02-09-64, Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!

February 9, 1964.The defining moment of my life. I was three years old and witnessed with 73 million other Americans the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show.

It was my first vivid childhood memory, and fifty years later the Beatles still stir my spirit and soul.

John, Paul, George and Ringo revolutionized America and the world with their music, Liverpudlian charm with and fashion.

Like Beethoven, Gershwin, Glen Miller, Johnny Cash, Buddy Holly and Bob Dylan, the Beatles were poets of their generation.

The Beatles music transcended time. Like all great composers their music is timeless.

Now, fifty years later, Beatlemania is alive and well. The media has embraced the “Fab Four” with books, magazines, music and shows paying tribute rock n rolls royal band.

I celebrated the Beatles 50^th anniversary at a special Abbey Road on the River music event in Louisville Kentucky.

My dear Beatle buddy, Ramona Morrison and hundreds of other Beatle fans from 5 to 70 years of age, danced and sang to the irresistible “I want to hold your hand”, “She loves you”, “I saw her standing there”, and all the chart topping hits the Beatles churned out in the swinging 60’s.

The impact the Beatles and music has had on my life is immeasurable. My father owned several radio stations and I grew up to the Sounds of Glenn Miller, Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, and the Mills Brothers streaming live on a record player in the living room.

Music was a constant source of joy and happiness for my family and friends. My dad played the saxophone, my sister tooted on the clarinet, my brother banged on the drums and I strummed a guitar.

Today I play in a Ukulele band as a hobby. As a private caregiver, I utilize music therapy as a mental and spiritual tool for senior citizens suffering from Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other medical illnesses.

A recent article in the Louisville Currier Journal dated August 9^th, 2013, by Laura Ungar, states that music therapy is offered in more than 26,000 healthcare facilities in the United States.

Another study in May of 2013 by the Journal of the American Medical Association found that music therapy reduced anxiety and the intensity of sedation used with intensive care patients for respiration failure. Music is a great healing source for pain management, memory loss, anxiety and depression.

“Music is a humanizing element for people suffering with illness…music is a way of bringing hope and showing there’s still something beautiful in the world”. (Rev. Keith Brasler, Chaplin at Norton Audubon Louisville, Kentucky.)

I believe the greatest gift that I can share with my patients is music. Music is a personal soundtrack in each individual’s life. When I can tap into a person’s favorite music I witness a powerful transformation from pain to joy, from anxiety to peace.

Music is food for our souls and spirit. The power of music lifts up from darkness to light.

I encourage everyone who reads this story to share the gift of music to your friends and loved ones. Give yourself the gift of your favorite tunes each day and feel your mind and spirit soar!

Peace, Love and Music forever….Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!

Lynn Bradley

Independent Caregiver/Music Therapist

(Please share your favorite music memories or defining moments of you life.)

Old World Grandeur and New Ideas for New Albany, Indiana

I have lived in New Albany, Indiana since 2002, but it wasn't until January of 2014 that I discovered a true, understated treasure in Culbertson Mansion, 914 East Main Street, New Albany, IN. I was told numerous times by my New Albany neighbors to visit the Mansion, but as I was knee deep in my own restoration project on my 90 year old bungalow I never seems to have time to view the property.

Last year my friend Lynn Bradley and I were attending an arts and music event near the mansion and I mentioned that we should walk across the street and view the property. Being as it was the weekend the mansion was not open. We looked at the exterior and read the historical plaques that were outside the property for more information on the home. Since I am an avid gardener we both commented on how sparse the landscaping was and that the grounds could really use some work to make the site more attractive to visitors traveling along Main Street in New Albany.

Last month as I was making some plans for 2014 I placed visit Culbertson Mansion on my list of things I wanted to accomplish this year. On January 14 I rang the doorbell of the Mansion and waited with anticipation as to what I might see in this 19^th Century home built in 1867 for William S. Culbertson for $120,000 by builders James and William Banes.

I was greeted at the door by a beautiful and very knowledgeable lady who said her name was Jan. After a few pleasantries Jan began the tour right there on the first floor. The home as you can imagine has had several owners since Mr. Culbertson and his family moved there in 1869. Since 1976 the Indiana Department of Natural Resources' Division of Museums and Historic Sites has owned the property, they have been renovating the home since 1979.

Jan explained that the Mansion has 20,000 square feet and contains 25 rooms on three floors with a basement. The first floor has been completely renovated and is comprised of a formal parlor and dining room, library, foyer and grand staircase. This first floor is the “public” face of the Mansion and has to be seen to believed the detail of this floor is truly incredible!

The second floor is where the family lived and includes a morning sitting room, a sewing room, a private family parlor and bedrooms. While I was there Jan and I were treated to a natural “light” show by the mid-morning sunshine. The Mansion has a four, color pane window on the third floor; while we were talking about the contents of the second floor the sun was putting on a beautiful kaleidoscopic light show of colors circling around the main hallway of the second floor.

