spark new thinking!

As I spend most of my day writing today, this help...

2010-07-15T07:05:26.015-07:00

As I spend most of my day writing today, this helped kick start. This famous story relates perfectly to what I'm working on: STOP Meeting Expectations - create impact!

It's these small moments such as these where subconscious decisions, seemingly small or insignificant actions, or simply words of praise can have more impact than you will ever realize. Even if it's just to that one person...or one starfish.

My challenge to your readers: What's the one thing they can do today that can have exponential results in terms of impact? What's their starfish?

Maybe:
- Breakfast with your children? (not just reading the paper and glancing at them)
- Making the one extra sales call that you've been a bit anxious about doing
- Calling the friend/family that needs to be heard or needs a hand.

Opportunities are endless. We simply need to open our eyes to see the bigger picture and realize they are there.

What's your starfish Mark?

Thanks Mark! Enjoyed the quote and hope your reade...

2010-07-15T06:48:21.068-07:00

Thanks Mark!
Enjoyed the quote and hope your readers enjoyed a laugh and a touch of magic. As a motivational speaker and magician I get this two times over. (1) People think...Oh - YOU are going to Motivate ME!? and (2) YOU think you are going to fool and entertain ME!?
And you're right. I have 5% of the audience who sit cross armed and start disengaged....but little by little, we get them engaged.
As stereotypical as this seems and reads, it's THOSE people who come talk to me after the keynote and say how much they enjoyed it.
It's these people who need to open up the most and they are certainly different people when they do.

My best to all your staff and fan base. Keep up the exceptional work Mark as I always enjoy reading.

Hey, congrats on filling the old journal! I thorou...

2010-06-30T12:01:01.309-07:00

Hey, congrats on filling the old journal! I thoroughly enjoyed your entry on being exceptional. Good, thought-provoking and entertaining reading.

An exceptional thought Mr. Henson.

2010-06-30T08:52:25.670-07:00

An exceptional thought Mr. Henson.

Mark: Loved your article on the clothes shoot (c...

2010-06-11T08:55:06.731-07:00

Mark: Loved your article on the clothes shoot (chute) and relating it to your inbox. Hopefully, you might remember me from previous meetings and emails, but I have been a Time Management Consultant locally for the last sixteen years. Your approach to your inbox is what I refer to as the Four D’s of desk management, and it does apply to your “snail” mail as well as your email. Options that you have are:

1) Discard it – not important than why keep it?
2) Do it immediately – things that can be done in a matter of a couple of minutes should just be done NOW
3) Delegate it – I love that one because it frees up my time to work on more important matters
4) Defer it or Decide when to do it – needs to be done by me, but not right now. Then decide when to do it and put it in your planning system i.e. your paper based planner, Microsoft Outlook, Lotus Notes, Blackberry, Smart Phone, etc. Let your system remind you when to take action and don’t leave them in you inbox or on your desk as a reminder to take action. Create folders to store emails (not your Inbox) and also for those pieces of paper (don’t leave them on your desk as a reminder).

I always like to add a fifth D – that is Discipline because it does take Discipline to practice the four D’s. I love David Allen’s book also, but your readers could also attend my workshop in Dublin (or at their company). I also provide personal one on one coaching at THEIR desk as part of my training, and we will help them clean that desk and inbox if they haven’t done it after the workshop. After reading a book, you have to take the action. After my training, I beat you up until you take action !!!

Let me know if I can help in any way. Love your newsletters and look forward to them all the time. (I have an Outlook folder where I store your emails for future reference.)

PS I recommend people for your training all the time and as a great place to rent for meetings. Keep up the good work.

Bob Cich
Priority Management
9269 Din Eidyn Drive
Dublin, OH 43017
(614) 799-9269 Fax: (614) 799-2920
web site: http://www.prioritymanagement.com/cms
speaker site: http://www.speakersite.com/profile/BobCich

** Offering the highest quality training and tools that increase productivity, effectiveness, and success.

I think you have put this brilliantly! It is so m...

2010-06-06T10:16:12.748-07:00

I think you have put this brilliantly! It is so much easier for so many of us to encourage others to excel but leave ourselves out of the mix. The best way to encourage others to give life the best we have is to be a good role model. Thanks for this great insight.

Mark, I must admit, I relate to the woman you desc...

