No. 7 July 2013

I know you read the headlines in 2012 about Ron Johnson, the Apple vice president, who was hired away from Apple to become the president of J.C. Penney (“Penney”). By the spring of 2013, he was gone — fired by the Penney board of directors. I wanted to find out why, because I was sure there were some good business lessons to be learned. As it turns out, there is much to be learned from what Johnson did and did not do at Penney.

When Johnson arrived at Penney, he found a culture of sales, markdowns and coupons — exactly the opposite of Apple’s culture of high prices and a very high level of service to go with it. In Penney’s culture, I’m sure Johnson saw that constantly changing prices in the stores took lots of manual labor. At Apple, there were no surprises in margins and gross profit, managing to budgets was easier, and there was more efficiency throughout the enterprise. Inventories were stable at Apple, and there were no whiplash effects of selling thousands of an item one week and none the next week because of discounting and coupons.

The interesting fact was that Penney customers were actually not paying less in the old culture. Penney just kept raising prices and then discounted those prices during promotions. The average markdown was 50 percent. Low consumer prices were really a mirage. But Penney customers were conditioned to wait for deals and sales, partially because they did not have a good sense of what an item was really worth.

Alexander Chernev, a professor at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, summed up the faults in Johnson’s strategy this way: “By going to everyday low and ‘fair’ pricing with a single non-discountable price, Johnson assumed consumers have some context for how much items should cost. But they don’t. Penney might say it’s a fair price, but why should consumers trust Penney?” Chernev asked. “At the end of the day, people don’t want a fair price. They want a great deal. Consumers infer that they get a great deal based on the reference point provided by the higher, presale price. Social scientists refer to this idea as anchoring, and it applies to all sorts of consumer behavior and expectations. Without that anchor, consumers have trouble determining whether the store is actually giving them a good price.”

A Journal of Retailing study says, “Even the words a retailer uses in its marketing can affect how a customer judges a deal — ‘sale’ or ‘special’ leads people to think the item has a high value, but a straight markdown leads them to think it’s a cheaper item.”

In the old Penney culture, limited-time sales lured customers into the stores, which was very important because Penney doesn’t have a differentiated, high-value product like Apple. Also, coupons were effective in drawing in a broader consumer base — one shopper to buy at a high price, and a more price-sensitive shopper to buy the same item at a lower price.

Which retailers have been able to make everyday low pricing successful? Those that take narrow profit margins like Costco and Wal-Mart. Costco almost never runs sales and doesn’t adjust prices much, but it depends a great deal on annual membership fees for profit. Wal-Mart makes up for low margins with huge volumes of customers that come to its stores. But there was no such clarity at Penney. Penney told its customers to expect low prices — but not the lowest prices. Penney could not communicate exactly how much its shoppers were saving with everyday low pricing, and regular Penney shoppers became confused and stayed away.

Now, we’re reading that Penney employee layoffs have affected employee morale at Penney. Will good customer service be the next thing to go away at Penney?

Harvey Mackay reminds us that one of the most important things employees can remember when they come to work every day is “that their primary job is to provide incredible customer service.” That’s the culture you want in your business.

Mackay goes on to say, “Perhaps the simplest way of creating a service culture is a variation of the golden rule: Treat your customers as you wish to be treated.  Make your customers excited that you’re in business. Make them grateful that they have the opportunity to buy your services and products. Make them feel like they are your most important client. Make your service so outstanding that they wouldn’t even think of doing business with anyone else. And then find a way to make your service even better! Remember: Customer service is not a department, it’s everyone’s job.”

No. 6 June 2013

Many businesses with low-cost production, operating or selling cost advantages automatically charge lower selling prices. But many businesses with low-cost advantages invest that extra margin to create competitive advantages. Mars (the candy company) is a great example of a company investing extra margin to create competitive advantages against a larger rival. Here’s part of an article I recently read about Mars’ strategy to create a competitive advantage.

“Since the 1980s, Mars has held a distinct cost advantage over Hershey’s in candy bars. Mars chose to structure its range of candy bars so that they can be produced on a single super-high-speed production line. The company also utilizes less-expensive ingredients (by and large). Both of these choices greatly reduce product cost. Hershey’s and other competitors have multiple methods of production and more-expensive ingredients and hence higher cost structures. Rather than selling its bars at a lower price, Mars has chosen to buy the best shelf space in the candy bar rack in every convenience store in America. Hershey’s can’t effectively counter the Mars initiative; it simply doesn’t have the extra money to spend. On the strength of this investment, Mars moved from a small player to goliath, Hershey’s main rival, competing for overall market share leadership.”

