Message of the Day - A New Year, A New Decade

Good Morning,

 

As I sit here typing this message with some 27 minutes left in the current year, I am thinking of something profound to share with you about our heading into the new year. More so that than, we are heading into a new decade.

 

Earlier today I shared my memories of 1999 new years with my daughters. The joy of entering a new millennium was tempered with the fear of the damage and chaos to be caused by the infamous Y2K Bug. The new years was counted down and at midnight, nothing happened. Cell phones kept working, TVs stayed on, with cable signals intact. All that build up and hype driving the hysteria of Y2K and shortly after midnight in January 2000 it vanished with limited impact across the world.

 

22 minutes to go to 2010.

 

This year, what hype, hysteria and fear have we been building up to as we get close to this new decade?

 

When the new year starts, much of these fears and hysteria will vanish as we look at the new year and presents its new challenges and opportunities.

 

We can focus on what is important to us now, and not let that hysteria and hype take our attention away from what means most to us.

 

12 minutes to go.

 

There is always going to be 'big' things to divert our attention. Maybe we can focus our attention in the new year to stay focused on what is important.

 

8 minutes to go.

 

Here is to a great new year, a new decade and spending more of our time focused on what is important to each of us.

 

Enjoy and Happy New Year!!

 

Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
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Message of the Day - Borrowing A Good Idea that Fails

Good Morning,

 

My current read is "The Rudolph Factor" by Cyndi Laurin and Craig Morningstar (http://www.amazon.com/Rudolph-Factor-Finding-Innovation-Business/dp/0470451033), which was recommended by Todd Arwood in his latest monthly newsletter (www.toddarwood.com).

 

One concept which hit very close to home was how often people who copied the successful strategies of others often failed. Over the years, folks have tried to copy my efforts on some of my projects and where I succeeded, they failed, and I have to say that I have failed at times when I copied others as well.

 

For example, I was tasked with building a high performance team. I took the team and built it up to over 16 members with best ever performance through the assignment of projects, empowering team members and getting each of them focused on building the team.

 

Another person attempted to build a similar team, but ran into problems and never got their team off the ground. They used the same techniques I did, projects, empowerment and such, but only superficially. When giving projects, I backed off and let the team member run with it. This other leader kept his hand on a leash.

 

They went through the motions, but did not seem to understand what was used to succeed.

 

What drives this?

 

According to Dr. Laurin and Craig Morningstar, the reason is that while people can copy the process and the techniques, what they often miss is passion and commitment that drove that process and technique.

 

In other words, we can often copy the external actions and even techniques of other people or groups. What we see others doing, though, is often not all there is to it. If that were the case, you could watch someone doing a bomb deactivation, and then try it yourself, duplicating their moves. What do you think your chances of success will be? Especially if the bomb is even slightly different.

 

When copying the technique of others, it then makes sense to find out what are the nuances and background information necessary to get the job done correctly. Going back to the team building example, copying my process would have been more successful if the other manager understood the passion and drive to build each individual team member up, individually, rather than driving overall team strategies.

 

Borrowing a good idea will often fail unless we take the time to look deeper into what makes that idea good in the first place.

 

Enjoy!

 

Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net
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Message of the Day - Success Caused Failure

Good Morning,

 

I read an article in the latest issue of Wired Magazine about the failure of 3D Realms after their amazing success with Duke Nukem in 1995. The failure was on the release of the sequel, started in 1997, and never released. The project folded earlier this year.

 

How does a company which hits the market with such a success go and fail? They had pulled in all kinds of money, enough to set their own timeframe, their own budget, and their own rules to get the project completed and after 12 years, it just ended.

 

Success is listed as the reason for the failure.

 

Weird...huh...

 

Not really. The failure was a web formed by many facets which stymied the leaders and the company.

 

1. Search for perfection. The company searched for the perfect product. They retooled the product when new and better programming became available, causing a total re-write of the nearly completed project. When something new and exciting came out, the design staff wanted to get something similar into the game. A new manager hired at the last few years started pulling in the reigns and getting control of the project, but it was 10 years too late.

 

2. No Deadline set. 3D Realms never set a deadline and kept working into a void of time and money. Parkinson's Law states that when more time is available, it will be filled in and used up. The more time you give yourself, the more things will find a way into taking up that time. Without a deadline set, or control put in place, this will continue indefinitely.

 

3. No Constraints in place. Money was no object. 3D Realms had a lot of capital and they just blew through it without anything to really show for it, other than 12 years of payroll and some demos. Setting mini-budget-goals along the way would have helped. Being that this company could finance the entire project themselves, they did not have anyone breathing down their neck, until it was too late.

 

Success for 3D Realms was their undoing.

 

A good book to help us avoid a similar fate is Jim Collin's "How The Mighty Fall: And Why Some Companies Never Give In (http://www.amazon.com/How-Mighty-Fall-Companies-Never/dp/0977326411).

 

Enjoy!

 

Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net
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Message of the Day - Merry Christmas, a Time of Reflection

Good Morning,

 

Today we celebrate a birthday. This is no ordinary birthday, rather it is a birthday of a person who has had a widespread and profound impact on the entire world over the last 2000 years.

 

This birthday celebration has a lot of meanings to a lot of people, groups and organizations.

 

I look at this holiday as a time to reflect on all the blessings in my life as well as how I can be more of a blessing in the lives of those around me as well as to people I have never met.

 

2009 has been both a wonderful and a tumultuous year for me and my family. It has seen me at my best, and it has seen me at my worst.

 

This year my first book was published, and while not a New York Times Best Seller, yet, it has served to help many.

 

This year saw the passing of my Mother. While unexpected, and avoidable, it caused me to rethink a lot about myself and my beliefs.

 

This year saw my faith in the Lord grow in leaps and bounds, helping me grow as a man of integrity.

 

This year my family and I said goodbye to our home of the last 10 years (6 for me) and hello to our new dream home.

 

This year saw the birth of my God-Daughter, Sofia, whom I have loved from before she was born, and will love every day of my life.

 

This year saw a rekindled relationship with Aunts and Uncles who have been out of my life for upwards of 30 years, and finding and meeting cousins I never knew existed.

 

This year saw my closest friends stepping up and doing whatever it took to help me through the darkest times in my life.  I have seen other friends move off and out of my life, while new ones came in.

 

This year saw new opportunities to embark on, as well as old ones to say goodbye to.

 

In reviewing this last year and how I have served my fellow human, I see opportunities for me to improve myself so I can help others even further. I see how I can be a better husband, father, coworker, writer, mentor, friend and caretaker.

