Message of the Day - Second Chance On A Successful Life

Good Morning,

 

I am still reading the Leadership Lessons of Ulysses S. Grant and came across a section which truly hit home with me. Talking about the low point in Grant’s life, there is a line that says:

 

“Scraping for a living, Grant wept on a street in Galena [Illinois] when no one bought a load of firewood he was peddling.”

 

At that point in his life Grant was a drunken washout who left the military to live nearly a decade with one business failure after another.

 

I remember sitting in my apartment in Maryland in November 2003 just after being fired from the only job I could find after being downsized from a software company in March of that year. Most of that year I had been unemployed and my ability to pay my bills was running out, fast. I could pay December’s rent, but with unemployment ending, I would not be able to pay January’s. With my options shrinking and the reality of homelessness and poverty looming, I could sense what Grant felt that day, sitting in the streets.

 

History shows us that Ulysses S. Grant did turn his life around.

 

Like Grant, I also took that time to reinvent myself. Something that ANYONE can do, by the way.

 

College is an option, sure student loans are frightening, but not having a degree is even more frightening.

 

Anyone can read a book, and if they can’t anyone can learn how.

 

Grant, the drunken washout who left the military to only live nearly a decade with one failure after another turned his life around. He rejoined the military and ended up leading the Union in the Civil War to their ultimate victory and then went on to be President of the United States.

 

Through dedication to reading, learning and growing, I too have made great strides in improving my life and becoming a success, while looking forward to even greater accomplishments ahead. My in-laws were over for my birthday, yesterday, and in a candid conversation I was told how proud they were of me, having seen me roll into town in 2003 with nothing but a pile of stuff and no job to where I am today.

 

Looking back to those desperate days in Maryland, not knowing where I would live or what I would do, I, too realize how far I have come.

 

The best part of this turnaround story is that it can be yours too.

 

You can turn your life around. Seriously!

 

So long as you are breathing, you can make a difference in your life.

 

It will take hard work and dedication, but it can be done.

 

If you are sitting in your room or on the street wondering where your next meal will come from, please realize that you too can turn it around.

 

There are second chances for a successful life. In reality there are many more chances after that, but you have to roll up your sleeves and truly want it.

 

Are you ready to take the first step?

 

Enjoy!

 

Sanford Berenberg

Sanford@berenberg.net

http://www.berenberg.net   

http://learnandgrowdaily.com ß Click here to order: “Learn And Grow Daily!”

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/

502-533-9336

 

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Message of the Day - How Some Organizations Die

Good Morning,

 

Thank you for ordering Learn and Grow Daily! For those interested, the site is www.learnandgrowdaily.com

 

-------------

 

My current read is Bil Holton’s “Leadership Lessons of Ulysses S. Grant: Tips, Tactics, and Strategies for Leaders and Managers” (http://www.amazon.com/Leadership-Lessons-Ulysses-S-Grant/dp/051716180X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1238882689&sr=1-1). I have been on this kick of reading the leadership styles and tips of various historical persons, like the US Presidents (George Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln and George W. Bush). You learn a lot about their character in those books as well.

 

Anyway, early on in this book I saw a line that just rang out to me:

 

“The following warning is offered unapologetically and without reservation –

 

An organization is dead when its leadership acknowledged only convention.”

 

This is a profound statement. It is saying that a company or organization which only does what it always has done for whatever reason, even if it works, will eventually falter and die off. The world is changing around us and unless our organizations change with the times, we will go the way of the dinosaurs. And look at initial warning, it is offered unapologetically and without reservation. I believe it states that is a fact whether we like it or not.

 

When you hear people give excuses as to why we cannot change the rules or the way things are done that sound like “Well that is way we have always done it” it is time to picture that person as a pile of fossils being dug up and admired by some future organizational archaeologist.

 

I am blessed in my day job. My boss is willing to entertain new ideas from her team, while also ensuring the department stays focused on meeting and exceeding its targets and goals. This has created an environment where we can present out of the box thinking. This past week, one of my peers was able to take an epiphany he had on improving our service offering and present it at a leadership meeting. Where in many organizations new ideas are met with ‘no’ or ‘we tried that, it did not work’ and that is sad. Our team grabbed the idea and started looking at what COULD be done. It was like doing a SWOT analysis right there during the meeting (SWOT = Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats). My wish is that every organization could be so open-minded.

 

In our rapid paced, ever-changing landscape of business and life, we have people who come to the table ready to buck convention and try something new.

