The Chadders: Thoughts from my world of Business and Family

I have Moved my Blog

2006-04-13T15:44:00.000-06:00

My new blog is at www.chadblodgett.com

you will be re-directed shortly....

The best of times, the worst of times

2006-03-25T22:07:00.000-07:00

March is the Best time of year. I know others will argue that December is, but...it isn't. Its march.

In March you don't have to buy gifts for people, you don't have to wear a new sweater to some party, you don't have to carol.

In March you get to sit in front of your TV, with your favorite foods, snacks and drinks and watch College Basketball at its best.

You then get to go to the office the next day and recap the games with other belivers. If your picks are doing well, then you feel like a king!

Ahhh March.

VIPBloggers Launched

2006-03-17T00:04:00.000-07:00

Puttin you on the Map!

I am now a VIP Blogger! I have a little square toward the top of the home page and have received some nice traffic since loading it up two days ago.

I am excited to see VIP grow. We hear so much discussion on the power of networks and word of mouth marketing - and I think VIP Bloggers will be a great case study on how businesses and ideas can grow. Justin Bergener will be in "The Tipping Point" sequel (if there ever could be one) :).

So - what are you waiting for? Get your square on VIPBloggers and spread the word!

Executive Compensation

2006-03-15T23:28:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking a lot about what motivates people to do good work. There are as many different things that can motivate people as there are people. Compensation has to be one of them, and a big one for most. Commission opportunities, annual bonuses, stock options, incentive plans all seem to point toward making more money.

I agree that money plays a part in everyone’s motivation - but not a very large part in the truly great people.

The people that I have hired (and that I want to hire in the future) are motivated because they are “ingrained within” to do a great job. They are the type of people that have the motto, "Anything my hand touches must be great." They are people that would be embarrassed by a mediocre performance, or that would stay late at work (or work at home) to make sure their work is excellent. They can not imagine turning in something, or calling something complete that isn't great in their eyes – regardless of their compensation.

They usually are the people who volunteer, or who have done many things without compensation. They are happy to help, to advise, to meet and discuss. They share their stories and experiences and have time for others.

These types of people get paid well, but their compensation is not what drives them. Their character and inner beliefs are what drives them, and what motivates them to do a good job.

Let me know what your thoughts are on this subject. Why do you do "a great job?"

HealthCast and eHealthCompete

2006-03-09T22:00:00.000-07:00

So, I'm sitting in my LoveSac, watching the BYU VS. UTAH game and reading blogs from about a dozen different entrepreneurs that I respect. My wife is at the kitchen table listening to the sound track from Walk the Line and helping me edit some of the scripts for the HealthCast vidcasts that we are doing with my corporate wellness company eHealthCompete. Our 2 boys are sound asleep.

Life is good.

eHealthCompete will be launching the HealthCast Video Productions through a partnership with Steve Aldana and my Junto Partner, Joe Grover, and his Production Company Digital Mind Studios. HealthCast will be the first corporate wellness company to deliver educational video content over the internet.

My goal is to educate employees in an entertaining way so they will be better able to make good health and lifestyle choices. Choices that will improve the quality of life that people live.

I'll post a link to the first video once we have it completed.

The more you know, the safer your arteries!

Surfin' PodCast.net

2006-03-05T20:50:00.000-07:00

I have fallen in Love with PodCasts! I listen to one on the way to work, and one on the way home. It is better than the radio because I am listening to subjects that interest me and learning from intelligent people in those fields.

Some of my favorites have been from BusinessJive.com which does entrepreneur, angel investors, and general business podcasts.

I even made Julie listen to some of the highlights just bbecause I wanted to share the gems I had discovered. Thanks for listening Jules!

I have also enjoyed marketing podcasts from DuctTapeMarketing.com.

My lovely wife, Julie, loves to download the latest "Lost" podcast from ABC.

A great resource for you to find podcasts that interest you would be on PodCast.net

I looked up Marathons for Julie, and Architecture/Gardening/Jazz/Cooking/surfing for danny. I even saw some really cool ones that I could add to my weight loss site WeightLossWars. The customers on WeightLossWars would love the extra weight loss motivation and education.

Just imagine! All the “down times” during your day – driving, running, vegging, cleaning, etc – could be filled with entertainment and education on the subjects that interest you!

See what interests you on PodCast.net and then tell me about it.

If you don't see the subject that you like, consider doing a podcast on the subject and sharing your knowledge with the rest of the world. I’ll help you get it recorded and uploaded, and if you are serious, we could start our own system or sorts! How fun!

Seriously, do it.

Ordinary

2006-02-28T17:19:00.000-07:00

I was listening to a podcast from BusinessJive by Mark Norquist and have thought a lot about one comment that he made...

"There are no ordinary people, only ordinary choices."

I have been trying to make bolder, more heroic choices in my day to day business dealings since pondering on that comment. Life is too short for the ordinary choices, the choices that limit or the choices that enslave.

Why can't we make the unordinary choice?

I think this is a good time to insert one of my favorite quotes by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow...

The Heights by great men reached and kept,
were not attained by sudden flight,
but they while their companions slept,
where toiling upward in the night.

Anyway - I love the businessJive podcasts that are put out - check them out and learn from them.

Let me know what you think about the above comment "no ordinary people, only ordinary choices." Thanks.

Google Reader

2006-02-25T22:20:00.000-07:00

Yep - thats right, this is post #2 in as many day! Hows that for goal keeping danny!

