The Dickhead

 

 

 

 

                                                                                       Edition 414 Monday 12/02/18

 

Hi,if your neighbour nearly killed your wife,husband,partner or a dearly loved one by driving dangerously ,what would you do?This was a situation I found myself faced with in the last week as one of our neighbours overtook dangerously nearly colliding head on with Christine!

I didn’t hesitate to remind him of his heritage and the need to pull his head in before he did kill somebody.The worrying thing is it is not the first and sadly it wont be the last time he acts so irresponsibly.The Police have yet again been advised however near misses and dick heads like our neighbour don’t rate highly in the scheme of things these days.Interestingly if he had punched me in the face like he threatened to do on numerous occasions for defending my wife and family the Police would have been there within an hour!

Fletcher reckons we should be able to officially rename our neighbour ‘The Dickhead’.

Something funny about our retired racing driver wannabe neighbour is his sense of entitlement to be able to do what he pleases in his retirement.In his words “he hasn’t worked for 40 years to be harrassed by his neighbours!” in more of his words “he hasn’t had a moving violation(yes he is American!) in 5 years “ nor “has he had an accident in all his years of driving “(but how many has he caused?) I was quick to add as I ducked and weaved around his ‘old guy’ punches. Yes my ‘Upbeat’ friends this has affected me a little!

So between our neighbours next door who want to end the life of a grand old Pohutukawa and our retiree neighbour opposite us who wants to end our lives driving like an absolute dick we are taking a stand on behalf of the Community and proud of it.

I hope you are also quick to stand up for your rights…have a good one…Cheers Jonesey.

 

Kate Henderson reckons she always knew ‘the dickhead’ was a bad egg!

 

 

“Positive mind,positive vibes, positive life.”

 

I attended a ‘Mood of the Sales Leader’ event last week.

The invite came as a result of being asked to complete a recent survey of the same name.

The event was to present the survey outcome to participants and other invitees.

I was one of 138 Sales leaders, CEO’s, GM’s or Account Managers to complete the survey.

Interesting results with high %’s reporting watershed growth in 2017 and more for 2018.

The result being increased recruitment, training and prices to achieve that revenue lift.

Also interesting that over 50% of those surveyed listed competitors and pricing as threats.

I guess these results are not that suprising given the so called ‘rockstar economy’.

Was the ‘Upbeat’ (a word actually used a lot) current and future ‘mood of sales leaders’ a bit artificially inflated to be expected from sales types or a true reflection?

Are we headed for a correction or do we back the opinion of this enthusiastic,buoyant band of men and women and ‘just do it’ anyway?......I reckon (of course I would say that).

Something I found intriqing was the move away from CV’s,references and interviews as a means of assessing the suitability of new candidates?

There is an emerging use and trend toward presenting prospective employers with video introductions and candidate history done in person by the candidate.

The other thing companies are being urged to do is make role plays a compulsory component of candidate selection criteria and ongoing sales training!!

Makes perfect sense when anyone can (and a lot do) fudge a CV or structured interview but wouldn’t have a clue how to project in a video or roleplay….bit of a worry really though!!

 

“Don’t be afraid to do something BIG.”

Bit ruff

 

 

 

 

                                                                                       Edition 412 Monday 05/02/18

 

Hi,in a somewhat unfortunate sequel to our magical Waiheke tropical island retreat we have all been suffering from a sea lice invasion of our nether regions (too much info?)! In an effort to conserve precious tank water we avoided showers and baths to our peril!The lice who are thriving in the warmer sea temperatures dined out on white man woman and child!

Dr Google reckons it serves us right and to expect it to take 2 weeks to clear up (really!)!!

Fletcher reckons 7 weeks school holidays is pretty cool but cant wait to get back there on the 7^th February……and yes whilst its been wonderful……Amen to that son !!!

