No. 4 April 2014

We have all been told that if we would only collect more data about our business or our customers or our industry, we would be so much smarter, our marketing would magically become more successful and we would see instant results in revenue growth and satisfied customers.  If you believe that, then you and I need to talk about a bridge I’m selling. 

Jake Sorofman, in a recent HBR.org Blog, states that “Data, alone, isn’t what makes marketing move the needle for business.”  But he does believe that while “data can play a leading role in developing strategy and bringing precision to execution, it does nothing, absolutely nothing – to stir motivation and create the desire that makes cash registers ring.  Data is important, but it is content that makes an emotional connection (with a customer.)  Marketing leaders must remember that true brand intelligence lives at the intersection of head and heart, where the emotional self meets the analytical self.”

Sorofman lists “four strategic leverage points that allow marketers to deliver the right offers and experiences to the right customer at the right time while optimizing engagement and conversion rates.”  The first leverage point is “observing customer behavior to gain new insights.”  The second is “engagement, where you make impersonal brand messages more humanized, resulting in greater customer acceptance.”  The third leverage point is “inspiration, where moments of human insight and perception are captured, indexed, and harvested for strategic advantage.”  And the fourth is “automation, where speed and precision are used to target offers and experiences across channels for continuous optimization based on measured effectiveness.”

If you are so focused on your data that you misjudge or overlook the emotional connection you must make with your customers with your content and message, your marketing efforts will never be fully successful.

We’ve all heard the description used sometimes to describe a person that states, “He or She is a class act!”  Harvey Mackay says that “Class is hard to define, but easy to recognize.  Similarly, the absence of class is easy to detect – and a serious flaw for anyone who aspires to be successful.”

Mackay continues by saying “class is not an ‘act.’  It’s a deep-seated way of life for those who possess it.  Having class involves good manners, politeness, and pride without showboating, empathy, humility, and an abundance of self-control.  The actions of class-act people speak louder than their words.  You can see it in their body language and the way they carry themselves.  Class always shows without being announced.”

“People can tell if you have class by the way you interact with others.  If you have class, you don’t need much of anything else to be a winner.  If you don’t have it, no matter what you do, it won’t make up the difference.  Money, notoriety or success by themselves won’t give you class.  Class comes from within, not from external sources.”

Jack Canfield, in his book The Success Principles, lists some reasons why being a class act helps you succeed.  He writes, “People want to do business with you or become involved in your sphere of influence.  They perceive you as successful and someone who can expand their possibilities.  They trust you to act with responsibility, integrity and aplomb.  Class acts tend to attract people who are at the top of their game.”

So look closely at your network of friends, co-workers, customers and so on.  Are they class acts?  Whether you realize it or not, they are a reflection of you.

Harvey Mackay says “the good news is that if you don’t like what you see, you can change.  Make a decision to recreate yourself as a class act and see what kind of people you start attracting.  Do fewer things, but do them better.  Change your behavior for the better.  Raise the quality of your attitude.  When you have a higher level of personal standards, you get better treatment from everyone around you.  Once you’re a class act, you can say a lot without ever uttering a word.”

No. 3 March 2014

Have you ever written an obituary for your company or brand?  I didn’t think so.  Continue reading to learn the reasons Denise Lee Yohn thinks you should.

In her recent Harvard Business Review (www.hbr.org) Blog, Yohn asked if your company or brand ceased to exist, would anyone care? She went on to ask, “Would journalists write headlines heralding your past achievements, or would their stories simply add you to a list of bygones? Would analysts express disappointment, or would they point to indicators that made your death predictable? Would employees wonder how it could have ended, or would they have known it was inevitable? Would customers mourn your passing, or would the demise of your brand go unnoticed?”

Yohn suggests an exercise for you to do that will help bring clarity to what people perceive is the “essence of your brand or business.” She says, “Think of your brand as though it were a person -- the type of person the brand would be if it came to life today and was executing all that the brand entails with consistent excellence.” Then, “pretend you are a reporter for a local newspaper who must write an obituary for this person, your brand, who just passed away today.”

