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Archive for November, 2010

Gratitude on Thanksgiving

Thursday, November 25th, 2010

Gratitude and Giving Back

 

Today is Thanksgiving Day here in the US. While some Americans will stuff themselves silly, argue with relatives they rarely see, and drink enough to float a sailboat, many others try to keep the spirit of Thanksgiving alive.

 

Thanksgiving is about gratitude and giving back. Take stock of the good in your life and give thanks, to God, to a Higher Power, to your family and friends, to someone. If you think the choices are between half empty and half full, then choose the half full and keep filling it up.  

 

There are things that could be better in everyone’s life, but today is not about wanting more, or the next bigger, better, newer model of anything you own. It’s not about trying to one up your relatives you hardly see, and probably can’t stand. It’s not about consuming vast amounts of food and drink and making yourself as obnoxious as you can.

 

It’s about finding peace in what you have. It’s about accepting your life and doing your best to live it and improve it. It’s about moderation in most if not all things. And it’s about helping others less fortunate than you.

 

Often the best way to give thanks is to help others. I don’t know about you, but I get a warm feeling inside when I help someone with no intention of being recompensated. I am not rich. I can’t drive. And I have physical challenges. But I still volunteer to help others. I’m willing to help a friend, associate or even a stranger whose need is important to them.  

 

So, eat and drink in moderation. Don’t argue with obnoxious relatives, smile, ask how they are, and leave them to talk with others. Arguments can ruin the spirit of the festivities and cause digestive problems. Stay centered and peaceful throughout the day if possible. Make a commitment to be nice to everyone, say nothing hurtful or mean, and not to take the last piece of turkey away from your younger cousin. May God bless you and keep you safe if you’re traveling Remember, life’s what you make it.

 

And when you wake up tomorrow, give thanks for that too. As a matter of fact, start a new habit of giving thanks on a regular basis. It’ll improve your mood, your outlook, and your approach to daily tasks. Try to find something positive in everything you do. Look for the good qualities in people, events, and things. For you may find what you’re looking for. Let this Thanksgiving be the one that starts you on a new road. The road on the positive side.     

 

 

 

Posting Announcement

Thursday, November 18th, 2010

 

Look guys, I appreciate you coming to visit and leaving a comment. But, I don’t like others posting ads on my site. If you think your ad is super-duper good and millions would benefit, then email me off site with the ad and proof of what you claim. If I like what you’re offering and I can check it out to make sure you’re not just whistling down by the bayou, I MAY post it. If not, then either get your own site or find someplace else to post it. Don’t just resub the same ad or whatever. And stop crying like a frog at the edge of the dried up swamp. Please keep comments to the articles posted. And this doesn’t mean a phrase about the article and a gazillion words about something off topic either.  Don’t be puerile. Barbara 

 

 

Quality, Performance, and Pride

Friday, November 12th, 2010

 

DOWNHILL SLIDE:

Have you noticed the quality of service in chain establishments has gone downhill lately? There never seems to be a salesperson or waitress around when you need one. And no more time for idle chatter – no “How are you today?” or “What about this weather?”. Just business. The quality of goods has also slid downward. Items rarely last to their warranty, never mind beyond it. Large appliances like refrigerators, washing machines and dryers, will be replaced several times in a normal family’s lifetime. No need to worry what to do with Grandma’s washer anymore.

 

While in high school, I worked for a department store chain that at the time held pride and performance in high esteem. During the application process we took a written quiz on how to handle customers. It had to be passed in order to work there. In addition, a class needed to be attended about customer care before you began working. Sadly, this store no longer seems to hold to these ideals, sliding to the “norm” of other department stores.

 

Later when I worked for a computer manufacturer that has since been absorbed by another, I was exposed to “second sourcing”. This is when a standard component is manufactured by a competitor and used in your computers. These parts would be tested when they arrived. Often the yield of these parts was under 50%. Had there been a software testing glitch on their end? Or had they just shipped parts to meet their quotas?

