“The Butterfly and the Gazelle”

My friend, Mike Hall, sent me this poem he wrote recently. It touched my heart as I think we all need to slow down and find more JOY in our lives.

A lovely butterfly at the Keukenhof Gardens in Amsterdam

The days of our lives pass so quickly
like the snowmelt that cascades
down a mountainside en route to
the Colorado River

Our days can become a blur at times
We’re caught up rushing
here and there
and hardly noticing
the smile of a stranger
or the need in the eyes of a friend

Busy as a bee….we collapse at the
end of the day and wonder
if it was really worth all the fuss….
This crazy world that tugs at us
as we strive to find our way

Don’t we admire those who go
from day to day
with the ease of a butterfly….
or the grace of a gazelle

Perhaps they found the puzzle piece
that we’re still searching for….
Content with life’s abundance
while we still ache for more

What if doing less could make the
days of our lives move slower
Like a ship at rest in a quiet harbor
maybe then we’d realize it’s all a game
to see who can tune into their soul
as the world tries to spin
us out of control.

To help discover more joy in your work and in your life, go to www.barbaraglanz.com.

COMMUNITY FIRST CREDIT UNION — SERVANT LEADERSHIP AT ITS BEST

I had the privilege this month of speaking on “Spreading Contagious Enthusiasm™–Creating Workplaces of Passion, Purpose, and Productivity” to Community First Credit Union in Appleton, Wisconsin. It is always interesting to me that so often the organizations that ask me to speak on this topic, like Nordstrom, Southwest Airlines, and Community First, are the ones who are already doing a great job, while those organizations who really need this message do not see the value.

I was deeply struck with how this small community credit union exemplifies servant leadership at its very best, both internally and externally. It begins with their leader, Cathie Tierney, President and CEO. Not only is she a supportive, hands-on, approachable leader on the human side, but she is also very astute on the business level. This organization has grown quickly and has exceeded its goals for years. In fact, at almost $2 billion in assets, they are the largest locally owned financial institution in their market.

However, the most amazing thing about this woman and her leadership is what she gives back to the community. She spends an average of 12 – 15 hours a week on community service. While I was there, I was invited to an area-wide dinner honoring community volunteers, and Cathie was presented with their highest honor. What a model this sets for her entire organization!

Externally, this company DOES put the community first! Last year they saved their members 18 million dollars, and this year their goal is to save them 20 million dollars. (They announced at the meeting that already in this first quarter they are over halfway there!) While other financial organizations are focused on improving THEIR bottom line, Community First is focused on helping their members. Of course, they are rewarded in other ways, particularly by selling more products and gaining more members; however, their overriding concern is truly to help their more than 97,000 members be financially secure.

They have opened branches in all the high schools, a middle school, and even in a grade school in the area to help teach young people how to save and manage their money at an early age. What a gift they are giving them for their future!

Foreign student interns from Appleton came to hear my presentation

Another way they support their community is that 76% of their employees volunteer in some way in the area, and their goal is to reach 80% participation in 2012. Most importantly, the organization values and supports employee contributions with time off, encouragement and awards for giving back.

Internally, I was touched by the caring Cathie and the management team express for their employees. Once a quarter they have an all-company meeting in the evening to inform staff about the company’s financial health and to celebrate both individual and organizational achievements. They not only pay the employees for this time, but they also provide dinner and some sort of inspiring message.

They value and appreciate one another. While I was there, the employees surprised Cathie with a lovely gift and flowers to celebrate her community award. As a result of doing so well for the quarter, Cathie announced that she was giving them each an extra vacation day. What a generous incentive for people who have done a great job! (And she promised another day off if they meet their annual goal. 😉

Most importantly, they have FUN together. At the end of the meeting, all the managers came into the auditorium dressed in straw hats, sunglasses, and grass hula skirts to tell employees about an upcoming party they were having for all of them. I also noticed how much they all love competition with other organizations, and they almost always win – a wonderful example of team spirit!

