Posted: March 10, 2025 | Categories: Customer service, Leadership, Sales, Self-Improvement, Team Building

I graduated from college in 1971, and began my career as a manager in the hospitality business.  One thing I learned quickly was that to enjoy my work in the hotel business, my team and I needed strong interpersonal skills.  If we believe that 1% of the population is not friendly or likeable, that means we would encounter two such people each day if we had 200 guests.

My first test with a carmudgeon involved Mr. Kramer.  He would check in very demanding and was quick to complain if he didn’t get fast enough service or special treatment.  Before long, my entire staff was upset because of having to deal with Mr. Kramer.  He wasn’t cruel or insulting…just a pain in the neck,

.Since Mr. Kramer came often, I knew I needed to find a way to get Mr. Kramer’s behavior to a palatable level.  I thought of an idea:  Since Mr. Kramer is not friendly, he is probably used to not getting the best service.  Why not turn that around?

To begin this effort, I began impersonating Mr. Kramer.  (I was pretty good at it!).  When a staff member made a mistake or needed re-direction, I would talk to them in Mr. Kramer’s voice.  We began to have so much fun with the routine that we all began to truly look forward to Mr Kramer’s next visit.  We were excited to talk to the real Mr. Kramer.  He wasn’t used to this kind of treatment.  He changed his tune, and before long we discovered his sense of humor, and it was a good one.

In addition to making our work environment more enjoyable, Mr. Kramer gave us numerous referrals.  He told his friends, “This is the place you want to stay”.

The next time you have to work with someone like Mr. Kramer, remember, like you and I, that person wants to feel important.  If make them feel important, you will greatly increase your odds of making things better.

Posted: February 17, 2025 | Categories: Leadership, Management, Team Building

It was June of 1974, and I began my new job as manager of a hotel in Suburban Chicago.  It was exciting and new, and I wanted to get started building a winning team.  I soon became aware of a situation that needed to be changed and I knew making the change would not be popular.  It dealt with payroll:  Paychecks were issued weekly, and we didn’t have a payroll service.  I knew we needed to change to bi-weekly, and I realized that if employees had their choice of weekly or bi-weekly, they would choose weekly.

I thought about my options and decided to make an announcement on July 1st that on January 1st we would be going to bi-weekly.  This would give the team ample time to make any adjustments as a result of this change.

After I made the announcement, one person came up to me and expressed their disapproval.  I empathized with them and mentioned that I was giving a 6-month lead time for each person to adapt.  Also, if they found the new policy unacceptable they would have ample time to find a new job.  From that point on, there was no further discussion.  Soon the concerns had passed, and when we came to January 1st, everything went smoothly.

I can’t help but think of what would have happened if I had announced the change effective immediately.  There would have probably been some resentment, and resentment can grow and fester.

Here is my suggestion:  If you need to make a change that is disruptive of normal routine, allow sufficient time for processing.  You will have more buy-in and less resentment.

Posted: February 7, 2025 | Categories: Leadership, Self-Improvement, Team Building

35 years ago this month, I walked into a local Chamber of Commerce with the goal of getting situated in an unfamiliar community.  Making this visit proved to be a turning point in my life.  It was Linda who greeted me first.  Then she introduced me to Bob, the director.  His welcome smile and genuine interest in me radiated.  I eagerly signed up as a new member and walked away feeling like a rock star.

From this point on, Bob became one of my biggest mentors.  He was my cheerleader, my advocate, and a strong coach.  When I say strong coach, I mean it:

Bob would also not let me sell myself short.  One time I was present in an early morning committee meeting. I made a wisecrack comment.  Somebody had brought bagels and all of us tied into them.  I said, “Nobody knows if people like bagels, because when they are put in front of us, we are usually so hungry we could eat dirt.”  In front of the whole group, Bob called me out and said, “You have disappointed us, Steve.  We count on you for your kindness and positive attitude.  You fell short with that remark.”  Ouch!  Battleship hit!  He was right.  Bob had my trust and I knew he was my supporter and would not let me fall short.  I grew from his comment. He was giving me a reputation to live up to.  If anyone else other that Bob had made that comment, I probably would not have taken it well.

Bob passed away last month at the age of 98.  His passing left his town in mourning.  There are streets and buildings named after him.  He was kind and generous.  To me, he was a marvelous leader who made me believe in myself and always use my strengths.  The two qualities? Building trust and respect.

Posted: December 16, 2024 | Categories: Customer service, Leadership, Self-Improvement, Team Building

Every Friday evening, my wife and I look forward to doing our weekly grocery shopping together.  Our kids are grown and on their own, and Friday evenings are an event.

Last Friday we were ready to go to the checkout lane, and we chose the self-checkout.  Joyce likes this option better because it is easier to follow along to make sure all the prices are correct.  The only problem was, this time we had a fully loaded grocery cart that was way over the limit for the self-checkout lane.  One of the regular checkers saw our cart and came over to say, “I have no line right now.  Would you like me to check you out?”  She was polite.  She could have interfered by saying we had too many items for the self-checkout, but she didn’t.  Joyce thanked her for the offer and gently declined.

When this happened, I found myself getting irritated:  It was embarrassing.  We should have accepted the offer of help and moved to the appropriate checkout lane.  I managed to stay calm, but no doubt Joyce could tell from my facial expression that I was upset.  I could feel some tension.  Then, I took a step back in my mind and gave it some thought:

Putting myself in Joyce’s shoes, I realized that she was doing what she has always done.  She knows how to get the most from our food dollar, and that is a lot of work these days!  We must clip coupons on each website, carry our smartphone and make sure we have selected the right item and in the right quantity.  Thanks to Joyce and her good planning, we have managed out finances well.

I told her of my concern, and quickly acknowledged that I understood she was just doing her work to get the most from our dollars.

Stephen Covey says:  “Seek first to understand”.  Let me add one more maxim:  “Sometimes it is better to let a little wrong live than a lot  of love die!”

Posted: December 6, 2024 | Categories: Leadership, Management, Self-Improvement, Team Building

This morning I was talking with a client who had just navigated herself through a crisis.  She was hosting a big event and just before the event was to take place, she discovered that one of the three team members was missing a certification, and the event could not proceed until this problem had been solved.  Sara responded quickly, and was able to find someone with the proper certification to lead the event.  She didn’t panic…she acted.

Shortly after I began my career, I heard an axiom that I have never forgotten:  “If we are suddenly in a crisis situation, we will respond in the manner in which we have been trained.”  If we haven’t had training, we will panic.

One of my favorite examples of how strong training can pay off happened on July 20, 1969.  Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin had just landed on the moon.  It was a thrilling moment in US history.  Later on, we learned that the astronauts had a mechanical problem after landing.  They discovered a broken circuit breaker switch on the Lunar Module.  The switch was needed to send power to the ascent engine.  If they failed to fix it, they would have remained on the moon!

Keeping a cool head, Armstrong and Aldrin used a small, felt-tipped pen to fix the broken switch.  It worked!  They returned safely to the Command Module.

Think of your own business or organization.  Do you need to host a CPR class or a fire drill?  Are you prepared to have your wits about you in a panic situation?  If there is something we need to do to be more prepared, we need to take action!