A disturbing news article emerged today. You could find it in most every major newspaper in the country, many significant magazines, and all over the Internet. It was covered by every prominent television newscast, and debated all over the talk radio dial.

It revealed alarming data on a subject which everyone in the country should be seriously concerned about and involved with. Sooner or later, every citizen in this great country will be impacted, in one way or another, by this rapidly growing tragedy.

The headline alone didn’t appear to be that serious at first glance. It read: “One in seven U.S. adults unable to read this story.”

Then the more you think about it, the more shocking it becomes. It doesn’t take long to realize the many ways this trend can and will impact us negatively if not dealt with in the very near future.

The story details a long-awaited federal study that revealed that an estimated 32 million adults in the United States—about one in seven—are saddled with such low literacy skills that it would be tough for them to read anything more challenging than a children’s picture book or to understand drug side effects listed on a pill bottle.

The findings come from the U.S. Education Department’s National Assessment of Adult Literacy. In short, the study finds our nation hasn’t made a dent in our adult literacy problem. In fact, current literacy rates indicate that an alarming number of adults find it a real challenge to simply read a typical newspaper article or even figure out a basic telephone bill.

Sheida White, a researcher said, “They really cannot read … paragraphs (or) sentences that are connected.”

Not being able to read doesn’t just make it harder to navigate each day. Low literacy impairs people’s ability to obtain critical information about their health and can dramatically shorten their lives.

A new study from Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine revealed that low health literacy was the top predictor of mortality after smoking, also surpassing income and years of education, the study showed.

U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings agrees, saying adult literacy efforts are inefficient and “scattered” across government agencies. Sound familiar? Think FEMA, IRS, HOMELAND SECURITY, AMTRAK, SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION, IMMIGRATION & CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT … need I go on?

This is an issue that’s going to require immediate involvement, dedication, and determination by schools, friends, families, communities, and employers from coast to coast. All indications seem to warn us that if we don’t overcome this challenge, it will certainly overcome us

YOU can read. Use that talent to research the many ways you can enlist in the battle against illiteracy. These comprehensive sites are a service of the National Institute for Literacy. They contain a wealth of useful information on all aspects of literacy.

www.readinga-z.com
Thousands of printable books, lesson plans, and worksheets to teach guided reading and key reading skills.

Literacy.org
The International Literacy Institute (ILI) and the National Center on Adult Literacy (NCAL) at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education jointly sponsor this innovative site. You can search their extensive collection by region, topic, or perspective.

The International Reading Association
The International Reading Association is dedicated to promoting high levels of literacy for all by improving the quality of reading instruction, disseminating research and information about reading, and encouraging the lifetime reading habit. Members include classroom teachers, reading specialists, consultants, administrators, supervisors, university faculty, researchers, psychologists, librarians, media specialists, and parents. With members and affiliates in 99 countries, its network extends to more than 350,000 people worldwide.

National Adult Literacy Database
The NALD provides a comprehensive and readily accessible database of adult literacy programs, resources, services and activities across Canada. Readers of all nationalities, and tutors of all ages will be impressed by its exhaustive collection of educational resources.

LiteracyNet
The Western/Pacific Literacy Network is a leading Web-based resource for the literacy community.

Preparing for the AMERICA READS Challenge
The Bank Street College of Education presents effective and user-friendly tips for volunteer tutors. Sample lessons are included.

National Center for Family Literacy
You’ll find a wealth of user-friendly tips in its pages for the Head Start Family Literacy Program.

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.

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Whether you’re a valued subscriber or a casual visitor to our blog, we certainly appreciate your continued support and feedback. It helps us a great deal in deciding upon future content. We receive a fair number of comments via the feedback link at the end of each of our blog articles, and we look forward to each comment as they’re both interesting and informative.

You can read any and all of these comments by simply clicking on the link at the end of each article. However, we recently received a request from a high school teacher who apparently reads our blog regularly and now shares it with her students. She requested that we print her comment as part of a column in hopes of reaching a larger audience than she would if we posted her advice under comments.