Here are some questions she says you must answer in this obituary: “What was the person’s (brand’s) biggest accomplishment in life? What will it be remembered for? Who did the brand leave behind? What did the brand leave unaccomplished? Who will mourn or miss the brand, and why? What lessons can be learned from the brand’s life? What can be learned in the wake of its death? Now that the brand is gone, what will take its place?”

“Once you’ve completed the column,” says Yohn, “write a headline to capture the essence of the obituary -- that headline, in turn, often captures the essence of your brand.”

“How do you build the kind of brand that would be missed? How do you carve out such a distinctive position and create such a powerful emotional connection (with your customers)?” adds Yohn. “You drill down to the core of your existence to identify the essential enduring value of your brand -- and then you design and run your business to execute relentlessly on that core brand essence. When what you stand for is clearly expressed and delivered in everything you do, every day, you (will) make an indelible mark on people’s hearts and minds.”

Knowing what you, your business and your brand stand for and delivering that essence of excellence every day will touch your customers in a way that will bring them back to your business, time and time again.

Shane Parrish, in his excellent Farnam Street blog (www.farnamstreetblog.com), tells a story about “The Man Who Never Quit.” You may have heard it in the past, but it’s worth hearing again. It is an amazing story and true.

When he was 7 years old, this young boy’s family was forced out of their home and off their farm. Like other boys his age, he was expected to work to help support the family.

When he was 9, his mother died.

At the age of 22, the company he worked for went bankrupt, and he lost his job.

At 23, he ran for state legislature in a field of 13 candidates. He came in eighth.

At 24, he borrowed money to start a business with a friend. By the end of the year, the business failed. The local sheriff seized his possessions to pay off his debt. His partner soon died, penniless, and he assumed his partner’s share of debt as well. He spent the next several years of his life paying it off.

At 25, he ran for state legislature again. This time, he won.

At 26, he was engaged to be married. But his fiancée died before the wedding. The next year, he plunged into a depression and suffered a nervous breakdown.

At 29, he sought to become the speaker of the state legislature. He was defeated.

At 34, he campaigned for a U.S. congressional seat, representing his district. He lost.

At 35, he ran for Congress again. This time, he won. He went to Washington and did a good job.

At 39, when his term ended, he was out of a job again. There was a one-term-limit rule in his party.

At 40, he tried to get a job as commissioner of the General Land Office. He was rejected.

At 45, he campaigned for the U.S. Senate, representing his state. He lost by six electoral votes.

At 47, he was one of the contenders for the vice-presidential nomination at his party’s national convention. He lost.

At 49, he ran for the same U.S. Senate seat a second time. And for the second time, he lost.

Two years later, at the age of 51, after a lifetime of failure, disappointment and loss (and still relatively unknown outside of his home state of Illinois), Abraham Lincoln was elected the 16th president of the United States.

The next time you consider giving up when faced with setback, consider this story. Imagine how the world would be different today if Lincoln gave up after his first setback…or his second…or his 10th?

No. 2 February 2014

A dealer, who wishes to remain anonymous, recently sent me an email asking if a lot of dealers who are “aging out” of actively running their businesses look to “angels” to buy them out or do they just close up and sell off their assets, especially when one of their kids does not want to take over and continue the business.  He tells me he is the sole family survivor of a family lawnmower shop that went out of business primarily due to a major catastrophic act of nature, and he chose not to rebuild and reopen.  Now he’s not sure that was the right step for him to take.   He’s been talking to local and regional dealers in his area, and he says they are all asking him to buy them out.  Even the owners of the largest dealership in his area are “aging out” and their son, for whom they kept the business running and successful, has opted out of taking over, leaving his parents hoping they’ll find an “angel” to buy the business or be faced with selling their assets for what they can get.

