Rausch Ravings

Sharpen the saw!

2012-01-17T13:18:00.000-08:00

Stephen Covey is a wonderful person and a great author. I like his habits book but like most books the materials only work when we apply them to our lives.
Last week I did the sharpen the saw exercise by taking a short cruise to think, reflect, and relax before the very difficult spring that I have ahead of me at work. I was actually expecting that I would not be able to relax and put work behind me - but was very pleasantly surprised how easily that did in fact happen.
Another great discovery - my ability to think clearly has improved dramatically. No I'm not now among the great thinkers of our times, but I do find that the issues that were un-resolved before I took the time away were now able to be thought about and viewed much differently. In fact, I've mentally resolved most of them to my satisfaction.
Now I'm not suggesting that this method will work for everybody on absolutely everything that you have on your mind, but at least in my case it has worked beautifully.
You may want to consider trying the process. It doesn't have to be a cruise or even a week long vacation - it could simply be one or two extra days off around a weekend that you completely unplug and disconnect from the rest of the world so your mind can relax and recharge.
Try it - you may like it. I know I did and I plan to take a day or two off on a regular basis during 2012 to keep the sharpening project going for me.

These are my thoughts, what are yours?
Steve

Motivation/Follow-Through with Check Lists

2012-01-05T11:27:00.000-08:00

Life is like an untraveled trail with some very complex twists and turns. Many activities are detours that lead back to that pit of quicksand and mire. My mind easily turns to muddled thinking and disorganization. Just as an example, take the New Years Resolutions.
Are you trying to keep your New Years Resolutions and finding that some are already slipping? I doubt motivation is your issue - most likely, (at least for me) it tends to be my follow through, or lack of the same. My intentions are great, but somehow between getting out of bed and back into bed again, traveling that complex train, I just seem to "forget" the great list of resolutions and the priorities I wanted to accomplish them.

In walks the most humble of all Quality Control devices - the dreaded Check List!

Now as a pilot I know and use my checklist to fly the airplane without fail - it's not that I don't know or remember how to fly or what order to accomplish things in - its just that when my mind is working on keeping the aircraft flying sometimes I miss or forget something that should be routine and simple. Turning off the fuel pump after take-off is a prime example. It doesn't "hurt" anything, it just gets overlooked sometimes while I look for traffic. The same thing happens in my daily life which is why I find I must use a check list for most of the things I routinely do, even on a daily basis, or else small, simple things just don't get accomplished. In aviation the small things generally lead to major failures somewhere down the line.

I see the checklist used not only in aviation, but also medicine, design and construction projects, investing.......... There are even books written to convince us to use a checklist:

18 Minutes to Find your Focus, Master Distraction, and get the Right Things done by Peter Bregman. And of course, the best one: The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande - a doctor who proves to you beyond a shadow of a doubt why it is absolutely mandatory to use a checklist.

But you reply - I'm in the tile and flooring business! Why would I need a checklist? Trust me, after nearly 40 years in that industry I find it absolutely mandatory in that business too. Here is an example of a checklist that maybe would make sense when putting your installers out the door in the morning:

What do you understand this job priorities to be?

What concerns or ideas do you have that we haven't discussed already?

What are your key next steps and what is your timetable for accomplishment?

What else do you need from me to make this job a success?

Are there any contingencies we need to think about or plan for now?

When will you check in on your progress and issues?

Who else needs to know our game plan? How do we communicate that to them? When?

Does it take time to go through the checklist? Sure - maybe 5 minutes. But compare that to the hours saved in frustration and stress when the job is screwed up!

So a checklist not only reduces mistakes, saves stress, and frustration (on all sides) it also will absolutely save time.

Try using your own version of a checklist for just ONE WEEK - see if I'm wrong here.

Steve

Where are you headed in 2012?

2012-01-02T18:55:00.000-08:00

There's a story about a man riding a horse, galloping quickly. It appears he's headed somewhere very important. A man standing on the side of the road shouts, "Where are you headed?" The rider replies, "I don't know, ask the horse!"
Is this your story? Are you riding the "horse" of your habits with no idea where you are headed? Maybe it's time right now to take control of the reins, and start moving your life in the direction YOU want to go. I mean, REALLY WANT to go!
The choice is YOURS. You control your thoughts, which should control your actions. If you have no clue or idea where you are heading in 2012 then now is the time to stop, THINK about it, and decide.
You are able to do whatever YOU decide you want to do. It is truly up to YOU.
If you truly don't believe you know HOW to do this, either call me or email me and I will point you in the correct path so you can learn.
No judgement from me, just help if you request it.
Steve

Are you a golfer?

2011-12-31T06:57:00.000-08:00

Are you a golfer? I'm certainly not, however, when I played golf, I thought I was doing pretty well just to get the ball somewhere on the putting green.
The truth be told, my main goal was to reach the green without majorly embarrassing myself, so I was satisfied even when my ball made it somewhere near the fringes.
One day a local golf pro told me that the key difference between an average golfer and one who is excellent is this: The truly great players shoot for the hole, not somewhere near the hole or somewhere on the green. They aim directly for the hole.
He told me, “You should make the hole your goal.” My intelligent, thoughtful response was, “Yeah, right! That’ll be the day.”
I didn’t think I’d ever be able to hit the hole, so I didn’t even try. The reason so many of us get stuck, unable to move deeper into whatever we attempt is because we don’t think it’s truly possible, at least for us. And so we don’t even try.
For 2012 one of my wishes is for everyone who has a huge dream to make the honest attempt to reach the dream. While thinking about this I realized that my golf game mistake was the exact same mistake many others make with their dreams. Now I don't ever dream of being a great or even good golfer - I just don't care for the game that much. However, I do want to be a better pilot and I do have several other things that I want to improve at doing - and for those items I need to "shoot for the hole" rather than just aiming for the fringe and being satisfied.
My New Years Wish for you is to "SHOOT FOR THE HOLE!" and to have a very Happy 2012.
Steve

Relaxing over the Holidays

2011-12-27T13:52:00.000-08:00

I wrote earlier this month about making and working a plan for 2012. I've already completed the outline of my personal plan - but with me it is not just a written piece of paper but rather a living document that gets reviewed regularly and updated as needed.
As I sit here at home this last week of 2011 enjoying a week of vacation and visiting with my daughter, son-in-law, and grand daughter I realized that I wasn't really living my plan. Worse than that, I haven't been for the past several years! You see I always have God first in my plan, then family, then personal items and secure it all with work plans.
It dawned on me, rather shocked me, that for the past few years I haven't used all my vacation time that my company, USG Corp, is so generous to provide. This year is no exception. I am losing almost 2 weeks of vacation, again this year, and that just isn't fair to anyone.
I violate my family plan by shorting them of time together, and I violate my work plan because as we all really KNOW but sometimes forget to admit, that I don't do my best work when I'm tired and not really refreshed and recharged - which by the way - IS the PURPOSE of the company providing vacation time.
So I've just taken advantage of a fantastic opportunity to book a 5 day cruise with another couple during the month of January because the price was just way too cheap to pass it up! $219 per person for 5 days of cruise, including all taxes and fees! When you figure the cost of food and entertainment as well as the sleeping accommodation's, you can't even stay at a Motel 6 for that cheap - even if they do "Leave The Light On."
So this year, maybe for the first time ever, it is my plan and intention to spread my vacation time out and find real bargains so that not only do I recharge and refresh, (my work goals), I also meet my social, personal, and family goals, and have fun all at the same time.
What about you? Have you started on your plan for 2012 yet? Reviewed it? Thought about it?
No time like NOW to start so that 2012 will be the Best Year Ever for you.

Back to my family and easy chair now............
Steve

Success for 2012 hints.

2011-12-21T14:47:00.000-08:00

Want big success in 2012?

It's as simple as football. 1. Know the rules. 2. Know the Playbook. 3. Execute.
You do know the rules don't you? Do you follow them?
What about your playbook? You have one don't you?
Execution is where most folks fail. They just keep getting ready to get ready but never seem to actually get into the game with action.

As a pilot we talk about "Flying in the Soup." Which means flying your airplane in poor weather conditions. Sometimes life provides us with poor conditions also - so here's what you need to do to overcome this.
1. Know the rules. 2. Know the playbook. 3. Forget your feelings. 4. Trust and believe your instruments.
Now the first two are the same as football. Number 3 means you can't rely on just how things feel when you fly - you must have accurate facts. Where do you get the "Facts?" From number 4 - trusting and believing your instruments. Same easy steps as football without a sight or vision reference. Much as the economic conditions we experienced during 2011.

Success in 2012 is really just about taking common sense steps that you already know and applying them plus doing the execution, even on those day's you may not feel like it.
As the shoe company said: "JUST DO IT!"

Merry Christmas to All.
Steve

Fast Start 2012

2011-12-16T12:10:00.000-08:00

Hopefully everyone found last Monday's post on The Compound Effect - interesting and useful. Carrying forward in that same light, I would like to suggest that you consider taking time right now to carefully craft your "plan" for 2012.

My "plan" which I update regularly, but at least annually, includes the following items:
My personal vision statement
My Life Purpose statement
My Roles and Goals statement
My Accountability Checklist
One final item that I found helpful for me is a list of my strengths and weaknesses so that I can remain aware of both and plan to utilize my strengths while supporting my known weaknesses with others help.

Probably the single thing that I do that is critical for me is to plan and execute a daily Quiet Time. This is the time when I set myself apart to review and pray about everything going on in my life. I try to accomplish this in the mornings, but since my schedule requires flexibility I find myself doing my quiet time at various times - sometimes mornings, sometimes evenings, and sometimes even during my lunch time at the office. The critical thing for me is to DO IT!

If you have interest in any of the above planning items or tools, please contact me directly via email and I will share my statements and plans with you. It sounds overwhelming when you read this, but believe me, once you start it becomes so very easy and after you have carefully crafted your plan updating it regularly is actually quite fast.

I look forward to hearing from you.
Steve

Advise for 2012 start

2011-12-12T08:36:00.000-08:00

This blog is absolutely not a book review, however, many of you know, as I do, that reading good books is critical to your future success. I've finished a fantastic book called:
The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy.

In the book he points out the following critical information to make 2012 the best year EVER in your life.

Five Key Points to Harness The Compound Effect

1. Choices: Identify what you want to change in your life.
2. Habits: Present specific strategies for eliminating bad habits.
3. Momentum: Develop profitable and effective routines.
4. Influence: Sustain positive life influences.
5. Acceleration: Actions that exponentially increase the impact of efforts.

If you follow this easy plan, in small daily steps, you will, absolutely, exceed your wildest goals and plans quicker and easier than you ever thought possible.

It is my suggestion that you consider purchasing this book for anyone you care about and also a copy for yourself. It will be, I promise, a fantastic return on your investment in 2012.

These are my thoughts, I'd love to hear yours.
Steve

A Standard World??

2011-12-08T12:25:00.000-08:00

Lately I've spent a lot of my time involved in working on Standards. I'm involved in ASTM, ANSI and ISO and all 3 of those organizations develop and provide standards to help improve our world. I heard a number which shocked me recently - there are over 6,000 standards in use in over 80 countries in the world today. Yet the work is just barely begun as we still seem to see stories in the news on a regular basis about some product coming into the US defective and being sold to unknowing consumers because there was/is no standard in place currently covering that particular product. The gypsum industry learned that lesson the hard way a few years ago.
Believe it or not, almost everything you see or touch today is somehow covered by a standard in some way, either materials used or the testing protocol to bring the product to the marketplace. Yes, even your local ATM machine has many standards. Since I'm involved in the building materials industry I'm somewhat forced to become involved in building codes - and in the latest codes for residential buildings alone there are over 1500 ASTM specifications, practices, and test methods that the industry must comply with.
There are standards for everything - even standards about how to write and produce standards. There are standards for amusement park rides, standards for the vehicles that get you to the park, standards for the products in the hotels you stay in while visiting the parks, etc, etc. The funny thing is when you come across something that has no standard, then nerds like me immediately want to create a standard so that product too is covered!
Now I have to be honest here, nobody I've ever heard of grew up dreaming of becoming a standards developer. Not that there is anything unsavory or unsatisfying about being in the standards workplace - is is just necessary, low-profile work that some folks seem to end up involved in and usually either like it or leave quickly.
So in closing this Raving I want you to think about this: As you are decorating your house or even your tree this year know that the lights are covered by a standard, the ornaments are covered by standards, even the garland is covered by a standard. Doesn't that just take the joy out of your holiday season!!!

These are my thoughts, let me hear yours.
Steve

Doubt and Fear

2011-12-05T18:39:00.000-08:00

Right now I have this quote on my email for work:
Doubt and Fear are the greatest enemies of Knowledge.
He who conquers Doubt and Fear conquers Failure.

Now I don't know how you feel about these two words, but I personally believe they have caused more failures than anything else. Every time someone has Doubt and Fear it tends to lead them to do nothing, which generally is the absolute worst thing they could do. Most of the time, in my experience, doing nothing leads to worse failures than if you had done even the wrong thing.

Next time you realize you have doubt and fear attacking you, stop, take a deep breath, relax, and then go back to work acquiring the needed knowledge to do something - to make something happen - to move in a forward direction. You will conquer failure this way.

I once took a sales course where the leader suggested that it is much easier to push a pendulum in the wrong direction than the right way. But do it anyway, because once you get it moving it is much easier to push it back in the correct direction. It's the movement that counts most of the time. I've found that to be exactly true in my business career.

So my Raving for today is this: Doubt and Fear - NEVER EVER allow them an extra second of life when you realize they are with you. They will only push you away from true knowledge and towards failure.

These are my thoughts, what are yours?

Steve

Do Not Call Registration.

2011-11-29T07:17:00.000-08:00

Cell phone numbers go public this month. This means that those nuisance calls you've received on your home phones can now be placed to your cell phone! And your cell service provider is supporting this effort (so they can increase your billings) by providing your number and info to the marketing firms doing this spamming.

Readers are reminded that all cell telephone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies. As a result, you may start to receive uninvited sales calls, for which you will be charged.

To prevent this, call the following number from your cell phone: 888-382-1222. This is the National DO NOT CALL list. It will only take a minute of your time and this will block your number for five years.

You must call from the cell phone number you want to have blocked. You cannot call from a different phone number.

You may also block calls to your land-line phones and get more information at https://www.donotcall.gov/default.aspx.

Steve

Protect what you create.

2011-11-28T08:36:00.000-08:00

I was talking with a friend over the holiday weekend and learned that he is in the middle of a big home remodeling project which includes new tile flooring. He is doing part of the project himself and having contractors in to handle other parts. Naturally during our conversations about this project he asked my opinion on several issues, one of which is how in the world does he protect his finished tilework while others are walking around doing other work?

I was happy to educate him about using USG's Fiberock Floor Protection Paper to stop the dirt and other bad things from ruining his hard work and efforts. Most DIY'ers don't know about the TCNA Handbook but in that document it discusses protecting new tile work and that is exactly the role that this paper plays. What is necessary is a product that is fairly cheap, easy to work with, and yet still provides protection.

As I told my friend, I just don't know why EVERYONE who does any flooring work of any type, DIY or Professional, doesn't use this product every single day to protect what they create.

These are my thoughts on this, what are yours?

Steve

Thanksgiving Week

2011-11-21T06:43:00.000-08:00

First I want to let everyone know that I will post a wrap-up of the ISO meeting results soon, but awaiting a written summary of all the actions so that I won't miss anything important that I had little interest or involvment with.

It's Thanksgiving week here and many folks are starting the preparations for the big feast. I question why we anticipate eating such a huge feast knowing that we also want to control or maintain our weight. Knowing that we will have to start again to lose those pounds that we gain in that one day always baffels me. I also know that many folks (mostly women I imagine) are planning for that huge shopping day - Black Friday - which follows the feast.

Now I for one, have NEVER been a fan of shopping, let along jumping into those insane crowds on that morning. I question why retail stores want to create such massive jams and overloads on their staff and facilities when they could just spread those out over a much longer time period and everyone would be happier and work easier. Is it the "mob" effect that they want to create?

Last Saturday we went to several stores in London, Harrods, (of course) and PriMart. Both stores were, at best, uncomfortable shopping experiences. My thoughts 50 foot inside of PriMart was how do I get out alive!! Literally the Que for check out was 200+ people long and everyone was pushing and shoving to get to the merchandise. No way would I have spent even a shilling in that store due to the atmosphere they have created. Harrods was slightly better, but still way too crowded and broken up for me to have what I call a good shopping experience.

I know we are in bad economic times, and I can appreciate wanting to improve business, but what about the proper environment being created for the desire to spend money? In the flooring business most of us spend huge amounts of time and effort, not to mention money, creating a scene of beauty so our consumers will desire it for their homes also.

Maybe the retail stores could take a few moments to study other types of selling and find a new and different path to profits.

These are my thoughts, what are yours?

Steve

ISO Meetings Part Two

2011-11-17T03:03:00.000-08:00

After another full day of work we have accomplished the following:

Introduced and gotten approval for ISO to follow the latest ANSI Standards changes regarding the Coefficient of Friction issues.

Another vote via Internet on the new generation of test methods and criteria for adhesives which seems to have pitted Mapei against Laticrete as to what new testing methods and criteria is or is not needed in the setting materials business. Much discussion on both sides.

More discussion on the thin ceramic tiles or panels still not resolving the many differences in definitions, characteristics or test methods required for successful installation. Italy and China have been the countries with the most differences although Japan and other countries are now becoming involved.

The working group discussions on installation methods, as expected, still has no clear direction due to the many varied different conditions and methods used in the various countries and regions of the world. Several smaller national members would like a new labor standard to be developed but they have no resources or interest in working to develop those standards. The larger countries, like the US, have standards and are willing to share those but the standards cover much different installation methods so they are not useful unless labor in those other countries would completely change how they currently install.

Two other working groups also met, on ceramic tile test methods and product specifications and neither had much progress or major conflicts to resolve.

The Backer Board working group presented our proposal for the new CBU backer board standard and it was agree to be accepted as a working group draft which means that it will now be electronically distributed to the 50 member countries of the TC for comments and preliminary voting during the next few months.

One final report will follow

Steve

ISO TC 189 Meetings in London

2011-11-15T02:12:00.000-08:00

I wanted to quickly report on the ISO meetings in London which started Monday and runs for the next four days (until Thursday). We have 50 countries represented with 66 people in attendance.

ISO runs a very elaborate agenda with many formal items so I will not attempt to cover all the many points of the first day in this report - 32 agenda items - but the highlight are:

Report and discussion of how ISO and the European Standards group are working together to accomplish simplifying the standards and codes across Europe and the rest of the world.

Report and discussion of Working Group 4 - Thin Tiles. Both Italy and China are highly involved in the making of this new category of tile products with many different characteristics that must be discussed and resolved for successful installations.

Report and discussion of Working Group 6 - Installation Methods. During discussions it seems to be the consensus that it will be difficult to resolve the many differences of methods of installation within the many different labor groups and methods of the member countries. It was also discussed that, for the most part, labor does not cross over borders in the same way that products do so this group may not be necessary. Each country seems to be satisfied that within their countries the labor groups are working well for the situations they face with international products being installed differently. We may still work to find an effective method of communicating different labor methods that work for the many countries so that other countries can possibly utilize those same installation methods.

More to follow tomorrow.

Questions??? Please email questions to me at Srausch@usg.com
Steve

Total Solutions Plus, Day Four

2011-11-10T21:26:00.001-08:00

We are experiencing very poor Internet connection services with the hotel today, so this may be a very short posting.

This is the big learning sessions day at Total Solutions. We started with a fantastic Futurist speaker, Dr Jay Lehr who gave us many great ideas about what we can expect to see in the future of our industry and how he suggests we all change and adapt to move into more success. Big idea of the day was Tile as art, not just as a floor or wall covering.

We then had a choice of 4 breakout sessions which were all extremely interesting and provided different viewpoints of situations that we all face every day in the tile business. It made for a very difficult choice as to which sessions to attend.

A fantastic awards luncheon followed the morning sessions and we were treated to several industry folks receiving achievement awards. Ed Metcalf, President of Laticrete was the receiptant of the CTDA award while James Woelfel was the NTCA receiptant.

After lunch we had a quick report on the CTDA and NTCA organizational activities for the year and it really made you tired just hearing everything that has been happening at each of these organizations.

Four more breakout sessions followed for the balance of the afternoon.

We ended the day with a 4 hour table top show where approximately 40 vendors had booths to show the almost 450 attendees different products and services that make our industry so great to be involved with.

Tomorrow (Friday) is the final day and again it will be morning and afternoon breakout sessions followed by the keynote address: Marcus Luttrell, author and hero to celebrate veterans day in a patriotic style. We close the week and show with a huge closing reception and Western Themed Dinner with lots of music and dancing. As I will be returning to Atlanta I won't provide any more updates on activities after this post.

I do want to express my deepest wishes that if you have been reading this blog from your home that you make a vow right now to attend next year in person and see for yourself how this quick week can inspire you and provide many valuable ideas for your personal and business growth throughout the entire year.

