Know – Show – Grow

Posted on October 1, 2010 by Harry K. Jones

Everyone is aware of the fact that today’s economy is challenging in ways many have never experienced. From this chaos emerge two approaches in dealing with these growing challenges:

Lie down and die. Blame circumstances. Make excuses. Wait for things to change. Hope for the best. See what happens.
Decide to make a difference. Research. Network. Try new strategies. Try again. Make some changes. Try again.

If the best approach isn’t obvious to you at this point … stop reading.

However, if you’re interested in a new strategy that can enhance your results, try this one. It requires very little, if any, investment other than your time and creativity. Make it a team project to garner even more creative ideas!

Take a look below at the weekly and monthly celebrations that October offers for various promotions. Consider customer incentives, discounts, promotions, employee competition, signage, brochures, ads, etc. Get creative! What do you have to lose? In fact, you might be surprised at what you may have to gain!

Look over the list and make something happen this month!

Week #1

No Salt Week
World Space Week
Fire Prevention Week
Customer Service Week
Universal Children’s Week
National Work from Home Week

Week #2

Teen Read Week
Great Books Week
Kids’ Goal Setting Week
Emergency Nurses Week
National School Lunch Week

Week #3

National Food Bank Week
Freedom of Speech Week
Freedom from Bullies Week
International Credit Union Week
National Character Counts Week

Week #4

Halloween
National Magic Week
International Magic Week
National Businesswomen’s Week
Peace, Friendship & Goodwill Week

Monthly Considerations

Fire Safety Month
National Chili Month
National Book Month
Family History Month
National Apple Month
National Pasta Month
National Clock Month
Class Reunion Month
Church Library Month
Self-Promotion Month
National Carmel Month
Positive Attitude Month
National Dessert Month
National Seafood Month
Halloween Safety Month
American History Month
Computer Learning Month
Children’s Magazine Month
National Chiropractic Month
Head Start Awareness Month
National Pizza Festival Month
National Roller Skating Month
National Dental Hygiene Month
Eat Better, Eat Together Month
Adopt -a-Shelter-Animal Month
Women’s Small Business Month
National Down Syndrome Month
National Stamp Collecting Month
National Popcorn Popping Month
National Crime Prevention Month
National Hispanic Heritage Month
National Bake and Decorate Month
Domestic Violence Awareness Month
Organize Your Medical Information Month

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

If You E-mail, You’d Better Read This!

Posted on June 2, 2010 by Harry K. Jones

If you’ve been using e-mail for more than a month, for business or pleasure, you’re probably well aware of the fact that it’s very easy to be misunderstood while communicating. It’s happens every day … much more than most of us realize.

How many times have you written something with the full intention of being humorous only to discover that the person you were writing to was actually offended? Or how about a casual comment from you that was taken as being sent with anger, aggravation, contempt, or sarcasm?

Usually when we discover that the other person misunderstood, we’re dumbfounded at the thought. How could they possibly have misinterpreted our simple message. Well, the answer is actually very simple … we just don’t think about it.

The majority of us write an e-mail exactly as though we were talking to the other person face-to-face. It’s human nature! Why would we do anything other than that? What we don’t seem to comprehend is that those we speak to face to face don’t interpret our message by words alone!

In fact, words contribute only 7% to our message clarification. The remaining 93% of message interpretation consists of facial expression (including eye contact), body language and tone of voice and social context … all of which are key to proper understanding!

Research tells us that both sender and receiver tend to automatically fill in the “tone” of an e-mail, 93% of the actual message, based on how they feel or what they fear, not what’s actually being said. It can, and does, happen to anyone, no matter how knowledgeable.

Studies have shown that some 54% of e-mails are incorrectly interpreted in some way by the receiver of the message. While this may cause havoc in the workplace or within friendships, there’s even more bad news long term. Most of these e-mails go unchallenged. You could very well anger someone, bruise someone’s ego or burn bridges and never even be aware of it.

Here are some basic tips for making sure you don’t accidentally annoy, anger or intimidate the people you communicate with via e-mail.

