Robert Dickie CEO Newswire

Time to make a difference!

“Have Fun, Make Money, Make A Difference” This is a great slogan we have all heard many times and I am always interested in how we put those words into action. One thing I know about members of the Team is that we all value action above all else and we all desire to make a difference in America in all that we do. Here is how I personally plan on making a difference right now.

As you all know, we are in the midst of an election year. We have seen what great leaders can do and know the devastating consequences of poor leadership. There has never been a more important time in our country’s history than right now for the American people to send great leaders to Washington DC to SERVE the people of our nation and to ensure our national security and economic prosperity of this country. We might be faced with some challenging issues both economically and politically but this is no different than in times past and with the right leadership we will be able to overcome those issues and build towards a bright future for our children and grandchildren.

I know of a fine businessman and leader in New Mexico named Ed Tinsley who is running for Congress and I am giving him my full support in his congressional run. I encourage each of you to visit his website that I have included here to learn more about him and his campaign on the Republican ticket in the 2nd Congressional District of New Mexico.

I met Ed and his family while I was in the military. I attended a convention in Chicago for the National Restaurant Association of which Ed was a board member. I quickly fostered a friendship with him and was very impressed with what he had accomplished, his goals for the future, and his desire to help the men and women of our military. Since our first meeting in Chicago, Ed was elected as the Chairman of the Board of the NRA. He truly has a servant’s heart and he has made a great impact serving in that capacity. As chairman, he helped lead this organization in its efforts to support our military troops around the world. Ed Tinsley is a successful restaurant owner with a vast operation that spans Texas, Colorado, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. He is also life long rancher and is involved in the oil and gas industry, which enable him to bring his breadth of experience and common sense business approach to Washington, DC to help foster change where it is needed most. However, what I find most impressive about him is that he is a great leader with character and integrity and we need that type of leadership in our nation’s capital now more than ever. I personally believe Ed will do a fantastic job not just representing the state of New Mexico but doing what is right for our entire country.

If you are a resident of New Mexico I highly encourage you to read more about Ed and what he stands for on his website. For those of you who can not vote in the New Mexico second congressional district election but believe he will be a great leader in Washington you can still support him with a financial donation to his campaign. Please read over his bio and background (link here) to see what issues are important to him.

I truly believe that Ed Tinsley will make a fine Congressman representing New Mexico and our entire nation. If you believe the same and would like to support this campaign you can (click here) to make a donation.

Building a Competitive Company

There is nothing I enjoy more than reading about great leaders from various industries to see how they lead, create, collaborate, and define their business market. Insight into the mind of Carlos Brito, CEO of InBev NV, can be summed up in this one quote, “To dream big or dream small takes the same amount of energy. So why not stretch a little bit?”

What a profound statement when you think about it. You can read the entire article about Carlos Brito that is titled InBev’s Chief Built Competitive Culture by Matt Moffett in the June 13, 2008 edition of the Wall Street Journal. It is a short article but packed with incredible information by Mr. Moffett.

I think the following passages written by Matt Moffett really give insight into how Carlos Brito leads and what makes InBev NV, different from its competition.

“The key to InBev’s success-and one explanation for the occasional controversies it has found itself in is a MERITOCRATIC (emphasis mine) culture in which performance incentives and cost cutting are given prime importance.”

Matt Moffett from the Wall Street Journal goes on to write, “Mr. Brito works at a table, set up like a brokerage trading desk, surrounded by his vice presidents. “I sit with my marketing guy on my left, my sales guy on my right, and my finance guy in front of me,” he told the Stanford audience. As a result, he says, the company can make decisions very quickly and save money that other companies spend on the trappings of corporate power. We always say the leaner the business the more money we have at the end of the year to share” he added, referring to the generous InBev bonus system.”

Finally Matt closes out the article with this telling passage. “Part of the Brazilian way is creating a competitive atmosphere with bonuses and promotions based on performance rather than seniority. “In our company we think that to be fair with people is to treat different people in different ways,” Mr. Brito said at Stanford. Mr. Brito told the Stanford audience that out of InBev’s 85,000 employees 200 to 250 “are the ones who make a difference.” He said InBev is unapologetic about giving special treatment to the difference makers.”

