I came across this today among all those notes I have saved that may be of use some day

………….some interesting comments on employees.
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b y J a y Go l t z
136 PFM September 1997
The Grass Is Always Greener
I was sitting down the other day reading
my column fan mail (it doesn’t
take long, to date I’ve gotten three
letters), and two things struck me. My
initial response was, “What a nice thing
to do. Someone took the time to sit
down and write me a letter.” I’ve been
writing this column for over a year and a
half, and have often wondered if there’s
anyone out there. It’s encouraging to hear
from people because I like to know what
sort of impact I’m making—if any! It also
reminds me that I should send more letters
than I do.
The second thing that struck me was
the content of one of the letters. In it, the
writer states, “Staying focused is a discipline
that you seem to have gotten down
pat.”
I’m not that focused. The reason that
I’ve been able to write on all of these subjects
is because I have had to struggle
with these issues myself. As I’m talking to
you, I’m also talking to myself. I remind
myself of what I should be doing.
I’ve found that if insecurity was
money, most people would be millionaires.
Most people who go into business
have no formal training and are trying to
figure things out on their own. While
they’re doing this, it’s easy to look around
at all those “successful” businesses and
think, “They seem to know what they’re
doing.” When I started my business at
age 22, I assumed that everyone in the
picture frame industry know a lot more
than I did. Some did. Some didn’t.
As I’ve gotten out there and have
talked to other business owners and
joined business groups, I’ve found that
all businesses have problems in one way
or the other, just to different degrees .
The differences between the successful
ones and the mediocre ones is that successful
business owners don’t accept their
problems. They try to fix and improve ,
however long that takes.
I used to think that success was a function
of how smart someone was and how
h a rd they worked. Now I realize that there
a re other factors—like being stubborn, for
instance. I’m very good at this—my wife
and mother say I’m an expert. (I think I
inherited it; my mother says it’s from my
f a t h e r.) I think to succeed in business you
have to have some level of stubbornness.
Some might call it persistence. Some might
call it “stick-to-it-ivness.” Some might call
it fool-heartednes .
Business is not easy. There are constant
challenges. The difference between
the successful and unsuccessful is getting
back up on the horse after being thrown.
You made a bad hire; you fire them.
You hire someone else; they don’t work
out. You do it again until you find the
right person, or until you find out how to
find the right person. The same holds
true for doing the right advertising, estimating
how long a job will take, or finding
a supplier that will ship good product .
The only person who makes money
whining is Rodney Dangerfield—and he’s
not a picture framer.
Go get ‘em. You know more than you
think.
P.S. Here’s my address. I’m running
out of material. 1915 N. Clybourn,
Chicago, IL 60614.