The Hotel that Humility Built by Madeline Frank, Ph.D., DTM

Most hotels are built of brick and mortar, yet one hotel was built on the foundation of humility.

What can you learn about customer loyalty from them?

It was a dark and stormy night. An older couple came into a small hotel in Philadelphia. The older gentleman said, “Would you have a room for the night?”

The young friendly and smiling clerk looked at the couple and explained, “There are three conventions in town. I’m sorry, but all of our rooms are taken. It’s 1am, and the weather is terrible outside. I can’t send a nice couple like you out in these elements. Would you be willing to sleep in my room? It’s not exactly a suite, but it will be good enough to make you folks comfortable for the night.”

First the couple declined replying, “Where are you going to sleep, young man, if you give your room to us?”

"Oh, I am young and healthy and can sleep at the reception area. I will be just fine,”

The older couple accepted the young clerk’s offer and stayed “the night in his personal room".

The older and well rested gentleman offered the young clerk a reward before leaving the hotel as an expression of his gratitude. 

"Please don't embarrass me with an offer of money for my room. I didn't give you my room expecting any monetary compensation. I just wanted to help you."

The older gentleman was really touched by the young man's compassion and said, “Finding people who are both friendly and helpful is rare these days. You are the kind of manager who should be the boss of the best hotel in the United States. Maybe someday I’ll build one for you.”

The young clerk looked at the couple and smiled.  As the older couple drove away they agreed that the helpful clerk was exceptional.

Two years passed, the young clerk was promoted to manager of the hotel. Opening his mail one day, he received “an envelope with a train ticket to New York, with an invitation letter to attend an inaugural function.” 

The young hotel manager traveled to New York and was welcomed by his host, the older gentleman he had helped two years before. His host took him to the corner of fifth avenue and 34^th street and pointed to a beautiful new palace like structure built of reddish stone, 16 stories high.

"That,"said the older gentleman, William Waldorf Astor, "is the hotel I built for you to manage."

“You must be joking.” replied the shocked innkeeper.

“I assure you I am not.”

George C. Boldt, the former young clerk, accepted the offer and became the Manager of the Waldorf-Astoria.   

The Waldorf Astoria Hotel was the first luxury hotel complete with electricity, private bathrooms amenities and service. If you’ve ever been fortunate enough to stay at a Waldorf, you realize that the Waldorf Astoria symbolizes elegance and grace. It is much more than a room. It is an experience.

George Boldt was compassionate, kind, and selfless to others. He played at a higher level than was required, and the payoff was making a difference in the world to the person he had the opportunity to help. 

The Gold Standard of Customer Experience at Hotels:

George Boldt was committed to setting the gold standard of hospitality at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. He imparted legendary levels of humility and grace to his staff of nearly 1000 people, which motivated them to follow his example. Boldt built the blueprints of today’s growing luxury hotel industry. 

The Impact 

1)   By his leadership example he modeled and trained his staff to be helpful, kind, compassionate, to create an extraordinary customer experience. “The customer was always right!"

2)   He introduced room service

3)   His senior staff inspected the lobby around-the-clock to keep the area tidy and inviting for his guests.

4)   He insisted that all guests must have fresh flowers and a copy of the day’s newspaper in their rooms.

5)   At the Waldorf Astoria Hotel restaurant, the food was delicious and impeccably served.

George C. Boldt was committed to making the Waldorf so comfortable that guests will never go to another place.

For over 100 years the Waldorf Astoria symbolized elegance and grace. He was the manager for 23 years until his death in 1916.

He also made sure that his legacy extended well beyond the time he was at the Waldorf.  George C Boldt sympathized with an eager student whose only impediment to higher education was a lack of funds. During his life George C. Boldt "helped put at least 75 young men through college, doing this anonymously".

George C Boldt “also assisted those in business who were having financial difficulties and told employees at his hotels if they were having monetary problems, his door was always open to them.”

He also donated to “Cornell University, the American Red Cross,  many local hospitals and built a library at Alexandria Bay, New York." 

Zig Ziglar, "When you encourage others, you in the process are encouraged because you're making a commitment and difference in that person's life. Encouragement really does make a difference.”