Wow! That is so true. Many corporate leaders would be afraid to speak clearly like that in fear they would upset or disenfranchise the rest of the company. I know there are a couple companies here in the United States that could use some of this type of common sense leadership and a performance based structure put in place instead of a seniority system. Mr. Brito wasn’t afraid of any disenfranchisement of his other 85,000 employees by letting them know that there were 200- 250 key people who really make that company run and that those people earned the right to be treated different. If you think about it those 85,000 employees should be happy and excited that they have great leadership and performers in the company that are helping it grow and be competitive in the market place. By attracting and retaining that talent they are ensuring future growth and profitability for the company from which they all benefit from. That is a true meritocracy…by your performance you should be rewarded and recognized and those type of systems are a benefit for everyone in the company. The Team handles issues like this with our own formula driven profit sharing plan that was developed by Orrin Woodward and our board.

Just last week I spoke with a friend who said that he was looking at leaving a major automotive company and putting his resume in around the country. He said there was a mass exodus of the most talented people in the company and he saw the writing on the wall. When your best people are leaving what does that tell you? How long can a company survive when its top IT, engineers, marketing, and design people all decide it is in their best interest to leave? All you have to do is watch the leadership of any company to see how it is doing.

The issue of top leaders leaving companies is something that is being noticed. Rich Karlgaard quotes in the June 30, 2008 edition of Forbes Magazine, "A 2005 McKinsey & Company study suggests that leading companies - top quintile performers in their industries as measured by revenue, profit, and market share - fall out of leadership at a rate that is three times greater than it was 30 years ago. Thank (or blame) technology, entrepreneurship, free-flowing capital and globalism." Once the leaders start to leave, you better start asking questions. Our chairman, Orrin Woodward has made it publically clear why he left a former business he participated in and his reasons were very similar to what my friend was saying about this automotive company. When companies lead the right way and retain this talent it will promote growth and future stability.

Our policy council and the executives at Team continually strive to maintain quick reaction times when change is needed. The continual cost cutting measures we have been able to achieve over the past few years have allowed us to increase service and quality of our products while at the same time reducing the price to our customers. Orrin Woodward and our policy council has also engineered a very aggressive performance based profit sharing system to instill a “meritocracy” within our company. This article validates our efforts and motivates us to continually improve service to our customers while lowering our prices. We have a lot more work to do but everyone on the leadership Team is excited about the challenge.

Goodbye to the tie?

This is a very interesting article from the Wall Street Journal. Enjoy!

Tie Association, a Fashion Victim,
Calls It Quits as Trends Change
After 60 Years, Trade Group Unravels;
What to Buy Now for Father's Day?
By RAY A. SMITH
June 4, 2008; Wall Street Journal, Page A1

Many American men stopped wearing neckties years ago. Now, even tie guys are giving up on them.
After 60 years, the Men's Dress Furnishings Association, the trade group that represents American tie makers, is expected to shut down Thursday.

Association members now number just 25, down from 120 during the 1980s power-tie era. U.S. tie companies have been consolidating. Others have closed because of overseas competition as the U.S. market share for American-made ties has fallen to about 40%, from 75% in 1995. Members have lost interest. But the biggest reason for the group's demise: Men aren't wearing ties.

A TIE TIMELINE

According to a recent Gallup Poll, the number of men who wore ties every day to work last year dropped to a record low of 6%, down from 10% in 2002. U.S. sales have plummeted to $677.7 million in the 12 months ending March 31, from their peak of $1.3 billion in 1995, according to market researcher NPD Group. Although sales are expected to get a bump around Father's Day, June 15, the future of neckties is very much in doubt.

Some members of the neckwear association sensed the trend two years ago when, at the group's annual luncheon in New York, a number of people turned up tieless. Marty Staff, chief executive of men's clothing company JA Apparel Corp., which has a big neckwear business, was one of them. "It was deliberate," explains Mr. Staff, who says he wanted to make a statement to his colleagues. "Historically, the guy wearing the navy suit, the white shirt and the burgundy tie would be the CEO. Now he's the accountant," Mr. Staff explains. "Power is being able to dress the way you want," he says. Although the company he heads owns the Joseph Abboud label, and he himself enjoys ties, "I just don't like when [a tie] becomes obligatory."
Mr. Staff isn't alone. A new generation of menswear manufacturers and fashion designers has grown up seeing ties as optional. While they design and produce ties, many are agnostic about wearing them.

