Chumps to Champs

Last night the Boston Red Sox won the World Championship in Major League Baseball.

They are the best of the best !

What is remarkable is these same group of guys came in last place in their division last year.

They added a few different players but most of all they are the same team.

The difference was different coaching, a new manager.

And a philosophy in the locker room.

25 players came together and played as a TEAM.

Leadership can make a difference.

The great thing about team sports is they show you how important it is to work with each other and to have each other's back.

It is not just a saying or talk...it is the difference between being champs or chumps.

It is the difference between being successful or failing.

As I have said in past blog pieces you can not succeed on your own.

We all need each other.

This Red Sox team had fun with each other and all had the same goal, every day.

You gotta love sports, and you gotta love these 2013 Red Sox.

Great example, great TEAM !

B STRONG

You can never over communicate

In today's world I think you must communicate more. We now have the tools to do just that, with a computer strapped to our hip and phones we can email anytime and anywhere.

If you want to make friends with your business partners and customers...communicate !

I am still blown away with the amount of people in business that do not simply return a call or a email. I take that as being disrespectful and that they just do not care.

You should always be one step ahead, and let those around you know what to expect and when do expect it.

We have a driver that is in our fleet that sends a few email's every day, sometimes 3-4 depending on the job that he is on. He copies in all parties involved, dispatch, agents and customer care res. It is a great way to conduct business and to be sure that everyone gets the information needed, including YOU.

You cannot over communicate in my book.

The more we talk to each other the more we have the opportunity to succeed.

Experience

In life every experience is beneficial .

It is not always easy to believe especially at the time but all experiences are good, even the negative ones. Sometimes I think we learn more from our negative experiences then our positive ones.

Actually I know so.

Do not become angry when things do not go perfect or your way just take note on how to do it better or how to overcome adversity and grow from it.

What could YOU have one to help prevent the situation?

Trust me there is always something.

 The easy thing to do is to blame others and point the finger.

Remember the only person you can truly control is yourself.

Learn from every experience- it will come in handy down the road.

Abraham Lincoln said " I am not concerned if you make a mistake,  it is if you have learned from it".

Business Cards

When you introduce yourself to a customer do you hand them your business card?

You never get a second chance to make a first impression.

When you first meet a customer or for that matter any new employee or potential friend do you look them in the eye and give a nice firm handshake? Do you smile and look enthusiastic ?
You should?
The first impression is vital and important.

For our drivers you should look good, in uniform and your truck should be clean and looking good.
When the customer hears that truck rolling down their street you know that they are going to run to the window to see you pull up and get out.

You should walk up the sidewalk and ring the doorbell and when they answer you should give them a big smile, introduce yourself and hand them your business card.

Get off on a professional note and show them that you not only know how to wrap a chair and carry a dining room table but that you are your own business man and you take pride in yourself and your profession.

STOP- LOOK AND LISTEN.

Always listen to your customers and put their needs FIRST .

Start out right and end right. Be sure that all their needs are met and they are satisfied. Be sure that they know that they can contact you with any questions and refer to your business card.

Make a good first impression !

Health

If you have good health you have everything. My mother would tell me that all the time, she passed away a few years ago but I hear her saying that most every day. 

When I was younger that saying did not mean much to me but the older that I got the more important it became. 

Most people waste their days complaining and being negative while life passes them by.

In a John Lennon song he says " life is what happens to you while you busy making other plans".

If you have gone through tragedy in your life or know of a close love one that has gone through difficulties due to health issues you know what I am saying.

Cancer for example can hit any of us and most of us know someone who has been hit by it. It is ugly and some fight their way through the treatments and radiation while it burns through their bodies and some lose the fight and leave this journey that we are all on.

The ones that survive start to appreciate this great gift of life and take to heart what my mother would say to, if you have your health you have everything. 

Recently I was at the Arpin convention in Florida and I sat at a table for our big Gala night where we all dress up real fancy, share a nice meal and dance and laugh.

