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Alertness at Work 

Alertness at Work  More Than a Cup of

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When you walk through the front door of  Inspirations Gifts, Décor and

you i mmedi at el y sense t he peacefuland el mospher e. egantat n r You ca  b ows et hegi r e a so r f ta s i t down oy one of wn t o enj I nspi rat i ons’ si gnature t r i os and l lyou flavore dt ea,butmostofa senset heatt ent i ont ode t a i l . Monitor Monitor your your  surroundings so that you can respond to changing circumstances

!i"e #eys $% Anticipate &'stacles

Unders t andthegoal s,cost s,andbenefit sofa p r o j e c t s o t hatyoucanpr epar et oover come me c h a l l e n g e s . (% Connect )ignals With Meaning

Recognize whatext ernali nfluencesand  ndi cat orsme mean. internali *% Tell Those Affected

ectedor Comm mmuni cat ewi wi t ht hosewhowi l lbeaff whocancontributet et oas ol ut i on. +% Act Iediately

Evenwh whenyouneedt i met odevelopa t r a t e gy pas sh other t he pr oc e s so f or fini asks,begi nt addr ess i ng s i t ua t i onsa ssoona ss nast heyc ome met o youra ra t t e nt i on. % Take Tie to Analy-e

Caref ul l y eval uat e event s,r e s p ons e s ,a nd r e s ul t s .

Lar r y and Tama mar a Rhoads opened I ns pi r a t i onsi nFe br u ar y n or der t o “encourage 2005 i f ai th, f a mi mi l y,andf r i e nds . ”The t ear oom ser o ves800t 1000 guest s e a c h we e k. t h e T h e f o l l o w wi n g y e a r , Rh o adso p e n e di t he T w wo o Hea He r t s I nn bedand  b -r eakf as t .“AtTwo Hear t s Inn we f oc us on providing mar r i ed coupl es a uni que get x p e r i e n c e away e wher et heycanr nr e l a x,r e ne w,a w, nd ai d.“We We k r e k i ndl e , ”La r r ys eep our f ocus on wh who our t a r g e t cust ome mer sa r eandhow weca    b nbest servet hei rne e ds . ” Counicate /ision

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 b e f o r e E a m o r ns i n gthe R I n sc ph i r at i ons mo o p e n , ,t ho a d s hold afivemi nut e meet i ngwi wi t h s c us s mostoft hei rs t aff .They di t h emont h’ scharact erqual i t y

Tea  Roo,

 

examp mpl e, on the Tuesday after sprin    b g br e ak,Lar r yt hanked t he t ea m fort he i rextrae f f or tdur i ng al l y us anespeci  b ywe e k.

Al er t ness—bei ng awar eofwhat i st a k i n gplacearoundm dmes oIc a n have t he ri ght r es pons es —i s i mport ant f or ever yone at I nspi rat i ons. “Wecon-s t a nt l ya r e wat chi ng, l i st eni ng, and aski ng  our emp mpl oyeesandc dcust ome mer s , d. ‘ How waseveryt hi ng?’ ”Larrysai Then,eac h emp mpl oyee mus t know how t or es pond t o needs asthey a r i s e . Gi"e Attention to Details

Mr . and Mr Mr s. Wot r i ng vi s i t I nspi rat i onse very Tuesday f or  t he “good f ood, s e r vi c e, and at mosphere. ”Hei saret i redmi ni s t e r and mar r i agecounselor;   she  i sar e t i r e d educat or.The  nj oyi experi encet heye s no acc i dent—i —i tresul tsf r om c a r e f ul preparation  and s e r vi c e .

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Discussion )tarters

)afety Check 

1. Name someone who demonstrates awareness of the surroundings and who quickly responds to others’ needs.

Whet her you operat eaf or kl i f t ,dr i ve c omp mpany vehi cl es,fil e paper s,mop floors ,ormake c o f f e e , al ert nesshel psyouavoida c c i de nt s .

