Enough with this PC stuff already!

The picture below is that of the new Arizona Border Patrol. I think it is hysterical.

Or is it Politically Incorrect?

Well that would depend on who sent it, who received it and who is going to make a lawsuit over it. I for one am getting a bit sick of this Political Correctness thing. Employees have to careful about what they say, who they say it to, and how they say it. There was a time when you said what was on your mind and everyone moved on. Not any longer. Now you say what is on your mind, and if it is deemed politically incorrect you get scolded or shown the door.

Now I am not suggesting outright meanness at all, but a little off color remark here or there or use of the word damn or crap won't kill anyone - and it just may be the little bit of levity your organization needs from time to time.

Maybe it's a better time to look at who you're hiring; maybe it's time to stop hiring those people who are looking for a fight - and then put them all on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean, anchor the thing and put a very small pin hole in the bottom.

Can a kid change the attitude of your organization?

The kid kept kicking my chair - all the way from Chicago to Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Mom kept telling her to stop kicking the chair. The child did not listen.

Okay, it's an hour and a half flight; I can deal. There will be no evil looks; something I would have done a long time ago.

The kicking was getting worse. Mom was getting frustrated but doing nothing other than asking her daughter, politely, to not kick the chair. We started coming in for a landing.

The kicking was getting worse. I could take it no longer. And just as I was about to say "Stop It Already" the child made the following comment as she looked out the window.......................

"South Dakota is one big field"

I couldn't help but laugh; because I had the same thought at one time - until I visited the western portion of the state.

But it was that one second of laughter that changed my entire attitude; one second.

Do you have a minute today to laugh with your team, co-workers, staff or organization?

The School of Hard Work has Openings

Earlier this year I took a Casino Tour. I was a winner!

My world of speaking has taken me from a Connecticut Casino to Las Vegas to Atlantic City and then back to a Connecticut Casino. In between speaking about personal development, leadership and one of my favorite times of year, Recess At Work Day, I did my part to keep the United States out of a recession by making withdrawals from my personal bank account and depositing that money in the lands of short-skirted cocktail waitresses. Now I do realize that some of you think I am in denial and that we are already in a recession; go ahead keep up those negative thoughts. That'll help!

So I walked into my favorite Las Vegas casino and saw the BMW Convertible. I decided I was going to win that car. I put it out there. After all, I did watch "The Secret." I'm going to win that car. I'm going to win that car. I'm going to win that car. I can see myself driving that car home from Las Vegas all the way to CT; top down, wind blowing through my hair, uh I mean beanie; propeller spinning in the wind. I am going to win that car.

Well you won't believe this...............

Not in a million years....................

I was down to my last 2 credits; $150 later; I put it out there once again that I was going to win that car. In the background I hear Frank Sinatra singing "Luck Be A Lady Tonight." Frank was my dad's hero. Dad must be looking down on me. The stars and the planets are all in alignment...................And I pressed the max credit button and the three symbols come up.

A cherry, a Bar and a Win the Car.

I did not win.

I turned to the woman next to me and wished her good luck. Her response, "I already won a Mini Cooper last year. I'm just here to have fun."

I got up from the seat and walked back to my hotel.

Gambling is one of those interesting phenomenon. There are those, like me, who walk into a casino for entertainment purposes; and those, like my friend Anita, who walk into the casino thinking that there is a gazillion dollars in that building and some of it has her name on it. (Then she goes and gets dealt a Royal Flush right in front of my eyes. Yes, DEALT!) There are those who are cursing and swearing at slot machines and the crappy cards being dealt to them as they lose, lose, lose. There are people beating up and pounding on machines which are not paying out. It makes you wonder. Are these people always looking for the big payoff; the easy way out; a windfall of cash that just lands in their lap? It makes you wonder about the rest of their life.

There are also people carrying oxygen tanks and smoking. I am not even going there. They're having a good time; I guess that is all that matters.

So back to the beating and pounding. I'm still from the School of Hard Work. I still believe hard work provides its rewards. I still believe that working hard is anything but when you enjoy what you're doing and you have a little fun doing it. I still believe that within any job, no matter how serious it may be, you can have a rewarding experience once you figure out what excites you. But it is up to you to figure out how to make your job fun, interesting and exciting while getting the task done you were hired to do. It is up to you to find the right mix of work and play.

A while back a National Coffee chain closed down every store for three hours on the same day to retrain their staff. I have, without a doubt, seen a difference in the attitudes of their employees since that evening training session occurred company-wide. They are laughing, playing and working harder. Some of the complacency I had noticed has gone away. Customers seem happier as well. And happy customers mean a stronger company which could lead to more money, better benefits, or more opportunity. Working harder provides rewards.

