Innovate or Capitulate: In The Struggle For Survival, The Fittest Win

"This means we can’t go backward, and we can’t stand still. We can’t rest on our laurels and we can’t keep doing what we’ve always done — even if we are doing our best, we need to keep doing it better."

Good Morning Folks,

"Innovation" is one of those buzzwords you hear all the time. People are always talking about being a "leader in innovation" or "taking innovation into the twenty-first century". It can look like some kind of innovation nation out there. It's hard to tell who is devoted to innovation and who is simply paying lip service to It. We at FSO are serious about innovation. So serious that we use the word (re) IMAGINE to define who we are: a partner dedicated to always finding new and better ways to improve service, lower costs and take better care of people.

I believe complacency is when innovation ends. The advantage every business has, but few in our industry leverage to the advantage that we do, is the ability to innovate and reinvent. So many great companies lose their edge and end up playing catch-up until they're obsolete. That’s not going to happen here.

Dramatic paradigm sights are occurring in every industry, YOUR industry because traditional barriers to entry don't exist anymore. If you don't think a new era of change and creative destruction isn't headed to your door step, you are sadly mistaken. If you want to be on top, you have to look at innovation in a new, interactive way. You have to believe it is worth coin, its worth doing wrong. You have to be willing to try your model, test it, innovate around it, get out, screw up, and then do it right. You have to understand that speed is everything in an electronic realm because you can fix mistakes before anyone realizes that mistakes were made.

We are facing the biggest transformation the way business is conducted since the industrial revolution. If you are willing to innovate, you are taking steps towards crashing your competition.

The problem according to ANTHONY IANNARINO of there sales blog is change, He writes:

==> Change is more difficult than you believe. Having an intellectual understanding the reason something needs to change isn’t enough. An emotional need to change is necessary and more powerful. 

 ==> Change is psychological. You first have to have a shift in your mindset, your personal philosophy, your personal psychology. Without that shift, there will be no change.

Why something is being changed is more important than how that change is accomplished.

==> Change takes longer than you believe.  It takes longer to sell, longer to build consensus, and longer to execute before results are seen. It is mistake to believe the results of change will be realized quickly, even though change happens in a second 

==> Change comes with built-in enemies. The very fact that you are trying to make change will cause some to oppose you. Resistance is your enemy when you try to change yourself. 

Most change initiatives die not because the idea isn’t good or necessary but because it was poorly executed. The change is usually poorly executed because it lacks executive engagement. People are exceptionally gifted at waiting out change initiatives. 

We overestimate what we can accomplish in a short period of time and underestimate what we accomplish over a longer period. When results don’t come fast, change initiatives are often abandoned. The better results were only a little bit further.

==> Sometimes change initiatives fail because too many variables are changed at once. One major change might have been enough to produce a result, but because so much was attempted, nothing really changed. When too much is changed, you can’t easily figure out what is working and what isn’t.

Radical change very quickly becomes the new status quo. It soon develops its own defenders who protect it from future change.

As an owner and CEO, I am keenly aware that rapid change in business and technology is the “new normal.” The only way for our company to survive, let alone thrive, is to continuously reinvent and redefine— everything.

This means we can’t go backward, and we can’t stand still. We can’t rest on our laurels and we can’t keep doing what we’ve always done — even if we are doing our best, we need to keep doing it better.

The spirit of innovation is a cornerstone of our company. Because at FSO, we never stop rethinking, refreshing and (re)IMAGINING a better future for our clients. We work together with our clients to foster innovation. Our process contains not only a method for generating ideas, but also a system for managing change. Similar to our methodology for continuous improvement, we challenge all levels of our organization to challenge the status quo.  

We reward continuous improvement and innovation; as a result our employees are motived to identify opportunities for improvement and innovation. Our employees are expected to always seek new ways to make our client’s life better through our white glove treatment; the whole FSO Experience. It is not just a tagline for our brand – rather, it is the culture that drives everything we do.

