Chief Optimist Executive (CEO) and Entrepreneur Bert Jacobs co-founder of Life is good was one of the speakers at Saturday's University of New Hampshire (UNH) graduation. The company makes T-shirts and other positive products depicting Jake and his simple message. It also give back via The Life is good Kids Foundation committed to helping children overcome life-threatening challenges. The company and its customer base has raised over $4 million for the cause through product, festivals and sponsors.

Here are a takeaways from his talk:

1) "Optimism truly is powerful." Sixteen years ago Bert and his brother and business partner, John, started the business with a used van, discussion about all the negative information in the media and a box of crayons. The brothers looked at the situation and turned it into a business.

"We looked at a gloomy situation, something that bothered us, and saw opportunity."

2)"Simplify your life." Social networking tools, instant messaging, email, video and all the other information coming at us isn't all good.

"We get bogged down because we have access to the information. It's too much.

Instead, play ball with your son, talk to friends in person and have a cookout.

3) Give of Yourself.

"Now, people these days occasionally will ask me, what's it like to be rich? Well, let me tell you there's more than one kind of rich. And the rich that you get from acquiring things and from earning money, it means nothing to me. It really doesn't.

But the richness that you get from giving, it's priceless.

At Life is good we say that takers eat well, but givers sleep well."

Thanks Bert, you are spot on and I couldn't agree with more...ah...frisbee time.

Image via University of New Hampshire Blog

We need to make a shift in work environments that begin to appreciate each other.

In every organization there are a multitude of skills and strengths.

Here are a few for example:

The Connector - These people know who to go to when a certain task is required to get a job done. They know how to connect a person in upper management with someone on a manufacturing line to resolve a product problem. The connector is that kid in the schoolyard that everyone talked to no matter if they were a bully or a nerd.

The Inspirer - These people are always "cup half full" and help keep a team moving forward. They can even make impact with the naysayer. The Inspirer is that kid in the schoolyard that got everyone together knowing the lost lunch money could be found.

The Contributor - These people are behind the scene types who are quiet doers. Give these people a task and they get it done and usually add a pleasant surprise. The Contributor is the kid in the schoolyard that helped round up a group to jump rope and then held one of the ends while the rest took turns jumping.

There is much strength that people have within one organization. Bringing the appreciation of these skills out in the open is often not done because people are so involved in their own responsibilities, projects and in their own overwhelm and deadlines. Or the culture of an organization does not allow this to happen in an everyday environment or at all.

The Culture of an Organization

I once worked for an organization (that will remain nameless) that gave no recognition to the talents of the dedicated people that worked for them. The culture didn't allow for it and that started at the top. The leader in the organization, Nancy (not her real name) would belittle people at meetings, not allow for open and honest discussion and not allow for ideas and innovation. This organization had about 20 full-time employees and another 10 or so part-time employees. Weekly communication meetings would be held with the department heads and some other identified key people to go over what was going to happen in the next few weeks. I was one of the "key people" that came to the meeting. I would sit and listen, as week after week the same information was shared with little to no change. Most dreaded the meetings because they viewed it as a waste of resources. At the meetings sat a Connector, an Inspirer and many Contributors, but not once did I experience a situation where Nancy allowed or requested the strengths be put forth with a new or innovative idea.

The meetings, which Nancy could not attend, were quite different. In those meetings open discussion would occur and ideas would be generated and discussed. The skills and strengths would appear for a short while. In some of the meetings an action to bring an idea forward to Nancy would be taken. These ideas would need some level of "selling" to Nancy and some would succeed while most would not. I was a victim of both situations, (with and without Nancy) I made suggestions for ideas to either streamline a process or recommend a marketing concept.

Appreciation of fellow colleagues can happen in an open and on-going natural way. Some questions for you:

1. Have you or do you work in an environment that I have described?

2. How did it make you feel or how did you survive that environment?

3. What skills and strengths do you have that either you or a colleague has not appreciated?

I really want to hear your input on these matter because we need to make a shift in work environments that begin to appreciate each other.

Share your comments and share this post with others and ask them to comment. Let's begin a shift towards appreciation.

