In the last post of the “going mobile” series, I discussed the importance of businesses setting up mobile websites. A second opportunity for entering the mobile space that business should evaluate is if a mobile app is right for their brand and a fit within their business strategy. A mobile app differs from a mobile website in that it is a piece of operational software that is installed on the device and available offline. Whereas a mobile website is accessible through the mobile browser, the app is accessed generally by an icon specific to the app on the device desktop.
Recent studies show the average smartphone user is now spending more time throughout the day using apps than browsing the web through the mobile browser. So what types of apps are people using most? Game play represents the largest category, followed by weather, social networking, navigation, music, and news.
So, should your organization rush out to create an app? Maybe not. Before you rush into building a new app, determine how this really fits into your strategy – keeping in mind that a strategy reflects the needs and objectives of both the business and the customers. While every business would love to have customers that eagerly await their press releases, latest news, and carefully review the details of their business on a regular basis, this may not really equate to the customer’s needs and desires. “If you build it, they will come” may work for a baseball field in Iowa, but doesn’t hold true to an app for your business. Convincing people to first download your app, and then to use it regularly can be a difficult sell depending on the type of app you have to offer.
Don’t write off creating an app just yet, though. Although an app doesn’t fit into the strategic model for every business, it is equally fair to say that apps do represent a very significant successful contributor to the strategy of other organizations. Given the volume of time spent by consumers using apps, and the value consumers perceive in apps (spending an estimated $3.8 Billion in 2011 in app stores), it is certainly a worthwhile consideration if an app should be part of your strategic roadmap.
Does your business posses some kind of information, service, or other offering that customers will want to access often or when they are offline? Does this need correspond to a benefit to the business – to better serve the customer, drive additional revenue, attract new customers, or compete against competitors to maintain customers? If so, than perhaps an app is the right approach. Get creative. Be innovative. Engage industry experts to help identify how a mobile app approach fits into your business strategy. It comes down to a straightforward value comparison for both the business and consumer. For the consumer – does the app provide a benefit (time saver, entertainment, satisfy a need, etc.) that is more valuable than the time (and, depending on your model, price) of downloading AND using the app (don’t forget – downloading the app is only half the battle, there has to be a value to encourage the user to continually use the app)? For the business, does the value towards strategic goals generated from offering the app (revenue, customer service/loyalty, etc.) exceed the development and maintenance costs of the app? If the answer to both of these is yes – than an app represents a great opportunity for your business to meet its goals.
Once you’ve identified that an app is a fit for your strategy, the next step is determining your technical approach. Depending on the needs of the app, you may select to develop it using cross platform development tools, or native development. A cross-platform development technique allows a single application to be created for accessibility across different device categories (smartphones, tablets, etc.), device manufacturers, and operating systems (iOS, Android, etc.). Cross platform yields a larger market segment across devices at a lower cost, but you heavily trade a more “natural” experience specific to the device and the deep level of device integration. For simpler apps that are highly general information based, this may be a great approach. Native development is created in a programming language more specific to a particular operating system (iOS, Android, etc.). Native development yields apps that are highly customized to the specific device with a natural feel and a clean integration with all of the features of the device, but results in multiple implementations and a higher cost. Identifying your specific organization, customer, budget, and app needs can help determine the appropriate approach technique.
While determining your approach, you must also consider what types of devices to target. Should you target iOS, Android, or both? Should you target smartphones, tablets, or both? These are critical decisions that can be identified only through an evaluation of your customers, your business goals, and the specifics of your app.
Although the discussion on apps has been centered around a business launching a public facing distributed app, it is also important to quickly note that apps can also be highly effective towards meeting organization objectives as internal apps. Internal apps represent an opportunity for empowering efficiency within a mobilized workforce, as well as providing additional customer service opportunities through increased availability to systems and information from the field. Organizations may find opportunities to use third party mobile apps already built for their internal systems, or create new custom apps, to gain a significant competitive advantage with access and efficiency away from the desktop.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Going Mobile - An Introductory Guide Part 2 - Mobile Websites
Looking back 10 years, and perhaps even less, many businesses were saying “We don’t need a website”. The profound impact the Internet has had on commerce in the modern culture has made a clear and compelling case that every business has a need for a website, and few would argue the value of at least a minimal web presence today. In much the same way, the explosive growth in mobile consumer patterns shows a need for businesses to cater to the browsing experience on a mobile device.
This second installment of the four part “Going Mobile” blog series highlights mobile websites - one of the most basic, and most important, approaches a business or organization can take in establishing a mobile presence. Once an organization has determined their business strategy by evaluating customer needs and business goals, the mobile website can be an effective tactic in implementing their strategy and connecting with customers in the mobile space.