While the first floor has been completely renovated some of the ceilings on the second floor are still in the process of being transformed to their original design. In fact, Jan mentioned that the site is constantly being renovated room by room and the details of how they are doing this are depicted in the basement of the property.

The third floor is under renovation but you can still view the children's bedrooms, storage areas and grand ballroom and well as the servants bedrooms which are located on the west side of the mansion. For a 20,000 square foot home the only original bathroom in the house is located on the servant's side of the third floor.

While the interior of the Mansion is quite impressive, the landscaping of the property leaves something to be desired especially from the Main Street entrance. I'm preparing a proposal to the Culbertson Mansion Board of Directors to enhance the “curb” appeal of the property by planting blue and purple lavender up the two serpentine sidewalks that lead to the Mansion's front steps. There is a large concrete urn that stands approximately five feet high in the center of the front yard which I hope to plant mixed Dahlias of various colors. Directly in front of the Mansion’s front steps I would place purple and blue Cat Mint which would produce an aroma and attract butterflies and hummingbirds.

The right-side of the Mansion has plants and shrubs contained in it but the left-side as far as I can tell has only a few Liriope in it. I propose planting two Rhododendrons next to the windows in the left-side garden next to the Mansion; these plants will add winter color to the property and maintain floral symmetry with the right-side garden. In addition, I'm proposing erecting a trellis in the left-side garden, growing up the trellis would be two large flowering Clematis (purple/blue). Additional plants of various sizes would be planted in the left-side garden to attract the passerby to the home.

Next to the home at the front door entrance stands two (2) smaller urns, in those I’d propose planting red and white fragrant Begonias. Finally the Mansion has a second floor landing which would be an excellent place to attract the driving public passing by on Main Street with a combination of red begonias and green and white Alocasia or “Elephants Ears”.

I will be making my proposal to the Culbertson Mansion Board on March 4, after which the proposal will be sent to Indianapolis for official approval. Should I get the project I'll keep you informed of the details of the project in a later blog post. Should you wish to learn more about Culbertson Mansion please visit their website at http://www.indianamuseum.org/explore/culbertson. Thanks for reading and

remember that your comments are welcome. Until next time this is Jer saying “keep the faith”!

One Step at a Time--The Josh Bleill Story

Recently my friend Lynn Bradley and I attended a fellowship event at Northside Christian Church, New Albany, Indiana entitled “Cabin Fever Jamboree”. It was billed as a wild game tasting event and meal along with a guest speaker Mr. Josh Bleill from the Indianapolis Colts. Being a life-long Green Bay Packers fan I of course wore my favorite colors green and gold. The game food was excellent: deer, buffalo, elk, dolphin, gator etc. and the portions were huge, the speaker superb!



Mr Bleill is a young man from Indianapolis who was working for Conseco Insurance Company in Indianapolis as a recruiter when the United States was attacked on September 11, 2001. Those events had a tremendous impact on him and seeing as his father served our country as a United States Marine, Josh decided to fellow in his father’s footsteps.  While on combat patrol in Fallujah, Iraq on October 15, 2006 Josh and four of his comrads where driving their Humvee through an Iraq roadside market, his friend sitting next to him was pointing to the sheep being slaughtered in the marketplace. They turned off the road and into the median of the highway to travel the opposite direction when suddening an IED (bomb) exploded killing Josh’s Sergeant and a Lance Corporal. The blast blew their gunner clear out of the vehicle and he lost a leg, the driver survived without a scratch, but Josh Bleill woke up five days later to the realization that not only did he lose two of his comrads but also both of his legs.



As one can imagine the realization and recovery from such an experience was very painful physically, mentally and spiritually. For three and one half months Josh never left the hospital because he was ashamed of how he looked. Josh was a big man six feet two inches before the accident but now with both his legs removed he was four feet nothing. He struggled to come to grips with what had happened to him on that highway in Fallujah, Iraq. Hadn’t God called him to serve his country as his father did before him after September 11^th? How could he serve the Lord now in this condition much less make a life for himself with not one but two legs gone? Josh was always a big hunter and enjoyed the marksmanship required of a military man. He was a confident man not willing to back down from any type of challenge, but how could he face this? He couldn’t even stand to face the stares of the people he meet in the hospital let alone those outside of the facility who would instantly notice that he was now much less a man than he once was.



As God would have it Josh’s hometown team, the Indianapolis Colts were playing the Chicago Bears that year in the Super Bowl. Josh was invited to see the game and this time his love for his “Colts” overcame his fear of people looking at him in public. Later while recovering from his wounds in Walter Reed Military Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland some of the Indianapolis Colts came to call on the wounded there. Josh got to talk with some of the players and hear their triumphant stories about winning the Super Bowl and the Colts got to hear about Josh’s trial in Iraq and comeback battle with prosthetic legs. During this visit, Jim Irsay, owner of the Indianapolis Colts learned that Josh was from Indianapolis and went to visit him. While their Mr. Irsay learned that both he and Josh used to attend the same gym in Carmel, Indiana, he told Josh to “Come see me about a job when you get home”.


