I’m topical, if nothing else.

First and foremost, for those of you who were nice enough to tell me that my blog-site was down, thank you!  For my friends at dreamhost, PLEASE SEND AN EMAIL WHEN MY AUTO-PAY FEATURE DOESN’T GO THROUGH!!!!

Anyways…

Dream a Little Dream with Me

I’m spending my last day in Pittsburgh doing additional work with the company that brought me here to do my “Dream Stuff” with their client.  A high-tech company of around 100 or so employees, thirty-five went through my Dream Session.

I’m still getting used to the looks on the faces of people I work with when they learn that I am a dream manager.  Nervous smiles, laughter, an occasional “what the heck”.  At the PIHRA conference in Palm Springs last week, I was “The Dream Guy”, a lot of people were interested and intrigued at the idea of having their own dream manager.

And here is the interesting part.  Although nearly everyone I spoke to agreed they would like to have a Dream Manager to help them in their dreams, there is still a disconnect in how this same approach would help their employees, and ultimately their company.

Welcome to my world.

As I have said before, it’s all about metrics.

Doing the right thing for employees is the right thing to do. And in a perfect world, that would be enough.  But other than a Corned Beef and Swiss on Rye with Spicy Mustard from Shapiro’s, nothing in life is really perfect.

Employees who feel that their organization cares about them for the long term work harder, stay longer, and recommend their organization as a great place to work.  Helping employees get on the path to reduce debt, buy a car, save money for college for their kids, or purchase their first home, isn’t the “job” of business.  Motivating employees to consistently go the extra mile for customers is.

About ninety minutes after the presentation started, sixteen sets of employees were reviewing their dreams with each other, agreeing to be “accountability manager”.  Some dreams were little, some seemed like a BHAG (big hairy audacious goal).  But all of them, no matter how silly or preposterous they may have seemed to others, came from the hearts and thoughts of each of the employees.  And once they knew that as their Dream Manager, I had no agenda, the dreams came pouring out.

Not a bad way to spend a couple of hours!

APQC

Yes, the press release is out, the national benchmark on Attracting, Motivating and Retaining Top Talent in a Post-Recession Environment is moving ahead.  If you are interested in participating in the project (as a sponsor or a “best practices” company), please take a look at the press release and contact Rachele at APQC with any questions!

Pittsburgh’s Slice of Heaven

Yesterday I was treated to lunch in a fun part of Pittsburgh where all of the wholesale food companies have their operations.  Better yet, a bunch of shops surround these international wholesalers, lots of restaurants, bars, and trendy little boutiques.

And then I saw it.  A chocolatier on the corner.  Friendly people inside smiling.  The smell of cocoa rushing outside as another shopper left their store with a happy “blue bag” ‘o chocolate.

I’ve been reading about it for about a year, my son tried it over the summer at the Indiana State Fair.  It’s been on TV, radio, and all over the web.  Chocolate and Bacon.  Bacon and Chocolate.  “Pigs in the mud”.  This little piggy went to Hersheyville…

There it was.  Mo’s Bacon Bar, made of applewood smoked bacon, alderwood smoked salt, and deep milk chocolate (45% cacao).  But wait…  what is that right next to Mo’s Bacon Bar?  OMG.  Mo’s Dark Bacon Bar, made of applewood smoked bacon, alderwood smoked salt, and dark chocolate (62% cacao).  When the first ingredient is chocolate and the second one is uncured bacon, you know you’ve hit a home run.

Wow.  I must admit at first taste, my “buds” were in a state of total confusion.  Smooth chocolate, but with a hint of salt.  Crunchy bits… are they rice krispies?  No… they are BACON.   And then my brain realizes what is going on, rushing endorphins of pleasure over the receptors in my hypothalamus.  “Take another bite Marc”…  but no, I don’t.  I save it.  Ensuring that my enjoyment doesn’t blow away like the first little piggies house of straw.

Life is good!

BTW, are you living your dreams?