She wanted to offer advice to other teachers and anyone who has an opportunity to work with students. We thank her for her kinds words of advice and share them with you below.

I’d like to share some advice with a certain segment of your readers but I’m not confident that the comment area of your blog is the place to do that in order to attain the greatest exposure. If you could possibly pass this message on in one of your columns, I feel a great many people would benefit.

I teach a business class for juniors and seniors in hopes of exposing them to the realities awaiting them after graduation. This class is only two years old and was established with the assistance of the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship. We have made great progress in that short time and the students really seem to enjoy the process.

A parent of one of our students contacted me with a suggestion that I check out your web site and blog. He felt that both contained a great deal of information that would assist us in reaching our goals while, at the same time, would entertain and educate our students. I, and two other teachers, searched your blog and web site thoroughly and quickly agreed that we wanted our students to do the same. We did not direct them to any particular segment as we wanted them to explore and discover what was important to them. We requested that they search, find something of interest, and report to their classmates what they found.

They came back with information from almost every segment of your blog and a number of areas of your web site. They found the following to be not only very helpful to them but enjoyable as well.

Your many, many book reviews (180)
Generational Gems for Future Leaders. (great stories)
Meet the Authors
Out-of-the-Box Thinking (exciting)
Little Known Facts About Leaders and Organizations (very informative)
A Site for Sore Eyes (great resources)
Fact-A-Day (fun and educational)
Need A Lift? (encouraging)
When the Going Gets Tough (motivational)

Many other areas were mentioned as well but the above seemed to get the most attention. The message I wanted to share with others in your readership numbers, who work with students in any way, is this: Your approach to writing captures their attention and explains very crucial issues in a way which is easily understood and truly enjoyed by students of high school age. If you’re working with students in a classroom situation, an organization, a project or any organized vehicle of learning, I would highly recommend that you expose your wards to this blog and web site as it will quickly become a favored resource. I might also point out that we have many staff members and parents visiting these sites on a regular basis and have reprinted many of your blog articles in our school paper. Do yourself a favor and visit both the web site and blog and make the discovery for yourself.

Thank you for letting me share and please continue doing what you do so well.

Ms. Julie Darbon

And thank you Ms. Darbon for your kind words and obvious support. It’s rewarding indeed to know your students are enjoying and learning from our efforts. I look forward to hearing from some of them in the future. Thanks too for exposing them to the realities of a challenging world they’ll soon be part of. You’re providing them a great service and I’m sure they’ll appreciate it greatly in the future.

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.

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With the new year just around the corner, it’s pretty safe to guess that a good many people will be dragging out their New Year’s resolutions from last year, dusting them off, and making preparations to break them all again within the week. Well, this year we’ve decided to help you better prepare for this traditional exposure to stress by providing you with two small, but powerful, tools that may very well impact your outcome in a more positive way.

Procrastination always seems to be a major factor in preventing our attempt to successfully complete our well-intentioned resolutions.

The first half of our one-two punch is truly understanding what procrastination is. You must know it to conquer it. Therefore, let’s take a look at the official definition of procrastination:

There are so many wonderful, fine, lovable and so-called ambitious people in today’s society who are always about to commence to begin pretty soon before very long to getting around to doing something just after they finish something else!

How many times have you procrastinated merely because you simply never got around to doing what you knew you should be doing? We’ve all faced that challenge at one time or another. Never again! The second half of our one-two punch will solve that problem forever. You are now the proud owner of a Round Tuit. READ – HEED – and SUCCEED.

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.

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Mark Twain once said: “The person who does not read good books has absolutely no advantage over the person who can’t read. At all!”

Reading is a primary source of new knowledge and skills for more success in life.

This is the “Information Age.” Half of what we know today, we did not know fifteen years ago.

The amount of knowledge has doubled in the last fifteen years and is said to be doubling again every eighteen months.

95% of all the books in America are purchased by only 5% of the people. The other 95% of the people purchase the other 5% of the books. (They probably don’t read them; they don’t have the time; they give them away as gifts.)

