Each Day I come to Work…
On January 9, 2009, a brutally cold day even for January in Wisconsin, the following was e-mailed to me by a fellow team member that will remain anonymous. He is not a store manager, but is a leader within our company and people like him bring us our success. I post this as “news” so you can see the thoughts, efforts, and the soul of our people and our company. TEAM BLUE!
EACH DAY I COME TO WORK NOW I CAN FEEL A DIFFERENT “VIBE” THAN I EVER HAVE BEFORE. AS SLOW AND NEGATIVE AS OUR INDUSTRY AND THE ECONOMY IS RIGHT NOW I CAN ALSO GET THE SENSE OF GREAT EXCITEMENT OF WHAT WILL BE TO COME WHEN THIS ALL TURNS AROUND. I SEE OUR SALESPEOPLE BOTH INSIDE AND OUT WORKING FEVERISHLY TO LAND NEW ACCOUNTS AND HELP TO GROW OUR BUSINESS. I SEE AND HEAR OF NEW CUSTOMERS EVERY DAY. EVENTUALLY WITH ALL OF OUR EXISTING BUSINESS AND HOPEFULLY THE ADDITION OF NEW BUSINESS WE WILL BE ROLLING AT AN UNPRECEDENTED PACE IN THE NEAR FUTURE. THIS GOT ME TO THINKING, WHAT ARE WE AS YARD MEMBERS DOING TO BETTER THE CAUSE AND HELP GROW OUR COMPANY. WE ARE EXPECTING POSSIBLY ONE OF THE SLOWEST WINTERS THAT THIS COMPANY HAS EVER SEEN, BUT WILL WE USE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO BETTER OURSELVES OR WILL WE GO ABOUT OUR DAILY BUSINESS AND JUST COMPLETE OUR “TASKS”. THIS IS MY PERSONAL CHALLENGE TO EACH YARD AND EACH YARD EMPLOYEE INCLUDING MYSELF. MAKE THE COMPANY, EACH YARD,AND YOURSELF BETTER THAN WE EVER HAVE BEFORE. START BY SETTING GOALS; WHAT DO WE WANT TO ACCOMPLISH AS A COMPANY, AS A YARD, AND FOR MYSELF. THEN START TO FIND WAYS TO ACCOMPLISH THOSE GOALS WHETHER IT BE AS A YARD OR PERSONALLY. ARE WE AS GOOD AS WE CAN BE AND AM I AS GOOD AS I CAN OR WANT TO BE. WE HAVE THREE AWESOME YARDS AND A BUNCH OF AWESOME EMPLOYEES , BUT IF WE HANG OUR HATS ON THAT AND SAY WE ARE BETTER THAN EVERYONE ELSE WE WILL NOT CONTINUE TO GET BETTER AND EVENTUALLY IF WE DON’T SOMEONE ELSE WILL. THERE ARE MANY MORE WAYS TO BE MORE EFFICIENT, WE JUST NEED TO FIND THEM. THERE ARE MANY MORE WAYS TO SAVE MONEY, WE JUST NEED TO FIND THEM. ARE WE DOING THE LITTLE THINGS EACH DAY TO MAKE OUR JOBS BETTER, SAFER, AND MORE EFFICIENT. I HOPE EVERYONE TAKES SOME TIME TO REALLY THINK ABOUT THIS AND MAKE A COMMITMENT TO THE COMPANY AND TO THEMSELVES IN THE NEXT YEAR AND IN THE FUTURE. WE NEED TO TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO BE READY TO COME OUT AS LEAN , MEAN, EFFICIENT DELIVERY MACHINES AS POSSIBLE FOR THE FUTURE. I AM EXCITED TO SEE AND HEAR ABOUT ALL THE GREAT TIME AND MONEY SAVING IDEAS THAT WILL NO DOUBT BE FLYING AROUNG IN THE NEAR FUTURE. TAKE PRIDE IN YOURSELF AND YOUR JOB. HAVE A GREAT ’09 AND REMEMBER COMMUNICATE THOSE IDEAS OTHERS.