Two other good points the author made: “(1) You don’t get to be a cost leader by producing your product or service exactly as your competitors do, and you don’t get to be a differentiator by trying to produce a product or service identical to your competitors.” (Sounds like common sense to me.) “(2) Many companies like to describe themselves as winning through operational effectiveness or customer intimacy. These sound like good ideas, but if they don’t translate into a genuinely lower cost structure or higher prices from customers, they aren’t really strategies worth having.” (Why have strategies if they don’t give you the results you need to operate more efficiently or profitably?)

When you need a little humor in your life, remember the name of writer and humorist Joyce Wadler. When you see her name on a blog or an article, get ready for a treat! Here’s a “taste” of her style and humor from an excerpt from a piece she wrote February 28 for The New York Times, called “On the Road, With Mothers.” Her humor still brings a smile.

“I went on a road trip with my mother in Northern California a few years back, and if you were heading down the mountain on Route 101, you probably remember us. That’s because cars were lined up behind us for at least three miles. Once in a while, a driver would become so unhinged driving 35 miles per hour for 40 miles he would hit the gas hard in a no-pass zone, risking death in a ravine -- an option, after being on the road for four days with my mother, I was wistfully considering myself.

“I’ve have been thinking of writing a book, ‘How to Travel With Your Mother,’ but it would be a very short book. That is because my tip is: Don’t. Do not ever travel with your mother.  Unless maybe you are disposing of her ashes.  And even then, there’s a good chance you will hear her voice in your head: ‘You packed the box with my ashes without double wrapping it in Saran Wrap and putting it in a baggie? Look at this box, it’s cardboard, it’s nothing. What if I spill all over this suitcase? By the way, how are you planning to do this? If there’s a wind, make sure it’s not blowing at you, and when you open the box, make sure you don’t pour it over your head.’”

What does your brand stand for? Seth Godin, considered by many a marketing genius, says if you told him your “brand stands for service and quality and customer focus, you haven’t answered his question, because a hundred other brands stand for that. If you are what others are, then there’s nothing to own or protect or build upon. Hyatt, Marriott, Hilton…they don’t stand for anything, do they? They can’t, because they stand for precisely the same thing. Puma vs. Adidas vs. Nike…they all want to stand for winning. How substantial are the differences? Make your own list of differences and the extremes for your brand, and start with that. A brand that stands for what all brands stand for, stands for nothing much.”

Objection from a former sailor to a newspaper editor regarding comments people make about our President and our Congress: “To the editor: I object and take exception to everyone saying that Obama and Congress are spending money like a drunken sailor. As a former drunken sailor, I quit when I ran out of money. Bruce L. Hargraves, USN Retired.” I hope that brought a smile.

In case you were wondering, the least popular clothing color in 2012 was…manatee gray! Supposedly, it was a real color choice, but I hope the person who chose it to use in a ladies clothing line has a different job today. Picture, if you would, a manatee gray dress and the lady wearing it, or a manatee gray car and the person driving it. Are you smiling yet?

No. 5 May 2013

Was March colder than usual in your part of the country?   According to Weather Trends International, March 2013 was the coldest March in the U.S. in 17 years, with the most snowfall in 20 years.  Consumers stayed home and retailers “took it on the chin,” gas prices remained high, the job market remained tepid at best, and consumer confidence remained low. 

In March 2012, our sales were booming, flowers and trees were blooming, grass was growing and the temperatures were warm.  In March 2013, none of the above occurred. April arrived, and finally trees begin budding out, crocuses and daffodils broke through the soil crust, our days and nights warmed up and our grass needed cutting.  But the sad fact, at least for our business, is that those lost sales in March are gone forever and we won’t make them back in the coming months.

If we want a good laugh, we look at the budget numbers for March and April of 2013.  Controlling overhead and labor becomes even more crucial with lower year-to-date sales.  It means once again choosing the battles to wage that you can win; controlling those things that you can control; and not worrying about those things you have no control over.  My mantra is that every year is different than the year before and always different than what you plan for.  Use the wisdom you’ve gained over the years to manage your business for success and profit.  And know that in 2014 spring will be later or earlier than you’ve planned for.  It’s just the “nature” of the business (pun intended.)

