There are those who do not have an interest in sports. For those that do, one always seems to stand out above the rest. I hold a special place in my heart for football, of both the collegiate and professional varieties.

The annual NFL draft was conducted some two-odd weeks ago; allow me a moment to perform a small tribute to my team’s selection prowess:
“What were you thinking?”
“Are you letting your grandchildren make these picks?”
“Who?”
“And you’ll find the money to sign these guys where?”
“I guess I can always mow the lawn on Sundays.”

Right. When it’s all said and done, come the first Sunday afternoon in September you can find me in the same place I’ve been for the last 20 years: pacing behind the couch, eyes glued to the television screen while emitting odd noises of joy and horror, often simultaneously. Why? Because those three-plus hours spent as I choose to spend them somehow put a brighter patina on the rest of the week.

The columnists and contributors who appear in the pages of ICS Cleaning Specialist spend a lot of time on the idea of improvement. Improving your business. Improving your employees. Improving your skills. Improving yourself. They’re presenting ideas that may let you spend more time in the manner you choose instead of in the way others tell you to spend it.

It’s a fact that most everyone can learn the basics of running a machine and mixing chemicals. But it’s the way in which that knowledge is applied within the overall picture, how it’s incorporated, blended and mixed with the other qualities and attributes of the individual that determines the course that will be taken. The columnists aren’t doing this simply to read their own words; they’re adding some light to the path.

“Residential IAQ,” “Kerman Carpets,” “Myths and Misconcep-tions,” “Giving the Gift of Care and Concern” and “Selling Commercial Carpet Services” are some of the headlines you’ll find when flipping through this issue. Most are pretty straightforward; some are not. The question that is occasionally posed, when a slightly off-center article appears, is “What does this have to do with my business?” The answer to that is “Right now at this moment, perhaps nothing. But someday, somewhere, maybe something.”

When it’s all said and done, the mark is never hit 100 percent of the time. But the aim is never too far off.