Bryan Dear’s Blog

Be of service. Whether you make yourself available to a friend or co-worker, or you make time every month to do volunteer work, there is nothing that harvests more of a feeling of empowerment than being of service to someone in need.   - Gillian Anderson

I love the start of the above quote: be of service. We have so many opportunities – especially under the above definition. It’s a call to listen and then respond. And it doesn’t matter what the circumstances.

My wife and I were riding to town on our bikes yesterday and we saw a father and child trying to move a vehicle out of the driveway onto the curb. I stopped and asked if they would like a hand to which the child (~ age nine) responded enthusiastically. “Absolutely. We’ve been trying to move this car and we can’t move it an inch.” It was fun to respond to such an energetic request and we were even able to get the car moved to the right place.

We think of volunteerism as a formalized role. We must “sign up” to volunteer. We must raise our hand and tell someone. Certainly that plays a role. But that’s not the key. The key is our willingness to help- to actually listen and then to respond. To help wherever you may be to whomever allows your help.

In our business, we serve so many different kinds of employers with different needs. I would hope we listen to you when you call. I would hope we responded appropriately and enthusiastically after we had listened to you. It’s just one other place to be of service.

Yours in service,

Bryan Dear

www.payrolldept.biz

Real generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present. Albert Camus, 1913 – 1960

How do we be the best we can? And what does best mean anyway? I’ll start by providing my definition for the latter; being my best means I’m listening and responding, I’m going extra yards if necessary to carry out (i.e. not giving up) the task assigned to me either by me or by someone else, I’m doing this in a positive (and probably humorous)  frame of mind and I’m communicating with the participants involved in the task in an appropriate manner.  If I do at least these four things, then more than likely I’ll be successful in that pursuit.

Achievng these four  attributes means laying out a good foundation. Did I sleep well? Am I healthy? Did I exercise today or at least yesterday? Are my relationships working? Are those around me doing well? Is my lifestyle in balance (another topic). And so on. Take away any one of these factors and I’m going to have work a little harder to achieve the being all I can be. Respond with a no to two of these questions and it’s going to become a major effort to be all I can be.

And therein lies the paradox. We can be all we can be even if we respond with a no to all of the above questions (Am I healthy? etc,). It’s just going to be a different being. This is important to me because in our workplace all of us cycle through good times, bad times, worse times and great times. When it’s going great, don’t hold back – be amazing: leap, gush, volunteeer, wow it up, and enjoy. When the bad times flow through, make small goals such as adding a smile.

The more people we work with, the more we appreciate an ability to work well or play well with others. In this life, we see what’s on our plate – relationships, children,  spirituality, work and where we live. The dance we do within these spheres and how much we put in this dance is what makes our life. No one I know wants their epitaph on their gravestone engraved with an “I wished I watched more TV, played more video games or got more sleep.” We are remembered by what we gave to all our moments.

Even when blogging…

Cheers,

Bryan Dear

www.payrolldept.biz

In the end, all business operations can be reduced to three words: people, product and profits. Unless you’ve got a good team, you can’t do much with the other two. Lido Anthony Iacocca

The more indifference, the less we care. The good news: the less indifference the more we care. Caring is such a wonderful ingredient for a business to cultivate. And the first step for caring begins with how the employer treats their employees. An employer can have wonderful benefits, but if served without appreciation for the work their employee does, then a big message from employer to employee is communicated – we don’t really care.

There are a thousand different ways to show appreciation and it’s probably difficult to over-appreciate. One little appreciation based on my travels. I remember in my six weeks spent visiting my sister in what was then called the country of Zaire. When we paid for our food, we would hold onto the bills – whether it be one or several) with both hands as we passed it over the counter to indicate our appreciation for the transaction. Similarly, consider a thank you when handing your employee a check or direct deposit voucher. It’s a small touch of appreciation – but small touches add up to something special.

And if you go to the dark side that it’s the employee that should be doing the thanking, tread carefully. Your employees are probably not feeling appreciated and their loyalty to you may run just a little thin.

Thank you for reading,

Bryan Dear

www.payrolldept.biz

He who lives without folly isn’t so wise as he thinks.  - François, Duc de La Rochefoucauld, 1613 – 1680

One of my goals is not to take myself too seriously. Of course I have before and I almost always regret those moments. We know one thing for sure – we’re in this life now and our enjoyment of this life hinges on a lot of factors: how we engage with others whether it be in work, in service, in teaching or in play. I am a big believer that as adults we need a quotient of play. It allows us to laugh at ourselves and shake loose that jacket of seriousness.

Of course we’re not going to play with your payroll – we take the processing of your payroll information as a business task that is to be handled confidentially and professionally. But it’s always nice to draw a smile out of you or even better, a laugh.

Here’s to a few chuckles, giggles and grins in your day,

Bryan Dear

www.payrolldept.biz