2. When did you make a careless mistake  because you were not aler t to facts, figures, or 

Wearpr ot ect i vegear, and f ocedur es .No amo mount of ol l ow saf ety pr agi l i t y  canr e pl a c eahar dhatorsaf et ygl asseswhena nanobj ectfli esi si nyour

other details When has alertness helped you a!oid a mistake

di rect i on.Donotr e l yonr e fle x e st okeepyououtofharm’ m’ sway. Sl ow down wnwh whenoper at i ng mac hi neryorhea vyequi pme mentsot hatyouc uc an fsome ongorsome nt heway.Rea ni ng adj usti met hi nggoeswr meoneget si dwar l abel sands pe c i ali nst ruct i onss ot hatyouunder s t andt her i s ks .

". #a!e you been tempted to cut corners or  skip ski p saf safety ety mea measure sures s

What

you to maintain maintain safety standards

( Alertness

moti!ate moti !atess

I fsafety r ul e s  become t oo cumber some,di scuss al t ernat i ves wi t h your supervisorandd anthatworks.Donotdi sr egar d saf et yi ddevelopa papl nfavorof pr o duc t i vi t y.

 

Larr y gi ves pers onala lat t e nt i on t ogue s t si na ne f f or tt oensure eachhas a good experience, and Ta mar a sees that e v e r y pl ate t hatl tl e a ve st heki t c he n o rmy “looks l i ke i t ’ s ready f mom. ” Each server mus  b t ea l e r tt o t he ne edsofother s ervers as wel last st h e i rcus t ome mers .Servers hel p one anot her maket ea , t chen wor and ki ke r s s or t dishes at  busy t  b i mes s ot ha t he i r servers can f ocus on t gues t s . Thi s t eamw mwork pr ovi des qual i t y and consi st ency, whi chc hc o nt r i but e s t ot her e l a x e d andpeaceful at mospher e.

$ustomer ser!ice includes seeing  needs and meeting them quickly

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)tay Alert to 1eeds

l e vi at e dquickr kresponsehelpedal Lar r yr eme memb mber s wh when s er ver andq a Emi mi l yBl a es snoticeda sn daguestf e el i ng potent i alc r i s i s . unwel l .Bl aesshadacoworkerc a l l eme mer gencys e r v i c e swhi l es hestayed 0uilding Character 0rings )uccess wi t ht he guest . “Appar ent l yt he F  b nessest mpl oyees o r usi osucceed,emp ladyhadar eact i on t oac ha nge i n mus tbea ealertt tt o cus t ome mer needs medi cat i on, r es ul t i ng i n andt a ket her i ghtactionst st ome mee t s ymp mpt oms ms si o a he a r t t mi l ar t hem. m.Those“wh whodevel opal er t nesst o attack,”L arrys y sai d.“The husband servingo t h e r swi l lgr e a t l yi mpr o ve cal l ed back l at e r i n t he day, t hei rf ut ure s uc c e s s , ” Larry s a i d. want i ngt ot hankusf ort rt h especial Al ert ness promo mot esa cul h a t t ure t ca r e we gave t o hi s wi f e. ” The benefit s t he i ndi vi dual and t he server   ’ salertnesst st ot hes i t uat i on comp mpany. %

hat is taking place around e right responses

 bel i eve t he mos ti mpor t ant f ac t or i s knowi ngo g ourpurposeofexi st ence, ”s a i d rati onsGi ft s,D ,Dé c or Larr yRhoadsofInspi andTeaRoom. m. “Inspi rat i onsexi st st o‘ encour agef ai t h,f ami mi l y,

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andf df r i e nds . ’ ” he si gni ficance of having Lar r y st r es s es t emp mpl oyees whose char act er r e i nf or c e st he p hi m select t he comp mpany cul t ur e.To hel ri ght peopl e, Lar r y has pr os pe c t i ve emp mpl oyeesfil louta  basi c appl i cat i on and a charact er based appl i cat i on. These f orms ms hel pLarr yconductt hei nter vi ew and di sc er n t hea ppl i c a nt ’ sc ha r a c t e r . “We We l ookf oradesi ret oservewi t hadesi ret o d,“everyt hi ng el se pal es i l ear n, ” Larry sai n si gni ficance. ” &ead more about 'nspirations  when you !isit members.character first.com first.com

Alertness

Custoer )er"ice Good cust ome mer ser vi ce depends on your al ert ness t o cust ome mer s,your oqual a t t e nt i ont i t y,andyourl ea mwor k. eveloft Some me cust ome mer s wa want i mmedi at e at t ent i on; ot hers wa want t hei r space. I mmedi at el ywe l c ome mecust ome mersand vi si t orst st oyourwor kpl ace,and a dj us t t h e i r s p e c i fi c n e e d s . yourappr oach t o nor de rt omake s r epr o pe r l ys e r v e d. Check yourwor ki ur e cus t ome mer sa Recogni ze whe n ac acust ome meri ri sdi ss at i sfied,and make t he si t uat i on ri ght . Thi nknotaboutt heexpens    b ebutaboutmai nt ai ni ngt her e l a t i ons hi p.