I just stumbled upon Google Reader and I am in Love!

I am starting to bring together all the blogs and podcasts that I like to read and listen to, and Google Reader lets me do that all from a single page. No more going out to numerous sites, or having a "favorites" list in my browser that is a mile long.

I think it is important to spend time at the beginning of the day reading what is going on in the world and in business. I want to know about the newest opportunities and keep my brain running. Google Reader will help with that.

I know Yahoo and other companies have similar products, but i am going to try Google’s’ out.

Ask me later what I think of it.

The Cafe Rio Craze

2006-02-24T22:07:00.000-07:00

It happened again, but this time with a phone order placed at Cafe Rio. My wife and I rolled up to the Cafe Rio in American Fork 10 minutes before our order was to be done - our goal was to avoid the CRAZY lines. It didn't work - we stood in line for 20 minutes to get our food (that was getting cold).

I don't understand the craze behind Cafe Rio. Is it REALLY that much better than the alternatives? To me - no, it isn't. But to most people that I talk to they swear that the food is SOOOOO much better.

What is interesting about Cafe Rio is how their good name has spread through word of mounth advertising, and, as a result they have long LONG lines.

To Cafe Rio's credit they gave us our drinks for free in an effort to win our business again. I like that gesture, and may brave those lines again.

In the olden days products and services that solved problems or created great pleasure got talked about and eventually purchased.

I am reading "Purple Cow" by Seth Godin and he argues that marketing to the masses is not the way to market anymore - that products and services that aren't remarkable have become invisible to us.

WeightLossWars, I believe has a remarkable product and service that creates a buzz and stands out - like a purple cow. My challenge has been to get the word out so people can begin talking about this service. Just like the good old days.

So, post your comment about Cafe Rio. Is it really that much better? Has the popularity and long lines added to the craze so people THINK that the food is better when it really isn't?

Let me know what you think!

Hard Work

2006-02-02T23:17:00.000-07:00

There is so much to do - and there IS a lot of time to do it in! I think that accomplishing the work that we need to get done and that we want to get done can happen with this attitude...

"The beauty of work depends upon the the way we meet it, whether we arm ourselves each morning to attack it as an enemy that must be vanquished before night comes - or whether we open our eyes with the sunrise to welcome it as an approaching friend who will keep us delightful company..." - Lucy Larcom

I love my job and the work that I am doing. It is so fulfilling, challenging, rewarding and frustrating all rolled up into a bundle of chaos! I can't wait for morning!

State Wide Competitions

2006-01-20T20:56:00.000-07:00

We just completed a successful inter-company challenge in SLC. We had 7 large companies competing during the holidays to see which company could lose the highest percentage of their company weight.

I will be presenting the eHealthCompete Trophy on Wednesday to USANA Health Sciences. Channel 2 news will be there, USANA is catering a lunch, they will have a balloon drop and their own media production company capturing it all on DVD.

With the success of this inter-company competition I am in the process of developing marketing materials that can go out to all states. The plan is to run a similar competition in each state, starting this March.

Best of all, this competition helped improve the health of many employees in each company. Now lets take it to the rest of the world.

PodCasting

2006-01-20T00:01:00.000-07:00

I'm starting to get into pod casts. Its fun to learn and listen to interviews from different people, and they don't even have to be famous. You can check out http://www.businessjive.com to see some of the podcasts that I like. The LoveSac one was cool, and then the founder of the Junto Program that I am doing is Greg Warnock, and you can listen to his interview as well (he tells some cool Junto stories, etc).

Enjoy.

Escape From the World of Blosers

2006-01-12T23:32:00.000-07:00

My life was threatened today because I have been stuck in the land of Bloser. This is a land where bloggers who have become to busy, indifferent or lazy end up. While in this land life seems to be normal - but that is how it gets you. You start to feel comfortable not blogging and you hear yourself say, "I'll blog tomorrow, I have nothing to say today." And that is how it happens, slowly... until you are lost.

But thanks to a loving family - I have escaped from the Land of Bloser to add another post. And believe you me, I'll be adding a post every few days or so.

So - I am back. Kong is King And I feel Great!

KONG IS KING!

2005-12-04T20:30:00.000-07:00

I am getting all caught up in the "King Kong" hype! The movie, Directed by Peter Jackson (who also directed The Lord of the Rings) is coming out December 14 and I am trying to decide if I should see it opening day - or wait three of four days for when I am in California. Let me know what you think.

I also found a site, http://www.kongisking.net that has some sweet 'never-before-seen-clips'

This is an extended fight seen between Kong and two T-Rex's http://img-nex.kongisking.net/kong/movies/kvtrex.avi

This is a a cool scene too http://img-nex.kongisking.net/kong/movies/113005-NaomiWattsConanOBrien.mov

Enjoy!

The world of Bloggers

2005-12-02T09:38:00.000-07:00

This is great! I now have my Wife, one sister, one brother, and one brother-in-law converted to the world of bloggers! Which means that I need to finally start my own.

I have been a long time reader of certain blogs from people that I respect, and feel that they are in the "now." And, so now I will attempt to add value to my readers (if there are any) by blogging about my experiences, trials, joys, parties, etc.

I think blogging is great because it can give ANYONE a voice! To be published, in years past, was a difficult thing - but now, with blogs, we can all publish our thoughts and let our voices be heard!

Julie, Dust, Denae and Dave - lets get all the bwudders, sistas and parents of all our families to blog until we rule the whole BLOG-O-SPHERE!