January 2005 Newsletter

Konfused?

A university student came to class with a large "K" printed on his T-shirt.

When a classmate asked him what the "K" stood for, he said, "Confused."

"But you don't spell 'confused' with a 'K,'" the questioner said.

The student replied, "You don't understand how confused I am."

With our hectic schedules, tight deadlines, and unparalleled accumulations of "stuff," it's easy to forget whether we are coming or going.

When your life is in order, you can have confidence in your ability to act quickly and efficiently, but stress will abound and credibility will erode when things are out of order. Replace clutter and confusion with confidence and credibility.


Orderliness vs. Chaos

It would be great if we needed to organize our lives only once, but life doesn't work that way. Indeed, orderliness requires a daily battle to keep ourselves and our surroundings in order.

Rate yourself on a scale of one to ten. Start with your house, car, and workplace. Move on to the less visible areas such as your closets, trunk, and briefcase. Finally, consider your thoughts and personal habits. How efficiently have you organized these areas?

Don't give up if you didn't rate very high. You have already recognized how disorder hinders you and identified which areas need work. Now, consider the following steps.

  1. Make a battle plan. Define the purpose for the area and the things you are arranging, and use this purpose to set priorities and establish goals.
  2. Call for reinforcements. Recognize when you need help from others who deal with the area or who have greater expertise.
  3. Use best practices. Devise a system to accomplish your goals and work it into your daily schedule.
  4. Do it because it is right. Do not allow the pressure of the moment to distract you.
  5. Ask others to hold you accountable. Accept and consider the suggestions of those around you.
  6. Be consistent. Reject the temptation to "put it here for now" or "put it away after the next use."

The benefits of orderliness far outweigh the effort necessary to put things where they belong.

  1. Orderly habits allow you to clear your mind and attack each problem systematically.
  2. Orderly surroundings allow you to find things quickly when and where you need them.
  3. Orderly thought processes allow you to get better sleep as you schedule your work and deal with each project systematically.
  4. Improved efficiency will help you save money by allowing you to get the most from your current resources.
  5. An organized approach to each project will build a good personal and professional image.
  6. Orderliness will build team and family morale by allowing you to set workable goals and see significant accomplishment.

Don't delay! Today is the day to begin experiencing the rewards of orderliness.

By Larry Rhoads, Executive Director of the Character Training Institute


Cultivating a Culture of Excellence

Soft contemporary, jazz, and bluegrass tunes floated down from the speakers as week-after-Christmas shoppers browsed through leftover Christmas trees and wrapping paper marked 50 percent off. Nearby, ceramic candy jars stood ready for the folks who had already started planning for Valentine's Day.

Mrs. John Mayhen paused her search through the silk ivy to say that she liked the large variety, from sewing supplies to gift items, and the wide selection in each department.

Rhonda and her mother were looking for canvas. They shop at Hobby Lobby about once a week because the variety fits their interest in many kinds of crafts, and Rhonda also appreciates the atmosphere. "I like Hobby Lobby just because it's a Christian store, and I can usually find what I want better here than anywhere else," she said.

According to Dee Johnson, Hobby Lobby is also a good place to work. She started in a Houston store and transferred when her husband's work brought them back to Oklahoma. "If I've got to work outside the home, this is where I'll be. It's like a family," Johnson said, as she took a short break from sorting the new stock of buttons.

At Hobby Lobby, character is more than a program; it's a part of the everyday culture. Hobby Lobby's stated purpose is to operate according to strong moral principles, to offer customers unbeatable value, and to serve the employees. The company currently has 360 stores in 27 states and employs 16,000 people. Rick Miller manages the store at Reno and MacArthur in western Oklahoma City.

Miller had nearly 30 years of experience managing grocery stores before coming to Hobby Lobby eight years ago. He observed the staff didn't exhibit the cliquishness he had seen in his previous experience, and he sees Hobby Lobby's decision to close on Sunday as evidence of the company's commitment to help employees cultivate family and faith. Founder David Green "puts his money where his mouth is," Miller said, "so right away, you know he means what he says."

At Hobby Lobby headquarters, president Steve Green said, "The concept of the facility here is 'we are here to serve the stores.' We try to do as much as we can here to make their job as easy as possible." For example, when some store managers were struggling to find designers to make a particular arrangement, Hobby Lobby solved the problem by hiring a designer at the corporate level and letting that person coordinate assembly.

The international department tries to make the buyer's job as easy as possible, coordinating the logistics of delivery so that the buyer can concentrate on keeping up with trends and aggressively pursuing the best buy. Green pointed out how the entire system ultimately helps the store manager deliver the best stuff to the customer at the best price.

As Hobby Lobby continues to grow, the leadership continues to reinforce the values they hold and hire the best people they can find. Every month with their paychecks, employees at Miller's store receive a Character First Bulletin corresponding to the monthly character quality, and Miller refreshes the display case in the break room so that everyone has a daily reminder of the monthly character quality.

The company provides a policy manual for each store manager, but "We want him or her to run that store," Green said. The district manager's job is to check in occasionally and make sure that the manager is able and willing to do the job.

Similarly, the company instructs its buyers not to receive gifts from vendors or potential vendors. "We don't want it to influence their decision who to buy from," Green said. In cases where a vendor knows this policy and still sends a gift, buyers do not do any further business with that vendor.

This threefold approach, freedom to take responsibility, regular reinforcement, and accountability to the organization's goals and values, reaches every level and provides an example many could follow. As Miller said, "I try to catch people doing something right. I try to be a teacher as well as giving a pat on the back."


Building Character in Young People

By Robert Greenlaw
Many parents will tell their children to "be good," but what exactly does that mean? We must talk about character, read about character, point out the good qualities we see in one another, and model character in our lives.

Set a Start Date. Plan what day and week you will begin your family character emphasis. You can build anticipation by talking about something special coming up. The introductory portion of Achieving True Success: How to Build Character as a Family can help you prepare.

Have a Character Kick-off. Sit down with your children and introduce your new family project. Tell them that each week you will study a particular character quality. Read or select volunteers to read the poem, "A Fence or an Ambulance," out of the ATS book. Talk about the meaning of the poem. If your younger children want to make pictures that depict the poem and its meaning, display these around your home or classroom.

Follow a Schedule. Set a time at the beginning of each week to read about the new character quality from the ATS book. Discuss the applications suggested in the book and add any other examples that you or your children have. Set specific goals for yourselves and keep one another accountable to build that quality throughout the week.

Work as a Team. Approach this project as a team effort, not as something enforced on the children. Admit your mistakes, and make a conscious effort to develop character. This will set a good example for your children to follow.


To Change a Community

When Charles Blakley discovered Character First!, he quickly realized the positive benefits that character development could bring in his community. Now, as a result of his efforts, an entire city government has begun to focus on character development.

In cooperation with the International Association of Character Cities, Blakley introduced the concept of community-wide character emphasis to the city's manager Bruce Stone. As a result, Stone led the city council to designate The Village, Oklahoma, as a City of Character.

Stone also ensured funding was available so that the city's department managers and supervisors can attend the next Character First! Business Seminar. This immediate action represents a big step toward cultivating a culture of character among the city’s personnel. Without proper training, it is often difficult to successfully implement a character focus.

After effectively implementing a character emphasis, many cities have experienced increased employee morale, worker productivity, and community good will. When businesses, schools, faith organizations, media outlets, and even individual families recognize these benefits, they gain interest and often become part of a broader initiative such as a Character Council, which can organize further efforts.

Though larger efforts require many members of a community, these benefits became possible for The Village because Charles Blakley took the initiative to make a difference in his community.