Steve

Total Solutions Plus, Day Three

2011-11-10T07:52:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry this is late as I've heard from many folks that they are looking forward to hearing what's happening here at TSP.

We started the day with a new Green Squared Certification Summit. On Monday at the ANSI meeting this program was passed as a new standard, and now we have 3 respected labs appointed as authorized certification bodies. What's next? Tcna companies can start the process of being certified which will add to additional business within our industry for the sustainable movement.

We also had a meeting of the NTCA Five Star Contractor group. This group is made up of the absolute best and finest companies that are dedicated to quality installation of our products. Every contracting company in our industry should be aspiring to become a member of this group.

We had Board meetings of CTDA and NTCA. Both groups handled the general business side of the associations and provided reports OS the many activities that their membership is involved with.

We ended the day with an All Industry Reception where the over 450 registered folks were able to meet and socialize.

Thursday provides us with many breakout learning sessions and I look forward to providing, as best as I can, an overview of all of the sessions.

Steve

Total Solutions Plus, Day Two

2011-11-08T19:13:00.000-08:00

Another exciting and full day of meetings.

TCNA had their board meeting today - many reports on the issues that we've been working on all year, including discussions about the 2012 edition of the TCNA Handbook. Tile Council has laid out some very aggressive plans for many new member programs for next year that will certainly benefit our industry.

CTDA had a full agenda today of committee meetings including: Convention Planning, Membership and Benefits committee, CCTS Testing, Education, Marketing & PR, Green Building, and Certification committee. All of those back to back meetings covering all the many activities this group does for their members.

NTCA spent the entire day in the Technical Committee, of which I am a member, and we covered 18 different issues as well as 3 new business items. One of the highlights of the day was a hands on demo of the proper way to hang CBU backer board units on steel studs and an overview of the new "EQ" gauge steel studs and what to look for when you find them on your job site. A great number of items come out of this committee and go on to become industry standards for products and installation methods.

The day just ended with the CTEF Board meeting with 10 business items discussed including an update on the Certified Tile Installer Program progress for this year as well as strategic planning for 2012. We are looking at some very exciting new program plans to continue to improve the installation side of our industry.

Many interesting meetings happening this week at TSP and starting Thursday we will have the start of the Breakout Sessions where the real learning takes place.
Stay tuned for tomorrow's update.

Steve

Total Solutions Plus, Day One.

2011-11-07T17:09:00.000-08:00

This week I will be reporting from beautiful Phoenix, AZ on the Total Solutions Plus Meetings and Trade Show. This is the group meetings for all 4 of the major ceramic tile industry associations, TCNA, CTDA, NTCA, and CTEF.

Monday was devoted to the ANSI Committee meeting, the ISO Tag meeting, and the MMSA Meeting.
The ANSI meeting discussed 5 ballot issues for new standards and the status for each issue - several have already passed but several are going to need review and re-balloting due to pending negative votes. This is the way that a consensus ballot works, we must deal with the negative votes so that the standard is acceptable to all groups that participate.
We then had 4 new submissions received and discussed, 3 of which were submitted by the MMSA committee.
We finished the ANSI meeting with reports from 3 Ad-Hoc Committees that have been and will continue to study various issues that possibly may become ballot issues.

We then moved into the ISO TAG group meeting and had reports on the 7 current working groups.
Working group 1 - addresses tile testing methods
Working group 2 - addresses tile specifications
Working group 3 - addresses installation materials
Working group 4 - addresses thin tile issues
Working group 5 - addresses proposed backer board standards
Working group 6 - addresses installation methods and issues
Working group 7 - addresses sustainability issues

These 7 working groups all gave reports on the status of their committees and discussed next weeks expected issues at the full ISO TC-189 meeting in London, UK.

Next were discussions on two potential new working groups addressing:
A. Anti-microbial test methods proposals
B. Next generation of test methods and criteria for adhesives.

Finally we discussed the status of all of the ISO TC-189 projects underway.

The final meeting of the day was for the MMSA - (The Material & Methods Standards Association). This is one of the main groups to develop potential new standards for our industry, focusing mainly on installation materials and methods.

Our first order of business was to re-elect our current slate of officers for another 3 year term as all have been working very hard and accomplishing much for the organization and industry. Thanks to all 5 of the officers for their efforts.

We then had 10 committee reports on various projects underway that again may develop into future standards or test projects that will improve our industry.

Next we discussed pending old business including updating and producing product bulletins and the MMSA website. WWW.mmsa.wa

Under New Business we discussed a presentation being made to the TSP audience on Thursday as well as forming a new working committee to address Gypsum Self leveling products.

Tomorrow will be another full day with reports on more technical committee meetings as well as other committee meetings for TCNA, NTCA and CTDA. Closing out tomorrow is the Board of Directors meeting for CTEF.

See you tomorrow with yet another report and update from TSP.

Steve

Are you listening?

2011-11-03T05:43:00.000-07:00

Our friends (?) at Bank of America have blown open a huge hole in their customer relations by forgetting to listen to the customer about debit card charges. They have suffered the consequences of their mistakes in both the public opinion as well as direct loss of business.

The lesson we can all learn here is to be certain to frequently ask our customers for their opinions and then actually listen to them. It seems to be that "LISTENING" part that so many of us struggle with. Many folks, it seems especially strong leader types, struggle with listening to other thoughts or ideas, especially when those opinions are opposite of theirs. Most of us want to fight for our opinions, right or wrong, but we are ready to discount any other viewpoint that isn't aligned with ours. I personally just started following another blog: You are not so smart. WWW.youarenotsosmart.com This great blog regularly points out many of my shortcomings and faults, but as painful as it is to hear, it is correct info. I am attempting to focus on this, especially when it comes to business issues.

So why is this listening skill so critical? Your customers have a great option in doing business with you - they can easily "VOTE WITH THEIR FEET" and leave for other providers who DO listen to them. Ask Bank of America!

I want to close with a quote that a friend of mine uses frequently, and is worth everyone remembering.

NEVER LET YOUR EGO GET IN THE WAY OF YOUR WALLET!

These are my thoughts, what are yours? Please share your opinions - I promise to value them!
Steve

Trick or Treat??

2011-10-28T11:34:00.001-07:00

Digging around the grave yard I've uncovered some very interesting numbers.

41 MILLION: that, according to the 2010 Census, is the number of children ages 5-14 who will go Trick or Treating this year.

116.7 MILLION: again according to the 2010 census that is the number of occupied housing units in America today - potential targets for those Trick or Treaters.

1.1 BILLION: number of pounds of pumpkins grown during 2009 and the majority of that crop is used somehow during this season.

Now I know you are wondering how I could EVER possibly tie this into a Raving, well that is easy - You see all those folks with all those children ALL need whatever it is that you are making or selling - that's right - they're potential targets (OK substitute customers) for your efforts. Now the real question is this: Will you provide them a treat or a trick when they visit you?

Many companies promise their customers a huge treat if they come do business with them and indeed only deliver a "Trick" instead. Don't be one of them! Deliver at least what you promise - at the minimum - successful companies (and people) deliver MORE than they promise every time!!

Think about this Raving while you spend the next few days getting prepared for your little visitors to come ring your doorbell.

Steve

I'LL NEVER BE A PROFESSIONAL BODY BUILDER.

2011-10-19T07:30:00.000-07:00

This is a huge realization in my life, but sometimes reality just has to be faced head-on. Does this mean that I now must stop trying to watch my weight or health? Not at all! It just means that despite any desires I might have it just will never be possible, no matter how much motivation or mental preparedness I develop, I just don't have what it takes to become a professional level body builder.

Does this sound out of character for the Steve Rausch you have come to know? Not at all, I still believe in creating dreams, showing spirit, and working hard towards a goal. I just need to be realistic about the fulfillment of some of the goals I set.

I still embrace the concept of living life doing what you love with all the passion and spirit you can give. Just be sure to have a healthy dose of reality so that you aren't chasing an empty or impossible goal. My personal body and my decisions about time spent on just one single segment of my life, will never allow me to reach that professional level - I can still spend time on training and exercise, and IMPROVE my body, but realistically I can never, given my circumstances and age, reach that top professional level.

I was deeply saddened by the death of Dan Wheldon this week, but I also rejoice knowing that he died absolutely happy doing what his passions and spirit led him to do for earning his living. None of us know when our time is up on this earth, but how many of us know that we are daily doing exactly what it is that makes us the passionate driven person that we want to be doing exactly what we love in our daily lives. I also lost a good friend several months ago who was a pilot. He made a landing and taxied into a fuel pump and died in the cockpit. I had many prior conversations with him and one of his concerns what dieing while flying his beloved airplane and (A) hurting someone on the ground, (B) ruining his aircraft which he had spent many hours restoring to like new condition. He died, I'm confident, absolutely happy at that moment.

I have been blessed in both my business and personal life to be able to make that claim also - how about you? If you aren't, then start right now, today, to change yourself and take personal responsibility to begin doing what it is that you love daily.

These are my thoughts, what are yours?

Steve

MAYBE NEXT YEAR????

2011-10-12T08:19:00.000-07:00

Many folks I come in contact with have already written off 2011 and are wishfully looking forward to next year. They seem to preface everything they say or do with "Maybe next year" and then outline some distant plan for doing what they want to accomplish.

I have to ask: "What is wrong with this year?" I guess I just don't understand why you can't still create accomplishments in 2011. Is this the best of times? NO. However, there is still time to make things happen and that will only happen if (A) YOU believe, (B) YOU start into action, (C) you actually DO something.

Anyone who knows me knows that I absolutely believe in written plans and goals, and that when you take the time to put your thoughts/ideas into writing it seems to make those things happen. I also like to do planning in advance of the need (whatever need that might be) so I agree that mid-October isn't too soon to start thinking about and planning for 2012. However, there is still plenty of time left in this year to continue to strive and accomplish your last years goals.

IF you have already reached your 2011 goals then I suggest that you set your sights way too low last year. Old Indian saying: "Its easier to hit the Flying Eagle when you are aiming at the Sun." If you've missed your 2011 plans and goals then don't give up, start pushing harder and working longer and smarter.

Nobody ever has an absolute promise of another "tomorrow" let alone a "Next Year." So why not give today all you have in the way of energy and efforts and work towards meeting the goals and dreams you have already outlined instead of spending time making excuses and thinking about the "MAYBE NEXT YEAR" trap.

These are my thoughts on this subject, what are yours?

Steve

Why run for elected office?

2011-10-04T10:28:00.000-07:00

I've spent considerable time lately thinking about (pondering) and watching the politician's trying to decide about running for elected office. It used to be fairly simple, but obviously today it has become so complex you have to wonder why anyone would subject themselves to that grief.

It is no longer enough to want to serve and help your country - I fear that has long ago passed and today it is ONLY about the power and money. No matter which party or side you choose to be associated with, the only way someone can become noticed or known is by using the media of some type and that never escapes the watchful eye of those who currently hold the power and money - and they absolutely are not going to let someone into the inside circle with promises of providing more power and more money to them.

When a respectable and good intentioned person does finally break into the limelight, then everyone, it seems, from both sides, go into attack mode and attempts to disgrace that person so that THEY can look better. It seems like nobody, even within the same party, wishes anyone else any success and does their absolute best to destroy the candidate before he or she ever gets started.

We have a long list of potential folks for office, from the Presidential race all the way to local levels, and it doesn't seem to matter who or how good someones past is (was?) that person is probed and questioned until at least once, one day, under immense pressure, they make one tiny mistake and then the entire world it seems jumps on them and starts picking at that tiny issue.

I wonder how our founding fathers would view our current political process? I wonder if ANY of them could be elected with today's process? My main wonder is why does anyone, knowing all of the above, ever decide to attempt to run for elected office?

These are my thoughts, please share yours......
Steve

Shotgun approach??

2011-09-26T13:08:00.001-07:00

Last time I discussed getting lost in the details. Now I want to discuss using a "SHOTGUN APPROACH" i.e. do a little bit of everything and see what works. However, I need a caution statement (somewhat like a legal disclaimer) before I start - and that is this:

Self-Control is the ability to say no, in the face of temptation, and to take sustained action, despite the difficulty of a given challenge. At its heart, self-control requires (DEMANDS) the ability to delay gratification. More commonly, its called discipline, or will power. Without self-control, we can't ever accomplish almost anything of enduring value. Yet most of us choose to not pay very much attention to this skill.

My wife frequently asks me "Did you accomplish what you wanted to get done today?" I must just as frequently reply, "Not really," and that is just before she starts to laugh, or at least smile.

You see, some people are just naturally pre-disposed to being very highly productive. They start their day with a clear and reasonable intention of what they plan to do, then they work diligently throughout the day, sticking to their plan, focused on accomplishing their most important priorities, until the day ends and they've accomplished their most important priorities and almost exactly what they had expected. EACH and EVERY day moves them one day closer to what it was they planned and intended to accomplish for the week, and month, and year!

Unfortunately, I am not one of "THOSE" people. Left to my own devices, I rarely start my day with the satisfaction of a plan that is well developed to be easily executed into consistent actions as the plan calls for. My natural inclination is to start my morning, sometimes late due to my intense dislike for rushing (because I CAUSE myself to rush so often), with a long and very overly ambitious list of what I remember that I hope to accomplish and then have to push myself by sheer will power to attempt to accomplish what I can of the list. Many times (OK, most of the time) I remember something that I forgot to put on that list, that absolutely needs to be accomplished right now, and my entire plan is thrown to the winds while I play catch-up.

Oh yea, I'm also prone to be so very busy, answering emails, multitasking, taking phone calls, running small errands, that without intervention, I get very little of REAL IMPORTANCE done during my day. Oh yea, and I'm still late, and now exhausted. Now, unsatisfied by how little of the important items I've accomplished, I further hurt myself by doing something that will make me feel better in that moment, like browsing the Internet or eating something I shouldn't be eating.

So here is my point in all of this, the odds are against us in getting our most important priorities accomplished unless we purposely utilize our Self-Control and discipline or willpower. Our instincts most often drive us towards instant gratification and it seems the world conspires against us to drive us off task also.
For me personally, the allure of accomplishing lots of little details will often override my focus on the BIG THINGS that I value most and want to accomplish most. Each morning I must change my natural tendency by exerting my self-control. I must focus and psych myself up to have that productive day, commit to myself to have a written plan, not get distracted or do "FUN" things until the important work is done.

I need to climb out of this pit the exact same way I climbed in: with new rituals and new habits.
1. I absolutely need to spend 5 minutes at the end of each day reviewing what I intended to accomplish and then making a written list of the most important tasks that I have to accomplish the next day.
2. I have to look at what worked during the day and do more of that the next day, as well as look at what didn't work and stop doing that.
3. It seems to always work out that I discover daily that I need to stop being scattered and ineffective and intentionally focus on more productive activities in an organized and methodical way that leaves very little "WIGGLE" room for me to go astray.

Now I try to spend 5 minutes first thing in the morning working thru my calendar, adding those critical most important tasks that I review from the night before list, and then work my schedule. I try to answer emails in chunks at predetermined times during the day instead of whenever the computer dings (Actually I turned the dings off so I'm not distracted), and I try to never allow anything important do stay on my to do list more than 3 days without either accomplishing it or scheduling it onto my calendar. Unfortunately, some items just get deleted, and that also helps me to determine the value of what I choose.

My biggest challenge now is twofold: Staying productive, and staying consistent. I just can't stop or overlook either one of these two critical rituals. I absolutely MUST maintain these two daily, forever more, or I will fall back into the poor habits that kept me from being a productive person and just "Shotgunning" my day.

I've always been a big believer in using results as the differentiators between success and failure. You either achieve your goals or you don't. PERIOD. However I gave myself backsliding room on the timing issue of WHEN I was able to achieve my goals. No longer. I now know that you don't create value unless timely results are achieved.

These are my thoughts, what are yours?
Steve

Lost in the Details??????

2011-09-23T06:21:00.000-07:00

I've had a full and interesting week. I've been up in Chicago at our Libertyville Corporate Innovation Center looking forward at all types of innovations on our horizon and that always is a "Mountain Top" experience for me.

One HUGE take-away is a great discussion I had with one person about my blog on the 4 "P's" of Preparation, Perseverance, Patience, and Persistence. This person was wondering if I was leading folks to be lost in the details rather than seeing the entire or whole picture.

The discussion centered around what makes a good (or great) strategy. We both agreed that it requires, at minimum, at least 3 vital elements:
A Diagnosis of the current situation and thoughts around what you want the situation to become.
Decide on a Guiding Policy, that is the outline of your plan to become that new situation.
Decide on the Course of Action, as well as a time frame for that action.

Where we started to disagree is deciding the level of details that would be best to make this action strategy work at maximum effectiveness. My friend suggested that my suggestion provided way too many details that could cause someone to become lost in the details and lose the value of a great strategy. My contention is that without at least a minimum of details the strategy could be so mis-interpreted that it would lose value, i.e. that you NEED a level of detail that provides a solid framework for the strategy to be easily understood as to the intention of the mission.

We both realize that a effective strategy is critical to any operation that you want to go in a certain direction, no matter how simple or detailed it may be. It is that level of details that seemed to be our sticking point.

So my friends, here is my CALL TO ACTION for YOU TODAY: Hit comments and reply with YOUR thoughts and/or experiences on what level of details you feel are necessary for a great strategy to work best. I won't judge or be offended, just want to share with others more useful information.

Steve

Friday Thoughts

2011-09-16T08:27:00.001-07:00

I'm in somewhat of a funk today. I received a picture this morning from a pilot friend of mine who has the exact same airplane as I do, and he had crashed yesterday. Everyone is alright, but the plane is totaled. Looking at the picture gives me many thoughts, some not so pleasant, about training and taking personal responsibility.

It is widely accepted and proven by research that it takes 7 repetitions of information for consumers to really understand what you are saying or selling. The same holds true, I believe, about training of any type. Pilots spend a lot of time training for potential problem situation (like crashing) so that they can do as my friend did, walk away from the crash unhurt. Being in business today isn't really much different, we need to constantly train in our profession to keep sharp and stay current with the ever changing world we all live in. When was the last time you took a day away from your business to train for a potential problem situation? What about taking training for personal growth?

Accepting personal responsibility is another area that flashed thru my mind today when I was looking at the picture. This pilot took personal responsibility firmly in his own hands when his life was on the line during that emergency. He recalled the training that he purposely took to be prepared, and applied it quickly to the situation he was facing. He showed personal responsibility by knowing and taking action to stay current as a pilot so that when times of stress did show up he was prepared and knew exactly what he had to do. When was the last time you took time to learn or review what is important to your business? What are you doing in your life to accept your personal responsibility for your situation that you may be facing?

I'm sad also as there is the loss of a great aircraft. Not sure what caused this accident, but no matter what caused it, the plane is a total loss. Isn't our current economy somewhat like that? Some businesses and many people are suffering right now with situations that may not be their fault and that is just a fact, but just like my friend who is rejoicing that nobody was injured or hurt, we can be happy that every single day is another new opportunity for a fresh start. No matter what we may have failed at today, we get another opportunity to do something different tomorrow. When was the last time you took time to consider what you would like a "DO OVER" about tomorrow?

The thought I want to leave you with today is this: No matter what happens to you or in your life today, you have the ability to choose HOW you respond to that situation. You can take personal responsibility and be trained and ready for potential problems or you can just have something completely unexpected pop upon you and still use your gifts and talents to respond and limit the damage. It is all your choice. Make wise choices today my friends.

These are my thoughts today, what are yours?
Steve

Saturday Football Fan's

2011-09-10T18:20:00.000-07:00

I'm always amazed when I watch Saturday football and see all the fans showing such passion for the team they support. Can you imagine what would happen if those same fans would show that same level of passion at work during the week? Is work or other areas of life as important as college football (or any other sports)?

Imagine the sales your field sales force could make if they approached each sales call with the passion they expect from their team on each play. Imagine the product knowledge your folks would have if they studied your literature and specification sheets with the same intensity they study the game stats. Imagine how much more professionally your team could do their jobs if they studied their profession with the same level of intensity as they study the opponent for next weeks big game.

I suppose my question today is this: Where would this revolution have to begin? Could it start with YOU? Could it start on Monday?

These are my thoughts, what are yours?

Are you unemployed today?

2011-09-08T13:35:00.000-07:00

So many people I run into these days are either unemployed or underemployed. They're good folks, just looking for that break to get back into the world of the gainfully employed. I have several suggestions for you today.

Remember the 4 "P's" you need for success:
PREPARATION
PERSEVERANCE
PATIENCE
PERSISTENCE

I truly believe the most important is the first "P" of Preparation. I've done my fair share of interviewing (on both sides of the table) and I want to suggest several BETTER THAN AVERAGE questions. Most interviewers ask about the same questions - "What are your strengths and weaknesses?" Most interviews are short on probing questions and focus too much on the exact same information that has already been given on the resume.

Below are some questions (my TOP 10 bakers dozen) that I've used before when I've interviewed folks, and I've always had this type of info ready when I've been the one being interviewed. This is valuable information that will help both sides decide if the position and you are right for each other.

