Tag Archives: management

May 24, 2019 · 2:00 pm

Consistently Human

It’s Foodie Friday and as we head into Memorial Day weekend here in the US, let’s pause a moment to remember all those who made the ultimate sacrifice so that we can enjoy our meals this weekend.

One of the things I’ve written about with respect to restaurants is the value of consistency. One of the best compliments I can pay to a restaurant is in saying I’ve never had a bad meal there. It’s a reflection on consistency – of the raw materials, of the service and, of course, on how the chef has his team operating in producing the same dish to the same standard. In a weird way, many fast-food places are better at doing that than many restaurants even though the cooking staff tends to be younger and less-trained in culinary arts. Even weirder is the notion that some places have gone to robots to do some of the cooking.

One of my favorite hangouts is a restaurant here in town. The food is consistent even if there is sometimes an overcooked burger or a dish that wasn’t plated with enough care. I like that I can see that people were involved. This is what I wrote three years ago about that:

Business needs to be about people.  When I eat, I want to taste the cook’s soul. I like the imperfections and that my pizza is different from how it will be the next time I order it. I enjoy personal service and the quirks of every individual with whom I deal no matter what the business. We need to be responsive to each customer in a human way. It’s why customer service agents reading from a script are just as bad as automated menu trees in my book. Who doesn’t prefer speaking with an unscripted human?

Many of us in business watch the numbers like a hawk for any changes. We might not pay as close attention to the people who make those numbers happen. If you want to make improvements in your numbers you need to understand human behavior – that of your staff and that of your customers. The numbers are a reflection of that. They don’t just happen.

It isn’t machines or numbers we remember this Memorial Day. It’s people. Let’s stay human out there!

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May 20, 2019 · 11:17 am

1,2,3

I’m back! I didn’t post anything last week because I went on my annual golf outing with my Board Of Advisors. All is well except my golf game.

I don’t know if you saw anything about a survey that was released last week. I did and I made a note to make it my first post upon my return because it makes a number of points that I think any of us could find useful in business. The survey was run by Civic Science which has been conducting online polling since 2008. It was a very simple question and the responses were astonishing, at least to me.

Should schools in America teach Arabic Numerals as part of their curriculum?

That’s the question. They surveyed over 3,600 people and over 2,000 of the respondents said “no.” That came out to 56% of respondents saying we shouldn’t teach the numerals we all use every day. Yep – those are Arabic numerals. Interesting, right? Kind of scary too because it reveals what happens when you allow yourself to answer a question based on your inherent feelings (or prejudices) without having a full understanding of the question being asked.

It wasn’t just a test of prejudice against the word “Arabic.” They also asked about teaching a Catholic priest’s theory on the origin of the universe. While obviously, it’s a much more obscure fact (the Big Bang theory was his idea), it shows once again that people will answer something without enough (or any) information based on inherent biases (53% said “no” to this, which is taught every day).

How often does that happen in your business setting? Someone starts to say something in response to a question in a meeting and suddenly it’s quite obvious that they have no idea about what they’ve been asked. It’s not just people answering the wrong question either. It’s quite possible to have an understanding of the question but no grasp of the facts required to answer it.

So here are three words (3 in Arabic numerals) to keep in mind: I don’t know. They can be hard to say, especially when you have a knee-jerk response to a question. But ask yourself if that response is based on fact or on your existing bias. You might be surprised what you’ll learn along the way as well as prevent your team from making a bad decision. Make sense?

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April 24, 2019 · 2:09 pm

Good Caddies, Great Business

I like walking the golf course with a caddie. I really don’t get to do so much anymore since not a lot of places employ caddies. Even rarer are the places that employ professional caddies (as opposed to some kid who will carry your bag but knows less about the course and golf than you do).

I was thinking about the differences a professional caddie can make and it dawned on me that some of the things I appreciate most about good caddies are the same things that can help transform a good business into a great business. Ironically, those things don’t include what is often cited as the caddie’s three jobs: show up, keep up and shut up. There are, however, a number of other things I’d like to point out.

First, great caddies are available. What I mean by that is that they keep up with you and are by your side when you need them to be. They also leave you alone when you don’t need them, as you chat with your golfing companions. Great businesses are available as well. You can reach someone 24/7, even if it’s only to get told “we hear you and someone will get back to you by 9am” and their website information is up to date and complete. Great businesses let you know they are available and they hear you.

A caddie is an epitome of combining service and convenience. That’s what your business needs to do as well. The convenience of someone buying online and the service of going to pick up the order at a special desk at your local retail outlet does that (and saves shipping charges as well as time).

Caddies are proactive. They have the right yardage figured out when you get to the ball and they hand you the right club for the shot. By the way, great caddies give you the club you need, not necessarily the club you want. After a few shots, they’re pretty good at assessing your game and understanding the best way to help you have a great round. Great businesses are the same – they’re proactive. They know their customers and have what they want before they ask for it.

Finally, the best caddies are fun people. They’re great to talk with, generally have a decent joke or two to tell, and help you to focus on your task at hand. They make it easy to have the best experience possible. Isn’t that exactly what great businesses do as well?

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