 

I will keep reading, and I will keep writing, and coaching, and I hope you will keep reading and sharing, and getting something out of these words.

 

This is what I enjoy about celebrating this birthday. My gift is of myself, and giving more of myself to you.

 

I hope this holiday has special meaning for you as well. Even if you do not celebrate it, I hope that it is also a time of positive reflection for you as well.

 

Enjoy!

 

Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
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Message of the Day - ReGifting Passion

Good Morning,

 

This evening Karen and I had the pleasure of entertaining dear friends of ours, Dennis and Jill, over dinner and some great conversation. And some great ham and potatoes. Man I am so lucky to have an amazing chef in my life.

 

During the conversation, Dennis told me about the funeral service for his father. He was most impressed with the Patriot Guard and military who were present to ensure that his father, a veteran, was buried with honors and respect due a person who has served our nation.  I remember the marines who attended my Grandfather's funeral and placed the flag on the coffin, and the pride our family felt in the honor. It warmed my heart.

 

This respect in Dennis and Jill turned to passion. A passion to help others in their darkest times of honoring the passing of loved ones. Dennis and Jill contacted the local Patriot Guard and signed up.

 

Now they participate in events to help honor others who have served our nation.

 

They have effectively re-gifted this love and passion and now share it with others who need it in more trying times.

 

What a wonderful gift to give, our passion. What makes it even more special is that it is a passion gifted to them and passed on. This pay it forward activity can continue for a long time like the couple in Philadelphia who bought the meals for another couple starting a chain reaction lasting over 5 hours (http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local-beat/Mystery-Couple-Pay-It-Forward-79179347.html?yhp=1).

 

I love reading the stories or seeing TV shows of those who actually bless others with this kind of love. It means so much more to know folks who actually do it, and I hope the passion continues to be re-gifted.

 

Enjoy!

 

Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
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Message of the Day - A smaller box is not greater security

Good Morning,

 

When life gets more and more out of control, we tend to circle our wagons and put up borders and walls to protect ourselves, our loved ones and our interests.  These walls and borders keep the trouble we want to avoid out, but they also keep us in.

 

One fear we must be cognizant of is how large is the space we have locked ourselves into. Did we put up walls around the football field, or did we get the 10 x 14 apartment in New York City?

 

The size of our protected area is what we look at and operate with. The smaller the space, the less options we have, the less we think about. The smaller the space, the less likely we are to think outside the box and the more we act like an automaton rather than a person.

 

With a smaller box, we have more control.  Less can go on and the less likely something can happen outside of our knowledge. There are less to fear and less to know.

 

With a larger box, we have less control. There is more stuff that can happen outside of our knowledge. There is more to fear and there is more to know.

 

As life happens, it forces changes to the world around us. This includes changes to the security of our box. When the changes hit us, we have to plan and react. The more insulated we were (from being in a small box), the less options we have when we have to enter a new, often larger box. Basically we are less prepared.

 

In the end, the smaller box, while feeling and looking safer, is not a better security because the changes in life force us out of our comfort zone. And when we are forced out, we are far better off with more knowledge and experience to drawn on than less.

 

To help us, we should all look for larger boxes to call our own.

 

Enjoy!

 

Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net
http://learnandgrowdaily.com ←-Click here to order: "Learn And Grow Daily!"
http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
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Message of the Day - Sacrificing Tomorrow

Good Morning,

 

In our rush to get things done today and worrying about today's concerns we tend to take more and more of our attention off of another vital concern. That is planning for tomorrow.

 

Tomorrow brings hopes and opportunities and it also brings a lot of the unknown.

 

Today is here now and it has its concerns and hot items which must be addressed.

 

If we focus solely on today and and do only what is necessary to survive today, we will succeed in surviving for today.

 

When tomorrow comes, we then do the same thing. But, there in lies the challenge. If we always do what we always did, then we will always get what we always got (taking a line from Todd Arwood).

 

This is a challenge because there is change. There is always change. In fact, the only constant is that things will change.  Sometimes we can see the change on the horizon and sometimes it hits us upside our heads without notice.

 

If we do not plan for the change we know is coming, and keep facing today's challenges only, eventually our knowledge and skill will not be enough. One day, we will not be able to address the challenges of the day. Will not have planned and prepared, and we will have to scramble even faster.

 

That is a growing amount of stress. Some of it is unnecessary, if we only spend some time looking forward into the future, and preparing.

 

A good book on this is Ken Blanchard's 'Mission Possible' which shares how to face today's issues while planning ahead for what we know lies ahead.

 

Enjoy!

 

Enjoy!

 

Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net
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Message of the Day - The Power of a Name

Good Morning,

Several weeks ago Seth Godin, www.sethgodin.com, Marketing Guru, announced that his new book, "Linchpin", would be available for pre-release to the first 3000 people who made a donation to the Acumen Fund (www.acumenfund.org).

Due to this offer, which I glady participated, Seth Godin effectively raised over $100,000 in less than 48 hours for a worthy charity.

This was accomplished by using the power of a name. Not just any name, but one which is respected. A name which tens of thousands or more people look up to. The bigger your circle, the bigger the impact. And thus why we have celebrity sponsorships.

While we all may not be marketing leaders, celebrities or have the following of E.F. Hutton, we do have our own circles of influence where there are people who do respect our opinions.

In those circles, we can use our names to create powerful effects for the forces of good!

Give it a try. When you find something new that you just love, tell some of your circle you love it, and tell others that you heard it was okay, and see the difference in response and actions of your circle.

Enjoy!

SanfordBerenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net
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Message of the Day - Remaining Positive in Face of Adversity

Good Morning,

 

Do you ever have days where nothing ever seems to go right?  It's like a wave comes to knock sense into you for trying to be positive. You get up and another, bigger wave comes at you, and just before you get knocked off your feet, you notice an even bigger wave behind this one bearing down on you. You change your stance to better face the waves and remain positive, but now an undertow pulls your feet and legs out from under you and your positive attitude is shaken again.

 

How do we face this continual onslaught of negative waves which relentlessly pound us and our sometime feeble attempts to keep a positive attitude?

 

There are two ways I know of.

 

The first and harder way is to keep getting back up. If you get back on your feet each and every time you get knocked down, then in the end your positive attitude and will to be positive will defeat any and all obstacles and challenges.

 

The second way is to get help. Two people, working together are strong than one.  

