(Thank you to Scott Koon for this wonderful e-mail.)

Kirk,
Merri attended a funeral yesterday.  One of the people that spoke delivered a message that she said really stuck with her.  While I only heard it second hand, it struck a chord with me as well. 

The woman said…
Everyone is always saying I don’t have enough time…
…To spend with the kids,
…To visit my parents,
…To stop and smell the roses.

Would that change if you replaced ‘time’ with ‘life left’?  Perhaps then it would be “I don’t have enough life left…
…To stay late at the office,
…To stay angry at a family member,
…To put off getting my degree,
…To wait to say I love you.”

Hmmm… Powerful.
Peace!

Scott K.

Daniel Pink, the author of the book “A WHOLE NEW MIND” Why Right Brain Thinkers Will Rule the Future wrote a cool brief article on the power of stories that is worth a review.  CLICK HERE

 And a quick quote for those in the parenting paradigm - with a workified version to follow.

“The Making of a home is the most important accomplishment that anyone can have down here.” <J.Vernon McGee>

Workified version - The making of a safe workplace culture is perhaps the most important accomplishment of leadership.  Kirk Weisler

 T4D subscriber Rob shares somes of his thoughts with us on the fleetingness of life. 

Kirk,  Thanks, as always for your continued inspiration for those of us out there on the turbulent edge of managing change in today’s world.

Last night I went to a memorial service for one of my college roommates, Drew Glackin, who died suddenly two weeks ago at the (too) young age of 44.

Drew was a phenomenal musician and amazing person who always had a smile, a hug and something positive to say, regardless of the circumstances & whether you hadn’t seen him for 10 minutes or 10 years - he reminded me a lot of you…

We had (unfortunately) lost touch over the years, but Drew’s influence on my life during our college days was tremendous and I had been thinking recently that I should track him down just to say “HI” and thank him for his contribution to making me who I am today.  

His death has brought together many, many old friends who had lost touch over the years and the miles & not found the time to hunt each other down to get back in contact - we’ve got our 25 year college reunion (the first since graduation) scheduled for later this summer, in his honor.

My purpose in writing this today is to remind the T4D community that life is fleeting, and it’s often too late to reach out and thank those who have touched our lives - so pick up that phone today!

Best,  Rob

What a man is contributes much more to his happiness than what he has, or how he is regarded by others.

– Arthur Schopenhauer

“All our dreams can come true - if we have the courage to pursue them.”  ~ Walt Disney

Do you ever wonder how you as one person can make a difference and change the course of events?

Joshua Chamberlain was one of those people who almost single handedly change the course of history.

During the first years of the civil war, the Union Army had suffered several key defeats and had there been a couple more, especially at Gettsyburg the world we live in today could be very different.

At the battle of Gettysburg, Colonel Chamberlain and his troops were given the responsibility to hold at all costs a piece of ground referred to as Little Round Top . Had his defense of this hill not been successful, the Northern Army may well have lost this battle at Gettysburg. Chamberlain’s troops held back, one, two, three and then a fourth assault on their position and were faced with the prospect of having to stop a fifth assault on their position as well.

Running low on men and with virtually no ammunition, Chamberlain gives the order to “fix bayonets”, He then draws his sword and orders “Charge” and proceeds to personally lead a full frontal assault on the Southern Army positions. This so surprised the Confederate Army, that many threw down their weapons and began to run leading to an eventual full scale retreat.

Chamberlain’s actions at Gettysburg have been credited with being the turning point in the civil war leading to the eventual Union victory.

If you’re ever in doubt as to what to do!

Charge!

Kirk Out

One of the first and best books I ever read on Customer Service was the book “Raving Fans”!  Friend and T4D subscriber Marlin Sharp passed this along to us….he recieved it from his CFO.  I love 2 things about today’s T4D.  First the content is great…. secondly, the fact that a CFO takes the time to put together such a great e-mail for his tea.  Here’s what he shared. 

“Sheldon Bowles, coauthor of Raving Fans, contends there are three secrets to creating raving fan customers: decide, discover and deliver.  If you want to create raving fans, you don’t just announce it; you have to plan for it.  You have to decide what kind of experience you want your customers to have.  While you should ask for input…[customers] often don’t know what the possibilities are beyond their own experience.  That’s why you and your key people have to decide first what kind of experience you want your customers to have.”

Consider how the exchange described in the following example exceeded the customer’s expectations:  

“Let’s take the example of a wake-up call in a hotel.  What’s the most common wakeup call in a hotel today?  I’ve been doing a lot of traveling lately, so I can tell you.  The phone rings, you pick it up, but there’s no one there.  Basically, a machine has called your room.  Come to think of it, if you pick up the phone on a wake-up call and there’s a human on the line, you hardly know what to say.  While I was staying at the Marriott in Orlando, the phone rang for my 7 o’clock wake-up call.  I picked it up and a woman said, ‘Good morning, Mr. Stafford, this is Teresa.  It’s 7 o’clock.  It’s going to be 75 degrees and beautiful in Orlando today, but your ticket says you’re leaving.  Where are you going?’ ”

“I was taken aback, so I stammered ‘I’m going to New York City’”

“Teresa countered with ‘Let me look at the USA Today weather map.  Oh no!  It’s going to be 40 degrees and rainy in New York today.  Can’t you stay another day?’ ”

“Now, where do you think I want to stay when I go to Orlando?  I want to stay at the Marriott so I can talk to Teresa in the morning.”

The authors call the times when we are in contact with our customers “the moment of truth.”  Each of these “moments” are opportunities to create a lasting impression.  The trick is making them count.

Have a great week!

Brian 

An improved perception of humility starts a revolutionary change in our outlook. Our eyes begin to open to the immense values which have come straight out of painful ego-puncturing. Until now, some of us, have been largely devoted to running from pain and problems.

Thought to Ponder . . .

Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.

C H A N G E = Choosing Humility Allows New Gifts and Energy.

(thank you June for sharing this with us)

“The size of the future you actually experience will largely be determined by one factor: the people you
choose to connect with. When you invite people who are truly committed to growth into every aspect of your life, your own potential for growth becomes truly unlimited.”- Dan Sullivan