A A n ne ew

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I
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July 2007
e
x
nd
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Vol. 23, No. 6
A newsletter
just for you!
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How to turn work problems into possibilities!
When life gives you obstacles, make opportunities! Bad things happen to everyone
so the question is; how do you get them to work for you?
Most people know about the Leaning Tower of Pisa, but would it be as well known
if it was just known as the Pisa Bell Tower? Probably not. Instead, it's the distinctive
tilt created by a mistake in the foundation that made it famous.
Not sure how to create your own Leaning Tower?
Here are a few office obstacles that can easily be turned into opportunities
with some quick thinking.
You made a big mistake
In many cases, making a mistake isn't grounds for immediate dismissal but it can
still cause problems in your work life. The last thing you should do is deny the
mistake or blame it on someone else. Own up! Owning your mistakes shows that
you're responsible and accountable. You may also be able to turn your mistake
into a success by using the mistake as a learning tool to make something better.
You were turned down for a big promotion
The best thing you can do is to stay calm. Yes, inside you want to get angry, storm
out of the room or threaten to quit, but that will only completely eliminate any
future possibility of getting that promotion. Instead, ask them what you can do to
prepare for the next promotion opportunity. You might not get the job you were
going for in the first place, but you might just get a better one.
Your company is downsizing
as a
EASE
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ticles
for
89:
ts,
If it seems everyone is getting fired or quitting, don't get complacent, get
indispensable. You might not be the next one on the chopping block, but badtalking your company just might put you there. Take a look at all the empty desks
around you and ask yourself, "Can I do some of the job they were doing?" It will,
most likely, increase your workload, but in the long run it might help you keep
your job.
You’re unhappy with your job
Don't make the mistake of staying unhappy; instead, find ways to improve your
job. If you're bored, ask for more responsibility. Not only will you get extra points
from your boss, but having more to do might make the day move faster. If you're
overworked, sit down with your boss and remind them of everything that's on your
plate. They might not know about all the things you do and would rather lighten
your workload than lose you.
r Rd.
Take a break and learn something new at Office Living.
.com
ll
Click onto Office Living for a fun and productive break. You’ll find solutions to everyday office challenges, stories about
other Quill.com customers, and a place to send us your advice and opinions.
• Working Savvy gives you tips on office health and professional growth
• The Supply Cabinet helps keep you up-to-date on office trends and supplies
es
• Just a Minute offers advice on keeping balance in your life
Find even more at www.quill.com/officeliving. Visit us today!
Business Spotlight
sharing success
with highlights from one of our customers
and their success stories each month.
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Page 2
A
Many of us have very dear friends whom we would
be lost without. We value our friendships and do
what it takes to keep them going strong. The history
of friendship doesn’t necessarily have a starting
point. Why would it? Making friends is a natural
occurrence. However, there are many folktales and
legends which tell us how friendship was valued
thousands of years ago.
In 1935, the United States Congress announced that
the first Sunday in August would be designated as
National Friendship Day. It’s great to celebrate
friendships year round, but now there is an entire day
dedicated to it! This day has turned into a popular
festival celebrated around the world.
Other countries have caught on to the National
Friendship Day phenomenon, and have created their own
celebration day. India is one of the largest supporters of
National Friendship Day.
When the first Sunday in August approaches, what do you
give your closest friends as gifts? When you were a child,
you might have exchanged friendship bracelets. Now, you
might want your gift to have a deeper meaning. Flowers and
cards are thoughtful, but how about a picture frame with a
photo of yourself and a friend? Whichever gift you decide to
give, it’s the thought that counts!
N
EWS
You can use
Summer Skin Safety
• Both UVA and UVB rays contribute to
skin cancer. UVA rays pass more freely
through our earth’s ozone layer than
UVB rays which are primarily absorbed.
However, enough UVB rays are able to
pass through to cause
extensive damage.
• UVA rays contribute to the aging and
wrinkling of the skin. These are also
the rays typically emitted by
tanning beds.
• UVC rays are the most dangerous rays
that come from the sun. However, they
are effectively blocked by the
ozone layer.
