Everybody Dies, But Not Everyone Lives!

A depressed 45-year-old man asked his doctor, “How long to you think I will live?”
The doctor answered him, “Do you climb mountains, sky dive, or swim in the ocean?”
The man answered, “No, I don’t do anything risky.”
The doctor pressed him further. “Do you travel to exotic destinations?”
“No, I never fly anywhere — too dangerous!”
“Do you drink wine?”
He responded, “No, I never touch the stuff.”
“Do you eat red meant or chocolate?,” the doctor asked.
“Never,” the man said.
Finally, the physician asked, “Do you enjoy sex?”
“Not much anymore,” he said.

So, the doctor looked at him, shrugged and said, “Well, then, honestly, I don’t see why you should even care how long you have left to live!”

“Life is short. Don’t run so fast that you miss it.”
Raffaelle Monne (a 107-year-old woman from Sardinia)

To learn about more ways to find purpose and joy in your life and work, go to www.barbaraglanz.com

Girlfriends enjoying a silly hat experience at Disneyworld. Fun to be a kid again! 😉

Great Service Comes From the Heart!

If people don’t have in their hearts the desire to serve and make a difference for people, no matter what you do, they will not create great service. Mary Kay Ash, founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics, often said that the secret of her success was hiring nice people and then permitting them to be as nice as they could be.

I totally support that concept. A nice person who cares is hard to beat, and customer service depends on nice people reaching out to their customers and creating memories. Let me give you an example.
As a professional speaker and author, I spend a lot of time in front of audiences all over the world. Since they have to look at me for extended periods of time, I always try to dress in a way that is bright, different and special, so people will have something interesting to see. I know that I am the visual!

One day as I was flying to another city, I found a gorgeous dress in a magazine advertisement. It was one of those perfect finds, a dress that was simply made for me. It was red, my very favorite color, and I was determined that I had to have that dress.

When the plane landed, I rushed to the nearest telephone to call the store and order the dress. When the salesperson answered, I breathlessly explained, “I’m a professional speaker; I am in front of audiences all the time and I always try to dress in a way that captures people’s attention. I saw this beautiful dress from your store in a magazine today. It’s my favorite color and I just have to have it.”

She chuckled and asked for all my information. She asked me about my speaking career and I told her that I most often speak on “Regenerating Spirit in the Workplace.” She replied, “Wow, we really need that here!” She then said, “I can tell that you really love that dress, Barbara, and I will do my very best to find it for you. I’ll call you back at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow morning to let you know.”

The next day at exactly three minutes after ten, she called. She began by saying, “Oh, Barbara, I’m heartbroken. I know how much you wanted that dress, and I did my very best to find it. I called fourteen different stores in eight different states, but I simply could not find it in your size. I am so terribly sorry to disappoint you, because I know your heart was set on having it.

“But,” she continued, “we just got a new shipment in, and I found another, very similar dress in your size and it’s red, your favorite color. I went on your website, saw your wonderful pictures, and think this dress would look really good on you. Even though it’s not the one you wanted, I think you might like it. Would you want me to ship it to you at no charge to see if you like it?”

What a special experience that was! Even though I did not get the dress I had my heart set on, I got something even more special—a person who cared. I did not have her send out the other dress, but guess who I called the next time I wanted something to wear on stage?

When it comes to great service, there’s no substitute for a caring heart. Johnny’s big heart transformed an entire grocery store. The good heart of the salesperson that searched for my red dress turned me into a Raving Fan customer. The final truth is this:

When the heart is in the right place,
the ego gets out of the way.
That’s when great service
comes shining through.

This idea is excerpted from The Simple Truths of Service, – Ken Blanchard & Barbara A. Glanz. To order this book, go to the PRODUCT section of Barbara’s website.

Quick Appreciation Ideas

This idea is excerpted from Barbara’s book “Handle with CARE — Motivating and Retaining Employees” (McGraw-Hill). To order this book, go to the Online Store section of Barbara’s website by clicking on the book cover.

*Give an employee a surprise day off.

*Write and perform a song about your employees.

*Have a surprise “Queen/King for the Day” celebration for someone who is always there to support others.

*Send flowers to an employee’s spouse, parents, or significant other, thanking them for the great work that employee is doing.

*Use candy names as ways to appreciate employees. When they have met a sales or other goal, give them a SKOR bar. If they have gone the extra mile, how about a package of EXTRA gum? If they have done something really valuable for the team, choose a $100,000 Bar. If they always make everyone laugh or keep their spirits high, give them a “Snickers.” If you go to a good candy store, you can personalize something for each person on your team.

*Find a key employee on your staff who enjoys and is good at making employees feel good and make employee recognition a formal part of his or her job description.