*When I call your references, what will they say about you? Why do they feel that way?
*What accomplishments are you particularly proud of and why?
*What motivates you? How do you motivate others? Why does that work for you?
*Why are you in the job market right now?
*Where do you see yourself in five years? Why?
*How do you resolve disputes? Why does that work?
*Describe your management style. Why do you believe it works for you?
*What is the biggest mistake you've ever made? How did you recover from it?
*Most everyone claims to have good communication skills, tell me about yours? Why are yours different and why do they work well for you?
*If you had a "Magic Wand" describe your ideal job and work environment.
*What is the biggest decision you ever had to make? Why did you make it as you did? How did it turn out? What, if anything, would you do differently today?
*Describe your dream organization chart and how you fit into it.
*What question do you want me to ask you that I haven't ask about yet? Why?

I believe if you think about and know the answers to the above questions you will do much better than the average on landing the right position for you. Good Luck!

These are my thoughts, what are yours?
Steve

The Gift

2011-09-04T13:14:00.001-07:00

John Wayne (a Great American) once said "Life is Tough, Life is Tougher when you're Stupid." Everyone must be getting dumber today as life is certainly getting tougher today. It seems no matter where we go or turn we hear bad news and disappointments. It comes from all directions, almost in a non-stop rage.

As the rain falls on our Labor Day Weekend retreat at the lake house, I picked up a book that I've had for several years, wanting to read it but never quite finding the time. As the old saying goes, "When the time is right for the student, the teacher appears!" This must be the right time for me to learn the lessons from this book. The book is: The Gift, by Ron Reynolds. It is fascinating and so relevant to today's times. This book is about YOUR Talent, YOUR obsession, Your calling, yes, YOUR GIFT!

Everyone has a GIFT, it's just that most of us don't bother to discover our gift nor use our gift. Oh we somehow knew we had a gift when we were younger, but the hard knocks of life have somehow dampened our view of our gift and allowed us to forget that we ever even had a gift, but we all did and still do. I want to share part of my gift with you right now.

"IF YOU WOULD PLANT FOR DAYS, PLANT FLOWERS. IF YOU WOULD PLANT FOR YEARS, PLANT TREES. BUT IF YOU WANT TO PLANT FOR ETERNITY, PLANT IDEAS!" By sharing and teaching your ideas to others, you truly do affect eternity, for rest assured that there will be NO LIMITS to where your influence stops. By touching another life and helping to change the direction of that life through your ideas and teachings, you have the capacity to alter events.

Many of my friends question why I started this blog, and I never had a good answer for them other than I just wanted to share my thoughts and ideas with others. Now, today as I read this book, THE GIFT, I too am receiving enlightenment as to where this gift of mine has come from and where it is leading me towards. Simply helping others by improving myself.

Please, I plead with you, take time to reflect and re-discover your gift and start using it today to help others. I promise you that the outside world will never understand, and you may not change the bad news that comes daily, but you will absolutely change your little part of the world and bad news won't be nearly so bad for you when you do.

These are my thoughts today, please post your comments with your thoughts on this.
Steve

Do you know where you're going?

2011-08-31T03:33:00.000-07:00

Today I'm at a business meeting to discuss where we've been business wise so far this year, where we've stayed on plan, where we've missed our plan, but most importantly where we're going for the rest of the year and to start thinking about next years plan.

While doing all of this I happen to read an article about traffic issues in a major city and a report that the problems are caused by folks not knowing where they are going. Isn't that always one of the major causes of all of our difficulties in life?

Many people seem to float thru life, from problem to problem without ever pausing to consider where they are going and what they are doing to know how to get there. A GPS in your car is a wonderful tool, but only helps you if you turn it on and use it.

Same thing with your business plan or your personal life plan. First you must actually HAVE a plan, then you MUST USE IT! If you don't already have written goals for your business and personal life, the absolute most important thing you can do today is to stop whatever you are doing, pull off the road, and turn on your GPS to develop and write down your goals. Nothing else is more important!

You don't need too many, and they don't have to be fancy, but they must be clearly written and you must live with them and refer to them daily. I don't know one single successful person who doesn't have and use written goals. Not one!

Force yourself to know where you are going today..

These are my thoughts, what are yours?
Steve

But it's NOT MY FAULT!

2011-08-21T18:55:00.000-07:00

In today's times it seems that everyone from the President on down to the local businessman wants to fall back on that old line: "It's not my fault" "It was _______'s fault and I'm just stuck with the mess they created."

Whatever happened to the old standard of personal responsibility?
Whatever happened to taking the responsibility for who you are, where you are, and what you are doing (or not doing) that is causing the current situation you find yourself involved with?

I know several folks who are long term unemployed and they all have the same excuse as to why they are where they are currently - It's not their fault! One guy needs to speak Spanish to get the role that he is looking for, yet he's not willing to take the time and effort to learn the language, so he continues to get turned down for the jobs he apply's for.

There's an old quote about doing the same things over and over exactly the same way and expecting different results! Why not try something new and different today just for the fun of seeing what may actually happen?

Another fellow I know has a job but isn't earning the money he wants, but just sits at his desk and cry's about how people aren't coming in his door and buying. When I ask him about the old lost skill of "Prospecting" for new business he just stares at me and said: "What's the use? People just aren't buying today!" That's another way of saying: "It's not my fault!"

Funny thing is this - some folks ARE taking personal responsibility for their situations, even if it really isn't their faults, and making progress towards success on a daily basis. Somehow I just believe they will be the first ones to emerge from this recession on top of their fields and doing the most business.

My suggestion today is that you take time right now to think about your situation and make a list of just 3 items that you can do to improve it. Don't try to work on 5-10 items, just focus on 1 to 3 items and when you have changed those items repeat the process.

This is my thoughts about this subject, what are yours?

Focus and Stay in Business.

2011-08-21T17:57:00.000-07:00

The past week has been a very difficult one for many people, and I wanted to discuss the need to focus on your business first and foremost. 3 Restaurants that we have frequented for the past 20+ years have closed their doors and gone out of business.

These folks all had fantastic products, they just lost their focus and forgot Business Rule #1, Stay in Business! Any small business owner will agree that it is the single most difficult thing they have to do - forget about doing the business and focus on staying in business. Allow me to explain as I have personal experience with this discussion.

Approximately 10 years ago I owned several small businesses in the tile and flooring industry, all in the retail segment. I became so engrossed in DOING the business everyday that I lost focus and sight of STAYING in Business. The "business" of doing business is absolutely the most difficult thing each business owner must do. Most of us that start our own small business do so in the field that we know and love. We forget that certain financial and business principals are necessary to stay on top of, no matter what business we are doing.

The restaurant that I hurt for the most this week is one that served fantastic quality food, in great portions, at reasonable prices. The business was crowded almost every single day they were open. Two weeks ago on a Friday evening 4 of us waited almost 30 minutes for a table. When we left several hours later there was still a line at the front door, waiting for a table! Now HOW could this business go out of business? If money was the issue they could simply raise every price of every meal by say $1.00 and resolve that issue. If help or personnel issues were the problem that could also easily be solved.

The big point here is that most likely the owner wasn't aware of the problem or problems until they were so HUGE that he couldn't overcome them. He was too busy doing the business on a daily basis to RUN and Manage the business. That skill, management, requires focus on solid business and financial principals that have nothing at all to do with the actual product or service the business provides.

Current economic conditions in this country will not allow any mistakes to continue for very long without driving you out of business extremely quickly. Back a few years ago everyone could make mistakes and hardly notice them due to the free flow of money and business that allowed businesses to become bloated and sloppy. No longer is that allowed. I was talking with another small business owner today and he confided to me that his almost fatal mistake was waiting too long before making required cut backs to survive. When he did make the needed changes his losses reversed but much damage was already done and due to the new banking environment today he isn't able to get a line of credit to help smooth over the rough times as he has always done in the past. Now he must work solely on his cash flow, personal savings, and suppliers credit lines.

No matter where you are in the business world picture today, retail level, wholesale level, manufacturer level, or even trade association, you need to focus daily on the solid business principals required to make any effort successful. Nobody is exempt, Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Macy's and any other business of any size must absolutely focus daily on staying in business. Today it is mandatory that everyone, at all levels, set intelligent budgets and live within those budgets. Get focused on your business and stay focused daily so you too can stay in business.

These are my thoughts, what are yours?
Steve

Know and Use your Strengths

2011-08-15T10:05:00.000-07:00

So many folks today tend to waste time and energy suffering and worrying about stuff they wish they could do, rather than understanding and knowing their own strengths. This "I Wish I could......." mentality is a killer to your optimism and energy. I saw a post on a blog recently titled "Are you a Duck or Eagle?" - and the whole theme was knowing and understanding what you are and then using your strengths to become the best YOU can be, rather than attempting to become something or someone that you aren't. Both the Duck and the Eagle are fantastic at what each of them do, and extremely poor if they ever attempt to do the other's role. Same with us humans.

When we were young we saw the world as our banquet table, waiting to conquer our dreams and desires. We generally ruled out nothing, and that was and is great for a young person, however most of us have long ago passed that point in life. This became extremely clear to me this past weekend at my 42nd high school class reunion. I saw folks who have "made it" and others still trying to "find themselves." It is highly unlikely you will ever make star status as a singer if you spend your time swimming every day, however, you make become the next Olympic swimming star if you continue going to your strengths and likes.

Many experts advise us to discover your greatest weaknesses and work to shore them up. I suggest the opposite, focus and favor your aptitudes, passions and talents then spend your time developing your skills there. You can become really great at something you love, while the best you will ever become if you focus on your weakness is possibly just mediocre at best. It is highly unlikely anyone will ever pay you for something you just due because you learned to be average at it, while many will pay for something you are fantastic doing and become one of the best at it. I never have been very good at being a handyman doing home repairs, but by following my strengths and likings I am blessed to earn enough money to pay others, who are good and happy doing that, while I enjoy (and earn money) doing what I do so well.

How do you discover your callings? Your strength's? I suggest you spend some quality time thinking about and listing the following:
1. What things are easy for me?
2. What do others tell me I do exceptionally well?
3. What things do I do that make me lose total track of time?
4. What do I find fun and fulfilling?

When you list activities that appear on all 4 lists then you will be focusing in on your strengths and know what to work on. I believe it is far wiser to explore and develop your aptitudes, passions, and talents and then you will quickly find tremendous enjoyment and satisfaction and become excellent in your field. That is when others will highly reward you for what you do.

This is my thoughts and opinions on this, what are yours?
Steve

Change Part 2. Discussion.

2011-08-05T08:09:00.000-07:00

“If you are irritated by every rub, how will your mirror be polished?”
Rumi –Persian Philospher

Interesting quote to follow up my last Raving. I've had more comments on the last raving than any other I've posted, so obviously there is much interest in this area.

Today I want to remind everyone to focus on the solutions rather than the problems. It is an important part of dealing with tough situations. Our Atlanta school system has been blasted over approximately 130 teachers and administrators cheating and changing students scores. Now we all know that was wrong, and the students suffer thru no fault of their own, but the entire Atlanta School system is not bad - well over 800 good folks still work there and yet the media chooses to only spotlight the 130 rotten ones. Thank goodness another group has come forward to point out that the vast majority of the teachers and administrators in Atlanta are good folks.

So this sounds simple right? Focus only on the solutions and not the problems? It isn't that easy believe me. First of all you actually SEE the problem, and rarely do you easily see the solution. So as you SEE the problem, it tends to grow and increase. We start to focus on the problem and expend our energy on the problem and yet it still seems to grow. The solutions become few and I am most likely worn out and frustrated by the problem. Problems are in the world, have always been here and will continue to be here. So we much CHANGE.

The single most important way we can change is to choose to change from a "PROBLEM FOCUS into a SOLUTION FOCUS." Focusing on the solution, or possible solutions, tends to allow us to see our way out of the circumstances and allows us to find contentment and peace during the time of the problems.

Focus on the solutions, stay POSITIVE and actively seek those things that work towards the solution and stop focusing and wasting energy on the problem.

I hope this helps continue the process. Please let me know YOUR thoughts.

Steve

Uncertain Times and Change

2011-08-04T04:59:00.000-07:00

If you don't like drama then living in these times are really causing you an extremely unstable world! Washington politicians seem to thrive on creating drama, almost like a heckler in an audience, seemingly bent on destroying the act on stage. But, it is everywhere we look today.
Today's press release of TalkFloor by Dave Foster being bought out by BNP Media is yet another example.

My question to you today: Is that good change or bad change?

I suggest it completely depends upon your point of view, and your attitude. I can make strong argument's for both sides. Knowing Dave I realize this gives him a huge resource boost that will allow him to more fully provide more and better programing. Also for BNP it gives them yet another, different vehicle to reach more audience with all of their products/programs. To me this move seems to create stability via change.
Now I also see the less positive side, one that all of us in the Ceramic Tile and Flooring business see so often, another small guy gobbled up by a larger conglomerate group. Dave loses control (degree to be determined) and BNP gets bigger and loses more touch with their daily business. So the change has helped push another company towards the Wal-Mart status of control of the market. As I suggested earlier, good or bad depends upon your point of view and attitude. In my case, I say congratulations to both sides for an apparent win-win situation!

So back to my origional thoughts. Change and Drama. Uncertain times, unstable situations, etc. Why do we react to these situations with feelings of fear, doubt and anxiety? It's due to your AMYGDALA, a small, almond shaped structure in your brain that craves certainty and when it hears otherwise is shoots out chemicals to your body that starts the feelings of fear, doubt, and anxiety.

Now we can all use this small piece of knowledge to help stabilize ourselves in todays times. We control very little today, but we control the absolute MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR: HOW WE CHOOSE TO REACT!
We can use the knowledge about the amygdala to eliminate the feelings and the drama by knowing that again tomorrow, in spite of the uncertainty, the sun will once again come up and the day will start. How we face that new day is what we can control by creating our own stable environment and reduce the drama.

Here are a few steps I see to help us:
1. Learn to Know Yourself - be clear here - drama thrives on a lack of clarity. Master yourself first, and think about the emotions you are feeling before you react to situations.
2. Have written Values and Principles - understand what is important to you and then focus on those ideas. Written is critical so you can review them often. If you don't currently have a written "Life Purpose Statement" that outlines your values and principals you want to live by, I suggest you make that a top priority this month. No, you don't have to wait until Jan 1st to make a New Years resolution - do it now!
3. Listen and Think - critical step here also. Learn how to ask great questions. Instead of having all the answers, try truly listening to others and considering their viewpoints and perspectives, which most likely will be somewhat different from yours. It is tough to always have all the answers - remember James Bond and Columbo both solved all their cases, but in very different ways using very different methods. Both achieved success. I've always found it much too difficult for me to become a James Bond, but man I can handle that Columbo act very naturally!
4. Respect. If you communicate disrespect for others you will be contributing to the drama and uncertainty rather than helping with the solution. Every person and situation has something to teach you - some are lessons on what to do, some are lessons on what NOT to do - but both critically and equally important.

These tumultuous times offer huge opportunities if you choose to focus not on the outside circumstances but rather your own choices of how YOU choose to react. I plan to work on this skill today, how about you?

Steve

Doing Business Today = WOW!

2011-07-26T09:34:00.000-07:00

Websters defines Prosperity as this: To succeed in an enterprise or activity; to become strong and flourishing; to thrive in your environment. The root word from the Greek language means: Success in reaching a goal or to have a profitable journey. In the old Hebrew language the word has this meaning: To rush forward; To break-out; To go over the top; To be great; to become profitable; to CAUSE great effects.

Now I don't know about you but I really like that Hebrew definition of Prosperity!

The problem arises with thinking about defining prosperity in the business world we have today. It seems as all the rules have totally changed - or have they? Remember back in "The Good Old Days" when you needed folks to learn about us or our products from just plain "word of mouth?" We used to say that we needed "X" number of people to try us, know about us, then LIKE us. We then asked each of them to EACH tell 6 - 10 of their friends, who then tried us, liked what we did, then they told 6 - 10 of their friends and slowly we experienced prosperity. Much as a rock thrown into a pond, the larger your ring grows the stronger you felt prosperity.

Are the times today really any different? I will agree that the audience is much larger and easily reached by many more competitors, but I believe the same simple formula for prosperity still is valid. I see a period of time - call it a "seed time" and then a period that we can call a "Harvest time." Farmers used to always say that the harvest will SURELY come if we plant the right seeds and nurture them properly. It seems to be widely accepted that if you plant CORN seeds you will get a harvest crop of CORN and not beans. I believe the Bible refers to this as Reap what you Sow! Another TRUTH!

So where am I headed with this and why? I see many people and companies trying to move directly to "Harvest" without planting the proper "Seeds" and expecting something different than what they planted. If you want your customers to care about and for you and your business you must first care about them. Examine what THEY want and desire, then design a better method or product to fill the need and I suggest you will STILL TODAY Harvest PROSPERITY!

These are my thoughts, what are yours? Let me know, I promise to reply.
Steve

Build a Better Anything in 4 easy steps.

2011-07-19T13:45:00.000-07:00

First allow me to apologize for being offline several weeks, we've had vacation and moved our USG Atlanta offices so I just didn't force myself to post. My bad! Sorry!

On to today's topic: I took a class not too long ago and this post came from much of what I learned in that class. I was thinking and considering what all we discussed during that class with a specific goal in mind and found that the same basic 4 steps will work for almost any situation that you want to accomplish anything.

Here are the 4 steps with a brief explanation for each step.

1. ANALYZE - First look at the situation, decide if you are working with FACTS or EMOTIONS. Then challenge ABSOLUTES, are they really absolute? Confront STUPIDITY, others or my own! Ask: "What am I missing?" "What energizes me?" "What de-energizes me?"

2. SIMPLIFY - Most of us need far less than we think/believe. Examine complicated or complex situations and see how you can change them. What eats up your time? Can you simplify that? What can you back away from without hurting your mission? Learn to say "NO" to many requests.

3. DIVERSIFY - Now write down 3 to 5 SPECIFIC and MEASURABLE, REALISTIC goals or results that you want. Do you have the steps or tools available to accomplish this task? IF not, who or where will you go to get what you need?

4. ACTION - Reduce your strategic plan now into writing. Make it specific. Have someone else read your plan to make sure it is easy to understand and implement. Establish a "PROCESS" that is able to take care of itself without you investing so much time "DOING" the plan, your job is to monitor and track the plan. Establish a system of checks and balances so that when the wheels start to come off the track it is quickly and easily discovered and corrected. This will also include a regular review and evaluation so that if you discover a problem you can easily start back at step one and get it handled.

Now this may or may not sound simple to you, but to me it is, and it quickly clarifies my thinking on almost any situation. These 4 easy steps lead me to discover answers fairly quickly, but most importantly they help me accomplish one major item.

TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR THINGS AND HOLDING MYSELF ACCOUNTABLE. If I can finish the second half of 2011 doing this well I will feel that this year is a success.

These are my thoughts on problem solving, what works for you?
Steve

How are YOU doing?

2011-06-27T11:26:00.001-07:00

It is that time of year that is almost the mid-point, summer is pushing everyone really hard, vacation time is upon us, and the last thing most of us are thinking about right now is our New Years Resolutions.
Did you make some this year? Most of us look at 5 key areas of our lives and make some type of promise to ourselves to do better in the coming year, so now is a great time to stop and evaluate where we stand at the half way point. According to some research many folks are doing well in at least one area, and about 5% are thriving in all 5 areas of our daily life.

Here are the 5 general categories:
CAREER: what you do every day to earn a living.
COMMUNITY: your level of engagement where you live.
SOCIAL: your personal relationships with the people you see regularly.
FINANCIAL: your money and how you spend it.
PHYSICAL: your health and how you take care of your life daily.

All five of these areas can be changed by doing very small changes that can have a huge impact in your total life. The key is to intentionally choose to make and continue with those small changes. I saw a TV report last night about a man who weighed 375 pounds and was literally eating himself to death. He had lost his job due to not being able to do the work, wasn't involved in his surroundings, had very few friends, was going backwards rapidly in the money area, and obviously had absolutely no health or physical activities. He finally hit the bottom one day and started with small changes, which led to bigger changes, and now he has lost over 150 pounds and is showing others how to change their lives as he did. He has accomplished all of this in only 2 short years - after he had spent almost 30 years getting himself into that condition.
It can be done!