Tanning and burning Protect yourself!
• Everyone’s skin contains a chemical
called melanin which is our first defense
against the sun. Melanin absorbs UV
rays so they cannot damage your skin.
Each person has a different
concentration of melanin in the skin;
the darker your skin, the more melanin
you have.
• A tan is caused by an increase of
melanin in your skin in response to
sun exposure.
• A sunburn happens after a UV overload.
Skin burns when the amount of UV
exposure your skin has had is greater
than what your skin’s melanin
can protect.
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Summer weather is finally here which means many of us are enjoying the outdoors. While
there is nothing quite like basking in the warm summer sun after a long cold winter, it’s
important to remember skin safety when you’re soaking up those rays.
The sun’s rays
Wha
walki
betwe
anim
an en
• Avoid the sun when it is the strongest
(10am-4pm) or take precautions like
using sunscreen or covering your skin if
you are outside during these hours.
• Don’t let the clouds fool you! Even
when the sky is overcast, UV rays can
still get through to damage
your skin.
• Use sunscreen consistently. Applying
the lotion just once doesn’t protect as
well as using it often. You can easily
rub or sweat off the protection so play
it safe and reapply every 2-3 hours.
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Page 3
An Agency You
Should Know: Noah’s Ark
ould
o
ory
d
What began as a chance encounter while
walking their dogs became a love match
between Nancy and Bob Rasnick. Their love of
animals would not only start a new union, but
an entirely new way of life.
“A couple of years after we got married,”
explained Nancy Rasnick, “we moved to the
country and soon found that people were
dumping animals – mostly dogs – near our
house. We helped find homes for them but soon
our home got to be so crowded, we had to
decide whether to stop [taking them in] or if one
of us would stay home with the animals. Our
hearts wouldn’t let us stop.”
Bob decided to stay home so they could open a
no-kill shelter for abandoned animals in
Midland, Texas. Nancy took a full-time job and
helps her husband with the animals each
evening and on weekends. With a passionate
resolve, they work to save as many animals as
possible from needless pain and death,
providing food, shelter, medical care and love
for countless homeless creatures. As a result of
their hard work and commitment, Noah’s Ark
Animal Sanctuary became a not-for-profit
organization in 1999.
The Rasnicks believe the problem stems from too
many people letting the animals produce
offspring that become unwanted and
abandoned. They estimate that a staggering
5,000 animals are destroyed by the local
pound annually.
As a result, they consistently increase their
efforts to raise the funds that enable them to
grow their facilities and tend to the animals in
Quote
n if
as
ay
“The work is demanding and hard,” said
Nancy, admitting that they have not taken a
vacation in 12 years. “We are always growing
and looking for ways to save the lives of more
animals. Over the past 17 years, we have
rescued and saved the lives of hundreds of
animals. Today, we have mostly dogs, chickens
and turkeys, but as our name indicates, our
dream is to be able to offer a safe haven to any
animal that needs a refuge. Ours is the largest
non-profit animal group in the area.”
want to see how they care for those animals.”
The couple allows their animals to go with the
potential new family for a weekend trial. “After
the weekend, if everyone seems happy – and I
can tell if a dog is happy – we’ll complete the
adoption. This includes spaying or neutering
and shots,” explained Nancy. “I’ll check with
them from time to time to see how the animal is
doing. We will always take any animal back as
long as they live.”
Due to the March canned food recall, Noah’s
Ark is most in need of food donations. If you’d
like to donate, please see their Web site,
www.noahsarkmidland.com for
donation details.
The Rasnicks are
happy to find
homes for their
animals, however
their standards are
pretty rigid when it
comes to pairing
the animals with
potential owners.
“We are very
picky about the
homes we review,”
said Nancy.
“Anyone wanting
to adopt from us
must have a stable
home life and a
fenced yard. If
they have pets, I
of the Month: “Insist on yourself. Never imitate.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
Dear Pen Pal Reader,
t
their care. To do this, they create interest in
their work through a quarterly newsletter they
publish along with their Web site
(www.noahsarkmidland.com). Local television
stations and other local media have provided
generous coverage of their selfless mission.