 At my table were a few of my friends and agents from the Arpin family. Jerry and Robin from Liberty moving, who won agent of the year that night, and Diana and Pete from Bristol Plymouth, Richie and Linda from Charleswood's . I could not help but notice how much Robin and Diana simply enjoyed the night, each other's company and the conversations. They sat next to each other and I could see them both laugh and smile the night away. 

You see they both fought cancer and went through all of the ugly treatment and thank The Lord they came out the other end. You could see their appreciation for everything and everybody around them and I loved to see their smiles and to hear their laughter.

Do not wait for something to hit you for you to realize the good things around you, stay positive and enjoy every day. Too many people have something bad happen to them and only then do they realize how good they really had it.

Life is not about how many " things" you have but how many people you touch and let in.

If you have your health you have everything.

Dealing with Your Doubts

Doubt, contrary to popular opinion is useful. Leaders with doubts are wiser than those with none. Doubt asks, “What could go wrong?” Self-doubt says, “I could be wrong.”

Only fools have no doubts.

Don’t feel bad if you have doubts. Confidence without doubt destroys leaders and organizations.
Confidence without doubt:

1. Closes ears.
2. Minimizes obstacles
3. Ignores problems.
4. Sets unrealistic goals.
5. Knows without investigation.
6. Refuses to reconsider.
7. Sacrifices people for achievement.
8. Takes offense at being challenged.
9. Rejects options.
10. Doesn’t have a track record.

Bonus: Confidence without doubt, like a two year old, wants its own way.
Confidence without doubt is:

1. Blindness.
2. Arrogance.
3. The result of dreaming without work.

Over-confidence believes declaring goals is the same as achieving goals.
Doubt:

1. Listens. Leaders, who aren’t sure, search for certainty by inviting input.
2. Prepares. Doubt, combined with drive to achieve, opens minds and motivates work. Doubters know noble goals aren’t magically attained. Fear that things could go wrong drives leaders to prepare for the worst while reaching for the best.
3. Develops relationships. Healthy doubt welcomes, connects, and depends on competent teammates.

Tension:

The tension between doubt and confidence
is solved by clinging to both at the same time.

Doubt and confidence:

1. Finds solutions by saying, “I don’t know but let’s find out.”
2. Believes doing the work, not dreaming, delivers results.
3. Remains flexible and open to criticism or suggestion while focused on making things better. Listen and constantly ask, “What’s next?”
4. Adapts and learns as it goes. Confidence, on its own, won’t adapt.
5. Gets busy.

Bring your doubts to the party. Don’t bury them. Successful leaders invite doubt and confidence to dance.

Pride

You should feel proud to work for a company.

Here at Arpin when disaster strikes we are there to help and that always makes me proud.

When Katrina hit we worked with the local business down the street from us, Card's Furniture, and we sent 24 trailer loads of relief supplies to Louisiana with three weeks. Everything from water and food to articles of clothing. And we continue to work when it hit the State to be sure the goods got to where it was needed. Dozens of agents and drivers all volunteered their equipment and time, it was wonderful to help organize and see unfold.

When Haiti was hit we did the same. We teamed up with Physicians for Peace, doctors that volunteer their time around the world. They were already set up in Haiti and needed specific items such as walkers, wheel chairs, canes and crutches. We worked with Cardi's and our agents and sent over -
2018 walkers
520- wheel chairs
1006 canes and
2816 pairs of crutches

When Sandy struck we were able to send 15 trailers down to NJ and NY within a few weeks of water, diapers, power bars and food.
Arpin donated the time and fuel of all of our company drivers to get the trailers delivered.

At the end of the day that is that matters and I am proud to be Arpin.

Thank you

Thank you to all of the drivers, agents and employees that have contacted me in the past few weeks to express their gratitude, concern and well wishes for me personally.

I have changed positions here at Arpin Van Lines and for the first time in 28 years I am not directly involved in dispatch, actually if you count my years at Honeywell Inc that would be 31 years.

All is good.

Change is good and at times needed to refresh the mind. I prayed on it every day for the past year and asked for guidance and it lead me to what I think was the best and obvious position for me, to work more directly with our drivers. That was Paul Arpin's through and through, he loved and respected his drivers and I was in a room with more than a few times when he said " without our drivers we are nothing".