Two years later after intensive rehabilitation where Josh was first given two stumps to practice walking on Josh recovered from his injuries in Iraq and went home to Indianapolis. After visiting some of his old Indy buddies he went off to see Jim Irsay to ask about a job with the Indianapolis Colts. Today Josh is a community spokesmen for the Colts, does numerous personal appearance like the one Lynn and I attended at Northside Church, is the author of a book One Step at a Time: a Young Marine’s Story of Courage, Hope and a New Life in the NFL (Triumph Books, 2010).
 

You can learn more about Josh by going to
http://www.colts.com/fanzone/josh-bliel-one-step-at-a-time.html
or view him below and on Youtube at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqmqGUjWhzg.


Now most of us thankfully didn’t have to overcome such a tremendous challenge as Josh did, but we all have crosses to bear in our lives, what was one of yours? Would you be willing to share it with me and my readers? If so, please let me hear from you. If you don’t wish to share your story but would like to send along a comment please do. Thanks again for reading and until next time “Keep the Faith”, Jer

Can you teach an Old Dog new tricks?

My topic today is can you teach an old dog new tricks. By that I mean can somebody reinvent themselves to be valuable again in today’s New Economy. When you last read a post from me I was launching a consulting business specializing in helping small and medium size companies with their organizational and staff development issues. But with the slow economic growth America is experiencing I found that I must expand my service offerings and tap into different revenue streams.
Now I’m back on the web because I have some new ideas on how to use this medium to establish multiple revenue streams more on that in later blogs. While previously I wrote about books I read that pertained to small business now my focus will be on highlighting individuals like myself who have stepped off the merry go round and have stuck out on their own to make their way independently in this new economy. I am open to posting written material from you that deals with some of these subjects:

• Career changers who are or have successfully reinvented themselves.
  
• Individuals who have overcome great obstacles or circumstances in their lives.
  
• Small business people who maybe trying to promote their business via the internet and would like to swap stories via my BlogSpot.
  

In future posts I’ll highlight the Culbertson Mansion, an Indiana Historic Site located in New Albany, Indiana that I plan to propose a landscaping project for, a mother from Kentucky who makes and sells natural soap and share with you another business ideas that I am currently working on.
As always I welcome your comments and suggestions for future posts please drop me a line and let me know you are out there. Thanks for reading and by the way the answer to the dog and tricks question is Yes! you can teach an old dog new tricks. For a look at a real dog see a picture of me and my dog Wilson on Trail 4 at Charlestown State Park in Charlestown, Indiana—I’m the one with the white goatee, until next time thanks for being there. Jer

Excerpts from my talk with the Clarksville, Indiana Rotary Club

September 5, 2012

Authentic Leadership and Guided Activism

I was asked to talk to the Rotary Club of Clarksville, Indiana a couple of weeks ago and asked to speak on a topic of community.  After some thought and research I decided to speak about authentic leadership and guided activism.  I told my host that I would like to talk about those aspects of leadership and volunteerism that I believe are meaningful and crucial to me and asked that the members of the Rotary Club list what they feel is meaningful and critical to them; what follows are some highlights of my talk with them this week. 

Definition of a leader

You measure a leader not in terms of the

skills he/she possesses, but in terms of the

skills she develops in others; not in terms of

these she helps, but in terms of those she

helps help themselves; not in terms of

decisions she makes but how she frees others

to make decisions; not in terms of the power

she has over others but in terms of the

power she releases in others; not in terms of

what she has accomplished, but what they

have accomplished – that is the measure of a leader.

Vision

If you want to be a successful visionary, here is where the journey begins, with two critical questions:

1.       What is my vision?

2.       How can I make it happen?

Caring, empathy, trust

Leaders bring out the best in others, but successful visionaries go even further: they form lasting emotional bonds.    When people are emotionally bonded to you, they want to have contact with you.  They want to be of service and share in your vision.

Influence

How does one person get others to do something willingly, excellently, and consistently?, by influencing them.”

Awareness

As a leader, your own awareness affects everyone around you.  Those whom you lead and serve depend on your grasp of the situation.  You alone can raise the group’s awareness from lower needs to higher needs. 

Guided Activism:

Seek Diversity in Skill sets and Age:

Volunteers come with varied and diverse skill sets and ages.  In theory, young people have a passion for activism and seek a change in some aspect of society; while older adults often have the discipline to shoulder the often thankless and repetitive tasks that must be done to accomplish your projects goals.  Do you have the “right” mix of the skill sets and age groups on your project team?

Task/work design

Do thoughtful planning for volunteer involvement, with a clear vision as to what volunteers can contribute in unique ways--not as unpaid staff, but as providers of services meeting a wide range of client needs.

A final word on guided activism, our role is not to “direct” volunteers but to enable them.  They are not “our” volunteers; we are “their” leaders.  Thank you!  

What are your thoughts on this subject?  Can you add to this list?  Do you disagree with anything here, please drop me a line if you have a comment thank you!

What’s your story?