*Ask each employee to write down at least 8 things they would like for rewards or recognition—at least two that cost no money, two that cost from $5 to $50, two that cost from $50 to $200 and two dream things.

*Have a senior manager wash an employee’s car.

*Take out an ad in the local paper celebrating an employee.

*Give an employee a pair of painter’s gloves with the fingers dipped in red paint as the “I work my fingers to the bone award.”

*Send each employee a glass container. Then give them a different kind of candy to fill it every month.

*On the employee’s birthday let them choose from five different envelopes, each with something they have suggested they would like for a reward.

*Keep an “Appreciation Box” on your desk so employees can let you know what others have done for them.

*Help one of your star employees run for an office in a trade association, If they win, take away some of their responsibilities so they can handle the extra work they’ve taken on.

*Have an “Achievements Box” in your work area where employees can write down whenever something positive happens. At the end of the week, read each entry to employees.

We would love to hear how your company shows appreciation to your employees. Share your ideas in the “Leave a reply” section below!

Video Q & A with Barbara

Question: How can I create an atmosphere where everyone feels valued and wants to give their best?

Barbara answers: click here

For more questions and answers with Barbara, visit Barbara’s Video Q&A

We hope we will have a chance to make a difference in your workplace by helping you raise morale, improve retention, build customer and employee loyalty, boost productivity, and as a result, create a workplace of respect, caring, and joy. Call our office at (941) 312-9169 today to see how Barbara can help make a difference in YOUR company. Remember, you will never get employees to treat customers better than they are being treated themselves!

“Workplaces of Passion, Purpose and Productivity”

Barbara Glanz: “Workplaces of Passion, Purpose and Productivity”

“Spreading Contagious Enthusiasm™-Creating Workplaces of Passion, Purpose and Productivity”

This is the audio link to Barbara’s presentation in December to the CEO Council of Tampa Bay. Enjoy!
Audio Link to MP3

Is your organization experiencing overwhelming change, high employee turnover and low morale, increases in customer complaints, or burnout from having to do more with less? Are your employees struggling to find a balance between their work and home lives or do they simply need a boost of positive energy? If so, Barbara Glanz can help you! Clients say her exciting, motivational, action-oriented presentations have given their employees a new sense of direction, understanding, and hope. Contact our office today at (941) 312-9169 to see how we can help your organization.

Christmas Newsletter

CHRISTMAS 2012

Hello Everyone and Merry Christmas!

This has been a year of great adventures and joys but also one of heartache and loss. Someone recently shared: “You cannot start a new chapter in your life until you stop re-reading the last one.” That was good advice for me this year with the abrupt and painful ending of an 8 year relationship. However, even in the midst of pain, we can find blessings if we keep focused on the GIFT of every day and the precious people like all of you who share this life journey with us.

I have been blessed with many exciting and stimulating trips this year, beginning with a lovely week in the Cayman Islands with my friend, Jane Meyer. She has a beautiful condo right on the beach in Grand Cayman. One of the special highlights for me was getting to swim with the dolphins. I was extremely lucky to have two dolphins, a trainer, and a photographer all to myself for 45 minutes. I was even able to stand on their backs as they swam across the lagoon!

All the kids were able to come for a visit during the year, and in May, my Irish friend, Annie Gourley, and I took a fun trip to the Grand Canyon. We spent a night in Phoenix and then two nights at the Canyon, relishing in the magnificence of God’s spectacular creation.
In June I was delighted to speak at the Society for Human Resource Management international convention for the 11th time since 1997. I love these folks who champion the human level in organizations, and a great deal of my business comes from these conferences. On arriving in the Miami airport on my way to speak in So. America, someone in a large crowd called out, “Aren’t you Barbara?” When I answered, “Yes,” he said, “I heard you speak at a SHRM conference several years ago and loved your message.” It is a small world!

For the first time, I was able to take Gavin, 14, and Kinsey, 11, to the National Speakers Association convention in Indianapolis to attend the Youth Conference. They had a wonderful time, made some new friends, and hope to be able to go again next year. I love reconnecting with speaker friends from all over the world.

August brought an around –the –world trip beginning in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where I was speaking for the TMI / TACK international Conference. There were 200 attendees from 40 different countries. My friend from Illinois, Nancy Cobb, joined me there after a 36 hour trip—Tampa to Detroit to Seoul, Korea, to KL. On the flight from Seoul, I met a lovely gentleman who was a professor at Nottignham University in KL. He invited us on the following Sunday to go to the Batu Caves, and then treated us to a typical Indian lunch and a visit to his family home. We explored KL, including the Twin Towers, and discovered their two passions are food and shopping – much to our delight! 😉 The conference was delightful, and they included us in all the festivities, so it was a wonderful visit.

