Page 24 - Sonoma County Gazette April 2019
P. 24

   Motivation Starts with You
By Ellizabeth Skater, inshordtc.com
There was an interesting article a while back in INC Magazine on motivating
employees. The article contained a lot of sound advice. However, as an owner or manager you may not always be around to motivate staff, you may not have time. Everyone, at one time or another needs motivation, though few of us are trained in how to motivate employees or ourselves.
Happy Spring in Sonoma County... it’s been a rather long and wet Winter and it’s time to enjoy sampling some of the amazing wines being crafted by our artisan winemakers.
Woodenhead French Colombard 2016, Russian River Valley, Wes
Cameron Ranch. The nose: shortbread, lemon, vanilla and lime zest. The palate is a lemon/lime with bright acid. Pretty firm acidity throughout the palate. Barrell-fermented with an enjoyable buttery quality, which balances the acidities. Winemaker Nikolai Stez crafts a consistent vintage to vintage seafood friendly French Colombard from Wes Cameron Ranch. Pair with oysters on the half shell. Enjoy now through 2019. For more information visit woodenheadwine.com.
Nose of crème brulee and pear. The acids of this elegant chardonnay are almost entirely enveloped in a crème anglaise and baked pear quality leading to a long and luxurious finish. This Chardonnay has a loyal following and will not be around long once released, with an anticipated mid-Spring release. This wine has just about everything you can ask for in a glass of chardonnay – I’m hesitant to even suggest a pairing as it is such a lovely sipping wine. Only 130 cases produced. Enjoy now through 2020. For more information visit cazaderowinery.com.
Woodenhead Pinot Noir 2017 Mendocino Ridge Stone fruit: tart baked cherry and yellow peach with cinnamon and vanilla on the nose. The palate
is filled with raspberry and crabapple and a distinctive red licorice herbaceous quality and an abundance of minerality evenly layered from mid to palate finish. There is also subtle cedar. Given a brief opportunity to breath, this pinot becomes even more elegant. Pair with salmon, pork loin, duck breast. Enjoy now through 2023. For more information visit woodenheadwine.com.
Woodenhead Pinot Noir Buena Tiera Vineyard E Black Clone 115
Russian River Valley 2015 Oh my, I can’t help myself, Dijon 115 is my favorite of all the Dijon Clones – this pinot smells perfectly delicious. The nose is honeysuckle, sugar beet, black raspberry. A mouthful of red berries finishing in a quintessential Burgundian style. Much like that of the French burgundies, low alcohol, delicate balance. There is just a hint of cola and a more lingering flavor of rhubarb and Chinese five spice. Pair this pinot with duck confit, braised pork. Enjoy now through 2025 if properly cellared. For more information visit woodenheadwine.com.
Sonoma Wine Country Upcoming Events:
The 32nd Annual Pick of the Vine Wine & Beer Tasting, Luther
Enjoy wine tasting from over 30 top local wineries, sip local craft brews, and sample culinary bites from local chefs. The Pick of the Vine benefit is a primary source of funding for Senior Advocacy Services, a local non-profit agency providing key programs that inform, protect, and care for North Bay seniors in six counties. More info @ pickofthevine.org
Downtown Guerneville. Over 30 gourmet restaurants and wineries will be serving up a variety of local Sonoma County foods and delicious wines. Cost is $50 for unlimited Food & Wine, $30 for food only. Come and enjoy world class tastings from restaurants and wineries along the Russian River. First 100 tickets sold will be entered to win a Magnum of Woodenhead Pinot Noir! More info & tickets @ russianriver.com
30th Annual Passport to Dry Creek Valley, Sat 4/27 & Sun 4/28,
11am-4:30pm each day. 40+ participating wineries throughout Dry Creek Valley, guests will enjoy elaborate themed parties with remarkable and memorable food and wine pairings. Guests can meet Sonoma County’s most renowned chefs, savoring their inspired culinary creations alongside newly released and limited-edition wines. Enjoy sweet treats at Pop-Up Parties by local favorite Amy’s Wicked Slush. Take part in grape to glass experiences
in the vineyards and choose from a limited series of intimate winemaker and vineyard lunches. More for info & tickets @ drycreekvalley.org.
However, no matter what position you hold in the company, if you want to perform well, you need to be motived. While motivation from managers and owners is a great thing, it is not always available. So here are some ideas on how you can motivate yourself and how to stay motivated, rather than waiting for someone else to come along and help with that.
Create Goals: Most people work better when they are working towards their own goals as well as someone else’s Decide what goals you want to accomplish today, this week or this year. Goals can be big or small. You may create a personal goal for the month as well as a daily goal. Your goal may be to start or finish a task that you don’t particularly want to do, or have been putting off. There is always a certain satisfaction when something gets done.
Rewards: Reward yourself when you do something well or you finish a task. As I work for myself (and have no one looking over my shoulder to make sure I have completed all the tasks) I have a reward system in place for when
I complete a project. It may be something small, such as reading a chapter of a book or talking a short walk. If it is a big project I may take myself out to lunch. For instance, when I finish this article I am going to have a cup of tea.
Give yourself points that can be accumulated until you reach a pre-decided goal.
Cazadero Winery Chardonnay Bei Ranch 2016 Sonoma Coast
Think Beyond Your Job: If you are an employee, ask questions about the overall goals of the company. Find out what part you can play in making these goals a reality. Talk to your manager about your work goals and how they can benefit the company.
When motivation comes from the inside it is more rewarding and you will be happier for it. You know when you have done a good job.
If you are an owner or manager, think about what would be good for your employees and what you can do for them to reward and encourage them. If you are an owner remember to motivate your managers. They are the people in the middle, and may feel the pressure from both sides.
Positive Outlook: Of course there are times when people have to deal with the negatives of life, either personally or professionally. Be aware of those times and how these upsets can change personalities, moods and abilities, whether it is you or someone else you interact with.
Individual Relationships: Create as many individual relationships as you can with other employees, managers or owners. This is easier to do in small companies than it is in large ones but at least go up the ladder a rung
or two. Of course, you will be on good terms with your boss, but think about their boss and a Vice President. It can’t hurt to say hello when you see them or if you know of something they have accomplished, let them know. We all like to think we are making a difference, whether we are the office junior or the president of the company. If people are doing good work, tell them.
Individual Motivation: Team meetings are great, but personally congratulating someone on a job well done is just as important. As an owner or manager if you have remarked in a team meeting of how well “Jack” handled a situation, make sure that you also tell Jack personally, how much you appreciate what he or she did. As an owner make sure there is someone in your life who is there to tell you every so often how well you are doing (and occasionally how you could have handled something differently).
Burbank Center for the Arts in Santa Rosa, Saturday, April 6.
Take Notice: When staff members stay motivated, especially in times
that are frustrating or disappointing thank them for that. When owners or managers do something that benefits you or the company in general let them know that you have noticed.
Working life is so much better when we take control of how we are going to react to things. Don’t assume that if someone is in a bad mood that it has anything to do with you unless they tell you that it does.
Walk into work every day with a plan to do your job well. That is what motivates us and makes us stand out.
24 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 4/19
Russian River Food & Wine Spring Fling, April 27th, 1-4 pm




























































   22   23   24   25   26