President's Page

Saturday work?

2012-01-21T11:27:00.001-06:00

I came in here today to get a couple of things done. Have a little quite time and in general , just enjoy the morning . It was just something for myself.

Instead, I hear the sounds of the shop. A little banging on the steel, grinding wheels spinning, welding wire sputtering and the old time Marvin Gay on the radio. Life is great here!

The sounds that I hear are from guys that have given up there Saturday morning to help get an important project done. Each one of them is wonderful in their own right to give up some personal time to help all of us . This is a team that enjoys working together and putting out a product that they can call their own. Believe me, they put out a good product!

Guys, thank you for being here today and of course thank you for being here on Monday. Your the greatest!

Daily work

2011-09-26T06:45:00.001-05:00

God made all sorts of wild animals, livestock, and small animals, each able to produce offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good.

Enjoy what you do today!

Quotation

2011-07-19T10:58:00.003-05:00

As you can see I rarely post. However, I would like to learn to stop and reflect on the activities of the day/week/month. It is something that we all should do.

I am currently reading Avoiding the Danger Zones by Jerry Mills. Wonderful guick read. In it ( page 162) are many quotes that we all could learn from. (Ask me and I will get you a copy.) However, two that stand out:
1.Men do not attract what they want; but, who they are.
2.Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves.

Enjoy the day and learn something new! Improve yourself. It is always a new day.

Faithfulness?

2011-04-20T13:01:00.003-05:00

You know it has been a long time ( over a year ) since I last posted.

This past year has been a difficult one to say the least; but, I am trusting God that he is faithful and it will soon come to an end.

Faithfulness... I will tell you of faithfulness! There is an employee here who with his wife are utilizing the Dave Ramsey course on debt free living, and I will tell you that God is right now blessing them in unfathomable ways. Because of not only their discipline, but also, God's faithful leading; they will be, in 3 short months , living debt free! You know what that means? Freedom! Isn't that what we all desire and want? They are on that path because they have chosen to live according to God's plan. Not some selfish me first; but, placing God first and honoring Him. What a testimony to us all.

I have been taught a lesson today! Now, will I choose to listen?

God Bless

Remember it is Friday; but, Sunday is a'comin' !

Have a wonderful Easter

John

The End

2009-12-31T10:09:00.006-06:00

December 31, 2009

The end of a “new” year?

You know, it really seems like a new year. The older we get, it really does go by faster and faster. I hardly realize the time that has gone by, but the kids are older, there are a few more nicks in the door frames and my barber exposes a few more grey hairs. Yet, it has been a very blessed year.

2009 is a year that God has carried and guided us through. We have a wonderful group of individuals here at GSI that I call a family. We have grown in number and character. We have enjoyed successful and unsuccessful projects. But, God has been present through it all and that makes it all, a success. We continue recognize that fact; in order that, we will not forget to trust Him to carry and guide us into 2010.

Do you know that His eyes are always on the Promised Land. I refuse to believe otherwise. He always has our best interest in mind and I pray that we will not doubt His opportunities. In the current unstable economic climate and government policy, we see many opportunities to be servants in the marketplace and to our fellow employees. GSI is moving forward with plans to continue the two production shifts. We are remaking our scheduling and production to better meet our commitments of our customers. We will continue to develop partnerships with expanded territories and products. We also, will continue to provide spiritual support to our family of employees with our chaplains from Market Place Ministries. (http://www.mchapusa.com). Additionally, several of our employees have begun to sponsor ten World Vision (http://www.worldvision.org) children and plan to mobilize additional funds for year end projects through our employee provides program. Yes, we will keep our eyes fixed on our God. We will not doubt, and we will not forget.

May your new year be as blessed as ours will be. I hope you will be able to join us in…

The Beginning

100 % safety or 100 % quality

2009-08-21T11:39:00.001-05:00

Terms usually reserved for the work place. However, I heard the term 100 % Safe Tons by one of our suppliers and one might think it refers to the need for a safe workplace environment. Yet, they have taken it a couple of steps further..

Certainly, at GSI we desire our employees to maintain and strive for a 100 % safe work place, but there should be a commitment to more. We are to be committed to provide for a safer community and a safe product for all. Our 100% commitment to safety means we are committed 100 % to quality. The quality we produce determines the level of safety we provide for the community around us. The products we produce are products of safety; therefore, we are 100 % safety and 100 % quality. Without both we are neither!