A mobile website can simply be thought of as a website that is formatted in content, design, and experience to work with a mobile browser. While mobile browsers are able to browse standard Internet websites, the smaller screen size, nature of the device, and limited functionality of the browser yield many websites either inoperable or challenging to view and navigate. Traditionally, mobile customers have been accepting of these limitations. However, as the novelty of these devices wavers and they become the norm, the acceptance of a less than optimal mobile experience will quickly fade, becoming a liability for businesses that ignore this need. Just as businesses have come to understand their website as the virtual face of their company, a poorly functioning mobile presence provides an undesirable image of the company to mobile users.
An effective mobile website is more than simply a translation of the current Internet website to fit the screen size. The user experience design is absolutely critical for your site. Identify and understand the needs and objectives of both your organization and your customers as it pertains to your overall strategy in the context of a mobile device. Using this understanding, create the navigation, flow, aesthetics, and content for the site. Avoid long text, extensive scrolling, and deep background details in favor of more situational-aware concise and current information.
This second installment of the four part “Going Mobile” blog series highlights mobile websites - one of the most basic, and most important, approaches a business or organization can take in establishing a mobile presence. Once an organization has determined their business strategy by evaluating customer needs and business goals, the mobile website can be an effective tactic in implementing their strategy and connecting with customers in the mobile space.
A mobile website can simply be thought of as a website that is formatted in content, design, and experience to work with a mobile browser. While mobile browsers are able to browse standard Internet websites, the smaller screen size, nature of the device, and limited functionality of the browser yield many websites either inoperable or challenging to view and navigate. Traditionally, mobile customers have been accepting of these limitations. However, as the novelty of these devices wavers and they become the norm, the acceptance of a less than optimal mobile experience will quickly fade, becoming a liability for businesses that ignore this need. Just as businesses have come to understand their website as the virtual face of their company, a poorly functioning mobile presence provides an undesirable image of the company to mobile users.
An effective mobile website is more than simply a translation of the current Internet website to fit the screen size. The user experience design is absolutely critical for your site. Identify and understand the needs and objectives of both your organization and your customers as it pertains to your overall strategy in the context of a mobile device. Using this understanding, create the navigation, flow, aesthetics, and content for the site. Avoid long text, extensive scrolling, and deep background details in favor of more situational-aware concise and current information.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Going Mobile - An Introductory Guide
Going mobile – it’s a key component of the strategic road map of many organizations. The mobile market represents an enormous opportunity to serve existing customers, attract new customers, and explore new areas of business growth. Given the dramatic and ongoing growth in consumer mobile data usage and spending patterns, this is a market that cannot, and should not, be ignored. While some businesses are capitalizing on these opportunities, others may still be struggling to understand the landscape.
Not sure if the mobile market is a worthwhile investment? A quick look at a few market statistics shows the undeniable importance of mobile. There are 312 million people in the United States and 328 million mobile subscriptions – meaning there are more devices active on the mobile networks in this country than people. If we limit this down to just data enabled devices, there are still 278 million – with smartphones and tablets comprise over one third of this number. Data traffic on mobile providers networks increased by over 110 percent last year, and is anticipated to grow even more dramatically this year. Consumer spending and purchasing behaviors via mobile devices continue to dramatically increase each year. Mobile device consumerism is growing and represents a significant opportunity.
How do you get started? It’s critical to avoid a common pitfall of jumping right to the technology. Taking the next step into the mobile space is a business project – not a technical project. This is an important difference as it reflects a new method for connecting with customers, and not simply a new piece of software. As with any new business venture, it is critical to start with an understanding of the customer – their needs, wants, capabilities, common practices, etc. Next, understand the business’s objectives and goals. Once you understand your customers and your business, then you can formulate an overall strategy of how to best integrate the two. Finally, the strategy is translated into the tactical plan of how to accomplish these goals, including what technologies to use and how mobile can be engaged to serve the business and customers.
The most common approaches for “going mobile” are mobile websites, mobile apps, and mobile marketing. Each has distinct costs, opportunities, and uses. It is important to recognize there is no expectation that every business should engage in all three – these are highly distinct avenues and not appropriate for all businesses.
Over the coming weeks, we’ll explore these various approaches and opportunities for entering the mobile space. Each will cover the approach, appropriate uses, and benefits associated with the plan. Stay tuned for this four part series on “Going Mobile”.
