They are more popular than Honda Civic Hybrids right now.  And, if your organization does not have a list of them, you will not be able to hold your head up at your next trade association meeting.

Values.

The current rage in organizational correctness is to spend time selecting, then promoting, and then posting and then forgetting about…values.

So integrity, honesty, open communication, teamwork, customer service, creativity, respect, tolerance and a host of other “values” are popping up in our workplaces as the touchstone for how we will work with each other.

Values are a great focal point for any organization to discover its “spirituality.”  By spirituality I mean, “What holds this place together besides the common panting for a paycheck?”   Spirituality at work is the invisible glue that keeps people coming back even when they get a better offer down the street.

I am suggesting values are important to identify, but the problem with most value-centered organizations is they cash-in the values when they get in the way of the cash.

I believe values can hold an organization together if there are five characteristics that accompany the process of values-clarification.

First, a representative from every part of the working population must be involved in deciding what will be the final list of organizational values.  

Second, the values have to be defined in “workplace behaviors.”  If you agree on “integrity” as one of your core values and then the organization red-lines the career of someone who blows the whistle on what is unethical…well, integrity is a joke, not a value.

Third, the values have to be the tape-measure for every decision made by senior management.  If the values are shelved because they are not “convenient,” the entire organization will know.

Fourth, the values have to be part of the annual performance review for every person in the organization.  If someone “exceeds expectations” in productivity but regularly demeans coworkers, the result should be a come-to-divinity meeting resulting in a performance improvement plan.

Finally, any organization that touts a value statement should be prepared to terminate employees who openly mock, with documented words or behavior, the defined ethics of their workplace.

The spirituality of our places of employment will be guaranteed with values…the kind of values that do not change with the price of gas.

When values are present, most of us will be, too.

I love to look at our values statement because I can think of everyone, but me, who needs them.

I can afford values…until they cost me.

My bookshelves are crammed with “timeless” works.  These are books so well crafted that time does not chink away at their value.

In 1996 Peter Vaill wrote a book entitled, Learning as a Way of Being (Strategies for Survival in a World of Permanent White Water) (Jossey-Bass, ISBN: 0-7879-0246-2).

Vaill defines “white water” as, “…permanent life outside one’s comfort zone.”  Have you been struggling with some white water in your life?

If struggling each day outside of your comfort zone is not your idea of how to use up your life, this book may hold value for you.

You will be introduced to four types of learning:  (1) systems learning, (2) leaderly learning, (3) cultural unlearning and (4) spiritual learning.  Sound interesting?  Check it out of your local library before buying it.  Then, after your mind takes these ideas for a joy ride, you will want your own copy…to join the timeless tomes on your bookshelf.

New Free Article

Do you find yourself staying very busy doing something other than what you should be doing at that moment?  It is called procrastination .  You can download for free my newest article, Ten Strategies for Ending the Procrastination Game, by going to my web site (www.execenrichment.com ), choosing “Downloadable Resources” and then clicking on “Articles.”  Enjoy and I hope you reprint this in your organizational newsletter.

Last Chance for the September Teleseminar

I will provide a one-hour teleseminar this Thursday, September 7 at 12:00 noon Eastern entitled, “Skills for Delivering Extra-Ordinary Customer Service.”   Even if this date or time does not work into your schedule, we have a service that will permit you to listen to the teleseminar for up to 14 days.  The price is $49.00 and you can have as many people participate at your end of the line as you wish.

Please send an email to execenrichment@aol.com if you wish to participate.  You'll then be sent dial-in instructions along with an outline you'll be using during the call.

New CD Training Program

There is a new CD for those of you who make your living by selling something.  Using an interview with a well-known author and friend of mine, Dr. Alan Weiss, I have just completed a CD training program, “Skills to Increase Sales.”  With Alan’s expert help I will show you how to build a progressive partnership before you pitch your product or service, how to get a “conceptual agreement” with your buyer in the first few minutes, how to respond to resistance without becoming antagonistic and how to increase sales with the power of your language and your physical presence.

To order a copy, please go to my website, www.execenrichment.com , and choose the OUR PRODUCTS option. You’ll see this CD listed first.  After adding the CD to your shopping cart, you’ll be led to a PayPal screen where you can enter credit card information.   The price is $12.00, which includes shipping and handling.

It seems to me we are getting jerked around instead of doing some serious jerking.

The recent alleged plot in England to annihilate thousands of air travelers over the Atlantic by mixing liquids from carry-on bags was sobering.  But, I suggest, that potential bad news was dwarfed by the mammoth bad news that airline security is still reactive and not proactive.

