Well, the bell was passed to me and I mean this quite literally, as Liz handed me my bell. Everyone here at the office put up with my noisy practice ringing. I’m not sure if people were giving me money for the Salvation Army or to get me to go away!
But, the Salvation Army and I thank you for the donations either way. Our team was appropriately named the Problem Solvers and was joined by Pete Michelini of Sign Designs. The 2010 Kettle Kick-Off began with everyone lining up at the buffet tables to get their turkey and mashed potatoes. I noticed that even with the overwhelming number of people and lines going out the doors of the Modesto Centre Plaza, everyone seemed to be in a cheerful mood. It was nice to see the people of our community come together in fellowship for this great event.
Dr. Curtis Grant was one of the main speakers and he had us laughing hysterically to his jokes and his improvisational comedy.
There were an estimated 1,100 people involved in this year’s Kettle Kick-Off in Modesto, and together we raised more than $183,000 for the Salvation Army. The total dollars were down about 19% compared to 2009, but given the state of our local economy, this was quite generous and very much appreciated.
I want to say thank you to Grimbleby Coleman and to everyone who attended this year’s event and a special thank you to everyone who continues to support the Salvation Army and our community.
I am reminded of Proverbs 19:17 which says, Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward them for what they have done. It is important to remember that the Salvation Army is an international movement, motivated by the love of God.
The history of the Salvation Army goes all the way back to 1852, when a man by the name of William Booth was preaching and helping those in England who were poor, hungry, and homeless. Now, almost 160 years later, we get to keep William Booth’s mission alive right here in Modesto.
The Salvation Army in Modesto has an adage that helps us steer in the same direction as William Booth and that is by “Changing the World One Life at a Time.”
And more importantly, which one has the biggest impact on your success as an employee? EI is Emotional Intelligence and IQ is your Intelligence Quotient. We’ve all taken IQ testing, but how many of us know if we are Emotionally Intelligent or not?
In studies conducted by Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves (Authors of Emotional Intelligence 2.0), your emotional quotient or EQ has been found to account for “58% of performance in all types of jobs”. They’ ve also found that 90% of top performers are high in EQ. And yet we worry more about traditional intelligence when we hire.
While IQ can not be improved over time, the great thing about our Emotional Quotient is that we can improve it. We can learn and get better at managing, understanding, and harnessing our own emotions and helping others manage theirs.
According to Bradburry and Greaves, there are two main areas of emotional intelligence – personal competence and social competence. On the personal competence side – there are two aspects : self-awareness and self-management. Start out by mastering personal competence and then you can move on to social competence.
Think about the last time you blew a fuse. Do you remember observing your own behavior? Once you observed it, were you able to change the way you acted? If only we could anticipate our behavior and change our actions before we blow that fuse. It is possible if you take the time to learn and practice. That’s how you become personally competent.
As we head into the New Year, it’s a great time for us all to reflect on our skills and to think about our ability to observe and control our emotions.
To learn more on this subject, read Daniel Goleman’s book Emotional Intelligence or listen to his talk on compassion at TED.
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