Not sure if the mobile market is a worthwhile investment? A quick look at a few market statistics shows the undeniable importance of mobile. There are 312 million people in the United States and 328 million mobile subscriptions – meaning there are more devices active on the mobile networks in this country than people. If we limit this down to just data enabled devices, there are still 278 million – with smartphones and tablets comprise over one third of this number. Data traffic on mobile providers networks increased by over 110 percent last year, and is anticipated to grow even more dramatically this year. Consumer spending and purchasing behaviors via mobile devices continue to dramatically increase each year. Mobile device consumerism is growing and represents a significant opportunity.
How do you get started? It’s critical to avoid a common pitfall of jumping right to the technology. Taking the next step into the mobile space is a business project – not a technical project. This is an important difference as it reflects a new method for connecting with customers, and not simply a new piece of software. As with any new business venture, it is critical to start with an understanding of the customer – their needs, wants, capabilities, common practices, etc. Next, understand the business’s objectives and goals. Once you understand your customers and your business, then you can formulate an overall strategy of how to best integrate the two. Finally, the strategy is translated into the tactical plan of how to accomplish these goals, including what technologies to use and how mobile can be engaged to serve the business and customers.
The most common approaches for “going mobile” are mobile websites, mobile apps, and mobile marketing. Each has distinct costs, opportunities, and uses. It is important to recognize there is no expectation that every business should engage in all three – these are highly distinct avenues and not appropriate for all businesses.
Over the coming weeks, we’ll explore these various approaches and opportunities for entering the mobile space. Each will cover the approach, appropriate uses, and benefits associated with the plan. Stay tuned for this four part series on “Going Mobile”.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Change Management and Cultural Differences
I’m currently at a Project Management Institute conference in Dublin, Ireland. The attendance is comprised of over 800 project managers from over 100 different countries, leading to a great deal of diversity of management and leadership styles. An instance of such diversity appeared today during a session on Change Management.
Early in the session, the discussion was on the topic of the language of resistance, and the concept of resistance on the basis of motivation versus competence. The idea is that a motivation deficit occurs when a person does not want to participate in a change, and a competence deficit is when a person does not have the skills or ability to participate successfully. Two sample responses from a manager were put forth. The first is the statement: “I support the change, but, I don’t understand why this should have any priority over any of our current projects and we simply don’t have the bandwidth to support this any time soon.” The second statement is: “I support the change, but I’m not sure what you need from my team to make it happen.” The resulting question is: which statement is easier to overcome to implement the change?
To me, and most others in the room, it was instantly obvious that the first statement is a motivational problem. The person claims they support the project, but essentially state they don’t see any value and therefore will not be supporting it. They blame this on resource bandwidth, but it would seem this is more of a passive resistance to say no without simply saying they don’t want to support the change. The second person, on the other hand, indicates their willingness to support the project, but simply needs guidance for the implementation of the change.
A smaller group in the room, however, firmly asserted that they disagreed with this assessment. They stated the first manager simply had a staffing issue and needed guidance on how to reprioritize or to be given additional staff to support the change. They argued that the second person, in saying they didn’t know what was needed, was clearly demonstrating an unwillingness to complete the required tasks. Despite a few minutes of back and forth between the two camps of thought, neither side could convince the other of the merits of their argument and the discussion was finally terminated by the presenter to continue the presentation. The takeaway from this example and discussion was meant to show that it is much more difficult to overcome motivational problems compared to competence problems.
The key takeaway from the presentation was that all projects involve a change, and projects tend to fail because the project leadership fails to properly manage the human aspect of the change. Based on my experience, I would tend to agree with this assessment. The recommendation is that large projects should include a trained change management practitioner. I would certainly agree that for very large projects, this would certainly be a great addition, and for smaller projects it is definitely worthwhile for the project manager to focus on aspects of managing the human side of change.
During the question session at the end of the presentation, it became apparent that there was a portion of the group that did not agree with this assessment – the same group that initially disagreed on the motivational versus competence question. This group questioned that, at a project level, the addition of change management tactics would be completely unnecessary. Their position was that by the time a project was initiated, the client had already embraced the change and so no further change management was warranted. The presenter countered with the fact that most changes are initiated by management and impact the full company. The disagreeing audience was not moved by this explanation and continued to argue that change management is not needed on the basis it has already been accepted and further efforts would be unnecessary / inefficient.
I initially had difficulty understanding how this group could so firmly hold to this perspective, which to me seemed clearly incorrect. I noticed, however, that this group, which was dispersed around the room and presumably not colleagues, seemed to be of similar cultural / national backgrounds. To guess, I might think this included middle eastern regions. My theory is that this distinct difference in perspective originates from the management paradigm within their cultures.
Studies have ranked various cultures on their work environments and if they are more collaborative or hierarchical. In a more hierarchical culture, there is a more clear distinction that, within an organizational structure, information flows upwards, and decisions, strategy and policy, flows only downwards. In the hierarchical culture, it would be considered subordination for a worker to question or resist any decision made by management.
