For the past forty years, Stanley Jay
has been both a valued employer and mentor, and trusted business
associate. I started as a young inexperienced printing associate and he
gave me the time and opportunity to grow into the general management of his
company. The result is my feelings of absolute respect and admiration for
him.
Through the years, as a
businessman, I have watched Stan hire, train manage and mentor hundreds of
employees. His dynamic blend of understanding, kindness and compassion
tempered with an affable forthright manner, has given him the kind of loyalty
that's rare in business. He has retained many of his employees for over
20 years, by instilling and fostering a feeling within them that they're respected
and appreciated members of a flourishing family working in a pleasant,
low-stress environment, rather than being "just workers".
Stan's unique brand of business acumen
and engaging style of leadership has enabled him to retire from the largest,
most successful portrait studio/publishing business of its kind in
America.
In his personal life, Stan has exhibited
the same leadership qualities that have served him so well in the business
world. It's certainly evident by the impressive accomplishments and exemplary
winning attitudes of his children and grandchildren.
Through the years, he has devoted
considerable time to public service and this, combined with the other facets of
his life, has made him an ideal role model for family, friends, employees — and
especially, for me. .
My name is Christian Larson and I worked for Stan Jay's Studio for over
forty years, so I was able to know Stan very well. As the senior photographer and
trainer, I was in position to observe what made the business work and why it
was so successful. Mr. Jay was an original,the way he motivated the personnel and handled and resolved
seemingly impossible problems was truly remarkable.
Running a photographic business is not easy, and on a national level it is mind-boggling. Maintaining proper attitude of dozens of "free spirits" while traveling extensively and retaining the image of elegance and quality that was-our
hallmark, was monumental
Most impressive was how aware he was to the problems the people
encountered traveling "on the road" for all of our work was in various cities throughout the entire country. This is so important. If management is
callous toward the needs and comfort of the traveling personnel, the enthusiasm
erodes, the business suffers, our image crumbles, and the negativity translates
quickly to the clients we are
servicing. Our reputation, our jobs, the company, is in jeopardy. Stan Jaywas a master
"puppeteer" keeping all the many strings moving in harmony with successful co-workers (as he called us) servicing our many clients so we could maintain our important contracts.
As an artist, I feel a prime prerequisite of a good manager is just simple compassion
when an employee is in trouble. It happened
to me. I fell and broke my knee
shooting on my own time and was laid up with a cast up to my hip for six
months. I was shooting for a personal client at the time, but Mr. Jay covered my expenses. He didn't have to do
this but he did out of compassion. I've have never forgotten that.
Stan
Jay has said it
all in this book. Every parent should place this
excellent guidepost for success in the hands of young people who are about to explore the real world
head on. I heartily recommend this book, and it would be wise to follow Stan's credos, formulas and experience,
written by a mentor who knows
the traps of growing up in this world and how to avoid them. This is a little
gem of a book of practical advice for any person encountering the astronomical
problems facing the new generation today.
Christian Dubois Larson
Palm Springs, CA
*************************************************************************** To the Publisher:
I worked with Stanley Jay for over 20
years. I am grateful for all the knowledge I learned from him. He always shows
compassion and respect to everyone. His ability to teach and motivate everyone
is incredible. His always there to guide you and listen to any new ideas
small or big. He gives everyone motivation to accomplish their goal. I always
respect his professionalism and his good heart. Where I am now is a product of
his work. I appreciate all the skills he showed me. I am very fortunate that I
had a chance to work with him and I treasure every moment of it.
My name is Pam Larimer and I have been a Realtor for 14 years. Thanks to
the years I spent with Stanley Jay, I have become one of the top agents in the country with success
beyond anything I could have ever imagined. I met Stan in 1980. I was working in a bank making $ 263.00 every 2 weeks,
chained to a desk, a computer and tightly supervised. Not only was I working 8 hrs a day..gone 10 hours a day...I
never was able to get ahead, buy a home much less contribute to a retirement
program.
Stan hired me and I was with him for 18 years. He taught me how to think,
how to sell, how to anticipate the traps of life and handle them. His sales training was better than any Ivy League College of Sales
training. He and his wife Lila became friends and like family, because everyone who works WITH (not, in Stan's words FOR) him is his family. I learned not only how to sell but how to treat people from him,
and that helped me make $30-50,000 a year back in the 1980's when that was a substantial
amount of money. From Stan I learned so many lessons in life that when I took
those lessons (along with the intense selling strategies he taught me) into my
Real Estate Career, I soared to the top. I was ranked in the top 2% Nationwide year after year; I was Rookie of the Year with
Coldwell Banker. This year I have just been awarded the Remax Hall of Fame 2009 and was
awarded Realtor of the Year for the San Diego Association of Realtors in 2005
out of over 11,000 agents.
I now own 2 homes in San Diego..have comfortable
retirement saved and even zip around in a pretty cool little Lexus sports
car. I say this not to brag but to show what can be achieved as a result of the lessons Stan taught me in life as well as in sales.
When I see the young people of today, the future of our country for
generations to come, I know they need to take the lessons Stan teaches in this book very
seriously.
There is not a day that goes by that I do not hear his
voice telling me quietly how to think. I use that voice to achieve what I need
to happen, whether it be with my clients, my buyers agents, my staff...and
sometimes even with my husband!
