Cool Sunnies bro !!!!!

         

Edition 171  Tuesday 29th January 2013

Hi,Happy Birthday Auckland, crikey what a way to celebrate with three outstanding days of glorious weather. I hope those ‘Jafa’s’ amongst you got out and enjoyed some of the great places, spaces and events in the city over the Anniversary weekend. We marked the 150^th birthday weekend by mixing in a couple of compulsory picnics at Matua Vineyard with some exciting DIY activity! Not happy with our original paint colour we mixed a couple of colours together to come up with a winner (as yet nameless but hanging in there on the test wall) . If the test colour on the test wall makes it to next weekend she is all on for young and old as the kitchen and lounge will be transformed! Not content with some creative paint mixing we tore up all the old carpet to reveal a wooden pine floor screaming for exposure and recognition….you know the drill you start out just going to have a look and end up sitting in the middle of 400 square metres pile of carpet and underlay J Blooming satisfying though I must say although now I am thinking where to now Mr DIY?? Watch this space !

My ‘Be Better’ goal for 2013 is already biting me in the bottom, of course I told Christine proudly all about it and now I get regular reminders when things are obviously not heading in the ‘better’ direction!!!.......hmmmm action not words …..good though ehh no way I am going to get away with the grumpy old man act in 2013!!

Hey, here is a hot tip in preparation for heading off in the car on a sunny day….the other night I packed my lunch for the next day and placed it in the fridge. I didn’t realise but I had put my sunglasses in the cooler bag as well!!...they were chilled to perfection as I did battle with the sunstrike on the Nor Western motorway……I put them in my lunch bag every night now….you heard it here first !! you can trust the Joneses to set the trends yet again in 2013 !!

I hope you had a good weekend relaxing with family and friends, have a great week. Cheers Jonesey.

Harry and the Hendersons love the new flooring much better for dog sliding & dog hockey!

“Being ‘Upbeat’ is a conscious decision we must make everyday” Green Gorilla Boy!

I have struggled to get back into work rhythm this year . Last week was a classic example I started Monday with all the best intentions however never really got out of first gear. I felt flat and unmotivated in fact anything but ‘Upbeat’. It was tough going but I got there in the end.

Luckily I was scheduled to speak at our our first Toastmasters meeting first thing Tuesday morning.

WOW what a difference that made to the way I started the day in contrast to the day before. I was motivated and energised, I hit the ground running and kept the same pace all day. I was bullet proof and unbeatable all day. It wasn’t tough it was fun and I didn’t want it to end……..What a contrast !!!!!

Certainly reminded me that being enthusiastic and passionate is a daily decision we all have to make no matter who we are. It is easy to slip into a flat patch, a rut that we seemingly cant motiovate ourselves out of. That is why we need things like Toastmasters, network groups, clubs, organisations that allow us to mix with like minded people who motivate and inspire each other to succeed.

It is tough going doing this alone but we must develop a pattern that sees us starting each day the same way to ensure we are programmed to be our own catalyst for success rather than a catalyst for procrastination and failure or mediocrity.

As I have said on numerous occasions, being ‘Upbeat’ doesn’t happen naturally it is a discipline that takes a daily focus and lots of hard work. Yes there will be those flat days but that is when we know we are human and that we must seek the help, guidance and motivation of others to stay on track.I am proud to acknowledge without this help I would definitely struggle.Thanks fellow Toastmasters !!

“Pain is inevitable, but misery is optional.” Tim Hansel

'Be Better'

         

Edition 170  Monday 21st January 2013

Hi,whoever said ‘life changes forever when you have children’ probably wasn’t a rocket scientist but they sure knew what they were talking about. Wow after just over three weeks on leave with Fletcher coming back to work seems like the restful/easy option when compared with child rearing !! To Christine and all the Mums and Dads out there I salute you. Your role in shaping the lives of your children through the good and the bad will never be understated or underestimated by me, it has and always will be a full time and vitally important role…..and a totally rewarding/satisfying one at that!

The secret I have found and attempted to perfect is not to get rattled or stressed (hmmmm not easy for the grumpy man). To establish a happy routine that involves all family members (including the four legged team) and to stick as closely to that happy little program as possible.

