Glenn Shepard’s Personal Blog

Cheri Bartz says:

You are right about the value of time. I spend my days, as HR Director, watching the criminal waste of valuable time around the office. The gossiping, rumor-mongering, fooling around and excuses for mistakes made. On the other hand, and in fairness, I also watch at least one employee who double tasks by singing while she works. For her first few weeks here, it really annoyed me. Now I find that her singing (she makes everything into some song or other) actually lightens the load and makes the time more enoyable while performing otherwise mundane tasks. And it wastes no time. She is just as productive while she sings as while she doesn’t and I have, on more than one occasion, found myself humming along with her. It gives time a little more value and makes the work much more pleasurable – even if her tonolgy leaves much to be desired.

Through this I have learned that time is like ice cream. You have to make the most of it before it melts away and it’s much better with just a little chocolate sauce of singing. Maybe if we all did just a little more singing while we work – quietly, of course – the passing of time wouldn’t pressure us quite so badly and the problems of the day would take on a more palatable opportunity.

On Mondays I greet several of our employees with the phrase “This is the first of five days of opportunity!” By Thursday I’m saying “Only one (or two) days of opportunity remaining this week!” On Friday I say “Good time to start planning next week’s opportunities!” A couple of the employees have picked up on it and greet me before I speak to them with the same phrases. While they may not really believe it, maybe in time they will and it sure makes Mondays a whole lot better – oh, that AND the singing!

Glen,

I cannot tell you how timely this message was.  I just gave a “Written” (and verbal) warning to my employee after everyone else in the dept has blown their top over her.  She, of course, had an explanation, I felt guilty.  None the less. It was a life and death matter and I kept thinking of how you would handle it and DID NOT CAVE IN!!

She is personnable, but her work ethics STINK!!

So I’ll let her go to save the life of my dept. and possiblby the lives of patients.

Thanks AGAIN  Glen,
Carolyn in Missouri

1. Anna Major says:

June 29, 2010 at 7:57 am

Glenn, your article today is so right on target! Thanks for reminding us not to give up and to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps to get the job accomplished!!! Good luck with the pending house buying, have a great week out on the road but more importantly, have even a better time with your beautiful bride in the Bahamas! If anyone I know needs a vacation, it is you. It has been a rough two months for you and to get away and just focus on the two of you is a great thing. Can’t think of a more beautiful place to go! Just praying that no storms come that way while you are there!!! I think you’ve have enough rain to last you a while!

Take care and may God continue to bless you!

1. Leah Morrison says:

June 29, 2010 at 8:19 am

Glenn,

You are completely right – there never is a good time.

Thank you for continuing to inspire us during the disaster unfolding at your office. I would come over and help you hang dry wall if TN weren’t so far from IA. We have not forgotten what the 2008 floods did to everyone here, and I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy!

And thank you to your employees for hanging in there and keeping on keeping on during the clean up. Work wouldn’t be the same without a frequent dose of Glenn Shepard common sense!

Leah Morrison
Waterloo, IA

1. Ann Moilanen says:

June 29, 2010 at 8:22 am

Glen, I need to let you know that your email today made me chuckle. I just returned from a family vacation to a weeks worth of work waiting for me. Reading about how you react to adversary events is encouraging and I love the method you write about them. Congrats on the new house.
The sun is shining in St Cloud, Minnesota.

Ann

1. Julie says:

June 29, 2010 at 9:05 am

Awesome article today, Glenn. We’re facing the same challenges with planting soybeans in western Illinois. After farming for 29 years, one of the many things we’ve learned is you have to dust yourself off and keep going each day hoping for a better tomorrow. Enjoy the sunshine. Enjoy those around you.

I like this quote I recently read: “Time flies. It’s up to you to be the navigator.” Robert Orban

Sounds like you’ve got your map out and ready for the next adventure. Good luck and hang in there.

1. Beth says:

June 29, 2010 at 9:55 am

Way to keep your chin up- enjoy the much needed vacation!

1. Tracie Schofield says:

June 29, 2010 at 11:33 am

Hello from Montgomery, AL. The weather is expected to be nice here tomorrow but remember that there is always a change for a quick thunderstorm. Hope you have a wonderful time while you are here. Montgomery welcomes you!

1. Terry Wiegand says:

June 29, 2010 at 12:56 pm

Thanks Glenn. For those of us who are phlegmatic in nature and have a tendency to “count the cost” and decide it’s not worth it, I appreciate the “do it anyway” because it IS worth it.

Terry
Springfield, MO

1. Terry McCann says:

June 29, 2010 at 4:38 pm

It’s funny isn’t it how things sometimes just ‘fall into place’. You battled trying to get that first house. But it wasn’t to be. Then your office gets flooded and you’re struggling to keep your spirits up. Everything is going wrong – or so it seems. Then suddenly, the clouds disperse, the sun coms out and you find the most perfect house on a hill?
Congratulations to you Glen and your most beautiful Bride. You guys certainly deserve it.