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Some of my favorite blog posts are quotes.  Sometimes just the right quote can help a person get the start of their day off right.  Since I normally have to read close to a hundred quotes to pick out the few I post it normally helps me to have a better day for sure.  Hope everyone has a great Tuesday! — Luke

The winners in life think constantly in terms of I can, I will, and I am. Losers, on the other hand, concentrate their waking thoughts on what they should have or would have done, or what they can’t do. – Dennis Waitley

Success is often achieved by those who don’t know that failure is inevitable. – Coco Chanel

Let us not look back in anger or forward in fear, but around in awareness. – James Thurber

It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change. – Charles Darwin

To win without risk is to triumph without glory. – Pierre Corneille

If there is such a thing as good leadership, it is to give a good example. – Ingvar Kamprad

Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly and get on with improving your other innovations. – Steve Jobs

Storms make oats take root. — Proverb

Work spares us from three evils:  boredom, vice and need. — Voltaire

I saw a sign recently that said “It’s never crowded along the extra mile” and I immediately thought of many of you that I have observed going the extra mile for your customers.  Recent examples I have observed included Janet in Aliceville cleaning the popcorn machine because she had promised one customer that she would make them some popcorn….. Teresa in Reform listening to and offering words of encouragement to customers as they spoke of loved ones who were sick…. and many others.

I want to especially thank those of you who so graciously went the extra mile in helping me in the process of updating our company policy and procedure manuals.  I know many of you would have helped me if asked but these ladies were called upon and never complained when I asked questions or e-mailed them a portion of the manual to edit for me.  To April Moore who helped me start the process back in June during my first week on the job and to Julie Snow, Chelsea Wooley, Michelle Williams, Michelle Parker, Kristy King, Amanda Johnson and last but not least Tracy Floyd……you girls were awesome!!  Tracy, a special thanks to you for allowing me to sit in your office for several days asking questions and having you show me step by step processes on the computer.  Kim, Janna and Tracie,  a special thanks to all of you for reviewing the manuals and helping me with final edits.  Kandi and Jon Jon, a special thanks to both of you for helping me compile the completed product for presentation at my leadershipship class.

Going the extra mile is what makes this company so great so let’s all keep it up!

Rachel

Last weekend, Louis and I attended the national convention of the Financial Service Centers of America which took place in Chicago.  While there we were able to browse the gallery of vendors with scores of various products pertaining to the consumer finance industry, particularly the cash advance business.  We ran into a few of our current vendors and it was good to see them face to face and have a chance to catch up on business.  We also came across a couple of other products that we think may be beneficial to our businesses.  We are planning to follow up with them and make a decision after becoming more familiar with their products.

Many of you have been asking about when we will be rolling out our prepaid debit cards.  We spoke with the debit card provider while in Chicago and they assured us that we should be ready to begin rolling out the cards within a couple of weeks.  This has taken much longer than we had anticipated and we apologize for the delay.  The debit card provider we plan to use comes highly recommended and has a great track record in business so we hope to be able to do business with them.  We should know something in a couple of weeks.

Have a terrific Thursday! — Luke

“Our life always expresses the results of our dominant thoughts.”  Soren Kierkergaard

In seeking honey expect the sting of bees.

Arabian Proverb

Progress comes from the intelligent use of experience.

Elbert Hubbard

The world is full of cactus, but we don’t have to sit on it.

Will Foley

The man who is prepared has his battle half fought.

Miguel De Cervantes

Hope you have a geat day…Louis

Living in Northeast Mississippi I have always considered myself fortunate to be so conveniently located to the hub of the North Mississippi Medical Center and the fine facilities it provides in Tupelo.  With such grand accomodations and great medical service at NMMC, located a twenty minute ride from Fulton, I have always wondered why some folks drove an extra ten minutes or so to patronize the much smaller Gilmore Medical Center in Amory.  After escorting my wife, Ashley, to have some routine tests ran last week I now totally understand people’s willingness and desire to go to Amory.  From the moment Ashley and I walked in the door at Gilmore we felt like family. 

