It's Shout Out Day: Here's Kudos To Our Stars

"The hospitality, articulation, knowledge and pride these folks take in their jobs is second to none. I am blown away with the night/day attitude shift from our former partner. Great job!"

Good Morning Folks,

Our clients love what we are doing for them.

When clients take time to write like this after months of being let down by their former Onsite Outsourcing partners, it is testament to what I've been saying all along: At FSO, our difference is people. They bring a passion for hospitality and service that is unduplicated. 

To Our Team At The Advertising And Marketing Leader Whose 6,500 People In 188 Offices In 93 Countries Are On A Mission To "Resist The Usual" With FSO's Warmth and Hospitality By Their Side: 

"I want to thank you for the support your entire team has given to me consistently on all my project. The benefits fair is probably the second biggest events we put on each year.  Thank you for being flexible and all the hard work your entire team has done to make this event successful. The feedback from the vendors was exceptional. When I speak to the vendor's, they all want to come here because how well organized, the warmth and accommodating support from your entire staff and team. I cannot tell you how many people raved over the food. I truly think each year this is why the event keeps getting bigger and bigger. Some of the vendors were shocked to know that the food was made in house. Thank you everyone - until next year."

Compliments to Lolita...
"I wanted to tell you how awesome Lolita is and what a great job she's doing!!!!!
Lolita has really made the benefit portion of our EG sessions much more personal and yes very productive, Lolita takes time to ensure every new employee walks away understanding our benefits or at least what's available. Lolita also provides her contact information to every new employee. Thank you so much for finding her and allowing me the opportunity to work with her." 

Shakira at an Automotive Giant....

"I am writing you to express my heart-felt appreciation and commendation for Shakira who has brought a great dedication to her position here that is like no other! I have watched her take on many difficult situations here and show great resilience, concentration, dedication and all the while staying proactive and learning whatever she needs to make herself better at performing her job. A hallmark / calling card quality of hers that I have noticed is that she is a "Learning Machine"! Shakira has the ability to watch and comprehend very well, very fast and most of all very accurately... She has a very good heart, which you do not often find in today's world. A person who is fair and who takes responsibility for their actions is a rare find, and you have this in Shakira."

Diana & Tim at an AMLAW 200 Boston-Based Firm
"I am writing to express my thanks and appreciation to Diana and Tim in Office Services.  Diana and Tim helped my assistance Katherine with a large and urgent document production project last week. They did a fantastic job and the client was very happy with the final products. I just want let you know that we really appreciate their help"

Everything we do comes out of the experience, sensibilities, intelligence and humanity of our people. FSO puts people first, and their passion drives us to exceed your expectations every day, in every way.

We have lots to be thankful for, proud of, and reflect upon. Especially our Operation's team's flawless execution to ensure the career and customer satisfaction of the people and sites mentioned above. Thank you for making all of us shine every day. 

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

Mitchell D. Weiner
Chief Happiness Officer

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"There is only one success – to be able to spend your life in your own way” ~~Christopher Morle

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TED Tuesday: DAVID GRADY: HOW TO SAVE THE WORLD (OR AT LEAST YOURSELF) FROM BAD MEETINGS

"It's funny because it's true. Eerily, sadly, depressingly true. It made me laugh until I cried. And cried. And I cried some more."

Good Morning Folks,

An epidemic of bad, inefficient, overcrowded meetings is plaguing the world’s businesses — and making workers miserable. 

David Grady has some ideas on how to stop it. 

David Grady is an information security manager who believes that strong communication skills are
a necessity in today’s global economy. He is known for a video online about ineffective conference calls. Short and to the point, David is an entertaining speaker. His point is important, but not much to it.

Picture this:

You've just come into work. As you're getting set up for the day, a co-worker comes in and proceeds to walk out with your chair, without saying a word. No comments on why he needs it, or if and when he's going to bring it back. Just up and out.

That's how David Grady begins this hilarious six-minute TED Talk, "How to save the world (or at least yourself) from bad meetings," which has now been viewed over 1.5 million times. Grady's performance, in which he acts out every terrible conference call you've ever been on, begins at 2:38 in the video.