He changed my life and he will forever be the force behind the person I was
able to become.
Working for Stanley Jay has always been
the highlight of my career. The time and patience he showed me during my
training at the portrait studio, helped me gain the confidence I needed to
eventually supervise the Art Department. The working environment that
Stanley had created was conducive to allowing each person's creativity and
abilities to flourish. His door was always open.
That was about 30 years ago, but the
friends I made during those 15 years with his family and fellow employees have
lasted a lifetime.
Heidi Beck
San Diego, CA
To Publisher
Avoiding Traps by Stan Jay
I have known Stan for 45 years and have
always been impressed with his leadership capabilities and wisdom of life
experiences. Stan does not have a PHD in Philosophy, but his philosophy of
living is second to none. Stan does not have a degree in sociology, but he
understands how society functions. I have read some of his chapters, and I feel
that his words apply not only to the teenage generation but also to all of us
regardless of our age. Stan reminds me of my favorite folk philosopher in my
younger days, Eric Hoffer. His "nuts and bolts" of life are a
worthwhile reading.
Stan Jay, for decades, was at the helm of a national family business. Each employee and field person functioned at the highest level, with passion and pride. The company's implied mission was to operate with integrity and truth, in a stress-free family environment. Business leaders generally, are challenged by the need to maintain a cohesive office and production team. Simultaneously managing the foregoing, Stan excelled at the non-enviable responsibility of field-monitoring independent contractors throughout the Nation. This was especially difficult as these contractors performed non-standardized skilled services at the highest level, while exhibiting egocentric traits being totally aware that they were not readily replaceable.
Stan excelled. Each relationship maintained for decades in a stress-free "win-win" family environment. In its truest sense, for decades, Stan herded cats.As a further direct reflection, you would be proud of each of his grandchildren. While I have passed 70 years, my greatest enjoyment is when I refer to his young adult grandchildren as being "my best friends". If I needed someone to be alongside in a trench, it would be Stan, his children, as well as each of those grandchildren.
G. Zak
Palm Springs, CA
**************************************************************************************** Thoughts on Stanley Jay regarding the publishing of his book
Avoiding Traps:
As a contributing artist who became a friend of Stan's for
the past three decades, it seems fitting he would author a book addressing his life's commitment. Throughout his career as entrepreneur and businessman he has
inspired hundreds of people—including myself—with his vision for a better tomorrow.
Stan has always been an educator, dedicating his energy to the development of youth
by channeling their energy into creative and constructive endeavors. I believe that he drew
his satisfaction from seeing these young people shed their problematic past and succeed in becoming leaders.
In Avoiding Traps, Stanley Jay applies the knowledge he has acquired through his rich life experience tocreate a truly insightful, unique, and inspirational book. Vladimir Medenica,M.F.A. San Diego, CA ******************************************************************************************************** To the Publisher
Stanley Jay gave me my first opportunity of a managing position. I have known him for over 26 years and first became his personal assistant in 1999. Through those first years of working side by side with him I quickly realized his skills of communication. I consider him a mentor of mine and am delighted that he took the opportunity to write this book about Avoiding Traps. I personally watched his relationships with his children and grandchildren and was always impressed with his candor and advice to them. Through his mentoring skills I was able to successfully run a department and teach young people how to be successful in their position.
Having known and worked with
Stanley Jay and our families for half a century, we shared many ideas and
dreams. Stanley was always willing to try new concepts in marketing, he
had the ability to make you feel that anything was possible. The creative
energy in the workplace was directly related to Stanley's easy going
guidance. He had a charisma about him that put people at ease allowing
the innovative ideas to flow. My fondest memory was a flight we took in
Stanley's small plane for a photographic session.On arrival we all enjoyed a glass of wine toasting our safe
landing. Well here's my toast to you Stan, keep up the good work.
The first thoughts that come to mind when I think of Stanley Jay are: first,an accomplished, strong yet gentle and compassionate man and secondly, the immediate trust and confidence that he had in me and boldly demonstrated them; both in the decisions that he made regarding the company and me and also with regards to me personally.
He hired me out of my retirement to come into his well established company to manage two of his departments. This came about after working for him only a few months. During this period, our working relationship grew into a friendship, one of which I am proud to boast. To that end, it speaks volumes about the kind of person, the kind of mentor and the kind of leader that make up the man we now know as the author of a great idea for a book.
I started working for Stan indirectly about 24 years ago and even at that time, I realized what a vast resource of information he was. When I started working more closely with him, he became a great source of influence on the knowledge I needed in order to do my job better. He encouraged me to do more than I thought I was capable of and pushed me to learn more in order to help other employees by teaching them the tools necessary for their jobs.He was always ready to hear other ideas and often paid for those ideas that could ultimately save the company money. He tried always to guide rather than direct his employees and was successful in providing a sound environment for growth. I missed Stan terribly when he left the company because he was really the catalyst that held the employees together as a family unit.
I've just completed my 21st year with your company, and wish to thank you for your confidence in and support of me as a representative of yours.Over the years you have done a great job of mentoring me (and many others I have known).I know that I can always call you for advice, not just about portraits but other things that come up just in the course of living. I have much respect for you as a fellow traveler on the road of life. Best wishes,
