Last year we gave out copies of the movie Fireproof to all of the married staff members at WingSwept. I’m not sure if it helped anyone, but that wasn’t the point. We wanted to do what we could to make sure that our staff have stability both at work and at home. If we improved even one marriage in the process then it was worth the cost. This year we’ll be doing the same thing as we’ve added a number of staff members since last year. In searching for ways to find the most cost effective way to purchase the movies we found www.dvdbundles.com which sells movies in bulk.
Movies in Bulk?
Saturday 27 Feb 2010 by Jay Strickland |
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Filed under: Uncategorized Tags: DVDBundles.com, Fireproof, WingSwept
Filed under: Uncategorized Tags: DVDBundles.com, Fireproof, WingSwept
Are you adjusting the sails or hoping for the wind to change?
“The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sails.”
– John Maxwell
The Triangle Business Journal is doing a poll right now to capture readers thoughts on “Will 2010 be a better year for you financially than 2009 was?”. I took the survey last night and got the informal (incomplete) results as they existed at that time. Exactly 600 people had responded at that time.
- It will be much better: 18%
- It will be a little better: 30%
- It will be about the same: 18%
- It will be a little worse: 9%
- It will be much worse: 6%
- Not sure: 20%
It’s great to see that roughly half (48% as of yesterday evening when I took the survey) believe that 2010 is going to be a better year for them. My question for those that are in the other 52% is what do you intend to do about it? Do you have the resources to “hunker down” for another year? Even if you do, make sure that’s the best use of those resources. Are you getting to the point of giving up? Did you already make the adjustments in your business that are needed to weather another down year?
At WingSwept we started adjusting the sails in late 2008 for we could feel at that time was going to be a rough economic turn. It’s proved every bit of that and more, but I’m happy to report that we’ll emerge from 2009 very much still above water and sailing towards prosperity for 2010. We’ve managed to hire throughout 2009 and have not been forced to make any cuts to our staff due to the economy.
I’m very proud of our staff for their efforts and most importantly their results for 2009. This year certainly won’t go in the record books for “most profitable”, but it’s certainly the year that I’m “most proud” of our performance! Thank you God!
Did you learn how to sail better this year?
Saturday 19 Dec 2009 by Jay Strickland |
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Filed under: Jay Strickland, Quotes, WingSwept Tags: Jay Strickland, WingSwept
Filed under: Jay Strickland, Quotes, WingSwept Tags: Jay Strickland, WingSwept
“Smooth seas do not make a skillful sailor.”
– African proverb
I believe that this year will make a lot of business owners better for the experience. In order for that to occur you have to have your eyes and mind open to learn the lessons that are before us this year. At WingSweptwe’ve been fortune this year though the economic recession. Through the support of great clients, who manage their own businesses very well, and a dedicated staff we’ve managed to hire through the recession to allow us to develop skills and competencies in areas that we’ll need as the overall economy improves. As we prepare for 2010 we’re already looking to refine our plans for success. Are you doing the same for your business?
What’s your Vision?
“There are those who work all day. Those who dream all day. And those who spend an hour dreaming before setting to work to fulfill those dreams. Go into the third category because there’s virtually no competition.” — Steven J Ross
Is your Attitude Affecting your Altitude?
The following is written by Chuck Swindoll on the subject of attitude. I believe this captures the most critical predictor of success and the most easily changed element to turn away from failure as a foregone conclusion. Is your attitude affecting your altitude?
“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company…a church…a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past…we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude…I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you…we are in charge of our attitudes.”
Light Cycle Delays in NC
For those of you who live in NC have you noticed that getting through intersections that typically have light cycle delays (i.e. having to wait for a second or third green light) is getting worse? Everyone trying to now obey the law and not text while driving is getting their fix while stopped at the traffic lights. I admit that I used my Blackberry too often when going down the road. I think the new law is a good step for our state.
The All Daddy Weekend (Day 2)
Saturday 5 Dec 2009 by Jay Strickland |
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Filed under: Jay Strickland Tags: Jay Strickland, Monkey Joes
Filed under: Jay Strickland Tags: Jay Strickland, Monkey Joes
If you missed yesterday you can read about it here.
My 10 year old stepped in as mommy this morning and without being prompted got everyone up, fed them and dressed them. I slept until 830am. I honestly was expecting this morning to be a little more grueling. Tonight’s big event is a sleepover for one of my daughter’s friends while the girls all wrap Christmas presents. Middle child managed to get attacked by a little boy while at Monkey Joes this afternoon http://www.monkeyjoes.com/Cary. For once she did not start the fight, but according to witnesses she did finish it. She did get a nice 3 inch scar down the lef side of her face though. If you ever want to run your kids ragged I highly recommend Monkey Joes. Make sure they’re old enough (4+) to go on everything themselves without help though. Mommy comes home tomorrow!
The All Daddy Weekend (day 1)
Not sure that I’ll have the energy to post anything after today. Today is the first day that my wife and mother in law are out of town for a trip together. I have all three girls by myself with no help. This afternoon we went shopping for Christmas presents for mommy. Then we all went out to dinner….what can go wrong with a 10, 5 and 2 year old at a restaurant right? How about a two year old with a bloody busted lip. Went downhill from there. We did managed to finish dinner although I did pay the bill right after we ordered just in case we needed to dash. All in all, not too bad for day one. Of course mommy didn’t leave town until about 2pm so we’ll see what a full day is like tomorrow. Never mind the 10 times that I will need to get up tonight. If you’re a mother reading this you’re probably thinking I’m a wimp. You might be right. I’m in awe of my wife’s abilities to do this every day. I’m glad that I get to spend time with my children though!!! If you haven’t done it lately I suggest you do the same.
Are you playing to win?
Wednesday 18 Nov 2009 by Jay Strickland |
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Filed under: Uncategorized Tags: Jay Strickland, WingSwept
Filed under: Uncategorized Tags: Jay Strickland, WingSwept
I had the opportunity to attend a great session at a conference in Florida a couple of weeks ago. The conference is one that I look forward to attending each year as it’s helped us make transformational changes at WingSwept to help us drive sustainable growth while providing a great service for our customers. One of the speakers asked a very simple question of the audience. Are you “playing to win” or are you “playing not to lose”? While the ramifications of either are far reaching I think that any good business has to look at the two options as a sliding scale with the most successful businesses having characteristics of both. Certainly to truly drive above average growth your business needs to be closer to “playing to win” while taking careful measures of making sure that risk are calculated and considered before “betting the farm” on a particular course. I think that too many businesses that are failing in this current economy strictly looked at their business from a “playing to win” strategy without considering that the rules of the game might change.
Garner Veteran’s Memorial Celebration
Wednesday 11 Nov 2009 by Jay Strickland |
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Filed under: Uncategorized Tags: Garner, Jay Strickland, Veteran's Day
Filed under: Uncategorized Tags: Garner, Jay Strickland, Veteran's Day
Today I had the opportunity to attend the dedication ceremony for the Garner Veteran’s Memorial. I expected to see a lot of familiar faces there, but was completely surprised that attendees filled up the santuary of the church where the event was held. I was reminded by a friend today of a great poem that’s very appropriate for Veteran’s day.
It is the Soldier, not the reporter who had given us freedom of the press.
It is the Soldier, not the poet who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the Soldier, not the campus organizer who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.
It is the Soldier, not the lawyer who has given us the right to a far trial.
It is the Soldier, who salutes the flag who serves beneath the flag and whose coffin is draped by the flag who allows the protester to burn the flag.