Does the winter make you SAD?

Donna Darby-Walthall,
Chief Financial Officer

As we say goodbye to September and move into October, we begin experiencing the change of another season. Fall is my favorite time of year. We get to enjoy the cooler weather and the beautiful colors of the leaves changing on the trees. We enjoy hot chocolate and marshmallows toasted over a fire.

This time of year can also cause a form of depression. Some people begin feeling a change in their mood or behavior and notice a decrease in their energy levels. During this change in mood, they might require more sleep, eat more food and exercise less as the days get shorter. This condition is called Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Individuals who suffer from SAD usually have depressive episodes beginning in late fall and continue through the winter and don’t begin seeing relief until spring arrives.

What can we do to prevent this from happening to us? Exercise is the key ingredient in reducing the symptoms of SAD. When we move around and exercise, we release feel-good endorphins that keep us happy and energized. Now, I know some of us don’t like to exercise, myself included. But, it is very important to our mental and physical health and we have to make it a priority in our daily lives.

I encourage you to join me. Don’t let the winter blues bring you down. Lace up your tennis shoes and start walking your way through the winter.

This article originally appeared in Modern Memorialization, Trigard Memorials' weekly electronic newsletter featuring information for the funeral industry. Sign up for your free subscription at http://www.trigard.com/thursdays.

How does politics relate to your business?

Linda Darby-Dowers,
Chief Executive Officer

With an election year right around the corner, are you beginning to evaluate the potential candidates? What do you look for? Ideally, I want someone with integrity who shares my values. I want to feel as though I can trust them and believe what they are saying.

Don’t panic. I am not going to start a political debate.

The qualities I look for in a political leader are also what I look for in a business partner. When reviewing your business strategies do you stick with suppliers you've worked with for years, even though they don’t really care about the business you are running? Or do you find a company that has integrity and shares the same values that you and your company have worked so hard to build?

I encourage you to work with organizations who share your values, care about the quality of service you provide and want to help you grow.

Just like a political leader, these companies may not tell you everything you want to hear, but they will tell you everything you need to hear. They are the organizations that will help you grow and help you succeed in our profession.

This article originally appeared in Modern Memorialization, Trigard Memorials' weekly electronic newsletter featuring information for the funeral industry. Sign up for your free subscription at http://www.trigard.com/thursdays.

Culture shock. Working with someone from a different generation.

Stuart McDaniels,
Materials Manager

I’ve recently had the opportunity to work alongside a member of the Millennial Generation. Being a member of Generation X, the experience was certainly an eye opener for me. First of all, I understand just how dated all my references have become and my love for 80’s music is definitely not shared by everyone. Through this association, I have also come to understand just how much I do not know and how much I need to continue to learn and grow.

Most of my co-workers are around the same age as me.  We share a lot of the same interests and similar histories so it is easy to relate and work with these individuals. Working closely with someone who is much younger than me has shown me I need to better understand that age group and how to interact. It’s difficult because even though we are from the same geographical area we are really from two different cultures and two different points in time. We see the world differently and have had different types of life experiences. This became painfully obvious to me during a discussion about politics recently. I brought up President Ronald Reagan and then had the sudden realization this person had not even been alive during the Reagan Administration and may have difficulty relating to the point I was trying to make due to the reference I was using.

The trick for me was finding a way to reach that individual where they lived. As Millennials age and begin to interrelate with our businesses more, we will need to understand how to reach them as an industry. Memorialization is critical to the overall health of our industry. Does memorialization mean the same to them as it does to us? Does it have the same importance? How do we educate them as to the significance of memorialization to the industry we are in and the families we serve? I encourage you to engage with the younger generation to better understand them and how they think.

As you do, be aware of your own weaknesses, lack of knowledge, and possibly even biases, and work to improve. As we begin to hand the torch to this group it is important for us to find a way to effectively communicate ideas and visions to them in a manner they can relate to so they can carry on the essential work of educating people regarding the importance of memorialization.

This article originally appeared in Modern Memorialization, Trigard Memorials' weekly electronic newsletter featuring information for the funeral industry. Sign up for your free subscription at http://www.trigard.com/thursdays.

Are you taking the time to revitalize?

Jeff Miller,
Vice President of
Business Development

As business owners and managers, we can easily be caught up in day-to-day details and commitments, making sure to deliver and execute. As Trigard’s Vice President of Business Development, I am privileged with meeting many different business owners, managers and staff across the country. During our meetings, I typically present them with ideas and concepts to grow their businesses. In the past month, I have had the opportunity of attending two high-quality conferences, as an attendee rather than a presenter. Not only did I gain new insights from presenters with many different perspectives, but more importantly, was forced to sit back, listen, and reflect on what it is I do every day. The experience of listening and being in the presence of so many high-energy colleagues was invaluable. Although, it may seem overwhelming to remove ourselves from the daily grind. It can be beneficial to take a few days to reflect and revitalize.

I challenge each of you to take a time out and attend a conference. The rejuvenation you will feel by surrounding yourself with like-minded professionals, all with the same focus, will be time well spent. NFDA is right around the corner. Have you registered yet? Don’t think of it as a couple days away from the office, think of it as a way to gain traction and refocus on the long-term future and success of your business. Though it may seem impossible, our business can survive without us for a day or two. Play “hooky” for a few days, and return revitalized and better prepared to lead your company to future success.

This article originally appeared in Modern Memorialization, Trigard Memorials' weekly electronic newsletter featuring information for the funeral industry. Sign up for your free subscription at http://www.trigard.com/thursdays.

What's up with Windows 10? Because 7, 8, 9.

Brodie Krause,
IT Manager

This summer marked the beginning of a new era for Microsoft’s long-standing operating system. This is not just a new iteration of Windows, but a powerful shift in the way Microsoft does business. It was such a major change, that they skipped Windows 9 entirely and went straight to 10. You could see the difference right away, as Microsoft offered free upgrades for the first year for users running Windows 7, 8, and 8.1. An offer you may be questioning whether you should act upon.

Anytime Windows gets upgraded, there will always be the question of compatibility. Do my programs and applications work on the new platform? This has been becoming less and less of an issue in recent versions, but it is still a concern. This is especially a concern for those of us running software that dates back to XP or (cringe) before. I cannot speak to your specific applications, but my point is that it’s something you need to plan around. Before you jump in and start upgrading everyone to Windows 10, maybe do one or two machines just to see what works and what doesn't.

I think the biggest challenge with this update facing Microsoft customers is the user interface, how things look and how common actions are performed. It’s much less jarring for those brave souls who already moved from 7 to 8 or 8.1. But even then, there are some major changes and you’re going to need to plan for training your staff on how to use it.

Microsoft has a history of alternating between really good and really bad Windows releases, and in my opinion and experience with Windows 10, that rule definitely holds up. My recommendation to you would be to definitely get a plan in place for making the move before you start having to pay for the upgrades next July.

This article originally appeared in Modern Memorialization, Trigard Memorials' weekly electronic newsletter featuring information for the funeral industry. Sign up for your free subscription at http://www.trigard.com/thursdays.