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** Tip Of The Day – Lost Volume Control Button

** Today in History – Marines raise the flag on Mt. Suribachi

** Trivia

** Quote of the Day

** Woman in Business – Employee Communication: 6 Steps to Communicate Change by Marcia Xenitelis

** Grins – No Enemies

** "Cooking for the Empty Nest" – Cucumber garlic spread

- 5/2

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Lost Volume Control Button

If you have XP, to get the icon back, go to Start, Control Panel and click on the Sounds, Speech and Audio Devices link. Next, click on Sounds and Audio Devices. A box will appear that has different tabs. Make sure the Volume tab is selected and under the Device volume section, make sure the box that says "Place volume control icon in the taskbar" is checked. Then when you want to change your volume, you can just click on that little icon and tweak your sound.

Marines raise the flag on Mt. Suribachi

On this day in 1945, during the battle for Iwo Jima, U.S. Marines raise the American flag atop Mt. Suribachi, the highest point on the island of Iwo Jima and a key strategic point. Later, Marine commanders decide to raise a second, larger flag, an event which an Associated Press photographer captured on film. The resulting photograph became a defining image of the war.

The amphibious landings of Marines, after severe and relentless bombing of the island, began the morning of February 19, 1945, as the secretary of the navy, James Forrestal, accompanied by journalists, surveyed the scene from a command ship offshore. As the Marines made their way onto the island, seven Japanese battalions opened fire on the 9,000 Marines headed for them. By that evening, more than 550 Marines were dead and more than 1,800 were wounded.

In the face of such fierce counterattack, the Americans reconciled themselves to the fact that Iwo Jima could be taken only one yard at a time. A key position on the island was Mt. Suribachi, the center of the Japanese defense. The 28th Marine Regiment closed in and around the base of the volcanic mountain at the rate of 400 yards per day, employing flamethrowers, grenades, and demolition charges against the Japanese hidden in caves and pillboxes (low concrete emplacements for machine-gun nests). Approximately 40 Marines finally began a climb up the volcanic ash mountain, which was smoking from the constant bombardment, and at about 10 a.m. on February 23, a half-dozen Marines raised a small American flag on the peak--but not before disposing of a Japanese officer who attempted to prevent them. With Mt. Suribachi claimed, one-third of Iwo Jima was under American control. This first flag-raising was photographed by Marine photographer Sgt. Louis R. Lowery. On Lowery’s way down Mt. Suribachi, he ran into AP photographer Joe Rosenthal and two other Marine photographers, PFC Bob Campbell and PFC Bill Genaust, who was shooting movies, informing them that the flag-raising they were looking for had already occurred, but encouraging them to check out the view from the top of the hill. The three men continued up the volcano.

Once atop Mt. Suribachi, Rosenthal attempted but was unable to find the soldiers involved in the first flag-raising, deciding instead to photograph the second flag-raising, which featured a much bigger and more photogenic Stars and Stripes. Lowery's film was sent back to military headquarters for processing via ordinary army post--and took a month to arrive. Rosenthal’s film was sent by seaplane to Guam, and sent from there via radio-photo to the United States. The photograph so impressed President Roosevelt that he ordered the men pictured in it to return home for a publicity tour. Rosenthal later won a Pulitzer Prize for the photo, but for years was forced to deny erroneous reports that he personally staged the second flag-raising and attempted to pass it off as the original.

Although the famous photograph has long led people to believe that the flag-raising was a turning point in the fight for Iwo Jima, vicious fighting to control the island actually continued for 31 more days.
 
 

Employee Communication: 6 Steps to Communicate Change
by Marcia Xenitelis

Whenever we begin to design an employee communication strategy that is focussed on change the most important thing to consider is that the strategies implemented must engage employees, not simply inform. In other words will the employee communication strategy you are implementing cause a change in attitude and therefore behaviour or is it simply information?

When I talk about employee engagement in this context I am focussed on communication strategies that require the involvement of employees, that as a result  the business issue means something to employees personally, they now understand the reason why for change and employees feel part of the process.

It is only when you engage employees that they will be focused on the reasons for change and therefore change their behaviour to impact business outcomes.  An excellent example of this is linking employees with the customer experience. When the focus of your employee communication efforts is customer satisfaction it then is easier to establish the direct link between your strategies and business outcomes.  It also creates a greater sense of engagement amongst your employees because they feel a significant increase in empowerment and understanding in how their role supports the customer experience and how they can change it.

Firstly, after identifying the current methods and tools that you use to communicate with employees, can you establish whether the tools and methods are engagement strategies or information tools?  Engagement tools are designed so that it requires some involvement of the employee.  Information tools mean that you are telling employees something, it is information sharing not an opportunity to become involved.  Some examples of information tools are Staff Information Bulletins, the Company Intranet, and a CEO forum.  An engagement strategy on the other hand requires employees to be involved identifying the issue and being part of the change process.

