Don’t You Love It?
By: Jan Bolick
In this rough, tough, seemingly heartless, bottom-line oriented world of strategizing for survival through takeovers, layoffs and budget cuts, don’t you love it when people do business with heart?
They seem to love their work. They get the job done. They really care. They make you feel good. They warm your heart doing business with heart.
Below are a few classic stories about doing business with heart. I share them with 3 hopes.
Hope #1 is that you will read and share them with co-workers, family members and friends.
Hope #2 is that you will share some stories of your own - and encourage others to do the same.
By the way – if you hold a regular meetings of any kind - sharing heart stories can be a great addition to your agenda. It sets a positive mood for the meeting and beyond. Get details for Ready-2-Go Meeting segment.
Hope #3 is that you will join me in thanking people around you who do business with heart. You can do this verbally or with a handwritten note or with one of our Heart Cards.
Spreading the word and spreading appreciation for doing business with heart is so very important now more than ever. Because the more people do business with heart….the more people will do business with heart. And as more people do business with heart…even more people will do business with heart.
Warming hearts everywhere by doing business with heart.
Okay – it’s story time. Here are a few classic examples of people doing business with heart. If you want to read even more stories, go to: People Doing Business with Heart.
Story #1 – About Antwon
At the Marriott in Atlanta, I couldn’t help but overhear a customer yelling at Antwon who worked as a bellman there. And couldn’t help but notice that Antwon stayed calm through all the ranting and raving.
When asked how he managed to do that, Antwon laughed and said, “I get lots of practice.”
He grew more serious as he said, “I try to rise above it. I figure if I be nice to them, then maybe it will make their day better. And maybe later they will think about it and be nicer to the next guy.”
Thank you, Antwon for doing business with heart.
Story #2 – About C.H. Russell
C.H. ran a trucking company and was as passionate as we were about not just meeting, but beating our delivery deadlines.
When we had a job for him to deliver, he would take off right after loading and drive straight through to Kentucky, or Iowa or whatever the destination, arriving early the next morning, just in time for the recipient’s loading dock to open.
Once he helped them unload the truck (another unusual service), he would call us to announce in his celebratory voice, “Mission complete!”
It was not unusual for our customers to call us after C.H.’s departure to say, “That’s some trucking company you’ve got there!”
We admire the way C.H. did business with heart.
Story #3 – About Kermit & Company at Whole Foods
Kermit used to work at Wellspring Grocery (now Whole Foods) in Chapel Hill. He rescued our dog, Hurley, who had run away from home, gotten all the way to Whole Foods and then got hit by a car in front of the store.
When store employees couldn’t reach us by telephone, Kermit took Hurley to the vet and waited there until we arrived.
Anna, the store manager and several other employees called us that day and for about a week afterwards to check on Hurley’s condition.
We continue to be grateful that they all did business with heart.
Story #4 – About a Great Landlord
It snowed the other day and the landlord actually came out and shoveled the walkway himself!!!
The tenant/business owner was so impressed and appreciative that she decided to re-sign the lease (she had been a bit on the fence). And she called a friend about taking the empty space next door….because unlike many landlords who are never around and hardly seem to care…this landlord does business with heart.
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Now it’s your turn.
Will you share a story or two below? Include your e-mail address, in case we have questions for you! Don’t worry though – your e-mail address won’t be viewable by the public – unless you want it to be.
Also – in case you haven’t looked at them – here’s a link to read more about Heart Cards. Whether you use our Heart Cards to do it or not, we hope you will say thank you to those who do business with heart.
©2009 – Business Class Inc
Quote of the Week – About everyone we meet
By: Jan BolickThis week’s quote helps to remind us that when a person interrupts, or pushes ahead in line or ignores us in the hallway or whatever it is that rubs us the wrong way or ticks us off - it’s probably not about us. And whatever it is about, is good reason for the rest of us to try our best to do business with heart.
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Use the above quote as background or wallpaper for your computer with just three clicks.