Hi! Welcome back.  Today I’d like to finish my review of the book Nuts! Southwest Airline’s Crazy Recipe for Business and Personal Success by Kevin and Jackie Freiberg.  Today’s material comes from Chapter 18 entitled “Unconventional Advertising”.  The success tidbits at the end of the chapter appear below:

·         Market to employees, not just to your customers.

·         Promote your culture as well as your product.

·         Look for creative, unusual ways to tell your story.

·         Collaborate with others in creating your story.

·         Use your story as a way to build spirit, service, and performance.

·         Have everyone play a part in keeping your company’s advertising and marketing promises.

·         Find ways to tell your own story.  Use it to further your personal and professional success.

Stories are a great way to engage people and get them interested in what you do and sell.  For me as a budding entrepreneur launching my consulting practice I spend a lot of time these days talking with people and telling them what I’ve done and what I’d like to do.  My business Yurway Coaching Consultants is a small business consulting practice focusing on small and medium size companies, companies of 100 employees or less who may not have the benefit of an organizational development and training professional on staff.  I specialize in process improvement, problem solving, project management and training.  As an independent business owner I know that I must first meet with people, prove my credentials and earn their trust before they will do business with me.  It’s not an easy task; it takes a lot of time and effort.

I have been using a brochure and working with networking groups like Business Network International to promote my business.  I also have been meeting with area Chambers of Commerce and the Small Business Development Center to get the word out that I’m out there and have expertise that I believe would be beneficial to the right customer.

What about you?  What is your story?  How do you promote yourself and your business?  Are you on LinkedIn?  Do you have a blog?  What sort of networking groups do you contact to get your story out there?  I’d really like to know.  If you would like to post a comment please do.  I thank you for reading and until next time all my best!  Jer

Act like you own the place

Hi! Welcome back.  I’ve been busy meeting with Chambers of Commerce and potential business clients through Business Network International club meetings around the Louisville, Kentucky area in an effort to launch my new consulting practice Yurway Coaching Consultants.  Last time I mentioned that I would be working the polls in Indiana’s spring primary on May 8^th I did and here are a few observations.

It was a long day starting with waking up at 4 a.m. to be at the voting place by 5 a.m. to setup for the primary.  I was blessed with a veteran group of poll workers: Ann, Mary, Flo and Dale.  Our station was one of four different precincts in Floyds Knobs, Indiana and I often throughout the day helped voters find their correct voter precinct by consulting an area map.  While the mood of most voters was very positive the Republican ballots were used more often than the Democratic ballots by about a two to one margin.  Voter turnout was light only 17% of the registered voters in the precinct I was working turned out.  It’s a shame that after ten years of wars overseas wars that are still going on with American servicemen and women being wounded or killed that more Americans don’t feel the need to exercise their most basic right in this country and that’s to vote.  I hope if you were one of those many people who didn’t show up at your voting place this spring that you make the effort to cast your ballot in the November elections.  With the state of our nation and the world today I can’t imagine what would be more important than to take at most a half an hour and vote for whom and what you feel is important this November.

Now back to the subject of this blog business and those issues that affect small business owners and employees.  Today’s blog topic is from Chapter 8 of Nuts! The book I’ve been reviewing on how Southwest Airlines has been successful in the ultra-competitive airline industry.  The title of the chapter is “Act like an Owner”.  But before I mention the success tips mentioned in chapter 8 of Nuts!  I’d like to quote some data from another blog that I read and happen to look at just before writing this post.

In a recent survey conducted by Fierce, Inc., only 1/3 of the 800 respondents felt that their company was willing to change practices based on employee input and feedback. Other study highlights included:

44% of employees felt that workplace practices are ineffective and often hinder employee productivity or morale.

47% reported that current practices impede desired results.

50% said the lack of companywide transparency and the lack of employee involvement are the primary areas of concern.

70% said they are willing to speak up, they doubted it would make a difference.

Like the voter turnout on this year’s Spring Indiana Primary the above statistics are quite sorrowful.  As many of you know this business climate is an especially difficult one, why is it then that so many workers feel so disconnected or disfranchised from the companies that employ them?  Certainly, business owners could use or at least consider ideas from the people that know their business processes as well or sometimes better that they do, the employees that earn a living through working at the firm.

In Nuts! Chapter 8 they state that “ownership is a powerful catalyst for organizational change”.  I’ll go even further and say that I believe you can’t obtain organizational change without ownership from both the management and staff of any organization.  The authors go on the state that “Ownership isn’t just about having a piece of paper that says I own stock.  Ownership is the result of believing that you can make a difference, then acting on that belief in everything you do.”    Based on the results of the survey above it would appear that many employees aren’t buying into the ideas espoused by their management or management itself isn’t allowing employees to actively participant in the functions of the business.   Can we really afford this business mindset in this economy?  With budgets tight and the future uncertain is it wise to go it alone and not at least seek the counsel of others within an organization?

