Thank Goodness It's Monday #370

MORE ON R-E-S-P-E-C-T

AND WHAT IT MEANS TO YOU AND ME 

Go ahead, sing it. I know you want to:

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Find out what it means to me.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Take Care – TCB. Oh --  

[Now, with the back-up singers ]

(Sock it to me, sock it to me,

 sock it to me, sock it to me)

 A little respect

(Sock it to me, sock it to me,

 sock it to me, sock it to me)

 Whoa, babe (Just a little bit)

 A little respect (Just a little bit)

For those who have just joined us: Last Monday’s message (TGIM #369) was titled “Get The Respect You Expect.” And when I handed it over for proofreading before publishing, (You don’t? You should. It may still be imperfect but far less than relying on a single set of author eyes) just a glimpse of that headline brought the comment –

 “Oh. Rodney Dangerfield?”

My reply: “No, Aretha and Otis,” and then I delivered the above chorus complete with creaky dance steps. (Sorry you missed it.)

But all that’s by way of pointing out: 

The line after the R-E-S-P-E-C-T spelling lesson -- and before the “Sock it to me’s” -- is often misquoted as – 

"Take OUT -- TCP"

or something similar.

Do/did you sing “Take OUT -- TCP”? And if you did, what did you think it meant?

Don’t feel too bad. “Take OUT -- TCP” is just a mishearing of the extraordinarily popular Aretha Franklin version.

But it does lead us toward a TGIM Takeaway or two.

First, let’s set the record (or 8-track tape, or cassette, of CD, or digital download;  pick the music delivery system of your generation) straight.

Spelling R-E-S-P-E-C-T and TCB are not present in the original Otis Redding versions. (He wrote it and had the first successful recording.) They were included in some of his later performances after Aretha’s breakout success with the song. There even seems to be some confusion over who first used TCB in the song.

And even “back in the day” (= mid 1960s) published sheet music which included the lyrics had the incorrect TCP line in them. 

TCB is an abbreviation which stands for Taking Care (of) Business -- widely used in African-American culture in the 1960s and spreading more broadly in the 1970s.

("TCB in a flash" later became a motto and signature phrase for Elvis Presley and his so-called Memphis Mafia.)

So in the song’s earliest days, TCB was somewhat less well-known which, in turn, provides a possible explanation for why it was not recognized by those who transcribed Franklin's words for sheet music.

Good story. And a fitting coda to a TGIM message about keeping promises. 

Want that R-E-S-P-E-C-T? 

TAKE CARE

B & P

Take Care of Business

AND

Take Care of Promises

Since we reviewed some TCP strategies last week, let’s move on to TCB today.

Do you Take Care -- TCB? 

Taking Care of Business isn’t just “work.” It’s tackling every day with a healthy dose of gonna-get-it-done attitude. Almost a personal philosophy, TCB is about – 

“Doing what one is meant to do;

coping with life as it is.”

Do you do that? Every day?

Take Care -- TCB describes an energy, fervor and inspiration that people exude when they take on the day with enthusiasm – like the performances of Aretha or Otis, the “business” they’re famous for. 

Enthusiasm is associated with zeal, focus and enjoyment. It spurs us to act immediately. It gives the extra energy to get through times of difficulty. It comes to pass when you believe in your mission and yourself. And –

It’s contagious.  Indifference turns off people, but enthusiasm is magnetic. If you have zest and enthusiasm you will attract zest and enthusiasm. 

TGIM Takeaway: The end result of coupling Taking-Care-of-Business enthusiasm with Taking-Care-of-Promises promise keeping is –

R-E-S-P-E-C-T: People don’t necessarily follow or implement the best ideas but they are attracted by ... are supportive of ... and tend to view more favorably, the folks who project enthusiasm, dynamism and positive energy. 

TGIM TCB/TCP IDEA IN ACTION: Couple your great ideas with enthusiasm and promises kept and you and those who you influence can soar to stratospheric success. 

Sock it to me!

Sock it to me!

(Just a little bit.) 

Geoff Steck   
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

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

P. S. Since we’re in a Monday musical mode, let me put one more TCB musical moment in your mental playlist for the week. A decade after Otis, Randy Bachman penned the Bachman-Turner Overdrive big hit, “Taking Care of Business.” It’s opening lines, suitable for an August-in-NJ Monday morning: 

You get up every morning

 From your alarm clock's warning

 Take the 8:15 into the city

 There's a whistle up above

 And people pushin', people shovin'

 And the girls who try to look pretty 

And if your train's on time

 You can get to work by nine

 And start your slaving job to get your pay

 If you ever get annoyed

 Look at me I'm self-employed

 I love to work at nothing all day

And I'll be...

