Think about the last time you went out to a restaurant for dinner. After the waiter or waitress took your order did you gather up the menus so they would not have to reach all over the table? When they stopped by to refill your drink did you position the glass to make their access to it easier?
How about when you were entering or leaving a building. Did you hold the door open for the person leaving or coming in (even if they weren't the opposite sex)?
This isn't about being "nice", or polite, or making someone's day (as I mentioned in a previous post). This is about an attitude. An attitude of service to those around you. To try and help out in little ways that cost you pretty much nothing.
Consider the attitude that forces the waitstaff to stretch over the table to reach the menus or the drink glasses. The attitude that forces someone else to make that extra effort to pull open a door.
Now consider that attitude coming out in how you react to your customers, your boss, your co-workers. Which attitude would you rather be on the receiving end of?
06 September, 2010 | mtomsho | Leave comment - 0
a service attitude
charcoal vs. propane
With summer in full swing, the smell of cookouts pervades the air. When I was a kid, we had block parties on the fourth of July. We would gather in one neighbor's yard, the dads would bring their Webers, and after some unintentional flame throwing utilizing lighter fluid (egged on by the kids), the charcoal would catch and the burgers and dogs were on their way. Today, you are far more likely to find propane grills cooking the burgers and dogs, but you can still find some old die hards lighting up charcoal, and claiming that food just tastes better done over hot coals vs. propane flame.
I admit to using propane. To me the fun in the picnic is being with family and friends, laughing, playing, and just generally having a good time, so I cook the way that is easiest and most enjoyable for me. And that is the point. The objective of the cook-out is not really to prepare the food a certain way, the objective is to enjoy the time together, to take a break from work, and any of the other cares we have.
There lies effectiveness! Getting to the goal in ways that we were are most comfortable with. When we who are grilling get to sit down with friends and family and enjoy the company, after we cook the way we like and are most comfortable with - be it coals or propane. When we enjoy the trip, the destination is even more satisfying.
04 July, 2010 | mtomsho | Leave comment - 0
I admit to using propane. To me the fun in the picnic is being with family and friends, laughing, playing, and just generally having a good time, so I cook the way that is easiest and most enjoyable for me. And that is the point. The objective of the cook-out is not really to prepare the food a certain way, the objective is to enjoy the time together, to take a break from work, and any of the other cares we have.
There lies effectiveness! Getting to the goal in ways that we were are most comfortable with. When we who are grilling get to sit down with friends and family and enjoy the company, after we cook the way we like and are most comfortable with - be it coals or propane. When we enjoy the trip, the destination is even more satisfying.
04 July, 2010 | mtomsho | Leave comment - 0
relax
Using the principals I espouse, I usually get a lot done in a typical day. I walk/jog between 3.75 and 6 miles, visit anywhere from one to three or four clients, work on my book (more on that another time), write blog entries, help my wife cook dinner and clean up after, follow up on off-site work for clients... the list goes on, but it is starting to get boring.
Occasionally, I have a day like today. I relax. I do my walk, I do a few things around the house, but for the most part I do not do anything "important". Maybe I watch a movie with my wife, maybe I read a bit, it doesn't matter. Days like this help me stop and smell the roses, they remind me that there are a whole lot of things to enjoy in life and not all of them involve money or work.
Most importantly, I recharge, I unwind. I get ready to pick up my full schedule again.
Part of being effective is knowing when to stop, catch your breath, and take a look around you. You don't need to be going 24X7, there simply can't be so much in your life so unbelievably important that you can't take a little break and enjoy the sunshine, the smile of your significant other, the laughter of children, or the wag of a dog's tail. Give yourself permission to relax and enjoy!
27 March, 2010 | mtomsho | Leave comment - 0
Occasionally, I have a day like today. I relax. I do my walk, I do a few things around the house, but for the most part I do not do anything "important". Maybe I watch a movie with my wife, maybe I read a bit, it doesn't matter. Days like this help me stop and smell the roses, they remind me that there are a whole lot of things to enjoy in life and not all of them involve money or work.
Most importantly, I recharge, I unwind. I get ready to pick up my full schedule again.
Part of being effective is knowing when to stop, catch your breath, and take a look around you. You don't need to be going 24X7, there simply can't be so much in your life so unbelievably important that you can't take a little break and enjoy the sunshine, the smile of your significant other, the laughter of children, or the wag of a dog's tail. Give yourself permission to relax and enjoy!