It was March, 2009 when I received a call from a neighbor one-morning asking if I would be available that evening to meet with a woman from Denver Colorado who wanted to interview a group of us in the community who have been working on an environmental and justice issue of groundwater in our community.

That night I met the woman from Denver, Dafna Michaelson, who decided at the end of 2008 that she was going to quit her job, withdraw her 401K and spend 2009 traveling the country visiting one state at a time to interview community problem solvers because she believes that "real change happens at the local level" and those stories must be told. After the interview (see it here) we all wanted to hear more about Dafna's journey and who else she was going to interview in New Hampshire. We inquired where she was staying that evening and found out she had no reservations made yet. I offered my guest room and with great appreciation she accepted.

Dafna and I began a friendship that evening and I began to help her with the journey by scheduling upcoming interviews whenever I could. She reciprocated whenever she could by giving my business and support a plug. Neither of us asked, we just did what felt right. Dafna has completed the Journey Women work and has now started the Journey Institute.

The point of this story is simple. We never know when or how we may meet a person and how that relationship will develop. People in business never really know when a bond will happen or a small jester will turn into a rewarding experience. Whether it's a new customer coming through the door, or a stranger in the store check-out line you let go ahead of you, how we treat people in every situation must come form the heart. When it comes from truth within it will go further and make a greater impact. And whether that person becomes a customer, a friend or remains a stranger in passing that does not matter as much as how you interact.

Leave a comment on how a chance meeting or action that you took turned into a positive?

Thanks for reading and commenting

Photo by Dafna Michaelson via 50in52journey.com

The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (DES) has recently released a workbook titled Making Your Business Greener. I downloaded a copy and found there are items that are pretty standard for businesses that are already working on reducing their footprint, but much of it is very useful.

The workbook is a series of checklists that a business team can go through to help determine what can be done and to establish priorities and goals.

As I state in my guide The Sunrise Shift - a guide for a sustainable planet which is free and available for download here

"Just as the earth circles the sun creating sunrises, every step we take working together is a circle of hope for sustaining the earth."

Get both guides and enjoy the journey!

For those of you in the organic product business here is an informative report titled "Organics Today: Who's Buying and What's Next" from the Hartman Group. The report supports research I recently conducted for a client; the Core organic consumer is where the strength lays in helping you grow your business.

There is an age-old question:

Which came first the chicken or the egg?

I don't have that answer, but I do have a similar question.

Which comes first the customer or the employee?

Tom Peter's has a recent post titled ???????? (that is really the title) about this question with some thought-provoking comments that I suggest you take a few minutes to read.

Whether we have a staff or not we must take care of those that take care of our customers. I've been around the business world and have had the joy and the tears of working for people who care about their employees. As many of you know, I worked in the corporate world before starting my own business. During my time there, the management went from individual offices to cubicle nation. My cube face the entrance so whenever my boss, Mr. L (I'll protect his identity) went to his office (he ranked non-cubicle space) he would have to pass by my cube and 3 fellow colleague's cubes before reaching his cocoon.

Well, Mr. L would walk by every morning without acknowledging my existence, which I would usually shrug off as his vagrant disregard for women in the business world. But one morning after Mr. L's pass by, my neighboring colleague, Mr. B., came into my cube. Mr. B was well known and respected in the industry and the company and was someone I looked to for guidance and business advice. He was a calm and levelheaded guy, but this morning he was visually frustrated and down. He told me he had started to track (he was very analytical) how many times Mr. L would acknowledge him as he walked by his cube.

Twenty-Seven Days

Twenty-seven days had passed without a single "hello" from Mr. L. I could not believe what I was hearing. How could a manger walk by the people who worked with him for twenty-seven days and not stop once? I could rationalize Mr. L's on-going dismissal of my existence, but not Mr. B's. We, Mr. B and I, talked for a long while about this and never really came to any resolution, but Mr. B continued to track the non-communicating manager.

What would you do in this situation? What do you do to keep your employees happy? Do you think the customer or the employee comes first?

I welcome your thoughts and comments.

