The weather here is starting to change yet the zinnias’ in my garden are still so brilliant with color I just had to share.






As human beings, we exude color each day, too.

We instinctively respond to the colors our eyes -- and mind -- perceive.



You're familiar with people feeling "blue" when they are down. Or they see "red" when they are angry. When the sun never quite shines, we think it's a "gray" day. When someone is jealous, they are "green" with envy.

Color, without our realizing it, can have a profound effect on how we feel both mentally and physically. Here are some examples:

• Blue means peace, tranquility, trust, loyalty.

• Green suggests environment, health, youth, luck.

• Purple represents royalty, spirituality, wisdom... and because I'm a K-State grad, it also means WILDCATS!

• Red is the color we pay most attention to. It is the warmest and most energetic color in the spectrum. Red is love, speed, celebration and strength. Personally… it reminds me of all things that come from the HEART.

Remember, life happens to each of us in color. How we respond to that is the measure of our character.

So with that in mind... what color is your Tuesday?

Monday


Exhausted after a hectic holiday weekend I drive my son Chase back to school and turn around to rush back home.


About an hour and a half outside of Kansas City I find myself too sleepy to drive another minute and check in to the Holiday Inn in Boonville Missouri.

Half hour later I am sound asleep.


Tuesday


After a good night’s sleep and a stolen morning away from everything and everyone but my latest favorite book on tape I arrive home and open my mail only to find a card sent from my sister Jane two days earlier that reads...


It was a moment.


Wednesday


An email shows up in my inbox alerting me to a question posted on the LinkedIn Butcher Block Exchange group.


A member has posed the question:

"My father was a big influence in my early years. What tips do you have about being a modern day father?"

I post the following response...

I have been touched by comments I hear from so many Dad's that I have been privileged to meet as a result of the book I wrote about MY Dad.

The story that came to mind when you asked this question however... was about the Father who came up to me after a speech I did in Vegas about my Dad.

With tears in his eyes he walked up to me and said... "thank you for speaking today... I have to admit however I really didn't listen much at all I was so distracted. You see... this is the first time I've left my 8 week old baby girl and all I could think about as you were speaking was... how can I be the kind of Father to MY Daughter that your Father was for you? I really want my Daughter to love and respect me that much as well... thank you."

I replied... "If that is all you could think about... I don't think you will have any trouble."

It was a moment.

Thursday

I am crazed with work work (paying job -consulting & coaching) and yet the book work (Lunchmeat Legion philanthropy & social media stuff) is consuming me.

On the way to a speaking engagement my friend Betsy calls and reminds me that I have not posted anything on my blog since that last "Jack is Back" message. I tell her that I have not had the time to write anything substantial or meaningful.


She comments that the ..."best blogs are not novelettes... they are bathed in brevity" ... "just write about moments" she suggests.


Now... I have never used the word brevity in a sentence... just for the heck of it I decide to look it up on dictionary.com.

Brevity - the quality of expressing much in few words

I laugh out loud... brevity... there is not a brevity bone in my body... never has been.

In fact... "Mary -one sentence too many- Lucas" is how friends and foe might refer to me... the first lovingly, the second, not so much.


It was a moment.


Friday


I bookmark the to do of writing a brevity based blog post about moments and bury myself in the back log of work work work waiting for me.


Saturday


I blow off writing a brevity based blog post about moments -Day 2 and go back to the "pull over" mental mindset and I play on a gorgeous September Kansas day.


A day filled with moments.


Sunday


I blow off writing my brevity based blog post yet again and finish the book on tape I started on my Monday drive.


Favorite moment in the book?


Antonia says to her Mother... "You are so beautiful" and her Mother replies...


"Life is Beautiful... some people just remind us of that more often than others".


It was a moment.


I am now inspired to write my blog post and share this favorite quote along with my thanks to my sister Jane, the Dad from the speech in Vegas and my friend Betsy for reminding me to "pull over" from time to time and cherish the moments.




Cheers!




P.S. By the way... in case you are wondering I do realize I still have a lot of brevity work to do!

My Boomerang Moment 

You know what they say..."Spring Forward-Fall Back." Well, that’s exactly where I am headed with this Autumn BlogSpot... back.

I thought I would share one of my favorite Lunchmeat moments of late and tell you all about an amazing thing that has happened in my life. Jack is Back!

