What makes one Company or Team better than another?

We all know of companies that are superior to others; and a tremendous amount of time, effort and money is expended daily by lesser businesses trying to find out what makes them so. For many years now, I have spent a great deal of time thinking and talking about this; and I believe I may have come up with a good example. In the San Francisco Bay Area, we have two professional football teams, the Oakland Raiders and the San Francisco 49ers. The past few years have been dismal for both of them, as they just could not find their way back to their glory days of the past. However, this season both teams brought on new head coaches, as well as making a few changes with their assistant coaches, and saw their fortunes change as well.

There is no doubt you must have talented players on any team for it to be a good one, and both teams had plenty of good players who were receiving substantial amounts of money to perform but were not doing so consistently. However, as has been proven many times in sports, government, and business, just throwing money at something without insuring it works well is not always enough. Both teams did acquire some new players before the season started, however their squad’s talent levels were pretty much unchanged from last year, so that was not a big issue in their progress either. I believe the big difference for them this year is the new and different coaching, training, and positive attitude adjustment they are now receiving, plain and simple.

So what was the end result of this transformation? With the Raiders, after changing head coaches 9 times over the past 16 years, they seem to have finally found a head coach and assistants the players respect and will play for, as well as gaining a new winning attitude. As a result, they are currently in a real dogfight in their division, as apposed to dragging up the rear. As for the 49ers, they also brought in a new head coach along with some assistant coaches, which has resulted in changing the culture of the entire team. Last year the team was 6 and 10, and just did not have “It”. So far this year, they are 10 and 2, and have clinched their division. I do not believe they are the best team in the league, as the Packers and Saints seem to have that honor. However, they are certainly heading in the right direction.

It is reported one of the first things the new Head Coach Jim Harbaugh did, was take Alex Smith, the much beleaguered 49er quarterback for the past 7 years under his wing, and let him know he believed in him, told him he was his quarterback, and empowered him to lead the team. Apparently, this was what he needed, as he has blossomed into the now seventh rated quarterback in the league. What’s more, the entire team has followed suit, and are now proving they have a ton of “It”, every time they play.

So just what is ‘It”, anyway? I submit it is having a total belief in themselves and their ability, and that they will succeed in whatever they attempt to do; no matter the obstacles. To me, successful companies in business mirror top sports teams by having the same superior leadership qualities in their owners, managers, supervisors, and/or lead personal. They also create and manage efficient systems to run their operations, and employ ongoing training programs to insure those systems are followed to the letter. They always reinforce the positive, and dismiss the negative. In addition, they show solid leadership by being consistent in everything they do, while setting good examples for the people around them. One of their big “secrets”, is believing in finding and hiring the best people they can, and then putting them in positions that will work best for them and the team. Of course, they will not tolerate malcontents and slackers, and get rid of them before they destroy the positive chemistry that has been established through hours of sacrifice and hard work by the rest of the team.

Having these characteristics and assets, and being able to then build a great team or business with them, is obviously not a common thing for most of us humans to have and accomplish, or everyone could do it. I believe in order to take advantage of them; you must have a well thought out game plan, which is then followed to the letter. In addition, you need to park your ego at the door, and learn how to empower others to do their jobs. Finally, you must work on your own weaknesses and shortcomings, until you become proficient enough to become a true leader of anything.

As far as determining who are leaders and winners goes, they are not all the same. For instance, in professional football, you have had very aggressive and vocal coaches like Vince Lombardi of the Green Bay packers, who would not hesitate to get in the players faces when a mistake was made. Then you can have someone like the Dallas Cowboys great Tom Landry, who would stand quietly on the sidelines in his famous Stetson Fedora hat with his arms crossed, showing little or no emotion. Whenever a player on his team made a mistake, instead of screaming and yelling, he responded by simply giving them a very disapproving and withering look, which made them wish they would never do that again.

There was also “The Genus” Bill Walsh of the San Francisco 49ers, who helped build a series of teams that won 5 Super Bowls over a period of 13 years. He had a great sense of humor, and also did not holler, rant, and rave. However, everyone knew he was in charge, and they had best listen to, and follow him, if they ever wanted to succeed. All of these great coaches and leaders had another thing in common, they believed in creating systems to run their teams. The Packers Lombardi had the famous “Packer Sweep”; a running play that most opposing teams just could not stop even though they knew it was coming.