Since our founding six short years ago, we’ve matured from just a service provider among many, to a true strategic partner like no other. In over 160 client sites nationally we’ve become "entrenched" and so "important" to how our clients operate from the first impression - to amazing smiles and hospitality - to all services from mail, copy, records, conference centers, security, concierge, IT and much more. We are the glue that makes our clients business run seamlessly. We are part of their company, and critical to their success.

To our team: You have been given the opportunity to show what you’re made of, to be so much stronger and better than you were just the day before, and to show the world of business a better way.  

So as you get ready to start your day take a second to think; how am I contributing to my clients' success? How can I be better?

How can I get to infinity and beyond? 

How can I be that star, that hero that brings to our clients all the positive change, wealth and success they deserve?

IT IS YOU that makes FSO who we are. Love Life!

Mitchell D. Weiner

Chief Happiness Officer  

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"In the struggle for survival, the fittest win out at the expense of their rivals because they succeed in adapting themselves best to their environment." ~~ Charles Darwin

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S. ANTHONY IANNARINO is the President and Chief Sales officer for SOLUTIONS Staffing, a best-in-class regional staffing service based in Columbus, OhioHe is also the Managing Director of B2B Sales Coach & Consultancy, a boutique sales coaching and consulting company where he works to help salespeople and sales organizations improve and reach their full potential. And he works ass an adjunct faculty member at Capital University’s School of Management and Leadership. Anthony teaches Personal Selling in the undergraduate program, and I teach Persuasive Marketing and Social Media Marketing in the MBA program.

FSO Chicago Goes To The Ballgame

It is said, "The way your employees feel is the way your customers will feel. And if your employees don't feel valued, neither will your customers." We believe in putting employees front and center with power and imagination — to fire enthusiasm, build company loyalty, encourage creative thinking and teamwork and create long-lasting memories.

As an example, our Vice President of Sales, Ron Kelly, hosted a team outing on the rooftops in Wrigleyville with a few of our Chicago top performers. It was a great opportunity for folks who are in the business of delivering hospitality to witness VIP hospitality from a customer's shoes. They picked up many tips and ideas to take back to the sites. What's more, the Cubs won!

This is how we take care of the people who take care of you.

CHEERS to our Chicago team, and THANK YOU for all for your dedication and commitment to our clients. 

FSO Front of House: Delivering A Warm and Memorable Experience

“First impressions are everything and having Kelly represent us the way she does leaves a lasting impression with our guests."

"I couldn’t be”happier with my decision, when I walk in the door and present this building to my customers."

Good Morning Folks,

Your front of house is the storefront for your organization. FSO’s first impression makers on duty bring your brand values to life by delivering a memorable and white-glove experience that is genuine in delivery and sustained over time.

• FSO provides a white-glove experience to your end-users and clients through a Personal + Passionate + Productive culture of hospitality.
• Our well-trained staff creates a warm and highly inspirational experience for your valued employees and guests.
• We provide five-star front of house service, delivering a full range of solutions, including reception, switchboard, corporate concierge, and office support.

Our clients ask: “What we can do differently to stand out in the market?” FSO’s concierge associates are all about that first smile, shining in hospitality, and delivering accurate information as your organization’s ambassador. They always seek new ways to make our client’s life better, and deliver an exceptional experience.

No other onsite outsourcing organization is as committed to leveraging a triple threat combination of People, Solutions and Technology to reduce / control costs, improve service, and take better care of the people who serve you:

+ People

• Reception Switchboard Corporate Concierge Office Support Security

+ Solutions

• Hospitality Services Hoteling Services Reprographic Services Traditional Services

+ Technology

• Help Desk
• Performance (KPI / SLA) Management
• Facility Scheduling / Booking

From back office support to reception, FSO is a go-to group, totally invested in going "above and beyond” to assist. 

To reserve a no-cost, no-obligation, comparative analysis to see how much you can save, and how much stands to be improved, CLICK HERE to email me personally.

Have a GREAT Day. Love Life.

I'll be a seeing you soon.

Mitchell D. Weiner

Chief Happiness Officer  

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“His big smile and friendly hello I so welcoming.

Now every day, I get that same warm hello, 

regardless of how hot it is outside,

and it just helps me start my day off right.”