In the early 1970’s, when I first joined this family-owned distributorship, I noticed right away that our dealer customers were “old” - appeared to be near retirement age.  Now my perspective was certainly influenced by the fact that I was in my mid-20’s, but nevertheless, I worried that our customer base was going to die-off in just a few years.  Many of those older dealer owners did retire, just like older business people do, and sold off their business assets to a multiplicity of other dealers or in a few cases, had a relative take over management.  “Angels” were very few and far between.  But new service dealers kept appearing, often “popping up” close to new concentrations of residential areas.  They saw a future and took a chance, often borrowing the start-up money from a bank rather than hoping for an “angel” backer.  When they were willing to go to the bank because they believed in themselves that much, I was motivated to help them succeed.

For a long time, I’ve thought that successful dealerships, especially those run by owners who had been re-investing in them for many years, were perfect for their kids to take over.  The investment in assets over the years meant that the son or daughter had a solid foundation that didn’t require a huge initial investment and could be paid for over time.  The business real estate might need sprucing up, but the inventory was typically paid for, as was the building and equipment.  The kids had a head-start, in many ways.

If the kids choose to do other things, then the owners have to find another successful dealer who was interested in a branch location, or an entrepreneur who wanted a successful business to buy, not someone else’s failure.  Otherwise, assets could be sold piecemeal to different businesses and owners.

Dealerships come and go, just like any other business.  I’ve read numerous articles on what makes one dealership successful and another one not.  Bob Clements can and will tell you in a day’s seminar how to be successful in an OPE sales and service operation.  The information is out there for the asking.  But at the end of the day, it still comes down to internal drive, planning and a desire to want to be successful.  It’s a challenge you can win, but no one ever said it would be easy.  What would you tell this sole survivor of a business that was washed away in a flood and who isn’t sure of what the right path is for him to take?  I would be very interested in your thoughts.  Please share them by dropping me an email.

"Bad habits are like a comfortable bed,” a pundit once noted, "easy to get into, but hard to get out of." Sticking with what's comfortable might be one of the deadliest habits of all.

In the bullfighting arena, expert matadors have long gained an edge by pinpointing a bull's comfort zone. Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina has studied this phenomenon. "In bullfighting there is a term called querencia. The querencia is the spot in the ring to which the bull returns," she explains. "Each bull has a different querencia, but as the bullfight continues, and the animal becomes more threatened, it returns more and more often to his spot. As he returns to his querencia, he becomes more predictable."

What are the consequences of predictability? "In the end," Fiorina says, "the matador is able to kill the bull because instead of trying something new, the bull returns to what is familiar (i.e. his comfort zone)."

Many businesses retreat to their comfort zones when challenged. A new form of competition emerges or threatening research undercuts a core product. This is bad news, and who wants to hear that?  "Bad news isn't wine," former Secretary of State Colin Powell once said. "It doesn't improve with age."  The key is how you take the bad news and what you do about it.  Just be sure you don’t keep doing the same thing over and over while expecting new and better results.

No. 1 January 2014

Anne Mulcahy, former Chairman and CEO of Xerox, recently shared this business advice, which I think you'll really enjoy:  “(1) Don’t waste precious time fretting about things over which you have no control.  (2) Delegate the easy stuff and hold on to those things that are challenging and difficult because that is how you grow.  (3)  Learn from the mistakes of others, because you can’t live long enough to make them all yourself.  (4) Get out of your office.  Henry Ford was once asked why he made a habit of visiting his executives when problems arose rather than inviting them to his own office.  ‘I go to them to save time,’ Ford explained, ‘and besides I’ve found I can leave their office a lot quicker than I can get them to leave mine.’”  And my favorite, (5) “Open you ears and close your mouth.  Remember, the only thing that can come out of your mouth is something you already know. Shut up and learn.”

Harvey Mackay tells this story about Anne Mulcahy when she was asked by Fortune Magazine what was the best advice she had ever received in business?  She said, “It occurred at a breakfast meeting in Dallas, to which she had invited a group of business leaders.” 

