Thank Goodness It's Monday #367

SPEAK WELL OF YOUR FIRM

-- AND ALL THOSE IN IT

Good policy for nearly a century.

No company can afford employees who complain about their firm or the people in it to anyone they don’t know well.

TGIM EXECUTIVE ACTION: Coach others to never criticize their company or coworkers in front of customers ... prospects … suspects …casual acquaintances … “the public” -- anyone they don’t know much about. It invariably leaves a bad taste. And it can ruin relationships that others have worked long and hard to build.

What prompts this “sudden” outburst on my part? 

What pushed my buttons recently was a little interaction that I will share with you in abbreviated form to get us closer to some universal what-to-do and how-to-do-it thoughts. Here’s my –

Case in point: While signing in in the lobby and waiting for my morning appointment to come bring me to his office suite, I remarked to the building’s receptionist that the name of the man I was calling on meant “nobleman” in German.

She gave an ironic laugh and said –

“He’s anything but!” The receptionist had little to gain by her remark; some momentary gratification at most. And (I hope) she had little idea of the harm she was doing. 

But that one flip remark tainted my thinking about the man and the whole organization. 

I confess that I could not give our meeting the 100% attention it deserved because that unconfirmed insinuation poked at my thinking like a sharp stone in my shoe. And, even with my heightened awareness, in my time with the executive I got no other impression that would have suggested her comment had merit. 

Fortunately (sort of) she was also at her station on my departure. So, while signing out, and out of the hearing of any others, I recapitulated our earlier exchange and suggested she should probably stop making such remarks or take her case up with HR.

She suggested I “Have a nice day.” 

I have not seen her since.

Why do people criticize their company or coworkers

– especially in the presence of strangers? 

Sometimes it’s because –

That’s the kind of people they are. They take pleasure in tearing others down. They look for things to complain about, and then start gossiping.

TGIM ALERT: Some people get into the habit of belittling personnel in their company to anyone who will listen. They should be stopped the moment such a tendency is detected. 

More often the reason people disparage each other is –

To get a monkey off their backs. Nobody likes to take the brunt of a customer’s disaffection. So people say or imply that others are responsible.

v  Suppose a customer calls about a late shipment. The salesperson doesn’t want to take the blame personally, so he or she passes the buck suggesting perhaps, “Our shipping department messed up the paperwork. They’re not too careful over there.”

v  When a bank customer complains about a mistake to a teller, the teller may blame the IT Department. “Those nerds aren’t bankers. They’re always making mistakes.”

v  When a department store customer asks about a change in return policy, the salesperson or floor manager may say something like, “I don’t like the new policy myself. Another whim of those guys in corporate, I guess.”

v  When a serviceman brings the wrong part for an appliance repair, he may cover himself by saying, “Those phone people always give me the wrong information.”

In my long career I particularly recall a VP in a small-ish firm who was constantly downgrading his employees to customers. Whenever anything went wrong, it was because the salespeople promised too much or manufacturing didn’t run a tight enough ship. This so-called executive constantly referred to the firm’s employees as “idiots” or “dummies.” 

Sure, there are plenty of books targeted at that Idiot/Dummy crowd. 

But just who was the idiot or dummy? It didn’t take people too long to discover that the employees were being blamed for the problems stemming from the poor skills of the VP himself.

TGIM ACTION IDEA: The way to stop this kind of criticism is to take the offending individual aside and talk to them. Odds are they don’t realize just how destructive such remarks are to the company and to themselves. Let them know.

TGIM IDEA IN ACTION: Also let them know how to handle problems without blaming others in the organization. 

 For example: 

v  Suggest they tell the customer they will “look into what’s holding things up” instead of blaming a delay on “those guys in shipping.” 

v  Or they might say, “I’ll correct the mistake and get back to those responsible so it doesn’t happen again.”

v  Or they might say, if the source of a problem is specifically identifiable, “Milt in shipping would want me to correct it ASAP. I’ll straighten it out now.”

v  Or even just not calling Milt an idiot might be acceptable.

Speak well of your firm and others in it. And let the insiders know that the idea is to support their colleagues and present a united front to the customer. Above all, see to it that people in supervisory positions stand by their people when talking to customers. It gives a better image of the company.

In every company, of course, people do make mistakes and need correction. Every company has its dirty linen. And I should be washed.

Just not in public.

Geoff Steck   
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

P. S. “SPEAK WELL OF YOUR FIRM” 

That was the ALL-CAPS injunction of a 42” x 28” “motivational” poster (pictured above) that was given to me when I assumed my first publishing job that had managerial, people-handling responsibilities. 