I believe this may account for the difference in perspective. For those professionals from such a culture, the concept of a change management would be of lesser importance. If management had approved (and funded) the project, then they’ve clearly embraced the change and desire it to be implemented – so no change management is necessary. For subsequent levels of management and workers, they should accept the changes without question as they represent the decision of a superior. Under this premise, change management would be unnecessary – you wouldn’t need to convince someone of the importance of doing something they fully intend to do.
Being accustomed to the management and work styles within the United States, it is difficult to imagine a paradigm of such subservience. The culture within the United States is much more questioning where it is not only acceptable, but often required, that various levels of management will express concerns and provide input on situations they feel would adversely affect the organization.
Obviously these differences could also be explained by differences in personal experiences, different understandings of the presentation, or various other factors. Regardless, I find it very interesting to consider the impact of culture perspectives on management and leadership styles.
Early in the session, the discussion was on the topic of the language of resistance, and the concept of resistance on the basis of motivation versus competence. The idea is that a motivation deficit occurs when a person does not want to participate in a change, and a competence deficit is when a person does not have the skills or ability to participate successfully. Two sample responses from a manager were put forth. The first is the statement: “I support the change, but, I don’t understand why this should have any priority over any of our current projects and we simply don’t have the bandwidth to support this any time soon.” The second statement is: “I support the change, but I’m not sure what you need from my team to make it happen.” The resulting question is: which statement is easier to overcome to implement the change?
To me, and most others in the room, it was instantly obvious that the first statement is a motivational problem. The person claims they support the project, but essentially state they don’t see any value and therefore will not be supporting it. They blame this on resource bandwidth, but it would seem this is more of a passive resistance to say no without simply saying they don’t want to support the change. The second person, on the other hand, indicates their willingness to support the project, but simply needs guidance for the implementation of the change.
A smaller group in the room, however, firmly asserted that they disagreed with this assessment. They stated the first manager simply had a staffing issue and needed guidance on how to reprioritize or to be given additional staff to support the change. They argued that the second person, in saying they didn’t know what was needed, was clearly demonstrating an unwillingness to complete the required tasks. Despite a few minutes of back and forth between the two camps of thought, neither side could convince the other of the merits of their argument and the discussion was finally terminated by the presenter to continue the presentation. The takeaway from this example and discussion was meant to show that it is much more difficult to overcome motivational problems compared to competence problems.
The key takeaway from the presentation was that all projects involve a change, and projects tend to fail because the project leadership fails to properly manage the human aspect of the change. Based on my experience, I would tend to agree with this assessment. The recommendation is that large projects should include a trained change management practitioner. I would certainly agree that for very large projects, this would certainly be a great addition, and for smaller projects it is definitely worthwhile for the project manager to focus on aspects of managing the human side of change.
During the question session at the end of the presentation, it became apparent that there was a portion of the group that did not agree with this assessment – the same group that initially disagreed on the motivational versus competence question. This group questioned that, at a project level, the addition of change management tactics would be completely unnecessary. Their position was that by the time a project was initiated, the client had already embraced the change and so no further change management was warranted. The presenter countered with the fact that most changes are initiated by management and impact the full company. The disagreeing audience was not moved by this explanation and continued to argue that change management is not needed on the basis it has already been accepted and further efforts would be unnecessary / inefficient.
I initially had difficulty understanding how this group could so firmly hold to this perspective, which to me seemed clearly incorrect. I noticed, however, that this group, which was dispersed around the room and presumably not colleagues, seemed to be of similar cultural / national backgrounds. To guess, I might think this included middle eastern regions. My theory is that this distinct difference in perspective originates from the management paradigm within their cultures.
Studies have ranked various cultures on their work environments and if they are more collaborative or hierarchical. In a more hierarchical culture, there is a more clear distinction that, within an organizational structure, information flows upwards, and decisions, strategy and policy, flows only downwards. In the hierarchical culture, it would be considered subordination for a worker to question or resist any decision made by management.
I believe this may account for the difference in perspective. For those professionals from such a culture, the concept of a change management would be of lesser importance. If management had approved (and funded) the project, then they’ve clearly embraced the change and desire it to be implemented – so no change management is necessary. For subsequent levels of management and workers, they should accept the changes without question as they represent the decision of a superior. Under this premise, change management would be unnecessary – you wouldn’t need to convince someone of the importance of doing something they fully intend to do.
Being accustomed to the management and work styles within the United States, it is difficult to imagine a paradigm of such subservience. The culture within the United States is much more questioning where it is not only acceptable, but often required, that various levels of management will express concerns and provide input on situations they feel would adversely affect the organization.