Why not right now, today, take a few minutes and evaluate those 5 elements listed above and see where YOU are doing? Decide if you are happy with the findings, and if so, continue your good life, if not, make a small change in habit in those areas you find you have needs and see what happens in the next few weeks and months.
I suggest a goal of making 2011 one of the best years you've ever had! Let me know where you stand and how you are doing.
Steve

Getting Noticed

2011-06-20T06:45:00.000-07:00

Have you thought about what you are doing in both your personal life as well as business life to get noticed?
Since yesterday was Father's Day I was afforded the luxury of getting to do exactly what I wanted (as long as my children stayed happy)and fortunately for me my children are all grown (one with a 2 year old girl who really made me appreciate this special day even more) so they were perfectly content to let me read the paper and surf the net as I wished.
What I discovered was that so many folks today are doing weird or crazy things just to get noticed. Now it used to be that only car dealers did that on TV, but today it seems as if everyone is doing it. I wonder when the buying public became so stupid as to fall for these outrageous tactics? I also wonder if it really increases business for long term customers or just gets the few curious bottom feeders who drain the life out of your business with demanding everything but not being willing to pay for anything, thus allowing you the opportunity to put yourself out of business by doing business with them and meeting their demands.
I have many friends in the retail and wholesale sides of business in the ceramic tile and stone world - good friends - who also happen to be good business people. Rarely do we see them doing crazy or outrageous things to get noticed.
Oh they are noticed, but it is for the RIGHT reasons, such as dong more than expected, doing everything correctly the first time around, giving value for the price paid, etc, etc.
I wonder often how quickly our business world would improve if everyone just decided to provide QUALITY products and services at fair prices and go back to just allowing the marketplace to decide which company to use, rather than paying attention to the publicity stunts that some do just to get noticed?
These are my thoughts on this subject, I'd be honored to hear your thoughts.
Steve

When Opportunity Appears

2011-06-12T05:32:00.000-07:00

Someone once defined "Opportunity" as the willingness to give up something in hopes of getting something even better. I thing that word "HOPES" is what keeps so many of us from pursuing the opportunities that we sometimes see in front of us.

Rarely is opportunity available without having to give up something in return, money, time, whatever, but you must be willing to take that step of walking away from your comfort zone to take advantage of the chance for the opportunity.

What opportunity are you facing in your life? Do you see the opportunities that are available to you? Are you alert to the opportunities that appear in your business or life regularly? Are you actually LOOKING for the opportunities?

During my life I have tried to make a habit of actually LOOKING for opportunities and then being willing to trade what I have for what the opportunity offers.
How about you? Are you actively looking for opportunities today?

These are my thoughts today, what are yours?

Steve

June 6th 1944 - "D" Day

2011-06-06T07:54:00.000-07:00

On D Day our President, FDR, went on live national radio (very little TV back then) and lead this country in prayer for the safety of our troops who were involved in that invasion.
Not trying to be either political or religious, but just a few short years later we can't even imagine something like that happening, or can we?
As I see it, what helped make this country of ours so great is that we build this nation on a foundation of ethical and moral standards that we seem to have lost today. Maybe the best way we can honor those troops who fell dying for freedom back on D Day is to take a moment and think about why we can't move back to those values and standards that made our country great.
The Devil is the only one who try's to tell us (A) you can't go back, (B) you will never be forgiven for your errors, and (C) nobody cares. He is wrong on all 3 counts.
I'm proud to be an American every single day, not always proud of what some people do in our country, but I served in the Army to add my help to their rights to say and do stupid things that I disagree with.
Please THINK today and reflect on the lessons of that June 6th 1944 and what it COULD and SHOULD mean to America today. I believe that the past 67 years worth of sliding away from our standards, values, and morals can be reversed if the American people decide that is what we want to do. I for one am ready!

May God continue to Bless our Country!

These are my thoughts today, what are yours?
Steve

Dealing with your double-edged sword

2011-05-26T09:51:00.000-07:00

Life is all about choices isn't it? Sometimes we must deal with our own creation of a double-edged sword. We make certain choices and then the consequences (intended or unintended) come back to attack us. I've had that type of a week already.

I try to be a super competent person, but to do that my own double-edged sword keeps poking me in my own backside. I want activity, movement forward, but to obtain that I need to stop and focus. I want to be available, but to obtain that I need to have that clear sense of direction, control my schedule, and say no to some activities. I want accountability - FROM OTHERS - but to obtain that I need to provide accountability to others and accept responsibility for my actions or lack there of.

In the aviation world we have a great saying: You can have a choice of FAST, ACCURATE, or CHEAP - pick which two of the 3 you want! Rarely if ever will you be able to get all 3 at the same time. The business world is much like that also, but unlike flying you generally won't actually die from your mistakes. Oh you may kill your business, but life goes on anyway, it just isn't nearly as pleasant.

I try to focus on ROI - no not the "return on investment" exactly, more like "RELATIONSHIPS, OUTCOMES, and IMPROVEMENTS". I realize that I really can't control what has happened in the past, I don't have a magic wand to wave and make bad history situations go away. But what I can do is promise to do is to be available and help prevent or stop bad situations from happening again in the future. Oh, but that double-edged sword again then makes ME responsible for working doubly hard to insure success.

I strive to create some kind of a positive outcome in everything I do every day, but the weight of that sword sometimes gets heavy and many times pokes me. Yet my goal is to strive for that positive outcome anyway. More often than not, it will happen, maybe not exactly as I envisioned it, but it will be better than it was before.

How can I help you this week? How can I make a difference for you?
Please let me know
Steve

Stubborn or Passionate?

2011-05-23T06:48:00.000-07:00

Since Biblical times people have been both stubborn and passionate. Sometimes it is very difficult to tell the difference. Stubbornness sometimes makes us deaf to the truth of a situation, and passion is never enough if you don't have the truth or facts to back your passion.

Many times our motives are good but our judgement is lacking. When this happens we seem to fall back on either our stubborn streak or our passion for a particular project or thing. Both can be positive traits but only when based in truth.

Last week as I sat in the IgCC Green Building Code hearings I saw very clearly both stubborn and passion exhibited and in many cases the emotions were without any factual basis at all - just raw emotions. One person got so emotional and worked up he passed out - now that just isn't good for anyone.

This week as I go thru yet another week of meetings I'm watching myself for signs of my stubborn German nature and my passion for certain things so that I control myself and fall back on truth and facts before calling in those other two emotions. Not saying neither or both aren't good when appropriate, just saying we need a complete package before proceeding.

These are my thoughts, what are yours?
Steve

International Green Construction Code

2011-05-19T07:04:00.000-07:00

How do you button your shirt/blouse that you put on each morning? Most of us are creatures of habit and we do it only one way. Many start at the top and work downward, others go the opposite from the bottom. Years ago someone told me the only difference between a rut and a grave is the length and depth, so somehow I used that to decide to button each day a different way so that I stopped and thought about how my day was going to be different today from all other days.

What the heck does that have to do with the IgCC? Well after sitting in Dallas, TX listening for several days now I can tell you it has a lot to do with it - the entire point of this new building code is that it will FORCE everyone to look at every single phase of a construction or remodeling project totally differently then ever before. Furthermore, it will be (as it now seems clear) a "LIVING" document, meaning it will change constantly, and so must those who need to comply with it. No ruts for the building industry, you will need to stay on top of the changes and look at each and every aspect of every project much differently.

Right now we are listening to debate about the differences between design life and service life as opposed to true life of certain products that go into the building of a structure (residential or commercial.) They are requiring each and every project to utilize a design professional and develop a full "Manual" of each and every product that goes into the construction process. Imagine the cost increase of this proposal!

I can foresee subcontractors (think flooring/tile installers) being forced to document all types of things that they have no access to - and the manufacturers who make the products having to test and document so many new and different aspects of each and every product they sell. Backer board, seam tape, screws, everything!! Now this is just a completely crazy idea that is being promoted by testing labs and code officials who want job security - forgetting the cost issues that will increase the cost of construction dramatically.

If you still want to stick your head in the sand, and believe this won't effect you, I suggest you think deeper about this new code. Go look it up yourself: WWW.ICCSAFE.org I believe you will be amazed at the "Change" we are about to see!

These are my thoughts on this issue, what are yours?

Steve

Rainy day's and Monday's

2011-05-16T05:30:00.001-07:00

The words to that song mislead more people than you could ever imagine. Just as last week Friday 13th drove some folks crazy.

Whatever the mind can conceive it can also believe - that works both way's - if you start to believe in some crazy superstition then when anything happens that is even remotely like what you are anticipating then you begin to believe your crazy thoughts.

This is why you absolutely MUST guard the words that slip so easily from your tongue. When you verbalize a crazy thought you set the stage to receive that signal from the world around you. Great news is that the exact opposite is also true - when you only verbalize great ideas, thoughts, actions, then you will notice that is also what you begin to receive.

Please allow me to replace those lyrics of "Rainy day's and Monday's always get me down" with something I believe is much better and a much more popular concept:
"I'm thinking of Good Vibrations" by the Beach Boy's.

Make today a GREAT and very special day for yourself! Use the positive power of your tongue and give yourself a wonderful pep talk continually today as you move thru this wonderful opportunity filled day to make this one of the most special and best day's you ever had.

These are my thoughts today, what are yours?
Steve

Progress???

2011-05-10T09:51:00.000-07:00

142 years ago today, in 1869, the Transcontinental Railroad was finally completed so that people in this country could move from east to west easily. Now I don't know about you, but in what seems to me to be a very short period of time we have moved so far away from that system that it is scary to me. We can now fly across our great nation, in any direction, in a matter of hours now, not days or weeks as before.

That is, of course, unless you live in a major city like Atlanta, Chicago, New York, Los Angles, etc - then it still takes huge amounts of time just to move across the city during certain peek times of the day. Why is that?

Another tidbit of useless information that is rattling around in my head today is why does the new Apple iPad II do much more, at much greater speeds, than the "old" iPad and yet it costs exactly the same? At the same time, many other electronic gadgets have risen in price and we seem immune to complaining about that?

Why is it that when the crude oil prices go up every single gas station across America instantly raises their pump pricing on gas, yet when there is a drop in the price of crude oil those same stations take weeks to slightly lower the price - think up 12 cents per gallon and down 1 or 2 cents per gallon.

As I grow older it seems to me that "progress" absolutely changes meaning. We tend to reminisce about those "Good Old Days" when things were cheaper and slower, etc. Remember how the first computers (mine was a Radio Shack TRS-80) seemed to boot up so quickly? Now my iPad opens up literally millions of times more info in just a second or two, now is that progress? Do I really NEED that info that quickly?

Finally, I ask you why it is that birthdays come around so quickly now as opposed to say when we were 4 or 5 and just couldn't wait to be old enough to start real school. How about when you were 15 waiting to turn 16 so you could get your drivers license? That 12 month period seemed to take 5 years as I remember it.

There used to be a TV commercial that had a tag line of: "You've come a long way Baby" but at my advanced age I just can't remember what the product was that they were pushing or why they said that line. I do remember I questioned that thought back then and even more so today. Yes progress has changed my world and I'm not sure it has been for the better.

These are my thoughts what are yours?

Steve

How do YOU see it?

2011-05-03T08:12:00.000-07:00

I read/follow about 20 other blogs per day and I find it somewhat humorous at how differently other folks look at some situations from how I see them. Take the recent news from the middle east - apparently the women from the TV show "The View" - which I never watch and almost never agree with their points of view - are taking great delight in the killing of OBL. I submit to you that if Pres Bush had been in charge their attitudes would have been totally different (remember the waterboarding issue?). Others in the media also have shown our countries respective backside, in my opinion, by showing people dancing and shouting about this latest development.

Now before you start flooding me with comments, please understand that I am happy that OBL is gone, but having been in the military I have trouble getting that happy about killing another human being. As Grandpa used to say: "Some folks just need killing." but you don't have to be happy about it. It needed to be accomplished and our fine US Sailors did just that, but I'm sure they weren't really happy, smiling, and dancing around over the event - the just did their jobs. They did their jobs really well, but it was just another day at the office for them.

Other things are now being examined by the blog world and by tomorrow they will have fresh fodder for more bizarre posts I'm sure. One that I saw today showed how off center the media can project a message - I've seen both the questions and answers that were given on an Atlanta Journal article and read the article - neither of them resembled the other one. The AJC was so determined to present THEIR opinion of what they wanted the public to read that they forgot to present the actual facts that they were supposedly working from. The article was completely false based on the answers that were given to their pre-submitted questions.

I wonder how the world would operate if we didn't have such "spins" or "slants" presented on both sides, of the issues? Would people be comfortable actually having to think for themselves and make reasonable decisions about issues if someone else wasn't guiding their thoughts?

These are my thoughts, what are yours?
Steve

My Checklist for a Successful Day.

2011-04-25T10:52:00.000-07:00

I am completely convinced that our lives are the sum total of the choices we make every single day - large or small decisions - and because of that I want to share with you a checklist that I've used for quite some time now to insure that I will create a day of success.

Did I have a written plan for today? Will I follow my plan?
Have I told someone or shown someone that I loved them?
Did I read a book or listen to a tape that stimulated my thinking?
What will I do to increase my skills in my profession today?
What will I do today to increase my good health?
What will I not do today that hurts my health?
Have I reviewed my written Life Goals today? If so, am I closer than when I work up?
What will I do to build my discipline today? Anything tough or challenging?
What will I do today just for the pure joy of doing it?
Have I taken time to reflect on the lessons of the day today?
Have I written my plan for another successful day tomorrow?

I find that when I can answer "yes" to most (hopefully all) of these questions, then I have had a great day of uncommon successes. Remember that I am responsible for my results in life and I need to focus daily on accomplishing my goals and priorities.

These are my thoughts, what are yours?
Steve

SHUT UP! DO I TALK TOO MUCH?

2011-04-20T12:37:00.000-07:00

The younger generation today seem to enjoy expressing their disbelief by saying "Shut Up!" which as I understand it isn't really an order or suggestion but rather just an expression. That being said, it got me thinking about how many times I would be so much better off if I just followed that advise.

1. DIAGNOSING THE ISSUE.I seem to be the guy who always has to express my opinions about everything and everyone - and that is a HUGE problem. I do seem to have an opinion about everything and most everyone - to me that is the heart of my personal belief system and triggers my personal critical thinking. It is only when I start to share those thoughts and opinions (over share?) that I tend to create problems. Even worse is when I over share I also seem to choose not to listen to others opinions or thoughts.

2.SOLVING THE ISSUE.Now this seems simple but it really is quite difficult for an addict like me. I talk alot about shutting up, but that is really part of the problem because it is so hard to shut up. I enjoy sharing my ideas, opinions, and stories. However, when I reverse that thought I realize that others around me also want that same opportunity to express their feelings and to be listened to. Goes back to that old story about two ears and only one mouth - for a reason.
One question I have found that tends to help me with this situation is to ask myself frequently : What have I learned FROM this person in the past 5 minutes? If my answer is nothing then I need to shut up and ask a probing question - NOW.
Shutting up seems to be a self-moderating behavior and it is difficult.

3. THREE REASONS TO SHUT UP.

First - to build better relationships. When someone important says something to me do I immediately start thinking about how I agree or disagree? And then start spewing? Do I even become self aware of this poor habit? One cure is to count slowly to 10 before even starting to answer - this also allows the other person an opportunity to maybe finish the thought with a more complete explanation of their idea.

Second - When negotiating. Sometimes not talking at all can be a very powerful negotiating tactic. Silence is uncomfortable. When someone puts something on the table in a negotiation they expect you to respond - and maybe push back. If you remain silent instead after they put that something out there you are implying that you are not satisfied with the offer. The silence can get uncomfortable - but far less so for you since you are in control of it. Eventually the other party will likely fill that silence, and when they do, they will usually either rationalize their last point or at least give you more insight into their objectives or weak points. The best outcome is when they actually begin negotiating against themselves and put something better in front of you just to fill the silence. Try this sometime, you don't have to do it in a high risk situation but see how the other person reacts to silence. You may be surprised - I sure have been.

Third - You get smarter. Back to that old saying of two ears and one mouth - if you want others around you to think you are brilliant (more than you already are) just try silence. You also can't learn while you are talking - PERIOD - I've never met anyone who can transmit and receive at the same time, no matter how skilled they are at multi-tasking! When you stay in RECEIVE MODE you can learn many new things. One other thing I've discovered - when others get to share THEIR thoughts, ideas, and opinions they feel more important. And most of the time they tend to believe that YOU are exponentially more brilliant.

And on that note, I'm going to shut up now and follow my own advise - and invite YOU to talk by sharing your comments below.

Steve

Fresh Start

2011-04-18T12:53:00.000-07:00

It's spring - A time of fresh starts. Here in the South we have all sorts of new growth popping open and blooming for a new season. In the Christian religion this week also marks the start of Holy Week, another time of new beginning's and fresh starts.

I love this time of year, yes partly because of the weather (although I do dislike the pollen) but mostly because every single year I get a wonderful opportunity for a "DO OVER" or fresh start on those things that I just haven't gotten right during the past year. It doesn't seem to matter what you've done, or how badly you've blown it - spring is the time of year when everyone is open and receptive to new and fresh starts.

What is it in your world that you may need a "Fresh Start or a DO OVER" on? I know I have several projects that just haven't hit the mark I wanted them to, so I'm taking this opportunity to correct that and start again. Is your business model not producing the results you wanted? How about gaining control of your schedule? What activities have you focused on when you may not have had a real clear sense of the direction you need to be going? Can you change that now? One biggie for me is losing intense focus on certain of my priorities because I have "issues" saying NO to many items that come along and grab my attention. NOW is when I'm giving that up and taking personal responsibility and accountability for those results.

One other big problem for me is sometimes my attitude gets in the way (this probably never happens to you does it?) I want to take my long learned action mentality of NEVER GIVE UP, and continue to push it without stopping and evaluating or reflecting on what I am battling for. I very wise person told me just last week that I need to work on "Choosing my battles" better - I tend to burn a lot of energy and unnecessary capital on some small items that just aren't worth the efforts.

I recall something that someone else once said to me and left a deep impression on me: I can't control what happened in the past, but, If you give me a chance I promise you I will be personally available to assist you and help stop situations like that from happening again in the future. I believe that qualifies as a FRESH START. It definitely makes a positive difference in the outcomes that are touched.

These are my thoughts, what are yours?

Steve

More on Legacy

2011-04-07T14:09:00.000-07:00

Since my last post I've received several comments about my statement on leaving a legacy with your life, and especially with your children. After the comments I did a little further research and discovered:

*According to Barna Research, only 1 in 4 Americans even has a Life Philosophy. Now I find that interesting because I would have thought that less than 1 in 10 has a written Life Philosophy.

*Very few people have any notion about what kind of legacy they want to leave behind when they die, and those that do don't seem to understand HOW to create a legacy.

*Our culture today is obsessed with success, however we choose to define that word. We seem to assume that if we become really good at what we do then we will automatically earn the benefits and accolades that should come from or with success.

*Richard Halverson, former chaplain of the U.S. Senate, points out that our goal in life shouldn't be to just "be good," but rather to "be good for something."

*If that "something" is limited to just personal success, then our impact on the world around us will also be limited. To put this another way, don't confuse resume skills with leadership skills. And neither may be related to the world's definition of success.

The difference between your resume and your legacy is:

RESUME. - LEGACY

What you've accomplished. -What you've contributed.

The money you've made. - The difference you've made.

The impression you leave. -The impact you've had.

Self Improvement. -Helping to improve others.

What you've learned. -What you've taught.

Have you been just building a resume or preparing to leave a lasting legacy?

These are my thoughts, What are yours?

Steve

FAME, FORTUNE, AND FAILURE. Where do you stand?

2011-04-04T05:31:00.000-07:00

I've grown more sensitive to young children since becoming a Grandfather. It is very easy to review and watch what happens when you are so connected yet not really involved. I also have a daughter who is a school teacher and therefore enjoy following what grade school children have to say.

One grade school class had to write papers on "What's wrong with parents today." One child really said it all - "We get our parents so late in their lives that it is impossible to do anything with them." Parents, on the other hand, usually receive the children when they were only minutes old. The big question is: At what age will your children receive you? Allow me to explain please.

Most parents are prone to give their children everything except for the one thing that children need most: TIME. Time for listening, time for understanding, time for helping, time for guiding. Taking time away from your own concerns and focusing on those of your children sounds so simple, yet in reality it is absolutely the single most difficult and sacrificial task of parenthood. I freely admit, most women (Mothers) tend to have this skill much more than we men do.

What legacy do your want YOUR children to learn? How are YOU going to provide that legacy information to your children? The reason many people feel like a complete failure is that they fail to complete what they start or wanted to start but never did. This is especially true in parenting. Fame, Fortune, and Failure could be the title of many parenting books today. As we adults pursue the path of fame and fortune we ignore the needs of our families and that results in the ULTIMATE FAILURE - failure as a family member and parent.

Want to be different? Start today, it is not too late. Call a family council meeting this evening to evaluate ( with input from every single family member) on how you spend your time together as a family - and how often. This could be the single MOST IMPORTANT meeting of your entire life.

These are my thoughts, what are yours?

Steve

What is YOUR opinion?

2011-03-23T11:04:00.000-07:00

Everyone has opinions, some are accurate while others are just unfounded (or misinformed) information. Currently many in our world are stating their opposition to nuclear power due to the situation in Japan - telling anyone who will listen about the dangers of that form of power generation over any and all others. How did they (or you) arrive at this opinion?

When you actually research the facts (http://nextbigfuture.com/2011/03/deaths-per-twh-by-energy-source.html) you discover that actually nuclear power is one of the safest methods of generating power. Now the question is: Did you know about this chart before you acquired your opinion or point of view? If so, how do the facts resonate with you? This chart really upsets many people, and they start to believe something MUST be wrong with it, because the nightly news media certainly point the exact opposite direction. I suggest that this information gives proof at how easy it is to fear the unknown and accept our current status quo.

