Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Welcome TalkFloor followers

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?

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

What I do

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.

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Blessings

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!

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Can doing nothing make you more productive?


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

Friday, July 16, 2010

Lost dog

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?

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Focus on lattace

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.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Focus

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?