With our older daughter Haley taking Business at the University of Windsor and our younger daughter Syd going to Grade 10, one tends to reflect on lessons we learned in our youth.
It's always interesting to note how similar and yet how different they can be. Discipline is one of those lessons you learn to stay ahead of the game. Both treated homework differently - one never had homework while the other one always seemed to have homework, even when she was taught the same teacher! I found myself always doing homework first and then taking off for the rest of the afternoon/early evening doing what I wanted to do.
Going to University is a big step and I had the best of both worlds. I lived in Residence during the week and went home on the weekends. The bonus with this plan was all the good home cooked meals! I also worked on the weekends as a bar-tender. This gave me a good balance in taking on more responsibilities, earning some money and enjoying some leisure time.
Whenever Residence was too distracting, you always had three choices: stay in your room and fight off the temptations to join the others, leave and go to the library or join the others. The best lesson learned was sticking to finishing the homework first and ahead of time to participate in other things we wanted to do. This made it easy when selecting one of the three choices and enjoyed choosing each one of them when appropriate for me.
Many students pulled all-nighters to study. I tried that once only to learn you end up with information overload and end up very tired the next day making it challenging to focus on writing the. Others were experts at it, however, for me it was a better pace to schedule studying over a period of time.
Attending classes was also a challenge for some. I preferred the morning classes and always took one class from 4-7 which helped start the "weekend" earlier. Pub night was Thursday night and most semesters we had no classes on Friday. Home on the weekend to work and back at it again on Monday morning. The real tough part for some were those Friday morning accounting labs! Happy to say I made it to almost every one of them.
One regret of all those years of school was never participating in any extra-curricular activities or joining a club. It was go to class, do homework, work and find leisure time. Today, I have interacted with many College and University students and find most are involved in some club or group or building their own company.
I am embracing and looking forward to what our future generation brings. Those that know me already see how proud I am of both my daughters. Looking forward to going back to University in September even if thru my daughter's eyes.
Connecting professionals to share stories of making new business relationships and creating opportunities.
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
What ever happened to customer service?
This week's blog is by an anonymous Guest Blogger who sent in their thoughts on customer service.
Whatever happened to customer service?
I always thought it was common sense, apparently not! Is it too much to ask that someone be present when they are checking you out at a store or acknowledge your presence in a doctors office? Just look up, make eye contact, give a small smile. I know you're busy I'm just trying to let you know I'm here.
Your actions speak volumes.
As an employer this is unacceptable behavior. My employees are a reflection of me and my business. Many times they are the first person that a customer sees....and you know what they say about first impressions.
Every single person that walks through your front doors should be treated as if they are the most important person there...because really, they are. They keep you in business, they pay your wages and their referrals bring in new customers. We all have the basic need to be seen and heard.
It's my job to make sure that every employee understands this and is trained properly. I get a thrill when I see a returning customer and am so happy when they bring or refer a friend. By returning to you they are saying so much... I believe in you, I trust you, you're doing a good job.
What are people saying when they walk out of your place of business?
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Building the WindsorEssex Circle
It's been over 5 years since we built the WindsorEssex Circle networking group. Thanks to our co-founder Joe DiGiorgio for inspiring this networking
idea.
How the Circle started
Joe is a "machine" when it comes to business and networking. He was inspirational in his quest to form a networking group to introduce each other to business associates. I added my touch to the format and used LinkedIn to form the WindsorEssex Circle name and to create the group. We sent invitations to those following us to join the group.
Within two days, we had over 40 people in the group and decided to have our first monthly meeting. The agenda was a very simple one and remained true throughout, known as the "successful formula" to connect like-minded people, ask each other to tell their story, create opportunities and friendship.
One of my mandates was to invite those who have never networked before, to teach them how to shake hands, ask the other person their story, tell their own story and to be the host making everyone feel welcomed.
Many tried to change the "successful formula" and I was firm on this issue. We did change things a bit over time, however, the core agenda was adhered to. We held the Circle Speakers series as a pilot project and I enjoyed telling my story when presented the opportunity.
Thanks to Lora Crestan and Margaret Stiers Jacobs for being our initial members and for helping us shape the Circle. There are so many great friends and associates to thank for all their support, promoting the group and attending the events. Thank you to all of you and I am very blessed to have so many like-minded people who care so much.
Our last meeting was on Boblo last week and it was such a beautiful night. If you have not been on Boblo in recent years, it is worth the trip by ferry or with your own boat. Island living right in our back yard!
We have made a lot of friends, connections, had great discussions and created Opportunities for each other. Congrats to all of you!
It's been such an honour to be inspirational in encouraging others to start their own networking groups and watching them succeed. Keep networking and stay in touch via e-mail frank@alphakor.com, twitter @frankabbruzzese and on Facebook.
There are a lot of good stories from the Circle and here is one of my favourites.
A young couple heard about the Circle from a friend and decided to check it out. He was losing his job in a month which was just before Christmas and his wife was due with their first baby in January. I asked their story and encouraged him to submit a resume to AlphaKOR. HR interviewed him and hired him on our Team one day before his baby was born!
Brian thanked me for helping him. I let him know it was all him since he made the choice to attend the Circle that night. Brian's been on our Team for 1.5 years now!
