GOTTA KNOW WHEN TO HOLD EM

Gotta know when to hold em and know when to fold em

Choose your fights and choose wisely- how important is it ? Could you have made the same mistake or have you ? Will it solve anything in the long run or will it just be you venting?
Sometimes it is best to just move on then to confront every error.
If you are truly bringing it up as a life lesson then fine- then I would say watch your tone and approach or you will just create conflict.

Always work toward building a bridge and sometimes when the other person knows they messed up and you help solve the problem rather then blame them they will acknowledge that and who knows someday down the road they may return the favor.

We are all in this together people....

Know when to hold em

Preparation

Preparation is Perfection..
Or at least it gives the best shot at it.

We all know that things never go according to plan so it is very important to prepare and plan for all possibilities.
The best and most successful coaches know this and they have their team prepared for all kind of scenarios. You have to do the same with your work day.
Prepare-
Think of what could be and what could happen and have a plan B and a plan C.
Try to remain calm and being prepared helps you to do that too.

Preparation is Perfection

We are ALL equal

Don’t Abuse Your Authority

Don’t Abuse Your Authority

Another misconception is that a leader is always obeyed, that people will hear you and do as they were told. This couldn’t be more wrong.

It is understandable if you feel frustrated after spending hours talking someone out of a bad move, and they end up doing it anyway. You were well prepared and made a point of using your time to see trends and predict failures. They came to you in the first place, so why didn’t they follow your ideas?
The thing is that you are their leader, not their parent. They are adults fully capable of making their own decisions.

Plus, they have all the right to make mistakes and learn from them – you probably have learned a lot from your mistakes, so why take the same opportunity away from them?

Remember that you work within limits decided by your followers, not by you.

Open Your Ears

Open Your Ears

Sometimes, people don’t want any advice. They just want to be listened to. There is nothing better than to be listened to by someone who is seen as a leader. People are relieved; it is like a certification that they aren’t going mad, that their troubles are worthy.

You should be prepared to sacrifice your ear for the happiness of your followers. Be prepared to invest in your listening skills and to be the best at listening.

Remember that listening is not the same as hearing. People can easily spot if you are just pretending to give attention to them. It is not as hard as you think, even if they don’t know you well.

If this isn’t among your strengths, don’t despair.

 Start training yourself not to get impatient and to ask encouraging questions. It will pay off as soon as you start doing it.

Eliminate Your Pre-Conceptions

Eliminate Your Pre-Conceptions

Your pre-conceptions are another thing that you will have to sacrifice to become a leader. If you think that you already know everything, you will stop learning, and soon all your ideas will become obsolete.

Plus, you will find hard to relate and support people, if you dislike some of them due to some hidden prejudice of any kind. If you discover that you have any of these feelings within yourself, you should look for a way to change your mind as soon as possible.

Adjust your mind to be flexible and to understand that, even though you have your own principles and values, some people might feel things differently.

There is nothing wrong with that. As a leader, you can’t be asking them to change their beliefs only with the purpose of agreeing with you.

Check Your Ego

Check Your Ego

It seems to be contradictory to many people, but a real leader isn’t a vain and egotistical person. Nobody listens or follows this kind of person except out of fear. That is the difference between a leader and a dictator.

Remember to check your ego every time that you need to use your leadership skills. Be ready for criticism, because many people think that the best way to become your best friend is by bringing your mistakes to your attention just in case you aren’t aware of them.

Also, be prepared to serve and to work to make other people’s lives better instead of yours. In theory, they think that your life is already perfect anyway.
 Bear in mind that your needs come in second place.

Who will know

You are all alone and no one will know anyway..
You back into a car or
You are in a store and no one is around and you really want a certain object with arms reach or
Even something simple like the piece of desert you promised to swear off or
The extra helping of pasta or another burger.
If no one is looking what's the harm ? Who will know ?
YOU WILL KNOW
That should always be you battle cry- YOU WILL KNOW.
Do you believe in karma?
Do you believe what goes around -comes around ?
It sure does-
We all have voices in our head that tells us when we do wrong and the voices do not go away-
They stay there and make you feel like you disappoint-
But disappoint who- YOU-
Don't you see - in the end you should want to do the right thing for yourself and Yes that too will come back to you.
Who will know ?

1972

This Was the Year…1972
U.S. President & Vice President
Richard Nixon

The Vice President

Spiro Agnew
Time Magazine Person Of The Year


Henry Kissinger & Richard Nixon

Cost of Living Cost of Food
New House $27,600 Granulated Sugar $ .65 for 5 lbs.