 

Two people bracing each other as the waves of negativity sweep over them have a better chance of remaining on their feet than just one. Three is better than two and so on. Surround yourself with others who have the same desire to be positive and back each other up. You will find it easier to be positive when you have others right there with you, wanting to do the same thing.

 

If there is no one where you work or live who is positive, then go elsewhere and find someone. Maybe you can only meet once a week or once a month, but find that person and spend time building each other up. Send emails, texts, instant messages, whatever. If you can't find anyone, call me.

 

Be the positive for your group, and they will be the positive for you. With that synergy working together, eventually those waves of negativity will get smaller and smaller and eventually just cease to have any impact on you.

 

Be positive together, and take on the world!

 

Enjoy!

 

Sanford Berenberg

Sanford@berenberg.net

http://www.berenberg.net

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http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/

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Message of the Day - New Found Family

Good Morning,

 

This past few weeks have been a real journey into discovery for me and my family. Over the course of this time, I found out about the existence four first cousins and an aunt I had either never met or did not even know existed. You see the TV shows or read articles of family reuniting with each other after decades, and you get that warm and fuzzy feeling vicariously through them. It is much more intense when it is your family which you are being reunited with!

 

I knew I had close family who I had never met or do not remember meeting, but I had never thought I would meet them.  In the course of every day life, obscure memories from childhood seem to get lost in the chaos. Sometimes they trickle through your consciousness, brought forward through random encounters or just serendipity.

 

Like the movie Rain Man where Tom Hank's character 'Charlie Babbit' used to call his older, autistic brother Raymond 'Rain Man' before they were separated. Charlie had vague memories of Rain Man, but not until they were re-united did he understand what it meant. 

 

It was eye opening to find whole chapters of my life just reappear.  My father and uncles have half sisters, who they knew and met, but had not seen in over 30 some-odd years. Being 10 or less old at the time, I knew these people existed, but never knew much about them.

 

Like opening a book which has been in my collection for years for the first time, I eagerly look forward to the new found relationships that are being forged with the new extended family.

 

This new found family mean new opportunities to learn, love and share. While not everyone will have people just appear in their lives, they can reconnect with those they have not spoken to in some time. And then they can learn, love and share anew.

 

The joys of reconnecting give us all a chance to start a fresh relationship. We may even take one which was not so good, and start it over, to give it another shot.

 

Enjoy!

 

Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net
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Message of the Day - Obtaining the Goal we Did Not See

Good Morning,

 

Today I tried to give a pint of blood to the Red Cross during a blood drive at work. I breezed through the initial consultation and review part. Then when I got to the cot to start the draw of blood, that's when the problems started.

 

At first, I had the staff try my right arm, but after a few minutes finding a vein, they could not get an adequate flow from it, so they offered to either try sticking it again or using the left arm (my right arm screamed to be left alone). I opted for the left arm. Again, after finding the vein, the bloodletting started nicely. Within minutes I had filled half of the sack but the flow slowed down and eventually stopped. My body had started clotting where the needle was (actually doing its job).

 

When we stopped, they found there was not enough blood collected to provide for a transfusion. It bothered me that I had tried hard to help someone and couldn't. The lead tech there then told me that it was not for nothing, that my blood was going to be used for research and testing, so that these vital functions can continue with minimal use of blood slated for transfusions.

 

Although I failed in my primary objective, it may have been because I had succeeded in another objective, possibly a much more important one (research which could lead to more life saving information).

 

Life is full of these situations where what we saw as failure or missing our mark actually turns out to be something achieving a much higher goal, one we may not have even known had existed before.

 

We should look at what we see as failures again, and see if there is not something more promising to come from these situations. We may be surprised at what we find.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net
http://learnandgrowdaily.com ←-Click here to order: "Learn And Grow Daily!"
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Message of the Day - Spending Time Alone

Good Morning,

 

My current read is Og Mandino's "Return of the Ragpicker" (http://www.amazon.com/Return-Ragpicker-Og-Mandino/dp/055329993X) which is the sequel to "The greatest miracle in the world". In this wonderful book, the Ragpicker, Simon Potter, who spends his time helping those who are down on their luck and helps them improve their lives.

 

The message Simon says is so critical for our generation to learn is to spend time alone and reflect, and think. That our world is moving faster and faster with new fangled gadgets to save us time, which turn out to be newer and even more insidious time leeches. That we spend so much time just trying to keep up in our world, that we are losing a lot of ourselves.

 

That is when we spend some alone time reflecting, contemplating and thinking, we are able to understand more about our world around us, the people around us and ourselves. Through reflection we can learn even more about what we already know. The challenge is that we seldom give ourselves the chance to do this reflection due to our jumping onto the next task or using the next time saving convenience.

 

Not taking this time means we miss out on all that we can learn from quiet reflection.

 

This is another point my friend Don brought up in his simple and quiet Thanksgiving. He was able to spend some quality alone time and reflect on his recent life happenings, etc.

 

I try to spend time reflecting when I first get up and just lay in bed and think, or when I get ready for bed, I take 10 - 15 minutes every few nights to just rethink what has been going on in my life.

 

Quiet alone time is a powerful tool. It can give us insights we may not be able to get otherwise.  It is well worth the effort to give yourself some alone time every now and then.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net
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Message of the Day - The 'Uniforms' we wear

Good Morning,

 

In one of my recent 'Learn and Grow Daily Tips' (http://learningtip.blogspot.com/) I wrote:

 

"Uniforms. We all wear different 'uniforms' through life. I'm proudest wearing the 'uniform' for any role where I can help other people."

 

The uniforms we wear are not so much the actual uniforms of the places we work, or organizations we serve (although they could be), rather the uniforms often of the things we do or the roles we fulfill in life.

 

We can wear the 'uniform' of parenthood, or of caregiver just as easily has the 'uniform' of a firefighter or store clerk.

 

Throughout our lives, in all of our adventures both in and out of the workforce we wear different 'uniforms'. Some we wear by chose, and some are thrust on us by circumstance, or our own choices (whether wise or not so wise).

 

When I get to help others, it does not matter what role I am fulfilling, or what 'uniform' I am wearing. It just makes me proud to be able to be of service. 

 

In the end, helping others is what its all about and we should endeavor to do so no matter what 'uniform' we are wearing.

 

Enjoy!