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Inspire Me Friday: How Real Leaders Act

“Everyone has the right to have a career 

not just a job at my company” ~~ Mitch Weiner

Good Morning Folks,

I spotted this at ALA last week. Since a very key component of our strategy and success is our Future Leaders Program (FLP), I'm shaing with you in the spirit of sending you off to the weekend on a high note.

==> How real leaders act:
1. They develop a positive mental attitude and let it be seen and felt by others.
2. They always speak in a carefully disciplined, friendly tone.
3. They pay close attention to someone speaking to them.
4. They are able to maintain their composure in all circumstances.
5. They are patient.
6. They keep an open mind.
7. They smile when speaking with others.
8. They know that not all their thoughts need to be expressed.
9. They don't procrastinate.
10. They engage in at least one good deed a day.
11. They find a lesson in failure rather than brood over it.
12. They act as if the person they are speaking to is the most important person in the world.
13. They praise others in a genuine way without being excessive.
14. They have someone they trust point out their flaws

Your energy, enthusiasm and professionalism are always greatly appreciated. 

Have a fabulous, sunny weekend filled with love and inspiration.  

Be great and (re)IMAGINE!

Mitchell D. Weiner

Chief Happiness Officer  

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"Only from the heart can you touch the sky."

~~ Rumi

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Learn more about what DIFFERENTIATES FSO here

At FSO, Perfection is the Expectation – No Excuses!

"One of the biggest errors we can make in the delivery of Hospitality services is to assume that what we are doing is meeting the expectations of our clients. We never assume because we know what's happened when our competitors have: We eat their lunch!"

Good Morning Folks,

One of our most urgent corporate goals is "Perfection is the Expectation – No Excuses!"

We know that we need to deliver Service Extraordinaire. But how do we know we are meeting that expectation?  

Living in New York City in the 1980’s when Ed Koch was the Mayor, he had a very simple formula to find out if he was meeting expectations.  He would simply ask the people, “How Am I Doing?”  It is the simplest question and easiest format to solicit feedback. 

==> As managers, we are asking our staff, “How Am I Doing?”

==> As service providers, we are asking our clients when we deliver services, “How Are We Doing?” 

One of the biggest errors we can make in the delivery of Hospitality services is to assume that what we are doing is meeting the expectations of our clients. We never assume because we know what's happened when our competitors have: We eat their lunch!

So… today I challenge each and every FSO employee in our morning meetings – ASK THE QUESTION, and more importantly, listen for the answer. If the response is “fine” or “ok”, take the opportunity to follow up with another question – “How can I make your answer be ‘Perfect’”? 

In order to improve as a team, we must improve as individuals and constantly strive for perfection in our daily activities. Only through the consistent quest for feedback can we ensure that we are improving every day and inspiring happy clients and happy employees.  

most important thing is taking the feedback we receive and turning it into positive actions. No matter what position we hold within FSO, we have the responsibility to ask the question “How Are We Doing?”

Take the answers that you receive today and share them with management, so we can ensure PERFECTION – NO EXCUSES. This allows us to make it PERSONAL and by making it PERSONAL, we fulfill my vision, and legacy.

The passion, the hard work, the skip step and fire, and the overall communications resulting from this never-ending pursuit of excellence have been well-received.

Prospects we take on site tours leave VERY impressed and I am super proud!! They are BLOWN AWAY actually.

It's such an honor to work with each member of our FSO team, and having these individuals representing us in the field.

The is what differentiates us from our competition and why our great clients made that change from their current service provider to FSO. It's what we do everyday that makes us special and the obvious choice.  

Needless to say I am so pumped up for all of you and the great company we are building. We have the greatest people on earth who love what they do across FSO. 

Our future is bright and we have only just begun. 

FSO = Hospitality = YOU

Join me as we inspire a nation and fulfill dreams!  Lets rock the world together. 

Love Life!

Mitchell D. Weiner

Chief Happiness Officer  

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"Too many people miss the silver lining because they're expecting gold."

~~ Maurice Setter
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InspireME Friday: Don't Die With The Music Still Inside You

Good Morning Folks,

A couple of years ago, Adam Dachisapr, on a assignment for Lifehacker, put together, "Top 10 Highly-Desired Skills You Can Teach Yourself."

