AchieveMax® Blog by Motivational Speakers and Consultants

Go Green Has New Meaning!

Harry K. Jones — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 14:00:29 +0000

We’ve been using this particular category of our blog to provide examples of out-of-the-box thinking that are actually taking place in our everyday lives. It’s our hope to demonstrate that creativity and innovation can be found at every level of our society, can require a large monetary investment or cost next to nothing, and is needed today more than ever before.

The term “find a need and fill it” has been around a very long time. It’s a simple strategy that can very easily lead to success in many areas. Some have credited this battle cry to a blacksmith, John Deere, who later created the world’s leading producer of farm equipment while others attribute it to an American writer, editor, and speaker, Ruth Stafford Peale. She was the wife of The Power of Positive Thinking author, Norman Vincent Peale, and co-founder of Guideposts magazine and the Peale Center. Regardless of who first said it, it’s quite obvious that it’s going to be around for quite some time due to its wisdom, simplicity, and potential.

Here’s still another example of a very low-cost but particularly practical innovation which could easily have found its creation as a result of that age-old battle cry.

Tell me this isn’t a need which demands being addressed. I see it happening in break rooms from coast to coast. An employee arrives at work in the morning to place his/her lunch in the break room refrigerator before tackling the challenges of the day. Lunch time finally rolls around and that famished employee dashes to the break room with anticipation of devouring that delicious triple-decker speciality sandwich waiting in the fridge. Bursting into the break room, the refrigerator door is thrown open to reveal the alarming sight of an empty sandwich bag. Someone stole your luncheon masterpiece leaving you frustrated, empty, and violated as you nibble the few carrot sticks the thief apparently overlooked or ignored during the illegal appropriation!

Don’t underestimate the impact of such a hideous act and don’t think it happens only in your break room. This is a very common occurrence in most office settings which continually leads to depression, suspicion, hunger and loss of productivity.

Well, someone has finally done something about it. A trained mechanical and aerospace engineer, New York-based Sherwood Forlee, has focused his vast experience, talent and imagination to create a solution to this universal problem.

He’s created a designer Anti-Theft Sandwich Bag. Simply put, Anti-Theft Lunch Bags “are regular sandwich bags that have green splotches printed on both sides providing the appearance of a dreaded mold.” It causes your sandwich to take on an unappetizing shade of green. In short, your sandwich looks disgusting, scaring away any potential thief.

Be honest, doesn’t this simplistic approach to a common problem cause you to wonder why you didn’t come up with this idea yourself?

What’s next … a giant car bag that makes your new Corvette look like a 1958 Ford Edsel!

Harry K. Jones is a professional speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of motivational speakers who provide custom-designed keynote presentations, seminars, and consulting services. Harry has appeared all over North America addressing topics such as change, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork and time management for a number of industries, including education, financial, government, healthcare, hospitality, and manufacturing. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2MAX or fill out our contact form.

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The Choice We Make Daily

Harry K. Jones — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 14:00:08 +0000

Our client list boasts organizations of all sizes, from all areas of North America, and includes just about every industry you can imagine. It’s quite obvious then that you can expect tremendous differences to exist among those clients under these various conditions.

However, they also share many commonalities. For instance, you can always find that personality that tends to be forever negative. I’m certain you know someone that falls into that category. He/she is the kind of person who would kick if he/she were hung with a new rope! They always see the negative side of every issue. As a result, they become an eternal “speed bump” to productivity, teamwork, communication, and success.

On the flip side of that coin is the eternal optimist … that very special person who has the potential to carry the entire staff through trial and tribulation while wearing a smile and finding the positive potential in every situation. These people tend to be the backbone of the operation and deserve much more credit than they usually receive.

One such woman highlights today’s Generational Gem.

A very old lady looked in the mirror one morning. She had three remaining hairs on her head, and being a positive soul, she said, “I think I’ll braid my hair today.” So she braided her three hairs, and she had a great day.

Some days later, looking in the mirror one morning, preparing for her day, she saw that she had only two hairs remaining. “Hmm, two hairs… I think I’ll part my hair in the center today.” She duly parted her two hairs, and as ever, she had a great day.

A week or so later, she saw that she had just one hair left on her head. “One hair huh,” she mused, “I know, a pony-tail will be perfect.” And again she had a great day.

