Posted: March 23, 2023 | Categories: Customer service, Sales, Team Building

If you own a business, and you overheard someone talking about your company, what words would you want to hear?  I am guessing you would want people to say, “Nice play to work” or “Great customer service”, etc.  What if someone said, “The working environment feels very corporate”.  Such a comment probably would not excite you.  The “corporate feel” doesn’t sell like it used to.

For nearly 50 years I have been a loyal follower of a local restaurant chain in Chicago.  These restaurants were special places with a lively staff that knew how to have fun and make the dining experience special for you.

In the past few years, I have noticed these restaurants lose their luster.  Orders get messed up, people stopped smiling, and things just weren’t the same.  Three weeks ago my family and I had such a bad experience that we decided to end our 49-year old tradition.  Before I made my final decision, I called customer service and told them of my experience.  They promised to get back to me.  They did not.  It was time to move on.  I wish I could say the incident three weeks ago was an isolated incident.  It wasn’t.  We’ve had several sub-par visits in the past two years.  Last week I was relating this story to a stock broker, and he commented, “Oh yeah, that company was sold in 2014 and is now publicly traded.”  The lively team spirit this chain of restaurants had built had died a slow death.  They now had the “corporate feel”.  Do you work for a large corporatation?  What can you do to make sure your team has a “caring feel” versus a “corporate” one?

Posted: March 9, 2023 | Categories: Customer service, Leadership, Self-Improvement

I have been in managing and coaching for nearly 50 years, and I find myself often reflecting on what I have learned.  One of the most important lessons life has taught me is that I can’t change people.  I actually used to think I could.  I was wrong.  What we can do is be a positive influence and also teach others how we would like to be treated.  We have all known others who have been a positive influence on us.

I remember years ago I was standing in a short line in the service department of an auto dealer.  When it was my turn, I began to explain to the advisor the symptoms I was experiencing with my car.  He seemed to be impatient and dismissive.  Sensing this attitude, I paused and said, “I may be reading you all wrong, and if I am I apoligize.  I just get the feeling that you don’t really care about my problem and aren’t that interested in helping.  Am I interpreting you correctly?” I said it politely, and there were two others in line behind me.  The advisor immediately changed his tune, and got in step with me.  Soon my problem was diagnosed and solved.  Did I change this person’s attitude?  Probably not.  If that happened, fine.  My goal was to teach him how I wanted to be treated.  My first thought was to get mad and snap at him.  Instead I got ahold of my attitude and asked a question.  Even though there may be many people we would like to change in this world (and I’ll bet they want to change us!).  Before we try that, we can start first by teaching others how we would like to be treated.

Posted: February 20, 2023 | Categories: Management, Self-Improvement, Team Building

One of the most remarkable traits of a strong leader shows up when we talk to them one-on-one.  We walk away feeling good about ourselves.  Good leaders are people builders.  By contrast, have you ever had a conversation with a “people shrinker’?  By that I mean, after the interaction, you feel a little smaller than you did before.  That’s no good.  We build our businesses by building our people.

I would like to illustrate by sharing the most indelible example of people-building I have ever experienced.  The year was 1976.  I was single, 27 years old, and managed a business in a modest sized suburb of Chicago.  I was headed into the bank to make a deposit, and as I entered the doorway, I passed by a young girl selling candy.  My first thought was, “Oh boy, here comes another person shoving something in my face and trying to sell something.”  She didn’t say anything.  She just smiled a beautiful, genuine, smile.  I got ahold of my attitude, and politely asked her what she was selling.  She was selling candy bars as a fundraiser for her sister’s school.  I told her I didn’t want a candy bar, but I would buy one for her.  I gave her the dollar.  We had a short conversation, and moved on.

Several months later I was looking forward to a first date with someone I had been interested in for a long time.  When I went to pick up my date at her house, her sister came down the stairs and said, “That’s him”!  You guessed it, that was the girl that I bought the candy bar for, and she was selling them for her sister, the person I was taking out for the first time.  Things went well.  The bottom line:  That first date and I have been married for 45 years.  Imagine if I didn’t get control of my attitude that day and was abrupt with her sister.  This may be a personal example, but we all know our own examples of people who act kindly.  I end with this question:  Are you a people builder or a people shrinker?  Every human interaction is a moment of truth.  Make it a good one!

Posted: February 14, 2023 | Categories: Leadership, Management, Team Building

If I could narrow down the three buzz words that haunt owners and managers today regarding team performance, it would be engagement, productivity, and retention.  Let’s talk about productivity:  If you ask me what is most important when motivating your team, I believe I have the answer.  Warning:  The answer will bore you.  It is BUILDING TRUST.  The highest performing teams I encounter know the importance of high team trust, and they are aware of how to build it.  They also know that doing so is done by a habit, not a gimmick.  So how do you get a team to be more motivated and productive?  I’ll bet you have known the answer since childhood.  We show genuine interest in our people and find out what is important to them.  Allow me to give you my favorite example from my childhood:  Her name was Mrs. Maxey.

Growing up, my parents socialized often with a loyal group of friends.  They had parties, played cards, and even went on cruises together.  Of all of their friends, I had a favorite.  It was Mrs. Maxey.  She was friendly, positive, had a radiant smile, and always took the time to talk to me before chatting with the grownups.  She was interested in me and wanted to know all about me.  She also would remember information from previous conversations.  She made me feel important.

As time passed and Mrs. Maxey grew older, she needed help with chores like pulling weeds, mowing the lawn, and shoveling snow.  I loved helping her and would have eagerly done the work for free.  I appreciated so much how she made me feel important.  She had my trust.

How about you?  How do you build trust with people?  Do you remember their birthday?  Do you know when birthday is?  How regularly do you talk to them?  If we make a sincere, conscious effort to show an interest in others, we will be amazed at the responses.  Yes, it even applies to the younger generation!

Posted: January 17, 2023 | Categories: Self-Improvement

The last I heard, the United States was the world’s leader in unused vacation days each year.  If we are not careful, we can end up like the beleaguered lumberjack who kept chopping at a frenetic pace and never took time to sharpen his axe.  If carefully planned and anticipated,  a vacation can give us time to sharpen our edge and come back to life with a fresh, eager mindset.

At this point you may be saying, “Money is tight…we can’t afford a vacation”.  If you are thinking that, let me share a personal experience I had 30 years ago that may spark your optimism:  I had just embarked on a new career change and money and time were tight.  Our family decided to take a trip to Nashville – about a 7-hour drive..  We only had a few days, so we planned well to make sure we made full use of our time.

When we arrived in Nashville we took another look at our itinerary, and found ourselves a little stressed out.  We decided to cancel out one full day of planned activity and replace it with a day lounging around the hotel pool.  We spent our “pool day” in total relaxation.  My wife and I read and talked while our two young boys swam.  It was a perfect day.

Since that Nashville trip, we have had many nice trips, including several cruises, trips to Europe, and a good chunk of the United States.  This may sound crazy to say, but our little trip to Nashville stands as one of our favorites.  It taught us a two-point lesson:

1. Plan your trip well
2. Be flexible

My challenge to you:  Be bold and plan a vacation.  If you do, you will find your mind, body, and mental state in a better zone.