On countless occasions, you've likely said to yourself "I wish I knew how to do 
______."

Then, of course, life got in the way and you put it off until you could find the time.

Maybe you wanted to become fluent in a language, learn a new instrument, start performing your house repairs, or a master a myriad of other skills.

With the vast amount of knowledge online, you're now your only excuse.

==> 10 Diserable Skills You Can Teach Yourself Right Now BY ADAM DACHISAPR

10. Repair Just About Anything
Sure, you don't need to repair anything anymore. You can just pay someone else to
do it. But where's the ingenuity in that? Plus, who wants to waste a bunch of money
on simple tasks you can handle on your own?

If you've adopted the DIY spirit, learning to repair your own stuff is one of the
easiest and more rewarding skills you can acquire. It's especially fruitful because
as you learn new things, you can put them to use right away.

So how do you teach yourself?

We've outlined tons of repairs you can learn on your own to get you started, but if you're looking for something specific there is no shortage of how-to videos available on YouTube. There will be occasions when you do need to call a professional, as you're not going to be a master repairman (or woman) instantly, but do remember that there is an opportunity when things break: you can learn howto fix them.

9. Pick Up an Artistic Skill Like Illustration, Painting, or Photography
Although it often won't earn you the big bucks, artistic skills are highly desired because they provide you with the technical abilities required to create something beautiful. You're going to have to find your own inspiration and subject matter, but the skill you'll need is really just a matter of technical aptitude and practice.Picking up a book of anatomy and drawing different bones and muscles will teach you how to draw people.

Drawing grids over photographs can show you basic perspective. Obviously it isn't
as simple as that, but focusing on learning to draw one simple thing, like the petals
of a flower or the human hand, will help you learn how it works and get in a reasonable
amount of practice. When you're ready to move on from the basics and start illustrating
on your computer, check out our digital painting lessons. For those of you interested
in photography, we have lessons for you, too.

Whatever you're looking to learn, just set aside 15-30 minutes every day to practice
a very small part of that skill. It'll take awhile to teach yourself how to draw, paint, take better photos, make hamburger sculptures out of clay, or whatever it is you want to do, but breaking the daunting task into pieces and practicing each part slowly will do the trick. Plus, it's a really nice way to unwind at the end of the day.

8. Learn to Defend Yourself
Who likes getting their ass kicked? Probably a very small majority. If that's what you're into, it doesn't require much skill-just endurance. If you'd prefer to not end up hurt or injured as the result of an unexpected attack, perhaps it's time  to pick up some self-defense skills.

While you'll probably want to have a partner around to help you out-at least when you want to test your skill-we've outlined several self-defense moves that you can learn on your own. Although you will hopefully never need to actually employ the techniques you acquire, if you do you'll increase your chances of coming out of a fight unharmed. Plus, it's pretty cool to walk around with the confidence of being able to take on most anyone in a fight.

7. Improve Your Design Skills (or At Least Acquire a Sense of Style)
Design and style aren't an exact science, as tastes differ and change as time goes on, but there are a few principles you can pick up that'll make your work, home, or whatever needs an aesthetic boost looking better than average. If we're talking traditional design, you'll first want to learn the basics of type and layout.

These are skills you can employ in your everyday work to make it look a lot more attractive. This may seem like a nearly-useless skill, because spreadsheets aren't getting entered in any beauty contests, but when something looks good it can have a greater impact. That's always a plus in your work. If you want to take things a bit further, you can bump those skills up a notch and apply them to web site design in Photoshop. Your sense of style is even a useful thing when choosing a great wallpaper and creating a clean and organized desktop on your computer.

If your home is boring, just follow these guidelines for awesome interior design. You don't have to be a pro, but learning the basics of design can make your life a lot brighter.

6. Pick Up Just About Any Subject You Missed In College
Whether it's science, finance, math, humanities, law, or anything else, if there's a course you wish you took in college you're not out of luck-you can probably find it online. To help you out, we've rounded up every great source of online education so you can gain that knowledge you missed. What's great about learning online is that you can take it at your own pace and put in as much time as you can spare each day. You don't necessarily have to master a subject, either, but learn as much as you need or want to know. While you won't end up with a degree for your hard work, you will be a little bit smarter-and that's the most important part.

