Text Box: Spring is here! The weather is getting warmer and the days are getting longer. Here are a few ideas that you might find useful.    - Ernie

Text Box: March 2008

Text Box: See you next issue! Ernie ernest@ealewisconsulting.com

Text Box: This is what you call creative advertising! - from funnyjunk.com

Text Box: Fun Stuff The United States 100 Years Ago... Sent in by Jim H. in sunny California. Thanks Jim! I think it was created in 2002 but it’s still interesting.   The year is 1902, one hundred years ago ...what a difference a century makes. Here are the U.S. statistics for 1902.... - The average life expectancy in the US was forty-seven (47). - Only 14 Percent of the homes in the US had a bathtub. - Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone. - A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost eleven dollars. - There were only 8,000 cars in the US and only 144 miles of paved roads. - The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph. - Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa, and Tennessee were each more heavily populated than California. - With a mere 1.4 million residents, California was only the 21st most populous state in the Union. - The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower. - The average wage in the US was 22 cents an hour. - The average US worker made between $200 and $400 per year. - A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year, a dentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year. - More than 95 percent of all births in the US took place at home. - Ninety percent of all US physicians had no college education. Instead, they attended medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press and by the government as "substandard." - Sugar cost four cents a pound. Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen. - Coffee cost fifteen cents a pound. - Most women only washed their hair once a month and used borax or egg yolks for shampoo. - The five leading causes of death in the US were:                  1. Pneumonia and influenza                  2. Tuberculosis                  3. Diarrhea                  4. Heart disease                  5. Stroke - The American flag had 45 stars. Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Hawaii and Alaska hadn't been admitted to the Union yet. - The population of Las Vegas, Nevada was 30. Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented. - There were no Mother's Day or Father's Day. - One in ten US adults couldn't read or write. Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school. - Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at corner drugstores. - According to one pharmacist, "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and the bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health." - Eighteen percent of households in the US had at least one full-time servant or domestic. - There were only about 230 reported murders in the entire US.

Text Box: Spring Cleaning This is a time when many people start to think about spring cleaning. They make plans for cleaning out that spare room or the garage, washing down the house from top to bottom, and raking the yard of all the winter debris.   This is also a good time to consider spring cleaning your business. There are probably many things you can do to get organized, streamline your business, and even beautify the work place. You can make plans to clean out the file storage room that has been overflowing for years. You can consider maintenance needs for your equipment or promote a healthy lifestyle program for employees such as walking and nutrition. If you are really ambitious, consider reviewing some part of your operations to discover improvement opportunities.   Spring time is a time for change and new beginnings in nature and can be a time for positive change in our business as well. When employees are in this new beginnings mind set, it’s a good time to introduce change that can bring improved productivity, high performance, and a better bottom line!

Text Box: Bridge Crossing   Four people come to a river in the night. There is a narrow bridge, but it can only hold two people at a time. Because it's night, the torch has to be used when crossing the bridge.   Amy can cross the bridge in 1 minute, Brian in 2 minutes, Cathy in 5 minutes, and Dave in 8 minutes. When two people cross the bridge together, they must move at the slower person's pace.   The question is, how can they all get across the bridge in 15 minutes or less?   * Answer at the bottom!

Text Box: In This Issue a) Spring Cleaning b) Notable Quotes: Henry Ford on Success and Muhammad Ali on Work c) Brain Teaser: Test Your Creativity! d) The Top 10 Business Trends Affecting Leadership e) Helpful Tip: Solving Performance Problems f) Fast Fact from SHRM.org g) Fun Stuff: The United States 100 Years Ago...

Text Box: ON SUCCESS   “Unless you have courage, a courage that keeps you going, always going, no matter what happens, there is no certainty of success. It is really an endurance race.”   - HENRY FORD, Theosophist Magazine, Feb. 1930   From Notable Quotes at http://www.notable-quotes.com

Text Box: Notable Quote

Text Box:   Executive Coaching  · Strategic Planning  · Team Building  · Continuous Improvement  · Professional Development © 2008, E.A. Lewis Consulting          www.ealewisconsulting.com

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Text Box: You are receiving this free newsletter at your request or as part of E.A. Lewis Consulting Services. If you have been forwarded this newsletter from someone you know and would like to subscribe, please click here to send an email. To remove your name from our mailing list, please click here to send an email.   This material is provided as general information only and is not a substitute for legal advice or consulting services specific to you, your employees, or your organization. This content may be forwarded in full, without permission, when used in a not-for-profit format. No other reproduction of this publication, in whole, or in part, is allowed without the express written consent of E.A. Lewis Consulting. This newsletter is a free service of E.A. Lewis Consulting, Management Tips and Best Practices Newsletter, all rights reserved. Copyright 2008 E.A. Lewis Consulting. For past issues, please click here   *Brain Teaser Answer:  Amy and Brian cross forward taking 2 minutes, Amy returns taking 1 minute, Cathy and Dave cross forward, taking 8 minutes, Brian returns taking 2 minutes, Amy and Brian cross forward taking 2 minutes, total = 15 minutes.

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Text Box: Brain Teaser

Text Box: ON WORK   “It's just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I beat people up.” - Muhammad Ali   From Amusing Quotes at http://www.amusingquotes.com

Text Box: Helpful Tip - Solving Performance Problems Are you experiencing employee performance problems? If so, you might want to investigate whether expectations and feedback are clear and concise. Most employees want to do a good job. But often, when we investigate performance issues, we find that expectations haven’t been clearly defined and that employees are rarely or improperly given feedback to help them do better.   Thorough and timely performance evaluations are a necessity. One useful tool I often and highly recommend is the Coaching Analysis by Ferdinand Fournies, author of Coaching for Improved Work Performance. The analysis is a simple series of questions that help you walk through the steps to objectively analyze a situation and correctly identify the problem area and resolve the performance issue. It also provides you with a structured approach that considers expectations, feedback and accountability.   You can find Fournies’ books at libraries and bookstores everywhere and I’ve recreated his Coaching Analysis diagram at: http://www.ealewisconsulting.com/performance_problems.htm