I think not, but I must confess I have always been in the camp of participatory management which the belief that anybody including the lowest worker has knowledge that could be of benefit to me a decision maker.  Yes! Management is almost always responsible for the direction and results of a decision or policy but their ideas and opinions aren’t the only ones out there that have merit and should be considered.

Here are the tidbits of success from Chapter 8 of Nuts:

·         Think like an owner—about your job and life.  Owners focus on results regardless of who’s watching.

·         Don’t act like a victim.  Believe you can make a difference in everything you do.

·         Put your trust in others.  It tells them they are trustworthy and they will act accordingly.

·         Show your people what you think they’re worth.

·         Negotiate with an abundance mentality.

·         Make your organizational and personal mission, vision, and values clear—then hold the reins loosely.

·         Practice the Golden rule.  Do what you expect and want others to do.

That’s it for today.  Next time I’ll finish my review of Nuts! by looking at of all things advertising.  Until then thanks for reading, please post a comment if you so desire and all my best!  Jer

Flying in the Face of Conformity

Hi! Welcome back.  Before I get into today’s blog I must confess that I’ll be overseeing tomorrow’s Indiana primary as an Election Inspector in Floyds Knobs, Indiana.  The purpose of the Inspector’s position is to make sure that everyone who comes to vote on time does and that the process is straight forward, private and fair.  I’m sure I’ll write about my experiences later so please stay tuned.

Today and probably for the next few posts I’d like to explore more fully the secrets to Southwest Airlines great success in the tough competitive airline business.  These tidbits are not offered so that you can get a DC-10 and start your own airline but perhaps you might see the wisdom in some of what Southwest does and incorporate that into what you do.

Southwest Airlines has over the years been true to its vision which is to make a profit, provide job security for their employees and make flying fun and more affordable for the general public.  In chapter 5 of Nuts! Here’s what was discussed:

·         Live within your budget.  Are you listening Mr. President, Congress and EU nations?

·         Manage is good times for bad times; i.e., save a little for a rainy day.

·         Define your own targets.  Don’t settle for conventional standards; create your own.

·         Keep things simple.  Streamline your systems and your life.  At the time this book was written Southwest used only one type of aircraft—the Boeing 737.  This simplified the training for pilots, flight attendants, mechanics and ground support personnel who could concentrate on learning all the key aspects of their job with one plane.  It also made parts inventory and record keeping easier and simpler as well.

·         Bigger isn’t always better.  Don’t confuse market share with profitability.  This was my take away from this chapter.  Herb Kelleher, Chairman of Southwest Airlines said “Market share has nothing to do with profitability.  Market share says we just want to be big; we don’t care if we make money doing it.”  An example was given that in order to gain an additional 5% of the market; you may have to increase your costs by 25%.  A great lesson for business entrepreneurs everywhere don’t you think?

·         At the peak of success, look for things you can do even better.

·         And finally, be humble: success is hardly ever all your own doing and rarely irreversible.

What are your thoughts about these tidbits of success?  Are you applying them to your business and life?  How about the market share comment do you agree with Herb Kelleher?  Please let me know take a few minutes to post a comment and thanks again for reading my blog.  Until next time all my best!  Jer.

Go Nuts! Advice from Southwest Airlines

Hi! Welcome back!  Today I’d like to begin discussing advice on success from the book Nuts! By Kevin and Jackie Freiberg; in it they look at the crazy methods used by Southwest Airlines to achieve personal and business success.  I’m actually going to start my review by looking at the last chapter entitled Go Nuts!; which offers some great advice for anybody but especially for today’s business entrepreneur.  I’ll quote right from the book “The malady of our time is that so many people have lost their sense of meaning, purpose and dignity.  Alienated and empty, these people go home exhausted and dehumanized”.  I think this statement captures what many Americans are feeling today as they struggle to remake their lives after the economic crisis of 2008.

Much like the Great Depression of the 1930’s today’s depression is filled with haves and have not’s.  If you are like me you are wondering when your number will be called and someone will give you an opportunity to demonstrate your skill set.  However, if you’ve had the good fortune to still be employed other than higher gas and food prices you world probably hasn’t changed all that much.

Find a purpose you’re crazy about.  That’s the first tip offered in the last chapter of Nuts!  Most of us yearn to do something meaningful with our lives here on earth and contribution in some way to a cause that has meaning to us.  I recently saw a Movie entitled “Keeper of the Keys” in which somebody said that we all have different talents and that it was “impossible to dream about doing something we don’t have an ability to do”.  I’ve always fancied myself as a coach and now I’m attempting to become a business coach, I think it’s the right thing to do now at this stage in my life.  I think I will succeed if my faith in God and myself is strong enough.

Make your life and work an adventure.  “Become more curious, interested and inquisitive, wake up and start seeking new challenges; refuse to settle for mediocrity in yourself or in others.”  You know how it is when you purchase a new car and suddenly everywhere you look people are driving the same car you just bought?  Well that’s what it is like for me starting my consulting practice suddenly I’m noticing how many people in our country make their living by doing their own thing either with their hands, head or heart.  It’s encouraging really to know that although it’s a bit scary to put yourself on there alone and attempt to earn your money based solely on what you know and can do that millions of others are doing it successfully as well and showing you that you can do it to if you believe in yourself.