Obviously these differences could also be explained by differences in personal experiences, different understandings of the presentation, or various other factors. Regardless, I find it very interesting to consider the impact of culture perspectives on management and leadership styles.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Delivering Negative Feedback
In the operation of business, there will, inevitably, be times when projects don’t go well, mistakes are made, and team members don’t perform at the level that is needed. As a manager, it is often your responsibility to meet with team members to provide negative feedback and work with staff to improve their performance. This can be a very difficult task, and highly uncomfortable for both the manager and the team member. Especially in circumstances where you have an employee who is giving their best and has a great attitude, it can be very difficult to tell them they aren’t performing to expectation.
Early in my career, I made a mistake that is common to many new managers. I absolutely dreaded providing any kind of negative feedback to my direct report employees, and simply avoided doing so unless absolutely necessary. My rationale was that if I provided negative feedback, I would de-motivate the team member, cause them to be uncomfortable, and further exaggerate the problem with low morale. I reasoned that if I provided ample positive feedback on things that were done right, staff would recognize that they didn’t perform to expectation when they didn’t receive positive feedback and make changes accordingly. I further reasoned that problems were either generally minor and limited, and therefore not important in the grand scheme, or if frequent and large, would warrant the termination of the employee. So, I determined the best approach would be to simply let the problems lie, see if the employee improved on their own, and then if they got to a point too great, terminate the employee. As I matured as a manager, I realized that this is about the cruelest approach I could possibly take. Employees could be blindsided by a poor review, or worse yet, a termination they didn’t anticipate.
As I grew in my management abilities, I came to realize that negative feedback is critically important. At first I would use the biannual evaluations as the “right time” to provide negative feedback on problems. However, I realized that this wasn’t timely enough feedback and could result in employees being surprised and de-motivated. A better approach is to provide feedback as soon as possible. By providing both positive and negative feedback regularly, team members can clearly see where they stand, what is expected of them, and how they are progressing.
I’m a firm believer in the adage that a happy worker is a productive worker, and I think this holds true across industries and organizational levels. As such, I’m highly conscious of the morale of my team members and want to be certain that as I provide feedback it doesn’t discourage or harm their morale. Providing negative feedback, however, doesn’t have to de-motivate the employee if delivered constructively and tactfully. It is important to make sure to deliver the information in a non-confrontational manner. You accomplish nothing if the person is instantly on the defensive and feels they have to justify their position. I’ve found an approach that works well is to start by talking about strengths and things that went well, and then broach the problem area with a statement such as “an area I’ve noticed that we could work on”. I generally also try to be very clear with the significance of the issue – is it something that was very damaging to the project or the company, or is it simply something to be aware of an work on for the future. Hopefully, by being very proactive with feedback, most issues will be caught early and will simply be items to work on to avoid future problems. I try to make these conversations very productive oriented; going quickly from the problem to a plan to mitigate the problem. I try to ensure that the employee doesn’t feel the problem will prevents them from being successful in the future, harm the relationship with me as their manager or their team members, and that it is something they are empowered to correct.
The underlying idea of this discussion is that employees are, I believe, very interested in being successful and doing the best job possible. By not providing the employees with negative feedback, you are depriving them of the ability to be successful. Through providing an accurate and timely view of their performance, you encourage the employee to modify their performance to meet the specific organizational needs and demands and perform at their highest level. With this feedback, hopefully your team will become more effective. For those who are not able to adapt, they are able to see for themselves that they are not effective in the environment, and are not blindsided in the event of employment conversations. So, as a strong manager, it is critically important to overcome the discomfort of providing negative feedback, and have these constructive conversations with your employees for the benefit of everyone.
Early in my career, I made a mistake that is common to many new managers. I absolutely dreaded providing any kind of negative feedback to my direct report employees, and simply avoided doing so unless absolutely necessary. My rationale was that if I provided negative feedback, I would de-motivate the team member, cause them to be uncomfortable, and further exaggerate the problem with low morale. I reasoned that if I provided ample positive feedback on things that were done right, staff would recognize that they didn’t perform to expectation when they didn’t receive positive feedback and make changes accordingly. I further reasoned that problems were either generally minor and limited, and therefore not important in the grand scheme, or if frequent and large, would warrant the termination of the employee. So, I determined the best approach would be to simply let the problems lie, see if the employee improved on their own, and then if they got to a point too great, terminate the employee. As I matured as a manager, I realized that this is about the cruelest approach I could possibly take. Employees could be blindsided by a poor review, or worse yet, a termination they didn’t anticipate.
