One thing that really drives me up the wall from anybody is the lack of… grammar.  I will bet you that if I hear someone abusing the language, it drives me more up the wall than if I have a major issue at work.  I guess this is part of my upbringing and mostly I think it is part of my obsessive nature and compulsive family history.  For those that know me well, you know we are not all there.

But that is okay, believe me I do not mind.  On the contrary, I think that sometimes the hard hands that life deals you can be converted into positives if you recognize them on time.  I particularly always saw that I was very much always trying to turn in everything in order and was always looking for mistakes in my work and all others’ work. I was even accused of looking only for errors on many occasions.  Maybe they were right and I was only looking at the bad side of things or at the little blemish instead of pointing out all the good things the work I was given had.

With time, I learned that there were better ways to point out mistakes and that people were not necessarily happy, like I was, when I found my errors.  People had put a lot of effort and pride to their work and I just threw it in their face with negatives instead of compliments.  This was not smart and certainly not signs of a good leader.  With time I caught on that even if they know that you are going to catch something you phrase it differently and you do it positively.  Not everyone shares our little obsessions.

I was told that I could never change and I thought not while I am looking to improve my work, but I was wrong and on the contrary, sometimes your work improves more if those little things are let go because people are much happier with their jobs and the space after a period is not a deal -breaker nor will it kill anyone.  Sometimes you have to learn on how to let it slide, not for mediocrity but for happiness of others who do not share your quirks.

If you thought you would never hear this from me, I guess I just surprised you and I am glad I did, because I am happier this way, and I think everyone that works with me is happier as well.

PS.  I am not sure this applies to my kids’ school work, but it is a start and a break for all others!

Keep Calm and Stay Humble…

You know that feeling that you get when you think everything is OK, but you kinda feel  that it is too good to be true?   That is us right now.  Things are moving along and we are motivated.  We just came off a record month in sales and collections, paid off 80% of the company debt and gained some new accounts.  We did lose a valuable member of the team and were saddened by his choice, but we understand him and support him in his decision.

So, going back to this feeling, I think that it is that inadequacy of being calm that is really bothering me.  I know we still have a long way to go to accomplish anything.  We are probably at a rate of 2% of where I see us being in the future.  That means I see our business growing 50 times in the next 5 years.  That is hard but it is not impossible.  At my former company, I used to run the numbers from our first month every once in a while and when I left I could say we had grown it over 100 times in 13 years.

But tough times are coming, I do not know when, but I expect them and I actually want them here.  This way I am always alert and active in making sure we are not too comfortable.  I need to make sure we continue growing and getting into tough situations constantly.  I want to get those calls that tells us we have issues and that we need to resolve them.  These are the calls that give us headaches but also show our customers that we are available and more than willing and capable of resolving their issues.  That is where we excel at – service and problem solving!

So, as tough times come, I tell you one thing – bring them on! I can’t wait to be in trouble…

Keep Calm and Stay Humble…

In loving memory of Jayden Rios who brought joy and happiness to all.

A beautiful 8-year-old who left us too early and is now with God.