Average Income $ 7,134 Milk $ 1.20 per gallon

New Car $ 3,853 Ground Coffee $ .99 per pound

Gallon of Gas $ .55 Bacon $ .83 per pound

Movie Ticket $ 1.75 Eggs $ .45 per dozen
Popular Movies Born This Year
The Godfather (Academy Award Winner) Ben Affleck

Deliverance Cameron Diaz

The Candidate Gwyneth Paltro

Poseidon Adventure Shaquille O’Neil





 Congress passed the Equal Employment Opportunity Act for women and minorities.

 Five White House operatives were arrested for burglarizing the DNC Watergate offices in an attempt to wiretap illegally.



Popular TV Shows Music

All in the Family Ben (Michael Jackson)

Sanford and Son Lean on Me (Bill Withers)

Hawaii Five O Heart of Gold (Neil Young)

Bridget Loves Bernie Summer Breeze (Seals & Crofts)

Popular TV Shows Music

All in the Family Ben (Michael Jackson)

Sanford and Son Lean on Me (Bill Withers)

Hawaii Five O Heart of Gold (Neil Young)

Bridget Loves Bernie Summer Breeze (Seals & Crofts)  





 

Be honest and transparent

Be honest and transparent —

You build trust with others by showing a level of vulnerability that’s appropriate for the context of the situation. Share information about yourself, including your strengths and areas where you know you need to improve.

 Of course you want to present your areas of growth in a positive light, but you also want to be genuine and authentic.

 People can sniff out a fraud, and the worst thing that can happen is selling a new employer a bill of goods by making yourself out to be something you’re not.

Be Humble

Be humbly confident —

 People want to trust in your expertise, however, coming across as a narcissistic superstar turns people off.
 Don’t shy away from tooting your horn about your accomplishments, but do it in a gracious, humble, and professional way.

One way to do that is to use “we” language instead of “me” language.

Emphasize the way you’ve collaborated with others to achieve goals and freely share the credit with those who’ve partnered with you.

You don’t need to blow out another person’s candle so yours can shine brighter.

Want to be successful ?

Want to be successful?

Model yourself from successful people in your field.
They are successful for a reason- what do they do that others do not? What don't they do?
How do they treat others? On they on social networks ? If so how do they conduct themselves in the social media world?

Ask questions- even more important watch them and listen.
Chances are they have already learned through their mistakes and walked through those mine fields, with any luck you may be able to avoid some of them - IF you listen and watch.

You will probably find that the number one thing they will all have in common is the way they treat others and approach their day.

Are You Coachable ?

Ever wonder if you would be a good candidate for coaching?  How would you score yourself in these seven areas?

1. I am enthusiastic about the concept of continuous professional development and learning.
2. I am willing and able to identify at least one key area in which I can commit to change.
3. I am open to finding a minimum of one hour of company time per week to speak to my coach.
4. I am willing to share openly about myself and my perceptions with someone outside the company.
5. I am an early adopter of new ideas and behaviors.
6. I see myself as a trailblazer, risk taker, or leader.
7. I am fundamentally proud of working at my organization.

A successful coaching relationship is not something that should be entered into lightly.  A person being coached not only must have a clear sense of what is to be gained from the investment of time, but also must be prepared to enter into a full partnership with their coach.
So—are you coachable?

Truth be Told

Any way you cut it, when people distort the truth, they put their credibility at risk, while lowering their personal standards of honesty. Remember, BIG or small . . . a lie is a lie. Furthermore, a lie repeated many times doesn’t change the truth. Additionally, one or many believers don’t determine the truth or untruth. There’s no excuse for dishonesty. None. As someone once said, “The truth doesn’t cost anything, but a lie could cost you everything.”

Truth Be Told

The value of honesty cannot be overstated. Every time someone lies, alarm bells aren’t going to go off and that person’s nose isn’t going to get larger (like Pinocchio’s), but something definitely happens. The liar may suspect that the only reason the customer said, “yes” to his proposal, the only way she dodged the blame, and the only reason the recipient of the lie thought highly of him or her was due to the lie itself. The question remains: Even though they fooled someone else, how do liars feel about themselves? The obvious truth is that they thought they didn’t deserve the outcome or else they would have told the truth in the first place. They may explain away the lie by telling themselves that everybody does it or that the lie fell in a gray area. But I must ask you, is that any way to live your life?