In my opinion, anytime reality doesn't match your expectations, it means that marketing was involved. Perhaps it was advertising, or perhaps even story telling by an industry. We seem to hear various stories daily in our lives that we allow to pass as truth without questioning. It never ceases to amaze me how much marketing colors the way we see things in the world - or our reactions (either way) to what is being presented.

As so often happens to me, this reminds me of a quote I like: One's first step in wisdom is to question things - the next step is to come to terms with those things. This also brings me to something my grandfather taught me years ago as a child - "There is a limit to how smart someone can be, but no limits on how stupid." I believe it was Forrest Gump that coined the phrase "Stupid is as stupid does." and that goes for not questioning data when we receive it.

These are my thoughts, what are yours?
Steve

March Madness - I'm not talking basketball here!

2011-03-09T11:16:00.000-08:00

It's amazing the different types of responses you can get when you attempt to talk to some people. I've always held the thought that if you want to HEAR (and maybe learn) you must cultivate an open mind. When you ask most folks if they feel they have an "open mind" you will most always hear - ABSOLUTELY. Then when you start to talk about something they tune you out or become totally disinterested in even listening. I suppose given today's times that concept (listening to others thoughts or opinions that may be different from yours) is considered old fashioned. I find myself wondering why so many folks today have such resistance to hearing something new or different? Could it be that they already have their minds made up about how "things" are or should be, and just don't want to "rock" their worlds? I don't know of anything much worse than the hardened soil of a closed mind!

What can cause this? I have several potential suggestions:

PRIDE - Sometimes our pride causes us to feel that we already know what's best. Nobody else could think of something "better" than what we did.
FEAR - We are sometimes afraid of what may be said or that we may learn, that we didn't consider earlier and it could possibly cause us difficulties in what we already know.
BITTERNESS - We are angry or bitter because someone else was (or is) smarter (or more educated on that subject) than we are and thought of this new or better way before we did.

This leads me to ask a very difficult question: Are you willing to go thru the next 10 years just as you did the last decade? If so, Why? Are you willing to step out of your comfort zone and listen to some new data or thoughts? If not, Why not? (I know that was 2 questions but cut me some slack here - I'm rolling.)

I'm suggesting that for the Lenten Season this year instead of "giving up" something you consider adding something - and of course that "something" is - listening, really listening, to others viewpoints and consider what they may be advocating. Then actually DO something what what you just learned and see where it may lead you. It's during that "DOING" part that the fear factor seems to appear for most folks.

One of my favorite saying's is: It's what you learn after you "know it all" that really counts - and this statement is attributed to Harry S Truman. What is it today that you are absolutely positive that you "know it all" about that you're willing to listen to others with an open mind?

These are my thoughts, what are yours?

Steve

REFLECTION - QUESTIONS - THOUGHTS.

2011-03-05T06:55:00.000-08:00

Wonderful quiet and rainy day in Georgia - perfect for reflection and deep thoughts. Sometimes it is profitable to ask ourselves some simple questions such as:

I wonder how people feel about me?
Do I leave behind a train of sadness or of gladness?
Is my memory, in others minds, entwined with mercy and goodness, or would they rather just forget me altogether?
Do I leave Blessings behind me, or am I a bane to others?
Is my life a pleasure to people or a pain?
Do I leave behind peace in lives, or turmoil?
Do I represent forgiveness, or bitterness?
Do I reflect contentment, or conflict?
Do I leave behind flowers of joy, or frustration?

Some folks enter our lives and leave behind such a sorry mess wherever they go that they have to cover their tracks and leave quickly. Do I ever feel any sense of shame or fear in going back to where I have lived or been before? If so why? It is my goal in life to leave a legacy of uplift, encouragement and inspiration to others. Am I staying focused on my goal(s) each and every day or do I allow the pressures of the day to change my focus? Do I ask enough questions of myself and/or others? Can asking questions be the answer?

I want to always be able to look at the mountains and see the beauty, not thinking about the difficulty of climbing them. To focus on the positive side and the possibility thinking rather than the dark viewpoints. I want a legacy of kind and tender thoughts from others and knowledge that goodness and mercy has followed me all the days of my life.

Where are YOU today? What are YOU thinking about today? These are my thoughts about this subject - what are yours?
Steve

Showing? Teaching? Selling?

2011-02-27T11:25:00.000-08:00

This weekend I had a small project I wanted to complete so I went to a local retail store that sells DIY ceramic tile and stone (the store name isn't important) while there I noticed a DIY clinic going on for how to install ceramic tile. Wanting to learn more I stopped and listened to the person (not identifying male or female) doing the demo clinic. I could not believe my ears - almost every single item this person said was either completely wrong or very misleading. There were about 8 other folks there with me, most seemed interesting in doing some tile work in their bathrooms but the good news is that after this "clinic" none of them bought anything. Bad news may be that this "instructor" may have hurt the ceramic tile industry by costing us potential customers - or maybe - just sent these folks to a full service location to have the job done by a professional installer - at least that is what I am hoping!

The list of what was said or done wrong is long and boring, but the quick highlights are that this person used what could have been a great opportunity to sell products into a lesson on what not to say or do if you are in the business of selling things that needed to be installed. First they had laid out a huge selection of tools that they claimed you MUST have to do the installation - most of which were wrong or not mandatory but obviously this instructor was told to "sell tools" today! Next the instructor told everyone how EASY it was to do the job if you used the right materials - like pre-mixed mortar (think mastic) and pre-mixed grout. Nothing said or explained about leveling the subsurface or about how to properly install the backer board - however they did want you to use backer board - just never got around to saying why or how to use it. Showed how easy it was to spread the sticky stuff - using a very small "v" notch trowel that was way too small - and circular motions without any keying in of the mastic. Just laid the 12" x 12" tile into ( well ok on top of the slight layer of ) the mastic - placed a spacer (actually used 3 spacers on each tile side) and moved onto the next tile. Finally told everyone that after waiting just 1 hour or so you could then grout the job using the pre-mixed grout and be finished by supper time. W R O N G !!!!!!!

Time for the Q & A part of the clinic - first question - what is the difference between porcelain tile and other clay tiles? Answer: not much difference, just use which ever one you like the look of best - they are just different ways of making tiles! WHAT???? Next question - can I use the same 4" x 4" tile on both the walls and floor in my bathroom? Answer - sure not a problem - no discussion about slip/fall issues or quality/thickness of the tile. Last question (and this one was the best) how long after I finish the tile do I need to wait to start using the shower again? Answer: - get ready - here it comes - remember they were told that you could grout after on 1 hour or so - answer: you must wait until at least the next morning to run water on the installation. WOW!!!

Now I know many folks don't have the complete technical knowledge that I've been exposed to during my 35+ years in the tile and flooring business - but anyone should have enough of a "BS" instinct to realize that this person had NO CLUE as to what they were saying. Some department manager told this person to go give a DIY clinic and they did - maybe to the best of their ability - but as the judge says so often: Ignorance is no excuse! I'm not sure who I blame more in this situation - the clerk who obviously knows they know nothing about this or the company management who seemingly cares less what is being said - they just want a DIY clinic to sell more stuff.

Now I don't want to embarrass either that company (who USG happens to do business with) or the individual who gave that sorry excuse for a DIY clinic - but I do want to help improve our industry by suggesting to anyone and everyone who reads this blog that we all have a responsibility to educate and train everyday. So now, the logical question - DID I TAKE THAT RESPONSIBILITY MYSELF? I'm happy to report that I did and I also did it in a very kind way - hoping that the clerk took my message back to store management with the spirit with which it was given - to help them learn and an offer to help train them if they desire.
I suppose only time will tell if I get that call for the training...... Maybe I'll find time again in several weeks to attend that same DIY clinic and see if anything has changed.

Your thoughts??
Steve

In Good Time - Timing is everything.

2011-02-23T10:50:00.000-08:00

Many lessons that we learn as a child (or while growing up) tend to serve us well for the rest of our lives, others we need to change or modify as we (or our circumstances) grow or change. As a boy I was fortunate to be a Boy Scout and I learned many things that I still find useful daily. Some are in different forms today then they were way back then, but still the lesson learned is useful.

Take for example building a campfire using just 1 match - you had best already have learned the skills of preparation and patience before you attempt this feat, otherwise you will quickly burn thru your assets (small tinder and kindling) before you get to the fun part about placing twigs and then sticks and finally logs onto your fire. Trust me this exercise will teach you that patience is absolutely a required virtue. Try lighting just a log without the required preparation and you will soon learn how to exist in darkness while being cold.

Another skill you learn as a Scout is that a 3 stranded cord (or rope) is always much stronger than a cord with only 2 strands - and a single strand is almost useless. How does that relate for my adult life? Well if you want to accomplish something you need a team (2/3/or more) to make the job easier and strong enough to accomplish your goals. You DO have written goals don't you? (Maybe the goals story is best saved for a later posting.)

Finally, how full is your backpack? It is almost impossible to swim a river or climb a mountain with an exceptionally heavy backpack. Oh you may have lots of needed items in the pack (we had one scout who carried an entire case of Coke in cans with him in his pack on one hike - which he left at the first stop on the AT trail hike) and you may actually NEED versus just want, some of the stuff in your pack, but is it wise to lug it packed so full that your mission is doomed to failure due to the overloading conditions? Don't some of us adults still attempt to do this today in our workplaces? We carry huge loads of "stuff" "data" "gadgets" etc with us to make work easier when really most of what we need is just our most valuable tool - our minds. I travel frequently and some folks are amazed I can make an entire work week trip in a carry on bag that fits into the airline overhead - reason is, of course, that I learned as a Boy Scout not to over pack with wants versus needs.

There are lessons to be learned every day about "timing" all around us and many of us choose to ignore those lessons. No I'm not talking about timing the auto engine (although that is needed sometimes also) but rather things like traveling to Chicago during the winter with summer weight clothing, or the reverse, in the summer with a wool coat in your bag. Timing helps us grow and learn when we pay attention, sometimes needing to wait, other times to rush, so that we accomplish what we are after. All of us experience trials and hard times occasionally also. Again try to remember the timing issue, and a lesson I learned in Scouts - that the steel of a knife blade needs to be tempered by fire to become a valuable tool that is useful. Same is true with our lives today - we all are faced with trials and hard times to temper us into useful tools to reach our goals and beyond.

Please take time today to do two things for me:

1. Reflect, review, and evaluate the lessons you've learned today and how to apply them to tomorrow and the rest of your life.
2. Take time today to plan for another successful day tomorrow. The patience and preparation that you show today will make your fire burn bigger and brighter in the future.

These are my thoughts, what are yours?
Steve

Things I've learned since I knew it all!

2011-02-12T14:08:00.000-08:00

About 20 years ago I took a class involving learning a "system" of selling skills. The introductory class was very cheap - $99 for a full 1 day class (which I knew was all I would need because I was so smart anyway) but the real bonus in this deal was a complete money back guarantee - that if I didn't see anything I liked by the noon break the instructor would refund my entire fee and I was allowed to leave and keep the materials I had been given. This had to be, I KNEW FOR SURE, a Win-Win for me. It certainly was, but like so many things in my life, not exactly as I expected it to be.
You see when I strolled up to the podium at noon break to ask for my money back, not because I was dissatisfied in any way but because I felt the course was just a teaser to sell a much longer, more complete, and vastly more expensive course. And of course, I was right! Key was that the instructor asked me one simple question and waited for my answer. This question and answer isn't important today, but he got me to understand that what I was CERTAIN that I knew maybe just wasn't so certain after all. The instructor extended the money back guarantee until the end of the day, so of course, I stayed. I also bought the entire deal at the end of the day, (several thousands of dollars worth of training) and stayed with him for well over 10 years as a wonderful mentor in what I needed to learn (which I thought was nothing) to continue being successful in my selling efforts. Just a side note here - what he taught me has made me many thousands of dollars return on my investment - much more than 100 times my investment.
Fortunately still today I still face that same dilemma, that the things I feel certain that I know all I need to know about I discover that it is what I learn AFTER I know it ALL that really counts. Just about the time that I stop questioning something and accept it as complete I am surprised to learn something new and different that I thought I had already understood or covered. Does this indicate that I am going to be a life long student? I believe so, and today more than ever, I believe I'm glad that it will be that way.
Everyday things change, people change, and those who stay stuck in the old ways and old learning's are the ones who fall behind or out of relevance. Which brings up yet another saying that this first instructor pointed out vividly to me long ago - "The only difference between a rut and a grave is the length and depth."
So today I'm asking you the readers for a little participation in this blog - I'm requesting that you stop and question yourselves on what you KNOW FOR CERTAIN. Not those things that you maybe think you might know, but those absolutely rock solid certainty items - just ponder, reflect, re-evaluate, and think over just one more time those items just to see what may have changed.

My prediction is that you may discover it is you that changed.

These are my thoughts , what are yours?

My Rant on Uninformed people.

2011-02-07T13:21:00.000-08:00

I read a study last week that documented statistics of huge numbers of people in the US purchase ONE or fewer books per year. Many of those same folks who admit to that also claim to have seen every single episode of American Idol. It seems to me there is clearly a correlation here.

It is an undisputed fact that in 2011, maybe for the first time in history, access to knowledge is unimpeded for almost anyone. Without much effort or expense at all anyone can become informed if they choose to do so. For far less than the cost of most monthly cable TV bills, you can purchase and read at least 4 books per month and if you share your books with friends you can do this for less than you spend on coffee monthly. If you want to spend nothing, in most places in this country there are public libraries with free access to all types of materials.

OR YOU CAN CHOOSE TO WATCH TV.

One thing is, watching TV does have it's benefits. It excuses you from the responsibility of having an informed opinion about most things that matter in our world today. It provides you with shallow opinions, false "facts", and media controlled spin that you are able to parrot to others who also just watch TV so that your self-induced world is carefully protected and you are able to remain isolated from the "real world" - and NO - I'm not talking Reality TV programs here. We elected our President last time based upon 30 second (or less) clips of media spin.

I was discussing my blog the other day with someone who proudly made it clear that he doesn't read any non-fiction books, and would never consider reading a blog, even if it were related to his industry. What surprised me the most was he seemed proud of this. Yet when this man chooses to speak and express his opinion he wonders why others don't accept his viewpoints as factual and worth consideration. AMAZING!

I travel a lot, I spend way too much time in airports and it always surprised me how few folks I see using this time to read and become more informed. I realize that deciding to read is clearly a deliberate act and that it takes work to accomplish, but in our infoculture in 2011 why not expose yourself to interesting ideas, facts, or points of view? I do see some folks using their iPad's to scan online news reports - according to Google the estimate is the average online news reader spends a whopping 90 seconds or less per day even on this activity.

Now I realize this complaint isn't new, in fact, people have been complaining about widespread willful ignorance since the times of Brutus or Caesar. The difference now is that more and easier access exists and there are many more "creators" of newsworthy items than ever before in history. Today, more people than ever go to work to use their minds, not just their hands. With social media sites (like this one) we also have an open platform to share our points of view with many that would otherwise be difficult to reach. I believe this access is able to raise the bar for our understanding of our world today and how it works.

I contend that if you are involved in any way in the business world today, and you don't get paid just to lift bricks or hang steel, then you are involved at least in some small way in the idea business. Whatever you do or create is important and you should at least attempt to spread the idea and share your knowledge with others. They may choose to disagree, but that too is great as it opens the path for intelligent discussions that may benefit all who choose to participate.

As for those who choose to remain deliberately informed, we can ignore them or we can start a program to reach out to them and hopefully start a pattern of more people stopping to think for themselves and form their own opinions.

This is my thoughts on this subject, what are yours?
Steve

Today is Groundhog Day!!

2011-02-02T11:35:00.000-08:00

IT’S GROUNDHOG DAY!

"That's right, woodchuck-chuckers -- it's ... Groundhog Day!" You may or may not recognize that line from the Bill Murray movie "Groundhog Day." This is one of my most favorite movies however; if you don't live in the United States, you may not even know that February 2 is Groundhog Day, or what it represents: the day when the superstitious look to a small mammal to determine how soon spring will arrive.

In the movie, Phil Connors (Bill Murray) is trapped in a 24-hour time period that seems to repeat itself endlessly. Day after day nothing he does allows him to move forward with his life.

Once Connors realizes what is going on, he gives himself over to all types of
pleasure: gratuitous sex, crime, and selfishly trying to woo Andie MacDowell's character. Eventually he learns that all of this leaves him empty inside, and Murray begins to find ways to better himself and serve others. This being a movie from Hollywood, Connors eventually ends up with the girl, and they set off to live happily ever after, beyond Groundhog Day.

Phil Connors' quest reminds me of one that many of us find ourselves living in even today. Here is what some of us do daily to find OUR fulfillment in life:

* A quest for knowledge

* Dedication to pleasure

* Possessions

* Commitment to work

* Rivalry with others

* Political power

* Unrivaled riches

* Children

* Long life

* Food and drink

In the end, none of these efforts brought Phil the lasting pleasure he was seeking. It was all, in his words, "a chasing after the wind." He only found one thing that could give him the sense of meaning that he sought: Learning to look outside of ourselves and make a dedicated effort to help others.

It's Groundhog Day today!

Do some of us still feel like Phil Connors, trapped in an endless and maybe even meaningless routine? Do all of our attempts to find purpose and meaning in life leave us right back where we started? In the end, most of us learn what Phil Conner learned on Groundhog Day: happiness begins with looking outside ourselves.

These are my thoughts, what are yours?
Steve

Listening??

2011-01-28T07:09:00.000-08:00

Almost everyone you meet has an opinion or viewpoint on almost everything. They usually arrive at these conclusions by listening to others and maybe even reading or studying the subject matter and that is where it normally stops. Once most of us reach what we feel is a logical conclusion on a subject we tend to close our mind and move on from there. Many times however the opinion or viewpoint of others may be totally different than yours. Is it worth your time to listen fully and maybe consider other options? Many times the person giving the view or opinion may have spent much more time or study developing that opinion or view than you have developing your opinion or view. Are you willing to learn from the folks who have researched and studied more than you? There is even the possibility that things have "changed with the times" and your "facts" have become outdated data - are you willing to consider that possibility?

This week at the Surfaces Show in Las Vegas I experienced this more than once. Several times folks entered our booth and voiced an opinion or viewpoint that may have, at one point in time, been accurate in their world, but has been factually changed since they last considered the situation. I had to smile (only on the inside so as not to hurt their feelings) as they defended their wrong belief just because they were unwilling to listen to and/or consider that there may actually be new or updated info that is worth listening to and considering that may materially change the facts that they currently accept. I KNOW I've been guilty of this in the past and wonder if you have also?

Someone very close to me has the annoying habit of interrupting others talking because they feel they KNOW what is about to be said and this damages all ability to communicate openly for this person and hurts the recipient's feeling. It is a way of saying: "I already know what you are thinking or about to say and it isn't important for me to listen any further." In reality very few of us (if any) actually have that ability to accurately mind read. The end result is almost always a shut down of communications as well as a rapid halt to the learning process that may be available if they would just listen.

If you think that YOU may be guilty of this, as I KNOW I sometimes am, I present this challenge to you. For the next week, please just try to refrain from prejudging your conversations with others, stop, reflect and truly listen completely and until the end, before considering what to say in reply. You may be completely surprised as to what you may learn. At the very least, you will ultimately confirm what you think you already knew and can easily smile in agreement with the speaker and continue building the relationship as opposed to closing the door to further communications.

Asking questions is considered to be one of the absolute most strong methods of learning, but it becomes useless if you don't bother to listen to the answer and give it consideration before turning your mind and ears off.

This is my thoughts on this subject - what are yours? I promise I will listen and not interrupt until you finish........

Unusual Times and the power of the Sun.

2011-01-19T08:18:00.000-08:00

Last week was certainly an unusual one for folks living in Georgia. Many parts of Atlanta had record snowfall, which hung around for much longer than usual because of the prolonged sub-freezing temperatures. Then, after Sunday nights fresh snow, on Monday freezing rain/sleet arrived and added an icy glaze to our sparkling white world. The only thing that disappeared quicker than bread and milk was salt and sand. By Wednesday much of the fun/joy had gone from this experience and many started having "cabin fever" but due to the ice and snow clogging the roads, sidewalks and even lawns across Georgia folks just couldn't get out and move around anywhere. Shoveling was nearly impossible and the wind chills plus single digit temperatures did not help matters any at all. One interstate highway was closed for over 20 miles with solid traffic blocking every lane and exit ramp for over 24 straight hours.

Thursday a new day dawned and things started improving slowly. Sunshine showed up and temperatures warmed up so people were able to get out and start recovering. This started me to thinking about the one thing that had changed - Sunshine - it brightened the light and warmed our bodies as it warmed up the outside world. Suddenly, the world was back to alright again and things were looking up. Friday was a nearly normal day with schools still out, our postal service still ignoring their slogan by staying off the streets again, the trash service still not collecting, but many went to work in their businesses and life began to return to the city.

I began to think about the lesson to be learned from the "sunshine" experience. If something as simple as sunshine could change these frozen circumstances wouldn't it stand to reason that something simple and as available as sunshine could change our business circumstances? I believe we will see that begin to happen next week when we start our spring round of trade show meetings, beginning with the Surfaces Show in Las Vegas.