If you’re joking or being sarcastic, use surrogate facial cues like smiley faces — : ) — or type “[grin]” or use some other indicator of your intent. They seem trivial but are very important.
Use plentiful qualifiers such as “don’t take this the wrong way,” “I’m joking,” or “I’m not angry at all.”
Beware of brief e-mails, as they can be interpreted as abrupt. A very short e-mail can be interpreted as cold, angry or demeaning.
Start the e-mail with something obviously humorous, which conveys that you’re not angry.
Think about who you’re talking to. It’s very easy for a co-worker or subordinate at work to read anger, disappointment or other negative emotions into your notes. If you’re a manager, you need to go out of your way to send friendly e-mails or you’ll end up with a morale problem. In-laws and relatives might be easily offended as well.
End your e-mail in a friendly way, such as “Thank you!” or “I really appreciate this.”
Always re-read your e-mails before sending—and be on the lookout for areas of misinterpretation based on your knowledge of the 93% – 7% ratio.
Don’t get angry from e-mail, then reply based on your anger. First find out the intent of the sender by calling or asking for clarification. Remember: nearly half of all e-mails are misinterpreted.
Don’t use e-mail for emotional or sensitive topics. Pick up the phone or visit in person.

While all of the above information is very basic in nature, it is abused or ignored every hour of every day by most everyone. Think no? How do you explain 54% of all e-mail messages being misinterpreted! Don’t forget, you’re sending your e-mail to someone in order to communicate. Master the simple art of e-mailing and you will avoid disaster, soon be known and respected as a great communicator, and enjoy some peace of mind.

About Harry K. Jones

Time Flies … But You’re the Navigator

Posted on May 14, 2010 by Harry K. Jones

Time:

Some waste it.
Most need more.
Many try to save it.
No one has enough.

This “time challenge” is nothing new. It’s been around since time immemorial.

It will be with us until the end of time. It’s how we make the most of our time that differentiates the successful from those who continue to suffer the consequences of stress.

Would you like to see how fast and effortless you can actually change your life? You might be surprised! Read on to discover this powerful strategy … unless you don’t have time!

Think about this:

How many minutes are in one year? In a non-leap year, there are 525,600 minutes in one year. In a leap year, there are 527,040 minutes.

Of those Five Hundred and Twenty-Five Thousand, Six Hundred minutes you were blessed with last year, how many were devoted to:

Learning?
In church?
Meditating?
Exercising?
Researching?
Bench marking?
Deep breathing?
Reading a book?
Exploring nature?
Volunteering in your community?
Casually chatting with your parents?
Casually chatting with your siblings?
Casually chatting with your children?
Casually chatting with your neighbors?
Casually chatting with your co-workers?
Casually chatting with your grandchildren?
Sharing your experience and expertise as a tutor?
Sharing your experience and expertise as a mentor?
Casually chatting with your spouse or significant other?

If you had invested some of those precious moments in any of the above activities, you’d be better off today in so many ways. By the way, what were you doing that didn’t permit you to invest even a few of those moments in one of the activities listed above?

Let’s do a couple of quick re-frames. Be honest as you answer the following.

Re-frame #1

Let’s say you dropped dead right now. You get to wherever you’re going, take a deep, well-deserved breath, grab a comfortable chair, and look back closely over the past year of your life. Are you satisfied with how you invested your time during your last year on earth? If you could, would you change your time allotments? Would you and those in your life prefer that you had spent more of those final moments investing in the areas mentioned above? It’s not too late!

Re-frame #2

Let’s say it’s time for your annual physical check-up. You’re close to your doctor so he doesn’t hesitate being very frank with you. After some tests, he sits down with you and explains that you have one year to live. Absolutely certain. You’ll be able to conduct your daily routine as usual. No pain. No limitations. At the end of one year, your death will be painless, but certain.

After you get over the initial shock, you start to focus on the coming year and how you’re going to spend it. More time at work? Bringing more work home? Maybe considering some of those things mentioned above? Five minutes ago you probably thought something along the lines of: “Nice list. Very touching. That would be nice. However, the reality is I’m too busy for that stuff. I have a life to live!”

How do you feel knowing that life now consists of just 525,600 minutes? How do you want to spend them now? See how quickly you can re-frame your thinking … change your mind and actions, and enhance the lives of others as well as your own? That’s a tremendous skill which YOU possess. Why wait until you hear from the doctor? Do it now! Avoid regret! Are you SPENDING your time or INVESTING your time.

I hope reading this message didn’t waste any of your time!

About Harry K. Jones

Are YOU Walking the Talk?

Posted on April 12, 2010 by Harry K. Jones

Let me share a few figures with you that should shock you if you’ll pause to think about them for just a moment!

There are 4,146 colleges and universities in the U.S. alone.
There are approximately 15.9 million students enrolled in the nation’s colleges and universities this year.
Average tuition, room and board (for in-state students) at the nation’s four-year public colleges and universities for an entire academic year is $9,953. Remember, however, this is the average cost which means 50% are paying more than this figure.

If you’d like, you can grab a calculator and stun yourself as to the number of dollars being invested in higher education today, but that’s not really necessary. I think everyone knows the kind of money we’re talking about.