In a landmark study which has been replicated many times over the years, it was found that the top three things all employees want are interesting work, full appreciation for the work they have done, and a feeling of being in on things. Community First has creatively succeeded in meeting all these needs internally.

Finally, they have become an employer of choice in the Appleton area not only because of how they value their employees but most importantly, for how they contribute to their members, their community, and this world. It was a special joy for me to see a small organization that is doing everything right and to be able to affirm and celebrate them for the difference they are making. I only wish they had a branch in Florida!

To learn more about Barbara’s work, go to www.barbaraglanz.com.

Owen, Simon and Granna BB on Siesta Key

This is one of my very favorite pictures of me and my little grandbabies, Owen 6 and Simon 4. They visited me on the beach in March over their spring vacation. Our beach was just voted “the most beautiful beach in America” by the famous Dr. Beach, and they enjoyed every minute of being out in the sun and water. How very blessed I feel to be a Grandma!

Owen, Simon, and Granna BB on Siesta Key, March 2012

Barbara Now Offering Coaching Service

BARBARA IS NOW DOING SPEECH AND LIFE COACHING

Barbara speaking at the Religious Conference Managers Association in Kansas City

Because so many people have asked Barbara for specialized help in their speaking and writing efforts over the past few years, she has decided to offer her services as a coach, either short or long term. Since the person IS their message, this coaching may also include some life skills if requested.

This experience may include any or all of the following:

Exploration of life experiences and life stories and their application to your message
Finding your purpose and developing a personal mission statement
Determining your “Brand” / differentiating yourself
Speech creation and writing
Understanding and applying the principles of Adult Learning to your work
Platform technique and execution
Guidance in writing and publishing a book
Understanding the speaking business

Please contact Barbara at bglanz@barbaraglanz.com or 941-312-9169 for more information.
You can learn more about her work at www.barbaraglanz.com

Life is All About Relationships

Life is All About Relationships
Barbara A. Glanz, CSP, CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame

As I was speaking to Bank of America managers in Dallas, I talked a lot about building relationships—relationships with employees, relationships with colleagues, and relationships with customers. These folks were each going to manage their own banking centers, and they were at the very end of a three month training session. They had been in class since early morning, there had been an open bar and dinner, and then I was scheduled to speak, certainly not the professional speaker’s favorite venue!

What happened that night was absolutely amazing as these precious people opened their minds and hearts to fully realize the awesome opportunity they would each have to create workplaces where both employees and customers would feel valued and respected, places where people could be their very best selves. Not only did I receive a spontaneous standing ovation when I finished, but people lined up across the room to give me a hug, and many waited for nearly an hour to have me sign their books. Later that evening as I was pondering the tremendous impact my words had on the audience, the connection that occurred between us, and the deep spirit of caring that was created in that room, the following thought occurred:

LIFE IS ALL ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS! Some last a lifetime, others are precious gifts of the moment, but some, even though short-lived in the eternity of time, will change our lives forever.

These are the relationships that imprint themselves onto our very being and stretch us in ways that can bring both intense joy and excruciating pain. And yet most of us would never wish them out of our experience because these deep soul connections teach us more about our real selves than we could learn in any other way. And even though life may force us to move on to other paths, we are grateful.

“Life is made up of many partings welded together.”
– Charles Dickens, Great Expectations –

“I am a part of all I have met.”
– Tennyson’s Ulysses –

……. I would like to think of our friendship as being like two rivers, which one day, within the fleeting moments of time, met and suffused – two rivers that arose from different valleys to flow together toward the sea. As time would have it – our lives – like rivers, stir and break to carve our separate courses toward destiny’s distant uncharted waters. No longer will the rivers together flow – no longer will they laugh at rain together. Time and space will be between them. But as friends who together flowed through the valleys of knowledge, each will retain a part of the other. Each, several years hence, will look back upon moments past with a smile.

