December 14, 2020
Good morning! I was premature in announcing the river had frozen from shore to shore… it had, but…… now it is completely thawed again from shore to shore. The temperature hit 52 F in our shaded backyard last Wednesday. The school children were running about in short sleeves… of course, they do that when it’s below freezing, too.
- Without a Vision’s unique position in the marketplace is the skill of listening… and then we coach and guide you toward the vision that’s already within you.
- Patience and persistence along parallel paths is a phrase I coined about 25 years ago during a particularly difficult and challenging time at my work.
- As far as I know it’s unique and original… not the idea, but the phraseology.
- Be patient and gentle with yourself — and with outcomes — while doing everything possible to move things forward toward better results.
- Mother Teresa of Kolkata said it this way, “Pray as if everything depended on God, work as if everything depended on you.”
Survey: What Brings Joy to Your Holiday?
- Here is a quick, simple, fun little survey: what brings joy to your holiday?
- If you click me back with your answer(s) I’ll share the unscientific results with you next week.
- Here we go: Of the variables associated with so-called, getting in the holiday spirit, how relatively important is each of the following to you?
- Your total should equal 100%, but…
- … here is a fun feature of this survey: You can assign a negative percentage to one or more categories, thereby boosting your euphoria quotient in other categories.
- For example, if you are annoyed by Uncle Sven’s lutefisk or cousin Leah’s lefse — or if you dislike oysters or if you can’t stomach another panetone — assign a correlating negative percentage for foods.
- Likewise, if you are annoyed by or given to nausea because of Mariah Carey, score music with a negative, thereby giving you extra points to use in another category.
- Here are the categories:
- Baking _____ %
- Eating and/or Preparing foods (non-baked) _____ %
- Retail experience(s) _____ %
- Music _____ %
- Culture/ Theatre/ Ballet, Etc. _____ %
- Religious/ Faith tradition(s) _____%
- Family gatherings _____ %
- Friend gatherings _____ %
- Travel _____ %
- Giving/ Getting prizes _____%
- Interior Decorating/ Decorations _____ %
- Outdoor light display(s) _____%
- Snow falling _____%
- Party(ies) _____ %
- The vibe at work (college/ school, Etc.) _____ %
- Other, specify ____________________ _____%
- Total = 100%
Send me your answers, and watch the aggregated results to the answer: what brings joy to your holiday?
Holiday Thoughts
- Happy Hanukkah! Please share your favourite latke recipe(s).
- Not making and enjoying your own? Make your next order at Val’s a super-size… pretty good substitute — and almost-comparable fat.
- Remember when you would scroll through the Open Table, Yelp, or VRBO applications just to get a few ideas for what to do?
- Just thinking, I haven’t looked at any of those on my device in more than nine months!
- I’m going to conduct some scientific research as to the number of homes featuring decorative outdoor lighting.
- I have a theory but I need to test it before making any conclusions based on mere anecdotal information. Stay tuned.
- I’m continuing to receive votes for the punkin vs. pecan… happy to get them and thank you!
- We will keep counting until ALL the votes are counted, but fair warning, punkin still has a sizable lead.
- Not since year # AD 1226: Christmas star returns
- Do you use a wall calendar? I do because I enjoy the macro view as well as the more immediate micro view.
- This one for 2021 features gorgeous photographs of iconic scenic locales and it has space to write reminders to yourself.
- I have a limited number of these calendars and will mail one to you as long as the inventory persists.
- Send me the address to which you want it mailed… I’ll even autograph it.
What is the Role of a Leader?
- “We generate fears while we sit… we overcome them by action.” (Link)
- “Millennials (ages ~23 – ~40) are the most educated generation in the history of the United States, but they are broke (financially) compared with their predecessors. Why would they direct their children to take the same path?” (WSJ)
- “Your role as a leader is to bring out the best in others, even when they know more than you.” (Wallace)
- “Power-based leadership is almost like a drug and people can get addicted to it. Power is not the role of a leader. The leader’s true role is to empower others.” (George)
- “Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle.” (Hill)
Business Consulting for Organizational Growth
- Without A Vision Consultancy’s uniqueness in the marketplace is the way in which we actively listen.
- We are not trying to sell you anything, we do not have a template or a book we’re promoting; there is no panacea.
- We listen, we seek to understand, we listen some more — and then we help you to create YOUR vision and YOUR plan — one that won’t sit on the shelf.
- You might not be the right client if you don’t care enough to pause, consider the big picture, have patience, and trust a process.
- Once you have a vision all it takes is patience and persistence along parallel paths to achieve success.
- Without a vision the people perish — metaphorically and for real.
- If you or your organization is interested in becoming bigger, better, stronger, healthier, happier… engage our services.
