Craig Update | Patterned Face Masks | GLC-T Modules | Thankful for Thankfulness | News to Start Your Day
Happy Tuesday!
(November 17th is National Take a Hike Day / National Hiking Day. Hopefully, the weather is nice enough wherever you are to get out and take a hike.)
Trivia time: Name that TV theme song, 90’s style: “Where in the world is … ” (answer)
Someone asked earlier today, “where is Craig?” and this theme song immediately came to mind. Anyone else remember that show? I vaguely remember watching it, but I couldn’t really tell you much about the show. I think there was a board game and computer game, books too maybe? That tune sure is catchy though. I didn’t forget it!
So while I cannot answer where in the world Carmen is tonight, I can tell you a little about what is going on with Craig. It actually ties nicely into telling you more about our business structure and some of the recent CK updates.
As we’ve mentioned before, Craig took a sabbatical in the month of October. He worked some pretty crazy hours from March to August as I’m sure you all remember. That’s the time period when these emails started. In January of this year he had been diagnosed with Crohn’s disease and is still working to get his symptoms under control. Part of that is going to be stress management and rest, something that he historically has not been practicing well. (He’s an all-in kind of guy.) In November he re-engaged with us internally in some meetings and is still here leading and guiding us, mostly giving us clarity around the vision. He’s still resting and doing more personal things too. That was the long answer to the question. The short answer is he’s here, just not on the “front lines” as he was before.
We introduced you all to Chris McCoy, who is now the President of the CK business unit, earlier this month. A business unit, as we define it, is the Product, Marketing and Channels (sales) functions of a business. These are the revenue-generating, customer-facing pieces of a company. The vision Craig has had for our organization is that we would be an architect of a portfolio of many companies, companies that share the desire “to combine remarkable service, adaptive expertise, and frictionless shopping and logistics” to create “unparalleled customer experiences” (these quotes taken directly from our vision statement). CK is the prototype for this vision, and in order to get where we are going, Craig needed (and wanted) to not be the operational head of CK. He’s still the CEO around here, giving vision and, of course, making us laugh (and maybe roll our eyes occasionally, or maybe that’s just me, haha), but he has passed the baton to Chris for the management of the Three Pillars, as we call them, for CK.
The Three Pillar approach is our current best practice model for a business unit. Obviously product, marketing and sales teams aren’t ALL you need to run a business. So where do those other (admittedly less sexy) functions live? In our corporate center. Things like accounting, HR, technology management, even regular ordering, logistics and pick/pack/ship are handled by our corporate team. We believe this gives the business units the ability to focus where it matters, on customer’s needs. The axel of our Three Pillar flywheel is Customer Insights. Everything a business unit does should be seen through the lens of service to the customer.
So there you have it: the Three Pillar approach, Plan/Build/Run Operational Model, and the Strategy Cascade. Those are three big pieces to our “how we operate” puzzle. We share all of this in hopes that it is helpful to someone out there, an entrepreneur, another company or perhaps to you in your role in your company. We’ve been given much and desire to use what we learn (a continuous process) to help others.
Christin
Today’s Product Updates from Rebecca:
Exciting News! We just put our Kids AND Adult cloth masks on sale! These masks come in a wide variety of super fun patterns including an American Flag pattern as well as Camo! You really can’t go wrong, especially for the price! Snag yours today!!
Adult:
Kids:
Reminder: Get free shipping on your PPE orders by using coupon code PPESHIP at checkout!
Main Safety Supplies Landing Page: https://www.cablesandkits.com/c/safety-supplies
***What products are you using most or having a hard time finding out there?
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As always, I encourage you to check out awesome reviews from our awesome customers!
10 Reasons I’m Thankful for Thankfulness – Christy Wright, Author & Radio Personality – The Dave Ramsey Show
Thanksgiving is inspiring, isn’t it? There’s something about this particular holiday that causes us to reflect on what’s really important and brings a fresh perspective into our lives.
But as we all know, that warm and fuzzy feeling doesn’t last forever.
Too often, we treat gratitude as a holiday ornament that we pull from the attic when we’re ready to decorate. After the festivities are over, we pack it away and get back to the daily grind of life.
But when we do this, we miss out on all the amazing benefits of gratefulness.
To help us maintain a spirit of appreciation all year long, I’ve created a list of some of the unbeatable benefits of gratitude. Here are the top 10 reasons I’m thankful for thankfulness.
- Thankfulness improves relationships. – Everyone has a need and desire to be appreciated—spouses, children, parents, friends, coworkers, even the strangers we meet in passing. Oprah once said, “The common denominator that I’ve found in every single interview is that we all want to be validated. We want to be understood.” So when we express gratitude for people, we not only meet their needs and lift their spirits, but we make them feel validated. And that improves the quality of our relationships with them.
