Wishing You Good Health And Prosperity In The Coming Year

A little smile, A word of cheer, A bit of love from someone near, "These make a Merry Christmas!"

Good Morning Folks,

I trust you are all celebrating great moments and times with your families through the week and into the New Year.

During this season joy and giving, we wish you, your family and friends all the blessings of Christmas and hope you enjoy the best of Holidays

Health. Happiness. Family. Careers. Jobs and a future that is extremely bright for all. 

Life is about attitude. Focus, and the ability to see what we have at all times and to not focus on what we don't have. To share with others and to give where we might not have given before. 

We are a blessed group and a lucky family as well. 

As you head home today to be with your loved ones, the Weiners and the entire leadership team, Jim and many others want to say THANK YOU and take this moment to say thanks to your families for all the support and care they provide to us each and every day. 

You are my extended family and I wish you all a happy, safe, healthy, exciting, surprising, unexpected, rewarding, redeeming... joyous New Year!

May you and your team find good health and prosperity in the coming year.

Happy Holidays everyone!!

Be back on the blog next week.

Have a GREAT WEEKEND!

Mitchell D. Weiner
Chief Happiness Officer

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"Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. 
To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, 
is to have the real spirit of Christmas."
~~ Calvin Coolidge

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Ted Tuesday: Janette Sadik-Khan: New York's streets? Not so mean any more

"We’re looking at our streets as valuable public places, and we need to make it easier and safer for people to walk around and bike."

Good Morning Folks,

TED talks have become an integral forum in airing ideas about tomorrow's world, and how the likes of transport and energy will be revolutionized in the future.

Today's selection for a Ted Talk to share is strikes a personal chord. Ms. Sadik-Khan's work in the Bloomberg administration was deeply felt for the better in the immediate area surrounding our New York headquarters and in many of our daily commutes.

Janette Sadik-Khan demonstrates how paint, lawn chairs and a bit of imagination can quickly transform city streets, creating immediate public and commercial vitality. Sadik-Khan, listed as one of Business Insider’s “50 Women Who Are Changing the World,” is responsible for re-purposing 26 acres of dense New York City car lanes into pedestrian-friendly space. “More people on foot is better for business,” she says. Despite commanding a two billion dollar budget, her economical approach as commissioner of NYC’s Department of Transportation are testaments to her design sensitivity, relying on rapid-testing and regular iteration to expand the city’s public domain.

The work of a transport commissioner isn't just about stop signs and traffic signals," explains Janette Sadik-Khan, who was appointed to that role in New York City in 2007. In this funny and thought-provoking talk, she details the thinking behind successful initiatives to reshape street life in the 5 boroughs, including the addition of pedestrian zones in Times Square and the arrival of Citi Bikes. (Watch for the special cameo at the end of the talk.)


"Street design is a crucial element of living in today's "urban age." Her work, under the guidance of then-mayor Michael Bloomberg, turned tourist-magnet Times Square into a two-and-a-half-acre pedestrian-friendly zone, simultaneously cutting down traffic and making the environment a safer space.

“One of our greatest innovations is our ability to move quickly. The normal capital construction program takes about five years. But we’ve been able to transform city streets virtually overnight. You can literally paint the city you want to see. You can do it with two traffic cones, a can of paint, and stone planters. And we’re able to show the results.”

There goes the neighborhood. At FSO' doorstep. Photo: NYC Dot2

“Design can tell you to take your business elsewhere, or it can tell you this is a vital, active retail space. When we pedestrianized 42nd to 47th Street, we saw an 11 percent increase in foot traffic. Now Times Square is one of the top 10 retail locations on the planet, which wasn’t the case before we made that intervention. Good streets are good business.”

Her goal is to transform the city streets, and reinvent New York City as a livable, green place.

Envious as I am of her $2 billion budget, the only thing better than New York during these holiday times, is a cleaner, greener, New York. Ms. Sadik-Khan all of us at FSO are grateful to you for that indeed.

Have a GREAT Day,



Mitchell D. Weiner
Chief Happiness Officer  

Ideas are not set in stone. When exposed to thoughtful people, they morph and adapt into their most potent form. TED Tuesdays on MitchWeiner.com highlights some of today's most intriguing ideas. Look for more talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and much more— HERE.  

About FSO Onsite Outsourcing
Recognized on the Inc. 5000 list of the nation's fastest growing companies for the third consecutive year, and lead by industry pioneer, Mitch Weiner, FSO's growth and success can be attributed to making a positive and powerful impact on their clients' bottom lines, as well as their employees' careers and lives.

Sadik-Khan has served as commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation since 2007. Previously she was senior vice president at the engineering firm Parsons Brinckerhoff and served as deputy administrator of the Federal Transit Administration in Washington.