This simple running play dominated pro football for almost 10 years, and was unique to the Packers only. It worked by having the Tackle Forrest Gregg, and Guards Jerry Kramer Fuzzy Thurston, pull out in perfect sync to set-up a wall of beef for the great running backs Paul Hornung and Jim Taylor to run behind while gaining chunks of yardage. Hornung said of the ”Packer Sweep”; “It worked because "It made everybody work as a team, as it gave everybody enough responsibility that you took it upon yourself to do the best you could. And it became the best play in football."

Landry’s team ran the “Flex Defense”, along with many other different innovations while he was the coach of the Cowboys for some 29 years, and at one time had a winning record for 20 years in a row.

49er coach Bill Walsh created the “West Coast Offence” in the 80s, which is still being used today. One of Walsh’s many innovations was scripting the first 25 plays before the start of the game. He said that his reasoning for having systems and then rehearsing them so much before playing the game was, “Your ability to make good judgments is much easier on Thursday night, than during the heat of the game”. Just like in business, planning and preparation will always succeed over just winging it, and then hoping for the best.

All of these men also had the ability and vision to find players and coaches that would work well within their particular systems. Walsh for instance, selected a quarterback from Notre Dame named Joe Montana. Although he was a great athlete, he was not selected until the 82^nd spot in the draft, which meant that some of the other teams and coaches did not think of him as a superstar. In fact, when he first came out, some of the “experts” suggested that he had skinny legs, and an average arm. However, Walsh knew Montana was exactly what he needed for his new “West Coast Offense”, which he later proved by leading the team to four Super Bowl wins.

Montana was also a very calm player, so much so he became known as “Joe Cool”, as he just never panicked no matter how stressful the situation. The other big thing Joe possessed was “It”, and as their leader, he transferred those gifts to the rest of the team every time they took the field. Just as the leader of a successful company does every time they put the key in the front door to start the day’s business.

Just my thoughts,

Gene B

Business Secrets of the Aggie 100

A group of successful entrepreneurs who grew and prospered in 2009 and 2010 share the keys to success.  Pay attention.

"Give first and receive later."

Bernie B. Bernard, James M. Brooks

B&B Laboratories

"The people you surround yourself with are critical - they should be hard-working, passionate aobu the business you are in, and ideally, smarter than you."

William Sims

Accent Wire, Ltd.

"Never be scared to take a risk.  It is those risks that often push you to the next level and thos risks, successful or not, that teach you the most."

Jackie Lackey

Encore Visions

"Consider your employees one of your most important assets.  A happy employee results in a happy customer."

Kimberly Smart Willmott

Pentecom, LLC

"Never accept that there is not a better way.  With the speed at which information and technology move in today's world, if something is being done 'the same way it always has been,' then there is probably a great opportunity to improve it.  Often it is not the idea for improvement that leads to a strong business, but the drive to change people's way of thinking to accept that improvement."

Ryan Sitton, Jennifer Sitton

Pinnacle Asset Integrity Services

"Take care of your employees as they are hard to find."

Alvin Adamcik

MI Cable Company

"If you don't always do what's in the customer's best interests, someone else will."

Phil Miner

Miner Central Texas Ltd.

"Realize that you'll reach a point when your company's success is despite your efforts and not because of them.  Eventually, you must modestly step aside from your daily role, empower your team and make the business about them - it's not about you anymore."

Gary Peterson

gap intelligence

"Establish your company with a clear vision, mission and values... People will commit to something greater than themselves if it is clear and they believe in it.  Ultimately, people drive your success."

Stefan LeRow

Capstone Mechanical

"You are never going to grow if you don't take a chance."

Phil Miner

Miner North Texas Ltd

"In business, grow or die."

Donald G. Valentine

John Moore Services, Inc.

"Growth can consumer massive amounts of cash, even when your income statement is showing a healthy profit."

William Sims

Accent Wire, Ltd.

"Don't let 'conventional wisdom' limit your options.  Many success stories are the result of people doing what they're not supposed to be able to do."

