Posted: February 14, 2023 | Categories: Leadership, Management, Team Building

If I could narrow down the three buzz words that haunt owners and managers today regarding team performance, it would be engagement, productivity, and retention.  Let’s talk about productivity:  If you ask me what is most important when motivating your team, I believe I have the answer.  Warning:  The answer will bore you.  It is BUILDING TRUST.  The highest performing teams I encounter know the importance of high team trust, and they are aware of how to build it.  They also know that doing so is done by a habit, not a gimmick.  So how do you get a team to be more motivated and productive?  I’ll bet you have known the answer since childhood.  We show genuine interest in our people and find out what is important to them.  Allow me to give you my favorite example from my childhood:  Her name was Mrs. Maxey.

Growing up, my parents socialized often with a loyal group of friends.  They had parties, played cards, and even went on cruises together.  Of all of their friends, I had a favorite.  It was Mrs. Maxey.  She was friendly, positive, had a radiant smile, and always took the time to talk to me before chatting with the grownups.  She was interested in me and wanted to know all about me.  She also would remember information from previous conversations.  She made me feel important.

As time passed and Mrs. Maxey grew older, she needed help with chores like pulling weeds, mowing the lawn, and shoveling snow.  I loved helping her and would have eagerly done the work for free.  I appreciated so much how she made me feel important.  She had my trust.

How about you?  How do you build trust with people?  Do you remember their birthday?  Do you know when birthday is?  How regularly do you talk to them?  If we make a sincere, conscious effort to show an interest in others, we will be amazed at the responses.  Yes, it even applies to the younger generation!

Posted: January 17, 2023 | Categories: Self-Improvement

The last I heard, the United States was the world’s leader in unused vacation days each year.  If we are not careful, we can end up like the beleaguered lumberjack who kept chopping at a frenetic pace and never took time to sharpen his axe.  If carefully planned and anticipated,  a vacation can give us time to sharpen our edge and come back to life with a fresh, eager mindset.

At this point you may be saying, “Money is tight…we can’t afford a vacation”.  If you are thinking that, let me share a personal experience I had 30 years ago that may spark your optimism:  I had just embarked on a new career change and money and time were tight.  Our family decided to take a trip to Nashville – about a 7-hour drive..  We only had a few days, so we planned well to make sure we made full use of our time.

When we arrived in Nashville we took another look at our itinerary, and found ourselves a little stressed out.  We decided to cancel out one full day of planned activity and replace it with a day lounging around the hotel pool.  We spent our “pool day” in total relaxation.  My wife and I read and talked while our two young boys swam.  It was a perfect day.

Since that Nashville trip, we have had many nice trips, including several cruises, trips to Europe, and a good chunk of the United States.  This may sound crazy to say, but our little trip to Nashville stands as one of our favorites.  It taught us a two-point lesson:

1. Plan your trip well
2. Be flexible

My challenge to you:  Be bold and plan a vacation.  If you do, you will find your mind, body, and mental state in a better zone.

Posted: January 13, 2023 | Categories: Leadership, Management, Team Building

This is the time of year companies most often talk about sales goals.  They should.  Without adequate sales, we can’t write paychecks.

There is also another important part of sales that is easy to overlook:  The ability to consistently deliver the products and services we sell.  That is production capability.  For our business to grow so must our people.  Unfortunately, many growth opportunities are missed in favor of expediency.

Here is an example:

Let’s say you have an important project to do and you are considering who you can delegate the job to.  Here are your options:

Person “A” – Someone who is highly experienced and competent for the job.

Person “B” – Someone who has potential to do the job, but not the level of skill or experience of “A””

Person “C” – Someone who does not have the experience or potential to do the job.

Which one would you choose?  Probably not “C”.  That would be a set up for failure.  Many would choose “A”.  We want to “get’er done!”  Employing person “B” would require more coaching and monitoring, but if we were to make the investment, we are increasing our production capability.  When possible we should build the “B’s” to make them “A’s”.  In my experience with expanding companies, the organizations that grow in good health do everything they can to cultivate the “B’s”.

Posted: December 16, 2022 | Categories: Customer service, Leadership, Team Building

In the 1989 movie, Steel Magnolia’s, actress Shirley MacLaine plays Louise Boudreaux, a grouchy senior in a laidback southern town.  Louisa was among a group of friends who always hung together, even though there were times when they drove each other nuts.  They were a community that always had each other’s back.

At the time, this movie was labeled as a “chick flick”.  I think that that means it was an intense human interest drama.  All that aside, the theme of the movie has stuck with me all these years:  Close communities support one another and give each other strength in tough times.

In the past couple months I have taken on the project of going through all my father’s pocket calendars.  Dad passed away in ’05, and I decided to take a look at all his old calendars before we discarded them.  I am glad I did.  His calendar entries were specific and detailed, and each day Dad had faithfully gotten out his yellow highlighter and checked each one that was completed.

As I was going through the entries I noticed how diligent he was at attending funerals and comforting others when they were ill.  What surprised me most was the funerals he attended.  Some of the deceased were people I knew he clearly didn’t like.  Even so, like the movie, they were all part of one community, and they were there to offer comfort and support when needed. Dad didn’t show up to impress someone.  He couldn’t have cared less about that.  His presence was an act of support and community strength in this small Kansas town.

Today, the world often seems divided.  Dad’s calendar is a refreshing reminder to me that things don’t need to be so split apart.  Someone once told me that the definition of love was toleration.  That’s a good place to start!

Posted: December 15, 2022 | Categories: Leadership, Presentation skills, Self-Improvement

Do we know what “charisma” is?  I thought I did until I heard the most boring definition of charisma I have ever heard.  The definition came in two words:  “Paying attention”.  That’s charisma?  After much pondering, I think the author was right.

A little over 30 years ago, I was visiting with the manager of a large hotel.  He was talking about his favorite all-time guest – President George H.W. Bush (Bush 41).  Jim (the hotel manager) knew President Bush loved tennis, and Jim had a custom racquet made just for the President.  (Racquets were made of wood in those days).  Jim presented the racquet to the President, and he was thrilled.  He immediately began carefully studying the racquet and took note of the details in workmanship and materials.  The President took the time to study the gift and appreciate all the effort that was put in to it.  How was the President able to do this?  Aren’t Presidents too busy?  Mr. Bush made the time to demonstrate the important value to him.  If you were to ask Jim if he thought President Bush had charisma, I am confident he would say yes…emphatically.

After I heard Jim tell this story, I reflected on some times when someone had done something special for me, and gone out of their way.  In particular, I thought of this old rocking chair I sat in as a toddler.  My brother-in-law, Ron had done a beautiful job refinishing the chair and surprised me with it during a visit to his home.  At first, I didn’t recognize the chair, and then it all came to mind.  Even though I thanked Ron for the gift, I could have spent much more time looking it over and commenting on his special work.  I regret that I did not.

Here is my advice.  If you are given something special that someone put their heart and soul in to, SLOW DOWN!.  Pat attention. Take the time.  You’ll be glad you did.  That’s charisma!