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Chamber Luncheon Speaker Touts Motivation, Morale

Carl Orth/SUNCOAST

After the kickoff luncheon Monday for Business Development Week, main speaker Royce Decker, left, chats with West Pasco Chamber of Commerce President Joe Alpine and chamber board member Cami Austin of Synovus Bank.

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By Carl  Orth | The Suncoast News

Published: January 26, 2009

NEW PORT RICHEY - The contents of a wallet often tell you what a person values, Royce M. Decker said today.

"I thought success was having seven credit cards and maxing them out," Decker said with a chuckle about his youthful days to the audience at today's Business Development Week kickoff luncheon. West Pasco Chamber of Commerce organizes the annual business week, which continues through Jan. 31.

These days, Decker, a Hernando County Sheriff's Office major who does motivational speaking, believes in being as debt free as possible, especially after the financial meltdown in 2008.

"We're all in this together," Decker told a crowd of several hundred people at the luncheon. Motivation and morale are intertwined.

People get so busy rushing from one place to another they tend to become "human doings" instead of "human beings," Decker remarked.

"Life's going to happen and sometimes it's going to happen to you," Decker said, citing unexpected challenges such as a car breaking down. "There are no bad days. You just make it that way."

Workers might ask themselves how much a bad attitude costs, Decker, an adjunct professor of criminal justice at St. Leo University, reflected. Conversely, how much does a good attitude save?

Decker wonders why it is that classified ads for job openings usually describe the minimum qualifications of the job. "You have to be alive," Decker joked about a possible job ad. "You need an alarm clock."

The results all too often are minimally qualified job candidates, Decker said. It makes more sense to describe the maximum job qualifications, Decker thinks. It would also be nice to see words like "integrity" used in a job description.

"Why can't we hire for passion?" Decker asked.

He identified "passion prohibiters" as sarcasm, cynicism, criticism and condemnation.

"Passion facilitators," on the other hand are appreciation praise, encouragement and excitement. He calls them APEX for short.

Decker recalled early in his career he had been willing to do jobs nobody else wanted. He was always willing to do a fair day's work for a fair day's pay.

For a demonstration, he enlisted a volunteer from the audience. He gave the volunteer $1 for moving some bricks from one end of the stage to the other end of the stage. Then the volunteer got another $1 for moving the bricks back to their original spot. He paid the volunteer to move the bricks yet again. The volunteer dutifully complied without complaints, even though the task didn't seem to make much sense.

One of the first millionaires in America, Stephen Girard, might have used a similar test for new employees, Decker noted. Girard, a French immigrant, founded a shipping and banking empire in Philadelphia by the early 19th century.

Girard used seemingly meaningless tasks for several days to gauge the mettle of a potential employee. By the fourth day, Girard then might entrust $10,000 to the new employee to purchase a shipment auctioned at nearby docks.

Workers have one chance to make a good, first impression, Decker emphasized. A smart employee will show up at 6:45 a.m. if a new job starts at 7 a.m.

Girard also believed in giving back to the community, setting up a school for orphans and other charitable projects, Decker pointed out.

"We've lost the art of showing concern for our fellow human beings," including co-workers, he commented. Americans used to display more of a spirit of volunteerism.

Nowadays, people tend to get angry when their routines get disrupted, Decker observed.

We need to take more time to encourage each other, Decker remarked.

"We're too critical," Decker added. "We'd rather hear the bad news than the good news."

We are the "keepers of the kingdom," Decker emphasized.

A smile is a curve that sets things straight, Decker said. "Find someone who isn't smiling and give them one of yours."

Just remember, Decker admonished the chamber luncheon audience, the values imparted to children today will end up instilled in the health-care workers of tomorrow.

He challenged luncheon guests to name the most significant events in their lives, the most influential people in their lives and their most valuable possessions.

Quite often that prized possession one year winds up in a garage sale the next year, Decker noted with amusement.

Decker said the most significant event in anyone's life is birth.

"You get one life to make a difference," Decker said.

More BDW events

Highlights this week at Business Development Week include:

Tonight: 6- 8 p.m., Sean McCart of Chasco Hosting will present a workshop on "Using the Internet to Leverage Your Business," at the New Port Richey Public Library, 5939 Main St.

Tuesday, Jan. 27: Noon – 1:30 p.m., "Greening Your Business" panel discussion with box lunches at Pasco-Hernando Community College Conference Center, PHCC West Campus, 10230 Ridge Road.

Wednesday, Jan. 28: The Service Corps of Retired Executives, will present a series of workshops at Marchman Technical Center, 7825 Campus Drive, New Port Richey. SCORE's topics will include "Introduction to QuickBooks," "How to Start or Buy a Franchise," "How to Successfully Obtain a Business Loan," and more.

Thursday, Jan. 29: 7:30 – 9 a.m., Success Stories Breakfast will take place as part of the Seven Springs Rotary Club meeting at Seven Springs Golf and Country Club, 3535 Trophy Blvd., New Port Richey. From noon to 1:30 p.m. Thursday, "Successful Business Women of Tampa Bay" will be in the spotlight at the PHCC Conference Center.

Friday, Jan. 30: Noon – 1:30 p.m., Mark Vitner, Wachovia senior economist, will talk about the financial crisis and economic outlook during a Pasco Economic Development Council Luncheon at Tampa Bay Golf and Country Club, in San Antonio.

Saturday, Jan. 31: BDW will draw to a close with the Business Expo from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Gulf View Square, 9409 U.S. 19, Port Richey.

MORE INFORMATION

Some events are free. Breakfast or luncheon events usually have a fee and might be sold out.

For a full schedule, call the Chamber of Commerce office at 727-842-7651 or go online to the chamber Web site, www.westpasco.com, and then click on the BDW box in the upper right-hand corner. Or send an e-mail to Sandra Quinlisk at sandra@westpasco.com.

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