Survivor

The work place can look a lot like the show- Survivor-
People create their own alliances and do whatever they think necessarily to survive.
How can businesses avoid the “Survivor “ philosophy ?
Leaders need to be vigilant and they need to be amongst the people, walking around the bull pen, listening and assisting,
Leaders need to set goals and be out there constantly talking about them all rowing the same direction to achieve those goals. People need to know they are all part of the team, when people feel isolated it creates these alliances so they do not feel alone or secluded.
Here’s the thing once isolation creeps in it is like a cancer and will continue to grow, if a boss or leader can sense these silos beginning they need to address them head on , confront those that have these feelings and ask what they can do to help and then for goodness sake ACT- follow up !
Lead by example!
Leaders do not talk to one group or certain individuals and ask to not tell others about their discussions, people are smart enough to understand that they can also be on the other side of that fence too.
Include- do not exclude!
Exclusions and whispers are the building blocks of people being paranoid and people that are paranoid are unproductive and unhappy.
Your workplace can be whatever you want it to be and most everyone wants to feel like they are making a difference and everyone wants to be respected.
It is not hard people - just be honest - create a team atmosphere and be a part of the team- you will accomplish a great deal more and at the end of the day feel better about yourself and your job!

I Hope

Sunday morning, heard the preacher say
? Thou shall not kill?
I don't wanna hear nothing else about killing
And that it's God's will

'Cause our children are watching us
They put their trust in us
They're gonna be like us

So let's learn from our history
And do it differently

I Hope

For more love, more joy and laughter

We'll have more than we'll ever need

We'll have more happy ever afters

We can all live more fearlessly

And we can lose all the pain and misery

Oh Rosie, her man he gets too rough
All she can say is, ? He's a good man
He don't mean no harm
He was brought up that way?

Our children are watching us
They put their trust in us
They're gonna be like us

It's okay for us to disagree
We can work it out lovingly

There must be a way to change what's going on
No I don't have all the answers

But I hope
For more love, more joy and laughter

You'll have more than you'll ever need

You'll have more happy ever afters

And you can all live more fearlessly

And you can lose all your pain and misery

I hope

Change

Be prepared to change the message if needed:  

Another component of communications strategy that is rarely discussed is how to prevent a message from going bad, and what to do when does. It’s called being prepared and developing a contingency plan. 

Again, you must keep in mind that for successful interactions to occur, your objective must be in alignment with those you are communicating with. If your expertise, empathy, clarity, etc. don’t have the desired effect, which by the way is very rare, you need to be able to make an impact by changing things up on the fly. 

Use great questions, humor, stories, analogies, relevant data, and where needed, bold statements to help connect and engender the confidence and trust that it takes for people to want to engage. 

While it is sometimes necessary to “Shock and Awe” this tactic should be reserved as a last resort.

I can do both

I sincerely care about people
And
I sincerely cannot give a shit
Yup... I can do both.
I will always do my best to help others, even after years of being lied to and stabbed in the back, it is just my nature.
That said , once I decide to move on or that you may be harmful to me or any member of my family then I quickly will not give a good shit about you.
Also in order for me to be me and to sometimes take chances I have to have a bit of the “ I don’t give a dam “ gene , in order to plow through.
There are times when I have started projects or departments and in order to do so and get things done I had to put my blinders on and plow ahead. The key is to always listen to people for opinions but ultimately to do what my gut told me.
My mentor and good friend Mr. Paul Arpin always told me to never get upset and to remember at the end of the day I owned the bat and ball.
Paul had the best bull shit meter of anyone that I ever knew and I think I have it too, I can normally tell when someone is sincere or not, but no matter what I always try to build a bridge with everyone, it is just with some I will always sleep with one eye open.
So go forth and always care about people and try to help everyone-
Just know who you ultimately trust and those that you must be cautious with or even just eliminate from your life all together.

Getting older

Makes sense to me.....
Lying around, pondering the problems of the world, I realized that, at my age,
I don't really give a rat's ass anymore.
If walking is good for your health, the mailman would be immortal.
A whale swims all day, only eats fish, and drinks water, but is still fat.
A rabbit runs, and hops, and only lives15 years, while a tortoise doesn't run, and does
mostly nothing, yet it lives for 150 years. And they tell us to exercise? I don't think so.
Now that I'm older, here's what I've discovered:
1. I started out with nothing, and I still have most of it.
2. My wild oats are mostly enjoyed with prunes and all-bran.
3. Funny, I don't remember being absent-minded.
4. Funny, I don't remember being absent-minded.
5. If all is not lost, then where the heck is it?
6. It was a whole lot easier to get older, than it was to get wiser.
7. Some days, you're the top dog, some days you're the hydrant.
8. I wish the buck really did stop here; I sure could use a few of them.
9. Kids in the back seat cause accidents.
10. Accidents in the back seat cause kids.
11. It is hard to make a comeback when you haven't been anywhere.
12. The world only beats a path to your door when you're in the bathroom.
13. If God wanted me to touch my toes, he'd have put them on my knees.
14. When I'm finally holding all the right cards, everyone wants to play chess.
15. It is not hard to meet expenses . . . They're everywhere.
16. The only difference between a rut and a grave is the depth..
17. These days, I spend a lot of time thinking about the hereafter . . . I go somewhere to get something, and then wonder what I'm "here after".
18. Funny, I don't remember being absent-minded.
19. It is a lot better to be seen than viewed.
20. Have I sent this message to you before...or did I get it from you!?

Focus

11 things to focus on:

1. Your purpose in life
2. Your health
3. Your mental wellness
4. Having more fun
5. Carrying less stress
6. Simplifying your life
7. Spending time with true friends
8. Being confident
9. Taking chances
10. Being grateful
11. Reaching goals

Prioritize your Time

Prioritize time with each employee and yourself.

You need to take the time to meet with each team member. You'll have to put in the effort. I suggest that you block out time in your schedule for this activity. Ideally, this would be when you’ve already planned to take a break. But, if that isn’t possible, do your interview with your employee during an energy drop or when you have a blank spot in your schedule. You can schedule a lunch with each of your team members or schedule more one-on-ones. You can also do my favorite, the walk and talk. Just walk around the workplace for a quick meeting.

All of the above are simple ways to strike up conversations with your team so that you can get to know them better and check-in with them. 

Knowing more about each person will help you determine better what motivates them, where they could use help, and when they’re most productive. Most importantly, it shows that you genuinely care about them.