1. Click on the image above.
2. Right click on the image that appears.
3. On the pull down menu that appears, click on “set as background”.
Voila! There’s still plenty of room on the left side of the screen for all your shortcut icons.
There are 130 additional quotes in our Quote Library.
Valuable business tools, ready to post, print and share – available for free right here in our Quote Library.
Note: If you don’t like your new wallpaper, don’t want to replace it with a quote from the Business Class Quote Library and don’t know how to get rid of it……
Go to your control panel. Select “Display”. Select “Desktop”. And then choose from the designs offered.”
copyright 2010 – Business Class Inc
Save Money By Going Green – from ABC News
By: Program CoordinatorNo matter how green we already are, most of us could be even greener.
We’re certified!
Are you?
Get details here for the Green Plus Diagnostic Tool
Movie of the Week: Johnny the Bagger
By: Program CoordinatorWhen brainstorming what movie to feature in conjunction with our current theme of insignificance (feeling too small or too powerless to make a difference)…and with our running theme of doing business with heart…
well..
it was obvious that we should feature a movie we first mentioned back in December of 2008.
It’s called: Johnny the Bagger (about 3 minutes long).
So get the popcorn, Milk Duds and Raisinettes, gather everyone around and push PLAY and enjoy.
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Related materials for follow up and/or further discussion:
- Quote of the Week: Too small to make a difference?
- Have you lost power?
- Brainteaser of the Week #14
- www.doingbusinesswithheart.com
copyright 2010 – Business Class Inc
Have you lost power?
By: Jan BolickNote: If you’ve lost power, or never had any to begin with, how can you possibly make a difference? Why bother dreaming? Or trying to make a goal? Or even setting one? Some one or something will keep you from it anyway. Might as well forget about trying to make a difference in someone else’s life – much less your own.
PLEASE don’t listen to ANY of nonsense above!!! You have plenty of power. It might not be obvious. You may have to hunt around a bit. But it’s there somewhere. I hope this article will help you with search and discovery so that you find your power. And if you are a manager, I hope it will help you help others find theirs. A must for morale & productivity – yours and theirs.
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One December morning - the house was colder than normal. The clocks were dead. Out the window, we saw trees sagging under a beautiful crystal-like layer of ice; power lines across the road beneath branches, limbs – even whole trees.
We learned from our battery operated radio that 90% of the homes in our town were without power. They said it would take 8 days to restore.
We went in search of breakfast and found only one restaurant open. It seemed the entire town was there – hungry and powerless.
Powerless. Webster phrased it well. We had lost “possession of control”. We had no “ability to act or produce an effect.”
It’s funny the habits we found hard to break. Passing the neighborhood video store on the way home from breakfast, my son said excitedly, “No school today! Let’s get a video!” “Oh – I forgot”, he said. “We don’t have power.” For two days – I flipped the light switch every time I entered a room. “Oh – I forgot. No power.”
No lights. No video. No hot water. Or stove. Or refrigerator. No washer. Or dryer. No television. Or video games. No computer. Or e-mail. No phone. Or fax. Or answering machine. No traffic lights. Or streetlights. Never mind that our ancestors didn’t have these things. Never mind that many people of the world are without these things every day.
WE HAD NO POWER!
We are spoiled by power. Feel entitled to it.
Yet – might it be true that by losing it, we uncover forgotten power? Hidden power? Maybe even become more powerful?
We remembered some forgotten power fairly easily. Like the gas hot water heater. And the gas logs. Then we remembered the “old-timey” telephone in the attic. You know – one of those that doesn’t need electricity?
And what about the gas grill? It became a great and fun place to heat water for hot chocolate, cook eggs and a “mean” tasting grilled cheese sandwich.
Our power was revealed in other ways as well.
Gerry and his friend went out with their chain saws on that first day. Clearing streets and driveways all over town. They did it because they had the equipment and the know-how. Not for rewards or payment. They told us about a woman who gave them a $50 bill to thank them for their help. They refused. She insisted. They took the money and gave it to charity. They used their power to help others and to pay it forward.
