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      "body": "Congratulations @carmensample! You received a personal award!\n\n<table><tr><td>https://steemitimages.com/70x70/http://steemitboard.com/@carmensample/birthday2.png</td><td>Happy Birthday! - You are on the Steem blockchain for 2 years!</td></tr></table>\n\n<sub>_You can view [your badges on your Steem Board](https://steemitboard.com/@carmensample) and compare to others on the [Steem Ranking](https://steemitboard.com/ranking/index.php?name=carmensample)_</sub>\n\n\n###### [Vote for @Steemitboard as a witness](https://v2.steemconnect.com/sign/account-witness-vote?witness=steemitboard&approve=1) to get one more award and increased upvotes!",
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      "body": "Well said and spot on. I am also a business owner. Thanks for sharing.",
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      "body": "![H1.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmQu5zHuRaocx4Xra3VSZkR7hsVCcyweHcV3siFtopcurD/H1.jpg)\n\nWe are in the process of buying another business and we aren’t ready. We own five businesses and are overwhelmed and overworked. Our finances aren’t perfect, our businesses aren’t perfect, we have three young children…we have too much going on.\n\nYet, we are doing it anyway. We are going to take the leap.\n\nWhat I have learned over the last 8 years is this:\n\n**You will never be “ready” to be an entrepreneur.**\n- You will never have enough money in the bank.\n- You will never have enough staff.\n- You will never have enough time.\n- You will never have the perfect “work/life balance”.\n- You will never have enough bankers to back you.\n- You will never have the perfect cash flow.\n- You will never have the right business plan.\n- You will never have the full support of your peer group or your family.\n\nIf you wait for all of the stars to align you will be on your deathbed waiting for the “right moment”.\n\n**#entrepreneur move: Force the stars to align**\n\nBottom line is that as an entrepreneur you aren’t signing up for perfection. You are signing up to maintain vision, you are signing up for serious hard work and you are signing up **for a lot of hustle**…..and some fun too.\n\n![H2.jpeg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmQAgzx6hSE7Abek6DtDja9uvswUfkZqr9ZdaqrwQhM2b5/H2.jpeg)\n\nWhen you commit to being an entrepreneur you are simply committing to the game of “figuring it out”.\n\nThe hardest mental game of being an entrepreneur is blocking out everyone’s poor advice and conservative opinions. You must remember that the people that tell you “no” are NOT ENTREPRENEURS. They just don’t get it. Their worldview is clouded by their own worries and insecurities and fears. They have their own risk-tolerance that is different than yours and they are trying to impose it on you.\n\nThat is ok for them, but it is not ok for you.\n\n*The name of the entrepreneur game is to move forward even when you aren’t ready.*\n\nConsultants will tell you it is risky. Bankers will tell you that you don’t have enough collateral. Your parents will tell you that you need more savings. Your friends will tell you about their other friends that started businesses and failed.\n\nEveryone will tell you not to start your big idea….but remember this:\n\nConsultants are not entrepreneurs. Bankers are not entrepreneurs. Your parents are not entrepreneurs. Your friends are not entrepreneurs. *They don’t own businesses and don’t aspire to*….thus their opinions are just that: opinions.\n\nSo, what do you do? You nod your head, smile and say “I hear you” and **then you put your headphones on, open your computer, and get to work.**\n\nWhen I started Sample Supports everyone told me not to do it. We were in a recession. Our rates were undergoing a significant cut. There were too many competitors. I had already failed with a previous business. Mark and I had just bought our first house and had a mortgage to maintain. It wasn’t the right time. We weren’t ready.\n\nI decided to do it anyway (luckily my husband actively supports me). When I called to get my application to start I was literally told by the administrative clerk: “You know, this is a really bad time for our industry and we would suggest you don’t try to get started at this time.”\n\nI asked for the application anyway.\n\n**That person on the phone wasn’t an entrepreneur.** She didn’t have a clue, but it gave me that much more ammunition to prove her wrong.\n\nWhat happened? Our revenues grew by 630% in a downturned market with funding cuts and the recession. We expanded to 3 regions, built four other businesses and built ourselves into a profitable growing company. Eight years later we are now we are buying another business to add to our expanding empire….though I’m still not “ready”.\n\n> “Leap and the net will appear”\n\n….just be prepared to build your net and build it quickly.\n\nI’m not ready for our new endeavor. I never will be. I’m just going to go ahead and do it anyway. I will take the leap for the fun of it.\n\nI have my earphones and my computer and that is all I need.\n\n#watchmework while I build my net.",
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      "title": "Where my ladies at? 50/50 is aiming too low.",
      "body": "![Picture.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmQCVk3xrLA8Fg4Crd22WFTFv2xeSkfCGnepiTbxDJR2FH/Picture.jpg)\n\nIt is a simple rule that I think we should all live by in our professions: Women and men should be in top leadership positions in proportion to what is reflective of their industries.\n\nWhen I was getting my Masters Degree in Social Work, a single statistic that I read stuck out to me. I can't recall the stats on poverty or homelessness or child welfare, but I do remember this:\n\n\"80% of the social work profession is made up of women, while only 20% are men. However, 80% of the leaders in the social work profession are men.\"\n\nWhen this was brought to my attention I was doing an internship where I had the opportunity to shadow the CEO at several State meetings over the course of the year - it was a great experience that shaped my path to later open my own company. I knew from looking around me everyday that the company was at least 80% women, though the CEO and CFO were men, as were the leaders of almost every major department. When we showed up to the majority of State meetings I was sitting among a sea of men. The women were at the office actually running the company day-to-day, but the top positions were all men. Huh. Odd.\n\nBut wait, we as women are trained social workers that have advanced degrees in how to advocate successfully for others and improve the social justice conditions of our society! Where did we go wrong? We spent years training on how to advocate for others but somehow missed that we also need to advocate for ourselves.\n\nIn Sample Supports we currently have a top leadership team comprise of 22 people -17 of them are women. That is 77% women in leadership positions in an industry standard of 80%… Pretty good, eh? (And yes, that 3% difference irks me). I don't feel as though I actively think about gender when I promote or hire and I have never actually ran those numbers until I started writing this blog. That said, I found myself smiling when I saw the alignment between what it \"should\" be in our industry and what it is in my piece of the world. This isn't a question of holding the men down - if they have the skills then they should be in the leadership position. The ultimate question then is \"Why don't we as an industry see that the ladies have the same skills and should also be in those positions at a rate competitive to the industry?\" It is a social justice conversation of raising the ladies up. Let's train them, advocate for them and create an environment where they can look to examples and envision themselves to be the leaders that they are.\n\nWhen sitting at the decision-making table at work, we should all be asking \"Where my ladies at?\"….. and then we should go ahead and find them while pulling up a chair. I prefer my chair to be sparkly gold with a touch of hot pink, thank you very much.\n\nFound this post useful? Kindly tap the ❤ button below and recommend to others! Thank you!",
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      "title": "High-Risk Housing — When there is no good option",
      "body": "![H1.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmTnqCHBnxAJmjj3Ej3wj8SGoWAMX5iaTeRoRyfFAH8Ryy/H1.jpg)\n\n>We accept that the risk is better than homelessness or institutionalization…and that is all we really need to know.\n\nWhen people think of someone with an intellectual or developmental disability they often picture an individual with Down Syndrome. These are the “poster children” for our services as their visible disability helps to publicly define the kind of work we do. Yet, out of the 500 people we work with at Sample Supports, most of the disabilities do not fit the poster child mold.\n\nSome of the people we serve are far more challenging than the rest. These are the HARD clients. I’m talking about the REAAAAALLLLY hard clients. The ones where 80% of our team resources go. Ironically, they are usually the ones that have a non-visible disability.\n\nThere is a group of about 100 people in our services that fall on the cusp of services. Their IQs are low enough where they qualify for services, but high enough where they are resourceful enough to be pseudo-independent. These individuals have brain damage — from birth defects, abuse, or chronic neglect. Some have fetal alcohol syndrome and some have natural mild mental impairments. **They have poor impulse control and poor judgment as part of their disability and make decisions that reflect that.** These are also the same people that are the most exploited. Their lack of a visible disability is actually what can make them the most challenging to serve.\n\nSo what happens when these individuals want to live independently in their own apartment?\n\nWe say “ok”.\n\n**Welcome to High-Risk Housing.**\n\nOver the last 7 years we have developed a complex housing program for some of our most high-risk individuals. For most, this is their very first time living alone. For almost all, this is their **only** alternative to being homeless.\n\nWait! That seems counter-intuitive! The MOST difficult should need MORE supervision, not less, right?\n\nLet me break it down: You take someone that has lived in foster care for 8 years after being neglected and abused for the first decade of their life. They have an IQ of 70 and years of unstable placements and institutional care. As a result, they have reactive attachment disorder and they use drugs to self-medicate. They hate authority and structure and they are not afraid to show it. They don’t want to work or leave their apartment. They threaten their providers with baseball bats every time they set a rule.\n\nThe options for this person are one of a few things: 1. They can be homeless. 2. They can live with a host home provider or in a group home, to which they will inevitably be kicked out or run away. 3. They can be placed in an IDD institution where they live in cement block rooms. 4. They end up in prison where they will be continually exploited and abused due to their low IQ.\n\nWell, none of those options work for us. Thus, we provide another option: To live independently and accept all that comes with it.\n\n>**High-Risk Housing — When there is no good option.**\n\nHere is the person-centered truth: People can make bad choices and still have the right to live independently.\n\nDon’t we all know adults **without** disabilities that make rotten choices? They find abusive relationships, use drugs, exploit themselves and make poor friend choices. In essence, they make poor life choices all around. Yet, we don’t go to their parents and say they can’t live alone, do we?\n\nIn our high-risk housing program we have essentially come to terms with the fact that we are offering independent living options to some of the most challenging and vulnerable people in the system. **We know it is a risk. We know it is going to be hard. We are signing up for hard.**\n\n> We accept that the risk is better than homelessness or institutionalization…and that is all we really need to know.\n\nHow can a program like this be successful in a fully occupied rental market? It sounds impossible, right?\n\n**It is possible. At Sample Supports we have a 96% success rate of supporting high-risk individuals to remain in stable, long-term independent housing.**\n\nIn a world where stable transitional housing outcomes average less than 50% for the high-risk population, 96% speaks for itself.\n\nDon’t worry, I’ll tell you how we do it soon enough. Stay tuned….\n\nFound this post useful? Kindly follow me and recommend to others! Thank you!",