As I have posted in a past blog piece, drivers and I speak the same lingo, we all blue collar working guys that just want to come to work and roll up our sleeves and do a good job. No BS needed.

It was kind of surreal in the past few weeks, I told my wife that it was like I was being eulogized except I am not dead. The cool thing was though that I like what I heard, after 28 years here at Arpin it seems that I have made a difference in people's life's and they appreciated it and our relationship both professionally and personally.
And that is my reward and what I always worked toward.

It is more then work to me, more then a position or title. I enjoy helping people, that is why I do what I do.
 I am still at Arpin and look forward to working with our drivers and having more drivers join our team and be respected and treated fairly for all of the hard work that they do every day.

Thank you again for all the calls and email, I am truly blessed and thank God every day for all of the friends , family , health and opportunity he has given me through the years.
And to think I am just hitting my prime. Time to take all that I have learned and build even more on it and try to reach out to as many people as I can.

I have only just begun.

Peace, love and understanding.

From a Driver

One of my favorite moving stories…it taught me you have to ask just the right question to get all the info you need from certain people. We were packing and loading 18,000 going from RI to the Marshall islands in the south Pacific. Basic center hall colonial. Husband and wife are both FBI agents…they have a boy and a girl 8-10…. House is over full with new furniture and bags of new stuff everywhere. Realtor beat us there by 2 minutes and they’re trying to get the kids off to school. Can’t even start the walkthrough…super chaotic. We’re just standing by in the front hall as they rustle up the kids to catch the bus. The mom yells up the stairs to the little boy “Did you brush your teeth?” …..the kids replies “yes”. The father…a real country boy from Texas calls him to the head of the stairs and says in a super Texas twang..”Did you brush your teeth TODAY?” The boy looks at his feet and says’ No sir” . The father tells him to go do it. He turns to us and says shaking his head.… “That boy’s gonna make a great lawyer someday.”

 

The salesman probably asked “Do you have boxes?” .They said “sure we do…nice big white ones”. What he should have asked was “Do you have boxes…and do those boxes have bottoms and tops?”. That little tid-bit of knowledge would have changed everything. BTW… That 1/100,000 of an inch of bubble wrap scotched taped over the top of the cartons could be the most useless thing I’ve ever seen on a PBO. Give it a couple of months and I’ll  watch for the claim on that one. Cha-ching.

 

From our Driver Skip....

For the blog?I’m still working on the RANT,that’s just a small part,Paul was from the industry... we need more of that in this business...

 

DANG!You said so much,AND so little...So many parts of that I need to reply to,So little time...Well?I'll try....

“Most drivers that I know are real people, they just want to do a good job and they enjoy helping others.

They smell a salesman or those people that are saying whatever they need to say at the moment.”

YES,that's my job,I just had one yesterday,I would not load because of how bad the PBO packing was,I have bunches of pics of CHEAP,thin walmart plastic totes,with no paper and dishes,lampshades in the same tote...Heck,even pots/pans in another with another lampshade.None of them were full,,NO PAPER at all was used,the items were just slam packed,no tape on the totes and I was told the salesman told them those totes would be ok.....NOPE!That was just the beginning....264 items estimated and 300 totes?Total item count was over 600?Great shippers,loved them from the start,bad sales job..GP for 12,400 #'s,still waiting for the actual weight....Problem was,when I called the O/A,to tell them it was not ready and needed a TOTAL re-pack,they sent the salesman out....Who backed me up with the problems with the packing and told me he would supply the paper for”my guys”to handle the problem(?)...I explained to everyone,,I was out on this,trailer did not have enough room,he looked at the shipper(he was expecting me to do it for free)and said”I'll have 5 guys out here in an hour,but your cost for us will be $1500....AND they would take the hit for the APU....I butted in and said,NOPE,That's not true,the loading driver will take the hit.....Glad I did not load it,the claims will be stoopid.

 

“Drivers are "real" and I enjoy helping and working with them. Do not get me wrong their are many other. Business owners and hard working employees that also have the " real" DNA in them and I have had the privilege of working and knowing many of them.