Believe in people and they will believe in themselves.  Success and confidence goes hand in hand you really can’t have one without the other.  In order to be successful in any aspect of life you have to have the self-confidence and courage to go for what you want to do.  The authors state “take a moment to see people not as they are, but as they can be.”  When you do two things are possible one people will perform according to the vision you have of them and secondly your faith in people and their potential maybe restored.

Don’t take yourself too seriously.  I think that is excellent advice for the new entrepreneur.  As a business owners it’s all up to you to make it happen but people are people and we are going to make mistakes, say stupid things, act clumsy at time but instead of worrying about that shrug it off and laugh about it—it’s good for soul and mental health.

Dare to dream.  The author’s state “Dreams stimulate our senses and awaken our entrepreneurial spirit.  They fuel our imagination, release our creative energy, and draw forth a deep sense of commitment to action.  It’s difficult to take action toward something you can’t envision.  It’s almost impossible to envision something you don’t dream about.  People who lose their dreams have nothing to hope for and, without hope; they have nothing to live for.  Dreams help us experience the richness of life.” 

I love that paragraph I think every person who attempts to start a business is a dreamer and we need more of them in our country today.  When you reflect on it many of man’s significant accomplishments started out as ideas and were completed by people who had the courage to dream.  So dream it’s good for you and the country just not while you are driving please.

Dare to be different.  Southwest Airlines makes room for the novel, unexpected and unpredictable.  When people came with fresh ideas that made sense they went for it!  Why not try it!  If it fails, learn from it, laugh and move on.  If it works celebrate with the people that made it happen.

Finally Pursue love before techniques.  The author’s make a profound statement “The tragedy of our time is that we’ve got it backwards.  We’ve learned to love techniques and use people.”  If you’ve been in the business world as long as I have you recall all though cost cutting measures, reengineering, right sizing efforts that really didn’t in many cases improve product quality or customer service they just kicked a lot of good people to the curb.

I hope you found some nuggets of sound advice in today’s blog.  I’ll be reviewing the remainder of the book for other tips from Southwest Airlines play book next time.  Author’s note--my  blog posts have been inconsistent of late that’s because I’m making the switch from looking for a job to looking for projects and I’ve been on the road making contacts to find my first client and then the next one and the next.  I hope to blog about work assignments in the future but right now I’m “kissing babies and shaking hands”.  I hope to have my first presentation before the Seymour, Indiana Chamber of Commerce in a few weeks, if so I’ll write about it here. 

Thanks for reading and until next time all my best!  Jer.

Confidence and Commitment

Hi! Welcome back.  I’d like to close my discussion of The Lombardi Rules: 26 Lessons from Vince Lombardi by looking at commitment.  As some of you know who have been reading this blog I am in the process of launching a consulting practice that offers problem solving and training advice to small and medium size companies.  As I walk farther off that pier of employment conformity (Paid employment) into the waters of employment unconformity (self-employment), two things keep entering my mind and consciousness, confidence and commitment.

I have been talking with many individuals lately who have taken the path less traveled and earn a living selling their skills and expertise on the open market.  One friend of mine Hal, made a comment that has stuck with me he said “that you need to get to the point where you have the confidence to step out and work on your own; once you have that confidence you can make it.”

In reading this book Lombardi talks about confidence and success, the two are intertwined you can’t have confidence without success and success breeds confidence. 

“You defeat defeatism with confidence.  The man who is trained to his peak capacity will gain confidence.  Confidence is contagious, and so is a lack of confidence.”

                                                                                                                Vince Lombardi

Vince Lombardi Jr. the author of the book writes “confidence is catching, and so is a lack of confidence.  If a leader exudes confidence, his troops will follow his lead.”  How does one gain the confidence to start a new project or activity?  Well one must be committed to the process and have faith that their efforts will be fruitful.

Lombardi writes that “total commitment implies doing whatever it takes to reach your goal.  The essence of commitment is the act of making a decision.”  Vince Jr. further states that “In the Lombardi code, mental toughness is the ability to hold onto one’s goals in the face of the pressure and stress.”

“Mental toughness is the willingness to keep commitments you make to yourself.  It’s singleness of purpose.  It’s the ability to stay motivated, no matter what obstacles arise in your path.”

What obstacles have arisen in your path as you started your business or developed your career?  Where did you find the confidence to keep showing up each day and learn those hard lessons that everyone must learn in order to find some success and purpose in life?  How have you helped an employee or friend reach for their goals?

I’d love to hear your comments, please leave me one if you are so inclined.  Thanks for reading my blog I’ll close with one of my favorite Vince Lombardi quote until next time all my best!  Jer

“I would say that the quality of each man’s life is the full measure of that man’s personal commitment to excellence and to victory—whether it be football, business, politics or government, or what have you.”

