Watching the US Airways Flight #1549 land in the Hudson River  really put many things into perspective. I will not freak out when I write my checks to the IRS today, I will remain cool under fire, I will do the very best that I can do under threatening circumstances. When you watch the video, remain calm, it is an amazing story of a Captain … [Read more...]

As the saying goes 'Talk is Cheap' you have to act in order to make changes in your life, home and business. This video demonstrates the power of acting rather than talking, one little step at a time. That action could be answering the phone differently, having staff meetings, implementing new systems and trying something different. Anyway, I liked … [Read more...]

Many years ago, I had a rep come to me and ask how he could get to be a manager. I told him he has to lead by example- no whining, no gossiping, strong work ethic, get organized and he really needed to work on his communication skills- basically he had to grow up and act like an adult and start to learn new skills. If you are already a manager … [Read more...]

You would think that with 2 laptops, 2 phones and 1 camera, we would have been prepared for any eventuality. Who would have thought that all our technical devices would have 'broken' down at the same time- and we had no Plan B. Fortunately it wasn't a disaster or life threatening- but it made me realize, we must be prepared for Plan B at all … [Read more...]

I recently read an article about "time suckers" which was about time wasting activities. I was surprised at how I had managed to fall into some of these. I work out of a home office alone rather than a office building or practice with other people but everything below applies for most situations. Time in the optical workplace is constant and … [Read more...]

We know it's tough out there, and one of the hardest things you have to do is to keep your employees up and motivated to deliver a positive customer experience. The reality is- if the employee is unhappy- they transmit that unhappiness to the customer- the customer transmits that unhappiness to others- you lose patients and referrals and then … [Read more...]

This was my Saturday morning laugh! Shirley was not laughing- Here she is making her infamous Trifle for a dinner party! But I love her facial expression. How do you deal with trifling things? Here are the questions, I always ask myself and others: Is this a life threatening situation? Is this important in the scheme of life? Is this … [Read more...]

The other day at the dermalogist, the staff sat there on a personal phone call, at the 7-11 the clerk ignored me while on a personal phone call. As a consumer- I hate that- we pay higher prices due to lost productively, as a manager- it annoys me to no end that my staff is conducting personal business on my dime. Eye Bogglers The Boston … [Read more...]

Understandably, it seems most of us are focused on one subject these days – the current tough economic times. But as our leaders and financial experts’ debate solutions, this may be a good time for the rest of us to step back and examine the guiding principals by which we lead our lives. Unlike the economic crisis, over which we individually … [Read more...]

Shirley and I were discussing the other day, how we just can't seem to get our daily lists completed. We need to reorganize and prioritize better our daily activities. Does this happen to you? It's a great thing, to be busy, but if we fall behind and things fall through the cracks, we lose money, lose time, and become totally stressed out! I think … [Read more...]

  Research shows there is a direct correlations between productivity and clutter. The more clutter, the more chaos, the less productivity and profits. The National Association of Professional Organization states that paper clutter is the No. 1 problem for most businesses.  The average person wastes 4.3 hours per week searching for … [Read more...]

Email, VoiceMail, Texting, Cell Phone- we are just inundated with communication. One of my pet peeves is long rambling- no get to the point emails. I don't know about you, but sometimes it seems that people would rather email or text rather than just picking up the phone to get a quick answer.  That said- Here is some Do's and Don'ts of Email … [Read more...]