“General Growth’s Bankruptcy Spooks Its Hawaii Tenants”
This headline in the Honolulu Star Bulletin is scarier than the bankruptcy itself is. The United States offers what is called “Bankruptcy Protection” under chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code to essentially “Protect” troubled companies from thier creditors, allowing them time to re-organize and become profitable again, and hopefully pay off those creditors.
A chapter 7 Bankruptcy is quite different. That’s when the company throws in the towel and the creditors are hung out to dry. They may get something, someday, but not soon and not much.

Focus on Results
While nobody likes to think about bankruptcy, those forced into it are more respectable for going 11 than 7. We need to wish them well and give them the time they need to get things going back in the right direction. A company (or country) in financial trouble didn’t get there overnight. Change takes time.

Better Times
General Growth is not the first company with a huge stake in Hawaii to seek Chapter 11 protection. On March 21, 2003, Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. filed a voluntary Chapter 11 petition for reorganization. Fortunately for us all, their creditors, employees and customers stuck with them, and today, in spite of the current challenging times, they are one of very few airlines that are profitable, and proudly post the best on-time record in the industry. It took some time, but they did it and did it well.
By contrast, when faced with the same challenges, Aloha Airlines was not willing to spend the time and money needed to fix things, they shut down virtually over night stranding their employees, creditors and customers.

Ala Moana Shopping Center
General Growth owns Ala Moana Center, Ward Centers, Whaler’s Village and several other properties in Hawaii. They reported $29.6 billion in assets and $27.3 billion in debts. Those are some ptretty hefty numbers, and turning things around will be a pretty hefty challenge, but I think they deserve our support and patience as they seek to make things better for everyone.

Steve Hofer
20 years ago I had the opportunity to teach my Pro-Active, No Pressure Selling System to Steve Hofer while at his first job after college.
Steve has been successfully applying these concepts throughout his career. Steve founded and operated four businesses, including jewelry, cellular phones, software and outsourced services. His experience in retail sales and operations management, local Business to business and national corporate sales as well as franchise operations brought valuable insights and a consistent ability to organize and drive sales.
Steve has consistently risen to the challenges he faced throughout his career. He increased sales 50% after a major earthquake in San Francisco, become a #1 cellular dealer within 9 months, grew a startup from $0 to $2M revenue in 2 years and doubled sales providing services to homebuilders in the current housing market. He thrives on turning challenging issues into success stories.
I am very excited with the opportunity to have him working with me again. Steve will bring an added dimension to the things we have to offer our clients.

Pamala Alualu
Pamela is a retail sales consultant who has joined Team Success Dynamics. Pamela graduated from the University of Hawaii with a degree in counseling psychology. She recently moved back to Hawaii after spending 12 years on the mainland managing and consulting in the retail industry. During Pamela’s time on the mainland she became an expert at coaching, marketing, advertising, customer service training, merchandising, display presentation, sales and management training, as well as recruiting, hiring, interviewing, relationship selling and much more. She spent three years as a franchise owner of USA Baby and Child Space in Sacramento, California. 
Pamela’s entrepreneurial spirit led her career into the consulting business. Her most recent client, the owner of three large Ashley Furniture Home Stores in New Jersey; is a testament to her ability to teach and implemented a proven selling and management system. I am as excited as Pamela is to see her meet Hawaii’s business owners and introduce them to our coaching services and The Morning Report.

Better and Better
I am amazed by the continued development of Apple’s iPhone capabilities. I bought my first one a year or so ago because of its intuitive nature and large number of uses. They continue to issue updates which I download via iTunes, and each time it gets better. I held off getting the 3G, thinking I didn’t need the increased speed or GPS, but once I got it I was blown away by the improvements.

More and More
Then came the Applications. In January, just a couple of short months ago, Jerry Kohl asked me if I have some cool applications on my iPhone. I didn’t even know they existed. Now I have more than 20 of them; most of which I find myself using a lot. Many are free, others cost as little as 99 cents, and I haven’t paid more than $4 for any of them. With a touch of my finger I can find restauraunts, movies, stores or just about anything else around where I happen to be. The iPhone will listen to music and tell me what the tune is and all about the artist. With Pandora I can tell it which musicians I like and it will search the world finding radio stations playing their songs and send them through my ear buds endlessly. Excercising has never been so easy. I can locate recipes and books. iTalk turns my iphone into a recorder and allows me to label and then save and or e-mail what I have recorded. There is a MobileFiles application that synchs and sends selected files from my computer to the iPhone. And if I ever need a laugh there’s iFart. That’s one you need to hear to appreciate.

