Team Building
The other day, Patrice (our IRP specialist) was asked a question while headed to the printer. Her response: Baby steps. It definitely struck me and reminded me of a movie…
In 1991, Bill Murray starred as a character named Bob in a movie called “What about Bob?” In the movie, Bob was afraid of everything. So much so, that he would hardly ever leave his apartment. In the movie his new psychotherapist, Dr. Leo Marvin (played by Richard Dryfuss), had published a book called Baby Steps which is seemingly based on taking several small steps on the way to attaining a large goal.
This is not a new concept. We constantly take large projects or goals and break them down into workable chunks. But I believe this process has greater meaning (and difficulty) than people realize.
Consider the first baby step. Taking that first step requires a lot of clarification and a bit of planning if you are to successfully travel anywhere!
- What are you stepping toward?
- What are the obstacles currently in your way?
- How fast will you step?
- Are there others that need to step with you?
- What challenges might trip you up along the way?
All of these things don’t all need solutions before you step, otherwise you may not ever step at all (which was Bob’s problem). But you at least need to have a clear direction or objective.
What does that look like for us? Ask questions of the customer until their needs are crystal clear. Take a minute and see the big picture of a project, before you dive into the specifics…before you take that first baby step.
In essence, baby steps may be small, but their meaning is BIG. They pave the way for met goals and completed projects. And just as it was with Bob, it starts with the first one.
What challenges do you currently face that could benefit from taking that first small step?
Which challenges you more, seeing the small details or seeing the big picture?
What baby step can you take to combat this?
Have a great week!
Chuck Ross
John Maxwell Certified Coach, Trainer, Speaker, and DISC consultant
chuckross.net
Author: Change? Whiskey Tango Foxtrot!?
530-277-6161
“They themselves are makers of themselves.” James Allen
EPN Service
The Employer Pull Notice (EPN) program provides businesses with a quick and efficient means of tracking the driving records of employees. As an employer enrolled in the program, you will receive a ‘requester code’. which added to the Driver’s License record of each employee who operates a commercial vehicle for your organization. You are required to add all CDL drivers using your requestor code. This will ensure all actions and activities of these employees are reported to you. The goal of the EPN program is public safety as it uncovers unsafe driving behaviors which can help employers decrease liability.
What are the requirements for storing EPN reports?
You can either have paper or electronic copies that are filed in a secure and easily accessible format.
What actions are required when I receive an EPN report?
As an employer, you are required to review your drivers’ records and “sign-off” that the record has been reviewed. If there are any corrective measures or red flags that could interrupt safety functions, they need to be addressed.
How current must my EPN records be?
Your drivers’ records must be no older than 13 months. If you are missing current records, please contact VLC to help you obtain the most current and compliant driver EPN reports. We are an experienced EPN Agent with more than 50 years of industry and regulatory expertise. We use our extensive knowledge and experience to solve your business challenges related to driver safety and compliance, productivity, and operations costs.
Vehicle Licensing Consultants
A Virtual Projects, LLC Company
Fleet & Driver Compliance…Fleet Tracking Software
530-384-3884
Team Building
I am your constant companion.
I am your greatest helper or your heaviest burden.
I will push you onward or drag you down to failure.
I am completely at your command.
Half the things you do, you might just as well turn over to me,
and I will be able to do them quickly and correctly.
I am easily managed; you must merely be firm with me.
Show me exactly how you want something done, and after a few lessons I will do it automatically.
I am the servant of all great men.
And, alas, of all failures as well.
Those who are great, I have made great.
Those who are failures, I have made failures.
I am not a machine, though I work with all the precision of a machine.
Plus, the intelligence of a man.
You may run me for profit, or run me for ruin; it makes no difference to me.
Take me, train me, be firm with me and I will put the world at your feet.
Be easy with me, and I will destroy you.
Who am I?
-John Di Lemme
Habit! I was first introduced to this poem while reading The 7 Habits of Highly-Effective Teens. The power of the ideas presented in this poem is immense. Over the next several weeks, I will focus on the habits that we have that can make us or break us. For now, consider these questions inspired by the poem:
Which habits do you have that are both your greatest helper and heaviest burden?
What habits do you have that need a firm hand to manage?
What personality habits do you need to be aware of that may serve or not serve you?
Have a great week!
Chuck Ross
John Maxwell Certified Coach, Trainer, Speaker, and DISC consultant
chuckross.net
Author: Change? Whiskey Tango Foxtrot!?
530-277-6161
“They themselves are makers of themselves.” James Allen
Employee Spotlight
Christina is this month’s VLC Rockstar! Christina started as a part time admin with VLC. She was hired to help ship our credentials. Very quickly, we realized her potential and moved her into a key role in fuel tax reporting. Christina is currently attending college and was tasked to create a flyer. Look at the amazing work Christina has done!
TripDAWG Fleet Management Brochure
This is an excellent example of the great work that Christina does for us. This one-page brochure is well-organized, concise, and informative with good visuals to help understand the benefits of a TripDAWG solution.
Our thanks to Christina for all her contributions!
Vehicle Licensing Consultants
A Virtual Projects, LLC Company
Fleet & Driver Compliance…Fleet Tracking Software
530-384-3884
Team Building
A little over a year ago, I did a presentation on “Effectively Dealing with Change” for a group of teachers from a school in Grass Valley. Within the opening minutes, as I was introducing the topic, a person asked the question: “Do you know something we don’t?” I suppose she really wanted to know if I was prepping them for some impending change.
Truthfully, I was there because of a common phenomenon that happens in schools and businesses around the globe: When people are presented with change, they automatically resist. New programs, initiatives, ideas, processes, and ways of thinking are often met with the answer, “No!.”
Within the 3 weeks after that presentation, schools closed due to COVID-19, their principal announced her retirement, and the superintendent took a job elsewhere.
Change stops for no one! But that doesn’t mean we can’t move forward successfully.
Some people (including many in my audience that day) view change as life altering doom. They liken change to a dream in which you are crossing a bridge high above a river valley and the bridge disappears, leaving you to fall into the valley below.
As you may well know, I see change a bit differently. I liken it to a river, alternating between straits and twists, calm and turbulent, peaceful and terrifying. But, no matter the condition of the river, it always moves toward its destination. It provides both continuity and change. Change doesn’t put the ground out from beneath us, unless we let it.
The coming year will bring change, both here at VLC and in our personal lives. How it affects us is largely based on how we view it. Will we choose to paddle through the rapids, or fall into a river canyon? I hope you will join me in paddling, sometimes slowly, and sometimes with great intensity, but paddling nonetheless.
Through change we can continually move forward.
What types of changes have challenged you the most?
Were they challenging because of the severity of the change or because of how you viewed the change?
Looking back from where you are now, were those changes positive?
Have a great week!
Chuck Ross
John Maxwell Certified Coach, Trainer, Speaker, and DISC consultant
chuckross.net
Author: Change? Whiskey Tango Foxtrot!?
530-277-6161
“They themselves are makers of themselves.” James Allen
