When one considers some of the bad news in the headlines, things look discouraging: the economy, the war in Iraq, gas prices, pollution, global warming, the credit crisis, and the stock market crash, just to name a few. George S. May said: “I don’t believe too much in looking back. If you’ve done well, you’re too inclined to become smug. If you’ve done poorly, you’re inclined to become discouraged. Keep looking ahead - yesterday’s done with - think about today and tomorrow.”

In spite of the current state of economic and financial affairs, the United States of America has proven to be a resilient nation of innovators. When the going gets tough, Americans get tougher and better. Even when things look bad, Americans have continued to do exactly what Mr. May said; we have looked forward.

Time Magazine recently published an article about 10 things that have never happened before:

1. A Former First Couple Switches Roles - Past President Bill Clinton tried to be a supportive spouse and a former First Lady Hillary Clinton emerged as a political powerhouse.

2. Superdelegates Finally Have a Say - After Ronald Reagan’s landslide victory over Jimmy Carter in 1980, Democratic Party insiders created the monsters known as superdelegates. The superdelegates sealed Senator

Hillary Clinton’s fate in the 2008 presidential election.

3. Wrong Track Sky-High - From the moment Obama entered the race, he presented himself as the candidate of fundamental change - with a biography, campaign strategy and set of priorities to match.

4. Outsiders In - 2008 is the first year since 1928 in which neither an incumbent President nor Vice President ran for the top slot. The die was effectively cast before the general-election process began.

5. Selling History - Barack Obama’s supporters craved a piece of the Obama brand, and for that, the campaign made them pay in all sorts of ingenious ways. Want an Obama blue t-shirt with the “O” logo? All yours in return for just three things: your money, your contact information and, ultimately, your vote.

6. An African American but Not Just an African American - The past four decades have been truly revolutionary in American politics, with a significant increase in the number of minority elected officials, greater voter participation by nonwhites and symbolic runs for President by Shirley Chisholm, Jesse Jackson and Alan Keyes. Obama owes those trailblazers a debt, but his ascendance was the product of something very different from those previous WhiteHouse bids: not only was race not Obama’s signature dimension by any measure, but - with the exception of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright controversy - it was barely an issue at all.

7. Best Reality Show Ever - Politics is show business for ugly people, the old joke goes, but the 2008 campaign was just plain show business, with a cast of fascinating if not always camera-ready players.

8. Internet Fund-Raising Comes of Age - Obama’s foremost advantages, and what allowed him to break all records, were Web savviness and volume.

9. Mooseburgers, Snow Machines and Serious Politics - In a stunning, star-making two-month burst of attention, Sarah Palin took her home state of Alaska into every American living room.

10. An October Surprise (in September) - Never has one eleventh-hour external event so transformed the trajectory of a presidential campaign. On a single day Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy,

Bank of America salvaged a troubled Merrill Lynch, the Dow dropped 500 points, while McCain famously declared that “the fundamentals of our economy are strong.”

It was the start of a big, bad political catastrophe for McCain and Republican candidates all over the country.

We have come a long way as a nation by electing the first African American president. We have demonstrated to the world that we have healed from the wounds of a very painful and embarrassing chapter in our history by electing a president based on his qualifications…the only thing that really matters. What does this have to do with us at GSMIC?

We at the George S. May International Company have adopted a policy and practice of continuous improvement, which has served us well. We learn from the past, listen to our clients and employees,enjoy the compliments and correct our mistakes, but always look forward.

This is a never-ending effort and must include everybody. We have to maintain our quality standards, our policies and procedures and at the same time search for revisions and improvements of the current method of operation. I encourage every one of you to come up with ideas that can improve your job, your performance, your work conditions and any company process or procedure. I encourage everyone to take initiative and share your ideas with co-workers, so that everyone may benefit. Anything we can do to individually promote personal growth will benefit us all.

There is an atmosphere of hope in the air; we hear about it on TV and radio and read about it in the media. We believe that events in our lives will bring a positive outcome, things will turn out for the best and we will get what we want. However, let’s not confuse hope with optimism.

Hope is an emotion but optimism is the result of rational thinking. Achieving a positive outcome and creating the basis for optimism is always in the planning. Planning is a chain of actions aimed toward a very specific outcome. Planning to succeed, as opposed to simply hoping for success, is the key to optimism. Optimism can always be actualized when specific goals are set and actions taken in the direction of the intended outcome. Continuous movement and continuous improvement allow us to continue as the innovators we are.

This is our goal as a firm, this is our mission: to teach anyone who comes into contact with us, whether employees, clients, vendors, etc. how to plan for and realize success.

It is my desire that every employee at every level of the George S. May International Company embrace and create a corporate environment whereby this time next year, we will have our own set of 10 firsts. I invite you to join me in creating an innovative, progressive, and successful 2009.

There are many elements that contribute to client satisfaction.

Quality management systems that work well. . . outstanding customer service. . .and great value are three key contributors that should be goals for everyone everyday, whatever their position. These help satisfy clients. Follow-up with clients is also important. Our Client For Life Program is designed to gain client satisfaction and increase client retention. It’s helped us move in that direction. And we need to continue striving for even greater client satisfaction.

We should always use the concept: “What does the client want” as a guiding light to clearly see our way to client satisfaction. Client satisfaction must be our ultimate goal. We may think we know what a client needs. We may know from experience what a client needs. However, only the client can tell us he or she is satisfied with our work, and that is the measure of our success. Taking a “positive” approach to all the work we accomplish is one way we can bring about client satisfaction. But this idea is not limited to only the people in the field working with prospects and clients. Each of us has our own “clients.” These are the people we work for. Consider the people you support as your own personal clients. This way everyone in our Company will understand the importance of client satisfaction.