The back story to what I'm leading up to may ring a bell. It's Chapter Nine -- or the "Jack Story" as so many of my readers call it. In fact, click here to listen to an audio excerpt:

http://maryblucas.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=94&Itemid=81

So, I sent myself flowers -- and sent the bill to Jack -- back in 1989. Over 20 years ago. Flash forward to 2010 and what do I get in an email last month? A message from Jack. Read over my shoulder here......

Mary,


I sat down and read your book in one sitting and I really enjoyed it. You could tell the life lessons came from your heart and the admiration you had for your father was quite clear. Anyone who grew up in a close family could relate to the connection you had with both your Mom and Dad.


I also came away from the book with two really strong feelings. The first is something I know you know but hearing it from a distant contact will reinforce that awareness. You really did live and practice what you write about in the book. When I reflect on how you handled different situations, it is crystal clear that you absolutely "practiced what you preach" so if you ever need a testimonial as to whether “Lunchmeat & Life Lessons” worked for you, I'm your man!


The second feeling that kept coming back to me, mainly because of my personal experiences early in my career, is the power of culture. The strong culture that existed within your family and how those experiences played a role in formulating the culture that you helped create at work permeates the book. It is critical to the success of a company that its culture is endorsed by everyone. Your life lessons were embraced by your team and co-workers, you embraced others philosophies and collectively created the company culture. As I witnessed that collective culture, was a key to the success of the company.


A “Life Lesson” for anyone joining a company, or becoming part of one as the result of an acquisition, is to understand and embrace the existing culture. Even if you have been charged with change, that change has a better chance of being successful if you first appreciate what already exists. I learned that the hard way early in my career. As a result of that life lesson, I devoted an enormous amount of energy to creating a strong positive culture and one that is also receptive to new concepts later in my career. I do not believe I would have ever realized the importance understanding and accepting a culture before trying to change it if it had not been for those earlier years. Your book confirmed those beliefs for me. Great job on the book, congratulations on a wonderful second career.


Sincerely, Jack

You could have knocked me over with a feather! What a gift! I was so grateful for his kind words and thoughtful observations. I even asked him if I could share his message with all of you and his response was an immediate “Yes”. I have to say I was blown away... I hadn’t seen or heard from Jack in almost two decades and frankly, never really thought our paths would cross again. But through the power of this little book, "Lunchmeat & Life Lessons: Sharing a Butcher's Wisdom," Jack has returned like a boomerang and landed right back in my life teaching me another life lesson or two.

So what can this "Boomerang Moment" mean for you? Two words: Lasting Impact.

Think of the impact you have on other people each day. Think of the personal responsibility you have in bringing your very best self to those around you. In the workplace. At home. In school. As neighbors. In your own communities. To those less fortunate. To those who seldom glimpse the goodness in others.

Do you present your values to the world proudly, even memorably? Do your actions inspire others to do the same? Do you bring your A Game of honesty, integrity, kindness and generosity in all you do?

That's lasting impact. And I don’t know about you... but Jack sure reminded me with his message that I still have a lot of work to do. I think maybe after all these years that's really the greatest gift Jack could ever send me.....way better than flowers: A reminder that during our time together I lived and practiced the very special life lessons that my father taught me. Even 20 plus years later, he remembers ... so I'll never forget.

As my Dad always said:

Thanks for reading, and may you welcome your own returning boomerang soon!

Today’s food for thought and inspiration validates the power of having FUN at Work!

This week I picked up the book A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink.

Now I admit I am only on Chapter Six of Nine but I will tell you that Pink “had me at hello” when I read the premise for this work.

In the book Pink details his views that in the future:

There are six essential aptitudes—“the six senses”— on which professional success and personal satisfaction increasingly will depend: Design, Story, Symphony, Empathy, Play and Meaning.

He then goes on to share that:

The capabilities we once disdained or thought frivolous — the “right brain” qualities of inventiveness, empathy, joyfulness and meaning — increasingly will determine who flourishes and who flounders.

For individuals, families and organizations, professional success and personal fulfillment now require a whole new mind.

Hmmm… I thought to myself, as I nodded in agreement while reading on a flight to Atlanta, the capabilities detailed above did not feel all that “new” to me. I reluctantly put the book aside once I landed and went about the business of doing business at my client meetings. All went well as we finished the day and prepared to head to dinner.

Now, I must admit, I had been looking forward to this particular business trip for some time and it wasn’t just because of the project my consulting firm was taking on.

I was also looking forward to reconnecting with a number of my favorite former colleagues from Spherion who all lived in or were visiting the Atlanta area at the same time at both a dinner on Thursday night…


…. as well as a breakfast gathering on Friday morning …


Laughter was abundant during our time together as we told stories and shared memories of all the FUN we all had working together. As I flew home Friday afternoon I found myself laughing at the thought of something someone said or did while we were together and the memories that were still so special and magical for me.

