Business Newsletter & Mission Statement

Last weekend, in preparation for our son, Noah, our daughter-in law, Kelly, and our granddaughter, Yasmin moving back to Chicago from Sao Paulo, Brazil, I began organizing miscellaneous items I had stored in Noah’s room

I was elated when I re-disovered two black cardboard three ring binders that contained HI-LITER newsletters from the 1970’s. The bi-weekly newsletters were an archival sampling of “Life at LAB-LINE Instruments.” LAB-LINE was the laboratory instrument business my parents, Alexander and Sylvia Newman, founded in 1952.

As I began reading the articles, the business wisdom my father and his employees wrote and/or contributed to the HI-LITER, resonated with me. Treasures were buried within the pastel colored pages.

For example: The header of the newsletter was the LAB-LINE Mission Statement written in a bold font (My father was a direct, no frills, individual.) :

THE OBJECTIVE OF LAB-LINE SHALL BE TO PROVIDE THE SCIENTISTS AND OUR DEALER WITH THE BEST MADE, BEST PERFORMING, AND MOST MODERN INSTRUMENTS AT COMPETITIVE PRICES; TO PROVIDE JOBS AND JOB SECURITY FOR THOSE OF OUR EMPLOYEES WHO APPLY THEMSELVES CONSISTENTLY AND EFFECTIVELY TO THEIR JOBS; AND TO MAKE A REASONABLE PROFIT TO CONTINUE ITS OPERATIONS AND MAINTAIN ITS OBJECTIVES. IF WE MAINTAIN THESE OBJECTIVES, NO POTENTIAL USER CAN POSSIBLY REFUSE TO BUY OUR INSTRUMENTS.

As an experiment, fill in the blanks below and see how the statement impacts your thoughts about your business  and/or Mission Statement.

THE OBJECTIVE OF _______________ SHALL BE TO PROVIDE ____________ AND _________ WITH THE BEST _________, BEST _____________, AND MOST ______________ AT COMPETITIVE PRICES; TO PROVIDE JOBS AND JOB
SECURITY FOR THOSE OF OUR EMPLOYEES WHO APPLY THEMSELVES CONSISTENTLY AND
EFFECTIVELY TO THEIR JOBS; AND TO MAKE A REASONABLE PROFIT TO CONTINUE
ITS OPERATIONS AND MAINTAIN ITS OBJECTIVES. IF WE MAINTAIN THESE
OBJECTIVES, NO POTENTIAL USER CAN POSSIBLY REFUSE TO BUY OUR _______________________.

I admired the sense of community each newsletter embodied. The pages announced and offered suggestions, recipes, acknowledgments of birthdays, wedding anniversaries, anniversaries of employment at LAB-LINE, condolences, world news, editorials, cartoons and inspirational poems. It was fascinating to recognize and realize that the business wisdom that was applicable in the 1970’s is just as, if not more, applicable today!

My father and mother at the LAB-LINE 25th Anniversary Celebration in the lunchroom.
My mother is reading a 4 page poem our cousin, Ann Robbin,
who worked at LAB-LINE, wrote for the auspicious occasion.

Please, enjoy the following thought-provoking anonymous poem. It was one of my father’s favorites.

CONSTRUCTIVE LIVING

I stood on the streets of a busy town,
    Watching men tearing a building down.
With a ho, heave ho, and a lusty yell,    
    They swung a beam – and a side wall fell!
I asked a foreman of the crew,
    “Are those men as skilled as those
You’d hire if you wanted to build?”
    “Ah, no” he said, “no, indeed,
Just common labor is all I need.
    I can tear down as much in a day or two
As it would take skilled men a year to do.”
    And then I thought as I went on my way,
Just which of these two roles am I trying to play?
    Have I walked life’s road – with care;
Measuring each deed with rule and square,
    Or am I one of those who roams the town,
Content with the labor of – tearing down.

Sheila N. Glazov ~ Author ~ Speaker ~ Educator ~ Personality Type Expert
Please, visit my website to learn more about your Brain Colors, my What Color Is Your Brain? book and workshops. 10% of the royalties from the sale of my book is allocated to JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) 
  






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4 Comments

  1. George on October 24, 2008 at 9:26 pm

    “Ahhh-yes, I remember it well.”
    The Lab-Line news letter brings back very happy memories of a tour Uncle Al gave me when I was about eight years old. He eagerly demonstrated one of his inventions for mixing fluids magnetically (plastic covered magnets dropped into the solution were inductively rotated through a rotating magnet turning below the beaker). And the highlight was when he demonstrated his spot-welder and allowed me to give it a try (I’ve been welding ever since).
    Best memory didn’t involve Lab-Line, but was of an episode where we were riding an elevator. Uncle Al would stick his foot in the door and hold it there. As a result, the door would continuously open/close until one of the riders would yell to stop that S_ _ t! (Might have been Mike Newman :-))
    Thanks to Uncle Al’s wonderful influence, I came up with a few inventions and tricks of my own–I’m sure he looks over my shoulder as I devise and tinker. One of my favorite Al inspired tricks was to epoxy large silver coins in the deep end of a local swimming pool. The little kids would see all that cash on the bottom of the pool and dive deep to grasp the cash. Needless to say, they came up cursing with what very little breath remaining that some #$@*!@**! had glued the coins to the bottom. One Al influenced derivitive was to epoxy coins at the bottom of a “down” elevator. People would stop/stoop to pick up the coins and those coming down behind would crash into the blocking butts.
    Long Live the wonderful spirit of Uncle Al!

  2. Sheila Glazov Author Speaker on October 25, 2008 at 3:13 pm

    George. What a perfectly Orange comment. Thank you for sharing your memories about your “Uncle Al.” I loved the tour of the plant and the elevator stories. You, your cousin Noah and Joshua’s son, Ashton, definitely have the “Newman Teasing Tinker Traits” like my father and our Grandfather Morris. My father would have appreciated and “kvelled” about your “Coin Creativity” ;-D. Your Grandfather, my Uncle Mike, also was a quintessential prankster. Not only did those Newman brothers resemble each other, they had the same strange sense of humor……more of that Newman DNA. I agree, “Long Live the wonderful spirit of Uncle AL!” It’s telling our stories that keep his spirit alive. I am most grateful for your memories, they made my heart smile!

  3. Mother Earth on October 30, 2008 at 10:28 pm

    I really like the constructive living poem. Look at all that cake lined up to celebrate 25 years in business! I can see your mom in you.

  4. Sheila Glazov Author Speaker on November 10, 2008 at 7:30 pm

    Sorry, I didn’t see this comment sooner. I’m delighted that you like the poem. It always resonates with me! My parents were generous and gracious hosts who enjoyed to share their blessings with others, especially those who contributed to Lab-Line’s success. Thank you for seeing me in my mom… a “love”ly compliment!

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