Old Town Helena

I don’t know about you, but I receive more than 100 emails a day. Some are junk emails (discard); some have value (read); some are business related (definite read); some might have value but are so poorly written that I usually delete them. I thought it might be time to provide some basic email etiquette guidelines in the form of dos and don’ts.

Let’s begin with the Don’ts:

1. Do not use all CAPS as it comes across to the reader as screaming at them. No one wants to be yelled at.
2. Do not use multi-color fonts. Using fonts with colors like magenta, red, yellow make it hard to read. Not to mention that some readers are color-blind.
3. Do not use a colored background. Sometimes the text gets lost in the background color and your message is lost.
4. Do not forward emails directly to multiple recipients. Many of your friends do not want their email address disclosed to other people they do not know.
5. Do not use non-standard fonts, such as, Comic Serif. They may seem like fun to you but they are hard to read. (see do’s below).
6. Do not center the Text – it is very difficult to read.
7. Do not use a subject line that will cause the reader to discard your email. When I get an email with a subject line or a statement in the body of the email that says something like “send this to x number of friends or else…”

That covers the six major don’ts. Here are the 6 effective ways to craft an email.

1. Proper use of upper/lower case is effective and will lead to higher read rates. Here is an example.  Would you prefer to read – “THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPED OVER THE FENCE” – or – “The quick brown fox jumped over the fence.”? My preference is the non-all-caps.  If you want to emphasize something use Bold, Italics, or Underline.
2. Use only black fonts. It easier to read. Think about the old trick question – “What is black and white and read all over? Answer – the newspaper. Now before you tell me the USA today is a color newspaper I suggest you look at the background color (white) and the text of each article (black) – the color comes from advertisements and photos.
3. Using a colored background is a definite no-no. Make the main background color white.  Even Amazon has a Kindle White Paper – white background, black text.
4. Forwarding an email to a list of your favorite friends is usually a bad idea. I send the email to myself and use a blind copy (bcc) for all the other recipients. This protects all email addresses. I also delete the eMail address of the person who sent it to me – I do leave the persons first name and last name initial. This will let your recipients know you did not originate the email.
5. Use standard fonts such as Arial, Verdana, Times New Roman. The font point should be either 10 or 12. Anything smaller or larger is too hard to read. When I receive an email with a font that is too large and want to forward it, I highlight the text and change it to one of the three recommended fonts and font sizes.
6. Left justify the test – like a book, magazine, or newspaper – it is easier to read and increases comprehension.
7. I have often changed the subject line of an email that I forward and I delete the “forward or else” language. I do not like Chain-eMails.

There is a lot more to effective eMail writing and increasing your open and read rates. But if you follow the above guidelines your emails will be more effective than the majority of the emails you receive, create or forward daily.

My 2 Cents,
Henry

President’s Day
February 18, 2013

What does it mean to you?  Do you have plans to enjoy this day of celebrating our past Presidents?

I used to think it was just another day off from work.  As I get a little older I have begun to stop and think about everyday things especially holidays.  I thought I would share with you what I think makes a great President – one worthy of a holiday.

I think it begins with a dream or vision.

“Dream big dreams, because little ones have no magic.”

Rachel R. Russel
Dork Diaries 3: Tales From a Not-So-Talented Pop Star

A dream is nothing but a vision.  In order to be President you must have a big vision. A big vision must include everyone and when successful will lead to a better life for all.

George Washington had a big vision – independence of a nation – he led his army (team) to victory.

Abraham Lincoln had a big vision – emancipation for slaves– he led the north to win the civil war – and he won freedom for all.

Ronald Reagan had a big vision – end the cold war – he led a nation that saw the wall torn down.

The key word in each of these three examples is led or in other words each man had to be a leader.

John Maxwell wrote a book titled The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader.  I highly recommend this book. I have it in my library and read it often.  In fact, I have read one chapter a week to become a better leader in just 21 weeks.  And I re-read it annually to ensure I am still growing as a leader.

The 21 qualities include:

1. Character: Be a Piece of the Rock
2. Charisma: The First Impression Can Seal The Deal
3. Commitment: It Separates Doers From Dreamers
4. Communication: Without It You Travel Alone
5. Competence: If You Build It, They Will Come
6. Courage: One Person With Courage Is A Majority
7. Discernment: Put An End To Unsolved Mysteries
8. Focus: The Sharper It Is, The Sharper You Are
9. Generosity: Your Candle Loses Nothing When It Lights Another
10. Initiative: You Won’t Leave Home Without It
11. Listening: To Connect With Their Hearts, Use Your Ears
12. Passion: Take This Life and Love It
13. Positive Attitude: If You Believe You Can, You Can
14. Problem Solving: You Can’t Let Your Problems Be A Problem
15. Relationships: If You Get Along, They’ll Go Along
16. Responsibility: If You Won’t Carry The Ball, You Can’t Lead The Team
17. Security: Competence Never Compensates for Insecurity
18. Self-Discipline: The First Person You Lead Is You
19. Servanthood: To Get Ahead, Put Others First
20. Teachability: To Keep Leading, Keep Learning
21. Vision: You Can Seize Only What You Can See

For years I heard that leaders were born. After reading Maxwell’s book I now understand True Leaders are developed.  You can become a good, maybe a great leader – whether it is your family, church, sports team, department, your business or your community – you can become more than you think you are!

