management « KJA Mind Finds

Posts Tagged ‘management’

Do you prepare?

April 19, 2011

“Chance favors the prepared mind.” ~ Louis Pasteur

Michelle Corley : KJA Designer & Thinker

I have a friend who’s a firefighter…a job whose very nature requires the ability to properly react to a crisis situation. My job hardly equals it in danger and intensity. Let’s face it, a client may completely shred the work I do – but nothing goes tragically haywire because of it. That said – for both jobs, preparation results in success or failure. I dare say the same holds true for your line of work.

As a fire fighter – training fills the time between calls. Think physical fitness, rescue techniques and a whole slew of things that remind me why I’ve only recently learned to use “fire” and “career” in the same sentence. They’re exposed to various scenarios and situations, tested in different ways to build intuitive reactions. Because of this preparation, they grow more certain of their skills, confident in their abilities and able to remain calm in chaos.

Can you think of a better way to use “down” time? What know-how could you be nurturing? Surely there’s a skill set that’s grown rusty or worse, lounges around untapped. Consider “down” time as an opportunity to build momentum. Plan your next step. Be better.

Yes, idle time is good – resting and recharging can’t be overrated. But in a few tics of the clock, idle can cool to complacent, and the tepid devil of complacency leads you easily to lazy. Once you’ve nestled into lazy – game over. Your sluggish, cob-webby reactions stand little chance in the heat of a crisis.

Tags:business, creativity, management
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Service matters

December 15, 2010

Michelle Corley : KJA Designer & Thinker

What’s your deal-breaker?
A. Higher prices
B. Second-rate products
C. Downright cruddy service

No question, those fall in the “depends on the person” category. You might kick them back and forth, debate and postulate then choose “D. None of the above.”

While you do that, I’m jumping around with pom-poms and saddle oxfords cheering for C. Allow me to defend my rah-rahing.

Consider Target: hugely popular big-box store that doesn’t win the price war. Its focus on designer niches (everything from fashion labels to kitchen gadgets to indoor & outdoor accessories and furnishings) generates a “nicer than Wally World” feeling for customers. Shifting to better designed and higher quality products separated them from the competition AND improved their sales… despite missing the rock bottom price point.

So I count them as proof we don’t settle for cheap stuff all the time.

But most of the time, we like being treated with a modicum of respect. Ever had abysmal service prompt a frustration-filled “I’ll never go back!”?

This past weekend, I did my part to stimulate the local economy. Yes, I was a mall rat for a Saturday. At one department store, the sales lady was divine: patient with all my selecting, attentive but not pushy. At another slammed-busy retail store, the girl manning the chaotic dressing room maintained her sense of humor and our sanity. In four or five different places I saw obvious evidence of folks doing their jobs and serving their customers well.

Then I walk into a shoe store. SCREEEECH!! The nice relaxing Sinatra tune that had been bah-dum-dumming in my head all day came to an abrupt halt. Four employees were scattered through a space you could see from end to end in one glance, wrapped up in their own conversation. I made the loop through the store, passing within mere feet of each one. They never missed a beat, looked up or acknowledged a potential customer – in any way. By the time I left – empty handed – I was literally laughing out loud at the absurd contrast.

Oh and those shoes I was hunting? Six doors down I paid a very helpful gentleman $3 more for them.

So yes, I stand by C as a deal-breaker. I bet I’m not alone. Think about your own “They won’t get another dime from me!” experiences. Then as Christmas shopping shifts into full frenzied gear – take the time to make sure your employees understand the bottom-line implications of delivering downright cruddy service.

Tags:business, kja crew, management
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Make more from less

March 18, 2010

Less seems to be the focus. Less profit. Less customers. Less enthusiasm. Less money to spend on reversing the “less” trend.

Ok – so be it. On paper, maybe there’s less.

So are you getting MORE out of what’s at your disposal?

Your employees, more than ever, need to be on their best customer service toes. Above and beyond. Create more experiences for your customer to remember positively (and, ideally, tell their friends about).

Your products or services have to meet the changing needs of your customers. Different hours? New products? Expanded services? What problem can you solve for them?

Your customer relationships should keep you from guessing about what they need. (Shots in the dark waste precious resources.) Shore up those connections. Engage them and discover new ways to keep them coming back. Well-executed social media efforts can provide inexpensive ties to customers – both new and undiscovered.

Belt-tightening can tighten your focus, providing opportunities to learn and adjust. The more you do this – the less you’ll focus on “less”.

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Tags:branding, business, management
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Be curious

January 7, 2010

Sometimes you read something and get blown away by the simplicity of it. Seth Godin knocked our socks off today with his short and to-the-point Why ask why? blog.

Why ask why?

The secret to creativity is curiosity.

We often forget to teach kids to be curious. A student who has no perceived math ability, or illegible handwriting or the inability to sit still for five minutes gets immediate and escalating attention. The student with no curiosity, on the other hand, is no problem at all. Lumps are easily managed.

Same thing is true for most of the people we hire. We’d like them to follow instructions, not ask questions, not question the status quo.

Yet, without “why?” there can be no, “here’s how to make it better.”

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Tags:creativity, management
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Carve out some fun

November 11, 2009

You’ve heard the saying “the family that plays together stays together.” That’s not an old wives’ tale. Research shows that playing as a child taught us a huge spectrum of skills, which in turn helped us become happy, smart adults.