Mackay continued, “One of them, a plainspoken, self-made, streetwise guy, came up to Mulcahy and said: ‘When everything gets really complicated and you feel overwhelmed, think about it this way.  You gotta do three things.  First get the cow out of the ditch.  Second, find out how the cow got into the ditch.  Third, make sure you do whatever it takes so the cow doesn’t go back into the ditch again.’”   If you break that thought process down, it covers just about any situation you can think of.  Think about it.

We all admire elite athletes, for many different reasons.  Dr. David Yukelson from Penn State University recently published a list of key characteristics associated with mentally tough elite athletes.  The attributes Dr. Yukelson describes also work well for business people, no matter what business they are in.  Yukelson's four attributes are:

•         "Self-Belief - Having an unshakable belief in one's ability to achieve competitive goals.
•         Motivated - Having an insatiable desire and internalized motivation to succeed.
•         Focused - Remain fully focused on the task at hand in the face of distraction.
•         Composed/Handle Pressure - Ability to regain psychological control and thrive on pressure."

These are not easy attributes for anyone to attain.  That's why not everyone is an elite athlete.  But a little practice on your part will help you be better prepared to take on the challenges that constantly arise in your own business.

There is a poem called The Victor about mind over matter (i.e. mental toughness), often attributed to C.W. Longenecker.  What does “mental toughness” mean?  Harvey MacKay defines it as: "conditioning your mind to think confidently and being able to overcome frustration."  Some people believe that mental conditioning is as important as physical conditioning.  We've all seen a team "rise to the occasion" and win a game that no one gave them a chance of winning.  We point to our forehead and say it was "mind over matter."  A win that came about because one team believed more than the other that they could win the game.  And they did.  So can you.  But only if you believe.    C.W. Longenecker’s poem The Victor follows:

If you think you are beaten, you are. 

If you think you dare not, you don’t.
If you like to win but think you can’t, it’s almost a cinch you won’t.

If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost.
For out in the world we find success begins with a fellow’s will.
It’s all in the state of mind.

If you think you’re outclassed, you are.
You’ve got to think high to rise.
You’ve got to be sure of yourself before you ever can win the prize.

Life’s battles don’t always go to the stronger or faster man,
But sooner or later, the man who wins
Is the man who thinks he can!

No. 12 December 2013

In a recent interview in the November 3rd edition of the Sunday New York Times, David Cote, the Chairman and CEO of Honeywell, talked about how making good decisions is critical to the success of a business.  A decisive business leader “wants to make decisions often and quickly (i.e. ‘give me what you’ve got and I’ll make a decision’.)  And the lower you are in an organization, you can get away with a lot of that and you’ll be applauded for it.”

“But with bigger decisions, you can make bigger mistakes, so you really have to think about the kind of decision you’re making.  Is this a decision where if I’m wrong, there can be significant ramifications?” 

“What I’ve taught myself to do is to tell everybody that this is a preliminary decision and we will go through it again in a day or two, because it’s so important to get it right.”

“If I’m very decisive and I surround myself with people who just want me to make decisions, then we’ll go off the cliff at 130 miles an hour, because at some point I’ll be wrong.  What I need are people who want to come to their own conclusions and are willing to think independently, and can argue with me in the right way so I can (keep the process) objective as opposed to emotional.”

“There’s this phrase I use a lot when I teach leadership classes at Honeywell:  ‘Your job as a leader is to be right at the end of the meeting, not at the beginning of the meeting.’  It’s your job to flush out all the facts, all the opinions, and at the end make a good decision, because you’ll get measured on whether you make a good decision, and not whether it was your idea from the beginning.”

In running our businesses, we spend a lot of time making decisions.  And each decision we make has a huge impact on our success, so it pays to make every decision as good as we can.  David Cote is suggesting that we can make better decisions when we’re armed with all the facts (i.e. you’re never as well informed at the beginning of a meeting as you are at the end.)  That’s something you should consider the next time someone pressures you to make a quick decision.

