I love treats but many know I don’t eat too many of them. One of the funniest birthday emails I received yesterday came from Cathryn who has been with TNG for a little over a year and stated that she would have made me cupcakes but she knew I wouldn’t eat them.

Back in the day, I could compete with anyone. I feasted on Hostess Apple and Cherry pies. The best bite was always the first and last (the corners). I loved Snowballs and Cupcakes especially peeling them apart and eating the cake first and the topping second. Dove ice cream bars with dark chocolate were devoured at least every Friday night after pizza. Sunday was chocolate coffee cake after a full breakfast.

Those were the days. And those were the days before nutrition information was on packaging. If I knew that one Hostess pie had 480 calories, 60% fat grams and nearly a half cup of sugar, I would have never touched a single one. Well, maybe one.

A single row of Oreo’s was willpower. A single box of Thin Mint cookies was willpower. Let’s not even discuss Pinwheels with pure dark chocolate.

With Halloween tomorrow, I thought today would be the perfect day to talk about our favorite treats since I won’t be around tomorrow. Calories, fat grams or sugar content do not count in this exercise. So when your kids come home and dump their candy bag, which candy will you gravitate to first……

Here are my top 10 not in any particular order:

Kit Kat (how can 4 little pieces be so many calories?) One is never enough.

Almond Joy (dark chocolate and the almond)

Milky Way Dark (dark chocolate and caramel)

Dove (coconut oil is devilish)

M&M’s (peanut of course)

Nestle Crunch (positively addicting)

Snickers (I like the bite size best)

Milk Duds (chewy and satisfying)

Spree (I used to eat Giant Sweet Tarts daily)

Raisinettes (once in a while, nothing like them. Goobers too. In fact, just bring on the bridge mix and let’s play Texas Hold ‘em).

With all this talk about Hostess and candy, I’m hungry. Time for a Fiber One bar.

Happy Thursday!

Life was easier when common sense prevailed. Back then, common sense was obvious. Today, many have lost what common sense is and are easily manipulated by others (media, friends, family) into making decisions that are just plain awful.

One scenario playing right now is the Presidential Election. In less than a week, this nightmare of a campaign will be over and we will have a new President. While I can’t say who I am voting for, I can say that neither candidate has common sense and are talking pure gibberish. We need a new leader at the White House, not more of the same.

Ex-Mayor Kilpatrick lacked common sense. If so, his new home wouldn’t in a jail cell. Employees who leave companies with no explanation have no common sense. People who show up habitually late have no common sense. I’m sure you have a bunch you can add to my list.

So exactly what is common sense? Sure you can look it up on Wikipedia and that would make perfect common sense to actually consult a dictionary to understand the meaning of a word.

Common sense is obvious to all without emotion. Here are some questions to test your common sense:

Which is more expensive: A Cadillac or Chevrolet?

Which football team is more likely to win: Mona Shores Sailors or Dallas Cowboys?

Which day of the week is busiest for restaurants: Monday or Saturday?

What weights more: a pound of bricks or a pound of M&M’s?

Who is going to win a running race: LG or Shawn Peralta?

Now here is the key point to common sense that must be obvious to you by now: You made your decisions on ALL of the above questions without consultation of any kind. Why? Because of common sense.

We all need to use common sense more and get rid of all the distractions that cause us not to use it. Personal goals such as quitting smoking, losing weight, working out, reading would be easier to reach. Professional goals would be within reach.

So for one day, think about this and when it’s obvious to you, make the right decision. When you go to Coney, which is more fat and calories: Coney and Fries or Greek Chicken Salad with low-calorie dressing?

Happy Wednesday!

Reading about recaps is always better when you were at the event or watched the event on TV especially when your team, celebrity, rock band or hero wins. We love to watch replays, relive the moment and then read about it the next day.

If you weren’t at Kemon Nights, you missed something special. If you were there, then this recap is for you.

The Night started with a fabulous performance by the up-and-coming hot band Sinjon Smith. Chris Wietzke & Diane Smith who lead up the band wailed out hit songs while guitarist Marc Davis was in his full glory taking his strings to new dimensions.

And what would an Italian-theme Night be without Italian-theme food? Luigi from Sangria put out a great spread of veggie pasta, chicken, bruschetta, cheeses and traditional Italian cookies.

