Temp- tation                                                                  June  2017 
In this issue
Wisconsin Ranks in Top 10 
Wisconsin moved into the top 10 best states for business for the first time ever, Chief Executive magazine
recently announced. In 2010, before Governor Walker took office, Wisconsin was among the 10 worst states for business with a ranking of 41.  

In addition to being ranked one of the 10 best states for business, Wisconsin also ranks in the top 10 states in the following areas:  

- Percentage of adults in our labor force

- ACT scores in states where all students take the exam

 - High School graduation rates

- Reducing the overall tax burden (from 2010 to 2014, we outranked 43 other states in this area)

- Fully-funded pension systems

- Lowest outstanding long-term debt

- Access to health care coverage for citizens

- Health care systems
Temptation Trivia  
Last month saw passing of Sir Roger Moore, best known for his portrayal of James Bond in seven of the franchise's films. 

Moore had some big shoes to fill when he took over the role from the actor who portrayed Bond before him, and left a difficult legacy for the actor who replaced him to live up to. 
 
Name the actors who portrayed Bond before and after Roger Moore.   
  
If you know the answer, call or e-mail your local branch office by noon this Friday.  One winner in each branch will be chosen at random from those that answered correctly, and that person will get treats delivered!  
 
Last issue answer: Magicians Siegfried and Roy headlined in Las Vegas for more than 13 years, until Roy Horn was critically injured by Montecore, a white tiger who was one of the shows costars.     
Anniversaries
 
   
Tanya Vollendorf
Branch Manager
Stevens Point
18 years
    
Laura Schick
Branch Manager
Eau Claire
12 years
 
Karen Yelmene
Staffing Specialist
Manitowoc
1 year
  

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Flex-Staff
Fun Facts  
  In the summer of 1945, Fish Creek, Wisconsin was the site of a German prisoner of war camp, under an affiliation with a base camp at Fort Sheridan, Illinois.  The prisoners engaged in construction projects, cut wood, and picked cherries in Peninsula State Park and the surrounding area.

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      Celebrating Over 40 Years of Staffing Excellence!   

Employee Drug Use Increasing  
The Quest Diagnostics Drug Testing Index reveals insights into patterns of drug use among the American workforce.  It has been published annually for more than 25 years as a public service for 
government, employers, policymakers, media, and the general public.   
 
In examining the latest data, Barry Sample, Ph.D., Senior Director of Science and Technology at Quest Diagnostics, said, "This year's findings are remarkable because they show increased rates of drug positivity for the most common illicit drugs across virtually all drug test specimen types and in 
all testing populations." He noted the following key findings from millions of workplace drug test results.
  • Overall positive results from urine-based drug tests in 2016 was 4.2 percent, up from 4 percent in 2015 and the highest rate since 2004;
  • Positive cocaine tests rose from 0.25 percent in 2015 to 0.28 percent in 2016-which may sound small, but in relative terms, that's a 12 percent rise in one year;
  • Positive cocaine tests also rose for workers in federally declared "safety sensitive jobs" from 0.26 percent to 0.28 percent;
  • Marijuana use (where saliva-based tests can measure recent use) has soared from 5.1 percent in 2013 to 8.9 percent in 2016-a spike of 75 percent;
  • Methamphetamine use (also measured with saliva tests) jumped from 0.24 percent in 2013 to 0.42 percent in 2016, another spike of 75 percent.
The only mildly good news is that use of prescription opiates has fallen among American workers, from 0.96 percent in 2012 to 0.69 percent last year.

Overall, drug use is most prevalent in the Southeast, the Kentucky-Indiana border, upper Wisconsin, and rural Oregon.       

questdiagnostics.com 
One Minute Ideas
Stephen Covey said, "Most of us don't listen with the intent to understand. We listen with the intent to reply."  The following are 10 basic rules to having better conversations. 
 
1. Don't multitask. Be present. Be in that moment.  Don't think about your argument you had with your boss, or what you're going to have for dinner.  If you want to get out of the conversation, get out of the conversation, but don't be half in it and half out of it.
2. Don't pontificate. If you want to state your opinion without any response, argument, pushback,or growth, write a blog.
3. Use open-ended questions. Take a cue from journalists. Start your questions with who, what, when, where, why, or how.  Try asking them things like, "What was that like?" "How did that feel?" Because then they might have to stop and think about it, and you're going to get a much more interesting response.
4. Go with the flow. That means thoughts will come into your mind and you need to let them go out of your mind. We've heard interviews often in which a guest is talking for several minutes and then the host comes back in and asks a question which seems like it comes out of nowhere, or it's already been answered. That means the host probably stopped listening two minutes ago because he thought of this really clever question, and he was just bound and determined to say that.
5. If you don't know, say that you don't know. People on the radio are much more aware that they're going on the record, so they're more careful about what they claim to be an expert in and what they claim to know for sure. Err on the side of caution.
6. Don't equate your experience with theirs. If they're talking about having lost a family member, don't start talking about the time you lost a family member. If they're talking about the trouble they're having at work, don't tell them about how much you hate your job. It's not the same. It is never the same. All experiences are individual. And, more importantly, it is not about you.  Conversations are not a promotional opportunity.
7. Try not to repeat yourself. It's condescending, really boring, and we tend to do it a lot. Especially in work conversations or in conversations with our kids, we have a point to make, so we just keep rephrasing it over and over. Don't do that.
8. Stay out of the weeds. Frankly, people don't care about the years, the names, the dates, all those details that you're struggling to come up with in your mind. What they care about is you. They care about what you're like, what you have in common. So leave out the details. 
9. Listen. I cannot tell you how many really important people have said that listening is perhaps the number one most important skill that you could develop. Buddha said, and I'm paraphrasing, "If your mouth is open, you're not learning."  And Calvin Coolidge said, "No man ever listened his way out of a job."
10.  Be brief. 
 
All of this boils down to the same basic concept: Be interested in other people.
  
Celeste Headlee - TED Talk    
Recipe
Peanut Butter Pie
 
Ingredients:
1 (14.3 oz) package whole Oreo cookies (about 36 cookies)
1 cup (16 tablespoons) butter, divided
1 1/2 cups + 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter, divided
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
 
Directions:
Finely crush the cookies with a food processor, blender, or in a Ziploc bag. Stir crumbs together with 8 tablespoons melted butter until well combined. Press into the bottom and sides of a pie pan. Freeze crust for 10 minutes until set.

Add the remaining 8 tablespoons of softened butter, 1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter, and 1 cup powdered sugar to a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer.  Beat on low speed until smooth and creamy.  Spoon the peanut butter mixture over the crust into a smooth layer.  Place back in freezer.

Place chocolate chips and remaining 2 tablespoons of peanut butter in a large glass or heat-proof bowl.  In a saucepan, bring heavy whipping cream to a rolling simmer over medium-high heat. Pour the cream over the chocolate chips and peanut butter and let sit for 5 minutes, then whisk until completely smooth.  Pour the chocolate layer over the peanut butter layer.  Refrigerate, covered, at least 1 hours until ready to serve.
    

 

Inspirational Quote
  I don't believe you have to be better than everybody else.  I believe you have to be better than you ever thought you could be. - Ken Venturi 

 
  
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