Twitter Tie In
Just yesterday I downloaded TwitterFon which lets me (or you) make live Twitter posts on the move, and even attach photographs stored in the iPhone, or take a picture with the iPhone and  and attach either of them.

Multiply This X $400 to $500
Apple sold 13.7 million iPhones in 2008, and they are not finished yet. This article just published yesterday announces the new iPhone 3.0 which will allow you to sell or buy goods and services via the iPhone. What can be next?

It’s Here!
Like it or not, the cyber revolution is upon us.

Embrace It!
You cannot outrun technology; it’s too big, it’s moving too fast.

Big, expensive and Cool
I had computers like this in the 60’s and 70’s, but the technology was so complicated that I didn’t even try to touch them.

Early Geeks
We hired people much different than us to move those big discs around. They were very smart; what they did was a mystery, and they intimidated the rest of us with their knowledge. As I look back on it, those computers didn’t do near as much as your cell phone does today.

Mo Betta!
In the 80’s I hung it up for a simpler life, surfing in Hawaii. All I had to think about every day was if to surf at Queens or Canoes; both in Waikiki. I was determined to never touch a computer. After all, I didn’t even know how to type.

My Phobia
The truth was that I was afraid of the fast moving technolgy. As I ventured into the business world in Hawaii I continued to shy away from what was “the future.”

Mobile To Da Max
The first time an emplyee brought a PC to work I accused him of playing games in his office. Soon we won’t even have brick and mortar offices. Today you can work from anywhere, all because of technology.

“Tweeting”
I was moved to compose this post today as a result of my latest “brain strain” called Twitter. Two weeks ago I said, “No way” when asked if I am “Tweeting” yet. Now I find myself drilling down into all of the benefits and possibilities of this latest “easy” technology. See what I mean right HERE!

Pipe Dream
If nothing else I may be seeing a glimpse of my life long after I want to “work’ any more. Don’t worry Honey, that’s not tomorrow.

Are You Twittering Yet?
When I got e-mail (Friday) suggesting that I get a Twitter account, my reply was rather sarcastic. I said something like, “First there was MySpace, then Facebook, then LinkedIn. I did them all; why I don’t know. In addition I have my website, my calendar, my Blog and my Daily Motivator to stay on top of. And then there’s the business to run.” Well, being the curious person that I am, I checked it out, and now I have a Twitter account with a rapidly growing list of people finding and “following” me.
This one is different, and as I spend more and more time understanding how to use it I am seeing some real benefits. First is that you do not have to post anything at all, you can just “follow people” that you have interest in. My favorite one already is the Honolulu Advertiser. Any time that anything happens they “Twitter it” long before it appears anywhere else. Restaurants can post menu specials, artists post art shows, retailers release new products, movie theatres movie times, all in real time. The list is endless. My current Twitter update says simply, “Working on new Blog post.” Maybe someone will tune in to read this before getting my Daily Motivator in the morning. In a few moments it will say, “Blog finished, working on Monday Motivator.” That one you will have to wait to see. C’mon; follow me!

Now More Dynamic Than Ever

“A quotation at the right moment is like bread in a famine.”
-Talmud

I have been inspired by memorable quotes as long as I can remember, even when I don’t know who the author was, like Talmud. I have been collecting quotes that I find inspiring and motivational for many years. I started sending a daily quotation to “My Favorite People” shortly after learning to use the computer. I love how wisdom aquired over the years can be imparted in a few short words. 

“A proverb is a short sentence based on long experience.”
-Miguel de Cervantes

In time I began adding other motivational stories and links to my daily e-mail, figuring that as long as I was sending it out, I might as well make it as valuable as possible to my readers. Without realizing it, this was slowly becoming a larger and larger daily task of love. My list of Favorite People had grown to the point where it was being seen as Spam by some e-mail systems.

Oh No!
Eventually my own e-mail server accused me of Spamming and shut down my outgoing e-mail. I was ready to stop sending out the e-mail quotes; after all there was no money in it; nothing for me but work and aggravation. But, as is the case with many things, the problem led to the solution and I discovered Constant Contact. With Constant Contact I could create my message and send to as many people as I want, more professionally without the Spam threats. Furthermore Constant Contact provided me with the opportunity to let people “Opt-In” to the list directly from the front page of my website without me having to add them into my address book and onto my quote list.
If you are reading this blog, but not yet getting my Daily Motivator, just CLICK HERE and sign up. It’s free, confidential and you can “Opt-Out” just as easily any time you choose to.

