Posted: September 7, 2018 | Categories: Customer service, Leadership, Management, Team Building

If we want our product or service to be competitive and profitable, we need to deliver on time, within budget, and meet quality requirements.  To consistently achieve these objectives, there is one area I am finding increasing frustration:  Management of vendors and subs.  Since these folks are not on the payroll, we do not have the line authority and control that we do over our own employees.

In my 40 years of coaching and training, there is one business owner that stands out as the best vendor/sub manager I have ever known.  His name was John, and he was a contractor.  He built homes in the $1 million-plus range and was famous for always finishing the home on time and within budget.  He also had customers who were “wowed” and eager to refer him to their friends.  John’s recipe was simple:  He knew the four steps of project management:

1. Begin with the end picture in mind.

2.  List every single task and activity that needs to be done.  Prioritize the items and put them                                                  in sequence.

3.  Plan each task.  Negotiate and set deadlines with your subcontractors.

4.  Hold your team accountable

As simple as it sounds, it is not easy.  John’s strength was in step #4:  Holding people accountable.  If a sub committed to a time and date, John expected the sub to be there.  He was not a harsh man.  He simply went by the “Four F’s”:  Firm, Friendly, Frank and Fair.  I role-played with him in class to challenge him.  I played a sub that was trying to re-schedule a date I had committed to.  John said to me, “Steve, that isn’t going to work.  Here is why:  We are a team with a reputation of doing things right and on time.  If you don’t do your work here on Tuesday, that will set our job behind.  It would compromise our reputation.  You don’t want that.  Neither do I.  I want you to go back to your schedule and work it out, Steve.  I am counting on you to be there on Tuesday as we have agreed.”

That’s leadership!

Posted: July 30, 2018 | Categories: Leadership, Management, Presentation skills

You may have heard the story of how “Post-it” notes came about.  Many years ago, an employee for 3M was looking for ways to bookmark different areas of his bible so that he could make quick reference to his favorite parts.  He developed sticky paper that would come to be known as “Post-it” notes”.  And have you ever gotten a cockle burr stuck to your jeans?  That gave us the idea for Velcro.  Of course, all of these ideas had to be sold, and in order for that to happen, someone of influence had to listen.

Have you ever been excited about an idea that you just knew would improve your company?   Was there ever a situation where you tried to sell it and got totally shut down?  If so, you were probably frustrated or even demoralized.  Companies should not want this to happen.  To be innovative, we need idea fluency.  We need to present our idea in a way that gives us the greatest possibility of receptivity.  Here are some points to consider:

Establish credibility.  Be an “eager beaver”.  Do you work, do it fast, and do it well.  In addition, be the first to volunteer for other projects.  Do them fast and do them well. Results will follow, and you will be noticed and respected.  When you have an idea that you would like to sell, you will have a much more receptive audience.

Let the game come to you.  There are times when the best strategy is to let the momentum come from the other direction.  Your idea is probably designed to improve a situation or solve a problem.  In your team discussion, those subjects are likely to come up.  When they do, there is your opportunity…”Say…here’s a thought…”  The channel will be more open since your idea fits right into the discussion.

Be flexible.  One of my favorite ideas of all time turned out well because I listening to a critic who had a constructive suggestion regarding how to improve my idea.  I was glad I listened!

Ben Franklin once said, “If you don’t get what you want the first time you shop, you can always shop again”.   In business, I see too many ideas die before they launch.  Stay with it.  (My wife can give you lessons on this!)

Posted: June 27, 2018 | Categories: Time management

If we want to manage our time well, we need to be good at planning.  Is it possible to over-plan?  Yes and no.

The past week I was working with a client on more effective time management.  We’ll call him Roger.  The area he was working on was weekly/daily planning. He was frustrated that he was not executing his daily plans well.  I asked him a few questions, and discovered that he had planned 100% of his time.  He had everything figured out to the minute.  The problem is that in the real world, things often don’t fit into a neat little package.  Stuff breaks, people are delayed, and problems and obstacles are many.  Roger was frustrated.  What is the antidote?  Plan only 70% of your available time.  If you have planned well, you have determined your priorities and the order in which they need to be done.  It is easy to determine a priority.  Just ask one or both of these questions:

1.  How much will I benefit if I do this?

2.  How much will I suffer if I don’t do it?

If the answer to either of these questions is strong, you have an “A” priority.  Once you determine your priorities, now comes the most important planning:  What are the most important things I need to accomplish today? Ideally, this planning should be done the day before.  Start with your A-1, stay focused and do not allow a distraction unless it is an even higher priority – like a customer who is having a crisis.  If we do get such an interruption, we have allowed for it because we only scheduled 70% of our time.  To be focused and remain flexible in managing our time, we need to:

1.  Know our priorities

2.  Plan only 70% of our time.

3.  Enjoy a relaxed, fulfilled feeling at the end of the day.

Posted: June 11, 2018 | Categories: Leadership, Team Building

For many years I have worked with a highly successful entrepreneur who knows how to lead.  His turnover is very low, and by all measures the productivity of his team is outstanding.  One of the most remarkable qualities this man (George) possesses is the ability to build consensus and bring his team in to total alignment.

Last week, George was tossing around a business decision that he knew would affect the routine and schedule of his staff.  In his monthly all-staff meeting this week, he introduced the idea to the 7 managers in the room.  Six were in favor and one was not.  George began asking questions to stir up the dialogue.  In an atmosphere of mutual respect, they began expressing their thoughts and defending their positions.  When one talked the others listened well.  Throughout the conversation I could sense the positive energy and synergy.  The one dissenting opinion was now enthusiastically in the positive column.  Rather than digging in on his position, he listened and weighed the other positions and ideas.  The team had all come together and displayed an eager attitude to move forward.  They were all bought in and committed.

George demonstrated that valued leadership quality of gaining enthusiastic cooperation.  Rather than simply give directives, he “let the game come to him.”  Whenever appropriate and possible, we should do the same.  It is an important step towards building a top-performing team.

Posted: May 9, 2018 | Categories: Customer service, Leadership, Sales

Six months ago one of my coaching clients found himself in a predicament:  Ty received a phone call from his biggest customer and it wasn’t a happy one.  His customer had not received their delivery and it was past due.  As a result, this missed delivery date caused the company to be late with a shipment to one of their customers.

Ty checked into it right away, and found out the error was due to some communication error between two departments.  They made a big mistake.  Ty could have called the company and made up some excuse.  Instead, he said, “We made a mistake.  We are sorry.  We are now making arrangements for you to receive it by air freight, and we will absorb the additional shipping charges”.

Fast forward to today.  Not only is this still their biggest customer, they have purchased far more than anticipated since the error.  I am quite certain this would not have happened if Ty and his company hadn’t owned up to their mistake and made it right quickly.  Ty knew that the most important asset his company has is their sterling reputation, and he fought to preserve it.

What Ty did seems like common sense.  It is common sense.  Yet how many times have you seen a situation where there was a mix-up in a process, and a shipment has to be sent out late?  Have you ever heard someone ask the question, “What should we tell them?”  How about the truth?  It worked for Ty

Our reputation is our brand, and it is a strong determining factor when a purchasing decision is made.  Think of it like that commercial for a Nationwide Freight Carrier:  “We are in the business of keeping promises”.