One of the most important things a leader, owner or manager can do is listen to people inside their business.  Here’s a short version of a true story that illustrates the importance of listening to, caring about and complimenting the success of your employees:

Demoralized, workers at a manufacturing plant came to work every day putting in eight hours in “robot mode.”  The company was near bankruptcy and workers shut down their minds and bodies once the “start button” was pushed until someone hit the stop button at the end of the day.  A larger company acquired the plant in 2005 and began implementing a 7S lean program. 

Chris, a machinist with the company for 15 years, explained what happened to him and other workers.  “I participated in my first 7S event, our process to improve workplace organization,” he explained.  “On day one I just sat there, still acting like a robot.  But by the third day of the event, I could see that they actually cared what I thought.  I was able to get some extra tools and racks for my machine that I had needed for the last five years.  For the first time, I was allowed to make my work easier, cleaner, and safer.  Once I got started I didn’t want to stop improving my work environment.  People began coming over to my area and complimenting me on how great it looked.  That might have been the first compliment I received at work in five years.”

“A few months later, our continuous improvement leaders asked for volunteers willing to learn how to lead 7S events.  I jumped at the chance and found myself in a company-wide leadership development program alongside directors and department leaders.  I learned so much and realized how many people in this company wanted to make it better.  I became part of creating the most organized machine shop in the company.  Our customers come through and tell us how impressed they are.”

A VP of the acquiring company had this to say about the transformation of Chris and his fellow workers: “Chris had so much more to offer the business than he was allowed to give.  The old company had been paying for Chris’s (and his fellow workers’) hands for years when they would have given their heads and heart for free if the old company had known how to ask.

The tools of ‘lean’ coupled with people-centric leadership allow us to ask those at the front lines to engage their heads and hearts in meaningful work.  We ask them to partner with us in pursuit of our shared vision.  We recognize and celebrate their contributions.  They see that what they do matters and who they are matters.  We are stewards of each life that comes under our care through our leadership.  We owe them much more than work that turns them into robots.” 

Make sure that your employees’ heads and hearts are engaged in creating success for your business.  And that they are recognized for it.  Your customers and your profits will both benefit greatly.

No. 4 April 2013

Daniel Pink says in his new book “To Sell is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others,” that “in the U.S., 40% of the time we spend at work, even in a non-sales job, is spent in a ‘non-sales selling process’ involving persuading, influencing, motivating and convincing others, in ways that don’t necessarily involve the purchase of a product in the end.” 

For example, you could be pitching an idea to your boss, or trying to motivate employees to get on board with a new initiative, or getting a customer to act on your recommendations.  These “selling activities” go on all the time in the workplace.

Pink notes how “for an increasing number of businesses, there are no salespeople – or at least, no dedicated salespeople with that job title.  Instead every aspect of delivering the product or service is part of the sales process, built on the simple idea that if customers are served well, they will do more business in the future and refer friends, family and colleagues to do the same.”  As a result, everyone in the business should have a skillset that includes service and at least some selling or persuading skills.

Pink says “the world is shifting from ‘caveat emptor’ – where the buyer must be wary of being taken advantage of by a more knowledgeable seller – to a world of ‘caveat venditor’ where the seller must beware because businesses that serve buyers poorly will lose referrals and growth to those that treat their customers well.” 

“More than ever, effective sellers must be aware and understanding of the needs, concerns and interests of the customers they are working with.”  Pink suggests “this skill of ‘attunement’ and being able to see the world from the perspective of the customer will be a key selling skill for the 21^st century.”

Pink also gives credence “to how the ‘science’ of selling, motivating and persuasion really works.”  For example, “we find recommendations and statements more convincing when they rhyme; granular numbers are more credible than coarse numbers (i.e. we think devices with a battery life up to 120 minutes will last longer than those with a battery life up to 2 hours!); and we work harder when we feel a more personal connection (i.e. radiologists catch problems more often on X-ray scans that are accompanied by a picture of the patient.)”