Actually most successful owners of agents in the household business were once drivers. They bring that " real " philosophy with them and their employees see it and gravitate to it also.

Thank you to all of the blur collar real people out there that I have met and had the privilege to learn from and work with.”

What I've seen in our industry is a progression from all the lifelong movers,family run operations,to Harvard bean counters who have no IDEA WHAT MY COSTS ARE...What we need are more folks just like DAVE,out there fighting for us...I could go on,BUT,there's so much more for a “Skip's RANT”that I'm working on.....

Find out what matters

Treat each customer different, - find out what matters to them.

In your introduction and pre home inspection with your customer ask questions, look around and listen. That is where you can see what is most important to them.

When you find out what matters to them - mother it- .

Double pad it right in font of them. Show them the item(s) as you load it and in the trailer.

Show them that " you care" .

Stop- Look and Listen.

When you arrive at destination do the same, be sure they see their favorite piece come off and put in their new home. If it goes to storage make a big deal out of it with the destination agent, be sure the piece is marked- important , handle with care.

Be sure to always send a thank you email or card to your customer with your contact information.

Find out " what matters".

Find out what matters

What matters to you?

In the movie City Slickers there is a old cowboy that leads a group of city dwellers on a cattle round up in a month long journey through the desert. The City Slickers pay to go on this round up to get them out of the city and to try to expererience the great outdoors.

The old cowboy is a man of few words, he looks the part with his cowboy hat and ciggerete hanging from the side of his mouth. He know that this man has put many a mile in the saddle and in the great outdoors.

For most of the movie, Billy Chrystal, one of the city boys ask Curly, the old cowboy, what is the meaning of life. For the whole movie Curly just holds up one finger up in the air ands this is what the secret of life is.

And finally at he end Billy ask him is the secret of life your finger and Curly says " one thing"  find the one thing in life that matters most to you. And Billy says what is it and the cowboy says " that is for you to figure out".

Find out what is the most important thing in life is to you and focus on it, or that person(s) and silence the rest of it in your head. Do not allow the noise around you to allow you to forget what is most important to you.

Find your one thing...

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2k1uOqRb0HU&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D2k1uOqRb0HU

Salesmen

I feel I need to write about salespeople since in my last blog piece I mentioned that drivers can smell a salesmen a mile away. 

I know many good salespeople that remark was not intended to be a slam on people selling I was referring to those that resort to , let's say not tell the complete truth or to those the just make stuff up in absent of knowing any facts.

My father in law was a salesman and is the most honorable man I know. He sold automobiles and he was always completely honest with all his customers, which is why he was successful.

He worked his way up to general manager and still always spoke the truth to his customers as well as his employees under him.

As I mentioned in a past blog Paul Arpin had the best bull shit meter of anyone that I ever knew. He knew when someone was tap dancing and making stuff up and that is what I was referring to when I spoke of drivers.

That is why we speak the same language, as one driver told me " Dave you don't pretty things up, you just tell it like it is". He is right and that is the only way that I know how to be.

Household movers and drivers are the same, we just want to go to work, work hard and do our best, be appreciated and get paid properly. No BS just tell us like it is and we can all move on.

Life is too short to spend time and energy on those that can not be truthful with you.

Trust is key, and it only comes from honesty.

Real people

I seem to gravitate to real people.

People that talk straight with no bull, people that are trustworthy and honest.

I wrote a blog piece a ways back on Paul Arpin's ability to know, in a very short time , if someone was real. I said he had the best " bull shit " meter.

I thank him daily for the many things that he taught me but I thank him most for passing on that ability to me also.

I can normally tell people that are real and those that are fake. That is why both Paul and I liked working with and respected drivers.

Most drivers that I know are real people, they just want to do a good job and they enjoy helping others.

They smell a salesman or those people that are saying whatever they need to say at the moment.

They can take straight talk and they appreciate it, even if it is not what they want to hear at the moment they appreciate it. Don't sweeten it up or leave parts out , just put it out there honestly and have a honest discussion on how to improve. That is all they ask and that is all I ask.