This is important because your ultimate aim in employee communication when communicating change has to be to create the “Aha Moment”.

The Aha Moment is based on information that does the following:

• Challenges the employee’s belief about an aspect of the business

• The information suddenly helps employees say
-“Now it makes sense”
-“Now I understand”
-“Now I can do something about it”

One of the best ways to build the foundation for your employee communication strategy is to undertake focus group research. This will allow you to explore specific aspects of employees' perception of the organization and customer satisfaction and to identify the gap between reality and perception.  The focus group outcomes will also help you to identify clearly what will create a paradigm shift in your employees thinking and therefore understanding of the reasons for change.

Once you have your focus group outcomes, you can then begin designing employee communication strategies that engage employees.  You should have a clear understanding about what employees know and what the facts are, and the gap between customer and staff research.  Most importantly you then identify a business issue that you feel sure your strategies can impact on and work together with that area to implement an employee communication strategy that can be measured by business outcomes.

Finally, to move forward and realign your employee communication tools and techniques as part of a new employee communication strategy you need to ask the following questions:

1. Are you aware of the business strategy or issue facing your organization, division or department?

2. How effectively do your current employee communication tools address that issue or strategy?

3. Have you examined customer satisfaction data, do you know the precise areas where there could be improvement?

4. Do you know the key issue, the “Aha!” factor that will create a new paradigm for employees?

5. Do your employee communication strategies engage or simply inform?

6. How do you measure the impact of your strategy on the business?

Once you have answered the above questions then you will be more than half way there to designing an employee communication strategy that engages employees, not simply informs.

-----

About the author:  Marcia Xenitelis is a recognized authority on the subject on employee communication and business transformation and has spoken at conferences around the world.  For more information on the types of employee communication strategies you can implement to engage employees visit www.employeecommunicationtips.com  for a wealth of free informative articles and resources.

  A Little Humor to Start the Week 

No Enemies
=-=-=-=-=-=-=

A new minister was talking to the oldest member of his congregation.

"I am 90 years old, sir, and I haven't an enemy in the world," said the aged one.

"That is a beautiful thought," said the clergyman approvingly.

"Yes sir," was the answer. "I'm thankful to say that I've outlived them all."

-----

It was a sexual harassment case, and it had been a long day. The young lady accusing her boss said that she was too embarrassed to repeat the words that he said to her. The Judge suggested she write them down and that the words be shown to himself and the jury.

She passed the note, which read - 'Go and take your knickers off, then come sit on my knee and have a drink with me tonight', to the Judge, who then passed it on to Fred, the foreperson of the jury.

Fred went to pass it on to the next juror, a middle-aged spinster who had nodded off in the stuffy courtroom. He had to nudge her to bring back full consciousness.

She woke, read the note, smiled, read it a second time, winked and nodded at Fred, then put the note in her handbag!

-----

Several years ago there was an office intern who was none too swift. One day he was typing and turned to a secretary and said, "I'm almost out of typing paper. What do I do?"

"Just use the copier machine paper," she told him.

With that, the intern took his last remaining blank piece of typing paper, put it on the photocopier and proceeded to make five blank copies.

-----

Taking advantage of a balmy day in New York, my brother and three other priests swapped their clerical garb for polos and khakis and time out on the golf course. After several really horrible shots, their caddy asked, "You guys wouldn't be priests by any chance?"

"Actually, yes, we are," one cleric replied. "Why?"

"Because," said the caddy, "I've never seen such bad golf and such clean language!"

-----

Riddle

What occurs once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a
thousand years?

Do you know the answer? Scroll down to find the solution.

-----

Only in America...are there handicap parking places in
front of a skating rink.

---

"Cooking for the Empty Nest"
Recipe of the Week

4 medium cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and grated
1 1/4 cups low-fat plain yogurt
1/4 cup sour cream
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 green onions, finely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint leaves
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon salt
Fresh dill sprigs (optional)

In medium bowl, combine cucumbers, yogurt, sour cream, garlic, onions, dill, mint, pepper, and salt. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. When ready to serve, stir mixture until well combined; transfer to a serving bowl. Garnish with dill sprigs, if desired.
 
 

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If you have a favorite recipe that you would like to share, please send it to mailto:bob@adv-marketing.com?Subject=RecipesBe sure to read back recipes of the week at:
http://adv-arketing.com/business/frtest.htm and Click on ?Recipe of the Week"

Yours in cooking - Sue

The letter M.

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Best Wishes
Bob
Copyright - 2009