We had a cool time bonding as a family over the break and found that the program allowed for most stuff to happen in each day with little time for a lot else on most. As a result we spent an enjoyable holiday break visiting local venues within an easy drive of our place. A favorite haunt was the Matua Vineyard where we made the bottom field with its olive groves, vines and rolling fields our own for many a lazy late lunch afternoon picnic. Simple stuff but the best of times in an amazing setting that we find we have to ourselves most of the time! We ventured no further than 20km in any direction from home base the entire time and just loved it.

It was cool to catch up with Family, old and dear friends as well as locals we don’t seem to get quality time to connect with during the year, to us our break was everything it should be,time out to catch our breath before another year full of exciting new challenges and opportunities.

We hope you also took some time out to appreciate and recognise families,friends neighbours and maybe stuff you are too busy to notice in the busy fast paced world we operate in. We hope you all have hit the ground running and like us look forward to another positive year ahead.

 Cheers Jonesey.

Harry and the Hendersons wish you all a Scooby Doo New Year. They saw a bumper sticker they liked the other day, it said, ”Wife and Dog missing, reward for dog”!! ruff ruff.

“Building a better you is the first step to building a better World”. Zig Ziglar

This year instead of getting too carried away with lists of specific goals and objectives I have decided to apply the keeping it simple process to the point where two words say it all for me in two Oh one 3!

‘Be Better’

All my goals and objectives will be achieved if I contually focus on being better than I am right now.

By applying my focus to these two words at the start of each day my goal becomes a daily one to be better than the day, month or year before at achieving. If I am not capable of doing that myself then I will seek assistance but my mission will remain the same to get better at whatever it is I do.

Eg; Being a partner, parent, friend, motorist J, employee,person………….be better.

Customer service, productivity, communication,Management,colleague…………..be better

There you have it simple but powerful stuff, looking forward to a big one, hope you are too !!!

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.” Dr Seuss

All Gooey !!

Hi,although attendees are a dying breed the Devonport Razza’s Christmas do is a must for all veterans and their mates who have survived another year! This years event was no exception with the keenly contested ‘housie’ session setting the scene for a rousing Christmas lunch with all the trimmings and customary refreshments flowing as the guests sat down to a sumptuous feast. My normal favourites,the succulent ham on the bone and the delicious rich, moist, tasty christmas pud garnished with warm gooey custard were there once again in enough abundance for seconds J

Apart from these gastronomic delights the other highlights for us included the appearance of Fletcher James Jones at his first official Razza engagement and an important one it was too as he was able to help his Grandmother Ngaire celebrate her ‘life membership’ award presented after dinner prior to the live band entertainment and all important drawing of the christmas raffles. Yes another cracking time was had by all and most were home tucked up in bed before afternoon tea…..God Bless Devo Razza!!

We took the opportunity to stroll along the Devonport waterfront with Fletcher and enjoy a cold Monteiths lager outside the grand old Masonic Tavern as we wiled away a beautiful sunny Auckland Day. Its days like these that make us truly grateful for what we have and where we live.

It was a timely reminder to us that you don’t have to go far or spend zillions to get out and enjoy the many places that are the jewels in the crown of our neighbourhoods throughout our country. Where ever you are this Christmas make a point of getting out and enjoying it with whoever you are with, life is for living not wondering. On behalf of Christine, Fletcher, Harry and the Hendersons I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a safe happy New Year. We have loved sharing our good,bad and ugly experiences with you this year and thank you all for your objective, honest and frank feedback. We look forward to linking up again with you from Monday 21^st January 2013 , have an awesome fun week and take care……….Cheers Jonesey!

Harry and the Hendersons reckon it would be ‘Scooby Doo’ if you all adopted a dog or two in the New Year. They have plenty of buds looking for homes….apply within woof woof!!!

“In each of these companies I do whatever needs to be done, whether it`s ideas, testing, marketing, catalog copy-writing, or dishes.” Amy Cameron Farmer

Every company I have worked in or ever been in the cafeteria of seems to have a problem getting people to wash their own dishes after a drink or eating something at work? (sound familiar?)

Does everyone do that at their homes as well?.....probably not in most cases so why when they get to work do thay have a major problem cleaning up after themselves??

