Russell Stover Chocolates’ Post

Never underestimate the power of appreciation...!!! Consistently encouraging your team 👭🏻👬🏻for their exceptional efforts is essential. Taking the time to recognize their hard work & dedication not only boosts their confidence but also enhances productivity, infusing them with renewed energy & motivation to continue excelling in their roles. A simple acknowledgment can make a lasting impact on both morale and performance. ☀️💥

If you’re looking for loss of medical insurance as a trainee pilot, Stein pilot insurance comes as a recommended supplier by many CAE Cadets! Loss of medical insurance will protect your training investment if you were to lose your class 1 medical during training. I’d encourage all Cadets to take it out. #pilottraining

Post thanksgiving, let’s turn the spotlight inward for a moment. While it’s important that we express gratitude for our families, friends, colleagues, and mentors, ✨ gratitude is also a gift we can give ourselves. Take a moment this week to recognize your own worth, growth, and contributions. Here are some questions to ponder: 1️⃣ What am I thankful for about myself? 2️⃣ What’s one challenge I’ve overcome this year that I’m proud of? 3️⃣ What qualities or values do I embody that I’m truly thankful for? 4️⃣ How do I show up in the world in a way that fills me with gratitude for the person I am becoming? More importantly, “𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗜 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝘆𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗲?” Write it down. Say it out loud. Share it if you feel inspired. I’d love to hear your reflections!

It's been an incredible year at Energy CX. Here are some key takeaways: 1. Contributing to something larger than yourself is both powerful and motivating. 2. Innovation is not just a buzzword, it’s a daily habit. 3. Personalization is the most powerful tool. 4. Simplicity is often the best strategy. 5. There is no support group that covers your brother being your boss. Looking forward to the year ahead.

We are celebrating our 1st year 🎗 Here is what I wish I knew before starting Credit: at the beginning stage, your company will not have any credit. Therefore, it can be extremely hard to move freight, unless you already have a big driver base that trusts you. In many cases, you can offer the drivers payment before the delivery, and they will still refuse to book, because of lack of trust. Niche down: choose a small niche, and start doing research. Learn the common issues that shippers face in this specific niche. Come up with solutions to those issues. Focus on these solutions, when doing cold calls or sales in general. Overhead: As you start growing, you will get many calls and emails from companies offering services (tracking services, TMS, marketing, customer leads, business optimizations, credit improvements, etc.). Most of these services will have a binding contract, meaning you will not be able to cancel these services unless the contract ends (some can last up to 3 years). Think twice, before accepting any of these services, because most of your customers can switch to a competitor in any day. This can result in a situation of low cash flow and high overhead, potentially leading to bankruptcy.

Occasionally my business overlaps with my friendships, and I love it when that happens.... Julie and I first met in 2002. We waited tables together at an Italian restaurant here in my hometown. Julie is one of the most kind, welcoming, genuine people you'll ever meet. If you know her, you can't help but love her - that's just who she is. I came from the chain restaurant world of Ruby Tuesday (are they even still around anymore?) to this fine dining restaurant and felt completely out of my element. I didn't know how to open a bottle of wine (heck I was 19 and probably drank Boone's Farm back then), or about the variety of seafoods and pastas we offered. Jules took me under her wing and graciously taught me everything she knew, up to and including how to tie a tie (part of our uniform). Little did she know, she also taught me how to create an awesome customer experience, how to run a team, and how to lead by example. Jules went on to marry a successful chef and restaurant owner, but years later when he decided to sell the business and go a different path, Jules was ready to try something different. HYI was looking for a PL Account Manager and I knew Julie's personality, work ethic, and customer service skills would make her a perfect fit. She had all the makings to be successful, she just needed to learn the insurance piece. She wasn't sure she could do it - but I promised her that on the right team, I knew she could. One of the things I love about Joe Lapi is that he keeps an open mind. He also trusts me. When I presented Julie as a candidate 3 years ago, he said "If you like her for this, I'll talk to her." She was offered the job that week (even edging out a candidate who HAD experience). Today my dear friend who spent her entire adult life in the restaurant world has made a total pivot into insurance, and has a successful new career path ahead of her. If you're a retail agency always wondering where your next awesome AM is going to come from, try keeping an open mind. Go for the person who has the right attitude and checks SOME of the boxes. Planning ahead instead of waiting until the hire is a 5 alarm fire will afford you the time to train folks like this. I promise you it will result in some of your very best hires. I think Joe and team would agree, Julie's been an asset to HYI - not just professionally, but in keeping with the awesome culture he's creating over there. Cheers to 3 years, Jules! 🥂

The right people are what truly make an organization. When you have a team that shares the same values and commitment, it’s not just the work that gets done—it’s the culture that’s built.

Fiercegiving is my favorite made up holiday. After today’s event, I’m now considering the following three interview requirements for anyone looking to join the Fierce Creative Agency team. Thoughts? 1) Describe your feelings about tacos on Tuesdays. (Hint: the answer is just, “Yes.”) 🌮🌮🌮 2) Perform a scene from your favorite musical or cartoon. (Multiple characters welcomed.) 🥸🐙🧽 3) Prepare a Fiercegiving meal item of choice and bring in for taste testing. (Serving size: 10) 🍗🍠🥧 #FierceEssentials #softskills?

🎉 GGTI loves celebrating our teammates and their contributions! For our January anniversary celebrants, we asked them which of our company’s core values they identify with most in the work they do. Check out what they had to say: -TEAMWORK: "Pretty much every task I've worked on has only succeeded because of teamwork." - Emily Bollen, Senior Systems Engineer, 16 years -RESPECT: "All of these core values are important, but I think the one that lays the foundation for the other three and that carries through the most in both work and personal life is 'respect.' I don’t really have a specific example but treating everyone with a baseline level of respect has never led me astray." - Thomas Stackhouse, Program Analyst, 7 years -RESPECT: “I treat everyone with respect. I was always taught that there is nothing beneath me when it comes to doing things and that includes work relationships. I value and respect people’s opinions and circumstances. When someone needs my help, I’ll be the first to say, 'How can I help you?' This is how I live my life, and this is how I work." - Ozzy Valdivieso, PMP, Director of Operations, 16 years

Who STARTED celebrating QUALITY MONTH FIRST? Various ORIGINS. Which one of the below do You think is the CORRECT one? Love to read your thoughts🤔💭🤔💭🤔💭 Can follow #kirtiinsights