Racism must stop

A black man walks into a cafe early one morning and notices he’s the only black one there as he sat down he noticed a white man sat behind him, the white man said “coloured people aren’t allowed in here”.

The black man replied… “When I was born I was black, when I grew up I was black, when I’m sick I’m black, when I go in the sun I’m black, when I’m cold I’m black, and when I die I’m black.

But you sir…

When you were born you were pink, when you’re sick you’re green, when you stay in the sun you’re red, when you’re cold you turn blue and when you die you turn purple.”

“And yet you have the nerve to call me coloured!!!!”

Brick and the Jaguar

A young and successful executive was traveling down a neighborhood street going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something.

As his car passed, no children appeared. Instead a brick smashed into the Jag’s side door! He slammed on the brakes and drove the Jag back to the spot where the brick had been thrown.

The angry driver then jumped out of the car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car shouting, “What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing? That’s a new car and that brick you threw is going to cost me a lot of money. Why did you do it?”

The young boy was apologetic. “Please mister. . . . please, I’m sorry.

I didn’t know what else to do. I threw the brick because no one else would stop” With tears dripping down his face and off his chin, the youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car. “It’s my brother. He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can’t lift him up.”

Now sobbing, the boy asked the stunned executive “Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He’s hurt and he’s too heavy for me.”

Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the lump in his throat. He lifted the handicapped boy back into the wheelchair, then took out his handkerchief and wiped at the fresh scrapes and cuts. Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the boy push his wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward home. It was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar.

The damage was very noticeable but the driver never repaired the dented side door. There are many lessons in this story; but he kept the dent to remind him of this message:

Don’t go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention. Everyday we are reminded of the ‘whispers’ of our experiences around us. When our Creator has blessed us with ’sight’; then why do we continue life blindly. Sometimes when we don’t take the time to take heed, A ‘brick’ is thrown at us ; so that we may take lessons therefrom.

Listen to the ‘whisper’… or wait for the ‘brick’…

Gulzar: aadatan tum ne kar diye vaade

aadatan tum ne kar diye vaade
aadatan hum ne aetbaar kiyaa

terii raahon mein baarahaa ruk kar
hum ne apanaa hii intezaar kiyaa

ab naa maaNge.nge zindagii yaa rab
ye gunaah ham ne ek baar kiyaa

What Is love?

The overwhelming notion of your presence?
The warmth in your voice?
Is it the laughs
The smiles
The touch
The care
Or is it the pain
I embrace every moment
The suffering
The tears
The tossing and turning
The dubiety
What is love ?
Is it to forget everything and  hold you forever
Or is it to save you from the wrongs of this world?
Is it just me ?
Or is  this what love truly is ?
The unspoken bond, the unsaid promises
Forsaken commitments
Blinded hopes
Fighting destiny
Then pain all over again .
Numb breathing
Silent reconciliations
Stabbing emotions
In silence I seek the truth
For How I refuse to see beyond this and never wish to
If this truly is love  then I really cant stop
Loving You

Complaining Customers are Good for Business

Remember the Coca Cola marketing disaster a few years ago? They tried to switch Coke drinkers to New Coke. It didn’t work. Fortunately, the company quickly recognized the problem and had the resources to recover fast. Their follow up research revealed that only 1 unhappy customer in 50 takes time to complain. The other 49 just quietly switch brands.

It’s human nature to avoid unpleasant experiences like customer complaints. Nobody likes bad news. But uncovering customer complaints and satisfying them can give you a powerful competitive advantage.

 

WHY YOU WANT TO HEAR CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS

Dissatisfied customers or clients can do one of 4 things:
1. Remain silent.
2. Complain to a legal or public agency.
3. Complain to friends and anybody else who will listen.
4. Complain to you.

Which choice would you like them to make? The best choice may surprise you.

You certainly don’t want them to complain to a legal or public agency. And you definitely don’t want them to complain to their friends and associates. Imagine how much business that can cost you.

Remaining silent may seem like the best choice. But it’s not, for 2 reasons. First, because it really won’t happen. It’s human nature for people to talk about their experiences — especially experiences involving emotions like those generated by an unsatisfactory business transaction. The other reason you don’t want a dissatisfied customer to remain silent is because it deprives you of the chance to correct the problem and save your relationship with your customer.

The best choice is to have your unhappy customer complain to you.