The next morning she looked in the mirror. She was completely bald. “Finally bald huh,” she said to herself. “How wonderful! I won’t have to waste time doing my hair any more.”

Wouldn’t it be fantastic if we had more people like that in the workplace everyday? By the way, which category do you fall into? It is a conscious choice, you know? We make it every day.

Fact-A-Day from Harry K. - November 18, 2008

Harry K. Jones — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 14:00:38 +0000

In the spirit of C.A.N.I. (Continuous And Never-ending Improvement), here are this week’s new facts—one for each day of your coming week. Pass them on to others to keep the spirit alive or invite your friends and family to visit our blog where they can also view previous entries.

There are more than 10,000 varieties of tomatoes.
There are more insects in 10-square feet of rain forest than there are people in Manhattan.
Thomas Edison invented the talking doll in 1888.
Thomas Jefferson introduced macaroni to the U.S. in 1789. He brought back a macaroni shaping machine after eating the dish in Naples, Italy.
Tsunamis (pronounced soo-NAH-mee, is a series of waves, made in an ocean or other body of water by an earthquake, landslide, or volcanic eruption) travel as fast as jet planes.
Until President Kennedy was killed, it wasn’t a Federal crime to assassinate the President.
U.S. parents average 38 minutes per week in “meaningful conversation” with their kids.

Customer Service Is a Choice

Harry K. Jones — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 14:00:22 +0000

I travel this country from coast to coast on a regular basis. As a result, I see more than my share of airports, hotels, restaurants, convention centers, retail operations and just about any other type of business which might profit from superior customer service.

As a result, I constantly marvel at the fact that one business in one location cannot communicate the importance of superior customer service to the staff it employs. Apparently the negative consequences of poor service is not discussed any more than the positive consequences of exceptional service.

It’s also apparent that there is little or no focus placed on exceptional service as an expectation. Few, if any, employees are held accountable for the lack of outstanding service and consequences are obviously nonexistent in today’s competitive business environment.

Just when I’m ready to toss in the towel and admit that good service may very well have become a victim of our chaotic national status at the moment, financially and politically, the unforeseeable brightens the horizon and offers promise to all.

I found not only a single business but an entire city which realizes the impact of exceptional service and the role it plays in its future success. I was recently working with a major client in Nashville, Tennessee, during the week in which our two Presidential candidates were in town at Belmont University for their second debate. I was staying at a hotel just a matter of blocks from the debate location and, oddly enough, so was John McCain, Barack Obama, and a great number of radio, television and press people. In fact, thousands of people invaded Nashville for this global event.

Now you might say that Nashville was on its best behavior because it was in the national spotlight. However, I would argue just the opposite. Witness thousands of out-of-towners invade your city overnight, tie up traffic for miles in every direction causing delays of up to two hours, flood every restaurant, hotel, bar, cab, bus, and limo in the city adding stress at every level of the city and see if it’s conducive to great service. Place snipers on the rooftops and agents in the lobbies of hotels and campus buildings and watch the stress levels rise. Add heavy rain, thunder and lighting at the most inopportune time, and you begin to anticipate trouble on a large scale.

If anything, you could almost justify poor service under these stressful circumstances. And yet I found exceptional service at every turn during my entire four-day stay. I also found tremendous inconvenience everywhere due to this rare event. However, I was surprised to find the fantastic level of service actually reduced the many stressors to a very tolerable level.

This exceptional service actually began at the Nashville International Airport. Tootsies Orchid Lounge, a famous honky-tonk bar located in the heart of Nashville, has opened for business at the airport as well. In fact, there are several locations throughout the terminal, and they feature live bands and singers from early morning to late evening. It’s kind of a nice way to be greeted after the tension of a long flight.

As if that weren’t enough, the voices of well-known country stars welcome you to Nashville every few minutes with announcements providing directions or tidbits of local history and attractions. Any airport could do these things, but I’ve only witnessed it in Nashville and Vegas.

That same “welcome” attitude could be found all over the city … cab drivers who acted as tour guides as well as historians, desk clerks who actually asked about your trip, waiters and waitresses who seemed to appreciate your presence, and locals who gladly provided directions and conversation.

It seemed as though the entire city had been briefed on the importance of pleasing every visitor in hopes of having them return again and again. What a concept! Wouldn’t it be nice if employees of every business followed that game plan with that same goal in mind?

