Posted: February 20, 2023 | Categories: Management, Self-Improvement, Team Building

One of the most remarkable traits of a strong leader shows up when we talk to them one-on-one.  We walk away feeling good about ourselves.  Good leaders are people builders.  By contrast, have you ever had a conversation with a “people shrinker’?  By that I mean, after the interaction, you feel a little smaller than you did before.  That’s no good.  We build our businesses by building our people.

I would like to illustrate by sharing the most indelible example of people-building I have ever experienced.  The year was 1976.  I was single, 27 years old, and managed a business in a modest sized suburb of Chicago.  I was headed into the bank to make a deposit, and as I entered the doorway, I passed by a young girl selling candy.  My first thought was, “Oh boy, here comes another person shoving something in my face and trying to sell something.”  She didn’t say anything.  She just smiled a beautiful, genuine, smile.  I got ahold of my attitude, and politely asked her what she was selling.  She was selling candy bars as a fundraiser for her sister’s school.  I told her I didn’t want a candy bar, but I would buy one for her.  I gave her the dollar.  We had a short conversation, and moved on.

Several months later I was looking forward to a first date with someone I had been interested in for a long time.  When I went to pick up my date at her house, her sister came down the stairs and said, “That’s him”!  You guessed it, that was the girl that I bought the candy bar for, and she was selling them for her sister, the person I was taking out for the first time.  Things went well.  The bottom line:  That first date and I have been married for 45 years.  Imagine if I didn’t get control of my attitude that day and was abrupt with her sister.  This may be a personal example, but we all know our own examples of people who act kindly.  I end with this question:  Are you a people builder or a people shrinker?  Every human interaction is a moment of truth.  Make it a good one!

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!