 

Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net
http://learnandgrowdaily.com ←-Click here to order: "Learn And Grow Daily!"
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Message of the Day - Finding Job Security

Good Morning,

My current read is Ken Blanchard's "Leadership Smarts"
(http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Leadership-Smarts/Ken-Blanchard/e/97815629
21248) which is a compilation of leadership quotes and some further details
on those quotes. Many of these come from his many books. One quote that got
me thinking was "The Only Job security you have today is your commitment to
continuous personal improvement".

Wow…

There are no guarantees in the workplace other than companies want talent,
and when times get tough, they want to keep talent. Top performers are not
just the top producers in their line of work. Rather, they are those who can
adapt to the changing needs of the workplace while still producing high
quality, high volume work in the shortest amount of time.

These people are not just born. They are created.

How are they created? They learn and improve themselves. They embrace a new
situation, learn from it and use that knowledge to help them in a newer
situation. Continual learning and growing, as I said many times before,
helps you become that top performer who can adapt. With the rate of change
in the world today, the ability to adapt then is critical to success.

Continual learning and your attitude and how you face the situations you are
in are two keys to improving your marketability and security in a job, or
when looking for a new one. Being committed to personal improvement then
means truly putting time and effort into self improvement (e.g., gaining
more skills, knowledge and or experience) every day.

Yes, EVERY day.

Added to that commitment is the personal attitude we bring to the table. We
must be positive, and yes, we are all human and need to de-stress from time
to time. My bosses all have heard me vent over the years. When being
positive, even in tough times, combined with continual improvement, we
position ourselves to succeed.

Doing this tomorrow only, though, will not help you, unless you do it again
the next day, and the next, and don't stop. Continual improvement takes
time, and while we are bound to have bad days, the key is never stop, never
give up.

Be positive, and make a commitment to improve yourself daily and you will
improve your job security.

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net
http://learnandgrowdaily.com ←-Click here to order: "Learn And Grow Daily!"

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
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Message of the Day - Recharging Batteries

Good Morning,

 

In sharing recent Thanksgiving experiences, Don, a reader of this message shared with me that his Thanksgiving was quiet and peaceful. He had his dinner with his lovely wife and nobody else. Don told me that in the peace and quiet of this time, devoid of the multitudes of family, he and his wife were able to recharge and relax and enjoy this holiday without all the stress and hoopla which normally accommodate each holiday. The recharging instead of stressing made all the difference for him and his wife.

 

There is a lot to be said for taking time to recharge your batteries. A stay-cation is another wonderful way to take some time for yourself and not do too much (unless you have set up a remodeling project for yourself).

 

What seems opposed to popular belief, it is okay to take a little time for yourself. Maybe it is only ten minutes here or there, but this time will be well invested. Without taking some time to relax and unwind we only increase the amount of stress that we put on ourselves.

 

In today's world, adding more stress is not the direction we should be heading in. It is dangerous to our health, both mental and physical.

 

A little time spent for yourself or with a loved one can end up as a great investment in relaxation and time off.

 

Maybe take a play from Don's playbook and find a way to have a quiet and relaxing day, holiday or even fifteen minutes without all the hoopla and mayhem which surrounds our everyday lives.

 

Thanks Don for sharing!

 

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net
http://learnandgrowdaily.com ←-Click here to order: "Learn And Grow Daily!"
http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
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Message of the Day: Life Lessons from Sand Castles

Good Morning,

I have been listening to some audio messages from Bob Gass (http://www.hearbobgass.com/) and one jumped out at me. Bob Gass was talking about Sandcastles and how life is like building sandcastles and how they crumble when the tide comes in. He shared how life is like a Sandcastle and the differences between how people embrace the inevitable changes that come.

We build up ourselves like we were building sand castles. We carefully or not so carefully build up the towers and walls and put in the details. The larger our castle, the more we have put into our life.

Then it starts happening. The waves start coming in and wash away some of the sand, causing some of the towers to collapse.

Just like how change comes into our lives. We build up our careers and establish ourselves in our companies and the waves of change come in. We have changes in our lives.

The question then is how do we face these inevitable changes? Do we act like kids on the beach as their castles start crumbling and cheer, or maybe even jump into the pile of sand, knowing we can start over and build another castle. Or do we build up walls and barriers, or even through ourselves in front of the castle to protect it from the tide?

When the tide comes in, the sand castle is doomed. When change comes into our lives, what we know our lives are going to change. We can fight it, we can run from it, we can ignore it, but change is coming.

Maybe the kids have it right. We should embrace change, knowing that we will have a chance to start building our next castle.

The choice is ours.

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net
http://learnandgrowdaily.com ←-Click here to order: "Learn And Grow Daily!"
http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
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Message of the Day - Our Job is to Prepare

Good Morning,

In continuing through 'You, the Warrior Leader' I came across a section
about preparation. In a section where a story is shared about a cadet at
West Point after 9/11 who was failing a class and not being deployed like
his buddies, he was conflicted. To him, failing the course was holding him
back from doing his duty. One of the officers on base told him that his duty
was to prepare for all things, which meant getting through that course.

Unless our job is to simply count beans or some other mundane, never
changing, task, we will also need to prepare for what is coming ahead. Since
most of us do not know what is coming ahead, what company programs, what
challenges, etc., we are tasked with preparing for the relative unknown.

This may seem frightening, but it is not as scary as it sounds. There are
many skills and areas of knowledge which, if learned, would help us do our
jobs better and help us prepare for our future tasks and endeavors.

If we work in customer service, we can spend some time doing some research
into best practices to see what other companies are doing. We could read
some books on excellent customer service and see how the best companies are
giving 'knock your socks off' service.

If you are in the financial field, maybe start reading the Wall Street
Journal, or find a blog or two to follow from some industry experts. If you
are in the medical field, the same suggestion applies.

There are many easy to do activities which will help us prepare for the
unknown. The goal should be to add entire new areas of knowledge to our
knowledge arsenal. If we cannot do that, then add bits and pieces.

The worst thing we can do is to do nothing and expect to be safe in such a
turbulent time. Self improvement is more important than ever.

Our job is to prepare for the future that is coming, so get out there and
prepare!

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net
http://learnandgrowdaily.com ←-Click here to order: "Learn And Grow Daily!"

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
Follow Me on Twitter! http://twitter.com/sberenberg <---- NEW
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Message of the Day - It hurts more when you fall further

Good Morning,

This past Sunday morning, while walking the parking lot and greeting folks,
I started picking up litter. This was my idea. When walking around welcoming
people to Church, I would often notice some debris every now and then in the
parking lot. Walking around with a bucket and a pole with a grabbing claw on
the end, I noticed a few different responses to my normal well wishes. One
gentleman commented on my picking up garbage as we exchanged hellos. He told
me something to the effect that "it is better that I am doing this because
he would not be caught dead cleaning up other people's garbage".