The sold-out crowd came in by bus, limo, car, truck and just about everything else except private jet. People were dressed up and ready to party. At 7:35PM, their wish came true.

The two hour show combined music, video, dancers, fashion (both hair and clothes) and charity into an effortless collection of "sitting off the chair" delight.

The Kemon Artistic Team were sensational.

Laura Schildt was in all black. There was Vicki Benham doing her magic. Beth Jessee got into the music and thought she was back in the 80’s. Lauren Gallo was smiling and couldn’t believe she was on stage. Scott Jenner was cool and collected in the lead segment. Irina Miasnikova patiently blended in purple extensions into her model’s blond hair with a tad of red color thrown in. Denisa Cito also decked out in all black was grooving. Janan Delly meticulously did an updo worthy of any NY fashion show. Andrew (Andy) Bernard sported way cool boots, over the top pants and signature jacket while undoing foils and tossing the hair into a perfect design. Jessie Miracle also sported way cool boots and was having too much fun. And finally there was Jeph Wright, National Head Coach, dressed accordingly, effortless moving his shear through his models hair.

Aaron Michael Scott, National Technical Director, took main stage several times and made the perfect MC in his suit and tie. Felice and Donato representing Kemon represented Italian wear very well.

I finally made it on stage and introduced Regina from Children for Hair Loss. 10% of ticket sales went to them and Regina was thrilled to be the honoree. I then brought Jackie G. on stage wearing a very hot Italian dress that went on auction. The winning bid of $1500 came from Royal Oak and Children for Hair Loss gained 3 more kids because of it.

Behind the scenes was outrageous. 49 models in all. Janan Delly spent 3 weeks making the outfits for the grand finale (I won’t even comment on the grand finale as words can’t describe it). The Kemon Coaches not on stage worked effortlessly. Alex and Emilio Salon was packed at 7:00AM for prep. Kym, Jill, Marlene and Julie from TNG were everywhere. Liz perfected the scene at Royal Oak. Bill Givens worked his video magic coordinating the show in the background. The list goes on.

Kemon Nights was pure magic. I will finish by saying thank you to everyone who believes in magic. Oh, there is much more magic to come!

Happy Tuesday!

I finally left Sangria across from the Royal Oak Music Theater shortly before midnight. I had no voice left, mentally exhausted after the events of the past 30 hours and knew that I had to start over at 4:45AM (this morning!).

I would do it all over again and then some. Kemon Nights was beyond expectations but I have to reserve that topic for tomorrow. Today it’s about Green and White!

My oldest son Michael came in from Chicago to join us for the fun. The last time he came in State lost 49-3 and Daniel was hoping for more of the same. I never saw State win in the Big House and I knew this was the day (my gut instinct once again).

We started off tailgating in the lumber yard parking lot where we paid $35 ($10 in East Lansing). Right across from us was Marlene’s husband, Kevin, who joined us for a turkey sandwich. There’s something about tailgating however in a lumber yard lot that’s amiss, at State it’s a lot more fun.

We then headed towards the stadium where some 110,771 folks joined us. It was mostly those god awful maize and blue colors around although us Spartans were there to be seen. Everyone was buzzing and it was game on. The score was 0-0.

Our seats were in the visitor’s section, conveniently located in the corner of the end zone. There were no worse seats to be had but at least we could watch the game on the giant TV screen on the scoreboard.

MSU scored first and the yelling and screaming started early. But U-M came back and tied the score. We then fumbled twice and missed 3 field goals. U-M actually took the lead 21-14. It was Daniel’s only glory of the game where he had the opportunity to stand on the bleacher and be obnoxious. Us State fans were cursing under our breath but not nervous for a second. This was our day and our game to win.

The rest is history. After Ringer scored his touchdown, I went nuts, lost my voice and my brother in Florida saw us on TV. Yes, we were that nuts. The Wolverines were silenced for the first time since 1990 and we were the happiest bunch of green and white ever.

And here’s the "theme" of sports that says it all. After the game, other Spartans came up to us to give us high fives and just because we had on green and white, we were all best friends. Race, nationality, income, sex or any factor whatsoever didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered is that State won and we were State fans. What a feeling and what a phenomenon.

I can’t wait to live it again.

Happy Monday!

