It's a White Elephant Party at Blue!

Our Holiday party was a true success at Fox and Hound!  Everyone brought a gift from home to be swapped out for another "new" gift.  Some of the representatives got pretty creative in their gifts, which included the entire Wonder Woman DVD collection, a sticker set with matching princess chapstick, and a few VHS workout videos.  Although the point of a White Elephant is to steal presents from others, everyone seemed too excited to see what was behind the gift wrapping to do a lot of trading.

One of our newer additions Rishi, was the first to start the stealing and received an inflatable chair, while the hot ticket item of the night was definitely a furry panda hat that had a flashlight attached on the front.  At the end of the night, everyone was full from the pizza and wings and was ready for their Holidays to start.

 Happy Holidays from Blue!! Have a  happy New Year and stay tuned what this next year will bring!

Game Night at Blue Inc Schaumburg

Friends and Family Night at Blue Inc. this week was Game Night!  Everyone got together to play some really fun games including Spoons, Balderdash, and Catch Phrase.  With 3 different teams competing against each other it made it quite competitive!

By far, Spoons was the most cutthroat game with people closely watching as the cards went around the circle.  At the same time they had to make sure and keep an eye on the spoons in the middle of the table and be ready to grab one as soon as someone got 4 of a kind.
 
The scores remained extremely close between all 3 teams throughout the night.  The final game came down to an intense game of Catch Phrase played by all team members.  With the night coming to an end, the game came down to the last round.  In the end, team 1 was the winner! 

The night was a success with a lot of fun competition!  Special thanks to Murphy and Ashley for organizing and regulating each event!

Check us out next week for our next Friends and Family Night!

Happy Birthday Buttons!

We had a birthday on Thursday at Blue Inc. in Schaumburg! Our very own Scott Sanhamel aka "Buttons" celebrated another year of his life the best way he knew how: bowling and singing karaoke with everyone.  Several of the guys in the office sang karaoke in tribute to Scott's birthday.  Nicole, one of our managers, sang "I had the time of my life" with our Employee Spotlight for the week, Josh Zuby.  Will Wideman, Jay Bennett, and Laderrick Murphy aka "Murphy" did a hilarious rendition of "Poison" by Bell Biv DeVoe, while our very musically  talented Mike Paulson sang some Kings of Leon in honor of Scott's birthday.



In between all of the singing, Murphy taught everyone how to "Dougie" and how to do the "Stanky Leg".  It was a very educational and yet entertaining night!  Stay tuned for next week's Friends and Family Night!

One Thing You Can’t Hide

We obtain skills for living through knowledge. Knowledge is power. There is power in the written word. All leaders are readers. Anyone who remains ignorant has only his or herself to blame. The illiterate person is found in the large bottom layers of the pyramid. At the peak of the pyramid are found the most brilliant people.

Knowledge is a ladder that enables you to climb to the top. A person should begin with his language and then proceed to study his general area of interest. It is our ability to use our language that will determine our place on the social pyramid. Your use of language is the one thing you cannot hide.

Knowledge of the exact meanings of a large number of words accompanies outstanding success. Improve your vocabulary and you will improve your income. When you learn one new word you actually add several of their buddies. An understanding of our language is the key to study, learning and everything else. Language more than anything else determines the extent of our knowledge. The more words we know and can properly use, the more knowledge we have. Acquire books that will enable you to increase your vocabulary and improve your English usage. Reading just fifteen minutes a day will enable you to read one half book a week, two a month, twenty four a year; over one thousand books in fifty years.

A Proper Thanksgiving Send Off

Before we all went off to enjoy the holiday, everyone at Blue Inc. went to hang out at Fox and Hound.  We ordered some food, played some pool and darts, and talked about our holiday plans.  Most were staying in town, while a few of us were traveling to see our families, but we all agreed that we would all be in turkey comas from all that we would eat!

This week's Friends and Family Night was a fun start to the holiday season, just hanging out, enjoying each others company, with the excitement of this favorite holiday. 



Happy Holidays!