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      "body": "![L1.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmQFUfRedZGUhtJ5sun7Cq9E3CBfA8ieBTeVEiRqBVhjNY/L1.jpg)\n\nThis funny thing happened when we became a “large company” — People started suing us. Maybe we looked differently, or spoke differently, or smelled differently……smelled like green dollar bills, perhaps.\n\nNever in my life have I had a legal matter, and as the new year begins I sit gathered around with my family and friends, a glass of champagne, three small children, and three pending lawsuits.\n\n![s2.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmdhfjQwX4zyBMjV2spdEcwonfAgQu7nNDuqEVvx5BExq7/s2.jpg)\n\nCheers!\n\nHappy New Year, bitches.\n\nWhen I had my first lawsuit “served” to me at the beginning of the year, I didn’t even understand what I was looking at…. “trial by jury” invoked a sense of fear in me the first time I saw it. WTF was this? I envisioned myself sitting in a court room with shackles on….rehearsing my story for my future feature of 48 hours on ID— my life on the line for something that I actually didn’t do.\n\nWhen you are served a lawsuit your mind races through all the scenarios, “What ifs?”, and feelings of anger and sadness. When someone tries to publicly and formally claim you have “wronged” them your immediate reaction is to wonder…..Did I? The legal system is set up to induce a sense of fear and panic, whether it is rooted in reality or not. They put it on a piece of paper and found a poor sucker of a lawyer to sign off on it….thus it must be true, right? It is an exercise in mental gymnastics. **Bottom Line: Don’t believe everything you read.**\n\nSo what is different about this last year in our business? Well, nothing. If anything we are a strong and stable machine compared to where we were 7 years ago. Truth be told, I did a lot of risky things when we first started that could have ended me up in hot water….but it never did. We now have a mature business with HR teams and lawyers and people that are working every day to keep us “legally clean”. So why is it that now people try to sue us when we aren’t doing anything risky to warrant it?\n\nI think the answer lies in the space between…..the space between me as the owner and employees that I have never met. The space between the connection that people feel to me as a person vs. a figure head picture on a computer screen. The space between that power differential that didn’t feel like a “thing” until it became one. The space between what is a company and what is a family. It is in that space that people lose their connection and turn issues into legalities. What was once resolved over a glass of wine when we were a company of 10 is now a full blown legal battle in a company of 300, with people I have never even met.\n\n![L3.jpeg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmWbNHxMWKyTAEyRKdaYzvKCw8Von2p8UrsVipmVVG2BMn/L3.jpeg)\n\nAs a business grows, that “space between” grows too. It is an inevitable reality that is a natural consequence of company growth. That said, it doesn’t make it “right” that others take this space and use it as a manipulation tactic. Yet, it turns out I’m not the only business owner that gets served lawsuits. Who knew?\n\nI had the luxury of joining this group of other business owners this year where I overheard a conversation at a happy hour of them talking about their own lawsuits (from one of their family members nonetheless!). I ran over and said “You have lawsuits too?!?!?!?!?!” The group of five of them turned to me and said “Yes, we all do. That is what happens when you are successful.”\n\n#truth\n\nSo now comes the question…..What are you going to do about it?\n\nDeciding what to do in the public game of chicken is a fun test of spirit and character. How do I handle it? **Well, we all know I like a good fight.**\n\nNo, I’m not going to lie down or cry myself to sleep in fear of your attempt to publicly embarrass me. I’m way beyond that in my professional development. No, I’m not going to try and placate you with dollar bills no matter how good they smell — you have already shown you are nuts and **I definitely don’t negotiate with terrorists.** Nah, I’m going to lawyer up. I’m going to take my earned success that you are trying so hard to get a piece of and use it to fight you with all the fury I can muster.\n\nJust remember that I always play to win.\n\nWhy not just settle to avoid the fight, you may ask? For the principle of it. For the fun of it. Because people shouldn’t be able to make things up while making a scene…just to get a nice paycheck. People shouldn’t be able to use their own mental health issues to create craziness and turmoil for someone else. Life shouldn’t work that way.\n\nBecause ultimately what is money other than an exchange of energy? **Justice is worth a lot of money to me.**\n\nLawsuits are a funny concept in the first place. They are intended to be for serious issues that require monetary retribution to survive. There are some lawsuits that matter — a botched medical procedure that leaves someone requiring lifelong care with g-tube feedings; a hot air balloon accident that leaves someone parapalegic, perhaps. A faulty widget that results in complete disfiguration? Yeah, maybe those are justified lawsuits.\n\nThe legal system is not intended to be used for people to pitch a fit on the floor like a 2 year old with a demand to give them money to make them feel better. “Wah! I’m mad it didn’t go my way. I want a lollipop and a glass of juice and 100k”.\n\n![L4.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmNVwfqcrsRFfon9SDAHYutA9ozoShtb33afmtiJaCRxbX/L4.jpg)\n\nWhy do people file lawsuits? Because they have nothing to lose….yet.\n\n…..and they have WAAAAAAAAY too much time on their hands….Oh yeah, and a cold cold heart.….ya know kind of like that guy who likes to go around stealing Christmas presents? Yeah, they are like that guy.\n\n![L5.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmPXBcaPAE4ckrXCUunC3MovBhMgozyctZBDTSY3mT7fep/L5.jpg)\n\nI am sure the person filing the lawsuit feels wronged in some way. The point though is that this isn’t grounds to file a lawsuit. Here is the thing: Everyone “wrongs” each other in this world. Shit happens. The world isn’t perfect. Mentally stable people simply accept that as a reality, take a deep breath and move on with their life.\n\nMentally UNstable people….well….what they do is file lawsuits every time they get their feelings hurt. Yeah, I said it. I think that the vast majority of people that file lawsuits are completely batshit crazy. They are people that are highly manipulative, perhaps a bit off their rocker, and super entitled. They see a pile of money and for some reason…they think that it belongs to them just because they exist on the planet.\n\nDid they work for that money? Nope. Did they earn that money? Nope. Yet for some reason…they feel entitled to it. Is it dementia? Insanity? All I know is…\n\nBitches be Crazy.\n\nWhat people forget is that behind every company and behind every figure head there are people. They aren’t filing a lawsuit at a name on a piece of paper — they are filing a lawsuit against a person, a family, three young children. Yes, it should make you feel like a total asshole to file a lawsuit that will financially impact my three toddlers. Thanks for trying to steal their lollipops, asshole.\n\n![L6.jpeg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmWZNtWoDwigfuNHsQztbP2qAyXJvMiyxJfTKoAegyMkF3/L6.jpeg)\n\nWill it cost more for me to fight it? It may, but I will fight with the fire of 1000 suns and spend a lot of money to make sure that I do everything in my power to make sure that they don’t get any. They may not realize they just poked the momma bear….and this momma bear is fucking fierce. I will fight to win. I will fight for the fun of it…..I will fight for the smell of it.\n\nYou see, JUSTICE and VICTORY smell really sweet. When you have to give my kids back their lollipops and pay all my court fees that I will no doubt pile up just for you I want you to remember one thing: I didn’t start the fight.\n\nBetter remember that before you throw your first punch, sista.\n\n#silverlining? This gives me the opportunity to buy that fancy suit and new pair of heels I’ve been thinking about. Maybe I’ll spend 100k on the outfit just to prove a point that it is my money to spend and not yours. I like to smell like success, after all.\n\n![L7.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmbT1sktUWcktuprQzyaAKKiJuhGwj5oGrnJh8XDS8Kwbb/L7.jpg)\n\nCan’t wait. Bring it on. I’ll see you in court.\n\nOh, and…….#gfy\n\nFound this post useful? Kindly follow me and recommend to others! Thank you!",
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      "title": "Reconciling the End. Leaving your job gracefully",
      "body": "![S1.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmPTmLT9x2i3gFCVk7Uw2yMrPMvh8HVoh91Vf29HVJDXMa/S1.jpg)\n\nEndings are a process of emotional reconciliation.\n\nResigning from a job is like breaking up with your partner. There are lots of spoken and unspoken feelings. It feels intense and scary walking into the unknown while dealing with an emotional tornado of where you still are.\n\n*Wait….isn’t it “just a job”?* No, it’s not.\n\n*Work is a place where you grow as a person — professionally AND personally.*\n\n*Work is a place where you devote your full mental energy and your most valuable resource=your time.*\n\n*Work is a place where you make friends and partners and allies.*\n\n*Work is a place that sometimes you resent.*\n\n*Work is a place that creates all the emotions — excitement, disappointment, frustration, and happiness.*\n\n*Work is a place that defines your professional sense of self and your work identity.*\n\n*Work is a place that conveys a sense of your personal value.*\n\n> Work Matters.\n\n![S2.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmXHSQKVK8dKisKaPbKnLFDBuZ771C3vXKhB9xhZafdjyV/S2.jpg)\n\nWhen I was studying to be a marriage and family therapist, one of the things that I remember the most is this: How someone chooses to “end” is important. It is ultimately a reflection of character and strength. Endings happen, but it is the “HOW” that is character defining and is often reflected in other parts of someone’s life. Yet, leaving gracefully is still challenging no matter how hard you try to do it. It is hard because resigning is simply “calling an end”. Endings hurt.\n\nEndings involve a process of intense reconciliation. Reconciling choices. Reconciling trajectory. Reconciling defeat. Reconciling anticipation. Reconciling worry. Reconciling regret. Reconciling dreams. Reconciling alignment. Reconciling values. Reconciling ideas. Reconciling all the things.\n\n\n![S3.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmbVAwAp6D3LdjKrRNfFJ2B6dEw6B9XnP4FDLa74zVQeKy/S3.png)\n\nThe process of reconciliation is not easy. When you really care about something, the reconciliation is even harder. It is tempting to get sucked into the easy feelings: feelings of victimization, feelings of villainization, feelings of inadequacy, feelings of worry, feelings of paranoia. They are the easy feelings we default to as we are trying to work the process through.\n\nPart of reconciliation is working through the process of resentment. We don’t always get the recognition we deserve in the way we think we should. We don’t always get a perfect transition. We don’t always like the things we see or hear once we have made our choice. We make assumptions because we feel threatened and vulnerable. We forget that when we leave, we are not the only ones that are forced to reconcile. The people that remain have to reconcile the ending too. Sometimes parallel reconciliation processes collide. **When this happens we have to simply assume the best intentions and trust in that.**\n\nThe true root of our pain? We all want to have a legacy. We all want to be remembered for doing something great. We want our name to go down in the history books for the amazing contributions we made. Sometimes we just want our work history to be recorded and validated. We want to be acknowledged for the value we brought to the table and to our peers. We want to be recognized for our influence, time and effort. We want to be remembered and to know our time spent meant something.\n\n**The “grace” goal is not to let our ending overshadow our legacy.**\n\nWe must hold strong in the idea that YES, our contributions matter, even if the recognition is lacking. Sometimes it takes a minute for your work to feel the contributions you made. Sometimes it takes a few months to the feel the void you left. Sometimes it takes years for people to see the big picture. Sometimes we have to trust in the process.\n\nUntil then, move strongly with the choice that you have reconciled with. Go strongly into the next unknown chapter. Don’t forget to assume the best intentions along the way.\n\n![S4.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmcm1dPSP9FMkaqc7WfcZcHckA1yVEcNeGJgUcnCAZUmTp/S4.jpg)\n\nDon’t forget to call and tell your work how you are doing. They may not admit it, but they miss you already.",
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      "body": "Hi! I am a robot. I just upvoted you! I found similar content that readers might be interested in:\nhttps://medium.com/startupsco/why-we-dont-pay-sick-time-the-three-truths-of-calling-out-sick-16e5ec520cef",
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      "title": "Why we don’t pay sick time. The Three Truths of “calling out sick”.",