The average person reads at approximately 200 words per minute.

The average person, reading just 15 minutes per day, can read one book per month, 12 books per year.

The average person retains only 5% of what is read once, after 30 days. Therefore, take notes, file your data for easy access at a later date.

We receive more information in one day than people in the early 1900s received in their lifetime. So if you feel you don’t have the time to read, try “driving a book.” You’ll be amazed at how productive this method can be.

Commuting distances and times are still growing each year, with the average commuter now spending about 90 minutes per day in the car, just getting to and from work … 45 minutes each way. Therefore:

90 Minutes a Day is:
Approximately 7.5 Hours a Week
X 50 Weeks a Year (two weeks vacation) =

 375 Hours Per Year Or
47 8-Hour Days

Today, you can find a wide variety of books on audio cassette or CD, providing you with the opportunity to listen to your favorite book while driving to and from work every day. Consider how many books you could listen to in 47 eight-hour days! That’s how you gain a competitive edge rather than falling victim to the stresses of your daily commute!

For those of you who would rather read your book than listen to others read it to you, there is still another choice for you. Remember the very helpful Cliff Notes we all used in high school as we denied their existence? Well, today there are several companies who are doing the same thing with current best sellers. Check out www.summaries.com and www.bizsum.com for examples!

Today’s typical 200- to 300-page book can cost you anywhere from $20 to $40 and can take up to 20 to 25 hours to read! These new services have condensed the content to no more than eight pages which take about an hour to read and can cost as low as $1.92 per book when purchasing in quantity and even FREE on other sites!

Increasing reading speed and comprehension is an essential tool in today’s competitive environment, and it is the most immediate and easiest time management tool to increase your career success. As our challenges change so do our opportunities to cope with them. Take a moment to do a little research, and you’ll certainly reap some great benefits.

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.

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In today’s stressful world, picking up the newspaper, turning on the TV, or going to the Internet can cause tremendous stress. There are simply too many issues affecting us today which are beyond our sphere of control. As a result, stress levels are soaring.

However, fear not, as recent research by the Association of Critical Stress Factors has produced a long-awaited strategy which guarantees not only a reduction in your stress level but also actually provides a certain level of personal satisfaction and joy.

Sit in a comfortable chair.
Turn on soft, soothing music.
Relax as you close your eyes.
Visualize yourself near a refreshing country stream.
Feel the warmth of a radiating sun on your face.
Enjoy the cool, refreshing afternoon breeze.
Imagine birds singing in the crisp, cool mountain air.
Know that nothing can bother you in this safe, pleasant location.
No one on earth knows this secret place.
The soothing sound of a gentle waterfall fills the air with a cascade of serenity.
The cool water is fresh and clear.
You can easily make out the face of the person whose head you are holding under the water.
There now, feeling better?

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.

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Well, it’s that time of the year again. Following the exhaustion of the “Boo Day / Turkey Day / and Christmas B-L-U-R,” which began in the much warmer weeks of October and finally came to a close just days ago … we must now gear up for the new year and the annual opportunity for renewal, redemption, and a personal revival.

To maximize this opportunity, we’d like to invite you to revisit the “Resources” category of our blog where you’ll find 30 features that may be very helpful in assisting you as you face the many obvious challenges of the coming year.

You’ll find several web sites profiled here that will prove tremendously advantageous in your ongoing search for detailed, instantaneous information to assist you in your critical decision making. Web sites such as Lucky 7, So You Wanna, J.D. Power, and GetOrganizedNow will save you a great deal of time and energy, which can obviously be instrumental to your success during what promises to be a very challenging year.

Our “Resources” category will also offer you tips on creating successful meetings, banquets and luncheons; how to read 52 books in the coming year without turning a single page; and how to organize both your business and personal lives in ways you’ve never imagined!

You’ll also enjoy reading profiles on several magazines that continually provide you with cutting edge tips, tools, strategies, and insights that will keep you a step ahead of the competition. These magazines should definitely be on your reading list at a time when we seem to have less and less opportunity to read. This dilemma inspired us to develop our “Resources” category, and we certainly encourage you to take advantage of the many references listed there. Work smarter rather than harder to make the coming year the very best yet for you, your family, and your organization!