27 March, 2010 | mtomsho | Leave comment - 0
brightsided
If you haven't read "Bright-sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America" by Barbara Ehrenreich, I suggest you check it out at your local library or at least browse through it at a Barnes & Noble or Borders near you. I admit the title is a little off-putting, but what she has to say is largely spot on, and a lot of it strikes a chord with me.
In fact, I had this post started a bit ago, but it wasn't until my friend Mel DePaoli sent me this link:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=kool-aid-psychology
that what I was thinking clicked. Go read the whole thing, but here is one of the money quotes:
"Isn’t positive thinking better than negative thinking? All other things being equal, sure, but the alternative to being either an optimist or a pessimist is to be a realist. "
To be a realist is to see the situation for what it is (good, bad, or indifferent), understand your limitations (your vulnerabilities or weaknesses) as well as your strengths, and to arrive at a plan of action to move ahead. Your feelings are whatever they are (positive or negative), it is your actions that determine what will happen.
18 February, 2010 | mtomsho | Leave comment - 1
In fact, I had this post started a bit ago, but it wasn't until my friend Mel DePaoli sent me this link:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=kool-aid-psychology
that what I was thinking clicked. Go read the whole thing, but here is one of the money quotes:
"Isn’t positive thinking better than negative thinking? All other things being equal, sure, but the alternative to being either an optimist or a pessimist is to be a realist. "
To be a realist is to see the situation for what it is (good, bad, or indifferent), understand your limitations (your vulnerabilities or weaknesses) as well as your strengths, and to arrive at a plan of action to move ahead. Your feelings are whatever they are (positive or negative), it is your actions that determine what will happen.
18 February, 2010 | mtomsho | Leave comment - 1
It can't be that simple!
When confronted with a simple solution to a problem, many of us react with: "It can't be that simple!" Why? We are trained to believe that complexity adds authenticity or somehow validates what we are doing. Another concept is that without added layers of complexity, whatever our solution is supposed to handle won't fully cover all of the permutations of the problem. So we add complexity until we feel comfortable.
What if we let "it" be "that simple"? Remember, simple does not imply easy; but complex almost always greatly increases the difficulty of a task. So, if we kept it simple, than we will almost certainly decrease the level of difficulty; maybe not make it easy, but...
It can be that simple!
17 August, 2009 | mtomsho | Leave comment - 0
What if we let "it" be "that simple"? Remember, simple does not imply easy; but complex almost always greatly increases the difficulty of a task. So, if we kept it simple, than we will almost certainly decrease the level of difficulty; maybe not make it easy, but...
It can be that simple!
17 August, 2009 | mtomsho | Leave comment - 0
one less cost
Today, data is virtually free. The Internet has made sure of that. Yes, occasionally you will pay for access to a specialized database, but for the most part, the data you seek can be found online somewhere if you look hard enough.
Unfortunately, there is a huge difference between data and information. Data is just "stuff", lists, pictures, random facts and opinions. Information is created from data but it requires thought and purpose. Information is synthesized from data.
If you want information you pay for it. Either you pay someone to create it for you (books and courses come to mind), or you pay in time and energy to do it yourself. On the bright side, that cost is typically far lower than data acquisition costs.
One of the huge barriers to entry in business was the high cost to acquire the data (market sizes, demographic concentrations, interest in a class of product) needed to create the information that intelligent decisions could be based on - if you couldn't afford it you flew blind. The Internet leveled that barrier. If you are in business (or thinking of starting one), don't fly blind - there just is not an excuse anymore.
31 July, 2009 | mtomsho | Leave comment - 0
Unfortunately, there is a huge difference between data and information. Data is just "stuff", lists, pictures, random facts and opinions. Information is created from data but it requires thought and purpose. Information is synthesized from data.
If you want information you pay for it. Either you pay someone to create it for you (books and courses come to mind), or you pay in time and energy to do it yourself. On the bright side, that cost is typically far lower than data acquisition costs.
One of the huge barriers to entry in business was the high cost to acquire the data (market sizes, demographic concentrations, interest in a class of product) needed to create the information that intelligent decisions could be based on - if you couldn't afford it you flew blind. The Internet leveled that barrier. If you are in business (or thinking of starting one), don't fly blind - there just is not an excuse anymore.
31 July, 2009 | mtomsho | Leave comment - 0
