Getting A Head Start

With another year right around the corner I decided to get a head start on my resolution to do more for the company that I work for and love so much. I support social media but I am not an active participant in it. Over the last few years as CEO of Penn Emblem I have sent a few emails on a variety of subjects to fellow Penn family members. Obviously not everything that I have to say is important to everyone. Like beauty, communication is in the eye of the beholder. As Penn’s social media presence has grown I have been asked to write a blog. I hope that you find my future posts inspiring, insightful, or at least informative. I’ll let you be the judge. I would love to hear your comments.

For now, I’ll leave you with this question which I read in the January 2013 issue of Success Magazine: “What would you do if you weren’t afraid?”

 

Steve O’Grady

The 2nd

Yesterday I watched over my wife’s shoulder as she scrolled through her Facebook page looking at various pictures celebrating New Year’s Eve.

That got me thinking about all of the “firsts” that were being celebrated. There were pictures of the first New Year’s Eve as an engaged couple, as a married couple, as a parent.

Sometimes it seems that people are so focused on being first or with being number one that they can’t see any value in being second or being number two. Today is the 2nd of January. Not much reason to celebrate. The 1st of January gets all of the attention.

Like so many things I think it is a matter of perspective. The glass is either half full or half empty depending on your perspective. While I understand that you can’t have a “second” if you never have a “first”, there are many “seconds” in life that should be celebrated and enjoyed – a second piece of cake, a second honeymoon, a second chance.

Depending on your perspective, second is pretty good.

I’ll let you be the judge. I would love to hear your comments.

“Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is usually more important than the outcome. Not everyone can be number 1.” – Arthur Ashe

 

Steve O’Grady

Be A Good One

When we were children I assume that most of us wanted to grow up and be someone famous. Most likely it was a movie star or a sports hero. We usually don’t dream of the routine or the mundane. We probably didn’t even realize that being a movie star or a sports hero was an actual job. We didn’t categorize those glamorous things as work.

Now as adults we realize that those childhood dreams and ambitions don’t always pan out as we had hoped. We may have settled into a somewhat less glamorous occupation. But settling into a job does not mean that you have to compromise on who you are and the effort you put forth. Even the movie star works with a supporting actor or actress that outshines them on the big screen. Even the sports hero plays on a team with another athlete who becomes the MVP of the championship.

It’s not your job title that determines whether or not you give your best effort day in and day out. It’s who you are that determines whether or not you bring your “A” game all the time.

There is a sign in my house that reads “It’s never too late to live happily ever after”. In light of today’s blog topic I would change that sign to read “It’s never too late to be a good one”.

I’ll let you be the judge. I would love to hear your comments.

“Whatever you are, be a good one.” – Abraham Lincoln

 

Steve O’Grady

Why?

I have been writing a blog for the last few weeks. Not that long by blogging standards. But the question came to me today, “Why?” as in “Why am I even writing a blog?” Well initially it was because I was asked to do so. It seemed like a simple request. I didn’t think it would be that difficult to write something once or twice a week.christmas inflatables

But today I was thinking about why I am even writing in the first place. I haven’t talked about our company. I haven’t written about our products. I haven’t tried to sell anything. I guess that’s not the reason why I write. I write with the hope of inspiring. I write with the hope of making a difference. It takes effort to write. It takes effort to read. Without putting in the effort required to do something, it does not get done.

I’ll let you be the judge. I would love to hear your comments.

“Nothing will work unless you do.” – John Wooden

Success Is In The Details

It’s been three weeks since we rang in the New Year. For many of us those lofty resolutions that we made are long forgotten. Most of us had a plan but did no planning.

The desire to jump right into doing something without the proper planning required is usually a recipe for disaster. Typically it takes longer to complete and is more frustrating along the way.

New Year, an item on your to-do list, or a big project you are working on, the more effort you put into planning how you will accomplish your goal the better chance of success you will have.