'Ties for Other People'

Ian and Shep Murray, the founders of Vineyard Vines tie makers, don't feel any need to wear a tie to the office. "We make ties for other people so we don't have to wear them," says co-CEO Ian Murray, 33, who on a recent afternoon in his Stamford, Conn., office was wearing shorts, flip-flops and a polo shirt.
Mr. Murray says he and his brother, who is 37, quit their white-collar jobs in advertising and public relations in New York in 1998 partly because they hated the rigidity of wearing suits and ties to the office every day. They claim that Vineyard Vines ties, featuring whimsical illustrations of whales, martini glasses and beach chairs, inject some fun into an otherwise dreary article of clothing. "It seems like if people had the choice, they would not wear a tie," Ian Murray says. "So if you are wearing a tie, you might as well make it fun."
Likewise, fashion designer Tom Ford has mixed feelings about the tie. On a media tour for his new luxury menswear line and opulent New York store last year, Mr. Ford extolled his sumptuous $195 silk ties, made in Italy and modeled after ones worn by Prince Michael of Kent, a member of the British royal family who is known for wearing rich ties with thick knots. The designer, dressed in an elegant dark suit and dress shirt, was nevertheless standing there with no tie on. "It was giving me a migraine," he explained about why he took his tie off earlier in the day. "You can wear a tailored suit without a tie and look sexy, too. You don't need the tie." He adds that he still wears ties when he is in London, which is more formal.

The problem for neckwear designers, as for regular guys, is that a tie no longer automatically conveys the authority and respectability it once did, even if it does cause some people to call you sir. In fact, it can be a symbol of subservience and of trying too hard. Scott Sternberg, 33, who founded the Band of Outsiders tie label in 2004, has quickly developed a following of young hipsters who buy his skinny ties, sold at stores including Jeffrey, Barneys New York and Ron Herman. He says younger men find wearing ties more interesting today when they are "outside of obligation." While he himself wears a tie on "whims and special occasions," Mr. Sternberg admits that he doesn't wear one to the office on a regular basis. "Ties get in the way," he says. Mr. Sternberg nevertheless sported one Monday night, when he won an award for best emerging menswear designer from the Council of Fashion Designers of America. Stalwart defenders, meanwhile, have emerged to carry the flag. Phillips-Van Heusen Corp., the New York apparel giant that will produce 25 million ties this year, is so committed to preserving the tie's stature that it requires its employees to wear one to work every day, even on casual Fridays, when men can wear jeans.

Good for Business

Lee Terrill, president of the company's neckwear group and an executive member of the trade association, is optimistic about the tie's future and believes the current economic downturn is actually good for his company's tie business. His reasoning: Laid-off workers will need new ties for job interviews. "Sometimes the economy forces people to look at themselves and say, 'If I show up to a job interview in a T-shirt and jeans and the other guy is in a sport coat with a tie, who are they going to hire?' " Mr. Terrill says.
Gerald Andersen, the tie association's executive director, stresses that dissolving the trade organization doesn't mean that ties are dead. Bankers, lawyers and accountants still wear them, Mr. Andersen says. Celebrities still wear them to red-carpet events. And skinny ties are a fashion trend: Justin Timberlake wears them. "Are the days when men wear ties to baseball games coming back? No." But ties, he says, will still have a place in men's wardrobes.

Great Commercial

I love these Direct TV commercials. Have you ever been in a business relationship where you felt leaders of the company or members of the board were this clueless and could have cared less about you or the facts? It happens from time to time. I highly encourage you to read the annual Forbes Magazine edition that covers "The Most Respected Companies In America." I enjoy reading about the leaders of those companies and the plans and programs they have in place to service their employees and customers. By going above and beyond in taking care of both of those groups they ensure their success for years to come. Let me know about companies you respect and how they take care of you as a customer. I am always looking for great ideas!

Thanks, Bob III

The Boston Marathon

On April 21st I ran my thrid Boston Marathon and had an absolutely wonderful time with my family for a few days. Gary Brimmer, the Inventory Manager at the Team Office, also ran the marathon and his story was published in our hometown newesaper upon his return.

Gary Brimmer is a true example of a person who understands the importance of balence in your life. He is also a great coach who wants nothing more than to help those around him. He is passionate in all areas of his life and this rubs off on everyone around him!