It was a real time capsule, even when I first received it 40+ years ago. The illustration (five fashionably suited men in discussion in a rather abstract “office” space), the colors, the graphic design, the type and typographic layout, the punctuation and capitalization -- all hint at an origination date perhaps as early as 1920.

But even now, at what may well be a century later, the message is evergreen. It is: 

When you “knock” your

Firm, you insult yourself,

because you are Part

of the Firm. When you

Praise and Speak-Well of

your Firm, you speak

well of yourself: as a

part of your Firm you

therefore profit.” 

Boosting Pays! 

Throughout my most “corporate” days it hung on the wall behind me in my office. Maybe I should not have taken it down.

Thank Goodness It's Monday #366

14,000 ATHLETES

ALL AIMING

AT THE SAME ELUSIVE GOAL

Front and Reverse of the
2012 Summer Olympics
 (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad,
also known informally as London 2012)
Gold Medal

The 2012 Summer Olympics are about to get under way in London. At the center of it all, perhaps as many as 14,000 world-class athletes – some you have heard of, many you have not – each one aiming at the same elusive goal:  

Victory. And at every turn there will be “the thrill of victory; the agony of defeat.”

Just like any other day in your life and mine.

Really. 

It is quite like that, isn’t it?

Every day has Olympic moments. Just look at our non-athletic, work-a-day world. In very practical business terms for example:

Someone makes the sale.

Everyone else is a runner up.

No silver or bronze medals are awarded.

You can’t win them all. In fact, truth is, like most of the 14,000 athletes striving in the 302 Olympic gold medal events, even at the highest level, you can win very few outright.

BUT --

(And, as you can see it’s a big “but …”)

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. And try your damnedest.

We’ll dig deeper into precisely how to do that momentarily. But first, to establish my “cred” and impress you with my innate ability to lead you to mastery –

Now …

   Before the opening ceremonies are even underway …

       In the most amazing feat of sports prognostication that you will ever witness …

          I will reveal the Olympic athletes who WILL NOT WIN Olympic gold:

And the LOSERS are:

Every athlete who is focused on winning.

Yup. 

The WINNERS will be:

The athletes who want to win

and focus on giving a full effort.

Full disclosure: I learned this lesson from my friend the noted sports psychologist, Rob Gilbert, Ph.D. 

Dr. Rob often makes this point -- almost every athlete focuses on the wrong thing: winning – by getting the folks he would inspire to, well –

Focus on the wrong thing. He does it with a child’s --

RIDDLE: Anna’s mother has three daughters. One is named “Penny.” Another is named “Nickel.” What is the name of the third daughter?

·         Are you thinking the answer is “Dime” or “Quarter” or “Half-Dollar”? 

·         Are you such a Jersey-minded Abbot and Costello fan that you think the name is “What.” (Who’s On First, What’s On Second, etc. Lou was devoted to his home town of Paterson NJ where a Who’s-On-First related statue has been erected in his honor.)

Back to the point: Those answers are not even close because you’re focusing on the wrong part of the riddle. 

If you focus on the first two words – “Anna’s mother” – you’ll realize that the third daughter’s name is -- drum roll, please -- Anna! 

Olympic “Aha!” moment: Most athletes do something similar. They’re focusing on the wrong thing. They’re focused on winning.

This is a big mistake.

Why?

TGIM “Aha!” moment: Because they – and we, in our daily challenges, Olympian or lesser – do not have control over winning.

But we do have control over our effort. 

TGIM ACTION IDEA: Keep your focus on your effort, not on the outcome. Keep your focus on the process, not the product. Keep your eye on the ball, not on the trophy stand. Know that every time you compete, it’s important, but – in the scheme of life – not that important.

TGIM IDEA IN ACTION: Prepare and tackle every major challenge you foresee with an Olympian mindset. Drill. Get coached. Continually hone your skills. Play up to your potential and play full out. Be in the moment; remain intent on the task at hand. And -- most of all -- focus on effort, not outcome.

In his book, Awareness: The Perils and Opportunities of Reality, Anthony De Mello quotes a Chinese sage who expounds: 

“When the archer shoots for no particular prize, he has all his skills; when he shoots to win a brass buckle, he is already nervous; when he shoots for a gold prize, he goes blind …. His skill has not changed, but the prize divides him. He cares! He thinks more of winning than of shooting, and the need to win drains him of power.”

TGIM Takeaway: Care – but not that much. Focus on your effort, not outcome. 