I’ll let you be the judge. I would love to hear your comments.

“Plans are nothing; planning is everything.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower

 

Steve O’Grady

Imagine

I was listening to my iPod this morning and heard the song Imagine by John Lennon. I heard Imagine many times over the years and always appreciated it but today I heard it differently than I ever had before. I realized what a powerful word “imagine” really is. The world we live in today is the result of people who had dreams and visions. They uttered words like “What if” or “Imagine this”. Without imagination things stay the same. Sadly, we stay the same. With imagination the possibilities are endless. There are no limits to what we can accomplish. The key to making your dreams become a reality is to pursue them when the odds are against you. Millions of people have faced difficult challenges and obstacles along the way but were able to succeed in making their dreams come true. You can too. I’ll let you be the judge. I would love to hear your comments.

“You may say I’m a dreamer but I’m not the only one.” – From the song Imagine by John Lennon

Steve O”Grady

Extra

No doubt we have all experienced great customer service in our lifetime. The feeling that you get from it is unbelievably uplifting. You want to brag about it to your friends, neighbors, co-workers, and just about anybody who will listen to you (or read your posts and tweets).

Since we know how it feels to be on the receiving end of great customer service are we doing our best to provide great customer service to other people? Usually it’s the little things that separate okay service from outstanding service. It could be a smile or friendly gesture. It could be a free sample or upgrade. Whatever it is you know it when you experience it.

Sadly too many people are just going through the motion of performing their job. There is no extra effort. No real attempt to make you want to come back and spend more of your money on their product or service. Fortunately though there are still enough people out there in the world that do provide knock-your-socks-off customer service. I am grateful that they exist.

An old marketing campaign for Wendy’s Hamburgers used to ask “Where’s the beef?” Today I would ask “Where’s the extra?” Where’s the extra effort? Where are the people who go the extra mile? In the world of ordinary, dare to be extra ordinary. It does make a difference.

I’ll let you be the judge. I would love to hear your comments.

“Excellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way.” – Booker T. Washington

 

Steve O’Grady

Less is More

All inclusive. All you can eat. No expiration date. Unlimited. 24/7. All of these phrases make me think of quantity not quality. Is more really better? We tend to take more than we need and say more than we should.

Texting and tweeting has forced us to condense our thoughts into a finite number of characters. We can’t ramble on forever. A well-crafted text or tweet speaks volumes, truly reminding us that less is more.

Last year I read an article about writing your life’s story in six words. Six words. Now that’s getting right to the point. When I graduated high school I had the following Bruce Springsteen song lyrics under my picture, “What I got, I have earned. What I’m not, I have learned.” Those lyrics still ring true for me today. Each of those sentences is coincidentally six words. Each one could be used to write my life’s story. Being more mindful of our words is a challenge that I believe we should all accept.

I’ll let you be the judge. I would love to hear your comments.

“They say the world has become too complex for simple answers. They are wrong.” – Ronald Reagan

 

Steve O’Grady

Inspiration

What inspires you? While I don’t think about that the inspiration question on a daily basis it is important to give it some serious thought occasionally. It helps give meaning to what you do or why you are doing it or who you are doing it for.

Being inspired motivates us to accomplish great things. It moves us to overcome our fears. It even helps with the little things like getting us out of bed in the morning.

Today is the day that you should really think about who or what inspires you. You should be grateful for your source of inspiration. You should continue to draw upon your inspirational source when you are faced with your next challenge or when you just need to get through the day.

As you think about your source of inspiration today also take a few minutes to think about those who consider you a source of their inspiration. Be humbled and inspired by those last thoughts and continue to pay it forward.

I’ll let you be the judge. I would love to hear your comments.

“Inspiration, move me brightly.” – From the song Terrapin Station by The Grateful Dead

Steve O’Grady

Nothing But Pride

You’ve got to love March. The dreariness of winter is starting to melt away. The clocks have already sprung ahead. Yesterday was National Pi Day. St. Patrick’s Day is this weekend. College basketball “madness” kicks off next week. Except for that “Beware the Ides of March” thing, it’s a pretty good month.