 

I look forward to the benefits of these new ideas and even the failures should they happen, so that we may learn from them and do something even better.

 

Remember, if the reason you are told no to a new idea is because it conflicts with the way it has always been done before, then go to the florist and buy flowers for the department’s or organization’s impending funeral.

 

Unless they embrace change, extinction will happen.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

Sanford Berenberg

Sanford@berenberg.net

http://www.berenberg.net   

http://learnandgrowdaily.com ß Click here to pre-order: “Learn And Grow Daily!”

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/

502-533-9336

 

PS: If you know others who may enjoy this message of the day, please pass this message on or invite them to receive them themselves by sending a request to me. If you wish to stop receiving these, please also let me know. Thank you!!!

 

 

Message of the Day - I had it coming, and I did it to myself...

Good Morning,

 

This last week has been a hectic one to say the least. My wife and I closed on a new home (multiple bathrooms, more space, garage, and an office for me!). So as most people who move do, we have started packing and moving our stuff slowly over to the new house a couple times a day as we prepare for the big move in a few weeks.

 

When I moved from Maryland to Kentucky in 2003, I packed a 17-foot rental truck with some 40 rubbermaid tubs full of stuff. We still have about 20 of them and most of them have been moved over to the new house at this point. In my years in Kentucky, I would unpack these tubs and consolidate them as I threw away or gave away those treasures I kept with my first move back in 2003.

 

So, now as I am moving my own materials to the new house, I find that these tubs I have now weigh a ton. Compacted, consolidated and all done by me, to me. So as I am huffing and puffing up the steps of our current basement, through the house to the car and then into the new house, I have myself to thank for the lack of planning for our own move.

 

Why did I not see this coming? We planned on moving for some time, so that spurred me to sell off, give away and throw out a lot of materials, but I guess it was the thrill of piling up empty tubs as I consolidated, who knows…

 

The point is that there are consequences to our actions, even those which are done in the best of intentions if when those actions are taken, they do not always consider the future. On the other hand, there is my wife, Karen, who when she filled tubs in preparation to move over the last year, the tubs weighed just enough for her not to carry them, but very light for me. (An evil plot on multiple levels I tell you!)

 

We must look ahead on our actions of today as they will often come back to haunt us down the road (like my space consolidation resulting in sore arms, legs and back). And yes, I have not been the Chiropractor (and he has been calling me to remind me I need a visit). I will be in tomorrow afternoon because I am due.

 

Enjoy!

 

And now, the first edition of ‘Learn and Grow Daily!’ is available for pre-order! at www.learnandgrowdaily.com. I received my copies two days ago and they look great. It is really neat to see your name on a book that someone else printed.

 

The books should be available online (at Amazon and other websites) in a few weeks, but you can order yours now, through my website.

 

 

 

Sanford Berenberg

Sanford@berenberg.net

http://www.berenberg.net   

http://learnandgrowdaily.com ß Click here to pre-order: “Learn And Grow Daily!”

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/

502-533-9336

 

PS: If you know others who may enjoy this message of the day, please pass this message on or invite them to receive them themselves by sending a request to me. If you wish to stop receiving these, please also let me know. Thank you!!!

 

Message of the Day - The Power of Procrastination

Good Morning,

 

I wanted to write this message last Saturday, but have been very busy as of late and had to put it off (good tickler, huh?). The only reason I am getting to it today is that my body forced me to take a sick day. You know the feeling when you move and pretty much every muscle in your body cries out in protest. Add in an onslaught of allergies (sore throat, runny nose, etc.) and that is how I feel today. No worries, I will be better tomorrow.

 

Anyway, this is a great time to talk about procrastination and how it can change your day, your life, and the world as we know it. Yes, procrastination can change the course of history, and most certainly did, during the American Revolution. As you may remember, we were doing poorly up to the Battle of Saratoga. There we won a decisive victory; captured thousands of British troops, and more importantly, gained the agreement of the King of France to assist us in our revolution.

 

What if we lost that battle? The revolution could have fizzled; we could have lost our troops and never have gained the agreement of France to help us. This almost happened, but due to procrastination it didn’t come to pass.

 

Lord Germain, the Secretary of State in Britain, was to issue orders to General Howe, currently in the New York city area, to move his troops up the Hudson river and join General Carlton to defeat the Americans in a pincer (attacked on both sides). In fact he did issue orders to General Carlton to move south from Canada to make the attack, expecting to write Howe shortly thereafter.

