Life

Walk a little slower, Daddy!

With Father’s Day around the corner, I thought I would share with you a poem that caught my attention. I think it can easily be put in the context of great leadership as well. The author is unknown.

“Walk a little slower, Daddy,” said a child so small. “I’m following in your footsteps and I don’t want to fall.

“Sometimes your steps are very fast; sometimes they’re hard to see. So walk a little slower, Daddy, for you are leading me.

“Someday when I’m all grown up, you’re what I want to be; then I will have a little child who’ll want to follow me.

“And I would want to lead just right, and know that I was true. So walk a little slower, Daddy, for I must follow you.”

Fathers, you have no idea of the impact you have on your children. I’ve been doing a lot of study on a father’s role in raising successful children. I’ve learned that your role is to support and build confidence. The rest of the world will tear down and belittle. Your role is to coach character and support your child’s interests. Happy Father’s Day to all of you supportive dads who are building confidence in your very vulnerable children.

JOE

ACTION PLAN: Be engaged every day. They’re growing up fast!

We’re Moving!

What wisdom can be gained from moving your company? TEAMWORK! Wow, what a chore. I think moving a company is far more difficult than moving a household. The biggest difference is you have more adult help! I think the difficulty is the urgency factor. How do you move everything over without hindering business? The last time we moved our internet was down for two days, and the phones did not work for a week! Yet somehow we survived.

A lot of what we worry about truly is wasted energy. We have a great team here. Everyone had a role to play. We hired a moving company but we still hauled over a good amount of items ourselves. This is our fourth move in eight years. It’s amazing how time flies. The Mantra of our company is “Reach Higher.” There is definitely a feeling of accomplishment when you see the rewards of your efforts.

It makes me think of a famous Dale Carnegie quote that goes something like, “You can get whatever you want in this world as long as you help someone else get what they want first.” We Prophiteers love serving our clients, as we know that this expansion wouldn’t be possible without them. We appreciate each one of you, and we greatly value the privilege of serving you. Your company will grow if you help others get what they want first!

Joe Kiedinger

ACTION PLAN: Don’t forget to celebrate and be grateful!

What is ‘normal’ anyway?

It’s funny… when you ask someone what “normal” is, you get a lot of different answers, especially when it comes to raising a family. I’ve been in conversations with people where normal is when the mom stays at home. I’ve heard normal means both parents are working. I’ve even heard normal as a “fend for yourself” upbringing. These folks defend their upbringing as if to say, “Everyone should be raised with absentee parents. It teaches you survival.”

You can turn on the TV to see any number of normal topics on Oprah or any of the other various talk shows. I remember as a kid watching the Phil Donahue Show when he had a group of “normal” men dressed up as babies living out an infancy fantasy. I’ve come to realize that “normal” is only a setting on my clothes dryer. So it’s no wonder there are miscommunication problems as we interact in everyday life. We all walk around sharing our version of “normal” with everyone, with some agreeing with us but many others ending up confused and in some cases responding with jaw-dropping disbelief to our views, as in “That’s normal to you? You must be wacked!” We are often judged and sometimes even fined before we can explain why something is our normal.

The reason we are so judgmental about others is because we pride ourselves on defending our idea of normal. We do this because if we don’t we may wake up one morning realizing we live in the land of abnormal and that is just too scary to fathom. I say let’s strive to understand each other’s normal so we can learn from one another. Let’s drop our radar of prejudgment and take the time to understand. That’s Servant Leadership in the home and in the workplace!

So one last question: Are you normal?

Joe Kiedinger

ACTION PLAN: Be who you are!

Marry the right person…

I received an e-mail from an amazing Servant Leader last week, and I want to share a part of it with you. The attachment I received was titled, “21 Suggestions for SUCCESS.” The author is H. Jackson Brown, Jr. The first suggestion is something I couldn’t agree with more: “Marry the right person. This one decision will determine 90% of your happiness or misery.” I’ve been married once before and it wasn’t pretty. I know what it’s like to choose the wrong partner. I learned from it, believe me! This time around, though, I hit a home run! I often tell Danica that my success is her success. If she weren’t encouraging and supportive and humorous during tough times, I would be a wreck.

She focuses me in a way she will never know. Danica is very humble and she doesn’t realize the effect she has on me. I tease her (but it’s true) by saying. “Do you want to see your influence on my personal success? Leave me. Then you’ll see how I would fall apart.” When you find the right one, it’s the spice of life. Hopefully, I received a few positive points by writing about Danica today. I appreciate her so much.

