Lancaster New Era from Lancaster, Pennsylvania • 34

LANCASTER, NEW ERA IMSSNDASf 6 Monday, January 5, 1998 oo E-mail: Taming the monster Herr identifies with employees Sports Continued from 1 Herrs turns out 7,000 pounds of potato chips an hour, 3,500 pounds of com and tortilla chips, 3,700 pounds of pretzels and 1,000 pounds of popcorn and cheese curls per hour. The company produces more than 70 kinds of snack foods, including special items like ketchup-flavored chips. A member of Mount Vernon Mennonite Church in Oxford, Herr said he tries to apply his Christian beliefs in his work as an entrepreneur. I give a lot of credit to the Lords leading in picking the right people, he said. You have to try to treat everybody as near alike as possible.

Herr said it is best to keep your word, even if that may mean a short-term business loss. If you follow those principles, you wont be worrying about whether somethings going to come back to haunt you, he said. Herr said that since he has held almost every job in the snack food company over the years, he can identify with employees. Going through that helped me realize that, hey, when youre working there eight hours and somebody comes and says youre doing a bad job, its no fun, he said. If theres something in the quality that I dont quite like, Im a little cautious as to how I say it, because I know that that persons trying their best, he said.

You have to be a little careful that you dont criticize. You can take all the wind out of their sails. Herrs experience has also fueled his interest in the National Federation of Independent Business, which he joined in 1955. Herr became a board member in 1972 and has served as chairman of the group since 1989. What helps small business helps the U.S., he said.

All the businesses started small and grew. In 1991, Herr accompanied President George Bush on a trade mission to Japan, Singapore, Australia and Korea. In 1992, he was one of a panel of business leaders who spoke with Russian President Boris Yeltsin. Herr said he urged Yeltsin to adopt policies that would help small businesses succeed in Russia. He said he told the leader, We feel in the U.S.

that small business is the backbone of our nation. In recent years, Herr has become known to his customers as the low-key pitchman in television ads. He said he enjoys appearing in the commercials, because it gives him the chance to point out that Herr is a family-owned business. If I do a good job of that, then I can be helpful to the rest of the people here, he said. Herr said he advises people who prepare the ads to talk about the products.

Dont talk about me so much. Nevertheless, Herr said he has had to get used to extra attention. He said people recognize him now, especially if I have my red hat on. Kids will come up and want my autograph. Herr admitted that his life is much different than what he might have pictured on his parents Willow Street farm.

He said, The Lord allowed me to do things that I never even dreamed of. Continued from 5 to everyone in your division? Being sensitive goes a long way, as any veteran of office politics will tell you. Think about how someone else might perceive your comments, especially if they were expressed face-to-face. I think about writing e-mail as if I were talking to someone, said Pasternack. What message am I conveying? What tone would I want to deliver that message? If that message comes out different from what Im writing, I stop.

Theres no way around it youre going to find yourself writing sensitive e-mail at some point. Whether youre criticizing, confronting, venting frustration or responding to those kinds of messages, there are things you can do to save face. First off, take some time to cool off. If youre frustrated or angry its easy to dash off a quick note, Pasternack said. Before you send your note, print it out and read it.

Seeing sensitive e-mail on paper can provide a fresh look at what youre saying. As you edit your note, be sensitive to the words you use. Never say anything you wouldnt want your boss, mother and priest to read, suggested Lise Needham, managing partner at the Financial Relations Boards San Franciscooffice. Dont say it by not really saying it. Dont make caustic or facetious remarks or use capital letters to shout your message.

Sarcasm and verbal nuances dont translate well online. One of the problems is the loss of nonverbal cues, Riggio said. For example, its very difficult to be sarcastic without nonverbal cues, like the tone of voice. People Continued from 4 Clarke said. You take the setbacks, you believe in yourself, and you move on.