Image by Cyklista Dalibor at Creative Commons

Last evening I had the special pleasure of listening to four barred owls in my backyard talking to each other - varying their calls, tones and gurgles. Each would take a turn, hooting out "who cooks for you." I stood silently at the open window and listened for quite some time until they moved deeper into the woods and their sounds faded in the distance. I walked away from the window and realized I had an enormous smile on my face and my soul felt soft and at peace.

It also got me thinking....

As a entrepreneur I am guilty of what I consider "over complicating my business." I want that new product and service to be perfect before I release it to potential customers. I go over everything, time and again, to make sure every "t" is crossed and every "i" is dotted and all the while my yet unreleased product hasn't been shared with those who would really use it and smile.

Done Is Good

A friend and fellow entrepreneur Chris Reagan of Get Ahead Pro taught me "Done is Good". He explained how we biz owners can continually tweak and adjust our efforts, projects, communications forever. At some point we need to stop, be confident in what we have and let it fly.

He is right. I know my customers and my audience will let me know if any additional adjustments are needed. I will listen to their questions and comments and learn. If I'm spending all my time perfecting then I'm not sharing and my customers are not benefiting. If those owls decided to stay deep in the woods I would not have heard their beauty. They released their calls and shared with me replenishing my soul and thus, my business.

If there is anything I can leave you with in this post it is to not over perfect - people want your products and services so, let them fly.

Cheryl - thanks for your comments to last weeks post. I too love the smell of clothes dried outside.

How's Business?

I asked that question to a friend of mine who has been in business for almost 10 years now.

"Dead. If something doesn't change, this year could be a decision year for us on whether we continue."

I have to admit, I was a little shocked that they may have to consider closing their doors. But, at the same time, I know their raw material costs have gone up and with ever increasing utility and fuel costs going to support the power heads I can understand their situation.

Pick up any newspaper, magazine or on-line business site and the stories depict layoffs, home foreclosures, low consumer confidence levels, and the lowest small business confidence level in 28 years. The picture is not pretty.

Personally, I'm already worrying about my fuel costs for next winter. This worry and all worries could consume me or I could take some clear and focused actions.

The Energy Flow Letter.

Earlier this year I wrote a post about my Energy Flow letters. I wrote 4 short letters to myself that I can open throughout the year (each quarter). One letter is on one business idea I want to accomplish this year. A second letter on something I'm passionate about in relation to my business. The third letter is about my values. The fourth letter is about one realistic goal I want to achieve this year. I folded each letter and had them put into 4 blank envelopes then marked down in my planner 4 days throughout the year when I will open one of letters.

Well, the date rolled around to open my first letter. What was funny was I could not remember the specifics of what I had written in the letters. I picked one and opened it up, it was my Goal letter. One thing I wrote really hit home:

"2008 is your year, continue on your path, embrace the goodness."

The letter prompted me to think about my past patrons, my current ones and you the readers and how this economic state may be affecting all of our businesses. We are small business owners, good people working hard to bring quality products and services to folks. So what can be done to help us all stay on course as we get bombarded with torpedoes?

1. Help our Customers. Give our customers a hug. Our customers are no doubt tightening their belts and their purchasing decisions are being made based on balancing their spending on their needs and wants. A little extra help to understand our products and services will help them with their decisions. We can do this through a variety of ways from education, sampling, communications and increased service - a simple smile goes a long way.

2. Connections. If our business is connected to associations like NHMade, WBC, or NOFA, to name a few lets increase our involvement in them. Attend the meetings and workshops and take advantage of the marketing opportunities they offer.

3. Reach Out and Support. Reach out to other small business owners and lets introduce ourselves or reconnect with ones we haven't spoken to in awhile. Help support each other by learning what we all do so we can help spread the messages about each other.

This third bullet leads me to you. I want to thank you for reading this blog and I want to help spread your message. So, I am offering to highlight your business in a future post. All you need to do is simply contact me, we will set a time to speak and I'll highlight your business on a future post.

P.S. - A big thank you to Rebecca for her comments on my last post.

Jonathan Mann created a fun like ditty about drinking organic wine.

Take a LOOK

This leads me to a great question for you all?

Do you think because a business says it's green it really is?

OR

Is it just jumping on the bandwagon to increase its sales?