Think about it.  Nineteen men in 2001 committed mass murder because airport security was so lax that box cutters and knives were unrecognized by both machines and people-screeners.  So, the new machines make an appearance and TSA shows up, complete with the feared surgical gloves.

Richard Reid in 2003 tried to ignite his Nikes over the Atlantic so the knee-jerk response is we all have to take off our shoes. 

A couple of weeks ago nefarious people had planned to make bombs by mixing fluids in toothpaste tubes and Gatorade bottles so…no Crest, no Prell and no Diet Coke.

Let’s go back to Richard Reid.  Consider this:  what if the explosive had been planted in his underwear?  Can you imagine the “interesting scenes” that would await us today while waiting in an airport security screening line?

It seems to me we are just waiting for the next shoe (sorry) to fall.  Where are the geniuses who thought up the iPod, eBay, Starbucks and the microwave? 

I believe it is time for the government to invite innovative people to the table to generate strategic, creative ideas that will keep all of us safe at 33,000 feet. As a frequent flyer, I am tired of the terrorists taking the initiative.  What creative ideas for death and mayhem are they mapping out on some 18” X 24” Post-It-Note flip chart today? 

We have to think those thoughts first and beat them with our brains before we have to beat them in some narrow airline aisle.

Even with the new security measures, I still do not check my luggage! How can you travel without giving up your luggage? 

Here are some ideas on how you can fly without packing the oozing squishy stuff.

First, most mid-level hotels will have a “survival kit” that includes toothpaste, a tooth brush, a comb (my fantasy) and a disposable razor.  In addition, you will find body lotion, shampoo, conditioner, Q-tips and a mending kit in 90 percent of all hotel bathrooms.

Second, men, forget the shaving cream and just use soap and very hot water.  Actually, I have stopped using shaving gel or shaving cream at home because I have found in the past two weeks I get a closer shave just using soap.

Third, call or e-mail your hotel when you are in doubt about what your lodging will offer as amenities.

Fourth, and this is discriminatory for women, no one at your hotel will be handing out Chanel perfume, Lancome lipstick, Clinique moisturizer, or Pureology shampoo.  Your best bet is to either send these body delicacies to your destination via UPS or buy small quantities when you arrive.

If you have no desire to deal with the hassle of waiting 30 minutes for your bag to pop on that luggage carousel or worse, filling out a three page “lost” luggage form, fly fluidless.

With the present restrictions, I will not surrender my carry-on bag.  You can thumb your nose at an empty, grinding baggage conveyor belt with a little planning and creativity.

If you would like to personally meet with me during the month of September, here is my schedule.  Please call 800-373-4040 to set up an appointment.   

There are common irregular verbs we are misusing with impunity.  To help with this problem, I have placed three columns below.  The column on the left is the verb.  The column in the middle is the past tense.  The column on the right is the past participle form of the verb.  You may want to keep this list handy in the future.

Bear.........................Bore.......................Borne
Dive..........................Dived.....................Dived
Forbid.......................Forbade.................Forbidden
Get...........................Got........................Got, Gotten
Hang (a picture)........Hung.....................Hung
Hang (a person)........Hanged.................Hanged
Lay (to place)............Laid.......................Laid
Lie (to recline)...........Lay........................Lain
Lie (to falsify)............Lied.......................Lied
Shine (to emit light)...Shone...................Shone
Shine (to polish)........Shined...................Shined
Sneak........................Sneaked...............Sneaked

(Please make note:  “snuck” is not the past tense of “sneak”.)

Well, here is proof-positive that perfectionism has not conquered our corporate offices at Executive Enrichment.

“For those of you who been historic readers of my work, you know I have a priority about the proper and effective use of the English language.”

See a problem?

Yes, you got it—the helping verb “have” was left out after “who.”

Last month’s LeMonAide was proofed by no less than three sets of eyes and a computer-driven grammar and spell check.

I cannot believe this error took place in the same paragraph where I am extolling my commitment to “the effective use of the English language.”

Go Fegure! (Do not write me…this is my humor!)

Lord, we have heaped tons of love on this kid and… she told us last night we are “the worst excuse for parents” she knows.

To tell you the truth I wanted to lose it and remind this offspring of ours she was lucky to have this address.

But, I bit my lip until it bled, and then she thundered out of the kitchen with her ponytail bobbing and her bare midriff heaving with hedonism.

We knew the teenage years would be difficult, but we do not know this kid.

Lord God, just give us peace in this house.  The yelling and taunting is wearing us all out.  I read that one of your names is the “Prince of Peace.”  We are not begging You to fix our daughter because we know we need fixing, too…we just want to sit in the same room and have some…peace.