As I grew in my management abilities, I came to realize that negative feedback is critically important. At first I would use the biannual evaluations as the “right time” to provide negative feedback on problems. However, I realized that this wasn’t timely enough feedback and could result in employees being surprised and de-motivated. A better approach is to provide feedback as soon as possible. By providing both positive and negative feedback regularly, team members can clearly see where they stand, what is expected of them, and how they are progressing.
I’m a firm believer in the adage that a happy worker is a productive worker, and I think this holds true across industries and organizational levels. As such, I’m highly conscious of the morale of my team members and want to be certain that as I provide feedback it doesn’t discourage or harm their morale. Providing negative feedback, however, doesn’t have to de-motivate the employee if delivered constructively and tactfully. It is important to make sure to deliver the information in a non-confrontational manner. You accomplish nothing if the person is instantly on the defensive and feels they have to justify their position. I’ve found an approach that works well is to start by talking about strengths and things that went well, and then broach the problem area with a statement such as “an area I’ve noticed that we could work on”. I generally also try to be very clear with the significance of the issue – is it something that was very damaging to the project or the company, or is it simply something to be aware of an work on for the future. Hopefully, by being very proactive with feedback, most issues will be caught early and will simply be items to work on to avoid future problems. I try to make these conversations very productive oriented; going quickly from the problem to a plan to mitigate the problem. I try to ensure that the employee doesn’t feel the problem will prevents them from being successful in the future, harm the relationship with me as their manager or their team members, and that it is something they are empowered to correct.
The underlying idea of this discussion is that employees are, I believe, very interested in being successful and doing the best job possible. By not providing the employees with negative feedback, you are depriving them of the ability to be successful. Through providing an accurate and timely view of their performance, you encourage the employee to modify their performance to meet the specific organizational needs and demands and perform at their highest level. With this feedback, hopefully your team will become more effective. For those who are not able to adapt, they are able to see for themselves that they are not effective in the environment, and are not blindsided in the event of employment conversations. So, as a strong manager, it is critically important to overcome the discomfort of providing negative feedback, and have these constructive conversations with your employees for the benefit of everyone.
Give 'Em a Big Bear Hug
My first real employment was at the Big Bear Grocery store in Hurricane, West Virginia. This was a summer job immediately following my high school graduation. I was employed as a “bag boy”. I enjoyed this summer experience and actually learned a number of great business lessons that has remained with me over the years.
A few weeks after I began my job at Big Bear, there was a change in corporate management over the chain of large grocery stores. It was announced that the new CEO would be making a visit to each of the regions and meeting with all of the employees. Although some employees were frustrated to have to go to a meeting, others, including myself, were very enthusiastic to get to meet the new CEO. It was very exciting to think that he was interested in speaking with even the newest entry level employees.
Business Lesson #1 – As a high level manager, you have a very tremendous influence on the morale of all employees. You set the tone for the business. By simply acknowledging, thanking, and paying attention to employees at the ground level, you can dramatically improve motivation and align teams behind the company.
The day of the meeting came, and all of the employees from our store and a few other stores in the area gathered in a large meeting area at a local college. We were greeted by a large and elaborate breakfast spread (hopefully from the Big Bear deli and bakery). After the breakfast reception, we were all seated for the CEO’s presentation. He began by talking about cutting expenses and saving money. He discussed various examples of where the company was spending too much money. For example, the produce department had plastic bags printed with five colors. He explained the amount of money that could be saved simply by switching to single color printed bags without having any affect on the customer experience.
Business Lesson #2 – Spend money wisely, focus spending on what will produce value to the customer. If you are spending money on items that have no direct or indirect value to your customers and you goals as a business, it is a waste of money. The key to this, however, is identifying what has “indirect” value. For example, professional development, competitive employee salaries, generous employee benefits, morale building activities, employee recognition, and community involvement don’t necessarily directly provide value to the customer, but by building a strong business, you are able to provide better products, services, and support, which is certainly a value added feature for your customers.
Another main agenda topic of the CEO’s discussion was the distribution of product return cards to all employees. Every employee received a small plastic sleeve containing business card sized product return cards. We were instructed that if a customer brought back in items for returns, or even told us they purchased a product with which they were not satisfied, we were to fill out the card with the item information and the customer could exchange the card for the return value or replacement at any cash register. This empowered any employee the customer came in contact with to provide customer service. The CEO further explained that we shouldn’t question or argue with the customer – even if they returned a product that we didn’t sell, or we knew the customer was taking advantage of us, to simply happily give the customer the return and thank them for their business. We were further told that, as an employee, we would never get in trouble for doing too much to serve a customer.