Nashville has made that choice and is obviously reaping the benefits. If it can get an entire city to focus on this goal, why do so many organizations struggle to do the same? Let’s hope others follow Nashville’s example before it’s too late.

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High Flyin’ Hotel Accommodations

Harry K. Jones — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 14:00:35 +0000

It was inevitable! And I’m sick about it!

As much as I fly …

As often as I’ve been stranded at airports and forced to sleep at the gate …

As often as I’ve been forced to get up at 4:30 a.m. in a strange hotel to grab a cab to rush to the airport to get an early flight—only to have the flight delayed …

I should have been the one come up with this idea … me and a million other “frequent fliers” who have enough airport horror stories to write a book. I guess this is another perfect example of the knowing-doing gap. At the very least, a million of us KNOW the need for this creative innovation and yet none of us did anything to DO something about it.

However, someone did. Oscar Dios, longtime owner of a hostel and hotel in Uppsala, Sweden, saw a need and proceeded to fill it. In December of last year, ground was broken near the entrance to the Stockholm-Arlanda International Airport for a new Jumbo Hostel, housed in a genuine jumbo jet aircraft—a Boeing 747 to be exact!

This creative idea emerged as a near necessity considering that 17 to 18 million travelers pass through this airport every year. Couple that fact with a trend of late and delayed flights, increased passenger traffic, fuel price increases, and strikes, mergers, acquisitions and bankruptcies. … all of which combine to add frustration to the stressed travelers hoping to reach their destination.

By the way, a hostel, as defined by HostelManagement.com, is a budget-oriented dormitory accommodation that accepts individual travelers for short-term stays, and that provides common areas and communal facilities.

This 747 is currently being converted into a 25-room hostel with 3 beds per room. The first phase of the conversion was the dismantling of the old interior, new paint and new decorations for the rooms. 450 seats were taken out and the plane was sanitized in its entirety. The plane has been placed on a concrete foundation with the landing gear secured in two steel cradles.

Each room features a flat-screen TV where you can, among other things, watch the times of departure for all flights. Everywhere in the jumbo jet you have wireless broadband Internet access for your convenience. The upper deck of this 747 has several more luxurious rooms with their own bathroom facility. For the ultimate in overnight luxury, you will even be able to spend the night in the cockpit, where you can enjoy a fantastic panoramic view of the live air traffic at the international airport.

As though all of that were not enough, how about an excursion area where visitors will be able to walk right out on the wing of the Jumbo jet? Not too many people can make claim to that unusual experience.
And should you get hungry, the 747 has its own café where you can buy breakfast, coffee and cookies and basic meals. You can also heat up food you may have brought along.

Can you imagine the peace of mind spending the night right there at the airport knowing that when you wake up in the morning you’re just a short stroll of your gate?

The Jumbo Hostel will open its doors for reservations in December and is guaranteed to be a unique and outstanding experience at a good price.

If this creative adventure proves successful, and there’s no reason to think it won’t, you can expect to see similar hostels popping up at every major airport in the U.S. before long. Convenience and comfort for fliers, strong competition to existing hotels, and profits for those undertaking the challenge of closing that knowing-doing gap.

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Lack of Action Ensures Failure

Harry K. Jones — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 14:00:49 +0000

Close the knowing-doing gap, walk the talk, take action …

It’s certainly not new.

We hear it all the time.

It’s obviously a great strategy.

It’s the only way to be productive.

It’s been preached and practiced for centuries.

And yet, pause a moment and visualize any one of the many political candidates we’ve been exposed to over the past three or four elections at the local, state, or federal levels. Compare what they told us they would do if elected to what they actually did once in office.

Now think about a CEO or company president that has earned the focus of the national media attention by failing to meet expectations and/or promises.

Turn on your TV and surf the many football games aired this weekend. How many head coaches are falling short in the same areas of not closing the knowing-doing gap, not taking action in obvious areas of need, or not walking the talk?

It’s a leadership issue.

Always has been.

Always will be.

This critical issue leads us to still another Generational Gem:

One golfer had an absolutely horrible day on the links. His ball lay on an ant hill, and he swung viciously with a five-iron. Again and again he missed the ball and chopped away at the hill, killing ants and sending sand flying through the air. One frightened ant turned to another and said, “We’d better get on the ball if we want to stay alive!”