My two sons went to Providence Elementary School. The school mascot was a Pioneer. Among the many fond memories I have of them in grade school was everyone displaying their Pioneer Pride at school events. As a young parent I didn’t think much about instilling the value of pride in them at such an early age.

Pride will no doubt be on full display during the upcoming March events. People have tremendous pride in their heritage and in their alma mater. Over the next few weeks you’ll see plenty of face paint on people who are passionate enough to show off their pride to the world.

While it may be easy for us to jump on the pride band wagon of a nation or a school, the challenge for us is to get up on our own pride unicycle. We should be proud of who we are. We should be proud of what we have accomplished. We may not have become everything we dreamed of or achieved all of our ambitious goals in life but we’ve gotten this far and should be proud of it. Each of us has a foundation from which we can build upon long without verification after the face paint has been washed off.adult jumping castle for sale

I’ll let you be the judge. I would love to hear your comments.

“Every job is a self-portrait of the person who did it. Autograph your work with excellence.” – Unknown (Blogger’s note: You could easily switch the word “excellence” with “pride”.)

Steve O’Grady

My Way

Did you ever play the game Connect the Dots when you were a kid? As a parent you may have even played the game with your own kids. While I have not played the game in years I do use the phrase “connect the dots” at work. It is still an important skill for us to have. There are things throughout the course of our day that go by as seemingly isolated events. They are just random dots on a page in our lives. I believe that we should try to connect as many of those dots as possible. Just like the children’s version of the game, you probably weren’t good at it in the beginning but you got better at it the more you played. Most likely this is the same issue now. You may not even be aware that the game should still be played so you are out of practice and possibly out of touch.

I had two separate dots present themselves to me in the last week or so. Two Fridays ago I attended a seminar where the keynote speaker, Kevin Daum, talked about creating an awesome future for yourself. That’s the first dot. The following Friday I heard the song My Way by Frank Sinatra. He sings about a person reflecting back on their life and admitting that they lived their life their way. That’s the second dot. As soon as I heard the second dot I immediately connected it to the first dot.

Most of us are trying to live our best life. The good thing is we get to determine what “our best life” really is. Our life story can either be an autobiography (where we are the author) or a biography (where someone else writes it for us). I interpreted Kevin Daum’s presentation to mean that you are going to live your life anyway so you might as well start determining how you want to live it rather than let it be dictated by someone else. In other words make your life an autobiography. It’s time to start writing.inflatable double slip and slide with pool

I’ll let you be the judge. I would love to hear your comments.

“I planned each charted course, each careful step along the byway. And more, much more than this, I did it my way.” – From the song My Way sung by Frank Sinatra

Blogger’s note: More information about Kevin Daum’s presentation can be found at kevindaum.com/future.

Steve O’Grady

Tradition, Habit or Rut

I love golf. I admit it. I practice my golf grip during the day. Maybe I shouldn’t have confessed to that last sentence. For the golf lover this is a great weekend. The Masters is being played at Augusta. There is so much tradition surrounding this particular tournament. It is played on the same course every year. The previous winner hosts the annual Champions Dinner before the tournament. Golf legends of the past tee up the first ball to start the tournament. Last year’s champion puts the Green Jacket on this year’s champion. All of these little traditions make this a great golf tournament.

Most of us don’t think about traditions every day. Usually that word is reserved for special occasions. On a daily basis we think of those same things as habits or routines. Things we do day in and day out without giving it much thought. My wife told me that it takes someone 30 days to make something new become a habit. I think she was trying to get me to change. I lasted 29 days. Habits come in two forms – good habits and bad habits. Hopefully your good ones far outweigh your bad ones.

