cliche

Today I am going to speak in cliches.  Our business had an epiphany this week...when there is so much change internally you realize nothing gold can stay...things aren't always as they seem...and there is never a dawn without a morning...it is never as bad as it seems.
Signing off
Peace out

A Tuesday Breather 11/1/11

This one courtesy of my wife. I like it a lot.

Do you know this man?  Extremely anxious to improve his life but shirks his work and feels justified in cheating his employer because of his low wages. 

Do you know this woman? Diseased because of gluttony.  She is willing to pay large amounts of money to better her health but unwilling to give up her unhealthy habits.    

Do you know employer like this?  Who cuts wages and cheats on his taxes to make a few more bucks.  When he finds himself in bankruptcy both in reputation and finances he blames circumstances not knowing he is the sole author of his condition. 

Prosperity: Good thoughts and actions can never produce bad results; bad thoughts and actions can never produce good results…nothing can come from corn but corn, nothing from nettles but nettles…(From “As a Man Thinketh” by James Allen).

The value of people

When I sit down and talk with employees about value they often get irritated, at least at first. I mean no one wants their value assessed right? We are all valuable as people, depending on your religious beliefs we have value from God. So how dare we discuss value? But to a business your value is measurable not as a person but as an employee. If your value is high then raises and promotions are possible. If your value is low you may not be here long. That's just the way it works.

But as leaders we also must remember to know and value people as people. They don't have to become our best buds and should never be drinking buddies but we need to get to know them enough to really understand them in order to lead them. And hopefully we learn to value their needs as highly as the needs of the company.

People

Funny how you don't realize what you have til its gone, I know cliche but true. I never realized how dependent I was on certain employees. When they left their knowledge base left with them. Now that knowledge base has to be recreated with new people which is time consuming. The good news is new people bring new energy and I am investing more in the new people because I realize how important they will become. Now I can't let myself forget that.....

Saying Yes!

“Find a way to say yes to things. Say yes to invitations to a new country, say yes to meet new friends, say yes to learn something new.  Yes is how you get your first job, and your next job, and your spouse, and even your kids.  Even if it’s a bit edgy, a bit out of your comfort zone, saying yes means that you will do something new, meet someone new, and make a difference.  Yes lets you stand out in a crowd, be the optimist, see the glass full, be the one everyone comes to.  Yes is what keeps us all young.”

Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Google

This is a tough one for me as I tend to be skeptical and stick to routine!

Plants aren't green!

People are always surprised when I tell them having plants in an office is not "green". It's true though. There are many reasons. Plants attract bugs, often bugs are brought in with the plant. The bugs then require insecticides to control. Most offices have regular spraying anyway but the more plants the more likely, more often and larger amount of spraying. Insecticide isn't "green" so anything that cause more to be used obviously isn't green. Also plants can often get moldy or mildewy. I had a client that called me because she thought she had mold growing in her carpet. She had a leaky window which would wet her carpet on occasion but we had just cleaned the carpet so I was doubtful that was the issue. I visited and found a plant that had mildew growing in the fake "moss" stuff around the plant. Also some plants give off pollen or other things which are potential allergens. For these and other reasons it is best to leave the plants at home or in your yard.

Losing a friend

My office manager gave his notice yesterday. I am happy for him as he leaves for what seems like a wonderful opportunity business and personal. I am sad because I am losing a friend. When he first started at our business I was the HR manager and he was an office assistant, that was 14 yrs ago. In 14 yrs we have both seen a lot of changes. He was at my wedding and we have shared many of lifes ups and downs. I wish him nothing but the best as both move on in life. Ultimately I hope anyone who leaves us leaves for a better opportunity. But it is painful to lose someone like him no matter the reason.

Washington DC

I visited DC last weekend with my EO forum. A great weekend with those guys. It was nice to get out and see the Whitehouse and some of the monuments and memorials as well. I had not been there since I was a kid. The history contained there is amazing. I will take my teenage son, a big history buff, back there this summer - he will love it. It will be the first time he and I have traveled alone together, I am really looking forward to that!.

Toast

Ate lunch at Toast today in Fallbrook. Really good food, excellent sandwhiches, soup and salads. Wish we lived closer.

biking to work

So I have been riding my bike to work 3 days a week the last few weeks. Not so much to save gas or save the planet - though both would be commendable reasons. I am doing it to stay in shape or get in shape depending on your view. It is about 5 miles according to my route tracker on my evo and takes me just under 30 mintues. It took me a couple days to figure out a good route. Since I am coming from west A and going to my office at 27th and O the biggest issue I had was traffic. I dont like riding on the street in a bunch of traffic and you cant ride on sidewalks downtown. I ended up with a route that keeps me south of downtown until I come up 20th/21st and cross under O thanks to the Antelope Valley project. My goal is continue this all year until it gets too cold and snowy to continue then hopefully make it a regular practice year after year.

Scheels Rocks!

I had a wonderful experience at Scheels. How many times do we have negative retail experiences and complain? So only fair to give out kudos. My wife, child and I got to Scheels at 6:15 Sunday not realizing they close at 6. They happily let us come in any way and we told them of our upcoming ski trip. They got us everything we needed, men's, women's and kids clothing and were extremely helpful. All after their store had officially closed. All the employees were really nice through the whole thing despite us making them stay late on a weekend. As we left an employee who had to wait for us to check out in order to let us out even pleasantly wished us a good trip! We will go back to Scheels for any sporting good we need from now on!

Is there such a thing as Bad Profits?

In his book "The Ultimate Question" Fred Reicheld proposes there is a difference between good profits and bad profits. In a nutshell he considers profits good if they are made from business that enriches a customer and causes them to not only want to return to do more business but tell friends and colleagues about the experience. Bad profits conversely are profits made at the expense of the relationship with a customer, causing the customer to want to seek the product or service elsewhere. The trouble is knowing the difference. Are the profits we are generating today good or bad profits? Are we creating customer loyalty or just one time events that will dry up over time?

That question leads one to ask the ultimate question. More on that later.