It’s Free and Easy
Masae and I learned a very valuable lesson walking down Kalakaua Avenue after dinner the other night. We were with Pamela and Hamo Alualu. Kalakaua Avenue is lined with “flyer people” handing out all sorts of leaflets and advertising. I have over the years developed a pretty good “waive-off” motion as they reach out to me. As we passed one of them, Hamo accepted his hand-out, and as we walked away Pamela asked him, “Why did you take that?” His answer had impact. He casually said, “Just to be nice.” Wow! Think about that. Masae and I found ourselves talking about that the rest of the evening. “Flyer folks” take a lot of rejection and hear some pretty abusive comments. After all, they are just doing their job, and the pay isn’t that great, what’s wrong with being nice? You can just as easily throw the ad flyer away once you are out of site, but in the process you made someone feel successful, even if it’s for a moment. 
Mahalo Hamo for the lesson. I will be much nicer from here on.

Glad to Have YOU HOME Son
When our son Gilbert saw my Blog post on the guy with the pink shorts, he sent me these photos along with this note:

Hey Dad,
I read your blog about Afghanistan. Believe it or not, that’s where I was last year, over in Kunar Province Afghanistan. That picture was taken in the Korengal Valley AKA “Valley of Death.”
That is the worst place in all of Afghanistan. There are more deaths in that Valley than in any where else in Afghanistan.
That’s where I was man.
-Gil

U.S. Army Spc. Zachary Boyd in the Pink
When I first saw this photo in today’s paper I laughed, thinking it was an example of dereliction of duty. I began forming a Blog post in my mind about how important dress codes are. But as I looked at it further and read the story, my eyes watered up; they still are. Here we see a 20 year old boy hunkered down in a fox hole, exchanging deadly fire with the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Young Zachary was sleepng when the shooting started. He leapt from his bed and grabbed his helmet, vest and rifle, but not his pants and shoes as he took his station behind sandbags. His comrads didn’t seem to see any difference.
I found myself thinking, “This kid should be on the beach somewhere, or out on a date with his girlfriend, or having dinner with his family back in Fort Worth, Texas.” All of that was far from real for this young MAN, and this photo truly does bring home the reality of the serious dangers being faced in Iraq and Afghanistan. 
His mom was contacted and she said she hopes to see her son back home by the Fourth of July. She was asked if he would he be wearing pink boxers in any Independence Day parades? “Don’t challenge him,” she said, laughing. “He just may do it.” I too hope that he is home as well as all of the others, and I don’t care what they are wearing. 

Mahalo to Cindi Williams
I had a great time at the WHFA Conference on Maui the past three days. This is a First Class organization. Cindi Williams and the entire WHFA staff made something very complicated look very easy.

Congratulations to Naturwood Home Furnishings
The awards dinner on the final night was quite an event and everyone was happy to congratulate Naturwood Home Furnishings on being named Retailer of the Year. This is quite an honor.

Speaking of Honored…
I had the priveledge of addressing this fine group of furniture store owners from all over the country in two sessions; one on managing people and the other on dealing with the media and their negative spin on the economy; a favorite topic of mine these days.

Brad Huisken and Me
I especially enjoyed the time I was able to spend with fellow speaker Brad Huiskin of IAS Training. We were able to swap some great tales from our mutual experiences helping people be all that they can be.
This was my second opportunity to participate in a WHFA Conference and I am already looking forward to the next one.

Mahalo to all. 

ABC News
“NEW YORK — General Motors Corp. on Friday told about 1,100 dealers, or nearly 20 percent of its U.S. network, that they will be fired by the automaker late next year because their sales are weak.”

I had to wonder… “How long have sales been “weak” and what have they been doing to strengthen them?”

The Bearer of Bad News
The article said that the bad news was delivered by way of a FedEx letter to GM franchises around the country. Can you imagine losing your business by mail? I suspect the same form of poor communication existed before the firings came. It’s far too common for businesses and managers to overlook shortcomings until after it’s too late. Then they react dramatically, and in case cowardly.
Managers have a responsibility to point to problems and seek solutions early in the game.

“Have I got a deal for you?”
Selling cars is a tough business, and car salespeople are known for their less than desirable approach. It’s time to overhaul this industry from the bottom up. Fewer dealerships doing things the wrong way is not the answer to the problem. People buy people before they buy what they sell.