Sometimes rivers meet again – if only for a span – so perhaps somewhere within the eternity of time our lives will again converge. But …..if not even for a moment can we relive the friendship we have had – I will cherish until death the mere fact that I have known you.

How blessed I feel to have loved and been loved in a wide variety of relationships throughout my lifetime. We may lose our health, our possessions, and even the physical presence of those we love, but NEVER will we lose the memory, however fleeting the relationship, of connecting heart to heart and soul to soul.

For each friend I’ve met on my journey — from seat mates on airplanes, to members of my audiences, to friends who have walked beside me for over 50 years — I say from the depths of my being, “Thank you for touching my life.”

When I think of a life filled with purpose and meaning, it is all about building relationships. What kind of relationships are you building each day?

Blessings and love,
Barbara

BARBARA GLANZ BIO
For free articles you can use in your company newsletters and an archive of dozens of immediately applicable “Ideas of the Month,” go to www.barbaraglanz.com.
Internationally known speaker, author and a member of the prestigious Speaker Hall of Fame, Barbara Glanz, CSP, CPAE, works with organizations that want to improve morale, retention, and service and with people who want to rediscover the joy in their work and in their lives. Barbara was voted “best keynote presenter you have heard or used” by Meetings & Conventions Magazine, July 2010. She is the author of 11 best-selling books, including The Simple Truths of Service Inspired By Johnny the Bagger; The Simple Truths of Appreciation; Handle with CARE—Motivating and Retaining Employees; CARE Packages for the Workplace–Dozens of Little Things You Can Do to Regenerate Spirit at Work; Building Customer Loyalty and CARE Packages for Your Customers. Using her Master’s degree in Adult Education, Barbara lives and breathes her personal motto: “Spreading Contagious Enthusiasm™.” She is the first speaker on record to have presented on all seven continents and in all 50 states. For more information, she can be reached directly at 941-312-9169; www.barbaraglanz.com; bglanz@barbaraglanz.com.
You can learn more about her work at www.barbaraglanz.com

SPONTANEOUS TREATS–The Key to Employees’ Hearts!

SPONTANEOUS TREATS–The Key to Employees’ Hearts!
By Barbara A. Glanz

Employees need to feel appreciated. They need to be managed on both the Human and the Business levels. We also know that happy employees are more productive employees. One of the most special ways a manager can fulfill all of these needs is to surprise his or her employees with a treat.

Tips to Rebuild Employee Morale

SPREAD CONTAGIOUS ENTHUSIASM–Tips to Rebuild Employee Morale
By Barbara A. Glanz

Today’s workplace is enveloped by the fear of downsizing, loss of job security, overwhelming changes in technology, and the stress of having to do more with less. According to a recent Roper poll, employee morale and job satisfaction are at the lowest point they have been since Roper first began doing the poll decades ago. Managers must recognize this phenomenon and do their best to counteract it if their organizations are going to survive.

2011 Christmas Collage

Barbara’s acceptance speech video

Here’s a video of Barbara’s acceptance speech from her 2011 induction into the NSA CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame.

Make Your Meetings Fun and Efficient

Are most of your meetings dull and laborious? Here is an idea to make them more efficient, more creative, and more fun!

Get red, green, and yellow paper plates. Glue each one to a tongue depressor or other kind of stick. Give one of each to each person in the meeting.

When someone agrees with what a person is sharing or wants to vote “yes” on a question, they hold up the green plate. When someone disagrees or wants to vote “no” on an issue, they hold up the red plate. When someone wants more discussion, has a question, or wants to share their opinion, they hold up the yellow plate.

You will be surprised at how much clearer this makes everyone’s communication and how much more efficient your meetings will be. It also adds the element of creativity and fun to what most employees dread the most — boring meetings!

For more creative ideas to spread contagious enthusiasm and enhance employee motivation, go to www.barbaraglanz.com/ideas www.barbaraglanz.com/ideas/