      "body": "![s1.jpeg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmXu2nuPPuwQgHEgKxYHWddRuZKZLTkmoZBoisPiogtwRc/s1.jpeg)\n\nI know this blog post is going to get some electronic tomatoes thrown in my direction….. Meh… *cue shoulder shrug*. That said, here comes the first leadership truth:\n\n**#1: You look bad when you chronically call out sick.**\n\nWhen we were a company of 10 people, no one ever called out sick. I even had a policy at the time where I paid for sick days that no one took advantage of. For real, never — It was just never an issue for almost two years. I then upboarded my first manager and that single move of one level separation between me as the owner and the employees created an environment where we had people calling out sick left and right. I think it was some sense of “Oh, well now it is a “company” and not just a person I am loyal to”. That sense of entitlement did not end well. I had a manager finally break down in tears because she couldn’t get her job done as she was pulled into the direct line work every day because of the excessive “call outs”. It was then that I decided to make our policy that we still use today:\n\n**No paid time for unplanned absences.** I don’t care if you have a Doctor’s Note (We all know that anyone can get a Dr. Note for anything and No — it doesn’t mean you were really sick). I don’t care if you have PTO saved up (PTO is intended for planned absences that we can prepare for and support you in). Unplanned absences are unpaid. If you are truly THAT sick where you really don’t care if you are paid then ok, have your unpaid sick day and we will wish you well and see you tomorrow. If your unplanned absences become a pattern then there will be some explaining to do….\n\n![s2.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmYJdcvaCZ6jbju1CjnvbrL4TLSsATc1YDhBbFLnEQJp4L/s2.jpg)\n\nWhat happened when I instituted this policy? It was like a miracle from the heavens above: **People stopped being sick.** It is so rare that we have someone call in sick that when it happens we all look at each other in a state of confusion. Really? Why? There must be something REALLY wrong. When you make a policy, you have to stand behind it. For me, this is the only way that I can truly feel a sense of sympathy for someone that calls out. I assume they are being honest because who in their right mind would miss an entire day’s paycheck unless they were really sick? They must be TRULY sick to do something like that. If I feel sympathy, I am more willing to make an exception for a situation that truly is awful (see last bullet point below) where someone IS sick.\n\nSick….or a little crazy. We have some of that too. People that claim a family member died when they didn’t? Yes, we have had that. People that claim an illness only to post onto facebook their epic backpacking adventure? Yep, we have had that too. I know, I know — it really sucks when a few people ruin it for everyone.\n\n> Unplanned Time = Unpaid Time\n\nDue to this effective policy, one has to ask….Was anyone REALLY sick before the policy? I’m sure there was about a 3% true sick rate. Yes, for the person who really does wake up with a freak stomach bug, this policy really sucks. *Yet, I will argue that this happens very infrequently….So infrequently, in fact, that this policy is worth it for the decreased day-to-day hassle of the large majority of situations where someone is not really sick.* There were also a lot of cough and wink situations happening. One person even called out for a “mental health day” when they knew we were drastically under-staffed. **Just to be clear, that is a surefire way to get your manager to hate you.** That was the icing on the cake for me…… Are you serious? You thought your need for yoga and a nap was more important than everyone else on the team that just had to work 10x as hard in a complete panic because you decided you needed some “me time”? Get out of here with that shit.\n\nOk, here is the deal: “Calling out sick” may fly when you work as a data entry person at a 10,000 person company and you have a checked out manager. Why? Because nobody cares if you are there. Doesn’t feel like a very warm and fuzzy policy now, does it? You know why that company has a “We will pay for 200 hours of sick time every year” kind of policy? Because they don’t need you to show up. They are using the policy as a way to retain people that are just looking for a paycheck.\n\nThis policy does not work in a small business where everyBODY is necessary and crucial to the operations. I don’t have anyone employed that isn’t critical to the success of the business. It hurts everyone else when someone calls out unexpectedly and that then hurts team morale and team performance. Further, we work with people with developmental disabilities that depend on routine and structure for success. It can put an entire day into a tailspin when someone chooses not to follow their schedule — honestly, it can be downright dangerous. The ripple effect of ONE person calling out can be massive costs and excessive time wasted. It creates resentment from peers and from the leadership team and all the managers that are reading this right now shaking their head and thinking “Yes, it really sucks when people call out unnecessarily and I can’t get my job done as a result”.\n\n![s3.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmfWXcp6tWiMqrRyoyNSBHh27Hag3sSSejFY7jDUohJzTM/s3.jpg)\n\n**#2: Awesome employees don’t call out sick when they have a cold.**\n\nThey just don’t. Their moral work ethic code won’t allow them to call out when they feel a bit off. Know what else? They don’t have bouts of “fainting” and they don’t have chronic infections and they don’t have 10 serious colds a year and they aren’t vomiting uncontrollably once a month. They don’t have migraines once a week and they don’t have unexplained illnesses that land them in the ER. They don’t get the flu 3x/year and they don’t try to take time off of work because their favorite celebrity perished.\n\nWhy? Because they are so busy being awesome that they don’t have time for that kind of drama…..and they definitely do NOT dramatize their ailments.\n\n![s4.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmW8d3dJq98cxSb2s7hEvP8BuusV1iVrgJmWZFvMwKbBkg/s4.jpg)\n\nAre they evolutionarily superior? No. They get colds and have problems just like everyone else. The difference is that they just suck it up and get to work. Guess how many times I “called out sick” when I was an employee? I seriously can’t recall a single time. I was the one that picked up extra shifts and worked holidays for double pay. I took a week off of work when my mother unexpectedly died and then I pulled myself together and got back in the game. I left my job with over 200 hours of unused sick time when I went to start my own company and no, I wasn’t paid out for them. Could I have milked the system and used my 200 hours with a cough and wink just to quit with two weeks notice? Yes….but I’m not an asshole. I cared about what I was doing and was willing to see my work through instead of taking a “me” day just because I could. I have more integrity than that and I wasn’t going to abuse my company’s policy even if I was given the opportunity to do so.\n\nThe reality is that we all have “issues”. We all have something that we could make into a “thing” every day of our lives. I have chronic pain in my right shoulder from an injury in high school. I have daily pain in my tailbone from it breaking during my first child’s birth (ouch). I get chronic headaches and blurry vision from staring at a computer screen. I have frequent colds seeing as I live in a petri dish of germs from my beautiful three kids. I run a fever at least once a quarter due to said petri dish.\n\nDo I call out sick when any of these ailments arise? No. I get out my kleenex and take some tylenol and get back to work.\n\n![s5.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmf4X3AySGcFsLCHqqpKQtZCEzyJqcnKQbjBgsJscpjaxu/s5.jpg)\n\n**#3: Your frequent absences make you look like an unstable liability to your employer.**\n\n(Give me a second to wipe my screen from the excessive e-tomatoes). This is one that people need to know, whether they agree or not. If someone is constantly calling out it makes the employer think: 1) They hate their job. 2) They are using drugs. 3) They hate their job AND are using drugs. 4) They are a slacker. 5) They can’t handle the pressure of the job and aren’t a right fit. 6) They have another part-time job that they are doing on the side and this job isn’t their priority. 7) They don’t have enough coping skills to successfully maneuver the stressors of life.\n\nAny of those theories don’t make an employer want to “help” you. They make the employer want to get rid of your dysfunction in the workplace as fast as possible.\n\nNow, there are lots of people that will make this into a work/life balance issue (mean #girlboss….hisssssssss…..booooo) — but let’s call it what it is….It is me as the employer simply saying “Don’t be a Jerk” or maybe “Don’t be an Idiot” by calling out sick every time your toe hurts. It makes you look like an asshole. Assholes don’t stay employed very long….so you call me what you want, but don’t call out sick every week if you want to keep your job.\n\n![s6.jpeg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmaRFCdX5CSQZmwoghVSzwyT43BhKFh68rnMpp9FtbBpoh/s6.jpeg)\n\nMY truth? I want my teams to be healthy and happy. Thus, we offer a lot of proactive benefits and paid time off for those that use it appropriately:\n\n- We offer three weeks of PTO during your first year of employment that you can start accruing and using immediately. Yes! I actively encourage people to use their PTO. Going to Mexico? Yay, good for you. Thank you for giving me enough time to plan for your absence.\n- We offer paid maternity and paternity leave. Really? Yes, it is a lot of work to push a human being out of your vagina (or to squeeze the hips of your partner for 12 hours). That deserves a little paid recognition. You know what is also great about having a baby? The employer gets almost a year of advance notice. #bliss.\n- We offer paid holidays. Woohoo! Paid Holidays in addition to three weeks of PTO your first year? Yes, you heard correctly.\nDid you have a death in the family? Yes, of course we support you in taking the paid time off you need to cope with your loss (and yes, we verify the death occurred).\n- Do you have a serious medical issue that requires a leave of absence? We offer qualified FMLA and will support you and your family through that.\n- We offer Gold Plan Health Insurance! We encourage people to take care of themselves and do what they need to do to stay healthy. Please schedule to see all the people that you need to see to keep you and family running at full speed.\nWe offer flexible schedules! This is why it is even more baffling to me when someone calls out sick instead of just adjusting their FLEXIBLE schedule to work as necessary.\n- The quiet truth: We aren’t a soul-less company. If we hear that someone truly had an awful sickness — they got mononucleosis or the plague of some sort and were out for two weeks and had PTO time saved up then yes, we may be making some exceptions. I don’t want someone to not be able to pay their mortgage because they came down with a true freak illness. I’m just saying this pretty much never happens…and in the slim chance that it does, we will treat it case-by-case.\n\nWhat do we NOT pay for? Someone that has the sniffles and decides it may just be “too much” to make it in for the day. For those situations, I want it to be a real thought process of *Is it worth it for me to not get paid if I don’t come in?*\n\n![s7.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmSw4LBpZY1Cnbv1zjxoEU6os6v9M3UyCYNgqzUMyBEPFy/s7.png)\n\nYou are part of a team that depends on you to come into work. You are needed and cared about. Oh, did I mention that you are needed? That should feel good….so good in fact that you should want to show up for work. Every Day.\n\nI’ll see you at the office. I’ll even keep kleenex at my desk if you need it.\n\nThis post was originally published on medium.  Follow me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/carmensampleco) and [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/carmen.sample.5)!",
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      "title": "The ENTOURAGE every CEO needs",
      "body": "![e1.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmQSMx4uQT1fxJMVyVsP3FRc7hD3wYRgGKnwW3C6Bwdd1Q/e1.jpg)\n\n> What I have learned about an effective entourage is that they are not “followers” — They are actually the leaders that manage the CEO.\n\nEntourages aren’t just for divas, though I don’t mind people thinking that is what I am. Every successful business leader has a sassy entourage behind her, pushing things forward and cleaning up messes. At one point, I tried to do everything myself. I even wrote a blog post about my super human powers:\n\nTruth is, I don’t do “all the things” by myself…at least not anymore. Our primary small business grew by 5 million in revenue in the last year. Things had to change to make this happen and I had to find other smart divas to build the business up and create a backbone of operations so we could all succeed together.\nEvery stage of a company needs a different kind of entourage. At this point in our company positioning, my entourage consists of:\n\n1. **Executive Assistant.** This is a recent hire for me, believe it or not. People have told me for years to hire one and I resisted it as I kept thinking “What will he/she do?”…..turns out, they can do a lot and if done well they keep unnecessary information from hitting your desk and cluttering your world. A skilled Executive Assistant keeps you organized and focused. They keep distractions at bay so you can focus on building the companies. They organize your emails, keep your calendar up-to-date and redirect your attention to priorities.\n\n2. **Personal Assistant.** For me, this person also watches my baby. She does my laundry, keeps my house organized, does my grocery shopping, schedules activities for my children, runs errands, keeps tabs on other household individuals (cleaners, maintenance, etc), packs for our trips and keeps my house stocked. She is essentially a “household manager”. When my baby was nursing, she would bring him to me at every feeding interval. I frequently call her and ask “Do you know where that black shirt with the lace thing on the bottom and shoulder straps is?” She always knows where it is, and where my car keys are (I can never find them) — it is amazing.\n\n3. **Public Relations.** PR makes you look good. This is my “hair and makeup” equivalent team team. I’m not going to lie, I have definitely requested our graphic designer to do some photo touch ups…(maybe I AM a diva!). My PR team documents our efforts — they make videos, do press releases, and run social campaigns in order to control the message….and they make sure we look flawless in the process.\n\n4. **Business Strategists.** They are the people that work alongside you “on” the company instead of “in” the company. They increase efficiency and organization in processes that are necessary to make the company successful. They advise you and do the work to implement a process. It is beyond helpful having other people that are looking at the big scope with you and can prompt the next step.\n\n5. **Marketing Director.