Tide Change

Hi Everyone,

To all my wonderful followers, though not many, still you are truly great and inspirational to me.
Over the last few months there have been changes in my career.The thought of “Do the right thing” has taken precedence that made the this phenomenal change in my perspective. My thanks to Mr. Brad Ferguson from the land down under.

Coming from a printing background in various management positions and running Arnold Group for the past almost 15 yrs, I have set my mind on a different calling if you will.

I apologize for not writing as often as I would like, but will do so in a different kind of matter. Not all a manufacturing perspective, but a more down to human-life matters in the future.

So bare with me in this transition, and I thank you all in advance for your faithfulness and support.

Blessing s to all!
Cheers, Jack

Everyone Is Replaceable! Really??

Anyone ever hear that, either directed at you or someone you work/worked with? That’s a nasty thing to say, and very NOT true. Surely anyone who loses his/her job can be replaced with another person, but it still AIN’T you. The talents that only you possess, the temperament, attitude, your nuance is yours and yours alone.

I left a company after a two week notice some years ago, they told me I’ll be easy to replace. I ran a dept. several different machines, and even stepped in as manager for weeks on end while the manager was being hospital treated for cancer.

Several years later they did sell due to financial difficulties (due to their negligence), none on my account. I bumped into one of my colleagues and asked how things were going. He told me they had went into bankruptcy, then finally sold the business. He told me after I left, they had to hire 3 other people. I asked why. No one wanted to do everything you did without compensation. It was either supervise or run a machine.

I may be the exception, because I never liked standing still. I had to do something, make things run better, smoother, in sync. If there’s a better way of doing a process, I’ll find it, write the SOP’s, and bring it to fruition. I would work it out myself first. Then have the dept. run the gamete.

On the other side of things, you have bosses that are self-absorbed, everything revolves around them, or as an elderly friend says, “dissolves around them”.  Humorous and yet true. In time it catches up.

Bad leaders say that because of one or more of these issues:

#1. They’re infatuated with themselves.

                   “It’s my way or the highway!”                          

No matter what you do it’s just not done right. No one does it better! You’ll hear the boss exclaim, “Do I have to do it all myself?” or , “If you want it done right, you just have to do it yourself!” We know fully well he/she can’t (in some cases), and he/she won’t. The project is never the way it should be, he/she would have done it differently. Yeah, right!

#2. They can’t handle that or any situation too big for them too handle.

It’s always someone elses fault, never their own.

I walked into a company, and when questioning the reasons why particular things were done in such and such a way, I got all the pain of heart his people give him. They don’t listen, or pay attention to what they’re told.

#3. They can’t handle the truth when confronted.

“Truth? You can’t handle the truth!”

When I asked what steps did he take to undergo transformation of his dilemma, he gasped, “What? I do everything I can to make this a tight ship!”  I just replied lowly only for him to hear, “Your ship’s sinking.”
You’re, he didn’t like that at all! Let’s face the facts, you’re paying me to fix the problems you’ve created.

#4. Their boss told them that when they get that promotion that this is the way you act towards everyone beneath you.

“You’re above that now!, they’re just…”

It goes something like this: “Look Sam, starting Monday when you walk out of your office onto the floor, just remember you’re not one of them anymore.” Some think that once you graduate to a higher level of success you ‘must be above’ all your peers.

#5. They just don’t know any better.

                       “No one explained to me what I’m to do, I’ll just go with the flow.” 

 They come to work and assume little to no responsibility; not caring about what does and doesn’t get finished. Trying to look busy, just to get through the day, hoping to make it through to the  weekend. As long as they’re not called to the carpet things will go as is.

#6. They didn’t ask for it, they didn’t want it.

“They just dumped it on me, I don’t care what happens!”

It will cost them the job somewhere down the line. Again, they come to work and assume no responsibility; not caring about what does and doesn’t get finished. The boss before was discarded, and now it’s their turn, as if to feel   “NEXT!” So they turn that fear and anguish around and do what I call “Dumping Down”. Passing it down the line to the next.

You are unique, a one of a kind person. The boss may put someone else in your position, but they can’t take your place. Put yourself in a position of being non-replaceable.  Go the extra, do what others turn down. Don’t be arrogant but in humility be joyful, even in adversity. You will rise to the top and make it hard to replace.

   You can come up with some more points not mentioned here, list them in the comment section. Sphere-Logic Business Thinking is getting rid of the box mentality; and giving business real life thought. Working with the home and career sides of living simultaneously. Giving organizational leaders a step up to a fulfilling life. You can reach us at: info@agrpllc.com.

          “Building dreams, teams, and friends for life, not just clients!”

