Art Fettig’s Monday Morning Memo
Originally published on April 27, 2009
In This Issue
o Edison the Salesperson
o Say Something Good
o Points To Ponder
o A Little Humor
o Quote of the Week
Edison the Salesperson
Did you know that Thomas Edison began his business career selling newspapers, candy and fruit as a newsbutcher on the Grand Trunk Western Railroad? He learned to walk up and down the aisles practicing his selling skills and it was that talent of selling that he had developed that made him so successful. In his lifetime he was granted 1,097 patents and is credited with inventing the microphone, the phonograph, the light bulb, the motion picture camera and the list just goes on and on yet it was his ability to sell those inventions to the world that actually resulted in his tremendous success. Perhaps you have had ideas for improvements, changes, totally new concepts for your job and maybe you have found ways to make them work but I was not so fortunate with my new ideas and such.
In fact, I spent twenty-five frustrating years being ignored. Oh, I was offered promotions and such but when it came to ideas, I was scoring zero. Together, with a friend named Caesar, we submitted over a hundred ideas through our Employee Suggestion Program and every one of them was turned down. Yes, after twenty-five years following a tragic triple amputation employee injury, I finally got the ear of a new Vice President of Operations, and he created a new position just so that I might implement my ideas. I was in a dream world creating change and soon after that the Vice President was promoted to President and for ten years, I was truly grateful for the opportunity to grow on the job.
At the age of 53 I was allowed to take an early retirement and I have been sharing ideas with major corporations since then. It is my belief that there is greatness in everyone, and our challenge is to discover that greatness inside us and figure out a way to make it work for us and for all humankind. That is not an easy challenge, but it certainly makes life a lot more interesting.
Say Something Good
Last Fridays. Our little town of Hillsborough, North Carolina has a celebration on the last Friday of each month from April to October. We have a population of approximately 6,000 and for April we had the Spoonful of Soul 9 Piece Band in front of the courthouse. The New Rock River Skippers played out front of the Weaver Street Market and there was free ice cream outside the Hillsborough Presbyterian Church just around from the Museum with the Triangle Tuba Quartet playing out on the graveyard lawn adjacent to the church. There was a pie judging over at our Cup A Joe. There was something going on up and down our main streets. Hillsborough is chuck full of famous authors and artists and so the art walk is always something very special with a number of different exhibits. Duke students created a photographic exhibit titled Small Town USA which was on display and our streets were lined with diners enjoying eating out at some of our finest restaurants. Sometimes I feel like Hillsborough is the best spot in all America, but you might have your own idea of where that might be. Enjoy your freedom. Visit some small town doin’s soon. May God bless America and keep our troops from harm.
Points To Ponder
It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change. Charles Darwin
A Little Humor
Safety Reminder. In Natoma, Kansas, it is illegal to practice knife-throwing at someone wearing a striped suit.
Quote of the Week
In a time of drastic change, it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned usually find themselves equipped to live in a world that no longer exists. Eric Hoffer
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