Other friends and neighbors who did have electricity called their friends and neighbors to check in and offer assistance. Once we located our old timey telephone, we were lucky enough to receive one of those calls from Lou and Tracey. They invited us over for showers and dinner and to spend the night. We gladly accepted!
The first night, we helped cook dinner for ten others who had been invited for a warm-up dinner. It quickly became dinner for 35 and a night full of fun and laughter. We all forgot about our own cold, dark households – for three nights in a row. Meanwhile – their showers had revolving doors. The washer and dryer worked non-stop. And the countertops were constantly lined with charging cell phones and laptops. Lou and Tracey had power and they shared it. In the process, they reminded the rest of us about the power of friendship and generosity.
Our neighbor, Beth, also had power. Looking for those without, she knocked on doors and called on the telephone, repeating what became a famous refrain “Come on over and BYOT!” (Bring your own towel).
WCHL, our community radio station that had lost power, but the engineers and generators kept the sound waves going 24/7. And somehow the sleep-deprived announcers kept providing information and entertainment, both vital during this emergency situation. One announcement was about Weaver Street Market. They had lost power and their food was spoiling. In an effort to turn their misfortune into good fortune for others, they asked WCHL to announce “Come take our food. It’s FREE.”
Sally heard the announcement and went right over. Her power was out so she had no place for the food, but she knew of a family of eight whose home had burned to the ground the week before. They were starting over in a rental home near Sally and they had power, an empty refrigerator and an empty freezer. So Sally drove to Weaver Street and let the manager know the situation. He loaded her station wagon with pizza, vegetables, fruit, bread, pasta and other foods which Sally delivered – filling her new neighbor’s freezer to the brim.
Sally had lost the power to do her usual job. Weaver Street had lost their power to provide fresh food. WCHL had lost their usual source of power as well. Even so, this threesome had a powerful impact on a family that had suffered a tragedy few of us can even imagine.
Dave also heard an announcement on WCHL about someone giving free wood to those in need. Dave had no use for wood, but he knew of an older couple nearby who had run out, so he filled his trunk with wood and delivered it to the couple. Dave had lost power to do his usual job, but he found hidden power to help another couple in need.
The power lines had been completely ripped away from our house. We had gotten conflicting information about whether to wait for the power company or call an electrician. On the fifth dark day, we decided to call an electrician. As you might imagine, it was hard to locate one at this time. We finally reached Sam on Sunday morning at 7:00am. He drove 40 miles to come over and repair the damage. When we asked what we owed, he quoted his normal weekday, non-emergency hourly rate. He had the power to repair the damage done by the storm. He did it. He had the power to charge far more than his normal rate. He didn’t.
The power was on and everyone went back to work and school.
Shortly before the storm, Shelly Heath, a teacher at McDougle Middle School, had introduced “kindness” as part of a values curriculum. Our town’s loss of power added power to this values lesson, as kids came to school after the storm, reporting their many powerful exposures to kindness.
People often talk about things they wish they could have – things they wish were different. Those wishful statements are often followed by reasons these wishes won’t or can’t come true. Reasons or obstacles — like spouses, kids, bosses, mergers, layoffs, the economy, war — the list goes on and on.
These obstacles seem to zap our power like the ice did.
Yet if we truly want the things described in our wishful statements – don’t we have the power somewhere? Forgotten power? Hidden power? Perhaps undiscovered power?
We certainly found a lot of it back in December.
original copyright 2003 – Jan Bolick; revised ©2010 – Jan Bolick, Business Class Inc
Brainteaser of the Week #14
By: Program CoordinatorOne way to be a better manager is to run better meetings. Use one or more of our brainteasers to start or revive or end a meeting. A great way to shift the brain, spark new energy, maybe even cause a giggle or a smile. All of which can help you boost morale and productivity.
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Show this page or write the words in the grey box on a piece of paper or on a flipchart or on the white board and ask the question:
What does this say?
Need a hint? It’s a phrase.
Go to “Comments” section to check your answer.
Credits: Created by Jan Bolick