This is true of most of us.

There is a time to think, and there is a time to do.

There is a time to learn, and there is a time to act.

There is a time to gather information, and there is a time to make decisions.

It’s been said that knowing something doesn’t make a difference. But doing something with what you know does make a difference.

If you’ve been putting off that decision; if you’ve been procrastinating about beginning that project; or, if you’ve never gotten around to pursuing that dream which never seems to go away, then this is your nudge to get on the ball. It’s the only way to truly prosper and grow.

Fact-A-Day from Harry K. - November 11, 2008

Harry K. Jones — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 14:00:36 +0000

The shortest place name in the U.S. is Y, Alaska.
Sitting Bull was not an Indian Chief. He was a medicine man.
Space officially begins 62 miles up.
Sunlight can penetrate clean ocean water to a depth of 240 feet.
Taxi is spelled the same way in nine languages: English, French, Danish, Dutch, German, Swedish, Spanish, Norwegian, and Portuguese.
There are 94 million TVs in the U.S. … and 227 million in China.
There are 4,570 tons of gold at Fort Knox. New York’s Federal Reserve Bank has 5,000 tons.

Book Review Clarification

Harry K. Jones — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 14:00:06 +0000

I just returned from another visit to the exquisite Big Cedar Lodge nestled into the wilderness of the Ozark Mountains on the shore of the 43,000 acre Table Rock Lake near Branson, Missouri. Our client invited me back for a second year, and I quickly discovered that this vacation paradise had not only expanded its building strategy but was still actively involved in additional construction. This resort remains a bastion of creativity and customer service like none other I have seen in my travels. To review several of their unique offerings, check out the recap of last year’s visit by reviewing Low Cost of Creativity.

Last year we focused on the challenge of enhancing team productivity, and this year this leadership steering committee concentrated on the strategy of employee retention. During one of our many breakout sessions, the subjects of a corporate library, current best sellers, and prominent authors was brought up as a possible option of employee recognition. Several of the participants have been utilizing our book review portion of our web site for the past year and found it quite useful in meeting their needs. However, one gentleman mentioned that he had struggled in his recent efforts to navigate our offering as a result of our rapid growth of reviews to its current number of 180 … soon to be 190. After addressing a few of his questions, he suggested the possibility that maybe others would appreciate and benefit from a few navigational tips to aid them in their search for a particular book review.

His suggestion made sense to me so let’s see what we can do to simplify your next visit to our AchieveMax® book vault.

Go to www.AchieveMax.com
Click on Management Books at the top of the page.
There you will find Top Ten Books 1 through Top Ten Books 18. Each of these groupings contain ten reviews in the sequence that they were first release.
For further clarification, scroll down, and you will find the heading: Top Books by Topic (Alphabetical by Book Title). Under this heading you will find the following categories:
- Top Change Books
- Top Coaching Books
- Top Communication Books
- Top Continuous Quality Improvement Books
- Top Creativity Books
- Top Customer Service Books
- Top Employee Retention Books
- Top Goal Setting Books
- Top Leadership and Management Books
- Top Motivational and Self-Help Books
- Top Networking Books
- Top Project Management Books
- Top Stress Management Books
- Top Teamwork and Team Building Books
- Top Time Management Books
- Top Women-In-Business Books

Simply click on your category of interest, and you’ll be taken to a page displaying a wide variety of book titles based on this subject matter. Each title has its own small box and within each box you’ll see:

A replica of the actual book cover
Place your cursor on the book cover and a link to Amazon.com will appear providing information to purchase this particular book and arrange for shipping.
The title of that book
If you double click on the title of the book, you’ll find another link to Amazon.com that will take you to a book description, editorial reviews, author facts, etc.
And, in many cases, a small caricature of me next to the words Book Review
Double click on the caricature, and you’ll be taken to our own book review of that particular title.

Scroll down even further on this page, and you’ll find a list of links to additional blog and web site articles related to these book subjects.

We have many clients that currently feature our book reviews on their own web site or in their corporate newsletters in hopes of enlightening their readers and employees to current offerings.

