Archive for July, 2010

The 80/15/5 Rule

By Jim Whitt You’ve probably heard of the 80/20 rule of business — 20% of your customers account for 80% of your revenue. So, you pay close attention to the 20%. I discovered a variation of this rule years ago that applied to organizational development that I call the 80/15/5 rule of people. It goes like this. 80% of people who work in an organization have a pretty positive attitude and show up at work every day to work hard and do a good job. 15% tend to be lukewarm. They have good days and bad days. 5% are so… Read More

July 27th, 2010 at 7:54am

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Medals, Degrees, Diplomas & Scars

By Jim Whitt “God will not look you over for medals, degrees or diplomas but for scars.” — Elbert Hubbard In his book, Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl wrote about his experiences as a prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp during World War II. Dr. Frankl, a psychiatrist, had developed a theory he called logotherapy. At the core of this theory is the belief that man’s primary motivational force is his search for meaning. As a Jew in Austria prior to World War II he saw thousands of German Jews being shipped to concentration camps. He had the opportunity… Read More

July 21st, 2010 at 9:13pm

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Basement People & Balcony People

By Jim Whitt “A tough lesson in life that one has to learn is that not everybody wishes you well.” —  Dan Rather  My friend Becky Teeter shared a book with me written by Joyce Landorf entitled Balcony People. It describes people as either balcony people or basement people. She uses a metaphor comparing life to a glass sphere, much like a fish bowl. In the bottom two thirds of the sphere is dark, murky water. In the top third is clean, fresh air. The basement people reside in the murk and the mire. They not only are on a… Read More

July 14th, 2010 at 8:54pm

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Don’t Sell Yourself Short

By Jim Whitt Years ago I attended a writer’s conference where the attendees consisted of people who wanted to be writers and a few people like me who had gotten their feet wet but weren’t quite swimming in the sea of publishing. The conference speakers were those who had already attained varying levels of success as writers. Attendees could sign up for a one-on-one coaching session with one of the speakers. I had been publishing a weekly faxletter for a couple of years and had an idea my articles could be turned into a book. In my coaching session I… Read More

July 7th, 2010 at 7:41am

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