When you stand for honesty, you believe in yourself and everything you represent. When you stand for honesty, everything you say carries the voice of credibility. But, when you’re dishonest, your soiled reputation will do the speaking for you.

There are several things you can do to demonstrate honesty:

• Think before you speak.
• Say what you mean and mean what you say.
• Bend over backward to communicate in an open and honest fashion.
• Simplify your statements so that everyone clearly understands your message.
• Tell it like it is, rather than sugarcoating it.
• Present both sides of each issue to engender objectivity.
• If you have a personal bias or a conflict of interest, make it known.
• Tell people the rationale behind your decisions so that your intent is understood.
• If something is misinterpreted, quickly correct the record.
• Don’t shoot the messenger when someone tells you the truth. Thank them for their honesty and treat the information provided as a gift.
• Willingly accept responsibility by admitting a mistake or an error in judgment — in a timely fashion.
• Hold people accountable when their words do not match their actions.
• Never compromise your integrity and reputation by associating yourself with people whose standards of integrity you mistrust.

The truth shouldn’t be told only when it’s convenient. Honesty must be a way of life. Honesty means that you care deeply about trust, cherish your relationships, and value the importance of a solid reputation. Honesty means that you try to do your best and are willing to accept the consequences of your actions. Honesty means that you respect others enough to tell them the truth and that you value your opinion of yourself enough to never live a lie. As the saying goes, “It’s simple. Never lie to someone who trusts you, and never trust someone who lies to you.” That’s why it’s critical to always tell the truth — or the truth will tell on you. Honest.

THe Truth

The Truth Is Not What It Seems, But What It Is

Dishonesty comes in many shapes and sizes. Of course, some people lie in error, in which they wholeheartedly believe their words when they’re spoken. Others tell bold-faced lies, knowing full well that they’re being deceitful. And still other people tell white lies, hoping to protect someone (often themselves) from the truth. Yet even though some of these folks may be well intentioned, it’s all lying just the same. How do you identify a lie? As a general rule of thumb, if your ears hear one thing and your eyes see another, use your brain — because something is obviously wrong. Here are some common forms of dishonesty that masquerade as acceptable behavior:

Misrepresentation. Distorting facts to consciously mislead or create a false impression. Spinning the truth, presenting opinion as fact, and using revisionist thinking or euphemisms to masquerade the truth are all forms of misrepresentation.

Omission. Leaving out key information to intentionally deceive someone. As Benjamin Franklin said, “Half the truth is often a great lie.”

Fabrication. Deliberately inventing an untruth or spreading a falsehood such as gossip or a rumor.

Exaggeration. Stretching the truth to give a more favorable impression.

Denial. Refusing to acknowledge the truth or to accept responsibility for a mistake or falsehood that was made.

Lack of transparency. Withholding information knowing that full disclosure will have negative consequences.

Redirection. Deflecting blame to another person to prevent personal embarrassment or responsibility.

False recognition. Stealing the credit for someone else’s hard-earned success.

Broken promise. Making a promise with no intention of keeping it.

Cover-up. Protecting the misdeeds of others. Those who provide cover for the misdeeds of others are as guilty as those who perpetrate the “crime.”

Hypocrisy. Saying one thing and consciously doing another. When words don’t match actions, someone is being dishonest with others or themselves.

Bait and switch. Attracting someone with an exciting offer only to divert them to an inferior deal.

Living a lie. Pretending that you are something you’re not.

To be continued tomorrow-

How to destroy successful teams

How to destroy successful teams-

1. 
   Criticism without praise I’ve known managers in my career whose entire management philosophy was to criticize everything and rarely if ever dole out praise.  I think you can imagine how well that went over with their team. Constructive criticism (keyword: constructive) is vital to helping employees grow, but generous and well timed praise is also important for maintaining enthusiasm and morale.
2. 
   Unreasonable expectations As a member of a team, nothing feels worse than the sinking feeling of knowing that you will never reach your targets, no matter how hard you work.  Goals that are a stretch and require a lot of the team are good, but goals that are way out of reach are depressing. It won’t make employees work harder; it will make them want to give up.
3. 
   Half-hearted work Having one or more member of the team who only puts in half an effort — showing up late, leaving early, checking email all day, etc. — has a decidedly negative impact on the whole team. It’s important that everyone is putting in a full, equal effort.
4. 
   Stubbornness When members of a team adopt a “my way or the highway” approach, no one benefits. When working in a team, everyone needs to be open to new ideas, new approaches, and experimentation — even, and perhaps especially, the leader. Just because you’ve always done it that way doesn’t mean that’s the best way to do it.
5. 
   Leading with emotions Instinct, emotions, and gut feelings all have their place, but bringing emotions too much into the team can have a deleterious effect. A team member who always feels spurned when his idea isn’t chosen, who sees slights (real and imagined) in every interaction, or who takes home the stress and anxiety about a project may be bringing too many emotions into the workplace.