Anne Frank said, “No one has ever become poor by giving.”

What can you do to improve customer loyalty at your business?

What will your legacy be and who will you help?

Madeline Frank, Ph.D. is an Amazon.com Best Selling Author, speaker, business owner, teacher, conductor, and concert artist. She helps businesses and organizations “Tune Up their Business”. Her observations show you the blue prints necessary to improve and keep your business successful. Her latest book “Leadership On A Shoestring Budget” is available everywhere books are sold. If you need a speaker contact Madeline at: mfrankviola@gmail.com

A Minute Makes an Impact by Madeline Frank, Ph.D., DT

How can you stand out from your competition? Are you doing all you can to get that job?  

Many high school graduates have fond memories of a parent reminding them to send thank you notes to people who attended their graduation and sent them gifts.

No, you can't send a text. No, you can't send an email. Hand write a thank you note.

My Momma taught us the art of writing thank you notes right after receiving a gift. No child wants to do this ; but the discipline of doing it right away helps you avoid the embarrassment of remembering that you didn't send a thank you card when you meet them 3 months later. 

I've talked to countless people, over the years, who have saved thank you notes, or notes of appreciation. When someone is feeling down, opening up their collection of thank you cards or notes of appreciation puts a smile on their face.

After playing a successful concert in New York City several musicians and I went out to dinner. I was already an established world-traveling musician, and the others were just beginning their professional careers. I decided to pick up the dinner tab for our party.

Three days later, I received a lovely duo for viola and piano dedicated to me by one of our musicians who was a composer. It was a memorable thank you note!

Jay just interviewed for his dream job. He thought the interview went well! When he called a week later they said the position had been filled. He was in shock!

He called back and asked the secretary of the corporation, "What did the winning candidate do differently than the other candidates?" Her reply, "The winning candidate sent a handwritten follow up note immediately after the interview."  

Amy Segelin, President and co-owner of Chaloner, a national executive search firm said, "The message is simple regarding thank you notes after a job interview: No follow up can mean no job."

The lynchpin for many hiring managers is the follow up handwritten thank you note after the Interview:

One hiring manager said, “The follow up is the lynchpin for me. If the interview goes well and I feel invigorated and excited about someone, I wait to see what kind of follow up efforts they put forth.”

Tim Ventura, Digital Marketing Executive said, with many candidates to consider for a job and “with a stack of resumes and notes, a thank you follow up will tend to give their resume a bit more weight, because it puts them back in your radar. A thank you note demonstrates actual interest, genuine enthusiasm, self- motivated, “go- getter” attitude.”

New York fashion publicist Cristiano Magni says, “It is so important, in a digital world, to have the dignity to sit down and write something in your own hand.”

What if the thank you card or a simple note of appreciation you sent was viewed as a seed that was essential to causing a new relationship to bloom?

Composer Joseph Haydn’s most memorable thank you Note:

John Bland, an English music publisher, was visiting composer Joseph Haydn in his home in Vienna, Austria. His goal was to convince Haydn to come to London in 1787 for a concert engagement and to publish Haydn’s music.

When Bland arrived at Haydn’s home, he found the composer struggling to shave with a dull razor. The world-famous composer’s face and neck were covered with nicks and cuts and he was complaining about the headache of shaving with a razor that was not sharp.

Haydn said, “I would give my best quartet for a good razor.”

Bland rushed back his room and grabbed his new British razors and raced back to present them to Haydn.

True to his word, Bland was given the manuscript for the Quartet, op. 55 No.2, the Razor Quartet. That was a memorable thank you note!

Build Strong Relationships that Last a Lifetime:

That day was the beginning of a new relationship and strong connection and friendship between the two men. John Bland became Haydn’s music publisher and when Haydn came to England he stayed at John Bland’s home. 

Would you be willing to write a thank you card or a simple note of appreciation if it was essential to causing a new relationship to bloom?  Are you willing to take that next step to get your dream job?