However, there are times when good work alone is not enough to differentiate ourselves. This is because when we work with prospects and clients, we enter THEIR world. Our world is filled with the projects, policies and procedures that will provide the kind of systems, service and value clients expect. Today, however, they expect more. An added way to influence and register our interest in prospects and clients is on the basis of our corporate citizenship.

In this issue you’ll read about a variety of activities the Company, as well as individuals, have taken to extend our reach into different communities. These benefit the Company, as well as benefiting the organizations and the individual. Some examples include: sponsoring golf tournaments for the Rotary and Better Business Bureau, involvement in the Taste of Polonia and Polish Discovery Festival, becoming a corporate member of the Polish-American Chamber of Commerce, Torch Award sponsorship and various individual projects. I urge you to read these articles and think about how you could extend your reach and our influence for everyone’s benefit.

At a recent sales meeting I was asked by an SR: What is the greatest obstacle to a successful career in the Sales Department? “It is YOU,” I said without hesitation

Throughout the years we have learned that self motivation is the key to success, in any job. Lack of self motivation is the number one destroyer of careers. This is particularly true in our Sales Department where our representatives have to motivate themselves, day in and day out, to leave the comfort of their home and venture out into the “hostile” world of prospects and clients…or is it?

The answer is in your mind-set. It is a matter of commitment. How committed are you to your career? How has that commitment changed over time?

At the same meeting, during lunch, a conversation took place about the current, most popular TV shows. As one SR was able to describe every TV show out there, another SR made a profound statement. He said: ” I don’t know how you get the time to keep up on all of this.” The room fell into a deafening silence.

I guess if your career seems to be taking a negative turn, but you somehow are able to keep up on all your favorite TV shows, it speaks volumes about your level of commitment. It says that you are not
spending enough time improving your skills and working on bettering your career. if a great career really
matters to you, your actions will show it.

Success equals personal commitment. Successful people are dedicated to learning more and more. They have an insatiable appetite for new materials and tools that will help them to do a better job. Your level of commitment plays a key role in the process of creating a fulfilling career. It is very simple- lack of commitment equals lousy results.

During the past three years we, as a company, have embraced a culture of Continuous Improvement. This couldn’t happen without strong commitment by everyone in all levels of the organization. Continuous improvement requires dedication and a willingness to be guided by objective information. There is no doubt that our Company’s culture is evolving. We have learned that we as a group can change our culture,
because the culture is influenced by us as much as it influences us. Our open-door policy, on all levels of management, has empowered our employees to do what’s right.

Our goal is to do right by our clients and our company; meaning everyone has the power to do their job, to openly speak to another department’s personnel, to help clients, to find a “better solution” when necessary, and so on. Continuous Improvement means constantly making changes and adapting by receiving and using information, and evaluating the effectiveness of these changes.

As changes should never be made in a vacuum, Continuous Improvement is highly dependent on the use of objective information. Only with objective measures can we get a good handle on what is working well and what is not. When we make a change, we can see if it is working well and work with other people to make adjustments. No one will argue with information and numbers that reflect a true picture of success or failure

We are now experiencing the strongest business success we’ve had in the last 5 years. Aside from sales and profit, employee satisfaction surveys indicate the highest job satisfaction and approval rating we’ve had in many years. Thanks to you our strategy seems to be working well.

If you’ve read more than a couple of business improvement books, you’ve seen many focus on the same basics. The authors may be different and the examples used may change. However, the basic formula for success that they recommend remains the same.

After having read many of these books, and with a healthy dose of practical experience, I’ve developed my own formula for business success. Here it is, and you don’t even have to spend $20 for the book:

• Develop a great product/service.
• Care more about how it helps the customer/ client than you.
• Sell it in a fiscally responsible manner.

How does our Company, and how do you represent, this formula for business success?

Develop A Great Product/Service
This Company has a great service to offer. More than 50 years ago, George May realized that the many small companies created in the 1940s needed help if they were to survive the change from the war-time economy of World War II to the peace-time economy that followed. In the decades that followed, small and mid-size businesses have become the true economic engine for this country. They represent more than 99 percent of all employer firms, more than half the private gross domestic product, and 60 to 80 percent of net new jobs created annually in the past 10 years. Thousands of new businesses are being created every year, and thousands of others change ownership.

Care More About How It Helps The Customer/Client Than You.

Put the client first, and the rest will follow. How often have you heard the old adage: “People don’t like to be sold, but they love to buy.” In other words, don’t sell them; give them a reason to buy. It is all about the perspective. Are you thinking of yourself - what you need? Or are you thinking of the prospect/client - what that business owner wants and needs? If your words focus too much on yourself or George S. May International Company interests, the prospect/client feels it is all about us. However, if you focus your words and actions on the prospect/client, then that person feels the center of attention. Become “client-centric.”

Sell The Product/Service In A Fiscally Responsible Manner

There are very few business people who complain about price if they believe they are receiving value for their money. Value must always be the key element in any presentation we make to a prospect/client. The value to the owner must be key when making a telemarketing appointment, when selling a Survey Analysis, when presenting the reasons for a Go-Ahead, and when explaining the appropriateness of a MS Recommendation to a client.
We find out what is valuable to the business by remembering the key phrase: “What does the client want?” Value is defined by the prospect/client. The value of our services is obvious to us. Your challenge is to put the value we offer into an understandable value statement that the businessperson understands and accepts. Selling an unnecessary service to a business results is dissatisfaction. Motivating the owner to buy our services results in satisfaction.

The real point is to help your client. If you do that, you’ll win - incidentially! Helping a client in order to win, is not the same as helping a client for its own sake. And your client knows the difference.