On the bottom of the list is a rut. This is where we feel stuck in the same place with no way out. We go through life like the Bill Murray character in the movie Groundhog Day. It is just one endless loop of the same old thing. We feel stuck in neutral on life’s highway. The grass seems greener everywhere other than where we are standing. We do the same thing day after day with little enthusiasm and passion.

Step back and think about the traditions you look forward to, the habits you’ve made and the ruts you’re in. Aren’t they really all the same? Aren’t they things we do over and over again? Maybe the difference is just our way of looking at them.

I’ll let you be the judge. I would love to hear your comments.

“The Masters: A tradition unlike any other.” – Jim Nantz, CBS Sports Commentator

Steve O’Grady

Perspective

This is not a typical blog about perspective – optimist or pessimist, Democrat or Republican, man or woman, pro-this or anti-that. The tragic event this week in Boston actually puts the normal conversation about perspective in perspective. Sadly we seem to get too many reminders about the things that truly matter in life because these man-made tragedies keep happening. Oklahoma City. Columbine. 9/11. Virginia Tech. Sandy Hook. I don’t know how to solve the problem. Hopefully someone is working on that and comes up with a solution real soon. I do know that life is too short for some and too long for others.

The devastating tragedy this week certainly made me stop and think about keeping things in

perspective. Not everything is a big deal. Not everything is important. Not everything has to be done immediately. But when things are truly a big deal, or really important, or must be

done immediately then we should act accordingly because we have kept things in perspective.

I am going to keep this blog short so that you can spend more time doing things that are more important in life than reading a blog. Please remember to keep things in perspective, before it’s too late.

I’ll let you be the judge. I would love to hear your comments.

“Imagine all the people, living life in peace.” – From the song Imagine by John Lennon

 

Steve O’Grady
 

Penn Emblem Appreciation Day

At the end of each baseball season the Phillies have a Fan Appreciation Day where the team thanks the fans for supporting them all season long. It is a nice way to wrap up the season.

This week Penn Emblem had a companywide sales meeting. There were schedules to juggle, logistical issues to deal with, technical nightmares to resolve, presentations to perfect, and public speaking jitters to overcome.

Fortunately for me there was not a lot of actual work for me to do

so it gave me the opportunity to step back and watch the events as they unfolded before my eyes.

What I saw was awesome teamwork, genuine camaraderie, true professionalism, and an abundance of talent.

While I thanked many of the people that made the meeting so successful I may have missed a few so this is my formal shout out of appreciation to all of the people at Penn Emblem that made this week a huge success. It is also a shout out of appreciation to all of those people that make Penn Emblem a huge success every day of the year. Thanks for being a part of our company, of our family.

We don’t always take time to stop and smell the roses. Similarly we don’t always take time to stop and say thanks or show some form of appreciation to the important people in our lives. Take a few minutes today to show someone that you appreciate who they are and how wonderful your life is because of them.

I’ll let you be the judge. I would love to hear your comments.

“Everyone wants to be appreciated, so if you appreciate someone, don’t keep it a secret.” – Mary Kay Ash, founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics

Steve O’Grady

Boston Strong

This past weekend I watched the Broad Street Run in Philadelphia. It is a 10-mile run right through the center of the city. My son and his fiancée were running in it for the first time. It was a beautiful day for a run – clear skies and cool weather. Thousands of people lined the street to cheer on the almost 40,000 runners as they passed by.

My wife and I stood around mile 6 anticipating the arrival of our son and his fiancée. While we were on the lookout for them I saw many tributes to the city of Boston and the tragic events at the Boston Marathon a few weeks ago. One shirt stood out in my mind. It read “Boston Strong.” I had heard those words for the first time shortly after the bombing. It got me thinking about the foundation that we all stand on. It could be your personal foundation or your professional foundation. How solid is it? Can it withstand a tragedy? Most people don’t know the answer to those questions until something tragic actually happens to them.

