Tag Archives: accountability

Thanks and Goodbye

12 Oct

I’m out. I’ve written this column/blog for the last 2 years and it’s time to stop. I don’t know why, it just is.  The last few things I’ve written have felt forced. That’s not good.

I’ve enjoyed the time, the sharing, the ideas, and the inspiration. The truth is I’m on to what’s next. There are new responsibilities, new things to do, and my attention is elsewhere.

I’m always here to kick around ideas, and my blog will certainly stay up, but the weekly column is done.

Thanks again for reading; it was appreciated more than you’ll ever know.

“…there are more zero’s on my paycheck.”

3 Aug

A decade ago I was riding the elevator with my then GM Mark Kopelman.  He looked stressed, I think he had just had his second child, and on our way down, we started complaining to each other about how tough the day was and what lay ahead that evening.  Somehow we got on the topic of money and he said this:

“I have the same issues you have, there are just more zero’s on my paycheck.”

Indeed there are, a lot more I think, but what a profound statement.  We all get wrapped up in chasing what’s next, believing that it’s better on the other side.  If I only made more money, drove a better car, or had a better job, everything would be easier. In fact, it’s not.  Truth is that time and again research has suggested the opposite.  People with the least tend to be the happiest. They have learned to be content with what they have and where they are in life. I’m not suggesting we stop striving and driving for what’s next.  I’m only asking if maybe you already have it. Do you?

Things You Should Say at Work!

28 Jul

This is a list of thoughts that I hope you and your teams are saying out loud inside your office or workspace. If not, print this and keep it as a handy reminder.

It’s far better for you to be thinking this way, rather than your competition.

  • Let’s try it.
  • I have an idea!
  • What if I’m right?
  • What if we did this?
  • Let’s go ask the intern.
  • Have you tried this yet?
  • What if it doesn’t work?
  • What if this actually works?
  • Wait…I’m on to something!
  • But that hasn’t been done before?
  • I have a hunch, let’s hash this out!
  • What would another department do?
  • You can’t ignore the research, can you?
  • Let’s go ask our receptionist what she thinks.
  • What if we fail at this and embarrass ourselves?
  • Nobody else is doing it that way, why should we?
  • What if we actually did what our customers tell us to?
  • Are we doing this because it’s how we’ve always done it?
  • Look at the silent person in the meeting and say “What do YOU think?”
  • How would (insert a completely different company here) manage this?
  • What would somebody from outside of our industry do?
  • Is this a unique idea, or a rehash of what’s been done?
  • Is there another way to use this technology?
  • Let’s go home tonight and ask our kids.
  • I’m over thinking it, let’s just do it.
  • I’m not afraid, are you?
  • I don’t know.
  • Yes we can!

Blood, Kids, and Wal-Mart. What would you do?

22 Jul

A while back, I was buying a Blu-Ray player at Wal-Mart.  I was in the process of checking out when a frantic mom with a kid about 4 years old came running up to the register in electronics.  There I was with the cashier, the mom…and her bleeding 4-year-old son.

That’s right, he was bleeding.  I don’t mean, fell down cut your knee bleeding, I mean fell face first into a metal shelve and ripped open your chin, lips, and nose bleeding.

It was bad.

Mom was in panic mode and had simply run to the nearest employee and asked for help. To bad it was my man No-Action Jackson. This guy just froze.  She’s screaming for help and he picks up a phone and calls somebody else while the kid kept bleeding.

When he doesn’t get an answer from the manager, he tries calling another manager.  Of course, the kid keeps bleeding.

All of it unfolding before my eyes, he’s on the phone, she’s freaking out, and the kid’s screaming. I realized that what she really needed was a way to stop the bleeding, like maybe the paper towels sitting on the counter.

I grabbed them and handed to mom, you would have thought I gave that woman a hundred bucks.

Old man winter was still on the phone.

How come that guy had no idea what to do?  How come rather than dealing with the situation himself he avoided it?  Why was it not obvious to him that the paper towels would make some immediate sense until someone arrived?

Perhaps it’s just that I had the benefit of being a spectator, it was easy to remain calm and assess. He was expected to solve the problem and solve it immediately.   I’m guessing Wal-Mart doesn’t have a section in the training manual called “What to do when a kid starts bleeding buckets at your register”.

When things go wrong at work, what do you do? I don’t mean a bleeding kid, I mean when revenue is down? When there’s a typo in the 6 figure marketing campaign, when a customer is pissed about an experience, when you or someone on your staff has royally f’d up and you’re left holding the bag?  What you do matters. That reaction is the key difference between those who can lead organizations and those who can’t.  Know how to solve problems, it’s one of the best skills you can have.

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