I also couldn’t help but think of all the special friends I worked with and shared a laugh with over the years who were not in attendance and who, I am certain, would have added to the FUN if they HAD been able to attend and then I picked up my book and hit Chapter Three.

In Chapter Three Pink shares thoughts courtesy of Daniel Goleman, the author of the groundbreaking book Emotional Intelligence that:

… more important than a leaders IQ as a determination of his/her success is his/her EQ (Emotional Intelligence) partially defined as “high-touch abilities” like “imagination, joyfulness, and social dexterity”.

In fact Pink goes on to reference a study regarding effective leadership by Goleman and the Hay Group that found that:

… within organizations the most effective leaders were funny (that is funny ha-ha, not funny strange). These leaders had their charges laughing three times more often than their managerial counterparts.

“Nothing NEW about this for me...” I thought to myself as I remembered those I had just left behind as we celebrated the good times we shared together but GREAT validation that one of my favorite bits of Butcher’s Wisdom…


… was as on the money today as it was in those early years of my career.

I do know however that I have my work cut out for me as an Executive Coach and Organizational Development Consultant because I will tell you that leaders who encourage laughter at work are not as abundant as what I had come to know growing up in the staffing industry or “the people business” as my Dad would always call it.

Many thanks to Daniel Pink and his book A Whole New Mind for reminding me that no matter where you lead you are leading people and as a result we are ALL in the people business… and people my friends… love to laugh… I know I sure do.

To all my Spherion friends attending this past weeks gatherings and those who were only there in my heart… looks like we were ahead of our time not only in the way we led… but the way we LAUGHED!

Cheers!

Mary

On this Sunday Eve as so many of us prepare to send our "babies" Back to School I share the following food for thought courtesy of my friend Jane.

Last year just before my first born son Chase went off to college I struggled with finding the words to express all the feelings I had about our "last summer" together and the emotional rollercoaster ride I was on as a result of his eminent College "send off". I honestly had no idea how I would cope after he was gone.

Jane listened to me for a bit nodding knowingly as she had been there two times before me and she assured me that everything was indeed going to be ok. She shared her thoughts that as hard as it was to send her first born son Jack off to USC the son who returned to her that following summer was better for having gone, as was she.

"You will be fine" she said "and more importantly so will he" and when we left each other she gave me a hug and a CD that she said helped her put her feelings at that time into perspective.
I remember driving home from our lunch together listening to the CD thinking that I was not quite sure I would ever be "fine" again as she suggested but I knew that I had found a kindred spirit in Donna the Mother I met that day courtesy of Jane & NPR.

If you too would like to meet her and her son Charlie click on the following link: NPR "Back to School" Radio Program  .

Now... one year later as I prepare to send my oldest off for year two at Mizzou and my baby boy off to his last year in high school I can honestly say she was right.

I know that doesn't make it any easier for all of those I spoke with this week where I played the part of the seasoned survivor to so many of my friends and relatives who shared a tear or two as they prepared themselves for college, high school and even kindergarten "send offs".

I dedicate this "Back to School" Blog Spot to all of you as well as my assurance that eventually you too will be "just fine" and so will your "babies".

The First Day Of School

I

My child and I hold hands on the way to school,

And when I leave him at the first-grade door

He cries a little but is brave; he does

Let go. My selfish tears remind me how

I cried before that door a life ago.

I may have had a hard time letting go.

Each fall the children must endure together

What every child also endures alone:

Learning the alphabet, the integers,

Three dozen bits and pieces of a stuff

So arbitrary, so peremptory,

That worlds invisible and visible

Bow down before it, as in Joseph's dream

The sheaves bowed down and then the stars bowed down

Before the dreaming of a little boy.

That dream got him such hatred of his brothers

As cost the greater part of life to mend,

And yet great kindness came of it in the end.


II

A school is where they grind the grain of thought,

And grind the children who must mind the thought.

It may be those two grindings are but one,

As from the alphabet come Shakespeare's Plays,

As from the integers comes Euler's Law,

As from the whole, inseparably, the lives,

The shrunken lives that have not been set free

By law or by poetic phantasy.

But may they be. My child has disappeared

Behind the schoolroom door. And should I live

To see his coming forth, a life away,

I know my hope, but do not know its form

Nor hope to know it. May the fathers he finds

Among his teachers have a care of him

More than his father could. How that will look

I do not know, I do not need to know.

