WOW Word-Of-the-Week #394: Involvement
February 22, 2012 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on WOW Word-Of-the-Week #394: Involvement
Involvement – engaged and/or fully occupied.
Do you feel involvement in your professional life? Are you a part of the decision making process? Are you fully engaged when it comes to your personal life?
This is the fifth in the series of WOW’s from my book, “The FUN-Damental Secrets of Service: How to have FUN and make your customers feel good about spending their money!” The I in SERVIce stands for Involvement. I believe involvement is about being connected with the people around you, caring about them and how they are doing.
It’s like being on a basketball team. You make your teammates’ job easier; they make your job easier. After all, your professional future is determined by the future of the company you work for.
As far as your personal life, do you give those around you your full attention? Are you fully engaged and involved? I remember one of my male audience members complaining that his wife takes too long to tell him how her day was. My response was, “Is it hard for you to just listen? Is it OK to not be able to “fix” her problems?
You see, we all process our day differently. Being involved with your family and friends means caring about them and how they are doing. Sometimes that means we need to just listen. Sometimes that requires more patience! That applies to all the people we come in contact with at work as well. And that brings me to:
FUN-damental Service Secret #6
“If You Can’t Get Out Of It;
Get Into It!”
This week focus on how involved you are each day. At work are you just going through the motions every day or do you really care about your co-workers and the company you work for? How involved are you with your customers, guests, clients or members? Could you be more involved and engaged with your loved ones?
Reader Responses
“Involvement is a key word. It is very easy to just go through the motions as if we cared about those around us. It reminds me a of quote from the current Marquette University basketball coach Buzz Williams. During the season, he jets around the country recruiting players on days off in addition to spending time with his team at practice. Coach Buzz says that once he leaves the gym and heads back home to his wife and four kids, it is then that he is “present with his kids.” He listens to them and what his wife has been through during the day. It reminded me that I need to continue to listen to what my wife and daughters say about THEIR days. And, I have to admit, there are times at home I tune my wife out. She will kid me about the fact that I am just like her father. Kristen said that when her mom was talking to her dad, he would occasionally walk out of the room when she went on too long about something. I guess I am doing the same thing. So, that is something I need to work on at home. At work, I make sure that I listen to my co-workers and bosses so that I know exactly what I can do to help the team. I feel an important involvement with the team and how it can improve. So, this is an important word, Susan. Thank you. Have a great weekend.” – “Warrior” Joe
FUN-travel: South America – Galapagos Islands – Day 7 & 8
February 19, 2012 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: South America – Galapagos Islands – Day 7 & 8
Day 10 – Monday, February 13 – Isabella & Fernandina Islands – low, thick, dark ominous clouds shroud the volcano mountain tops – showers all morning
Marine Iguana
- Bad News – same 6:30 wakeup drill
- 1st Excursion – 8 to 9 – Zodiac tour around massive volcano cliffs
Galapagos hawk
- Bad News – raining & cold!
- Good News – see penguins, fur sea lions, sea turtles
- 11 to 12 – deep water snorkel
- Good News – put on wet suit – water cold
- Really Good News – swim right next to 2 penguins & a sea turtle!
- Good News – more good food @ lunch
- 2nd Excursion – 3 to 6 – Punta Espinosa – dry landing on lava rocks
- Good News – huge numbers of marine iguanas swimming into shore & plopped on the rocks to warm up
- Good News – see iguana condos – females are nesting – digging holes in the sand to lay their eggs
- More Good News – lots of sea lions & 1 penguin
- Good News – after dinner walk on deck – awesome abundance of brilliant stars! Also forgot, saw almost full moon on sat
Sea Lions Sleeping
- Bad News – dinner wine spill fiasco! – waiter spilled my full glass of wine – never replaces it & brings me the bill – when asked for the replacement glass, told he would have to check – never gets back & now I have to go to head waiter who gives me the same run around – turns out they think I spilled it! Waiter never owned up to his accident – too late to continue to argue & go to bed
Marine Iguanas Warming Up
FF (FUN-facts) – Penguins have white stomachs & black backs. They sun on the rocks w/their backs to the water so they blend in.
