Archive for December, 2009

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Thursday Thoughts On Leadership: What Is So Special About Leaders?

By Gino Blefari | December 31st, 2009 0 Comments

What is so special about leaders? Do we ever really stop to ask ourselves this question? There are a million different responses, but consider this one … they bring out the best in us. Leaders recognize what is possible before we do. They recognize the potential in an individual and perhaps more importantly, they know how to bring it to the surface.

Consider, Joe Montana. We all know how his story ends, but do you know how it started? As a freshman at Notre Dame in 1974, Montana was the seventh string quarterback. The following year Dan Devine, the newly hired coach stated to his wife after being impressed by Montana’s performance during training: “I’m gonna start Joe Montana in the final spring game.”  When she replied, “Who’s Joe Montana?” Devine said: “He’s the guy who’s going to feed our family for the next few years.” Today we all recognize what Dan Devine recognized in that spring training game in 1975. It is a difficult task to find six better quarterbacks in the history of football than Joe Montana, much less on one college football team. It took a leader with vision to see that.

Montana did go on to have a very good college career at a highly regarded college program, yet when he entered the NFL draft in 1979 he was once again overlooked. He was selected in the third round by the San Francisco Forty-Niners because Bill Walsh, like Dan Devine before him, recognized the potential that everyone else missed.

Walsh knew that in Montana he had found the perfect understudy to lead his team and execute his plans. As Montana related years later in the foreword to the book, The Score Takes Care of Itself: My Philosophy of Leadership, “He (Walsh) had in his mind this ideal – an image of perfect football – couple with the nuts-and-bolts details of how to accomplish it, which he then taught … the place you dreamed of but didn’t know you could reach? Bill Walsh taught me how to reach it. He taught all of us how to reach it.”

I do not have any doubts that Montana believed he could make it in the NFL, but having a leader like Walsh who believed he could be one of the best ever played a vital role in Montana achieving that status. When others see potential in our abilities and they believe in us, and they reinforce that belief every day through their interactions with us, we are strongly influenced by that support. Our Chairman, Bob Moles played that role for me. If the potential exists within us, it will come out when a leader takes the time to bring us along.

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Wednesday Wellness: Cross The River

By Tammy Parkinson | December 30th, 2009 0 Comments

It seems like so many people I know have had, let’s say, a “growth year” in 2009.  That can be awesome…if we can move into 2010 taking the tools we learned during this growth stage in a positive direction!

You see, there is sometimes a huge river that we need to cross before we can create the life we want and need.  It’s swimming through the river, even when it’s deep with rapids that help us grow beyond our boundaries.

When it comes to your wellness, what challenges have you faced in 2009 which you have either overcome or need to overcome?  Are you avoiding crossing this river?

There are those blessed few who are born with an easy life; one without challenges, one of sweet bliss and never a worry.  You know though, I truly doubt anyone can find their true bliss if one doesn’t go through rivers, mountains, valleys and sometimes deserts. To grow is to experience pain, persevere and blossom.

If there is a river you need to cross, maybe this is the time to dive in.  Get your life jacket on, wear the right clothes, bring a rope with you and go for it!   Swim with strength, drive, integrity, effort and everything in you it takes to reach the shoreline of who you know you want to be and truly are!

Take 2010 by the horns and make it an amazing year, for your health, wellbeing and your spirit!

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Tags: , , , , , , ,      Categories: Wellness by Tammy Parkinson

Monday Morning Mojo: 5 Tricks to Achieving Your New Year’s Resolutions

By Tom Tognoli | December 28th, 2009 0 Comments

As we start a New Year this week lets all make a commitment to turn up the heat at least one more degree in 2010 and see what happens.  So many times in life the gap between what we have and what we want seems so far apart, yet most of the time it is not nearly as far apart as we think.  Click here to watch the video and then turn up YOUR heat at least one degree to make 2010 your best year yet!