Reading “To Sell is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others,” won’t make you a super salesperson.  But it will help you manage the selling challenge you and I face every day in our businesses.  Remember that we use critical selling skills each time we persuade, influence, motivate or convince our employee’s, co-workers or bosses to agree with our conclusions and beliefs.

Did you know a loyal customer is worth a whole lot more to you over time than a satisfied customer?  Customer satisfaction remains a “must-do,” but the most important questions are ”Would the customer recommend you to someone else?  Would they “hire” you again?”  Don’t forget that the value of a returning loyal customer is huge especially when compared to the cost of obtaining a brand new customer and earning that person’s loyalty.

I wanted to share a few very interesting thoughts from Thomas Friedman’s March 5 Blog about today’s college students and how the business world views them. Talking about college students, Friedman said, “the world does not care what you know.  Everything is on Google.  The world only cares, and will only pay for, what you can do with what you know.  Therefore it will not pay for a C+ in chemistry, just because your state college considers that a passing grade and was willing to give you a diploma that says so.  We’re moving to a more competency-based world where there will be less interest in how you acquired the competency – in an online course, at a four-year college or in a company-administered class – and more demand to prove that you mastered the competency.” 

Don’t forget Friedman’s simple but very true statement: “The world only cares and will only pay for what you can do with what you know.”   Bet on it.

No. 3 March 2013

Growing a business is a subject most business owners are quite interested in.  Curtis Alexander, a business growth strategist www.curtismalexander.com wrote an interesting article recently about why some businesses grow and others remain stagnant. 

Alexander proposed in his article that there are only three ways to grow a business: “(1) Get more customers.  (2) Get those customers to spend more each time they buy.  (3) And get those customers to buy more often.”  He goes on to state that “if you optimize each of the three drivers by 10%, you will end up with a 33.1 percent overall increase in revenue.”   Here’s his math:  “If you have 10,000 customers, each buying $500.00 per purchase per year times 2 purchases per year equals $10 million in yearly revenue.  Now boost each driver by 10% resulting in this new math:  11,000 customers each buying $550.00 per purchase times 2.2 purchases per year equals $13,310,000 or a 33.1% increase in revenue per year.”  Whether you use these numbers or use your own business’s numbers, Alexander concludes that “this is the power of small, incremental optimization.”

But wait a minute, you say.  How am I possibly going to be able to grow 10% in each of these areas?  Alexander’s answer is this:  “I don’t know one way to grow a business 100 percent a year.  But I do know 100 ways to grow a business by 1 percent a year.  Add those up and you have a big improvement.  The trick is to take your blinders off and realize that you don’t have to invent anything new.  You just have to do lots of little things better, more efficiently, and more profitably.”  For instance, are you running your most successful ads in many different media outlets?  And not rerunning ineffective ads?  Are you quickly following up new customer leads?  Do you need to experiment with a selling price?  Sometimes increasing a price will increase sales better than lowering a price.  Can you bundle another complementary product with a current offering to increase interest or the impression of better value?  If you held a sales training class for some of your employees, would they sell more as a result?”

Opportunities abound to grow your business.  It means looking for growth opportunities all the time in order to do lots of little things better, more efficiently and more profitably.  The results on your “top line” and your “bottom line” might just surprise you.

Richard Branson, founder and chairman of Virgin Group, said that “my mother always taught him never to look back in regret but to move on to the next thing.”  He said what amazes him is “the amount of time people waste dwelling on failures rather than putting that energy into another project...  A setback is never a bad experience, just a learning curve."  Another way of saying this is if you have a setback or make a mistake, seize the opportunity to be educated.

Harvey MacKay also thinks making mistakes is a great learning opportunity.  He says, “To be successful, you must come to terms with the notion that you will make mistakes.  In fact, you often need to increase your failures to become more successful.  Mistakes don't make you a failure. I always say, if you want to triple your success ratio, you might have to triple your failure rate.

             

Mistakes are okay as long as you learn from them and don't repeat them.  As Confucius said, ‘A man who has made a mistake and doesn't correct it is making another mistake.’   I say it a little differently:  One mistake will never kill you.  The same mistake over and over will.

             

This concept is perfectly illustrated in the story of the fellow who was explaining to his neighbor how he got a burn on his right ear.   ‘I was getting ready to iron my shirts and the phone rang.  I picked up the iron by mistake.’

             

The neighbor replied, ‘Well, then, how did you burn your left ear?’

