If you're going to be in a car for 10-12 hours, why settle for McDonald's? On our drive through Kansas yesterday we hit Topeka around lunchtime. For those of you who don't know, Topeka is in Kansas (and happens to be the capital). Pulling out my HTC EVO, I did a quick search for Topeka restaurants and found one that had been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Bobo's Drive-In on 10th Avenue was fantastic. It's been there for over 50 years and doesn't appear to have changed much. We opted for the "step up" seating, which was inside and consisted of a few booths and a counter. It was packed! We ordered steakburgers, French fries, onion rings, and spicy cheese sticks. The steakburgers were smashed thin and had excellent taste. The onion rings were outstanding. I'm not normally a big onion ring fan, but when I saw a plate…
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I'm sitting in Memphis watching the Lions play the Patriots on Thanksgiving day. There's much to be thankful for ... I'm thankful for my family, those close at hand, those spread around the country, and those who have passed on. I remember with great fondness having family gatherings around the table at 100 West Eden. It's been over fifteen years since that last Thanksgiving with my parents. That seems hard to believe. For the memories - but more importantly, for the lessons, the values, and the perspective - I am eternally thankful. I have physical and spiritual DNA that lives on in me. I am thankful to have a calling from God that has allowed me to serve him and his people in wonderful places such as San Diego, San Francisco, Atlanta, and Denver. I am thankful to have two healthy, happy daughters. Each is a joy in their own…
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We left Sunday after church on our way to Memphis for Thanksgiving. A few observations: It's really cheap to stay at the Ramada Inn in Salina. $49/night with breakfast. The toll roads through Tulsa have too much construction. Hideaway Pizza in Tulsa is worth the stop. Kansas looks just like Oklahoma. And now we're here and probably headed to Graceland.
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How do you create a work environment that brings out the best in people, accomplishes great things, and doesn't require sending all your employees to a Tony Robbins seminar? Here are a few tips. Let people know if they are meeting expectations. This assumes, of course, that the expectations have been clearly identified, communicated, and accepted. If they have been, leaders owe to those they lead to let them know how they are doing. Unfortunately, many companies wait for the annual review; by this time, many items that could have been fixed with a mid-course corrections have developed into deeper issues. Be kind to people. Kindness is a sign of respect. Many leaders in the corporate environment equate kindness with softness. It's too "touch feely" to be kind. If you're too kind, people will walk all over you. Nothing could be further from the truth. When people know you truly…
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Passing along a great article by Daniel Harkavy entitled "Bifocal Vision Required." In many ways it's similar to what's known as the "Stockdale Paradox." From Wikipedia: ********** "I never lost faith in the end of the story, I never doubted not only that I would get out, but also that I would prevail in the end and turn the experience into the defining event of my life, which, in retrospect, I would not trade." When Collins asked who didn't make it out of Vietnam, Stockdale replied: "Oh, that’s easy, the optimists. Oh, they were the ones who said, 'We're going to be out by Christmas.' And Christmas would come, and Christmas would go. Then they'd say, 'We're going to be out by Easter.' And Easter would come, and Easter would go. And then Thanksgiving, and then it would be Christmas again. And they died of a broken heart." Stockdale then…
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