In the presentation, Grady asserts that attending a meeting without a clear purpose or agenda, and in which you are unsure of your role or contribution, allows others to steal your valuable time in the same way they would steal your seat. As Grady puts it, "When this highly unproductive session is over, you go back to your desk ... and you say, 'Boy, I wish I had those two hours back. Like I wish I had my chair back.'"

So who's at fault for this (not so) petty larceny? Logic dictates that the brunt of responsibility lies with the meeting proposer. But Grady places the primary blame on meeting attenders--those who choose to inflict themselves with what he describes as the global epidemic of MAS: mindless accept syndrome.

Have a look:

People feel powerless to resist these meetings. David suggests “¡No Mas!” that instead of always accepting: if you don’t know why you were invited or what the meeting is about, you should instead reply ‘Tentative”. You can the call the organiser and offer your assistance, but get more details about how you can help. By doing this, people will hopefully start to think more before sending out an invitation – publishing an agenda or rethinking why they need to set up a meeting at all.

Dave's No MAS is based on two primary principles:

1. When you receive a meeting invitation that's missing desired information, click the "tentative" button.

2. Next, get in touch with the meeting proposer. Tell the proposer that you're very excited to support his or her work, ask about the goal of the meeting, and find out if (and how) you can be of help in achieving that goal.

And as Grady gracefully and succinctly concludes:

People just might start to change their behavior because you changed yours. And they just might bring your chair back, too.

No MAS! Who's with me?  Worth a quick look, or for subtly forwarding around at work. You know who you are :)

Thanks to TED 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.

Great People Who Care

"I'm reminded that our business and our company is built on great people who care. Coupled with the best knowledge and tenure this industry has ever seen, we are unstoppable."

Good Morning Folks,

What an awesome weekend we had in New York. I hope you are as refreshed, renewed and inspired as I am for the busy week ahead.

The key for me, is remembering that within the past 60 months, every customer we acquired was a customer of someone else. The reason our competitors lost those accounts is that they got complacent with the status-quo and lost sight of innovation.

We refuse to become complacent and that's why we've instilled a culture of innovation at every touch point in our company, where we are constantly (re) IMAGINING new and different ways of doing things to the benefit of our clients. On the employee side, everyday the Executive Leadership Team are thinking about how we can further expand your own growth opportunities, career paths, incentives and success with us.

So what it all boils down to is our corporate culture and our leaders ability to inspire others to greatness beyond their expectations.

FSO is building great leaders to make a great organization even greater. According to our Chief Inspiration Officer "Dr. Phil" (Levy, this) TRUE leadership is the ability to inspire others to greatness beyond their expectations. He argues...

• There is no one style of leadership.
• Great leaders are authentic and are perceived as genuine.
• Great leaders style should be one that they are comfortable with and that maximizes their strengths and minimizes their weaknesses.
• Great leaders  an interest, respect, and compassion for others.
• Great leaders motivate with optimism, passion, confidence and humility.
• Great leaders praise publicly and criticize privately and constructively

The effort and atmosphere at FSO is just awe-inspiring. To my staff: THANK YOU for your wonderful efforts, motivation, teamwork, leadership, care, passion and a desire to execute like no other. The list goes on but I think you get it :). And to our great clients: THANK YOU for your continued support. We appreciate your business and our ever-evolving relationship.

We have a ton of people who believe in and love what we do. It is up to our leaders to build the confidence and leadership in FSO to ensure the best-ever “skip in the step, fire in the belly and twinkle in the eye” coupled with delivering the eight “Ps”.

It is winning time. It is time for all of us to put on our thinking caps; smile; laugh; lead and show our newest family members the excitement and enthusiasm behind winning the largest prize the industry has seen!

As I reflect on another action-packed week "fso-izing", I m reminded that our business and our company is built on great people who care. Coupled with the best knowledge and tenure this industry has ever seen, we are unstoppable. We are not perfect, but we will strive for perfection each day to perform for FSO

On that good note, make every day count and enjoy your week.

Cheers to GREATNESS,

Mitchell D. Weiner

Chief Happiness Officer  

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“God gives the hardest battles to his strongest soldiers" 

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Shout Out Wednesday: Delivering WOW!

"We feel extremely happy to have an office service team that we can rely on anytime and their contributions are creating a positive impact and making a difference."