Ed Muniz

MEI Technologies, Inc.

"Live by the Golden Rule and always ask yourself:  'How would I want them to treat me?'  It is a small world in business relationships and the things you do come back to haunt you sooner than you might expect."

Larry Teverbaugh

K2Share, LLC

"Do not allow other people to influence you with their own negativity.  If you believe in yourself enough to do something great, then do it.  You do not need anyone's approval to make that something a reality."

Trey Jones

Lone Star Land Design

"Hire character and train skill."

Taseer Badar

True View Realty Partners Two, L.P.

"If you wait for the perfect time to begin something new you will be waiting your entire life.  There is no 'perfect time' to change the direction of your life.  Instead of waiting - commit, persevere, and enjoy the experience."

Kyle D. Barrington

Zajonc Corp

"Seek out a mentor and then become a mentor to someone."

Todd Sorrel, Gordon Sorrel

Select Premium Services, Inc.

"Remember to do the right thing at all costs; it will pay off in the long run, even if it's more expensive in the short term."

Ryan Kobermann, Beth Kobermann

ESN Health

"Constantly work to broaden your knowledge about your industry and business in general."

William Sims

Accent Wire, Ltd.

"Choose well when you choose a business partner; take the time to get to know them well.  You will need to trust them as well as depend on them.  It's better to pass up a great business opportunity than to go into business with someone who you can't fully trust."

Todd Smith, Scott Holder

Texas Quail Farms L.P.

"You can buy office supplies anywhere but people like buying from people they trust.  At Tejas, we believe that personal relationships still matter and as long as we can be a trusted advisor to our clients we can compete with anyone."

Stephen M. Fraga, Lupe Fraga

Tejas Office Products, Inc.

"Hire future leaders that are smarter than you.  Cast for them a clear vision of what the future could be and should be.  Develop in them the moral courage to always do what is right no matter what, even when it's hard.  Empower them to exercise initiative and to develop plans to shape your vision.  Finally, give them the authority to execute those plans and make your vision a reality."

Lee Sechrist

Synergy Creations Group, LLC

"Surround yourself with good people and then give them the tools they need to be successful."

Jeff McDougall, Jeff Durrant

PivotPoint Solutions

"Say what you'll do and do what you say.  A successful business is built on a foundation of honesty and integrity.  A great reputation supported by this foundation may take years to build but can be lost in one day."

Michael Martin

Rio Queen, Inc.

"A lot of people have ideas, but few have the courage and belief in themselves to do something about them.  If you aren't willing to invest in yourself, don't expect anyone else to do so."

Joanne Vest

Schedule 2 Drive, L.P.

The Aggie 100 are the 100 fastest growing businesses over the past two years owned, founded, or managed by Texas A&M graduates.  Service Nation, Inc., which operates the Service Roundtable, Retail Contractor Coalition, and the Service Nation Alliance, was fortunate enough to be achieve #43 in the 2011 Aggie 100.  Dr. Richard Lester, Executive Director of the Center for New Ventures and Entrepreneurship with the Mays Business School graciously allowed me to share these quotes, excerpted from "Aggie Legacy of Leadership."

Thriving in Today's Workplace

Kirsten Olson wrote an article last year titled New Learners for the New Economy. She tells college students and those who recently graduated, what habits and attitudes are crucial for thriving in the workplace.

Kirsten's essay is so relevant, that not only does it pertain to students, it pertains to business owners, managers and coworkers. And, if you substitute a few nouns, it pertains to Australian aborigines. Really. It's that relevant.

Kirsten asks her readers, "What learning attributes do employers seek in the flatter, fragmented, and constantly changing workplace?"

Most of us employers are so busy trying to run our businesses, we don't give much thought to what sort of learning attributes we should be seeking in prospective coworkers. Fortunately for us Kirsten did. She calls them habitudes (habits plus attitudes). Check them out:

New learners for the new economy...

1. Are highly adaptive.
2. Ask great questions.
3. Are curious about everything.
4. Have a broad knowledge base that they are always expanding.
5. Are good at seeing patterns.
6. Are team players who share what they know willingly and generously.
7. Are a glass-half-full resource managers.
8. Understand that every contact matters.
9. Know that hierarchy doesn't matter.
10. Are choiceful about how they socialize.
11. Own mistakes and are error alchemists.
12. See learning as a pleasure.

