Surfs Up !!!

         

 

 

                                                                                       Edition 316 Tuesday 02/02/16

 

 

 

 

 

Hi,the thing you notice about surfers is their total addiction/passion and that they never leave the water without a smile from ear to ear.Through Fletcher’s growing  love for our beach and the raw power of the waves we are getting hooked too and none of us can stop smiling!!We have had a ball this weekend in the sun surf and sand at our local and cant wait to do it all over again next week!!

Happy birthday Auckland we had fun soaking up the rays at a number of local favourite haunts, man we love long weekends……..bring more of them on! 

Fletcher reckons; every budding surfer needs two chaperones devoted to getting him out the back, wave launched and rescued when necessary. Spiderman loves Monarch butterflies (see attached)!

Hats off to the local surf rescue team who have been working overtime this summer to make sure we swim safe, even after their surf tower was trashed by low lives before Christmas grrrrrrrrrr!!!!

I often start my day early at the local pool which has a retractable roof exposing the sunrise and the amazing countryside vista that surrounds….I would love to know what the local horses think and say to each other as they look on with interest(and maybe disbelief)?!!

We even got to check out a bit of the Wellington sevens, what about that final….holy cow what an amazing finish…..proving it is never over until the Ioane brothers sing !!!!! bring on the Olympics!!!!!

I hope you are loving the weather and making sure you enjoy it with  family and friends.

Have a great short week and upcoming Waitangi weekend……..Cheers Jonesey!

 

Harry and the Hendersons reckon they are ‘hot dogs’ in the Summertime!!!

 

 

“Life is really simple but we insist on making it complicated.” Confucious.

 

No matter how good we think we are there is always room for improvement.

That improvement comes from making mistakes and hopefully learning from them!

As unbelieveable as I might think it is I made a major mistake recently.

It is one that has caught up with me big time.

One thing sales people should never do is ‘wing it’!!

Winging it is something I do far too often and whilst I know it is risky it has become my MO!!

When you wing it you need a lot of luck and the reality is there isnt that much luck to go around so there will be a time when this approach will catch you out BIG TIME…..that moment for me is NOW!

So….time to fess up and address my lack of preparation and detail…easier said than done.

For me and often for others the cowboy approach not only affects me but others both prospective and existing customers!!

So I have had to look for the opportunity in amongst the disastorous carnage I have created and try to plot a way out of the corner I have painted myself and others into.

Lessons from this for me…(and you if ever faced with something similar);

• Come clean and get it out on the table (be honest)…..apologise but offer to help!
• Be part of the solution not the problem.
• Provide the missing link…the research or the analysis…..fill in the gaps.
• Be willing to concede and move on…be humble and objective not emotional.
• Be committed and willing to learn from the experience so it doesn’t happen again!!

No I don’t think I am too good for this to happen to me and this is a stark reminder that no matter how good I think I am at my job there is always room for me to  improve.

Wake up Jonesey, you are not Gods gift to selling….you are on loan to selling and the sales profession can decide it doesn’t want you anytime it wants not vice versa……so behave yourself.

An interesting week of self analysis and self correction…I have decided I need to do it more often!!!!

“Three things can not be hidden,the Sun, the Moon and the truth.” Buddha

Lace up and GO!!!!

         

 

 

                                                                                       Edition 315 Monday 25/01/16

 

 

 

 

 

Hi,no matter how many times Christine tells me….I know best….or think I do .So when I discovered some lonely peanut brittle begging to be eaten she advised me not to in the interest of my ageing teeth………..hmmm……but I ignored her because….I knew best!

On this occasion my decision to proceed will cost me significantly more than my pride!!!!

Arrrrrggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.I am dumb,I am dumb,I am dumb,I am dumb,I am dumb!

Fletcher reckons;he is excited about moving into his larger bedroom however still negotiating on the rental!He is learning a lot without even having to ask by watching Daddy!.

Whilst I am happy to be a role model for my son I wish the lessons werent so expensive(for me)!!

‘They’ say if a bird drops doodoo on you then it is good luck?....to test this theory we bought a lotto ticket when it happened to Christine recently!......crikey you wont believe it but we won a 3^rd division prize of $850!!!!...so we can reliably report whoever ‘they’ are is right !!!!The problem now is no matter how hard we all try we cant get another bird even slightly interested in repeating the favour!

As a high performance athlete it is important to have good running shoes and Brooks do it for me!!

You have to love their vision and philosophy clearly imprinted on every shoe box….” Lace up and go! These shoes are overflowing with possibilities.Show them the ropes.Pound the pavement.Tromp some trails.Thrill them.Give them adventure.Run Happy”…….Mr and Mrs Brooks….I promise to do my best!!

I hope you are having fun in the sun with people who care and matter most to you,Cheers Jonesey!

