AUTHOR S AFTERTHOUGHTS

AUTHOR'S AFTERTHOUGHTS

Everyone comes to the table wanting something different. Counters want numbers ; helpers want to be useful; and, managers want to manage. Setting your own goals will necessitate your understanding of your position at the table and your own personal sense of style. Extroverts and introverts will approach the process from opposite ends of the same continuum. I tell people that they cannot fail. They can learn or not learn. Successes should be studied for what went right, and failures are studied for what can go better. Spending time on blame is a waste of energy and a potential spin. Finding something to celebrate on a daily basis can keep your motivation going even in the dark nights of the manager's soul. It is the little things that keep hopes alive and spirits moving toward the goal.

Find things to be amazed about in yourself and others. After the attacks of September 11 ^th , 2001, there was a piece circulating on the Internet about the "little things that kept people alive." Many things on the Internet should be questioned, but this one is accurate, because I was there, and I heard several of these stories first-hand from the people who experienced them. Take the time to ponder your own philosophical and theoretical basis, because these are the foundations of your daily work. Do not be afraid to ask questions. And do not let the "little things" get in your way. Read this Internet piece to start making your own perspective:

After Sept. 11, one company invited the remaining members of other companies who had been decimated by the attack on the Twin Towers to share their available office space. At a morning meeting, the head of security told stories of why these people were alive. All the stories were just about the "little things."

• The head of a company got in late that day because his son started kindergarten.

• Another fellow was alive because it was his turn to bring donuts .

• One woman was late because her alarm clock did not go off in time.

• One was late because of being stuck on the New Jersey Turnpike because of an auto accident .

• One of them missed his bus.

• One spilled food on her clothes and had to take time to change.

• One's car would not start.

• One went back to answer the telephone.

• One had a child that dawdled and did not get ready as soon as he should have.

• One could not get a taxi.

• Then there was the man who put on a new pair of shoes that morning, took the various means to get to work but before he got there, he developed a blister on his foot . He stopped at a drugstore to buy a Band-Aid. That is why he is alive today.