5. Build and Hack Electronic Hardware
We love technology, and we love it more when we can make it do pretty much whatever
we want. There is almost no end to what you can hack, but getting started does require
teaching yourself a few skills.Learning to build a computer is a good place to start.
Soldering is especially helpful, and understanding the basics of arduino can help you build some really neat stuff.

One of the best ways to get started is to pick a project and learn by doing.

4. Play a (New) Instrument
Whether you already know how to play an instrument and want to learn something new
or are musically inept, you'll find plenty of resources online to help you teach yourself to play just about anything. If guitar is your thing, you're in luck as you'd be hard-pressed to not find online lessons.

The Internet can also teach you piano, drums, and even orchestral instruments like the flute and violin. Just like with repair skills, you can find a lot of how-to videos on both YouTube.

In addition to the instrument, you're also going to want to learn a little music  theory.

3. Cook Like a Pro
With so many recipe sites and cooking skill how-to videos online, it's a surprise that everyone isn't a master chef at this point. There are so many simple things you can learn that can vastly improve your culinary skill set really quickly, many of which we've covered. We've written so much on the subject of learning to cook better that this little paragraph isn't enough to cover it all, but there are a few posts in particular that you'll want to read to get started.

First, these tips and tricks for budding foodies will make your learning process easier. Second, follow this station-by-station kitchen guide to stay organized and efficient when cooking. Finally, these must-know recipes will help you round out your arsenal of cooking knowledge. 

2. Become Fluent in a New Language
When we asked you which skills you really wanted to learn, language was at, or close to the top of many peoples' lists. Fortunately for you,this clever technique offers a way to all but master a new language in a short period of time by teaching yourself. You'll still have to work hard and put in the minutes every day, but you can come out speaking fluently in about half of a year. Pretty cool.

1. Make a Web Site, Create an App, or Just Learn to Code 
Learning to code is something most of us Lifehackers aspire to do at one point or another, as it's not only a great way to create cool apps and tools that we want to use but it's also an incredibly marketable skill when trying to get a job. To get you started, we've put together two helpful sets of lessons: the basics of programming and making a web site.

Both sets include further resources, but there are plenty of others that we've learned about or have cropped up since. For starters, commenter mistermocha suggests using the "learn ___ the hard way" series.

If you just fill in the blank with the language you want to learn and put that into a web search, you'll likely find what you're looking for. (You can also find most of the series here.) If you prefer more interactive lessons, you'll want to check out one of our favorites: Codecademy.

I learned by subscribing to online learning site Lynda.com (and through a few basic classes back in college), which is still excellent, but I'd probably have gone with Code Academy at this point since it's in the free category.

Regardless of how you decide to learn, programming skills are becoming more and  more useful as time goes on. Code is not as complicated as you think, so go get 
started!

As we head out for an awesome weekend with Fall in the air, know that the future is bright, and I promise you that I personally could not be more focused on helping each and every one of you achieve your greatest success. 

Thanks to Adam for sharing, and to you for listening.

Have a HAPPY, SAFE and HEALTHY Weekend.

Love Life and Light It UP!

Mitchell D. Weiner

Chief Happiness Officer  

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"Many people die with their music still in them. Why is this so?
Too often it is because they are always getting ready to live.
Before they know it, time runs out."  Oliver Wendell Holmes
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Inspire ME Friday: Appreciate Me

“Stopping to appreciate our accomplishments, finding what we have learned through the experience and how we can apply those things moving forward helps us to think more critically, thoughtfully and strategically moving forward. It also helps to energize you to keep pushing forward and to realize the value we provide.”

Good Morning Folks,

How many days have we gone home wondering what we accomplished in the day because we moved so quickly from one thing to the next?

Stopping to appreciate our accomplishments, finding what we have learned through the experience and how we can apply those things moving forward helps us to think more critically, thoughtfully and strategically moving forward. It also helps to energize you to keep pushing forward and to realize the value we provide.

