Management Lesson from Mr. Horiza at Western Auto
Do you want to Be A Better Manager?
When sports broadcaster, Mick Mixon was 15, he worked at Western Auto. At the time, they punched an old fashioned time clock.
After a few weeks of punching in at 9:00, Mr. Horiza sat Mick down and told him that seconds after 9:00 wasn’t acceptable. He should get to work earlier. Not at 9:00 but a few minutes before 9:00 because customers started coming at 9:00 and everyone in the store needed to be ready.
Mick said his 15 year old feelings were a bit hurt. But Mr. Horiza was more concerned with lessons learned than with hurt feelings.
Listen to Mick tell the story…a great reminder to those of us who work as managers, that if we don’t coach people to do their jobs better – we aren’t doing ours.
Excerpt from Business Class interview with Mick Mixon (1:37 minutes)
copyright 2009 - Business Class Inc.
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Controlling Clutter & Chaos
We can’t control it. The clutter and chaos isn’t going to go away.
All we can control is what we do with it. Block, skim, read, pass, do, study, analyze, file, trash?
The choices are easier if done with priorities and goals in mind.
Another helpful use of the Thoreau-ism shared in yesterday’s post.
Another good reason to KISS.
And another good reason to celebrate Clean Off Your Desk Day.
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copyright 2009 – Business Class Inc
Clean Off Your Desk Day
Clean Off Your Desk Day isn’t until January, but at my husband’s office, they’re celebrating it today.
They are switching from selling football to selling basketball, so now is a good time to clear the decks, shift gears and re-focus on new goals and strategies. A wise performance management strategy that is sure to boost productivity.
A clean desk is also a great idea for anyone who is trying to KISS.
So I’m celebrating too – tomorrow.
Would you like to join us?
copy 2009 – Business Class Inc
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Too Busy to KISS?
Those of us who would really like to KISS but are just way to busy, can benefit from this Thoreau-ism.
Are we busy doing important things?
Things that will make a difference?
Things that will help us get to where we want to get?
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copyright 2009 – Business Class Inc
Beat the Heat – A Lesson Learned in Mississippi
Did I tell you about the time Mack was ready to fire us because of a missing truck in Mississippi?
It’s a great customer loyalty story – about the value of beating the heat by taking responsibility and quick corrective action.
Here’s the story.
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We printed 15,000 books in North Carolina and sent them to Mack on a truck headed for Mississippi. The truck was due to arrive there in 3 days….a week ahead of our delivery deadline.
Three days later, it hadn’t arrived. The trucking company said there had been traffic issues and it would arrive the next day.
It didn’t. The trucking company said there were mechanical issues and that it would arrive the next day. It didn’t.
Mack was getting hot. We were too.
On the third day, Mack got so aggravated that he said to us, “If the books aren’t here in 24 hours, you’ll have to reprint them. And then, I’m going to cancel my contract!”
Working with a Bunch of Crack Pots?
How can you boost productivity and morale if you’re working with a bunch of crack pots?
My friend, Kim, shared a story with me about a man with two large pots, hanging on opposite ends of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it. The other one was perfect.
At the end of the daily walk from the stream to the house, the perfect pot was always full of water, the cracked pot only half full.
The cracked pot was ashamed that it could only deliver half of what the perfect pot did. After two years of this and feeling like a failure, the cracked pot apologized. “I am ashamed. Because of my flaws, you don’t get full value from me.”
The man said, “Did you notice? There are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other side. Knowing about your flaw, I planted flower seeds on your side. When we walk from the stream each day, you water them. I enjoy their beauty each day on the path and in the house, whenever I pick some to take inside. That couldn’t happen without you.”
We are all cracked pots – each with our own unique flaws. But these cracks and flaws can make our lives very interesting and rewarding – IF each of us can accept ourselves and each other for what we are, and look for the good in them.
Maybe all the crackpots in our world can be more than we’ve cracked them up to be.
copyright 2009 – Business Class Inc
The Joy of Independence
Note: Originally posted in 2008; brought from the archives in honor of our independence, especially the type of independence that boosts productivity and morale. Happy 4th!
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We crave it. We demand it. We fight for it.
We resent those who keep us from it.
Sometimes we get it before we are ready and we flail or fail with consequences from trivial to tragic.
And then sometimes – we resent the ones who gave it to us too soon.
Fight Dog Days with Ice Cream
Fight the dog days of summer by celebrating National Ice Cream Month. In the process, you can boost productivity, morale, the economy – even customer loyalty.
According to Wikipedia, July was designated as National Ice Cream Month by Ronald Reagan in 1984. He also declared the third Sunday in July (July 19) to be National Ice Cream Day. He stated that these two events should be observed with “appropriate ceremonies and activities.”
Wikipedia also stated that the ice cream industry provides thousands of jobs for United States citizens and generates annual sales of approximately 20 billion dollars.
So let’s stay cool, support our dairy farmers and all who sell ice cream.
Ways to celebrate with your staff:
Read more
Which Dog is Winning?
If you are fighting the dog days of summer, hoping to block their affect on morale and productivity so you can make the most of this tough year, here’s something to read, ponder and share.
A Native American Elder once described his own inner struggles in this manner:
“Inside of me there are two dogs.
One of the dogs is mean and evil.
The other dog is good.
The mean dog fights with the good dog all the time.”
When asked which dog wins, he reflected for a moment and replied,
“The one I feed the most.”
It’s true for the “dogs” that live outside of us as well. We can come up with good and bad in most every person, action, situation, etc. The one we dwell upon, think about, talk about or “feed” the most – that’s the one that wins. And when it’s the mean dog that wins, it’s hard not to lose morale and productivity.
Pass this story along to your colleagures. Talk about it. Print (see below) and post it on the walls. Post it on your computer (see below). Post it everywhere as a reminder that the dog you feed the most will win.
copyright 2009 – Jan Bolick, Business Class Inc
To use as wallpaper on your computer:
- click on the image
- click again to zoom in
- right click & select “Set as desktop background”
Or, for 8 X 10 printable version, click here.
For over 100 motivational and instructional quotes, visit our Quote Library.
Fighting the Dog Days of Summer
Many of you have been working hard to boost morale and productivity – trying to make the most of this tough year. And now – they’re here. At least for some of us. Those hot, sticky, summer days that Webster describes as “a period of stagnation or inactivity”.
The ancients believed that these hot, sultry days were caused by Sirius (Latin for the “Dog Star”), which rose just before or right at sunrise during this time of year. In an effort to appease the rage of Sirius, they sacrificed a brown dog at the beginning of Dog Days.
In 1813, John Brady wrote that the heat was so excessive that “the seas boiled, wine turned sour, dogs grew mad, and all creatures became languid, causing to man burning fevers, hysterics, and phrensies”. From Clavis Calendarium, by John Brady, 1813 (see title page and full excerpt below).
I see signs of both the ancient and modern definition of “dog days”. Stagnation, inactivity, sour attitudes, Read more
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