But recently, the compounding stresses of life, work and responsibility press on us – hard. In offices, there’s an all-consuming focus on productivity and quota-making. We find ourselves mired in the confines of business. Our smart and happy adult selves now boxed-in and tense.

Sounds like fun.

Rather it sounds like it’s TIME FOR FUN!

Years ago the team at KJA Communications Group recognized the importance of play in the creative process. We’ve learned that ideas come from relaxed minds, not from the hot lights of “we want it NOW” burning down on our brains. But we can’t say enough about the need for finding a place for fun in EVERY workplace.

The Halloween season provided us a perfect opportunity to infuse a bit of neighborly frivolity into the workplace. We sponored a building-wide Carve-a-Lantern punkin’ carving competition. Employees from 5 different businesses gathered round a big conference room, armed with assorted tools, decorations and templates and dug in. For a couple hours that Friday afternoon they were focused on something other than to-do lists. These realtors, home health workers, media representatives, insurance adjusters and a few ad agency types carved away some of the tension and stress from their work week.

Sounds like fun.

Playing at work creates a spirit of joyfulness and fun. This is a good thing, you want people to enjoy the place they spend most of their day. And, despite your misconceptions, research tells us clearly that offices where people actually LAUGH, tend to have people who are more productive.

As children, we formed relationships with our buddies at play in the sandbox. Apply that to a business setting and see how play can help us build communications skills, learn personalities and strengthen relationships.

Sitting around, sculpting goofy faces in vegetables stretched our funny bones. Who can’t laugh at a pumpkin with green onions sticking out of its “head”? We hee-hawed, we kibitzed, we got to know one another better. We learned that inside those big ol’ punkins… it’s really gross. And that if you put cinnamon inside a jack-o-lantern, it lasts longer.

When all was said and done, we returned to our respective desks, one last cookie in hand…as happy, smart adults. THAT sounds like fun.

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Tags:fun stuff, kja crew, management
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A democratic workplace

September 1, 2009

Unexpected finds are always fun. Doing research for one thing – happening upon new approaches and thought processes in the process. That’s good stuff. The find? The Seven-Day Weekend by Ricardo Semler. This book, published in 2004, was written by the Chairman of the Brazilian company Semco.

“As the control mechanism grows harsher and harsher, what’s lost is the central purpose of the business, any business – a satisfying, worthwhile life for those involved and a reasonable reward for their investment and hard work.” – from The Seven-Day Weekend.

Here’s what appears to be the bottom line: Semler enjoys life and he wants his employees to do the same thing. To that end, Semco operates way outside the traditional modus operandi of corporate culture. How so? Here are a few principles that may make your jaw drop to your power tie.

Employees set their own hours.
Salaries are not kept secret and employees set their own.
Supervisors are hired by the people who will work FOR them.
Early retirement is an option: take one day a week off in exchange for working one day a week after retiring.

Breathe. And quit with the “there’s no way that can work” thought already. Take ten minutes to watch this interview with Semler, just to see he’s not some flower-child hippie stuck in an acid trip gone bad.

Selmer basically allows his employees to democratize the workplace. The open-to-all meetings, the complete transparency of finances, the freedom to choose when to work… relies on people becoming invested in, and dependent on one another. They each have a stake in that which benefits them.

The individual effort required to make this work may demand a Wall Street sized stretch. It questions our capacity for independence. We like rules and, in varying degrees, being told what to do. Freedom and self-responsibility are harder. Do we really want to think for ourselves, take responsibility for our actions and then accept the consequences? Well, the comments left at the varying sites discussing Semler’s approach echoed with “I would love to work for him!” and “Why can’t we have more businesses like this?” and “Why can’t we all do it?” So some folks seem ready for it. (Of course the “ridiculous idea” chorus rang out too.)

The topic offers enough tangents for discussion and introspection to keep us all busy right through that seven day weekend. So let’s start with this: wouldn’t running your company in this way require MORE of your employees – not less?

As ever, the comment sections belong to you. Weigh in.

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Tags:business, management
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Sometimes there’s more to the message

July 15, 2009

What exactly possesses a group of otherwise mature professionals to scribble all over the sidewalk outside their office – with chalk?

Well, we know the secret…and actually find the effort rather admirable. Certainly their team of co-workers would enthusiastically agree.

The reason? Noles-Frye Realty agent, Claire Jackson, has reason to celebrate — July 15 is her birthday.

The perpetrators? Co-workers Maggie Thiels, Shauna Crist and Lori Shaw.

This very simple, light-hearted gesture was a way to bring a smile to Clarie’s face. It’s also a perfect example of what transforms a group of diverse individuals into a strong TEAM.

These three ladies – risking chalk dust on their office attire and enduring central Louisiana’s early morning humidity – sent a message to their compadre. Sure the chalk spelled out “Happy Birthday” but the real message – “We’re glad you’re part of our team!” – was expressed vividly in those dusty, pastel colors.

During a recent visit, Kleinpeter Farm Dairy CEO, Jeff Kleinpeter said something which seems perfectly suited here, “…people perform better when you treat them good!” That’s a solid principle to move forward with…and the Noles-Frye well-wishers are putting it into practice.

So from your neighbors upstairs, Happy Birthday Claire! May you have many more – and may you always be surrounded by people who care enough to celebrate them.

(And a major Thumbs Up to Maggie, Shauna and Lori!)