            

‘The same guy called back five minutes later.’”

Remember, if you learn from your mistakes, one ear will always remain unburned.

No. 2 February 2013

On January 15, 1995, concerned about changes occurring in the outdoor power equipment industry, I decided to write something I could give to my employees to read that would help them understand that change creates opportunities for us to take advantage of as a company.  And that change, as scary and threatening as it might be, could often have a very positive affect on our company.  I want to share this statement about change with you, because I think it is as valid in 2013 as it was in 1995.

“Each morning, over your first cup of coffee, you cringe at the thought of what you will hear this day about more changes in an industry where change seems constant.  You feel comfortable that you’re running your business fairly well.  While there’s always room for improvement, you try to take care of your customers extremely well.  You provide them a service or product that’s good enough for them to pay you a profit for providing it.  You also realize that nobody “owns their customers anymore.”  And that you are only as good as your last performance.  If it was lousy, your customer will simply turn to someone else, so you always try to exceed your customer’s expectations.  Today, you’re confident about your business abilities, but you have some fear about tomorrow and the changes that will most certainly affect you in the future.  How should you respond to them?

In past years a strong and stable company was one that never changed.  Today, a strong, stable company is one that constantly changes; that takes advantage of every opportunity that change presents; and uses every opportunity to move forward in a positive manner.

Alexander Graham Bell best stated what our normal reaction to change is, when he said: ‘When one door closes, another always opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.’  You can’t keep your eyes shut, or have tunnel vision.  You have to see and recognize the opportunities as they are presented to you.  And that may take some work on your part.

You recognize opportunities by staying informed about what is going on in your industry.  You read trade publications.  You talk to informed, knowledgeable people.  You attend industry meetings and trade shows.  And you listen better than you ever have before.  Informed knowledge gives you the opportunities; opportunities give you options; and options give you choices.  Then it’s up to you.

Don’t worry, as you ponder your choices, that many may seem of little consequence, or too complex, or that you might make the wrong decision.  One of the most important things in the world for you to know is not where you stand today, but in what direction you are moving for tomorrow.

See your opportunities and make your informed choices.  Then with a passion you didn’t know you had, focus yourself and your associates on relentlessly pursuing your vision.  Only you have the power to make it happen in your business.  Don’t ever get caught looking so longingly and regretfully on the closed door, that you can’t see the opportunities presented by the new door that opened!”

Have you been accused of thinking “outside the box.”  I always thought I did a lot of thinking “in the corners of the box,” which always felt like a good place to be and a lot safer than “outside the box.”   Either way, thinking differently than others can often be unsettling or appear as though you’re challenging the “status-quo,” which potentially could make supplier or customer relationships more difficult than they should be.  So we learn (at least most of us) to restrain our thoughts and opinions and share them at the appropriate times. 

But you must never stop challenging the status quo and thinking about new and better ways to manage your business and improve the quality of the business channel you’re a part of.  As Benjamin Franklin said, “If everyone is thinking alike, then no one is thinking.”  Think about that.

No. 1 January 2013

Did you make a New Year's Resolution for 2013?  Did you keep it any longer than 2012's New Year's Resolution?

It's been a few years since I've even bothered making a New Year's Resolution.  Of course, I'm the guy who's reached the age New Year's Eve means going to bed at the usual time, unless I'm at a party.  And even then it's a struggle keeping my eyes open until midnight.  You may have experienced the very same "symptoms."

But I like New Years Day and always have.  There's something special about beginning the New Year with another opportunity to make a positive difference in the lives of others, whether they be family, friends or employees.  The feeling should be that it's the first bright new day of the New Year.  And that's a good feeling because opportunities abound.  Yeah, we had our ups and downs in 2012.  But that was yesterday.  Just remember not to spend a lot of time looking back at last year, because "back" is not the direction you want to be going in 2013.  Moving forward should be your focus. 

I suppose the most important thing to remember for 2013 is that doing things the same way you have always done them will not change your results for the better.  So shake things up.  Do things better and differently.  If it doesn't work out, try something else.  Have a goal and focus on it for 2013.  You can make it happen.  You can make a difference.  And always remember that smiling is contagious.

"Showrooming" is a relatively new word in the world of retail sales that I told you about a few months ago.  "Showrooming" occurs when someone walks into a retail store, has a clerk demonstrate the features of various products, and then, when they return home or even while they are on the retail floor, they will shop the item they want online, looking for a better price.

