Author: Vera Quinn

October 10, 2013

Thousands of reasons… (and dollars) to smile!

This past weekend, the Cydcor team hosted our first “Day of Smiles,” a fundraiser held throughout the United States and Canada among our network of independently-owned sales companies for Operation Smile.  In addition to our own team members, more than 200 participating sales companies put their sales powers to work to raise money to provide cleft palate surgeries for children! Though we have been supporters for years – and have raised enough for two medical missions, one of which took […]

October 3, 2013

Vera Quinn on the Day of Smiles

I have been with Cydcor for seventeen years.  In 2010, we launched our partnership with Operation Smile.  The work we do to raise money for this cause has added an extra level of meaning to the work we do at Cydcor and our community.  We were already giving employees volunteer hours and donated to charities, but we especially appreciate our special relationship with Operation Smile. I was able to participate in the mission last year, and I got to see […]

April 16, 2012
March 28, 2012
February 22, 2011

Habit 7 – Sharpen The Saw – Is All About You

Spring is a season of renewal and growth—and with that season nearly upon us – now is a perfect setting in which to reflect on our progress during the first few months of the New Year: how we’re tracking on our personal and professional goals, commitments and development plans. At this timely moment, we’ve reached Covey’s seventh habit of effectiveness, “Sharpen the Saw.” In the spirit of reflection, it seems fitting to consider this final habit in the context of all […]

February 14, 2011

Habit 6: Synergize

The term “synergy” is often the fodder for jokes, ridiculed as corporate jargon that’s overused and abused in offices everywhere. But I hope you’ll suspend cynicism for a moment and consider the word’s intended meaning, as described in Covey’s sixth habit, “Synergize”: “Synergy works; it’s a correct principle. It is the crowning achievement of all the previous habits. It is effectiveness in an interdependent reality—it is teamwork, team building, the development of unity and creativity with other human beings.” Jargon […]

December 22, 2010

New Year – New Habits To Keep

New Year‘s is a time to reflect on things we want (or need) to change, from getting fit or quitting smoking to getting a better job or spending more time with family. It’s a time to replace bad habits with good ones and to follow through on them. How many of us, however, have made our resolutions with the best of intentions, only to break them weeks or months later? Perhaps more urgent matters crop up that consume our energies, […]

November 15, 2010

Revisiting The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

My copy of Stephen R. Covey’s The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People is signed by the author and constantly referenced. Most noticeable is that it is dog-eared, and well worn,—a sign not of neglect, but rather of its indispensability and enduring appeal over the years. I find its ideas as relevant and meaningful today, as when they were first introduced over 20 years ago. One passage in particular always strikes a chord: “…[I]f you want to have a happy […]