Getting the Cure on!

Tim and I were lucky enough to attend a breakfast this morning for the Denver affiliate of Susan G. Komen. The sea of pink napkins, dresses, and ties were delightful to see. The stories of the women and men who have won their fight with breast cancer were truly moving.

As I sat there, I thought about my close friend who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. She caught it early enough that her outcomes look promising, but she still had to undergo radical surgery and chemotherapy. Her life and the lives of those who love her have been impacted tremendously. And she is one of the lucky ones-- she was educated on self-care and has insurance. Like many states, Colorado has had extreme budget cuts and preventative care for breast cancer has not escaped.

We hope you will join us in supporting this important cause -- by following the link above -- or participating in one of their upcoming events.

Giving More Than 100%

Here is something I received from my daughter since she knows I do motivational speaking and the like, thought i would share it with you in good fun.

Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%? We have all been to those meetings where someone wants over 100%. How about achieving 103%? Here’s a little math that might prove helpful. What makes life 100%?

If

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

is represented as:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.

Then,
H A R D W O R K
8 1 18 4 23 15 18 11 = 98%
K N O W L E D G E
11 14 15 23 12 5 4 7 5 = 96%

But,
A T T I T U D E
1 20 20 9 20 21 4 5 = 100%

And,
B U L L S H I T
2 21 12 12 19 8 9 20 = 103%
So, it stands to reason that hardwork and knowledge will get you close, attitude will get you there, but bullshit will put you over the top.

And look how far this will take you......
A S S K I S S I N G
1 19 19 11 9 19 19 9 14 7 = 118%

Think about it...
and have a nice day at work.

Tips vs. Gratuities

While twisting up a storm at Dave & Busters in Westminster the other night I ended up in a conversation that reminded me that we often confuse tips with gratuities. It is a simple enough mistake, both involve giving a subjective amount of money for a performance. However the difference is all in the timing of the thing.

When a grandmother comes up to me and hands me $20, asking me to make something really crazy for her grandchild's birthday, she is giving me a tip. I have not yet done anything to earn her patronage. In fact, I could be the WORST balloon guy in the world, and she's already put money in my hand, in the hopes that it will motivate me to do something spectacular. Tips are a motivational monetary gift.

When I do a balloon for a family and the grinning, giggling girl it hugging and happy with her balloon, the $5 that the parents give me is a gratuity. They are grateful for how I have made their daughter so happy and wish to give me something in thanks for the effort. In both of these cases, it is not a payment.

Personally, I am not a fan of tips. It is a blind assumption of skill and performance that I find rarely fits with reality. If you give me $100 to make balloons for your table, and then only 3 people want balloons, and what they want is teddy bears and flowers, there is little I can do to expand that offering. It is equally challenging when a parent pulls out $1 to give me before knowing what it is I am going to make and hands it to the child before turning away and ignoring the performance. Often that child wants a pirate ship, a mermaid, or perhaps a pod racer.

When calculating a proper gratuity for a server, I look to the effort and energy put into the work done during the meal. When giving a gratuity following a haircut, I look to see if my expectations are in line with the results, how much art was put into the efforts. When I tip my barista, it is a motivation to make a beautiful chocolate chai with maybe a little extra sweetness.

When giving a tip or a gratuity what do you consider?