Kirsten expands on these habitudes in her article.
Kirsten Olson bio.
Wounded by School, Kirsten's book.

Wounded by School is an eye-opening journey into the world of the American school system today. A system that is inept in producing the attributes critical for today's business community and one that was around when Abraham Lincoln presided over our country. The book also offers ways to combat the wounds inflicted by school.

Keeping Cool Under the Heat

My latest article on CB Hotmail...

The series of heat waves sweeping across the country this summer have been a welcome source of business activity for HVAC contractors reeling from successive regulatory blows, mild summers, and the nation’s economic malaise. Yet, the heat not only stresses compressors, it stresses customers, employees, and company owners. Losing your cool under the summer’s stress rarely works well for anyone but is especially detrimental if you’re the boss (i.e., the role model in your company). Here’s 11 ways to keep cool under the heat.

Read more at Contracting Business.

Do You Hire People?

A world renowned career specialist lists the five worst ways to look for a job:

• Looking for employer's job postings on the Internet
• Mailing out resumes to employers at random
• Answering ads in professional or trade journals, relative to your field
• Answering local newspaper ads
• Going to private employment agencies or search firms for help

This same gentleman tells his readers there are five questions that people who have the power to hire want to know:

• Why are you here?
• What can you do for us?
• What kind of person are you?
• What distinguishes you from nineteen other people who can do the same tasks that you can?
• Can I afford you?

If you're in a position to hire people, you're probably saying, "This information is of little use to me."

Really? Think about it for a minute. Do you search for prospective employees using any of the methods described above? Are you quantifying exactly what you need from prospective employees during the interview process? How does your hiring and interviewing process correlate with the advice being given to people looking for jobs by a world renowned career expert?

Sometimes we need to view our problems through a different lens. Instead of using a resource designed for hiring managers, consider a resource designed for job seekers.

The author I refer to here is Richard Bolles. Richard began writing What Color Is Your Parachute? way back in 1970. With the exception of 1971, he has revised and republished it every year since. Translation: It contains a boat load of relevant wisdom and knowledge. This book is one of the best books that I've ever read. I highly recommend picking up a copy today!

How Cavs Owner Dan Gilbert Screwed Up In His Rant About LeBron James

Photo Credit:  Dave Hogg

I had little passing interest in basketball star LeBron James' move from Cleveland to Miami until the Cavs' majority owner, Dan Gilbert, launched an online tirade against James.  Gilbert considers himself betrayed by James' move.  Apparently a lot of Cavs fans feel the same.

Anyone who has ever taken a chance on a new hire and invested in the employee's development only to see the employee leave for a competitor knows how Gilbert feels.  It's natural to feel betrayed.  It's stupid to rant to the world about it.

By all accounts, LeBron James is about as clean-cut as a tattooed NBA superstar can get.  He worked hard. He fulfilled his contract.  He made a move for reasons known to him.  Maybe it's a better opportunity to earn more money over time.  Maybe it's a better opportunity to win a championship.  Maybe he's sick of snow.  Maybe it's a move designed to avoid paying taxes as the Wall Street Journal notes in LeBron's Tax Holiday.

James has every right to pursue his career the way he wants.  What loyalty?  Do you think Gilbert would be offering James a new contract if he had a career ending injury a few months ago?

Gilbert's problem is his rant poisoned the well against a potential return by James after he fulfills his contract with Miami.  Since you never know what the future holds, it's foolish to close doors.  Moreover, budding NBA stars might look at Gilbert's behavior and question whether they really want to work for such a lunatic.  Why not play for Sacramento where the weather's better to boot?

When good employees leave, resist the urge to lash out.  Wish the employee the best and extend to the employee the opportunity to return in the future.  You might get a good employee back when he discovers the grass really isn't greener on the other side of the fence (and what a powerful lesson that will be for anyone thinking about leaving!).  At the very least, the employee will be more inclined to say good things about you to his peers and on social media.

Treating departing employees poorly gains nothing and risks sullying your reputation.  Don't do it.

Dumb Customer. Creepy Plumber.