From start to finish: Swartz Creek man recounts his Boston Marathon experience, including a chance encounter with Lance Armstrong
By: Gary Brimmer
Published In: The Flint Journal

For as long as I've been a runner, I've always wanted to run the Boston Marathon. As a teenager, I would marvel at the stories of Bill Rodgers winning this race. I would imagine the fear a runner would have, knowing Heartbreak Hill was looming. And of course, I would replay the visions of my childhood hero Alberto Salazar holding off a determined Dick Beardsley on Boylston Avenue.
I ran my first road race (a 10,000-meter race in my hometown of Hart) at the age of 13 and my first marathon (the San Diego Marathon) at the age of 27. Throughout the years I've lost count of how many road races I've run, but I knew this: The 112th Boston Marathon would be my 21st marathon. I was as excited to run this race as I've been for any race I've run in the 30 years I've been a runner. My training had gone very well, my training partner Mike Scannell made sure of that. Mike has served as my personal pace setter on numerous tempo runs and speed work sessions. There was no reason that my own Boston experience would not be a positive one.

So, as I get off the bus in Hopkinton, Mass., I can literally feel the excitement. I, along with my friends Anna Gaethe and Bob Dickie, make our way through the athletes village to the bag drop buses. There is a nip in the air, but that's great weather for a marathon. As the three of us reach our starting corrals, we part ways and wish each other good luck and good racing. I enter corral No. 2, which I was assigned based on my 2:59:19 performance at last November's San Antonio Marathon. The corral is right in front of the church, where several children had set up a tent with water and energy bars they were giving to the runners. I chuckle at one of the signs they had made. Emphasizing the famous Boston accent, it says, "Free Powaah Baahs and Wataah for Runnaahs." I spend the next 40 minutes or so relaxing and waiting for the start.

When the mass of runners begins to surge forward, I simply try to stay calm. I'm far enough away from the actual starting line that for a few seconds we don't move, but slowly we go from a walk, then shuffle, to a jog, and finally to running. Many runners use the early part of any marathon to get warmed up and loose, but in Boston it's even more important to hold back early because the first miles are downhill. Go out too fast and you'll really pay for it later. I simply get into my rhythm and make my way through the crowds of runners.

I quickly begin to get warm as the cloud cover present before the race disappears. I pull off my arm warmers and gloves and toss them aside, I can't help but think, "There goes $27 worth of gear." As I make my way along, I pass many runners. My goal is 2:40-2:45, and I click off the mile splits that I need to achieve that goal. However, by six or seven miles, I start to realize that my legs aren't feeling sharp. My left hamstring and left hip are getting tight. I hope the tightness would fade, but it simply doesn't. As the pace slows, I start to struggle a bit right about the time we enter Wellesley. At this point in the race, I am running with three other gentlemen. I had been letting them set the pace for a couple of reasons: They were blocking the bit of headwind we were encountering, and I found that simply sitting in the back let me take my mind off the tightness in my leg.

In Wellesley, I start to hear a strange noise. Now, I've heard and read the stories about the girls from Wellesley College, but I've never experienced anything like it. The noise simply gets louder and louder as we get closer and closer, high pitched and intense. These beautiful young ladies are so loud, so encouraging. Plus, I know they are screaming for ME, so I run a little taller, a little faster, as I'm sure every other runner did. As we pass them, I couldn't help but realize this is one of those Boston Marathon traditions, and I'm right smack dab in the middle of it! As the scream fade, no one says anything for a few seconds. I break the silence in my group with a simple "how about that!?!" Everyone just laughs! It's then I realize the tightness in my leg is gone and the pace is back up a bit. I begin running some solid mile splits after that. However in the back of my mind I know the Newton Hills, which include Heartbreak, are looming. I simply stay on task, knowing that while my time goal was no longer in reach, I could still have a great performance. So for the next few miles, I just stay relaxed, drinking at every aid station, and enjoying the crowds who, although not as loud as the Wellesley girls, are packed along the course.

Sure enough I see the sign that welcomes me to Newton, and the dreaded Newton Hills. I had been running nice and steady, but I knew what was in store for me. I climb to the first of the three hills and struggle. I get over the first one and my split for that mile is my slowest of the race to that point. The good thing is after I crest the hill, I get right back on pace, but now my right hamstring is getting tight. The next hill appears and again I struggle, and the split for that mile is now the slowest of the race. Once again though, after I crest that hill I get right back on pace again. I now sense a pattern. I tell myself to just get over the last hill and do a final push to the finish (Easier said than done). My right hamstring is really starting to hurt. For Heartbreak Hill, I'm actually excited to attack it. I lean into it and go to work. I say everything I could to myself -- just keep your arms and legs moving, don't relax to much, keep moving, eyes up, keep your hands relaxed, don't ease up -- and it helps. I see the top, and I'm almost there.