Question: How many of you find yourself
waiting and waiting AND WAITING for your
friends to respond to an e-mail you sent them
and then once the e-mail does arrive it lacks
any hint of effort? Is it just me or does anyone
else also experience this digital dismiss?
Not so recently, I wrote one of my girlfriends,
the same girlfriend who was the Matron of
Honor at my wedding, an e-mail asking how
she was and how things were going. She
lives out of state so we don’t get to talk much.
I sent it to her work address, so I know she
read is right away, but she waited two weeks
to respond. I could have looked past the
delay if her e-mail was full of details of
what’s going on in her life. Instead I got four
sentences. “My parents are doing fine. They
don’t see us as much as they’d like. No plans
for vacations now. Talk to you later.”
I haven’t seen this girl in almost two years.
I’m sure there is more going on in her life
than that.
This just makes me wonder if we all need a
little friendship 101. What does it mean to be
a good friend? What does it take to be a
better friend?
When we were all young being a good
friend meant asking Mom to let your friend
sleep over, swapping secrets and sharing
your PB&J during lunch. As adults we have to
realize keeping a friend takes more effort—
though the same principles apply. Ask them
over for dinner, share your treasures and
listen and offer advice when they need it. You
can’t call yourself a friend if the meaning isn’t
behind it.
I did some searching on the Internet and the
consensus on how to be a better friend seems
to fall into these 4 categories:
1.
A good friend is there for the good and
the bad. A fair-weather friend is no friend
at all.
2.
Stop judging. A friend doesn’t want you
to criticize their life. Offer support and
encouragement, not negativity.
3.
Call, write and visit. Don’t wait for
someone else to seek you out. A true friend is
someone you share your life with. Take
the initiative!
4.
Listen. It’s not always about you. Step
back, listen and allow your friend to be the
center of attention. Next time you can be the
center of attention.
I think the best way we can all be better
friends with our friends is to live the golden
rule: treat your friends the way you’d want to
be treated. And for heaven’s sake…respond
to e-mail!
Christy Wolf
Editor
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Page 4
Larry’s Letter
By Larry Morse,
President, Quill
Corporation
What a great idea!
How many times
have you heard that
one, or even thought
it to yourself? What
about the idea
whose time has
come? Jack Miller,
Quill’s former
president and founder, had a great quote; “a
good idea should be like sitting on a pin, it
should make you jump up and do something
about it.” Going through airports recently I
have noticed a series of ads from a consulting
company, Accenture, focusing on the
importance of ideas. They have big wall signs
depicting everyday scenes with slogans like, “I
am your idea, take care of me or I may go
away.” So what is the big deal with ideas, why
do we all covet and admire them so? Ideas
make things happen for organizations and for
all of us as individuals. Without a steady
stream of new and exciting ideas we would not
move ahead quickly.
As I look back on the last five or six years in our
own business a steady stream of ideas have
allowed us to progress and grow in our
industry. If we were doing things exactly the
same way we were six years ago, we would be
extinct in a world that changes rapidly. Five
years ago we mailed lots of catalogs and tried
to give great service to our customers and we
were successful. Today we use the Internet
extensively to make buying office products even
more convenient for our customers. We have
hundreds of sales people on the street looking
for customers and we reach several hundreds of
customers a day through our outbound
telemarketing efforts. The basics of our
business didn’t change—great service, selection
and price—but we have learned how to reach
and service our customers who are busier and
more time pressed.
We all need to keep growing and learning new
skills to stay up with our jobs, etc. Ideas get us
up in the morning and help shape our dreams
for our lives. People start businesses, go back
to school, take new jobs or join organizations
because they have had an idea that gives them
vision of what life could be. Ideas stimulate and
give us great reason for hope. An idea can be
a powerful motivator and tool for achieving
aspirations that make us happy.
When I meet with new employees at Quill, I tell
them we want to be a company of ideas.
