Nelson Mandela: Leadership Qualities To Follow

Freedom Fighter, Magnanimous Leader, Revolutionary, Triumphant Conqueror for the Good of Humanity…

Nelson Mandela who embodied the hopes and the dreams of South Africa, died at the age of 95. Surviving 27 years in prison ( 27 years!) and rising, 4 years after his release from prison, to become the president of a unified South Africa in common goals and reconciliation and not revenge. The era of the Apartheid in which racial segregation was enforced by legislation ended with Mandela and while it could have caused a civil war in South Africa, a new era of progressive and coexistence society was formed. Now that he is gone, South Africans are left by themselves to embody those ideals and coexistence.

He was persistent and never gave up on what he knew was right. Great leaders, be it a world leader or a business leader, know that behind greatness comes great sacrifice and risk. Building great partnerships and gaining trust amongst his constituents and populace allowed Mandela to be beyond great.

Leadership Skills Inspired By Nelson Mandela:

• Lead by Example: This one might seem like a no-brainer, but most people in leadership struggle with actually adhering to this principle. Gaining the trust of your employees and colleagues comes most from your actions, not your words. Words are great, we love words, but your actions need to match what you say.
• Be Insightful: Mandela once said, ‘Know your enemy, and learn his favorite sport.’ Having insight into what makes your ‘enemies’,or competition, tick can give you incredible power in negotiation and leadership. Same goes for people you work with in your office that seem to be cutting into your productivity or employees who seem to be wasting your time. Connect with that employee or business partner in a new way to resolve issues and prevent further trouble.
• Set Goals: Many people fail miserably when attempting to resolve an issue or become a better leader if they do not set any goals for themselves. Organize your thoughts, write out a plan, give yourself an attainable deadline, and implement your plan.
• Build Real Relationships: Nelson Mandela was a dynamic and lovable person. He could bypass boundaries and reach past prejudices and varying backgrounds to reach people. His goal wasn’t world domination, it was to heal the broken society that was South Africa, and he succeeded. Making your goals as a leader not about your success, but the success of those around you, will indeed make you a success. It’s a cycle of success.

Nelson Mandela was brilliant and kind, a great leader and motivator, he listened to the concerns of those in need, and resolved decades of strife and sorrow. He will be missed in this world, but his legacy lives on in those whose lives he changed forever.

 

The Great Zig Ziglar: Attitude is Everything

The great Zig Ziglar once said, “Your attitude, not aptitude, will determine your altitude”. As a gregarious and genuinely happy person, Zig Ziglar knew that putting ones best mind forward was the first step to becoming a successful person both in business and personal life.

You can watch Zig Ziglar speak about attitude HERE.

 Now, what do attitude and Zig Ziglar have to do with finding or being the best candidate? People naturally gravitate towards someone who is truly happy with their work, courteous, and inviting towards others. Faking a good personality is not the easiest thing to do, so when hiring, looking at a candidate’s demeanor and personality is going to show you more of their potential than just looking at their achievements.

For those striving to adjust your attitude, follow these few steps laid out by Zig Ziglar in his book “Zig on selling”.

• Accept the fact that you can control your attitude
• Make the commitment to do whatever is necessary to control your attitude
• Evaluate every book, movie, TV show, and game before reading, viewing, or playing with the question “ is this going to help my personal, family, or business life, or is there a better use of my time?”
• Learn one new word every day. The average American only learns 25 new words a year, so by learning a new word every day, you would have a huge advantage in life.
• Read something of value to you for 20 minutes every day. Reading is a dying art form that can truly advance your understanding of the world.
• Use your commute time to learn something. 20% of Americans have a commute that is 20-29 minutes. By using that time to learn a new language or listen to a book, it turns your brain on and makes it work harder and become better every day.
• Carefully choose who you associate with professionally and personally. Having people around you who have the right attitude will help you to be the best that you can be.

I AM THANKFUL FOR…

Hello again!

I must have received a couple hundred emails about my lack of blogs the last few weeks. My sincerest apologies so let me explain and catch everyone up.

Jeremy

This has been a crazy year and it isn’t over yet. But with that being said

I am thankful for once again realizing who my true friends are. I am thankful for the Merrigan’s moving to Charlotte.

I am thankful for an awesome work team that works hard every day and are truly the least selfish people I have ever met.