I get ready to take some water at an aid station, and I look over my left shoulder to make sure I won't cut anyone off and to my shock, Lance is right there. How cool is that? He is using me like a rented mule!
As I get to the top, I start to hear a sound coming behind me. I can't quite make it out, but it's low and loud. I start to hear people in the crowd saying, "It's Lance!" and everyone starts screaming. I sneak a quick peek over my shoulder and I catch the sight of a bright yellow shirt. Yep, that's him alright, surrounded by about eight other runners who are having the time of their lives. I feel like there is a train coming and I am on the tracks, so I do what anyone with a brain would do, I get off the tracks. I move over to the right, allow the Lance pack slowly go by me and then jump on the caboose. As the pack makes it's way along the course the crowds are going absolutely insane. They are louder than the Wellesley girls. It is like a rolling thunder! Lance has a stoic, determined look on his face. I'm sure the crowds he encountered during the Tour de France were at least as loud as this.

But for me, it is another thing to wake me up, and I need it. My right hamstring is really getting tight. Before I know it, I find myself right next to Lance. I don't say a word. I don't want to bother him. But when we start to go up a little incline I notice that he was forcing it a bit. I did what I would do with anyone else. I tell him to keep his head and to not push too hard yet. He replies with something about having to keep working. I then tell him to drop his hands, drive his elbows back and relax his shoulders, which he does immediately. I start to feel better and I make my way to the front of the pack and I feel like I'm pulling away. I get ready to take some water at an aid station, and I look over my left shoulder to make sure I won't cut anyone off and to my shock, Lance is right there. How cool is that? He is using me like a rented mule!

We hit mile 23 and I hear someone behind me say that we are right on pace to run 2:50. It is at this point that I fall off the Lance train and watch Lance slowly pull away. It is obvious that he is hell bent on running under 2:50. Sadly, my right hamstring decides at this point to stop cooperating. I simply try to maintain a solid rhythm, good form, and a forward momentum. Soon I pass the famous Citgo sign, almost done. When I make the final right turn, followed by the final left turn on to Boylston Avenue, I realize that I had just spent close to three hours running in the footsteps of my childhood running heroes and that I had heard the same cheers they had.

The crowds on Boylston are amazing, as their cheers literally lift the runners and propel them the final 600 meters. I make a final push and hit the finish in 2:51:20. It's a solid effort, eight minutes faster than any marathon I've run as a masters (over 40) runner.

Looking back, it was an amazing experience, one that I would recommend any marathoner. I may not have run the goal time I had set for myself, but when it was said and done, the effort and experience more than made up for it.

Gary Brimmer, 43, is from Swartz Creek. Brimmer, who served 22 years in the Army, now works for a leadership company called Team. He's been a runner for 31 years, and has completed 21 marathons. He also coaches several runners from across the country.

If at First You Don't Succeed, You're in Excellent Company

This is a great article from the Wall Street Journal that I thought everyone would enjoy. Never give up on your goals and dreams!

Wallstreet Journal
If at First You Don’t Succeed, You’re in Excellent Company
By Melinda Beck

In her new autobiography, “Home”, Julie Andrews tells of taking a screen test for MGM studios when she was 12 years old. “They needed to gussy me up a bit because I was so exceedingly plain,” she writes. “The final determination was ‘She’s not photogenic enough for film.’”

J.K. Rowling’s book about a boy wizard was rejected by 12 publishers before a small London house picked up “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.” Decca Records turned down a contract with the Beatles, saying “We don’t like their sound.” Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor who said he “lacked imagination.” Michael Jordan was cut from his high school varsity basketball team sophomore year.

What makes some people rebound from defeats and go on to greatness while others throw in the towel? Psychologists call it “self efficacy”, the unshakable belief some people have that they have what it takes to succeed. First described by Stanford University psychologist Albert Bandura in the 1970’s, self efficacy has become a key concept in educational circles, and is being applied to health care, management, sports and seemingly intractable social problems like AIDS in developing countries. It’s also a hallmark of the “positive psychology” movement now sweeping the mental-health field, which focuses on developing character strengths rather than alleviating pathologies.

