From: Rick Rodell
Sent: Wednesday, June 14, 2006 5:30 PM
To: Sales
Subject: FW: I MAY BE OLD BUT I'M NOT DONE...

Greetings....The following was sent to me, actually, a couple of years back. I saved it and have routinely pulled it up to remind myself of its basic and fundamental truths. I have known the writer for some time, and some of you after reading it will probably figure out who wrote it, but that is not really important. What is important is the message. I have also been in this business for 30 years or so, and I'm not done yet either. I'm not sure that I will ever be done. I may eventually move on to something else, but I like what I do and I like the people I get to do it with. Regardless of your age, the different points the writer makes are all true. I especially like the part about if each of you are doing well than the company should be doing okay also. I wish that were as true as it used to be. What we have to do today to move an intermodal load is far more costly than several years ago, plus we all know that rail incentives are all but gone. This has made it more difficult to maintain profit levels, but also forces us to think in different ways and look at things more critically. It is similar to what the writer is saying. We can't coast, we can't sit back and continue to do business as usual, and we must always look for and make decisions that will keep this company always moving forward and always making sure we have the resources to continue to be a viable and healthy competitor.

Whether you are one of our younger and newer reps, or you fall into that "seasoned" group, I trust the writer's message will inspire or encourage or reinforce what you do. Like I said, I read it myself to remind me, that I'm not done yet, and that this company still has a lot more it can do and will do.

Rick Rodell
Chairman /CEO
Cornerstone Systems
Memphis, Tn.
901.842.1017
rrodell@cornerstone-systems.com

Subject: I MAY BE OLD, BUT I'M NOT DONE.........

For younger sales people, they often hear the saying, "when the going gets tough the tough get going".

That tends to make the naive sales person believe that they can always "turn it on when they have to". A bit misleading.

Actually, the "good times" are the most important times to "get going" and "turn it on", because it is the surest way to guarantee yourself that you will never face the "tough" times.

Our office is doing well right now, after some pretty tough times in the past few years. And now more than ever we are out there trying to land new accounts, to capitalize on our good fortunes, to maintain the positive attitude, and keep up that momentum that comes with success. Remember the old saying, "If you are coasting, two things are happening..............."you are going downhill", and "you will eventually come to a standstill". We must never coast. Never. Nationally I think we might even have some strange sence of "security" that because the COMPANY has done well, we are ALL "okay".

Actually, we need to reverse that attitude and understand that "If we ALL do well, the COMPANY is "okay". I like that scenario much better.

While it is a time for the young salespeople to come of age, it is also a time when the veterans, more than ever, need to show their leadership qualities through example. This is an industry that turns salespeople into real estate agents on a monthly basis, and those of us that have been in this business for more than ten years know that it was not the results of luck, timing, or simply good fortune that put us here. It was our desires to "succeed"..........succeed at something we enjoy doing, but enjoy doing WELL even more. It is an industry that is fair...........you tend to get back from it what you put into it. Nobody, nobody could ask for more.

This year I want to work a little bit differently than recent years. I want to make sales calls with the same exuberance as I did when I first rented that little 12' by 20' space in 1981. I want to reach out and make contacts with potential clients as if I am just now developing an account base. I want to see all of my regular accounts on a monthly basis and let them know........REALLY let them know how much they mean to me, and to our company. I want to send out more notes, make more phone calls and develope more lasting business relationships than ever before. I want to be the absolute "worst" person my competition would care to see coming out of the office of one of their accounts.

I want to TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THESE 30 PLUS YEARS OF EXPERIENCE, and enjoy it in the process. I cannot be younger, that is a given. And the younger salespeople cannot become veterans overnight.......................But we can all be successful, simply through effort and commitment to "get going, and keep going"; and lean on each other for help, encouragement, guidance and even inspiration. We all need each other, and we need each other to be the best we can be, more than ever.

This is a Wonderful company. This company has Wonderful employees. Our clients can see that.