                                                                                                                                Vince Lombardi

Lombardi on Character

Hi! Welcome back.  Today I’d like to continue with some excerpts from the Lombardi Rules a great short book written by the late coach’s son Vince Lombardi Jr.  Vince Jr. writes “Character is the first requirement of Vince Lombardi’s leadership code.  Combined with good habits and competence, character creates the building blocks for leadership.”

Character Lombardi writes “ is derived from older words that mean engraved and inscribed.”  “Character is founded on unchanging principles.  It is your underlying core…it is solid and resolute.”  He goes on to say that “character is a series of decisions and choices that you make as you grow and mature.  Character is not something that is handed to you; it must be forged through years of hard work and discipline.”  And I’ll add defeats as you learn to bounce back from those setbacks great and small that everyone in life experiences.  Character is unique to each individual. 

Lombardi also writes that “as a leader, you can’t build a team, department, or company that’s a whole lot different from yourself.”  As I reflect on that statement and think back over my work life and those individuals that I worked for I must admit I believe that’s true!  Perhaps one of the reasons that many older workers are having such a hard time finding employment these days is that the leaders that many companies have today don’t reflect the values that older workers were brought up with or learned to incorporate over the length of their careers?

“The Successful man is himself.  To be successful, you’ve got to be honest with yourself.”

                                                                                                                                Vince Lombardi

“Bad habits are eliminated not by others, but by ourselves.”

                                                                                Vince Lombardi

As a business owner how do you react to this post?  Do you believe as Lombardi and I do that “as a leader, you can’t build a team, department, or company that’s a whole lot different from yourself?”  How do you inject your character into the fabric of your business?  I’d love to read your comments, if you have one please free feel to post one here and thanks for reading my blog until next time all my best!  Jer.

The Lombardi Rules

Hi! I’m back.  I’ve been busy preparing and going on interviews and finishing the contents of my “Training for Organizational Effectiveness” program on structured on-the-job training.  I can’t think of a better subject for me then Vincent Thomas Lombardi the late coach of the Green Bay Packers who won 5 titles in 9 years while the Head Coach and General Manager of the Packers from 1959-1968.

While buying some training material a few weeks ago at a local book store I happened upon a book written by his son Vince Lombardi Jr. entitled “The Lombardi Rules: 26 Lessons from Vince Lombardi The World’s Greatest Coach”.   Well as some of you know I’m a die-hard Packers fan and a disciple of the late coach, needing a little “pep” talk of my own I decided to purchase the book.  In the next few posts let me share with you what I read and learned about leadership and life from Coach Lombardi as told by his son Vince Jr.

“In the Lombardi model, leadership starts with a simple premise: only by knowing yourself can you become an effective leader.”  Crucial attributes to leadership according to Vince Lombardi are character and integrity.  “Lombardi’s leadership model is about being a person of character, finishing what you start, never compromising your goals, and giving everything you’ve got to achieve your goals.”

“Leadership rests not only on outstanding ability but on commitment, loyalty, pride and followers ready to accept guidance.”          Vince Lombardi

The first steps towards Lombardi’s road to leadership begin with self-knowledge.  Some questions penned in the book include is there an overriding purpose to your life?  What are you committed to?  What purpose makes sense of everything you do?  I thought the best question was Am I going to allow my life to be controlled by the crush of daily activities, or will I live my life in accordance with my purpose?

Vince Jr. writes “Don’t run for the sake of running: make sure you’re headed somewhere.  If you’re going all out without a clear destination in mind, slow down and ask some more questions.”

“I’m no better nor less than the next man.  But the thing about me is that I always knew what my acts would mean.  I was lucky…I found a singleness of purpose early on.”               Vince Lombardi

Do you have a singleness of purpose in your life?  Are you running for the sake of running?  Or as another great coach the late John Wooden, said “Do not mistake activity for achievement.”

If you lack singleness of purpose and who doesn’t from time to time I think you might find the next series of posts on the Lombardi Rules quite useful.  Thanks for reading and until next time all my best! Jer  

The Conclusion of Start with No!

Hi! Welcome back.  I’ve had a busy week interviewing and would like with today’s post to end our discussion of Jim Camp’s thirty three rules for negotiation from his excellent book Start with No!  Below is the final set of Mr. Camp’s rules for successful negotiations.

·         Mission and purpose drive everything.

·         Decisions are 100 percent emotional.

·         Interrogative-led questions drive vision.

·         Nurture.

·         No assumptions.  No expectations.  Only blank slate.

·         Who are the decision makers?  Do you know all of them?

·         Pay forward.

In mission and purpose drive everything both you and the person you are negotiating with should be driven to accomplish your objective for the negotiations.  In the case of a job interview which I have been on recently the potential employer is looking for someone to fill a vacancy and I am looking for a stream of income but we both have a greater reason for why we are there.  I can’t speak for a particular employer out there but my purpose is to return to the business world to help coach people to improve them and work with them to improve the systems they use every day in their work to reach the goals they set for themselves and the businesses they work for.  As I evaluate different work scenarios be it as an employee or an independent contractor working on an assignment I am looking to see whether my mission and purpose coincides with that of the employer and can I help them reach their goals and objectives.  That thought process that I just describes is what Camp is saying should be used in all negotiations.