I hope you’re celebrating the Holiday Season with family and friends and not setting new world-records for eating the most food at a family get-together.  Sometimes you want to say out-loud:  “Wait a minute, this isn’t an eating contest, is it?”

Here’s my favorite Charles Schultz story that really puts “what’s important in our lives” into perspective:

“Every time I see these questions make the rounds via email around the Internet, I’m reminded of what truly is important in life.  Don’t answer the questions. Just read it to the end, and you'll get the point.

1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.

2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.

3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America Pageant.

4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.

5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.

6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series winners.

How did you do?

The point is, none of us remembers the headliners of yesterday. These are no second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields. But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten. Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.

Here's another quiz. See how you do on this one:

1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.

2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.

3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.

4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.

5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.

Easier?

Give yourself credit for remembering the people who really made a difference in your life.  They didn’t have the most credentials, the most money or the most awards.  They just cared about you.  Whose life have you made a difference in recently?”

Remember that you have a choice every day about how you approach life and the people around you.  Make it positive.  Make it thankful.  Count your blessings.  Then share a few.  Happy Holidays!

No. 11 November 2013

I read an interesting online article by Michael Schrage titled, “Time to Hang Up on Voice Mail.” I don’t know about you, but I’ve almost done that already. Who wants to leave a 90-second message after the beep, much less listen to one? We all have faster, better and friendlier ways to communicate.

Have you received a notice yet from a personal or corporate voice-mail box, warning you that messages are rarely retrieved and you would be better off sending an e-mail or text? Schrage says, “Truly productive people have effectively abandoned voice mail, preferring to visually track who’s called them on their mobiles. Irritated office workers, by contrast, despair that their desk phones can’t display who’s called and when. When that occurs, they’d be better off if office calls were forwarded to their devices with the relevant Caller IDs attached.”

“For most organizations, the only people who matter going into voice mail are customers and clients!” adds Schrage. “How smart and customer-centric is that? Not very. Nobody wants to be put in voice mail anymore, and it’s quite likely that customers and clients aren’t listening to your voice-mail messages either.”

Schrage ends with this comment, “(Do) you want to have better, faster and more responsive communications inside your organization and save some money besides? Have an online conversation about online communications – and unplug your voice-mail system. If you’ve got a problem with that, don’t bother to comment. But do feel free to call me and leave a message.”

A super container freighter measuring 1,500 feet long by 196 feet wide by 10 stories high is currently under construction. These super ships are so huge and sit so low in the water, that the Port of Rotterdam has already started redesigning and dredging their existing port, as well as modifying berthing and loading accommodations for first use in 2014. It will initially be the only port in the world capable of handling these super freighters.

Did I mention these super container ships will be able to carry 22,000 containers at a time? If you are importing bicycles and each container holds 175, the new super freighters will be able to transport 3,850,000 bicycles in one trip! If you were ordering cable set top boxes, knowing that one container will hold 6,000, you could receive 132 million of them in one shipment. Unbelievable, isn’t it?

Everyone knows that happiness is a state of mind, right? Wrong! Happiness is a state of a positive mind. Negative people can easily find faults in any happy situation, and positive people do exactly the opposite. When you have a positive outlook in life, happiness will find a way. Happiness is more of a personal choice (a statement you’ve read more than a few times in this column).

Even the most optimistic of us can find ourselves in a rut where everything seems to be going against us. But if you take a close look at yourself that very instant, don’t YOU have a lot to be grateful for? William Penn said, "The secret of happiness is to count your blessings while others are adding up their troubles.” When you list down all the things that you feel privileged to possess and often take for granted, you will suddenly realize and appreciate even more, what you have been blessed with. Positive thinking will turn your obstacles into opportunities.

I leave you now with Dale Carnegie’s poignant words about the power of a smile. Read and remember them.

