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| Some Bully's Are The Little Tasks You Are Avoiding To Do. |
They will not notice you have toilet paper on the dispenser. They will notice you are out of toilet paper.
They will not notice you have filled the display racks with plenty of products on sale. They will notice you are out of the products on sale.
They will not notice you had everything printed correctly in your newspaper advertisement. They will notice your misprint on the ad you ran in the paper.
They will not notice how accurately your floor pricing matches the same one in the computer for the products you sell. They will notice when the computer rings up a different price than the one on the product in the floor display.
They will not notice how safe your walking areas are protected. They will notice when someone left a small box on the floor of an isle that trips them when they go around the corner while they are looking the other way.
They will not notice how your store lighting is always fresh and bright. They will notice how dark an area is when the bulbs that are burned out are not replaced.
They will not notice how fresh you keep up your website with current notices, messages, specials and dates of interest. They will notice how you forgot to remove an outdated message about an up-coming event that has long since been held.
They will not notice how much effort you place on keeping your business clean everywhere. They will notice a small spill on the floor that reminds them of something they would just as soon not see.
They will not notice how strong your personal hygiene policies are for your employees. They will notice any employee who does not respect personal appearance.
They will not notice how well your employees speak with clarity and friendliness. They will notice when one of your employees uses vulgar language with another employee.
They will not notice how many times you deliver their products on time. They will notice when you do not arrive when you promised you would make their delivery.
They will not notice how you never need to describe an excuse for something your business failed to perform. They will not notice that stuff. They will, however, notice you need an excuse to explain how you did something wrong.
They will not notice how often you correctly count their change back when they are at your cash register. They will notice when you fail to give them their change back properly.
Your business mistakes will glow brighter than the things you do well. Just about every time. Every mistake you make will jump off the page as if the mistake is made in an altogether different color. Customers see mistakes much brighter than the things you do well. Customers will more than likely glow with the little mistakes your business model makes. Customers will not glow with the millions of things you do well. Most of the things you do well will not be noticed. There is usually no fanfare for making sure toilet paper is on the dispenser at all times. Nobody gets a badge of honor for that kind of great work. However, someone was given that responsibility and is expected to make sure it gets done correctly. It is a little detail that means a lot to the customers you serve. I know we live in a more accepting day and age, but I still meet customers who will not go back to a business because the person behind the cash register has multiple tattoos and body piercings. If that is the case, I make sure I do not place someone with those limitations on my registers. It is simple math.
My business model is never an extension of my personal, political or social agendas. My business model is not designed to be a forum function for my beliefs. It is a business and a business only. My business models are only designed to produce a reasonable rate of return, one that delivers profit. I make sure I do not get confused about that role. I do not wake up each morning wondering about how many customers I offend during the day. I work harder on making sure none are offended. None. It is an absolute.
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| Lack Of Consumer Respect Will Bite Your Business. |
That business model was the one we worked to repair. It took us four years to complete that turn around work and we sold it for three times more than its appraised value. I considered that effort to be one of my best victories in my business career. It was an awful experience. A lot of the culture in the business model was completely wrong in thoughts and habits. Too many wrong agendas had risen to the top of their priority list and too many correct ones were completely forgotten. A lot of unwinding and retraining had to be completed in order to turn the financial success around. It was a monster challenge that was met with a ton of resistance. When your business gets out of control, it is most difficult to correct that direction and turn to go a different way. It is a lot easier to describe what needs to be done than it is to do what needs to be done.
The 'hippy-looking' cruel-language employee that everyone made fun of at the cash register had to go immediately. He had been employed for 16 years at that place of business. He carried a cat in his arms. He was the first one that needed to be removed. The customers he attracted did not have very much money and the ones he offended, did. It was simple math to me. I am not 'hippy-phobic.' I just know what customers want and I see to it they get that part served well. My personal agendas are not primary at that moment. My business responsibilities are primary at that moment. It is not a popularity contest. The business model does not become more profitable because we have really cool agendas. It becomes more profitable when we learn how to respect the rules of the business road.
The 'hippy-looking' employee did not like some of the changes I made to the methods that business model introduced. He rubbed up against many of the changes we put in place. He was not one of those on the allies list when I arrived. In fact, on my second day of my new management hire to correct that model, he came into my office for a personal visit. The very first thing he did was shut the door and sit down in front of my desk. My G.M. job was not quite two days old, yet. Here he is, setting the "tone" for our future together.