Surfaces is the first opportunity for most of us in 2011 to come out from hiding in the business world and look around to see what is new or changing in our industry. Oh, I realize that many will choose to ignore this opportunity and stay home and inside, but they will always be the ones that things "happen to" rather than the ones who "make things happen." My suggestion is that business people make the decision to open their minds and wallets, take the trip to Las Vegas, investigate what has changed and what is changing in our business world.

I'm really tired of hearing folks say: "I just can't afford it" when the reality is you can't afford NOT to be there. I remember the pain I felt just a few short years ago when I was laid off by one company and had nothing lined up for my future. Being unemployed I certainly "couldn't afford" to travel to a trade show but I did and somehow I ended up getting my current position with USG from that single step of faith. This morning I saw a wonderful thought that I want to close this blog with, and it is below.

Decide what you want, decide what you are willing to exchange for it. Establish your priorities and go to work.

– H. L. Hunt

This triggered one other "favorite" of mine: Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, TODAY IS A GIFT, that is why it is called "the present."

Choose wisely how YOU will use your gifts. You may want to evaluate, consider, and ponder these thoughts as you decide on how the sunshine will change your world.

Correct Focus on Situations

2011-01-11T13:49:00.000-08:00

When I was a child we didn’t have toys like we do today, no Nintendo or Wii, we just had real simple toys and great imaginations. One of the best gifts I can remember was a large hand held magnifying glass. I discovered that if I lined the glass up just right with the sunshine I was able to burn a hole in a piece of paper. The main feature of the magnifying glass was the ability to enlarge whatever I wanted to look at and see so much more details that I couldn’t see clearly without using it. Magnification didn’t make the object any bigger than it actually was, but it greatly enlarged my view, and that allowed me to see details that were hidden from my normal view.

Generally a magnifying glass is a good tool, but like so many tools, it can also become part of a problem. Sometimes our lives become like looking thru a magnifying glass and our problems or circumstances seem so big and overpowering that they block our view and become all are able see. Our problems seem to reduce the size and power of everything else around us and if we don’t take a step back from that magnifying glass view everything will be out of proportion and then we all seem to get lost occasionally.

Perspective is another great tool that is available to every one of us to help keep the magnification view of our current situation in its proper place. Some folks may call it exaggeration, but I generally see it more as a different perspective problem with the limited view of the current “lens” that we are using at that moment. It is at these times that we all need to stop, take a breath or maybe even a break, and relax before we attempt to refocus on the situation at hand. After our break somehow the “lens” of our magnifier glass view goes away and we can see our current situation or problem much more clearly.

A real world example of this could be the over reaction to a problem that pops up during the day and is urgent enough to require immediate action (or so it seems anyway) so we study and view it as best we can and rush to make a decision, which in my case, is usually wrong. I have had to teach myself to stop and think about that situation in terms of what it may mean in 3 weeks or maybe 3 months or years from now. When I do that I tend to lose the distorting lens view and see the situation more clearly.

I still like the magnifying glass approach when I have a splinter in my finger, but I choose to not attack that situation with a butcher knife to cut off the finger just because the magnification lens shows the splinter as a log. Some things in our daily lives need that slower pace of years gone by so that we can make better choices for the future.

Steve

Make 2011 Your Best Year Ever!

2011-01-06T07:17:00.000-08:00

Are you feeling a little down or maybe even disappointed in where you are in your life right now?
Did you think you would be doing better and be further along the path to success in your life right now?

We've all heard the definition of insanity - continue doing the same things over and over and expecting different results. Maybe NOW is the time to do things differently.

Making a difference requires a different type of thinking. Making a difference means (maybe "requires") doing things differently. Maybe it's time for a turning point in your life.

I HAVE FANTASTIC NEWS FOR YOU! No matter what your past has been, it is just that, your past. Yesterday is HISTORY, tomorrow is a mystery, TODAY is a gift, that is why it is called "The Present." You get to choose how you use your gifts.

The experiences you create are the moments that will define you. Everyone will miss you when you're gone, because we will always remember the mark that you made on us and our lives. You can choose your own, new, way starting today. You chose your way in the past, and if that was intentional or not, you now have the evidence of how that past choice turned out. If it was a good choice, you will see some good things, but remember you can always improve the good to reach great. If you made some poor or bad choices, that too will show, but again, that is history and you are starting today with a brand new blank canvas and you can paint a completely different picture of yourself then you've ever painted before.

January 2011 is filled with just as much magic as December 2010 was. However, this is a different type of magic. This is the magic that you create for yourself, versus the magic that was artificially created by the media (the world) for you in December. 2011 will be a lesson in flexibility. Transformations are amazing things, but sometimes can be frustrating thing - after all when things around you change it can be difficult for you to adjust to them. Up is suddenly down, black is suddenly white and many things that you thought you had figured out before are suddenly not making much sense these days.

Once again - GREAT NEWS - you can create that change for yourself, you can transform yourself, you can adjust yourself and your world as YOU want it. You've got the ambition and the passion to radically redesign your future and maybe every one's future. In those famous words of Nike - "Just Do It!" Make YOUR smile light up every room. Make every sunrise and sunset surprise you with it's magnificence. Listen to that small still voice inside of you the next time it has an idea and carry that idea forward to everything you do that day. Listen, NO REALLY LISTEN, to the questions being asked, then stop and think before you reply.

Take the time right now, today, to think, plan, evaluate, and set priorities for your day, week, month, year and yes even your life. Failure to plan is the same as planning to fail. I can assure you of this:

You won't be disappointed or down on your life if you go where you choose to create.
You will be doing better and be further along on your path to success.

My wish for you today is that you see things in a new light, and that gratitude be your friend as you want on the road towards your destiny. Make it a great day my friend.

Steve

1-1-11. Happy New Year.

2011-01-01T10:07:00.000-08:00

The year of 2010 is gone, finished, past, we cannot undo it, or reclaim it. We cannot change the great distance it has brought us. When today dawned it brought us another day, another year, another chance to change what we want to change about ourselves and our lives.
Today is a time that many stop and reflect, evaluate, and plan for the coming year. That is a good practice, but it is only the first step on this journey. By the first signs of spring (whenever that may be depending on where you live) most of us will have long forgotten today's learning's and plans and be firmly on that same path we just decided to leave. Why? We're not lazy (well maybe some of us are sometimes), we're not stupid, most of us aren't sadistic and wanting to recreate more pain for ourselves, then why don't we carry out the plans we just spent time today to formulate? My personal answer is my lack of focus. I start with the best of intentions and then something else takes my eye and I lose just a little focus on what I have planned. I go for that instant gratification instead of sticking to my plan - after all - I've got all year to complete my plan don't I?
Well, in 2011 my plan is to WORK MY PLAN - STICK TO MY PLAN - ACCOMPLISH MY PLAN, and I will track my plan with milestone markers tied to specific dates. I will reclaim my life and start my own personal revolution.
A good friend of mine, and an unpaid mentor for me, in early December gave me a wonderful book called "The Hamster Revolution - Get Control of Meetings." The book was a very short read (think less than 2 hours) and it has a WOW factor of 10+ for me. So much so that I did 2 solid actions shortly after reading that book - 1. I bought 2 more copies and sent them to some other friends that I know would benefit from the book, and 2. I bought the 2nd book called "The Hamster Revolution - Stop Info-Glut - and - reclaim your life." Again another quick read book (another 2 hours or less) but I must confess that I WILL be re-reading both books, page by page again much more slowly as I reorganize my life. I very highly recommend you go to your computer today and check out this website: WWW.Getcontrol.net and see for yourself what you've been missing in our life.
One of my most popular resolutions every year is to read more (or listen to more) books during the year. Problem always arises that I can't find the time to accomplish this goal and even though I do read some books each year, I never seem to hit my goal of reading at least one book every other week. Well, with the time I see that I can gain using what I learned in both of those above books I KNOW I will be able to read at least 50 books in 2011 and still have time left over for those other things I want to do in addition to just reading books.
I will keep you posted on my progress and would love to (A) Hear your goals for 2011, (B) hear your plan on how to accomplish them, and (C) Celebrate with you when we both reach our goals for 2011.
It is totally up to us to make 2011 the best year ever in our lives. I'm working on my plan, how about you?
Steve

Bah! Humbug! How to have a miserable Christmas.

2010-12-19T13:21:00.001-08:00

"Humbug" - something designed to deceive and mislead.
- nonsense or drivel.
- an attitude or spirit of pretense and deception.
- a willfully false, deceptive, or insincere statement or person.

Now I'm hoping this title will catch the attention of some, those especially who know they can contribute to the quality of Christmas, by making it a wonderful memory or an emotional disaster. After extensive research, and with credit to Bobby Scott from Perimeter School and his sources, here is my list including my own personal issues.

1. FOCUS ENTIRELY ON YOURSELF. Let your mind ruminate on what you "need", want, or just lust for, joyously focusing only on those gifts addressed to YOU, rather than your gifts to others. After all, it's just all about "what I got" anyway isn't it? If you do bother (and remember it is a pain to fight the crowd at the mall) to give a somewhat nice gift to someone else be certain to brag to everyone and remind them of just how fantastic YOU are for doing that.

2. JUDGE ALL THE GIFTS YOU RECEIVE. Evaluate everything on how much it cost, if it was better than what you gave the other person, if the giver really listened to you and understood what it was you wanted, and the total number of gifts you received compared with how many others (family members or friends) received. Make it a contest!! Just always remember that nobody but YOU can win because it is YOUR contest and YOU set the rules, which you can change if needed.

3. ENGAGE IN HALF-HEARTED RITUALS. After all haven't we sung those same Christmas songs a million times before? Visited those same friends/family members before? Attended those same parties before? Let's just do the expected things quickly and then get out as soon as possible. We can always go home and watch TV or just have a quiet drink. Let the rest of the family go to Christmas Eve Church Service without you, they always tell that same story anyway.

4. DWELL ON ALL YOUR PAST HURTS. Remember last Christmas how unappreciated you were? Stew about how mean/stupid/etc your friends, relatives, or neighbors have been and how you can never forget what they did to you! How long ago was that anyway? Hold on to that grudge, enjoy it, and wait for them to come humble themselves before you before you ever consider thinking about forgiving them. Make them suffer, hurting you, intentionally or not, was just clearly wrong.

5. REHASH OLD ARGUMENTS AND PUSH KNOWN HOT BUTTONS. This is a biggie!! Purposely or intentionally bring up those issues that you know will rile up your friends or family members. Remind them that "THEIR" favorite football team really stinks this year, that "Their" candidate lost, or that they "NEVER" do the things you request and "ALWAYS" do things to irritate you. Plus, will they ever stop giving you that "some old type of present" every single Christmas? They should KNOW you wanted that new IPAD no matter what it costs.

6. REFUSE ALL OFFERS OF HELP AND PLAY THE MARTYR CARD. Since others just can't do things the way YOU know it should be done, just do everything yourself. I mean, after all, YOU shouldn't have to ASK them to help you anyway, they should know and see what needs to be done. Besides, if nobody helps you, then you have an excuse to resent them and feel sorry for yourself. (See # 1 & # 4 above). The "JOY" of being a servant and martyr should be all yours anyway, so why share it with others. Many women understand this much more than men so we guys need to make a special effort on this one.

7. MAKE A HOLIDAY CHECKLIST AND COMPLETE IT PERFECTLY. The only way to really enjoy the holidays is to get YOUR list done on time, in the proper way, and on the planned schedule. Never compromise period! Flexibility to just sit and enjoy your family or friends is a total waste of time anyway. Unless they want to praise you or talk about how great you are why bother! Who will get all credit for getting that work done if you let them help anyway?

8. NEVER TAKE TIME FOR CHARITY WORK. Why spread any possible cheer in any direction other than towards yourself? Those homeless folks could never ever repay anything you do for them so why bother? Besides, if they would be more like you they wouldn't need the help.

9. ONLY SEND CARDS OR GIFTS TO THOSE WHO ARE IN A POSITION TO HELP YOU. If someone can't do more for you than you can for them what is the purpose anyway? Again keep #1, #2, & # 3 above in the top of your mind. If it isn't about you, who cares?

10. REMEMBER BEING MISERABLE IS EASIER THAN HAVING A JOYFUL CHRISTMAS. Why not just give in and allow your inner self to have fun and remain self-centered. After all, it's much easier and more fun than the alternative. Having a Peace filled and Joyful Christmas isn't all that it's cracked up to be anyway. Finally, remember the battles and problems you will face the day after Christmas fighting everyone else back at the mall for those left-over bargains and returning that junk others gave you!!

So have a miserable Christmas and a very unhappy Holiday season. Smiles and laughter are highly overrated anyway!!

Steve

Gone Flying

2010-12-09T17:21:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I took a friend up for a flight and the infamous $100 hamburger. Only after we were up about 3,000 feet did he tell me that this was his FIRST flight in a small airplane. I usually try to find that out before I take someone up, believe me it does make a difference in how you do things when you have a "first timer" on board.
What I experienced yesterday was a wonderful time that I had almost forgotten myself, that thrill of breaking free of gravity and solid ground and flying like the birds do. Watching my friend taking in everything for the first time that I have started to take for granted. I was able to see thru his eyes the sights that have become so commonplace to me and experience again the thrill that started me flying years ago. Looking down on familiar places but from a totally new angle really amazes folks - seeing more and different colors from above the haze line, watching smoke rise with the wind and actually feeling that wind as it moves the airplane. All wonderful feelings that unfortunately only a small few folks get to experience in life. Many of my pilot friends have told me they long ago forgot those thrilling adventures and now just look upon flying as another method of getting somewhere fast. I hope that never happens to me - I love the flight - the trip is, to me, almost more fun than getting to the destination. In fact, sometimes when I get to my destination I will intentionally veer away just to spend a few more moments up in the sky experiencing that freedom that folks tied to the ground just don't realize.
A short 20 minute flight to the North Georgia Mountain region, then lunch with good friends, and another short flight back to Atlanta doesn't take too much time, but it certainly removes years from my life as I get to feel like a child again for a short amount of time. When I reflect and remember how great it is I am always reminded of taking a young boy up for a flight once. He was in the back seat, with headsets on his small head, just talking away but I couldn't quite hear or understand what he was saying. When I got his attention and repeated my question he told me he was just talking with his dad who had died the year before and this boy knew that he was much closer to heaven so he was having a discussion about what he missed about his dad. I had trouble finishing that flight - my eyesight seemed to develop a very wet blurry view - but believe me I did extend that flight as long as possible, for all 3 of us.
Remember to live life fully each and every day. Everyday is a gift, that is why it is called the "Present."

Changes to 2011 TCNA Tile Handbook Summary

2010-11-23T11:56:00.000-08:00

I'm trying something new today - I am adding a complete summary article I've written about the changes to the 2011 TCNA Tile Handbook. If you are involved in the tile business this will be of interest, if not you may not want to spend the time reading the following 4 pages of information.

Changes to the 2011 TCNA Handbook
The 2011 TCNA Handbook will be over triple the size of the current 2010 handbook with the addition of many new methods and huge improvements in usability over the current book. Below I will outline some of the changes and what they mean to USG and our customers.

• Addition of stone installation methods
o Clarify and make it obvious that stone tile is different from ceramic tile
o Highlight selection and installation considerations and precautions for marble and stone tiles.
o Substrate preparation, or flattening, is required if substrate doesn’t meet level tolerances. Self-leveling methods may be a good choice.
o Limitations on stone tile including post-tensioned concrete, L/720 deflection requirements, maximum substrate variation 1/8” in 10’, epoxy setting materials required for some stone installations.
o New backer board requirements for stone installations – two layer structural wood substrate floors required under backer board installation
o ONLY CBU backer boards are recommended under stone installations
o There will be some duplication of methods but with different requirements for stone versus ceramic tile installations.
• New concrete substrate installation methods with different recommendations for tiling on-ground versus above-ground concrete slabs.
• New optional Membranes sections added into almost all tile installation methods
o Discussion of better setting materials requirements for membrane use
o Discussion of reduced service ratings on installations with membranes
o Discussion of differences of variability of suitability with membranes
• Editorial Overhaul of entire handbook
o Bullets and language standardized
o Need for cross references eliminated by adding more info into methods
o Membrane options called out to add clarity to methods
• Floor Assembly Weights section added to allow design professionals to better calculate the dead load ratings. Mortar beds and all types of backer board unit’s weights given.
• New Improved Ceramic Tile Selection Guide
o Summary of ANSI A137.1 requirements for tile
o Defines the 5 different types of ceramic tile and the minimum performance each must meet
o Discusses breaking strength and bond strength requirements.
• New Glass Tile selection and installation guide
o Only CBU Backer boards recommended under glass tile installations
o Setting materials take better mortars and longer to cure
o Critical need for flat substrate – self-leveling beds may be needed
o Glass tile bonding issues to membranes discussions
o 70 new glass tile installation methods
o Discussion of critical movement joint requirements for the entire assembly with glass tile being used.
• New Environmental Classifications applied to all methods. Guidance provided on both residential and commercial differences in Dry, Limited water, Wet, Steam, High Temperature, and Exterior assemblies.
o Interior walls now rated dry or limited moisture exposure.
o If materials used in Wed areas then details show wall-to-floor transition
o Clarifies what type of a membrane is needed for each application.
• New Wet area Guidelines includes differences between intermittent-wet versus saturated wet areas and how to incorporate waterproofing to contain and evacuate water and protect the building materials behind and below installation.
o Spells out important requirements for:
o Drain and waterproofing sloped to that drain
o Have open/protected weep holes
o Use of a vapor retarder behind the backer board
o Wrapping curb assembly completely with membrane
o Keeping the backer board out of the mortar bed
• New substrate flatness requirements for ceramic tile due to larger sized tiles
o Tiles with all edges shorter than 15” maximum allowable variation is ¼” in ‘ from the required plane and no more than 1/16” variation in 12” from any high points in the surface.
o Tiles with at least one edge 15” or longer in length maximum allowable variation is 1/8” in 10’ with no more than 1/16” in 24” from the high points.
• New ISO references for Grout and Mortar Specifications.
o Explanatory section for determining minimum performance.
o Explanatory section for key to ISO nomenclature and relationships to ANSI and ASTM requirements. Both ISO and ANSI specifications are provided.
o ISO testing/performance requirements listing. Different properties are measured and different tests are used to measure the properties.
• New options for membranes, mortars, grouts, and other materials with multiple options MUST BE CLEARLY SPECIFIED IN WRITING by the design professional or if not specifically indicated optional materials ARE NOT INCLUDED and choice defaults to minimum performance specification.
• Updated Tile is the Natural Choice section
o The Green side of tile
o LEED and other Green Building Rating Systems explanations
o Floor covering cost comparison
o Life Cycle cost data comparisons
o New Why Select Ceramic Tile section
• New “Dry” Wall method listing tub surrounds without a shower head
o Allows different backer board units including Glass Mat Water Resistant backer board units and standard drywall products.
• New Pool installation method
• New “soft materials” caution for ceramic tile and stone products subjected to lower breaking strengths
• New Expansion joint explanations and drawings including joints at vertical surfaces.
• New Grout guide discussing color consistency of cementitious grouts as well as epoxy emulsion grouts, and premixed Polymer Resin Grouts.
• New Steam Shower assembly revisions including CBU backings use.

As you can see this will be quite an extensive amount of change for the tile installers to absorb so please be prepared when the book is released to update your flash drive with the new information and have new printed copies to show your distributors and installers. This will require a huge educational effort on everyone in the supply side of the tile industry to insure that the message of these new changes get out into daily use to cut down on the failure rate of installed products that are not being done properly and leading to premature failures.

Thinking "outside" the box? Why not try inside?

2010-11-19T09:09:00.000-08:00

I love life. If you know me at all you know that for certain. I get passionate about things and sometimes very impatient because of my passion to accomplish something. This week a friend of mine saw me working on a problem and said something to me that absolutely stopped me in my tracks - stunned me, if you will. He asked me why I was struggling so much with this and I, in my own "knowing" way started to explain to him (the unlearned, or so I thought) how all my books and acquired knowledge leads me to progressive thinking - mostly "outside" of the box. My friend listened politely to me and smiled all the time.

Now allow me to explain here that I became a convert to thinking outside the box many years ago and that skill, which I found difficult to acquire and master, has served me well for a very long time and helped me solve many issues. When I was finished talking my friend, still smiling, reminded me that looking inside the box is the best starting position and usually leads to a better, faster answer. But, as they say, here is the rest of the story. I am so very familiar and comfortable with looking outside the box for my solutions I sometimes fail to examine what is right in front of me, INSIDE the box which solves the situation easily AND better than spending all that time trying to reinvent my wheel.

I've had that same issue with the Ipad computer. I see that as a tool to looking outside my box and make huge progress, but will it actually do that for me? When I look inside my box I notice that what the Ipad does very well, I do very little of - and what I really want a small computer tool like that to do the Ipad doesn't do that so well. In fact, due to some of our company computer security issues the Ipad won't work at all as I need it to do. When I backtracked my steps and looked around inside my box I discovered that the real issues I wanted and needed to have this tool for were best served by a Netbook Windows based smaller (size wise not power wise)computer. Once I got my "head trash" cleared out then the Acer Computer seemed the answer.

