Memorial Day - A Day To Remember!

Good Morning Everybody,

Is everyone ready to Paaarrrrtyyyy today?

You know, Memorial Day weekends are a big deal for most Americans.  Lots of us have an extra long weekend to enjoy with family and friends. For many, it's party time with plenty of hotdogs, hamburgers, soft drinks and beer.  For many others, it's heading to the beach for some fun in the sun. And for others, it may be a mini vacation just down the road with family. 

However you enjoy this weekend with your family and friends, soak up every minute of it. Let this weekend be an extra special weekend for you.  Feel the love of family, friends and let those warm feelings surround you on this day. 

The feelings you will feel today might even be called "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Justice".  It's those historic words that have steered America to becoming the great country it is. It is because of those historic words that we can enjoy the dogs and burgers on this very celebratory weekend.

To many of us set aside the "rest of the story" of the meaning of this day as we celebrate this weekend. Please consider this for just a brief second or two. Too many people in the world are not where you are on this day.  80% of the world is suffering poverty, war, and calamity.  Do you feel special and lucky to be living in America?  I sure do!

Yes, many of us have it pretty good in our USA even if we have to yet to achieve our ideal work status, income or status we can be very thankful for that.  But thankful mostly, of course, for the men and women in our armed services that have been protecting our liberties since 1776.

Over 1,000,000 service men and women have died over these 234 years protecting and defending our freedoms. That's a lot of  sacrifice from a lot of duty bound Americans and their families over these many years. 

This year, please take a few minutes to remember them.  No more than that, call for a few moments of silence at your picnic, party, or holiday festivities so that everyone gathered with you can honor the ongoing sacrifices of our service men and women and their families around the world.  It is the magnitude of their sacrifices they have endured and continue to endure that allows the rest of us the freedom to enjoy that burger on the grill today.

It only takes a minute to remember, so please take the minute and remember today.

-David

Are You A Leader or a Boss

I know what many of you are thinking out there - "Hey, Ziser, I'm a one or two person operation. I'm the leader, my wife's the boss." Wait wait, just joking - no emails please. Here is the reality. Even in a very small organization, we still need to strive to be leaders because those leadership skills play a bigger role in our success as we interact with all those around us - customers, vendors, employees, potential clients.

Remember growing up? Heck, just look at your kids if you are so blessed - they all want to be the boss. Isn't that what "sibling rivalry" is all about. As we grew up we found that being the boss never got much accomplished, but developing the leadership skills of coaching, problem-solving, delegating, leading by example, etc. is what makes a good leader and more importantly, helps you build your business. White Stag Leadership Development has quite a bit of info on leadership right here.

Here is their listing of their 11 Skills of Leadership;
Getting and Giving Information
Understanding Group Needs and Characteristics
Knowing and Understanding Group Resources
Controlling the Group
Counseling
Setting the Example
Representing the Group
Problem-Solving
Evaluation
Sharing Leadership
Manager of Learning

Jeff Gitomer is a terrific sales trainer too. I get his newsletter every week. Check out his article, "Are You A Leader Or A Boss" right here. OK, I know I not talking to the the next president of IBM (or maybe I am), but the point is this - it's about how we interact with others that reflects our leadership potential - read; business success.