For now this part of my Circle journey is taking a break and stay tuned for more Circles in the future. Thank you everyone for making a difference.
How the Circle started
Joe is a "machine" when it comes to business and networking. He was inspirational in his quest to form a networking group to introduce each other to business associates. I added my touch to the format and used LinkedIn to form the WindsorEssex Circle name and to create the group. We sent invitations to those following us to join the group.
Within two days, we had over 40 people in the group and decided to have our first monthly meeting. The agenda was a very simple one and remained true throughout, known as the "successful formula" to connect like-minded people, ask each other to tell their story, create opportunities and friendship.
One of my mandates was to invite those who have never networked before, to teach them how to shake hands, ask the other person their story, tell their own story and to be the host making everyone feel welcomed.
Many tried to change the "successful formula" and I was firm on this issue. We did change things a bit over time, however, the core agenda was adhered to. We held the Circle Speakers series as a pilot project and I enjoyed telling my story when presented the opportunity.
Thanks to Lora Crestan and Margaret Stiers Jacobs for being our initial members and for helping us shape the Circle. There are so many great friends and associates to thank for all their support, promoting the group and attending the events. Thank you to all of you and I am very blessed to have so many like-minded people who care so much.
Our last meeting was on Boblo last week and it was such a beautiful night. If you have not been on Boblo in recent years, it is worth the trip by ferry or with your own boat. Island living right in our back yard!
We have made a lot of friends, connections, had great discussions and created Opportunities for each other. Congrats to all of you!
It's been such an honour to be inspirational in encouraging others to start their own networking groups and watching them succeed. Keep networking and stay in touch via e-mail frank@alphakor.com, twitter @frankabbruzzese and on Facebook.
There are a lot of good stories from the Circle and here is one of my favourites.
A young couple heard about the Circle from a friend and decided to check it out. He was losing his job in a month which was just before Christmas and his wife was due with their first baby in January. I asked their story and encouraged him to submit a resume to AlphaKOR. HR interviewed him and hired him on our Team one day before his baby was born!
Brian thanked me for helping him. I let him know it was all him since he made the choice to attend the Circle that night. Brian's been on our Team for 1.5 years now!
For now this part of my Circle journey is taking a break and stay tuned for more Circles in the future. Thank you everyone for making a difference.
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Traits of Great Decision Makers
The top three traits of great decision makers are: Know Yourself, Always asking the Right Questions and Trust Your Instinct.
1. Know Yourself
From time to time great decision makers perform a self-evaluation to determine what their strengths, weaknesses and biases are.
To be make great decisions, you need to know yourself first to be certain you are confident in making the correct choice.
When you do not know yourself well enough, you tend to make more incorrect decisions. Invest some time in understanding who you are, what you stand for and what your core values are. Once you have achieved this understanding, you will make your decisions with confidence.
2. Asking the Right Questions
Sometimes asking questions is the right answer. Asking the right questions is a better answer. It is difficult to take in so much information and not question or validate all of this data.
The challenging part is asking the difficult or specific questions to gain further knowledge will help making great decisions. Be persistent and do not settle until you have al your questions answered with satisfaction.
For some this is a tough task and for those being asked it can be tough as well. As a great decision maker you need to ask all the right questions to make a sound decision.
3. Trust Your Instinct
Go with your first gut instinct. Yes sometimes we are wrong and sometimes we second-guess ourselves. For most of the time, our instinct is the right one.
When it feels right or when it does not feel right, you will know. This natural ability will steer you into the correct course of action when seeking an answer. Great decision makers trust their instinct.
Inspired by: http://www.forbes.com/sites/centurylink/2015/05/29/gut-vs-data-4-traits-of-great-decision-makers/?utm_campaign=ForbesTech&utm_source=TWITTER&utm_medium=social&utm_channel=BrandVoice&linkId=14598261
1. Know Yourself
From time to time great decision makers perform a self-evaluation to determine what their strengths, weaknesses and biases are.
To be make great decisions, you need to know yourself first to be certain you are confident in making the correct choice.
When you do not know yourself well enough, you tend to make more incorrect decisions. Invest some time in understanding who you are, what you stand for and what your core values are. Once you have achieved this understanding, you will make your decisions with confidence.
2. Asking the Right Questions
Sometimes asking questions is the right answer. Asking the right questions is a better answer. It is difficult to take in so much information and not question or validate all of this data.
The challenging part is asking the difficult or specific questions to gain further knowledge will help making great decisions. Be persistent and do not settle until you have al your questions answered with satisfaction.
For some this is a tough task and for those being asked it can be tough as well. As a great decision maker you need to ask all the right questions to make a sound decision.
3. Trust Your Instinct
Go with your first gut instinct. Yes sometimes we are wrong and sometimes we second-guess ourselves. For most of the time, our instinct is the right one.
When it feels right or when it does not feel right, you will know. This natural ability will steer you into the correct course of action when seeking an answer. Great decision makers trust their instinct.
Inspired by: http://www.forbes.com/sites/centurylink/2015/05/29/gut-vs-data-4-traits-of-great-decision-makers/?utm_campaign=ForbesTech&utm_source=TWITTER&utm_medium=social&utm_channel=BrandVoice&linkId=14598261
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