 

What happened is Lord Germain was going away for the weekend and stopped by his office to sign to orders to General Howe. One problem, they were not written yet. Lord Germain’s aid offered to write them up there if Lord Germain would wait 10 minutes. Lord Germain refused to wait and said he would sign them when he returned after the weekend.

 

When he returned, both he and the aid had completely forgotten about the orders, and that left General Carlton to his fate, which marked the turning point in the American Revolution.

 

By procrastinating, the British gave up a good chance to squash the revolution and keep their colonies. Source: (http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1964/2/1964_2_6.shtml).

 

What are we losing when we put off to tomorrow what we can do today?

 

In my day job, I am constantly changing gears and trying to jot down notes due to the speed at which information and tasks come at me. They can get lost if I do not do them right then and there. Procrastination in my daily work means tasks do not get completed and usually come back to me as an urgent issue.

 

To combat procrastination we need to both organize ourselves so that we do not miss out on the opportunities to get our tasks completed and also to develop processes to allow us to change gears quickly (not necessarily multitasking), to allow us to finish these items and move to the next.

 

Otherwise we may feel the power of procrastination in our lives.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

Sanford Berenberg

Sanford@berenberg.net

http://www.berenberg.net   ß Check out the cover of my upcoming book, “Learn And Grow Daily!”

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/

502-533-9336

 

PS: If you know others who may enjoy this message of the day, please pass this message on or invite them to receive them themselves by sending a request to me. If you wish to stop receiving these, please also let me know. Thank you!!!

 

 

Message of the Day - Caring Enough

Good Morning,

 

After reading about powerhouse teams in such books as ‘The Five Dysfunctions of Teams’ and ‘Lincoln on Leadership’ and ‘The Leadership Secrets of Colin Powell’ you see that teams that work well together get very open and honest with each other. This open honesty in working with others can get heated at times.

 

Many people fear that heated discussion and try to shy away from it. When it happens in their midst, they may sit back in their chairs and become a bystander rather than stepping up and becoming a contributor.

 

To clarify, by heated discussions, I am not talking about knock-down, no-holds-barred fights with insults and attacks. Rather I am talking about highly respectful discussions where each of the team members who contributes, really TRUSTS their team members enough and are COMFORTABLE enough with them to be open and honest and give them their all!

 

Team members who can enter this level of healthy debate can churn out diamonds from lumps of clay by beating on them and tweaking them and being passionate about their beliefs and values. The results from these debates are almost always better than taking the initial suggestions and running with them just because the boss or someone said they should.

 

After you get used to this form of debate, you will feel a greater respect for your peers than before. Honest!

 

We first have to realize that these debates are not personal. When being performed honestly and passionately with vigor and zeal, then the discussion is not about the participants, rather it is the ideas and ideals which are being hammered out.

 

It is said that Walt Disney would offer out ideas to his team of advisors and if more than a few of the ten or so people agreed with the initial idea, he scrapped it. General George Patton once said that “If everyone is thinking alike, then someone is not thinking’.  

 

These great men knew the value of honest, passionate and sometimes heated discussions, in coming up with the best ideas and decisions for their teams.

 

If you care enough to give your best to your team and on your projects, then care enough to be open and honest and passionate about your feelings and ideas, even if it gets heated. Remember; focus on the ideas, and not the person you are talking to.

 

In the end, you will find some diamonds from the rough.

 

Enjoy!

 

Sanford Berenberg

Sanford@berenberg.net

http://www.berenberg.net   ß Check out the cover of my upcoming book, “Learn And Grow Daily!”

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/

502-533-9336

 

PS: If you know others who may enjoy this message of the day, please pass this message on or invite them to receive them themselves by sending a request to me. If you wish to stop receiving these, please also let me know. Thank you!!!

 

Message of the Day - War on Minutia

Good Morning,

 

Have you noticed that there are many little steps to pretty much every thing we do?

 

Have you also noticed that often when you start to do something, unless it is something we do often or every day that we get mired down in many of these little steps or minutia?

 

Even eating a bowl of cereal is not a simple task.

