Everything Happens For The Good
There was once a King who had a wise advisor. The advisor followed the King everywhere, and his favorite advice was, “Everything happens for the good”. One day the King went hunting and had a little accident. He shot an arrow at his own foot and was injured. He asked the advisor what he thought about the accident, to which the advisor replied, “Everything happens for the good”. This time the King was really upset and ordered for his advisor to be put in prison. The King asked his advisor, “Now, what do you think?” The advisor again replied, “Everything happens for the good”. So the advisor remained in prison.
The King later went on a hunting trip, this time without the advisor. The King was then captured by some cannibals. He was taken to the cannibals' camp where he was to be the evening meal for the cannibals. Before putting him into the cooking pot he was thoroughly inspected. The cannibals saw the wound on the King’s foot and decided to throw him back into the jungle. According to the cannibals' tradition, they would not eat anything that was imperfect. As a result the King was spared. The King suddenly realized what his advisor said was true. The advisor also escaped death because had he not been in prison, he would have followed the King on the hunting trip, and would have ended up in the cooking pot.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Walk the Talk
WALK THE TALK. LEADERS MUST BE EXAMPLES OF EXCELLENT SERVICE.
At a leading hotel in London, the General Manager spends one day every three months dressed in a bellman's uniform and doing the
bellman's job. Here's what happens:
1. The General Manager meets customers in a completely different way. He asks real questions, and gets honest answers. The bellman
hears a lot of unvarnished feedback that guests may be reluctant to share with the General Manager.
2. The General Manager gets a first hand taste of what it's like to work on the frontline. He wears the uniform, stands by the
door, carries the bags, and eats in the staff cafeteria. This first hand experience means small things that might irritate
staff get noticed quickly, and fixed quickly.
3. Most of all, the hundreds of other staff working in the hotel see their General Manager doing frontline work with dignity and
respect for the customers, and their colleagues. This respect is returned with a shared dedication to providing superior service.
At a leading hotel in London, the General Manager spends one day every three months dressed in a bellman's uniform and doing the
bellman's job. Here's what happens:
1. The General Manager meets customers in a completely different way. He asks real questions, and gets honest answers. The bellman
hears a lot of unvarnished feedback that guests may be reluctant to share with the General Manager.
2. The General Manager gets a first hand taste of what it's like to work on the frontline. He wears the uniform, stands by the
door, carries the bags, and eats in the staff cafeteria. This first hand experience means small things that might irritate
staff get noticed quickly, and fixed quickly.
3. Most of all, the hundreds of other staff working in the hotel see their General Manager doing frontline work with dignity and
respect for the customers, and their colleagues. This respect is returned with a shared dedication to providing superior service.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Effective Listening
Effective Listening
Highly successful people tend to be excellent listeners.
On the other hand, people who struggle in life tend to be so wrapped up in their own 'story' they can't really hear what is available for them.
Effective listeners have developed the ability to temporarily let go of their history, beliefs, assumptions, expectations, wants, needs, and desires in order to be open to new information and ideas. They, of course, don't change their opinions just because some new data shows up, but they are open to receiving it.
Listening is an important attribute of being open.
Their model is listen, receive, evaluate, move forward.
But people who must have their present and future be a certain way take those needs into every conversation. You know what it's like to talk with someone who's 'mind is already made up.' They are not effective listeners. And you have probably found them to be not very happy, satisfied, comfortable with life, nor fun to be around.
Highly successful people tend to be excellent listeners.
On the other hand, people who struggle in life tend to be so wrapped up in their own 'story' they can't really hear what is available for them.
Effective listeners have developed the ability to temporarily let go of their history, beliefs, assumptions, expectations, wants, needs, and desires in order to be open to new information and ideas. They, of course, don't change their opinions just because some new data shows up, but they are open to receiving it.
Listening is an important attribute of being open.
Their model is listen, receive, evaluate, move forward.
But people who must have their present and future be a certain way take those needs into every conversation. You know what it's like to talk with someone who's 'mind is already made up.' They are not effective listeners. And you have probably found them to be not very happy, satisfied, comfortable with life, nor fun to be around.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Real Obstacle to success
"You are the only real obstacle in your path to a fulfilling life." Les Brown
Life is truly a blessing. Each dawning day provides a brand new opportunity to make the most of the talents you have been given. But squeezing all the good you can out of each and every day requires that you get proficient at overcoming the obstacles encountered daily. And that means getting very good at getting over anything and everything that stands in your way.
Yet, in spite of all the difficulties you must hurdle, many of which can be real doozies on occasion, there’s an even bigger barrier that must be conquered. And believe it or not, that barrier is YOU. That’s right, sometimes getting out of your own way presents the biggest stumbling block you’ll ever face.
Life is truly a blessing. Each dawning day provides a brand new opportunity to make the most of the talents you have been given. But squeezing all the good you can out of each and every day requires that you get proficient at overcoming the obstacles encountered daily. And that means getting very good at getting over anything and everything that stands in your way.