So, today I celebrate my accomplishments and how my past experiences both good and bad got me to this point. I have learned from my mistakes and treasure each day with a new appreciation!

What a great reminder for a Friday, when we typically start to fret about we didn't get done this week. Instead, I'm going to do the happy dance around all the breakthroughs my clients got and all the new things I learned! A MUCH better way to wrap up the week.

==> Start Celebrating Yourself Today by Jacky Carter-Community Manager - Professional Women at LinkedIn

We can spend so much time managing our careers, our money and our relationships that we don't always stop to recognize our successes. We're too busy moving on to the next meeting, project or item on our to-do list. Or we set the bar so high we won't hit it for a while, if at all.

So today, let's celebrate.

Let's forget about outcomes. It's not about whether you got the promotion, the salary bump you asked for or the new client. Right now, it's the fact that you asked, you researched, you presented.

For just a few seconds, focus less on what's important to your boss, your company and your colleagues and zero in on what was progress for you. 

Did you wake up early enough so that your morning wasn't rushed? Awesome. 

Did you bring your lunch this week and save the money to go toward a new car? Nice work. 

Did you rely less on your notes during a presentation? Way to go.

I bet, with a little practice, you'll even be able to find things to celebrate in less than ideal circumstances. 

Like Rebecca, who started a discussion in Connect: Professional Women's Network, noting that she was laid off after 20 years in marketing and wanted to reinvent herself. Nearly 2,000 people commented with tips and support for handling the transition. Being laid off is rough, but I'm celebrating Rebecca being vulnerable enough to ask for advice and all the who people responded with encouragement and job leads.

Now it's your turn. What can you celebrate right now?

Have a HAPPY, SAFE and HEALTHY Weekend.

Love Life!

Mitchell D. Weiner

Chief Happiness Officer  

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"Because one believes in oneself, one doesn't try to convince others. Because one is content with oneself, one doesn't need others' approval. Because one accepts oneself, the whole world accepts him or her" ~~Lao Tzu
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Speaking of Changing Fall Colors, A Leader's True Colors Are Revealed in Tough Times

"Regardless of where you work, always continue to learn what makes leaders successful and what makes them fail" 

Good Morning Folks,

As I have often reminded our teams, anything is possible. Regardless of where you work, or what you do, always continue to learn what makes people successful and what makes them fail.

Because.. The most important resource in the entire universe is YOU. Products, services, innovation, ideas, breakthroughs – they all exist in your head, your heart and your hands. The output of your thinking, the engaging of your heart and the enlistment of your hands create profound results.

“Successful people do what unsuccessful people can’t do”. Find me anyone with skip, fire and twinkle who wants to learn and grow, and I will promise you a career in my company, never just a job. No one ever sets out to be average at FSO, we need to be the best at everything we do.

I am forever grateful to you all for being such a loyal audience and for the great feedback you've been sending my way. I really appreciate it!

Great leadership seems easy when things are good and everybody's happy. When times grow tough, however, a leader's true colors are revealed.

Ten years ago, a group of U.S. soldiers tasted combat for the first time in Sadr City, Iraq. Bill Murphy Jr. got to know one of the junior U.S. leaders in that battle when he wrote a book about West Point and wartime.  

Murphy chronicles the lives of representative 2002 graduates of the United States Military Academy. A former trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice and an army veteran, Murphy was protégé of celebrity journalist Bob Woodward and has military experience that may have helped him connect to his subjects and perhaps encouraged them to be open with him. He also reported from Iraq for the Post. Here's an excerpt from In Time of War that first appeared in INC:

Dave Swanson was a 26-year-old lieutenant then. He's out of the military now, and we talked recently about what he learned by leading 40 soldiers in 82 straight days of combat. Most of us probably won't be taking a platoon into a hail of gunfire anytime soon, but applying these principles can greatly improve your effectiveness as a leader, no matter what challenges you face. 

1. Control your fear.
As bullets whizzed by him for the first time, Swanson says he was very much afraid. However, he realized he had to subdue his fear because his soldiers were looking to him for clues as to how they should react. 