Do you show the special person in your life appreciation? Do you realize how much this person is tied to your success? Some of our greatest business leaders—both men and women—have had supportive and nurturing spouses, who contribute so much to their success. I hope you’re as blessed as I am. Life’s a blast!

Joe Kiedinger

Respect is something you feel not something you see.

I just celebrated my 40th birthday this past weekend. Danica and I went to the House of Blues in Chicago for the Gospel Brunch. In the lobby, there was a sign that read, “Love is what you feel not what you see.” Servant Leadership defines the word “love” as a choice to respect another person. Love is not an emotion; it’s a choice to respect another person— even if they don’t deserve it because of their rude behavior or something they’ve inappropriately done.

Another sign I read there said, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never harm me!” That’s a lie … it truly is a lie. Words harm us much more than sticks and stones. Physical wounds heal rather quickly but emotional wounds run deep and sometimes words we say can never be taken back. I’m always looking for inspiration and the House of Blues didn’t let me down!

Joe Kiedinger

ACTION PLAN: Be aware of the words you are using this week!

We are all fundamentally the same!

Across this great country and around the world, human beings are fundamentally the same. Obviously our physical make-up is the same but our mental wiring is similar as well. Mother Theresa has said, “Human beings crave appreciation more than food.” Appreciation is a major driver for satisfaction. Show me you appreciate me. I want to feel respected and I want to be a contributor. I just received an e-mail today from China. Below is a first response to the About Me Card Program with a group of Chinese students written to Chris Elliott, Managing Director:

Chris,
We used the About Me Card Program with two teams today.  It was awesome and received great reviews!  We should be able to get a video clip of Bonita talking, as we have some quotes from some students.  I will use the program with two more teams on Thursday.

More to come soon!
Angela Owen | President
TBL Leadership Partners

I want to personally thank Angela and Bonita who are advancing our About Me movement around the world! Would you like to be able to show your spouse, adult child or co-worker that you appreciate and understand them? The About Me Card Program World Première (www.aboutmecard.com) is only two weeks away! Meet Angela from TBL Leadership, Dan Swift of Dahl Automotive, Tom Thibodeau from Viterbo University, Mark Skogen of Festival Foods, and others who have experienced this program and its success.

The World Premiere is April 27th at 3:00 p.m. at the Meyer Theater in Green Bay. It’s FREE so bring anyone you know who would like to connect with someone in 60 seconds. RSVP is appreciated. Help us change the way people communicate!

Joe

ACTION PLAN: Mark your calendar and join us! More information at www.aboutmecard.com

How I Offended My Wife!

It’s been a year of adventure and excitement at Prophit Marketing and About Me International. One reason for the excitement is the new building that Danica and I purchased to create a new home for all of our Prophiteers! We stripped out the old space and rebuilt it from scratch. Very exciting times indeed. One day I came home excited because of what happened at work. I explained to Danica that I brought one of our graphic artists, Sue, over to see the new space and to ask her opinion on space layout. Sue felt special that I took the time to give her a private showing.

Danica became upset as I told the story. I thought she would be excited at how inspiring my story was. For several hours she gave me the cold shoulder. I could not figure out why she was responding this way. Once the kids went to bed we talked about it. It turned out that I violated one of her driving forces on her About Me Card. One of her key motivations for happiness is “enjoying things together.” Sue was not the first Prophiteer I had a special one-on-one showing with and Danica was feeling disappointed that she wasn’t there to share it with me. She loves enjoying things together so I should have waited until she could join us. That way, Sue feels special and important, Danica’s motivations are met and my need to inspire would also be satisfied.

I love these little cards. My relationship with my wife has grown so much stronger. I still make mistakes and so does she, but now we have a way of communicating disappointments that happen from time to time by using our cards. I hope you can join us April 27th at the Meyer Theater in Green Bay at 3:00 p.m. for the World Premiere of this amazing new communication tool! Click here (WWW.ABOUTMECARD.COM) to learn more. When someone becomes short with you, it’s not because of what you did—it’s because of how you did it and how you made them feel. As we go through life, we all have certain expectations that we would like people to respect. This tool connects you to another person in 60 seconds!

Joe Kiedinger

ACTION PLAN: R.S.V.P. For the World Premiere at INFO@ABOUTMECARD.COM! You’ll be entertained and you’ll learn a few things, too!