But wait, was I now rushing to a decision without considering other options? I did some research and asked several users opinions and discovered that for the same size, money, and efforts I could get a MSI (unheard of brand to me) and not only EXCEED my needs but do it faster, better, cheaper, and easier than any of the other choices. So now I have a Netbook, small size, computer that for exceeds what I really need to do but costs much less (to my budget) than the Apple Ipad. I'm still struggling that I'm not "cool" and don't have that "out of the box" tool that everyone else is raving about - the Ipad, but it's ok, see this blog is actually typed on the full sized keyboard of the MSI Netbook and I can see the full width of the page, neither of which would have happened if I solved my situation outside of the box.

Now I'm wondering how many other things I've messed up due to my thinking outside the box instead of taking the tried and true route to examine all situations unemotionally and clearly by starting INSIDE the situation and working towards the outside as the need arises.

What is your take on this?

Giving or Receiving?

2010-11-11T10:08:00.001-08:00

I spent the last entire week at Total Solutions Plus meetings which is a first time concept for the ceramic tile and stone world - 3 different industry associations, Tile Council of North America, National Tile Contractors Association and Ceramic Tile Distributors Association, all meeting together at the same time in the same location.

What became clear during this week were several items on this first time adventure: (A) We all liked the concept of getting everyone together in one group, (B) schedule overlaps need to be looked at and re-evaluated, (C) we needed more "social networking" time so everyone can visit and get maximum benefits of being together.

What I gained from that entire week of meetings cannot be explained in the small space of this blog, but I did make a very specific effort to gain information from every single group meeting or conversation that I had during that time. In evaluating the experience I started to reflect on how much information I "normally" miss by wanting to "give" my knowledge to folks I talk with as opposed to staying quiet and "receiving" information from them. I just finished a book about that subject and made a very difficult decision for me by attempting to listen at least twice as much as I spoke, and by "Fully listening" as opposed to my usual attitude of listening just to develop my answer or come back to the statement. Man that was hard for me.

I now wonder, as I evaluate this experiment just how much valuable information I've missed during my lifetime by not listening fully but rather just giving information and preparing to give more information while I had to endure what the other person had to say.

Life is funny isn't it? By the time you gain this valuable skill many of us are almost past our prime to utilize it fully. That being said, it is never too late to change old habits and learn new skills and this listening fully stuff has some merit to it.

The next time we have an opportunity for a telephone conversation, or a face-to-face talk, please call me on this shortcoming, if I start to backslide, so that I can continue to grow as I did last week. As a great friend of mine used to say: "The only difference between a rut and a grave is the length and depth." Listen your way to life today and let me know your thoughts on this subject.
Steve

What you learn after you know it all that counts!

2010-10-18T06:21:00.000-07:00

A great mentor and friend of mine used the statement above "It's what you learn after you know it all that really counts." His contention was that really important learning only takes place when you stop and evaluate what you already believe that you know. One of his biggest points to consider is What "Lens" are you using to look at life? There is a new book out by Alan Fine - "You Already Know How to Be Great" and he discusses applying new thinking to your life plus some suggestions on how to get out of your own way. It is an extremely interesting book that leads folks to self-evaluation and examination.

Fine suggests we have 3 elements that we must get right to best use the knowledge that we already have:
FAITH: Our beliefs about ourselves and our beliefs about others. An absence of FAITH could be described as insecurity.
FIRE: Our energy, passion, motivation, and commitment. An absence of FIRE could be described as indifference.
FOCUS: What we pay attention to and how we pay attention it it. The absence of FOCUS could be described as inconsistency.
Now I believe that FOCUS is the lens that provides the tool for removing distractions and thus becomes the most effective way to release FAITH and FIRE in your daily life.

Fine goes on to introduce the GROW process: This process asks:
"What is my GOAL?"
"What is REALITY?"
"What are my OPTIONS?"
"What is the best WAY Forward?"

Fine suggest using the GROW process helps reduce interference, clarify thinking, identify options, and break down the challenge into doable tasks. It also unblocks and unlocks FAITH, FIRE, and FOCUS to free people to evaluate and utilize the knowledge they already have.

Now here is the problem as I see it: What I absolutely know for certain is colored by the lens that I used to see or learn that knowledge. If I think as a sales person then everything looks like a potential sale. If I think like an accountant everything becomes a question of balancing the numbers, a Lawyer, limiting the liability, a marketing specialist, reaching the largest audience, etc, you get the picture.

So how do we clarify and balance our "LENS?" Especially after the fact that we have already learned so much without thinking much about which lens we learned it under? The "R" in GROW process - REALITY - is the key here. Ask yourself are you accurately seeing reality or or are you seeing what you want or desire it to be? A simple test helps me determine this for myself - do I listen openly to the complete opposite viewpoint and unemotionally consider what is said before I make up my mind that my opinion or view of this reality is correct? Consider when you see a picture of a mountain range at sunset. As a scientist you would see the formations and geology of the mountains, as a artist you may see the shadows and colors involved. as a pilot flying you would see and consider the altitude and flight path required as well as verify your heading to make sure you are safe. All three "lens" are correct for each person looking at the exact same picture - your job may be to blend all 3 to come with the best OPTION and WAY FORWARD in your situation.

I find myself questioning my "LENS" view of almost everything every single day now since I have learned this skill. It tends to help me stay self assured and more confident of my decisions after I have done this evaluation process. The only disadvantage I have found to this process is that it does require you to stop and think before making a decision. Is that a bad thing?

These are my thoughts on this subject, what are yours?

Lost friends

2010-10-11T11:44:00.000-07:00

Early this morning we lost a great American man - Dr. William J. (Bill) Pharris who had been the band director at Norcross High School for many years. Bill retired the last year that any of my kids were in High School (MANY years ago now) but we have kept in touch just because Bill was such a special person. He was charged in his job description to train students in music but that was not enough for Mr P. He REQUIRED his students to be good students FIRST and then take care of band. Nobody knows for sure how many lives Bill touched, but when past students from as far back as 20+ years stay in touch with him, you know it was a huge number.
Teaching today is difficult at best, but when someone special like Bill makes a committment to teach and work with young people they must have a passion or it just doesn't last. Kids are smart, they can tell the difference in a teacher who just has a job and the "special" teacher who really cares about them and their futures.
None of my 3 children were what you would call "star" students, and because of Mr P (as they all called him) was one of the toughest teachers they all had - and all 3 love him today because of his methods of pulling the best out of them. I can remember at band camp on year Mr P yelling out in his subtle way "Rausch - you aren't in step" and all 3 yelled back, "Sorry sir but which Rausch?" - smiling Bill just said - "You know who was out of step - correct it NOW!", then he turned to me and said "I'm going to have to label them 1,2, & 3 so I don't get the wrong one anymore" - that was pure Mr P - even my wife called him Mr P - I was the only "Rausch" who was not afraid of him and felt comfortable calling him Bill.
There are many Mr P's out in the world today, thank God, and they go quietly about their passion helping improve the world one student at a time. Bill once told my son Tim and his best friend Jason, when they both said they wanted to become high school band directors, "Only do it if you want to make a difference, and then never compromise your standards". Bill NEVER compromised his standards and many young people today are much better because of his passion. Tim didn't go on to become that band director, yet he uses what Bill taught him every day of his life. Jason starts this very week as a high school band director and I absolutely KNOW he had the best training anyone could have ever had for the job ahead of him. Mr P will be watching Jason so don't compromise the standards.
Thank you Mr Pharris and I know God has you in a very special place today enjoying the rest of eternity basking in the glory and honor that you deserve. We back here on earth will miss you greatly and can't wait to catch up some day and hear your voice calling out again with encouragement to young folks. You left this world a better place than you found it and THAT is a very rich estate to leave behind.

Ever had a Nile Perch?

2010-10-09T09:09:00.000-07:00

In our new Global economy everyone should know about the Nile Perch!
It's a huge freshwater fish, easy to catch and eat, and tempting to introduce into non-native waters. found interestingly enough in the Nile river basin and region.
And when it shows up? The Nile perch grows huge in size and it will eat everything it can and probably drive competitive smaller fish extinct. Good intentions are rewarded with plenty of Nile perch (for now) but a degraded ecosystem in the long run. Everyone in the South should be able to relate this with Kudzu, different product but same results.

Does that sound like anything else we hear about on a regular basis? Wal-Mart? Mega brand car dealerships? Big Box building supply stores? Grocery stores? The list is long and well known. Sometimes we all are dazzled by the short term lure of choosing from hundreds of items to buy, and very low prices to make it all seem right. But what about all of those smaller companies and the hundreds of folks, plus thousands of family members that the huge stores lead to extinction?

We seem to place plenty of value on instant gratification for the wants and desires of our lives and sometimes that is very nice, but what about the long term consequences of always having that available? Do we get fat and happy? Sloppy in our business or purchasing habits? I certainly remember just a few years ago when anyone could open a new business, not have much of a plan or capital, and become a big success in a short amount of time. The dot com empires came and went bust all relatively quickly from just that process. In the flooring and tile industry we saw many examples of companies, at all levels, who in spite of their poor decisions and seemly total lack of a marketing plan, made money and grew their businesses, but at the first sign of real competition and downturn of economy they withered and died quickly.

I suppose that the Nile Perch has it's advantages, but I certainly see many disadvantages also and it makes me wonder if the benefits outweigh the problems it creates.

Just my thoughts, what are yours?

Steve

Another Season

2010-09-27T14:49:00.000-07:00

It is time for yet another season in our world. As we move from summer to fall and then onto winter, I want to take just a moment to remind everyone that with the changing weather comes changing installation conditions. There are several important items for everyone to remember about the proper installation of ceramic tile anytime, but especially during the change of seasons.

First of all the single most ignored instruction is to bring the products and supplies to the job site early and allow them to acclimate to the building environment. Whenever there is a large difference of temperature between the warehouse and inside of a installation site this becomes critical. Without this important step materials will change and move AFTER the installation and cause serious issues for the tile assembly. Moving from warm summer type weather to cooler fall weather is when this issue is most seen in the claim reports.

Next, don't forget the proper steps in installation of a backer board panel. First and foremost step is to properly lay out the panels on the floors or walls. There is a big difference when doing a wall installation as the panels need to be butted together over the studs (still leaving an expansion gap for spacing in each corner) for nailing purposes. On floors it is MANDATORY that all backer board panels have space between each panel and ALWAYS space around the perimeter walls. ALWAYS! This space is in addition to any required expansion or movement joints that the specific job may require due to other issues. This is also the number one cause of failure in most tile installations.

On floor applications it is also necessary to provide a "leveling Bed" of setting materials under the backer board. This is due to the irregularities of the sub floor (building codes allow slight differences in height) and the entire installation depends on the board being flat and fully supported in a level plane to work properly. Almost without exception board manufacturers ask for a 1/4" x 1/4" square notched trowel to be used so that you end up fully covering subsurface irregularities.

Another important step is to use mechanical fasteners (usually screws are preferred over nails for the holding power) and proper lengths and spacing. Many people get confused here, they believe the leveling bed above is an adhesive bed and nothing further is required, but that is a false belief and leads to quick failure of the ceramic tile assembly. Most manufacturers instructions call for the screws to be no more than 4-6" apart on the edges of the panels and 6-8" apart on the center (or field) of the panel. Saving a few cents on screws or a few minutes by not using them will cost you much more in the long run with the job fails.

Final step before installing the tile is to tape all of the seams of the panels. I realize many folks ALWAYS skip this step, but those are the same folks who never understand why the grout cracked or the tile cracked on the job in the perfect pattern of the backer board panel below. Remember the purpose of a backer board is to proved a flat, FULLY supported surface to install the tile - and it cannot be fully supported if you leave a 1/4 space between each panel as required and then don't fill that using fiberglass mesh tape.

By actually reading the label and manufacturers instructions specific to the backer board panel you are installing you can follow their specific instructions and be assured of a successful and long lasting installation. Failure to do this generally leads to some type of dissatisfaction, either on the part of the installer or later on the consumer who ends up living with a poor quality installation.

Steve

Don't worry, Be Happy!! or The face of a mule!!

2010-09-14T04:59:00.000-07:00

A young boy was asked to draw what he thought a face looked like. When finished the teacher guessed it was a mule, nope replied the boy, it is my daddy's face. No, this was not my son, but it well could have been I suppose. Do we all walk around daily wearing a "mule's face?" Long, solemn, sad and unfriendly? I do understand that everyone does have sadness in their lives sometimes, but daily? Is life that bad for some folks?

I regularly call an office and when one particular person answers the phone I can always hear the smile on her face. She makes me happy that I've called that phone. I feel compelled to talk with her for just a moment so that I can enjoy her happiness and joy that she is so freely passing my way. What a great way to pass thru this life, with a huge smile on your face, so big that folks can actually HEAR your smile when you talk on the phone!!

I was recently reading an article about the biggest problems most folks face and I was totally surprised at the list. They included: Anger, Ego, Pride, Self-Centeredness, Competitive, and Addiction. Wow!! I can certainly see those in my life on a regular basis and upon quiet reflection I discovered that I was the cause of most of those problems. I quote I use on my email sometimes is this: "I am the biggest problem I encounter on most days!"

My attitude sometimes seems to forget the many Blessings that I have and feel in my life and seems to bore in on those minor "Gnat Bites" that I encounter daily. Driving in city traffic bothers me yet I forget that millions of other folks can't even afford gas, let alone owning a car, they walk everywhere. I'm willing to bet that person walking to get somewhere smiles and most likely isn't bothered with Pride, Ego or Self-Centeredness in their life. I hear people who run do it because it makes them feel so good, my question then is why aren't they smiling? When you look at the face of most runners you get to see a great "Mule Face." I suffered a blister on my heel last Saturday from walking around shopping all day, I walked around the rest of the weekend (even until last night) complaining about my pain, yet I forgot about the guy I passed riding his specially custom made bike in a 20 mile trek without any feet or legs, and yes HE was smiling! I KNOW he had to have blisters on both hands from pumping his bike that whole time.

So, what can I do about this problem today? Well, today is the first day of the rest of my life, so I just have to concentrate on changing my mind (we are the only creatures God created that can easily do that) and removing my "Mule face" to be replaced with a huge smile. If you catch me with anything but a smile on my face for the rest of this week, please call me on it and I will give you a dollar as thanks for reminding me.

Make this a great week, Smile at everyone! I suggest it will make folks wonder what you know that they don't.
Steve

Priorities.

2010-09-07T05:27:00.000-07:00

Priorities.
Do you have written priorities? Not just ideas floating around in your head, but cold hard written priorities. If you need a clue as to what your REAL priorities have been, look in your checkbook to see where you've been spending your money - look at your calendar to see where you've been spending your time. Those are strong clues to determine what your ACTIONS say about your priorities. Now the good and easy part comes next:

Before reading the next paragraph, please answer this question: What is the single most significant thing you could begin doing regularly that would:

1. Make you more effective at your work?

2. Create a better atmosphere for your family?

On the assumption now that you have named specific things that would make your life better, let me pose one more question: Can you defend your choice to omit any of these things from your schedule this week?

All of us have urgent things that will have to be attended to before this day ends -- phone calls, appointments, sales calls, deadlines, interruptions, etc. But some of us will also do our versions of the things you named earlier -- like planning next week's big presentation or making three extra calls, telling someone "I love you" or helping children with homework, or taking time to read the Bible and pray for a few minutes.

The difference in people who tend to life's really important things and those of us who simply react to whatever happens in a day and live the scripts others write for us is called discernment. Maybe you prefer to call it setting priorities or putting first things first.

Is your movement in the direction of some worthy goal?

It is absurdly easy to fall into the activity trap. That's when you think that being busy is the same thing as being productive. We humans can equate having done huge amounts of unimportant things with having done something that is actually significant. They simply aren't the same.

Moving quickly and efficiently is important only if your movement is in the direction of some worthy goal. Since you took the time at the start of this piece to name three specific steps toward noble ends, why not take some time now to figure out how to include them in today's schedule for yourself?

You may need to cut out some waste and cancel some unimportant things, but you will be better for it. You will have started to practice discernment between the things in life that really matter and all the second-rate distractions we let get in the way of doing them.

Many of you likely know the writings of Stephen Covey. His "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" has sold widely and helped many people toward a clearer view of career, family, and personal life. "The key is not to prioritize what's on your schedule," insists Covey, "but to schedule your priorities."

Media Stars

2010-09-02T07:01:00.000-07:00

Thinking about how our media makes folks into "stars" I was reminded of two completely opposites, both from the airplane world. Cpt. Sully versus Attendant Slater. The media turned both into overnight stars, yet one will surely have lasting power as an example of how to stay cool and calm and due your role under pressure, while the other shows how blowing up does indeed have consequences that may not be favorable.
As a pilot I have been able to learn much from Sully as I examine myself and my flying skills and I suppose I can learn what not to do from Slater, but I personally prefer the positive examples instead of the negative ones. We see this media working daily in today's fast paced world, someone, somewhere, seems to decide what "everyone" should be interested in (or not concerned with) and pushes this agenda on the public. In politics we tend to use a polite term of "spin" but in reality it is all just the media using the system to get their views across.
All of this reminds me of what my grandfather used to say: Everyone brightens up a room, some do it when they arrive, and some when they leave.
As with most everything else, the choice to choose is yours! Make today a great day.
Steve

International Standards Organization

2010-08-31T11:48:00.000-07:00

I'm spending this week in Mexico City attending the ISO meetings. As I listen to the various member nations representatives discussing items of business I am struck by the huge differences in doing business in other parts of the world from the United States. For trade purposes our world has grown very small and goods seem to move almost anywhere from any country of origin. Most of the representatives in attendance are trying to do what they can to improve our industry (ceramic tile) but some, just a few, who blatantly are only self-serving for their companies or nations interests without consideration for what is best for the industry or the rest of the world.

The purpose of the ISO organization is to develop standards that facilitate trade and ensure that our customers (consumers) get what they expect when they purchase a tile installation. This started out just as tile manufacturers but has now expanded to include the installation systems, hence, my purpose for being here. Think of this as a auto manufacturer, they are concerned about making their cars the best and safest but need the support of the others who make the systems that are necessary for the car, like the tire companies, headlight companies, etc.

I suppose for most of my life I have not paid much attention to countries meeting and discussing various items of mutual interest, such as the UN talks. Now that I am part of the "system" my eyes are being opened in all of the various factors that effect the outcome of the discussions and just how carefully each and every item is considered within the context of member nations differing viewpoints. What may be critical to the folks in Europe may have no value in Asia and only small concern in other parts of the world.

It does make for an interest week and a huge learning experience.

Steve

Procrastination

2010-08-24T11:43:00.000-07:00

I keep asking myself, What do I feel like doing? What have I been saying I'm going to do? Why am I not doing what I need to be doing? And finally, What am I doing? For some unknown reason (maybe not so unknown, read on friends) I find myself full of excuses why I'm not doing what I KNOW that I need to do.
Take this blog for example, I've been ruminating over what I wanted to write about since last Saturday, yet I didn't even start this until mid-afternoon on Tuesday. Oh, I have excuses (yep the phone did ring, people stopped by my open office door, etc) but really the bottom line here is I didn't start writing until just now. In fact, I am going to still not write about what I was thinking about so that I can discuss how to deal with my procrastination. I promise I will get to that other subject soon.
Here are several points that I am going to throw out (mainly for ME to re-read) that may be helpful to others. These are actions that I can take to stop my procrastinating.
1. Stop making excuses. I just need to make my choices as to which priorities are important.
2. Start NOW. TODAY. I tend to push off until tomorrow and I have no guarantee of a tomorrow, or the time tomorrow that I couldn't seem to find today.
3. Establish a planned schedule and stick to it. I need to put each task on my calendar and allocate proper time frames to accomplish it (or the bite sized pieces if it is a large task) and then stick to my schedule. PERIOD. Ignore the phone and close the office door.
4. Face my fears. I'm not sure what I am afraid of but obviously subconsciously I have a fear of doing something or I would just do it.
5. Focus on what I gain, not the pain of doing the task. Very few worthwhile things in life are easily accomplished. I need to push through the frustration and concentrate on how great I will feel when this task is finished.
6. Perseverance. I once gave a 20 minute talk about perseverance that lasted almost 2 hours. Seriously! What I found was that once I got started I knew a lot about the subject and wanted to share with others, much like writing this blog. I actually enjoyed that 2 hours and it only seemed like 20 minutes had passed to me.
7. Self awareness. Monitor my internal monologue to see and understand WHY I decide what I do and HOW I make that decision. Then the rest is easy - just re-write the script the way I KNOW it should be and go forward.
OK, so now you can start cheering and clapping for me as I've overcome procrastination for today and have a written plan to re-read every time I need to do something. A preacher friend of mine loves to say that it is much easier to be a Christian in the church building than to walk down a street with sinners full of temptations that pull at me.
Procrastination seems to be one of those sin's to me - it is much easier to identify it AFTER I've overcome it and reflect back and wonder why it took me so long.

How do YOU handle procrastination and overcome it in your world?