Yet, in spite of all the difficulties you must hurdle, many of which can be real doozies on occasion, there’s an even bigger barrier that must be conquered. And believe it or not, that barrier is YOU. That’s right, sometimes getting out of your own way presents the biggest stumbling block you’ll ever face.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Making A Diffference
The Dash: Making a Difference with Your Lifeby Linda Ellis and Mac Anderson
From the Chapter titled: Feelings
I had just experienced a pleasant flight from New York back to Chicago on United Airlines. It was one of those days where almost everything had gone right. That’s until I exited the tram to the airport’s economy parking lot and realized that I had lost my wallet on my homeward journey. Throughout the drive home I mentally started retracing my steps. Once home, I placed calls to the “lost-and-found” at O’Hare, United, NY-LaGuardia and the TSA security in New York.
At that late night hour I got recordings, so I left each a detailed message. I then retired to bed knowing I had done all I could do. I fell asleep thinking of the hassle of replacing everything in the wallet.
The next morning, I had been up for less than an hour when a man called. Bob identified himself with United Airlines, and his question was music to my ears – “Mr. Blumberg, are you missing a wallet?” Relieved and grateful, I responded, YES! I thanked him for returning my call to United’s lost-and-found. But he didn’t know about that call. He wasn’t with the lost-and-found – nor was it his job to personally follow-up with passengers leaving their stuff on the airplane. He was the night mechanic who had simply found the wallet on my assigned seat.
Realizing my phone number was not anywhere in my wallet, I immediately appreciated his extra effort of tracking down my home phone number. But that effort was only the beginning of what I was about to experience.Bob had waited the night to call, assuming I would be sleeping. He told me that he was leaving work at 7:00 a.m. He wanted to know if I would be home so he could deliver my wallet to my house on his way home.
After talking logistics for a minute, I realized that he was going over an hour out of his way. But he insisted. I finally got him to agree that I would immediately leave and meet him in a direction near his home. For the next 45 minutes, we both drove towards a common meeting place. We finally met in the parking lot of a commercial building.
As I got out of my car to meet this stranger-turned-hero, I introduced myself to Bob. He sported his heavy United Airlines uniform coat made necessary by the cold December morning. He greeted me with a big smile and handed me my wallet. I pulled some cash from my pocket to give him a sizable tip for all his efforts. As I reached to hand him the cash, he didn’t miss a beat.
He simply responded, “Absolutely not!”Bob continued, “I have lost my wallet before and I know it is a hassle. I am just glad that I could get it back to you. Feeling the need to somehow respond to his kindness, I offered the tip a couple more times. But he was not budging. Realizing the tip minimized his graciousness, I just smiled and said, “I guess I will just have to pay-it-forward to someone else.” He smiled, “That would be great.
” You see, Bob went the extra mile…and then some. He didn’t do it for gain; he did it simply because it’s who he is.
The true meaning of life is to plant trees under whose shade you do not expect to sit. ~ Nelson Henderson
From the Chapter titled: Feelings
I had just experienced a pleasant flight from New York back to Chicago on United Airlines. It was one of those days where almost everything had gone right. That’s until I exited the tram to the airport’s economy parking lot and realized that I had lost my wallet on my homeward journey. Throughout the drive home I mentally started retracing my steps. Once home, I placed calls to the “lost-and-found” at O’Hare, United, NY-LaGuardia and the TSA security in New York.
At that late night hour I got recordings, so I left each a detailed message. I then retired to bed knowing I had done all I could do. I fell asleep thinking of the hassle of replacing everything in the wallet.
The next morning, I had been up for less than an hour when a man called. Bob identified himself with United Airlines, and his question was music to my ears – “Mr. Blumberg, are you missing a wallet?” Relieved and grateful, I responded, YES! I thanked him for returning my call to United’s lost-and-found. But he didn’t know about that call. He wasn’t with the lost-and-found – nor was it his job to personally follow-up with passengers leaving their stuff on the airplane. He was the night mechanic who had simply found the wallet on my assigned seat.
Realizing my phone number was not anywhere in my wallet, I immediately appreciated his extra effort of tracking down my home phone number. But that effort was only the beginning of what I was about to experience.Bob had waited the night to call, assuming I would be sleeping. He told me that he was leaving work at 7:00 a.m. He wanted to know if I would be home so he could deliver my wallet to my house on his way home.
After talking logistics for a minute, I realized that he was going over an hour out of his way. But he insisted. I finally got him to agree that I would immediately leave and meet him in a direction near his home. For the next 45 minutes, we both drove towards a common meeting place. We finally met in the parking lot of a commercial building.
As I got out of my car to meet this stranger-turned-hero, I introduced myself to Bob. He sported his heavy United Airlines uniform coat made necessary by the cold December morning. He greeted me with a big smile and handed me my wallet. I pulled some cash from my pocket to give him a sizable tip for all his efforts. As I reached to hand him the cash, he didn’t miss a beat.
He simply responded, “Absolutely not!”Bob continued, “I have lost my wallet before and I know it is a hassle. I am just glad that I could get it back to you. Feeling the need to somehow respond to his kindness, I offered the tip a couple more times. But he was not budging. Realizing the tip minimized his graciousness, I just smiled and said, “I guess I will just have to pay-it-forward to someone else.” He smiled, “That would be great.
” You see, Bob went the extra mile…and then some. He didn’t do it for gain; he did it simply because it’s who he is.
The true meaning of life is to plant trees under whose shade you do not expect to sit. ~ Nelson Henderson
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