Treasure!!!

         

 

 

Edition 212 Monday November 18th 2013

 

 Hi,thanks for the awesome feedback in recent weeks, it is appreciated. I took some sage advice and had blood tests recently after my 50 something mates passed away suddenly and Crikey guess what……..I discovered that I have high cholesterol!! I have always prided myself in being below all the bad bench marks but now find I am exceeding most of them and need to do something about it!! A timely wake up call but hard to handle when it is something I have never worried about before. Now I find myself identifying what in my diet is contributing and having to put together a plan to reduce intake of the offenders and eat more of the good stuff.It didn’t help that Christine was first to discover my plight and has now taken on the head nurse role so I havent got a show of ever having another doughnut or a pie until I am back on the right side of the ledger!!.....why is everything that tastes so decadently amazing also so bad for you?? Bugger !!!

From the Fletcher file our poor little dust mite had his 15 month immunisation shots last week, three huge needles delivered the dose to both thighs and his arm, jeepers I am glad I wasn’t associated with taking him to the house of pain. His Mother has been blamed since for betraying him and outing him to the authorities! We have been managing some related side effects ever since but have all been brave and taken the necessary sedatives to get ourselves through it…..Yay no more shots till 4 years old!!!....he is such a treasure!!

Speaking of treasures, I love stopping at charity shops in my travels of a week. They can harbour the most amazing treasure and they all benefit worthy causes so it is our duty to support them….right? I have landed some amazing stuff at bargain prices and I have no shame when identifying these treasure troves and skidding to a halt outside them. It spices my days and weeks to stop and rummage through stuff and I can definitely confirm that one persons trash is anothers treasure!! Our latest edition is a much needed key rack for the kitchen made of beautiful kauri from yesteryear,what a find and 5 bucks off to boot!!

Speaking of gold how about those mighty All Blacks, you have to love them , they are everything that is good about being a New Zealander !!! I hope you are also feeling good about your lot at the moment and enjoying your family and friends. Have a great week………………….cheers Jonesey.

 

Harry and the Hendersons reckon Fletcher is a good bugger taking 3 for the team !!!!

 

“If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.” Tony Robbins

 

Life on the road is tough at times as we do battle with lots of stuff including the traffic, the opposition and a generally poor perception of us as sales people.

So when we drop onto an opportunity it is gold and we enter the sales zone that has us amped and excited about doing business with a new customer.

For me this is generally when we are referred to or discover a new building project starting or about to be completed with a new builder or new tenant soon to move in.

A couple of weeks ago I disciovered such a site and set about trying to establish who was moving in and when. The process of finding out this information was frustrating due to no one really knowing what was going on. I approached a number of people and ended up with dead ends . So in desperation I went back to the site and ended up in the site shed but no one was there so I took advantage of the opportunity to go through the design/build plans on the drawing board! Well bingo the new tenants name was on the plans and as a result I was able to establish who was moving in and make contact  with the decision maker, we are now looking good for the business as a result,yay!

Sometimes you need to think outside the square and push the envelope a bit to end up with what you want! ‘Nothing ventured nothing gained’ and ‘never give in’ or perish I guess…over to you..good luck!

 

If you’re offered a seat on a rocket ship, don’t ask what seat! Just get on.” Sheryl Sandberg

Palmy

 

 

 

Edition 211 Monday November 11th 2013

 

 Hi, mortality is not my favourite conversation topic however in the last couple of weeks two guys I know, both baby booming, seemingly bullet proof 59ers have recently and sadly passed far too early from this world. Apart from knowing them well they both shared the same age and birth year (1959). This makes the bullet proof protection I think I have sometimes seem extremely vulnerable. It is times like these that I realise every day above ground is a good one and that every day I live that I don’t make the most of is a wasted one. Stating the obvious I guess but a timely reminder to focus on what is important and to leave what can wait!......Just do it!

I jetted into Palmy for the big Toastmasters gig on the weekend and competed against New Zealands best 150 second story tellersJthe tension in the Regent Theatre on Broadway (of course) was electric as the large predominantly Toastmaster crowd was treated to an impromptu speaking battle of the most impeccably high standard. Nine winners representing their Divisons from far and wide around the nation came with the highest ambitions and the sharpest skills all hoping to reign victorious however there could only be one winner………and the winner was……….another rooster!!!aarrrggghhhh

Yes you do hate it when that happens however what doesn’t devastate you emotionally and mentally for the rest of your life makes you stronger,wiser and better next time…..and even though you curse  and say there wont be a next time you sort of know that once the dust settles……….there will beJ

On a positive note I did manage to finish second although in the greater scheme of things it sucked.  When I was a coach I always believed that participation was fundamental and that to participate to the best of your ability everytime and to learn from mistakes and failures along the way was the key. Winning was important but not everything as long as improvement was obvious and tangible…..yes in the words of Arnie the Terminator…….”Ill be back and I assure you after this experience Ill be better”

Hey, speaking of winning and always striving to be better what about the mighty AB’s continuing on their victorious way against the French !!! England next week ….bring it on!!