Madeline Frank, Ph.D., DTM, John Maxwell Team Member, and Certified World Class Speaking Coach. She is an Amazon.com Best Selling Author, Radio Show host, speaker, business owner, teacher, conductor, and concert artist. She helps businesses and organizations “Tune Up their Business”. Her observations show you the blue prints necessary to improve and keep your business successful. Her latest book “Leadership On A Shoestring Budget” is available everywhere books are sold. If you need a speaker contact Madeline at: mfrankviola@gmail.com

3 SECRETS TO SALES SUCCESS by Madeline Frank, Ph.D., DTM

Zig Ziglar said, “Every person in every profession is a salesperson. Approach sales as an ongoing learning experience. We are continually learning the little things that make our careers as sales professionals.”

We have all experienced amazing salespeople throughout the years. What sets them apart is not the salesperson, but our buying experience. There are 3 secrets to sales that the top sales professionals embrace.

1) They invest their time in a Mastermind group.

A Mastermind Alliance (a term made popular by Napoleon Hill in his book, “Think and Grow Rich“) is a group of people (usually 5-8 people) who help each other grow their businesses, achieve things personally, and hold each other accountable to their goals. They are top sales experts in their fields.

Dave “The Shef” Sheffield, motivational speaker and veteran of the sales industry says, “The Mastermind shouldn’t be comprised of people who are in the same industry, because it limits the diversity of ideas. There is a synergistic energy that blossoms when great minds focus on a common goal.”

Don’t wait until you are “successful” to join a Mastermind. 

Morris E. Goodman as a young man dropped out of college because he lacked focus and direction. He was in the middle of a 13-week probationary period when he came across Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Ritch”.

He went from being an aimless young man to aiming high, taking action on his goals and surrounding himself with great people. In 1981, he sold nearly $15 million in insurance policies in one year ($29.83 million in 2018 dollars) and was a member of the “Millionaire Round Table”.

Goodman said, “One of his mastermind members was Ben Feldman, a legend in the life insurance business who had $50 million in yearly sales.” Feldman philosophy was “The thicker the proposal, the stupider the salesman.”

Goodman said, “That one sentence was worth millions of dollars to me. I streamlined everything. I’d come in with one idea, and three or six months later I’d come back with another. Selling, I learned, is about building relationships, and that takes time.”

2.) Create an amazing experience

Have you ever visited an Apple Store? It is an amazing exercise of what a buying experience should be.

My husband and I purchased a new iMac Computer online and had it delivered to our local Apple Store.

When we arrived at the store to pick up our new purchase, we were greeted by our sales associate who knew us by name. (Actually, Apple devices send a signal to the employees with a customer’s name when they are approaching the store.)

Everything from the greeting we received, to the pristine artwork on the box, to the fact that our associate delivered the computer to our car was designed to impress. When your buying experience is impressive enough, you build tremendous loyalty. 

In your business, follow Apple’s lead and hire associates who have a positive attitude, are enthusiastic and eager to help your customers, and love your products.

3). Invest in your relationships and communicate with your “ears”, not just your mouth. (Listen more, talk less.)

John Maxwell has an awe- inspiring “short course in human relations”: in his book, Relationships 101.

“The least important word: I;

The most important word: We;

The two most important words: Thank you.

The three most important words: All is forgiven.

The four most important words: What is your opinion?

The five most important words: You did a good job.

The six most important words: I want to understand you better.”

Maxwell says, “If you treat every person you meet as if he or she were the most important person in the world, you’ll communicate that he or she is somebody-to you.”

When you find yourself in a sales slump, follow the advice of the legendary Zig Ziglar and “Return to the fundamentals with a proper attitude”.

By embracing the following 3 secrets to sales success you too will improve your sales: 

1) Join a mastermind group, 2) create an amazing experience for your customers, and 3) invest in your relationships and communicate by listening more and talking less.

Which sales secret will you start with?

Madeline Frank, Ph.D. is an Amazon.com Best Selling Author, speaker, business owner, teacher, conductor, and concert artist. She helps businesses and organizations “Tune Up their Business”. Her observations show you the blue prints necessary to improve and keep your business successful. Her latest book “Leadership On A Shoestring Budget” is available everywhere books are sold. If you need a speaker contact Madeline at: mfrankviola@gmail.com

General H. Norman Schwarzkopf’s Lessons On Leadership by Madeline Frank, Ph.D.

H. Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr. as a child dreamed of a military career. His father, H. Norman Schwarzkopf, Sr., had attended West Point, “served in WWI” and later in WWII rising to the rank of brigadier general in the U.S. Army. At the end of WWII, General Schwarzkopf, Sr. was posted in Iran and remained to help “organize and train the national police force”. (achievement .org H Norman Schwarzkopf)

Developing Discipline and Character:

In 1946, Brigadier General Schwarzkopf, Sr.’s family joined him in Iran. Norman, Jr. was 12 years old and attended school in Iran, and later in Switzerland, Germany, and Italy. He became an outstanding student becoming fluent in French and German.

Developing Competence: Attending West Point:

Returning to the United States, like his father, Norman, Jr. attended the United States Military Academy at West Point. At West Point, along with his studies, he “played on the football team, wrestled, sang and conducted the chapel choir”. (achievement .org H Norman Schwarzkopf)

A Teacher’s Lesson Lasts A Lifetime:

While at West Point, Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr’s football team was taught by Assistant Coach Vince Lombardi his ‘49’ “Lombardi Sweep”. This play would later become a staple in the Green Bay Packers dominance in the NFL under Lombardi’s leadership.

Related: Lombardi Sweep

Years later the eager, young Schwarzkopf was now General Schwarzkopf. He was 6’3”, and 240 pounds with a gruff and direct communication style, and he had a fearsome temper.

This temper and a hate for losing helped him lead his troops to victory during Operation Desert Storm in 1991. “He spoke French and German to coalition partners, showed awareness of Arab sensitivities and served as Gen. Colin Powell’s operative man on the ground.” (Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf-ABC News)

General Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr would remember and use his own version of the “49 Lombardi Sweep” during Operation Desert Storm in 1991. This football play from his younger years helped play a crucial part in the United States Coalition victory of Desert Storm.

Ron Kramer, a former Green Bay Packer, All-American football player under Coach Vince Lombardi “was watching the news about Operation Desert Storm when he noticed General Norman Schwarzkopf detailing an assault by his forces into Iraq, using arrows and diagrams to illustrate the maneuvers.”

Kramer had played tight end for Green Bay from 1957 to 1964, squinted at his television screen. “He remembered that play. He had seen those arrows before!” Kramer recalls shouting at the television screen.

“I wrote a letter to General Schwarzkopf. I sent ‘49’ to him and told him he had plagiarized Vince. He was at Army when Vince was there.”

General Schwarzkopf wrote back to Ron Kramer that “he had played football at West Point” and shared “his memories of the famous coach.”

Taking Action:

Schwarzkopf’s first assignment was “as executive officer of the 2nd Airborne Battle Group of the 187th Airborne Infantry Regiment at Fort Campbell, Kentucky”. Then he went to work “with the 101st Airborne, and with the 6th Infantry in West Germany.” In 1960 and 1961, “he was aide-de-camp to the Berlin Command.” It was a critical period “in the history of that divided city.” (achievement .org H Norman Schwarzkopf)

Earning Engineering Master’s:

Returning to the United States, Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr. earned his master’s at the University of Southern California in mechanical engineering.

Teaching Engineering at West Point:

Schwarzkopf returned to West Point in 1965 to teach engineering.  Many of Norman’s classmates had gone to “Vietnam as advisors to the South Vietnamese army.” In 1965, Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr.  applied to join them.

Captain Schwarzkopf, Jr. worked as an advisor to the South Vietnamese Airborne Division and was promoted to major.

Returned to Teaching at West Point:

Schwarzkopf after completing “his tour of duty in Vietnam” returned to teaching at West Point.

Lieutenant Colonel & Marriage:

Major Schwarzkopf was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1968 and married Brenda Holsinger. They later had three children.

At Leavenworth, Kansas, Schwarzkopf continued his training at “the Command and General Staff College”. Colonel Schwarzkopf “as U.S. casualties in Vietnam mounted, became convinced it was his duty to apply his training and experience there, where they might save the most lives.” (achievement .org H Norman Schwarzkopf)

Returning to Vietnam in 1969:

Colonel Schwarzkopf returned as a battalion commander to Vietnam.