 

1. Clean off a spot at the table.
2. Move the cat off of your chair. (those without pets can substitute clothes or other stuff for cats).
3. Get a bowl.
4. Make sure the bowl is clean.
5. Get the cereal.
6. Open or reopen the cereal box.
7. Check to see if there is enough cereal for a bowl.
8. Pour the cereal in the bowl.
9. Close and seal the cereal box.
10. Put the cereal box away.
11. Get a spoon.
12. Make sure the spoon is clean.
13. Get a napkin (This is a must for me)
14. Get milk
15. Open milk and smell to see if it is still good.
16. Pour milk into the cereal.
17. Clean up any spills (be sure not to cry)
18. Put away the milk.
19. Say prayers
20. Eat.

 

20 steps for something as simple as eating a bowl of cereal and there is a lot that can go wrong even within these steps. The milk can be bad; we could be out of milk or there is not enough cereal for a bowl and we have to hunt down another box. There may be no clean bowls (get to work or clean them). And, for some folks this list is long, and for others, it is very short.

 

This simple process which should take no more than a few minutes can take upwards of half an hour if we get mired in the minutiae of having to fix something that is not prepared for. And of course, that starts our day off on the wrong foot.

 

So how do we call a war on this minutia so that the two minute process stays that way?

 

Prepare. Make sure there is fresh milk, clean bowls and silverware, and change out your cereal when you finish one box.

 

When you can prepare for these processes ahead of time, then you will not get caught off guard and have to fix the little things to get the big things done.

 

That is why it is so painful to work the One-Off situations. They are often time stealers.

 

Remember, to declare war on the minutia, prepare so everything flows a bit smoother.

 

Enjoy!

 

Sanford Berenberg

Sanford@berenberg.net

http://www.berenberg.net   ß Check out the cover of my upcoming book, “Learn And Grow Daily!”

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/

502-533-9336

 

PS: If you know others who may enjoy this message of the day, please pass this message on or invite them to receive them themselves by sending a request to me. If you wish to stop receiving these, please also let me know. Thank you!!!

 

 

 

 

Message of the Day - The juxtaposition of pride and accountability

Good Morning,

 

There is questionable quality in work produced and quality of service performed in many industries today. It is very frustrating being the customer and recipient of shoddy work, but it can also be very frustrating for the leadership of the teams who deliver the subpar performance.

 

As I was pondering this thought this morning, two separate ideas popped into my head. Two different areas, taking pride in your work, and being accountable for your work jumped out at me. And while each of these areas seems separate and unrelated, they may in fact be tied together.

 

Have you ever noticed someone doing work that was less than stellar? You know, work that is more like someone randomly slapping sandwich toppings on a sandwich and wrapping the mess up and handing it to you without even looking at you. Or maybe talking to a call center and the agent seems to have no interest whatsoever in helping you.

 

What is missing is taking pride in their work. Pride that what they do is the best that can be done. Not everyone can be the best in the world, but everyone can do their own personal best. One agent who really impressed me took my call after I had had several months of botched calls from this company. This agent said ‘I will fix it, I know what you have been through, but I will make sure you are taken care of’. He glowed of pride in helping me. And yes, he did resolve my issue.

 

Then on the other side, have you ever noticed someone who drops the ball on something they were supposed to do? Something that they are responsible for, but take almost no initiative to ensure the job is completed, even remotely in the way it should be. It’s the classic ‘its not my job’ syndrome.

 

On the one side, folks are not taking pride in their work, and on the other, they feel little or no reason to be accountable for their work.

 

When we start to take pride in our work, like ensuring the best email message we can write, or completing the task the most efficiently we know how then we improve the quality of our work. With that pride comes confidence and the support from others.

 

When you bring your car in for repair, do you go to the nearest repair shop? Or do you go to one that you know does a good job. And at that location where they do a good job, don’t they seem to take pride in their work? When these same people, who take pride in their work do make a mistake, more often than not, own up to it and take responsibility to fix the error.

 

And when others ask you who you use for your car repairs, who do you recommend? I bet is usually the people who take pride in their work and do a good job.

 

One way to improve quality in any line of business is to find a way to get the staff to take pride in their work, to know that it has value and means something (as a manager, TELL THEM). When people take pride in their work, it invariably improves, so will their accountability, and in the end, the quality of the enterprise will improve.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

Sanford Berenberg

Sanford@berenberg.net

http://www.berenberg.net   ß Check out the cover of my upcoming book, “Learn And Grow Daily!”

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/

502-533-9336

 

PS: If you know others who may enjoy this message of the day, please pass this message on or invite them to receive them themselves by sending a request to me. If you wish to stop receiving these, please also let me know. Thank you!!!