A Knoxville, Tennessee newspaper reported that a plumber was arrested and charged with photographing without consent. 

Apparently the plumber was called for a leaking shower.  He told the customer she needed to take a shower so he could track down the leak.  She feel for it.  Presumably, he left the room while she proceeded to shower.

After she finished the shower, the woman noticed a lens in the plumber's tool kit.  It was a camera (presumably an operating video camera or there wouldn't be the need for the arrest). 

Clearly the customer's a low watt bulb, but that doesn't excuse the plumber's actions.  The story doesn't report the company name so there's no indication whether the plumber was the Principal or an employee.  However, more information is promised to be forthcoming, which could include the company name.

What if the creepy plumber was your employee?  Yikes!

How do you protect your company from creepy employees?  How do you respond if a creepy employee sabotages your company?

Think through your response in advance.  While you want to avoid hiring creepy employees in the first place, you want to think through how you would respond with calm and without pressure.  During the pressure of the moment, you might not select the best course of action.

Newspaper Source

Are You Going to Spring Training?

Before any game, athletes warm up. They stretch, loosen up, and throw the ball around. Warm ups are important. It gets the athlete ready for the opening play. If he skipped the warm-up, the athlete would play stiff. The baseball player might make a critical error. The football player might get beat for a touchdown.

Before the start of a season, pro sports teams conduct their own team wide warm ups. These are exercises in fundamentals where the coaches help the athletes to eliminate any bad habits in technique that the athlete allowed to creep in. Old plays are reviewed and new ones added. Players work on their timing and seek to make small improvements that result in big differences on the field.

Right now, professional baseball teams are gathering in the Cactus and Grapefruit Leagues. Spring Training costs baseball owners a fortune. Think about moving your entire company across the country for six weeks, putting everyone up in hotels, renting office space, and then returning. While the baseball owners charge for attendance to exhibition games, the games are held in leased ball parks with capacities that are a fraction of the major league ballparks. The revenue doesn’t cover the expense.

Football teams not only have a pre-season to tune-up, but off-season training and mini-camps. Since many of these camps are voluntary, the teams pay the players big bucks in the form of bonuses to encourage attendance. It was reported today that the Cincinnati Bengals’ Chad Ochocinco is passing up a $250,000 bonus so that he can participate in Dancing With The Stars.

Professional athletes are already good or they wouldn’t be able to make a living playing a kid’s game. Yet, they still need pre-season work to get back in playing form.

For the team owners it’s no game. It’s a business. And the owners recognize the value to their businesses from pre-season warm-ups.

What about your business? What are you doing for your company and for your best players? For that matter, what are you doing for yourself? If you don’t know, click here to check out the Service Roundtable’s Spring Training Opportunities.

Lean Management

This is a nice presentation on lean management, which can be applied by companies of any size. Essentially, view every activity through a customer prism. Does it improve the value proposition for the customer? If not, why are you doing it?

McDonald's Dirty Trick

I had to catch a 6:20 a.m. flight to Orlando this morning, which meant I was in the airport around 5:30 a.m., looking for a place to grab breakfast. My choice was McDonald's or... um... well... nothing.

McDonald's was the only restaurant that was open. None of the others looked close to opening. I doubted any would open before 6:30 a.m. at the earliest, leaving McDonald's with a competition free hour.

What a dirty trick by Mickey D, staying open longer hours than the competition!

Given the length of the line in front of McDonald's, I suspect any other restaurant would peel off one third of McDonald's customers based on the line alone. The restaurant owners/managers don't even know how much business they're missing by not opening an hour or two earlier.

A lack of operating hours does not only affect airport fast food. It also impacts service contractors who do not want to stay open an hour or two later or who seek to avoid Saturday service. Like the closed fast food restaurants, they have no idea how much business they're losing.

If a homeowner loses a water heater Friday evening, calls your company and gets an answering machine, do you really think he's going to wait until you get around to calling him back sometime on Monday?

Some service contractors make a conscious decision to shut down at 5:00 p.m. and on the weekend. This is okay if the company has plenty of business during normal operating hours and can accept losing emergency service. However, contractors who complain about a lack of business while limiting hours can only blame the guy in the mirror.