A Matter of Perception

          Co-written by Jack Arnold, CC & Pres. of Arnold Group, LLC & Bill Gibbs, Printing Specialist Consultant

   

   Perceive: V : to observe/ understand. Perception : N : judgement, understanding, discernment, and/or insight. These are Webster’s definition, notice the first (observe); this word is to keep an eye on, to watch intently with keen understanding. To gain insight is to view things from differing points, whether they be from self evaluations, or from a group dialog. This is the reason for staff meetings; to bring out the best antidote for the situation(s) that arise. This moon

looks like it is touching the earth, but the reality is it’s 252,088 miles away.

   Say   we were to meet at the beach for lunch, and I would bring lunch and you would bring the drinks. We agree that 1:00 is a good time. So here we are at the beach, you pull out a couple cold soft drinks and I pull out a can of sardines and a jar of Vienna sausages.

    Nothing  was said of the meal we just had until we finished I asked, “What did you think of lunch?” Thoughts are now going through your mind ‘jarred sausage and canned sardines, yummy, good thing I brought the drinks!’,  but you don’t out of politeness (assuming), you might say something like this. “Well that was different, not quite expected.” So I ask prying a little bit deeper into what had happened with our meal. You probably would answer something like this. “Well we had

sardines and sausages with a good soda on the beach in the sand.” You would be absolutely right.

On  the other hand I return with a different point of view on the same thing, I say, ” We just had surf and turf at the beach front with an ocean view.” This would also be correct. Your perception of how you view life is important. “The glass is half full vs. half empty, it’s very dark in the room vs. there’s a little light.”

Just a note here, don’t bring that to your next luncheon.

  It’s  not always what we see, but how we see it. The point of view taken can change how everything in your life, thru your eyes, is dictated in your mind, and ultimately thru your action/reaction. Someone may say something to you, and you take offense, hours later, you’re still stewing over the comment, but the reality is they may have not meant it at all the way you perceived it. That’s not always the case, there are times they actually did mean it…unfortunately.

   Let’s  stay with the positive side. Let’s say your boss asks you to do a particular job that isn’t in ‘your sphere‘. You think he’s trying to pull one over on you, maybe he trusts you, or he just might be honing you for better things to come. Either way, you will be a better person for it. When taken to the crossroads, always look both ways. Try to find every angle you can to perceive thru others lenses, not just one.

It’s amazing what can happen when everyone’s perceived ideas at a business meeting can change with thought out questions, bringing preconceived ideas to an end and increasing clear unified perception for all.

This thought on perception is from our Sphere-Logic Business Thinking. To find out more about  Arnold Group  and how we can help you grow your business, click on the link or email us at:  info@agrpllc.com 

Cat’s In The Cradle

 

And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin’ home dad?
I don’t know when, but we’ll get together then son
You know we’ll have a good time then  chorus

                                      The Artist: Harry Chapin

Anyone remember the song? For those who don’t, it’s about a dad who doesn’t make the time to be in his child’s life. Always making promises, whether to play catch, go to a game, or just watch TV together, dad just doesn’t take that time. Meanwhile the child grows up and the dad grows old. Now he wants time with his son, but the son has the same reaction dad did all those years, and the cycle repeats. He makes promises

unkempt.

 

And he was talkin’ ‘fore I knew it, and as he grew
He’d say “I’m gonna be like you dad
You know I’m gonna be like you”

  Last three lines of first stanza 

 

We do the same in and with our families, our business, our careers. We forget the small things. Like the saying , “We eat to live, not live to eat.” Our careers or business feed our families, but they should not run your life. Family comes first, then the rest should and will fall into place.

I’ve seen all too many times a career change, or a business start-up fail, and come home to a house with no one there. I get a call only to hear, “Where did I go wrong?”

  Our priorities MUST be in place. For instance mine are as such: God, family, friends, career, in that order.

On the other hand, I deal with clients whose businesses are blossoming. They call with the regret our meeting is postponed to a later date, they forgot a sons little league game, a daughters dance recital, and change the date and all is well. I understand that family comes first, the meeting we had reset was not life threatening and can wait.

“And as I hung up the phone it occurred to me
He’d grown up just like me
My boy was just like me “

True success is when your priorities are in place, you have confidence in yourself, family, employees, etc. Yes, we should take our careers seriously, BUT we must take family and life more so.

I never heard anyone say late in life or near its end, “I wish I’d spent more time at work, or I hope that self portrait fits in my coffin, I want it with me!” No, I hear, “I wish I spent more time with my spouse, my kids, my family, and friends.”

Sphere-Logic Business Thinking takes the whole of life and starts with what matters most in life. Living life to the full with what we’re giving.

Say to that mountain

 

Say to that mountain “Be cast into the sea, and it will be removed into the sea!” Everyone in Christiandom knows that phrase. Did you ever consider the ramifications of those words, and how they would in turn affect and effect the outcome? Everything comes with a reaction (as ripples on the sea) from the original action.