"It costs nothing, but creates much. It enriches those who receive, without impoverishing those who give. It happens in a flash, and the memory of it sometimes lasts forever. None are so rich they can get along without it, and none so poor but are richer for its benefits.

"It creates happiness in the home, fosters goodwill in a business, and is the countersign of friends. It is rest to the weary, daylight to the discouraged, sunshine to the sad, and nature’s best antidote for trouble.

"Yet it cannot be bought, begged, borrowed, or stolen, for it is something that is no earthly good to anyone 'til it is given away. And if, in the hurly-burly bustle of today's business world, some of the people you meet should be too tired to give you a smile, may we ask you to leave one of yours?

"For nobody needs a smile so much, as those who have none left to give." 

No. 10 October 2013

Karl Pillemer is a gerontologist (someone who studies older people) who, in his work, kept meeting older people – many of whom had lost loved ones, been through tremendous difficulties, and had serious health problems – who nevertheless were happy, fulfilled, and deeply enjoying life. He found himself asking, “What’s that all about?” As he looked through existing research, he found that study after study validated the fact that older people – in their 70s, 80s and beyond – are actually happier than younger people. Pillemer thought that perhaps older people knew things about living a happy, healthy, fulfilling life that younger people didn’t, so he decided to find out what that practical wisdom was. He interviewed 1,000 seniors and asked them, “What is the most important lesson you want to pass along to the young?” From his interviews came his book, 30 Lessons for Living: Tried and True Advice from the Wisest Americans.

Here are a few of his findings about some of life's lessons that older people have learned during their long lives:  “…one lesson stood out; a lesson that older people knew about because of where they stand on life’s road – but that younger people could benefit from learning about. It was a lesson that almost all expressed. And they did it vehemently.

“What they wanted younger people to know is this: life is short. The older the respondent, the more likely they are to say that life passes by in what seems like an instant. They say this, not to depress younger people, but to get them to be more aware and selective about how they use their time. Older people practice what psychologists call ‘socioemotional selectivity’ – because their time is limited, they make careful decisions about how to use their time. Some implications of this insight are to say things now to people you care about, whether it is expressing gratitude or love; asking forgiveness or getting information; spending the maximum amount of time with children or grandchildren; and savoring daily pleasures instead of waiting for ‘big-ticket items’ to make you happy.

“The other piece of advice that comes from this idea that life is much shorter than you realize: Take a chance. People in their 70s, 80s, 90s and beyond endorse taking risks when you’re young, contrary to a stereotype that elders are conservative. Their message to young people starting out is ‘Go for it!’ They say that you are much more likely to regret what you didn’t do than what you did. As one 80-year-old said, ‘Unless you have a compelling reason to say no, always say yes to opportunities.’

“Elders have also learned that happiness is a choice – not a passive condition dependent on external events, nor is it the result of our personalities. We can choose – in a conscious shift in outlook every day – optimism over pessimism, hope over despair.” We can take responsibility for our own happiness throughout our life. As I’ve said many times in this column: Life is about choices every minute of every day. We can choose to be happy, smile and uplift people, or we can choose to put people down and try to make them as unhappy as we are. It’s not your personality. It’s your choice!

We also know experience is very important in our work lives. Harold S. Geneen, the former CEO of AT&T, had this to say about business experience: “In the business world, everyone is paid in two coins: cash and experience. Take the experience first; the cash will come later.” Those are true words of wisdom.

Harvey Mackay tells a story about “a little boy spending his Saturday morning playing in his sandbox. He had cars and trucks, his plastic pail, and a shiny red shovel. In the process of creating roads and tunnels in the soft sand, he discovered a large rock in the middle of the sandbox.

“The boy dug around the rock, managing to dislodge it from the dirt. With a little bit of struggle, he pushed and nudged the large rock across the sandbox by using his feet. When the boy got the rock to the edge of the sandbox, he found that he couldn’t roll it up and over the wall of the sandbox. Every time he made some progress, the rock tipped and then fell back into the sandbox.