Here are 5 Simple Tricks to Achieving Your New Year’s Resolutions. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

1. Get specific

A vague goal is as useful as no goal at all. General ideas about what you want give you nothing to work with and nowhere to go. It’s only when you get specific about what you want that the path to success is revealed. Take time to narrow down your resolutions into specific ideas and turn your vague goals into crystal-clear goals.

2. Spread the word

Don’t keep your goals all to yourself. The more you share your goals with others, the more life you give to those goals. It gives them the chance to grow and gain momentum.  So, tell at least two other people about your goals, and be sure not to make the mistake of giving without receiving; spend just as much time listening to ideas as you did in sharing your own.

3. Buddy up

When it comes to living a better life, few things are as powerful or persuasive as a living, breathing human being.  Books, tapes, etc. can help you along, but nothing can compare to one-on-one interaction.  The buddy system is one of the most effective goal-achievement tools you can use. By partnering with a goal-seeker, you’ll have all the support you need to achieve anything you set your mind to.

4. Burn the bridge

While preparing his next book, a famous writer listed his weight at fifty pounds lighter than reality. Not only that, but he did so knowing full well that only months after publication he would be paraded in front of thousands of his biggest fans. Why?  To burn the bridge of easy escape. He knew he needed to lose the weight, but he also knew he would give up on the goal without any pressure to follow through. By promising his public a fifty-pound weight loss, he had no choice but to achieve the goal.  What steps can you take today to burn the bridge of an easy escape and commit yourself to living a better life?

5. Do something – NOW

As they say, there’s no better time than the present, and when it comes to living a better life, they couldn’t be more right.  The true power of taking one small step comes not in the small step of progress you’ll make, but in the act of doing something about the things you want.  As you know, getting started is often the most difficult part of the process. Millions of people dream, but few actually ever take action…and that is why it is critical that you do something today. Think of one small step you can take right now that will bring you closer to accomplishing your goal and once you have it in mind, DO IT! Don’t think about it, don’t consider it – JUST DO IT NOW!

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Tags: , , , , , , ,      Categories: Accountibility, Aspiration, Goals, Monday Morning Mojo, Success

Cool Apps: Get it TGETHR!

By John Thompson | December 28th, 2009 0 Comments

tgethr_logoWe’ve said it before. Countless times. Online collaboration is great. But sometimes, it’s just harder than nailing Jell-O to a tree. With people spread all over hither and yon, it’s increasingly complex to keep track of things, to collaborate, to simply get things done.

Ever on the lookout for online collaboration tools, we’ve seen some that are pretty neat, but they all require every person on a project to log into a new site and register in order to take advantage. We’re always on the hunt for something simple.

We think we may have found it with TGETHR.

What makes TGETHR different? For starters, it doesn’t make the people on your team take time to learn something new. It functions just like an email distribution group. All anyone needs is a TGETHR email address (though there is a web app available), and all of your communication gets distributed to everyone on the team. Automatically.

One of the things that’s interesting about TGETHR is that it is, sort of, anti high-tech. There are few, if any, bells and whistles. It’s exceedingly straightforward. TGETHR archives anything and everything that gets sent, including attachments, and makes that information searchable at any time. You get an automatic record every bit of communication. A searchable record of all of your projects. Cool, huh?

TGETHR is secure. All of your transmissions are encryptable, so that no one can hack into your projects or other sensitive information. Further, there’s no extra charge for this extra security (unlike with some other programs); encryption is standard with every account.

One of our favorite features of TGETHR is that it works with other web-based services, such as Unfuddle or DropBox, which you may already be using.

TGETHR isn’t fancy. It’s a simple tool that solves a complex problem. It’s straightforward, no-nonsense … it’s simply elegant. Get it TGETHR!

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Thursday’s Thoughts on Leadership: High Expectations Lead to High Performance

By Gino Blefari | December 28th, 2009 0 Comments

Leaders know high expectations lead to high performance. Leaders know that the more people believe in themselves, and their leaders believe in them, the more they will accomplish – at all levels. To ensure that people achieve their best, leaders have to take steps to bring forth the best from others. The first step is setting an expectation of high standards, which then becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Successful leaders have high expectations, both of themselves and of their charges. It is amazing to see how people react when high expectations are placed on them. If we expect them to succeed, they probably will.