I am thankful for Tanner who is going to be turning 10 and is still able to jump into the SUV everyday for work. I am thankful for a good Dad.

I am super thankful for Charleston, SC and all the awesomeness it brought to us this past summer.

I am thankful for loyal clients and clients who have given SSG a chance. I am thankful for people who can forgive and understand.

I am thankful for the simple things like a Thank You or a smile. I can go on and on, but

I really am thankful despite my need for sarcasm and my lack of patience at times. I am really thankful for everyone who knows the real me and still comes back for more.

Stella

“I am thankful for Jeremy Gnozzo. Let me repeat myself….I am thankful for Jeremy Gnozzo”

 

Eric

With this time of year being reserved for reflections and reminiscing, here are a few thoughts of my own. I feel obligated to share the great appreciation that I have for the wonderful family, friends, and co-workers that I have been so fortunate to accrue over the years, along with their collective health and prosperity. Some people are blessed with good looks or an exceptional talent; I feel that my blessing in life is the people that surround me day in and day out.

In light of recent events here in the United States as well as abroad, I would like to expand on a certain aspect of my life for which I give thanks every single morning. Given the growing political and/or cultural climate in our great country, I am taking this opportunity to give thanks for MY ABILITY AND OPPORTUNITY TO WORK AND CONTRIBUTE to our society. Our emerging generation seems to have lost the excitement that can be found in working hard, being determined, achieving results, and relying on oneself as opposed to hoping and praying for assistance from another source. We live in America, where it is possible to come from NOTHING and be as successful as you’d like. In my opinion this attitude is fading and being replaced by apathy, a sense of entitlement, and the pointing of fingers at others for personal shortcomings.

My hope is that as people reflect on the past year and their own blessings they will also take an introspective glance and pledge to work harder, strive for greater results, and find a renewed spirit of competitiveness and drive that can return ourselves, our families, and our country to the prosperity that we all deserve

Elena

I’m thankful for God because every day he shows me signs to the right path in my life. Either by people he puts in my life (both good and bad) or experiences he makes me go through, I’m thankful that his presence is always with me and every day, he makes me stronger.

I’m thankful for my family and friends who have been here for me through this very difficult year.

I’m thankful to the people I work with.

And I’m thankful to my boss, for giving me the opportunity to work and develop my skill set while looking for the right path in my life.

Ashley

I’m thankful for my loving family

I’m thankful for wine

I’m thankful for my friends

I’m thankful for my health and happiness

I’m thankful that I have heat because I’m always cold

I’m thankful for my best friend Christina

I’m thankful that I met and fell in love with my boyfriend

I’m thankful that I found a job that I can succeed at and work with amazing people who make me laugh

I’m thankful for Amelie’s salted caramel brownies

Vince

I am thankful for my three beautiful children, an awesome and promising future with Search Solution Group, and great friends and family!

 

Michelle

I am thankful for my family, baby clothes and old friends

 

Julie

I am thankful for my pets and more pets

 

Aaron

I am thankful for the Cleveland Browns not being the worse football team and Iphone apps.

I am thankful for the folks at Search Solution Group and especially Tanner!

 

Tanner

I am thankful for Jeremy (aka my dad) bringing me to the office every day.

I am thankful for Eric leaving his garbage can very low so I can steal paper.

I am thankful for getting table scraps from everyone at lunch.

I am thankful for my daily walks and lying on people’s feet under their desks at the office.

I am thankful that everyone forgives me for my bad gas that I cannot control….ha!

 

Lauryn

I am thankful for God who leads me each day and helps me to be the best

person I can be.

I am thankful for old friends, new friends, and all the memories we have made together this year.

I am thankful for my amazing siblings I can’t imagine my life without them.

I am thankful for having the strongest, most caring, and talented mom in the world.

I am thankful for my dad and the way he believes in me.

I am thankful for my extremely large yet close family we are so blessed to have so many of us to lean on for support.

I am thankful for my job(s) and the great people I work with

I am especially thankful this year for my independence

“If you are going to be a Bear, be a GRIZZLY”

REPUBLICAN OR DEMOCRAT? BIG BIRD OR ELMO?

 

Republican or Democrat, shit you could even be an alien and there is a good chance you know what Sesame Street is; Ernie, Bert, Oscar the Grouch, Cookie Monster (my favorite), Elmo and the forever infamous Big Bird.