Make the most of what you have with those you love and don’t waste a minute of any day above ground. Have a great week, cheers Jonesey.

 

Harry and the Hendersons reckon Palmy is overrated !!

 

 

“Before you can work smart you must work hard.” Walt Disney

 

Cold calling business to business is tough work so why not simplify things! Sound good?

I have been going on recently about networking and attending business association and industry group functions and events………….. for good reason.

These events bring a months worth of cold call contacts into one room and if you are good at circulating you will come away with a handfull maybe even a sales satchel full of leads and potential orders and new customers.

I have talked about ‘working smarter not harder’ and this is one sure fired way of doing it. If you are not ‘linked in’ to industry and business groups related to your business then you are missing out while others are talking to potential customers (and probably your customers).

Even if you are not in sales then it is good to make yourself aware of what is happening in your industry and those that do business with your industry. www.linkedin.co.nz is a great tool for advancing this cause and at the very least you should be into it.

Like the Chinese proverb says, you will wait a long time for the roast duck to fly into your mouth in life. Those who invariably make the most of their time are the ones who find ways to work smarter at work and at home……can you put your hand on your heart and say you are one of them?? Just do it!

 

“It's not hard to keep up the image we chose. It's not hard to stay yourselves.”D Wahlberg

Strategically brilliant

         

 

 

Edition 210 Monday November 4th 2013

 

Hi, whoever thought of putting a sticker on every individual piece of fruit you buy needs to be identified and tortured slowly !!! Crikey is it annoying or what?...has anyone ever stopped to read what these actually say before they buy them?, how many are influenced by these half baked excuses for a marketing campaign? Yes I am annoyed and yes I did eat a couple this weekend before noticing them arrrrgggghhhh.Thing is I cant boycott fruit as all my favourite stuff has a sticker on it!

Moving on….literally in fact I pulled out in to one of the busiest roundabouts in crazy Auckland traffic last week (in Summer mode by the way) anyway I pulled in front of a angry man driving a modified vehicle synonomous with this particular part of town. If he was angry before I did that then he sure was angrier afterwards to the point where he stopped and insisted we had a chat!! Eeeeek,now I am no hero and from the looks of him physically he had eaten a great deal more pies than I had in his lifetime so I adopted a concillatory approach rather than a confrontational one and it took the wind out of his sails in fact he ended up apologising to me for being so aggressive! You see he was expecting me to be  exactly the same way and anticipating a fight and didn’t know how to deal with a gentleman, sheer strategic  brilliance I tell you, mixed with more than a tinge of luck that we didn’t collideJ!!!

Halloween and Guy Fawkes in the same week does my head in, we will have to be strategically brilliant later in his life to successfully avoid both of these imported commercial rip offs…arrrggghh!

Fletcher got given the coolest pair of Nike shoes as a hand me down from his mate Brooklyn. He lives in them and we have to hide them before bed or they would be worn in there too !!!

I hope you had a relaxing fun weekend with family and friends, have a great week, cheers Jonesey

 

Harry and the Hendersons reckon Guy Fawkes sucks !! besides which there is never enough room for them in our bed when we are being attacked by fireworks!!!! Please be over soon!

 

“On any given Monday I am one sale closer and one idea away from being a Millionaire.”

 Larry D. Turner

 

Sales snippets from the week that was;

 

• Our late ex Prime Minister Sir Rob Muldoon once said :”Any advertising is good advertising” and judging by the feedback we got during the week after one of our trucks rolled over blocking a motorway onramp for most of the day he may well have been right ! Thankfully no one was hurt and all was eventually back to normal.
• Speaking of advertising we continue to benefit from strategically well placed sponsorship of high profile events, programs and environmental initiatives. The key is to definitely target specifically rather than try to be all things to all people (good luck or good management??).
• A guy came up to me in the street last week as I was getting into the Green Gorilla mobile and introduced himself and asked who we were purchasing safety equipment from? Turns out he has started a business locally specialising in this gear and wanted to know who in our business was responsible for these purchases. Great initiative and certainly the right way to generate leads and hopefully new buisness. A great example and motivation to me to do a couple of cold calls that day too!!
• I know I go on about Toastmasters a bit but Crikey there is no denying it has to be the best value personal development training in the world!! Where else can you get  fortnightly training, development, motivation,inspiration, evaluation, breakfast(at our club) and mentoring from experienced experts for $15 bucks a meeting. That’s one and a half hours of personal development for $10 per hour !!!! Now I challenge you to get approximately twenty three x ninety minute training sessions for $300 bucks per year What are you waiting for?
• www.toastmasters.org.nz use the club finder and make contact with some clubs that meet in your area. You can visit as many as you like as many times as you like for free before either deciding its not for you or the club you prefer to join….could it be any closer or easier!??....Ok I promise I will leave it there…….for this week J