Doing the right thing ethically: Courage under fire: Vietnam:

During the Vietnam War on May 28, 1970, when General Schwarzkopf was a Lieutenant Colonel, he “ordered his helicopter down to rescue his troops who had wandered into a minefield. Some were airlifted out, but he stayed behind with his  troops. A soldier tripped a mine, shattering his leg and wounding the colonel, who crawled atop the thrashing victim to stop him from setting off more mines. Three other troopers were killed by an exploding mine, but the colonel led the survivors to safety. Lieutenant Colonel Schwarzkopf was willing to risk his life for his men.”   (Robert McFadden’s New York Times article)

Barbara Walters was interviewing General Norman Schwarzkopf and asked him to define leadership.

General Schwarzkopf said, “It’s competence, more importantly, it’s character. It’s taking action. It’s doing the right (ethical) thing.”

In the business world these are the same four qualities needed for success.

Barbara Walters asked General Schwarzkopf,  “What do you want on your tombstone?”

General Schwarzkopf said, “I want it to say, "He loved his family and he loved his troops-and they loved him.”

If you were asked, “What do you want on your tombstone? 

What would you say?

Zig Ziglar, motivational expert, says, “Compassion, love, and sympathy are very definitely part of the success formula. Having the ability to walk in the shoes of another is of paramount importance. When you truly know how the other person feels, you can communicate with him or her more easily and lead more effectively.” General Schwarzkopf knew this!

General H. Norman Schwarzkopf said, “There’s nothing wrong with being afraid. And true courage is not not being afraid. True courage is being afraid, and going ahead and doing your job anyhow, that’s what courage is.”

What are the five leadership lessons that General Schwarzkopf identified, exemplified, and taught?

1)  Competence,

2)   Character,

3)  Taking Action,

4)   Doing the right thing at all times (ethically) and having

5)  Courage. 

By developing these five leadership lessons of General Norman Schwarzkopf you too will become an excellent leader!

Madeline Frank, Ph.D. is an Amazon.com Best Selling Author, speaker, business owner, teacher, conductor, and concert artist. She helps businesses and organizations “Tune Up their Business”. Her observations show you the blue prints necessary to improve and keep your business successful. Her latest book “Leadership On A Shoestring Budget” is available everywhere books are sold. If you need a speaker contact Madeline at: mfrankviola@gmail.com

Lessons On Leadership from Coach Vince Lombardi by Madeline Frank. Ph.D., DTM

Many consider Coach Vince Lombardi “to be the greatest football coach in history, and he is more significantly recognized as one of the greatest coaches and teachers in the history of any American sport."

Coach Vince Lombardi was an American football player, one of Fordham's football team's "Seven Blocks of Granite", head coach of the Green Bay Packers in the 1960s leading the team to three straight and five total NFL Championships in seven years and "winning the first two Super Bowls at the conclusion of the 1966 and 1967 NFL seasons."

The Lombardi's were devoted Catholics and attended Mass every Sunday. Vince was the oldest of their five children, an altar boy in their Catholic Church, and his parents expected more from him.

The Lombardi children, outside their neighborhood, were subjected to "ethnic discrimination" against Italian immigrants that was pervasive in the culture at that time.

David Maraniss wrote in When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi. "Harry Lombardi preached his triangle of success to his children-sense of duty, respect for authority and strong mental discipline."

The Value of Hard work: At a young age, Vince, began working for his father Harry in the family butcher shop. Vince carried extremely heavy sides of meat and cut up the carcasses. He

did not like doing this. Carrying around the heavy sides of meat shaped his muscles which came in handy for his athletics.

Vince's father encouraged his interest in football and love of sports. He played in "sandlot football games" at age 12. At the age of 15 in 1928, Vince had decided to become a priest and enrolled at the Cathedral College of Immaculate Conception. At school, Vince played center on the basketball team and outfielder and catcher on the baseball team. He also continued playing football in pick-up games.