Good Morning Folks,

Today we honor our teammates who have been caught delivering the WOW! to our clients who have told us so in these words:

Ruth & Monica... (working at the Madison Avenue location of a national client. They're one of the largest professional services firms and Big Four auditors in the world.) 

"This note is an expression of my appreciation and gratitude for the work performed by your Office Service team members. The office service’s team has consistently provided us with outstanding client service. In particular, I would like extend a special thanks to Ruth and Monica. It is a pleasure to work with Ruth and Monica who go above and beyond to provide their clients with an outstanding service. For example every time our Assurance team needs help they pitch in to take care of all the details and always with a pleasant attitude and smile. Thank you Monica and Ruth for an amazing outstanding work. We feel extremely happy to have an office service team that we can rely on anytime and their contributions are creating a positive impact and making a difference. 

Lakisha &  Maria..(Working at a major Securities firm)
"I just want you to know how competent, polite and organized Lakisha is. I think I have already mentioned to you about Maria who is also a great asset to us."

Maria.. (Working at Boston HQ of AMLAW 200 Firm)

 "Maria is a professional and has a great personality with co-workers and especially clients. When I bring a client in and she may still be in the conference room, I introduce Maria to our client and she is awesome she continues to give a warm welcome to them and conversation will go from there when I walk out. It is a good feeling to know that they are in good hands as I leave the conference room. Maria is so proud of the way she sets up the conference rooms for lunch, etc.  She is so proud will ask me to go in and see it, it truly is a great presentation done with a lot of pride. She is always moving, filling, checking and everything is so clean. It is great to see someone so proud of her job."

Amelinda... (Working at a Non-Profit dedicated to eradicating one of mankind's worst terminal challenges)
"I just want to let  you know that Amelinda is such a terrific and hardworking person. 
I was using 3A and 3B yesterday for Dennis' meeting and using the rooms again today.  There was a meeting last night and obviously they needed to re-arrange the set-up.  Amelinda was in EARLY this morning so that the rooms could be reset for my meeting.
Just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate ALL her efforts.

GREAT JOB TEAM! It’s all about the hospitality and DNA of our folks. Thanks for making our clients proud they hired FSO and you.

Have a fabulous day filled with love and inspiration.

Hugs all around,

Mitchell D. Weiner
Chief Happiness Officer

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"Excellence is not an act, but a habit."

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Ted Tuesday— Yves Morieux: How Too Many Rules At Work Keep You From Getting Things Done

"Productivity is not everything, but in the long run, it is almost everything."

Good Morning Folks,

Today I am sharing a great TED talk which shows that even having best people doesn't guarantee great results. More often than not, the team, able and willing go the extra mile will take the victory.

This talk very much reminded me of the advantage FSO has serving our clients as an outsourced partner. Being on the outside, looking in, we are not mired by the bureaucracy and internal politics that can impede teams from cooperating fully.

Modern work - from waiting tables to crunching numbers to dreaming up new products - is about solving brand-new problems every day, flexibly, in brand-new ways. But as Yves Morieux shows in this insightful talk, delivered at TED@Boston Consulting Group London and since viewed over a million times line— too often, an overload of processes and sign-offs and internal metrics keeps us from doing our best. He offers a new way to think of work - as a collaboration, not a competition.

Yves Morieux thinks deeply about what makes organizations work effectively. A senior partner in BCG’s Washington D.C. office and director of the BCG Institute for Organization, Morieux considers how overarching changes in structure can improve motivation for all who work there. His calls his approach "Smart Simplicity." Using six key rules, it encourages employees to cooperate in order to solve long-term problems. It isn’t just about reducing costs and increasing profit -- it’s about maximizing engagement through all levels of a company. Morieux has been featured in articles on organizational evolution in Harvard Business Review, The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company and Le Monde.

Yves believes that our organizations are wasting human intelligence. They have turned against human efforts. When people don't cooperate, don't blame their mindsets, their mentalities, their personality -- look at the work situations. Is it really in their personal interest to cooperate or not, if, when they cooperate, they are individually worse off? Why would they cooperate? When we blame personalities instead of the clarity, the accountability, the measurement, we add injustice to ineffectiveness.