When he sat down, I asked him to get up and open the door. He said he would prefer that it stayed closed because he had some serious stuff to talk about. I paused a little bit and asked him again to open the door, or we were done talking. He asked why. I reminded him that I have never met him before and have never spent any time with him in the past. I also reminded him that I have not been able to acquire anything of any value with him personally that was worth protecting, since I do not know who he is. I have nothing to protect. He has earned nothing to protect with me that was worth keeping behind closed doors. Open the door, please.
He sat there puzzled. I waited. It was like watching two bulls trying to figure out who gets to sit in what chair. He got up and opened the door. He made his body language speak loud about his disapproval, however. Then he sat down. I told him I can appreciate it that he did not know me very well, yet. However, I told him when I go to fix the problems of a broken business model, I do not operate with any secrets. My doors are always open. Always. I also told him that if we had something so personal that required keeping the doors closed at this point in our relationship, it would be something we did not need to bring to work. We should not be discussing it here. I reminded him that this is a place of business and our only discussions should be about this business, and none of that should be kept a secret. I told him to go ahead, speak away.
He spent 45 minutes 'telling' me how this business will be run. I will bet you I did not offer more than 10 words in that 45 minute discussion. I heard about the past, the present, the problems, the issues and his personal feelings on many of the ills of the business model. I heard a whole bunch about what he would and would not be willing to do. I also heard a whole bunch about how some of the other employees would best fit into some of the changes he thought I would be making. I learned a lot about how he thinks and who he was. When he finished, he got up and thanked me for listening. As he left and walked through the door of my office I asked him to answer one question for me. He stood there with a puzzled look on his face. I asked, "When the crap hits the fan, and all goes wrong...who do you think the Board of Directors will call into their board room to discuss the issues with, you or me?" He said, "Probably, you." "Good." I said. "That way we know who will be making the decisions around here. Thanks for your thoughts." When he left the main office he did slam the entryway door. I could see the main retail store from my office. I noticed some of the key employees looking in the direction of my office when he left. Some had sheepish smiles on their faces.
The 'bully' lost round one.
One day the 'bully' who came disguised as a 'free loving hippy' got real frustrated with much of the duties I had him performing. He came to my office in a fit strong enough to yell and scream about doing some of the reasonable duties I had assigned for him to do. I patted him on the back and said, "Heck, you will not have any problem with doing that stuff." He got so mad he quit and stormed out in a fit of madness. I remained calm, immediately called the accountant to prepare his final check and added some extra hours to his time served. I called each board member to inform them of the developments so they would not be sideswiped. They called a special executive session later that afternoon and met at a local restaurant. I was not aware of the executive meeting. They discussed the employment developments and later that evening called me at home to see what my reasoning was to allow a 16-year veteran employee become so disturbed like that. I told them I had already hired his replacement and the replacement would be coming to orientation at 9 A.M. in the morning. I had already had several people in my mind to hire and had already prepared them for future hire if I had an opening someday. Someday had arrived. The President of the board was very quiet on the phone.
They did not notice how well the rest of the employees were performing their work at that time. The improvements for work and production of the rest of the staff was not noticed. Those improvements came from the support they got from the new leader who would not allow a 'bully' to quietly run the show. It secured their need to perform well. Nobody noticed. They did notice how a long term employee was removed as if it was a bit like firing him.
They will not notice how well everyone produces when they become very productive in their work. They will notice it when one employee kicks, rants and raves.
Wash your windows. Pick up the trash. Replace the empty toilet paper role. Do your business. Respect the rules of the road. Quit playing favorites, politics and secretly performing what you should not be doing. Open your office doors and become transparent. Make it very clear what needs to be done and how you plan to do it. Eliminate the junk we often forget to respect. The customers are your only true responsibility. Our retail model that had two legs in the grave was sucking on thin air when I arrived. When we sold it to another buyer for three times its value, 44 months later, it had produced 27 record volume months with 21 of them record profit months...some of it during the recession. Do not allow a 'bully' to govern how you perform well.
Above all, do not feed any that foolish 'bullies.'
Wash your windows, constantly.
Until next time...
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