As an entry level employee, I was thrilled to have this empowerment. I was engaged and ready to serve the customers and felt that I had the tools to do so. I don’t think I ever actually had an opportunity to use any of the cards, but, I faithfully carried them with me and felt aligned with
the organization to provide outstanding customer service.
Business Lesson #3 – Empower your employees to serve the customers. Your teams need the proper and necessary tools, knowledge, and motivation in order to provide outstanding customer service. If any one of these three is missing, you will not get the results you desire.
Another amusing story from my employment at Big Bear was in unloading a truck one afternoon. I was asked to unload a freezer truck that had arrived early. Caught a bit off guard by such a request, I asked what all needed to be done. They said I simply needed to take everything out of the tractor trailer and put it in the large walk in freezer. So, I went to the back to find a truck at the loading docks, opened and ready to be unloaded, with no one else around. The food was packaged on pallets. I looked around and found a manual lift that could move the pallets. After figuring out how to pick up the pallets, I began trying to navigate the pallets from the truck bed, across the storage area, and through the freezer door that was only marginally wider than the pallet. I managed to unload the entire truck, although not without a significant casualty. I lodged a pallet against the freezer door frame, and managed to completely tear the frame off the doorway. I had to explain to the store manager why they needed a new door frame installed on their freezer. Fortunately, I wasn’t fired for the mistake – I also was never asked to unload a truck again.
On a particularly busy afternoon, I tested out the promise from the CEO that no employee would get in trouble for doing too much for a customer. The phone at the front stand kept ringing and ringing, but there were no supervisors around to answer it. As I was working close by, I could hear the phone and guessed that a customer was trying repetitively to talk to someone. I knew I wasn’t allowed to answer the phone, but I had a minute of down time between customers right as the phone started ringing, so I answered it. The customer asked questions about a certain product we sold – what varieties were available, the pricing, etc. I answered her questions and welcome the customer to visit the store to purchase the item. As I hung up and turned around, the supervisor was standing behind me with a smirk on her face. She told me that I had done a great job with the customer, but that I was not authorized to answer the phone and should never do it again.
I definitely enjoyed my experiences working at the grocery store. It was a great insight and introduction to the business world.
A few weeks after I began my job at Big Bear, there was a change in corporate management over the chain of large grocery stores. It was announced that the new CEO would be making a visit to each of the regions and meeting with all of the employees. Although some employees were frustrated to have to go to a meeting, others, including myself, were very enthusiastic to get to meet the new CEO. It was very exciting to think that he was interested in speaking with even the newest entry level employees.
Business Lesson #1 – As a high level manager, you have a very tremendous influence on the morale of all employees. You set the tone for the business. By simply acknowledging, thanking, and paying attention to employees at the ground level, you can dramatically improve motivation and align teams behind the company.
The day of the meeting came, and all of the employees from our store and a few other stores in the area gathered in a large meeting area at a local college. We were greeted by a large and elaborate breakfast spread (hopefully from the Big Bear deli and bakery). After the breakfast reception, we were all seated for the CEO’s presentation. He began by talking about cutting expenses and saving money. He discussed various examples of where the company was spending too much money. For example, the produce department had plastic bags printed with five colors. He explained the amount of money that could be saved simply by switching to single color printed bags without having any affect on the customer experience.
Business Lesson #2 – Spend money wisely, focus spending on what will produce value to the customer. If you are spending money on items that have no direct or indirect value to your customers and you goals as a business, it is a waste of money. The key to this, however, is identifying what has “indirect” value. For example, professional development, competitive employee salaries, generous employee benefits, morale building activities, employee recognition, and community involvement don’t necessarily directly provide value to the customer, but by building a strong business, you are able to provide better products, services, and support, which is certainly a value added feature for your customers.
Another main agenda topic of the CEO’s discussion was the distribution of product return cards to all employees. Every employee received a small plastic sleeve containing business card sized product return cards. We were instructed that if a customer brought back in items for returns, or even told us they purchased a product with which they were not satisfied, we were to fill out the card with the item information and the customer could exchange the card for the return value or replacement at any cash register. This empowered any employee the customer came in contact with to provide customer service. The CEO further explained that we shouldn’t question or argue with the customer – even if they returned a product that we didn’t sell, or we knew the customer was taking advantage of us, to simply happily give the customer the return and thank them for their business. We were further told that, as an employee, we would never get in trouble for doing too much to serve a customer.
As an entry level employee, I was thrilled to have this empowerment. I was engaged and ready to serve the customers and felt that I had the tools to do so. I don’t think I ever actually had an opportunity to use any of the cards, but, I faithfully carried them with me and felt aligned with
the organization to provide outstanding customer service.