- Thankfulness creates contentment. – Media messages are constantly telling us to buy more, do more, look like this, or act like that. With so much distraction, it can be difficult to appreciate what you have right now. But by choosing to be thankful, you can ignore these messages and embrace contentment. As my friend Rachel Cruze says, “In a heart filled with gratitude, there is no room for discontentment.”
- Thankfulness feels good. – You know how happy we feel around Thanksgiving? We can continue to feel that way long after the turkey and dressing are gone. How? All we have to do is count our blessings and turn our hearts and thoughts toward gratitude. The warm and fuzzy feelings will follow.
- Thankfulness keeps us healthy. – Even though the holidays represent a stressful time for many of us, reflecting on what we’re thankful for actually reduces stress. “Gratitude research is beginning to suggest that feelings of thankfulness have tremendous positive value in helping people cope with daily problems, especially stress,” says University of California Davis psychology professor Robert Emmons. He goes on to explain that gratitude and optimism can even boost our immune system. When we stop focusing on what we don’t have, and begin focusing on everything we do have, our shoulders relax and we invite peace, patience, and health into our lives.
- Thankfulness cultivates humility. – Arrogance and ungratefulness go hand and hand. But the opposite is also true. When we choose to be thankful for the big and small blessings in our lives, we foster a heart of humility and a spirit of graciousness.
- Thankfulness is contagious. – Just as fear and worry are contagious, so is the spread of gratitude. When we’re inspired by others’ gratefulness, it prompts our own grateful thoughts and actions as well. We can be the catalysts that spread gratitude in our homes, offices and communities.
- Thankfulness produces positivity. – When we’re thankful, the natural byproduct is that we become more positive people. There are endless daily annoyances that can bring us down and steal our joy. But when we’re intentionally thankful, it naturally redirects our thoughts to see the good in other people and in our everyday lives.
- Thankfulness promotes generosity. – It’s tough to be givers when our eyes are always on our own needs. When we are thankful for what we have, we can hold our blessings with an open hand and freely give to others. And when we realize how abundantly we are blessed, we can confidently and joyfully become a blessing to others.
- Thankfulness increases likability. – It’s fair to say no one wants to be around an ungrateful, entitled individual. Yet we all enjoy spending time with grateful, down-to-earth folks. When you are grateful, people see you in a positive light and they naturally like you and want to be around you.
- Thankfulness displays God’s character. – The Bible is full of passages on gratitude and thankfulness. It’s used in commands, parables, and prayers. This quality is important to God! So when we actively practice gratefulness, we become more of who God created us to be. Plus, we also get to connect with Him through our thankful thoughts and prayers. Unlike talent, gratitude is something that’s freely available to all of us and completely within our control. It’s not a special “gifting” that some people have and others don’t. It’s not a feeling that floats through the air at the end of each November.
It’s a choice.
Every day we get to choose to be thankful and to experience the side benefits of gratefulness all year long.
News to Start Your Day With:
- Right at 55,471,500 cases worldwide, with 38,634,200 people who have recovered, with 1,334,719 deaths AND 11,540,500 cases in the US with over 7,021,100 people have recovered, with 252,684 deaths.
- President-elect Joe Biden and his team signaled Monday that they do not plan on imposing a national shutdown, given the fragile state of the economy, leaving it up to the individual states which is the current mode of operation for the nation.
- U.S. stocks soared to new highs after early data indicated that Moderna’s experimental vaccine was nearly 95 percent effective.
- Fifty-eight percent of Americans say they would get a coronavirus vaccine, up from a low of 50 percent two months ago, according to a new poll by Gallup.
- Amazon announced Tuesday that it’s entering the pharmacy business with a new offering called Amazon Pharmacy. It allows customers in the United States to order prescription medications for home delivery, including free delivery for Amazon Prime members.
- California Gov. Gavin Newsom after imposing strict restrictions for his state’s nearly 40 million residents not to gather in groups, even with friends and family, was caught breaking his own restrictions by attending a birthday party that had a dozen people from more than three households.
- Universal Pictures and Cinemark have agreed in principle to a deal that allows theatrical releases to transition into viewer homes more quickly, Variety reported on Monday. Universal was granted the option of placing new movies on digital rental platforms just 17 days after they have been released in theaters.
- Cinnabon announced that starting today, its popular frosting will be available to purchase by the pint. In a post on Instagram, the company wrote, “Like our frosting? You’ll LOVE our NEW limited-edition Signature Frosting Pint! Available starting TODAY in our bakeries and with delivery.”