Self-efficacy differs from self esteem in that it’s a judgment of specific capabilities rather than a general feeling of self-worth. “It’s easy to have high self-esteem-just aim low,” says Prof. Bandura, who is still teaching at Stanford at age 82. On the other hand, he notes, there are people with high self-efficacy who “drive themselves hard but have low self-esteem because their performance always falls short of their high standards.”

Still, such people succeed because they believe that persistent effort will let them beat the odds.

Sometimes, the rest of the world just hasn’t caught up with an innovator’s genius. Prof. Bandura points out that one of the original Warner Brothers said of sound films, “Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?” Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak were rebuffed by Atari Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co. when they tried to sell an early Apple computer. And sometimes genius itself needs time. It took Thomas Edison 1,000 tries before he invented the light bulb. (“I didn’t fail 1,000 times” he told a reporter. “The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps.”)

Where does such determination come from? In some cases it’s inborn optimism-akin to the kind of resilience that enables some children to emerge unscathed from extreme poverty, tragedy or abuse. Self-efficacy can also be built by mastering a task; by modeling the behavior of others who have succeeded; and from what Prof. Bandura calls “verbal persuasion” –getting effective encouragement, distinct from empty praise.

“I teach teachers here, and one of the things we teach them is how to build up children who have been told they aren’t competent,” says Frank Pajares, a professor of education at Emory University who has adapted self-efficacy to nurture academic confidence.

It’s not too late to recover. “You can develop a resilient mind-set at any age,” says Robert Brooks, a Harvard Medical School psychologist who has studied resilience for decades.

One key, he says, is to avoid self-defeating assumptions. If you are fired or dumped by a girlfriend, don’t magnify the rejection and assume you’ll never get another job or another date.

And don’t allow a rejection to derail your dreams. “One of the greatest impediments to life is the fear of humiliation,” says Prof. Brooks, who says he’s worked with people who have spent the last 30 years of their lives not taking any risks because they are afraid of making mistakes.

What if you really do lack the talent to succeed at what you’re trying to do? That’s a tricky question, psychologists’ say-one that’s on display in the early episodes of “American Idol” each season.

Try to objectively assess how much you are likely to improve with training and hard work, and how much it’s worth to you, or whether there are other ways to enjoy your passion-being a coach instead of a player, for instance.

On the other hand, what if Dr. Suess had given up after his 27th rejection and not tried once more? In the words of Henry Ford: “Whether you think that you can or you can’t, you’re usually right.”

In the Pursuit of Happiness

The following article was in The Wall Street Journal this past week. The conclusion seems so obvious yet a research team discovered that to be happy you need to spend time doing the things you love. Apparently, many of us spend most of our time doing what society has told us we should love or what we have been told will make us happy only to be disappointed with the results.

So what makes you happy? Where do you find true happiness? Spending time with family and close friends? Helping and serving others and making a difference in the world around you? Your personal faith and walk with the Lord? I hope you enjoy this article and can share it with your friends and family. I also hope everyone reading this article is able to passionately pursue the things you love!

The Wall Street Journal, Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Down the Tube: the Sad Stats On Happiness, Money and TV
by Jonathan Clements

Put down the remote and back slowly away form the television. Despite the sharp rise in our standard of living in recent decades, Americans today are little or no happier than earlier generations. Why not? A new study suggests one possibility: Maybe we need to be smarter about how we spend our time. And, no, that doesn’t mean watching more TV.

Feeling unpleasant. You can think of your happiness as having three components. First, there’s your basic disposition- whether you are, by nature, a happy person or not. Clearly, there isn’t a whole lot you can do about this.

Second, there are your life’s circumstances, such as your age, health, marital status and income. Often, this stuff isn’t nearly as important as folks imagine. If your income doubled, you would initially be delighted. But research suggests you would quickly get used to all that extra money.

That brings us to the third factor, which is how you spend your time-something you have a fair amount of control over. This is the subject of a major new study by academics Daniel Kahneman, Alan Krueger, David Schkade, Norbert Schwarz and Arthur Stone.

For the study, the five professors surveyed some 4,000 Americans, asking what they did the previous day and then quizzing them in detail about three randomly selected events from the day. Those surveyed were asked to rate the three episodes based on feelings such as pain, happiness, stress and sadness. All this was used to calculate what percentage of time people spent in an unpleasant state.