Do you know the feeling when something just "feels" right? Do you know the feeling when something just "feels" wrong? It’s called the "gut instinct." Many CEO’s of Fortune 500 companies will tell you that after they review all the reports from their teams, more go by their gut instinct than anything else to make a decision.

Bringing Kemon into the U.S. felt right from the moment I met with the family in Italy. The people, the products, the story, the education, and the commitment were all outstanding and my gut instinct has never looked back.

Kemon Nights is the culmination of all our efforts to celebrate our first year with Kemon. The Kemon Artistic Team, the Kemon Technical Team, the Kemon coaches will be working feverishly over the next few days to put on a show that few have seen the likes of. In all, more than 50 Coaches will participate.

40 models. 40 outfits directly from Italy. Live music from the fab band Sinjon Smith. Great food from Chef Dominic who owns Luigi’s. And 10% of the proceeds going to Children with Hair Loss. What a night!

Yes, I am proud to announce that Kemon Nights is sold out (800). I scrounged up a few tickets for those that will crash the doors at the Royal Oak Music Theater begging to get in.

Thanks for everyone who believed in Kemon and TNG. All the salons, hairdressers, consumers, BE’s, and our core team including Kym, Jill and Randy. Sunday is going to be historic and another chapter will be written–this one will feel good indeed.

Happy Friday!

I was in Las Vegas years ago when I had my first Starbucks (or so I think). I remember the first Michigan store opening and was so excited. Soon there were more and soon I was an addict. I remember driving up to Muskegon cursing that there wasn’t a single Starbucks in Lansing, Grand Rapids or Muskegon (now they are in all 3 cities-for now).

I am a loyalist. Now Starbucks’s is coming out with a new program for it’s loyalists called Starbuck’s Gold. For $25 a year, you get 10% off your purchases plus other stuff. So if you spend $250 a year, you break even. At $4.00 a visit, that works out to 63 visits or more than once a week.

Years ago we had a loyalty program called first called Miles then Beauty Points. Customers received one point for every dollar purchased. In return, they received gifts or credits for redeeming the points earned. The challenge was keeping track of the points as they accumulated over long periods of time. Eventually the program went away.

So I’m thinking what about Nailco Gold? For $100 a year (our average customer spends over $1000 a year), what would our customers receive in return? As a customer, what would entice you? Discounts are tricky because some of our suppliers frown on them so there would be exclusions. I look forward to your opinions.

Happy Thursday!

Statistics state that 97% of us will need reading glasses by the age of 50. While I can still see fairly decent without glasses driving and watching the Spartans, I’m definitely one of the stats when it comes to reading.

One of the most fun things about going out to eat is reading the menu. I don’t know why we have such a fascination with this but we do. Even restaurants we’ve been to a hundred times we still read the menu like there is going to be something new on it that we must have.

While daylight menu reading is still good for me, nighttime menu reading can really suck. The first trick is to bring the menu away from your face and I always think it’s funny to watch people do that. The next trick is to bring a lighted magnifier which works the best when you remember to bring it. Yet another  trick is to have your server provide a flashlight or candle.

My last trick when nothing else works is to have the BUB read me the menu. Hey, we all like story telling and this is one fun story to tell. But seriously, all we really want to do is read the blasted menu!

Readers have become a big business and I’m very happy to report that we will be selling them in the near future. Readers come in various strengths known as "diopters". We will carry the most popular of these. Our readers will range in price from $9-$20 retail and half that at wholesale.

I will buy a couple of pair for the car and travel so I will always be prepared just in case the BUB isn’t around. My question to you is do you need readers and if so, how many do you own?

Now how much is that bottle of wine?

Happy Wednesday!

Next Friday is the magic day, October 31. I remember this day as a kid quite well. It was the only day of the year I could gather as much candy as I could and eat it too. Of course my mother would steal the Mounds and Almond Joy’s but I learned to stash those before I emptied the bag on the living room carpet.

Adults love Halloween more than kids these days. The phenomenon picked up more than ten years ago and is still going strong. Witness the Halloween stores that pop up in vacant stores. These giant caverns are filled with everything and everything expensive. We spend big bucks on Halloween.

Naturally TNG is celebrating too. Many dress up and departments do pot luck lunches (there are some scary things in those crock pots!). Candy, prizes and other fun stuff are passed out throughout the day.

