Wake up call

Edition 66 Monday November 8th  2010

Hi , A Big time wake up call…..heralded the start of my weekend as I failed a routine check point breath test on Friday night !!!. My heart was in my mouth as I pulled over and had to undertake a second test which mercifully I passed !. A couple of beers is all it takes to put you into this zone especially if you don’t eat anything. Two messages from a relieved Jones boy ;

1)    If you are drinking, preferably, DON’T drive.

2)    If you have to drive either,drink low alcohol or make sure you only have one drink per hour and eat something substantial during the event!!

A timely reminder as we hit the silly seaso and not something to keep up with the Joneses on !

I also caught up with some special friends ,hope you had a good one…..cheers Jonesey!!!.

Harry  the sober hound says Dad “Its not what you are drinking it is how you are drinking”. Also glad to survive the tension on the couch before the AB’s prevailed!

 

“Praise is like champagne; it should be served while it is still bubbling”  

Following the recent local music event I was so impressed with the confidence and talent of one of the performers that I sent a note of praise to her Headmaster …. I received the following reply;

“Thank you very much for your positive comments about one of our students. You are so right. She is a wonderful young woman and it gives you faith that our future is in good hands  when there are potential leaders like her in our High School community.

We are going through the selection process for our leaders at the moment and she is in contention for a leadership role.

It is great that you sent this e-mail to us because we see lots of young people like her but they do not get the publicity that others get. I personally believe that if the media reported the positives rather than the deficits, society would be better for that.”

WOW.receiving this feedback made me feel amazing and so glad I made the effort to pass on my 5 cents worth. Too often we blame and criticize when things go wrong but hesitate to praise the positive.

 Praise, either verbal or written provides the giver and receiver a feeling of satisfaction and recognition. Passing on genuine and ’bubbling’praise is easy but needs to be done as close to the event as possible for maximine effect .I challenge you all to look for and praise someone this week… GO ON !

“The worst mistake anyone can make is not to say ‘well done’  John Ashcroft

 

Promises

 

Edition 65 Monday November 1st  2010

Hi , I couldn’t have hoped for a better start to the weekend. I was lucky enough to get a ticket to the local café on Friday night to listen to some amazingly talented locals. The Kaipara College music group including students and teachers and a sprinkling of famous grandparents treated us to a groovy evening.  Inspirational , ambitious teens, remember when that was us?.

Unfortunately my weekend went steadily downhill from there after offering a shoulder for Maverick to cry on after his first domestic !. Then  watching as  Auckland  and then the mighty All Blacks were cruelly beaten in the last seconds !! From the high of Friday night to the lows of rugby hell !!, I know you cant win them all but hey two last minute losses !!!come on !. There is more to life they say but I am having trouble figuring out what whilst still deep in mourning.

The weekend finished on a high meeting some creative local trick or treaters and spending time with some neat friends. I hope you had a great Halloween weekend. Cheers Jonesey!

Harry  the “All Black “ hound was hiding under the cushions as the big game came down to the wire ! just when we needed him in the defensive line !! Arrrrrrggggggghhhhhhhh

 

“Never over promise or under deliver. Promises are like babies:they are fun to make , but sometimes very difficult to deliver” John Fenton

I am the consumate sales person, I cant help myself I get in the groove and sell all these wonderful features and benefits then have to PANIC about how I will deliver on the promise!! (know the feeling?). Or in other words I sell what I believe the company can deliver but then have to resell the deal three more times internally before I can actually get it to happen!(know that feeling too don’t you !!).

The secret to under promising and over delivering is communication and teamwork. I had a situation last week where I inherited a deal that had been started by someone else and that I had to tidy up and close!. The deal was headed for sales disaster given the high expectations that had been promised by the previous salesman . They were expectations that we were not capable of delivering. An honest and frank admission to the customer followed by a new set of delivery perameters that we knew our team could meet and actually exceed turned the situation around. Communicating and involving the team meant we didn’t have to sell the deal multiple times. Internalcommunication and teamwork =customer satisfaction.

“Communication is to (sales)relationships what breathing is to life” Virginia Satir

Comfort Zone Vs Feeling the Fear

 

Edition 64 Labour DayMonday October 25 th  2010

Hi , WOW, what a stunning weekend,three days and perfect weather,they don’t get any better. It was like Christmas holidays had come  two months early, the local beach and motorcamp were chokka , the only thing missing was the red flowers on the Pohutukawas, love summer!

