August 2011 • A Periodic Publication of Personal Touch Cleaning & Maintenance • Vol. XV No. 5Personal Touch

CLEANING & MAINTENANCE ••••••••••••••••••

Communicating Effectively

How Well Do You Listen?Take this quiz to assess how

well you listen:

1. When I ask a question and don’t hear a prompt response, I… a. Ask the question again. b. Ignore the question and move on. c. Ask a different question. d. Wait 10 seconds for an answer.

2. I make eye contact with the person speaking… a. When I want him/her to realize I’m listening. b. All the time. c. To intimidate him/her. d. I don’t really know.

3. When I don’t understand something, I’ll… a. Keep quiet and try to understand it in context. b. Politely ask, “Can you rephrase that?”

c. Nod as if I understand. d. Disregard it.

4. When I grow bored with a conversation, I… a. Tune out while pretend- ing to listen. b. Interrupt to steer it toward a more lively path. c. Prompt a wrap-up by sumarizing the other person’s remarks. d. Paraphrase what I hear to be polite.

5. You can tell I’m listen-ing well if:… a. I’m nodding or smiling.

b. I prompt the other person with “Go on” or “You don’t say.” c. I keep quiet. d. I align myself physically with the person who’s speaking.

“Good listener” answers: l. d; 2. b; 3. b; 4. c; 5. a, b or d.

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Never Underestimate Cheap Motivation Tricks!

Stephanie Wheeler, senior vice presi-dent of Sovereign Bank, used to run

the Philadelphia-based bank’s 175-em-ployee call center. Here’s what she told us when we asked her: “When have you spent your own

money to motivate your employees, and did it pay off?” “One of the best investments I ever made in that job was spending $5 on a book of motivational stickers at Wal-Mart,” says Wheeler. “The book came with 1,252 bright, colorful stick-ers with messages like ‘Dynamite!,’ ‘Going Above and Beyond’ and ‘Great Work!’ “I’d put a sticker on a slip of paper and write a short note alongside it that praised the employee for a specific job well done. At the end of the day after everyone left, I’d place these notes on employees’ desks. The next morning, they’d find this handwritten message from me with this eye-catching sticker, and it would make their day. Later, I’d see my notes pinned up on their wall or taped to the side of their PC. It showed me they were proud to receive them.”

LOOKING FOR MEANINGNo matter what situation you are in right now, there is a purpose to that

situation. By working with the specific conditions in front of you, you will

begin to discover things about yourself that will give you clues to the next step.

Your job will be to look, listen, feel, choose, and act.— Carol Adrienne

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Having looked the past in the eye, hav-ing asked for forgiveness and having made amends, let us shut the door on the past — not in order to forget it but in order not to allow it to imprison us.

— Desmond Tutu, Clergyman and civil-rights leader

Personal Touch cleaning & MainTenance newsliTer • augusT 2011Publisher & Editor ~ Patrick O’Brien • Graphics & Typesetting ~ Fast Graphics/San Juan Capistrano

©2011 Personal Touch Cleaning & Maintenance “No one does as much…As Personal Touch!”340 Goddard • Irvine CA 92618 • Tel (949) 727-4135 • Fax (949) 727-4088 • www.4myPersonalTouch.com

We hope you enjoy our Newsliter (it’s news lite!), but if it is inconvenient for you to receive, just call and we’ll remove your name from our list.

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Personal Touch Cleaning & Maintenance specializes in Homeowner Associations. We have 26 years in the business and currently service over 900 Associations throughout Los Angeles, Orange County, Inland Empire and San Diego.

(949) 727-4135(800) 660-2092

$1,000,000 Liability InsuranceWorkers’ CompensationNon-owned Auto InsuranceMember CAIState Contractor’s Lic. #794564www.4mypersonaltouch.com

Facilities Serviced:1. High-Rise Communities2. Mid-Rise Communities3. Pool & Spa Areas4. Clubhouse Facilities5. Guardhouses6. All Common Areas7. Day Porter Services

Complete Janitorial Services:1. Subterranean Parking2. Pressure Washing3. Steam Cleaning4. Patio Furniture Cleaning5. Tile Floor Cleaning & Sealing6. Stone Floor (Diamond Cutting)7. Carpet Cleaning

Personal Touch Cleaning

Enthusiasm ~ Effort ~ Excellence

SINCE 1985

“We clean

it silly!”

the Month!Cleaning Tip of

KITCHeN TILeIf you’ve ever dropped an egg on the floor, you know that ordinary soap won’t get rid of the problem. If you

don’t know how to get rid of a patch of grease on your kitchen floor, using a small amount of degreaser in some wa-ter can help make the floor clean and shiny. For a safe household degreaser,

take lemon scented-ammonia, hot water and dishwashing liquid.Fill an

empty liquid dish-detergent bottle half full with the ammonia, then top with hot water. Add a few squirts of dish-washing liquid. Put cap back on and shake to mix, squirt where needed.

Motivating Your Employees

Put People First The Reagan WayOne of ronald reagan’s assistants,

James rosebush, explained the former president’s gift for leadership by observing that reagan “understood how well an audience could respond when told how inherently good they are.” By assuming your people want

to do the right thing—and letting them know they have your respect—you motivate them to rise to your great expectations. From there: Let them control their destiny. Almost all employees crave control of their future. On a macro level, they want to call the shots about their career, choosing day to day how they ap-proach an assignment and budget their time. Motivate people by letting them exercise control. Direct them toward concrete goals; then step back so they can figure out how to get there. Go beyond “What motivates you?” Most people can’t or won’t reveal their hot buttons. Try assorted ways to motivate them beyond what they request. They may not know what truly motivates them until they’ve sampled other carrots, from getting first crack at new wireless gizmos to nabbing a bigger office.