I have met and been with a lot of fake people and I watch them work and one thing that they all have in common is they seem to have a hallow life. Because fake people really never enjoy the reward of having real relationships. And that is too bad for them, I feel bad for them because they never see what life is really about....relationships, friends, and helping others.

Drivers are "real" and I enjoy helping and working with them. Do not get me wrong their are many other. Business owners and hard working employees that also have the " real" DNA in them and I have had the privilege of working and knowing many of them.

Actually most successful owners of agents in the household business were once drivers. They bring that " real " philosophy with them and their employees see it and gravitate to it also.

Thank you to all of the blur collar real people out there that I have met and had the privilege to learn from and work with.

I am here for you and ready to continue to learn and assist where ever I can.

Stay REAL, stay honest to yourself and others. It will always pay off.

A good friend once told me " Dave , in the end all we have is each other" . Amen. 

Friends

Once again I realize that friends are so important.

This week is Arpin's convention, agents all gather in one place, this year it is Florida, and discuss how the year was and what we can the next year to improve.

But more important we all meet as friends and build on the bonds that we have made through the years. We talk work of course but we also talk about our families, sports and what is happening in our life's.

Business is all about relationships. It is how you grow and learn and prosper.

Same goes for our wonderful drivers, it is the relationships that you cultivate that will define your success . Not just with your fellow drivers but with the agents that you visit and of course the customers that you move.

We all grow as people when we make it about people and not always about the dollar.

I have been blessed in this business to be able to make friends with people all around this great country. It has been my reward and has helped me throughout the years.

Break down the walls, extend that olive branch, stop judging, let it go and make a friend.

Life.....Live It !

Perspective

It is all in your perception.

How do you view your life, your job, how you react to change or snafus .. it is all up to you and what how perception is.
Yup, it is that simple.
If you think negative and if you are angry all the time you need an adjustment. Look at the positive..it is there..trust me.

I am reading a book about a young couple with two young boys that decided to do a missionary trip to Africa to help those less fortunate then them. They also went to help get over the heartache that they were enduring when their third child died after eight days of life.

They discovered , in a hurry, that the had nothing to complain about and ALL those luxuries that they had back home they never really appreciated.. like water and electrify.
They lived in a area of Africa where most people lived in huts of mud and no floors.
It is eye opening and life changing when you live with people with so little and they still appreciate life and what they do have.

It is all in YOUR perception.

Life

In life, we do things.
Some we wish we had never done.
Some we wish we could do a million times over.
THEY ALL MAKE US WHO WE ARE...

SO JUST LIVE !

Make some mistakes, make some memories.
But never second guess who you are,
where you have been and where it is going.

What do people REALLY want from their jobs?

Based upon hundreds of conversations , here's what people really want:

1. To feel proud.
When asked what they do for a living, employees want to boast rather than apologize. They want the people they meet to be at least a little impressed, even if it's only because the employee has taken on a job that's generally thankless.

2. To be treated fairly.
While almost everyone realizes that life isn't fair, employees don't want the boss to make life more unfair than it already is.  Employees hate favoritism.  They expect the perks and promotions to go to the people who work hard, not the people who kiss butt.

3. To respect the boss.
Employees want respect from the boss, of course, but just as strong is the need to feel respect for the boss!  Employees want to believe in that their boss is a leader who is worthy of their loyalty
.
4. To be heard out.
Employees hate it when the boss doesn't have the time or the interest to listen to what they have to say. Employees don't expect the boss to always take their advice, but if the boss won't hear them out they (rightly) assume the boss doesn't care about them.

5. To have a personal life.
For many bosses (especially entrepreneurs) work is a way of life.  Employees, however, usually think of friends and family as their "real" life.  Even when they're committed to their job, they get twitchy when work keeps them away too much.

6. To be coached not micromanaged.
Employees want the boss's help when 1) they ask for it, or 2) they're floundering so badly they're afraid to ask for it.  What employees don't want is to have the boss looking over their shoulder all the time.

