Bling bling !

         

 

 

Edition 235 Monday May 26th  2014

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi,winter is here, time for comfort food and cosy nights in front of the heatpump????....no it doesn’t sound right does it?, therefore time to go pine cone hunting so we could crank up the log burner!! The result was a couple of more than cosy evenings in front of the fire jockeying for position with Harry, the Hendersons and Fletcher all enveloped in the beautiful aroma of pine forest as the cones simmered slowly and we all stayed toasty warm,heat pump bah humbug,give me free cones any day!

Last week I arrived at Toastmasters without my glasses! Its times like these you realise how much you rely on something as I struggled to read the agenda or any of the written stuff I had to deal with.

Remarkably I found a pair at the venue that were perfectly suited to me!!!unbelievable until I got up to address the meeting and wondered why everyone was looking at me and some laughing?? Then I realised that the flame red frames I was using also had some silver sparkling diamonds(fake) on each side which to my fellow members amusement were sparkling brightly.It would have been fine if I was attempting to impersonate Dame Edna Everidge however took some explaining to quell the humour! I did continue to use the frames at work for the rest of the day which also generated a bit of humour!

From the Fletcher file; Had our first driving lesson with Harry Jones in attendance J (attached).

When someone says “you are looking good” you should be happy right?, definitely,but is it wrong on the odd occasion it happens to say….”I should hope so considering the amount of time I dedicate to staying in shape!!!”.I mean do people think I get  a body like mine by lying on the couch watching footy and pine cones burning?!!Crikey the All Black selectors need to call soon, time is running out!

I hope you had a cool week and a relaxing weekend with family and friends, thanks for the feedback over the all clear on the recent bowel screening,its appreciated ,have a good one ,cheers Jonesey !!!

 

Harry and the Hendersons reckon fireside front row is a dogs right rather than for good behaviour.

 

 

“Innovation is the ability to convert ideas into invoices.” Richard Branson

 

Success snippets;

1)I met a couple of young energetic, enthusiastic guys last week who worked for Mitre 10. They were from Palmerston North and Invercargill and had been flown along with another guy to Auckland to contest the final of “Young Mitre 10 retailer of the year”. How cool for Mitre 10 to recognize their team mambers in this way. I was impressed with these guys commitment to their employer and to wanting to be the best they could be in their roles.

 

2)On the same theme I have been amazed at the enthusiasm and innovation displayed by the group of year thirteen business enterprise students I have been working with. They are full of cool ideas and super receptive to recognition and recommendations as they prepare to present their business idea to the ‘Dragons Den’ to advance to the next stage of the competition.

 

3)Continuing the glasses theme from above I will never forget being in a restaurant in Christchurch many years ago when our impressively attentive young waitress produced a pair of glasses when I passed on dessert saying I couldnt read the menu.This not only enabled me to read the menu but more or less obligated me to select something from it! What a simple, cool idea that produced sensational results for her and ultimately her employer!!

 

I am pleased to report innovation and enterprise is alive and well….Upbeat and uplifting !!!very cool !!

 

“If at first the idea is not absurd, then there will be no hope for it.” Albert Einstein

Giant muck up!

         

 

 

Edition 234 Monday May 19th  2014

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi,after a slightly nervous couple of weeks I got my bowel screening result back and it was normal, what a relief. I was over the moon A) because I actually motivated myself to capture and send the sample and B) because I am one of the lucky ones for now!! Crikey if you are part of a free screening or reluctant for any reason to get checked for anything please make the effort, you wont regret it!!

Thinking and talking about mortality we have had a hell of a couple of weeks with the tragic death of one of our local teenagers and then one of our best and dearest friends had a serious car accident.He spent the weekend fighting for his life,and thankfully made it to fight another day,Yay Fluffy Mike !!

Crikey life can deliver you some curve balls when you are least expecting them. We just have to make sure we try to live and fill every minute of our lives with purpose and positivity to ensure we don’t have any regrets if and when something tragic or unexpected happens to us or our loved ones!

So if you are guilty of not telling someone close to you how you truly feel through catching up face to face or electronically then do it soon and then stay in touch. Life is too short to lose contact. The retirement villages, homes, hospital wards and hospices have far too many people in them who do have regrets, guilt and resentment!.....dont you be one of them !!!!.