Thinking Beyond Stage One

Thomas Sowell has been called "America's leading intellectual" and with the passing of Milton Friedman, is considered by many to be the nation's top economist. To those of us who view both intellectuals and economists with a skeptical eye, Dr. Sowell is a reminder that worthy individuals remain in each group.

In the preface of his revised edition of Applied Economics, Dr. Sowell offers advice on thinking through public policy decisions that can equally apply to management, marketing, compensation systems, and more. Dr. Sowell writes...

One Stage Thinking

When I was an undergraduate studying economics under Professor Arthur Smithies of Harvard, he asked me in class one day what policy I favored on a particular issue of the times. Since I had strong feelings on that issue, I proceeded to answer him with enthusiasm, explaining what beneficial consequences I expected from the policy I advocated.

"And then what will happen?" he asked.

The question caught me off guard. However, as I thought about it, it became clear that the situation I described would lead to other economic consequences, which I then began to consider and to spell out.

"And then what will happen after that?" Professor Smithies asked.

As I analyzed how the further economic reactions to the policy would unfold, I began to realize that these reactions would lead to consequences much less desireable than those at the first stage, and I began to waiver somewhat.

And then what will happen?" Smithies persisted.

By now I was beginning to see that the economic reverberations of the policy I advocated were likely to be pretty disasterous-- and, in fact, much worse than the initial situation that it was designed to improve.

Simple as this little exercise might seem, it went further than most economic discussions about policies on a wide range of issues. Most thinking stops at stage one.

While Dr. Sowell is speaking to public policy, his advice applies to most management decisions. In fact, it applies to most life decisions. Much decision making is reactive. We're presented with a problem and formulate an action in response. However, the response results in other consequences, some of which may be undesireable.

Dr. Sowell advocates thinking through the immediate consequences (stage one), and then thinking through the consequences to the consequences (stage two) and their consequences (stage three). As you face a management decision, keep asking yourself, "And then what happens?"

Most service company owners came up through the field. Earlier in their careers they worked with their hands, solving technical problems. In field service, one learns the pitfalls of stage one thinking the first time a symptom is corrected while the underlying problems remains unaddressed. The result of this type of stage one thinking is a callback, with all of the stress, irritation, expense, and embarrassment that accompany it. It doesn't take many callbacks before one slows down and starts thinking problems through.

Management and marketing problems are no different than technical problems with regard to the need to think beyond stage one. The consequences, of course, may be far greater.

When you're faced with a decision, stop and ask yourself, "And then what will happen?"

How To Attend A Conference

Industry conferences and shows are excellent opportunities to pick up new ideas, to source new products, to motivate yourself, to recharge your batteries, and to have a good time. Most people, however, fail to maximize their opportunities. Here are 10 ways to get more out of your next show...


1. Plan

If seminars are concurrent, identify the seminars you most want to attend in advance. Depending on how seminars repeat, it may take a little juggling to hit the sessions you want to attend the most.

People usually choose seminars based on the topic or the speaker. Some topics address an issue you are facing or interested in. Some speakers are so good and/or knowledgeable that any session they lead is worth attending.

If two or more people from your company are attending, divide the seminars so you can cover as many as possible.

If a show accompanies the seminars, identify the vendors you want to visit in advance. Do not simply stop by the companies you're already familiar with. Try to visit new companies with new products and services.

After visiting the booths on your list, take time to walk the show floor. Be methodical, taking it aisle by aisle. You never know what you might find, which is the whole purpose for being there.

Often, vendors hold special sales for shows. Come prepared to act and you can save yourself quite a bit of money.


2. Walk Out of Bad Seminars

I know this sounds rude, but don't be afraid of walking out of a seminar if the topic isn't what you expected or need, or if the speaker is poor. You're paying too much money to attend the conference to sit through a bad seminar.

If you feel the need to leave, do so quickly and as unobtrusively as possible.


3. Adjust the Plan

In between seminar sessions ask others what sessions they attended, what was covered, and how well they liked them. Ask about the show. What was new and exciting. Based on the feedback you receive, don't be afraid to change your priorities.