Resiliency and flexibility are core qualities to sports, she said. Streeter agreed. One of her key accomplishments at Avery-Den-nison was persuading Microsoft to incorporate her firms labeling dimensions and stock codes in its software. Its a risk she doesnt believe she would have undertaken if I hadnt had the attitude I think was honed through sports. No ones saying sports participation is a prescription for success.

Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach notes you have to pay your dues in business as well as sports. He learned real estate, for instance, by working for Henry S. Miller Co. in off-seasons before launching his own firm. Judith Rosener, management professor at the University of California in Irvine, said sports are just one of many potential growth experiences.

I think some people will never be leaders. Others will be leaders regardless. If you have some potential, you can increase it by doing a lot of things, sports being one of them, Rosener said. Streeter of Avery Dennison doesnt argue with that view. But then she tells the story of a 10-year-old girl who slouched into the gym one day to sip up for basketball.

When she came into the pro- Fram, it was, Well, Im tall, but sort of uncoordinated, Streeter said. Six months later, we went to a national tournament, and she was looking over the propam to make sure she was the tallest 10-year-old there. She was proud of her height, Streeter said. can miss nuances, especially emotional nuances. When youre writing, give e-mail your undivided attention.

E-mail makes mistakes more convenient. Its easy to accidentally select the wrong distribution list. Or to accidentally forward your sweethearts love letter to everyone. Or to mistakenly forward your co-workers joke about the boss to the boss. Dont multitask.

Dont e-mail while youre talking, advised Needham. Pay attention to what youre writing because it lives long after its gone from your inbox. There are two camps on how precise you should be when constructing e-mail. For some, e-mail is perfect for writing a couple of short paragraphs. They might not be well-constructed.

The punctuation, grammar and spelling might be sloppy. But for some, e-mail is a sip of character. I take e-mail more seriously than most people do, Riggio said. I am concerned that its taken the right way. People make quick judgments about other people based on little information.

If they see sloppy e-mail, theyre going to make attributions about competency or intelligence or conscientiousness. Just in the same way that your business letters are judged for those things, your e-mail may be judged. If you find it difficult to communicate gracefully regardless of the medium, use e-mail to distribute facts rather than opinions. Let the wordsmiths duke out the sensitive stuff with e-mail. Even if you try to be sensitive, inevitably, someones going to misunderstand you at some point.

Thats when its time to pick up the phone or settle things in person. Don't use e-mail to avoid further face-to-face confrontation. Trying to work it out online tends to be counterproductive. Needham recalls the powing pains when the Financial Relations Board installed e-mail two years ago. People were getting into spitting matches, Needham said.

If theres a problem that needs to be addressed, I walk down the hall and speak with people. Local firm gets 'Great Bear' work Wickersham Construction Engineering has been named the general contractor to build the $13 million Great Bear roller coaster at Ilersheypark. Great Bear will be the parks sixth coaster and most expensive ride ever. The inverted coaster will run 2,800 feet, with drops as deep as 124 feet. The rides 32-passenger trains will reach 58 mph.

Great Bear is due to begin operation in May. A Die new year will no doubt inspire many new building and renovation projects. 1 Customer will look to this section tiir the actual house plans as well as all the products, services and ideas that ill make their dream house a reality. additiwud 20,000 cojnet of this speciid action will be distributed to um-mbscriben via Star Watcld Send your advertising message to more than 220,000 Lancaster County and make sure they recognize vour business as one they can count on by placing your advertising message in this special uilbrmation section. and task chairs, budget furniture for the cost-conscious executive and Computer Assis- ted Design expertise to customize your entire office.

For a no obligation office evaluation, give us a call at I-800-J55-0044. With Ludwig you'll step right to the head of the class. Go ahead, sink right in It you want your whole office sitting in the lap of luxury you've come to the right place. Ludwig Office Furniture with state-of-the-art modular systems from leading manufacturers. Ludwig has an outstanding selection of executive seating Don't miss advertising in this section Sunday, January 25, 1998 Sunday News for details or to place your ad, call your Advertising Sales Representative or 291 8800 Advertising deadline is Wednesday, January 14 at noon.

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