On a more positive note a friend did visit us on the weekend and passed on his expert barista advice transforming our Breville coffee making skills. His Dad is a coffee roaster and he came armed with product and skills that have changed our lives forever. Life is definitely too short and there is absolutely no need to drink bad coffee….ever !!....as the Turkish proverb aptly says…………

 “Coffee should be black as Hell, strong as death, and sweet as love.” Yes it matters !!!

From the Fletcher file; growing up with three adoring canine brothers is a little boys dream come true. I am not sure who is in charge at times but it is amusing to watch! J

I hope the little things that happen in your lives also provide you with a source of amusement, fun and special memories……have an awesome week ahead….stay in touch, cheers Jonesey !!!

 

Harry and the Hendersons reckon they are Fletchers Directors of fun and entertainment!

 

“By seeking and blundering we learn.” ― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

 

I made a ginormous muck up last week, now whilst I was angry and disappointed I put my hand on my heart and admitted it straight away.

There are times in the past where I havent done this and I have looked to blame someone else or make up an elaborate excuse about why and how it may have occurred.

The important thing about owning up and facing the reality of the situation as soon as possible is that you can immediately set about rectifying the situation and the subsequent fall out.

In this case I was able to ask for another opportunity to submit a tender document after missing a deadline because I plain old ‘forgot’ all about it!!!!...Crikey not only did I have to tell the company I was supposed to submit to I had to come clean to my boss as well…..double wammy.

The bosses reaction was somewhat understated “That’s not a good look is it?”……hmmm tell me something I don’t know bro !!!

Anyway I reckon my approach went a long way to securing me the opportunity to submit the tender late and without penalty…..I even managed to have a laugh with our customer at my own expense!!

Now if I had procrastinated and tried to weasle my way out of it I would have lost all opportunity for a come back, lost the business and any credibility I had with anyone in this true story.

The moral of my tale is clearly….if you muck up (and you will) then you need to be honest, admit it and set quickly about rectifying the situation…….you wont look back and you will always be a better person for it. Here endeth the lesson !!!!....watch this space for tender result !!!!

 

“I am who I am today because of the mistakes I made yesterday.”  Jonesey

Mums the word !!

         

 

 

Edition 233 Monday May 12th  2014

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi,I know many consider Mothers Day is commercially overkilled by retailers and that we shouldn’t need to be told to remember and recognise our Mums but I actually think it is a good thing.

Taking time out to give thanks for the huge sacrifice our Mothers have made for us and the important role they have played in shaping our lives is an essential part of life. It is not until we become parents ourselves that we realise the enormity of their contribution to us as people.Well before day one Mums are involved on the roller coaster ride from conception to delivery. As if that isnt enough to blow them away they are then faced with many sleepless and selfless nights where we pick and choose what hours we will sleep, scream, feed or just generally agitate! Throughout our lives our Mums love us unconditionally and whilst Dad is there too, all said and done it is our Mums we always cry out for or gravitate towards when we are in true need….because no matter how hot or deep the water we are in we know they will be there regardless to save and forgive us !!!!....Yay Mum!!

I am lucky my Mum is still alive and well and that we got to thank her in person on the weekend as well as making sure that Christine had a cool day with Fletcher and Matthew! I know there are a lot of people who are not that fortunate to have their Mums around any more so I hope you were able to also take some time out to remember them fondly.I guess Mothers Day should be an everyday thing!

From the Fletcher file; growing faster than a weed is tiring work in fact nearly 35mm in the last five months, outgrowing clothes before they are even home from the shop unwrapped! Scary fun!!

This weekend was also special because it was Harry Joneses 11^th birthday!! The equivalent to 77 human years and still going strong our dear Harry with his beautiful calm and loving nature. If I had a wish I would wish that time would stand still for him so he would age no more and be with us forever our big gentle fluffy boy.Crikey pull yourself together man just because he is your only friend!

Yes I am a big softie and could never do without my Mum or my hound Dog!!…………Cheers Jonesey!!

 

The Hendersons reckon the good looking Jones boy is Scooby Doo and doesn’t look a day over 55 (the new 77!!).

 

 

“It’s the ittle things that make the BIG difference” Project Manager Murray!

 

 I have been focused on drumming up more commercial business from a slow commercial market,a mission of astronomical proportions in a sea, shark infested ,with hungry competitors!!!