Best Buy, in particular, has been really affected by "showrooming."  It is combating this by having sales reps with tablets meet customers as they enter the store.  The sales reps then escort the customers throughout the store as they compare specs on product models that interest them, allow the customers to experience and use the features on the models they like best, and then consummate the sale on the spot.  If the product isn't in stock, the clerk can arrange for same-day in-store pickup using Best Buy's existing warehousing infrastructure or offer home delivery.

Enhanced customer service in the form of knowledgeable salespeople is how retailers are differentiating themselves from online e-tailers.  I can buy an Apple computer online directly from Apple.  But if I purchase the Apple computer directly from a near-by Apple store, I can get all the hand-holding and knowledge transfer that will really make me comfortable with the purchase. 

Because retailers are facing pressure from two directions, Walmart's low prices and Amazon's e-commerce driven convenience, they are reinventing themselves by embracing "omni-channel commerce."  "Omni-channel commerce" aims to deliver a seamless consumer shopping experience through all available channels - i.e. mobile devices, personal computers, brick-and-mortar stores, catalogs, and newer shopping channels yet to come. 

Why am I sharing this with you?  Because you need to know what is happening and what is changing in the retail channel.  When you read that big-box retailers are focusing on enhanced customer service and extremely knowledgeable sales people, you know that you have already been offering these services to your customers for many years.  You already know these are competitive advantages for you.  Focus most on what you do well or should be doing well.  You'll be surprised at the results.

Harvey Mackay suggested in a December Blog that every company should have a Santa Claus attitude.  I wanted to share a few of these Santa Claus attributes with you, because they'll serve you well in your business.  Santa Claus has a great reputation.  He is a magnanimous soul who stands for goodness and generosity.  Santa Claus is a great listener.  He pays very close attention to what you want.  Santa Claus has a great smile.  You know how important I think "smiling" is!  Santa Claus has humility.  He never takes credit for all the happiness he spreads.  Santa Claus has enthusiasm.  He does the same job year after year.  He's a pro.  Wow, let's all be a pro and be the best we can be for 2013.

No. 12 December 2012

I remember the Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners that Mom would fix for our family of four plus six to eight relatives that lived nearby.  They really weren’t “dinners” so much as they were “feasts,” in the Roman meaning of the word.  An immense amount of delicious food, including occasionally, dreaded brussel-sprouts or creamed pearl onions that my brother and I always said we didn’t like, but gobbled up along with everything else, because all the food tasted so good. 

What made up a typical Holiday “feast?”  For starters, it was a roasted turkey pulled out of the oven about an hour before dinner, and carved shortly thereafter.  There was always a wonderful sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes and turkey giblet gravy, luscious cranberry salad with nuts and real cranberries in it; regular cranberry sauce; a plate of stuffed celery; southern style green beans; the aforementioned creamed pearl onions; an orange Jell-O salad with mandarin oranges; LeSeur baby green peas; a platter of Honey Baked Ham slices; warm rolls right out of the oven; and a platter of different types of pickles and olives. Once a serving plate or bowl was placed on the table, many believed that every spoonful taken out was magically replaced by an additional spoonful in the bottom of the bowl or plate making it virtually impossible to empty!.  I never believed that, but we did wonder sometimes.  Once you ate all you could, there was never room for desert, so desert was planned for several hours later (not that there would be any more room then either.). 

Next it was time for someone to be the first to get up from the table.  Moving is a very difficult thing to do after a big meal.  It seems like a nice concept, but it takes a huge effort to accomplish.  I’d look across the table at one of my uncles and wish I could say, “Uncle Bill, drag me over to the big brown sofa and stretch me out on it so I can get a nap.”  I came close to saying that more than once, but ultimately I knew Uncle Bill wanted that spot on the brown sofa as much as I did.  And the race was on!

Desert deserves its own paragraph.  If you peeked at all the homemade desserts that typically appeared before each holiday dinner including a fresh coconut cake, a chocolate cake, an apple pie, a mincemeat pie, a sweet potato pie, a southern-style pecan pie, and vanilla ice cream, you would become so overwhelmed that you would think you were going to pass out.  We were always asked two questions: “What do you want for dessert, or do you want a little bit of everything?”  Can you imagine the size of that plate with a little bit of everything on it?  Someone would have to wash the turkey platter first and use it for “a little bit of everything!”  Memories of wonderful food, visiting relatives and just being with family nourish us year-round.  