Borders; Kahala Mall
As soon as I read about the upcoming release of former Governor Ben Cayatano’s book; BEN, I sent Ben e-mail asking where I can get a signed copy. He kindly responded (the same day) that they would be available in mid February. When I read that the first signing would be at Borders in Kahala Mall, I put it on my calendar and got there early.

Real Early
I sensed that there would be a crowd to hear what Ben had to say, and I wanted to be in the front row. I bought my leather bound edition, which wasn’t even there yet, grabbed a seat up front, and began browsing through one of the many paperback copies on display. While still Governor, Ben invited me on more than one occassion to sit in on a meeting at the state capital. I was honored to do that, and even more honored when he said, “Call me Ben.”

Packed House
Within minutes after my arrival the bookstore seating area was overflowing with fans and interested parties there to get a copy of BEN.

Street Kid Becomes Governor
Before the signing line formed, Ben talked about some of what is in the book, sharing with us that he was born and raised in the blue collar community of Kalihi, graduated from Farrington High school in 1958, studied hard to get a law degree, and on November 8, 1994 became the first Filipino-American governor in United States.

Call me Ron
When Ben was signing my book I said, “Call me Ron.” He had actually called me by name during his talk, and I’m sure that he dosn’t recall the day, when as Governor he told me to call him Ben. I’m sure that meant more to me than it could have to him.

First Lady Vicky Cayetano
In 1997 Miss Vicky Tiu bacame Mrs. Vicky Cayetano and the 1st Lady for the state of Hawaii. Vicky was the long time president and chief executive officer of United Laundry Services, Inc. In the 60’s Vicky played a major supporting role opposite Elvis Presley in the musical film “It Happened at the World’s Fair.” On my way out I was able to see Vicky Cayatano too. All of this made for a great Saturday Morning.

550 Pages
This part will most likely last many more Saturday mornings; and then some. I am loving it already!
Mahalo Ben.

Diplomacy Is Sometimes the Better Part of Valor
CBS News reported today that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has officially asked for an interview with President Barack Obama as a direct response to Mr. Obama’s call for opportunities to engage.
It’s hard to predict where “talking” might lead to at times, but not talking surely leads to nowhere.

Make That Presentation
The same is true when prospecting for new business. It’s easy to “ass-u-me” that a presentation will not go anywhere, and thus no need to make it. That attitude becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. As Wayne Gretzky once said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” Take the shot! 

Rhythm in the White House?
Regardless of your political affiliation, if you didn’t feel the glow today, check your pulse. I began to count how many innaugurations I have lived through and stopped at “too many.” But, this is the first time I felt magnitized to the TV set, and surely the first time I had tears of joy running down my cheeks.
It’s not so much what I think Obama will do as President that moved me as it is what this magnanimous event is doing for America. We are all growing weary of the doom and gloom messages on the front pages of our newspapers. It was extremely uplifting to see so many people, more than ever before, take an interest in our new leader. The country has been inspired before he even lifts a finger as President.
People follow leaders. It’s encouraging to have one with a positive vision.

Go To: whitehouse.gov
And there’s already a new White House Web Site for us all to stay tuned in to what’s happening at our nation’s capital. Read about it on CNN HERE, and see the site HERE.

Here Today; Gone Tomorrow
It seems like only yesterday that I read Jim Collin’s book GOOD TO GREAT. He followed companies from 1965 to 1995, and made a list of those which had gone from “good” to “great” in that time. They were:

Abbot Laboratories
Circuit City
Fannie Mae
Gillette
Kimberly-Clark
Kroger
Nucor
Philip Morris
Pitney Bowes
Walgreens
Wells Fargo

A look at that list 14 years later shows some big changes. 

Like This One
Circuit City apparently found reverse gear somewhere along the way. CNN just announced that Circuit City’s will close 567 U.S. stores employing 34,000 employees. They plan to launch a liquidation sale immediately and run it through March 31, providing they get court approval. They will shut down their website and call center on January, 18. I found it odd that they plan to continue to operate their Canadian operations, which employ 3,000 workers.
The most significant comment in the article (to me) was citing a decision to “get rid of salespeople” as one of the reasons for their downfall. My thought was, “Duh!” This is what happens when the importance of good salespeople is underestimated. We certainly saw that during the demise of CompUSA here in Honolulu. The person who is face-to-face with the customer is the most important person in the company.