We need to create organizations in which it becomes individually useful for people to cooperate. Remove the interfaces, the middle offices -- all these complicated coordination structures. You, as leaders, as managers, are you making it individually useful for people to cooperate? The future of our organizations, our companies, our societies hinges on your answer to these questions.

Have a look:

Thanks 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.

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

Shout Out Wednesday (on Thursday): "Efficient, Prompt, and Courteous"

"The day of the move, Ezra came in with a smile and packed up the whole office as well as doing his other daily routine checks plus unloading some heavy boxes for us. He had everything appropriately marked and communicated everything to me for the movers. He also cleaned up the office after everything was moved out."

Good Morning Folks,

The Indian summer weather in New York has been fabulous. I hope all of you have had the chance to enjoy the Fall weekends with family and friends. The FSO Nation has been going full steam ahead, delivering the world-class experience that has made us famous from coast to coast.  

Today I wanted to share some compliments I have received about our staff working at the Madison Avenue location of a national client. They're one of the largest professional services firms and Big Four auditors in the world. And they are applauding the FSO folks supporting them through the last few months of corporate tax crunch:

A Partner Comments on Our Ezra ... (**2 Kudos in 1 Month**)

"I hope you are well today. I wanted to share some feedback with you that I received from one of our Partner's regarding Ezra. A few weeks ago, we had a partner move from one building to another. Over the course of the weeks before the move, Ezra was collecting boxes and gauging about how many hours and boxes it would take to complete this task. He was spot on with his guess! The day of the move, Ezra came in with a smile and packed up the whole office as well as doing his other daily routine checks plus unloading some heavy boxes for us. He had everything appropriately marked and communicated everything to me for the movers. He also cleaned up the office after everything was moved out. We called the movers, and they came to pick everything up. When the boxes were delivered and the partner started unpacking, he was very impressed with how well everything was wrapped and strategical placed in the boxes. He said it made it easy to unpack because it was like each box was a drawer."

And Another Kudo for Ezra ...

"I am writing this e-mail because I just wanted to let you know that having you on our team makes all the difference.

I know things have been crazy lately, but you are doing a great job. Hang in there; the busy season is almost done. I’ll bet you didn’t think anyone noticed all that you do. That’s why it’s important that I take this moment to say thank you so much.

Your hard work and all your extra effort that you have put during this difficult time in our department has not gone unnoticed. Your willingness to stay that extra hour each day until all the tasks for the day are completed is one specific example of you giving 110%. Please accept my sincere  appreciation for an excellent job."

Fariyal ...

"Fariyal has by far been the best team member I've worked with, She does everything she can to assist partners in reservations and is quick with email responses. She is always helpful to clients when there are meetings going on and even walks them to the coat closet. When it seems we are all booked on 23, she runs in circles on the floor to try and find any room possible to make people happy. She is a strong team member here at reception and I’m proud to work with her.

Michael, **2 Kudos in 1 Month** ...
"I wanted to reach out and relay to you the outstanding support our team received from Mike Dillard over the last few weeks. I am part of the Marketing and Sales team, and we have been working on a large $6m proposal that required about 10-12 of us to be in a war room situation to ensure collaboration. 

"As is the case often, the meeting room reservation database was showing no availability. I reached out to Mike several times over the last three weeks to see if he could secure conference rooms for us. Nearly all of the requests were last minute for the entire day, and each time he came through for us and provided the space we desperately needed. Mike was incredibly efficient, prompt, and courteous with our numerous requests."

Ian ...

"We just learned today that the client selected us to do the work! One of the factors in our success was the ability to spend several days (I believe it was over 10 days when you factor in the proposal prep, orals prep, and post orals follow-up) together in a conference room to refine our responses to the client. I am so glad Mike is part of the team!"

As you know, our culture is ALL about RECOGNITION. I always stress the importance of catching someone on your team doing something good and recognizing him/her. 

Thank you all for your care and commitment ensuring our standards are set. Will we get to see YOUR name in next Wednesday's column??

Be inspired. Remember the power of focus and positive energy. It's FSO that makes a difference and you lead the charge. 

Have a fabulous day filled with love and inspiration.  

Hugs all around,

Mitchell D. Weiner
Chief Happiness Officer

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"What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say" 

~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

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