Acknowledging and Honoring Our Veterans
Veterans Day occurs on November 11th every year in the United States in honor of the “eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month” of 1918 that signaled the end of World War I. In 1938, November 11th became a national holiday. Veterans Day pays tribute to all American veterans and gives recognition…
The Importance of Leading with Values
On Halloween Day, the Snoqualmie and Muckleshoot Indian Tribes announced an historic agreement to transfer ownership of the Salish Lodge & Spa, as well as the land surrounding Snoqualmie Falls, to the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe. The total purchase encompasses approximately 45 acres of land in the Snoqualmie Tribe’s traditional territory and permanently stopped the development…
How to Effectively Hire Optimistic People and Why it Matters
If personal attitude influences individual behavior, then collective behavior influences company culture. The precedent activator is attitude and all things being equal, having a company team comprised of employees with an optimistic attitude will have a competitive advantage over a team with employees carrying a pessimistic attitude 100% of the time. This was an #ObviousYetNotAlwaysImplemented…
Did You Know Employees VOTE Everyday
Every YEAR around this time, absentee ballots get mailed and voters have an opportunity to either re-elect an incumbant (who they like) or choose instead to vote for their opponent (who they like better.) While the process gets messy in some cases, the system (one person one vote) works well. Every DAY in companies of…
Teach Employees to Treat Your Money as if it Was Theirs
Have you ever noticed how company problems typically result in a negative cash flow drain and wonder how to STOP it? Materials cost overruns benefit suppliers, labor overruns translate into higher paychecks for employees and it is the employer who ends up paying the bill… But… it doesn’t always have to be this way… To…
When Your Community Cares
Last Saturday, the Love Snoqualmie Valley (LSV) movement was launched; when 750 volunteers from North Bend, Snoqualmie, Fall City, Preston and Carnation came together and served our community in a variety of ways. The question asked by the LSV leadership was, “What would it look like if we all came together to help one another?…
Being Exceptional is an Effective Business Strategy
“Your smile is your logo, your personality is your business card, how you leave others feeling after having an experience with you becomes your trademark.” Jay Danzie How do employees show up for work each day and how do they make your clients feel? Employees that bring a genuine smile, warm personality along with an…
Effective Teams Take Leaps of Faith
Climbing a 30 foot pole and then standing on top of an 8” diameter footing is intimidating. Jumping outstretched to reach a trapeze bar takes a leap of faith. Doing all of this without a net below requires trusting your teammates who choose to control (or not) the safety lines. All twelve people on our…
Choosing the Easy Way or the Hard Way
Last week, Carrie and I went on a bike ride to celebrate our 27th wedding anniversary. After our son Alex dropped us off at Hyak Trailhead on the Iron Horse State Park trail, we turned on our headlamps and rode through the 2 mile long Snoqualmie Tunnel, then proceeded to ride 35 miles on a…
How to Increase Revenue While Decreasing Marketing Expense
Building brand loyalty is a strategic goal companies pursue to earn distinction in the marketplace and eliminate competition by making them irrelevant. Companies who successfully execute on this strategy typically increase annual revenue and profits while simultaneously decrease marketing expense. You might be asking yourself, “Can my company do this too?” The answer is, “Absolutely…