2010-06-03T07:01:38.984-07:00

Mark, I must admit, I relate to the woman you described. I am so used to a lack of manners that when I see someone display out-of-their-way polite behavior, I'm shocked - especially if they are younger than me.

It is sad, but true, that the bar is set so low it's really easy to appear remarkable. It's also interesting to me that your description of great manners is the same description often used for providing value to others. I think without an understanding of good manners, you're never going to be successful providing value for others because you don't fundamentally understand that desire to help.

You've sparked a lot of thoughts for me with this one - thanks!

When my fiance and I moved last May, we decided to...

2010-04-25T18:17:34.343-07:00

When my fiance and I moved last May, we decided to NOT get cable or internet service for the summer. As scary as that sounded to me, it became the BEST summer of my life! I had MORE time to get things done and to simply relax. Not to mention, we actually had full-on conversations! I highly recommend unplugging to everyone, at least for the suggested 1 day per weekend.

Mark- I've recently done the same and it truly is ...

2010-04-20T09:56:18.850-07:00

Mark-
I've recently done the same and it truly is my day to "reset" for the week. I do still sneak notes on my iPhone for Monday. After you "get past the shakes!" it's very liberating.
Beth

Love this article, Mark. Forget growing up. I'm ...

2010-04-06T11:55:09.291-07:00

Love this article, Mark. Forget growing up. I'm growing down!

I second that

2010-03-12T08:40:44.620-08:00

I second that

Right on! You’ll have to imagine how passionate I...

2010-02-17T06:50:50.558-08:00

Right on! You’ll have to imagine how passionate I was about today’s feature since I am actually took the extra time to find an embedded link to e-mail you.

E-mail surveys have quickly gone the route of VHS video tape … outlived their relatively short-lived utility. In our hyper productive U.S.A. … where every one of us “working wounded” is dealing with 10 pounds of #/*%&@% in a 5 pound bag, who really has the time to respond to survey requests … even if it comes with a Twixt bar (my personal favorite). We, as working Americans, are routinely bombarded by electronic survey requests promising us everything from gift cards to chances to win the free pony. They hit our deleted box in record time. Why? Because we are “all” caught up in the productive craze demanding that we “all” do more with less … a.k.a. “ work smarter, not harder!” Less time spend thinking and reflecting … more time reacting … A sorry state of affairs in my opinion.

Did I actually spend 7 minutes thinking about and typing out this e-mail response ???

Don’t worry Mark … I love the Sparkspace features and will continue to invest the < 5 minutes required to enjoy and learn from them!

Dave Lovetro
EKA Chemicals

Hi, it's a very great blog. I could tell how much ...

2010-01-02T07:20:53.335-08:00

Hi, it's a very great blog.
I could tell how much efforts you've taken on it.
Keep doing!

I received this comment via email from a middle ma...

2009-11-30T06:50:06.935-08:00

I received this comment via email from a middle manager at a 600 branch bank. I'm posting it here with his permission:

Have to agree with you on the idea that the little things make a big difference. Stephen Covey put it much better than I could, "The struggle in life is not between good and bad. 95% of us have that mastered. It's really between good and great. And the difference is so slight." That isn't an exact quote, but I'm pretty close.

One industry that needs to listen to repeated customer requests more frequently is mine: the banking industry. We choose to have selective hearing frequently.

Case in point... overdraft fees. Customer outrage over overdraft fees and policies has gotten so bad that the government is now taking action. This summer, we will see legislation that will change the way we manage overdrafts and what kind of fees that can be charged. Had we bankers listened a little better to repeated customer requests for some kind of reasonable change to our overdraft policies, we wouldn't be in a state where we are being forced by the US Government to change our ways. There were some reasonable (and profitable) changes that could have been made proactively.

Do you know why customers leave a bank? Most of the time it is because of bad service. Coming in a close second is overdraft fees. I wonder how many of the "bad service" issues were the result of an overdraft fee?

So, like the way your good waiter notices accumulating straws, a good industry needs to notice accumulating customer complaints and respond accordingly.

Thanks again for the great newsletter.

I use this "straw service model" in conducting tra...