Maverick had a weekend pass so on Saturday we invited the ‘Red Baron’ to join us and after plenty of  freedddooommm screams the three of us conquered the Coromandel loop. 450km plus in perfect riding conditions,what a buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…..,love riding (freeddooommm) !

Harry and I did the BBQ circuit each night of the weekend with family or friends, there is no better way to finish off a busy day in the sun than embellishing the days events over a few beers and a barbie (how fast did you go into that corner Mav!) love family and friends!.

I hope you all managed to find a peaceful place in the sun with the important people in your life to share good times that will become cherished memories………cheers Jonesey!!!.

Harry the BBQ hound is available to clean up your leftovers no function too big or small

 

“Your legacy should be that you made it better than it was when you got it” Lee Iacoca

Six months ago I stepped out of a comfort zone on a journey into the great unknown. There is no bigger challenge than feeling the fear but doing it anyway. I am sure you have all been there at some stage, feeling apprehensive and worried, but then backing yourself and nailing it….what a buzz, a natural high to overcome fear and prevail. THAT is what life is all about, I now find myself in that zone and enjoying the wild roller coaster ride.

We have grown from two employees to a dozen, acquired two companies and formed a JV with NZ’s largest Corporate in six months! Why?, because a bunch of people shared a vision and decided as a team to challenge industry conformance, apathy and arrogance . Simply put we wanted to follow Lee Iacoca’s advice above and make an industry and our environment better than it was when we got it.. to this end our new regional resource recovery facility opens tomorrow and represents an important first action step toward sustainable and environmentally responsible waste management.

Comfort Zone Vs Feeling the Fear…..I don’t plan to die wondering……how about you????

“If you want a place in the sun you must leave the shade of the family tree” Osage saying

Committed to Excellence

 

Edition 63 Monday October 18th  2010

Hi ,what a mess,  it looked like a gaggle of angry geese had attacked me in the bedroom, or the aftermath of a pillow fight of epic proportions, feathers and goose down everywhere!. The culprit was a ripped duvet liner and resulted in me spending  the weekend in relentless pursuit through the house of the elusive light weight stuffing !.

The weekend got off to a flying start with a classic Mikey Havoc  freedom call on Bfm. If you haven’t heard one or attempted one then you don’t know what you are missing. Take a couple of deep breaths, then let rip with the word free as you would normally then hold the DOM for as long and loud as you can,go on give it a go, great start to any day !! FreeDDDOOOMMMM.

I hope you got your share of freedom this weekend wherever and whatever exciting stuff you were up to afterall isn’t that what weekends are all about? ………..cheers Jonesey!!!.

Harry the slimline summer racing hound is the real deal, lightening quick and razor, sharp, beware all pretenders to the Muriwai throne! (before and after pics attached!). 

"Now I look just like Dad"

“The quality of a persons life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavour” Vincent T Lombardi

I met a guy at a networking function last week who is in charge of  a program called Kaizen at a large multi national company.  Kaizen is all about continuous improvement and I was interested to hear more about it as I know there are other companies using the same program successfully to focus their staff on personal and collective improvement.

It was a timely reminder for me that even if we dont have a program like this we do need to focus on continually improving our performance.  Complacency leads to arrogance and this can result in lost opportunities and eventually lead to a breakdown of business and personal relationships.

To improve you need feedback, don’t wait, ask for it, insist on it. How will you ever know what needs improving otherwise! In a recent example I was told I  swear a lot, something  I was concerned but grateful to find out and equally keen to do something about rectifying.

“If you don’t do it excellently, don’t do it at all. Because if its not excellent, it wont be profitable or fun,and if your not in business for fun or profit, what the hell are you doing there” Robert Townsend

What basket are your eggs in?

Edition 62 Monday October 11th  2010

Hi ,  it started off  harmlessly enough as a standard sideburn trim. However a couple of overcorrections later it become a complete #1 haircut!. What was I thinking?, not a lot obviously at the time but I have had no shortage of thoughts since….the most common one being “WHY did I do that”.  

They say there is only a week between a good one and a bad one but I think it would be safe to say  there will need to be 2 full weeks before ‘good’ is even on the horizon.

 Getting to #1, keeping up with the latest trends, and the Joneses just took on new meaning and got a bit more exciting!. What do you think?!

I hope your weekend was everything you hoped it would be if not more and that you got time to relax having some fun with family and friends,…….cheers Jonesey

Harry the dutiful hound is booked in on Tuesday to get to #1 with me but is having 2nd thoughts after seeing what the alpha male of the pack looks like after his ‘accident’!!!!

