This past week I was reminded of a few things. We’re all so busy trying to make our businesses work and provide for our families, we tend to lose sight of what’s important. My son was very sick; he scared me, to be honest with you, as he’s only 9. My wife, being the professional in the house, remained calm. He’s fine now; it was just some type of virus. However, I will tell you seeing him looking so pathetic made me realize once again what’s important. Now, my job will be to stay focused on that, so I thought I’d write about it in hopes of helping you and, to be truthful, of teaching me as well. I learn a lot when I write; it seems the message sinks in deeper for me that way.

The day after my son was pretty sick I got up and went to work. My wife said I couldn’t do anything and she would take Grant to the Doctor as soon as he woke up. So, I had a lot on my mind and went through the Starbucks drive-thru to get a lemonade, one of my pleasures in life. I’m not a coffee drinker….me on coffee….that’s a frightening thought. When I pulled up to the window, the lady said that the woman in front of me had paid for my Iced-Tea and told me she said to have a GREAT DAY. Wow…..I said to myself….”What a pick-me-up.” It made my morning, woke me up, and made me say, “I don’t have it so bad.” It is amazing what random acts of kindness like this can do for someone. There’s no way that lady knew I had a rough night and a lot on my mind and the love she showed for a stranger was awesome, to say the least. That night when I got home, my son was still sick, but better and acting a little more like himself. My daughter Lily who is 12 needed new basketball shoes, so I took her to the store to get a pair.

When we got to the store, her 12-year-old eyes lit up seeing all the shoes. As she looked at them and the prices, she picked a pair that she “really liked” and also picked a pair that was on sale. She tried them on; I saw the delight on her face and we made a purchase. As we walked out to the car, this little darling gave me a hug and said, “Thanks for the shoes, dad.” They were a $39.00 pair of shoes. We got in the car; she got them out of the box and admired them. When we got home, she put them on and proudly walked around the house in them. But, best of all, when her mom came home with our 14-year-old daughter, she had them on and showed them off to both of them. Look, I realize I need to get to the point. Here it is.

We all have a lot on our minds right now. We have an economy that continues to sputter. We have a world that seemingly can’t get along with each other as well as they should. We have a nation with a disaster in our Gulf of Mexico that will have a lasting impact. And we all are dealing with issues. But, at the end of the day, if we have our health, our families, our friends, and can slow down just enough to see what’s important, we’re all going to be just fine.

There is a recovery coming. I don’t know when it will get here but it’s coming. In the meantime, I’m going to work my tail off to improve Grunder Landscaping Company and help other entrepreneurs do the same for their operations. I’m going to have fun and I’m going to make sure the people I care about know I love them. I’m going to pay for someone’s coffee at Starbucks and look for other ways to help people see the good in all of us. I’m going to make sure I take time for my kids and my wife. And, most of all, I’m going to be grateful for what I have, not what I don’t have.

Have a GREAT WEEK! And how about all us who are reading this e-mail practice 1, just 1, random act of kindness this week. If we all do this, then thousands of people might turn their week, and maybe even their lives, around.

The bank I work with sends out a newsletter to their employees called Applause. Since I’m a Board Member, I get a copy of it. I really enjoy reading it. Anyway, read these excerpts from the most recent issue concerning some awesome customer service their employees demonstrated.

Examples of Great Customer Service

After Michelle Teegarden spent 10 minutes in the cold with a customer retrieving a blown-away deposit, the customer returned the next day with a box of chocolates and a card that read: “Thanks so much for weathering the cold with me to find our checks. You truly went above the call of duty!”

Theresa Schroyer was waiting on a customer who talked about her daughter being off to college, but in need of an account. Rather than wait until her daughter came home, Theresa prepared all of the paperwork in advance in order to make the process extremely easy for the customer. It was due to the extra steps she took to get this done that her customer left the office extremely happy.

Sarah (Philhower) Knight sold a Plus Package over the phone to a quite difficult customer who had called in to inquire on the cost of a check order. Later in the day the customer came in to sign the paperwork for the Plus Package and Sarah noticed she was having a hard time writing. Sarah offered to assist her and wrote out all of her information for her. The customer thanked Sarah for her excellent customer service! No one had ever seen the customer so warm and appreciative.

The message this week is a simple one. It’s really not that hard to offer service that clients notice and remember you for. In today’s business environment you need to be finding ways to impress your clients and let them see through your actions that you care. Use these stories from Park National Bank of Southwest Ohio as motivation for you to get your team to do the same. It doesn’t take much and if you’d like to see your clients stay with you, instead of looking for a new group to work with, you’ll embrace this suggestion enthusiastically.

My favorite poem of all time is below. Just read it and see if it helps you right now. And by all means if the words mean as much to you as they do to me, send this on to everyone you think might need a “little pick-me-up.”

Don’t Quit

When things go wrong as they sometimes will.

When the road you’re trudging seems all up hill.

When funds are low and the debts are high.

And you want to smile, but you have to sigh.

When care is pressing you down a bit.

Rest, if you must, but don’t you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns.

As every one of us sometimes learns.

And many a failure turns about.

When he might have won had he stuck it out; 

Don’t give up though the pace seems slow 

You may succeed with another blow.

Success is failure turned inside out
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt
And you never can tell how close you are.

It may be near when it seems so far; 

So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit 

It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.

− Author Unknown

We are in bad economic times, no question. It seems as if things are picking up lately. I’m not sure if that’s just a result of companies replenishing their inventories or what. I’m not an economist and don’t try to be one. However, I do know that even in these times, there are people who are setting records making sales despite all the turmoil and uncertainty. And all of these successful folks have all kinds of ways that enable them to win. There are selling techniques, tricks, new methods, and the like, but one thing is for sure: No one finds success sitting on their posterior waiting for things to get better. They win because they have decided to take action and work to win. They put their mind to it and got to work.

Every day we all have the choice of sitting around waiting for something to happen or we can go make it happen. How about you go out and make it happen starting today? It’s up to you! But don’t do this in the landscaping business in Dayton, Ohio, because I’m months ahead of you and it’s working!