Some things that can destroy succesful Teams-

1. 
   Ego When someone’s ego is more important than the team, the project, or the goal, things break down quickly. This can happen when one person is more interested in “looking good” for the boss than getting the work done, when someone is always placing blame, or when someone feels and acts like they are too good to do the necessary work.
2. 
   Negative competition Lighthearted competition can be a good thing, especially for certain kinds of teams. In a sales team, for example, individual members can be motivated by gamifying their work with a leaderboard or bonuses for high performance. But when competition goes too far, it can destroy a sense of teamwork and create a “you versus me” atmosphere that isn’t good for anyone.
3. 
   Poor communication When the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing, it causes all sorts of problems: duplicate work, forgotten work, missed deadlines, etc. Communication is absolutely key to a team that works.
4. 
   Micromanagement When employees have to get approval or sign-off on every single thing they do, it slows down the workflow considerably. Team leaders need to be able to trust employees to make the right choices, and employees need to feel comfortable asking for help when they need it. The right balance here is key.

More tomorrow-

Admit it and make the decision

If you’ve screwed up – admit it

We all screw up. Even managers and crew chiefs and drivers. In fact, I probably screwed up more as a manager than as a regular employee. Hiding mistakes was only making me feel more stressed, so I decided to open up and admit to my staff when I’d made a mistake.

Being humble is an important management lesson. Your fellow workers will warm to you and realise you are, like them, human


Make that decision

No one likes a manager or boss who can’t make a decision. Be confident in your ability to do just that and prove to your team and crew that you have a plan for them.

You’ll make poor decisions , but you’ll also make some brilliant decisions, and the mere fact you’re making a decision at all will enable you to retain your authority while gaining more respect from your team or crew and fellow workers.

What we believe

We cannot always control or avoid what happens to us, but we can control what it does to our spirit. And the quality of our spirit becomes the filter through which we see life.

- And the philosophers say, reality is our perception of it, I believe those words.
Our reality is what we believe it to be. What we believe informs our thoughts. Our thoughts inform our actions. Our actions build our lives.

Labor Day

Happy Labor Day Weekend !

Since the late 1800's the United States has celebrated Labor Day- A day to help celebrate and salute the American workers.

 It is a day for all workers but in particular, I believe , a day set aside for the blue collar workers around the country- The backbone of what our nation is all about and having been in the household goods industry for over three decades I can attest that household good drivers around this great country truly represent the best of blue collar workers everywhere.

To be a successful household good driver you must be many things and you must make many sacrifices, there are many hours of physical labor as well as mental exhaustion on those very busy summer days and weeks. -They exemplify what this day - Labor Day- is meant to celebrate.

I hope that all workers in this country are able to take some time this weekend to take a deep breath and give them selves a big pat on the back and just appreciate all the opportunities that are all around and take the time to call a loved one or hug that someone special because that is after all why we do what we do.

Thank you all for allowing me to be a small part of that experience- I appreciate each and every day!

God Bless and Happy Labor Day Weekend !

More Tips to Succeed

Use the language appropriately – both verbally and in your writing. Bad grammar and spelling is right up there with punctuality as promotion killers. Proof read your stuff – and use spellcheck. It all matters!

Disagree and challenge respectfully. You can disagree with the boss or co-workers, or even say “no”. Just be prepared to back it up, with a statesman-like flair.
But if the play is called and it goes against you, despite your feelings you need to move on, and execute. Remember this one, always:  There’s no pouting in business.

Get the big picture, then figure things out on your own. Bosses or Ops hate it when they have to explain a task in great detail to someone. Top promotion employees and drivers show their meddle by minimizing supervisor explanation time and filling in the blanks themselves.

Focus on the task at hand like a laser beam. I know it’s really, really, really hard these days to put down the handheld and stay away from texts, E-mail, Twitter or Facebook.
 You can easily derail any career momentum by being MIA-