 

 “The sun,with all those planets revolving around it and dependent on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as if it had nothing else in the universe to do.” Galileo Galilei

‘Upbeat’ is focused on getting me off to a flying start on a Monday and that is great, I hope it also helps you to focus on doing the same. BUT a scary thing happened to me last week…..

I lost focus midweek, I got off to a honking start and things were going swimmingly and then for some reason I lost my way?. It felt like I was in a boat that had lost steerage  and I was floating around going nowhere in particular drifting with the tides and currents!.

If this happens to you don’t freak out you are not alone, I talk to people who experience this feeling regularly . The good news is that steerage can be restored easily and quickly by simply taking some time out to revisit your plan. This is another reinforcement of how important it is for each of us to have goals linked to a simple personal plan.

I was guilty of not having updated my plan lately and a number of my goals needed new priority ratings. Without priorities and urgency then the tide will take us all over the show….goals are the gudgeons our rudders are mounted on, without them we lose focus.

Focus…”Put all your eggs in one basket and watch that basket.” Mark Twain

Be sincere…be brief…be seated

Edition 61 Monday October 4th  2010

Hi ,  I have always loved the sound of my own voice and never had trouble talking ‘rubbish’ to whoever would listen !. After 20 years in the waste industry I guess I am as well qualified on that score as any one you will ever meet!!.

We all get put on the spot and often need to come up with something brilliant at short or no notice. I chaired a competition on Saturday that demonstrated why Toastmasters is so good for developing skills in this area. Interested?, of course you are then go to; www.toastmaster.org.nz and find out how to get those butterflies flying in formation….I dare you to keep up with and maybe ahead of the Jones boy.

Loved the weekend, even squeezed in a “freedom” mad dash on the Suzuki minus wingman Maverick who is still in love, a family working bee and far too much rocket choc0late whisky cake!!.. I hope you had a cool, fun weekend with family and friends…….cheers Jonesey

Harry the impromtu hound has perfected the art of faking starvation at functions !

 

My father gave me these hints on speech-making: “Be sincere…be brief…be seated.” James Roosevelt

Continuing with the toastmasters theme this week I firmly believe that our success in this world is largely goverened by how effectively we communicate with others.  By others I mean family, friends , work colleagues and customers but extends much further to anyone you have the occasion to meet or form a business or private relationship with .

Every contact is an opportunity to impress, enhance, and impact another person and subsequently influence an outcome positive or negative. We have talked before about the importance of networking and about developing a brief but powerful introduction that endears and markets you and your brand (YOU), this has never been more important!.

Most people fear speaking in public , some more than death or even shark attack !!! crikey!, wouldn’t you rather develop your basic communication skills than be dead or encounter  a Great White at the local beach?!.  My challenge this week is to stay alive and on dry land and to visit www.toastmasters.org.nz to find out why for 86 years toastmaster clubs have been assisting people like you and I to overcome our fear of public speaking. Dare you!

“Its all right to have butterflies in your stomach. Just get them to fly in formation”

Eager Beaver and Maverick

 

Edition 60 Monday September 27th  2010

Hi ,  I love weekends, daylight saving and sun !, add  some quality footy on the box, helping friends and  family and the compulsory weekend fitness camp program and our weekend had it all. Don’t you agree that it’s lifes simple pleasures that make it so GOOD!.

The new Jones buoy (see attached) salvaged last weekend hasn’t moved far however in a significant development the marine vegetation attached to it has begun to decompose noticeably….ever get that “this is not going to end well” feeling, hmmmmm.. me too. L

I gave the house a bit of a clean (and a fright) , it was  a mission and as us guys know a mans work is never done but you know what??....it felt good to have it all done for another year !!! J. I hope you all had a fun weekend with family and friends as well…….cheers Jonesey

Harry the ‘hot’ hound is looking forward to his cool #1 shave for summer he figures when you are hot you are hot but when you are shaved you are #1 with the coast girls!.  

 

“Its what you learn after you know it all that counts” John Wooden

Last week I was lucky enough to be involved in the Contact Centre Industry of New Zealand  conference at Sky City. The event featured the inaugural CCiNZ awards incorporated into the glitzy glam  gala CRM awards evening the same night . What a night of deserved recognition it was for front line contact centre staff and do they know how to scream and party!!!.

