Burnout - Chris Reinhard

“Activity does not necessarily equal accomplishment”

I had breakfast with a friend this morning and he put it this way. Do you ever feel like a car doing a burn-out? There is lots of noise and smoke, the engine is revving the crowd is applauding, your heart is pounding. But, when the tires have popped and the smoke has cleared you realize you have not gone anywhere. In the same fashion as the smoke, the crowds and applause will dissipate and you will be left standing alone wondering what just happened.

It is amazing how busy we can be and how little we can get done. So how do we avoid this?

1.      Make a plan

Every week at the beginning of the week decide what you are going to accomplish.

2.      Work your plan

Every day go over your plan, adjust where it needs to be adjusted and check off what has been accomplished.

3.      Beware of  false Emergencies

I saw a sign in a shop that said “A lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part!”  If you are going to deviate from your plan, it better be a real emergency.

We Need Moonshot Thinking - Why Climb Mt. Everest. Because it is there.

5 Keys to Pushing Forward

“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” – Thomas Edison

5 Keys to Pushing Forward

1.      Vision

What is your business all about? Do you know? Do you have it written down? When things get tough, turning to our vision keeps you going. Make sure you know it, your employees know it, and you live it every day.

2.      Direction

What are you going to do today, tomorrow, etc… Vision sets the big picture, direction sets today’s steps. If you fail to plan your day and your business, others will plan it for you.

3.      Reflection

When was the last time you just sat quite and thought about your business? You should start your day, every day, with this. It only takes 5-10 minutes. Reflect on yesterday, adjust, and plan for today.

4.      Balance

Sometimes on the hardest days, the best thing we can do is step away. Do you have balance in your life? Take time for hobbies, families, friends, fun, food… and they will remind you why you wanted to be in business for yourself in the first place.

5.      Wisdom

Invite others to speak into your lives and your business. Even the most powerful rulers and CEOs have advisors. Who has permission to speak wisdom in your life? Who can you share openly with about your worries, failures, and dreams?

Chris Reinhard – chrispaulconsulitng.blogspot.com

People Repeat What You Reward!

We Are Back, Did You Miss Us…

I hope you all enjoyed some down time over the holidays, I know we all did. Taking time away helps us put things in perspective. I know one thing that solidified in me is that, I enjoy what we do at Premier, and we are looking forward to serving you again this year.

People Repeat What You Reward…

Are you intentional about what you reward within your business and with your suppliers? People will naturally do what you reward. If they treat you poorly or perform poorly yet you continue to employ them or purchase from them it only reinforces the behavior. Not only does it reinforce their behavior but it sets a standard for others to follow.

This year, be intentional about who you reward with your employment positions, bonuses, raises, and business. Figure out what characteristics and qualities you want in those around you and reward those things. We have more power over our circumstances and the way people and businesses treat us than we give ourselves credit for.  

I hope 2013 is a great year of all of us!

What Can We At Premier Do To Serve You Better in 2013

Let us know:

premierglassproducts@gmail.com

Work Hard and Rest!

“But you might as well bid a man struggling in the water, rest within arm's length of the shore! I must reach it first, and then I'll rest.” 
― Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights

We are almost there, a couple of days of rest are just ahead of us. It has been a great year and I know you, like the rest of us, have been working hard. We are all within an arms reach of some much needed rest.

But, the holidays can be busy. They can fill your days with parties, presents, and places to go. Here are some tips to get some true rest over this Christmas Season.

1. Set aside 24 hours
Schedule a 24 hour period in your calendar over this Christmas and new years season in which you have nothing to do. Guard that time like a kid over a bowl of Ice Cream. That day should be used for rest. Do not do anything that remotely resembles work.

2. Turn the Gadgets Off
Though time in front of the TV, computer, or tablet may feel like rest. Science has actually proven that it takes a large amount of brain activity to decode all the information that these gadgets put out. In fact your brain continues to process hours after you stop looking at these devices. Every once in a while, turn them off.

3. Spend time with people that energize you
There are people in our lives that take energy and those that give energy. I would recommend scheduling some time with those people that refresh you. Extended family and parties can be draining, find some time to spend with people that lift you up.

4. Find Peace
As Dave Ramsey says "True peace can only be found in the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ." If you are a believer enjoy this Christmas season and thank God for the gifts he has given you. If you have not thought much about faith or God lately I would encourage you to explore Christ in Christmas, maybe you will find a peace beyond what you have experienced in the past.

Enjoy this Christmas Season, and Get some Rest

- Chris Reinhard

Don't React, Respond!

Life is full of surprises, that is one thing that should not surprise us. So how do you deal when surprises hit. I was sitting at the hospital the other morning with the family of a long time friend. He was headed into surgery. As I was talking with his father, former president of a major utility contractor, he let me in on one of his business secrets. Don't React, Respond.

There are days where it feels like all I am doing is reacting to the things that come up. So what is the difference? Reacting is emotional, rushed, and many times leaves us worse off than we were before. Responding is taking a step back, getting a new perspective, and thinking a few moves ahead in the game. Our natural reaction is to react, we need to recognize it, take a step back and learn to respond.

Do you spend your day reacting to your business and customers or responding to your business and customers?

-Chris Reinhard

It's Just Like Golf

Mistakes! Mistakes are going to happen, and it hurts when they do. As business owners it costs us money, as managers it slows down production, as employees it makes us feel incompetent. But we need to learn to treat mistakes in business just like we treat them on the Golf course.

Mistakes in business are just like mistakes in Golf.  I make bad shots and I don’t like making bad shots. When golfing, all it takes is one bad shot to ruin a hole, one bad hole to ruin a round and a bad round to ruin the day, etc.... How do you stop that, treat a bad shot for what it is, one bad shot. After a bad shot that puts me in a bad position, I get frustrated and always want to make the hero shot to make up for it. Normally it puts me in a worse position, which causes me to get more frustrated, which leads to another bad shot.

My grandfather on the other hand, will take out his pitching wedge and chip the ball out of the hazard and back into the center of fairway, continuing on like nothing happened. He is 83 years old and still beats me most days on the course.

When we make a mistake in business, don’t try to take the hero shot. Take out your pitching wedge, chip the ball back into the center of fairway and continue the game. Don’t let one bad shot, turn into a bad hole and ruin a great game.

-Chris Reinhard