We all practically grew up with Sesame Street and these characters. But why would you want to pick on Big Bird and get rid of him? He is by far the biggest of all the puppets and I imagine could be a really mean drunk if he is drinking. Plus hanging out with Elmo all day would piss me off and make me want to drink! I might even recommend anger management classes just to deal with Elmo all week. Don’t pretend you never wondered why someone hasn’t beaten up Elmo.

Think about Elmo for a moment. He is the new guy on the street (Baltimore crew); he just walked in and is all of a sudden is the center of attention. What has Elmo really accomplished? A few holidays ago he was the hot toy stuffed with plastic and feathers. If you pushed a button he would dance, make some noise, be amusing for a moment then quickly become annoying and never leave your house. HELLLLLL if I wanted that in my life I would date another stripper, stuffed with plastic, annoying, amusing for a few moments and really never leaves your house, PLUS is any stripper really a good “dancer”. I don’t think so. There is not much of a difference between that loser Elmo and a bad pole-dancing stripper.

Now Big Bird is the guy who is going to be the center on the puppet basketball team, the fighter on the puppet hockey team and be the first to stand up for his other fellow puppets. There are no other big puppets on Sesame Street, but what about the Muppets? Kermit, the great Gonzo and Miss Piggy they could use a seven foot yellow bird in their crew. Big Bird would make the Muppets a power house, a potential dynasty and give them street cred (as we say in the hood).

Regardless of whether you liked Mitt’s debate the other night he could be the catalyst that finally brings Kermit a puppet championship. It’s tough being green, as Kermit would say. But finally that conniving weasel Elmo would be on the unemployment line or forced to be on stage dancing to “Pour Some Sugar on Me” by Def Leppard. From what I hear is the most popular stripper song of all time, again from what I hear.

I wouldn’t know…I’m practically a saint!

 

Escape from the office – enjoy TV

Over the years everyone is looking for some balance (thank you Mr. Miyagi). For some people  it’s the gym, sports, cooking classes or just plain walking around the neighborhood. I think I have done all the above except cooking classes just to try to have an escape from the office and the day-to-day of the work week. One of my favorite things has always been watching a good movie or a TV Show. I think this comes from my dad, For the longest time I was addicted to “Lost” and since that TV Show has gone away, my new favorite TV show is “How I Met Your Mother”. In my opinion it’s just a really well done TV show that is well told with a great cast of characters and awesome acting. The best part it’s really really funny.

 This week’s blog is dedicated to one of my favorite people to watch on this TV show – Barney Stinson. Barney you have come a long way since Doogie Howser. Here are some of Barney’s best quotes:

 10. Barney: “Plus, here’s the mini-cherry on top of the regular cherry on top of the sundae of awesomeness that is my life”

 9. First explaining to Marshall about his unique qualities: “Think of me like Yoda, but instead of being little and green I wear suits and I’m awesome. I’m your bro—I’m Broda!”

 8. Describing the simplicity of running a marathon: “Step one, you start running. There is no step two.”

 7. Barney, reacting to Ted’s new car: “Shotgun for eternity!” 
Robin: “You can’t call shotgun for eternity.” 
Barney: “I call that I can call things.”

 6. Giving his new friend advice on meeting women: “Now remember my three beginner’s tips for picking up chicks: address her by name, isolate her from her friends, subtly put her down.

 5. Justifying his smoking habit: “I am not a smoker. I only smoke in certain situations: post-coital, when I’m with Germans (sometimes those two overlap), coital, birthdays, to annoy my mom, pre-coital, on a sailboat, the day the Mets are mathematically eliminated every year, and, of course—wait for it—’cause Lord knows I have—pregnancy scares.”

 4. When I’m sad, I stop being sad and start being awesome instead.

 3. In my body where the shame gland should be, there is a second AWESOME GLAND!

 2. It’s gonna be legen………wait for it [falls asleep]….[awakes]…..DARY!!

and #1. Barney: My life rocks! Money, suits, and sex? These are tears of joy! I could be cooped up in an apartment, changing some brat’s poopy diaper but instead I’m out in the world being awesome 24/7/365! You let me dodge a bullet, big guy. (kisses fingers & raises them in the air)

Be PREPARED

I recently heard a good story and it is a TRUE story, which happens to be my favorite kind of story.

