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WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif., June 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Cydcor, the leading provider of outsourced, face-to-face sales teams, recently held a company-sponsored "Casino Night" to raise funds for Operation Smile, a children's medical charity that provides free cleft lip and cleft palate reconstructive surgeries worldwide. Cydcor team members have been raising funds for Operation Smile over the past several months with an overall goal of raising $150,000 to fund a medical mission to remote locations in Peru, Cambodia, or Rwanda.
Planned entirely by Cydcor team volunteers, the casino event was created to bring team members, family, and friends together in a fun environment to raise funds for Operation Smile. During the event, more than 50 participants, including Cydcor friends, family and team members, enjoyed a poker and blackjack tournament, a costume contest, a raffle, and prizes.
Donations from sponsors included Dodger tickets, restaurant gift certificates, teeth whitening from a local dentist, a gym membership, a tanning gift certificate, a tennis racket, and an American Airlines gift card. Cydcor's blog contains more information about the prizes, donors, and prize recipients.
"The positive energy and attitude of everyone who participated was inspiring," said Vera Quinn, senior vice president of sales operations. "This is just another example of everyone coming together to reach a common goal – raising $150,000. We're almost there and it's such an accomplishment; it shows that people working together make the biggest differences. Our team members have embraced this goal, as they do all of our goals – and it's that kind of energy and focus that changes things."
About Cydcor, Inc.
Cydcor, Inc. is the leading provider of outsourced, face-to-face Cydcor sales teams to a diverse client base of companies in a range of industries, including telecommunications, office products, retail, energy, and financial services. Serving Fortune 500 and emerging market clients in the business-to-business, residential, and retail channels through in-store marketing initiatives, Cydcor works with a network of independently owned corporate licensee (ICL) Cydcor sales offices providing clients with access to more than 2,700 sales professionals and nearly 200 offices in North America. The privately held company is based inWestlake Village, California. For more information about Cydcor, log on to www.cydcor.com.
SOURCE Cydcor
My wife and daughter recently watched the ESPN special, The Brady 6, about the events leading up to and after the selection of Tom Brady in 2000 as the New England Patriot’s seventh quarterback. I was somewhat surprised that they would watch a one-hour football show but then realized it told an inspiring story that could appeal to everyone. I highly recommend this documentary, which chronicles Brady’s rise to the top from humble beginnings—the story of someone who became great through sweat and determination, rather than through sheer talent.
Brady was the 199th draft pick during his senior year. With six quarterbacks picked ahead of him, he was drafted in the sixth round. He had been overlooked because physically, he had the worst combine (an athletic workout) of any quarterback likely in history. He was slow and did not jump very high. Additionally, he did not have the greatest arm and could not throw a tight spiral. In his senior year at the University of Michigan, Brady split the starting quarterback role with a newcomer, and NFL teams questioned why he lost the starting position.
As you watch the documentary, you learn that Brady outworked and out-prepared the other quarterbacks drafted that year. Except for maybe Payton Manning, he probably continues to outwork and out-prepare all NFL quarterbacks. Today, Brady holds numerous regular season and postseason records and is one of two players in NFL history with multiple NFL MVP and Super Bowl MVP awards. He is now widely viewed as one of the best NFL draft picks of all time.
Tom Brady’s story shows us that hard work and preparation, more so than natural gifts, are crucial to success. He overcame the odds and excelled at something he was truly passionate about. Rather than expecting greatness to be bestowed upon him, Brady earned it through determination, dedication and drive—a lesson from which we can all learn.
I recently spoke with someone who just opened his business but has lost his confidence. He feels that his people do not respect him because of mistakes he has made and because he no longer believes in himself. He asked me:
I, too, have experienced doubt and difficulty, as has every successful entrepreneur. All of us have had times in our careers when we have questioned our abilities and lost our confidence. These moments that test us, however, can strengthen our character and ability to lead, if we do not let them defeat us.
Experience has taught me the following lessons to weather adversity and emerge a more effective and inspiring leader:
One step closer to $150,000 goal!
It was a night filled with excitement, energy, and competition as more than 50 Cydcor team members, families, and friends participated in a “Casino Night” to raise money for Operation Smile. During the event, they enjoyed a poker and blackjack tournament, costume contest, and raffle prizes.
Cydcor team members have been raising funds for Operation Smile over the past several months with an overall goal of raising $150,000 to fund a medical mission to remote locations in Peru, Cambodia, or Rwanda. Operation Smile is a children’s charity that provides free cleft lip and cleft palate reconstructive surgeries worldwide.
Special thanks to the vendors and organizations that donated products and services to the raffle winners! They included:
It was a winning night for Operation Smile, Cydcor, and all the attendees.
When things are not going as well as we have planned, we should remember what Jack Welch said in his book, Winning: “Whatever you will accomplish is restricted by your ability to lead others.” We measure our success by the effectiveness of our leadership, which takes hard work and skillful practice of the fundamentals.
Exude the right energy; teams take their cue from you.
Your team feeds off your energy, so demonstrate confidence, enthusiasm, passion and vision in everything you do. Uphold clear standards and expectations while providing knowledge, coaching and guidance.
Build a strong relationship with your team.
Determine how well you are connecting with your team. Do people feel that you care about them and have their backs? Do they feel their lives are better by being on your team? Are they engaged and motivated?
Be tough and consistent.