Does everyone think if they dump and run that eventually all the clean dishes will run out and some unlucky soul will have to wash some if not all the dishes so they can use them !!! I am laughing as I write but it is so true…….now Ive started,what about those people who come along and use the last hot water in the jug or milk in the bottle to make their drink and then disappear so that the next person (seems its always me !!) comes along, has to fill the jug and either go without milk or go down the road to get some  aaaarrrrrgggghhhhhh!!!. I can see the majority of you reading this nodding your heads with smiles on your faces !!!! Inconsiderate lot arnt we !!! well at least that’s what I used to think until one day last week……….just when I was about to give up……..

We had some VIP guests and treated them to luscious date scones and bottomless cups of real coffee which impressed them greatly and left a pile of dishes a mile high afterwards!! I bit the bullet and got stuck into cleaning them to find that our Managing Director grabbed a tea towel and dried them!! I will never complain about doing dishes again and believe this simple act did more to inspire,motivate and lead than anything planned or premeditated. So pick up a dish cloth and join the revolution!!

 “Wishes won't wash dishes” The Boss

Boris the cat June-1996- Dec 2012

Hi, its been a sad old time as we have finally had to say goodbye to Boris the last of our four cats. He was a cool dude and had a good life. Unfortunately after being badly injured 15 months ago he had been confined to our ‘departure lounge’ where life was comfortable but never the same. Animals are a huge part of any family and we have felt the loss of Boris accutely in the last few days with more than a tear or two shed as we remembered what an affectionate character he was. There is no doubt he is in a better place now with his four brothers stretching out on a big sofa with endless cat treats in cat heaven where there are no dogs !! R.I.P. Bozza the cat :(

On a brighter note the festive season is upon us with the Pohutukawas resplendantly bursting into bright red flower signalling the start of the silly season. We got another real tree from the pick and chop man locally it was the perfect size for the car and the house. There is a beautiful pine smell throughout the house (and the car !!) .The decorations and the lights fascinate Fletcher and his Father night after night!  It’s a magical time of year especially for the kids and spending time with family. The secret is to try not to let the madness engulf you in the mall and on the roads, try to take some time out to ensure you do relax and enjoy what is a traditionally happy time.I know its not always easy depending on each of our own circumstances however if we all go in with honest and best intentions we might just surprise ourselves how much we do enjoy it……worth a crack !!

I hope you had a great weekend in the sun having fun recharging your batteries for the penultimate week before Christmas,time to bring the year successfully to a close and look forward to a new one !!

 Have a great week…………..Cheers Jonesey!

Harry and the Hendersons had a minute silence and a few beers to remember Boris !

“My fitness goals are different than most peoples. Most people want to lose enough weight so they look good in a bathing suit or they want to lower their cholesterol. I just want to lose enough so my stomach doesn't jiggle when I brush my teeth.” Kevin James

As you know we have talked about the importance of exercise to your on going well being and state of mind. No where does this matter more than in the work place.

Your confidence and your self esteem are boosted if you can fit into that stunning outfit or look good whatever you wear.

After doing over 1000 sit ups and associated central core exercises weekly (over 50,000 between summers!) you would hope that you could take your shirt off down the beach with a degree of confidence or wear a fitting shirt to work?!!….but no, still a bit more work to do yet Im afraid!!!

The problem my friends is my diet not my exercise, you see exercising daily is fine but Im afraid it doesn’t then give me license to eat whatever I want ! This is a lesson I struggle to learn. I cant help it if the cafes close to me make the best orange/date scones and ginger slice in the land !

After a weekend of following my own advice and relaxing with family and friends it is impossible to wear a fitting shirt to work on Monday !, so the not so fitting version gets rolled out (again). Progressively through the week the more I exercise the more fitting the shirt gets and the higher the confidence level! My success level in sales depends largely on what belt hole I am riding in on the day!!! There is no point in calling on customers or doing presentations with the ‘muffin’ tummy over belt effect going on. The less muffin the more power and confidence, the more muffin the less breath and ability (mobility) to handle any situation…..aint that the truth! :)

No matter how hard we exercise it will never do us any good if we don’t watch our diet. A timely message for us all as the tempatations of the festive season loom. Enjoy the moment but don’t lose sight of your exercise program and how you want that to make you feel…..invincible !!

“I am a better person when I have less on my plate.” Elizabeth Gilbert

Random acts !!

