March 16, 2009

Forward To A Friend

In This Newsletter:

Turning a Negative into a Positive - Article

Team Discussion Guides

See Jon Gordon LIVE in St. Louis

Create A Positive School

Greetings!

Now is the Time to Stay Positive!
The No Complaining Rule and

The Energy Bus are currently featured at Barnes & Nobles Bookstores in the "Business Motivation" display. Get a copy for yourself or a friend, colleague, employee, client or manager. These positive fables are a great way to deal with these changing times.

Turning a Negative into a Positive

If you read The No Complaining Rule you know it’s a fable about a woman named Hope who has a lot to complain about in her life. Her company is struggling, she’s having problems at home and she has to go to the hospital to get some tests done. It is at the hospital where she meets a nurse who teaches her The No Complaining Rule. Hope learns that every complaint represents an opportunity to turn something negative into a positive. She learns to use complaints as a catalyst to identify problems and create innovative solutions. And she discovers a powerful way to better lead her company, her family and her own life.

I read an article this week about a real life version of The No Complaining Rule in action.

Turns out Boston's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, was getting close to laying off a lot of employees. Projected revenue was far below projected costs. The CEO Paul Levy confronted the problem at an “all employee” meeting saying he didn’t want to have to layoff anyone. He asked the hospital employees for help. He asked them for ideas and solutions.

According to the article in The Boston Globe, “The consensus was that the workers don't want anyone to get laid off and are willing to give up pay and benefits to make sure no one does. A nurse said her floor voted unanimously to forgo a 3 percent raise. A guy in finance who got laid off from his last job at a hospital in Rhode Island suggested working one less day a week. Another nurse said she was willing to give up some vacation and sick time. A respiratory therapist suggested eliminating bonuses.” The CEO said he was getting about a hundred messages per hour with ideas. You can read the article here.

This situation is a great example of what we accomplish when positive leaders bring their employees and teams together and empower them to focus on solutions instead of problems. By implementing The No Complaining Rule we can turn complaints and problems into positive action and solutions. We can transform our biggest challenges into our greatest successes. We can transform a negative culture into a positive culture. We can turn what seems “negative” into a “positive.”

I encourage you to read The No Complaining Rule with your teams and families, have a meeting, identify your complaints and problems and then let this move you to create solutions. There is a an action plan in the back of the book that will guide you through the process.

Stay Positive!
Jon

How do you and your team turn a negative into a positive? Share on our blog here.

Twitter: You can now also connect with Jon via Twitter at www.twitter.com/jongordon11

Share this Newsletter with a Friend / CoWorker

:: Click Here to send a link via Email.

:: Copy and paste this URL in an email to others:

http://tinyurl.com/jongordon031609

:: Share via social media outlets below:

Facebook   StumbleUpon

Team Discussion Guides

Download free discussion guides to apply The Energy Bus and The No Complaining Rule principles with your team at work. Download here.

See Jon Gordon LIVE in St. Louis!

Experience Jon Gordon LIVE on Friday, April 3, 2009 from 8am until Noon in St. Louis. Tickets are just $79 each for groups of 4 or more. For details and to order tickets online visit www.jongordon.com/stlouis.html

Create A Positive School

We are excited to announce the launch of www.PositiveSchool.com, a central place where educators, administrators and parents can find the tools, training and strategies they need to empower teachers and students. If you are a principal, teacher or parent who is ready to create a positive school:

	Visit the site www.PositiveSchool.com
	Download the Positive School Manifesto.
	Host a workshop for your principals, teachers and an assembly for your students.
	Connect with other positive educators.
	Write and share lesson plans.