Okay, it was not as sharp as that, but it kind of felt that way. It also got
me thinking (you know how that happens from time to time….)

When we think we are too good for something, we elevate the perception we
have of ourselves in our own mind. We, in effect, start thinking we are
better than other people, that there are things which are beneath us. The
longer we believe this delusion and pump ourselves up, the higher we raise
our own ego.

When our ego gets so inflated that it is floating hundreds of feet above the
ground (trying a visual of an ego like a balloon floating high above) it has
the potential to deflate or pop and come crashing to the ground.

As we are all people and no one is intrinsically better than anyone else,
keeping this grounded feeling will help us avoid our egos floating in the
stratosphere.

When our inflated ego gets ruptured, and life has a way of popping our ego,
or giving us some other form of 'reality adjustment' we come crashing
down. The higher we saw ourselves, the further we have to fall.

It is sadly funny watching people who blurt out that 'they will not be
caught dead doing (enter action here)' often doing that exact activity
shortly after the announcement.

When we accept that we are every-day people with no one being any better
than any others, we will find that there is no ego bubble to burst. We find
that what we see in ourselves is the true us and we have nothing to hide.

Most importantly, when the reality adjustments come (using that trusty ole
2x4), by being grounded and down to earth, our fall into reality is a small
one. If we allow ourselves to be deluded that we are something better than
everyone else, then when that reality adjustment comes, we come crashing
down.

Remain balanced and be who you are, but remember not to get caught up in
being better than someone else.

We are who we are, and that is fine.

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net
http://learnandgrowdaily.com ←-Click here to order: "Learn And Grow Daily!"

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
Follow Me on Twitter! http://twitter.com/sberenberg <---- NEW
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Message of the Day - Fix Bayonets

Good Morning,

My current read is "You, The Warrior Leader" by Bobby Welch
(http://www.amazon.com/You-Warrior-Leader-Applying-Victorious/dp/0805431365)
. The first chapter is called 'Fix Bayonets'. Putting all the glory of
Hollywood's image of war aside, the order to Fix Bayonets is a very
frightening order and when I think about it, gives me shivers.

The order is given when all other avenues of action, all other tools are no
longer usable or available. It is an order given prior to going into
hand-to-hand combat, usually when someone is not going to be coming home.

In our lives, we run into times where we run into a Do-or-Die situation and
have to give ourselves or our teams the order 'Fix Bayonets'. Some people
call it a 'Last Ditch Effort' but in reality it is more pressing than
that. Failure means loss of a job, loss of business, loss of a contract,
etc.

When we face those situations where we have to 'Fix Bayonets' we need to
prepare ourselves both mentally and physically to do everything that we can
possibly do to get the job done, or else (when the or else is clearly
visible and known).

That mental state of preparedness, when we know the comfortable and routine
tactics and processes of daily operations are no longer going to 'cut it'
fully consumes us. We need to think fast, and be precise in every action we
take, and every decision we make.

We generally do better in these situations when we have practiced and honed
our skills in thinking and acting fast without error. Sadly, though, very
few of us actually do any sort of practice or training for these situations.
We simply get our 'trial-by-fire' and use what we learn as our experience
to face the next crisis.

Maybe we can learn from this challenge to practice working in tighter
constraints than normal. Maybe challenge ourselves to do a task which
normally takes one hour and do it in 10 minutes. Give ourselves some
practice of fixing bayonets so that when crunch time happens, we have
drilled it and can do our best.

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net
http://learnandgrowdaily.com ←-Click here to order: "Learn And Grow Daily!"

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
Follow Me on Twitter! http://twitter.com/sberenberg <---- NEW
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Message of the Day - Starting Over

Good Morning,

A few weeks ago I watched "The Ultimate Gift" with my family. I remembered
on scene where 'Red', played by James Garner, was telling Jason that
starting over could be a good thing, that he in fact had started over two or
three times before he became a success.

In thinking about that line and looking at my life, I realized that I had,
in fact, started over two times in my life. The first time was in the June
of 1990 when I was living on ramen noodles, crackers and jelly, sleeping on
pile of blankets with my clothes in boxes. I was in Buffalo, New York at the
time. The second time was in 2003, in Maryland, where after being downsized
and out of work for over 6 months I made that fateful move to Louisville,
KY.

Each time I was given an opportunity to start over. Each time I started
over, I grew to be a better person that I was before. My skills and
knowledge changed. The difference between the first time I started over and
the second time was that I did not invest into myself. I did get better jobs
and learned some new skills, but I did not take personal improvement as
something I needed to do. By serendipitously learning new skills I became
marginally better than I was prior. Unfortunately, it was not good enough to
survive a second crash and burn (you can read more about that in my book).

Now I have spent the last four years actively improving me with college,
reading daily, going to seminars and surrounding myself with people who do
what I want to do and who help me improve myself. That is another key factor
in my life after the second rebuild. I have changed my focus from doing what
I wanted and enjoying my life to helping others.

I am not where I would consider myself to be a success (although some tell
me I am successful). I keep looking for ways to help improve me to help
others and I am a lot happier in life. I am happy with how I have improved,
but I am not satisfied with it. I have a long ways to go.

This happiness and this improvement in my life would not have happened if I
had not had to start all over again...twice.

While I do not look forward to crashing and burning a third time, I do know
that if it does happen, that I will learn from it and be better off from it
moving forward.

Starting over is a great opportunity if you use it as such.

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net
http://learnandgrowdaily.com ←-Click here to order: "Learn And Grow Daily!"

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
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Message of the Day: Forty Ways to Look at Something

Good Morning,

My current read (after leaving my real current read at the office on Friday)
is Gretchen Rubin's "Forty Ways to Look at Winston Churchill"
(http://www.amazon.com/Forty-Ways-Look-Winston-Churchill/dp/0812971442).
What I like about this biography is that each chapter looks briefly at the
life of Winston Churchill and views it from a different angle. One chapter
is about Winston Churchill the Hero, another is Winston Churchill the failed
Politician, and Winston Churchill the Leader. Each chapter provides a very
different historical perspective to create a much fuller image of the man,
the myth and the legend.

This made me think about how we might be able to use this technique to
understand the different perspectives of ourselves, the people we interact
with and the situations in our lives. When we look at people or situations
we often see them through only one and maybe two different perspectives and
as often the case, there are many more facets to each which we often miss.