Isn’t it somewhat ironic that parents all across this great country are willing to mortgage their homes, cash in stocks and bonds, and save or make loan payments for what seems forever … and to what end?

Obviously, it’s to obtain a great education for their children to ready them for a career that will hopefully provide security and content.

And yet the majority of those parents who are ready to make these major sacrifices won’t sit down with their children and spend some time sharing their own experiences and life lessons and sharing simple values which could easily change the lives of their offspring.

There are so many simple values that can have an incredible impact on your children if imparted properly by loving and caring parents. Look at life in the U.S. today and consider how many leaders in business, politics, education, military, etc. say one thing and yet do another or, worse yet, nothing at all. At the moment, it’s crippling our country and stifling our progress! You read it in the papers every night or see it on television 24/7.

I wonder how many of those headline-grabbing leaders were ever told the importance of simply Walking the Talk? What a difference that might have had on today’s society and culture! Did YOU ever receive that message? Are you going to readily invest a little time and love to make certain your children understand the importance of this simple but powerful message. It can change the world! And this is just one of many very simple values we should be sharing.

If you’re uncertain as how to impart such a message, take a look at this short video on “Walking the Talk.” It’ll give you some expert talking points. In fact, better yet, share the video itself with your children followed by a interactive discussion on the subject. You’ll be glad you did!

About Harry K. Jones

Questions Evoke Powerful Response

Posted on February 19, 2010 by Harry K. Jones

A few weeks ago I wrote “To Ask or Not to Ask … That Is the Question!” which offered a dozen questions you might want to consider asking yourself in a refreshing exercise of truth and revelation.

I received some interesting e-mails and even phone calls providing very positive feedback as a result of this challenge. So much so, in fact, that I’m expanding the list of provocative questions.

As in the initial exercise, find a comfortable seat and make certain you have a legal pad and pen at your disposal. Take a look at the following questions and choose a few which you feel might address a current challenge in your life. While doing this alone, you should have no fear or reluctance in answering each question truthfully. Failure to do so would certainly defeat the purpose of this exercise.

Read your question of choice, think about it for a few moments and then jot down all thoughts which may come into your mind. Don’t evaluate your responses at this point, just record them. Upon completion, you may want to add additional notes or revise some content upon further thought.

If you are perfectly honest in your answers, I can assure you that you’ll discover some personal insight you might find not only find revealing but, in some cases, even surprising. Your data may lead you to additional research, conversation with a trusted source, or even more professional counseling should you feel it necessary.

Here are some additional questions you might want to consider:

How much time are you actively spending to increase your knowledge?
What is it you’ve been putting off and KNOW you should do right now … before it’s too late?”
What is one thing that I can do for someone else who has no opportunity to repay me?
Have you seriously considered where you want to be and what you want to be doing five years from today?
Would you be willing to allow someone to videotape your personal life and then use that tape as a training resource for others?
What are the most important characteristics you would like to be remembered for?
Must your children, grandchildren, and/or spouse fight to get your attention?
If I neglect taking action on my most critical challenge, will it get better or worse?
Have you clearly defined your personal and/or professional goals? (Don’t discount this one … it can produce life-altering results!)
Who could you write to or phone this weekend to give a “boost of encouragement” to?
What time-wasting activities can you eliminate or drastically reduce?
When was the last time you complimented your family or staff members?

By the way, you may not like the answers … but you need to hear them!

About Harry K. Jones

To Ask or Not to Ask … That Is the Question!

Posted on February 5, 2010 by Harry K. Jones

The Associated Press reports that Americans spend about $34 billion annually to visit therapists support when they are going through difficult times … family troubles, relationship issues, school and/or work challenges, etc.

While there are a wide variety of treatment strategies, many therapists use the power of questions to identify and sometimes arrive at a method of treatment.

This approach can also be utilized to a certain degree in our everyday lives as well. While I would never recommend this strategy in lieu of professional treatment, it can certainly assist us in areas of personal growth and self-realization.

Find a comfortable seat and make certain you have a legal pad and pen at your disposal. Take a look at the following questions and choose a few which you feel might address a current challenge in your life. While doing this alone, you should have no fear or reluctance in answering each question truthfully. Failure to do so would certainly defeat the purpose of this exercise.

If you are perfectly honest in your answers, I can assure you that you’ll discover some personal insight you might find not only revealing but, in some cases, even surprising. Your data may lead you to additional research, conversation with a trusted source, or even more professional counseling should you feel it necessary.