 

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving”. Albert Einstein

Summer mode

         

 

 

Edition 209 Tuesday October 29th 2013

 

 Hi, is there anything better than a fine long weekend? I am so glad I took an extra day to recharge the batteries and stack up some much needed ZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzz’s. Fletcher is at a cool age at the moment exploring everything and pretty much still cute and doing as he is told (the calm before the storm?). We chillaxed and enjoyed the sun whilst also managing to get some stuff ticked off the to do before xmas (only 8 weeks??!!!and counting ) list….YAYJ.

We couldn’t believe how sluggish my new car was off the mark, it is so sssssllllowww we had started thinking ill of its Asian origins and wondering how long we would survive the many intersections we encounter daily/weekly. It was so bad Christine refused to drive it and was reluctant to even ride in it with me…….hmmmmm could be career and family life limiting so time to get it back to the dealer and hold my breath in the service area until they fixed it!!! Well I didn’t have to wait long as a crowd of service personnel quickly surrounded the car and insisted I unlock the drivers door and stop holding my breath !!! It wasn’t long before someone pointed out that I had been driving in ‘winter’ mode not ‘summer’!!!!! Seems it was rectified with the simple flick of a switch!, the difference between starting off in first gear (summer) and 2^nd gear (winter) the winter mode being used where snow and ice make 2^nd gear safer and slower to start off in…..eg; not in Auckland (hurry up dickhead, race to the death every day)) traffic conditions !!! I wish I could have shrunk into my sunglasses case and zipped it up to avoid the red hot embarrassment of the moment but alas I took the full brunt of the service teams sympathetic looks as the penny dropped!!! If in doubt of course I guess I could have referred to the manual that the nice Asian manufacturers had so kindly printed in ENGLISH!!!! Yes I hate it when that happens but at least we and all who travel with us will now be safe in Auckland traffic.

I hope you had a ‘safe’, relaxing and fun long weekend with family and friends and that you are looking forward to another short but successful week ahead, take care , cheers Jonesey !!

 

Harry and the Hendersons instinctively know the exact moment we wake up. Then they wake us 10 minutes sooner!!!!.....GGrrrrrrrrrr J

 

“Don’t freak, just speak.” C. B. Jones National Table Topics  finalist!!!

 

I talked recently about winning a Toastmasters contest and how chuffed I was about that…..well I am still basking in the glow and as a typical salesman I want to tell you more about how bloomin wonderful I am !!!!

You see I have now qualified for the national final and I will be representing a dozen Auckland Clubs as their representative…..one of eight finalists nationally fighting it out to be crowned New Zealand Champion!! Crikey, so close yet still so far.

The competition is even more intriguing as it is the ‘Table Topic’ competition which is all about the art of ‘Impromptu’ speaking or making something up off the cuff and on the run……perfect for someone like me who loves the sound of their own voice and is full of the proverbial on any topic…..or so you might think!! Thing is no one knows what the topic will be so no preparation is possible prior to!!

Impromptu speaking is tough going and you need to be on your game to make something up that has an opening, a body and a close all this in just 2minutes 30 seconds !!!

Crikey, no pressure but great training for the game of life where we are placed on the spot all the time and how we react dictates how successful or otherwise we will be……cant wait, watch this space!

 

Join now ; www.toastmasters.org.nz you know you want to !!!!!

 

“We all have butterflies, question is, are yours flying in formation?.” C.B. Jones

The RAOK Challenge

         

 

 

Edition 208 Monday October 21st 2013

 

 Hi,wow what a week it has been on the Jones roller coaster ride this week! A ghastly gastric bug stopped Christine in her tracks on Tuesday so I dutifully assumed the role of activities director with Fletcher for the day. Christine was appreciative of the rest and I returned to work Wednesday for a rest after an unbelievably fun but very exhausting day in the zoo!!