See you on the medal stand.

Geoff Steck   
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

P. S. “People want to be amazed. So that’s what I’m working for.” Usain “Lightning” Bolt, Jamaican sprinter and a five-time World and three-time Olympic gold medalist, said that. He is the world record and Olympic record holder in the 100 meters, the 200 meters and (along with his teammates) the 4×100 meters relay. Think he’s focused on his effort? "To Di World!"

Thank Goodness It's Monday #365

THE POWER OF WORDS:

K.I.S.S. AND TELL

According to research psychologists, the average one-year-old has a three-word spoken vocabulary. 

But quickly --

·         By fifteen months, children can babble nineteen words.

·         At two years of age most youngsters possess knowledge of 272 words.

·         Their vocabulary catapults to 896 words by age three

·         … 1,540 by four

·         … 2,072 by five.

·         By age six the average child can communicate with 2,562 words.

And, of course, our word accumulation continues to grow.

Yet …

Effective use of them does not necessarily follow. Even though the average adult speaks at a rate of 125 to 200 words per minute and up to 18,000 words per day, this does not mean messages have been clearly relayed.

“Words, like glasses,” wrote essayist Joseph Joubert (1754 – 1824), “obscure everything which they do not make clear.”

It’s baseball season. So let’s use as an example a well-known, confusing-yet-creative communicator from that sport.

No, not Yogi Berra. As much as we appreciate the tangled life lessons in Yogi-isms from our Jersey Boy neighbor, today’s sports celebrity reference is another linguistic legend whose name became linked to his oral acrobatics.

"The Old Perfessor"
Charles Dillion "Casey" Stengel
(1890-1975)
mugging his trademark wink
in a photo from
a 1949 issue of
Baseball Digest 

Casey Stengel: Stengel’s use of the English language became known as “Stengelese.” For example, he once said –

“I’ve always heard that it couldn’t be done,

But sometimes it don’t always work.” 

That almost makes sense. It might even be profound. But it also has to be viewed in the context of other things that Casey said. For example, addressing his baseball team one day, he instructed--

“Now all you fellows line up alphabetically by height.”

What was that message? Who knows? But, believe it or not, Stengel once held a position on the Board of Directors for a California Bank.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Casey described his responsibilities this way: 

“There ain’t nothin’ to it. You go into the fancy meeting room and you just sit there and never open your yap.As long as you don’t say nothin’, they don’t know whether you’re smart or dumb.”

Perhaps this explains in part the current banking/financial crisis. 

But it also gives us some useful guidance on communicating clearly.

TGIM TAKEAWAY: We all reveal our own form of Stengelese; whether it’s the way we use the language to convey our messages or how we interpret what others say to us. Either way, it’s the same result: Frequent misunderstanding.

TGIM ACTION IDEA: Keep It Sweet and Simple. 

K.I.S.S. and you will tell. Don’t put your listeners in the position of paying more attention to how you say it, rather than what you say. Never use more complicated language than you need. Your goal in your communication is to connect, not dazzle them with words of wonder. 

TGIM IDEA IN ACTION: Your style should reflect your personality, education, environment and experience as well as those of your audience. So don’t abandon your usual vocabulary. Select the most effective words.

One caution: Don’t talk down, ever. Talk down to your listeners and they’ll know it and not appreciate it. 

Manage tech talk, too. Virtually every specialized interest or industry has a jargon or shorthand, but it you speak it fluently yourself, before you do you should be very aware of your listeners’ familiarity with it.

Example: Ever have to dial 911, have the EMTs arrive and, after they take the victims’s BP and maybe administer CPR, rush them to the ER where an MD, or maybe RN, gives them an EKG then moves them to an ICU where they go on O² and get an IV?

Don’t talk like that. Although you probably figured that out quickly enough, it’s still distracting to have to slog through the jargon and abbreviations. And it’s often harder to hear than it is to read.

When in doubt: Be considerate of the lowest common denominator among your listeners and speak to it. If necessary, acknowledge that some “old pros” may be just fine with the jargon but that you’ll provide ongoing translation so everyone gets the message. Do that and all will do a better job of listening.

A final point: For the most part, we’ve been speaking about speaking and listening. But there’s an important difference between written and spoken language that allows you to –

Boost the level of language you use for written communication – if you wish.

TGIM EXCEPTIONAL RULE: The spoken word is gone as quickly as it’s spoken so, if the listener must ponder an obscure word, the distraction is at the expense of missing some other part of the message. But the written page has permanence and allows the reader to halt, figure out your meaning, then return to exactly where they left off. So -- 

Are you following this? The written words “permanence factor” let’s you hone your language more sharply and, for example, write a word like “onerous”  when in conversation you might say that using “onerous’ could be a bit troublesome.