He decided two years later not to become a priest and transferred to St. Francis Preparatory School in Brooklyn where he won a scholarship. He starred as fullback on the football team. Vince was "described as aggressive and powerful" playing "every minute of every game". At school the other students liked him and his coaches and teachers respected him and "helped him win a football scholarship to Fordham University."

Fordham University "Seven Blocks of Granite": After graduating high school, Vince Lombardi attended Fordham University in 1933 on a football scholarship. Vince Lombardi was 5 feet 8, 185 pounds and stocky.

Lombardi and his teammates were on the verge of their best season ever. Their offensive line quickly gained a reputation of being impenetrable, yet they needed a memorable nickname to rival Notre Dame's Four Horsemen. Someone mentioned that they were solid as "Seven Blocks of Granite" and the name stuck.

The team didn't win the championship that year, but the nickname of Seven Blocks of Granite ushered that team into college football immortality.

Vince Lombardi graduated Fordham University in 1937 with a business degree, magna cum laude. He then attended law school in the evenings for a semester and worked at a finance company during the day. Then for a year, Vince worked as a chemist. He was uninspired and thought about teaching and coaching. He missed being around young people.

St. Celia High School Teaching & Coaching :Vince Lombardi received a phone call and was offered a teaching and assistant football coaching position at St. Celia High School in Englewood, New Jersey. He accepted the position and taught physics, Latin, Chemistry, physical education, coached basketball, and was assistant coach for football. Vince Lombardi later said "these eight years were some of the best years of his life." In 1940 Vince Lombardi married his sweetheart Marie Planitz and they had two children, Vince, Jr. and Susan.

Coach Lombardi "was a strict disciplinarian", expecting his rules to be obeyed. He intensely studied each sport he taught to his students, "breaking it down to systematic and logical portions" that his students could understand. Lombardi demanded perfection.

Coach Lombardi’s Rule: "Don't just work harder than the next guy. Work harder than everybody else."

Coach Lombardi said, "Football is like life-it requires perseverance, self-denial, hard work, sacrifice, dedication and respect for authority."

Fordham University Assistant Football Coach :In 1947, Vince Lombardi came back to Fordham University, his alma mater, to join the coaching staff for two years.

Coach Lombardi was a "tireless coach" on the field. His practice sessions were "grueling and demanding". He expected "absolute dedication from his players". He would run the same play over and over, 'barking out' - "Run it again" whenever a mistake was made. He "expected perfection".

Coach Lombardi’s Rule: 'Chase perfection'. "If you settle for nothing less than your best, you will be amazed at what you can accomplish in your life."

West Point Assistant Coach for Coach Red Blaik:In 1949, he became the assistant coach at the United States Academy at West Point to learn from the legendary coach Colonel Red Blaik. During this time he "identified and developed.. the hallmark of his great teams.. simplicity and execution."

At West Point Coach Lombardi strictly enforced curfew on the road. It was later called "Lombardi time". His players had to arrive 10 minutes early. When a player "came in minutes late" he fined them. While traveling his players wore team blazers and ties. Coach said he wanted them to represent the team well.

New York Giants Assistant Coach: Lombardi was then hired for the next 5 years as an assistant coach "in the NFL for the New York Giants". The Giants with Lombardi's help won "five winning seasons, culminating with the league championship in 1956." While with the Giants, Coach Lombardi had to take on a second job to support his family.

Green Bay Packers Head Coach: Coach Lombardi, 45 years old, became the new head coach for the next five years for the Green Bay Packers. The Green Bay Packers were a losing team when new head Coach Lombardi was hired.

David Maraniss in his book, "When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi" explained when Coach Lombardi "walked into training camp in the summer of 1961. He took nothing for granted. He began a tradition of starting from scratch, assuming that the players were blank slates who carried over no knowledge from the year before... He began with the most elemental statement of all. "Gentleman," he said, holding a pigskin in his right hand, this is a football."

Coach Lombardi "started from the very beginning" methodically covering the fundamentals throughout training camp. The Green Bay Packers team "would become the best in the league at the tasks everyone took for granted." The Green Bay packers, six months later, "beat the New York Giants 37-0 to win the NFL Championship."