Day 11 – Tuesday, February 14 – Isabella Island – central coast – balmy morning turns to high 90’s – blue skies w/distant clouds
- Bad News – same 6:30 wakeup drill
- 1st Excursion – 8 to 9:30 – zodiac tour @ Calet Tagus
Polly the Penguin
- Good News – see more blue footed boobies & brown noddy terns
- Good News – more massive volcanic cliffs w/nesting Pelicans & baby chicks
Nestiing Pelican & Chicks
- Really Good News – total National Geographic Moment! – plunge diving – massive number of birds dropping out of the sky – diving straight down like kamikaze pilots having feeding frenzy along w/penguins & sea lions!
- 10 to 11:30 – hike up to top of volcanic rock – commanding views of lava flows & salt water lake – see other side of island
- Good News – lunch on deck – more good food w/Valentine desserts
- 2nd Excursion – 1 hr zodiac ride doesn’t sound that great so have nice siesta
- Good News – Chris & I are crowned Valentine King & Queen as most loving couple on ship!
Plunge Diving Feeding Frenzy
FUN-travel: South America – Galapagos Islands – Day 5 & 6
February 16, 2012 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: South America – Galapagos Islands – Day 5 & 6
Day 8 – Saturday, February 11 – Baltra & Santiago Islands – sunny, humid, high 80’s
Pinnacle Rock
- Bad News – same 6:30 wakeup drill (printed sheet read 7 am)
- 4 day passengers disembark – only 6 of us doing 10 days
- 1st Excursion – 10:45 – Baltra beach
Santiago Island
- Bad News – not very nice & not good snorkeling
- More Bad News – sea lion gets comfortable next to my snorkel gear then starts barking & chases me
- Bad News – 12 noon back on ship
- Good News – more good food @ lunch & nice siesta!
- 2nd Excursion – 5 to 7 pm – Sullivan Bay, Santiago Island
- Good News – walk on huge lava formations – only 120 yrs old – see more marine iguanas, lava lizards
Day 9 – Sunday, February 12 – Bartholomew & James Islands – morning high clouds, breezy – afternoon thick gray clouds – showers
Lava Cactus
- Bad News – same 6:30 wakeup drill
Lave Lizard
- Good News – it’s my birthday!
- 1st Excursion – 8 to 10 – hike up hill – 360 steps
- Good News – complete wooden walk way to top w/stunning views of the distant volcano & lave flows
- Good News – beach snorkel – see 4 penguins sunning on rocks, 4 ft reef shark, stingray, sea lions
- More Good News – most volume of fish ever, clear water & actually swim w/sea lion
- Good News – more good food @ lunch & nice siesta!
View From Top of Bartholomew
- 2nd Excursion – 4 to 7 – Playa Espumilla wet landing in soft volcanic sand – big waves breaking on beach
Zodiac Back to Ship
- Bad News – disappointing! short hike w/not much to see
- More Bad News – attempt to snorkel but too murky & rough
- Good News – Surprise birthday party – it’s a surprise who of my new friends on board shows up!
FF (FUN-facts) – There are 13 species of Darwin Finches. They all have different types of beaks. They adapted based on the food source. Some eat seeds, some eat insects, some remove ticks from tortoises, some eat leaves, some eat flowers, some drink blood from sea birds & 2 species use twigs or cactus spines to extract larvae from dead tree branches.
FUN-travel: South America – Galapagos Islands – Day 3 & 4
February 14, 2012 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: South America – Galapagos Islands – Day 3 & 4
Day 6 – Thursday, February 9 – Bahia Ballena, Santa Cruz Island & Rabida Island- billowy white clouds, warm, high 80’s
Lorena the Land Tortoise
- Bad News – same wake up drill @6:30
- 1st Excursion – 8 am wet landing w/walk around main hill
Yellow Warbler or Canary
- Good News – see land tortoise & birds
- Bad News – too rough to snorkel – back to ship 10 am
- Good News – nice lunch w/lots of food options & back to room to siesta!
