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Text Box: The days are getting shorter. The hot summer days are behind us. Schools are back in session. These are the things that signal a time of seasonal change all around us. They can also be a signal telling us it’s time to take stock in our business to identify areas for improvement and needed action before the end of the calendar year. Get busy now and you won’t need to scramble at year’s end!   Below are some tips and best practices that might help in your efforts. There is also the usual fun stuff. Enjoy!     - Ernie

Text Box: September 2008

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

Text Box: Fun Stuff Strange Facts and Then Some!   Some of these are hard to believe. Enjoy! Hummingbirds can't walk. Despite the hump, a camel's spine is straight. The largest eggs, in the world, are actually laid by sharks. Jacques Cousteau invented scuba gear while in the French Resistance during World War II. There are more nutrients in the cornflake package itself than in the cornflakes. Soda water does not contain soda. More money is printed daily for the Monopoly game than is printed by the U.S. Treasury. There is a city called Rome on every continent. The screwdriver was invented before the screw. The names of the three wise monkeys are: Mizaru-See no evil, Mikazaru-Hear no evil, Mazaru-Speak no evil. There are no rivers in Saudi Arabia. Anteaters prefer termites to ants. Nine pennies weigh exactly one ounce. A female ferret will die if it goes into heat and cannot find a mate. When opossums are playing opossum, they are not really playing. They actually pass out from sheer terror. A species of earthworm in Australia grows up to 10 feet in length. Non-dairy creamer is flammable. Spain literally means "the land of rabbits." Earth is the only planet not named after a god. Snails can sleep for 3 years without eating.

Text Box: Creating  a High Performance Organization   Many organizations are plagued with customer service problems, inefficient operations, high costs, unhappy customers, disenfranchised employees, and a lack of accountability. If asked, we would all want a high performing organization, one that out sells the competition, where employees go the extra mile, where customers give rave reviews. So what keeps us from having such an ideal place to work and the success that goes with it?   There are certain things we can do to minimize and eliminate problems and create a company where people want to work and do their very best, feel valued because they provide value, and customers are happy.   What if we understood our employees better and how they learn? We could teach them more and they would want to learn and become better skilled and able!   What if we knew why our employees behaved the way they do? We could predict how they will perform and how successful they will be individually and as a team!   What if we knew a better way for performance management and had the systems in place to improve such things as communication, planning, and training? We could provide employees with the tools they needed to do their very best and when they succeed, we all succeed!   What if each employee knew their strengths and weaknesses and how to maximize the former and minimize the latter? Everyone could do their very best and provide maximum value to the team effort leading to those rave reviews!   What if we had a process that could help us identify our roadblocks, move them out of our way, develop real solutions, implement those solutions and do it with employee buy-in? We could have a company that creates a plan that works and works its plan for true success!   All of these are within our reach!   If you want to turn your company into a High Performance Organization, join us at the upcoming series starting October 8th. Attend one or all five and see how you can make a difference and get better results!   View the workshops and find more information at: www.ealewisconsulting.com

Text Box:   Game Show Question   A game-show contestant reaches the final challenge: Two security guards are each holding identical closed brief cases. In one there is $1,000,000; in the other there is only plain paper. The guards know what is in each case. The contestant is told that one guard will lie and the other will tell the truth - but not which guard is which. He is then told that he can ask one guard just one question, and then he must choose one case or the other.   What question should he ask?   * Answer at the bottom!

Text Box: In This Issue a) Creating a High Performance Organization b) Are You a Transactional or Transformational Leader? c) How’s Your Command Presence?’ d) Notable Web Site: ZDNet.com e) Fun Stuff: Strange Facts and Then Some! f) Test Your Creativity: Game Show Question   With quotes on WORK by Anne Frank and Louisa May Alcott.

Text Box: WORK   “Laziness may appear attractive, but work gives satisfaction.”   - ANNE FRANK The Diary of a Young Girl     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

Text Box: For professionals interested in performance improvement.