I was blown away by the quality and experience of the presenters and the enthusiasm of  the diverse range of attendees from a multitude of industry sectors. I was also amazed at the technical advancements in this industry and the vast amount of training and measurement tools available from a number of professional suppliers who have geared themselves up to focus on serving this dynamic industry….cutting edge personified !!

What a great bunch of people I met all willing to share their successes and their challenges with each other to continually improve their businesses . It was a huge buzz to be involved and to have the opportunity to network and learn more about this exciting vibrant industry.

I got so much out of this experience that I urge you all to seek and seize opportunities to network and learn everything you can to broaden your horizons and increase your net worth!.

“ Do more than expected, be an eager beaver, a maverick, always reach” Lee Iacocca

What IS that in my back yard?

Edition 59 Monday September 20th  2010

Hi , what a crazy weather weekend, no where more so than the wild west coast. The repeated warnings to stay away guaranteed a record turnout of ‘rubber necks’ at our local beach !. I love heading to the coast when there is a storm there is something about witnessing the power and fury of  nature unleashing that is both fascinating and scary rolled in to one. Harry the rescue hound and I found and retrieved some beach treasure in the form of  a giant black plastic buoy from a mussel farm or trawler  washed ashore in the storm (exciting stuff).

After lugging it home and spending the rest of the weekend suffering from the exertion of doing so we are at a loss as to what to do with the  monstrosity now dominating our back yard,hmm  why did we do that?,seemed like a good idea at the time… the Jones hoarder collector trait takes control and before you know it another treasure in the collection !!

I hope you all had an equally adventurous but hopefully restful weekend Cheers Jonesey

Harry the salvage hound reckons beach treasure is overrated justgive him juicy bones!

 

“The more I do the more I eat and sleep” Harry the Jones hound.

After this weekend I feel absolutely shagged and there is no one to blame but me (I hate it when that happens as blaming others is far easier !). I took on far too much, stretched myself too thin and ended up totally exhausted with too little sleep or rest.

Sound familiar? Its all very well having goals and objectives linked into plans but as mentioned last week we need to build time into our plans and our busy lives for us. This means allowing for a decent amount of sleep and some time out for rest and relaxation. When I examine my program from the weekend these two components were sadly lacking no wonder I feel shagged !. Not the best start for the working week for me or my employer!.

I watched Deaker on sport with interest the other night as he interviewed Ritchie McCaw and two of the All Black ‘conditioning’ support team. There is a huge emphasis on ‘recovery’ from game and training exertion involving a lot of rest, stretching and focus on nutrition. All injured players abstain from any alcohol intake and others only drink occasionally because of the negative effect on recovery and health in general. Some real lessons there CJ take note, I think we all need to take a leaf from Harry and Boris on the R&R subject……don’t you !! Good luck.

‘The less I do the more I eat and sleep in my favorite sunny spot” Boris Jones the cat

What road are you on?

 

Edition 58 Monday September 13th  2010…….late edition

Hi , sorry for the publishing delay but I was lucky enough to spend an amazing weekend in Sydney that started first thing Friday and only ended late this afternoon!. I was on a long overdue visit to my son Mark and supporting the mighty All Blacks live on Saturday night.

I don’t do stuff like this often enough and can always find lots of excuses why not  to but nothing that cant be overcome with some advanced planning. It was great to have a nice break from routine, enjoy the Sydney sun, watch another AB victory and most importantly catch up with family.

We all need a regular break, this trip has reinforced that need for me and demonstrated yet again the importance of ‘time out’ and family. Thanks to those who have made contact today looking for their ‘Upbeat’ infusion, as always I appreciate your support and friendship …I hope you all had a good weekend and are looking forward to a big week , Cheers Jonesey 

Harry the ‘All Black’ hound loved staying over with Kate and Oscar and cant wait to rip into the duty free grog and smokes whilst stepping out in the Armani hound cologne

 

We have all heard “Failure to plan is planning to fail” but how many of us have a plan?

To those that don’t, why?, and to those that do, how many of us have the plan committed to writing and how many are living the plan?

This weekend was a good time for me to reflect on my own plan, or lack of one to be more specific. You see I have written goals that I don’t check often enough but those goals are not linked to an actual plan of any description. It is important to have a roadmap if you are trying to get somewhere (ask any bloke), life and career are no different .

Having written goals and objectives is a good first step but they need to be linked to a plan. The plan needs to be split into three sections 1) short (0-12mths) 2)medium (1-3yrs) and long (3-5yrs). Your plans need to be fluid not fixed so they can be fine tuned, added to and deleted from, this was something I had some fun and enjoyment doing this weekend.

