Posted: October 24, 2018 | Categories: Management

Last Monday a major milestone occurred:  Sears filed for Chapter 11.  While that may not be a striking event for those in their 30’s and 40’s, for us baby-boomers, it was like losing a part of our history.

Growing up in a small down in the 50’s and 60’s, Sears was the place where dreams began.  It all started with the gigantic “Wish Book” catalogue that was delivered to our house once a year.  It was thicker than “War and Peace”, and in it was everything from clothing to sports to go-carts and motorcycles.  At one time Sears even sold houses and cars.  (That’s right…check it out)

Then came Sam Walton from his small town in Bentonville, Arkansas.  He and his Walmart stores took over America, and they pushed Sears aside to become #1.  In doing so, they also created the demise of many small, independent downtown shops.

Now Walmart is being challenged by Amazon, and the race is on.  Walmart is increasing their online shopping.  Here is what puzzles me the most:  Why isn’t Sears the Amazon.com?  They had almost all the mail order and catalogue business.  That didn’t happen for a lot or reasons.  Let’s summarize by listing the five stages of “How the Mighty Fall” as related by author Jim Collins:

1. Hubris Born of Success
2. Undisciplined pursuit of more
3. Denial of risk and peril
4. Grasping for salvation
5. Capitulation to irrelevance or death.

These are the traps.  If we want to get great and stay great like Apple and Disney, we can’t ignore these fundamentals.

Posted: October 10, 2018 | Categories: Customer service

Think of the most important thing you have in your business or organization:  If you thought “reputation”, you are correct.  We build a great reputation by what we say, what we do, how we look, and how we treat people.  If you and your company have a fine reputation and have kept it for a long time, you almost certainly give outstanding customer service.  You also care for your employees and value them.  (It would be pretty hard to give great customer service if you didn’t!)

Even though we can build a sterling reputation, it is surprising to me just how quickly we can lose it.  Everything counts.  Here are a couple of examples:

For years I have been going to battery store every time I had a battery need.  Last month, my wife and I went to this store to have a couple batteries replaced in our watches.  When they replaced my watch battery, the watch started working again.  With my wife’s, no such luck.  It still didn’t work.  He said it must be something other than the battery.  When we got home, I set my watch down on the counter and the back fell off.  That got us to thinking, and we went to a Jewelry store for a second opinion.  They replaced the battery, and the watch was fine.  What wasn’t fine was my perception of the battery store.  We lost trust in their expertise.  Next time we will go to the jeweler.

In another situation, this week we went to the deli counter of a grocery store we often shop at.  We wanted a special type of lunch meat.  They were out, but assured us they would have some in the next day.  We went the next day, and they didn’t.  They did not do what they said they would do, and they compromised their reputation.

Here is the message:  Don’t just meet the expectations of your customer, “wow” them!  If we don’t, our competition will.

Posted: September 27, 2018 | Categories: Leadership, Team Building

I work with organizations and teams that have a strong desire to operate at top performance.  While there are many attitudes, skills, and behaviors that need to be in place, one attribute that is often overlooked is being approachable.  In his classic book, “How to Win Friends and Influence People”, Dale Carnegie said, “The expression we wear on our face is more important than the clothes we wear on our back.”  What is the expression on your face at rest?  Is there a sparkle to it, or do you tend to have a more stern look.  Here is a story for you:

Many years ago, I was facilitating some leadership training, and the class consisted mostly of small business owners.  Cliff was one of the owners.  He ran an HVAC business, and years ago he was struggling to motivate his team.  A friend made a suggestion:  “Why don’t you change the expression of your face at rest?  You will find your people are more comfortable approaching you.  Right now, it seems like they are avoiding you”.  Cliff took the suggestion to heart.  It was hard to get into the habit of always having a pleasant expression.  He stuck with it, It was two years before he firmly formed the habit.  It paid off.  He said it was the most important decision he had even made since going into business.  As more people approached him, the communication opened up.  With more communication came more teamwork and problem solving.  Think about it.  When you go in to a store, and everyone is smiling, take note of the boss.  He or she is probably smiling.  Conversely, if you walk in and see glum looks on everyone, take a look at the person in the mezzanine.  Be prepared for Mt. Rushmore!

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!)