Even our tears belong to ritual.

But may great kindness come of it in the end.

                                 - by Howard Nemerov

Just got back from a Colorado get away... so BEAUTIFUL and cool compared to KC where from what I understand it has been 100 degrees plus all week. What a great escape!

Scott and I had the BEST time rafting on the Arkansas River with the boys and one of their best pals Jackson...

Nick, Jackson, Me, Scott & Chase

... and then to add to the fun on the way home I did a speech yesterday in Manhattan Kansas at Kansas State University (my under graduate alma mater).

I still can't believe that 30 years after my "graduation" from KSU I was back on campus sharing stories of the type of work ethic and wisdom I learned to appreciate while growing up watching my favorite teacher, my Father the Butcher, and the example he set for our family that ...


After all the headlines this week about what an "inspiration" an unhappy, spoiled, cranky and "overworked" flight attendant has become to many because he blew off his job, his employers and his customers I felt the need to share a story of our new pal Angel (pronounced AHN-hell).

For me... the Butcher's Daughter... Angel is living proof that GREAT people working hard each and every day making positive choices and treating their customers with humor, dignity and respect when they "act out" is where true inspiration comes from.

People often share their thoughts with me that the kind of work ethic and customer service attitude I learned from my Dad is dead... "Those were the good old days" they say. "Not so" I often reply and share stories of workforce heroes I see in action all the time... from David Vogt my trash man and "the happiest man I know" to my Pals at the UPS Store who ship my books out for me at a moment’s notice with no complaints. This ... I think we should all celebrate the REAL WORKFORCE HEROES when we see them.

That is why TODAY I ask you to join me in CELEBRATING Angel for the kind of leadership example he sets each and every day!

We met Angel at breakfast in our hotel the first morning of our get away and his smile and welcoming manner caught my attention straight away. The fact that he responded with concern then laughter after an embarrassed Nick had a bit of a choking episode when his chocolate milk went down the wrong way and Angel ended up sprayed with the brown liquid all over his clothes he sealed the deal that he was one of my new workforce heroes.

Oh but the story does not end there... the following morning when we came down for breakfast he welcomed us back and smiled at Nick while asking "Can I get you a big glass of chocolate milk this morning?" and we all laughed out loud.

BUT the REAL lesson Angel taught us all did not come from our breakfast interactions at our hotel. The real learning came from our chance meeting at dinner our last night in town.

While walking to our table at a beautiful Italian Restaurant in Avon we were all surprised and delighted when Angel walked up to our table and announced himself as our waiter for the evening. We all laughed when he asked for our drink orders and looked straight at Nick.

"What fun that you are here Angel" I commented "but when do you have time for you?" I asked. "You must be very busy working two jobs" I added.

"Oh no maam," he replied "I work THREE jobs... when I leave the hotel I go straight to my job cleaning a dentist's office before I come here to serve the dinner crowd." He then went on to share, "It's expensive living here in this beautiful place and I need to work the three jobs to keep up but I don't mind it's fun meeting people like all of you and I really enjoy the work I do and so appreciate the opportunity to live where I live."


OK... after that last exchange I have to admit I thought that Angel really was an angel sent here to help me teach my boys that the "good old-fashioned work ethic and attitude" that I talk about so often really isn't a thing of the past and that we can all learn from the examples surrounding us each and every day.

So... here's to Angel and David and my UPS Pals THANK YOU all for teaching us by your example and to all of us fortunate enough to come in to contact with these WORKFORCE HEROES let's remember Dad's advice that we should always try to...

Phoebe and Mac and I-Contact?

So... who are Phoebe and Mac you may ask and what do I mean by "I-Contact"?

Phoebe & Mac are both students getting ready to head back to school after working as interns for the "Butcher Block Exchange Social Media Summer Project" and at the age of 18 they have taught me some powerful lessons about myself and how I can and should redefine my personal definition of "I-Contact" in order to stay current in the world I live in and work in today.

Let me explain... In 2007 I wrote the article below that was published in the Kansas City Star business section titled "How to Make I-Contact".

Making Business Personal: How to Make I-Contact

By Mary Bichelmeyer Lucas

Current Day: Companies continue to “drill down” and “defrag” to find business solutions. This is an era where we talk “offline” and dine “al desko” when pressed for time at work. Here’s another overly used, contemporary phrase to sum it all up: Get real already.