Hope I didn’t trouble you. Here’s to clear communicating. 

Geoff Steck   
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

P. S. “He could fool you. When Casey wanted to make sense, he could. But he usually preferred to make you laugh." Yogi Berra clearly made that point about “The Old Perfessor.” “He’s one of the smartest men in baseball … in business … in anything he’d try.” Edna Stengel, Casey’s wife for 51years confirmed Yogi’s observation.

Thank Goodness It's Monday #364

WORD UP!

JDS!

The words we use often determine the success or failure of our interactions. 

Huh? Just exactly what does that mean? 

You’re right. It’s not clear. Intentionally, let me quickly add –

To make this point: Communication has the potential of being a powerful tool in a person’s repertoire of skills. The clarity, effectiveness and positive tone of that communication not only determines the outcome of your personal interactions, but it ultimately determines the quality of your life.

It’s a 21^st Century fact: Every waking moment of your life you are communicating, either with other people or yourself. Some folks who tally such things calculate that the average person receives 250,000 information “signals” each day.

BIG Q: How important do you think it is to differentiate your signals?

BIG A: Very! In today’s world, more than any other time in history, you need to deliver your message powerfully, quickly and with clarity.

So here’s the deal: In the summer Mondays ahead, with an occasional time out to consider topical events like “Olympic”-size Life Lessons, I figure we can benefit from a mini-course in –

How To Communicate

With Clarity & Confidence

Why this? And why now?

In this “Age of Communication” via an abundance of effectively free media readily available to all and connected to all, there seems to be an abundance of miscommunication at every turn. (And the upcoming political campaigning isn’t going to help matters.)

But if we do have something of value to convey, we ought to do that effectively. And although the “tech” of communicating may be nanoseconds new and evolving with 4G speed, the problem is classically old. 

And that’s –

Good news: Proven-in-action secrets, strategies and solutions for effective communication have evolved over the millennia. That’s what I hope we can explore here.

Bad news: These only work if we master them. And mastery takes time and practice. And life requires living. So you can’t tackle too much at one time if you expect it to stick successfully.

More good news: Summer has a “slump” quality (if you let it) that may afford us the opportunity to add some skill-building to the routine. And communicating seems like a good place to begin. 

So let’s begin by confidently suggesting you (and we) –

JDS

We love acronyms. And JDS has become the battle cry of a recently formed “Inner Circle” of similarly minded friends. If you’re not in the Inner Circle, then you need to know the acronym stands for –

Just Do … “Stuff”

Actually the phrase is more, uh, “graphic” most of the time. 

No offense. But, c’mon. If you have a summer slump mentality, you’re not gonna shake it with niceties.

And that helps us transition over to an important communication kickoff point:

Communication Fundamentals: Difficulty in communicating effectively arises primarily from our inability to do two things:

Say clearly what we really mean

and/or

Hear clearly what others have to say to us

And that’s what we’ll be confronting in the days ahead.

Good stories enable good communication. So here’s a smile-inducing story we heard from some friends in the “Information Technology” business (not known for being a hotbed of clear communication).

NOT for-geeks-only: Keep reading and we’ll get to universal takeaways.

The pilot of a hot air balloon discovers he has drifted off course and is hopelessly lost. He spots a man on the ground, descends until he is within hearing distance, and shouts: “Excuse me, can you tell me where I am?”

The man below shouts back, “You’re in a hot-air balloon, about 30 feet above this field.”

“You must work in information technology,” the balloonist yells back.

[Note: Fill in your own choice of industry when retelling this story.]

“Yes, I do,” the man on the ground replies. “But how did you know that?”

“Well,” says the balloonist, “what you told me is technically correct but of no use to anyone.”

The man below says,” Ah, then you must work in management.”

“I do,” the balloonist acknowledges. “But how did you know that?”

“Well,” came the reply from the ground, “You don’t know where you are, how you got here, or where you’re going, but you expect my immediate help. And you’re in the same position as you were before we met, but now it’s my fault.”

Don’t be full of hot air. Although we sometimes use this tale to teach leadership lessons to managers who tend to be full of hot air, for TGIM purposes this Summer of 2012, let’s consider its value as a lesson in less-than-effective communication.

TGIM Takeaway #1: Although this joke is set up to make it’s point, it’s funny because it’s pretty darn close to many real-life experiences.