What may seem good in your eyes may not be good for someone else. Just because it works for you doesn’t mean its working. Are the affects long lasting or are they infecting others around you? Processes have to work 1. for your good, and 2. for the good of the organization in whole. They are built on now term, short term, and long term. Can your processes endure the test of time?

The mindset of your business is like that; things that were done 10, 20 years ago affect, effect, and even infect us in the here and now. We all have heard it, “The only thing that doesn’t change is that everything changes!” It’s true, everything in this life is constantly changing and on the move, preferably forward. So when you think of what it is you’re doing, can you ascertain its outcome in the future?

There are organizations that are sinking into the ocean of confusion and shutting their doors; while wondering what happened to their dream; the negatives built a mountain of regret they feel they just can’t conquer. While on the other  hand, there are organizations that speak to their mountain and climb and conquer it.

  Here’s an example: (short version)
Company X built its business on great customer service. It grew exponentially! As it grew, of course it hired more associates, losing much of its clarity of vision and purpose. This is the mountain building process. Speaking to the mountain is recognition of the problem, and as in practice tools you go thru a DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, initiate, control) process. That is, your speaking to the Mt. So company X realized they situation and started a PPP program to bring them out from valley to an oasis of a 300% increase customers over a 12 month season.

Foot note here: DMAIC could be DMAICC (add the process ‘confine’) You must confine the problem before going on. DMAIC goes on in continuous sphere, as you recognize x, it must be confined and repaired at that moment.

Some companies don’t realize their Mt. is crushing their business, and they go around and around, never climbing or speaking, but building a trench just getting deeper in the pit. They are so close to the situation, its invisible to their sight, when it does come them from outside it can go one of two ways, 1. they take it to heart (as a threat in some way), and 2. they listen, realize the problem then start working on the remedy. Make the Mt. work for you!

How do you deal with your mountain? Don’t hesitate to speak to it and bring it to captivity.

Great Leaders and Leadership

Get out of the fox hole!

Don’t take others for granted
  Expecting from others what you can’t do yourself, stepping on feet to get to the finish line, taking credit for what doesn’t belong to you, and ending here with an “I’m better than you” attitude is not the making of any kind of leader, no matter what! Taking people for granted is a cheap way to the top and a fast fall when you least expect it. That’s not proper leadership etiquette.
A great leader asks, “What’s required of me? How can I make things better?”, not the other way around. Giving your employees and/or team all the tools they need to succeed is a sing of a successful leader.

It’s not what you do, it’s who you are                 

  You can do and say a lot of things, but ultimately when it’s all said and done the real you will pop his/her head. Words come from the mouth, but truth comes from the heart. It’s not every word people hear you say, but how you react, receive, and listen them. Actions are much louder than mere words. Your body language alone tells someone what you think of them. The point, always be yourself, not what others think you should be.

Don’t always make prognostic decisions
Great leaders brake the rule zone, they don’t follow, they lead. Great leaders don’t follow in the tracks of what was, they create and mandate new beginnings. Prognostics go back to what happened time after time in the past, sure history has it’s place and we can and do learn from it, but it doesn’t mold our future. Methods change, ideas are altered, innovation is fresh and anew; so leave prognosis in the past.
  Notice: If you want change, stop doing the same thing. Change it!

Get out of the fox hole! 
If you lead from behind, you’re in a foxhole. Such as when you’re behind your desk, or in another section other than where your team is.

If you lead from the middle, you’re in a foxhole. Such as when you blend in with your team. You don’t make the final judgement calls when needed. You take equal blame, and all the credit.

If you lead from the front, (you got it!) you’re out of the foxhole leading the team to victory! You give the credits to the team, you take the heat when things go awry. You disciple (teach) your team, and give them everything needed for the process(es). You have compassion for everyone
(sometimes its tough love), but give no pity (feel sorry but not helping).
Perspectives change once you’re out of the foxhole, vision is clear, you should become innovative in thinking, you’re not as other leaders. Motives become WE not me!

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info@agrpllc.com

What Is “PPP”?

 

 

PPP or Progressive Production Planning is something to look into only if you want great production increase from the manufacturing floor. It’s part of the Sphere-Logic Business System.

Basically in a nutshell, it’s a radical method to get peak performance from employees, without slaughtering anyone. LOL! Hear are a few questions to ask yourself:
1. Is your company losing $$$?
2. Is too much scrap (waste) hitting your ROI, and not enough good parts being shipped?
3. You have good employees, but why aren’t the parts going out on time?
Some other questions that can be asked:

• Do your payroll costs frequently exceed budget expectations?
• Do your competitors consistently under quote you?
• Do you have variances that you can’t explain?
• Is your per-employee net income below industry average?
• Is teamwork missing from the production floor?
• Is team leadership lacking?