So this weeks challenge is to formulate your three plans, link your goals to your plans, know what you want and go after it. Be sure to allow for a regular break !!!. Good luck.

“If you don’t know where you are going, you will probably end up somewhere else”  

If not you? Then Who?

 

Edition 56 Monday August 30th  2010.

Hi , about the Dentist, I’m no hero so opted for as much pain killer as a human could bear , this unfortunately did not save my wallet….worse pain than child birth they (blokes) say !

I  had a busy weekend having dropped on to a ‘free’ source of demolition firewood. Spent most of the weekend loading and sawing it up which was exhausting, but, satisfying to fill the man shed with fuel. The fact that the winter is over and daylight saving and Spring are upon us is minor detail .There are also the smarter than you sorts who calculate the overall time cost of the ‘free’ stuff and inform you that for half the time and price you could have had some delivered but ………………its not the same!

I also spent some time sorting and displaying my rugby memorabilia in the man study. I had fun being transported back in time as I enjoyed reconnecting with stuff that had been stored for far too long . I hope you had a good weekend too…………… Cheers Jonesey 

Harry the firewood hound wanted to help but every time he thought about offering he lay down and waited for the urge to go away. A Dogs slumbering, snoring is never done.

 

“If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it, I know I can achieve it”. Napoleon Hill.

“Ok Mr ‘Upbeat’ what happens when you feel anything but on a Monday morning?”....Hmmm good question I thought as I was asked this recently . A fair and reasonable point especially in todays tough economic times or if things may not be going that well outside of work!

We talk a lot about ‘attitude’,’ self belief’ and ‘positivity’ each week and suggest some things you can do to assist you to stand out from those who react negatively to Monday rather than plan in advance to have a good start to their day and week. 

There is only one person responsible for your Monday and every other day you face and that is YOU. You are lucky because every day you get to choose your attitude, it is a simple 2 choice menu . You can choose to have a good day or you can choose to have a bad one but you must consciously make that choice.  If you don’t then you leave it to chance and chances are it will turn to custard just like the millions of others who do this daily ! So sales sizzzzzlers make the good day choice every day and differentiate yourself from the mediocre masses DO IT NOW!

“If not you, then who? If not now, when?    Hillel

Prima Dona man fuss

Edition 57 Monday September 6th  2010.

Hi , September is birthday central if you are part of the Jones clan. Counting inlaws and outlaws there are no fewer than six birthdays plus Fathers Day !. Good for those of us who are Fathers and have a September birthday too !

 Maverick Smith (Sept 1) and Retro Jones (Sept 3) assembled some family and good friends on Friday night for beer and pizza at the infamous HQ bar . It was a good night and reinforced how lucky we both  are to have such good people in our lives ( Is anything more important?) Yes M is still hopelessly in love , look out for the trumpet on Trademe ! Dear Mum Jones turns 80 years young on the 9^th so Joneses will be out in force for that one,  onya Mum.

What a rough weekend in the South Island, I know I am not known for my affection towards ‘mainlanders’ but my heart went out to all those affected by the quake and the plane crash. I know many of you have family and friends in the South so I hope all is ok.  Cheers Jonesey

Harry #1 hound celebrated fathers day by jumping on me in bed and slobbing my face . He then  shared some violent bone gas with me to ensure the day was truly memorable.

 

“Procrastination is the thief of time” Edward Young

I had been putting off doing something for months , the reason was a combination of  poor ‘time management’ and my ‘too hard’ perception . Then something random happened that meant I had no choice but to complete the task and I surprised myself how easily I did just that.I was left wondering what all my self doubt and prima dona man fuss was about.

Sound familiar? Yes all of us procrastinate from time to time, some more than others. The secret is to catch yourself doing it and snap yourself out of it. Mr Nike had a great battle cry “JUST DO IT” which is perfect to repeat when you feel yourself putting something off.

 So how do we develop a “make it happen “attitude and approach to every day?  Successful people are organised, focused, on time,prepared energetic and busy. If you want something done give it to a busy person and guess what , they wont complain they will ‘just do it’. Busy people make lists and prioritise tasks in the order of importance. These are things we all know but that we have to discipline ourselves to make happen…….so stop letting procrastination steal your time while you wait open mouthed for the roast duck to fly in!

“Don’t sweat the small stuff. Its all small stuff”. Anthony Robbins