At the beginning of every year, all Cydcor team members in North America get together to have our annual kickoff meeting. One of the highlights is what we do together make a difference in our community… and this time the world. This year, Cydcor held a charity bowling event at the AMF Bowling Center in Woodland Hills to benefit Operation Smile. As an extra incentive, Cydcor team members earned raffle tickets based on the amount they collected. The tickets went […]
How many of us have had days where we can’t quite see eye to eye with anyone? A fight with our spouse or kids. A confrontation with the boss or a coworker. A business deal gone sour. In my experience, it often boils down to communication or rather, poor communication. We talk at or over each other. Or if we can’t get a word in edgewise, we bide our time to interject our opinions and tit-for-tat responses. Or in anger […]
In business and in life, we talk a lot about winning in the context of competition or contests—of beating others to show we’re better at something. Winning means that someone else loses. It’s a “zero sum game.” While a “win-lose” proposition has its time and place, I’ve found that most situations require a different approach. I recall something Coach John Wooden, a great man and influence in my life, once said: “Winning takes talent, to repeat takes character.” Sure, winning […]
New Year‘s is a time to reflect on things we want (or need) to change, from getting fit or quitting smoking to getting a better job or spending more time with family. It’s a time to replace bad habits with good ones and to follow through on them. How many of us, however, have made our resolutions with the best of intentions, only to break them weeks or months later? Perhaps more urgent matters crop up that consume our energies, […]
“To Begin with the End in Mind means to start with a clear understanding of your destination. It means to know where you’re going so that you better understand where you are now and so that the steps you take are always in the right direction.” The second habit of effectiveness, “Begin with the End in Mind,” is a favorite of mine. Covey points out how easy it is to get caught up in climbing the ladder of success only […]
My copy of Stephen R. Covey’s The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People is signed by the author and constantly referenced. Most noticeable is that it is dog-eared, and well worn,—a sign not of neglect, but rather of its indispensability and enduring appeal over the years. I find its ideas as relevant and meaningful today, as when they were first introduced over 20 years ago. One passage in particular always strikes a chord: “…[I]f you want to have a happy […]
The book begins, “Here is Edward Bear, coming downstairs now, bump, bump, bump, on the back of his head, behind Christopher Robin. It is, as far as he knows, the only way of coming downstairs, but sometimes he feels that there really is a another way, if only he could stop bumping for a moment and think of it. And then he feels perhaps there isn’t.” When I read this seventeen years ago to my daughter, I thought “I am […]
How do you approach a touchy, but important, subject with someone at home or at work without damaging the relationship? This has always been a challenge for me, and for most people I know. Because we are afraid the conversation will damage the relationship we tend to avoid it or dance around the issue, which in the long-term is more damaging. An effective conversation starts with first understanding what you are trying to accomplish with the conversation? Do you want to […]
Today we named Operation Smile this year’s official corporate cause. The international children’s medical charity treats facial deformities, such as cleft lips and palates, around the globe. We are partnering with its network of independently owned and operated offices to raise funds for the organization. This is the first time Cydcor has adopted a charitable organization of this scale – it’s a great way to exercise team building among our offices and we are proud to support an organization that improves the […]
We just wrapped up our annual R&R Owners Weekend event at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach. This is an appreciation event for key members of our network of independently owned sales companies. While the event had an element of business, the primary focus was rest and relaxation for the more than 600 in attendance. We enjoyed a weekend full of themed dinners, private group pool cabanas, ocean kayaks, banana boat rides, bocce ball, and ping-pong. The weekend culminated with a “Havana Nights” […]