Everyone is responsible for coming up with and
floating new ideas. New ideas keep us vibrant
and moving forward and the people who create
them are the most powerful forces in our
business. To be a “company of ideas” you
have to not only state that goal, but also more
importantly encourage and reward that type of
behavior. When you convince people to open
up their creativity and think about making the
business better, good things usually happen.
One of the best approaches is to let everyone
have their say and input and be gentle with the
“bad” or unusable ideas.
We as a company are at our best when
everyone is actively engaged in the idea
generation process as a natural way of doing
business. That’s how an organization gets
stronger and stays strong. There is nothing I
like better than when someone comes forward
with an idea that will solve a problem he or she
has been wrestling with to improve the
business. If ideas are embraced within the
organization, people use them most to make
their work better. While the suggestion box
ideas for saving a million dollars are few and
far between, it is the “company of ideas” theory
that is most valuable.
For leaders in an organization it is very
important to have a central idea where they
envision the organization heading over a long
period of time. The best leaders can think
through and articulate the vision to others
clearly and often to get everyone focused in the
same direction. The central idea may be a
passionate focus on customers or patients or
even creation of new products but whatever it
is, a central idea can be a great starting point.
What I like most about ideas is the power they
have to make things better if we let them. Using
ideas to envision a better way or a better future
is so powerful. The key is to create the
environment and desire and be persistent about
finding that better way. What is your vision?
I would love to hear what you think. Email your
thoughts to me at [email protected]. And,
if you have not yet received a copy of our
special edition book, The Really Useful Guide to
Working Smarter, Not Harder, email me and
I’ll be happy to send you a complimentary
copy.
This letter was reprinted from a previous edition
of PenPal.
National
Day
p
o
p
is July 20
Lolli
As a child, nothing healed a boo-boo
quite like a lollipop. After a nasty fall or a
trip to the doctor’s office, these tasty little
treats on a stick were offered, and like
magic, everything was better.
Even though we may be past the age of
receiving lollipops in the doctor’s office,
we’re never too old to enjoy these
delicious treats. And in honor of the
candy, July 20 is National Lollipop Day!
Lollipops date back to 1908, when George
Smith first invented what we have come to
know as the modern lollipop. He designed
this candy on a stick as a way to make
hard candy easier to eat. He named the
treat after his favorite racing horse, Lolly
Pop, and later trademarked the name.
Ever wonder how a lollipop is made? It’s
actually a simple process. First, sugar and
There's so much more to our
Ju
Vo
H
W
s
M
if
ti
Y
Y
Contributing Writers
Katie Cole, Alex Fedec,
Sue Masaracchia-Roberts,
Jen Moran, Amy Soderberg
Y
Editor
corn syrup are mixed and heated. Next,
Christy Wolf
colors and flavors are added. The mix then
goes to a batch roller and press that forms
the head of the lollipop and inserts the
Tina Druce-Hoffman
stick. Once the candy has cooled, it’s
The PEN PAL is published monthly as a
wrapped, bagged and shipped out for
benefit for our Quill customers. PLEASE
everyone to enjoy!
WRITE! Send us your comments,
Designer
Over the years the lollipop has taken many questions, problems. To reprint articles
from the PEN PAL, please write for
forms. What was once just a hard candy
details. For catalogs, call 800/789on a stick has evolved into something
1331, visit our Web site at
much more. Your average lollipop now
www.quill.com or contact:
comes filled with gum or chocolate, or
The Quill PEN PAL
comes in the shape of a ring. Some glow
c/o Sue Masaracchia-Roberts,
in the dark and spin. And if you dare, you
PR Manager
can even find them with an insect
Quill Corporation, 100 Schelter Rd.
Lincolnshire, IL 60069
sealed inside!
In whatever form you choose to enjoy this
confection, be sure to enjoy one this July
and pay homage to the 99-yearold lollipop!
customers than ordering office supplies.
See what makes them
fax: 847-876-4531
e-mail:
[email protected]
© 2007, Quill Lincolnshire, Inc. All
rights reserved.
Y
T
Click o
other Q
•W
•T
tick at www.quill.com/stories
•J
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