A Pig With A Pink Ribbon Is Still A Pig

It's what they are.  

You can wash a pig and spray him with perfume and he's still a pig. You can put a pink ribbon around it and dress it in a pretty pig dress. They look good. They smell good. They look transformed! But let them outside and they will happily run straight to the nearest mud puddle they can find. Why? It’s their NATURE.

 

People with character issues will always disappoint you. 

Never put them in a position of responsibility unless you can keep a close eye on them. People can change but they really have want to and it won’t happen all at once. It’s great to give people a second chance but you better keep your eye on them.

Don’t put them in a position where their weakness can drag them and you down. You may think they are grateful and appreciative. They may even tell you they are, but what they are thinking is that they got away with it. They are thinking you are someone they can control and manipulate with excuses.

 

Don’t try to analyze or reason with them like you would a person you can trust.

The reason is, they don’t think like you do. You can’t really understand how they think and they aren’t even trying to understand how you think. They have their own agenda. They don’t understand give and take. They aren’t interested in fairness. They aren’t capable of considering what’s best for you. They’ll always cut any corners they can to give themselves and advantage. Trying to reason with them is futile. They don’t need you, they need professional help. But guess what? They don’t want help. 

 

If you doubt that, think about this.

One of the characteristics of people with character issues is that they live in denial. They don't take responsibility. They don't feel like they need to change. They are looking for ways to get ahead without working, without earning it. They see things you have and decide they need to have them. Why not? You have plenty.

If you catch them in a lie they will, on the spot, come up with another plausible sounding lie to cover up the first. I’ve always been amazed at the ability of people like this to effortlessly spin another bigger lie or rationalization whenever they are challenged. It’s at moments like this you realize you are dealing with someone who is not like you…AT ALL. Not only can they make up one lie after another, they seem to have the ability to believe it as truth as soon as they say it.  

That’s why if you insist on keeping them around you must keep your eye on them.  
Don't let their weakness hurt you. Sure it's great to give people a chance, but why put them in a position where they likely to fail? It's not fair to them, it's not fair to you.

Pay attention to character. You can’t let yourself be lulled to sleep by appearances. They may make an effort to look, talk and act better. They may make a great effort to act like they have changed. But stay alert. Any change will take a long, long time and they will probably have many relapses along the way. They may look pretty on the outside, but it’s what’s inside, their character that controls their actions. 

If they are rotten inside, they’ll act rotten because they can’t help it, it’s their nature. A pig is a pig is a pig - whether it's wearing a pink ribbon or not.

Numbers or People?

Often business people debate which is more important, their people or their production or sales numbers. What’s the answer?

In business, people and numbers are equally important, but the people come first because they produce the numbers.

Why are both SO important? Without numbers you lose your people. You won't have any money to pay them! Without people there will be no numbers. You won't have anyone to do the work! Your people are your most important asset because what makes them important is the work they do.

Andrew Carnegie once said, “If I lost everything, my fortune, my factories but I still had my key people I would have it all back in 6 months.” He might have been exaggerating a little but the point remains the same—he valued his key people above all else.

But here’s the truth: if he had the people and for some reason they could not get production going, it would be a short period of time before they were gone too.

The reality lies in the fact that what makes people important is not their looks, sense of humour, friendship and even their character but WHAT THEY DO. That’s what makes them special. 

So what’s more important? Both. You’ve got to have one to have the other.   

If you are not the one who own the business but who works there remember this… YOU ARE IMPORTANT!

You are the most important resource of the company and that is because of what you DO. 

You make the Company run. You make the Company special. You produce the results.

THE BEST COMPANIES HAVE THE BEST PEOPLE. As a result… THEY HAVE THE BEST RESULTS!

Winner's Book Club Selection of the Week: Geno

WINNERS CREDENTIALS

Geno: In Pursuit of Perfection is the memoir of Geno Auriemma, the most accomplished male coach in women's basketball today. In his relentless quest for excellence at the University of Connecticut, he has led the Huskies to five national championships.

From the Book Jacket

Controversial, confrontational, and driven, Coach Geno Auriemma is a force to be reckoned with. For Auriemma, life affords only the briefest moments of happiness - a good round of golf, forty minutes of great basketball, a day at the beach with his family, a nice glass of wine - while disaster is seemingly always waiting to strike. It's a fatalistic philosophy, a remnant of his hardscrabble early years, but it's an outlook that has driven him to unparalleled success.

In this deeply personal memoir, Geno Auriemma reveals for the first time the man behind the legend. He talks candidly about his coaching style - famed for being one of the most demanding in all the sports world. He spills the beans about his stormy dealings with other coaches such as his archrival, Pat Summitt of the University of Tennessee. And with warmth and a genuine love for his champions, he writes openly about Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird, Nykesha Sales, Rebecca Lobo, Swin Cash, and all of his other UConn stars who have gone on to stellar WNBA careers. You get a courtside seat to all of the action - including an epilogue on the 2004-05 season, as well as interviews with the team's most celebrated players.

Amazon Editorial Review

If nothing else, Auriemma, coach of the UConn women's basketball team since 1985, explains how little girls in Connecticut inherited the dreams of little boys in Indiana. The rise of a program with a leaky gym and roll-away bleachers to become a powerhouse with five national championships is a Hoosier-like tale. Read more>>

From Booklist

Auriemma is one of the most successful college basketball coaches in the history of the sport, yet he is never mentioned in the same sentence as Dean Smith or Mike Krzyzewski. The reason? Auriemma coaches women's basketball at the University of Connecticut. In this revealing autobiography, written with the help of Boston Globe reporter MacMullan, Auriemma tells a version of the classic immigrant's journey. His parents immigrated to the U.S. from Italy when he was seven. He was the new kid, the kid who talked funny, and the poor kid. Read more>>