How often do we let our personal and professional “communication” descend to this level? Who’s at fault here? And what breaks down? And why?

TGIM ACTION IDEA #1: Hone those listening skills. Communicating begins with listening. That’s an old bit of news, for sure. And it’s really just a shorthand way of describing listening with intent; listening with an open mind, with preconceived notions set aside and with the objective of understanding the real meaning of what the speaker has to say.

TGIM Takeaway #2: From the “speaker” side of the communication equation, consider carefully before you speak.

TGIM ACTION IDEA #2: When you speak, be sure what you say is – to the best of your ability to say it -- what you mean to say. Follow up your initial message with differently phrased observations. Toss in some open ended questions in order to elicit responses that indicate you have not simply been heard, but that you’ve also achieved clear understanding.

JDS: In the 1941 film noir classic The Maltese Falcon, based on a novel by the master of hard-boiled detective fiction Dashiell Hammett, Sidney Greenstreet’s character (Kasper Gutman) says to Humphrey Bogart’s character, Sam Spade –

“Here's to plain speaking and clear understanding.”

For us this summer that will be, to quote the penultimate line of the film, “The, uh, stuff that dreams are made of.”

“Stuff” of dreams. No shit.

Bogart in a studio still with
"The stuff that dreams are made of"

The Rara Avis ... 
The Dingus ..
The Bird, The Black Bird...
The Maltese Falcon

Geoff Steck   
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

P. S. “Behind the need to communicate is the need to share. Behind the need to share is the need to be understood.” Humorist and academic Leo Rosten (1908 – 1997) communicated that idea.

Thank Goodness It's Monday #363

LIFE LESSONS FROM THE TRAVELS

OF A ROLL OF PARCHMENT

The birthday of the USA —Independence Day—is celebrated on July 4, the day in 1776 when the wording of the Declaration of Independence was approved by Congress.

Let’s get ready to PARTY! Celebrations. Cookouts. Fireworks. It’s what we’ve come to expect as we commemorate the 1776 creation of the unique Declaration.

But the ideals it spells out and the rights put in place by virtue of its guidance were, in fact, a long time coming.

Evidence: The worn and faded document itself and the trials and tribulations the physical piece of parchment endured before becoming enshrined as it is today as a National Treasure.

And speaking of National Treasure: Last year at about this time we took a look at the seldom-seen back of the Declaration. (An important message IS written in a mysterious way on its back; see it HERE.)

And in the process we saw that the handwritten “front” -- replete with the autograph signatures of the 56 original signers -- is not the pristine, sparkling icon we call to mind.

The original engrossed parchment
Declaration of Independence
as it appears
in the National Archive

It’s faded and barely legible. 

So how did it get this way?

TGIM sums it up for you. 

And in the process we’ll uncover a 21^st Century Takeaway or two, OK?

In the beginning: The Declaration of Independence was adopted in Philadelphia, July 4, 1776, and printed copies were distributed immediately. These printed copies bore only the names of John Hancock, President of the Congress, and Charles Thomson, its secretary. Not until a month later the original document, inscribed on sheepskin, was presented to the Congress for signing. Then this unique document was placed in the custody of Thomson.

And away we go. Before the end of the calendar year, the travels of the Declaration of Independence had begun.

With British forces closing on Philadelphia, Congress moved to Baltimore, taking along all its important records, including the Declaration, in a baggage wagon.

The following spring all returned to Philly. But in the autumn of 1777 it packed up again and fled as Redcoats occupied the city.

New destination: Lancaster, Pennsylvania (briefly), then further west to York PA which served as the new nation’s temporary capital for eight months until the British withdrew from Philadelphia enabling Congress – and the Declaration – to return to Independence Hall.

But wait, there’s more: Following a period of nearly five years in the building where it had been adopted and signed, the famed roll of parchment was –

On the road again. In June of 1783, to avoid certain Pennsylvania-related troubles (not British), Congress packed up and moved for a four-month stay to Nassau Hall in Princeton, New Jersey.

Later Congress (with the Declaration) moved and met in both Annapolis, Maryland and Trenton, New Jersey. Then, in 1785, it took up residence in New York, New York.

A wonderful town: In 1789, with the inauguration of George Washington and the formation of a new government under the Constitution, the Continental Congress ceased to exist. Its records were turned over to the new administration with the Declaration going to the first Secretary of State –

Thomas Jefferson. So for three years the document was in the possession of its author. In 1790 he took it back to Philadelphia for a ten-year stay while Washington DC – then called Federal City – was rising beside the Potomac River.

