Costco Connection - July 2007

FRESHviews

WALLY AMOS: BE POSITIVE

Wally Amos is the founder of Uncle Wally’s Muffin Company. You can reach him at www.wallyamos.com.

Focus on what
really matters

RECENTLY I’VE BEEN seeking an answer to the question “What really matters?” The e-mail below, from my friend Barbara Stewart, answers that question. I share it with her permission.

While officiating a track-and-field meet at a school in Rochester, New York, I watched a talented young triple jumper take off from the toe board and suffer the most horrific accident. There was a noise like gunshots and she pitched forward in agony. She fell onto the runway, her leg destroyed and useless. She remained immobilized on the runway for nearly an hour, until they could move her to the hospital.

For her, it was excruciating pain and a traumatic event that changed the course of her life forever. For the rest of the athletes and personnel, it was a shocking reminder of how fragile life can be—one moment youth and strength and the next mortality. I was struck by her courage to remain calm, although in obvious agony.

Later I was told she had surgery and would remain in the hospital a few more days. The sharp noises I heard were her Achilles tendon snapping,

then her femur fracturing. In my 25 years in track and field, I have never witnessed such a thing. Realistically, she will never again participate at full capacity as an athlete, so she needs to apply her character and abilities to other pursuits. I sent her a card and a book to wish her well.

Now comes the most coincidental part. I suddenly experienced extreme pain in my leg. I was sent immediately to the hospital for surgery on a massive, life-threatening blood clot in my leg. My life path, too, is forever altered. I am reminded each day and each hour of the wonder and gratitude in each moment of life. Now I must continue to use it wisely.

I later had further news of unfavorable hospital test results, which momentarily unfocused my attitude. Once again, I was reminded of what matters: The mail brought this incredible thank-you note from the athlete.

She wrote, “Wow! Your gift caught me off-guard because I wasn’t expecting it. Thank you so much! My leg is getting better every day and I cannot wait to walk again. The fact that you didn’t even know me but saw all of these positive qualities in me and thought enough about me to send me a card and a book is really touching and inspires me to do bigger and better things. As long as there are people like you in the world, I know I’ll be OK. I’ve been walking. They told me six to eight weeks. I did it in five!”

This outstanding young woman has all the elements for success in life: indomitable spirit, talent and excellent skills in literacy. Above all, she has awareness of others outside herself. What more could we ask for in the next generations?

I am having a positive day, remembering what matters. C

A look at
Bill and Dave

AT A TIME when business leaders make more news for what they’ve done wrong, it’s refreshing to read about a pa ir of industry icon s who got it right .

Bill & Dave: How Hewlett and Packard Built the World’s Greatest Company (available at costco.com) accomplishes that in a book by Costco member and journalist Michael S. Malone.

William Hewlett and David Packard were business innovators, not just in the products they made, but in the way they ran their company. Many of their innovations are now business standards, such as employee profit sharing, stock options, flexitime, employee continuing education and no-layoff policy.

This is a book for students of business, especially if they’re in leadership positions. C

Poll outlines pressing issues for small businesses

WHAT’S ON THE minds of America’s small-business owners? According to a recent survey conducted by Public Opinion Strategies on behalf of the National Small Business Association (NSBA), the costs of health insurance, obtaining capital and the future of the economy top the list. Here’s a look at the highlights.

< While the national economy is growing, America’s small and midsize businesses are facing challenging times. Thirty-six percent believe the economy is getting better, 43 percent believe it’s getting worse and 21 percent believe it’s about the same as it was five years ago.

< Economic uncertainty, the cost of health benefits and the lack of available capital are the three biggest concerns facing small businesses today.

< Fewer and fewer companies are offering health benefits. The figure is 41 percent today, down from 67 percent in 1995.

< Most companies can get the financing they need, but 39 percent of companies with four or fewer employees cannot obtain adequate financing.

< Businesses would make changes if capital were more readily available, including adding advertising, hiring more employees, purchasing new equipment and/or