Archive for February, 2009

Clint Eastwood wasn’t the only one that used that line. And though I cannot speak on behalf of every recruiter here at CPGworks, I’m pretty sure that they would all share this view. One of the GREAT pleasures of working as a recruiter and headhunter is when you can make the connection for a client whether it is from company end or the employee end. When you get a great fit, a win-win for everyone, that is just the cream. Because then you know that your employee and the company are going to expand from that relationship.

But the thing that REALLY puts a smile on my face is the guy who thanks me for finding him a job, a position, so that he can carry his responsibilities, feed his family and enjoy his life. THAT is a reward that you cannot put a value to. It’s not about a pay check – it’s about a value that transcends economics.

Every time that an employee comes back to us and thanks us, or a client company acknowledges us for finding them a great employee, the result is the same. A big ‘ol fat smile and a happy feeling that the world just got a little bit better. So yeah, “go ahead – make my day.”

Seems that Buffalo holds more lure to job seekers than we may all realize. In posting recent ads to locate skilled talent to fill positions for my client companies, I have been inundated with emails and resumes from applicants in Florida, Michican, PA, MA, North Carolina, Texas, California. Many of these people are born and raised Buffalonians or formerly WNY, now looking to come back. While these people are seeking jobs – it seems that many of those that I spoke to are also wanting to come back “home” for other reasons. In more ways than one, this place is attractive. Could it be that people find something here that is not readily available in other places?

A MESSAGE FOR AMERICA
On Jan 20th, 1961 an American president elect said these words to the world:
“And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.”
That President was John F. Kennedy.
Those words hold true today, possibly even more so than in 1961 when he articulated them in his inaugural speech.
It is trying times that tests our spirit, our character and our fortitude.
Through the course of the history of America, you will find leaders and people alike, stepping forward to mold the fabric of the country so that it pushes through difficult times and comes ahead, better than ever.
The forefathers of America, who secretly penned the Declaration of Independence and later the Constitution of America, did so at a time when America was on the threshold of becoming another pseudo-oppressive-slave to a regime at the time that was crushing the life from its new vibrant veins.
Abraham Lincoln, in the face of a devastating civil war, navigated his country through a crushing period, and with intelligence, charisma, inspiration and hope, he pushed forward to help America persevere through daunting times.
In any period, when times test us, when economics challenge our survival and threaten what little or moderate luxuries we have earned to our lives, these are times when people must step forward and act on the basis of what can be done for others and for their country.
To act otherwise is to invite anarchy, confusion and desperation, and certainly a loss of hope.
The man who refuses to let his fellow man go down, who stands up and stays true to the course, and leads others, is the man that will help form the culture that your children and their children and children’s children will know and grow up within.
Not all of us will be leaders in the limelight. But all of us can do something to push forward, with hope, with drive and with optimism, to win the day, and make the future brighter.
Life is what you make it, not what is handed to you. And certainly, it is not anything like what the media would have you to believe.
What America needs now is to hold the torch that started America. America is still the bastion of freedom on earth. The world watches America, and despite any complaints otherwise about America this and America that, the benchmark for freedom resides just beyond the portal guarded by the statue of Liberty – the hallmark of everything that stands for America and that America stands for.
If the economy worries you, then work harder.
If you are worried about your own future, help another guy with his.
Be loyal to your friends.
Be true to your integrity and your principles.
If it looks like the pillars of our culture are shaken and crumbling, then help build new ones.
Cultures change – but people will always be here.
The real capital in America is not money. It is THE PEOPLE.
So let’s build America people. It is YOUR country after all. Unless of course we are going to stand back and leave it up to one new president elect to solve it all.
He can’t do it by himself.
We can – if we all act within our individual sphere of influence to make it better, inspite of all the propaganda being spoon fed to us that would have you lay down your arms and your life to some hidden, unseen influence.
If you live in America, BE an American.
American’s once showed the world that they would never allow their lives or their liberty to be challenged.
Make it so.
Real J Laplaine

I have to comment here on something.
I’m a new guy in town. I hail from Canada, moved to the states in 1976 and have lived the last 25 years in Los Angeles, but I spent about 15% of that time outside the country travelling the world.
I crash landed in Buffalo, quite unexpectedly last year, having no intentions of moving to this city, but finding that I actually really liked Buffalo. Surprisingly for me after having lived in a megatroplis ala monster-tinsel-sprawling-whatever Los Angeles, seeing London, Paris, Sydney, Amsterdam, and countless other cities around the world. Uhh, why Buffalo? And you know, people here in Buffalo ask me the same question. Why the hell did you come to Buffalo from Los Angeles?
For several months I usually answered the same way. It’s a nice city, nice cool architecture, LOVE the Elmwood district (where my wife and I relocated to) etc.
But after attending some local networking meet-ups, reading blogs, and such about Buffalo. I realize what it is about Buffalo that I really like. People here are ACTUALLY friendly. Case in point. Los Angeles, while it is a great city in some ways, one of the richest in the world and certainly the headquarters of the film industry and other industries too, is like walking in a fishbowl when it comes to people. Compared to Buffalo, people in LA don’t talk to you. I think that in one month in Buffalo, I had more people that I didn’t know, make eye contact with me, smile (a real smile) and say hello, than in 25 years in Los Angeles. LA is called the Tinsel town and not for no reason. It’s a town of transients, Hollywood wanna-be’s and a lot of very agressive people trying to get rich or whatever. But Buffalo, the people are actually friendly. My god. You can walk down a street and they say hi. It’s a “big town” with small-town heart. That is very marketable – I must say. Buffalo cannot compete with Los Angeles, NYC, Chicago, Boston or Houston in terms of steel-chromed skyscrapers, expensive parking meters and all the glitter that money offers. Unfortunately, Buffalo’s past administration hasn’t been progressive enough, or agressive enough to ensure that this city rode out the rough times and developed with the times, unlike other cities that have done so and have come out ahead. But all of that notwithstanding, and no doubt, Buffalo WILL catch up eventually, Buffalo has heart. It has a quality that honestly you cannot find everywhere in America, or elsewhere. Here people are STILL friendly. Buffalonians haven’t bloated their heads or their ego’s or their pocket books to the point where the “other” guy is no longer important enough to say hello to or to smile at or to give a friendly hand. So as much as I love the Elmwood district and some of the charm of Buffalo, I think intrinsically, Buffalo can market itself as one of the friendlier places in America. Not only a place where the housing market is good, or where there are great colleges, or a decent place to raise a family, but a place that still epitomizes the foundation that made America AMERICA. Friendship and values. Money won’t save the world. But people will.

If a complete desert on edge of the Persian Gulf can be turned into this….(Dubai, UAE), then what about a city on the edge of Lake Erie, one of the 5 largest fresh water lakes in the world?