Here are just a few of the important questions you might consider:

What one decision would I make if I knew it would not fail?
What one thing should I eliminate from my life because it holds me back from reaching my full potential.
Am I on the path of something absolutely marvelous, or something absolutely mediocre?
Am I running from something, or to something?
What can I do to make better use of my time?
Who do I need to forgive?
Of the people I respect most, what is it about them that earns my respect?
What would a truly creative person do in my situation?
What outside influences are causing me to be better or worse?
In what areas do I need improvement in terms of personal development?
What gifts, talents, or strengths do I have?
What is one thing that I can do for someone else who has no opportunity to repay me?

By the way, you may not like the answers … but you need to hear them!

About Harry K. Jones

Ask and Ye Shall Receive!

Posted on October 9, 2009 by Harry K. Jones

I recently wrote a short article requesting feedback and input from our readers and subscribers. Well, I got it! Boy, did I get it! While the vast majority of your comments were very positive and supportive, we did receive a few brutal assaults.

After reading both of those messages, I feel compelled to share our blog philosophy in hopes of clarifying a few issues. Personally, I’m an optimist. I’d go after Moby Dick with a row boat and a jar of tartar sauce! I tend to focus on the positive!

We try to share information about individual leaders and successful organizations in an effort to assist our readers in their quest for continuous growth and success. We have a category titled “Little-known Facts about Well-known Leaders” about well-known leaders and businesses. In short, both subject areas are simply bios which provide a road map to success.

When I first thought about sharing this kind of data, I decided to write ONLY about persons or businesses that:

were perfect in every way
had never made a mistake
had never made a poor decision
had never displayed poor judgment
had never failed in any way

I’m sure you get the drift here. It took me very little time and effort to discover that following those guidelines would leave me with absolutely no one to write about. Consider the 44 Presidents who have led the greatest country on Earth. If you were to exclude those who had flaws, made mistakes, were disliked, who stumbled, etc., who would you write about?

The same can be said for every organization in the Fortune 500. None has been or will ever be perfect. However, there is much to learn from every one of them. Discovering those keys and sharing them with our clients, readers, and subscribers is what we strive to do.

We had a choice, and we made it. I decided in these two categories, to share the thinking and actions that proved to be successful for these people and businesses in the hopes that we can learn how to enhance our efforts to succeed.

However, we’ve also examined the shortcomings in many organizations and the poor decisions of individuals across industries in our categories titled “What Were They Thinking,” “Going, Going, Gone,” “Business Briefs,” and the “University of Real Life.” We believe that as much can be learned from examining failures as from examining successes.

Along those same lines, we offer more than 200 book reviews on our web site. I consider myself a reviewer rather than a critic. I say that because I choose not to waste my time and yours writing a review about a book I suggest you don’t read. To me, that simply doesn’t make sense for either of us. If a book appears in our list of 200+ reviews, it has something to offer to our readers.

We’ve decided not to print any message in the future that isn’t signed by the sender. We continue to solicit and appreciate your feedback and input. Many of you have much to offer, and we’d love to hear it as often as possible. Thank you for your continued support.

About Harry K. Jones

Free or Low-Cost Seminars and Keynote Presentations

Posted on June 24, 2009 by Harry K. Jones

I recently received a call from a long-time friend and fellow professional speaker. He was calling to share some very positive information about a recent success and to thank me for our contribution to that success—even though we were unaware of our participation.

Like so many other businesses, we’ve witnessed a number of existing and potential clients voicing a legitimate concern about the state of the economy and their existing budget for events such as seminars, keynotes or additional training for their employees. At the same time, these organizations certainly realize the importance of education and training as our nation faces greater challenges today than ever before. It is indeed a dilemma.

A few years ago, we shared a proven strategy with our clients who found themselves in need of assistance. Of course, we also shared this unique approach with a number of our friends and associates. My friend called to report that he had just returned from working with a client in Arizona. He facilitated a three-day series of successful seminars and, in addition, reduced his total cost to the client by 75%! It was obviously a win-win situation for everyone involved. This type of partnering is essential in today’s challenging environment.

Below you will find that powerful strategy that is currently posted on our web site. Look it over, discuss it with your leadership team and start planning today to provide your organization with the seminar, keynote address or additional training that will provide that critical decisive edge needed to insure your success in today’s very competitive global environment. At the same time, enjoy tremendous savings by simply thinking smarter rather than working harder! Do it today!

Keynote and Seminar Cost Reduction Strategy

There are a number of methods for reducing the cost of your keynote presentation or seminar.