 

COMPLAINING CUSTOMERS ARE DOING YOU A FAVOUR

Customers or clients who take the time and trouble to complain to you are doing you a favour. They’re helping you grow your business. They’re giving you the opportunity to resolve their problem and keep them as a customer. They’re also alerting you to a problem that may be costing you business from other prospects and customers without your knowledge.

This applies to every business including independent distributors for MLM or network marketing companies. If the problem is in your area of responsibility you can correct it. If the problem is with your company’s product or system you can advise them and ask them to correct it. You can also reduce the impact of a company problem on your operation by telling your distributors about it and letting them know the company is taking corrective action.

 

ENCOURAGE CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS

The Coca Cola Company discovered their New Coke marketing disaster quickly because they print a toll-free consumer information telephone number on all their product packages. The sudden deluge of complaint calls alerted them immediately to the extent of the problem and enabled them to respond fast to minimize the damage. I wonder how long it would have taken them to discover the problem if they didn’t provide that telephone number and encourage complaints?

A free-phone consumer information line is one way to encourage customer complaints and feedback. Here are 3 others especially suited to small businesses on a limited budget.

Develop a customer satisfaction and comments form. Include it with products you ship or with correspondence to customers and clients if you don’t ship products.

Send a follow up postcard to customers a week or 10 days after completing a transaction and ask if everything is OK. You can do this by email or telephone if it’s appropriate.

Create a separate page at your website for customer comments and complaints. Publicize the address on your home page and on all communications with your customers.

Your customers and clients know your strengths and weaknesses better than you. Get them to identify your weaknesses and tell you what they are so you can correct them. It may be uncomfortable or ego deflating to hear about your weaknesses. But you’ll soon forget that when you take corrective action and see the positive impact it has on your bottom line.

 

- By: Bob Leduc

The Traditional Policy

It has been suggested to me that this is a true story: A very old traditional soft drink manufacturing company decided to install a new bottling line, so as to enable its soft drink products to be marketed through the supermarket sector. This represented a major change for the little company, and local dignitaries and past employees were invited to witness the first running of the new bottling line, which was followed by an buffet and drinks.

After the new line had been switched on successfully, and the formalities completed, the guests relaxed in small groups to chat and enjoy the buffet. In a quiet corner stood three men discussing trucks and transport and distribution, since one was the present distribution manager, and the other two were past holders of the post, having retired many years ago. The three men represented three generations of company distribution management, spanning over sixty years.

The present distribution manager confessed that his job was becoming more stressful because company policy required long deliveries be made on Monday and Tuesday, short deliveries on Fridays, and all other deliveries mid-week.

“It’s so difficult to schedule things efficiently – heaven knows what we’ll do with these new bottles and the tight demands of the supermarkets…”

The other two men nodded in agreement.

“It was the same in my day,” sympathised the present manager’s predecessor, “It always seemed strange to me that trucks returning early on Mondays and Tuesdays couldn’t be used for little local runs, because the local deliveries had to be left until Friday…”

The third man nodded, and was thinking hard, struggling to recall the policy’s roots many years ago when he’d have been a junior in the despatch department. After a pause, the third man smiled and then ventured a suggestion.

“I think I remember now,” he said, “It was the horses… During the Second World War fuel rationing was introduced. So we mothballed the trucks and went back to using the horses. On Mondays the horses were well-rested after the weekend – hence the long deliveries. By Friday the horses would be so tired, they could only handle the short local drops…”

Soon after the opening of the new bottling line the company changed its delivery policy.
- Author Unknown

The Trench Digger

An elderly couple retired to the countryside to a small isolated cottage overlooking some rugged and rocky heartland.

One early morning, the woman saw from her window a young man dressed in working clothes walking on the heath about a hundred yards away. He was carrying a spade and a small case and he disappeared from view behind a copse of trees.

The woman thought no more about it but around the same time the next day she saw the man again, carrying his spade and a small case, and again he disappeared behind the copse.

The woman mentioned this to her husband who said he was probably a farmer or gamekeeper setting traps, or performing some other country practice that would be perfectly normal, and so not to worry.

However, after several more sightings of the young man with the spade over the next two weeks, the woman persuaded her husband to take a stroll – early, before the man tended to arrive – to the copse of trees to investigate what he was doing.

There they found a surprisingly long and deep trench, rough and uneven at one end, becoming much neater and tidier towards the other end.

“How strange,” the old lady said, “Why dig a trench here… and in such difficult rocky ground?” and her husband agreed.