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Little Things Make a BIG Difference

Harry K. Jones — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 14:00:50 +0000

“To-do lists” have always been a powerful time management tool. Most everyone uses them in one form or another in hopes of increasing productivity. However, another strategy, much less well-known but just as powerful, suggests the opposite approach of the renowned to-do list.

It’s nothing more than a “don’t-do list” or a “stop-doing list.” This concept certainly isn’t new, and I doubt that it would qualify as “out-of-the-box thinking.” Management guru Peter Drucker mentioned it in many of his 39 best sellers over the years, and more recently, author Jim Collins (Good to Great and co-author of Built to Last) shares his support of the simple concept.

A few months ago I described this powerful tool in Start a “Stop-Doing” List. I explained that a “stop-doing” list is nothing more than a simple inventory of bad habits or negative actions currently practiced by an individual, team or organization that would provide better results if they were discontinued.

While this strategy may not represent “out-of-the-box thinking,” the method of application certainly can. I recently saw a perfect example of this strategy while flying to Philadelphia to deliver a keynote presentation. Due to the aftermath of several tropical storms in the Gulf, my plane was rerouted through four separate airports before reaching Philly in an effort to circumvent bad weather heading east from the devastation in Texas.

In printing my boarding passes, I immediately noticed that only one boarding pass emerged from the ticket kiosk machine. Fearing an even longer delay, I approached the ticket agent and explained my dilemma. She quickly suggested that I review the pass in my hand as she explained I only needed one pass. The airline now issues a single boarding pass regardless of how many connections you may be scheduled to make before reaching your final destination. In an effort to save paper and ink, they have eliminated separate boarding passes for every city on your route. This procedure also reduces your chances of losing one of those passes in route.

Later, on the plane, I couldn’t help thinking about this small gesture on the part of the airlines and the enormous impact it was going to have on the industry. I couldn’t help but wonder why this idea had not been carried out years earlier. It’s so simple … very little cost … very little effort … quick transition time … tremendous savings.

At my hotel that evening, I did a little surfing to further my investigation. The Bureau of Transportation Statistics of the Department of Transportation (DOT) keeps track of commercial passenger traffic for the United States. For the 12 months ending February 29, 2008, there were 735 million U.S. passengers flying over 366 days, which equals about 2 million passengers per day on average.

Let’s low-ball this equation by assuming that, using this new strategy, the airlines saved one single boarding pass for each customer. It’s quite obvious that many of those passengers would have required several boarding passes. However, assuming one pass per passenger, the airline industry saved a minimum of 735 million pieces of paper over the past year and who knows how much ink. It would indeed be interesting to calculate what that means in dollars and cents. In addition, I can’t imagine another industry that needs that savings more than those flying our costly skies today.

Share this example with your team members in the near future. Allow them 24 hours to brainstorm the application of this simple but powerful strategy to your own business. Meet the following day and chart the results of their efforts. What are some of the things you might “stop doing” to reduce costs and increase efficiency? Remember, your findings don’t have to involve large projects, policies, or procedures. Little changes can make an enormous difference!

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Simple Communication

Harry K. Jones — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 14:00:23 +0000

If you’ve visited Disney World in Florida, you’re more than likely familiar with the city of Kissimmee. Home to about 61,000 residents, it’s situated just a little southwest of the Orlando International Airport. It’s also the spring training home of the Houston Astros baseball team. It’s very well-known for a number of reasons … one of which is the fact that few people can pronounce it.

A man and his wife were driving their RV across the state and stopped in this beautiful city to grab a bite to eat. Having never visited Florida prior to this trip, they couldn’t help but notice the odd spelling of its name. Chatting over lunch they tried to figure out how to pronounce it—KISS-ah-me, Ka-SIM-me, Kiss-ah-ME? They grew more puzzled with each attempt.

The husband finally approached the counter and said to the cashier: “My wife and I are new to the area and can’t seem to be able to figure out how to pronounce this place. Will you tell me where we are and pronounce it very slowly so that I can understand it and repeat it to my wife?”

The cashier looked puzzled at the man and slowly said: “BUR-GER KING.”

Ya get what ya asked for!

