Posted: June 6, 2024 | Categories: Leadership, Management, Self-Improvement

Being a loyal team member is a virtue.  So is maintaining our personal integrity.  What if you run into a situation where you have to choose between the two?  The following true story illustrates this scenario as good as any I know:

In 1914 at age 27, Herm Krannert was hired by the Sefton Corporation.  Sefton made corrugated boxes, and they were at the top of their field.  Herm was eager and worked hard.  At age 30, he was rewarded by being promoted to VP and director.  There was one condition:  He would be required to vote as the president wanted him to.  This offended Herm and he saw it as an affront to his integrity.  He immediately quit.  Imagine being promoted to Vice President and director of a major company and unemployed in one day!

Herm came home and shared the news with his wife, Ellnora.  She comforted him, and assured him things would work out fine.  They did!  A group of co-workers heard what had happened and they quit also.  They said they wanted to pool their cash together and start their own company, and they wanted Herm to be president.  That was the beginning of the Inland Container Corporation, which would end up to be the 2nd largest container manufacturing corporation in the country.

If you walk the campus of Purdue University, you will find Herm’s name in many places.  Most noticeable, there is the Herman Krannert School of Management.

Herm was a man of rock-solid integrity.  We respect people with such a quality.  We also respect one of the most important ingredients we need to achieve and sustain our integrity…COURAGE!

Posted: May 17, 2024 | Categories: Management, Self-Improvement

“Success in business is a series of steps”

– Rodger Ford: Founder of Alpha Graphics

Would you care to guess what percentage of multi-million dollar lottery winners go bankrupt in the first 3-5 years?  If you guessed 40%, you are correct!  How could that be?  People who have and keep money have developed the habits and discipline of being good managers of money.  Those who win the big jackpot are often not the best stewards of their resources.  If we want to succeed, we need to “crawl before we can walk”.  For any worthwhile achievement there are steps involved and we must work through each one.

When I was an infant, I never went through the crawling stage.  I just went right to walking.  Who wants to crawl when you can walk?  It turns out that jumping the gun was a bad move.  When a baby crawls, he or she gets used to putting one hand in front of another.  That is important, because when we do walk we will have many a fall, and we need to instinctively put our hands out to protect ourselves from bashing our head.  I had to wear a football helmet for nearly a year.  I had leap-frogged over in important step in development and I suffered.

As Americans, we want what we want and we want it fast! Before we can succeed we need to painstakingly go through each important phase.  A good plumber was once an apprentice.  A major-leaguer was once in the low-paying minors.  Whatever we want, there are stages and steps involved.  We must be patient and focused to thoroughly complete each step.  If we do, we can look back with pride about all the grit we put in along the way.  What is your next step?

Posted: May 7, 2024 | Categories: Leadership, Self-Improvement, Team Building

“Seek first to understand” – Stephen Covey

The above quote is from the late self-help author and trainer Stephen Covey.  This vital piece of the Golden Rule can serve us royally:

Two days ago I experienced a touching example of this powerful principle.  My wife and I were visiting our son and grandson.  Little 3-year old Levi was not having a good day.  He was cranky, defiant, and exhibiting unpleasant behavior.   Normally, he is cheerful and happy.  That night my son went through his normal routine of reading Levi a story and putting him to bed.  At around 3am, my son was awakened by Levi.  He was standing right next to David.  For the first time, Levi had crawled out of his crib.  A whole new era began!

The next morning Levi and his Dad worked together to convert his crib into a bed.  Then Levi asked his Dad, “Does this mean I can’t be your son anymore?”  WOW!  That is a show stopper.  Now we could see why his behavior was so conflicted.  He knew he needed to give up his crib, but he didn’t want to give up his Dad with it.  A warm, quality conversation followed, and Levi, his attitude, and behavior were back on track.

As I reflected on this story, I realized that, even though we are not 3 years old, we can relate to Levi.  When we know we need to move forward and undergo change, it can create an inner conflict.  If the source of this conflict is not discovered, hurt and misunderstanding can occur.  Seek first to understand.  When we do, barriers are removed, trust is strengthened, and we move forward!

Posted: April 17, 2024 | Categories: Presentation skills, Sales

A friend of mine is a marketing specialist.  We were talking about what makes businesses rise above the crowd and it brought to mind an experience I had 30 years ago when looking for a family photographer:

It was in the fall, and our family consisted of my wife and two boys, ages 6 & 8.  We wanted to have a picture of our family that we could enjoy in our den every day.  There were many vendors to choose from, and we were starting to get overwhelmed.  We were anxious to get something scheduled, and I decided to start asking the question, “What makes your work special?”  Some struggled with that question.  Then we met Jane and Jim, a couple who owned their own studio and seemed to love what they do.  To my question, they replied, “Other photographers take a picture of where you are at.  We take a picture of who you are”.  WOW!  That was just what we wanted!  Sold!

Jane and Jim did take our picture in a park setting among the colored fallen leaves.  We have this picture in our den and we enjoy it every day.  It is our favorite.

Jane and Jim were a part of a common profession.  Their work and the way they sold it was uncommon.  They were passionate about their work and they were able to communicate why.

Think of your product or service:  What do you do that makes you stand out above your competition?  How well do you  communicate it?  The loyalty and enthusiasm of our customers starts with us!

Posted: April 3, 2024 | Categories: Customer service, Presentation skills

As a customer, have you ever had an interaction from a company representative that left you with a “bad taste in your mouth”?  Something in the words, tone of voice, or body language didn’t set right with you, and you felt ourselves pulling away.  This type of situation can often be the beginning of the end to a good relationship.

I had such an experience at the beginning of this year.  It was New Year’s Day, and my wife and I decided to take a walk in a private nature preserve that we had been going to for nearly 50 years.  Not only is this a special place, we are dues-paying members.

Joyce and I had just completed a walk on one of the trails, and we were sitting in our car sipping coffee.  An official vehicle pulled up beside us, and the security agent motioned to me to roll down my window.  He said, “You can’t park here.  There is a special event planned.  Did you see the sign?”  No, we didn’t see the sign, and if we had, we wouldn’t be there.  We left.  Afterwards, I kept thinking of how we were approached.  What if he had begun in a more friendly way?  For example, he could have said, “Hello folks.  You two look like you been here before”.  We would  have replied saying about how long we had been coming here, and how much we love the place.  Next, the security person could have said, “As much as I hate to, I have to tell you we are having a special event here in 30 minutes, and this section is closed.  Here are the areas that are open.  I am sorry to interrupt your visit.”  If he had said this in a friendly way, we would have understood and been OK with it.  Because of his abrupt approach, he left us disappointed with our visit.

Here are the stats regarding why customers leave:

• 15%  Quality problems
• 15%  Price
• 70%  Disliked the human side of doing business with the previous product or service

Our membership renewal will come up in September.  Normally, I would not have given a second thought to staying a member.  Now, I am not so sure.  Here is the message:  When you have to confront, begin in a friendly way.  The person you are talking to will almost always be more friendly and understanding.