** Marketing is simple in concept — They direct attention to your business so that it can in turn generate money. Turns out that implementation is not as simple. It is quite challenging to turn the day-to-day into an effective brand that you can promote to others. It takes a skilled team to do it the way you want it to be done. Thus, the Marketing Director has to be aligned with your vision and “brand” so that they can insure the implementation reflects all the right things. The Marketing Director can be the loud voice needed to self-promote your daily operations.\n\n6. **HR Director.** They manage your liability. HR is your legal right arm and keeps the business “clean”. They clean up messes and then set up processes to make sure that mess never happens again. They are the gatekeepers to the drama and contain it so everyone else can keep their eye on the prize. Unemployment? Workers Comp? Recruitment? Insurance Policies? Career Paths? They do all the things.\n\n7. **Finance Director.** They are the money hoarders. They are holders of the dollar bills and are also investigators into where the money is coming from and going to. Do you have accounts receivables woes? Your Finance Director is the one that focuses all their efforts to get the money that was earned. They do it without the emotion you will inherently have about it as the CEO. They open the door to money with open arms and then quickly shut the door and lock it with 40 deadbolts so that it can’t flood back out.\n\n8. **Business Directors.** If the business world was a group of wild street performers, the Business Directors would be the Star Plate Spinners. They manage all the things and keep them moving. They spin the workforce plates and the talent management plates and the business contracts plates. They slow some plates down and speed other ones up. They control which plates get to spin and which ones need a break. Sometimes they do it while juggling fire sticks. Sometimes they do it while standing in pyramid formation. They correct issues quickly to keep the plates spinning and glue the plates back together if they break. They make it look good — they are your rare unicorns. They are the cream of the crop and set the standard for everyone else.\n\n9. **My Husband.** I was just reading this blog to him and he told me that he better be included in the entourage list. lol. Of course! He is my sounding board, co decision-maker and my best friend. He hears all the drama, supports my decisions and reminds me that all is ok. He also is the primary caretaker of our family while also running a business himself. He cooks all my meals, prepares the school lunches, and gets the kids dressed in the morning. He also rubs my feet every night. xoxo\n\n![e2.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmfJJVdiEVjsSiC5giDjBmvpJpEyWKpzoJKU5heMKSvW5u/e2.jpg)\n\n> What I have learned about an effective entourage is that they are not “followers” — They are actually the leaders that manage the CEO.\n\nMy Finance Director will tell me “Yes, that loan has to be listed on your balance sheet, whether you want it to be or not”, just as my Marketing Director tells me not to respond to negative reviews online (I don’t always follow this piece of advice though…). The Business Directors tell you what needs to change to spin plates effectively while the HR Director tells you when a new benefit is necessary to retain staff. Your Personal Assistant will tell you why the nap times for your children are changing and your Executive Assistant will text you at 8pm to remind you to sign a document. Your Strategists will tell you when to pivot and your Husband will tell you it’s time to eat so you don’t get “hAngry”. Your PR team will remind you of your talking points before you get on stage and won’t judge you when you ask for your stomach area to be smoothed out in a picture. (I’ve had three kids….it happens). They all influence and direct the company to be the best it can be.\n\nA leader’s entourage “manages up”…. and I’m ok with that. Everyone needs a little supervision sometimes.\n\nSometimes they are just your work friends and your confidants. They “see” all the things and “hear” all the things and they talk you through it. They may even watch you cry…and that is a good thing. Their perspective is usually right as they aren’t always in the line of fire and can see all the pieces more clearly… and they do it while having your back.\n\nHow do I do it all?\n\nTruth: My entourage “does it all”… I just provide some occasional guidance and redirection on our path we walk together. And…..A little photo shop never hurts either. :)\n\n![e3.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmUGAMq4Xxm2Hpd4W4ah1nj5e868H88urrf4JStr7Zk62T/e3.png)\n\nThis post was originally posted on Medium. Follow my Medium blog [here](https://medium.com/@carmensample) Kindly follow me and recommend to others! Thank you!",
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      "title": "Managing your “Management Brand”",
      "body": "No, I’m not talking about color schemes and font styles.\n\nI’m talking about not tolerating bullshit.\n\n![b-1.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmWj9RmTgYiyhRne9UiNZd95viVDA2iXLTfoxNVoAfo1wP/b-1.jpg)\n\nA “management brand” is the way you manage performance issues as a company. Every company has a brand, though it is usually subtle and discussed behind closed doors so that people only know what it is if something goes wrong. It is traditionally not transparent, but instead quiet and wrapped in awkwardness and reluctance.\n\n**I’m here to say it’s fine just to openly declare what the performance management brand is AND what you want it to be. It is important to define HOW you manage people as a company so that you can hold each other to what that looks like.**\n\nManagement consists of two primary things:\n\n#1 Motivating and inspiring your team to achieve outcomes\n\n#2 Holding your team accountable to outcomes and FULL UTILIZATION….without drama\n\nI see a lot of blogs written about motivating and inspiring others, and to me — that is the easy part, at least at [Sample Supports](http://www.samplesupports.com/). It is easy to set goals and a vision and get everyone to get on the train with you. If you genuinely like what you do and have a great mission, then #1 is effortless.\n\nThings generally go wrong in point #2.\n\nLet’s talk about utilization for a second: **Human Capital is the MOST important resource we have in our companies.** Because of this, it is critical that we make sure everyone on our team is doing their role and doing it completely. I will drop everything else I am doing to manage a performance issue in real time. I will restructure entire projects if I have to in order to address a performance issue that is running interference. Yes, it is THAT important. Why? The company cannot operate without an effective team.\n\n![b2.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmefzJZzX7yQGGx4jHMfwRYsLGbPhjHnYRgfNXYbVdX6z7/b2.jpg)\n\nAs the CEO of a rather large operation, I still spend 50% of my time discussing performance issues, utilization issues and action plans. It is not a waste of my time. It is time well spent seeing as **I know that the quality of my workforce is the most important thing in my company.** I am in charge of defining our brand and culture, and I accept that this takes time and energy and effort. Without an effective and high-performing team, we can’t accomplish anything.\n\n> Effective team performance and utilization are ALWAYS my top priorities.\n\nSo, what happens when someone is simply not doing what you hired them to do? When they are working at a % of the utilization you hired them for? When they are creating a tornado of drama? What happens when you have to take a break from your natural state of “inspiring people” and do a corrective action? Then what?\n\nThe way things are handled when it gets tough defines your identity as a company and ultimately answers the question: *What does your company stand behind and stand for?*\n\n![b3.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmaiQD7wi3ZXxQ8bRFhvdmmVEr1PSpBVAeMYqJkbw5gDbe/b3.jpg)\n\nJust as it is important to make sure your team is handling recruitment and onboarding in the same way, it is just as important to make sure that they are handling things consistently when things go wrong. This is a brand defining philosophical approach to what it means to “manage” in your company. This is more than a “policy”, but instead it is a way of being with your team. It is the expectation that managers hold each other to. It is also the response people can expect to receive and witness when someone in your workforce goes rogue, for better or worse.\n\nAt [Sample Supports](http://www.samplesupports.com/), we are working in a company that is growing a compounding 60% every year and that growth rate is no joke. What that means for us is that we don’t have the time or the luxury to stay in a dysfunctional place with a team member. The ONLY way to operate as a company when you are growing this fast is to have a high-performing team.\n\nWe have two choices in our company: Be Awesome or Fail.\n\nI’ll choose option number one, please.\n\nBecause we know that we must be effective to stay in business AND we know our workforce is our #1 asset, we decided to establish “Leadership Values” that we all hold and commit to with each other as a management team. Here are a few:\n\n- We identify and eradicate liabilities and toxic situations with a sense of urgency.\n- We hold a firm line of expecting our teams to functionally engage in the work or to leave the team.\n- We provide all feedback that serves in improving our team’s professional development.\n- We address problematic behaviors with our clients, our teams and ourselves.\n- We challenge our team to work hard, take on responsibilities and fully utilize our talents.\n\nUltimately, we are saying: We have a special thing going here and if you want to be a part of it you have to be a functional and effective part of our team.\n\nPeople have a choice: Up or Out. No lingering.\n\nRemember that you will always regret letting a dysfunctional situation stay in your team longer than you should have. You won’t regret eradicating it quickly. That doesn’t make it any less uncomfortable and challenging. Talking about performance issues is uncomfortable for people and that has to change for someone to be effective in their leadership role.\n\n> Embrace the challenge of discussing performance issues and make it the “norm” in your culture.\n\nWhat I have learned in running a company of over 300 people is that a performance issue does not go away on it’s own. Time does NOT heal that wound — in fact, it makes it deeper and more pervasive because left unaddressed it can multiply and influence others. This is why when we see a problem we have to focus on it, address it, and create an action plan to change it. We don’t wait for it to happen 3 times — No, no, no — when we see the problem we address it “directly and with a sense of urgency”. We do it the FIRST TIME. We sit down and say “Hey, I see you doing this thing that isn’t working in our team. I need you to fix it…..right now”.\n\nThe best part? People can change and improve quickly. It’s true — I’ve seen it.\n\nThe other best part? It raises the esteem of your team because they know that their peers are held to being as great as they are. **Truth: High performers want to be with other high performers.** You actually run the risk of losing high performers when they see that their peer in the same pay grade can get away with under-performing or straight up dysfunction.\n\n![b4.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmaWgXVLRiNg83935QgGHRbWK96JjxMH39oo2Mt1UnJw2h/b4.jpg)\n\nDefining your “management brand” depends on what your business needs to be successful. Brands evolve over time based on what the company needs — perhaps I will feel differently (and manage differently) if/when our company slows down it’s growth rate. Maybe I’ll do it differently if/when we have 1000 employees vs. 300. It’s possible you need to manage a paper company differently than a human services company. There are lots of things to consider, but bottom line is that nobody wants a dysfunctional team.\n\nThat said, your established “management brand” is something you should shout from the rooftops. Define it. Be clear about it. Train others how to do it. Then all you have to do is hold the line.\n\n> You will know you have established your brand effectively when your leaders call out alignment discrepancies in their peers and hold the line for you.\n\nNow back to your job of inspiring people… Unless you work for a paper company. Then that really sucks for you.\n\n![b5.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmQvCxkftjuEvrXAsPrg1dyEedyQSr55vjM2WW2tD7gYyc/b5.jpg)\n\nFound this post useful? Kindly follow me and recommend to others! Thank you!\n\nFollow me on social! Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn!",