Fact-A-Day from Harry K. - November 4, 2008

Harry K. Jones — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 14:00:34 +0000

“Crazy” by Patsy Cline in 1962 is the most popular jukebox song of all time.
Native Americans spoke more than 133 different languages.
Nikhedonia is the feeling one gets from anticipating victory.
No matter how old it gets, gasoline will not freeze. Below 180 degrees Fahrenheit, it just turns gummy.
On some Caribbean islands, the oysters can climb trees.
One steer yields enough ground beef for nearly 1,000 Quarter Pounders.
Pain travels through your body at a rate of 350 feet per second!

Toys as Mentors

Harry K. Jones — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 14:00:51 +0000

This is not a book review. However, there will be a review of this particular book in the next set of ten reviews we add to our website, bringing our total to 190 book reviews.

The book I speak of is Toy Box Leadership (Leadership Lessons from the Toys You Loved as a Child). It recently reminded me of a very valuable lesson I learned years ago and sometimes tend to forget. That lesson was very simplistic, and I guess that’s why it’s so easily forgotten. That lesson: “NEVER ASSUME.”

I guess this is a perfect example of not closing the knowing-doing gap. Most everyone has heard the dangers of making assumptions, and yet most of us do it from time to time. My most recent experience occurred at the Atlanta airport on my way to southern Florida to do a keynote presentation.

Due to weather conditions, I had an extended layover, and the Atlanta airport (Hartsford Jackson International) has a number of great book stores. Therefore, I invested a good deal of that layover time browsing the aisles in search of new titles.

As so often happens, an attractive book cover caught my eye. It quickly met many of the requirements necessary to demand my attention—catchy title, great graphics, and definitive subtitle. Containing only 194 pages and focusing on leadership lessons from a toy box, well, I couldn’t help but make the obvious assumption that this was one of your typical small book rip offs which so often appear trying to cash in on the trend established by financial winners such as Who Moved My Cheese, Fish, and The One Minute Manager.

However, having more than enough time between planes, I ventured on between the covers of this unusual approach to leadership. And I’m certainly glad I did. I was instantly reminded that I should never make assumptions OR, if and when I do make an assumption, I should keep an open mind until I have all the information I need to make an intelligent decision while maintaining flexibility in my thinking as I weigh the pros and cons. That realization alone was well worth the price of the book. I bought it, grabbed a burger, fries and Coke, and got comfortable in the food court as I began an enjoyable and enlightening journey through 194 pages of true revelation.

As is my usual routine, I scanned the table of contents and was duly impressed. I found it to be short, to-the-point, revealing content, enticing my curiosity. Ten chapters are listed, each identifying a particular childhood toy known to everyone. The subtitle of each chapter then identified the leadership trait that is so clearly represented by each toy. The toys included Lego Bricks, Slinky Dog, Play-Doh, the Yo-Yo, Mr. Potato Head, the Rubik’s Cube, the Rocking Horse, Little Green Army Men, Lite-Brite, and Weebles. I’ll save the corresponding leadership elements for my future book review, but I’ll promise you this: The profound principles you’ll uncover in this book will have you believing that the two authors, Ron Hunter Jr. and Michael E. Waddell, are indeed Transformers.

I was so totally consumed by the content of this book, its lively and effortless flow, and its inclusion of nostalgia as a learning tool that I completed it during that layover and the second leg of my journey. Absorbing the content of this particular book allowed my 737 to land 15 minutes before I did! Think about it.

I mentioned earlier that this is NOT a book review. It’s a blatant reminder to me, and I hope to you, that we suffer when we make assumptions. I came very close to missing one of the best books I’ve ever read. This book is a very powerful tool for introducing leadership concepts and principles to our younger generation. However, leaders of every age can benefit greatly by revisiting their childhood to learn the timeless laws of leadership.

One last note. Based on reader response, one of the most popular features on our web site is Words of Wisdom, which shares powerful quotes, in 22 various categories, from the world’s greatest leaders. I share this with you because I was amazed to find a collection of very profound quotes in this book. Each quotation was chosen to support one of the ten leadership principles revealed by the authors. Those readers who enjoy a great quote will appreciate this book like a “kid in a candy store.” Those quoted within those 194 pages produce a “Who’s Who” of leadership excellence from a very wide variety of perspectives.