If we took a moment to look at a problem or person through a different lens,
we may find truths we never knew. For example we may find someone who is
very annoying to us. Maybe they are loud and obnoxious and due to our
dealings with them, we just rather not have anything to do with them. If we
look at them through the lens of being a loving and caring person, we may
find things in their behavior which we missed when we see them as annoying.

Look at what they are saying and doing and see how it supports that
viewpoint of being loving and supportive we might find something. Maybe they
always call their spouses every morning at 10 AM, and maybe they always open
the door for others. After finding these supporting details, we can see this
person as less annoying.

The challenge is that we often write off someone or something because of
traits which offend or irritate us and we don't take any further steps to
get to know them better. Some folks or situations just turn us off and we
can't think past that abhorrence.

If we give this a try, we may find useful information and potentially whole
new worlds of information about others and such that we never knew.

Like Brad Barton says in 'Beyond Illusions': "Our perceptions and
interpretations powerfully influence our responses and reactions. All too
often, they create the very thing - the very reality - we fear out of (drum
roll please) absolutely nothing."

Maybe we can start looking at those people and situations in a different
way, and find something we did not know before.

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net
http://learnandgrowdaily.com ←-Click here to order: "Learn And Grow Daily!"

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
Follow Me on Twitter! http://twitter.com/sberenberg <---- NEW
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Message of the Day: Victory within Defeat

Good Morning,

In my reading of the life and times of Thomas J. 'Stonewall' Jackson, I
read about the Battle of Kernstown in Virginia where Jackson's forces were
defeated, yet the effect of this battle on the enemy, the North, was more
beneficial to the South than if Jackson had actually won. The defeat in the
battle, had caused a victory in the war.

The North did not understand that Jackson had a small force which attacked a
much larger Union army. The thought that someone with such a small force
would actually engage such a large force never crossed their minds. As such,
they thought Jackson's forces were much larger than they actually were. In
response, the North diverted thousands of troops from attacking Richmond
Virginia, the Confederate Capital, to go after Jackson. This changed the
course of the war.

There are times in our lives when we fail at something, and that failure
actually becomes more of blessing than the victory would have been. I know
in my life that if I had succeeded in my Engineering studies in the
University of Buffalo back in the 1980's I would not be where I am today. I
would not have the lovely wife and family I enjoy now, nor would I have had
the life changing events in my life which led me to where I am today. That
failure, dropping out of college, turned to a success further down the road.

When we confront those times when things do not work out as planned, we need
to look at the positive side of the situation if possible. It is in the
positive that we may find a greater good. I am not talking about justifying
failure by coming up with whatever bright light we can find and exaggerate
it. I am suggesting that when something goes wrong, there is inherent good
to be found.

For example, when we fail at a task, we get the opportunity to try it again.
We get the opportunity to think through the process and have another stab at
it. And in that new attempt, we often learn things that we would never have
learned had we succeeded in the first place.

If we do look back into our failures, those events of our lives which we
hold on our wall of shame, we may begin to see the bright light in those
events and see that they actually led to something bigger and better in our
lives.

There is often victory within defeat, if we just look for it.

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net
http://learnandgrowdaily.com ←-Click here to order: "Learn And Grow Daily!"

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
Follow Me on Twitter! http://twitter.com/sberenberg <---- NEW
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Message of the Day - Training Makes Better Coffee

Good Morning,

 

Have you noticed how McDonald's is now in the gourmet coffee business? They have invested a lot of money in getting the best premium coffee and have even won taste tests against such coffee magnates as Starbucks. McDonald's is obviously trying to enter this highly profitable sector and carve off huge tracks of Starbuck's and other gourmet coffee house's market share.

 

I personally do not see this succeeding over the long term for one simple reason. McDonald's crew members, no matter how willing and able, cannot seem to get my order right more than 70% of the time. About 1 out of 3 visits to McDonalds has me driving away with something I did not order or missing, missing something I did order, or something I ordered prepared incorrectly. This is not a recent happening, it has been the norm ever since I started going to McDonald's drive through over the last twenty years or so. How much training do these employees get before being let loose on the customers?

 

Starbucks has 24 hours, 3 days, of training for each of their 'baristas' to prepare coffee before being unleashed on customers. This plus practical on the job training, produces an efficient machine where my orders have rarely, if ever, been wrong.

 

McDonald's can under-price Starbucks, be more places than Starbucks, but unless they match the training and attention to detail that Starbucks puts into making coffee right, I will not be ordering my gourmet coffee from them. I want my order done correctly.

 

The focus on training is the key. If you give minimal training to people and expect to 'manage' them to higher performance, with hopes of engaging each employee's mental acumen, you may be sorely disappointed. More often than not, there is not a lot of training new jobs and or hires. Folks have to figure out the ropes themselves by either reading the manuals (which are getting thicker and more legalistic every year) or by asking a lot of questions and hoping someone will take pity on them and help them out.

 

This sink or swim mentality will kill any operation or business function because of the both the amount of errors made and lessened morale of the staff trying to muddle their way through.

 

Giving training to get the job done correctly addresses both the issues of quality and morale. Many companies have gotten it right with internal training teams and a focus on constantly improving the quality of training and thus the finished products. Others, put a lot of effort on style over substance, like presenting a high quality product line to compete in a new market without support systems in place to help truly compete.

 

Training does make a better coffee, and I know where to go to get my cup of coffee made right for me.

 

Enjoy!

 

Sanford Berenberg

Sanford@berenberg.net

http://www.berenberg.net

http://learnandgrowdaily.com ←-Click here to order: "Learn And Grow Daily!"

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/

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Message of the Day - The Little Things that Mean So Much

Good Morning,

My current read is "Contented Cows Give Better Milk: The Plain Truth About
Employee Relations And Your Bottom Line" by Bill Catlette & Richard Hadden
(http://www.contentedcows.com/). This book is about treating employees the
right way, not just because it is the right thing to do, rather because it
results in a higher profit for the company.

I like how the authors tie in actual company performance to back up their
points on caring for their staff and going the extra mile. It has been my
belief for many years that treating your staff well makes a huge difference
in the team, department and ultimately the company's performance.

One section which jumped out at me was on how doing the little things, and
not necessarily the job related little things, can have such a huge impact
in the lives of fellow employees but in the overall performance of the
company.

The authors shared tales of CEOs who personally sent out birthday cards to
their staff. In some cases, this was over 1300 employees. In another case, a
CEO sent out congratulations to their employees for personal
accomplishments, even if they had nothing to do with the job.