At times, you need to be tough in a relationship. Firmly holding people accountable to a high but achievable standard drives them to succeed. Teams lose confidence in leaders who appear inconsistent and allow them to become stagnant.
Lead by example.
Your example and intensity sets the bar for the team. Your character, integrity and follow-through create trust and bind the team together.
Congratulations to Team Cydcor, this year’s proud winner of the Corporate Games’ Division C JD Probasco Spirit Award! The award honors one company in each division that displayed a high level of team spirit and commitment to community service.
Joel Daniels, a quality assurance manager at Cydcor, said it best when he was quoted in a recent Ventura County Star article on the close of the games: “We feel great. This is a big deal for us.”
This latest achievement is fitting conclusion to Cydcor’s impressive performance during the 2011 Corporate Games. Among the medals that Cydcor team members brought home were the gold in indoor volleyball and table tennis (individual competition); the silver in basketball, table tennis (doubles competition) and football; and the bronze in bowling.
Way to go, team!
Click here to read more about the final results of the 22nd annual Ventura Corporate Games.
When I entered the workforce, I sought experiences that would teach me vital skills for the future and build my confidence. Although many of my peers wanted to find jobs at companies that would carry them to retirement, I wanted to rely on myself and become a successful entrepreneur.
During the first ten years of my career, I focused on honing the skills that would make me a successful business owner. Ultimately, I learned that I needed to excel at two things: sales and relationships.
In the beginning stages of a business, the owner is usually the number-one sales person, as I was during the first five years of my commercial printing business and during all three years of my financial recruiting business. Successful entrepreneurs are savvy sales people who understand their customers’ needs and offer the most effective, compelling solutions to meet them.
Good sales people also have good people skills. Unless you want to be the only person in your business, you need to be able to work cooperatively with others and build strong relationships based on trust and respect. The more people you can successfully recruit, develop, manage and lead, the more you can accomplish and the more economic value you can generate.
The most important lesson I have learned in my career is this: Choose work experiences not for their prestige or short-term gain, but rather for their ability to equip you with the skills for success and the opportunities to practice them.
Do what you say you are going to do, when you say you will do it. Following through on your commitments demonstrates integrity, builds credibility and earns people’s trust. Follow-through is one of the building blocks of success.
Conversely, you cannot respect or count on those who do not meet their commitments. They are not the ones with whom we will have lasting relationships, nor are they the ones we think of first when there is opportunity. We should make sure that we follow through, so we can be the ones on whom people rely.
Consistent follow-through requires not only the right attitude, but also the right skills. Planning systems like FranklinCovey’s® can help you become more effective at organizing and managing important activities and events. Your focus and discipline, bolstered by such tools, can help you become adept at prioritizing and accomplishing the toughest tasks under the most challenging conditions.
There are times, however, when things may slip through the cracks. It happens to the best of us. Do not get discouraged. Just be accountable and go the extra mile not just to finish the task, but also to excel at it.
The combined efforts of Cydcor along with our network of independent sales companies continue to make progress toward achieving our total fundraising goal for Operation Smile. With just a little over $30,000 left to raise, we’re on track to reach our $150,000 target.
Cydcor team members have led the charge, raising significant funds for this worthy medical mission through successful, high-energy charity events. Their passionate commitment shows no signs of slowing down and is ramping up for the upcoming casino night in May.
Thanks to all the participating independent sales company owners, Cydcor team members, the community and other supporters who are helping make this possible!
Cydcor team members not only work hard, but also play hard, as recent victories at the 22nd annual Ventura Corporate Games prove.
Team Cydcor has proven to be a fierce competitor, bringing home the gold in indoor volleyball and the silver in basketball. Participating in its third year, Cydcor is among 62 companies from Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, competing in a series of sporting events.
Cydcor looks forward to this annual battle of athletic skill and is competing in 12 different games this year, including dodgeball, flag football, softball and table tennis. The next games on the schedule this week are lasertag and soccer.
Click here for the latest team updates on the games and results.
Click here to read the recent article in the Ventura County Star on the Corporate Games.
April 5 recently marked the birthday of Booker T. Washington, acclaimed African-American educator, author, political leader and civil rights pioneer. On this day, I’m reminded of his inspirational 1901 autobiography, Up From Slavery, in which he recounts his rise from early adversity to success later in life, driven by his commitment to a singular goal: getting an education.
Born into slavery in 1856, Washington spent his early years after the Emancipation in poverty working in the salt furnaces and coal mines. Determined to get an education, a 16-year old Washington arrived at the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute (now Hampton University) in 1872 with little more than the clothes on his back. The assistant principal was suspicious of his ragged appearance and asked him to sweep the recitation room as a condition of enrollment. Desiring to prove himself, Washington swept and dusted the room until it was spotless. The assistant principal was so impressed with the results that she admitted him to the Institute, where he worked his way through school and later became an instructor. He then moved on to greater distinction, culminating in his founding of the Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) in 1881.
Washington’s story demonstrates the importance of embracing every challenge, no matter how difficult, to achieve our goals. With ego in check, he kept his eye on the ultimate prize to excel at each task placed before him. He carried this attitude throughout his life and became the foremost black educator and leader, working with the era’s most powerful businessmen and politicians to advance the cause of education.
Many times we must endure hardship and perform humbling tasks, but we must remember that they may be short lived in the scheme of things. Booker T. Washington’s example reminds us to focus on the big picture in pursuit of our goals. In doing so, we adopt the determination and grace needed to fulfill our greatest dreams—and potential.
Gary