 We believe that we can accomplish more together than any one of us could ever accomplish alone. While we do not believe that winning is everything, we do believe that consistently doing our best in a winning effort is vital to long term success.
You may not yet believe in miracles, though one day you will. But, if you’re a hockey fan and old enough to remember the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, you witnessed a “Miracle on Ice.” Perhaps you’ve seen the movie by that title chronicling the amazing story of Team USA capturing the gold medal against all odds? Sports Illustrated named this “one freezing moment” Top Sports Moment of the 20th Century in 1999. So, without checking your smart phone, can you name one player on that gold medal winning hockey team? I doubt that one in 100 Americans can. Why? Because the “Miracle on Ice” was perhaps the greatest team effort in the history of sport…and there is no “I” in team.
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What's wrong with this picture?  "Look at the birds. They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren't you far more valuable to him than they are?" --Jesus Christ, recorded in the book of Matthew chapter 6, verse 28. This question from the Bible is meant to be rhetorical. After all, isn't the answer intuitively obvious? Surely the Creator of all things ascribes greater value to the one thing He made in His image.
Despite this ancient truth, we live in a country governed by laws that often value animal, sometimes even plant life, above human life. As a result of this insanity, I can't leave my home without seeing Canada Geese enjoying their right-to-life on every body of water within our county. So much so, commercial landlords are forced to hire "Geese Police" to rid their properties of these pests who leave their droppings everywhere and become very aggressive towards humans when protecting their unborn from intruders. What tragic irony. How did suburban America find itself ankle deep in goose poop? The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 affords geese (and their offspring to be) far more protection than we give innocent unborn American children. The penalty for destroying a goose egg in America today can be up to $5,000 and six months in jail. The penalty for destroying an unborn child? Sadly, there is none.
 We believe in lifelong learning for teammates and clients alike. We consider “teaching our teammates/clients to fish” (rather than fostering an unhealthy dependency upon us) to be an important part of the work we do.
One of the many benefits of being a lost ball in high tech weeds all these years has been to be surrounded by true IT pros for whom lifelong learning is a way of life. You can’t survive in the technology industry without continuing education along the way. However, outsiders would be amazed at how little sales guys like me understand about the underlying technology they’re selling. Those who know me aren’t the least surprised to hear me say that. Since entering the IT industry in 1978, I’ve actually never sold one byte of technology. I’ve simply been selling the services of really smart folks who understand the technology whilst remaining comfortably clueless as to the ingredients within the acronym soup du jour. I understand people who understand technology.
 We are committed to doing the right thing every time with our Core Values and Values in Action as our guide. When we fall short and do the wrong thing, we make it right.
It may sound a bit extreme to say that we virtually always know what the right thing to do is, but we do. And, I’m including you in “we.” I’m not referring here to typical business decisions like what new products to launch, what markets to enter or exit and who to hire to make it all happen. No, I’m referring to matters of ethics, morals and values. So long as you’re clear on what your ethics, morals and values are, what you should do is usually pretty clear in light of them. In our experience, the proverbial “moral dilemma” is a rare occurrence once your morals have been clarified, memorialized and agreed upon.
 We encourage an open exchange of ideas and the healthy conflict that naturally follows from discussing matters of substance. We believe that unanimity is rare and therefore rarely required; while unity is essential once an issue has been fairly debated. In his seminal book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick Lencioni contends that the absence, not the presence, of conflict is the death knell of any organization. I couldn’t agree more. The reason is simple yet profound. Absence of conflict indicates the absence of caring. Why argue about what’s going on within the organization when all you really care about is what you’ll be doing after the five o’clock bell?
 To speak the truth in love is to communicate accurately with proper motive and with the best interests of our listeners at heart. There is no middle ground between honesty and dishonesty—to deceive is to be dishonest.
 We believe that the highest compliment we can pay to someone is to listen with understanding, while listening poorly can be highly offensive.
I’ve heard my friend, Dr. Tim Gardner, speak on many occasions. I wholeheartedly agree with his thought-provoking mantra—“The heart cry of every person is to know and be known and to love and be loved.” I further believe that knowledge of and love for another human being begins by listening with understanding to their heart cries.
 Donna Lee at http://www.onetinylife.org/menu.htm
I knew it was the wrong thing to do. But, I wasn’t willing to pay the price for doing the right thing. Besides, I gave the customer exactly what he asked for—a fair market value lease extension. Just like we’d done many times before. This time, however, I noticed a purchase option within the original lease granting them the right to buy the equipment for $250,000 less than the cost of the lease extension. I would soon learn that integrity cannot be bought, but it can be very expensive.  In Business For Life congratulates Brad Lindemann for his debut book and namesake, “In Business For Life.”
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In Business For Life, by Brad Lindemann. Get your copy now!
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