Blizzard 2008!

Hey, its just snow! Ok, ok..... no jokes, this snow really does effect our staff and customers. Instead of writing a sob story here, I wanted to write about the BIG KUDOS we give in our daily staff huddles. Over the past two days, everyone has been handing out BIG KUDOS left right and center to other staff, and my note book has a full page of above and beyond staff! Here they are:

• Kudos to Kathie in sales, who was first in on the 29th at 7am and held down the entire call center till 8:15 when Cindy came in (Kudos, brave Cindy too). Kathie said "Snow..no problemo, my Honda rules!"
• Kudos to Mohamed, one of our downtown drivers. Showed up at 7am, loaded his truck and was gone 2 hours before the next of our drivers rolled in. He also finished all his deliveries - truly amazing!
• Kudos to Bill in purchasing. Since both our daytime receivers did not make it in, as well as Sandy in purchasing, Bill somehow managed to juggle all the purchasing and receiving shipments in the warehouse. Bill did the work of 4 people that day! We're not worthy!!!!!
• Kudos to Kart, our evening receiver. Kart was left with a whole warehouse of incoming shipments that were not put away. He was able to stock and create space for the night shift, as well as do his regular duties!
• Kudos to Chrissy, who picks up all afternoon and evening from our suppliers. In a past life, she drove a tow truck. Her comment:" Snow, that's nothing......busy day, gotta go!"
• Kudos to Wendy in accounting. She brought in a shovel and cleared the front walkway. When asked why she was doing it, she said "I know the guys are clearing snow out back for trucks, but I want to be sure the mailman brings me my money!" Ahhh, just how our accounting department should be - double kudos!
• Kudos to the night shift guys. They start at 9:30pm and leave at 6am. Not a complaint, not a peep, just the same great work.

And a general all round kudos to the remaining staff and customers. Thanks for making BLIZZARD 2008 one for the books!

Calvin

NOVEX Couriers

Today I met with Robert Safrata, the CEO of NOVEX Couriers. Robert has been the high energy driving force behind the ongoing success of this famous Eco friendly company. Robert has met with the Premier (off to a meeting again tonight), done public speaking to thousands, and has been trained by Al Gore. I knew this meeting would be informative, and help Costless Express improve on our Eco initiative we have embarked on for 2008.

Robert and one of his managers, Andrew Kronquist, gave me a tour of their facility, followed by a very informative boardroom session. I could see right away that Novex was a responsible company, run by some very intelligent people. Their "triple bottom line" philosophy (People, Planet, Profits), recycling, composting and electric vehicles had me writing notes. Great stuff!

During the meeting, I bounced lots of unanswered questions I had built up over the past few months. Robert and Andrew had lots of answers, and I felt reassured that the things we were doing were the right things.

I left the meeting with some clear direction, new contacts and a knowing that although we are doing all the right stuff, there is an almost limitless amount more we could be doing as a company as individuals and as a planet. The great news is, these past few years feel like a real tipping point in environmental awareness. If our little company can make big changes, what are the big companies like Staples, Grand & Toy, and Corporate Express doing? I hope it's a thousand times as much!

Sports Day!

Today is the first annual Corporate KIDSPORT DAY!

Sport BC sold wristbands for $2.00 that allows you to wear your favorite sports gear to work. All proceeds go to KidSport Charity.

At Costless Express we are a pretty crazy bunch already, so a chance to dress up was right up our alley. There were lots of Hockey and Football Jerseys, yoga outfits, Baseball gear and a full jogging suit à la retro 70’s look.

To get the morning rolling, I showed up in full snow gear with SNOW SHOES. Everyone thought it was hilarious, and even more funny was when I wanted to take it off a few hours later and the staff objected. Luckily, they showed mercy, and I worked the remainder of the day in a torque and ski goggles.

It was a great time.

Calvin

Kick Off Breakfast For Children's Hospital

This morning I went to the BC Children’s Hospital kick off breakfast for the 21st annual Miracle Weekend. This year, it will be a two-day celebration held over May 31st and June 1st. As part of the Wholesale and Retail Council, our group was there to represent.

As I looked around the room, I was impressed to see the amount of people who are a part of making a weekend like this come together. There were senior people from Global TV across the board to people who manage the catering, parking, and phone systems during the event, to name a few. They asked for a show of hands for how long people had been involved – 25 – 10 – 5, each time they counted hundreds of hands went up. This is my second year so, under 5 years you had some stripes to earn they said jokingly.

The theme this year is BE A SUPER HERO and the senior board at the hospital wore orange super hero capes to draw awareness and roll out the new look. Of course there was a few laughs and jokes about “where’s the tights”.

At our table, we were honored to sit with Amanda and her mother. Amanda is a recent patient at the hospital and continues to get the care she needs for her ongoing medical problems. She was quite the brave young girl, and made us all realize why we are a part of such a worthwhile cause.

During the breakfast, there were videos of recent patient stories and a few words from doctors. At times you could see a few people wiping tears from their eyes, myself included.

At the end of the breakfast, the goal for this year's Miracle Weekend was unveiled: $14,730,000. I hope you can all watch and contribute is some way. Volunteers are always needed, too.

Calvin

An Inconvenient Truth

Today I was at an EO (Entrepreneurs Organization) function with my friend David Chalk. I have high respect for David as he is one of the most successful and recognized technologists in Canada. He can be seen on TV, Air Canada Flights and in numerous magazines including my favorite, the COSTCO Connection.

David is hired to speak on several topics for large companies and when he said he was becoming more involved on the topic of Global Warming and Carbon Emissions I was ecstatic. We had a great discussion, chatting about the Al Gore movie An Inconvenient Truth. David also is a close friend with Robert Safrada the CEO of NOVEX COURIERS and offered to introduce up together. NOVEX is the leading courier company in Canada for environmental responsibility. I am looking forward to meeting him. Thanks Dave!

I suggest for anyone wanting to learn more about global warming, to watch An Inconvenient Truth. I can see why Al Gore received a Nobel Prize. Go to http://www.algore.com/ to learn more.

Calvin

Goals For 2008

Did you know people who write down their goals achieve them 90% of the time, and if they tell someone it jumps to almost 100%!

Did you set any goals for 2008? Did you tell anyone?

Here are my goals for 2008:

Company:

• Become Carbon Neutral
• Hold our first Eco Expo tradeshow for customers and suppliers
• Continue our growth of greater than 15% yearly
• Have four staff parties/events this year
• Upgrade our computers and servers to the best possible systems
• Launch Costless ToGo Costco Home Delivery across Canada
• Double sales in our Printing Business

Personal:

• Work with BC Children’s Hospital and create a memorable new event that will help our Wholesale and Retail Committee exceed $4,000,000 in donations.
• Disneyland with our kids (1st time)
• “Be there in the moment” with our kids and just enjoy them growing up.
• A “no kids” holiday to just about anywhere
• Learn Salsa and Swing Dancing (just took our first class)

Well, my goals are out there, so now it’s time to make them happen.

I stress to our staff that goal setting is important and so, so powerful. All our staff is involved in a daily 2-minute “Huddle” and set goals and overcome roadblocks. This work experience has carried over to their personal life and most staff have set their own Company and Personal Goals for 2008.

I hope all their goals come true.

Calvin