D is for Dinosaur

There is so much to be learned from kindergarten. It’s an amazing year of growth and independence; the importance of a power nap; the brain-boosting potential of snacks/lunch and recess; and the highlight of the week -- Show and Tell!

Nearly all of Stephen Covey’s Seven Habits are put into practice in the first official year of school for kids across America.

·      Be proactive – You have to raise your hand if you want to get a special job for the day.

·      Begin with the end in mind – Learn to write A, then B, and soon you will know the alphabet -- and be able to write words!

·      First things first – Finish coloring before you go to recess.

·      Think win/win – If you help clean up, storytime lasts longer.

·      Seek first to understand, then be understood – Listen before you speak.

·      Synergize – Flashcards and partners go together like pb&j.

·      Sharpen the saw – Naps (enough said)

But, back to Show and Tell. It is the seriously classic (if a little simplistic) example of an excellent technique to help someone learn something new. People remember in pictures, not in words.

So, when your 5-year-old self, stands in front of the class and says, "D is for dinosaur" and tells your dinosaur story, and sees the written word.  Your brain makes the association of the word, the picture and the letter D; helping you to remember all of it.

Likewise, your 40-year-old self will remember how to communicate effectively if you can see three Ts at the points of a triangle. (Tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, tell them what you told them.) And then to tattoo the memory further, you get to practice those three with a coach (teacher).

Or, when you need to handle a difficult conversation, and you can picture in your head, the talking stick and the listening ear, being passed back and forth. It’s very much like taking turns with your classmates showing your toy and telling your story, when you were just 5.

Have Pants, Will Travel

Plenty of brides and grooms have probably had nightmares about forgetting something for their big day. But how many actually forget their pants?

If you haven’t heard the story yet, a man from Minnesota had the last fitting for his wedding clothes on Saturday, near Minneapolis. Then, with his jacket, vest, tie, shirt, shoes and belt in tow, he hopped on a plane for his destination wedding in Costa Rica, scheduled for Monday afternoon. Unbeknownst to him...

his pants were left behind.

We often say customer service is all about putting yourself in the shoes of your customer to get their perspective. Well, the clothier did that and more. He did something totally unexpected. He had his 32-year-old daughter, hand-deliver those very special pants right to the resort where the bride and groom were to be married.

Customer service thrives when businesses recognize what the customer wants and needs, and in this case, the customer needed his pants.  The $500 pants were in the hands of the groom, almost before he knew they were missing. It was an unexpected gesture, likely to never be forgotten. 

The bride and groom were reportedly “speechless” and the daughter of Judd Frost, Jessie, who actually made the pants delivery, said, “I feel like I am carrying treasure through the jungle.”

Treasure for customers, now that is something unexpected!

How to Do What Hasn't Been Done

The 2014 Winter Olympic Games are just days away. 

 

Close your eyes for a moment and imagine these more than 2500 athletes from 80 nations, and the endless, bone-wearying hours of practice, training and no-doubt pure pain endured in preparation for the Olympic Games.

 

Think of their incredible execution at every trial and competition leading up to Sochi, and the unbelievable, unwavering, inspirational persistence and patience they demonstrate as they compete in 98 different events.

 

We are smack dab in the middle of what could be called P.E.P.P. week. Every competitor vying for a medal follows the P.E.P.P. formula: Preparation, Execution, Persistence and Patience.

 

So many Olympic athletes have overcome so many odds: injuries, illness, less –than-ideal training facilities, financial burdens and training schedules most of us would never consider. They are the epitome of cliché phrases about inspiration and hope. But, because of their stories, and what they have accomplished, we can see that hard work pays off in accomplishing things that may have never been done before.

• US Olympians Shani Davis, a speed skater, and Shaun White, a snowboarder, could win their third straight Olympic gold medals!
• Three sisters from Canada, Justine (19), Chloe (22) and Maxime Dufour-Lapointe (24) are all competing for Team Canada in moguls in Sochi. If they all win medals, they would be the first trio of sisters to sweep a podium!
  
• The United States has never won a gold medal in cross-country skiing, but 2013 world champion Kikkan Randall could pull it off in Sochi!
• And, in an unheard-of sacrifice, American biathlete Tracy Barnes gave up her spot on the Olympic team so that her twin sister Lanny, who was too ill to compete at the Olympic trials, could go to Sochi. In her third Olympics, Lanny will be leading the largest Olympic biathlete team in American history.

Whatever your goals, approach them like an Olympic athlete – prepare, follow through, keep trying and know that rewards may not be around the first turn, but rather, somewhere down the trail.

 

 

For more on P.E.P.P., get a free copy of our e-book

 

 

“I am building a fire and everyday I train, I add more fuel, and at just the right moment, I light the match.” -- Mia Hamm