The question is why do we love Halloween so much as adults? If we have kids, we love to relive those days (and steal their candy like our parents did). But even without kids, I think it’s another holiday in which we can forget our troubles, stress levels and focus on having fun and being silly. After all, are you going to get silly at Christmas or Mother’s Day?

And isn’t silly a silly word? It’s like ridiculous. Surely ridiculous is a ridiculous word. We use the word ridiculous much more than silly and with all the events going on today, is anything really silly?

Halloween is the the official day to be silly and have fun. The day after, even though there is plenty of candy left over, it is not the same. The silliness is gone, the makeup and masks are stored and the stress of worrying is back. Here is what I think: Buy an extra bag of Mounds and Almond Joy. Have one a day until the bags empty out. Be a little silly  because you don’t need Halloween to have some fun.

Happy Tuesday!

After the events of last week, today is a great day to have bragging rights. No, I certainly am not bragging about the MSU demolition although the Turkey Man barbeque was as good as ever. And yes, I will be bragging next Monday after the Spartans decimate the lowly Wolverines (Daniel will lose $100 and pay it too).

Actually, I have quite a lot of bragging to do. The Freep (Detroit Free Press) held its first annual Michigan’s Top Workplaces program and TNG placed 19th in the Medium Companies category. Google was #1 although they are as much Michigan based as Toyota. This is great recognition especially in light that we also snagged the 101 Best Places To Work Award for the 7th consecutive year (November 20 is the luncheon).

One of the reasons why I think we won is because we recognize talent that step up to the plate. Last Thursday the BUB and I took the core SAP team to the MGM for spa services, cocktails and dinner with breakfast the next morning. It was a great time for all and the perfect experience for those who worked 8 tireless months launching SAP.

I also have to brag about STRIDES this past weekend at Belle Isle. In all, nearly 300 TNG walkers showed up to offer their support of the American Cancer Society and their effort to support breast cancer research. As a National Sponsor of STRIDES, it was great to see the event continue to do well and raise nearly $1 Million. It was also great to see all the TNG walkers with their kids, parents, and friends.

And yes, I have one more thing to brag about. While I didn’t set my personal best record for doing the half marathon, I did have my personal best record in placement. The Freep Marathon on Sunday was packed with more than 18,000 participants. Nearly 13,000 finished. I ran 1:34:40 and I wanted to break 1:30 but the bottleneck at the Ambassador bridge for nearly 2 miles was too much to overcome. I finished 137 overall and 10 in my age group out of 600.

Next week I will more bragging rights after Kemon Nights this coming Sunday. This event is going to be the most fun: nearly 40 models and all the clothes coming directly from Italy. And I have great food from Luigi’s and great music from Sinjon Smith to warm the audience up. I hope to see you there!

Happy Monday!

I was driving on Orchard Lake Rd. and my once favorite bagel place, Bruegger’s Bagel Factory, was demolished. They had the best flavored cream cheese and their bagels were pretty good too. However, like many other bagel places, they are out of business.

Each of us can think of lots of businesses that are no longer around. Yet life goes on. What makes a business relevant or irrelevant?

Starbucks stock is near a lifetime low of $10 and change. Dunkin’ Donuts, McDonald’s, Tim Horton’s and others have charged forward to attack Starbucks on all fronts. Starbuck’s is now focusing on instant oatmeal for $2.75 a packet, microwave breakfast sandwiches and "healthy" pastries. Is that relevant?

If Starbuck’s shuttered, we would find coffee elsewhere. Which brings me to one of my favorite Gallup CE11 questions, "I can’t imagine a world without _______." Relevant businesses are becoming rare like first edition books (I recently saw a store selling them from $1200-$12000).

One of a CEO’s main responsibility is to keep their business relevant to its customers, suppliers, talent and community. It’s not an easy task and stakeholders are more on edge than ever before.

Are teenage stores such as Abercrombie relevant if the parents don’t give money to their teenagers? Are boat dealers relevant if people stop buying boats? Are salons relevant if people do their hair and/or nails at home?

Here’s the thing: There are always people to buy products from a category; the business must be relevant to those people to stay in business. How you define your business, whether a salon, spa, tanning studio or store suggests to your customers your relevancy.

At TNG, we too need to be relevant. As I stated last week, I’m excited about our strategy for 2009 and I know our customers will love it too. In the meantime, stay positive, smile, and know that there is no other place in the world you want to be right now.

Happy Thursday!