Another example included getting to know the name of everyone on your team
and in your company. For some folks this is hard, and for others, it is
second nature. The impact though is huge. Like Dale Carnegie once said, a
person's name is the single most important word to them and they love
hearing it. If you can remember people's names, use them. Even if you have
a lot of temps coming through or if your unit has a high turnover, try to
learn everyone's name.

All these little things have a huge impact, much larger than the things
themselves. People notice the little things and in that they see that they
are valued as people and that their company cares more for them. A raise is
nice, but being known and appreciated has a much longer lasting impact on
the lives of those we work with.

Little things may be odd and unnatural to some, who look for a nearly
sterile relationship with their coworkers. These unfortunate people miss out
on the larger picture and bigger dividend the extra effort pays.

Want to take this to an even higher level? Get to know the names of your
coworker's kids and pets. Share pictures with them (thus sharing a part of
yourself with them) and you will spark their interest not only in getting to
know you better, but in working harder because they feel appreciated and the
have value to you and others.

It's the little things we can all do.

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net
http://learnandgrowdaily.com ←-Click here to order: "Learn And Grow Daily!"

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
Follow Me on Twitter! http://twitter.com/sberenberg <---- NEW
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Message of the Day - The Tighter the Ship the Greater the Pressure

Good Morning,

I remember a time when I worked in Buffalo, New York. Our office
participated in a competition against the other 140 offices around the
world. The contest was statistics based with a caveat that the offices
competed against themselves, based on the previous week's performances.
Small offices could compete with large offices. Our office sputtered for
years and was never really a player. I wanted to get the game going, so I
started working with some of the staff to meet some of their goals. Our
standings in the first few weeks of pushing to meet goals improved. We
normally swam around the bottom. You know, with the ones who normally
imploded.

After three weeks and getting even more staff involved, we hit our first
number one week. It was a great accomplishment. We kept up the pressure and
did it again for the second week in a row. And getting nearly all the staff
involved, we hit number one three weeks in a row. Then the pressure of our
drive for improvement blew a gasket. Sputtering, we ended up about fourth
place in week four, but we won our first month, in years. Unfortunately,
that gasket which blew took us out of the running for nearly half a year.

The gasket was a key staff member who we though was onboard with drive to
improve. When we scrutinized every statistic to find ways to improve them,
we found issues with this one area. Looking deeper into the issue we found
the logged performance was a sham, and had been for years. With our team
doing poorly, this staff member normally shined, and now we knew why. Under
stress and scrutiny, the truth getting out, this fellow transformed from a
top performer to a perpetual problem child who eventually had to go.

Pushing for higher levels of performance, we tightened our ship. We also put
on the pressure for everyone on our team. That increased pressure exposed
our weaknesses, and worse, our unknown flaws.

The time to find those flaws is before the pressure is increased, as the
higher the pressure, the larger the gasket that will blow when a member of
the team cannot take it any more. That they did not know what they were
doing and were hiding behind the general mayhem of the office, or that they
were never really onboard with the project and were just faking it until the
stakes got too high and they bail unexpectedly.

Looking back to this experience in the 1980, knows what I know now, I would
have interviewed each team member every week to focus on them instead of
what stats they could accomplish. This would have more likely routed out the
issue before it tore our ship apart.

When your team ramps up efforts, that is the best time to reconfirm
everyone's true intentions to support the team or not, which can be done
through one-on-ones and other similar meetings.

As everyone has a limit to how much pressure we can take, it makes sense to
understand when it is before it is too late.

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net
http://learnandgrowdaily.com ←-Click here to order: "Learn And Grow Daily!"

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
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Message of the Day - Taking the High Road and Lots of Fried Chicken

Good Morning,

----> Follow me on Twitter! http://twitter.com/sberenberg

Over the last few days I have seen or been involved in situations where
people were ready to over-react in response to what they felt to be wrongs
done against them. When I went to get dinner at a local supermarket, people
in front of me did not get the fried chicken breast they wanted, so they lit
into the sales clerk who had little to unavailable product.

This anger, resentment or whatever has little value, no matter how bad the
service was.

Taking a more positive tact will almost always provide a better outcome.

When I came up to the counter to get chicken, I told the lady that I could
live without white meat and would love just to have their great fried
chicken. The supermarket clerk smiled and provided thighs, wings and
drumsticks in place of the chicken breast and tossed in a few free
drumsticks and wings just as a thank you.

When we are faced with bad service or not getting what we want, we can
choose how to respond. We can get angry and spam the world with our rage, or
we can make a positive impact and give people the opportunity to make good
on any miscues.

It may be easier to yell, hoop and holler when we don't get what we want,
but in the long run, does that do us any good? The anger is released for a
bit, and then is often replaced by feelings of shame and guilt. Do we really
want those feelings?

Take the high road and the positive tact. It may just get you more fried
chicken, and it was all good!

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net
http://learnandgrowdaily.com ←-Click here to order: "Learn And Grow Daily!"

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
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Message of the Day - The Statistics Trap

Good Morning,

My current read is "Crush It!: Why Now is the Time to Cash in on Your
Passion" by Gary Vay.ner.chuck
(http://garyvaynerchuk.com/post/107300929/crush-it-why-now-is-the-time-to-ca
sh-in-on-your) which was recommended to me by Noah St. John, author of the
"Secret Code of Success". This book is full of energy and very down to
earth and simple ideas on how to turn your passions into a personal brand
and turn that into a profitable enterprise. The road to success is a road
full of hard work and passion, Gary makes no bones about putting in a lot of
time and effort into building you and your brand, but the roadmap is very
easy to follow.

I am eagerly looking to put this new information to work for me. You can now
follow me on Twitter, see my signature line.

One point which hit home was getting caught in a trap of following
statistics based on the numbers and findings (Gary was talking about using
web statistics to make decisions on running your business). When we measure
the productivity of anything, we often use statistics to guide how we move
forward and plan for the next move or how to react to a situation which
arises.

Statistics are often our friends and they do not lie. Unfortunately,
statistics also can be misleading and if interpreted incorrectly, can lead
us down the wrong path.

So how do we know if the stats are misleading?

Use the old gut check. What does your gut tell you about the situation?
Often our gut feeling or intuition will be more accurate to the situation at
hand then any statistics. Our gut feelings are based on years of experience.