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.

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Until today, I thought this Christmas season was going to be pretty much like so many others in the past. I’m not a big fan of commercialism. Never have been. Although I’ve become accustomed to seeing Christmas promotions and hearing my favorite carols prior to Halloween, I’ve always felt it placed a damper on the true spirit of the holiday.

Today I forced myself to go to the mall because I had to pick up a few things for an upcoming cross-country holiday journey.  As expected, I was pushed, pulled, hustled, hassled, harassed, solicited, stressed, delayed and dismayed … none of which should be associated with such a magnificent holiday.

Well, today I learned of a way in which I can return to those wondrous days of yesterday when Christmas spirit wasn’t something you drank to dull your senses for the nerve-wracking journey to your local “Mall Mecca.”

On the way to the mall, I heard a radio segment promoting a fantastic web site which is successfully accomplishing what numerous government agencies and rolls of red tape have never been able to.  Don’t take my word for it.  Check out www.anysoldier.com. I’ll give you a quick intro here to encourage you to check it out in much greater detail on their site.  They have DOZENS of “Frequently Asked Questions” that will clarify everything for you in great detail.

Sgt. Brian Horn from LaPlata, Maryland, an Army Infantry Soldier with the 173rd Airborne Brigade was in Iraq when he started the idea of Any Soldier® to help care for his soldiers. He agreed to distribute packages that came to him with “Attn: Any Soldier” in the address to soldiers who didn’t get mail.  He later completed a tour in Afghanistan and is now home, but AnySoldier.com continues to grow larger than ever.

This program started in August of 2003 as a simple family effort to help the soldiers in one Army unit … thus the name. Due to overwhelming requests, January 1 of 2004 produced the expansion of the program to include Marines, Airmen, and Sailors who were serving in harms way.

This organization has contacts listed on their site.  You simply click through the names and select the one(s) you wish to support.  They list what the folks they represent want and need and even offer a search capability so you can easily identify what the troops need most.

You send your support letters and/or packages addressed as instructed and your gifts will be passed on to soldiers who don’t normally receive much or any mail.  Everything is shared. If you’re short on cash as so many Americans are this year … simply send a card or letter. Sadly, there are far too many soldiers who receive little or no mail at all.  A thank-you note from us showing our appreciation for their sacrifices will certainly put a smile on their faces.

As I mentioned earlier the web site will answer ALL of your questions about this wonderful service. They even provide a free video, “Tango Mike,” on the site that explains the entire operation.

Here’s your chance to make this one of the best Christmas seasons you’ve ever experienced while, at the same time, you’re bringing a “little bit of home” into the lives of so many dedicated, loyal military personnel who risk their lives every day to allow us to continue to experience our many freedoms and wonderful way of life!

One last thing … don’t waste your time and/or energy concerning yourself as to whether supporting this organization will pigeon hole you as being for or against the war.  It has nothing to do with the war or the cronies who debate it daily to gain personal status and wealth.  It has everything to do with the very brave, innocent soldiers who are in the midst of that chaos away from their loved ones, by choice, as they protect us here at home!

Check it out today.  Take action immediately and tell others about this fantastic opportunity to voice our thanks, appreciation, and respect for those sacrificing everything for us!

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.

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The August 20th edition of Business Week magazine will be featuring a cover story on “The Future of Work.” In this special double issue, they will discuss how we will master technology, manage companies, and build careers in the era of the global 24-7 workforce.

As part of this special project, Business Week conducted a poll of 2,000 Americans in middle management and above, 25 years and older. Here’s a short sampling of their findings.

90% of managers think they’re among the top 10% of performers in their workplace.

When asked which of the following scares those polled the most, they answered as follows:

More than 1 in 4 (25%) workers 55 and older say they expect to retire.

Only 1 in 10 (10%) under the age of 30 says the same.

6% of respondents under age 30 said they’ve accidentally called their boss Mom or Dad.