Goals Begin Behaviors - Consequences Maintain Behaviors

Goals Begin Behaviors - Consequences Maintain Behaviors

Blue Inc Schaumburg

Thanksgiving is a holiday that brings a perfect time for the families and friends to gather and inspire all of them to give thanks for everything that has been done for their good.

On this day the families gather to share a little time together, to share the Thanksgiving dinner, to reflect on the past and to create sweet memories for the future.

Thanksgiving captures the spirit of this wonderful holiday time when the families sit together and share the thanksgiving stories and thanksgiving tales with each other.

It is the day when families and friends not only get an opportunity to communicate with one another but also have loads of fun with each other.

Happy Thanksgiving,
Blue Inc Schaumburg

Take A Minute:

Look At Your Goals

Look At Your Performance

See If Your Behavior Matches Your Goals

Scavenger Hunt and Karaoke!

Friends and Family night at Blue Inc. this week was a scavenger hunt all around Schaumburg! Everyone got into small teams and was given a list of things to find, perform and take pictures with. The list consisted of taking a team picture with a turkey, the whole team doing karaoke to "Genie in a bottle", and a photo with any team member and a celebrity look-alike.

All of the teams set off in a sprint to find all of the items and take all of the photos in the fastest time. After it was all said and done, the team with the most items on the 16 numbered list was Jake Elsner, Will Wideman, Erin Scego and Josh Zuby, also known as team "don't stop, didn't stop". They completed almost everything on the list (except the bonus, which was to somehow obtain a goldfish).

The night ended with pizza and karaoke at our favorite hangout, Morretti's.

Tune in next week for our next friends and family night!

Trivia Night at Blue!

Last night was a trivia night for our friends and family event here at Blue Inc Schaumburg. Our assistant manager Randy Paddock created the categories and questions, playing MC for the night. The categories included 90's toys, music lyrics from 90's pop songs, movie quotes, general knowledge, and a sports category that had most of the girls and even some of the guys stumped.

The scores were pretty close after the last round of questions however, Randy prepared a final question that was for all of the marbles. He asked us to name the TGIF show line up. It definitely took all of us back to our childhoods scrambling our brains to figure out which shows were when. For those of you who are now racking your brain to come up with the answers, these are the shows according to Randy (I'm still a little bit bitter because I still maintain Sabrina the Teenage Witch was on TGIF): Boy Meets World, Step by Step, Family Matters, Full House, Dinosaurs, and Hanging with Mr.Cooper.

When it came down to it, the team named "Unstoppable" won with 5 out of the 6 shows in the TV lineup. All in all, it was a fun filled night with a little bit of competition--tune in next week for another friends and family night event!

Audacity matters!

All quests worth undertaking—a Girl Scout merit badge or a Nobel Prize—require audacity.

And willpower. (Of course.)

And persistence. (To be sure.)

But, frankly, a persistent misreading of the odds. The odds in 1940 of Charles de Gaulle at the head of a parade liberating Paris in 1944? The odds of Martin Luther King, Jr., emerging from Ebenezer Baptist Church in 1954…then speaking to 400,000 gathered on the Mall in Washington in 1963? The odds of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates humbling IBM, of Sam Walton sneaking out of Bentonville, Arkansas, and throwing the fear of God into the worldʼs premier retailers?

The odds in each case were 100 times greater than the longest shot in horse track history. Yet each actor mentioned above had the sheer audacity to challenge conventional wisdom, accept the lumps upon lumps associated therewith—and persist until victory.

Blue Inc Schaumburg

Charisma

We have all met them haven't we?  Those managers who have had the charisma by-pass operation and don’t even seem to realize it. Charisma is a fundamental characteristic of the successful leader and yet it is tough to learn to be charismatic. There are, however, a number of characteristics of charismatic people that are easy to learn. Master some of these, act like a charismatic person. feel like a charismatic person, be seen as a charismatic person and, almost by accident, you will have become one.