7. To see the assh*les get fired.
In almost every workplace there are one or two jerks who make life miserable for everybody.  Almost more than anything else, employees want the boss to fire those jerks. If the boss doesn't, employees know he's either a weakling, a fool, or a jerk himself.

8. To feel less stress.
People hate the sense that they've got too much to do and not enough time to do it. Bosses must plan carefully, anticipate problems and set realistic goals, so that they don't accidentally and unnecessarily add stress to employees' lives.

9. To have a little security.
No sane employee expects lifetime employment.  Even so, it's hard to concentrate when you feel as if a sword is hanging over your head. Employees want to know that they're not wasting their time when they're giving your their best.

10. To beat the competition.
Finally, never underestimate the power of teamwork, especially when teamwork means grinding the other team into the dust.  Employees don't want to be team players; they want to play on the winning team.

Why isn't money on the list of desires? Well, as it happens, I've seldom heard anybody complain about their salary per se, except in the context of the above desires (i.e. "they don't pay me enough to put up with this.")

Team Effort

Nobody succeeds on their own.

Everyone needs help, assistance, guidance and/or a mentor. Someone that you can learn from and trust.

Unfortunately many successful people forget that and once they start to reap the rewards of their success they forget where they came fro and how they got there.
Those people will be doomed to fail and never truly enjoy what they have.
Sooner or later it is like a house of cards- they will fall.

They can only hope that those same people or someone like them will be there to help pick them up.

Always remember where you came from- pay it forward.
Appreciate others and  build on that you will benefit in so many more ways other than just financially.

Remember- nobody got to where they are all by themselves.

Open Door Policy

This piece is for our managers all over the country...


Four benefits of an “open door” policy:

Accessibility: Managers who demonstrate high levels of accessibility are more apt to have employees who feel comfortable stopping by for a quick chat to bring difficult issues, situations or ideas to the attention of their manager. This gives open door managers a better understanding and “pulse” on what is happening in the department or company on a daily basis.

Open flow of communication: Those with open door policies have easier access to more informal discussions – and these are the discussions that often lead to important insights about the business. Managers who shut their doors a lot may quickly find they are not in the loop with what’s happening in the department and company because a closed door can send the unintentional message that they are uninterested and disengaged in daily activities.

Fast access to information: Open door policies encourage employees to come by and speak up when issues or important situations arise or when employees have creative ideas. In fast-paced industries, quick access to information is key. A manager closing their door often will eventually cut themselves off from fast breaking situations or information because employees stopping by without an appointment will see the closed door and not want to interrupt, even when something is urgent.

Closer working relationships: An open door policy promotes a culture of friendly openness and builds a belief in others that the manager truly wants to be actively engaged with daily activities, thus fostering closer relationships with employees. Closed door activities can generate a feeling of formality in the work environment as well as a feeling of secretiveness, which can negatively affect relationships with subordinates.

When a manager’s door is often closed, over time it can create a barrier between the manager and his/her subordinates. This barrier can negatively affect many aspects of work from creating a formal, secretive environment where employees are afraid to speak freely to building a belief in others that the manager is disengaged from the business or just not interested; even causing subordinates to feel their manager is not trustworthy or that he/she withholds important information.
There are times that managers, even with an open door policy, must shut their door, such as for confidential employee discussions. Where the office environment is a cubicle for all employees and offices for managers, I recommend holding confidential employee discussions in conference rooms instead of the manager’s office.

Why? Because, over time, if subordinates see the manager closing their door mainly for confidential employee discussions, the manager could create a wave of anxiety that sweeps over the department whenever he/she brings an employee into their office and shuts the door.

Trust

I’m convinced that leadership is much more about who you are than what you do.

 As such, there is nothing that speaks more to the quality of your character and leadership than the amount of trust people place in you.

How as a driver, or manager do you earn trust?
The key word here is " earn".

You earn the trust of the people around you by caring about them and speaking to the and with them NOT at them.

Do you trust those people around you? How can you truly build a trusting relationship with anybody if you do not trust them too?

People trusting you DOES speak directly to YOUR character. In the end that is how things get done and that is the true value of your work.

Every day a new opportunity will present it self to you to show that you care, that want to help.eople are watching. Build on it, learn from it.