Recently I spoke to an organization which had changed their compensation structure; to one that is revenue based. Yep, employees are now being paid based on revenue collected and many of these people receive 10% yearly raises. Not many companies can say they are giving raises at the 10% level; and in a time of a rec_____ (I refuse to say the word). Once again, another example of working harder provides rewards.

Two people very close to me are about to file for bankruptcy. I have watched them unravel for several years now; always looking for that windfall; always looking for the easy way out; they're going to hit the lotto; make that great trade in the financial markets, or sell that million dollar home. They seem to attend the School of Handouts.

How about you? Are you attending the School of Hard Work or the School of Handouts?

I'll bet a lot of those people at the casino didn't get a 10% payback. Heck, I'll bet most of them didn't. I know I didn't. I'll bet a lot of those people at the casino leave without being able to purchase a cup of coffee. So I didn't win the car and had to settle for a cup of coffee on my way out the door. At least I had some fun - obviously at the expense of others.

So what does this mean to you............. Stop reading this article right now and get back to working hard and creating the extraordinary life you deserve. Or at least do it to help with the handouts we need to subsidize.

Rich DiGirolamo is a professional speaker from Wolcott, CT. He calls himself The Big Kid and enjoys "making painful processes fun." To learn more about Rich please visit http://www.richdigirolamo.com or http://www.recessatworkday.com

Vent If You Must But............

The phone rings. I pick it up; it is my sister. She says "Can I vent?"

Vent, Whine, Moan, Bitch - it's all the same to me. I said sure; after all it is my sister.



The doctor said he would call Tuesday afternoon with the results of the MRI. He did not. I called yesterday morning; the receptionist said he would call later this morning with the results. He did not. When I called the office the nurse told me that there was no way the doctor could call; it is his surgery day. The nurse said she could not give me the results; the doctor needed to do that. Today the nurse calls with the results; keep her in a sling for three weeks and then we'll start six weeks of physical therapy. I thought you weren't allowed to give the results - that the doctor had to do so, my sister commented. The nurse replied if you would like to make an appointment with the doctor to discuss the MRI this Friday we can do that for you. I really don't like this doctor, but it was an emergency and I had to get her in to see someone. Now I'm stuck with him and not happy, and Jessie's (my niece) baseball season is over and I don't know how I'm going to tell her................................................



Yep, that was the condensed version of my sister going on and on and on and on when she called me last week and asked me a three word question................."Can I vent?"

Now I must admit while she was going on and on I found myself mouthing those Peanut's like teacher sounds "Waw, Waw, Waw, Waw" while sitting on my sofa watching Judge Judy call people morons. As an aside I'm still amazed and entranced by the level of stupidity of the people who sign up for that show.

Now just in case you missed what is going on there, my niece got hurt playing in a baseball tournament; my sister is extremely dissatisfied with the doctor's ability to make a promise and follow through.

Now my sister knows well enough that after she vents she is going to get a mouthful from me. My lack of tolerance crosses all barriers - even my family. I asked her if she was done being aggravated. I asked her if she was ready to solve the problem or stay stuck in the current situation. We do that folks; everyone does at some point in their life; spending more time on rehashing why you are where you are and clinging on to what is bothering you rather than taking steps to get out of the situation.

Lori, you have options I tell her. You can ask for a new doctor; there is another doctor in that office who did wonders with me eighteen years ago when I had my one and only skiing accident; on my one and only skiing expedition. You can let go and move past the lack of perceived customer service from the doctor's office - we've all experienced it; or you can find a new doctor.

Now of course she found "the problem" with every one of those options; but she did like the finding a new doctor one the most. Good, we can at least move forward.

I said to her let's think about this. You don't want any doctor; you want someone who is going to get Jess back on the field in the shortest amount of time. So basically you want god.

And how do we find that person" she inquires in a somewhat negative tone.

So here were my thoughts. Professional and college athletes get hurt on a court or field and they are back in the game the next week. We need their doctor. So I tell my sister to call a college athletic department and see who they use. Living in Connecticut, the land of college basketball stars, I tell her to call UConn. She can't get through (for thirty minutes). She calls me back frustrated. Okay, right now my sister is too attached to the situation; my brother-in-law is.............. Just as frustrated as my sister, so let's not get him involved.