Each of the following names shared a few words of wisdom to remind me that I should never assume: Admiral Rickover, Albert Einstein, Bobby Knight, Colonel Sanders, Colin Powell, Dale Carnegie, David Gergen, Denzel Washington, Dr. Wayne Dyer, Gandhi, General George Patton, George Bernard Shaw, Prime Minister Benhamin Disraeli, Prime Minister Golda Meir, Henry David Thoreau, Henry Ford, Herb Kelleher, Howard Schultz, Joe Frazier, John Maxwell, Ken Blanchard, Kouzes & Posner, Lee Iacocca, Lao Yzu, Mark Twain, Martin Luther King, Mary Kay Ash, Michael Jordan, Mayor Rudi Giuliani, Mozart, Nelson Mandela, President Abraham Lincoln, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, President John F. Kennedy, President Millard Fillmore, President Richard Nixon, President Ronald Reagan, President Zachary Taylor, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Roy Acuff, Spencer Johnson, Stephen Covey, Stephen Hawking, Steve Jobs, Thomas Edison, Tiger Woods, Tommy Lasorda, Tom Peters, Tony Robbins, Walt Disney, Walter Payton, and Winston Churchill.

Pretty good company. Great content. I almost missed it all. This experience opened my eyes to future possibilities.

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Navigating November

Harry K. Jones — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 14:00:32 +0000

Take a deep breath and slip into your track shoes as it’s time to prep for that mad dash through the chaotic holiday obstacle course which includes Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Eve. Some wait all year for this hectic escapade while others dread the challenges like the plague.

The air is brisk as we elect a President, watch football and feast on “Turkey Day” and shop ourselves crazy on Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year. Some say this day was created to help us work off the pounds we gained the day before as families gather across the nation.

Weekly Celebrations and Observances:

American Education Week
National Adoption Week
National Bible Week
National Bladder Health Week
National Chemistry Week
National Diabetes Education Week
National Family Week
National Family Caregivers Week
National Health Information and Technology Week
National Lung Cancer Awareness Week
National Medical Staff Services Week
National Radiologic Technology Week
World Kindness Week

Monthly Celebrations and Observances:

Aviation History Month
Child Safety and Protection Month
Christmas Seals Month
Georgia Pecan Month
National Adoption Awareness Month
National Alzheimer’s Disease Month
National Apple Month
National Diabetes Awareness Month
National Epilepsy Month
National Hospice Month
National Model Railroad Month
National Sleep Comfort Month
International Drum Month
Native-American Heritage Month
Real Jewelry Month
Peanut Butter Lovers Month
Vegan Awareness Month

November Daily Celebrations and Observances:

1 All Saint’s Day
1 Book Lovers Day
3 All Souls Day
3 National Bean Day
3 National Sandwich Day
3 National Housewives’s Day
4 Election Day
6 National Saxophone Day
7 National Bittersweet Chocolate With Almonds Day
10 United States Marine Corp Day (1775)
10 Sadie Hawkins Day (girls chase boys)
11 Veteran’s Day (U.S. - End of WWI - 1918)
11 National Young Reader’s Day
12 National Pizza Day
13 World Kindness Day
13 National Accountant’s Day
14 Operating Room Nurses Day
14 Young Readers Day
15 National Teddy Bear Day
15 America Recycles Day
15 National Philanthropy Day
17 World Peace Day
19 National Pencil Day
20 Great American Smokeout
20 Universal Children’s Day
20 Fast For World Harvest Day
21 World Hello Day
22 National Adoption Day
25 National Parfait Day
27 Thanksgiving
28 Black Friday (busiest shopping day)
30 St. Andrew’s Day
30 National Computer Security Day

The Fall of a Nation

Harry K. Jones — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 14:00:28 +0000

I know you’re probably pressed for time. Everyone seems to be in today’s chaotic environment. However, as we approach a very important election day, I would ask you to take just a moment out of your busy schedule to read the following article … absorb its true meaning and think about what must be done by all of us if we hope to survive the many challenges we’re currently facing. I think you might find the end of this article to be quite surprising … causing you to rethink our current way of life and start demanding those in Washington to represent you as you intended them to. You might even consider sending this piece on to others in hope of opening a few more eyes to the urgency of the situation.

The Fall of a Nation

I would like to tell you the story of a nation. This nation had its beginnings with a settlement of hardy farmers near the sea and so situated strategically to command a large trade area. From this settlement grew a great nation, and its influence would spread over a great part of the world.

Its people became skilled in crafts, engineering, and commerce until they were the most prosperous mankind had ever known. Its soldiers guarded the far corners of the earth.

