“My research debunks the myth that many people seem to have . . . that you become a leader by fighting your way to the top. Rather, you become a leader by helping others to the top. Helping your employees is as important, and many times more so, than trying to get the most work out of them.” ~ William Cohen, The Stuff of Heroes: The Eight Universal Laws of Leadership.

I just a great article in Support World Magazine by Peter McGarahan titled “Service Leadership ” for the full pdf read click HERE. 

here’s a short excerpt…Pete writes…. -In my many leadership positions and interactions with support professionals around the world, effective leadership comes down to one thing: people care when they know that you care!

In recent Gallup polls regarding the state of the U.S. worker, it is shocking and disappointing to see how many people are truly disengaged in the workplace. In support organizations, the biggest differentiator between organizations that excel at service delivery, customer service, and delivering business value and the ones that always struggle is leadership. Leaders who approach their responsibilities with energy, passion, and intelligence will always make a difference in people’s lives.

These leaders never forget:     Where they came from,  What it took to get where they are, and The important lessons they learned along the way.

They are particularly resourceful and utilize trusted, experienced mentors for advice, direction, and support. What’s even more interesting is the fact that these leaders-successful, happy people-are humble! They never let their egos convince them that they are the smartest people in the room, and they never let arrogance stand in the way of being a good listener and a continuous learner.

Obvious - Common Sense - old news…you say?!  Well yes… it is, but rare and wonderful is the leader whose life emulates these principles.  And blessed, happy and engaged are the few lucky souls who work with that leader.

Kirk Out

Many years ago, a ten year old boy approached the center of a soda shop and climbed on to a stool.  “What does an ice cream sundae cost?” he asked the waitress.

“Fifty cents,” she answered.

The youngster reached deep in his pockets and pulled out an assortment of change, counting it carefully as the waitress grew impatient.  She had “bigger” customer to wait on.

“Well, how much would just plain ice cream be?” the boy asked

The waitress responded with noticeable irritation in her voice, “Thirty-five cents.”

Again, the boy slowly counted his money.  “May I have some plain ice cream in a dish then, please?” He gave the waitress the correct amount, and she brought him the ice cream.

Later, the waitress returned to clear the boy’s dish and when she picked it up, she felt a lump in her throat. There on the counter the boy had left two nickels and five pennies. She realized that he had had enough money for the sundae, but sacrificed it so that he could leave her a tip.

Adapted from a Lifetime of Success, Pat William, Fleming H. Revell

Here’s a tip for us… treat people kindly….always.

Kirk Out

If today’s T4D sounds a lot like listening to Zig Ziglar… well that is because it is : )  … enjoy!

Staying Positive In A Negative World
 
Harvard and Stanford Universities have reported that 85% the reason a person gets a job and gets ahead in that job is due to attitude; and only 15% is because of technical or specific skills.

Interesting, isn’t it?   You spent how much money on your education?   And you spent how much money on building your positive attitude?   Ouch.   That hurts.
 
Now here’s an interesting thought. With the “right” attitude, you can and will develop the necessary skills.
 
So where’s your emphasis? Skill building? Attitude building? Unfortunately, “Neither” is the real answer for many people.

Perhaps if more people knew how simple it is to develop and maintain a positive attitude they would invest more time doing so. So here we go. Five steps to staying positive in a negative world:

1.  Understand that failure is an event, it is not a person. Yesterday ended last night; today is a brand new day, and it’s yours. You were born to win, but to be a winner you must plan to win, prepare to win, and then you can expect to win.

2.  Become a lifetime student. Learn just one new word every day and in five years you will be able to talk with just about anybody about anything. When your vocabulary improves,  your I.Q. goes up 100% of the time, according to Georgetown Medical School.

3.  Read something informational or inspirational every day.  Reading for 20 minutes at just 240 words per minute will enable you to read 20 200-page books each year. That’s 18  more than the average person reads! What an enormous competitive advantage . . . if you’ll just read for 20 minutes a day.

4.  Enroll in Automobile University. The University of Southern California reveals that you can acquire the equivalent of two years of a college education in three years just by listening to motivational and educational cassettes on the way to your job and again on the way  home. What could be easier?

5.  Start the day and end the day with positive input into your mind. Inspirational messages cause the brain to flood with dopamine and norepinephrine, the energizing neurotransmitters; with endorphins, the endurance neurotransmitters; and with serotonin, the feel-good-about-yourself neurotransmitter. Begin and end the day by reading or doing something positive!

Remember: Success is a process, not an event.
 
Invest the time in your attitude and it will pay off in your skills as well as your career.

Zig Out

I came across this great definition of knowledge:

“Knowledge is information that changes something or somebody — either by becoming grounds for actions, or by making an individual (or an institution) capable of different or more effective action.” — Peter F. Drucker

Don’t just give people information, give them the knowledge they need to be effective - and perhaps to even change their lives.

Kirk Out

   Nanette shares today’s thought with us…..on Time.  Thanks Nanette!

If there was a bank that credits your account each morning with $86,400. It carries over no balance from day to day. Every evening it deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day. What would you do?

Draw out ALL OF IT, of course!!!!

Each of us has such a bank. Its name is TIME. Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose. It carries over no balance. It allows no overdraft.

Each day it opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the remains of the day. If you fail to use the day’s deposits, the loss is yours. 

There is no going back.   There is no drawing against the “tomorrow.” You must live in the present on today’s deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness, and success! The clock is running. Make the most of today.

To realize the value of ONE YEAR, ask a student who failed a grade.

 To realize the value of ONE MONTH, ask a mother who gave birth to a premature baby.

To realize the value of ONE WEEK, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper.

To realize the value of ONE HOUR, ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.

To realize the value of ONE MINUTE, ask a person who missed the train.

