With 2014 coming to a close, I have goal-setting on my mind. I love setting goals, mostly because of how great it feels once I crush them. Sometimes I even make really easy goals, just for the satisfaction of checking them off my to-do list. “Wake up.” Check! “Eat breakfast.” Check! “Get dressed.” Check! Just like that, I’m on a roll! New Year’s Resolutions, however, are much more daunting. Although I like the idea of creating a plan for the coming year, my experience confirms what statisticians report– only 8% actually achieve what we
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In 1914, one hundred years ago this Christmas, World War I soldiers in the trenches of Flanders put down their weapons and met each other in peace for a while. The trenches were rudimentary “scratches in the ground”, sometimes less than 100 yards away from the enemy. British and German soldiers could hear the other side, smell their cigarettes, and occasionally catch a glimpse of one another. In essence, the two sets of troops were living in each other’s pockets. When a cold snap arrived and it snowed on Christmas Eve, the soldiers took
Read more →Each December I find myself amazed, impressed, and, to be completely honest, a little jealous of the talent some people have when it comes to decorating for the holidays. In my home, we keep things pretty basic – a tree in the living room, a wreath on the door, and a few stockings hung over the fireplace. I was feeling good about our level of holiday spirit, until I drove to the grocery store to buy some eggnog and passed a car sporting a pair of reindeer antlers and a shiny red nose. Forget
Read more →On Friday, Bob told you about our staff retreat, where we confronted everyone’s greatest fear: rejection. Our mission was to go out during our lunch break, find complete strangers, and make off-the-wall requests. When those strangers said no, we’d learn once and for all that rejection isn’t as scary as we thought. As soon as the rejection game was announced, I decided then and there that I was going to win this thing. I would rack up the most rejections. My first stop: Pier One. I started by asking Lauren, an employee, to put
Read more →This past Saturday, the Matchmaker Logistics team gathered for a day-long staff retreat followed by our annual Christmas party. As we reviewed our progress in 2014 and set new goals for 2015, the discussion turned to a highly charged topic: fear of rejection and how it impacts our lives, both professionally and personally. “I really needed a new office chair; the old one was hurting my back”, shared one employee, “but I was afraid to ask for it.” (At the urging of a co-worker, she finally had, and I immediately authorized the purchase of
Read more →Last week, I promised you a post about “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas.” I can’t for the life of me figure out why Gayla Peevey, who recorded the song at the age of ten in 1953, would ask for such a thing. I mean, what would you even do with a pet hippo? What would it eat? Where would you keep it? The folks at Lite 98.7 asked similar questions and discovered that one measly hippopotamus will run you about $100,000. Not only that, you’ll also need a large water source ($150,000), 20
Read more →It’s the holiday season, that time of year when children wonder in at awe at Santa, Rudolph, sugar plum fairies, Frosty the Snowman, and in the case of one recent addition to our household – the Elf on the Shelf. If you didn’t grow up with the Elf on the Shelf, don’t be alarmed. The story didn’t become a phenomenon until 2005, when author Carol Aebersold and her daughter published their first book, appropriately titled The Elf on the Shelf. The book tells of Santa Claus and his legion of “spy elves,” who enter
Read more →On Thanksgiving Day, it happened. Radio stations all over the country temporarily switched to a 24/7 all-Christmas music format. This year, in the United States, more than 500 radio stations will be playing holiday classics through Christmas Day. I happen to love Christmas music. Who doesn’t enjoy Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You” or Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas”? But there are certain songs I just cannot tolerate, like those dogs who bark “Jingle Bells”. According to a survey conducted by Edison Media Research, I am not alone. The novelty version of
Read more →Tomorrow, most of us will gather ’round tables with family and friends to express our gratitude for life’s blessings. My list is a long one because it includes you, the shippers, carriers and friends of Matchmaker Logistics. Most importantly, it includes my co-workers, the wonderful women who make up the rest of the Matchmaker team. I love my work, in large part, because I have the privilege of working with passionate, loyal, dedicated people who believe in the value of providing great service to others. Recently, one of our shipping clients sent me an email
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