Tracie Sponenberg LLC December 23, 2025 Welcome! This is a time of year for me (as it is for many) with a mix of emotions. Joy, grief, and everything in between. Even as our kids are now official adults, we try to keep the magic of Christmas alive. That's a little harder this year after losing my Dad, who was such a big part of our holidays (and all things.) I think the best way to honor him, and my mom, and the girls mom and aunt and Dave's sister, and others we've lost in recent years, is...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Tracie Sponenberg LLC December 9, 2025 Welcome! As I write, I'm at home and it is BEAUTIFUL outside. Bright blue skies, snow on the ground. But it's like -2 degrees. Deceiving. Read on to find out what I'm thinking about this week. WORK The Leadership Practice That Costs Nothing When I was in graduate school, I studied all kinds of business theories. And while as I gained more experience in my career I started to focus less on theory and more on creating my own recommendations and practices,...
about 2 months ago • 6 min read
Tracie Sponenberg LLC November 26, 2025 Welcome! As I write this, I'm sitting at my desk at home, looking out at some really bare and kind of depressing trees. (If you read the newsletter regularly, you'll remember I wrote a lot about the beautiful fall leaves!) Being home is rare this time of year as we try to escape cold NH as much as possible in what I feel like is the worst month of the year. December has the holiday lights and festivities, and by January, it's getting just a bit lighter...
2 months ago • 11 min read
Tracie Sponenberg LLC November 17, 2025 Welcome! As I write this, I'm sitting in my hotel in a very quiet area with comfy chairs and a view of palm trees and the ocean. This is the height of bliss for me, and I'm grateful I get to be here for a few days. I found this beautiful but relaxed place (you can see more via the link below), when Dave did a metal detecting day with Gary Drayton from The Curse of Oak Island several years ago. We needed some place relatively close to the spot we went,...
3 months ago • 6 min read
Tracie Sponenberg LLC November 3, 2025 Welcome! As I write this, I'm sitting in my room in Nashville, prepping for my keynote tomorrow, and procrastinating by writing this letter first! Remember my big announcement from last week? Read more under "Community." I've been including a lot of practical tips in the "work" section, but I do love sharing stories, so this week I'm back to storytelling with a fun one. And one more thing before we jump into it - I had the honor of stepping in for the...
3 months ago • 5 min read
Tracie Sponenberg LLC October 27, 2025 Welcome! As I write this, I'm sitting in my room at the Omni Mount Washington Resort, longtime home of the Strategic HR Conference. But before I forget, I have probably the biggest announcement in my business coming within the next week, and I want to share it here first, so you may see a short newsletter a bit sooner! Back to Strategic HR - Never heard of it? I hope that changes soon. Katie Jones and her team at the Nimble Group do an incredible job of...
3 months ago • 6 min read
Tracie Sponenberg LLC October 18, 2025 Welcome! If you read my newsletter last week, you know I went on and on about the leaves. You'll have to read about it this week too, because we are at the tail end of what are the best three weeks of the year in NH. When cooler weather, pumpkins, apples and gorgeous leaves are everywhere, and the Halloween decorations pop up. (You can scroll down to see what the view outside my office window looks like as I write this!) Anyway, here's what I'm thinking...
4 months ago • 8 min read
Tracie Sponenberg LLC October 9, 2025 Welcome! This is my favorite month of the year in NH. Beautiful leaves, cooler temperature (including absolutely wild temperature swings!) The days when you need the AC and the heat on in the same day. But I know what's coming. I'm not a huge fan of winter, and we are trying to spend more of it out of the cold this year. Including spending a bit of November in Florida, before and after ASA's NETWORK. If you are headed there, I'd love to see you! If you...
4 months ago • 6 min read
Tracie Sponenberg LLC September 29, 2025 Welcome! This newsletter is a little bit different. (And a bit longer!) In my "Work" section I'm previewing the first of in a three-part series of articles (possibly to become a series of series of articles!) Thanks to my friends at WorkStory for the inspiration! This first article in the series dives into the history of performance management, viewed partially through the lens of my early career. (It's a bit longer because it is intended to catch you...
4 months ago • 8 min read