2009-11-29T13:52:36.336-08:00

I use this "straw service model" in conducting training sessions for my treasurers at OSU. Rather than express frustration in the things they continually leave out of their audits, or get stressed out when answering the same question for the umpteenth (it's an accounting term) time, I regularly rewrite my training materials to "pre-answer" their questions or resolve those most common mistakes.
As I start to see another round of funding requests and audits this year, it's apparent who listens at training, and that I'm providing a helpful service to my student customers.

Excellent piece! Good job!

2009-11-24T09:33:55.625-08:00

Excellent piece!

Good job!

You are right on the money with this! Slowing down...

2009-11-11T13:54:09.250-08:00

You are right on the money with this! Slowing down and making mindful decisions about what to allow into our day and what to turn away can be tough. Lower blood pressure, more time for family and a good night's sleep are just a few of the benefits of doing only what's important.

Excellent! Should be framed and hung in every bus...

2009-10-21T20:18:13.094-07:00

Excellent! Should be framed and hung in every business for all to see.

Here is the version I heard, attributed to Kent M....

2009-10-14T11:25:09.881-07:00

Here is the version I heard, attributed to Kent M. Keith (you're right, the concept is awesome):

People are illogical, unreasonable and self-centered (including me). Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest people with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the littlest people with the littlest ideas. Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs, but follow only top dogs. Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.

People really need help, but may attack you if you do help them. Help them anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you will get kicked in the teeth. Give the best you have anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway. -Kent M. Keith

Mark You might want to read "Jesus Did It Anyway -...

2009-10-14T09:21:59.935-07:00

Mark
You might want to read "Jesus Did It Anyway - The Paradoxical Commandments for Christians" byt Kent Keith. I purchased this book during a long layover in a boring airport a few years ago. It was originally written in 1968 and covers all of these "do it anyway" commandments and more. In his preface,the author talks about how when he found out Mother Teresa latched onto them, he created an updated version and you'd really love the stories he tells to bring them to life. There are business-related stories and more personal ones.

In late July, my husband and I spent a couple days...

2009-10-07T09:17:40.874-07:00

In late July, my husband and I spent a couple days in Wisconsin for a wedding (flew in on Thursday, flew out on Saturday). We rented a car to get from Madison to Lake Mills where the family had gathered for the ceremony. We did one of those gamble-for-a-great-deal deals on the rental car website. They assured us a mid-sized car, and, like you, we didn't care about the car. We just needed to get from point A to point B and back.

The car they gave us was a joke. A joke! It had no automatic door locks. We were totally laughing. I mean, it must cost the manufacturers extra to NOT install automatic door locks. (I'm not even talking about remote door locks, I'm talking about lock one, locks them all. Not on this car.)

Fortunately, nothing was stolen from the vehicle, but it didn't occur to us until sometime later that we ALSO needed to lock the hatch (using the key) everytime we left the car.

Hmm, should they have told us at the counter that the car they were giving us didn't have automatic door locks? Wouldn't that be a bait & switch? Maybe only rent cars that have minimum features, like auto door locks.

Thanks, Greg! Hope the idea works for Reflex, too!...

2009-10-07T07:51:19.365-07:00

Thanks, Greg! Hope the idea works for Reflex, too!.

And, yes, the rest of our trip was fantastic. September in Florida is perfect. Great weather and no crowds!

Great article, Mark. Our team was just discussing ...

2009-10-07T06:09:41.833-07:00

Great article, Mark. Our team was just discussing the opportunity to market our business with our "excess inventory", which could be any combination of time, talent, and personality.

The brands you encountered get this and are obviously doing everything they can to jumpstart a challenged vacation market. Good for them! They're certainly taking a page from what has made Zappos so cherished in their customers' eyes.

Hope the rest of your trip was just as enjoyable.

Greg T. Moss
Director, Account Services
Reflex Design & Technology

As always Mark, you leave me with many thoughts to...

2009-08-25T15:06:14.007-07:00

As always Mark, you leave me with many thoughts to ponder. My boy just started kindergarten today. Made me really stop and think about how well I am doing as a teacher, and a Dad. I have my dad here from FL today too. He got to see his first grandchild start kindergarten. Really special moment! Thanks again Mark. I am looking forward to your workshop in Sept. You are one of the few people I have no problem spending $ to learn from. You are truly a great motivator for me.

- Andrew

Great thought Mark! I'll have to have that.

2009-08-20T06:58:21.048-07:00

Great thought Mark! I'll have to have that.