Success Strategy: Listen!

I recently had an unpleasant situation. Actually, it was an unpleasant situation for a number of people! Without getting into the details, the situation arose because of poor communication.

What made the situation worse was that there was one person (not me, really!) who was convinced that she knew everything about the situation and that she was right and everyone else was wrong. She greatly compounded the problem by not listening to what anyone else had to say

Eventually, the truth did come out. The situation was resolved.

The lesson from the story is to listen to what others are trying to tell you. It can make life so much easier for everyone involved, including yourself!

Success Strategy: No Reality, Only Perception

The saying “there is no reality, only perception” is very true. Everyone’s perception is his or her own reality.

It can be beneficial to our professional and personal success to understand others’ perceptions. If we can see how they view the world, it can make it much easier to work with them.

It can also be beneficial to understand their perception of us. Sometimes this can hurt! Others may not see us as well as we see ourselves. If we learn this, however, then we can decide if we want to make changes.

Sometimes the opposite is true. We learn that they think much better of us than we thought, maybe even better than we think of ourselves!

Success Strategy: Prioritize

Although we cannot have everything we want, we can have anything we want. Provided, of course, we prioritize and are willing to make sacrifices.

How many of you know people that complain that they do not have a nice house, a new car, money for vacations, or other items? And how many of those people always have money for alcohol, cigarettes, junk food, expensive coffee, clothes they seldom wear, junk for the home or yard, etc., etc., etc.?

Quite simply, people who spend all their money on little things will never have money for the big things in life.

The first step is to make a conscious decision to prioritize what is most important. There is no right or wrong to this. The second step is to sacrifice some things to be able to get others.

If the big things are most important, then it is necessary to spend less money on the little things and save for the big things. If the little things are more important, then do not waste time and energy complaining about not having the big things—enjoy the little things!

This concept applies to more than just money, and may be featured in future blogs!

Success Strategy: You Are the Master of Every Situation

I found this in a fortune cookie this week. Sometimes there is great wisdom in fortune cookies! This is an example.

We may not be able to control everything that happens to us in our professional and personal lives, but we control how we respond. Because we control what we do in every situation, we are the master of every situation.

Of course, the quality of our response will determine the quality of the outcome!

Success Strategy: Do What’s Right, Not What’s Easy

Think about how much better each of our lives would be if we always did what was right rather than what was easy. Then think about how much better the world would be if everyone did that!

We cannot control what others do, but we decide what we do. Do what’s right!

Long Term Care Culture Change: Clothing Protectors

Yesterday I spoke at the Ohio Health Care Association Dietary Conference. It was a great conference! I love being able to share my knowledge and experience with others so that they can better manage their departments. I also love all the new information that I learn! (Which, of course, I try to pass on to others.)

One of my sessions was Dining Culture Change: It’s More Than a Systems Change. One of the topics at an earlier session as well as my session was clothing protectors.

A couple of the managers are using a product called Linen-Like® Napkins, made by Hoffmaster. I had not heard of this product before, but apparently they look and perform better than traditional paper napkins, but are still disposable. They are also more absorbent than linen napkins. One manager stated that the cost was better than the cost of linen napkins plus laundering.

If you are interested, the website is http://www.hoffmaster.com/Listing/Linen-Like-Napkins.aspx?cid=455 or you can ask your distributor if they carry them.

Aren’t new ideas great?!