Something funny about sea lice is there is nothing funny about them, why are they even in the ocean, what purpose do they serve, why are they so ugly and hideous.Surely they have better things to do than hang out in peoples swimming trunks spoiling an otherwise perfect holiday?!!I am sure Dr National Geographic google has these answers and more however I am too busy itching wildly to bother even finding out aaaarrrggghhhhhh.

This weekend staying with friends up North we have had to work hard to convince them we don’t all have a highly contagious disease they are in danger of catching from the Joneses!

Think of us wont you Im sure and in the meantime take care, always share and have a another cool short week ahead…Cheers Jonesey.

 

Kate Henderson reckons it was ruff to think immediately fleas and blame her!!

 

 

“Make the customer the hero of your story.”Ann Handley

 

 How are you doing being plunged back into another “same shit different year”scenario?

It doesn’t have to be that way with all our best intentions and all that but can and does quickly turn to custard.

In the last week I could have been excused for starting to answer the phone “Complaints Department Clinton speaking”….and actually did a couple of times for fun!

It never fails to amaze me how many employees of ours and other companies lose site of their reason for being and having a job…..their customers.

Customers don’t have to use your company they have choices and it doesn’t take much for them to exercise their right to make that choice.

Why do some employees seem to think they can treat customers anyway they like and still expect them to deal with them?

These same people seem to also think that their customers are jolly lucky to have them and will accept being treated badly yet still pay us happily and stay loyal?

In the last week I have had to move into damage control a number of times to assure customers their business is important to us after others have done their best to convince them otherwise.

I have also had to lean heavily on senior team members to address issues urgently in an effort to ensure these employees or contractors shape up or ship out!

No room for arrogance or complacency in a business that wants to survive and grow!

As a pleasant footnote I also had several opportunities to pass on compliments to team members , contractors and suppliers who have provided exceptional service.

It is important to provide feedback both good and bad as it all helps a business to grow.

We should all divide our time equally between looking for things going wrong and right.

So good luck nuturing the positive seeds and getting rid of the weeds!!

 

“Nobody raves about average.” Bill Quiseng

Island time

 

 

 

 

                                                                                       Edition 412 Monday 29/01/18

 

Hi,coming to you hot off the press from our overseas holiday retreat on Waiheke Island.We felt it was only fitting we should celebrate Aucklands Anniversary kicking back on island time!We have had a great week compliments of the Joneses holiday shack on Kennedy Point.I had fun earlier in the week playing island/city commuter and loved it.I can happliy report there are no traffic jams on the Hauraki Gulf ,what a relaxing way to commute!

Fletcher reckons we should seriously consider moving overseas permanently to the ideallic land of the carefree barefoot child…..pretty cool way to grow up in Gods own!

Something funny happened when Christine and I were both given ‘Fit Bits’ for Christmas.It signalled the start of an intense and competitive rivalry on every aspect of our lives.Steps per day, food and calorie intake/burn plus more importantly sleep length and quality!I have my nose in front in the steps department but am way behind in the ZZZzzzzz department!

Watch this space…in the meantime we have planned and look forward to our next break in the coming extended long weekend in the winterless North….somewhere new with a view!

Take care, always share and have a great short week ahead…Cheers Jonesey.

 

Kate Henderson reckons an overseas retirement is fitting after a life well led J.

 

 

 

“Slow down you are here”. Welcome to Waiheke sign J

 

 

The first thing you notice after embarking from the ferry at Matiatia is the sign above and for me it says it all!

Whenever I have visited Waiheke or Great Barrier I have experienced a sense of relief immediately upon setting foot on both islands.

There is something about these destinations that makes my heart skip a beat or two.

I cant help but slow down and operate on an island time that doesn’t take prisoners.

It is a non pressured way of life that I find works for me and that forces me to relax.

Interestingly I applied this relaxed approach to my work week with noticeable benefits!

I have spoken before about success through working with less ‘self generated’ pressure.

Last week because I was more relaxed things seemed to ebb and flow more smoothly.

I had the same workload and deadlines but didn’t let it affect me like normal.