“The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly.”

Jim Rohn
9/17/1930 – 12/5/2009
Speaker, Author, Philosopher

‘til the next time,
Henry

It is the day after Christmas and I am sitting in my home office thinking about this (and other) Holiday seasons.  We had a great time with our son, daughter and our two grandchildren.   The day after Christmas always seems so quiet as the hustle and bustle of the season comes to a close.  As I sit here I thought about two of my favorite stories surrounding Christmas and thought I would share them with you.  This is the first of the two stories.

For The Man Who Hated Christmas
by Nancy W. Gavin

This true story was originally published in the December 14, 1982 issue of Woman’s Day magazine.  It is re-printed her with permission (see the editor’s note at the end).

It’s just a small, white envelope stuck in the branches of our Christmas tree.  No name, no identification, no inscription.  It has peeked through the branches of our tree for the past ten years or so.

It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas – oh, not the true meaning of Christmas, but the commercial aspects of it – overspending. . . the frantic running around at the last minute to get a tie for Uncle Harry and the dusting powder for Grandma – the gifts given in desperation because you couldn’t think of anything else.

Knowing he felt this way, I decided one year to bypass the usual shirts, sweaters, ties and so forth.  I reached for something special just for Mike.  The inspiration came in an unusual way.

Our son Kevin, who was 12 that year, was wrestling at the junior level at the school he attended; and shortly before Christmas, there was a non-league match against a team sponsored by an inner-city church.  These youngsters, dressed in sneakers so ragged that shoestrings seemed to be the only thing holding them together, presented a sharp contrast to our boys in their spiffy gold uniforms and sparkling new wrestling shoes.  As the match began, I was alarmed to see that the other team was wrestling without headgear, a kind of light helmet designed to protect a wrestler’s ears.

It was a luxury the ragtag team obviously could not afford.  Well, we ended up walloping them.  We took every weight class.  And as each of the boys got up from the mat, he swaggered around in his tatters with false bravado, a kind of street pride that couldn’t acknowledge defeat.

Mike, seated beside me, shook his head sadly, “I wish just one of them could have won,” he said.  “They have a lot of potential, but losing like this could take the heart right out of them.”  Mike loved kids – all kids – and he knew them, having coached little league football, baseball and lacrosse.  That’s when the idea for his present came.  That afternoon, I went to a local sporting goods store and bought an assortment of wrestling headgear and shoes and sent them anonymously to the inner-city church.  On Christmas Eve, I placed the envelope on the tree, the note inside telling Mike what I had done and that this was his gift from me.  His smile was the brightest thing about Christmas that year and in succeeding years.  For each Christmas, I followed the tradition – one year sending a group of mentally handicapped youngsters to a hockey game, another year a check to a pair of elderly brothers whose home had burned to the ground the week before Christmas, and on and on.

The envelope became the highlight of our Christmas.  It was always the last thing opened on Christmas morning and our children, ignoring their new toys, would stand with wide-eyed anticipation as their dad lifted the envelope from the tree to reveal its contents.

As the children grew, the toys way to more practical presents, but the envelope never lost its allure.  The story doesn’t end there.

You see, we lost Mike last year due to dreaded cancer.  When Christmas rolled around, I was still so wrapped in grief that I barely got the tree up.  But Christmas Eve found me placing an envelope on the tree, and in the morning, it was joined by three more.

Each of our children, unbeknownst to the others, had placed an envelope on the tree for their dad.  The tradition has grown and someday will expand even further with our grandchildren standing to take down the envelope,

Editor’s Note: This true story was originally published in the December 14, 1982 issue of Woman’s Day magazine.  It was the first place winner out of thousands of entries in the magazine’s “My Most Moving Holiday Tradition” contest in which readers were asked to share their favorite holiday tradition and the story behind it.  The story inspired a family in Atlanta, GA to start The White Envelope Project and Giving 101, a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating youth about the importance of giving.  To learn more about honoring a loved one through this special tradition, please visit www.giving101.org/WhiteEnvelopeProject.  On the site, you can browse a catalogue of unique giving opportunities, create and send your own white envelope gift, purchase charity gift cards and more.

I just checked and I can’t believe my last post was in October. I suppose I need to follow the advice of the blogging experts – post often but be reliable. As you might expect creating good content can often cause writer’s block. OK, I am already off-topic.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I received the following in an email and thought I would pass it on with permission of the original author.

It only takes one smile to offer welcome . . . and blessed be the person who will share it!

It only takes one moment to be helpful . . . and blessed be the person who will spare it!

It only takes one joy to lift a spirit . . . and blessed be the person who will give it!

It only takes one life to make a difference . . . and blessed be the person who will live it!

“Celebrate the happiness that friends are always giving . . . Make every day a holiday and celebrate just living!”  –Amanda Bradley

The things I am thankful for today and every day:

• Good health
• My wife Patty (yes, she did what I wish I could and that is go back to the version of her name she has always loved)
• My kids (Mike and Christie) and their families (Jennifer & Hallen; Scott and Sophia)
• My friends – you know who you are
• My home – designed and built by my wife
• Helena – the beautiful city in which I live
• The free country we live in and the brave men and women who risk their lives everyday  to help us to continue to enjoy that freedom

My wish for every one who reads this post – have a Safe and Happy Thanksgiving – may we all live thankfully every day!