From KL, we flew to Budapest to join our other friends, Jane Meyer and Phyllis Hendry, for a “Romantic Danube River Cruise.” We were on AMA Waterways, a family owned company which I would HIGHLY recommend, The food, the ship and the service were the best I have every experienced! We visited five countries – Hungary, Austria, Slovakia, Germany, and the Czech Republic. We especially loved Prague, an amazing walking city, the little town of Durnstein, Austria, with its tiny shops and lovely cottages bordered by flowers, and the Mozart concert we heard in Vienna. One of the most poignant memories for me was visiting Terezin, a concentration camp in the Czech Republic.

September included a trip to NYC to emcee the Guideposts national meetings, and In October I had a fun long weekend with my SHRM buddies in Louisville, KY, where we attended the St. James Art Fair for 2 days, played Scrabble and drank lots of wine! I flew from there to Phoenix where I spoke for the Maricopa Health System at the delightful Desert Botanical Gardens. The next day a new friend and I did a tour of Taliesin, Frank Lloyd Wright’s interesting complex.

In late October I was asked to speak in Cartagena, Colombia, for FENALCO, the largest retail association in So. America. There were 1200 people, most of whom spoke no English so there was an interpreter which is always an interesting experience. My friend, Barbara Sadek, came with me and we so enjoyed the Old Walled City, the shopping, the fresh fish (especially the ceviche), and even one night at a nightclub dancing the Merengue! We also had a great adventure at one of only 3 mud volcanos in the world about an hour outside of Cartagena. You can read more about this on my blog, www.barbaraglanz.com/blog.

Although in the last 3 months, I have been on 4 continents and in 8 different countries, my heart is still in the Pacific NW where all my children live. I’ll be in Portland for Thanksgiving and in Seattle for Christmas. Garret still has a wonderful job with Microsoft, Ashley is very involved with the kid’s school, Gavin, 14, is deeply into video games, and Kinsey, 11, loves horses and the theatre. Gretchen and Randy are in Portland, OR, with Owen, 7, and Simon, 5. Randy is head of IT at a local company, and Gretchen teaches electives in photography and arts as a volunteer at the boys’ school. The highlight of the year for the boys was coming to visit me in Florida in March and going for the first time to Legoland. Erin, who just bought her first home in Portland, is a national agent for a company called True Collaborative Fashion which represents 5 socially responsible designers. My favorite, “Prairie Underground,” is available in many specialty contemporary boutiques. Erin does shows in SF, LA, NYC, and LV.

In this new chapter, I have started taking ballroom dancing lessons, I just won a golf lesson, and I am thinking about many options in my life – perhaps even purchasing a second home in Chicago, Portland or San Diego. I feel so very blessed to have my work and family and friends all over the world. Thank you for your love and support. May your holiday season and New Year overflow with joy.

Blessings,

Holiday Special ~ “The Simple Truths of Appreciation”

Since the holidays are coming up, this book is the perfect way to let people know how much you appreciate them!

Take a moment to think of all the people who have made a difference in your life. When is the last time that you told them how much you appreciate them? We have the perfect gift to show your employees, family, friends, and all the special people in your life just how much you value THEM?. Several managers have even sent this book to all their employees’ homes as a Thanksgiving gift.

We are offering “The Simple Truths of Appreciation” book for the SPECIAL PRICE OF ONLY $12.95 plus shipping (Regular price $15.95).

“The Simple Truths of Appreciation” is a beautifully crafted gift book that incorporates amazing photography, powerful quotes and inspirational stories about how we can make a difference in the lives of others. Barbara Glanz has created an instant classic that takes you on a journey through 10 key principles of appreciation. If you‚re looking for a great gift to recognize someone special or to simply say “Thank You”, then this is the perfect gift.

Everyone wants and needs to feel appreciated. The front page of the book even has a dedication page where you can put your name and your own personal message of thanks.

SPECIAL: Get this wonderful book for ONLY $12.95 to show your appreciation to all the special people in your life!

To order this book, go to www.barbaraglanz.com/products/books/

Trip to Malaysia

Here are some pictures of my trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I traveled there for a week to be the opening keynote speaker for the TMI / TACK International Conference. I spoke on “The Simple Truths of Service Inspired by Johnny the Bagger®” to 200 managers from 40 different countries. My friend, Nancy Cobb, met me there and we had a wonderful time exploring the country.

Winter’s Story

I think many of us have seen the precious movie, “A Dolphin’s Tale,” about the dolphin whose tail was so damaged from a boating accident that it had to be amputated. As a result, she could no longer swim and would have died had she not been rescued and brought to a rehab facility.