So this guy wants to purchase a new house and despite all the warnings out there he proceeds to use a “not too sharp” realtor. Not to digress too much but I am pretty proud of myself for not insulting the realtor during the beginning of this story. As things proceed he finds a nice home that he would love to purchase and settle into. Sounds like the American dream coming true…..

For time sake lets fast forward to day two of the negotiating between the two parties. In the blue corner we have the buyer and his realtor and in the red corner standing by himself is the seller’s realtor. Like any good negotiation you go into it prepared having done research on every angle possible and then you prepare mentally for the conversation. What is your angle? What will they counter with? How will handle that? What will be my close? What will my tone be and how will I win?

All of this is basic. It is the same stuff that I do for my candidates or clients when we are negotiating salaries, vacations and total offer packages. HECK it is the same stuff we do here at Search Solution Group sometimes to convince a client to interview a candidate. It is all about being prepared and knowing your industry and client. This is the bottom of the barrel type of skills it takes to be employed….it really is!!

Guess what happens? Come on GUESS!!!!!!! This is great…the realtor for the buyer starts shooting her mouth off about the school districts and how they are not as good and blah blah blah. This is where it really gets GREAT for a sarcastic ahole like me, if I was in the room. The opposing realtor as described to me in vivid and great details from the buyer just starts to slowly smile and sit up in his chair a little higher. He arches his back and extends his spine. You know the feeling when you are playing poker with your friends and you know you have them beat because you have the final ACE!! He just slowly and confidently with all the swagger of a classic John Wayne movie says that you have the wrong zip codes and that this is the best school district…..BAMMMMM

The buyer said that his gut sank and he felt like throwing up!! His last chance to save some money on his dream home was just LOST due to an incompetent, poorly prepared realtor!!! OUCH!!

My point of this story is BE PREPARED! I do not care if it is a first interview or a cup of coffee for an informal get together or if you are going to purchase a new TV. All of the successful people I know in my life are always prepared. They get it right the first time because they are committed to being successful.

Patience: A Lesson from a Dog

I spent  a better part of my day on Thursday thinking about what I was going to write about. Being completely discouraged I decided to leave the office and work out and hope that a good work out might inspire me. Well sure enough the moment Tanner (my faithful lab) Eric and I leave the office I get inspired. What inspired me??????? MORE STUPID PEOPLE WHO DESERVE A PUNCH IN THE NOSE.

 As the three of us step outside on a beautiful and sunny Charlotte evening we notice a dog on a leash running towards us or specifically towards Tanner. This isn’t the first time this has happened. It always seems that the guy who is “vertically” challenged is letting the dog run around and jump on other people and dogs. As much as I wanted to punch him his girlfriend seemed very nice so I held my anger back.  His dog comes running over jumping on us but mostly jumping and sniffing Tanner. Tanner PATIENTLY and calmly stood there. He was poised and majestic, Tanner had the grace of all the Greek Gods put together at this moment. Needless to say I was proud of him for not attacking this dog who is owned by a moron.

 Now Eric, myself and Tanner walk around the corner to drop some mail off. Not 45 seconds later here comes this little scrappy white dog from around the corner barking at Tanner. No leash, no owner just yipping away at Tanner. Wait, here comes the dumb owner trying to get her dog to listen to her. It is not working!! Imagine this scenario…this little leash less dog barking two feet away from a dog five times her size. Finally the owner is able to get her dog, but this is after two to three minutes of Tanner standing there watching all of this. I can only imagine what Tanner is thinking….maybe I should just bite her head off and chew on it as a play toy for a bit. Nope, maybe I should swallow the whole dog and I could have one massive poop later. Nope, Maybe I should take my left paw and just swat this annoying bitch across the street. Nope, Maybe I should bite the owner for being stupid and not training her dog. Nope, Instead I will stand here and  be mature and have PATIENCE for other dogs and pet owners who don’t know better and are irresponsible  and just laugh at them both. He is also probably thinking the sooner I get in the car the sooner I can eat dinner and play. With that being said I love my dog!