Speaking of Wednesday I ran through a bunch of blue bottle jelly fish in the early darkness on the beach. I didn’t realise I had done this until I felt a stinging sensation on my lower leg later in the shower. The affected area then swelled and broke into an angry rash which degenerated into an open broken skin wound…..as if that wasn’t bad enough I then experienced  fever and nausea from the evil jelly fish poison that had obviously entered my system….crikey !!! Then after battling the Blue fever and to top off  the week I contracted the ghastly gastric bug from Christine on Friday for a weekend spent in close proximity to one very important little room of the houseL.Harden up Jonesey!

Staying close to home proved to be a blessing in disguise as we explored a couple of local spots with Fletcher which were cool fun. He is fixated with birds at the moment so the local Gannet Colony was a special treat combined with a visit to the local park rides and the wild west coast black sand of the beach and he was made up ! Often the simple things closest to home are the most enjoyable or rewarding…….love where we live Daddy !!!! J

I competed in a Toastmasters competition on Saturday and was lucky enough to win the right to represent Auckland at the upcoming National final in November,fiercely competitive and proud of it!

In my fragile state I was in bed before the All Blacks played on Saturday night !!! so we managed to hang out till 10.30am Sunday to watch the boys maintain their unbeaten run for the season….legend.

Yay , Labour Weekend approaches and we have leave booked Friday to make it a four day bonanza.

I hope you had a great weekend with family and friends and that you also have a relaxing long weekend planned to spend with those closest and most important to you……Cheers Jonesey.

 

Harry and the Hendersons reckon they, like our shoes, are comfortable. They might be a bit out of shape and a little worn around the edges, but they fit well. Scooby Doo !!!

 

“Unexpected kindness is the most powerful, least costly, and most underrated agent of human change.” Bob Kerrey

I was parking in town last week and a guy came up to me and gave me his parking ticket that still had almost an hour left to park on it…..it was a small gesture that helped and meant a lot to me!It was a “Random Act Of Kindness” (RAOK) that served as a timely reminder how powerful these simple inexpensive gestures can be. The thing I like is how they benefit both the giver and the receiver equally and the diffreence they can make to both.

RAOKs are spontaneous acts of generosity that don’t have to be done and generally are not noticed if they don’t happen but have a huge effect when they are performed. They can be as simple as opening a door for somebody or even saying please and thankyou where most people let it slip past these days…..simple little disciplines in our daily lives, again sadly missing from most.

Last week inspired by this RAOK I was moved to provide my services as a mentor and volunteer to present at two industry forums on behalf of customers. None of this I was contracted or expected to do but all that I was happy and motivated to do and as a result of doing !! Unselfish and unsolicited yet unbelievably satisfying !!!

Your challenge this week is to become a RAOK performer,your chance to shine……”Just do it” Cheers.

 

“What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness?”Jean Jacques Rousseau

Thumb and dumber

         

 

 

Edition 207 Monday October 14th 2013

 

 Hi, I accidentally cut myself with our large carving knife recently. It started to fall off the bench so I instinctively tried to catch it( that was bright). I am still trying to figure out why I did that, maybe with my form, it would have carried on to stab me in the foot or something!! Anyway I managed to cut my thumb slightly right on the end . I doubt there would have been more blood had I cut the thing off altogether. Anyway the point is that during the healing process my thumb was painful and I couldn’t believe how many day to day things I do that involve the use of my thumb (eg;try doing the buttons of a shirt up with a sore thumb …..agony!!)…..dont we take so much for granted regarding our health, we need to be more careful and aware,in my humble and painful view!

Continuing on the health theme I bent over to pick up something last week and the seams of my work trouser bottoms decided enough was enough and gave up the ghost. It is a little unfair to blame the seams when it would be fairer to point the blame at the extra strain they may have been under lately!. I would love to tell you it is because of the further development of muscle thanks to the gym however,sadly that is not the case. Yes the battle continues and no matter how much one may exercise one  still has to watch what one eats so why doesn’t one??,hmmm diet starts tomorrow!

Fletcher file; one of our fears was realised last week when Fletcher,who spends a lot of time with Harry and the Hendersons, was discovered eating some dog biscuits !! Now not only does he think he is a canine he has also taken a liking to their food. Whilst the opportunity to save some money on the food budget was tempting we had to draw the line and instruct him eating dog biscuits was a no no J

Dad is recovering slowly at home under the watchful eye of the best nurse in the business @ #21. We are a thoughtful lot though as the sign on the back of Dads boat trailer many years ago lays testimony to, it read “ 13.5 metres to pass, do not worry if you cant pass……at least you are keeping up with the Joneses.”J and on that note, have a great week!……Cheers Jonesey.

 

Harry and the Hendersons reckon dogs' lives are too short. Their only fault, really!!!