Decisions are 100% percent emotional.  If you would have ask me this question several months ago I would have said that I disagree with that view because I was schooled in the practice of business management and as we all know business managers are suppose to make logical, rational decisions based on empirical evidence found in the data right!?  Well that is not entirely true many decision makers and leaders that I have studies in the past few months have made the decision to do something and then looked for the evidence that supports that decision and only the evidence that supports the decision that they have made.  Much has been made for example in the last ten years about Mr. Bush’s decision to invade Iraq and then Afghanistan.  You will recall the run up to the Iraq War and Colin Powell’s speech at the UN where he claimed that America thought Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.  We know now that that claim by the US was not correct but we continued through with the invasion anyhow.  Did President Bush make his decision before the evidence was gathered and then only look at the evidence that supported his decision?  I don’t know perhaps he did and he would not be the first President or leader to do so.  The point is that more often than we would like to believe decisions by leaders and influential people are made before the evidence and the reasons for the decision are only gathered later as a defense of their original position.

Interrogative questions drive vision is that probing needs analysis that I think I’ve written about quite often in this piece on Camp’s negotiation rules.  What is the adversary really trying to accomplish within the negotiations and can you help them get what they want and in turn get what you want.

Nurture, not a rule you would suppose Camp would use when he labels his rules Start with no!  Nurture as I see it being used here is to serve.  The greatest example of serving especially this time of year is Jesus Christ at the Last Supper when he begins to wash the feet of the disciplines at the table.  Now I’m not suggesting that you bend down and wash your adversary’s feet in your next negotiations but think about what you can say or do to help them move toward their goals and objectives, how can you move the discussions along to a successful conclusion for everyone.

No assumptions. No expectations.  Only a blank slate means don’t come into the negotiations with a preconceived notion of what the adversary will say or do.  Listen, discuss, verify details and develop a custom solution to the issues after all if the solutions to which created the negotiations were obvious you probably wouldn’t need to negotiate in the first place right?

Who are the decision makers?  Do you know them all?  Obviously, you want to be communicating with someone who has the authority to act on the solutions you agree to within the negotiations.  However sometimes that is easier said than done because the person who you are negotiating with is acting as a go-between for the final decision maker.  Remember Camp’s rule about all agreements must be clarified point by point and sealed three times (using 3+)?  Getting to the final decision makers or at least clarifying each point multiple times with your adversary will allow you to find successful closure to your negotiations much easier.

Finally pay forward, a great movie by the way, how can you improve the world around you?  What can you do to make a difference in somebody’s life and circumstance?  It doesn’t have to be substantial, a kind word, a small bit of advice, a contact that can open the door and unlock a potential barrier to a problem can make a huge difference to people you are dealing with.

I hope you took away something from my review of Jim Camp’s Book Start with No!  Trust me my analysis doesn’t do it justice as I’ve written several times this is a great book on how to negotiated but I also see parallels to starting your own business.  Until next time thanks for your readership and all my best!  Jer.

Negotiation tips from Jim Camp Revisited

Hi! Welcome back.  I’m reviewing the thirty three rules for negotiations from Jim Camp’s book Start with No!  In past blogs I’ve listed the first 20 rules today we’ll look at rules 21-25 which are listed below.

·         “No” is good, “yes” is bad, “maybe” is worse.

·         Absolutely no closing.

·         Dance with the tiger.

·         Our greatest strengths are our greatest weakness (Emerson).

·         Paint the pain.

The first rule “No” is good, “yes” is bad, “maybe” is worse.  To me means that in a negotiation you don’t want to move to yes too quickly.  Let’s take for example car shopping, many of us dread shopping for a car because we despise the negotiation process that always seems to happen at the car dealership.  You know what I mean you see a car which you think will meet your needs and all you want is for the dealer to give you a fair price.  But if you haven’t done your research and know what the car is worth you might be tempted to reach for an agreement too soon and thus pay too much for the auto.  A maybe answer is even worse because you don’t know where your adversary stands on the issue or whether they are engaged enough in the negotiation to come to an agreement.

The second rule “Absolutely no closing” from Mr. Camp’s perspective means that you are not trying to “sell” your adversary on your position, your position should be such that it address your adversary’s greatness needs and issues that brought the two of you in the negotiations in the first place.  The third rule “Dance with the tiger” follows Camp’s rule of no closing.  The negotiation is a process by which you are engaging with your adversary and working with them to find a solution that first meets their needs and then yours.

Our last rule for this blog today “Paint the pain” to me means that when you are in a negotiation you need to concentrate your efforts on the root causes that are causing your adversary discomfort and ignore the symptoms.  Next time I’ll wrap up my discussion of Camp’s book.  What are your thoughts on this book and blog?  Please drop me a line and let me know I value your input.  Until next time all my best!  Jer.