 

Harry and the Hendersons reckon a doodoo on my newly cut lawn is their way of saying “Good job grumpy man, thanks!”.......Aaaaarrrrrrrggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!

 

 

“Why fit in when you were born to stand out?”Dr Seuss

 

What makes you different…..anything or nothing you can think of immediately?

If you don’t have a noticeable point of difference how can you and why does that matter?

The other day I saw a Mainfreight truck and two things struck me;

1)The truck was immaculately clean and well presented,it was noticeably different!

2)It had a quote on the back that took my interest…….”A peacock who sits on its feathers is just another Turkey”…..also noticeably different.

Mainfreight have a policy that ensures their owner and company drivers wash their vehicles everyday before leaving their respective depots.To them appearance and image is everything and they are determined to establish and maintain theirs,which they do well…check out their vehicles!!

They also have positive thought provoking quotes on their fleet and I for one used that quote as a theme, keynote and focus in a number of  written and verbal presentations I did last week.

Amazing how two small things can make such a huge difference and be so noticeable to others!

So what makes you different….anything or nothing you can think of immediately?

Interestingly the wooden watch that Christine bought me recently has been a huge point of interest in meetings, presentations and events that I have attended. Quite cool to have something like this noticeably different and relavant especially in the sustainability sector.

My voicemail and phone signature that my existing and prospective customers receive is also purposely made a bit different and something that I receive regular and positive feedback on.

Being noticeably different doesn’t have to be rocket science just something specific to you that stands you out from the crowd.

So if you don’t have something that defines you then you need to be inventive and introduce something that makes you a bit different…..have some fun with it,be inventive and creative.

Good luck.

 

“In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.” Coco Chanel

Get your groove on!

         

 

 

                                                                                       Edition 314 Monday 18/01/16

 

 

 

 

 

Hi,happy New Year,I hope it is off to a cracking start for you.We have had a great festive/holiday break highligted by a visit from Santa, plenty of family time and culminating in a special treat ‘getting our groove on’ at our ‘happy place’ Matua to the cruizy beat of UB40 in the sun yesterday!

The large family pool from the ‘Red Shed’ paid major dividends as a great place to cool off in the sun most afternoons(once Dad had finally inflated it!!).It was also a great source of watergun ammo for Fletcher to refill to shoot anything that moved in the yard……yes it is the simple things that are so often the best! It was sad decommissioning the trusty ‘Breville’ for the new Scooby Doo ‘Nespresso’ but in true George Clooney fashion we did it with style and grace!!.....OMG lovin it!!

Fletcher reckons; water guns should be allowed inside the house,boogie boards should be allowed in bed and threenagers  should be allowed to groove to UB40…so there!

The house painting project was completed on time with the generous loan of access gear(and appropriate supervision) from the local volunteer fire brigade who were also active saving people!

As for the last two years my 2016 goal is “to be better at everything I do” and whilst this  sounds like a cover all option it is more about wanting to and being the best I can be!!

On a more serious note as a former procrastinator I am pleased to report that I promptly got a couple of suspicious lumps checked and also participated in a free bowel screening trial that I had been avoiding for some time.I guess the message is early detection is the key and any delay is counter productive…..so if you want to keep up with the Joneses in 2016 get checked out regularly!!

Its great to be back, have an awesome week………………Cheers Jonesey!

 

Harry and the Hendersons reckon family dogs should be exempt from watergun attack!

 

 

“The way to get started is to quit talking and get doing”. Walt Disney

 

I have often sat on my deck and looked at the ageing paintwork and said to anyone who was interested….”I must get on to that before it gets worse”.

Like any project when you consider it in its entirety it often seems daunting and a lot of work.

However as is often the case the most important thing with any project is to start!!!

Once I was underway I was able to break the project into sections and by doing a little bit each day I slowly but surely started completing each section.

I think the daily application of time was a key factor for me which was dictated by the weather.

I established the best time to paint in our environment was between 7and 10am daily and by committing to that I was able to get a lot achieved.

In fact when the project supervisor noticed how good the original area to be painted was looking she requested that more area be added!!

This was no problem for our busy painter who merely added the extra work to his well organised daily program and achieved that too!!

So what lessons did I learn here for application back in my work environment?....

Firstly with any project don’t think of it as an entirety, break it into sections and then start!!

Then once started apply a daily time slot to the project and work only on that project in that time slot ie; no interruptions….devote quality time to that project.

You will be amazed at the results you can achieve if you focus on things more fully rather than trying to do ten things at once and ending up with nothing done.

So I now have a clear plan for 2016 projects and a freshly painted house.....YAY…….good luck team!!

 

“Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It's not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it's a day you've had everything to do and you've done it.”

Margaret Thatcher