Charismatic people make eye contact. Many who do not make easy eye contact with others find this difficult. Indeed they will look away, or close their own eyes without even realizing they are doing it. If you cannot see the reactions of the pupils of the person you are talking to, as you are talking to them, then you are not making eye contact. If you are uncomfortable doing this with strangers. practice with people you know and trust and move outwards.

Charismatic people greet strangers confidently. Many of us are shy, embarrassed or overawed when meeting people for the first time. You must not appear to be. You must be able to look them in the eye. smile and firmly shake hands (or greet in whatever way is culturally acceptable — kiss, bow, high five, etc). If you find this difficult you might try imagining them naked. It may not help, but it’s almost always good for a laugh. Charismatic people remember others — not only names but also facts about people they have met.

Finally, learn to walk, talk and sit like a charismatic person. find yourself a role model that you can admire as a charismatic person and watch how they walk, talk and sit. Copy them. Ideally choose a role model who doesn’t work too close to you. You don’t want to be seen obviously aping the boss. Before long, if you play the role of a charismatic person, others will see you this way and you may even come to believe it yourself.

Blue Inc Schaumburg

Perception is Paramount

Perception is paramount—without it no plan of yours will work. Change your perception on things by simply having the right attitude; it’s not a simple “I am going to be happy.”

You need to work at this and be committed. Remember a balanced life of personal, business, and healthy living standards with real core values and expectations.

Polish your perception skills each day by being aware of them, and respect the fact that you are using them. Remember, perception, perception, perception, is everything.

Karaoke and Bowling!!

Last night was a definite success at the Poplar Creek Bowling alley and Karaoke lounge. Co-workers Erin Scego and Thad Hughes showed off their rhythmic beats to Nelly's "Air Force Ones", while Krista Baum sang melodically to Colbie Caillat's "Little Things".

The ever competitive and bowling- enthusiast Scott Sanhamel lost a challenge and had to bowl left handed, which much to his dismay left him with a low score. Do not fret though, he bowled another game simultaneously and bowled higher than everyone else there.

The highlight of the night was when everyone got up and started line dancing in the middle of the lounge, encouraging other patrons to join in on the fun! Yet another successful office event.. stay tuned for next week- who knows what we'll do next?!

Succeeded as a Leader

Leadership is about giving a point to the working lives of others. If and when you have done that, you have succeeded as a leader. If you have done that and supported the needs of the business then you are doubly successful. Perhaps that needs some clarification. You can give a point to the working lives of your people that is not directly in support of the business. This could take the form of making work fun or supporting charities through work or any of an infinite number of other ways. This will have an impact on performance, but will not fire or motivate your people so much as a point that is directly about them coming to work. Give them a reason to get up in the morning. Give them a reason to come to work. Give them a reason to say, ‘Yes. This is why I do it!’

Blue Inc Schaumburg

Summary of "The One Minute Manager"

The One Minute Manager is one of the best selling business books of all time. Authors Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson use a parable style story to describe the plight of a young manager who is not having success; however, he hears about a successful manager who is so effective that he has time to spare. The young manager calls him up to find out what he can learn, and the successful One Minute Manager shares with him three secrets to his success. Every manager ought to be familiar with these three gems:

One minute goal setting: All good performance begins with a clear statement of what good behavior looks like, so here is where the One Minute Manager begins. He has his people write out their goals in 250 words or less and focus on good behavior. Then he encourages people to revisit their goals weekly and see how closely their behavior matches the goal.

One minute praisings: One minute praisings are the way that the One Minute Manager catches people doing things right or approximately right. Soon after he observes the behavior, he tells the person what they specifically did right and how it makes him feel. He encourages them to continue their good behavior and then shakes hands to reinforce the positive behavior and how good he feels about it.

One minute reprimands: One minute reprimands are used to correct and redirect behavior. When the One Minute Manager observes someone doing something wrong, he will tell them specifically what they are doing incorrectly. He will also tell them how it makes him feel, and then redirect them back to the one minute goal description of what good behavior looks like. Before ending the conversation, the One Minute Manager will encourage the person to do better by focusing on correcting their behavior in the future and letting them know that they can do it. Then they shake hands so that the One Minute Manager can reinforce the self-worth of the person receiving the reprimand. This puts the focus on the behavior and not the person.