During this Holiday season, don’t forget to share your bountiful blessings and food with those less fortunate or suffering from the effects of Hurricane Sandy.  They deserve our assistance, and our prayers.

Good leaders in business have a way of deeply connecting with their employees and co-workers.  One way they do this is by really listening to the people who work for them.  They pay attention to what people are telling them and take it seriously.  They are quick to implement ideas and they are quick to give credit to the person who had the idea.  Likewise, they are willing to accept blame and criticism when mistakes are made.  And they never abandon their employees.

Walter Bemis, in his book “On Becoming a Leader,” details what he believes to be the differences between leaders and managers.  Some are worth mentioning.  “A manager accepts the status quo; a leader challenges it.  A manager relies on control; a leader inspires trust.  A manager has a short-range view; a leader has a long-range perspective.  A manager maintains; a leader develops.  A manager administers; a leader innovates.  A manager focuses on systems and structure; a leader focuses on people.  A manager asks how and when; a leader asks what and why.  And a manager has his eye on the bottom line; a leader has his eye on the horizon.  Read through the list one more time and think about which attributes might improve your leadership abilities.

Harvey Mackay’s recent blog about the effect of good leadership on a business had a terrific quote by a college professor about how one goes about spotting a leader.  The professor said, “I have come to the conclusion that the only way one can determine a leader is to look at the person and…see if anybody is following.”

Happy Holidays.  Be thankful.  Share.  Pray.  And most of all, smile, so someone else will too.

No. 11 November 2012

During the past three years, I’ve learned that grandchildren are the primary reason that most of us lead long lives.  I don’t have any scientific evidence confirming my conclusion.  But I know I’m going to live as long as I possibly can so that I can fully enjoy my grandchildren.  Reading a bedtime story, celebrating a third birthday, going to the beach together, being on the receiving end of the most beautiful smile in the world, or receiving a hug from tiny arms with love from 100% of their little hearts, provides all the reasons we need to live on and on.  And yes, it is true that you can send grandchildren home at the end of a day or the end of a vacation, but now I’m wondering why you would even want to?

In his recently published book, The Trust Edge, Dave Horsager cites a study by Forum Corporation as evidence of the importance of trust in business.  Using hundreds of salespeople from eleven companies in five different industries, Forum Corporation’s investigators found that the unique trait of top producers was honesty – not charisma, ability or knowledge.  Would you have said “honesty” was the key trait of top salespeople?

When we trust people, we are optimistic that they are competent to do what we trust them to do, and they are committed to doing it.  They will be totally honest with a customer even when it is difficult or potentially costly.  Their reputations are more important than any deal.  Horsager believes that this “Trust Edge is the competitive advantage gained when others confidently believe in you!”  That’s a pretty simple and natural way to gain a competitive edge for most sales people.  Try it.

A father called his son to wish him a happy 60th birthday.  As they were talking, the son said, “Dad, you know I’m 60 years old today, but I really don’t feel that old.  How do you know when you are really old?”  The father responded, “Son, you know you are really old when you call your son to wish him a “happy birthday” on his 60th birthday!”   Enough said on that subject.

In 2007, I told my surgeon, Dr. Borden, that he could do whatever he needed to in treating my severe case of prostate cancer because I was planning on living until at least the age of 85.  And that if I didn’t make it, I was going to be really upset with him.  After surgery to remove the cancerous prostate gland, and recovery, followed by seven-and-a-half weeks of almost daily radiation treatment on the surrounding tissues and lymph nodes, I began every cancer survivor’s journey – the journey to keep living.  First monthly, then quarterly and finally every six months, I had my PSA test and then my visit to the surgeon, always hopeful, but never really knowing what he would report to me.  A few days ago, I had my last bi-annual visit in the fifth year after surgery.  And the message was that the PSA (and cancer), as it had over the past five years of visits, remained un-measurable.

Now my visits become annual.  Dr. Borden suggested that after five years of being cancer-free, it was time to celebrate.  I believe I will!