This creates the dilemma of lateness on your part, frustration on yours and your clients part. Late billing brings late payment. These seeming small things can cost the contract over time, which could be detrimental down the line. When you connect with PPP you make and save money. You make money when employees production levels are higher and more efficient; save money by producing less scrap and waste materiel.

**Would you like to change that to your favor?

With our PPP, we can hone in on specific areas and quarantine their symptoms and place them back on track. Our statistics show that those companies that use our “PPP” program have an increase in positive production rate (PPR)of 50% more per employee than those who don’t. It keeps you in charge, and at the same time gives your employees ownership and accountability for their respective positions.; whether a supervisor, press-person, or janitor.

For information on how you can start making and saving $$$ click here. To email us with your questions: info@agrpllc.com

on yours and your clients part. Late billing brings late payment. These seeming small things can cost the contract over time, which could be detrimental down the line. When you connect with PPP you make and save money. You make money when employees production levels are higher and more efficient; save money by producing less scrap and waste materiel.
 
**Would you like to change that to your favor?

With our PPP, we can hone in on specific areas and quarantine their symptoms and place them back on track. Our statistics show that those companies that use our “PPP” program have an increase in positive production rate (PPR)of 50% more per employee than those who don’t. It keeps you in charge, and at the same time gives your employees ownership and accountability for their respective positions.; whether a supervisor, press-person, or janitor.

For information on how you can start making and saving $$$ click here. To email us with your questions: info@agrpllc.com

Sphere-logic verses Box-logic

Sphere-logic verses Box-logic.

Innovator, or drudgonator!?

You  say you want to make changes in your life, or the way you do business. The one and only problem is that you start your day off on the same foot, drudging the same path. Wouldn’t you like to make that bold, daring, even courageous step forward in a new path? Surely the job can be the same, or not, but the perception will change the outcome.

   Drudginators  don’t make things happen till things happen to them; and then it is because of force. Drudginators procrastinate, drag their feet, but most of all they DO NOT LIKE CHANGE. Watch a drudginator at work or anywhere for that matter the routine is very basic, you can pretty much know their day as well as they. You can say they’ve become slaves in a dungeon of self-mediocrity.

  Innovators  make change in the things around them. They don’t wait for change, they are that change! The Wright brothers didn’t wait for someone else to build an aeroplane, they did it themselves. Ben Franklin wanted to know more about the harnessing of the lightning bolt for electricity. Thomas Edison learned over a thousand different ways not to make a light-bulb. The list goes on, and you can add yourself to it, if you get innovated and motivated.

Several  things will have to happen. Motivation, willingness, eagerness, and number one is getting the first foot on the floor. They all start in small steps; at the same time they all move together. Liz Ryan, CEO of Human Work Place says it this way, “Getting your mojo on!” You have to dig your feet down and get serious about who you are and where you want to be.

 You’ll  never make it to the peak if you don’t start climbing.  Don’t be a grudginator, be an innovator, step out of the box, in fact throw the box away and come into what I call Sphere-Logical thinking. This brings you to a new way of inspiration to achieve your aspirations.

“I don’t want to be in the bullpen…”

   “I don’t want to be in the bullpen, I want to be an All-Star!”  Joseph Andreozzi said that at a Proverbs group meeting one Monday evening. That phrase stuck in my head, I couldn’t shake it then and I can’t forget it now.

    He  went on to say that just sitting and waiting for something to happen or for someone else to start it was just out of the question. Joe wanted to be in the ‘GAME’! I pondered the thought from different points of view, and though life is not a game, I don’t want to be on the side-line watching as life passes me by, I want to be in the game giving it my all.

  Did  you ever notice the player that gets injured, he’s sitting on the side with an icepack  on his knee or whatever; mentally he’s still in the game, cheering, rooting for his team, very much a part of the game. Even worse, to be in the penalty box. Most of time they are waiting for the OK to, “Get back in the game!”

 You  may have gotten knocked down, or bruised during the game, but that doesn’t mean you quit. You’re at the side-line, you keep cheering your team till you’re able to get back in the play. Everyone has their part to play till the final bell rings.

  You’ve  practiced or studied courses for weeks, months, and even years to get to this point in time. Whether you’re a professional sports person or in a manufacturing facility being the CEO or the janitor, whether a teacher or student. don’t be left on the side line get in the game. 

  No  matter what the score at the end of the game (preferably in your favor), if you gave it your all, your a winner. We all get one day at a time to give each one our best shot; don’t miss the opportunity to do as Joe does everyday…Shoot to be an all-star!