I feel SPRING in the air!

It’s always an exciting feeling when that early warm weather first arrives. We all know that feeling… people seem happier to be alive, the business outlook gets better and everyone displays a positive outlook on the world. Isn’t it amazing how our emotions dictate how successful we feel on any given day. If a nice spring day can evoke a positive outlook in a person, can a leader do the same?

Absolutely! But first the leader must decide on his or her outlook. You can control the way you feel. You do not need a sleepless night or a disagreement with your spouse to dictate how you “feel” about it. Managing one’s own feelings is the key to happiness. I was shown this secret over a year ago. I was taught how to change my negative feelings in 60 seconds. I can tell you my life has changed for the better. Oh, I’m not perfect, but I’m better than I was a year ago.

If you know me, you would know that I was already a very positive guy; however, I admit I would sometimes become impatient and frustrated. These emotions would affect how I treated others. I learned, though, that events have no meaning. People give meanings to events. A rainy day doesn’t have the same effect on me as it once had. Mondays, once my least favorite day, are now my favorite—the start of another week to positively impact people’s lives. Happiness is a choice and I choose happy. How about you?

Joe Kiedinger

ACTION PLAN: Choose happy! Please join me April 27th at 3 p.m. for the About Me Card World Premiere at the Meyer Theater in Green Bay. I guarantee you will leave this event feeling great! Reserve your space… bring friends!

Words empower great leaders!

I think we would all agree that what you do is your character. You can tell your kids not to smoke, but if they see you smoking everyday guess what they may be doing later in life? What you do is your character; however, how you say things is key to becoming a great leader. What starts wars … words! Are you in the race to become a great leader? Great leaders have the ability to communicate uniquely to each unique individual in their care. We are all wired differently and like to be communicated to differently. Some folks are detailed-oriented while others only want the big picture. Some folks may want you to lighten up while others may prefer you to be more serious. What kind of leader are you?

I’m not suggesting you change who you are. That would not be authentic. However, when communicating one-on-one with an associate it’s important that you respect the way this individual would like to be approached. Don’t you wish there was a magic wand that you could wave over a person and have their rules for engagement suddenly appear! Well, there is! OK, it’s not a wand. It’s an automated web-based software I invented called the About Me Card program. The World Premiere will be held April 27th right here in Green Bay. The event will be like an Apple IPad introduction. There will be a live band, performers, and most importantly the people who are using the program and seeing great results.

You will witness how with the touch of a button you will get the words a person needs to hear to connect with you. You will learn how to connect with someone in 60 seconds, resolve conflict and reduce tension in the workplace. You will also see the future of the About Me Card with About Me TEEN and About Me Kids. Imagine knowing the motivations of your seven-year-old—knowing how they like to be treated and how you can support these motivations. Even more amazing … connecting with a teenager! I just had a “WOW” moment with my 14-year-old son this weekend based on his About Me Card.

You don’t want to miss the introduction of this groundbreaking technology that has taken three years to develop and automate!

Joe Kiedinger

The Momentum Is Building!

Yesterday I had the privilege of spending the day with Viterbo University professors Thomas Thibodeau and Richard Kyte. Tom is the director of the Servant Leadership Masters program and Rick is the head of the Ethics Program. They shared with me the exciting and inspirational stories of companies that truly care about the individuals in their care. Together we dreamed of creating a Servant Leadership consciousness that permeates local government, education and business. Can you imagine? Every person out to serve the legitimate needs of those around them?

Thibodeau and Kyte shared with me a couple dozen stories of business leaders wanting to make a positive impact in the lives of their employees. It was truly an inspiring conversation. We are bombarded with the media telling us how bad education is, how bad health care is and how we should be angry with government. At the end of the day, most of us can only truly rely on one thing and that is how are WE doing in serving others? How are WE making a positive impact in the lives of those around us?

Recently I wrote about the power of Buckers. These are people who were given a poor parenting model by their fathers growing up. However, they made the decision to not accept this poor model and to create their own which leads to a better life. I am now asking all of you who read this to Buck the media programming that has been so draining on public morale. I know times are tough now for so many, but what can you do right now to make another’s life better? Do not accept how BAD things are—instead focus on the GOOD that is happening in the world. I want to thank Tom and Rick for recharging my batteries of hope. I was reminded that I am not alone on this journey. Others are riding the same bus!

Joe Kiedinger

ACTION PLAN: Find the good in today!