There’s nothing I like better than business competition, because competition has made me and my company better over the years.  We like to always be proactive in offering better or more innovative service than our competition.  And then when the competition finally catches up with us and offers the same, we’ve already moved on to something even better, more innovative or more appreciated by our customers. 

Many competitors can’t compete on quality or innovative service, so they do the only thing they know how to do: cut selling prices.  How do we compete against price cutters?  Want to know my secret?  I can sum it up in one word: patience.  I bet you weren’t expecting that!  Most of our price-cutting competition have disappeared and been “long-gone.”  Make sure your business remains profitable and your customers are delighted with your service.  And I guarantee your business will always survive your price-cutting competition’s business.

There is an old saying in Africa that goes like this: Every morning a gazelle gets up and knows that it must out-run the fastest lion or it will get eaten. And every morning, a lion gets up and knows that it must out-run the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death.

So, whether you are a gazelle or a lion, every morning when you get up, never forget you'd better be running.

No. 10 October 2012

Researchers at the Institute for Aging Research at Albert Einstein College of Medicine questioned 243 people age 100 or older. They found that centenarians tend to share certain personality traits (in addition to other factors, like genetics).

In general, these long-lived people are: “outgoing; positive-minded about other people; full of laughter, open with their emotions; conscientious and disciplined; and unlikely to obsess about anxieties or guilt.  The scientists point out that these characteristics don't necessarily represent a cause and effect relationship.”

They did notice, however, that in many cases the personality traits they observed weren't necessarily lifelong tendencies, but behaviors their subjects learned as they grew older.

Focusing on the good and not worrying about the negatives may have a very positive impact on your overall life expectancy.

Every problem does have a solution.  And sometimes those solutions turn out to be quite creative as the following story indicates:

A woman had traveled about six miles in a taxi when she discovered that she had left her wallet at home.  Realizing that she had a problem, she knew that she had to take some kind of action. So about a block short of her destination she leaned forward and told the driver:  "Stop at this hardware store. I need to buy a flashlight so I can look for the hundred dollar bill that I dropped back here."   When she came out of the hardware store, the taxi was gone.  And her “problem” was solved!

I recently returned from traveling overseas recently for a little more than three weeks with my wife.  Near the end of the trip, our small group was traveling through Estonia, ready to cross over into Russia to visit St. Petersburg for a few days.

Unlike the open and free border crossings between EU members Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, the crossing into Russia was met by gates and fences and a large passport control building.  We sat on our bus waiting for something to happen for about 20 minutes.  We were then instructed by the Russian border agents to remove our primary luggage from under the bus and take it into the building.  Each of us showed our passports to the single agent sitting in his passport control office.  Besides having to have a current passport, the agent was also checking to see if we each had our Russian Visa’s (the only visa needed on the entire trip.) 

Now comes the interesting part. The young lady who was our guide and translator for the entire three weeks was last in line. Once she was processed, the young Russian passport control agent asked her an enlightening question:  “Why are American’s always smiling when they have nothing to smile about?”  She responded that American’s are always happy, enjoy life, and they smile a lot naturally.

We discovered that Russians in particular, and Lithuanians, Latvians, and Estonians young and old alike only smile when they have something to smile about.  Throughout the trip, we realized how much the three Baltic countries and the Russian people suffered under Czarist Russia control, German control during WWII, and Soviet Union control after WWII.  Smiling was a hard thing to do for decades as hundreds of thousands of citizens were killed by the Germans and later the KGB or deported to Siberia. 

Say a prayer tonight for the souls of these brave people killed in the Baltic countries and Russia since 1919, and for the relatively peaceful lives we have lived in this great country we call the United States of America.  We are so lucky to be living here untouched by many of the cruel realities of the world.

Curtis Carlson, founder of the Carlson Companies, spent his life building great businesses. When asked what personal qualities contributed to the building of his successful empire, Curt responded, "I think my success is the result of my ability to see and to imagine how things could be.  I'm not distracted by how things are."  Don’t let “how things are today” keep you from improving and growing your business for success tomorrow.

Having a goal and the vision of what it will take to reach it are important attributes for any business owner or manager.  Share the goal and the vision with your team.  You want them to buy into the dream and to be as excited as you are about being successful and reaching your business goals.  The power of a group of people all focused on reaching the same goal is amazing.  I truly believe anything becomes possible.  Try it and see for yourself.