Inspire ME Friday: The Best Holiday Gift Is Right In Your Hand

"I'm calling on behalf of [Your Company Name] to wish you a very happy holiday and thank you for your business. We really do appreciate it." 

Good Morning Folks,

While gift baskets and fine wine are always appreciated, it’s a sincere “thanks” that customers might appreciate most before the holidays. That’s exactly what Tricerat learned.

This week Tricerat, a Baltimore-based software company, made customer appreciation into a companywide event. Tricerat had every employee – including executives, engineers, sales people and marketing personnel – call customers to thank them for their business.

The response from customers was generally overwhelming appreciation, along with frequent shock: “Really, that’s it? You’re not asking for anything?”

In our impersonal era of holiday e-cards, social media and Amazon Prime, a human voice can be the most special gift of all.

The key to a successful outreach is sincere gratitude, with nothing expected in return. 

Keep the script simple like this: "I'm calling on behalf of [Your Company Name] to wish you a very happy holiday and thank you for your business. We really do appreciate it." 

With business now slowing down for many companies, customers are sitting near their phones for a change. Go ahead, make those calls. Be sure to leave voice mails too.

You may be pleasantly surprised by what customers say in return.

I'd like to thank Tricerat for this inspiring idea.

Have a GREAT weekend,

Mitchell D. Weiner
Chief Happiness Officer

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“Never be afraid to laugh at yourself, after all, 
you could be missing out on the joke of the century." 
~~ Joan Rivers, Comedian

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Cheers to You and A Happy Holiday Season

"Our FSO spirit is very contagious. From Fashion to Healthcare to Hospitality to our daily bread in Legal, ITS ALL ABOUT GROWTH.. when we service our clients.. the clients love us, they love the employees and tell their friends."

Good Morning Folks,

Tuesday night we hosted our Headquarters holiday party and wanted to thank you all for coming. 

I hope you enjoyed yourself and the time with our FSO family. I had a ball and our tradition at Sevilla was a huge SUCCESS. Revel in the memories and look forward to next year. 

On my way home from the party, I was reflecting on that we have accomplished a lot in 2014 and it is due to the effort that each and every one of you put in on a daily basis. It's your efforts that led to three new site openings this week.

• We are responsible for the Business Operations Management of the mailroom and facilities for fashion-forward brand. 
• We are responsible for the Business Operations Management of the hospital supplies at a major NY healthcare patient facility. 
• We went LIVE today at one of our newest and  prestigious hotel and resort client.  From Tysons Corner in Virginia to Memphis, Tennessee, FSO is the partner of choice to deliver our amazing services, hospitality and a complete (re) imagine across office services for this industry leader among those logos pictured below.  

Our FSO spirit is very contagious. From Fashion to Healthcare to Hospitality to our daily bread in Legal, ITS ALL ABOUT GROWTH.. when we service our clients.. the clients love us, they love the employees and tell their friends at their client events, golf games, their kids soccer games. GREAT WORK TEAM.

Please join me to provide a warm welcome to the new members of the growing FSO family and please congratulate Larry Wallace, Lissette Umpierre and Brittany Weaver who have been a tremendous team to launch our newest client!!!!

2014 is coming to an end, full of accomplishments both at HQ and in the field. Let’s begin 2015 with a stronger sense of accountability, let’s manage our clients business operations with an innovative and cost sensitive mindset. 

We have to continue delivering on the promises we have made to our clients and it is our responsibility to provide the best service with a smile. 

For many others we have our holiday luncheons and gifts starting next week. Our awards ceremony on January 7th. Then our leadership and management meeting to kick off 2015 the week later. And the reintroduction in 2015 of ALL our monthly recognition awards including my CHO club. 

Great stuff ahead in 2015. 

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you and your family Peace, Joy and Happiness during this Holiday Season and throughout the New Year. 

Give to others. 

And help one another.  

Love life and hugs all around.

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

Mitchell D. Weiner
Chief Happiness Officer

   
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"Nothing ever goes away until it teaches you what you need to know."

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Ted Tuesday: This Adorable Kid Just Might Be The Next Steve Jobs

"Thomas Suarez is a 12 year old who taught himself to build iphone apps.The New York Times cited Suarez's TED talk as a reason for parents to rethink their hard and fast stance on "screen time" limitations, asking "Isn't three or four hours a week spent on using an app to create a stop motion movie a much different prospect than two hours of decorating a virtual room?"

Good Morning Folks,

With this compelling Ted Talk with over 6 million views between YouTube and Ted, 3 published apps in the app stores and in addition to completing the sixth grade, launching CarrotCorp, his first company, all under his belt, meet wunderkind Thomas Suarez of South Bay in the USA, who was just twelve when he delivered this inspirational talk at the TEDxManhattanBeach conference in October 2011.