TRUST

" HOW "

When Managers Ask "How?"

I'll tell you how. How to build individuals and teams. How to create the conditions for motivation and engagement.
Here it is: If you are a manager giving an assignment, be clear about the "what"--then let your people deliver on how it will be done.

Why? Because you hired them for the how. Think about it. You looked at resumes and then hired people who had something that seemed unique or different. When you tell people how to do their jobs, you take away their identity. We all want to contribute. And that contribution is in the form of the unique way--how--we do our jobs.
Action: Define and get commitment on what you want done--then let people use their unique talents to decide how to do it. They'll grow by using their own trial-and-error process to perfect their methodologies.
You'll be seen as the manager who knows how to develop and engage your team. Suddenly, you'll find people approaching you and asking "Hey, how do you do it?"

  

This is not a dress rehearsal

This is it folks....we only have one short stint here on this wonderful earth....
This is NOT a dress rehearsal.... this is it.

Stop making excuses or delaying what you want to do and DO IT.

Stop the negativity and the chin in the chest attitude and think and be POSITIVE.

Who do you want to be... not what stuff do you want BUT who do YOU want to be?
How do you want to be remembered?
Did you make a difference in someone's life?
Did you give your best effort today and try to improve?

Do not wait for something bad to happen in your life to appreciate what you have right now.
Do not wait for bad news from a doctor to want to be healthy or appreciate your health or appreciate all the good in your life.

This is not a dress rehearsal folks..this is YOUR LIFE.... LIVE IT !

Being Heard

I think one of the more frustrating things in life is the feeling of  " not being heard".

Rather it is at work, in our social views or at home one of the more challenging issues is trying to have a active opinion. We all have our point of view and when we feel as if it is not being heard or that no one cares we tend to get angry. In some cases we try to find a way to break through.
We may talk louder or yell or get hyper and try to present or case.
We may find comfort in numbers and try to align ourselves with others in order to try to be heard.

The main objective is to try to remain true to ourselves and our values with turning ugly or negative.
Easier said then doe sometimes.
But we lose our validity of our argument if we just yell louder.

That is why you always need to STOP, LOOK and LISTEN.

Trying to be heard means you also need to hear others.

I TRUST YOU

When you make the first move and say “I trust you,” through word and deed, you accomplish the following:

You empower your people — Being trusted frees people to take responsibility and ownership of their work. Trust and control are closely related. We don’t trust others because we want to remain in control and over-supervising or micromanaging employees crushes their initiative and motivation. Extend trust means letting go of control and transferring power to others.

You encourage innovation — When employees feel trusted they are more willing to take risks, explore new ideas, and look for creative solutions to problems. Conversely, employees that don’t feel trusted will do the minimum amount of work to get by and engage in CYA (cover your “assets”) behavior to avoid catching heat from the boss.

You tap into discretionary effort — Trust is the lever that allows leaders to tap into the discretionary effort of their people. People who feel trusted will go the extra mile to do a good job because they don’t want to let the boss or organization down. Being trusted instills a sense of responsibility and pride in people and it fuels their efforts to succeed.

You free yourself to focus in other areas — What happens when you don’t trust your people? You end up doing all the work yourself. Leadership is about developing other people to achieve their goals and those of the organization. Does it take time? Yes. Is it hard work? Yes. Is it worth it?

Absolutely!

How To Show Your Employees You Care About Them

The below is not only for those of us that work in a office environment but also for drivers out on the road. How you treat your labor, the agent family and people in the Home Office will determine your success.



Retaining talent can be a major cost for businesses. A lot of time and money goes into interviewing, hiring, and training candidates.

So how do you keep staffers happy, so they don't leave you for the first decent job offer they get?
"The key is caring about your employees,"

 This is as simple as having their phone number saved, so you can text them on their birthdays or if something reminds you of them.

The bottom line is taking a personal interest in your employees will give them reason to believe they mean more to you than someone who's simply making you or the business money.

Employees need to feel like you "care about them and their future growth and who they are as a person,"

 "People love to work for people who care about them."