I found I was able to prioritise better and release stress and pressure because of this.

The other thing I noticed was that relaxing the intensity had a reverse affect on results.

I had calls from people I have relentlessly pursued in the past who called me instead?

Several wanted to proceed with deals and others wanted more information or meetings.

Relaxing and backing off the pressure personally also had that affect on my customers.

Interesting stuff that lead me to conclude that the relaxed version is more attractive to do business with and be around than the highly strung version (endorsed by the boss my wife).

I guess when you think about it, rocket science it is not ,however what did occur to me is how hard it is to stop and see yourself as others do.

Not only that but to accept that you need to change and to do something about it.

Well that’s all I have time for as it is afternoon nap time afterall…..Be happy J Cheers J

 

 

“Make time for ‘island time”.

Time to be better

 

 

 

                                                                                       Edition 411 Monday 22/01/18

 

Hi,ho hi ho its back to work I go and I cant wait to rip into it! Its been a mighty break surfing badly at Muriwai Beach as 48 morphed full on into ‘kiwi bach’ and holiday mode.

Long lazy Summer days and evenings on ‘Muriwai time’ with a tropical storm,six months rainfall,dog/cat sitting and some emergency call outs (pic)…and what about the cricket!!!

Our Mega Mitre 10 $150 buck pool worked overtime to keep us all cool as I experimented with a cocktail of chemicals to keep the water clear and bug free.Endless fun swimming from dawn to dusk proving yet again the simple inexpensive stuff is what childhood and family memories are made of (see pic).We joined the ‘bunch of balloon’ frenzy bombarding each other and anything that didn’t move quickly with water missiles.Not surprisingly the inventors of this kiwi pastime now own and live in the ex Chrisco/Kim Dot Com mansion!

Fletcher reckons his new ‘stand up’ surfboard is the bomb and cant see what the fuss about learning to surf is all about….(see pics…job done!).He also loved the dog sitting and has put his order in for some pups from ‘Weasels’  2018 litter (Joy)….(pic)

Something funny about holidays is relearning the value of time…..time for partners, time for family, time for reading, time for visiting, time for maintenance,time for thinking , time for exercise,time for self, time for FUN and most importantly time to figure out how to make more time for all that stuff in a normal day,week,month…the key to a better life!!!

Needless to say we have decided to be ‘better’ at making time for all of the above in 2018!

Watch this space…..in the meantime, take care and have a great week…Cheers Jonesey.

 

Kate Henderson reckons more time for her needs to be added above quick smart!

 

 

“Theres a way to do it better-find it.” Thomas Edison

 

Holidays are a great time to reflect, review and renovate ideas and thoughts.

It is a time to take time to look at things from different angles(or left field as they say).

I have often come up with some innovative solutions to problems that have plaqued me.

This holiday period has been no different with a ‘work on’ list business and personal.

Some ponderings have been submitted/hacked around and even accepted already!!

The key for me is keeping them separated into business and personal and linking them.

Linking ideas and improvements to goals and objectives is important as they provide a vehicle or means of working towards and achieving a successful outcome.

I was closely involved in calculating and setting new revenue budgets prior to the break.

Without consciously thinking about it I was able to come up with several ideas that will assist greatly with achieving the level of business required to produce these numbers!

This didn’t happen burning midnight or holiday oil sweating over numbers,it happened totally relaxed down the beach, having a nap, at the movies and around the pool.

We are at our most creative and innovative when we are rested and relaxed.

This fact also provided the catalyst for working towards another objective to be better at devoting time to a whole host of more important things than work(incl rest and relaxation).

So instead of a lengthy list of New Year resolutions I ended up with some cool ideas that link perfectly to my one aim for 2018……to be better and the best I can be at everything I do!

I don’t know about you but at my tender age it needs to be as simple as it can be.

This is my simple philosophy and I cant wait to get cracking and to keep you updated!!

Roll on 2018…..see you out there !!!

 

“Better never stops.” Graham Henry