Just then the young man appeared earlier than his usual time.

“You’re early,” said the old woman, making light of their obvious curiosity, “We wondered what you were doing and we also wondered what was in the case.”

“I’m digging a trench,” said the man who continued, realizing a bigger explanation was appropriate. “I’m actually learning how to dig a good trench because the job I’m being interviewed for later today says that experience is essential, so I’m getting the experience. And the case…it’s got my lunch in it.”

He got the job.

Two Men by Pillars

A humorous look at a decision made by management with limited information…

 

Following a poor first-half year performance the board of Company X tasked a senior manager to investigate what was happening on the factory floor, since the directors believed poor productivity was at the root of the problem. While walking around the plant, the investigating manager came upon a large warehouse area where a man stood next to a pillar. The manager introduced himself as the person investigating performance on the factory floor, appointed by the board, and then asked the man by the pillar what he was doing. “It’s my job,” replied the man, “I was told to stand by this pillar.”

The investigator thanked the man for his cooperation and encouraged him to keep up the good work. The investigator next walked into a large packing area, where he saw another man standing next to a pillar. The investigator again introduced himself and asked the man what he was doing. “I’ve been told to stand by this pillar, so that’s what I do.” said the man.

Two weeks later the investigator completed his report and duly presented his findings to the board, who held a brief meeting to decide remedial action. The board called the investigator back into the room, thanked him for his work, and then instructed him to sack one of the men he’d found standing by pillars, since obviously this was a duplication of effort.

The New Hotel Employee

When assigning tasks, be sure to communicate expectations clearly… and confirm understanding!

 

A new hotel employee was asked to clean the elevators and report back to the supervisor when the task was completed. When the employee failed to appear at the end of the day the supervisor assumed that like many others he had simply not liked the job and left.

However, after four days the supervisor bumped into the new employee. He was cleaning in one of the elevators. “You surely haven’t been cleaning these elevators for four days, have you?” asked the supervisor, accusingly. “Yes sir,” said the employee, “This is a big job and I’ve not finished yet – do you realise there are over forty of them, two on each floor, and sometimes they are not even there..”

Families Are Forever!!

Once there was a little boy named Jamey. He had some great friends, but his greatest friend was his mom. She was just different than his all his friends moms.

While they were busy going to their fashion shows and their bridge parties, she was home with him. They’d play in the backyard together, go on bike rides, have long talks. She was the best football player on the whole block. At least that was what the other guys said. They really thought she was special. You know, they wished their moms were more like that.

Then one day Jamey was called home from school. There was a big white ambulance in the driveway. When Jamey walked in the front door his dad was talking to the doctor, and Jamey was scared.

They said he could only talk to his mom for a minute, and when he tiptoed into the bedroom and saw her lying on the bed she smiled and whispered, “Hi, Big J.” That’s what she always called him even though he wasn’t very big. She said he always had a big heart.

She said, “Jamey, I’m going away and I won’t be coming back. I’m dying.”

Big tears came into Jamey’s eyes and he said, “Mom, you just can’t die.”

And she said, “It’s okay Babe, there’s no regrets. I’ve been with you more in eleven years than most moms are with their boys in their whole lifetime.”

He said, “I know mom, but you can’t die, you can’t.”

And she said, “Jamey, there’s a secret, and I never want you to forget it. –Families are forever, and even though you won’t see me, I’ll still be there watching over you, and waiting for you.”

And he said, “But Mom, if I can’t see you, well then, how will I know you’re there?”

And she thought a minute and then she smiled and answered, “I’ll build you a rainbow way up high above, send down a sunbeam plumb full of love, sprinkle down raindrops, teardrops of joy. I’ll be as happy as springtime watching over my boy.”

She kissed him, closed her eyes, and she was gone. As Jamey and his dad stood in the driveway watching the ambulance drive away, his dad broke down and started to cry. And they hugged each other real tight and Jamey felt his teardrop’s on his own cheeks and cried too.

And then he remembered the secret–and he looked up and sure enough, there it was, right over their house–a big rainbow, just like she said!

And he said, “Dad, dad, it’s all right, Families are forever!!”

Friendship Has No Fear

A soldier approached his officer; seeking his permission to fetch his friend, not yet back from the battlefield. The officer refused permission stating that his friend would be probably dead. There was no point in going out and losing his life, too, the officer said.

Unmindful of the consequence, the soldier went and an hour later returned, mortally wounded, carrying his dead friend.