“Frustrated, he burst into tears. All this time, the boy’s father watched from his living room window. As the tears fell, a large shadow fell across the boy and the sandbox. It was his father. Gently but firmly, he said, ‘Son, why didn’t you use all the strength that you had available?’

“Defeated, the boy sobbed back, ‘But I did, Daddy, I did! I used all the strength that I had!’

“‘No, son,’ corrected the father kindly. ‘You didn’t use all the strength you had. You didn’t ask me.’ With that, the father reached down, picked up the rock, and removed it from the sandbox.

“Successful people rarely reach the top without a lot of help along the way. The ability – and willingness – to ask for help is one trait that really stands out among those who are truly committed to success.” Seeking help and advice, when you need it, will move you quicker down the highway of success.

No. 9 September 2013

Harvey Mackay tells the following story about a son asking his mother what he needs to do to be a success when he grows up.

“The mother thought for a moment, and then told her son to bring her a pencil.  Puzzled, the boy found a pencil and gave it to her.

“If you want to do good,” she said, “you have to be just like this pencil.”

“What does that mean?” her son asked.

“First,” she said, “like a pencil, you’ll be able to do a lot of things, but not on your own.  You have to allow yourself to be held in someone’s hand.” 

The mother is talking about teamwork.  You can’t do it all by yourself.  Mackay defines teamwork as a collection of diverse individuals who respect each other and are committed to each other’s success.  You can’t be successful without a committed team working with you.

“Second,” she said, “like a pencil, you’ll have to go through a painful sharpening from time to time, but you’ll need it to become a better pencil.

Giving and taking criticism is not easy task, but it is necessary to become better.  No one ever choked to death swallowing his or her own pride.  Accepting honest criticism or a suggestion will make you better than you were before.

“Third, like a pencil, you’ll be able to correct any mistakes you make,” she said.

Everyone makes mistakes.  That’s one way you learn.  Mistakes don’t make you a failure.  There are really no mistakes in life, there are only lessons.

“Fourth, like a pencil, no matter what you look like on the outside, the most important part will always be what’s on the inside. 

Most people aren’t born with self-confidence.  Mackay’s advice to develop self-confidence is: track your success, practice being assertive, accept that failure is not the end of the world, step out of your comfort zone, set goals, keep improving your skills and above all else, don’t compare yourself to others.

“And fifth,” the mother finished, “like a pencil, you’ll have to press hard to make a mark.”

Success comes before work only in the dictionary.  There is no magic formula or magic wand.  Even people with natural talent or skills, continually hone those talents or skills with lots of hard work and practice.

The mother touched on five important topics – teamwork, being able to accept criticism, correcting mistakes, self-confidence, and working hard.  That’s good advice for all of us.

Rev. Robert Schuller says there are four kinds of people: "First, there are the cop-outs. These people set no goals and make no decisions.

"Second, there are the hold-outs. They have a beautiful dream, but they’re afraid to respond to its challenge because they aren’t sure they can make it. These people have lost all childlike faith.

"Third, there are the drop-outs. They start to make their dream come true. They know their role. They set their goals, but when the going gets tough, they quit. They don’t pay the toll.

"Finally, there are the all-outs. They are the people who know their role. They want and need and are going to be stars: star students, star parents, star waitresses. They want to shine out as an inspiration to others. They set their goals. . . . The all-outs never quit. Even when the toll gets heavy, they’re dedicated. They’re committed."

To be committed, you must be "all in." You can’t just do the best you can. You have to do everything you can. Remember, the difference between 100 percent ‘all in’ and 99 percent ‘all in’ is 100 percent.

 When I think of commitment, I think of the story of the Pig and the Chicken walking down the road.

 The Chicken says: "Hey Pig, I was thinking we should open a restaurant!"

The Pig replies: "Hmmm, what would we call it?"

The Chicken responds: "How about “Ham-n-Eggs?”"

The Pig thinks for a moment and says: "No thanks. I’d be committed, but you’d only be involved!"