This special report also discuss “The Five Faces of the 21st Century Chief.” I found this article quite interesting as it predicted that the “generalist” CEO will give way to the “specialist” CEO, whether that’s a global networker or someone with a knack for assembling all-star teams. They’re also predicting five specialist CEO types to be in the greatest demand:

• The BRAIN … May be algorithm geniuses, coding prodigies, or merely credentialed scientists or designers. CEOs in touch with their inner geeks will be a much sought-after breed.
• The AMBASSADOR … CEOs with explicit business experience in emerging markets of China, India, Russia, Brazil and Dubai.
• The DEALMAKER … Those able to both sell off non-core assets and go toe-to-toe with private equity players on big acquisitions will be in heavy demand.
• The CONDUCTOR … Future companies will have to form alliances with outsiders and turn to networks of innovators for new ideas. More cooperation and creativity across divisions will also be necessary. This CEO will have to orchestrate everyone to play in the same key.
• The CASTING AGENT … As Boomers retire, the talent wars will become fierce. CEOs who can retain the best people and deploy them adeptly will be hot commodities.

Think of the number of today’s CEOs who can’t honestly claim a strength in any one of those five areas.

Be sure to check out this issue of Business Week as it’s filled with articles reflecting the change of today’s workplace. They discuss the future of perks in the workplace, the no-cubicle culture, home-office-lab possibilities and the question of cog or co-worker?

If you happen to be one of those who won’t admit to constant change, simply pick up the newspaper and keep tabs on the number of articles you find in one issue that tells a different story. It was recently explained to me by an experienced MBA within a leading national organization that the realities of change didn’t actually apply to their current environment. They were too small and far too well-rooted in their current culture to be affected by the scare tactics of the change-mongers among us. I’m pretty certain there were people with very much that same attitude working for American Motors Corp., Trans World Airlines (TWA), and Montgomery Wards at one time. I wonder where they are today?

Want to learn more about broken molds, smashed time clocks, multidisciplinary projects, accordion staffing, freelance armies, mobile managers, and the just-in-time workforce? Don’t miss this captivating August 20th issue of Business Week.

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.

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While we’re waiting for that leadership list in next week’s USA TODAY, let’s review this week’s interesting list. In this edition they chose to focus on memorable commercials, and I must admit that I was somewhat surprised that of the 25 classics they identify, I vividly remember 23 of them. I don’t necessarily approve or enjoy all of the products and/or services they promote nor the companies they were created to represent. However, I do remember the commercials themselves, and many of them are 25 years old. There’s a valuable lesson to be learned here: Give special and constant attention to the image you’re creating in the minds of your current and potential customers.

It doesn’t necessarily have to be a commercial. It may very well be the quality of your product and/or service, the appearance of your establishment, the actions of your employees, the way you answer the phone or respond to a question or complaint. All of these things will leave a LONG-LASTING impression on the psyche of those you depend upon for future success. For example, consider how many of these commercials you remember. Now consider whether you enjoyed them or not. Either way, they’re still in your memory. The same holds true with that image you’ve created in the minds of your customers. Let’s hope it’s a pleasant memory.