After our son and his fiancée passed us at mile 6, my wife and I took the subway (we’re not runners) towards the finish line. We had to walk the last half mile or so. As we walked we looked around at the runners, at the cheering crowd, at the security surrounding the event and at the beautiful clear blue sky. We talked about how the people at the Boston Marathon did the exact same thing until tragedy struck so unexpectedly. We talked about how a perfectly uplifting day was rocked to the core. Fortunately for us, the runners, the city and the country, the Broad Street Run went off without any incidents. We were thankful that the strength of our foundation was not tested that day.

I’ll let you be the judge. I would love to hear your comments.

“May you have a strong foundation when the winds of changes shift” – From the song Forever Young by Bob Dylan and The Band

Steve O’Grady

It Never Ends

Last week my wife and I watched our younger son graduate from Virginia Tech. There were thousands of graduates receiving all types of degrees – bachelors, masters, and doctorates. For years the graduates spent countless hours going to class, studying in the library, writing papers, making presentations and taking exams so that they could reach this significant milestone in their lives. The commencement speakers reminded the graduates that learning and education continues well beyond graduation day. I completely agree with the commencement speakers. Learning does not stop at this point. Learning should continue on for the rest of their lives.

Fortunately for us learning comes in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. There are structured classes and seminars to attend. There are books, magazines, websites, and even blogs to read. There are podcasts and videos to watch. There are informal conversations to have either in person or on-line. The opportunities are endless.

No matter what stage you are at in your life take the time to learn something. It will make a difference in your life and in the lives that you touch. Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Who knows what tomorrow will bring and where your new knowledge will take you.

I’ll let you be the judge. I would love to hear your comments.

“Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start.” – Nido Qubein, Business Consultant and Motivational Speaker

Steve O’Grady

Leap of Faith

I sat through a training class the other week that dealt with implementing change and the challenges associated with it. Let me state for the record – I am pro change. I believe there is a better way to do things. Our job is to find that better way and implement it. I know it is easier said than done. We tend to cling to what we know. Why upset the apple cart? You’ve either heard or said all of the possible excuses for maintaining the status quo.

I was on a conference call yesterday discussing some important business issue and felt myself clinging to the past. Towards the end of the call I realized that I was consciously migrating to the future. I had convinced myself that taking a leap of faith into something new instead of clinging to the same old same old was the right thing to do. It actually felt exhilarating to make that conscious decision.

So don’t be afraid to buck the system, to fight City Hall, or to go where no one has gone before. Take that leap of faith into the future. You’ll be surprised at what you might find.

I’ll let you be the judge. I would love to hear your comments.

“My interest is in the future because I’m going to spend the rest of my life there.” – Charles F. Kettering, American Engineer, Inventor

Steve O’Grady

85 Summers

There are a few recurring themes in books and in movies. There’s the girl marries the prince story. There’s good triumphing over evil. There’s someone overcoming personal adversity. You get the idea. We’ve all heard a “life is too short” story. The story comes in a wide variety of shapes and sizes but the moral of the story is always the same – life is too short, don’t waste a minute of it.

I played in a charity golf tournament last week with a special person. He had one name on his name tag – like Sting, Bono, Cher, and Madonna. He is a Leukemia survivor.

He spent a full year of his life in the hospital. Prior to being diagnosed with Leukemia his work-life balance was way out of whack – all work and no life. As a survivor he now has a better perspective on things and acts accordingly. His outlook on life was inspiring to listen to.

A friend of my wife’s put that same storyline in a different perspective a few months ago. Her angle was that if you were lucky enough you would live for 85 summers. Do you really want to waste one of your precious summers surrounded by people that are not good for you? I know I don’t. There are too few summers left in my life. I took this summer to really enjoy life. I watched with joy as my older son got married to the love of his life. I watched with pride as my younger son graduated from college and entered law school to pursue his dreams. I played a lot of golf and shot the best round of my life. I spent another summer with my high school sweetheart, my best friend, and my wife. I wish all my summers were that good.