Edition 167  Monday 3rd December 2012

Hi,I never used to like getting a haircut as a kid, mainly because Dad fancied himself as a bit of  a barber. He even went to the expense of kitting himself out with some clippers! Knowing Dad they were picked up second hand and probably ex a South Island sheep station!! They certainly cut (or pulled) like they had been well used in a previous life. Needless to say my brother and I were not keen on getting herded into the kitchen on a Sunday night to be experimented on by Dad who seemed to get an inordinate amount of pleasure from the ritual. I am unsure if it was the fear in our eyes and the pitch of our voices or the finished styley result(not) that gave him the most pleasure!!

I am pleased to say those days are over and after plenty of therapy I have my hair cut with a modern set of clippers designed specifically for humans by Christine every Sunday! There is something about starting every week with a fresh haircut that gives me an extra spring in my step !!

A couple of random acts of kindness got me thinking this week about how much pleasure is generated by both the giving and receiving of such simple things. A guy pulling out of a city pay and display car park gave me his ticket that still had 40 minutes on it. We gave a friend a small gift recently on the spur of the moment and left it for her to discover as a surprise. Both were random simple acts of kindness that didn’t have to happen for any reason but both generated an amazing amount of pleasure and goodwill for givers and receivers.  Simple small random acts can and do often have more impact than stuff that is elaborate, expensive and planned to the last detail. The moral of this little story folks is Christmas couldnt be a better time for you to see for yourself how much impact a simple, thoughtful act of kindness can have….knock yourself out,have a great week.

 Cheers Jonesey!

Harry and the Hendersons steered clear of the lounge while the ruggers was on Sundee!

Love the smell of the Chrissy tree Dad hmmmmm pine forest !Scooby Dooby Doo!!

We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery, we need humanity.More than cleverness,we need kindness and gentleness.”Charlie Chaplin Comedic Actor, Filmmaker,Writer.

Continuing with the theme of random acts of kindness,they are simple small things that can and do also benefit us hugely in business and private. Some examples I have observed lately are hearing complete strangers compliment each other on clothing they are wearing and hairstyles in a lift. Guys letting ladies get into and out of the the same lift first! Guys opening office and car doors for ladies, even just the simple act of saying please and thank you can have an impact in a world today where these words are used less and less.

I often make a habit of picking up rubbish I see on the beach or blowing around a work premises. This has a noticeable effect on people you are with at the time. I was walking up our driveway last week with our Managing Director and key shareholder and picked up a number of pieces of loose rubbish that were blowing around. Here is a guy who has just invested $millions in a new venture, how do you think he would have felt about that. He appreciated it and said so, small things make a BIG impact.

I reckon the exciting part about these random acts is you can do them anytime to anyone it is so totally up to you. The other cool thing is that they are infectious and one kind thing you do can cause others to do the same for someone else because your act motivated them so positively to do so.

Your mission should you decide to accept it is to perform a random act of kindness daily,carpe diem!

 “Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you.” Diana Spencer,Princess Of Wales.

Big D

Edition 166  Monday 26^th November 2012

Hi, it had to happen and it did….someone finally fell in love with our beloved Retro Suzuki on Trademe and had to have it. I had done my best to delay the inevitable by pitching the price far too high but even that in the end wasn’t enough.Big Don from Wellywood is the proud new owner, he was so keen he flew up from the Capital and rode her back. Big D is a big unit alright, lets just say that the tyre pressure we had set for Christine and I riding together was perfectly set for Big D riding on his own. He arrived home safe and well two days after taking ownership after a perfect road trip on his new toy. It was sad to see her go but great to know Don will use her a lot more than us and love the ride!

We had some great trips and fun times and enjoyed remembering those fondly over a couple of quiet ones last week.Thankfully we did 25000 accident/incident free km,the only time she went down was when I was in too much of a hurry to get to a public toilet and didn’t put the stand down properly J.

Retro has been replaced in our family by Fletcher who will be equally as challenging, enjoyable and fun to go places and have adventures together with. There is nothing more important than family and friends and making sure that we all make the most of every minute we can to be together. Sometimes that is not as easy as it sounds and there may be issues or obstacles to overcome in order to achieve it, however , it will always be worth it. We attended a funeral of the Father of one of our friends this weekend, he was 57 !!!, life is too short to not seize every opportunity to celebrate family and friends…..I hope you took some time out this weekend to do just that.

Have a great week, Cheers Jonesey!