- 2nd Excursion – 3 to 5 pm – Rabida Island
- Good News – 1 hour easy walk – red sand beach caused from iron
- Good News – snorkeling – see 2 fish I’ve never seen before
- Good News – pouring rain starts when we’re back on board
FF (FUN-facts) – Galapagos consists of 19 volcanic islands the straddle the equator 600 miles of the Ecuadorian Coast.
Galpagos Frigate
Day 7 – Friday, February 10 – Santa Cruz & Plazas Islands – billowy white clouds, warm, high 80’s
- Really Bad News – 6:15 wakeup call
Spring Blooms
- 1st Excursion – 7:30 depart for Charles Darwin Research Station
- Bad News – 1 hour bus ride
- More Bad News – arrive Puerto Arroyo (other side of the island – wonder why they didn’t anchor ship here and eliminate bus ride)
- Good News – see massive land turtles weighing up to 500 lbs & land iguanas
- Good News – have time to walk in town
- Good News – freshly caught fish are cleaned & sold in town square
- Good News – local pelicans & seals jockey for the scraps
- Bad News – arrive 12:30 after bus ride back
- Good News – more good food @ lunch & nice siesta!
- 2nd Excursion – 3 pm Plazas Island
Newborn Nasca Chick
- Good News – zodiac tour – see lots of birds, huge sea lion nursery – protected pups playing in tide pools
- Good News/Bad News – nice big 10 ft. shark trolling the waters for some local lunch
- Good News – easy 90 minute walk – see beautiful red, orange, green low lying bushes & huge yellow blooming cactus
FF – Galapagos was UNESCO’s first named World Heritage Site in 1978.
WOW Word-Of-the-Week #393: Values
February 14, 2012 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on WOW Word-Of-the-Week #393: Values
Values – your system for guiding your conscience.
Do you have a clear picture of what is right and wrong, acceptable and unacceptable? Do you work for a company that has a strong sense of values?
This is the fourth in the series of WOW’s from my book, “The FUN-Damental Secrets of Service: How to have FUN and make your customers feel good about spending their money!” The V in SERVice stands for Values. It means that a person believes in the basic simple truths about human behavior. Things like being truthful, conducting your affairs honestly, following through, being there for someone, and being reliable. Doing what is morally and ethically right.
And that includes putting in a full day’s work for a full day’s pay. It sort of goes back to the idea of respect: if you respect people, you won’t try to cheat them. If you respect your job, you won’t try to shortcut it. And most important if you respect yourself, you’ll conduct yourself with dignity.
In my study of behavior and why people do what they do, I learned that your belief system determines your values, your values determine your attitudes, and your attitudes get played out in your behavior.
Have you found that as you have grown and matured some of the values your parents instilled in you are no longer your values? Or have your values changed based on your experiences or environment?
This week focus on your values. Do you always let your conscience be your guide? Are you proud of the company that you work for because they are true to their values? Have you ever stopped seeing someone because they didn’t share the same values?
Readers Responses
“I liked what you said about values, attitude and behavior, and how our belief system affected all three. As I thought about it, I believe you are correct. Not only is my conscience my guide, but I find that the values inculcated by my parents are stronger today than when I was growing up. My wife and I have inculcated these same values in our daughters. My 10-year-old’s grade school has a slogan on its marquee: “Character counts.” And everyone in the school from the principal on down through the kindergarten teachers epitomize this in their work with the students. Values flow from the top-down. And that goes for any workplace. If the executives at the top are exhibiting solid values, then it will flow down to the workers. This is an important word in these tough times. Thanks, Susan.” – “Warrior” Joe