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      "body": "No, I’m not talking about color schemes and font styles.\n\nI’m talking about not tolerating bullshit.\n\n![b-1.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmWj9RmTgYiyhRne9UiNZd95viVDA2iXLTfoxNVoAfo1wP/b-1.jpg)\n\nA “management brand” is the way you manage performance issues as a company. Every company has a brand, though it is usually subtle and discussed behind closed doors so that people only know what it is if something goes wrong. It is traditionally not transparent, but instead quiet and wrapped in awkwardness and reluctance.\n\n**I’m here to say it’s fine just to openly declare what the performance management brand is AND what you want it to be. It is important to define HOW you manage people as a company so that you can hold each other to what that looks like.**\n\nManagement consists of two primary things:\n\n#1 Motivating and inspiring your team to achieve outcomes\n\n#2 Holding your team accountable to outcomes and FULL UTILIZATION….without drama\n\nI see a lot of blogs written about motivating and inspiring others, and to me — that is the easy part, at least at [Sample Supports](http://www.samplesupports.com/). It is easy to set goals and a vision and get everyone to get on the train with you. If you genuinely like what you do and have a great mission, then #1 is effortless.\n\nThings generally go wrong in point #2.\n\nLet’s talk about utilization for a second: **Human Capital is the MOST important resource we have in our companies.** Because of this, it is critical that we make sure everyone on our team is doing their role and doing it completely. I will drop everything else I am doing to manage a performance issue in real time. I will restructure entire projects if I have to in order to address a performance issue that is running interference. Yes, it is THAT important. Why? The company cannot operate without an effective team.\n\n![b2.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmefzJZzX7yQGGx4jHMfwRYsLGbPhjHnYRgfNXYbVdX6z7/b2.jpg)\n\nAs the CEO of a rather large operation, I still spend 50% of my time discussing performance issues, utilization issues and action plans. It is not a waste of my time. It is time well spent seeing as **I know that the quality of my workforce is the most important thing in my company.** I am in charge of defining our brand and culture, and I accept that this takes time and energy and effort. Without an effective and high-performing team, we can’t accomplish anything.\n\n> Effective team performance and utilization are ALWAYS my top priorities.\n\nSo, what happens when someone is simply not doing what you hired them to do? When they are working at a % of the utilization you hired them for? When they are creating a tornado of drama? What happens when you have to take a break from your natural state of “inspiring people” and do a corrective action? Then what?\n\nThe way things are handled when it gets tough defines your identity as a company and ultimately answers the question: *What does your company stand behind and stand for?*\n\n![b3.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmaiQD7wi3ZXxQ8bRFhvdmmVEr1PSpBVAeMYqJkbw5gDbe/b3.jpg)\n\nJust as it is important to make sure your team is handling recruitment and onboarding in the same way, it is just as important to make sure that they are handling things consistently when things go wrong. This is a brand defining philosophical approach to what it means to “manage” in your company. This is more than a “policy”, but instead it is a way of being with your team. It is the expectation that managers hold each other to. It is also the response people can expect to receive and witness when someone in your workforce goes rogue, for better or worse.\n\nAt [Sample Supports](http://www.samplesupports.com/), we are working in a company that is growing a compounding 60% every year and that growth rate is no joke. What that means for us is that we don’t have the time or the luxury to stay in a dysfunctional place with a team member. The ONLY way to operate as a company when you are growing this fast is to have a high-performing team.\n\nWe have two choices in our company: Be Awesome or Fail.\n\nI’ll choose option number one, please.\n\nBecause we know that we must be effective to stay in business AND we know our workforce is our #1 asset, we decided to establish “Leadership Values” that we all hold and commit to with each other as a management team. Here are a few:\n\n- We identify and eradicate liabilities and toxic situations with a sense of urgency.\n- We hold a firm line of expecting our teams to functionally engage in the work or to leave the team.\n- We provide all feedback that serves in improving our team’s professional development.\n- We address problematic behaviors with our clients, our teams and ourselves.\n- We challenge our team to work hard, take on responsibilities and fully utilize our talents.\n\nUltimately, we are saying: We have a special thing going here and if you want to be a part of it you have to be a functional and effective part of our team.\n\nPeople have a choice: Up or Out. No lingering.\n\nRemember that you will always regret letting a dysfunctional situation stay in your team longer than you should have. You won’t regret eradicating it quickly. That doesn’t make it any less uncomfortable and challenging. Talking about performance issues is uncomfortable for people and that has to change for someone to be effective in their leadership role.\n\n> Embrace the challenge of discussing performance issues and make it the “norm” in your culture.\n\nWhat I have learned in running a company of over 300 people is that a performance issue does not go away on it’s own. Time does NOT heal that wound — in fact, it makes it deeper and more pervasive because left unaddressed it can multiply and influence others. This is why when we see a problem we have to focus on it, address it, and create an action plan to change it. We don’t wait for it to happen 3 times — No, no, no — when we see the problem we address it “directly and with a sense of urgency”. We do it the FIRST TIME. We sit down and say “Hey, I see you doing this thing that isn’t working in our team. I need you to fix it…..right now”.\n\nThe best part? People can change and improve quickly. It’s true — I’ve seen it.\n\nThe other best part? It raises the esteem of your team because they know that their peers are held to being as great as they are. **Truth: High performers want to be with other high performers.** You actually run the risk of losing high performers when they see that their peer in the same pay grade can get away with under-performing or straight up dysfunction.\n\n![b4.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmaWgXVLRiNg83935QgGHRbWK96JjxMH39oo2Mt1UnJw2h/b4.jpg)\n\nDefining your “management brand” depends on what your business needs to be successful. Brands evolve over time based on what the company needs — perhaps I will feel differently (and manage differently) if/when our company slows down it’s growth rate. Maybe I’ll do it differently if/when we have 1000 employees vs. 300. It’s possible you need to manage a paper company differently than a human services company. There are lots of things to consider, but bottom line is that nobody wants a dysfunctional team.\n\nThat said, your established “management brand” is something you should shout from the rooftops. Define it. Be clear about it. Train others how to do it. Then all you have to do is hold the line.\n\n> You will know you have established your brand effectively when your leaders call out alignment discrepancies in their peers and hold the line for you.\n\nNow back to your job of inspiring people… Unless you work for a paper company. Then that really sucks for you.\n\n![b5.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmQvCxkftjuEvrXAsPrg1dyEedyQSr55vjM2WW2tD7gYyc/b5.jpg)\n\nFound this post useful? Kindly follow me and recommend to others! Thank you!\n\nFollow me on social! Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn!",
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      "title": "“Holding The Line” — The Best Teams Protect Their Leader",
      "body": "I hate being tackled.\n\n![t1.jpeg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmP1zAKsGbBSb5pgbm9h95epLXoEBiuYfQJwNvLD6LrkJi/t1.jpeg)\n\nAs the CEO, I am the default quarterback. I am scanning the field and planning my next step. I’m developing a strategy and then pivoting it at the last second to keep my team winning. I am constantly trying to figure out how to move our efforts forward — sometimes I am running down the field, sometimes I am speaking at a press conference, sometimes I’m writing plays, sometimes I’m studying my competitors, sometimes I am moving inch by inch, sometimes I am clawing my way there.\n\nI’m always moving my team towards success…. until I’m tackled.\n\n![t2.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmdNcqj6rvXhfuYC6hsb6VdfRJpaxyaz7bobVBAwppH4Aq/t2.jpg)\n\nGetting tackled is the worst. It can ruin a whole day. How does this happen? **Because my team didn’t hold the line.**\n\nHere is the thing about pressure in a company and in a team — it rises up. EVERY person plays an important role in a company. Some are always on the offense and some are always on the defense. Some are doing both at the same time…those are your star players.\n\nWhen I get hit with a hard tackle that causes me to stop looking forward and address an issue that should have been addressed by my offensive line I get upset……No, more than upset. I get MAD. I also get sad, because it means I’m left alone and unprotected.\n\n![t5.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmcfgWk7WDUVNqqzeLV3rEHE4bZsHBXsah9uZmCEzEinDK/t5.jpg)\n\n**If the quarterback can’t do their job, the team will inevitably lose. I need a team that can protect me so we can keep winning.**\n\nI would argue that the most critical positions are not the ones that get all the fame like the quarterback — they are the ones that are protecting the quarterback. They are the ones “holding the line” and not allowing the other team to pass. They are watching out for the quarterback’s blindside and they will physically refuse the competition to get near.\n\n![t4.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmZ5QK8EQbsyxTKXQqbmDkxAn4NJG55aqjsR3iCSgftj6G/t4.jpg)\n\nWhat are those called? The Tackle? The Guard? The Full Back? Truth is, I don’t know anything about football…….\n\n> However, I do know something about business and I’ll tell you right now that the #1 thing my team can do to “support” me is to protect me.\n\nMy team can protect me by “holding the line” with their own teams and the work they are responsible for. The reality is that it is easy to “passively” manage others. It is so easy in fact that this is what almost all managers (especially new ones) do by default. It takes time and energy and intensity to get managers to act in a new way….an accountable way.\n\n![t5.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmcfgWk7WDUVNqqzeLV3rEHE4bZsHBXsah9uZmCEzEinDK/t5.jpg)\n\nActive management is a lot of work. It takes organization, strategy, and intensity. It includes thinking about 100 things at once, directing others, and then **making sure it is done.**\n\nThe **“making sure it is done”** is what I am talking about when I say **“hold a line”.**\n\n**What does it look like when the team is NOT “holding the line”? Instead of doing what a quarterback SHOULD be doing, they end up doing the work of others.**\n\n- It means the quarterback is following up to make sure the water boy was written up for the water jugs being empty last game because no one else seemed to notice.\n- It means the quarterback is finding spelling errors in the press releases that were sent out while she was playing.\n- It means the quarterback is planning the after-party game because no one else thought of it.\n- It means the quarterback is researching market rate ticket prices for the upcoming games to make sure the new prices are competitive.\n- It means the quarterback is calling a time out to make sure that lawn maintenance guy’s FMLA paperwork was filled out correctly as he just saw him watering the grass when is supposed to be at home.\n- It means the quarterback is having to leave the prep rally to call the linen company to ask why there is a shortage of clean uniforms in the locker room because she is the only one that double checked.\n \nIt means that the quarterback is so busy following up with the work that everyone else on the team didn’t do instead of focusing on how to win the next game.\n\n**What IS “holding the line”?**\n\nIt means the team is doing their job so well where there isn’t the opportunity for the quarterback to even think about the water jugs or the uniforms or the ticket prices. It means the quarterback isn’t planning parties or noticing spelling errors before someone else does. It means that their team is “holding the line” to make sure that all projects are done correctly and accurately so that the quarterback is protected from someone else’s work becoming their work.\n\nHolding the line must be done at every level of a team. From the front line supervisor to the Chief Operating Officer. If one line “breaks” then it is like a falling line of dominoes….one by one until the strongest domino can stand still and push back and say **“No. I will not go down with you. Pick yourself up and hold your place.”**\n\n> You need EVERY domino to be a strong domino that can push the pressure back down.\n\nWhat does this look like when you have your “game face” on?\n\n![t7.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmXB9ZX4CtwMYnQfVFwgD2YTECukDebTAbAKZ8b7TL85AT/t7.jpg)\n\nIt is a manager setting a deadline for Friday at 5pm to get a major project done. It is then checking in each day leading up to Friday to get the progress status report from your team. Are people on track? Are they hitting their benchmarks? If not, as the manager you are following up. You are sending out reminders of deadlines, you are asking the “why?” and “what?” questions….. What is keeping you from hitting the deadline? Why is the deadline not being hit? You then are tracking the responses and offering suggestions and guidance. You are then reviewing the work that is being submitted as it comes in for quality assurance. Is it what I asked for? If not, send it back for them to revise the work and try again. Hold The Deadline. Follow Through. No matter what.\n\nMost of the time people are working and just need some prompts to get back on track. Yet, sometimes people simply don’t do what is being asked. That is a whole different ballgame and THAT follow up looks like this:\nIt is setting a deadline for Friday at 5pm to get a major project done. It is then following up at 5:30pm on a Friday night with your team telling the ones that didn’t do it that it is unacceptable and reminding them the project needs to be completed and received immediately. It is then following up with those that STILL didn’t do it by Saturday and issuing a corrective action, then if it happens again, you are following up with a Performance Improvement Plan and then following up with a full termination. That entire process may happen in a single day or less than a week. It should happen fast if you mean it.