What Can We Do for Others

There is always something to be thankful for

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and all I have done for the past week or so is have a pity party that we won’t be celebrating the holidays with our family this year. No, they don’t have Thanksgiving in Indonesia; well at least it’s not a holiday for my husband or kids, and I have been told that Christmas just isn’t the same as back home. The holidays are my favorite time of year. There is something about the weather getting cooler, more time with my whole family, being in the kitchen all day cooking a turkey with all the trimmings, the sound of Christmas music and decorations going up at home and in the stores; you get the picture. But this year is different, we won’t be home for the holidays and I don’t even have an oven to cook a turkey in.

But this morning as I took my 1 ½ hour commute in a taxi home, I read a great blog from Bay Tek games about random acts of kindness and I looked out my window of the taxi and really thought, “Rosie, why are you having a pity party? You have so much to be thankful for. There are so many people around you that are struggling and have it much harder than you. There are about 9.8 million people here in Jakarta. The average monthly wage is about $350 a month, the people here do not have potable water and there are thousands of children and adults living on the street each day.”

We have only been in Jakarta for about six months now. I have always known how blessed we are, but this has been an even bigger eye opener for me.  My husband has the opportunity of a lifetime to be the Dean of a new university, my children have grown so much attending a private school and we are getting to see parts of the world that most people couldn’t even imagine.  So every day I am thankful for the opportunity to be in Jakarta. I am thankful that we have been so blessed to have a home, clothes, food and water. Thankful that I am surrounded by family and friends who have been so supportive while we have been gone. Thankful that we are from a country that we are given so much opportunity.

I am not a crier, but I tell you, I get so choked up around the holidays. I know it is a stressful time for so many people going from one house to another, and all the cooking, or trying to find that perfect gift. For me, it is all about being thankful for everything that we have and that we have the means to give to others. Since I was in college, I have volunteered and have done what I could do to give back to the community: tutoring inner city children, serving the homeless on Thanksgiving, Habitat for Humanity, visiting children’s hospitals, raising awareness about the Leukemia & Lymphoma society, and I have been even more fortunate to make it part of my career. While with the Isotopes I was able to be involved with and develop programs that gave back our community. At iTZ I implemented “iT’Z For A Good Cause” and we raised thousands of dollars for the Texas Children’s Hospital and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. TrainerTainment has sponsored and participated in events like Ballard vs. The Big C and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

A lot of times, I think we forget to be thankful; that we have one the greatest platforms and are able to give back, maybe not always in the form of money or items, but that we can give someone an experience. Maybe it’s just a day of forgetting all of their problems, to provide them with a day of fun. There are so many ways you can do it. Host a canned food drive, partner up with Meals on Wheels, open your center for a few hours for groups of kids who may not have a happy Thanksgiving or have a Christmas, host an Angel Tree, participate in Toy’s for Tots….I could go on and on.  This year, my family and I have chosen to sponsor kids from an orphanage and an organization for kids that live on the streets. I challenge you to take a step back and think about not what we can do for ourselves, but what we can do for others and let’s do what we can to be thankful for everything we have this time of year.

We would love to hear from you. What are you most thankful for? Click here and share with us.

Top 5 Reasons to Cheat on Your Email

Just pick up the phone!I’m having an affair with my phone. It’s true. And I think my email is starting to notice.  For years, since even before we called it email, I have had a long lasting relationship with writing emails.  I started working in Corporate America at the age of 17, and I was there for all the NO CAPS, use punctuation and “why is there no sarcasm font?” conversations about using email. I’ve used emails to say hi, to say bye, and to cover my own tail. Because if it’s written, then no one can say I didn’t TELL them, right?

Oh gosh, do you have any idea how many hours I have spent immersed in email?  And, because now I’m super focused on how much TONE someone can read into my messages, I’m spending that much more time trying to make sure that the tone was friendly…helpful…non-judgmental. And you know what I’ve learned? I need to pick up the phone; just pick up the phone and call!  Here are my top 5 reasons I’m forsaking email (when I can) and going back to my first love, the phone (oh remember when you were 16 and spent hours just talking on it? Bliss)

#5 TIME SAVED: turns out, while an email might be quicker in the moment–by the time you write, check your spelling (please at least do that), make sure you don’t address to the wrong person, wait for a response and then begin the conversation, you could have already had the conversation AND asked the person on the other end how their family is doing.

#4 TONE WHERE IT NEEDS TO BE: We recently asked our clients about what causes them to be de-motivated. So many said that a lot of that demotivation comes from problems with coworkers that truly stem from miscommunication. It’s so easy to read into emails (and sticky notes on the computer and notices we put on our bulletin boards) and decide that the sender is being a jerk. Stop the madness! Have the phone conversation; say what you mean to say, the way you want the other person to hear it, and check for understanding. Hey, do this in person, as well. If their eyes get big, you may have used the wrong tone–just putting it out there.

#3 RELATIONSHIP BUILDING: Do you want to live in a world where we respond in only writing, where we don’t know how to look people in the eye and talk with them, where we exist with bent necks staring at our phones all the time or do you want to have REAL conversations with REAL people making a REAL difference?  We have to keep things personal. Your relationships with your customers and your coworkers, I promise you, will be so much stronger if you will have more of the conversations you need to on the phone and in person.

#2 GET TO THE TRUTH, NOT JUST YOUR STORY: I’ve had a million and one arguments in my own head about what someone’s intentions were in an email they sent. (This also results in wasted time). Don’t spend time agonizing over what you think someone really means. Have your conversations live, ask questions, and if you want to know more about what someone means, ask them!

And the #1 reason…YOU’LL SLAY DRAGONS: Over the last ten days, I have felt almost twice as productive as usual. The key difference is this. Almost every time I’ve had a question for a client, every time I’ve wanted to know about a product or a service, or how the folks on our team have been doing–I’ve called them.  I had a conversation with Beth about a huge Grand Opening training plan we’re about to dive into. Less than twenty minutes later, when she called me back to mention something else, I had already looked at flights, confirmed dates, assigned trainers, AND called and confirmed them all. Beth said, “Man, we slayed dragons today.” Exactly.  I think we get so bogged down in our processes, with our memos and our bulletin boards, with all our rules and Do’s and Don’ts, that we miss the opportunity to really dig in and personally work with our teams.  But oh, it feels so much more meaningful to collaborate with your team!

All of this is to say ‘just pick up the phone!’ and call that customer.  Go talk to that coworker face to face. Use email when it makes sense to, but remember that sometimes that face to face or phone conversation can help you slay dragons.

Unreasonable Dreams

To all the entrepreneurs, business owners, risk takers, I say:  HURRAY!

George Bernard Shaw said:  “Some men see things as they are and say “why?”. I DREAM things that never were and say “why not?”

We have eight weeks left in this year. It’s unbelievable to me that the time has passed so quickly. Time is a fleeting thing and it races by whether you do anything about it or not. This morning, I’m so grateful for all the dreamers in the world and felt compelled to say so.

Some days, as the entrepreneur, I wonder why it is so easy to be consumed (almost obsessed) with the work at hand. Some days I think, “oh good Lord is it really worth it”. And most days I’m just driven to do the next thing.

So for all of you that are obsessed, for all of us who dream of creating something where nothing was before I say, “congratulations.” Let’s finish strong. Let’s make the most of 2014 and dream of a 2015 that seems completely unreasonable.

The time is right now. If I’ve learned anything at all this year it is that what we have is today. Let’s make the most of it!

Happy November

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