As we see in the movie, a few caring, creative people found a way to create a prosthesis to add to her body in place of her tail and then taught her a different way of swimming which used the new tail. It was a long process, but Winter’s life was ultimately saved by these creative, out-of-the-box thinkers who refused to stop trying to find a solution for her problem.

Winter the dolphin with her prosthesis

Recently, I met a person who lives in Clearwater where Winter currently resides, and she told me even more about her story. Clearwater Marina is really a rescue and rehab facility, so it is unusual for an animal to stay there permanently. However, because of Winter’s disability, she could not be sent back into the wild.
Now Winter has a new job. Children from all over the world, many of them disabled, come to visit Winter. The staff often let the children go into the water with Winter, and my friend says it is amazing how she immediately is attracted to those with physical impairments. They also bring a lot of wounded warriors to the marina to visit Winter. Just imagine the HOPE that springs up when these wounded ones make contact with an animal who has a disability just like them and has learned to live and thrive and even help others!

Although she only wears her prosthesis twice a day, she and her friends have become beacons of light to everyone who visits the marina. Her best friend is another dolphin who is deaf, so perhaps Winter acts as his ears! Her other companions are two sea otters, one of which is blind while the other acts as his eyes.

Just like human beings, every animal has a story, and Winter’s story not only became a best-selling movie but also her presence has helped many people, and especially children, find hope in the midst of difficult circumstances. If you are ever coming to the West coast of Florida, be sure to make a trip to see Winter, www.winter.com . We all need to be reminded of messages of hope wherever we can find them!

For more inspiring articles, go to www.barbaraglanz.com/articles.

Amazing Story from September 11 and a Delta flight

Here is an amazing story from a flight attendant on Delta Flight 15, written following 9-11:

“On the morning of Tuesday, September 11, we were about 5 hours out of Frankfurt, flying over the North Atlantic. All of a sudden the curtains parted and I was told to go to the cockpit, immediately, to see the captain. As soon as I got there I noticed that the crew had that “All Business” look on their faces. The captain handed me a printed message. It was from Delta’s main office in Atlanta and simply read, “All airways over the Continental United States are closed to commercial air traffic. Land ASAP at the nearest airport. Advise your destination.”

“No one said a word about what this could mean. We knew it was a serious situation and we needed to find terra firma quickly. The captain determined that the nearest airport was 400 miles behind us in Gander, New Foundland. He requested approval for a route change from the Canadian traffic controller and approval was granted immediately–no questions asked. We found out later, of course, why there was no hesitation in approving our request.

“While the flight crew prepared the airplane for landing, another message arrived from Atlanta telling us about some terrorist activity in the New York area. A few minutes later word came in about the
hijackings.

“We decided to LIE to the passengers while we were still in the air. We told them the plane had a simple instrument problem and that we needed to land at the nearest airport in Gander, New Foundland to have it checked out.

“We promised to give more information after landing in Gander. There was much grumbling among the passengers, but that’s nothing new! Forty minutes later, we landed in Gander. Local time at Gander was 12:30 PM! …. that’s 11:00 AM EST.

“There were already about 20 other airplanes on the ground from all over the world that had taken this detour on their way to the U.S. After we parked on the ramp, the captain made the following announcement: “Ladies and gentlemen, you must be wondering if all these airplanes around us have the same instrument problem as we have. The reality is that we are here for another reason.” Then he went on to explain the little bit we knew about the situation in the U.S. There were loud gasps and stares of disbelief. The captain informed passengers that Ground control in Gander told us to stay put.

“The Canadian Government was in charge of our situation and no one was allowed to get off the aircraft. No one on the ground was allowed to come near any of the air crafts. Only airport police would come around periodically, look us over and go on to the next airplane. In the next hour or so more planes landed and Gander ended up with 53 airplanes from all over the world, 27 of which were U.S. commercial jets.

“Meanwhile, bits of news started to come in over the aircraft radio and for the first time we learned that airplanes were flown into the World Trade Center in New York and into the Pentagon in DC. People were trying to use their cell phones, but were unable to connect due to a different cell system in Canada. Some did get through, but were only able to get to the Canadian operator who would tell them that the lines to the U.S. were either blocked or jammed.

“Sometime in the evening the news filtered to us that the World Trade Center buildings had collapsed and that a fourth hijacking had resulted in a crash. By now the passengers were emotionally and physically exhausted, not to mention frightened, but everyone stayed amazingly calm. We had only to look out the window at the 52 other stranded aircraft to realize that we were not the only ones in this predicament.

“We had been told earlier that they would be allowing people off the planes one plane at a time. At 6 PM, Gander airport told us that our turn to deplane would be 11 am the next morning. Passengers were not happy, but they simply resigned themselves to this news without much noise and started to prepare themselves to spend the night on the airplane.