Courage doesn't mean the absence of fear, and of course being a leader certainly doesn't mean charging ahead blindly in the face of adversity. It does mean you can't allow your fear to become contagious. Your team needs to believe you're in control of yourself, if they're to have confidence that you can make smart decisions in tough times. 

2. Remember that the mission comes first.
You owe a lot to your team for giving you the privilege of placing their trust in you. First on the list, you owe them a goal worth dedicating their efforts to, and you need to demonstrate that you're willing to do whatever it takes to achieve it. 

"I say complete the mission at minimal expense to the people," Swanson says. "Every military leader will publicly say that the mission comes first, but we always accomplished the mission with the soldiers in mind."

3. Remember that the mission comes before you, too.
The only way that "mission-first" mantra can work is if your people truly believe that you will put the mission before yourself, too. In a life-imitates-art moment, Swanson says that in the heat of combat, he thought of a line from the 2001 HBO miniseries, Band of Brothers: "The only hope you have is to accept the fact that you're already dead. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you'll be able to function as a soldier." 

In combat, this means being willing to risk your own safety for others in the unit and the mission. In other contexts, it means demonstrating that you'll sacrifice your personal short-term interests for the team's goal. Otherwise, how can you ask them to do so? 

4. Rely on your preparation.
Swanson spent years preparing for battle. He had been an enlisted solider, he spent four years at West Point, and he trained for nearly two years after graduation. While training alone will never quite prepare you to lead in real life, he says, it's as close as you can get to the real thing. 

The same principle applies in any leadership context. Think ahead of time about how you'll react to tough situations, so you can free your mind in crucial moments to react and adapt quickly. 

5. Be tough, but human.
"To those who have been in combat," Swanson explains, "you live by hardness, intuition, and compassion." 

As an example, he stayed awake and on duty for 60 straight hours at the start of the battle, pushing himself until he physically collapsed, but he also found moments of humanity and even humor in the heat of combat. Your team needs to know that you're tough, but also that you're reacting to the world around you like an engaged leader, not a machine. 

6. Encourage your people.
Business is rarely a matter of life and death, but war certainly is. One of Swanson's soldiers, Specialist Jacob Martir, was killed in action during the months of fighting, and several others were wounded and sent home to hospitals in the U.S. 

"It absolutely ate me alive to lose anyone in the platoon," Swanson says. However, he realized that it fell to him to encourage his soldiers and inspire them to keep going. "They were all special. The next day after any [casualty], I would remind them that each of them had already sacrificed themselves for each other on a daily basis--and how, if required, I would sacrifice myself for any of them." 

7. Communicate effectively.
In the heat of battle, it's easy--almost natural--to shut down everything else and focus exclusively on the job at hand. That's a dangerous inclination, however. It's important to make communicating what's going on a priority as well. Your team and all of your stakeholders need to know what's going on, or they can't contribute. 

"Early on in combat, radio communications weren't always the greatest, but that was no excuse," Swanson says. "When technology fails--and it always does at the worst possible moment--you need to have backup ways of getting and giving information." 

8. Use your resources wisely. But use them.
Especially in the first days of combat, Swanson's unit dealt with destroyed and unarmored vehicles, and insufficient supplies of almost every sort. More important, confusion, combat, and casualties left them critically short of soldiers. 

At the same time, they made full use of everything they had. At the end of the first week of fighting, for example, Swanson reflected that he had personally gone through ten 30-round magazines, meaning he had fired 300 bullets at the enemy. Just about everyone else in his platoon had, as well. 

9. Imitate the leaders who inspire you.
When Swanson had to act in the heat of battle, especially when his soldiers' eyes were on him, he thought back to the lessons he had learned at West Point, and some of the other leaders he had known and respected. He also found himself asking a question that has circulated for years among military leaders as a sort of joke: "What would John Wayne do?"

"Regardless of where you work, always continue to learn what makes leaders successful and what makes them fail," he says.

We have amazing employees, customers and leaders at FSO. Thanks to our employees for all you do for us, and to our clients for awarding us with the privilege of serving you.

Have a GREAT day as I look forward to seeing all of you soon.

Mitchell D. Weiner

Chief Happiness Officer  

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"Excellence is not an act, but a habit"

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