July 2000 Newsletter

Summer's Here!!

"Summer's here, that suits me fine, It may rain today but I don't mind, It's my favorite time of the year, And I'm glad that it's here."
- James Taylor

I love that song, and I love summer, too.

Last winter, I was putting in some marathon hours on a pretty regular basis. The weather was bad and the skies were ugly, so I promised myself that when summer came I would take some time off during the week to do some of the things I was dreaming about. Take the kids fishing for a few hours, sneak out and play golf with some collector buddies or just go home and grab a beer and sit in the sun and talk to my wife, Marti. After all, look at the hours I'm putting in, I should be able to bank just a few to slip away without feeling like a kid skipping school praying not to get caught.

A few years ago, I befriended a couple of Germans on vacation here in the states. I learned that in most European countries the work force takes, and in some cases is required to take, six to ten weeks off each year. They qualified it by saying it makes for a more productive worker. Lazy Europeans . . . I thought. How could that much time be taken off and it possibly not effect the efficiency of the company? They were just trying to smokescreen the issue. Lazy Europeans.

What brings up this whole issue is a recent conversation with an executive at a hospital. He told me with great enthusiasm, and a twinkle in his eye, how he took the day before off. "What did you do?" I queried. "I did some chores around the house that I had been putting off for way too long, like sharpening the mower blades. You know, that kind of stuff." Not the answer I was expecting. He was just so pleased he took care of those nagging little things he had been putting off for so long, it inspired me.

So, if you think this month's article is a little short, maybe not as good as some of the others, you're right. You see, I'm in a bit of a hurry. A hurry to get the article done because I'm . . . shhhhh . . . sneaking out early and taking a few hours to goof off. I suggest you try it sometime, too.

"Summer's here, I'm for that, Got my rubber sandals got my straw hat, Got my cold beer, man I'm glad that it's here." - James Taylor

Bob Barden
President

Ask and You Shall Receive

To complete a high school class project, Apple Computer co-founder Steve Jobs had to build a frequency counter to measure the speed of electronic impulses. Jobs couldn't afford to buy the parts he needed, so he spoke directly to Hewlett-Packard President Bill Hewlett in California to ask if the company had any spare parts lying around. Hewlett was so impressed by Jobs' self-confidence that he arranged an apprentice position for him in one of his factories the following summer.

This theory can be applied to many areas in life. Including when it comes time to collect money from people who owe you. We routinely hear how medical offices will tell their patients, "No need to pay now, we'll just bill you." We even caught one of our very own clients, who had attended our seminars and knew better, asking one of our employees, "Do you want us to bill you?" This is a huge mistake. Always ask for and expect to receive the money you work so hard for. I don't recall ever going to the grocery store, loading up on $200 worth of groceries, getting them all totaled up, bagged and back into my cart then saying, "I'll send you a check next month!" What about you?

Deb Hundersmarck
Client Consultant

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