Happy St Patrick's Day Irish Rhinos!

My good friend Pat Croce gave me the nickname “Irish” about 5 years ago. There are certain people I have met through Pat that only call me “Irish.”  It’s a name I wear with pride.

With St. Patrick's Day upon us it’s easy to think of beer, ham and cabbage and wearing the green. But there is something much more special about being Irish (besides our amazing livers!)

The Irish have suffered hundreds of years of starvation, persecution, poverty and discrimination, but they have managed to become writers, presidents, have become powerful in every country in the world, and they have accomplished this while maintaining a humorous attitude and a positive outlook.  They have managed to charge through wars, racism and poverty, while keeping focused on creating a better life for their family.

My family came from Ireland in the 1840's.  Irish Catholics were fleeing Ireland for a better life free of famine and religious discrimination.  When they came to America, one side settled in farm country in Maryland and another went to coal country in Pennsylvania.  They came to the US looking for the "streets of gold," but they soon learned that the streets weren't paved at all—much less with gold.  Then they realized the Irish were the low cost labor force expected to pave them.  They soon were confronted with signs saying "Irish Need Not Apply," "No Mick's Allowed,"  "No Catholics Allowed," and ‘Paddy Wagon’ was not a term of endearment! Did they give up? Did they whine and complain? No!  They charged through every adversity that blocked their mission to create a better life.  The focused on working hard and creating opportunities.

They also found any work possible. They worked in the coal mines, the railroads, and farming.  They worked for pennies a day. Their young boys started working in the Pennsylvania coal mines at 6 years of age.  They faced adversity, and they made the best of it.  They held true to their beliefs, their dreams and their goals.  In my own family, one generation was in the coal mine, and the next generation was in medical school.  It’s the American Dream come true! This just goes to show that if you work hard, accept responsibility, and apply yourself, you can provide a better life for you and your children. Don't make excuses, make opportunities!

It doesn't matter your color, your race, or your religion. With dedicated hard work, you can improve your position in life and this world. Every generation can move forward further than the previous. That is what the Irish taught us.

When I think of why the Irish were able to move forward so rapidly from poverty to success it comes down to a few major points:

Attitude-- The Irish are known for their perseverance, wit, hospitality and work ethic.

Future Focused-- The Irish always dream of the future and talk about brighter days.  They knew they wouldn't be in the coal mines forever, but they knew they had to prove their value in America. They suffered horrible conditions, poor pay and moved forward. They didn't spend the next 75 years complaining about their first 75 years in America. The moved beyond their past to create their future.

Optimistic-- Somehow with hundreds of years of war, starvation, persecution and poverty, the Irish managed to maintain a positive outlook on life. Somehow they focused on the fact that their best day had not happened yet. This optimism kept them working and moving forward every day.

So this St Patrick's Day, raise your pint to the Irish. If you are Irish, take a moment to thank your Irish Rhino relatives that worked 20 hour days for pennies in coal mines, that took worthless dirt and worked it to useable farmland, that laid the railroads that helped create the industrial revolution all while they were being told "Irish Need Not Apply."  They sacrificed so we can live our dreams and their Rhino Attitude is buried deep within us.

Cheers to all my Rhino Relatives, all of my Kildare's Irish Pub family and to all our Rhino's on this St. Patrick's Day!

To learn more, check out “The Irish: Two Countries, One Heart” on PBS!

Charge!

Dave

“A Dear Rhino Dave” e-mail that I thought other members of the herd could benefit from.  It’s a common challenge.  Remember, you’re a positive Rhino with six inch skin!

FROM A CONCERNED MEMBER OF THE RHINO HERD:

Congratulations on opening another restaurant in West Chester, Dave.  I wanted to get your thoughts in terms of organizational change if you had some time. I have been at my organization now for six years and my first four years we had unprecedented success.  Now after making a few changes we are now looking at the lowest level of success.  Here is what I am thinking...

1.  Many of the departments who are struggling have the same managers, yet some are more successful than others.  I know you need quality employees, but I don't see that changing dramatically in the near future, so where do you begin to attempt to turn it around?

2.  We struggle to attract and retain quality managers, partly because the pay is bad. So how do you become something people want to be a part of?  How do you create demand so to speak?

3.  As a company, my goal was not to shoot for being great at a couple things here and there, but rather focus on broad based success. I think (as you do) success breeds success, but when success is relatively few and far between how do you build?

The reason I spell this out is I'm looking for a possible new approach to our organization.  I want to divert the focus away from our losses and bring back our expectation of broad based success.

RHINOS THOUGHTS ACCORDING TO DAVE MAGROGAN:

Thanks for e-mailing me, Rhino! First create a new vision for your goal. Make the vision a priority for all managers and employees. Make it simple and make it reflect what you are trying to achieve. It needs to be simple and powerful, easy to communicate. Communicate the vision in all your emails, memos etc.

Next, get a small team on your side. Create a small tribe of people at various levels to champion and support your vision. Get them working on the grassroots level to attract change.

Then, you can’t forget to celebrate the victories! Celebrate even the smallest success to build confidence and let everyone know the new vision is working. After celebrating a victory, push even harder so people don't rest on the success but seek more of it.

Finally, focus on the positive things that occur and expect/demand more of them.

As far as attracting talent, a lot of it is just that; attracting top talent by mentally bringing them to you. Remember you send out powerful subconscious signals and you attract other people that resonate with your signals. Seek out passionate, positive people that seek to rebuild and create change; people that want to be part of something bigger, not just a paycheck. You not only will create demand, but also will create the vision and the atmosphere needed to succeed. People will want to be a part of it. It can be very lonely in the beginning, but people will come.

When success is few and far between, don’t only focus on the occasional wins, but also the improved performance. If they missed their goal by 1%, but they were 15% better than the last quarter, celebrate that they are closing the gap. If your goal is to win first, then to fail less is a success. If they improve bit by bit, they will eventually win.  The bottom line is focus on the smaller improvements at the start, then the bigger gains once the basics are better.

Oh yeah, and don’t forget to buy everyone my book, Do It Rhino Style! Another tool to help them to clear the clutter and attain their goals! It's also a great way to show them that you believe in them and that you are all Rhino and not about to give up on them or your company, so why should they! They may have lost a game or two, but the season’s not over!

Good luck and keep charging!! You are doing great things and the Universe will reward you. Keep the Law of Cause and Effect front of mind!

Charge!
Dave