Bob Moles, who has always played a large role in my professional development and success, has always driven me by expecting my absolute best. He expected me to succeed. Where his expectations aligned with my determination and my performance, success followed. Those expectations became my own standard of success and thus they became my own expectations.

I used that as a foundation to set high expectations for everyone at Intero based on the expectations I have of myself. Leaders have to show the way. They cannot point in a direction and ask you to go, they have to take the first steps and ask you to follow. A leaders’ expectations are credible only if they are a reflection of their own record of achievement and dedication, and daily demonstrations of what and how things need to be done.

Leaders recognize the impact of self-fulfilling prophecies. Leaders treat people in a way that bolsters their self confidence, making it possible to achieve more than they may have initially believed possible of themselves.  The German writer Goethe, once penned the line, “Treat a man as he is, he will remain so. Treat a man the way he can be and ought to be, and he will become as he can be and should be.” Success starts with leaders with the vision to set high expectations, it is reached by individuals with the drive to prepare and work hard enough to reach them.

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Tags: , , , , , , , ,      Categories: Thursday's Thoughts On Leadership, leaders

Wednesday Wellness: Give the Gift of Health…To Yourself!

By Tammy Parkinson | December 23rd, 2009 0 Comments

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the temptations of the food choices around the holidays.  If you recall, I suggested we really have only 3 or 4 real holiday meals (depending on what you celebrate) that lead us off the health path.

This Friday will be one of those tempting days.  I had one of my challenging days last night!  There were so many delicious options!

Since I knew I was going to “indulge a bit”, I decided to make a deal with myself before diving in.  Here’s what I committed to:

  • Get a good workout in that morning
  • Decide if I was going to have wine, and if so, how much
  • Commit to my no sugar promise (actually, this was the easiest part!)
  • Choose veggies as ¾ of my plate (we had caramelized carrots, broccoli and cheese casserole and cheesy potatoes with buttered green beans…so this was not necessarily easy!)
  • Connect with how full I am before getting up for seconds

This is the beginning of a week full of festive meals, so my goal this week is to workout a little harder every day, drink more water than usual and eat light to dive into the weekend feeling at the top of my nutrition game.  It helps to have a game plan!

Trust me; this can be challenging for me, just as much as anyone, especially since this week is also the busy week getting ready for the big day(s)!  But you can also trust me that if we do this; we will sail right through the New Year feeling good about our choices, fitness, and health!

Have a wonderful, special week and give the gift of health…to yourself!

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Monday Morning Mojo: Get More of What You Want in 2010

By Tom Tognoli | December 21st, 2009 0 Comments

Merry Christmas and thank you. Thank you for the gift of opportunity to share Monday Morning MOJO with you. By having to think, research and create ideas to share every week it has forced me to reaffirm what is important to me in my life.  By writing Monday Morning MOJO I have also attracted into my life more of the things which are important to me, my family, my friends and our company.  As we have discussed in past Monday Morning MOJO’s, one of the best ways to get more of what you want in life is to help others get more of what they want. I hope I have been able to help you do just that - you have certainly helped me. You have been my best accountability partner in 2009. So, don’t forget to get more of what you want next year – help others get more of what they want. You have to give to get!

So, what do you want Monday Morning MOJO to provide you for Christmas?  I have been sending out Monday Morning MOJO now for over a year and I thought I would ask you what you are struggling with in life, what breakthroughs are you wanting to accomplish but just can’t quite seem to make it happen? What questions do you want Monday Morning MOJO to help with? Do you have an inspirational story to share – one which you think can make a difference for the thousands of people who receive Monday Morning MOJO?  It’s the stories of real experiences which truly make the difference and have the largest impact.

My gift to you today for Christmas is MOJO.

What exactly is MOJO you ask?
MOJO defined is:

  • A magic charm or spell
  • The art or practice of casting magic spells
  • An object, as an amulet or charm that is believed to carry a magic spell
  • MOJO is me sending you success, health, and happiness.