Taking care of business, every day

Taking care of business, every way

I've been taking care of business, it's all mine

Taking care of business. and working overtime

 Work out 

P.P.S. This Thursday – August 23, 2012 -- you can TCB and TCP and hone your sales skills and empower you on your way to amazing outcomes at: 

Business Breakthrough III

Attend … Build Skills … Network with likeminded go-getters

Get on board NOW, HERE 

(Sponsorship opportunities still available. Inquire Immediately.) 

I’ll be there.

If you are as well, maybe we can entice Eric to lead a Golden Oldies sing-along.

Thank Goodness It's Monday #369

HOW TO GET THE RESPECT YOU EXPECT

Be known as the person who keeps promises. 

That’s one of the best ways to win the continued loyalty of customers as well as the continued best efforts and respect of coworkers, friends, family and the community at large.

“Duh!” you’re probably thinking. “Kind of self-evident. If that’s the promised payoff of the Get The Respect You Expect headline, I think you’ve broken a bit of the How To promise there, Geoff.”

Got your point. More to the point, pointing out the rewards of keeping promises also misses the point that promise keeping is often –

Robert Frost

(1874 – 1963)

About those promises …

The poem portrays a speaker who stops his sleigh in the

midst of a snowy woods only to be called from the inviting
gloom by the recollection of practical duties.

Written in 1922, Frost's most famous and most perfect lyric

(according to critic J. Mc Bride Dabbs) Stopping by Woods

on a Snowy Evening, conveys "the insistent whisper of death

at the heart of life."

Frost called the poem “my bid for remembrance” and observed

that it is the kind he'd like to print on one page

followed with "forty pages of footnotes."

Easier said than done.

In 1923 Robert Frost (1874 – 1963) articulated that difficulty factor quite poetically, closing his famous Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening with the lines: 

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

If you sometimes (or worse, often) feel you have “miles to go” to keep your promises –

Perhaps you are making promises --

Too Big,

Too Quickly

Ouch! But just why are we so quick to make overly generous promises?

TGIM INSIGHT: Probably because it’s easy to do.

Promises seem like a quick and painless-at-the-moment way to motivate people; a no-cost-now way to get them to buy in now to what you think is in your best interest now. 

Eventually, however, the time comes when the buy-in equation must be balanced. And if it can’t be, or isn’t, that’s a broken promise. And that initial moment of motivation goes right out the door, taking a big chunk of the respect that the promise receiver once had with it. 

So –

No Promises = No Problem

Right?

Yeah, but … Making promises DOES motivate when you’re not able to deliver the goods directly. 

And, maybe because we’re so used to being disappointed in the promise equation, when you DO deliver on a promise made, it’s virtually assured to elevate you in the estimation of the promise recipient who initially acted in faith on your behalf.

So here – as promised – is a respect-retaining --

TGIM ACTION IDEA: There’s nothing wrong with making promises, provided you know – without a doubt – that you can deliver your part of any bargain you make.

And even with that “given,” be guided by a classic rule when you put the –

TGIM IDEA IN ACTION: Under-promise and over-deliver.

It’s classic advice for a reason. This way you’ll find not only do promises work their no-cost-now magic but, your stature will rise even higher when you deliver more than people anticipated.

And …

To ensure you keep on the respect-building track and don’t shoot from the lip, also observe these additional promising “What-To-Do” and “How-To-Do-It” precautions:

► Hold optimism in check. That way they’ll be less likely to unintentionally over-promise or mislead people. A good people-empowerer isn’t reluctant to talk to people about their future prospects, of course. But be realistic when you do. Don’t create false hopes and expectations by painting too rosy a picture.

► Weigh your words. A pound is not 15½ ounces. “Almost” only counts in horseshoes. Forcing people to settle for something less than they’ve been led to expect leaves a bad taste that never quite goes away. 

If you want continued cooperation, always settle in full, however inconvenient or painful you may find it. 

► Never forget. They won’t. Under everyday pressure it’s easy to promise something then forget all about it and assume they will too. 

Well, they won’t. More than likely, they’ll think about it constantly while they go about fulfilling their side of the deal. And, actually, this is what you want them to do if the promise has been made to motivate them. But, if you want to avoid repercussions, you’d better not stop thinking about it either.

So on that note –

Did I deliver on the promise of the headline?

Respect! (“Got to have it.”)

Geoff Steck   
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

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

P. S. “It is not the oath that makes us believe the man, but the man the oath.” Aeschylus (c. 525/524 BC – c. 456/455 BC) Greek soldier and playwright, often described as “the father of tragedy” said that.

P.P.S. Summer casual is a dress style, not an attitude. If fact, while others Laze Away their Summer Daze, you can build more skills that empower you on your way to amazing outcomes, here:

Thursday, August 23, 2012 …

Business Breakthrough III

Attend …
Build Skills …
Network with likeminded go-getters

Get on board NOW, HERE

(Sponsorship opportunities still available. Inquire Immediately.)

I'll be there (if you care).
I look forward to seeing you, too.