The officer was furious; “I told you he was dead. Now I’ve lost both of you. Tell me, was it worth going out there to bring in a corpse”

The dying man replied, “Oh, it was sir. When I got to him he was still alive. And he said to me, ‘Jack, I was sure you would come.’”

Friendship has no fear. It expresses itself in sacrifice. Humanity survives purely because of love for each other.

A Child’s Faith

This is a story told by a man, and is highly thought-provoking. He had been on a long flight. The first warning of the approaching problems came when the sign on the airplane flashed on: “Fasten your seat belts.” Then, after a while, a calm voice said, “We shall not be serving the beverages at this time as we are expecting a little turbulence. Please be sure your seat belt is fastened.”

As he looked around the aircraft, it became obvious that many of the passengers were becoming apprehensive. Later, the voice of the announcer said,”We are so sorry that we are unable to serve the meal at this time. The turbulence is still ahead of us.”

And then the storm broke. The ominous cracks of thunder could be heard even above the roar of the engines. Lightening lit up the darkening skies, and within moments that great plane was like a cork tossed around on a celestial ocean. One moment the airplane was lifted on terrific currents of air; the next, it dropped as if it were about to crash.

The man confessed that he shared the discomfort and fear of those around him. He said, “As I looked around the plane, I could see that nearly all the passengers were upset and alarmed. Some were praying.

The future seemed ominous and many were wondering if they would make it through the storm. And then, I suddenly saw a girl to whom the storm meant nothing. She had tucked her feet beneath her as she sat on her seat and was reading a book.

Everything within her small world was calm and orderly. Sometimes she closed her eyes, then she would read again; then she would straighten her legs, but worry and fear were not in her world. When the plane was being buffeted by the terrible storm, when it lurched this way and that, as it rose and fell with frightening severity, when all the adults were scared half to death, that marvellous child was completely composed and unafraid.”

The man could hardly believe his eyes. It was not surprising therefore, that when the plane finally reached its destination and all the passengers were hurrying to disembark, he lingered to speak to the girl whom he had watched for such a long time.

Having commented about the storm and behaviour of the plane, he asked why she had not been afraid.

The sweet child replied, “Sir, my Dad is the pilot, and he is taking me home.”

Napoleon Hill’s Greatest Speech

Good days can actually be created.

In my book, “Yes Yes Living In A No No World,” I tell about attending an awards banquet of the Chase National Life Insurance Company. The speaker was the famed author of Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill.

When Hill was introduced it was obvious his age had caught up with him. We all wondered if the octogenarian would be physically be able to give the speech. (He passed away not long after this event).

Napoleon Hill slowly walked to the podium, placed both of his hands on the sides of it, looked out at the audience and announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, I have given this speech hundreds and hundreds of times in my life. But tonight am going to deliver it the best it has ever been given. This is going to be the best speech of my life!”

Wow! It was like a bolt of lightning. I watched 300 adults move to the edge of their chairs and absorb every word like a sponge.

He set a course of action that did not allow for failure. You can do it too!

Giving Up Too Soon

A man meets a wise man on the road. The man asks the wise man, “Which way is success?”

The wise man speaks not but points to a place off in the distance.

The man, thrilled by the prospect of quick and easy success, rushes off in the appropriate direction. Suddenly, there comes a loud “Splat!!!”

Eventually, the man limps back, tattered and stunned, assuming he must have misinterpreted the message. He repeats his question to the wise man, who again points silently in the same direction.

The man obediently walks off once more. This time the splat is deafening, and when the man crawls back, he is bloody, broken, tattered, and irate. “I asked you which way is success,” he screams at the wise man. “I followed the direction you indicated. And all I got was splatted! No more of this pointing! Talk!”

Only then does the wise man speak, and what he says is this: “Success is that way. Just a little after the splat.”

Don’t Give Up

Walt Disney was turned down 302 times before he got financing for his dream of creating the “Happiest Place on Earth”. Today, due to his persistence, millions of people have shared ‘the joy of Disney’. Colonel Sanders spent two years driving across the United States looking for restaurants to buy his chicken recipe. He was turned down 1,009 times! How successful is Kentucky Fried Chicken today?

Having said this, keep in mind that you must constantly reevaluate your circumstances and the approach you are using to reach your goal. There is no sense in being persistent at something that you are doing incorrectly! Sometimes you have to modify your approach along the way. Every time you do something you learn from it, and therefore find a better way to do it the next time.