Most 12-year-olds love playing videogames — Thomas Suarez taught himself how to create them. After developing iPhone apps like "Bustin Jeiber," a whack-a-mole game, he is now using his skills to help other kids become developers.

Thomas rightly highlights how difficult it was for kids his age to get help if they want to develop software and build apps.

“For soccer, you could go to a soccer team. For violin, you could get lessons for a violin,” he explained. “But what if you want to make an app?”

Thomas hits on the topics of tech integration in education, app access for all children, and how teachers could best use the classroom’s greatest resource — the students themselves.

Thomas Suarez’s interest in technology and programming led him to learn Python, Java, and C programming languages in his preteens.

After convincing his parents to pay the $99 fee to register with the Apple App Store, he published his first app, “Earth Fortune,” a fortune teller that colours the earth according to what your fortune is.

His second and most popular creation is “Bustin Jieber,” a whac-a-mole game app that replaces the mole with a photo of Justin Bieber’s head. The smartphone game allows people to pretend to whack the pop star to make him scream and it all happens to the Benny Hill theme song. The 99 cent app is Thomas’s “favorite and most successful app”, he said.

Thomas believes it’s a mistake that his school in Manhattan Beach and other California public schools do not offer more technology courses.

“A lot of kids these days like to play games, but now they want to make them… And it’s difficult because not many kids know where to go to find out how to make a program…and not many parents have written apps.”

To fill the gap, he started an app club with some like-minded friends so they can help each other create games and build new apps. Thomas highlights the club is also a resource for teachers and any other educators who want to experiment with tech education in the classroom.

While in sixth grade Thomas set-up his own company, “CarrotCorp.” Since then he has been coding news apps for smartphones or Google Glass. He has also worked on a patent-pending 3D printer which, he says, will work 10 times faster than the MakerBot model he uses at home. Following his TED Talk it’s not surprising Thomas is now a popular speaker at technology conferences.

His inspiration for all this? Steve Jobs. Have a look:


Boy, after watching that I'm embarrassed at what i thought was a productive day for me. How it should make you feel is that anything is possible here in the greatest country on Earth and my goal is to provide all of our employees an opportunity to realize their own true human potential right here at FSO,

Thanks to the Huffington Post, The CollegeByKids Blog and the InternetJar Blog for leading me to Thomas and to you for listening.

Have a GREAT Day,



Mitchell D. Weiner
Chief Happiness Officer  

Ideas are not set in stone. When exposed to thoughtful people, they morph and adapt into their most potent form. TED Tuesdays on MitchWeiner.com highlights some of today's most intriguing ideas. Look for more talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and much more— HERE.  

About FSO Onsite Outsourcing
Recognized on the Inc. 5000 list of the nation's fastest growing companies for the third consecutive year, and lead by industry pioneer, Mitch Weiner, FSO's growth and success can be attributed to making a positive and powerful impact on their clients' bottom lines, as well as their employees' careers and lives.

2015: It's All About Believing. Attitude And A Strategy. (and btw, We're Hiring!)

"I want you all this Monday morning to look in the mirror and say. I am thankful for what I have in life. I want you to know we care. We love all of you. I am always here for you. I am Always around for you. And I am always thinking of you and how to make FSO the best place too work."

Good Morning Folks,

It is hard to believe for me that 2014 is coming rapidly to a close. 

Daniel Burrus said, "Give your customers the ability to do what they would want to do if only they knew it was possible."

If you think about it, this is what FSO does every day. We do this through a productive combination of people, solutions and technology.

And as the business world around us changes, we evolve too. Yet the one constant that never changes is service and the high bar we set for ourselves, then jump over every day.

I got an email from a customer this weekend which is a case in point. He writes about our folks, you folks, "They go above and beyond when they're doing their job. They are amicable in their approach & the professionalism is excellent. They are the first ones in office and last to leave, and did it all with a smile. I've never had this type of great Customer Service and experience from the Office Services department before."

See, if you’re serious about engaging the customer, you realize that the most valuable moments you have are when the customer is using your product, on the phone with you, actually engaged with you. If we over invest in that, or do what feels like over investing, we are far more likely to lead to the other sorts of interactions that we can’t buy, that we can’t control, but that we need desperately to happen.

The companies that develop a great technology, product or service and execute the right growth strategy, must also hire the right people and then forge a winning chemistry to achieve consistent success. A company that has done these things but starts to hire too many of the wrong people will slow down. Continually identifying, hiring and retaining highly talented and intelligent people is absolutely critical. We need your help to find folks just like you, the FSO DNA that makes us who we are. And we only need a few thousand across the USA. The skip. The fire. The twinkle. Meanwhile..