1946: The year John Bichelmeyer opened the doors to his Kansas City, KS meat market and began showing the business world how to do things the right way. He never wrote a best seller or earned his MBA, but for the next six decades, this butcher served as a timeless example of what works – and what doesn’t – in business.

His common sense philosophies remain a blueprint for success even in today’s more complex business economy. Though he’s gone now, this man’s simple approach and quietly elegant advice resonates across all segments of industry.

Let’s take stock of what’s really important in business, something John Bichelmeyer understood intuitively:

People do business with people. People do not do business with PCs, phone systems, or email.

Companies are not “things.” Companies are people working toward a shared goal. That my friends makes business very, very personal.

Yet somehow business forgets that critical point when it insists on “streamlining” or “seeking efficiencies” in acquiring more workplace techno-gizmos. Business intentionally places obstacles in the way of engaging one-on-one with other people – with each other in the workplace, and with their next customer! Why?

American business has become a culture of workers hiding behind computer desks and automated telecom attendants. Even the sales function, typified by one-on-one buyer and seller interaction, has morphed the process into the push of a keypad. Cars, books, vacations – you name it. Just click here and the item is added to your computerized shopping cart for checkout.

People frequently speak of “the good old days.” What was so different back then? Chances are, the good old days equates to specific interactions with people. When a handshake was as good as a signed contract. When the milkman came to the back door on Thursdays. When the school bus driver knew your name and that you lived in the blue house second from the corner. When your dad’s boss came home for dinner and your mom pulled out the “good” dishes. When you “charged” something at the local butcher shop, and John Bichelmeyer knew you’d be in to pay the bill at the end of the month.

Where did those frequent human “touch points” go? Why did we stop interacting with each other? Who will lead the parade in the other direction?

Business can -- and should. Here’s how:

Companies must learn to re-engage with people, both their own internal human resources and their external customers. Organizations must learn to balance human processes with technology tools in order to fill the widening chasm of depersonalization. Good old common sense must stand alongside marketplace efficiency tools to create opportunities and resolve problems.

Seldom does a computer report solve an operations problem with quite the sensitivity of a live person. Conversations with a desktop virtual assistant are almost always one-sided. And rarely does a laptop smile and say thank you when wrapping up a good day’s work.

What’s missing, of course, is the human connection. People energy.

John Bichelmeyer, the Kansas City, KS butcher, understood this all along, which is why his butcher shop thrived. Third generation customers still shop there today because he placed high value in other people. His trade was meat cutting, but his real gift was his people skills.

True company assets are human beings. Let’s bring “I-contact” back to the workplace.

 

Note to self: "I need to "Get real already".

Although I still stand firm in my belief that "human connection" and can never be completely replaced by social networking I now realize that there IS a lot of "people energy" created virtually and that the parade IS being lead in a direction where there IS great value and that if I don't join in this parade it may just pass me by!

This summer thanks to Phoebe & Mac I learned a thing or two that helped me combine the old world and the new and answer my own questions... "Where did those frequent human 'touch points' go? Why did we stop interacting with each other? Who will lead the parade in the other direction?"

So... where did those 'touch points' go?

Well, thanks to my brilliant summer interns below are a few of the 'virtual touch points' I am now involved in all focused on showing the world that there are still plenty of people out there that believe in the power of positive messaging.

1. BLOG: The Butcher Block Exchange. This blog is meant to continue the legacy left by my Dad, John Bichelmeyer, the inspiration for Lunchmeat and Life Lessons. Check the blog often at http://thebutcherblockexchange.blogspot.com/ for inspirational and thought-provoking entries and when you do please sign up as a "Follower" on the bottom right!

2. FACEBOOK: If you are into Facebook the page for The Butcher Block Exchange, can found at http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/The-Butcher-Block-Exchange/113639718682917?ref=ts A continuation of the blog on Facebook. Please click on "Like" it!

3. LINKED IN: If you are already on LinkedIn look up the Group “The Butcher Block Exchange” http://www.linkedin.com/groups?mostPopular=&gid=3160792 and click on “Join Group” to follow the fun!

When we kicked off this project our collective goal was to have a documented following built at each of these channels by the end of the summer interested in sharing in an exchange of positive “Food for Thought & Inspiration”.

So how did we do?

Well... at the risk of tooting my own horn I’d say that thanks to all of you reading this and most of all to Phoebe & Mac although I am not quite ready to LEAD the social media parade (still not tweeting) I have figured out some ways to virtually bring back the "I-Contact".

Cheers!

P.S. Pheebs & Mac this bit of Butcher’s Wisdom is dedicated to you... once again THANK YOU!