Steve

Embracing Change

2010-08-14T06:29:00.000-07:00

I spent all of last week at our corporate office HQ in Chicago and had the opportunity to be involved in many new and exciting things that are happening at USG. To list them all would take several pages but the quick view is that I am proud to be associated with a company like USG that takes so much corporate responsibility for every issue they are involved with. We have a updated and revised Sustainability policy, we have updated and revised literature and product labeling/packaging to help our customers better understand how to use and where to use our products. We discussed training our employees as well as our customers employees who sell our products to the ultimate users so everyone has a better understanding of all the possibilities of our full line of products.
What impressed me the most with this trip was the use of new cutting edge technology to stay on the top of our game. How we can transfer this to our customers and their customers remains to be fully explored, but in the meantime it relates to how well and quickly USG can respond to the industry and it's changing needs/wants/requirements. USG has built the greatest team of talent and skills in our people, but to fully utilize their talents and skills they need the support of the latest technology available. If your company or the suppliers you currently use are not providing latest technology to you then may want to investigate how to move into this newer higher level of progress.
At this point you may be thinking that I feel we have everything the best it can be - WRONG - I feel we are ahead of our competition but I know we will never rest on the process of improvements and change for the better. Sometimes it feels as if we just have endless meetings about issues but in reality these are necessary to consider all of the potential possibilities and probabilities that are involved with changing what we do. We need to be as sure as possible that we are making GOOD changes and that they make sense for USG as well as our customers and the ultimate consumers. It may not be fun, but it is absolutely necessary to insure our leadership position in our industry. Plus it is a constant reminder that the customers are in charge and have choices, therefore we do everything possible to earn their business each and every day.

Welcome TalkFloor followers

2010-08-11T07:38:00.000-07:00

Today is a big day on my calendar as I welcome the followers of TalkFloor (www.talkfloor.com) to our little tribe. Dave Foster and I have been discussing this move for quite a while now, and as many things seem to be, it took much longer than either of us anticipated. Maybe our entire flooring industry is subject to that some issue.
I read another blog today that talked about how we vote in this country and why it takes longer than we want to receive results. We currently need to wait most of the evening, sometimes dragging on into the night and early morning hours, to discover who won what political race. I agree with that author that it doesn't make sense in today's times with the technology we have available that we can't track the votes hourly and report the results almost as they happen. Downside argument seems to be that (A) cost to set up the system would be higher than what we currently do, (B) some folks wouldn't go vote because their candidate is leading (or losing) or (C) the always big reason - potential voter fraud. Now I am not the brightest candle in the box and never claim to be, but I know folks much smarter than me can design systems to overcome the fraud potential issue, and cost is secondary to any politician after they get in office so this is easily overcome and that just leaves the final concern of folks too lazy or uneducated about their vote power. How we change people and their actions is to offer them something they (1) want more, (2) feel better about, (3) make them angry about the current status. I believe that hourly reporting of the voting status would overcome the feelings of not caring by addressing all 3 of the above concerns.
I try to live my life based on EXCELLENCE, and daily look at things to see how we can make the item or system better. Sometimes it does cost more, but the value received is always higher when something is improved dramatically based upon excellence.
What are your thoughts?

What I do

2010-08-10T09:41:00.001-07:00

Many folks have asked me what I do for a living. Interesting question. I have a totally unique position at USG Corporation that was really created around my specific skills and talents. I want to give you some idea of the items I'm involved in but in the interest of space and time all I am going to give you is some of our company micro websites that tell all about what I am involved with at USG.
http://www.usg.com/tileandflooring
http://twitter.com/usgtileflooring
http://www.durocknextgen.com
http://www.durocktilemembrane.com
http://www.youtube.com/user/USGCorporation

Finally, don't forget our company website: www.usg.com which also has links to other info.

Blessings

2010-08-07T15:15:00.000-07:00

I am so very Blessed. Some days (like today) I just sit and wonder why God Loves me so much and provides so many wonderful Blessings in my life. These are difficult times we live in, and yet I can find beauty and happiness all around me during each and every day. I am presently at our lake house at Lake Hartwell, Georgia and as I write this I can look around and see so much beauty both on the lake side of the house as well as the wooded side of the house. I also never forget that even being able to own this house and property are also God's Blessings on our family.
I have a wonderful wife who loves me, who has stuck with me even during some very difficult times in our married life, who gave birth to and raised 3 wonderful children for our family, and still finds time for her own career. Christy is truly the wind beneath my wings. Recently our home in Norcross was broken-in and the thieves stole all of our jewelry - as you can imagine, most of it was Christy's. She was disappointed more in the loss of the memories that each piece stood for rather than the monetary value of the loss. Some of the bracelets went back to her childhood. She still was thankful that we were not home and not hurt, our dog was out in the back yard, and not hurt, and it was just "stuff" that was stolen.
Our family is not perfect, but we are all healthy, happy, and the love we all feel for each other shows always - even when we sometimes don't exactly "like" each other sometimes. Our two daughters are happily married, one with a wonderful daughter of her own who also is a huge blessing in our lives. Our son is experiencing some difficult times right now with employment, but still is happy and healthy and working hard without gripes or complaints. He too sees all the blessings around even his current situation.
My work is absolutely perfect for me. It is almost as if God has placed me exactly where he wants me (do you think?) and then surrounded me with fantastic people who are also a large part of the Blessings that I feel daily. Many folks struggle to get out of bed and go to work for eight hours, I love what I get to do, love the people I work with, love the people I come in contract with thru my job and generally just can't want to get started each and every morning. On top of all of that (as if it were not enough) I get paid to do this!
We are surrounded with fantastic friends who love us and support us. Never does a day go by without at least one of our friends calling just to check up on us and see what is happening in our lives. No amount of money can replace that wonderful friendship feeling.
I realize everyone has peaks and valley's in their lives and that the path is not always easy, but I for one just want to keep reminding myself of how Blessed we are no matter if I'm experiencing a mountaintop experience or walking thru the dark valleys of difficult times.
How about you? Where are you today? Are you willing to be thankful for all the Blessings in your life also? I pray so!

Can doing nothing make you more productive?

2010-07-24T10:15:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the key to getting a lot done is to actually do nothing at all. As I write this I am setting at my lake house doing nothing all day. I find that when I am able to stop and do nothing I begin to think much more clearly then when I don’t have my “usual, normal” busy surroundings and activities around me.

My “normal” work week day is filled with emails, multitasking, calls and meetings. Sometimes you just gotta let things slip. You have to be willing to fail on the less important things. You just need to let them go occasionally. We all get so consumed with tacking everything that lands on our plate that time for ourselves eventually disappears. My theory is that letting things that seem important but really aren't so critical slip and possibly never get done is a key to getting more "real" work done. By not getting caught up by working on every little thing that comes my way, I seem to have more time and energy to dedicate to more important matters that really make a difference. The key to accomplishing this feat is during quiet time I have to think and understand what the important matters are in my life. In my case, I need to write them down and keep referring to them so I don’t lose sight of my goals.

I know taking better care of my body and prioritizing my tasks are critical components of high performance. I know the better I prioritize and manage stress, the better my overall life will be. Yet somehow I seem to get so caught up in the rush of the business week and the tizzy that surrounds me I forget what I know and do that urgent thing that in the bigger picture really will not matter much day after tomorrow. The important tasks that will impact me and my life get shoved backwards because they have no “urgent” component attached to them until the final deadline day arrives, which then causes another whole new set of stressful situations.

Today as I sit quietly looking out over the lake I am able to relax, think more deeply, and really concentrate on what I need to accomplish and the priority assignments that will have the most meaning in my world. No phones, no urgent emails, no meetings, just quiet time to think and meditate about everything. Even writing a blog gets easier and clearer by using this technique.

I’m going to end this blog now, head down to the water’s edge, play with my dog, take a swim, drink a cool adult beverage, have a conversation with my lovely wife while holding her hand and continue to think deeply about my world, what is right with it, what I need to change to make it better. Yes, it is a great day today!
Steve

Lost dog

2010-07-16T17:52:00.000-07:00

This past week a friend of ours had her dog breakout of the electric fence yard and run away - a black short legged dachsand and he was gone for 3 long days. We along with many others, searched a huge area looking for Sam (dog's name) and never had a sighting. Last night just before 11 pm Sam re-appears on his owners doorstep and was happy to be back home. No damage or injuries showing but I'm sure if Sam could talk he could tell quite a tail. I feel sure that Sam spent a lot of time this week stopping to smell the flowers and just look around in amazement at all of Gods creation on this earth. Amazing isn't it how God takes care of such small things such as a run away dog in a big city like Atlanta and yet we humans don't seem to be able to trust Him with leading our lives. He has given us everything, yet somehow we feel that we are more capable of running our lives without as much as talking with Him before we decide to do something.
Several of my other friends have discovered how much happier and more full their lives are when they just step back, get on their knees and pray to God before they make any decisions or take any steps into something. I see that, I understand that, I KNOW that it works, yet I find myself resisting that small step of turning over control of my life to Him. I know I need to work on that this week, and every week from here on out so my life too will be even more Blessed and happier than I already am.
How about you?

Focus on lattace

2010-07-10T05:45:00.000-07:00

I find it humorus how life seems to make things tie together during a period of time. After writing about focus, I ended up working with lattace around the deck of our lake house and was struck about how that lattace is like our lives - we start at one point, with many others at that same point on the bottom, and then everyone moves upwards all crossing paths along the way. Folks you knew during grade school may come back into your life later on, or not, depending on which cross roads they choose during their lives. Some folks that started many states away from where you were born come into your life and change it forever, while becoming friends for the rest of your life.
This also ties into worry - what many people choose to do on a daily basis, thinking that the activity of worry will change the outcome of whatever it is that they are worrying about - IT DOESN'T!!! You will still follow that path of lattace and all the worry won't change it. Planning, setting goals, preparation will all make it easier for you to decide which crossroad to take, but just worry is a waste of time and effort.
I suppose I believe now that focus, even on focusing upon multiple points of contact is still a form of focus. I guess the important part for me is being aware of your choices and WHY you choose them.

Focus

2010-07-08T13:35:00.000-07:00

Many folks want absolute FOCUS in their lives. I saw an interview with a tennis player who said she has been doing only tennis in her life for the past 18 years. She now regrets that she has not spent a "normal" life enjoying many different things but rather a single focus only on tennis.
That is almost the opposite of how I have spent my life - I have, what I like to call, "many points of contact" in my life. I have purposely tried to have various activities, with various people, so that the variety has given me, in my humble opinion, a great spice to my life rather than just a single focus.
So who is right? Should we spend our lives experiencing many points of contact or should we just focus on one single area and do that activity in depth? Both probably have their place in the world, yet both could probably be abused and over done. I believe that because I make a conscious decision about how I live and am aware of why I choose to live this way, it is the correct decision for me. I'm sure that girl from the tennis interview felt that way - up until now - when she sayes she now regrets having "just tennis" or just a single focus, in her life.
Maybe it is because I am in my late 50's and she is just in her late 20's that we seem so far apart on how we view our choices, or did SHE make that choice or was that choice given to her by her parents and she just complied? Either way, my point in this raveing is to have you become aware of your focus (or lack thereof) and WHY you choose to live that way.
It has been said the only life worth living is an examined life. Well I have examined my life, the tennis player is in the process of examining her life, what about you?

Memorial Day Weekend

2010-05-29T04:56:00.000-07:00

It constantly amazes me all the ideas folks have for ways to pass the time. My family has choosen the lake - we've spent every Memorial Day at the lake since I was a child and for 35 years now Christy and I have continued this (except the one year our daughter Jen was born - Christy and I spent that weekend at the hospital) but this year I've learned of a new way to spend time.
There is a place near our lake house in Tiger, Ga (yes this is a real name and a real place) called Goats on the Roof. It is obviously a family enjoyment place (look it up at: WWW.Goats-on-the-roof.com ) and great fun for everyone. This place isn't too far from Helen, Georgia, our replica of an old German Village and also not far from Cherokee, NC. Several of our friends are spending this holiday weekend as tourists viewing these many funny places.
One "connection" that I seem to find is that this free time is a great opportunity to spend quality time with family and friends. In this fast paced world today we should cherish each and every opportunity to slow down and enjoy our relationships while building new ones.
Make it a safe holiday weekend.

How are you spending your holiday weekend? Share with us your comments.

Is this going to last forever?

2010-05-26T13:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday while flying to Atlanta from Baltimore a woman with a small child was ahead of me boarding the airplane. At the end of the ramp she took the boy's stroller and folded it up so it could be stowed with the luggage below, and the boy started to cry and yell "Mommy it's MY stroller don't leave it."
Children don't realize that most things are only temporary. No matter how much Mom tried to explain it wasn't until they got off the plane in Atlanta and the boy saw HIS stroller again that he understood. Children just don't have enough experience in life yet to have the proper perspective on many things.
Unfortunately, it's not only children that sometimes lack perspective. To one degree or another many of us suffer from that same problem. When we are facing a difficulty or crisis in our lives it is hard to know just how important that situation may turn out to be (or not be) in ghe grand scheme of our lives, or in 5 years. Many times what seems so critical today will be forgetten completely next week. Problems come and go in most of our lives, yet many of us tend to over react and lose perspective of the situation. I tend to believe our lives are the sum total of the choices we make and the things we do each day. Yes, sometimes situations arise that throw us a curve ball, and we cannot avoid that, but we do have a choice of how we can react to that and what we do with that curve ball. The choice is ours.
Make this a great day and remember to keep your perspective.
Steve

Connections and Communicating

2010-05-18T18:32:00.000-07:00

I've just spent several days in Florida working with a tile distributor rep to help educate him on one of our products. During the time we rode together in his car from place to place we were able to talk and discuss our careers and the paths we both took. As we talked I discovered that I have several connections that could be very helpful to him and so I shared that information with him and then made several phone calls to complete the connections. As it turned out he now has a potential new customer for his company, and I have two folks who are happy with me for getting them together and helping them both.
As I reflect on this I realize that this is what life is all about - learning of others wants/needs/desires and helping them obtain them. This is made easier by you yourself having made many connections and by sharing those freely. When you help others get what they want you benefit at least as much as they do.
As I look at my address book on my BlackBerry I see names of folks from my past who have helped me at times when I needed it, and I in return have helped them. One of those friends happened to be the person my distributor rep friend (now) wanted to connect with. As I see names in the directory I also visualize the past friendships and relationships I have with those folks and sometimes think about a connection that just pops into my mind to help them.
It makes me feel wonderful, useful, and most of all grateful to be alive and to have such wonderful connections in my life.
I have heard it repeated many times :The happiest people are those who serve others and help them get what they desire in life. Somehow life just seems to pay you back many times over for your efforts. Try it today for yourself.
Steve

Thought from history.

2010-05-15T04:54:00.000-07:00

At about the time our original 13 states adopted their new
constitution, in the year 1787, Alexander Tyler (a Scottish history
professor at The University of Edinborough) had this to say about "The
Fall of The Athenian Republic" some 2,000 years prior.

"A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a
permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up
until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves
generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the
majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits
from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will
finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, (which is) always
followed by a dictatorship."

"The average age of the worlds greatest civilizations from the
beginning of history, has been about 200 years. During those 200 years,
these nations always progressed through the following sequence:

From Bondage to spiritual faith;
From spiritual faith to great courage;
From courage to liberty;
From liberty to abundance;
From abundance to complacency;
From complacency to apathy;
From apathy to dependence;
From dependence back into bondage."

Does this sound familiar my friends? We need to look no further than Argentina to see this still holds true. Argentina 50 years ago was as productive and fruitful as the USA. Today, after a series of Socialist agendas by various elected officials the country and its citizens continued to vote for free government give a way programs and forgot that SOMEONE had to actually pay for them. Greece is the latest country to discover this truth also.
I pray to USA and our citizens wake up soon enough to learn from these mistakes before our country too becomes merely a memory of what we used to represent.

Rejection and Fear.

2010-05-05T09:18:00.000-07:00

Rejection and Fear, these twins of evil seem to come hand in hand as a set when they make an appearance in our lives. Today I personally feel neither of these, my life is good and I am feeling confident without having to deal with excess ego and pride ruling my emotions. However, I am seeing the results of these emotions today and as I think about them, without the emotional baggage of me being personally invested in them, it becomes very apparent to me how evil these two really are.

Sometimes however, we will find ourselves in circumstances where we are just uncertain of what to do. In those times, fear can take hold of us and prevent us from taking the next logical step into the place that we are being drawn toward.

Even when we take that next step, we can then be overcome by second guessing and doubts about whether what we did was the right thing to do...and fear works at us to keep us stuck in those places of doubt and uncertainty.

I'm sure you, just as I, have been in these difficult places countless times in life. I'm also confident that you, just as I, have made both good and poor choices when in those difficult places.

The rejection part of fear is mainly being concerned with how "Others" in the various corners of our lives will view our decisions or actions. We empower this fear by allowing others to have that power of approval over us when quite frankly, it just does not exist. It is acceptable to be aware of our actions/decisions as they affect others close to us (like a spouse or parent/children) but when we feel the fear from those who have no real stakeholder position to be judging our actions then it becomes quite a huge negative effect in our lives.

My hope then for each of you today is that you will quickly recognize and become aware of the fear when you begin to feel it and deal with it quickly. The power of your lips (your words) and your mind (your thoughts) are far stronger than the power of fear or rejection in determining your path today. Think and verbally (yes, out loud) say only positive and helpful things about your decisions today.

Besides, if you really screw up and make a horrible decision just remember that tomorrow is another new day and you can choose to make a "U" Turn and correct that situation.

Peace my friends.

Return to the world

2010-05-02T05:18:00.000-07:00

I've spent the past week at the Coverings Show in Orlando. It was fantastic to see and catch up with so many of my friends from the tile and flooring industry, but as always at these events, very rushed and only surface discussions. Friendship, I have come to believe, is absolutely one of THE most important aspects of life. Everyone is connected to everyone else by, I believe, only 6 links. To me that means that the more friends (relationships) you have the closer you are to everyone you meet daily.
Now some folks may feel this isn't a good thing, but I believe it is and I value meeting someone new and finding out we have a mutual friend somehow somewhere. The longer I live the more important and valuable my friends become to me. I can easily buy new "stuff" but replacing a friend is never the same because we all have different values/views/opinions that we alone bring to the relationship.
One friend at the show commented that he did not ever read "Blogs" because he doesn't care about other peoples opinions unless they are noted "Experts" in their field. I felt sad for him, I believe he is missing a great value in his life because of that opinion. I have found I can improve and gain from everyone, no matter their status in life or business. It reminds me of that old saying: You can learn something from everybody - some teach us what to aspire to, others teach us what to avoid becoming!
Make this a fantastic day, go make a new friend.
Steve

Remembering a Great American

2010-04-22T05:22:00.000-07:00

Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens) died of a heart attack one-hundred years ago today, at his home in Redding, Connecticut. As he traveled around the growing country of America he left behind a wide range of comments on his observations of life in America. I usually choose to study people who succeed in business and have great insight to share that I can find useful, however, that is not the case with Mark Twain. Twain was not a successful businessman. In fact, after emerging from bankruptcy in 1901, Twain advised, "To succeed in business, avoid my example." Maybe this is where that famous observation started: “Everyone serves as an example, some as an example of what to do, some as an example of what not to do.” Mark Twain was however, a witty and shrewd moralist and critic of human nature and life in that rapidly growing country he lived in, America. All during his life Twain spent much time quietly observing people and things around him so that when he did speak (or write) it was relevant and listened to by the people of his time. Twain provided much insight on Self-Improvement, Management, Encouragement, Courage, Vision, Success, Execution, Ethics, and Communication, all qualities we need every day in business and for a successful life for that matter.
A century after he wrote his last words, Twain still remains relevant. I wonder what I could learn from a man like this?

I'm a passionate guy???

2010-04-21T07:50:00.000-07:00

I have been rightly accused of being somewhat passionate about certain issues. In my opinion, Passion is a wonderful thing but we also need to be open to hearing other people's passionate views. In much of American life today, there is a growing tendency toward views being pushed farther and farther to the right and left in media outlets and other venues (like a blog) in an attempt to convince others of the "correct" answer. I sometimes find myself in a quandry as both sides of an argument often have merit. This is usually when I personally am not directly involved in the discussion. I appreciate a willingness to share points of view, but always with respect for the opposing views of others. As much as I attempt to follow this, during discussions where I am personally involved I sometimes still find myself being compelled to continue to push my viewpoint and not stopping to consider what someone else is saying - from their viewpoint - and yet I somehow EXPECT them to see MY viewpoint clearly. Oh well, I suppose I am still a work in progress. I wonder how long it will take for my half-baked side to be finished?

In the beginning........

2010-04-20T05:34:00.000-07:00

For the past few years I have been been sending the Rausch Ravings via email to folks who have (or maybe had at one time) expressed an interest in reading them. For many reasons, not the least of which is changing with the times and keeping up with social media, I have decided to post the Ravings on a blog and allow folks to decide if they want to follow or not. I will be starting the postings soon and welcome you to comment or just follow as your heart leads you.
Steve