\n\nNote how I use the example of Friday….doesn’t it always seem like a Friday night when these things happen? That sucks. Yes, it is frustrating for everyone. That said, if you as the supervisor are working on a Friday night trying to figure out why someone didn’t get their work done then you better believe that your direct report is working too….and working harder. The point is that nobody should be working on a Friday night because it should have been done in the first place.\n\nWhatever the example, the point is that you as the leader are holding the line of a functional team. You are the stop gap of refusing to let that pressure rise so that I or anyone else will notice it. You are stopping the leaks and pushing the pressure back down to your team instead of letting it pass the line up to your supervisor. Expect your team to grow smarter, stronger, and faster as a result.\n\n> You can’t have a high performing team with low performers. The only way to get a high performing team is to comprise it of high performers. It is YOUR job as the manager to set the high expectation and then expect follow through.\n\nWhat are you doing as a manager by “holding the line”? You are sending the message of: “This work is important and necessary. I mean what I say and I’m going to follow through”. By doing this you will earn trust with your team that you aren’t kidding when you set a deadline. You also send the message that you intend to create a functional work environment and hold EVERYONE to it. Not just 3/4 of the team, not 85% of the team, but 100% of the team. Your job as the manager is to set the standard and then hold everyone else to it.\n\n> Remember that greatness cannot be achieved with people that think hitting 75% of the goal is acceptable….or even worse that not hitting the goal at all is ok.\n\nHere is the thing: Following Up and Following Through takes effort. It is not passively “sending an email” and calling the day done. It is not a response of “I asked them to do it”. It IS about chasing someone down and literally sitting with them until the project is done if that is what it takes. The point is that the ultimate deadline ends with YOU as the leader. **How well you can hold a line and protect YOUR leader from stepping in is the secret for what makes you look impressive.**\n\n![t8.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmVPAtZRHY24sZWxXt6nbkaMWzo73oidBTGVfm6EX4vizy/t8.jpg)\n\nThe truth about passive management?\n\n- ANYONE can call out plays.\n- ANYONE can have a “big idea” that they want to implement.\n- ANYONE can set a deadline.\n- ANYONE can say “this is really important”.\n\nNone of those things are helpful if you can’t commit to follow up and follow through. The **only** kind of management that is helpful and useful is **active and accountable** management. A manager that can’t hold a line is not actually a manager….at that point the are just a talker.\n\n> I don’t need talkers. I need “do-ers”.\n\n![t9.jpeg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmeKKUNDJ27b1bWbyssGD8uo6C29BbWUNtsvGKwFYexYfb/t9.jpeg)\n\nCan you do this process as a manager without prompting from YOUR manager? That would be the ultimate sign of successful accountable leadership. Not only did you set the stage, implement the process and then MAKE SURE IT WAS DONE, but that you did it without someone else asking you to. You did it because you knew it was important and that it needed to be done. You knew that your job was to protect your leader from your workload bleeding into theirs.\n\nTo be an active and influential leader, you have to OWN the process, from start to finish, and all the points in between. You have to “hold a line” and see the process through. Add a sense of urgency to it and you will be my new best friend. You will hopefully get some fame too by catching the ball I was able to throw to you because I was free and clear to do it.\n\n![t10.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmVBsfQCJKVTWkBWy6UFeVfs2wgHGjkRr3PRpYQmAnGTuP/t10.jpg)\n\nTeams work together and no one can do it alone. Every person has to own their part and own it with intensity. We can achieve the goal in lots of different ways as long as our team can trust each other and protect each other along the way. You can trust that I will always do my part as the CEO to recruit and retain the right team members. I will then protect you and protect the company with all my might. I’ll always give it 100%.\nWhatever you do, don’t let me get tackled.\n\nThis post was originally posted on Medium. Follow my Medium blog [here](https://medium.com/@carmensample) Kindly follow me and recommend to others! Thank you!!",
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      "body": "**We don’t stop when we are tired. We stop when we are done.**\n\n![v1.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmb4n1METcDkKdV9tkT1NbcB6Uv52wJrHbhPQkurGhYqfd/v1.jpg)\n\nI recently binge-watched all four seasons of Vikings on the History channel over the course of a week. I stayed up until 3am every night to do it. My husband watched me become increasingly obsessed to the point where I was pretending to be characters in full accent when I would respond to him…. “Yes, my Lord”.\n\n“Ok…You seriously need to take a break from that show”, he would tell me.\n\nAll that said, I’m not really a TV person. He will come home late at night and find me working in front of the TV with Mickey Mouse still playing from the kids watching it three hours earlier. I tend to ignore TV altogether when I get into my “work mode”…..though my husband watched my growing obsession and rare avoidance of work and eventually said “I think you like this show so much because it reminds you of the way you grow businesses”. Yes, that’s it!\n\n![v2.jpeg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmW4VsqVwfZH7P8xNkKDkPAVzDr1av8YVeHXAZR4sQdHt7/v2.jpeg)\n\n> ...It is definitely not because Ragnar is easy on the eyes….I mean, seriously… \n\n![v3.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmTRG1SaSNbEe5YnpwvGDDRSHBJctKborerx6e6cs7BPuv/v3.jpg)\n\n> ….His brother isn’t that bad either…\n\nTruthfully, the story line that I love the most and looked forward to watching was actually that of Lagertha. She is a serious Badass Bitch with her team of equally awesome female warriors.\n\n![v4.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmNV1VPva8gJLVXCX85xvYPe78w8CwUxVy5FExwy73a7zN/v4.jpg)\n\nMy husband was right. Drama and muscles (and piercing blue eyes) aside, there was something compelling about watching the Vikings overthrow governments and push aside non-progressive communities in a quest to expand their empire. The plotting and pillaging was entertaining but every episode left me with the lingering question of “Why?”. Ultimately, the Vikings were kind of the bad guys, right? They were just going around burning bridges for….well, I don’t really know the reason. I watched all four seasons waiting without an explanation for the deep rooted philosophical understanding of their need to conquer.\n\nWell, that’s not true. Their answer was: “Because we are Vikings”.\n\n![v5.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmbazTH56kJEeNDe8w6wyAJoLFNwzHsVT7hStgBDyDeXEX/v5.jpg)\n\nRight now in [Sample Supports](http://www.samplesupports.com/) we are throwing around the idea of expansion… Where? How? When?\nI have been sitting a lot with the ultimate question of WHY? I mean, we don’t HAVE to expand and conquer. We have a nice comfortable lifestyle without the quest of conquering. I have a safe little office space and positive cash flow. Why would I want to shake that up? Why would I want to take the risk? Why do I want the extra pressure? Why would I want to add more work? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?\n\n\nFor Fun? Because We Can? YES to all of that.\n\nI love a good, fun challenge — it is just the way I’m built. My team likes the challenge too…. that is why we all make such a good team. We all like the question of “What’s Next?”\n\n![6.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmYg1XXbvykMeU9WLvCAboFMhQtFihYrHmdY8o9zfEjAFQ/6.jpg)\n\nI enjoy experiencing the politics in new regions. I like to engage in the drama that moves a process forward. I like to build relationships and foster connections to develop something new. I like to watch an idea become reality. I like the reward of riches. More than the riches though — I love to create and I love to compete and I love to win. It is fun to struggle and to fail and to work on it and to ultimately figure it out.\n\n> I want to expand and conquer for the challenge of it…and ultimately, for the fun of it.\n\nSince the closest I’ll get to a good old fashioned hand combat war is business, I’ll try to do it to the best of my core Viking ability. I’ll definitely do it without the murder and the victimization of women... We aren’t the “bad guys” afterall. I promise that the nastiest I will get is maybe a harsh email every now and then if somebody tries to usurp me. I can’t say the same for Lagertha, who *spoiler alert* stabbed her future husband on their wedding day when she learned of his secret revolt….\n\n![v7.jpeg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmXbSh9tDSvNQtxUFmmfDNYdZ8ZL5JKb5AyJ3RmEidqQDf/v7.jpeg)\n\nWe are going to expand because that is our way. Because we are Sample Supports and that is what we do.\n\n![v8.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmbGCHmiM468eBs3LWDgDYcGPmx3bVbD2w1w5HQM4v9bm3/v8.jpg)\n\nYou will know we’ve made it when I have a pet owl perched on my shoulder just because I can.\n\nSHIELD WALL, all my badass bitches. Get ready.\n\nThis post was originally posted on Medium. Follow my Medium blog [here](https://medium.com/@carmensample) Kindly follow me and recommend to others! Thank you!",
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      "title": "Business Vikings. Expand and Conquer.",
      "body": "**We don’t stop when we are tired. We stop when we are done.**\n\n![v1.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmb4n1METcDkKdV9tkT1NbcB6Uv52wJrHbhPQkurGhYqfd/v1.jpg)\n\nI recently binge-watched all four seasons of Vikings on the History channel over the course of a week. I stayed up until 3am every night to do it. My husband watched me become increasingly obsessed to the point where I was pretending to be characters in full accent when I would respond to him…. “Yes, my Lord”.\n\n“Ok…You seriously need to take a break from that show”, he would tell me.\n\nAll that said, I’m not really a TV person. He will come home late at night and find me working in front of the TV with Mickey Mouse still playing from the kids watching it three hours earlier. I tend to ignore TV altogether when I get into my “work mode”…..though my husband watched my growing obsession and rare avoidance of work and eventually said “I think you like this show so much because it reminds you of the way you grow businesses”. Yes, that’s it!\n\n![v2.jpeg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmW4VsqVwfZH7P8xNkKDkPAVzDr1av8YVeHXAZR4sQdHt7/v2.jpeg)\n\n> ...It is definitely not because Ragnar is easy on the eyes….I mean, seriously… \n\n![v3.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmTRG1SaSNbEe5YnpwvGDDRSHBJctKborerx6e6cs7BPuv/v3.jpg)\n\n> ….His brother isn’t that bad either…\n\nTruthfully, the story line that I love the most and looked forward to watching was actually that of Lagertha. She is a serious Badass Bitch with her team of equally awesome female warriors.\n\n![v4.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmNV1VPva8gJLVXCX85xvYPe78w8CwUxVy5FExwy73a7zN/v4.jpg)\n\nMy husband was right. Drama and muscles (and piercing blue eyes) aside, there was something compelling about watching the Vikings overthrow governments and push aside non-progressive communities in a quest to expand their empire. The plotting and pillaging was entertaining but every episode left me with the lingering question of “Why?”. Ultimately, the Vikings were kind of the bad guys, right? They were just going around burning bridges for….well, I don’t really know the reason. I watched all four seasons waiting without an explanation for the deep rooted philosophical understanding of their need to conquer.\n\nWell, that’s not true. Their answer was: “Because we are Vikings”.\n\n![v5.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmbazTH56kJEeNDe8w6wyAJoLFNwzHsVT7hStgBDyDeXEX/v5.jpg)\n\nRight now in [Sample Supports](http://www.samplesupports.com/) we are throwing around the idea of expansion… Where? How? When?\nI have been sitting a lot with the ultimate question of WHY? I mean, we don’t HAVE to expand and conquer. We have a nice comfortable lifestyle without the quest of conquering. I have a safe little office space and positive cash flow. Why would I want to shake that up? Why would I want to take the risk? Why do I want the extra pressure? Why would I want to add more work? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?\n\n\nFor Fun? Because We Can? YES to all of that.\n\nI love a good, fun challenge — it is just the way I’m built. My team likes the challenge too…. that is why we all make such a good team. We all like the question of “What’s Next?”\n\n![6.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmYg1XXbvykMeU9WLvCAboFMhQtFihYrHmdY8o9zfEjAFQ/6.jpg)\n\nI enjoy experiencing the politics in new regions. I like to engage in the drama that moves a process forward. I like to build relationships and foster connections to develop something new. I like to watch an idea become reality. I like the reward of riches. More than the riches though — I love to create and I love to compete and I love to win. It is fun to struggle and to fail and to work on it and to ultimately figure it out.\n\n> I want to expand and conquer for the challenge of it…and ultimately, for the fun of it.\n\nSince the closest I’ll get to a good old fashioned hand combat war is business, I’ll try to do it to the best of my core Viking ability. I’ll definitely do it without the murder and the victimization of women... We aren’t the “bad guys” afterall. I promise that the nastiest I will get is maybe a harsh email every now and then if somebody tries to usurp me. I can’t say the same for Lagertha, who *spoiler alert* stabbed her future husband on their wedding day when she learned of his secret revolt….\n\n![v7.jpeg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmXbSh9tDSvNQtxUFmmfDNYdZ8ZL5JKb5AyJ3RmEidqQDf/v7.jpeg)\n\nWe are going to expand because that is our way. 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      "body": "I took your post ike a motiviation. in this life we really should have hope and strugle everyday to achieve things eithers for us or other people who are in need. i think its good to live for yourself and to help others as well.",