To realize the value of ONE-SECOND, ask a person who just avoided an accident.

To realize the value of ONE MILLISECOND, ask the person who won a silver medal in the Olympics.

Treasure every moment that you have! And treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time.

And remember that time waits for no one. Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present!!!

Friends are a very rare jewel, indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear, they share a word of praise, and they always want to open their heart to us.

Have a great day and spend wisely,

Nanette

I just read the extended story of Steven Slater this morning in USA Today.com - Is he a “Good flight attendent gone bad”?   While I am sure there are important details of this story we’ll never know amidst the spin and posistioning of passengers, lawyers, flight attendents and PR professionals… I think it does invite us to consider a couple questions.

Was Slater justified in his actions?  The press is suggesting that he made a statement representing a growing feeling of frustration in America… “Stick it to the man”.   Did he… stick it to the man?  Will things change for the better because of his choice?   Will his example now inspire other digruntled, unhappy and miserable wokrers in American to make similar statements?   Are we all glad that someone who was willing to make a statement is associated with an industry that doesn’t allow firearms in the workplace?  Do you occasionally daydream about how to “get even” as you imagine ”getting out” of your miserable job?

Is bad behavior ever justified? 

It’s been my observation that pressure, adversity, and frustration…don’t make a person… nearly as quickly as they reveal them.

What do you think?

Kirk Out

An enterprising thought by Jim Rohn

An enterprising person is one who comes across a pile of scrap metal and sees the making of a wonderful sculpture. An enterprising person is one who drives through an old decrepit part of town and sees a new housing development. An enterprising person is one who sees opportunity in all areas of life.

To be enterprising is to keep your eyes open and your mind active. It’s to be skilled enough, confident enough, creative enough and disciplined enough to seize opportunities that present themselves…regardless of the economy.

A person with an enterprising attitude says, “Find out what you can before action is taken.” Do your homework. Do the research. Be prepared. Be resourceful. Do all you can in preparation of what’s to come.

Enterprising people always see the future in the present. Enterprising people always find a way to take advantage of a situation, not be burdened by it. And enterprising people aren’t lazy. They don’t wait for opportunities to come to them, they go after the opportunities. Enterprise means always finding a way to keep yourself actively working toward your ambition.

Enterprise is two things. The first is creativity. You need creativity to see what’s out there and to shape it to your advantage. You need creativity to look at the world a little differently. You need creativity to take a different approach, to be different.

What goes hand-in-hand with the creativity of enterprise is the second requirement: the courage to be creative. You need courage to see things differently, courage to go against the crowd, courage to take a different approach, courage to stand alone if you have to, courage to choose activity over inactivity.

And lastly, being enterprising doesn’t just relate to the ability to make a living. Being enterprising also means feeling good enough about yourself, having enough self worth to want to seek advantages and opportunities that will make a difference in your future. And by doing so you will increase your confidence, your courage, your creativity and your self-worth - your enterprising nature.

Be the Captain of your Enterprise…

Kirk out

In Georgia where I live it is the first day of school… and interestingly each one of our 5 children are attending different schools.(I’m including a pre-school for our 3 year old Ashlyn).  Jake has his first day of high school, Josh his first day in middle school… I can’t even remember my first day anymore.    They are nervous and excited… their Mom is too. 

They’ve all left for the day now…and I’m thinking …WOW, is the summer really gone?  That was fast.   I didn’t accomplish everything I had hoped.  Heck, I didn’t even come close… the wish list only has a couple of items checked off. 

Still - it was a great summer and as a family we did a lot of things that weren’t on the list.   And perhaps the most memorable of those things happened Saturday night.   All the friends had gone home it was nearly midnight and myself and the 4 oldest decided to go swimming.  The pool was the perfect temperature and we just swam and talked for a while… then we turned off all the lights and laid on the top step with just our heads out of the water and stared into the night sky…. and talked until 1 in the morning.  The stars seemed amazing bright, the shooting stars caused exclamations of “did you see that” and seemed to be heaven sent just for us.  It was one of those magical moments for a parent where kids talked freely and listened intently…where we all felt close and no one wanted the moment or the memory being made to end.  But finally shriveled and shivering we called it a night

I’m not sure if I can find the words to describe how I felt then…or even how I’m feeling now.  One part melancholy, 3 parts joy.  And though the list isn’t accomplished… yet I still feel quite happy and content…satisfied that what we did do, we did together and it was enough.  Maybe this is what they are talking about when they counsel us to find “joy in the journey”.

Happiness is mostly a by-product of doing what makes us feel fulfilled.  — Dr. Benjamin Spock

Enjoy your summer, enjoy your relationships, enjoy the journey… as you live fully your life.

Kirk Out

“All who have accomplished great things have had a great aim; have fixed their gaze on a goal which was high, one which sometimes seemed impossible.”  ~ Orison Swett Marden  1850-1924, Writer

“It’s really important that you feel good. Because this feeling good is what goes out as a signal into the universe and starts to attract more of itself to you. So the more you can feel good, the more you will attract the things that help you feel good and that will keep bringing you up higher and higher.”  ~ Joe Vitale

We all know people who don’t feel good, and people who have no goals in their life.  I’ve even met some people who seem like they have a goal to be miserable and who freely share their misery with everyone around them.  So let’s not be like them.  Instead let’s have goals to attract more of the postivele, good, and attractive stuff into our lives!  Because people with more attractive goals are more positively attractive people.

So have goals - have goals to be good and to feel good - and you will ! 

And if you can’t do any of that… then I want you to at least have a nice chocolate chip cookie.

Kirk

Kirk

“Few things help an individual more than to place responsibility upon them and to let them know that you trust them.”  ~Booker T. Washington