Sponsors
Find an organization(s) in your community that will sponsor your event by covering the cost or partial cost involved. Benefits include:

Drastically reduced cost
Advertising for sponsor
Free attendance for sponsor and guests (executives, board members, key employees, family, etc.)
Include sponsor information in articles in local newspapers and magazines, television human interest stories and interviews, lobby cards, program hand-outs, and verbal introduction prior to the actual program. For instance:
- Airfare, ground transportation, and hotel accommodations for Dr. Drake’s appearance provided by our friends at Unity Hospitality.
  Or
- Harry K. Jones appears courtesy of:
  - Smith’s Insurance Agency – Airfare
  - Community Florist Shop – Transportation
  - Randolf’s Ford Dealership – Hotel

Partners
Find another organization or company that will partner with you to provide the keynote or seminar. Benefits include:

Shared cost
Networking opportunities among attendees of both partners
Increased group size for more interaction

Suggested Partners and/or Sponsors

Accountants
Advertising Agencies
Associations
Attorneys
Automobile Dealerships
Banks
Banquet Facilities
Brokers
Carpet Retailers
Car Rental Companies
Chiropractors
Computer Dealers
Contractors
Credit Unions
Dentists
Florists
Golf Courses
Hair Stylists
Hospitals
Hotels
Insurance Agents
Landscapers
Marketing Companies
Moving Companies
Newspapers
Optometrists
Photographers
Physicians & Surgeons
Plumbing
Printing Companies
Radio Stations
Real Estate Agents
Restaurants
Retailers
Television Stations
Tire Companies
Travel Agents
TV Cable Companies

About Harry K. Jones

Broaden Your Horizons

Posted on June 17, 2009 by Harry K. Jones

It’s been known forever that the key to success is to change your actions.

It’s also common knowledge that the key to changing your actions is to change your thinking.

Of course, it’s obvious that the key to changing your thinking is to put new and positive information in your mind.

By taking one hour per day for independent study, seven hours per week, 365 hours in a year, you can learn at the rate of a full-time student. In three to five years, you can become an expert in the topic of your choice, by spending only one hour per day.

Another important element in broadening your horizons is knowing the best resources for finding your new and positive information. We’re indeed fortunate today that we can access a vast array of information within seconds without ever leaving our desks. Newspapers and magazines can now be read online, saving a great deal of time, money and energy in today’s busy world. Search engines can quickly provide us with vast amounts of accurate information within seconds, and wire services constantly update critical information from all corners of the world.

While these resources are critical to broadening our horizons and enhancing our organizations, we must, of course, close the knowing-doing gap by utilizing each and every resource available to us. Listed below are just a few resources you may want to copy and post in a convenient location.

Magazines Online

Business Week – www.businessweek.com
Fortune – money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/
Forbes – www.forbes.com
Fast Company – www.fastcompany.com
Money – money.cnn.com
Inc. – www.inc.com
Time – www.time.com/time/
Newsweek – www.newsweek.com
US News & World Report – www.usnews.com
Harvard Business Review Magazine – hbr.harvardbusiness.org
Business 2.0 Magazine – money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/
Entrepreneur Magazine – www.entrepreneur.com

Newspapers Online

USA Today – www.usatoday.com
Wall Street Journal – www.wsj.com

News Wires Online

The Associated Press Wire (AP) – www.ap.org
United Press International (UPI) – www.upi.com
Reuters – thomsonreuters.com
Bloomberg – www.bloomberg.com/index.html?Intro=intro3
strategy + business – www.strategy-business.com

Search Engines

20SEARCH – www.20search.com
Alta Vista – www.altavista.com
AOL Search – search.aol.com
Ask – www.ask.com
Dogpile – www.dogpile.com
Excite – www.excite.com
Gigablast – www.gigablast.com
Google – www.google.com
Joeant – www.joeant.com
Lycos – search.lycos.com
MSN – www.msn.com
Webcrawler – www.crawler.com
Yahoo – www.yahoo.com

AchieveMax® Blog

Business articles on change, creativity, customer service, leadership, motivation, teamwork, and time management, written by AchieveMax® professional speakers.

Category Archives: Resources

Know – Show – Grow

About Harry K. Jones

If You E-mail, You’d Better Read This!

About Harry K. Jones

Time Flies … But You’re the Navigator

About Harry K. Jones

Are YOU Walking the Talk?

About Harry K. Jones

More Thought-Provoking Questions

About Harry K. Jones

Questions Evoke Powerful Response

About Harry K. Jones

To Ask or Not to Ask … That Is the Question!

About Harry K. Jones

Ask and Ye Shall Receive!

About Harry K. Jones

Free or Low-Cost Seminars and Keynote Presentations

About Harry K. Jones

Broaden Your Horizons

About Harry K. Jones