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      "body": "wow amazing\n@steemit-earn is sending gifts to his followers\nhe sent me a gift 😍",
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      "body": "Hi! I am a robot. I just upvoted you! I found similar content that readers might be interested in:\nhttps://journal.thriveglobal.com/business-vikings-expand-and-conquer-8dbcf42fb060",
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      "body": "**We don’t stop when we are tired. We stop when we are done.**\n\n![v1.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmb4n1METcDkKdV9tkT1NbcB6Uv52wJrHbhPQkurGhYqfd/v1.jpg)\n\nI recently binge-watched all four seasons of Vikings on the History channel over the course of a week. I stayed up until 3am every night to do it. My husband watched me become increasingly obsessed to the point where I was pretending to be characters in full accent when I would respond to him…. “Yes, my Lord”.\n\n“Ok…You seriously need to take a break from that show”, he would tell me.\n\nAll that said, I’m not really a TV person. He will come home late at night and find me working in front of the TV with Mickey Mouse still playing from the kids watching it three hours earlier. I tend to ignore TV altogether when I get into my “work mode”…..though my husband watched my growing obsession and rare avoidance of work and eventually said “I think you like this show so much because it reminds you of the way you grow businesses”. Yes, that’s it!\n\n![v2.jpeg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmW4VsqVwfZH7P8xNkKDkPAVzDr1av8YVeHXAZR4sQdHt7/v2.jpeg)\n\n> ...It is definitely not because Ragnar is easy on the eyes….I mean, seriously… \n\n![v3.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmTRG1SaSNbEe5YnpwvGDDRSHBJctKborerx6e6cs7BPuv/v3.jpg)\n\n> ….His brother isn’t that bad either…\n\nTruthfully, the story line that I love the most and looked forward to watching was actually that of Lagertha. She is a serious Badass Bitch with her team of equally awesome female warriors.\n\n![v4.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmNV1VPva8gJLVXCX85xvYPe78w8CwUxVy5FExwy73a7zN/v4.jpg)\n\nMy husband was right. Drama and muscles (and piercing blue eyes) aside, there was something compelling about watching the Vikings overthrow governments and push aside non-progressive communities in a quest to expand their empire. The plotting and pillaging was entertaining but every episode left me with the lingering question of “Why?”. Ultimately, the Vikings were kind of the bad guys, right? They were just going around burning bridges for….well, I don’t really know the reason. I watched all four seasons waiting without an explanation for the deep rooted philosophical understanding of their need to conquer.\n\nWell, that’s not true. Their answer was: “Because we are Vikings”.\n\n![v5.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmbazTH56kJEeNDe8w6wyAJoLFNwzHsVT7hStgBDyDeXEX/v5.jpg)\n\nRight now in [Sample Supports](http://www.samplesupports.com/) we are throwing around the idea of expansion… Where? How? When?\nI have been sitting a lot with the ultimate question of WHY? I mean, we don’t HAVE to expand and conquer. We have a nice comfortable lifestyle without the quest of conquering. I have a safe little office space and positive cash flow. Why would I want to shake that up? Why would I want to take the risk? Why do I want the extra pressure? Why would I want to add more work? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?\n\n\nFor Fun? Because We Can? YES to all of that.\n\nI love a good, fun challenge — it is just the way I’m built. My team likes the challenge too…. that is why we all make such a good team. We all like the question of “What’s Next?”\n\n![6.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmYg1XXbvykMeU9WLvCAboFMhQtFihYrHmdY8o9zfEjAFQ/6.jpg)\n\nI enjoy experiencing the politics in new regions. I like to engage in the drama that moves a process forward. I like to build relationships and foster connections to develop something new. I like to watch an idea become reality. I like the reward of riches. More than the riches though — I love to create and I love to compete and I love to win. It is fun to struggle and to fail and to work on it and to ultimately figure it out.\n\n> I want to expand and conquer for the challenge of it…and ultimately, for the fun of it.\n\nSince the closest I’ll get to a good old fashioned hand combat war is business, I’ll try to do it to the best of my core Viking ability. I’ll definitely do it without the murder and the victimization of women... We aren’t the “bad guys” afterall. I promise that the nastiest I will get is maybe a harsh email every now and then if somebody tries to usurp me. I can’t say the same for Lagertha, who *spoiler alert* stabbed her future husband on their wedding day when she learned of his secret revolt….\n\n![v7.jpeg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmXbSh9tDSvNQtxUFmmfDNYdZ8ZL5JKb5AyJ3RmEidqQDf/v7.jpeg)\n\nWe are going to expand because that is our way. Because we are Sample Supports and that is what we do.\n\n![v8.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmbGCHmiM468eBs3LWDgDYcGPmx3bVbD2w1w5HQM4v9bm3/v8.jpg)\n\nYou will know we’ve made it when I have a pet owl perched on my shoulder just because I can.\n\nSHIELD WALL, all my badass bitches. Get ready.\n\nThis post was originally posted on Medium. Follow my Medium blog [here](https://medium.com/@carmensample) Kindly follow me and recommend to others! Thank you!",
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      "body": "**We don’t stop when we are tired. We stop when we are done.**\n\n![v1.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmb4n1METcDkKdV9tkT1NbcB6Uv52wJrHbhPQkurGhYqfd/v1.jpg)\n\nI recently binge-watched all four seasons of Vikings on the History channel over the course of a week. I stayed up until 3am every night to do it. My husband watched me become increasingly obsessed to the point where I was pretending to be characters in full accent when I would respond to him…. “Yes, my Lord”.\n\n“Ok…You seriously need to take a break from that show”, he would tell me.\n\nAll that said, I’m not really a TV person. He will come home late at night and find me working in front of the TV with Mickey Mouse still playing from the kids watching it three hours earlier. I tend to ignore TV altogether when I get into my “work mode”…..though my husband watched my growing obsession and rare avoidance of work and eventually said “I think you like this show so much because it reminds you of the way you grow businesses”. Yes, that’s it!\n\n![v2.jpeg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmW4VsqVwfZH7P8xNkKDkPAVzDr1av8YVeHXAZR4sQdHt7/v2.jpeg)\n\n> ...It is definitely not because Ragnar is easy on the eyes….I mean, seriously… \n\n![v3.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmTRG1SaSNbEe5YnpwvGDDRSHBJctKborerx6e6cs7BPuv/v3.jpg)\n\n> ….His brother isn’t that bad either…\n\nTruthfully, the story line that I love the most and looked forward to watching was actually that of Lagertha. She is a serious Badass Bitch with her team of equally awesome female warriors.\n\n![v4.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmNV1VPva8gJLVXCX85xvYPe78w8CwUxVy5FExwy73a7zN/v4.jpg)\n\nMy husband was right. Drama and muscles (and piercing blue eyes) aside, there was something compelling about watching the Vikings overthrow governments and push aside non-progressive communities in a quest to expand their empire. The plotting and pillaging was entertaining but every episode left me with the lingering question of “Why?”. Ultimately, the Vikings were kind of the bad guys, right? They were just going around burning bridges for….well, I don’t really know the reason. I watched all four seasons waiting without an explanation for the deep rooted philosophical understanding of their need to conquer.\n\nWell, that’s not true. Their answer was: “Because we are Vikings”.\n\n![v5.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmbazTH56kJEeNDe8w6wyAJoLFNwzHsVT7hStgBDyDeXEX/v5.jpg)\n\nRight now in [Sample Supports](http://www.samplesupports.com/) we are throwing around the idea of expansion… Where? How? When?\nI have been sitting a lot with the ultimate question of WHY? I mean, we don’t HAVE to expand and conquer. We have a nice comfortable lifestyle without the quest of conquering. I have a safe little office space and positive cash flow. Why would I want to shake that up? Why would I want to take the risk? Why do I want the extra pressure? Why would I want to add more work? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?\n\n\nFor Fun? Because We Can? YES to all of that.\n\nI love a good, fun challenge — it is just the way I’m built. My team likes the challenge too…. that is why we all make such a good team. We all like the question of “What’s Next?”\n\n![6.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmYg1XXbvykMeU9WLvCAboFMhQtFihYrHmdY8o9zfEjAFQ/6.jpg)\n\nI enjoy experiencing the politics in new regions. I like to engage in the drama that moves a process forward. I like to build relationships and foster connections to develop something new. I like to watch an idea become reality. I like the reward of riches. More than the riches though — I love to create and I love to compete and I love to win. It is fun to struggle and to fail and to work on it and to ultimately figure it out.\n\n> I want to expand and conquer for the challenge of it…and ultimately, for the fun of it.\n\nSince the closest I’ll get to a good old fashioned hand combat war is business, I’ll try to do it to the best of my core Viking ability. I’ll definitely do it without the murder and the victimization of women... We aren’t the “bad guys” afterall. I promise that the nastiest I will get is maybe a harsh email every now and then if somebody tries to usurp me. I can’t say the same for Lagertha, who *spoiler alert* stabbed her future husband on their wedding day when she learned of his secret revolt….\n\n![v7.jpeg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmXbSh9tDSvNQtxUFmmfDNYdZ8ZL5JKb5AyJ3RmEidqQDf/v7.jpeg)\n\nWe are going to expand because that is our way. Because we are Sample Supports and that is what we do.\n\n![v8.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmbGCHmiM468eBs3LWDgDYcGPmx3bVbD2w1w5HQM4v9bm3/v8.jpg)\n\nYou will know we’ve made it when I have a pet owl perched on my shoulder just because I can.\n\nSHIELD WALL, all my badass bitches. Get ready.\n\nThis post was originally posted on Medium. Follow my Medium blog [here](https://medium.com/@carmensample) Kindly follow me and recommend to others! Thank you!",
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      "title": "Business Vikings. Expand and Conquer.",