There is a bit going on around our City but it is keenly contested and you need to be on your game if you want to even get through the security/safety fence !! Undeterred I battled on and found myself in a builders shed meeting with a project Manager who I reckoned liked the cut of my jib (yeah right).

Anyway I was well into my pitch but noticed it wasn’t going so well so decided to invite others in the room to partcipate. This is not always the brightest thing to do in a builders shed at smoko however in this case it turned out to be a master stroke of sheer brilliance when from the back of the room came a shout……….”these guys are good jokers we should definitely give them a crack!”....YES!!!

You see it turns out this was Murray and he had influence amongst his peers, he had used us before on another site…..seems we had looked after him famously and even retrieved his glasses from a bin full of building waste as a special favour for him.That one simple gesture made Murray into our biggest fan and meant this swung the day for us on a 17 month big $ project! Totally worth a crack!!

Moral of the story, no matter how tough it is out there don’t give in and keep inspiring your team to do the simple things well for all the ‘Murrays’ out there and it will always come back to you !!!!

 

“Don't be afraid to give your best to what seemingly are small jobs. Every time you conquer one it makes you that much stronger. If you do the little jobs well, the big ones tend to take care of themselves.” Dale Carnegie

Careful what you wish for!!

         

 

 

Edition 232 Monday May 5th 2014

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi,yes,Mothers Day is in fact 11^th May, thanks to all who advised after I brought it forward a week!

Crikey, as a follow up to last weeks Volunteer Fire Brigade story one needs to be careful what they wish for as we experienced our very first raging version of a ‘ BBQ’ fire at home on Saturday night!

We were lucky it was noticed early and that we had some experience close at hand in the form of one of our older sons,trained Chef Matthew, who knew that one didn’t pour water on a grease fire !

Thank goodness we and/or our neighbours didn’t have to call out the local Volly’s as their newest recruit who was already in attendance would have been highly embarrassed to say the least!!!

As a ‘come back to bite you’ footnote I can say that in the post fire investigation it was revealed that my procrastination re servicing and cleaning the BBQ was directly responsible for ignition and onngoing fueling of the blaze. Moral of this story crystal clear I hope, check and clean BBQ regularly…..guess what I was doing Sunday !!

Interestingly most ACC claims come from people being injured in or close to their own homes!!! A lot of us take our Health and Safety and that of our families far too lightly in our own homes! Yet another good wake up call for the Joneses at 48!

From the Fletcher file; first swimming lessons in the hot new speedos indicate we have a potential racing sardine in the family!New gumboots for puddle jumping acquired although left and right need to match corresponding foot for optimum cohesion.More exciting times in the life of a little boy…J

 

I hope you all had a happy and safe weekend with family and friends. Remember to take some time out to appreciate and recognise the contribution your Mother has made in your life this coming Sunday May 11!! Have a happy and ‘safe’ week ahead .….…………Cheers Jonesey!!

 

Harry and the Hendersons reckon they needed juicy treats after their ‘near miss’ fire ordeal

 

 

“Safety doesn’t happen by accident.” The Joneses at 48 !

 

Never underestimate the importance of Health and Safety in the workplace.

Mention those two words to many people and their eyes glaze over and roll back in their head given what most consider a somewhat ‘over the top’ approach by some to this subject.

Whilst it may seem this way the reality is that far too many Kiwis are killed every year in the workplace in fact we have one of the worst work/safety records in the world!

Every single one of us needs to be committed and focused on making sure we comply with the H&S policy of ours and our customers companies.

Our aim in life is to ensure that we , our colleagues and the staff of our customers all return safely to our families at the end of every work day !

That said herein lies a huge opportunity for us to retain our existing customers and win new ones!

In a good example last week I followed up with one of New Zealands largest companies after losing out on a big project to a competitor three months ago. This company has won many business safety awards and pride themselves on their national safety record. It turns out they are not happy with the lack of commitment or attention to safety detail on site by our competitor.

This has opened the door slightly and provided us with a huge opportunity to win this massive five year project!

Moral of this story is that things that are important to your customer need to be important to you too!! Ignore this advice at your peril and above all else at the peril of yours or your customers staff!

 

“Better a thousand times careful than once dead.”  ~Proverb