4. Take Lots of Notes

There's so much information flying around conferences that it's easy to forget great ideas. One approach is to use 3X5 or 4X6 cards. The smaller size makes them easy to stick in your back pocket (lots of ideas get kicked around at hospitality rooms in the evenings). Try to limit yourself to one idea per card. I'll why explain later.


5. Don't Eat Alone

At lunch, sit down with people you don't know. Introduce yourself. Try to ask three or more questions of everyone at the table. You never know who you might meet and what you might learn.

Ask someone to join you for dinner. It's another opportunity to network and pick the brains of your peers. Don't eat alone.


6. Attend the Hospitality Functions

Some of the best educational opportunities arise during vendor hospitality functions. Be alert for new ideas, for new connections, and for people who have faced similar problems to those you face, but who have overcome them.


7. Limit the Alcohol

Have fun, but not in excess. You're attending the conference to learn. Don't drink so much that you have trouble getting up for the 8:00 a.m. seminar the next morning.


8. Don't Forget Business Cards

Duh. For multi-day conferences, put your business cards behind your name badge. That lessens the potential that you'll leave all of your cards in your room since most conferences practically mandate the continual use of your conference name badge. This is also a good place to stuff drink or meal tickets if they're included in your conference registration.


9. Recap Daily

Before going out to eat, take a few minutes to jot down additional notes and to adjust your plan for the following day, if necessary.


10. Debrief & Prioritize

At the end of the conference, spend an hour or so with everyone from your company who attended the show. Capture any new ideas on 4X6 cards. As a group, take your 4X6 cards and sort through them. Find the ONE idea you want to attack first. Then select the second and third. Work on the top priority before anything else. Next, tackle the number two priority.

Absent a method of priortization, the tendency is to get home and be so overwhelmed by all of the information that you do nothing OR to try and do everything at once so that you accomplish nothing.

"Vision Trumps All Other Senses"

Photo: Dreamglow
We recall information better when we see it. How much better? Try SIX TIMES better.

In his book Brain Rules, John Medina cites a study by LJ Najjar, about information recall. If we hear something, we remember 10% of it three days later. If we see something, we remember 35% of the visual. If we see and hear the information, we remember 65%. Adding a visual increases recall by a factor of six!

What does this mean for your company?


1. Marketing

Long copy's not dead. Remember, long copy still sells. Long copy, by itself, may even be effective. But it's not as effective as it could be. Graphics and/or images make marketing more striking and more memorable.

If someone is still peddling all-copy direct mail or newspaper ads to you, remind the ad peddler that we're living in the 21st century. We can do more with images today. It's easier than ever, though never easy. And we know it makes our marketing more effective. Tell the ad peddler to put more effort into his craft can come back with visually appealing, graphically exciting support for the persuasive, sales-in-print copy.


2. Training

If you want better recall of your training, add visual support. Seeing may or may not be believing, but it is remembering.


3. Coaching

What works for service meetings also works one-on-one. Maybe you won't whip out a computer and LCD projector when coaching individuals, but you can draw diagrams.


4. Managing

Rather than simply report performance numbers, create visuals. These can be as simple as a bar chart or pie chart. Charting performance improves recall and drives home the results.


5. Selling

In sales presentations, seek ways to make points visually. This can be through the use of props (mentioned in an earlier Comanche Marketing post), presentation books, sales literature, and/or physically pointing something out to the homeowner.

Note: I got the statistics from Medina's book by way of the following presentation. This is worth watching if you ever give a PowerPoint presentation.

Subject to Change

This is a nice presentation that will help you to think about your business and offerings from a customer perspective.

Tips on Empowering Service Workers

The following video, courtesy of the Wall Street Journal, features Thunderbird School of Global Management professor David Bowen talking about ways companies can empower frontline service workers.

Paycheck Pump Up

I get a lot of great ideas from Juan Cardona, owner of JC Heating & Cooling in Cross Lanes, West Virginia. He's one of those guys who spills ideas without consciously realizing it. I got another today.

"I really liked this," Juan wrote in Facebook about the Mabel & The Wal-Mart Greeter story. "Every employee is getting a copy of it in this week's payroll check."

I often talk about seeking out large area employers for the purpose of getting a discount card or promotion stuffed in employee paychecks. After all, that's one envelope people are guaranteed to open.