Merry Christmas and click here to enjoy a holiday slide show.

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Thursday Thoughts on Leadership: To Lead is to Serve

By Gino Blefari | December 18th, 2009 0 Comments

As we enter into the heart of the holiday season and we are surrounded by reminders of the spirit of giving, we should not forget what that implies; namely, that there are so many in need.

At Intero, we have always strived to create a different kind of real estate company – a company that focused on more than corporate profits and selling houses, one that endeavors to create an atmosphere that allows its people to continuously grow personally and professionally.

A center point of that philosophy is the Intero Foundation. We understand the universal law that you “must give in order to receive.”  And by that we mean contributing to our communities. One of our core values is commitment, and we therefore take great pride in belonging to a company in which everyone is encouraged to donate to the Intero Foundation. We earn our living by serving our community and this gives us an opportunity to give back to them.

As a company and as individuals participation in the Intero Foundation allows us all to serve the communities we live and work in. It also serves as a foundation of leadership. In his book The Other Side of Leadership, Eugene B. Hacker writes, “The true leader serves. Serves people. Serves their best interests, and in doing so will not always be popular, may not always impress. But because true leaders are motivated by loving concern, than a desire for personal glory, they are willing to pay the price.”

As we give without expecting to receive – be amazed how the universe will reward your generosity.

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Wednesday Wellness: Trying Something New

By Tammy Parkinson | December 16th, 2009 0 Comments

Often in my Wednesday Wellness articles I write about what I see and observe during the week.  I am inspired, almost daily, by someone or something within the routine of what I do.  This past week I’ve noticed a rising number of people who, when they are approaching a workout regiment, are nervous, scared and intimidated.

I realize starting anything new can be daunting, but what I find fascinating is that out of the 8 or so new clients I’ve recently met, they are all very unsure of their potential.  In fact, they set themselves up to fail or to allow themselves to fail.  They are comparing themselves to others and feeling as though they are the only ones who feel they can’t do it.

The irony here is that all 8 feel as though they are the only ones who can’t, but in reality they all CAN, just in their own way.  Who is to say one of us is better than the other at anything?  We all (me too) get so caught up in comparing ourselves to others that we hone in our insecurities and shortcomings.

Since I have the unique pleasure of meeting so many people and being a sounding board for this diversity, I can say with all confidence that we are our own worst critic.

My message here is simple: let go of what you think you cannot do, what you might feel afraid of or what you think someone will judge you as. Take a leap of faith as though no one is noticing your shortcomings and DO IT!  I bet if you pause for a moment, you know someone who is always up for anything and that person is the light that brightens every room!  THAT is what I am truly inspired by…the people who are willing try something new; no matter how they do it!

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Tags: , , , , , , ,      Categories: Fear, Positive attitude, Wellness by Tammy Parkinson

Intero Cool Apps: SavorChat

By John Thompson | December 14th, 2009 0 Comments

savorchatIt sounds crazy. More than ever before, we are equipped with incredible tools that help spread information and facilitate relationships. Even so, finding a way to assemble all of the people in your network on one network can be a daunting task, to say the least. Like I said: crazy.

Partner A uses one service, Partner B another. The logistics can often be maddening. What we need is something to fortify our social arsenal. Something that would just make things simpler.

Enter SavorChat.

A free, gloriously easy-to-use tool, SavorChat allows you to create chat rooms — as many as you’d like — that are either public or private, to which you can invite anyone. Users can log into the site using either Facebook Connect or oAuth (Twitter’s authentication application). No one needs to create a new account, and everyone is together, chatting and getting about the business of getting business done.

A terrific feature of SavorChat is its privacy settings. In its “stealth mode” you can hide the room from your Facebook and Twitter feeds, in addition to keeping the chat hidden from search engines. Chat rooms can be opened for limited periods of time, or kept open indefinitely. They can be turned on and off as needed, or password protected if you like.

If you need to assemble a group of people for a discussion or last-minute meeting, SavorChat could be just the thing you’re looking for. Easy. Fast. Smart.

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