SPARKY

She was an amazingly strong woman. Not muscles strong, strong of character. Her essence told you that she cared and would do whatever she could to help you reach your next goal or master your next challenge.

As far as I know she was raised by a “wannabe” society lady and a character of some interest, although time has faded those memories. She grew up in Brooklyn, which in the 20’s and 30’s had a special character of its own; then in San Francisco, a magical place for the coming of age of a young lady.

Our heroine survived all the traumas life had to offer in the 20th century; wars, depression, economies, both plus and minus, and major culture shifts. She waltzed thru all of it. She became a highly respected artist and teacher and a mom. I’m sure that she would consider her family her greatest accomplishment.

Her family consisted of her husband who she cherished (and bickered with) for 66 years, a daughter and a son. During the “growing up” years for her children she developed an amazing sense of humor. She put up with her son cutting the neighbor’s flowers and then selling the “bouquets” back to them for a penny or two. She showed phenomenal restraint when her daughter “cooked” eucalyptus perfume in the kitchen and then packaged it in all the available perfume bottles in the house, regardless of their previous contents. I’m sure in the back of her mind, eventho she wanted to strangle them; she appreciated their creativity and spirit.

Creativity and spirit were the mainstays of her life. When her daughter was in high school she decided to finish the schooling she hadn’t completed because life had led her in different directions. She went to the local junior college and then on to University to get her degrees and the education she so cherished; and she became a teacher, a good one who was liked and respected by both her students and her peers. And now that the more intense activity of raising children had abated somewhat she started producing more artwork of her own, which led to many exhibitions and shows where she could share her vision.

Wisdom is an overused word for our parents, but it is one that fits. Analyzing situations, sorting through to the core and then finding workable solutions appeared to come easily to her. Maybe it wasn’t as easy as it looked, but she was good at handling challenges and fixing problems with apparent ease.
As her children grew into maturity I’m sure she abhorred some of their choices, but she let them make them and just hung back as a safety net. She cheered for them and ached with them as they worked through their own challenges. She was always there for them regardless of how high or low they were on the scale of life. Awed, proud, and often dismayed, she stood by them regardless.

Later she became a very good friend. Someone who would hold your hand, even if you were far away, call you to task to guide you back to the right path, and be your loudest cheerleader when you succeeded. Although she had created a richly rewarding life for herself, she still always had the time and interest for you.

She is now struggling with the end of her life and she doesn’t deserve such an undignified parting; she would not have chosen this path. But this is the one she must take and with her goes a major part of our hearts. After 86 years the most precious gifts of love, tolerance, humor, and awe for life will be her legacy. It is just a shame that more people couldn’t have been a part of it all.

Ready, Set, Learn

Most economists are predicting that the economy will bottom out before the end of the year. How are you faring? Some industries have been hit harder than others, like real estate and automotive while some seem to be striving, like anything green. My question is—what have you learned from this downturn and what permanent changes you have made to cushion yourself in the future? We are anxious to help you explore the possibilities so you can be better prepared and better able to avoid negative consequences.

It is important that you take advantage of every possible learning experience. You may be in a position to go back to school or, more likely, you can just spend some dedicated time on your computer asking questions and looking for answers. Either way, updated knowledge will give you the edge in any type of economic chaos. Study everything you can. You will be better prepared than the competition to stay the course. This suggestion applies to your business and financial life as well as your personal life.

You don’t have to embrace all that the younger generations are doing, but you should stay open to possibilities. Read their blogs, check out their social sites, like Facebook and Twitter, and listen to their music. While we have lessons to teach them, they also have lessons to teach us. These interchanges will help all of us grow.

Keep in mind that the “annoying” teenagers of today are going to be the leaders of tomorrow and very much in charge of our fate. Having an idea of how they think and operate in life will put you ahead of the curve and lead you to a more satisfying life.

Should Your Business Use a Staffing Agency?

YES, YES, YES! – You should consider using a staffing agency because we save you money. We eliminate the direct burden of workers’ compensation costs and potential legal exposure, which can be significant expenses. Using a staffing agency also gives you the flexibility to release the worker without any cost to you and you won’t be responsible for unemployment costs either. The average cost of a new hire is $7,000.00 and we are able to substantially reduce that cost for you by taking on these extra burdens.

Staffing agencies offer customized recruiting, screening and training to identify the true talent. We aggressively recruit candidates and keep a large database of highly skilled talent to fit your every need. We guarantee to match you with the right talent – the first time. We also offer heavy screening to ensure that you are receiving an A+ employee. We do comprehensive drug screening, background checks, credit checks, motor vehicle reports and more.