Its currency dominated commerce.

Its technology was unequaled.

Its standard of living was the envy of the world.

As time went by, its people began to feel the corruptive influences of riches and much leisure. Old values were fading away, and people gave vent to their frustration in spectacular games and entertainment that was becoming increasingly crude.

Drunkenness and adultery became widespread.

Robberies and beatings were making the streets of its great capital unsafe.

The confusion of the times was being reflected in the high rate of suicides and mental disorders. The effects of all of this was becoming evident upon the national character. There was scandal and dissension within the government itself. Alien forces within were making it increasingly hard to unify the nation and one of its great leaders was assassinated.

As time goes on, we find other troubles besetting the nation. The farmers, the backbone of the state, are being ruined by war and an inflation which resists the government’s attempts to fix prices.

The nation has steadily been exporting its gold so that an adverse trade balance has mounted. The benefits of a great trading area are beginning to be offset by grinding taxation, and its currency is rapidly losing its value, posing a threat to the nation’s stability.

On top of all this, invasion at the far reaches of the domain, by Asian forces, less advanced but great in number, threaten our very way of life.

The empire was falling apart and the capital itself fell on a date documented in history as the end of civilization for centuries to come. And that date … the 4th of September, 476 A.D. The nation … the Roman Empire, which had its beginnings with the farmers of Laotia near the Mediterranean Sea.

It is all documented history. The growth of the nation … the giving away to corruption … the entertainment … the scandals … and the assassination of Julius Caesar.

Also the inflation, the adverse trade balance, and the government’s attempts to fix prices all happened. The invasion of savage Asiatic tribes known as “Huns” was led by Attila, who with other Barbaric tribes, eventually overran the empire and plunged the world into what is known today as “The Dark Ages.”

I will leave it to you to decide if history is repeating itself. The story I have just told you is of the rise and fall of the Roman Empire. Did you have another nation in mind? It’s something to think about, my friends!

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Fact-A-Day from Harry K. - October 28, 2008

Harry K. Jones — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 14:00:32 +0000

It took 20,000 people 22 years to build the Taj Mahal in India.
It would take 268 Rhode Islands to make one Texas.
Kanakaloka is the Hawaiian word for Santa Claus.
Kenny G.’s real last name is Gorelick.
Kraft sells about a million boxes of macaroni and cheese per day.
Maine is the only U.S. state with a one-syllable name.
More than 10 million Easy-Bake Ovens have been sold since 1964.

Cautiously Weigh Your Presidential Choices

Harry K. Jones — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 14:00:44 +0000

As a frustrated nation, we’ve managed to survive a seemingly never-ending number of brain-numbing political debates as both major parties searched for their Presidential candidates. That behind us, we’ve weathered both party conventions as well. As the world watches, we approach the November finale as more crucial debates dominate the media.

As candidates finesse their final messages to secure our votes, we face the difficult challenge of attempting to decipher truth from empty promise, honest intentions from talking points, and authenticity from prevarication.

Candidates have had years of preparation in conveying a message they feel we want and need to hear before offering our support and, more importantly, our vote of confidence. While I have yet to make that crucial decision myself, I encourage you to join me in doing the necessary homework and research in search of the wisdom necessary to make such a momentous decision—choosing the leader of the most powerful nation on earth. Our future hangs in the balance.

To underscore the importance of intense preparation for this consequential decision, consider the following scenario and the consequences of a poor choice.

It’s time to elect a world leader from three leading candidates, and your vote counts. You see three commercials on televison, each prepared by very talented, but questionable, professional campaign agencies. Based on the promotional content, for whom do you vote?

Candidate A:
He associates with corrupt political bosses and consults with astrologists. He’s had two mistresses. He chain smokes and drinks 8 to10 martinis a day.

Candidate B:
He was kicked out of office twice, sleeps until noon most days, used opium in college and drinks a quart of brandy every evening before bed.

Candidate C:
He is a decorated war hero. He’s a vegetarian, doesn’t smoke, drinks an occasional beer and has never had an illicit affair.

Again, who gets your vote?

Candidate A is Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Candidate B is Winston Churchill.
Candidate C is Adolph Hitler.

Be careful. Do your homework. Research thoroughly. Then vote wisely and hope for the best.