Getting Involved. Result? Women, folks under age 65, those divorced or separated, lower-income earners and the less educated were likely to spend a bigger chunk of their day in an unpleasant state. But what I found most intriguing was the study’s data on which activities we enjoy. The five professors grouped activities into six clusters, based on the emotions associated with each. The standout cluster was what the authors label “engaging leisure and spiritual activities,” things like visiting friends, exercising, attending church, listening to music, fishing, reading a book, sitting in a cafe or going to a party. When we spend time on our favorite of these activities, we’re typically happy, engrossed and not especially stressed.“These are things you choose to do, rather than have to do,” notes one of the study’s co-authors, Prof. Schkade of the University of California, San Diego.

The obvious implication: If we devote more time to these activities, maybe we would be more satisfied with our lives. Yet the evidence suggests we’ve missed a huge chance to do just that-which may help explain why Americans are little or no happier than they were four decades ago. Zoning out. Over that stretch, men reduced the amount of time they spent working. Meanwhile, women-as a group-spent more time earning income, reflecting their increased work-force participation. But this increased time at the office was more than offset by a drop in time devoted to mundane shores.

In other words, both men and women had the chance to lavish more time on “engaging leisure and spiritual activities.” But in fact, time spent on these activities has actually declined over the past four decades. Instead, there’s been a significant increase in the hours devoted to what the authors call “neutral downtime,” which is mostly watching television. Women now spend 15% of their waking hours staring at the tube, while men devote 17%.

Watching TV may be low-stress and moderately enjoyable. But people aren’t mentally engaged the way they are when they’re, say, exercising or socializing. “I wonder whether there are self-control problems when it comes to watching television,” muses Prof. Krueger, an economist at Princeton University and another of the study’s co-authors. “I wonder whether people would feel better about their lives if they spent their leisure time doing something that was more interactive and more engaging.”

Just Go Tom Go!

Palm Springs Success!

A few weeks ago the Team held a Hispanic Leadership Convention in Palm Springs, California that was a huge success. It was a great weekend with key leaders of the hispanic community from around North America. The home office staff enjoyed the enthusiasm and kindness from everyone who participated and can not wait to get back there later this summer!

One of the highlights for me personally over the weekend was getting to spend some time with Tim Marks. One afternoon a group of guys decided to take a trip up into the mountains to view Palm Springs from 8000 feet up in the California high country. The trip was well worth it but most importantly for me was being able to spend time with Tim and just listen to his perspective on issues from business to politics. The Team is very fortunate to have policy council members like Tim!

The Team's COO (Chief Operations Officer) and former Air Force Officer kicked off the weekend with an update from the home office and our business objectives for the Hispanic community over the next year. Tom has done a fantastic job working with key leaders to help support this quickly growing community of Team leaders!

Fullfilling a commitment to a friend

I recently had the opportunity to speak about how I fulfilled a commitment to a friend of mine at our company’s national leadership conventions in St. Louis and Palm Springs. I shared a personal story about a dear friend, Mike Mann, who had battled cancer for a number of years. He won his battle initially, but the cancer returned shortly thereafter and sadly he passed away in the fall of 2007.

I was amazed Mike’s positive attitude throughout his battle with cancer and the tenacity with which he fought. Even through all the hardships, he pressed forward with his love of running, graduated from college, and retired from the military while never letting his fight with cancer get in the way of accomplishing his goals. A few days before he passed away I was blessed by phone call from Mike and he quickly updated me on how things were going. However, I will always remember how he quickly started to encourage me to never give up on my dreams and goals in life.

Of all the times in his life, at that moment he could have been focused on himself. However, Mike was always focused on others and that is the epitome of a true leader. Leaders care for others first and are always encouraging, mentoring, and coaching. Mike’s friendship, support, and encouragement will never be forgotten. He spoke to me in a time in my life when I needed it most. Mike passed away a few days later but his memory and the positive impact he had on my life will always be remembered.

After my speech in St. Louis and Palm Springs, a number of people have asked if I could share a picture of Mike and me together. Posted above is a picture of us at the US National Cross Country Championships in Indianapolis, February 2004. (Feel free to laugh at my attire! I am the tall guy in the middle that according to my wife looks like a cross between a speed skater and a soccer player in this photo.) For years Mike earned a spot on the Air Force Cross Country Team each spring and again on the Air Force Marathon Team in the fall that ran in the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, DC. He is pictured above wearing number 222. Every member of the Air Force athletic community who was blessed to know Mike knew he was the heart and soul of that team.

I am very grateful for the memories I shared with Mike and the leadership example he set. He will always be remembered for his unwavering support of others and his passionate pursuit of his dreams.