Three Kinds of People - Which One Are You?

I had dinner with a good friend of mine the other night and we were talking about goal setting and employees we have had over the years and how they are so different from one another. Don't get me wrong; I wouldn't want everyone's personalities to be exactly the same because if they were, the world wouldn't be quite as interesting.

However, when you are running a department or a company you really want to have "A" people working with you and I don't mean "Type A" personalities. I mean people who are sharp, have good work ethic, want to produce outstanding results and care about what they do and how they do it with a focus on doing things right the first time.  

During our discussion, my friend said, "You know, I've always said there are three kinds of people in this world". I was curious to know what they were and here's what he told me.

1. People that watch things happen
2. People that make things happen
3. People that wonder what just happened

If you think about it, there's a lot of truth to this. Probably everyone we know including ourselves would fit in one of these three categories. Which category do you fit into and is that where you want to be? If it isn't, tomorrow is the beginning of the New Year so why not set some goals for yourself to become the person, the employee, the business owner that you want to be? You'll be glad you did.

Goal Setting for 2010 - Excited or Dreading It?

This is the time of the year when people reflect on the current year looking at what goals they accomplished and what goals they didn't accomplish and how 2009 was in general. Was it better or worse than they anticipated?

Then we put the year behind us and start focusing on the New Year ahead of us. How do I want 2010 to be? What are the goals I want to set both personally and professionally? How can I reach my goals and stay on track and not lose focus?

The gyms will be crowded in January and start fading out in February because people make "New Years Resolutions" to lose weight, to find a new job, to get a promotion, to have a better year than the year before but the New Years resolution is many times short lived. Why? Because the majority of people do not write down their goals, review them often or say affirmations. All of these steps are so important in being able to accomplish your goals.

If you write down your goals, review them often and say your affirmations you will be reminding yourself daily what it is you want to accomplish and what you need to do to make it happen. The Pink Ladders Task Manager can help you stay on track and focused throughout the year. Then when you reflect on 2010 before moving into 2011 - you can open your Task Manager and see all the progress you've made and the goals you've completed. What a great feeling of accomplishment that will be.

For more information on the Task Manager visit http://www.pinkladderstaskmanager.com/.

Is It Worth All The Worry?

I was recently talking to an older woman who has been at her job in retail for four years. For the past three years she has been a department manager working on average 60 hours per week which leaves very little time for her to really enjoy life especially in her later years. She loves to garden and read but rarely gets enough time to think about the pleasure it would bring, let alone actually find time to do it and enjoy it.

Her company was bought out several months ago and management at the corporate office is making changes and announced that come January there will be some re-organization of the stores and job responsibilities. She is very nervous that a) she will lose her job completely and then would have a difficult time finding another one at the age of almost 70 or b) will be asked to step down as manager even though she is a great employee.

She fears both scenarios and is constantly trying to anticipate what the changes will be, how they will affect her, worrying about finding another job, how will she make ends meet, will they cut her pay or lay her off? As with anyone who knows changes are coming that could affect their livelihood - she worries and frets about it, but is she worrying too much about something she has no control over?

There is nothing she can do to change the outcome of a re-organization of a company nor her age, but she can continue to do her best at the job she currently has as she patiently or impatiently awaits the news. Once the news is received that she will either be laid off or will no longer be a manager but a sales clerk in the store - then and only then will she be able to accept (maybe at first with anger followed by more worry) the changes and make the necessary adjustments in her life to deal with her new situation.

"My Assistant - It's Almost Worth Not Having One"

Over the weekend I watched the movie, Julie and Julia, the story about Julia Child's life and how she became a chef and household name in the US and a woman named Julie who decided to blog while making all of Julia Child's recipes in her book. There was one part of the movie in the beginning where four female friends were having lunch and one of them was on the phone with her assistant giving her instructions on what to do while she was out of the office. After hanging up she said, "My assistant - it's almost worth not having one".

I have to admit I did laugh at her comment because I can certainly relate. A good assistant can make your life so much easier and an incompetent one can be very frustrating. When they anticipate your needs, follow instructions, get things done on time and correctly , need very little direction and can think on their own and be proactive - then they are a godsend. After all, isn't that what their job is - to assist? Webster's dictionary defines 'assistant' as a person who assists - helper.

I have been fortunate to have wonderful assistants that made my life easier and really did 'assist' me and made things run smoother. On the other hand, I have had assistants where it really was 'almost worth not having one'. I end up re-doing their work because no matter how many times I may explain how a project should look or be handled, they do not follow instructions, do not anticipate my needs and only do the bare minimum. So, I end of doing it myself because I know it will get done right and with less frustration. Of course these assistants do not remain my assistant for too long. A good assistant on the other hand is invaluable but not easily found. If you have a good assistant - hang on to him/her and show your appreciation for what they do. Trust me, they are not a dime a dozen.

customrags to hard.wear

I recently had dinner and wine (of course) with a friend of mine that I had not seen for almost a year. It was great getting together and catching up on our personal and professional lives and talking about how business was going for one another. Debe Dohrer owns and operates a custom clothier business with clients primarily consisting of CEO's, attorney's, executives and NFL players and coaches. She is an extremely talented woman and is sought after by many people. But for the first time in the history of her company, customrags, although doing very well has seen some customers cut back on their purchases of custom clothing.

So instead of sitting back and doing nothing or just waiting for business to pick up on its own, she decided to take a class on jewelry making and started selling her unique designs in boutique stores and to individuals. The business has taken off and not only is she doing well with customrags, but also with hard.wear jewelry. All the jewelry is hand-made and finished with Debe's personal touch of creativity. One of her many unique creations is seen in the picture below.

We all have a choice to make everyday; to be optimistic and make opportunities for ourselves or have a negative attitude and complain about how things are going. In today's economy with so many people out of a job and business slowing because people aren't spending as much - it would be so easy to just complain about it and wait for the economy to pick up. Or we can accept the fact that things are slow right now and make  opportunities for ourselves that will bring in new business, new ideas, and a new adventure in our lives just as Debe did.

If you would like to see more of her designs - you may contact Debe through her customrags website. She would love to hear from you.