These are simple and easy-to-use basic management skills; however, many managers don't use them. Like any other skill, it takes practice in the beginning. Once you use these skills, then they will become second nature. If you are not using the One Minute Manager's secrets, try them out and see how you can make them work for yourself and your team. If you do them well, you too can become an effective One Minute Manager.

The Blue Inc

Happy Halloween: The story behind Google's 1,000-pound pumpkins

Happy Halloween, says Google in its pumpkin-carving video. Here's the story behind the YouTube doodle and those massive Halloween jack-o'-lanterns.

Happy Halloween, everyone. What better way to celebrate this spooky occasion than with some massive pumpkins? The Google doodle team picked out six enormous gourds for its special video tribute. Just how big are those pumpkins? Some were more than half a ton!

"To celebrate Halloween this year, the doodle team wanted to capture that fascinating transformation that takes place when carving a pumpkin," writes Sophia Foster-Dimino, a Google doodler. "Instead of picking up a few pumpkins from the grocery store, however, we decided to work on six giant pumpkins, specially delivered from nearby Half Moon Bay (some weighing well over 1,000 pounds)."

Google's largest tipped the scales at 1,298 pounds. Even after scooping out the seeds, the team estimates that the walls of the "L" pumpkin were six inches thick.

The team carved them smack-dab in the middle of Google's campus in Mountain View, Calif. The process took eight hours.

Check out the behind-the-scenes video below.

Ms. Foster-Dimino's blog post also reflected on the curious connotations of Halloween.

"When I was a little kid, Halloween seemed like the most grown-up holiday of all," she writes. "For one thrilling night of the year, I got to stay up late trick-or-treating, watch scary movies with my friends, and wield sharp and pointy objects (safety first, of course!) while carving a macabre face into a pumpkin. Now that I'm older, my perspective on Halloween has shifted a bit. It’s now the holiday that most celebrates a childlike sense of wonder and amazement."

While Google has celebrated Halloween with a doodle several years in a row now, this is one of the few video doodles. The search engine used video to great effect in its John Lennon tribute. It also poked a little fun with a video honoring Charlie Chaplin. 

The Blue Inc

Pool, Shuffle board, and the World Series

Co-workers from Blue Inc Schaumburg hung out last evening for some competitive festivities. While watching game 6 of the World Series, they played several rounds of pool and shuffle board. The crowd was pretty split between Cardinals fans and Texans cheerleaders (really because they are Cubs fans and they can't like the Cardinals), only breaking their eyes from the big screen to quickly make their moves. Heckling ensued between the two groups of fans as the game went in to extra innings. Account representatives Bryan Yoder and Mike Paulson showcased their pool skills while Daniel Webster commanded the shuffle board table, putting many to shame. Who knew shuffle board could be so competitive? Excitement rose as the baseball game went to the 11th inning and Freese ended the game, making the Cardinals fans slightly smug and really excited they had another chance to win the World Series.

Stay tuned for next week for another fun filled friends and family night extravaganza! Go Cards!!

Halloween Party!

This year is Blue is hosting it's first ever Halloween Party!  We're going to be having it on Saturday, October 29th.  We love any excuse to have a party.  So far the costumes are sounding pretty inventive.  Stay tuned for more to come...

The Great Pumpkin!

Great fun was had at a friends and family event on Thursday night.  The co-workers of Blue, Inc. Schaumburg held a pumpkin carving contest that displayed everyone's artistic talents.  Their competitive spirits came out full stop seeing who could design the best looking pumpkin- they ranged from the classic spooky ghosts and haunted houses, the more intricate Chucky and Snoop Dogg, and the sporty Bulls, Bears, and UNC logos. 

Tensions mounted as they announced the winner, but it was clear that Account Rep Ashley had won with her clever sick pumpkin! Everyone loved the tilted hat and spewed pumpkin guts that looks slightly like a South Park character...

Stay tuned for our next friends and family event!!!