Here's an example, I led a team of technical/software support agents. They
were able to handle 10% of the calls their received, 90% needed to be routed
software companies and other specialists. Statistically, it made sense to
focus their skills and training on the 90% of the calls they could not
handle and build better processes for them (i.e., run the team as a 'catch
and dispatch' group). My gut said don't do it, to 'focus on the 10%, and
make it more'. I directed my team to reach out to those we normally simply
routed call to and learn from them and document it. Then share the
information with each other. After eighteen months, the team could handle
over 50% of their calls and even more important, they added a lot of value
to the company and the customers. Most of my team members then went on into
management due to what they learned on my team.

Before you all go off and toss out your statistical management, realize that
in many cases the numbers do not give an accurate account of what is going
on, rather they give clues, but not the whole picture. There is often more
at play, and that is where the gut check will help out.

Numbers are good, but so are our gut feelings. Let's work them together to
do our best.

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net
http://learnandgrowdaily.com ←-Click here to order: "Learn And Grow Daily!"

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
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Message of the Day - Looking for the Instant Cure

Good Morning,

I did not have a message for you today, and while trying to fall asleep
after a rather chaotic and trying day, a thought popped into my head. The
thought expanded into a message. possibly even a good message!

So as I lied there thinking through the message I started wondering if I
would remember the message when I woke up tomorrow morning. Since you are
receiving this message Thursday morning, I realized I most likely would have
forgotten it and deprived us all of this wisdom, or I would have been upset
at myself for being lazy, or both.

In reviewing Facebook updates this evening, I noticed several people are
under the weather and looking for quick cures for their colds and other
ills. This made me think about how we often look for an instant cure to our
daily troubles. Kind of like how some people play the lottery or PowerBall
as an instant cure for their financial woes.

And why shouldn't people look for instant cures? Our society is full of
instant gratification on so many different levels. We can download songs and
movies instead of having to go to the store and buy them or worse order
them. We can get information at the touch of our fingers to a keyboard while
surfing the web.

But we lose something along with these instant cures. We lose the journey to
the cure.

It is the journey to the resolution where most of the wisdom is gained. It
is seeing the progression of fixing our problems where we have the
experiences which give us the 'aha' moments.

Without the journey, there is little to be learned. We end up much in the
same state as we are when we look for the instant cure.

With the journey, we have knowledge on how to get the cure or solution and
the need for it is lessoned because we know how to get it.

With enough journeys through life, we become able to face most challenges
without fear or trepidation because we have the knowledge gained through
those journeys.

Next time you find yourself looking for a quick fix, maybe stop a moment and
look forward to the journey of discovery awaiting you as work through your
challenges rather then clicking a mouse button to resolve mindlessly.

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net
http://learnandgrowdaily.com ←-Click here to order: "Learn And Grow Daily!"

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
502-533-9336

Message of the Day - Dare to Be Uncommon

Good Morning,

My current read is Coach Tony Dungy's second book 'Uncommon: Finding Your
Significance' with co-author Nathan Whitaker
(http://www.amazon.com/Uncommon-Finding-Your-Path-Significance/dp/1414326815
). Like his first book, 'Quiet Strength', this one is also engaging and
inspiring. The theme of the book is to do the hard work and avoid short
cuts, while being humble, honest and dedicated to be the best you can be.
That these traits are, in today's world, uncommon.

Coach Dungy's message for us is more of a plea for everyone, especially
young men, to do what is right and step-up to be the best they can be for
themselves, their families, friends, community and God.

One section of the book that stuck with me was on respect.

We need to be respectful of others, but also realize that others may not be
respectful to us. In those times when we are disrespected, we may not be
able to control or change what is being said or done to us, but we can
control our reaction to these times. It can be tough to be under verbal
attack and not attack back.

That no matter what happens in bad times when we are stressed, or made angry
by those who have hurt us, we can chose how we respond and do so in a way
that we can be proud of.

All too often, in the heat of the moment we tend to say or do things which
will have long lasting negative effects on us and in our lives. With the
internet, that much is even worse as 'Google Never Forgets'. What gets out
on the web stays out on the web… forever.

If we work to control our anger and frustrations so that when get into those
funks or bad times, that we can look back at our reactions and be proud of
ourselves on what we did, or sometimes more importantly, what we did not say
or do.

We can change ourselves to be more uncommon like Coach Dungy says, by bring
respectful of others, even when we do not feel they deserve it or worse, if
they are hurting us. As we do the right thing over and over again, it will
become part of who we are. And wouldn't you like to be known as a person
who is always able to look back at how you acted and what you said and not
lose sleep?

There are so many other good messages in this book. I originally took it out
from the library, but ended up buying it I liked it so much.

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net
http://learnandgrowdaily.com ←-Click here to order: "Learn And Grow Daily!"

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
502-533-9336

Message of the Day - Machiavelli, it has been fun, but I really have to go

Good Morning,

I used to be enamored with Machiavelli and his belief that 'The Ends
Justify the Means'. It had been a force in my life and the reason and
justification for many of my actions. Worse than that, I used to question
others who did not believe in the same way. I wondered 'if this is what you
want' then why do you care how it is achieved.

Being Machiavellian has its benefits in getting a lot of things done, faster
and more efficiently, but has the draw back of eating away at your
conscience and sometimes a trail of destruction.

The more I pushed to get my goals accomplished, the more my conscience
started eating at me. Over the last three or four years, when I became a
Christian, I started changing my focus from the goal to a larger picture of
the journey to the goal as well as achieving the goal itself.

Where before I felt accomplishment with achieving goal after goal, I felt
little to nothing except a growing guilt in the ways I did things. Now,
please don't get me wrong, I was not breaking the law; rather I filtered
out the consideration of others and just got the job done, kind of like
straight-line thinking (get from A to B, there is nothing in between that
matters). That is, I tended to upset a lot of people.

Now, while taking the full picture into view, I find that I enjoy the
journey toward the goal as much as if not more than the goal itself. How I
do things, then does matter. If the journey is not worth it, then the goal
should not be either.

The ends then only justify the means if the means take into account doing
what is right and fair and honest.

My productivity has actually improved with this new approach and my personal
satisfaction has as well. I am taking more time and consideration in my
efforts, but I spend far less time dealing with my conscience and I have
many less people who get upset with what I do and how I do it.

So, I say to Machiavelli, thanks, but no thanks.

I'd rather savor and enjoy the journey, knowing that it will make achieving
my goals that more rewarding and enjoyable!

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net
http://learnandgrowdaily.com ←-Click here to order: "Learn And Grow Daily!"

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
502-533-9336