Bryan Dear’s Blog

Some people drift along like a cork on a river, feeling that they cannot do anything except drift, moment to moment. This is an attitude of mind. Everyone can be constructive even in tiny ways.     - Edward de Bono

As does happen in our community, company came to town this week. These are old friends – the husband is one of my best friends going all the way back to high school. He, his wife and their three children were here for three nights and days.

Do you remember the weather for the week of June 8, 2009? It’s was a fairly cool and wet week. The hiking and rafting were not seen as motivating events so we took to our town – our special town.

We took them downtown for window shopping and real shopping. We stopped for hot coffees and hot teas. We visited art galleries. We took them to the recreation center for climbing and basketball. And through it all, I was so darn proud of everything that Durango is and can be.

People were friendly, even (or maybe because) it was rainy. It was easy to drive in our town compared to the metro areas our friends were from. The beauty with clouds and rain and even snow as seen on the mountaintops were special.

It’s a great place to live. It’s a great place to share. I hope you have a chance to experience it.

From Durango, Colorado,

Bryan Dear

www.payrolldept.biz

Man does not live by words alone, despite the fact that sometimes he has to eat them.     - Adlai Ewing Stevenson, 1900 – 1965

I’m at that age where my son is passing me in terms of ability on the athletic front, but he isn’t equal to those very important skills of craftiness and cunning. This becomes very apparent in our head-to-head basketball games. Because of these, ahem, additional skills I’m able to win about the same number of games that I lose. A fake here, a bump there and I’m able to steal a win – much to his frustration.

Of course that frustration doesn’t make him play any better. It might make him more determined. It might make him play with a clearer sense of mission. It does change his focus. The focus becomes winning instead of playing well. It would be like saying our mission is to make a profit without focusing on those areas which contribute to profit (people, service, marketing).  When we lose or feel disappointment or we feel that we have been wronged, we respond in a way that may not be the most effective response.

Revenge is a dish, best served cold. Whether it’s revenge or a renewed focus to better the service,  the energy or the response, remember to inhale, remember to ask, “What’s my goal and what’s the best way to accomplish this?” As soon as my son realizes this, I’m going to have to come up with some new foul calls just to break even.

Cheers,

Bryan Dear

www.payrolldept.biz

Death is not the biggest fear we have; our biggest fear is taking the risk to be alive — the risk to be alive and express what we really are. Don Miguel Ruiz

The flu, the economy, the war, the drought, the floods, the next impending danger is coming at us in full force and in full color and complete with logo and 3D graphics. Do our worries escalate along with the media frenzy? What will be our crisis a year from now? Why do we worry so?

Do you wear a facemask? Do you fret the whole day long? Do we increase our stress, lessen our well being while worrying about something that may not even occur?

I’m not suggesting putting your head in the sand. I would put up sand bags too if my house were threatened by flood. There’s a difference between exercising prudence such as taking a few precautions in the event of a disaster versus running around with our head cut off.

I can’t live a life in fear. I have lost faith in those who may serve as a lookout for our invading enemies whether they be a meteor, a flu, or a terrorist. We all die. Living in a state of fear is just not a place to reside.

Here’s hoping that life finds you facing outward towards the sun.

Bryan Dear

www.payrolldept.biz

Habits are safer than rules; you don’t have to watch them. And you don’t have to keep them either. They keep you.   - Frank Crane, 1861 – 1928  

It may only reside in me -that wonderful feeling of “look how good I am.” This glow may come from providing an answer correctly when others were stumped. It may come from just a few days on a different diet. It may come from getting up early to go for a long run before coming to work. Regardless of how this feeling arrives, I become full of myself and therein lies the rub. For no sooner have I gained that feeling than I destine myself for the great fall.

 Which is why I’m working on changing some of my habits. I like this quotation because it explains how we can change and once we have focused on it, we become the change. It’s not new age. It doesn’t even fall under inspirational. It’s just true. So as I begin my quest  to stretch more – such an easy thing for such a little investment of time – I’ll keep this thought in mind. I can change through habits and by staying on course, I’ll become the change. Voila!

I’ll let you know how it goes.

Sincerely,

Bryan Dear

www.payrolldept.biz

All over China, parents tell their children to stop complaining and to finish their quadratic equations and trigonometric functions because there are sixty-five million American kids going to bed with no math at all.- Michael Cunningham

Two weeks ago, my father and I set off for Omaha to hear the “Oracle of Omaha,” Warren Buffet and his partner Charlie Munger of Berkshire Hathaway. This is the annual shareholders meeting, but $5 will get you into the event, even if you’re not a shareholder.

Of course spending six plus hours on a Saturday with 35,000 people listening to questions regarding the econmy, investment strategy and corporate governance may not fit your bill for a delightful day. But between Warren and Charlie, their answers are intelligent, pithy at times, and most importantly for me, understandable.

Both are billionaires although Warren is the CEO of Berkshire and probably controls more billions than Charlie. Both have a strong belief in finding and buying companies with great managers who are free to run the company in a manner which they understand. Both Warren and Charlies take the long view. As long as the company is  profitable and as long as the employees are not guided by a contract (as in union), Berkshire Hathaway will not sell the company.

I admire most their ability to proceed with their strategy even when others are clamoring around them that their strategy is outdated or wrong.  That takes guts whether it’s thousands of dollars your investing or billions of dollars.

Cheers from Omaha,

Bryan Dear

www.payrolldept.biz

The rung of a ladder was never meant to rest upon, but only to hold a man’s foot long enough to enable him to put the other somewhat higher. Thomas Henry Huxley, 1825 – 1895

It doesn’t take much to bring home how little are small cares can be. I have a wonderful friend from my high school days. He and I have stayed friends over the years with many phone calls and lots of visits. He is the father of three beautiful girls.

Three years ago his oldest and then eighteen year old daughter was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. It’s not an ugly disease. But there are permanent changes in lifestyle that must occur: changes in diet, changes in behavior, and changes that require daily monitoring. As a parent, we want to weep for this new direction that our child must now go through for the rest of their life.

Yesterday, his fourteen year old daughter was diagnosed for the same condition. Again, as a parent we want to weep for the changes that our children must now face. And to face this disease for a second time is a huge slap in the face.

And yet, my friend goes to the bright side. True, he grieves. But then he moves on. He becomes an even greater advocate for his daughters whether it’s in sports or in education. He listens, he learns, he is a force for positive energy for all who are around him.

What’s this have to do with payroll? Nothing. What’s this have to do with how we live our lives? Everything. How we respond to life changes (especially negative ones) exemplifies who we are. We can choose to go down the drain with sadness and woe and who can blame you. Or we can grieve, then turn about and face the sun.

Yours truly,

Bryan Dear

www.payrolldept.biz

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