By Dr. Don Daake. Ph.D.
Published in Kankakee Daily Journal November 10, 2021
In northern California, just off Highway 101/1 in the city of Leggett, is a famous restaurant-Pegs- that has a mind-catching slogan. Recently visiting my daughter in Seattle, I saw a bumper sticker she picked up at Peg’s “Never Don’t Stop.” Her pug’s name is Peg the Pug, so the sticker is proudly displayed on her kitchen cabinet.
I had to read that twice or three times before it sunk in! What a genius marketing slogan. I will never forget it. Great slogans will be remembered for a lifetime. While not a smoker nor a beer drinker, in my head I still hear campaigns from 40-50 years ago, “Winston tastes good like a cigarette should,” or Hamm’s the beer refreshing.” On a more non-threatening note, “Coke is the real thing,” “See the USA in your Chevrolet” or Alka-Seltzer “Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh what a relief it is. “
The “never don’t stop” expression got me thinking about how it applies to you and me. In the commonplaceness of daily living–in business and life, we have to “never stop doing” the right thing, the courteous thing, the loving thing, and the disciplined thing. Let me share with you four things we should not stop doing, in other words doing what we need to do.
First, never stop being consistent. As the legendary Patriots’ coach Bill Belichick says, “It’s not all about talent. It’s about dependability, consistency, and being able to improve. If you work hard and you’re coachable, and you understand what you need to do, you can improve.” As Ted Peterson told us in a recent column (by Dr. Piatt) Pittsburgh Coach Noll demanded of his players, “Know your job, do your job, and do it better than anyone else.”
McDonald’s has built its worldwide restaurant business based on consistency. Whether in LA, Chicago, Moscow, or London, a Big Mac will have the same high quality and taste. In our local businesses, employees need to remember that every team member (even with different personalities) needs to provide reliable service. Don’t you just detest going into a business and, depending on who is helping you get first-rate or inferior service. Consistency needs to be modeled and taught.
Second, never stop keeping your priorities straight. Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Action expresses priorities.” Dr. Piatt has written a great deal about the concept that your culture is built upon what you reward. Sometimes as commonplace as they may seem, posting upbeat, positive plaques, posters, or slogans around your home or business really does help. Now let me share one of my writing “trade secrets.” There are many places you can find inspiring quotes, but one of the best is www.brainyquote.com
Jesus in Matthew 16:26 lays down the ultimate challenge about priorities “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” This is not a call to be unfocused or drifting through life. Instead, it calls us to have resolve in our lives. Rick Warren’s 50 million-copy bestseller “The Purpose Driven Life” is very helpful in this regard.
Thirdly, never stop being kind, considerate, and loving of others. Sometimes this means being empathetic, helping with a person’s needs, giving them affirmation. In loving (as every parent, coach, and effective manager knows), the hard part is to instill discipline and demand accountability and responsibility.
Joseph Joubert says, “A part of kindness consists in loving people more than they deserve.” Complimentary to that is author Jon Gordon’s advice “I believe in tough love. But for tough love to work, love must come first. We must love tough to bring out the best in those who lead.” To make all this work, we must constantly examine our own motivations. Do we really have the best interests in others in mind, or are we in some way manipulating them for our own purposes?
Fourthly, never stop learning, whether it is through reading books, attending seminars, having conversations with those who are different than us and those with diverse views. I have mentioned this in the past, but it bears repeating. Across the years, I have obviously read thousands of pages of professional material. Despite that, reading has never been easy or enjoyable for me. People are usually shocked at this admission. After graduating from my MBA and Ph.D. programs, I would read only one or two books a year unrelated to my professional interests.
That is until I discovered Audible.com. Now I typically read (listen to) about one book a week. It has transformed my life. Even though business is my discipline, most of my time has been spent with books on science, medicine, the brain, positive psychology, emotional intelligence, and biographies in recent years. Through Audible, I also have gone through several of the Great Courses Series. On average, I pay about $15 per book or course, and I can listen to them across any platform, including my computer, phone, car radio, or my Amazon Echo. Do you know of anyone, including yourself, that reading a book is difficult? Audible would be a great Christmas gift. Check out www.Audible.com Your first trial book is free.
Let me end with a list of a few more things that come to mind to never stop doing: staying in contact with friends; being generous with time and money; encouraging others daily; thanking our veterans for their service, especially on veterans day tomorrow, November 11th
.Don Daake, MBA, Ph.D. holds degrees from Kansas State University, the University of Iowa, and the Florida State University. He is professor emeritus at Olivet, where he taught for 22 years. He can be contacted through the Daily Journal at editors@daily-journal.com or directly at ddaake@olivet.edu
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