- No matter how fast you vacuum a wet carpet, you can not outrun electricity.
- Close the sunroof before you use the windshield washer fluid.
- Never put bologna in an electric outlet.
- Never ask your 17 year old why the rear view mirror in the new car says “5”. You will never hear the end of him having to tell you it is really “S” for south.
- If you dog eats a pack of Listerine strips he will puke but it will be minty fresh
Month: March 2016
Recognize the 99
I overheard a coworker yesterday and it made me start thinking about some things I hear all too often. How many times have you heard “I do 99 things right and all I hear about is the one thing I did wrong”? I am fortunate that the current and former managers I have worked for are spectacular about recognizing the accomplishments of the people working for them. Unfortunately, I was not always so lucky. I have also worked for individuals in the past that you never heard from unless you made an error. Aside from my personal experiences, I have heard from many other that have similar stories. “I work hard all day but only hear about it when I do something wrong”. Employees that receive positive feedback will strive to excel. When all you receive is negative feedback you will do just enough to not get in trouble.
I want to put forth a challenge to all members of management to start recognizing the 99 things that their employees do right. For some members of management this will come easy as it is something they already do. For others it may be a challenge but hopefully one they can learn from. The challenges modern employees face today are much greater than we have faced in the past and morale is declining. Something as simple as an email or mention of an accomplishment in a meeting can mean so much to the morale of an employee. When you attribute a positive attribute to someone they will continue to try to make sure you always see them in that light. Errors and performance issues must still be addressed but tempered with positive feedback you are far more likely to strive to do better.
Address the one but Recognize the 99.
Attribute positive attributes to someone and they will strive to reach them
Why Life is Like a Ribeye Steak
Picture this. Someone places a juicy ribeye steak fresh off the grill in front of you. What’s the plan for this mouth-watering hunk of deliciousness? To dig right in and enjoy it, right? Now think about this. If you eat it now you won’t have it later. Maybe rather than enjoying it now while it’s hot and oh so tender you should put it away so it won’t be gone soon. Then the next day you look at it again and it’s not hot anymore but still looking good but if you eat it now it will be gone. Another day passes and then a week, then a month. Look at that steak, you achieved your goal and you still have it but now it is a dried hunk of shoe leather and completely inedible. This is because that ribeye steak, no matter how much you may want to keep it forever, has an expiration date.
What does this have to do with life? Everything in life has an expiration date. Friends, family, relationships, youth (That’s a tough one but unfortunately it’s true). You need to enjoy every morsel of life as it is presented to you and the tricky part is to enjoy it knowing it has an expiration date on it. Every bite of that steak is a glorious culinary masterpiece but it will be gone soon. Now you have to decide that if this momentary time of carnivorous glory is worth it knowing it is just a momentary blip in the dinner of life. You may not even want to order the steak now because you know you cannot savor it forever. Knowing that steak has an expiration date doesn’t stop people from ordering it and enjoying it while you have it in front of you.
Every part of life is a wonderful little steak dinner all to itself but it too will not last forever. Yet, for some reason we humans will avoid those moments of happiness for fear that it will not last. We want everything in our lives to be forever but that just isn’t how it works. Friends move away, relationships end and parents pass away (Yeah, that last one stings but it is true). So what do we do? Avoid these things so we don’t have to face the pain of when the expiration hits or enjoy them while we have them even with the understanding they will not last?
The answer isn’t really that hard and I would give it to you but right now I have a steak to eat.
Linda Boone - 4 am Thoughts 