Coach Lombardi fought prejudice his whole life as an Italian and did not tolerate prejudice in his players or in the restaurants or facilities he took his players too. Many times, he was overlooked for a coaching job because he was Italian.

Vince Lombardi, Jr. says, "My father was not only a great football coach; he was also a great leader. It was his leadership-his ability to motivate his players, to inspire them to surpass their own perceived physical and mental capability, and his incredible will to win that brought national renown to the man, his methods and his players."

Zig Ziglar, motivational expert, retold the following story: It was a hot and steamy day. Practice was not going well for Coach Lombardi's Green Bay Packers. He chose "one of his big guards" to chew out for "failure to "put out".

Coach Lombardi said, "Son, you are a lousy football player. You're not blocking, you're not tackling, you're not putting out. As a matter of fact, it's all over for today. Go take a shower."

Dropping his head, the big guard, "walked into the dressing room" and sat in front of his locker remaining in his uniform for forty-five minutes with his head bowed, quietly sobbing. When Lombardi walked in and saw his football player, he did an about face. Walking over Coach "put his arm around his players' shoulder" and said, "Son, I told you the truth. You are a lousy football player. You're not blocking, you're not tackling, you're not putting out. However, in all fairness to you. I should have finished the story. Inside of you, Son, there is a great football player and I'm going to stick by your side until the great football player inside of you has a chance to come out and assert himself."

Coach Lombardi's words and actions helped Jerry Kramer's talent to grow and flourish to become a great football player. Coach as promised stuck by Jerry's side inspiring and motivating him to be a great football player.

Jerry Kramer "went on to become one of the all-time greats in football" and was voted the all-time guard in the first 50 years of professional football."

Coach Vince Lombardi said to his players, "With every fiber of my body, I've got to make you the best football player that I can make you. And you've got to give everything that is in you. You've got to keep yourself in prime physical condition, because fatigue makes cowards of us all."

Shelby Skrhak said, "Lombardi made men of his players. In doing this, he promised to be relentless."

Zig Ziglar said that, "Coach Lombardi saw things in his men that they seldom saw in themselves. He had the ability to inspire his men to use the talent they had." Coach Lombardi lead his Green Bay Packers to three straight and five total NFL Championships in seven years and they won "the first two Super Bowls at the conclusion of the 1966 and 1967 NFL seasons."

Coach Vince Lombardi's Rule On Character: Coach Lombardi believed a person's character is made up of small, everyday decisions to do the right thing, as well as larger prevailing traits, such as respect, humility and responsibility.

Coach Lombardi told management student at Fordham in 1967 that, "Character is just another word for having a perfectly disciplined and educated will. A person can make his own character by blending these elements with an intense desire to achieve excellence. Everyone is different in what I will call magnitude, but the capacity to achieve character is still the same."

Lombardi’s Rule: "Write your character. Improvements in moral character are our own responsibility. Bad habits are eliminated not by others, but by ourselves."

Coach Lombardi developed his players' character by "teaching them discipline and giving them self-confidence to achieve more than they thought possible."

Coach Lombardi "knew his players' psychology. He developed people, not players."

Washington Redskins Head Coach:When Coach Lombardi became the new head coach of the Washington Redskins he was asked by reporters how he was going to handle Sonny Jurgensen, the talented but undisciplined quarterback?

Lombardi "called Sonny to his side, put his arm around him and said, "Gentlemen, this is the greatest quarterback to ever step on a football field."

Coach Lombardi gave Sonny Jurgensen something to live up too!

Zig Ziglar said, "Is it any wonder that Jurgensen had his best year ever. Lombardi saw the good in others, treated them like he saw them, and helped develop the "good" that was inside of them."

Coach Lombardi had a way of looking at his players, seeing their talents, and knew what to do to develop those talents. He believed in the "old fashioned values of discipline, obedience, loyalty, character, and teamwork."

What 3 lessons on leadership did Coach Lombardi teach ?

1. First develop your people.

      2.  Do this by teaching them discipline, and

      3.  by teaching them character.

As a leader, your first priority is to develop your team members by teaching them discipline and by teaching them character just like Coach Vince Lombardi did!