It never occurred to me that a contractor could use the same approach to communicate with his (or her) own employees. Take a cue from Juan. Stuff a motivational message in every paycheck at least once a month. While you could do it every week, infrequency probably increases readership.

And for a lots of information to choose from, keep reading Comanche Marketing!

Mabel & The Wal-Mart Greeter

I love the local Kroger. It's close enough to walk to, though I always drive. It's got great produce, dozens of cheeses, an olive bar, hard to find food from around the world, a decent selection of meat, poultry, fish, shellfish, bread, beer, and wine. The prices are competitive. The staff is mostly high school kids who are invariably pleasant, energetic, and helpful. Except for Mabel (not her real name).

Mabel strikes me as... bitter. While the kids are kids, Mable is either older than I am or has lived a really hard life so that she appears older than I am. Maybe she resents having to work in a store with kids young enough to call her grandma. Who knows the reason. Or cares.

The point is that in a store with great service and helpful people, Mabel is the opposite. Where the kids call someone for a price check or give the customer the benefit of the doubt, Mabel doubts the customer, even for trivial amounts. While the kids apologize for the imposition of asking for an ID when the customer writes a check, Mabel treats the mere fact that customers want to write a check as an imposition.

As a shopper, Mabel makes you feel bad for shopping at Kroger and bothering her. She shows her irritation with a sneer, curl of the lip, exasperated sigh, and more. Worse than the attitude she shows customers is the potential that her attitude might infect the kids.

Mabel is poison. If left in place, sooner or later she will poison someone else. Then the disease will spread and the store will suffer.

The competition is waiting. Two miles to the east and two miles to the west are Tom Thumb stores, Kroger's top local competitors. Both stores have upgraded after the Kroger opened. Two miles to the north is a Sprouts, with better quality food, though less selection.

The perfect contrast is the Wal-Mart on the other side of town. The great Stubie Doak relayed his experience buying groceries at Wal-Mart.

Upon entering the store, Stubie grabbed a shopping cart.

"I was saving that cart just for you," exclaimed the Wal-Mart greeter with a smile.

"Well thank you," replied Stubie. "It's perfect."

Stubie said the greeter extended his hand. Stubie shook it and the greeter said, "I bet you're the type of person who never has a bad day."

Stubie said he felt great the rest of the day. In fact, he considered asking the greeter if he would adopt him.

Do you have any Mabels or Wal-Mart greeters on your team? Each affects those around them. Each affects the desire of your customers to do business with you again.

Telephone Customer Service Fundamentals

This is a great presentation to review with your CSRs and dispatchers on customer service over the phone. The only beef I have is the admonition to avoid ever telling the customer, "I don't know."

It's okay to say, "I don't know," as long as it's followed by, "But I'll find out."

Watch the presentation in full screen...

Eat That Frog!

Get more done...

Being Available Is Better Than Being Good, But Unavailable

I loved Elliott’s Hardware in Grapevine. It was a cross between the local hardware store and a big box with a better selection of odd stuff than the big box and better staff. Elliott’s employees knew their stuff.

When we had an office in Grapevine, I drove by Elliott’s on the way home. It was natural for me to stop off at Elliott’s. Too bad the store closed at 6:00 p.m. and I left the office after that.

Once, I raced over to Elliott’s, only to arrive a couple of minutes after 6:00 p.m. I was too late. The store was locked up tight. Another customer pulled up as I walked back to my car.

“Closed?” the woman asked.

“Yup,” I said. “I’m trying to patronize the family business, but they’re not making it easy.”

The store’s hours were especially odd considering Grapevine is a suburb of Dallas/Fort Worth. It was almost impossible for commuters to return to Grapevine before the store closed.

Home Depot and Lowe’s may not have had the selection, quality, or personnel, but both stores remained open until 10:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday and until 8:00 p.m. on Sunday. Elliott’s was closed Sunday.

Elliott’s is now closed for good. The store was leveled and a Bank of the West was built on the remains.

Elliott’s was clearly better than the big boxes. Being better is not good enough. You’ve got to be easy to do business with. Being easy to do business with starts with being available.

Are you available when your customers want? If not, are your competitors?

© 2009 Matt Michel