Harry and the Hendersons love the cruisy music in the car on the way to their dog walk!!

“Selling the ‘sizzle’ is about saying yes to everything.” Sales

One of our boys ,Matthew installs heat pumps for a living. We were lucky enough to get a ‘family’ deal on a system recently. I was apprenticed to assist the install and whilst a monkey would have been more assistance I was amazed at the workload involved in installing a basic heat pump.

I am sharing this with you because like the quote above says most sales people make the Operations/Installing/delivery departments or teams lives hell in most companies I know by promising the earth and saying yes to everything without applying a lot of thought,fact or logic.

Matthew confirmed this when we were working together by saying their installation team could be at least 25% more productive and profitable if the sales team understood and consulted more before selling their companies products and services.

I thought about this and it occurred to me that the same applied at Green Gorilla where the operations team used to have hair once before they pulled it all out having to deal with some of the situations our sales team commit us to on a daily basis.

Imagine being at least 25% more productive and profitable. Imagine Operations and sales working together instead of on different wave lengths or pages of the book!

We talked a few episodes ago about walking a mile in customers moccasins before you could really understand what they wanted or needed. The same applies inside a company, we need to understand completely what our Operation is capable of delivering before we commit them tpo delivering it!! Sounds basic and easy but there are not many companies I know (ours included) where there isn’t a lot of room for improvement in communicating this information…over to you !!!

 “Always under promise so we can over deliver.”  Operations

Real Groovy!!

         

Edition 165  Monday 19^th November 2012

Hi, ‘to be honest’ I have been working on my anger management issues.’To be frank’, it doesn’t seem to be working!’To be fair’ I obviously havent been trying hard enough! ‘At the end of the day’ I know this because there was another complaint received to our office about my driving last week! Yes I admit at times I find it hard to tolerate people who do 60-80km on a 100km open highway,nearly as annoying as people who start or end sentences with one of the highlighted cliches above!

So…there was only one thing for it….off to Real Groovy(you have to go there!) in town to buy some soothing music for the car! Four bargain priced CD’s later and I am in a better place while driving….we shall see!!

Ponder this;

• Do you know where the spare tyre, jack and tools are in your car?..checked them lately?
• Harry Jones is feeling Scooby Doo with his brand new # 1 shave for Summer.
• From the Fletcher Jones file…Mum is a cool entertainer but I am afraid Dad needs work!
• Prince Charles birthday 14/11, 9 months after Valentines Day !!, go Phil and Liz!!
• Selling stuff on Trademe……almost as good as buying more stuff !
• Rescued West Coast buoys to adorn Jim and Ngaire Joneses garden at Waiheke Island.
• Meet George the Gorilla (attached) made completely from recycled automotive parts!

I hope you all had a relaxing weekend with family and friends…..be sure to look out for me next week on a highway near you as I sing my way joyfully along as I go !!! Have a cool week, Cheers Jonesey!

Harry and the Hendersons are living the dream with Mum and Fletcher home all day to play with!, after all, lets face it who wants to go for a drive with the grumpy man !!! smile Pop!

“Training gives us an outlet for suppressed energies created by stress and thus tones the spirit just as exercise conditions the body.” Arnold Schwarzenegger

Work/life balance is something I have been focusing on more lately especially with our new son.

Getting home and spending quality time with him and Christine is an important part of the day.

Exercise plays a big part in making each day a balanced one.

I try to exercise for at least 30 minutes each day and on most days manage to stretch that out to an hour! I know what you are thinking and saying apart from ‘What a Hero’ you are probably saying, “where do you get the time?”

It isnt easy, if it was I wouldn’t be having to have this conversation with you !!

I havent got a lot of time so I have to plan my exercise carefully, I rise early at 5.30am and train for 30-45 minutes before getting ready and heading off to work. The early start with exercise sets the day up perfectly.

I have found a secret recipe to breaking a busy day in half and recharging the batteries I head to the public pool up the road from work at lunch time and swim a kilometre. All up including getting there, lunch and back to work or to my next meeting this takes 30-40 minutes !!

There was a time when I was first to work and opened the gate each day, worked all day, gulped lunch at the desk, had no real breaks and closed the gate as the last to leave at night, there was something seriously wrong with that picture. I am glad I realised that and did something about it!!

“An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.”

Henry David Thoreau

George the Gorilla