Madeline Frank, Ph.D. is an Amazon.com Best Selling Author, speaker, business owner, teacher, conductor, and concert artist. She helps businesses and organizations "Tune Up their Business". Her observations show you the blue prints necessary to improve and keep your business successful. Her latest book "Leadership On A Shoestring Budget" is available everywhere books are sold. If you need a speaker contact Madeline at: mfrankviola@gmail.com

Keeping The Pledge by Madeline Frank, Ph.D., DTM

Geri Stevens had a passion for jury duty. She was the head of jury selections in the judiciary department for the city of San Diego. Every Monday she would address a new group of potential jurors, reminding them of the special place they had in our justice system and would review their responsibilities.

The majority of people who receive a jury summons immediately begin to think of what they can do to get out of it. It is not a happy place to be!

Geri finally convinced John Maxwell to attend one of her jury orientation sessions, and he was beyond surprised by the experience.

Maxwell recalls Geri standing before her unreceptive audience with an air of excitement and said,

“This will be one of the most wonderful weeks of your lives.”

That got everybody’s attention.

She proceeded to express her passion “about the greatness of America and the right of each citizen to have a fair trial. She explained to the jurors how their decisions would make a difference and that they were examples of why America is a nation coveted and admired by others. At the close of her 45-minute inspiring talk, the potential jurors gave her a standing ovation!”

Geri Stevens’ passion for America transferred to the prospective jurors. They were transformed from an uninterested group of citizens, serving their civic duty to an inspired group of Californians who looked “forward to being selected to serve on a jury.”

My family emigrated to America and became American citizens. They embraced a dream of hope for a better life and opportunities for their families.

My mother’s parents Mary Chernick Leader and Earl D. Leader’s parents were from Russia and Hungary. My Grandmother Mary Chernick’s parents escaped to America from Lithuania, Russia with her two older brothers Michael and Harry. They traveled by ship to escape the violent massacres in Russia of Jewish families condoned by Czar Alexander 111.

(Related: “From Humble Beginnings”)

https://ezinearticles.com/?From-Humble-Beginnings&id=8575538

My Grandfather, Earl D. Leader, his original name Emil Ungerleider, talked about how his father, Mendel Ungerleider’s parents, 13 siblings, spouses, cousins and other family members died in Hitler’s concentration camps while he, his sister, their spouses, children, and their parents were in America safe and sound.

Emma Lazarus was an American poet who wrote her poem “The New Colossus, in 1883 “to raise money” for the construction of the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. In 1903 her poem was engraved on a bronze plaque and mounted inside the pedestal’s inner wall on the Statue of Liberty.

“Give me your tired, your poor, 

your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, 

the wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46550/the-new-colossus

The framers of our Constitution were wise enough to realize that our unalienable rights did not come from government or man; they came from God.They were also wise enough to create the Constitution and Bill of Rights to be exclusionary (explaining what Government cannot do, rather than all the things it could do).

The very freedoms that most of us take for granted like the pursuit of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and freedom to petition the government to right wrongs are what make this country great. It is also why this great nation of ours is a magnet for people from all over the world who answer the battle-cry of their souls to be free by seeking citizenship. 

Where my family is from (Russia and Hungary), there were no rights, no choices, no opportunities, no free speech, no right to a fair trial. You did what the government officials told them to do. There was no freedom of expression.   There was no choice in anything. When you argued to try and protect yourself, they would throw you in prison and kill you.

President Ronald Reagan said, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. … It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.”

Let your voices be heard as American citizens. Share your stories of the greatness of America just like Gerri Stevens and my grandparents did and elect political candidates who will protect and defend your constitutional and unalienable rights so the next generations can continue to enjoy the American way of life!

Madeline Frank, Ph.D. is an Amazon.com Best Selling Author, speaker, business owner, teacher, conductor, and concert artist. She helps businesses and organizations “Tune Up their Business”. Her observations show you the blue prints necessary to improve and keep your business successful. Her latest book “Leadership On A Shoestring Budget” is available everywhere books are sold. If you need a speaker contact Madeline at: mfrankviola@gmail.com