 

BRIEF HISTORY

In the March 1991 Forbes Magazine, an article described the sales of two cars: the Chrysler Plymouth Laser and the Mitsubishi Eclipse. The Chrysler car averaged only 10 sales per dealership, while the Eclipse sold over 100 per dealership.

 

The interesting thing about this is the two cars were identical, made from the exact same design. The only differences were; the car’s name, the company selling the cars, and the country of manufacture.   

 

PRIDE IN PERFORMANCE

Japanese cars have been known for years as being of better quality than American cars. Why is this? Because they’ve built up their reputation for years by selling quality products. But, where did this embracing of quality come from?

 

AMERICAN INFLUENCE:

In 1950, Dr. W. Edward Demming, a quality control expert, was sent by General MacArthur to Japan to manage the war ravaged, industrial base of the Japanese economy. Demming taught the Japanese, “total Quality Control Principles, including 14 principles and a core belief which formed the foundation for decisions made in every successful, major, multi-national Japanese corporation to this day. The core principle was: Every employee should have a constant, never ending commitment to consistently increase the quality of their products and every aspect of their business, every single day. The use of this belief would give them the ability to dominate the world’s markets.       

 

AMERICAN IDEALS:

The American way to make profits is to, “Increase volume and cut costs”. And even though Demming, an American, put forth the concept of increasing the quality of what’s being done, and to do it in such a way that quality wouldn’t cost more in the long run, American companies failed to listen. They clung to the outmoded belief that only certain levels of quality can be achieved before costs get out of hand. And ignored the fact that if a quality product is produced, people will wait in line and pay more.

 

CANI

CANI, or “Constant and Never-ending Improvements” should not only be applied to every American business but can be applied to facets of everyday life. (More on this in another post.) CANI can be applied to business, personal relationships, spiritual connections, health and finances. The idea tiny daily improvements create compounded enhancements     can be used to improve most aspects of business and your life.

 

TIME

Remember the saying “all good things take time”? It’s true. You wouldn’t expect someone recovering from leg surgery to run a marathon the next day. Nor would you expect someone who’s never handled a bow and arrow to win first place in a competition. It has taken years for American quality to degrade to the state it’s in today. If we want to have pride in our products and services once again, it will take time to scrape and scrabble our way back to the top. Would it be worth it? I think so.

 

DECISIONS

So, should you:

-          Buy from a smaller manufacturer who spends more attention on the product than from a large chain who sells it for less?

-          Buy locally where you know the vendor and she knows you as opposed to from an out-of-town larger establishment where you remain one in a sea of faces?

-  Buy an item because it doesn’t cost much, or buy a quality item costing more?

 

Only you can answer these questions for yourself. But remember, you get what you pay for.

 

Resources:

“Awaken the Giant Within” by Anthony Robbins. If you’re interested in reading either this book or others of his teachings go to www.AnthonyRobbins.com. Or put “Awaken the Giant Within” into your browser and see where you can buy it

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It’s Nanowrimo Time!

Monday, November 1st, 2010

 

It’s Nanowrimo time.

Don’t sit there wasting time,

Write, and let your writing shine,

During Nanowrimo time!

 

For those of you who aren’t aware of the significance of November, it’s  Nanowrimo month. Nanowrimo stands for National Novel Writing Month. Notice how the first letters of each word are used to make up the name, who woulda thunk it? The point of this posting is to let you know I will be taking part in Nanowrimo this year, so my posting to this blog may (read as will definitely) grow a little lax. Feel free to chart my progress with me at the associated blog BarbaraLBates.com/POLAD

 

Or use the link marked Barbaras Writing to get there.

 

The POLAD stands for Passages of Light and

Darkness and is where I’ll be posting my writing, and publishing attempts. If you’re interested stop on over. And though this month posting will be sparse, I’ll be back in December. Take care.