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