Immediately upon walking through the sliding glass doors we were warmly greeted by two grey haired gentleman sitting at a desk within the lobby.  After asking our last name they quickly pulled Ashley’s file as if they had been waiting all morning in anticipation of her arrival.  With a smle, the gentleman handed Ashley her file and motioned us over to a medical clerk just across the lobby.  As the friendly medical clerk was finishing up Ashley’s paperwork one of the men who had just greeted us showed up to escort us to our next stop. 

As we made our way to the lab area we passed by several Gilmore employees from lab techs and nurses to janitorial and maintenance staff.  We were thoroughly impressed in that all the staff seemed to be in good cheer and interacted pleasantly with us throughout our entire visit.  As we were waiting on the doctor after the labs were completed, Ashley and I both commented about how EVERY Gilmore employee seemed to be in a good mood. . . a sincere good mood as nothing came across fake or forced.  The staff members’ personalities and attitudes were so uplifting you almost forgot you were inside a hospital. 

To top it all off the doctor came in with the test results and had the absolute best bedside manner I have ever witnessed.   

Books have been written and classes have been taught about the level of customer service offered at Disney World.  Well, having visited Disney World and Gilmore Medical, I think the folks at Disney could even learn a thing or two from the fine folks in Amory.

Have a great Thursday! — Luke

“Do what you do so well that they will want to come again and bring their friends.”  Walt Disney

We just finished editing the latest Approved Auto Sales commercial which will begin airing later this year.  Felicia did an awesome job ad libbing with Sammy!

Have a great weekend! – – – Luke

Some of you may have seen this before as it has been around a long time. However, I thought it would serve as a reminder to all of us how important it is that that we strive to always do our best and give our best.

If 99.9% is good enough then….

• 12 newborns will be given to the wrong parents daily
• 114,500 mismatched pairs of shoes will be shipped/year
• 18,322 pieces of mail will be mishandled/hour
• 2,000,000 documents will be lost by the IRS this year
• 2.5 million books will be shipped with the wrong covers
• Two planes landing at Chicago’s O’Hare airport will be unsafe every day
• 315 entries in Webster’s Dictionary will be misspelled
• 20,000 incorrect drug prescriptions will be written this year
• 880,000 credit cards in circulation will turn out to have incorrect cardholder information on their magnetic strips
• 103,260 income tax returns will be processed incorrectly during the year
• 5.5 million cases of soft drinks produced will be flat
• 291 pacemaker operations will be performed incorrectly
• 3056 copies of tomorrow’s Wall Street Journal will be missing one of the three sections

Rachel

One of the topics we have often focused on during our company wide management meetings is the importance of maintaining a “to do list”.  It registered with me last week that it has been awhile since we have pushed the importance of keeping such a list.  In my years in business I have found that the best employees seem to keep the best “to do lists”.

I can recall meetings in which I have spoken to a handful of employees at once.  The employees in those meetings who took thorough notes and made an organized list of the objectives set out in those meetings were hands down FAR more productive than those who sat merely as passive listeners.

Each day it is important to maintain and update a personal “to do list” of things you need to accomplish.  No matter how small the task, add it to your “to do list” and the odds of completing that task  go up exponentially.  Upon completion of the given task go back and mark it off your “to do list” which in turn will give you a sense of accomplishment and will motivate you to knock out more of your tasks at hand. 

One suggestion regarding your to do list is to keep it within sight.  Having a list tucked away inside your desk or buried under a stack of papers does little good.  Keep your list within reading distance from your work area and you will be reminded throughout the day of what all you have already accomplished and what else remains to be done.  

If you are currently attempting to work without the assistance of a “to do list” then start using one today.  By the end of the week you should notice a great increase in your productivity.

Have a great week!   Luke

“The greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure.”  Tom Krause