Eachme memb mberofyourorganization cont ri but es t o the cust ome mer  ’ s i ce whe e xpe r i e nc e . Not n team memb mber sneed hel ps othat you cansupporto toneanother   andmeet cust ome merneeds .

 

Discussion )tar ters (. #ow does alertness help your company pro!ide good customer ser!ice ). #ow does alertness promote teamwork and cooperation *. #ow do you feel when when you enter a store and the employees ignore you +. Name one thing you can ca n do this week to practice practice alertness alertness at work. work.

Alertness *

 

Alertness for 2ife

Alertness for 2ife &pen .our 3yes4

Alertness on the Road

Al ert nessi ncl udesnot i ci ngothers’

et ybyf ol l owi wi ngtheI Increaseroadsaf PDE met hodofdr i vi ng.

•I d e nt i f yr e a land pot ent i alhazards.Lookout for ve hi c l e s , pedest ri ans, c y c l i s t s , obst r uct i ons, and c h i l dr e nplayingn np gnearby. Not i cet heweat herandr dr o adc o ndi t i o ns . •Pr e d i c t whatmi ghtoccur .Coul d achi l dr un i nf r o ntofyourcar ?Coul dsome meoneopent nt he door of a par i r e s ked car ? Coul d your t hydr opl ane? i d eho wt ow down wns •Dec or e s pond.Sl ot ha t you canstopi fachi l d chasesa  bal  b la c r o s s

y oh ui r p aR t h . o e l e f t w h e ni pa s si n ge a a r k ed ve cl e. e dM uc ev y ou r n w ap t h e r . sp e e d w e t •Executey eyourdeci si onand a dj us ty our response as t he s i t uat i on c h ang e s .Mi ndyour s ur r oundi ngsso  t hatyoucani denti fy t he new s i t ua t i ons . vi ng r iver ordef ensi vedr i Searchf t i psonl i ne,o ,ort a kead s a f e t ycours e.Al e r t ne s snd onr o ad c a npr o t e c t you amanyot her s .

cont r i but i ons so t hat you our g r a t i t ude . can expr es s y t h e r s Showi wi ngapprec i at i on t el l so youdon’ tt aket hem f orgranted. How ha ve f r i ends and mbe r scontributed t o f ami mi l y me your l i f e ? How have o t h e r s i nspi red you t  bui l d good o charact er?Trace ot hers’a ’a c t i ons  bac k t o speci fic c h a r a c t e r qual i t i e s , show and a ppr e c i a t i on. Recognize t he good att i t udes a person has. Don’ tj ust say, “Thanks f or t he note, ” say, “Thanks   i met owri t ea f ort aki ngt ndofy ou. ” not e.Thatwasver yki

how appreciation for the character you see in -ordinary e!ents

I ns t eadofsa yi ng,“Thanksf ordoi ngyourhome mewo work, ”s ay,“Thanks f or t aki ngi ni t i at i vet odo yourhome mewor k.Idi oa s k dn’ teven havet you! ” Pr ai si ng some meone f or char act err rr e i nf or c e st st hose quali t i es,g ,g i v e s othersa sar e a l t i me examp mpl e ofwhatcharacter l ooksl i ke ,a nd strengthensc omm mmuni c at i on.

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2og In to the online

librar y for 

alertness stories, !ideos,  leadership tips, family  resources, and more/ members.character    first.com

Discussion )tarters

0. Who would be affected if you were inured or killed in a car crash #ow does your  answer influence your dri!ing habits 4. $an you name at least two more ways you can dri!e safely

 ACTE CTER FIR CH AR A FIRST! ST! ®

13. #ow has someone demonstrated alertness recently What did that person do What  benefits 56press your your appreciation at the ne6t opportunity. were the benefits

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