.

Over the past five years, I’ve had the privilege of working closely with Kaitlyn Merrin from Merrin Co., an international ISO consultancy. In the early days, I was there to share my knowledge of ISO standards and support her with tenders and system builds, acting as a second pair of eyes.

When I first started out as a certification auditor and an ISO trainer, I would prepare and practice for days before!

My preparation for certification audits consisted of a detailed audit checklist, printed pages of the previous audit report, an updated and prepared new audit report, plus post-it notes to remember my ISO standards and PPE.

My preparation for delivering training, was a run through of the slides, reference to my hand-written notes in the course workbook and hours of sitting at my computer practicing my delivery.

I shared this post recently. I wanted to be honest with everyone that I just wasn’t feeling it this year. The post I shared was:

I’m usually all about setting goals and charging into the new year, but this time it hit differently. I caught myself thinking, “Same sh*t, different year.”

And then I thought of a hamster wheel! You know the feeling—running and running but never really getting anywhere? That’s where I found myself. And honestly, I still kind of feel that way today. And possibly I’m not the only one who’s felt like that.

But here’s what I realized—it’s OK to feel this way. It’s OK to take a moment to sit with it instead of forcing positivity or slapping on a new goal just because the calendar flipped over.

What matters is what we do next. If I feel like I’m stuck on the hamster wheel, then it’s my responsibility to figure out how to step off—or maybe even get flung off it (because, let’s face it, sometimes that’s exactly what we need!).

Your resume is a crucial document that showcases your professional identity. Throughout my career, I’ve reviewed hundreds, if not thousands, of resumes.

The challenge consistently lies in how to make your resume stand out in the crowd. Many students frequently ask about the best ways to update their resumes, specifically in the ISO Industry. Recently, I received an email that sums up these common concerns perfectly.