If you are having trouble finding the right employee from your job posting, have no fear. We will post your open positions on various websites for free! We run “blind ads” so job seekers are not pounding down your door. They come to us; our pre-screening efforts are number one so we are able to weed out the bad candidates and only provide you with the best matches.

Work doesn’t stop when someone has to leave on an emergency in the middle of the busiest season or when your employees take vacation; someone needs to always be available. Staffing agencies can fill these temporary assignments. We can also fill temporary to permanent and direct placement needs; offering you a range from seasonal/short-term work all the way to long-term full-time careers.

Your staffing agency is an important partner of your management team, one that helps lead your company to success.

Contributed by Krysta Grizzard, Staffing Manager, Employment Trends, krysta.grizzard@employmenttrends.com

Do You Have Your Hat on Backwards?

In today’s tough economy you have done your due diligence, thoroughly analyzed your income and out go, and sorted your numbers every which-way. You have discovered that your Widget A only accounts for 12% of your business. Should you drop this product line?
WAIT! There are other areas to consider before you pull the plug. Have you done a full analysis of the total potential market? You are likely to find that although Widget A only represents 12% of your business, it actually represents 90% of the total market. Whether by design or happenstance you have discovered a niche and filled it. This has long been the mantra of product designers and sales teams-“find a niche and fill it.”
With this knowledge on hand would you still want to pull the plug on Widget A? What are the chances for add-on sales of your other products? Are your Widget A customers likely to recommend your to their friends and associates? How much of the infrastructure of Widget A overlaps other products in your line? It may only represent 12% of your income, but how much of your outgo does it represent, probably a lot less than 12%.
A major car manufacturer I worked for several years ago made just this mistake and has never been the same since. These are all questions they should have asked as part of their strategic planning analysis. Your Widget A may not be your most profitable product, but it may have a great value to you in the whole scheme of things, in capturing extra business, or in just filling a need that nobody else is able to do, thus making you a hero and a successful commercial enterprise.
A lot of the success of your business will depend on this balancing act. It is critical that you due your due diligence, but not make any decisions until you look at the picture from both sides, yours and the client’s.

Fold and Toss & Fold and Toss & Fold and Toss &…

Are you old enough to remember this? This was the little boy who lived down the street and delivered your newspaper. If he was lucky he had one of those spiffy canvas bags he wore to carry the papers. He got very good at tossing your paper on the porch, unless you were mean to him and then he would hit the bushes or a puddle.

Do you still have the newspaper delivered? I do. I like the feel of the paper and the ritual of spreading it out to read while I eat breakfast. On Sunday I take the whole thing apart before I even start. I sort the parts I want to read in their “proper” order and get rid of all the fillers and ads.

Unfortunately my pleasure is slowly being taken away. Today’s paper only had 36 pages (plus the ads). It barely lasts through breakfast. Because of economics papers are cutting back on their hard copies. They are pushing readers to the internet. They are waving a two edged sword—encouraging people to read the paper online causes the loss of readers for the “real” newspaper. Many of the Country’s newspaper publishers have converted to online publication only.

Getting the news without the ritual of the daily newspaper is like the difference between eating and dining. You do get the job done, the fuel for your machine, but where is the pleasure of the slower pace and the feel of the paper. Life is already moving too fast, I want to hold on to the small pleasure of reading the newspaper with my breakfast in the morning.

This came to me on the net several years on the net. I don't know who the author is, but think it is a very important sentiment.

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the coffee. When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups... And then you began eyeing each other's cups. Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of Life we live. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us."God brews the coffee, not the cups.......... Enjoy your coffee!

"The happiest people don't have the best of everything.
They just make the best of everything."

Is outsourcing a dirty word!

Today it is called outsourcing and considered a dirty word, but really, it is brokering. Sending specific tasks to professionals outside your organization has several advantages if done properly. This practice shouldn’t impact your current staff; in fact it should strengthen your team.
When I was a printer I often outsourced projects. What it did was buy me the use of equipment that I couldn’t justify owning myself. and trained staff to go with it. Jobs that were beyond our capability were sent to vendors who could do them properly and I didn’t have to be burdened with owning equipment that we rarely used. This also gave us extra staff so we could be more efficient. We didn’t have to be all things to all people, we could do what we did best in house and send the rest to other talented professionals. Our goal was to give our customers the best possible product and they didn’t care how we did it. Brokering made us more profitable, more efficient, and able to deliver a great product.
Brokering differs from outsourcing in that it doesn’t shift your whole production elsewhere, negatively impacting your team members. It allows you to free up manpower so you can get more done in less time, control costs more effectively, enhance accountability and create a positive working environment for everyone. We had a lot of fun, while doing a great job for our customers.