Conversations
This is something I have wanted for a long time. A place where we can talk to each other.
It began as a place to ask questions about MasterLube, like “Why don’t you use coupons?” and “What’s your training program about?” but it quickly grew to include more interesting subjects.
We will have conversations with Rod Davidson, Terry Palm, Cali Freier, and Abby Martinsen; followed by other cool people like Russ Cherry, Elizabeth Klarich, Craig Godfrey, Rick Robinson, and perhaps an occasional international personage.
Like friends at a dinner party, there will be several conversations going on at the same time. And like any good party, there will be some people you know better than others, but by the end of the evening…
Like any good conversation, there will be a place where you can respond, keep the conversation going, or change the subject if you choose.
So welcome to the party! Join in. It won’t be much of a conversation without you!
Bill Simmons
MasterLube
PS. If you still want to talk about MasterLube, we can do that as well.
Always a River: Boys and Water
Many of you know Terry Palm as a watercolor artist, born and raised in Billings. He now lives in Minnesota and his annual art show in Billings draws hundreds of admirers, but it is less known that for several years Terry has been writing short stories based on his early adventures along the Yellowstone River in what is now Josephine Park. Today’s installment is the first of six short stories in a series he’s titled, “Always a River”
How to Start an Awkward Conversation
People are messy. I’m not talking about their personal hygiene or their living conditions. I’m talking about people and their relationships. Relationships are sticky gooey and messy. All of us, myself included, want neat crisp clear relationships with well defined...
A Visit with Mideast Refugees
More states in the United States are announcing their reluctance to accept refugees from Europe, and their thinking is understandable. Right after Labor Day when the refugees hit the town of Rosce on the Serbian-Hungarian border, I was with a friend from Bratislava driving across Hungary with supplies for them.
Gardening, a Spiritual Journey
Before he retired, Rod Davidson was Marketing Director for Metra, The Billings Gazette, and Pizza Hut, but more important was an event that took place on a February morning in 1981. On that day Rod and I were sitting in a coffee shop on 24th Street and he turned over the placemat and sketched the logo for a business that would be named MasterLube. Thirty-four years later his work continues to serve us unchanged.
But his contribution to Conversations is not about marketing or graphic arts. Rather I have asked him to tell us about landscaping their new home.
Teacher Discovers Slovakian education
C.S. Lewis, a bi-lingual High School in Bratislava, Slovakia, is training future leaders for the country. The learning model is based on the work of its namesake, C. S. Lewis. MSU-B education students have had the opportunity to do their student teaching at C.S. Lewis while students from C.S. Lewis have come to Billings to spent a semester at MSU-B, with help from a MasterLube scholarship fund. Cali Freier was one of the first MSU-B students to do her student teaching there. Here is her story:
Students from Slovakia study at MSU-B
Students Roman Hadju and Jurka Orosová are currently studying at MSU-B and are in their second year of studies at C.S. Lewis High School, a five-year, bi-lingual program in Bratislava, Slovakia. They are part of an exchange program that allows students from MSU-B’s education program to do their student teaching at C.S. Lewis while students from the high school are allowed to attend MSU-B. Here, in their own words, is Roman and Jurka’s story:
Ambitious teen tackles busy schedule
Abby Martinsen attends Senior High, takes classes at MSU-B and works part time. We asked her to tell us how she manages her busy life but she said she didn’t have time. We settled for a telephone interview. When people wonder about “the work ethic in young people today” I tell them about Abby. — Bill Simmons
Want An Abundant Life? Water Your Grass!
You know that old saying “the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence? Have you ever wondered how that came about or why people say that?
The 5 Stages of Change
There’s a saying I love: Change is inevitable…except from a vending machine. Some people adore change. They thrive in it. The status quo is the worst thing they can think of. But for most of us, change can be a challenge that almost always results in some...
Are You Training or Just Telling?
I work with lots of organizations as a consultant, coach, and trainer. Fortune 25 companies, small businesses and everything in-between including government, healthcare, non profit, and schools/universities. I get hired to grow people and implement change. One...
What Would You Attempt If You Couldn’t Fail?
What would YOU attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?
It’s a heavy question. It’s a question that has changed my life. I try to share that question with as many people as possible. The most common response to the question I hear is:
“Russ, there are no iron-clad, 100% guarantees of success in this world. I have no benefactors and no one is looking out for me.”
Email us at conversations@masterlube.com for topic suggestions, questions, or to report an inappropriate comment.