In 1800 the seat of federal government moved to DC and the Declaration went along.

In Washington it had several homes until, toward the end of the War of 1812, the British again threatened the security of the document and it went into hiding in a private home in Leesburg, Virginia.

When the British sailed out of Chesapeake Bay, the roll of parchment moved back to whatever building the State Department occupied. In 1841 it was put on display in the Patent Office Building where it hung on a wall, unprotected from sunlight and changes in temperature for 35 years.

In 1876 President Grant permitted it to be taken to Philadelphia and exhibited to thousands of admiring Americans as part of a Centennial celebration. Many expressed alarm at its poor condition.

On its return it was displayed at the new State, War and Navy Building, a fortunate decision since its old Patent Office Building home was destroyed by fire shortly after the move.

By 1894 the 118-year-old National Treasure had deteriorated so badly that a decision was made to lock it in a safe, away from the light, where it remained for more than a quarter century. 

Fast forward (thankfully) to today. In 1924 it went on display again in more stringently controlled and protective conditions. In 1941, after Pearl Harbor, it spent some time in an underground vault at Fort Knox, Kentucky. In 1952, with great ceremony, it was ensconced in a marble and bronze shrine prepared for it, the Constitution and Bill of Rights at the new National Archives Building. 

In 2001, using the latest in preservation technology, conservators treated the documents, put them in new encasements made of titanium and aluminum, filled with inert argon gas and put on display again, in 2003, in the remodeled National Archives Rotunda. 

So – with July 4, 2012 a day away – are there life lessons we, as citizens and individuals, can take away from the lengthy recounting of the travels of this now-revered roll of parchment?

TGIM Thoughts:

·         Writing focuses your thinking. Getting the Declaration done was the result of fair and open argument and debate among widely read, thoughtful individuals. And then all that was synthesized by the writing talents of Thomas Jefferson.

·         When everyone “signs on” a thing has more power.  

·         It’s the idea that counts.  Ideas, really. Having served its original purpose in announcing the independence of the United States, the actual physical Declaration was initially neglected in the years immediately following the American Revolution, but the ideas and ideals embodied there remained quite alive. 

·         It’s the inspiration and the act, not strictly the text. The Declaration was rarely mentioned during the debates leading to the United States Constitution, and its language was not incorporated into that document. The Declaration’s meaning and its interpretation is not evergreen or even clear (the understanding of “all men are created equal” for example).

·         Celebrate achievements. Early celebrations of Independence Day, like early histories of the Revolution, largely ignored the Declaration, especially as an object.

TGIM TAKEAWAYS: Great ideas, like American Independence –

·         Take time.

·         And thought.

·         And debate.

·         And understanding

·         And compromise and cooperation

·         And risk -- sometimes great risk. 

Our nation’s founders knew this. Most were among the most affluent Americans of their day, yet look at their mutual pledge in the closing line.

Immense change seldom happens overnight. The creation of the document and philosophies and the individual mind-changes that set in motion the American Revolution was not the product of quick-and-easy agreement. It’s not a one day thing. It’s a living, ongoing process that continues this very day – and beyond.

An Independence Day Challenge for you: Think about what the history of the Declaration of Independence means to us in these “modern” days as well as the document itself. Then, I invite you, as I always do at this time of year, to join the 56 original signers. 

TGIM IDEA IN ACTION: Make YOUR declaration. To celebrate this July 4th I’m joining the signers of the Declaration of Independence HERE.

Will you, too?

We hold these truths to be self-evident. If we, with careful forethought and all due consideration, are half as bold and committed as they, what might we achieve?

In your quest for a Best Year Ever, we hope your Fourth is Glorious.. 

Geoff Steck   
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

P.S. What about that bright, clear copy we imagine? After the War of 1812, the symbolic stature of the Declaration steadily increased even though the engrossed copy's ink was noticeably fading. In 1820, Secretary of State John Quincy Adams commissioned printer William J. Stone to create an engraving essentially identical to the engrossed copy.

One of 200 copies
of William J. Stone's
1823 copper-plate copies of the
Declaration of Independence

Stone's engraving was made using a wet-ink transfer process, where the surface of the document was moistened, and some of the original ink transferred to the surface of a copper plate, which was then etched so that copies could be run off the plate on a press. When Stone finished his engraving in 1823, Congress ordered 200 copies to be printed on parchment. Because of poor conservation of the engrossed copy through the 19th century, Stone's engraving, rather than the original, has become the basis of most modern reproductions.