      "body": "**We don’t stop when we are tired. We stop when we are done.**\n\n![v1.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmb4n1METcDkKdV9tkT1NbcB6Uv52wJrHbhPQkurGhYqfd/v1.jpg)\n\nI recently binge-watched all four seasons of Vikings on the History channel over the course of a week. I stayed up until 3am every night to do it. My husband watched me become increasingly obsessed to the point where I was pretending to be characters in full accent when I would respond to him…. “Yes, my Lord”.\n\n“Ok…You seriously need to take a break from that show”, he would tell me.\n\nAll that said, I’m not really a TV person. He will come home late at night and find me working in front of the TV with Mickey Mouse still playing from the kids watching it three hours earlier. I tend to ignore TV altogether when I get into my “work mode”…..though my husband watched my growing obsession and rare avoidance of work and eventually said “I think you like this show so much because it reminds you of the way you grow businesses”. Yes, that’s it!\n\n![v2.jpeg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmW4VsqVwfZH7P8xNkKDkPAVzDr1av8YVeHXAZR4sQdHt7/v2.jpeg)\n\n> ...It is definitely not because Ragnar is easy on the eyes….I mean, seriously… \n\n![v3.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmTRG1SaSNbEe5YnpwvGDDRSHBJctKborerx6e6cs7BPuv/v3.jpg)\n\n> ….His brother isn’t that bad either…\n\nTruthfully, the story line that I love the most and looked forward to watching was actually that of Lagertha. She is a serious Badass Bitch with her team of equally awesome female warriors.\n\n![v4.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmNV1VPva8gJLVXCX85xvYPe78w8CwUxVy5FExwy73a7zN/v4.jpg)\n\nMy husband was right. Drama and muscles (and piercing blue eyes) aside, there was something compelling about watching the Vikings overthrow governments and push aside non-progressive communities in a quest to expand their empire. The plotting and pillaging was entertaining but every episode left me with the lingering question of “Why?”. Ultimately, the Vikings were kind of the bad guys, right? They were just going around burning bridges for….well, I don’t really know the reason. I watched all four seasons waiting without an explanation for the deep rooted philosophical understanding of their need to conquer.\n\nWell, that’s not true. Their answer was: “Because we are Vikings”.\n\n![v5.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmbazTH56kJEeNDe8w6wyAJoLFNwzHsVT7hStgBDyDeXEX/v5.jpg)\n\nRight now in [Sample Supports](http://www.samplesupports.com/) we are throwing around the idea of expansion… Where? How? When?\nI have been sitting a lot with the ultimate question of WHY? I mean, we don’t HAVE to expand and conquer. We have a nice comfortable lifestyle without the quest of conquering. I have a safe little office space and positive cash flow. Why would I want to shake that up? Why would I want to take the risk? Why do I want the extra pressure? Why would I want to add more work? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?\n\n\nFor Fun? Because We Can? YES to all of that.\n\nI love a good, fun challenge — it is just the way I’m built. My team likes the challenge too…. that is why we all make such a good team. We all like the question of “What’s Next?”\n\n![6.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmYg1XXbvykMeU9WLvCAboFMhQtFihYrHmdY8o9zfEjAFQ/6.jpg)\n\nI enjoy experiencing the politics in new regions. I like to engage in the drama that moves a process forward. I like to build relationships and foster connections to develop something new. I like to watch an idea become reality. I like the reward of riches. More than the riches though — I love to create and I love to compete and I love to win. It is fun to struggle and to fail and to work on it and to ultimately figure it out.\n\n> I want to expand and conquer for the challenge of it…and ultimately, for the fun of it.\n\nSince the closest I’ll get to a good old fashioned hand combat war is business, I’ll try to do it to the best of my core Viking ability. I’ll definitely do it without the murder and the victimization of women... We aren’t the “bad guys” afterall. I promise that the nastiest I will get is maybe a harsh email every now and then if somebody tries to usurp me. I can’t say the same for Lagertha, who *spoiler alert* stabbed her future husband on their wedding day when she learned of his secret revolt….\n\n![v7.jpeg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmXbSh9tDSvNQtxUFmmfDNYdZ8ZL5JKb5AyJ3RmEidqQDf/v7.jpeg)\n\nWe are going to expand because that is our way. Because we are Sample Supports and that is what we do.\n\n![v8.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmbGCHmiM468eBs3LWDgDYcGPmx3bVbD2w1w5HQM4v9bm3/v8.jpg)\n\nYou will know we’ve made it when I have a pet owl perched on my shoulder just because I can.\n\nSHIELD WALL, all my badass bitches. Get ready.\n\nThis post was originally posted on Medium. Follow my Medium blog [here](https://medium.com/@carmensample) Kindly follow me and recommend to others! Thank you!",
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      "title": "Vacations — The 3 ways they can hold work value.",
      "body": "If you are an entrepreneur like me, you might struggle with vacations. I am the person that gets sad on Fridays because I won’t be able to experience maximum work capacity until Monday again (nerd alert). A little crazy perhaps, but I’ve always been like this. I remember when I first started working in human services I would seriously dread the weekends — I distinctly remember when we received remote working access to the server at the company I was working for and I internally cheered for joy. I could work from home on the weekends?????? YES!!!!!!!! That improved my whole life and I have been fully connected ever since. I have always loved my work that much.\n\nMost people simply don’t understand this…#misunderstood.\n\nI have a very happy, full life with “all the things” and I love spending time in my personal world. I also really love to work. So, I’ve been trying to define my ideal work/life integration. I don’t know if it includes any major “vacation check out” trips. I’d like “decreased access vacations” and that is really all I need.\n\n> Live the life you have imagined, right?\n\n- **I do really love to travel.** My perfect world is actually one where I take lots of trips throughout the year and people don’t really notice that I am physically gone. My work is mainly intellectual at this point vs. on-site, and that can be done from pretty much anywhere. If my goal is to only be intellectually needed, then I have several work reasons to take more “vacations”:\nYou come up with great ideas for work. This happens every time my husband and I leave together. Sometimes the idea lightning bolt strikes the first night we are out to dinner and then we can scheme the rest of the trip. The last trip we went on we came up with our “next big idea” on the drive home from the airport. Wrangling three children under the age of five this trip kept us pretty busy, I guess.\n\n- **You test your systems.** I understand companies that mandate vacation time. I see the value in making sure that not only do people get a mental break, but also are forced to create systems. If a team member never leaves, the company never gets to see the break points of what needs to be improved. Whenever a leader leaves for a short time, the problems that arise are those that indicate what has been poorly trained or poorly executed. It’s ok — problems happen. It is better to know about them and fix them than to have never known in the first place.\n\n- **You identify break points.** In my article Frustrations Move Us Forward, I talked about the pressure points that improve my business. There are the day to day issues that come up that indicate something is wrong — How do we develop a system for all of that? Then there are the indicators of what will be your next big hire…..what person do you need to field all the things that you had to deal with while you were away? When you are not physically there, the things that impacted your time away is what needs to be hired next.\n\n\nDuring my last vacation, my “pressure point” was property management. It is the thing that dominated my vacation, surprisingly. It was good to see that HR, Finance, and Program Services were on lockdown. Even the restaurant operated without a significant “blip”. I was able to watch the day-to-day drama from afar without feeling impacted by it. Taking a vacation is also a great reminder of **what is working well.**\n\nThe thing that DID impact me were the property management issues…. We are in the process of purchasing a quadplex for the people with disabilities we serve. I negotiated a lease for our new corporate headquarters while on the trip. There was a leak in our Denver building that I was worried about. There might be homeless people living underneath the deck of one of our buildings-argh. We have renters moving out of one of the properties and two pending construction projects on the others. One of our contractors went MIA-double argh. Whew! I realized that “on-site” issues really require a skilled on-site manager.\nSo, what does this tell me? I need to hire a Property Manager, preferably a licensed contractor and can also negotiate contracts. A rare unicorn, perhaps? We will see.\n\t\nYes…. This epiphany of my next hire made the vacation worth it.\n\nWell, that and watching my babies play in the ocean. That was pretty great too. :)\n\nFollow me on social! [Twitter](https://twitter.com/carmensampleco), [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/carmensampleco/) and [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/carmen-sample-a1b33716/)!\n\nThis article was originally published on Medium on August 13th",
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      "title": "The War for Talent — How working in a 1.8% unemployment market improved my business",
      "body": "Competition raises the bar of service delivery to customers…AND services to employees. It is kind of a nice world in a job seeker’s market, eh?\n\n**If you are the employer, it feels a bit like you are in a Gladiator arena fighting off your competition.**\n\n![Gladiator.jpeg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmdMXSKNhHHiBTkTQaX2cgBrcQZ4Xp74Hg3BNQGW5k8XGe/Gladiator.jpeg)\n\nWorking in a region with a 1.8% unemployment market also makes the employer feel a bit like living in a post-apocalyptic world…you look outside and all you see is a vision from a movie starring Will Smith….there is no one around to take your jobs. Where did all the employees go? 5 years ago we were turning people away in swarms and now we have to headhunt people. Oh how the tables have turned!\n\n![IAMLEGEND.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmRS7YPt1Fg7ptCV9U9DYtp67d61hPBr9E3Z8bedPeMTSH/IAMLEGEND.jpg)\n\nThis is when I have to remind myself: Competition is GOOD. It will only serve to make us better.\n\nSo what did we do to set ourselves apart? We focused inward. We realized our dollars are best spent by trying to keep the people we have already happily employed. Huh…well that changes everything. We focused heavily on retaining our quality talent. Though we continue to actively recruit due to our growth rate, we started focusing on active retention more so than ever before.\n\nWouldn’t ya know…..our turnover rates have been steadily dropping, even in this post-apocalyptic 1.8% employment market, where everyone has another option.\n\n**What are we doing differently?**\n\n- **We are defining career paths, leadership tracks and discovery processes.** We have started to better define career paths within the company for upboarding/promotion potential. We have been spending a lot of time on developing pretty flow charts, new positions and a defined timeline for new employees to envision themselves here long-term when they come through the doors. Do you want to be in a leadership position? We have a track for you. Do you want to stay in direct client services and be paid well? We have that too.\n\n- **We talk about benefits a lot.** All the time, in fact. We do benefits surveys and then actually DO something with the information. We look into the suggestions and find things to implement. Everything from pet insurance to 401k programs to tuition loan repayments are things we actively research to determine what will make the most impact on keeping our team invested and engaged. We have been incorporating several new benefits every year as we grow. We continue to remind everyone that works for us all the cool things our company offers…over and over and over again.\nWe invest in FUN. Work hard, play hard…. as long as we remember to play. We pay for kickball teams, baseball games and leadership retreats. We create opportunities for our team to bond, enjoy themselves and remember that they work with really great coworkers.\n\n- **We pay $$ for people to refer other talented people.** Birds of a feather flock together, right? I’ve found this expression to be VERY true. We have established an employee referral program with cash bonus incentives as our current employees are often our best recruitment source. We pay for people to refer people just as amazing as they are.\n\n- **We recruit for positions from Out-of-State.** We are lucky that we live in Colorado and have a “nature calling” for people to move across the country to come here. It isn’t too terribly a hard of a sale to say “Come to Boulder County, Colorado”. Many people say “Yes, I’ll be there within a month.” Over half of our top recruits are now from out of the State, across all of our businesses, even our restaurant. These external recruitment efforts have made our workforce more diverse and vibrant as a result.\n\n- **We pay competitively.** I personally review industry standards of wages at an obsessive level to make sure that we are keeping pace as we grow and evolve. We also continue to use a transparent pay model and heavily incentivize our team retention through bonuses. This has been effective in creating stability in our leadership teams while also increasing the company growth trajectory exponentially.\n\n\n- **We encourage and pay for professional development.** Anybody that is choosing to make our work into a career receives support from us. We offer an initial training plan that is several weeks long in addition to ongoing industry-specific trainings monthly for the first six months. We pay for our specialists to receive their licenses/credentials through actual fee reimbursement and also through ongoing professional development credits. We created an 8-week training program for new managers to understand what it means to be in a leadership position. We also continue to splurge on conferences, seminars and external trainers to keep us all on the up and up in our industry. As long as our employees invest in the company, we invest back in them. It is a win-win.\n\nJust remember that **Competition is Good** whenever you stop and ask yourself “Where have all the job seekers gone?”\n\nDid I mention Colorado is a really wonderful place to live? Check it out… and then call us at [Sample Supports](http://www.samplesupports.com/), [Gallery 1874](http://www.gallery1874.com/), [Sample Therapy Services](http://www.sampletherapy.com/), [Crystal Joys](http://www.crystaljoys.com/) or [Samples Restaurant](http://www.sampleslongmont.com/).\n\t\n\n\n**This Post was originally published on Medium.com on 8/7/17. Follow Carmen's [Medium Blog](https://medium.com/@carmensample/holding-a-line-the-best-teams-protect-their-leader-4b70bbcb55c1). Follow her on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/carmensampleco) and [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/carmensampleco/)!**\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmZDSEdYAN6HZ2aZeMYuccKejh1ZeR4bsD6aaC6bFZqiXZ/image.png)",
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