Love life. Be thankful. Think how blessed you are and more. Your Chief Happiness Officer is here to do all that is possible to ensure happiness including the recent establishment of the happiness team lead by Missy and many others. 

In 2014 we had and continue many messages. But the important message is belief. Believing in FSO. Believing in one another. Caring about one another and being a team. Being grateful for all we have. 

I want all of you, this Monday Morning, to look in the mirror and say: "I am thankful for what I have in life." I want you to know we care. We love all of you. I am always here for you. Always around. And always thinking of you and how to make FSO the best place too work.

Together we hold Hands and find the positive energy to effect our great company today and into the future but being a team that is thankful. Blessed and envisioning the greatness ahead. We have our health. We have our work family and our personal family. We have one another. 

Happy holidays folks. 

Hugs and kisses to your family at this time of year. 

Give to others. 

And help one another.  

Love life and hugs all around.

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

Mitchell D. Weiner
Chief Happiness Officer

   
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"Thank you is the best prayer that anyone could say. I say that one a lot. 
Thank you expresses extreme gratitude, humility, understanding."
~~ Alice Walker

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Inspire ME Friday: The Best Leaders Are Those Who Are Likable

"Enjoy and be grateful for all that you have. It is gratitude that gives us the best reasons not to complain."

Good Morning Folks,

On some level, most of us want to be liked. Even if you work to maintain an appropriate distance from your team or employees, the more that people like you and want to emulate you, the more engaged they will be as team members. The best leaders are those who are genuinely liked.

Here are 10 things that likable people consistently do. None of them will compromise your credibility or authority as a leader--so give them a try and see what happens.

1. Listen without interrupting.
Become a great listener. That means no butting in, no rushing along, no asking questions until the speaker is done. Listen not to frame your own rebuttal but rather to genuinely understand.

2. Smile without smirking.
Smiling and warmth make others around you feel good. It seems simplistic, but smiling is a lost skill of sorts. Master it and you'll stand out.

3. Speak without dictating.
Speak and share your thoughts and ideas, but treat such conversations as a two-way street. Your voice and your wisdom have value, but set them forth in a way that respects the voice and wisdom of others in true dialogue.

4. Give without receiving.
As the adage says, we make a living by what we get but we make a life by what we give. Don't keep score; give with a genuine heart, because it makes you happy.

5. Enjoy without complaining.
Enjoy and be grateful for all that you have. It is gratitude that gives us the best reasons not to complain.

6. Trust without wavering.
Trust, someone once said, is like an eraser--it gets smaller and smaller every time you have to use it. When we can offer others our sincere word and they know they can trust us, that's no small thing. Consistently doing what you've said you would do, and not doing what you've said you won't do, earns you a huge amount of trust.

7. Promise without forgetting.
People with good intentions make promises; people with great character keep them. Keeping promises should be your highest priority--because when you give your word, there is no room to forget. Keep your promises.

8. Forgive without punishing.
I believe there are two kinds of forgiveness: the kind that also gives the other person a chance, and the kind that forgives but still compels you to move on without that person. Either should be used wisely, and neither should be about punishment. The healthy way to forgive is whatever works best for you without punishing the other person.

9. Be honest without deceiving.
The people we like the best are those who are honest, who follow their convictions and speak their truth. We like people who act on their beliefs. They may not always win, but you know what they stand for.

10. Be positive without reservation.
Negative, angry people drag down everyone around them. Work on maintaining a positive attitude at work and in life. Make an effort to look for opportunities and solutions instead of barriers and problems. Whatever the situation, focus on what can be done.

11. Get Personal
Be genuinely interested in your client. Humans want to feel you care about them. This can be done through asking open ended questions about them and their families.

12. Give to Get
There have been many books written on the rule of reciprocity. The thing you need to know, is giving your clients small gifts makes them feel you care about them. It also makes them feel you listen to what they tell you.

For some people it is natural to be fun, upbeat and interesting. For others they have to work at it. Nobody likes a stiff serious individual. When dealing with clients remember to smile and laugh. Keeps the conversation fun and interesting.

Thanks to Lolly Daskal for our Friday dose of inspiration and to you, for listening.

Love what you do and have fun doing it!

Have a GREAT WEEKEND!

Mitchell D. Weiner
Chief Happiness Officer

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"Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, 

the mind can achieve." 

– Dr. Napoleon Hill

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** Lolly Daskal is the president and CEO of Lead From Within, a global consultancy that specializes in leadership and entrepreneurial development. Daskal's programs galvanize clients into achieving their best, helping them accelerate and deliver on their professional goals and business objectives. Trust Across America has identified Daskal as a Top 100 Thought Leader in Trustworthy Business Behavior. This piece first appeared in INC.

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