 So as the three of us are walking away, I said to Eric. “I wish I had the Patience of my dog”. And there you have it folks, my inspiration for this week’s blog. I wanted to punch and yell at everyone and the whole time Tanner stood there like a mature, confident and intelligent creature. I was so proud of him and the whole time wishing I could do the same all the time. I know this is going to sound strange but as much as I have learned from reading and being around other people, I think Tanner has taught me just as much. Tanner really understands what is important in life (a good belly rub, being around good people, some exercise and the occasional treat ). Now if I can teach him to stop eating other people’s lunches (sorry Lindsay and Elena) I will have made some real progress.

 So for the rest of 2012 I am going to try to be more like my little buddy and if YOU (Stella especially) notice that I am not behaving correctly give me a treat and politely and PATIENTLY remind me please.

 

The Greatest Baseball Franchise that was‏

Gary Carter (Photo credit: AxsDeny)

I have written a few blog posts about the lessons I learned on the baseball field in the past. I am not sure if this is a lesson or more of a memory. Gary Carter passed away the other day from a long fight with brain cancer. Gary Carter was one of the great Montreal Expos from the 1980’s. He was a catcher and the foundation of a team from 1974-1984  that had great players on it like Charlie Lea, Pete Rose, Dave Palmer, Jeff Reardon, Andre Dawson and TIM “Rock” RAINES!! I don’t think it gets any better for me at that time. I was in my little league glory, sporting my red, white and blue Expos hat and pretending to be an Expo. My parents were driving me back and forth to baseball practices for multiple leagues during our short Buffalo, NY summers. I was listening to my folks tell me stories all the while listening to the oldies on the AM stations day dreaming about being an Expo.

 Playing little league meant playing catch with mom and dad until the street lights came on, or going to the park with my friends and playing home run derby. It meant making friends with people I did not know that would eventually lead to lifelong friends and family. It taught me how to be competitive, how to work hard to get better at something. It taught  me the value of practice and what it meant to be consistently good at what I was trying to do. Little league taught me the how to lose with dignity and win with grace, thank God we won a lot more than we ever lost. It taught me to dream and have goals and allowed my parents and I to have another bond that lasts today.

 Gary Carter is my first baseball great to pass away and I will always have those childhood memories. Thank You.

Focus “Daniel Son”

Cover of The Karate Kid (Special Edition)

Like most of you I have had a really busy week with lots of DISTRACTIONS. However the most distracting thing for me lately has been the Buffalo Sabres. They are horrible, they finally won a game after losing twelve straight games. I even attempted to watch all of them. The news reports are hinting that the Sabres are going to make some big trades and that they are going to fire the GM and the coach and make drastic changes to the lineup. This is exciting to a Sabres fan because we just want to have a winning team, but it has also become a HUGE distraction to me. I caught myself constantly checking ESPN and the Buffalo News for updates this week. I was getting annoyed with the new owner for not doing anything, but I was even more frustrated with myself because I couldn’t stop checking the websites for updates. I felt like a sixty year old guy trying to quit smoking for the hundredth time. Finally I realized that I was becoming unfocused and distracted. I hated the person I was becoming and we all know one of them. I knew I had to change. In every office there is that one person who is distracted by everything and 25 years later after failure after failure finds himself living in a 1 bedroom apartment wondering why he is still working at Best Buy

It is so easy to get distracted, I get it. Before our employers would block certain websites from our work computers, or limit us from personal calls at work. Well all of a sudden we can text our friends, check emails and random websites from our phones (it is kind of awesome). There seems to be a TV every ten feet with either a different sporting event on or a new reality TV show. Distractions are everywhere for us, but how focused are you on your goal or the project in front of you today.  Before I had this beautiful office and amazing team, I used to work from home.  I had TVs, couches, my bed, my dog, friends, food, every imaginable distraction, but I chose to work, to be focused and to be successful. I cannot lecture you on how to be more focused or how to tune out the distractions at this point you just have to choose what is more important and have your eye on the prize!

Much of life really comes down to the Karate Kid (the first Movie of course.). Mr. Miyagi always had good life lessons for Daniel son thru out the movie. The lessons were so good they made 3 more movies, I refuse to count the remake

I have worked alongside a few amazing people in my life and they all have had the eye of the TIGER. I’m not sure how Mr. Miyagi would feel about Daniel son having to fight Rocky Balboa but I’m sure they would both be focused, not distracted and ready to win.