1. Life Alert: “I’ve Fallen and I Can’t Get Up!” (1990)
2. Apple Macintosh (Buff woman wielding a sledgehammer to sell Macs.) (1984)
3. Wendy’s: Where’s the Beef? (1984)
4. Isuzu: Joe “Trust Me” Isuzu (1986 — autos)
5. Energizer: Energizer Bunny (1989 — batteries)
6. Bartles & Jaymes: “Thank You for Your Support” (1985 — Gallo wine coolers)
7. California Raisin Advisory Board: “Heard It Through the Grapvine” (1986 — raisins)
8. Budweiser: Croaking Frogs (1995 — beer)
9. Bush Campaign: Willie Horton (1988 — political campaign)
10. California Milk Producers: “Got Milk?” (1993)
11. Partnership for a Drug-Free America: “This is Your Brain on Drugs” (1987)
12. Ikea: Gay Men Shopping (1994 — furniture)
13. McDonald’s: Nothing but Net (1993 — Michael Jordan and Larry Bird competing for a Big Mac.)
14. Pepsi: Michael Jackson on fire (1984)
15. Reagan Campaign: Morning In America (1984)
16. Nike: Bo Knows (1989)
17. Nike: Revolution (1987 — Beatles Music)
18. Grey Poupon: Pardon Me, Would You Have Any Grey Poupon? (1984 — Dijon mustard)
19. Federal Government: Crash Test Dummies. (1984 — seat belts)
20. Playtex: Model (1987 — lingerie)
21. Chevrolet trucks: “Like A Rock” (1991)
22. New Coke: Max Headroom (1986)
23. Pets.com: Because Pets Can’t Drive (1999 — sock puppet)
24. Reebok: Dan & Dave (1992 — Olympic hype)
25. Taster’s Choice soap opera (1991 — coffee)

Personally I think they could have added a few other classics in place of those they chose. Remember these?

• The Clapper: “CLAP ON! CLAP OFF!”
• Trix: “Silly Rabbit, Trix are for kids!”
• Pepsodent Toothpaste: “You’ll wonder where the yellow went when you brush your teeth with  Pepsodent.”
• Coke: “Mean Joe Green”
• Eggos!: “Hey! L’eggo my Eggo!”
• Frosted Flakes: “They’re Gr-r-reat!”
• Lay’s: “Betcha can’t eat just one!”
• Bounty: “The thicker, quicker picker-upper, Bounty!”
• Life Cereal: “Hey, Mikey likes it!”
• EDS: “Cowboys Herding Cats”
• Lucky Charms: “They’re magically delicious!”
• Tootsie Pop: “How many licks does it take to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop?”
• Morton Salt: “When it rains it pours.”
• Bell System: “Reach out and touch someone.”
• Nestle Chocolate Bar: “Nestle’s makes the very best, N-E-S-T-L-E-S, Nestle’s makes the very best — CHOCOLATE!”
• Coke: “I’d like to teach the world to sing.”
• Alka Seltzer: “I can’t believe I ate the WHOLE thing.”
• Toys R Us: “I Don’t Wanna Grow Up, I’m a Toys ‘R Us Kid!”
• Pepsi: Little boy sitting on the beach gets sucked into the Pepsi bottle.
• V8: “I could’ve had a V8.”
• Taco Bell: Little Chiwawa saying “Here lizard, lizard, lizard.”
• I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter: Starring Fabio
• Burger King: “Hold the pickles, hold the lettuce, special orders don’t upset us, — Have it your way!”
• McDonalds: “Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame seed bun.”
• Dr. Pepper: “I’m a pepper, he’s a pepper, she’s a pepper, we’re a pepper, wouldn’t you like to be a pepper too?”
• America Beautiful campaign: A classic Indian views trash with a tear in his eye as the announcer said, “Please … keep America beautiful.”
• Oscar Mayer Bologna: “My bologna has a first name it’s O-S-C-A-R.”
• Charmin: Mr. Whipple saying, “Please don’t squeeze the Charmin.”
• Kellogg’s Rice Krispies: “Snap, crackle and pop!”
• Alka-seltzer: “Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh what a relief it is!”
• Band Aids: “I am stuck on Band-Aids ’cause Band-Aid’s stuck on me.”
• Campbell’s Soup: “M’m! M’m! Good!”

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.

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For weeks now, I’ve suggested that you check out the Monday editions of USA TODAY as they offer a different list each week to celebrate their 25th Anniversary. You can find their full-page specials in the paper or online every week from now until September.

For those of you involved with or interested in leadership of any kind, I want to alert you to next week’s featured list of the “25 Most Influential Business Leaders.” Looking back over the last few years of headlines in this country, I wonder if they’ll be able to identify 25 leaders period — influential or not.  It should be a very interesting read. Make a note to check out that list next Monday in your copy of USA TODAY in the paper or online. Let us know if you agree with their choices.

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.

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