The summer is not over yet. There is still plenty of time to make the most of it and end on a high note.

I’ll let you be the judge. I would love to hear your comments.

“Live like you were dyin’” – lyrics from the song Live Like You Were Dying by Tim McGraw.

A special thank you goes to G. for sharing a day of his life with me.

A special thank you also goes to D.B.S. for providing the inspiration for today’s blog.

Steve O’Grady

 

Pride Providers

Several months ago in a Penn Emblem management training session, the moderator asked us a simple question… “What do you do?” Several answers were offered, most taken from our various company mission statements. After our answers – all good ones – she paused and offered, “You sell Pride.”

At the time, I was annoyed that none of us came up with that. I was also struck by the simplicity of the statement. WE SELL PRIDE. Of course we do. As a supplier to the uniform rental industry, our emblems identify workers at hundreds of thousands of companies around the world.

Those people may be delivering goods and manufacturing products, but they are also advertising a company or brand. And they are proudly representing that brand to every person they meet.

We used to kick around an interesting statistic here at Penn… that a uniformed driver for Coca Cola gets seen by an average of 100,000 people per day. I’m not sure how valid that statement is today, but it does make a lot of sense. That driver is a walking billboard for Coca Cola, and the same opportunity exists for other companies who put their employees in identifiable uniforms. That opportunity is to advertise, and show pride to everyone they meet.

Penn Emblem employees are proud as well. We all get a little thrill when our products show up in movies or television shows. We even check out people on the street to see if the emblem they are wearing is a “Penn” emblem. And we know the difference!

I’ll never forget the pride that our entire organization felt when the Philadelphia Eagles wore a Penn Emblem patch on their uniforms for the entire 1992 season, commemorating a teammate who had died earlier in the year. My favorite NFL player, Reggie White is wearing an emblem on his uniform from my company… I was telling everyone I was part of that! Well, not really… but I was in the next room when it was designed. Proud!

One of the definitions of pride is “pleasure or satisfaction taken in something done by or belonging to oneself.” In these examples, pride means that you are part of a bigger picture… that emblem you are wearing advertises your company and secures future business opportunities, therefore driving the economy forward. This is not a stretch… it’s exactly how it works.

So if you are on the job this week as a policeman, an exterminator, a plumber, an auto mechanic, or maybe a TSA agent at the airport… please disregard that person staring at the emblems on your uniform. It’s probably a proud employee of Penn Emblem.

 

About the Author: John Langan is currently Business Services Manager of the ImprintsUSA division of Penn Emblem Company, but has worn many hats in his thirty plus years in the corporate identification business… from screen printer to graphic artist to customer service to marketing director.

I Am Thankful

Thanksgiving is just a few days away. Menus have been prepared. Turkeys have been purchased. Pies have been baked. Travel plans have been made. With all the excitement surrounding the holiday it is always a special time of year to reflect on what you are thankful for.

Fortunately I am thankful for so many things. I am thankful for my job and the people that work hard every day to make this company a success. I am thankful for my parents and the foundation that they provided me. I am thankful for my childhood and the memories Once a year, the elegance of a fundraiser meets the energy of a middle online school at Citizen Schools&#8217 gala A WOW! Affair. that came from it. I am thankful for my two wonderful sons and a brand new daughter-in-law. Most of all I am thankful for my wife, Suzanne, for choosing me to

Click here to check out the updated schedule of upcoming online pokies tournaments! To add some spice into the mix, Australian tournaments on online pokies machines come in a wide variety of flavors.

It does not matter who you are or what your life story is there must be at least one thing you are thankful for. Most of us are blessed enough to be thankful for more than one thing. Don’t focus on the glass being half empty, or what your neighbors have, or what is missing in your life. Focus on what you do have and be thankful for it.

I’ll let you be the judge. I would love to hear your comments.

Steve O’Grady