Build It Anyway--go confidently into 2009

Just wanted you to know who Rob, the author of this message is; i played high school football with Rob Earl almost 50 years ago. We reconnected at our reunion and have since struck up our old friendship. It is truly a blast for me. Rob is a super guy that i always admired and appreciate his friendship and guidance. He is a senior partner in Watson Earl advertising agency in NYC.
Thanks Rob
your buddy number 12
ed

rob earl

Watson Earl & Partners

A GroundSwell Network Agency

Build It Anyway--go confidently into 2009

A few years ago I heard how, during the Great Depression (yes, that one), one college professor decided to send his graduating students off into the world with a few words of inspiration to help them find their way in challenging times.

He called his modest sendoff "Build Anyway."

Whether the story is apocryphal or not, when I heard what he passed along to them I reacted much the way many of us around the world responded recently to seeing the late Professor Randy Pausch deliver his now famous "The Last Lecture" as it went viral on the internet.

With all the economic and other issues ahead of us—and the steady drumbeat of negative news reports accompanying them—I thought this would be the perfect time to bring "Build Anyway" to a new audience.

Hope it helps.

Build Anyway

Give the world the best you have and you may be criticized;

give it your best anyway.

People will tell you it can't be done, it's impossible;

do the impossible anyway.

It's always easier to do the wrong thing and not so easy to do the right thing;

do the right thing anyway.

Everyone knows one person really can't make a difference;

make a difference anyway.

All the good you do may be forgotten tomorrow;

do good anyway.

The biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest minds;

think big ideas anyway.

Everything you build may be destroyed;

build anyway.

Some people believe that one person can't change the world;

give it your best and change the world anyway.

All the best for a Merry Christmas,

a Happy Chanukah and

a Happy and Prosperous New Year

rob

Your business

While i was sitting in the waiting room of my accountant, i picked up the June, 2008 issue of the HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW. Not that i am a regular reader , but this great magazine always seems to have some real good tidbits. Mostly they relate to large companies, but can certainly be good information for any of us in business. I thought this article might be interesting and helpful. THE SECRETS TO SUCCESSFUL STRATEGY EXECUTION. You can check it out at www.hbr.org. Here are some points i reacted to...small or large companies tend to go straight to reorganizing, if they have problems and neglect the most powerful drivers of effectiveness--decision rights and proper information. Perhaps you too , like me, have an employee or employees that dont have a clear sense of their roles and responsibilities. Who is accountable, and for what..and have you made the connection for them between performance and reward. All my brilliant ideas mean nothing unless we are able to execute...get it done. Everyone must have a clear understanding of the decisions and actions for which they are responsible and get rewarded because of it. The article goes on to say; once you have the proper information, make the decision , execute it, and dont second-guess it. Early company success comes from employee satisfaction and that comes from knowing what you expect from them and what they can expect from you. Often , because some of us are really small companies , with one or maybe two employees, we tend not to make responsibility perfectly clear...this hurts the entire company. EXECUTE THE PLAN.

grandparents and kids make Silly Snacks

The whole idea of cooking with your grandkids , is being together and letting them help. Here's one from Sesame Street-Silly Snacks. Strawberry Jam Jammies--eat in your Jammies.
1. you and the kids can stir 16 oz of whole strawberries and 1/3 cup sugar into a 2-quart casserole dish. 2. microwave for 2 minutes. cut in small pieces and add juice from 1/2 lemon. microwave 10 more minutes, stirring after 5 minutes. 3. let the jam cool. pour into storage containers and refrigerate. will keep for up to two weeks. 4. when the jam is cooled completely, make the sammies. put slices of bread on a cutting board. cut shapes from the bread using assorted cookie cutters. spread the bread shapes with jam
now you are Jammin!!!

enjoy
grammie
good folks good things

wood toys from WEE are worry free

Remember, our wood toys contain no nasty chemicals. We thought you would be interested in this article and site to check out unsafe toys.

Albany, N.Y. -- A new survey finds that about a third of popular toys on sale this holiday season have significant levels of toxic chemicals.

Researchers for the Just Green Partnership -- a coalition of children's safety, public health and environmental groups -- tested more than 1,500 toys and found one in three contained medium or high levels of chemicals such as lead, cadmium and arsenic.

Lead was detected in 20 percent of the toys, and the group says levels in some far exceed the 600 parts-per-million standard set by the federal government for a recall.

Children's jewelry was the most contaminated product category,with items marketed by Disney and Christmas Tree Shops topping the group's "worst toys" list.

A full list of the toys is available online atHealthyToys.org

Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserve

Amazon new packing materials standards

Amazon is issuing new standards for packing and packaging.No more impossible to open blister cards with twist ties and staples. WEE-ORGANICS has always used;recyclable paper to pack our toys,soy ink to print our advertising cards and we even put flower and tree seed packs in every shipment. Using natural products is environmentally friendly and teaches our children wee-care. Plastics take years to dissolve and as they do the nasty chemicals are absorbed into our environment. Our children handle them and possibly ingest some of these damaging chemicals. It makes sense and is morally our responsibility to use and offer you only natural products.

Grammie and Grampy
GOOD FOLKS GOOD THINGS