Body Parts on the Moon

2009-07-20T09:38:00.001-05:00

Today marks the 40th anniversary of Neil, Buzz and Mike making history. While we know their names, we must remember that it took literally thousands of individuals to work together for such a place in history.

Our place in history is not as individuals either, God states that we are all part of a body, each with different skills and gifts. It is His desire that we recognize that fact, deny ourselves and work together for His glory. It is true today in our achievements and it was true the day God spoke it. **

What body are you part of?

**Romans 12:4-5

Presidential Words

2009-07-17T16:23:00.004-05:00

Occasionally, we come across some words spoken by a person of history that inspire and encourage.

Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.
Franklin D. Roosevelt

Life has given each of us creative gifts, and when discovered they offer us a roller coaster ride for eternity, of ups and downs and twists and turns.. But, like a roller coaster, our life is only joyous when we trust that we will be safely home as it ends.

Current Poverbs

2009-07-16T10:18:00.003-05:00

I never tire of reading the Book of Proverbs. The words which Solomon wrote have been preserved not as an ancient book of history; but rather, as a timeless word of encouragement. It was relevant yesterday and is relevant today.

Steve Marr (http://www.stevemarr.org/) writes a Business Proverb for his web page for Buisness Executives. Yesterday's was particulary insiteful for today's business climate.

Multitasking Devastates Efficiency

Written by Steve Marr
Wednesday, 15 July 2009

Today we all seem to wear multitasking as a badge of honor. The need to perform multiple tasks is assumed as we are pressured by customers, bosses, and the other demands of our work. We create a fury of activity with constant motion, which impresses those around us and even ourselves at how busy and productive we are.

However, true multitasking actually kills output rather than helping create it, and this has profound ramifications on our overall effectiveness on the job.

We are required to engage successfully in a multitude of tasks, such as answering the phone, responding to e-mails, writing letters, ordering merchandise, writing staff reviews, or reviewing customer proposals. Yes, we need to do all these things, and more, but we can’t effectively do two of these things simultaneously.

Talking with a customer on the phone while reading and replying to e-mails is an example. When we allow our customer to drift away in our thoughts while focusing on e-mails, we can lose the most critical part of the conversation or make a blunder in deleting the wrong e-mail message or send off a reply that needed to be far more thorough. Other examples are driving while talking on the phone or listening to a string of phone messages while signing purchase orders.

Paul wrote, “I box in such a way, as not beating the air…” (1 Corinthians 9:26). A boxer needs 100% focus, 100% of the time. The fighter needs to watch the opponent, change directions, and be ready to deflect blows or strike an opportune right hook. Any loss of concentration will create a tremendous opportunity for the opponent.

Jesus said, “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other…” (Luke 16:13, emphasis mine). When we are doing something, that task becomes our master, so to speak, at least for that moment.

Try a little home test. Ask your spouse or a friend to watch the news with you for 15 minutes. Watch all the news trailers at the bottom and listen carefully to the news stories. Then have the other person ask you 10 questions relating to the trailers or news stories, without telling you in advance which type of information will be on the quiz. You will likely miss several answers. Then repeat the process, but this time focus on either the news or the trailers and then have another quiz. Most of us will do far better the second time.

Another problem with multitasking is that we constantly change focus, and with every change we lose time. Dr’s Joshua Rubinstein and David Meyer wrote a study published by the American Psychological Association that determined everyone loses time refocusing when shifting from one task to another. The more complex the task, the more time is needed to get refocused, which costs us productivity. It does not enhance productivity.

The study did validate the common-sense notion that we lose less time when we switch between tasks we know well and that we lose more time when switching between unfamiliar work. However, the reality is that we lose time either way. When we have to stop and refocus, we lose time and are not as productive as we can be.

And it’s not an age issue. This re-focusing and losing time and productivity is true for all age groups, not just the over fifty crowd. A call from a key customer or an urgent question from a colleague will require that we respond and then refocus. We can’t stop all interruptions, but we can control many of those interruptions.

Some activities we can and should do at the same time do not require us to re-focus. We can respond to e-mail after we have started to print a long document or we can read the newspaper while eating. A machine operator can load one piece of equipment while another is operating, like we can load the washing machine and then move on to something else. The more often we combine these tasks, efficiency increases.

Make a list of 3-4 things you tend to do at the same time and then check yourself when you start crossing that line. When I write, I ignore my incoming e-mails, despite the temptation to see what’s coming in, because each “look” costs me productivity.

While avoiding multitasking whenever possible, we actually get more done. After all, at work we need to produce results, not just a flurry of activity. Then as Paul wrote, you will get results, not just beating air.