I decide I need to remove her from the situation for a bit. Folks, we need to do this at times; for our families; our friends and our teammates in the workplace. We need to jump in and remove them from situations where their thinking has been obstructed. Yes, it might require you to tie up a loose end or pick up an extra responsibility or two; but in the end you'll spend less time listening to whining. This is your keeper today. Who could use to be removed from a bad situation - even just for a few minutes - for the sake of a better personal or professional life?

I called Manhattan College; both my sister and I graduated from Manhattan. They've had a decent basketball team over the years; and I'm sure that a player or two has needed to see an orthopedist. I spoke to the Director of Sports Medicine, told him we were graduates and asked who they use to get their athletes up and playing as fast as possible. He gave me a name. I gave it to my sister. The new doc and his colleague decide to take a different approach with my niece. She'll be playing a lot sooner than originally thought.

That night my niece called to thank me for finding the doctor. Yep, once again, listening to some whining and removing someone from a situation for a bit came back with a nice reward. Yes, it was my family; but I know without a doubt someone in your professional world has a thank you with your name on it. Go make someone's life better today. Give em an earful; but then help them out.

And a big THANK YOU to Doug Straley at Manhattan College - for giving a fellow Jasper a few moments of his time - and making an eleven year old a bit happier.

Rich DiGirolamo is a professional speaker from Wolcott, CT. He calls himself The Big Kid and enjoys "making painful processes fun." To learn more about Rich please visit http://www.richdigirolamo.com or http://www.recessatworkday.com

How To Be A Good Employee

Like your job? Want to keep it? Here are some simple things you can do to make the boss happy, feel good about yourself, and perhaps keep you out of trouble.

1. Show up for work on time - You would think this is obvious; but you have no idea how many people do not understand how important this is. People create an image or perception of you based on your ability to show up on time. No matter how hard you work or how many hours you might give to the company during the week, regularly walking in the door late sends a bad message. Set your alarm clock to ring earlier; or do what my friend does...............his staff call him every morning to make sure he is out of bed.

2. Offer to pick up a loose end for someone else - It's happened; you look up from your desk or away from your computer monitor and everyone is walking out the door. Everyone but you. You've got just one more thing to do; one more thing that would take half the amount of time if someone was nice enough to stick around and help you. But they want to get home, to a kid's sporting event, to their yoga class or to the bar. Frustrated? Are your eyes glaring at those people? Let's take a deep breath here and think........When was the last time you stopped to help someone who had that same look on their face? Stop saying you're a team player and start acting like one. You might even start a trend.

3. Take on a new project with enthusiasm - How exciting; you were just given the project that no one else in the organization wants. It's boring, mundane and will probably not lead to any new initiatives. Your boss may have suggested that "we need to do this even though nothing is going to come of it." What can you do to make it fun; to make it interesting? I remember an administrative assistant sharing a story about having to find a lost document in a file cabinet. She was told the file was in one of these drawers - as she looked at a row of about thirty drawers - each looking like a double-wide trailer. She decided she was going to take the opportunity to learn more about what the company does. She figured there was a lot of information in these file cabinets that would tell her about the products, services, history and policies of the company. She was right. Down the road it helped her better understand some of the decisions being made by management.

4. Offer new ideas to your leadership - It happens all the time; you have a great idea. You are 100% certain it would have a positive impact on the operations of your team, department, division or perhaps even the company. You suggest the idea. It is shot down. Great idea. Wrong time. You suggest another. It too is shot down. It is at this point many employees shut down and stop offering their ideas. Don't stop offering ideas; it shows initiative as well as your commitment to the organization. You would be surprised how many times an employee idea became a policy, a revenue generator or a cost savings down the road. When your idea is shot down, don't think No, think Not Now!

5. SHUT UP! - Yes I know, she's lazy, he's a backstabber, that group is undermining your efforts; what does he really do; she's the Flavor of the Month; pay sucks; management is unfair. SHUT UP! Keep it to yourself. Do not talk negatively about another employee or your employer. Not only will it keep you out of trouble but it will keep you from falling into the negativity that is so pervasive in many organizations. Negativity just tends to fuel more negativity. Labels then get attached to you; and once a negative label has been attached to you your chances of upward mobility get squashed - no matter how much contribution you have made.

That's it. I know it seems simple. I know it seems obvious. But I'll bet if you shared this article with ten of your friends or colleagues and asked them to be honest - brutally honest - I'll bet they would have violated a couple of these simple rules. Try it. I dare you. I double dare you.

Rich DiGirolamo is a professional speaker from Wolcott, CT. He calls himself The Big Kid and enjoys "making painful processes fun." To learn more about Rich please visit http://www.richdigirolamo.com/ or http://www.recessatworkday.com/.