 

“Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and it annoys the pig.”

 George Bernard Shaw

 

Some sizzling snippets from the week that was;

 

• I always carry business cards and hand them out whenever I meet anybody business or personal.They are a great way of getting your message out and providing all your information. Imagine my embarrassment when one of the recipients actually read the card I gave him and noted it didn’t have my name on it ! Seems I had been inadvertently handing out one of my colleagues cards for most of the week !
• Due to a recent acquisition I have some new staff in my team. This presents me with a great opportunity to review my performance to ensure any habits, familiarity or laziness are eliminated from my daily efforts to manage and motivate my team. It is a reality check on the level of professionalism I bring to my role and a reminder to set an example at all times.
• Further to my note last week about accepting opportunities to present to industry groups or associations I did exactly that this weekend. A colleague and I presented to the Association of Wall and Ceiling Installers (AWCI) about our recent plasterboard recycling initiatives. This was as a big thank you to several customers who are members who are supporting our initiative.
• How about that Green Gorilla exposure on “The Block NZ” We were not just pretty faces and bins we actually recycled 40% of the waste off the program!!  Legends !! Go the extra mile!!

“I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig, you get dirty; and besides, the pig likes it.” George Bernard Shaw

Valet to the Stars!

         

 

 

Edition 206 Monday October 7th 2013

 

 Hi,our very own blackbirds are nesting in our letter box, daylight saving jet lag is over and the bbq has had its first serious work out…..ahhhh there is warmth in the air and a spring in the step with another iconic kiwi summer in prospect. Also time to tackle the lawns and outdoor chores that have been on hold during the winter months. After a huge day outdoors on Saturday we treated ourselves to a hot bath, mainly because Auckland were getting kicked by Wellington in the footy ! Crikey that was amazing, our poor bath, ignored for so long in favour of the quicker less soothing shower, our aching bodies promise to savour you on a more regular basis!

 Thanks for all your messages re Dad, I am pleased to report that his surgery went well and he is recovering well. A reconditioned heart, a lot to be grateful for and even more to look forward to.

Fletcher update; our little man is so funny, if he is up before I go to work and when I get home he will either select a pair of shoes for me to wear or put them away for me after use!!(see attached photos). He is growing like a weed and developing personality and character features that Christine and I either claim or deny is linked to us depending on how cute or obnoxious the trait might be!! J

One of our older boys,Mark is home currently from the UK and it has been cool to catch up with him before he heads off to experience and write a new chapter in his seamingly never ending OE adventure. “May the sun always be on your back and the wind always be on your face” ,go well son.

Wow, how about that All Black game against South Africa, the stuff All Black legends and folklore are made of. I can remember watching as a wide eyed kid years ago with Dad when legends of the past like Colin Meads (playing with a broken arm) and Bryan Williams (who mesmorised the Springboks with his magical side step as a 19 year old) etched themselves into the history books forever.

I hope you had a relaxing spring/summer weekend with family and friends and that you have an awesome week ahead, not long now till Labour weekend J……Cheers Jonesey.

 

Harry and the Hendersons reckon some days you're the dog; some days you're the hydrant.

 

“Customer service is not a department, it’s everyone’s job.” Sam Walton

 

We have recently secured a recycling service supply deal with a large chain store. We will be supplying 30 stores in the Auckland area which is very cool and a great coup for our company.

As part of the roll out I had to call each store to make sure they knew what they were getting, when and what they had to do and what to expect from us in return!

The thing that amazed me was the difference in phone answering, service and attitude from one store to the next. They ranged from super receptive and enthusiastic to mildly interested to couldn’t care less. It proved to be an interesting independent customer service observation exercise which while unintentional did provide a useful insight into how the stores were tracking in these areas.

I was faced with an equally interesting decision to make…..did I ignore what I had observed? or did I mention it to my contact and pass on the information/assessment for their future benefit?

I chose to share the info and observations I had made as I believed it would enhance our relationship with our new customer as well as benefitting them with targetting training and development needs. In other words or ‘sales speak’ a win/win outcome for all parties.

Luckily I was right, my customer was appreciative and asked me to present my findings to one of their Managemet team meetings for the benefit of all Managers…..amazing, I couldn’t believe it !

So an awesome outcome was achieved from taking the initiative derived from something initially unrelated but eventually super relevant and mutually beneficial.

I believe we are surrounded by opportunities like this every day, we need to ‘get better’ at recognising these and to then make the most of them!!!....Good luck, keep your eyes and ears open!

 

“We won’t complain. We just won’t come back” Mr & Mrs Customer!!!