No. 8 August 2013

I recently read a blog article by Bernadette Jiwa titled, “The Secret of Disruptive Innovations.” Her examples and conclusions will make you “think twice” about what you thought you knew about the effect of disruptive innovations on yourself and your business.

“When the online eyewear retailer Warby Parker began selling boutique-quality glasses at a $95 price point, they weren’t just trying to undercut the bigger players in the industry. Of course, they did that and more, growing the company by 500 percent in just a year and mostly by word of mouth.

“The average customer who needs glasses buys a pair every 2.1 years. Warby Parker set out to make glasses something that customers would buy in multiples as fashion statements; much like women buy shoes and bags. They wanted customers to view them as accessories they could change to match occasions or moods. And while price combined with

quality enables the company to tell a different story than other retailers, what changes everything is the story the customer now tells himself about how many pairs of glasses he can own and how often he should buy new ones. Many of Warby Parker’s customers buy six or seven pairs of glasses at a time and not just when their prescription expires.

“AirBnB made people long to experience a destination like a local hotel without the $8 price tag for nuts from the mini-bar. Apple changed how we feel about buying a whole album, including the songs we didn’t care about. Amazon’s Kindle made us think of airport bookstores as reference libraries where we browse but don’t buy.

“The secret of disruptive innovations and business models isn’t that they disrupt an industry. It’s that they disrupt people. They change how people feel about something enough to change how they behave.

It’s entirely possible to look into the future and think about how your customer might be changed tomorrow as a result of what you do today. While ‘the industry’ works on the assumption that the larvae of today will just be bigger caterpillars tomorrow, the disruptor imagines butterflies.”

One day an entrepreneur took his young sales manager Bill up to a magnificent estate overlooking a beautiful river. He then took him up on the highest peak on the property, put his arm around him, pointed down, and said: “Look at that stunning home and gorgeous swimming pool! How do you like those fabulous tennis courts? Take a look at those beautiful horses in the stable. Now, all I want you to do is continue to meet the high standards and goals I’ve set for you and someday, Bill…someday, all this will be mine.”

The following blog title recently caught my attention: “Why You Shouldn’t Strive for Perfection.”  Reading that statement made my blood pressure rise.  

A little further reading made it go up even more, as I read about a writing professor who presented his class with this assignment: 1. Write something that is just ‘so-so.’ 2. Do some research or get some feedback from a mentor or teacher. 3. Try again to make it better.” I wondered to myself, “Why would anyone strive to do something just “so-so” instead of always doing the best that they could do?”

The author’s three-part explanation for not striving for perfection all the time read as follows: “1. When you work toward making something just ‘so-so,’ it takes all the anxiety and fear out of the experience. 2. Once you’re not worried about failing, you can concentrate on your task. 3. As you work toward step #3, ‘make it better,’ you are acknowledging that

there’s plenty to learn.”

And finally, there was the following three-part summary: “1. In learning a new skill, don’t focus on perfection. 2. Make your goal to produce something ‘OK,’ then get some help, and then make improvements. 3. Rinse and repeat until you are satisfied.”

I suppose that the words about working to a “so-so” or “OK” result struck me the wrong way. My comment I left on that blog follows, first, with a quote by legendary football coach Vince Lombardi and then my personal comment.

The Lombardi quote: “Gentlemen, we are going to relentlessly chase perfection, knowing full well we will not catch it, because nothing is perfect. But we are going to relentlessly chase it, because in the process we will catch excellence. I am not remotely interested in being just good.”

Then, I commented, “In my long business career, I have never strived to be ‘so-so’ or ‘OK’ at doing anything. I have always strived to be the best I could be, never expecting perfection, but always striving for it. I can’t imagine my managers and employees doing their jobs expecting the results to be ‘so-so.’ Learning and improving are part of any process. But the expectation should always be to do or be the best you can.”

What do you think? Should you strive to do an “OK” job, or should you strive to always do your very best?

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.