Business Lesson #3 – Empower your employees to serve the customers. Your teams need the proper and necessary tools, knowledge, and motivation in order to provide outstanding customer service. If any one of these three is missing, you will not get the results you desire.
Another amusing story from my employment at Big Bear was in unloading a truck one afternoon. I was asked to unload a freezer truck that had arrived early. Caught a bit off guard by such a request, I asked what all needed to be done. They said I simply needed to take everything out of the tractor trailer and put it in the large walk in freezer. So, I went to the back to find a truck at the loading docks, opened and ready to be unloaded, with no one else around. The food was packaged on pallets. I looked around and found a manual lift that could move the pallets. After figuring out how to pick up the pallets, I began trying to navigate the pallets from the truck bed, across the storage area, and through the freezer door that was only marginally wider than the pallet. I managed to unload the entire truck, although not without a significant casualty. I lodged a pallet against the freezer door frame, and managed to completely tear the frame off the doorway. I had to explain to the store manager why they needed a new door frame installed on their freezer. Fortunately, I wasn’t fired for the mistake – I also was never asked to unload a truck again.
On a particularly busy afternoon, I tested out the promise from the CEO that no employee would get in trouble for doing too much for a customer. The phone at the front stand kept ringing and ringing, but there were no supervisors around to answer it. As I was working close by, I could hear the phone and guessed that a customer was trying repetitively to talk to someone. I knew I wasn’t allowed to answer the phone, but I had a minute of down time between customers right as the phone started ringing, so I answered it. The customer asked questions about a certain product we sold – what varieties were available, the pricing, etc. I answered her questions and welcome the customer to visit the store to purchase the item. As I hung up and turned around, the supervisor was standing behind me with a smirk on her face. She told me that I had done a great job with the customer, but that I was not authorized to answer the phone and should never do it again.
I definitely enjoyed my experiences working at the grocery store. It was a great insight and introduction to the business world.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Entrepreneurial Beginnings
I’ve always considered myself to be an entrepreneurial type of person. I have a passion for watching business grow and finding ways to make organizations stronger, more efficient, and more successful. While driving to a meeting across the state a few days ago, I began thinking about my first entrepreneurial experiences. I find these experiences now to be amusing and thought they might be something to share that others might enjoy.
My first business experience that I can recall would be in elementary school, probably around 4th grade. As a child, I always enjoyed drawing mazes – often quite elaborate and complex. I used to draw these and give them to people. So, as a child I determined this is something I could do to make money. I put together a book of mazes of all different difficulty levels, designs, and types. I talked with the son of the local grocery store owner who was a fellow classmate about making copies of the book and selling it in the store. Unfortunately, this plan didn’t make it far as I determined it wasn’t feasible due to cost for copying plus the cut that the store owner’s son required.
My next business venture proved more successful. In middle school, I opened a candy business at the school. The business actually began somewhat by accident. I saw a student who charged another student to borrow something, and decided to make a point to him. So, the next day I brought in candy and when he asked for a piece, I said sure – but it would be a quarter. To my surprise, he accepted the offer, and a few other students sitting nearby accepted the offer as well. Seeing an opportunity, my business began. The business lasted only a few months before my family relocated, but was highly successful. I would purchase candy in bulk, set the price for each type, and sell it to students during class. I carried a money envelop where I stored the money received from sales, money to make change, and the credit slips. Each of my “customers” was extended a credit limit based on how reliable they were with paying me back, and credit balances were due at the end of each week. In addition to the credit policy, I set other policies – such as a replacement policy that would replace the candy if it was confiscated by the teacher during class. I calculated and tracked the gross sales and profit nightly and kept books showing how well my business was doing. Although the business only made a few dollars a day, I was on top of the world and thought I was loaded.
After my family moved, I undertook a “construction” job for my parents. My parent’s new property had a creek that ran across the back of the property. The creek was eroding the bank, and had cut into the hillside about 15 feet. So, my parents made an offer that if I would dig an area for the creek in its original spot, they would pay $20. Thinking this would be a project that would take countless hours as the new path would be around 50 feet long, and would need to be dug fairly deep and wide, I declined the project. Thinking about that tremendous “contract price”, I went back to evaluate again the next day. I noticed that, although the new creek bed was lower than the original path, there was a high spot between the original creek bed and the current bed. So, I let my parents know that I would accept the offer and went to work. I dug out a few feet at the beginning of the old creek bed, and used the dirt to make a damn in the creek. The damn caused the water to pool, raising its level to the height of the original creek bed, and the section I dug out routed the water into the original path. The slope of the land forced the water into the original bed. So, after only one hour of work, I collected my $20 payment. Years later, the “Thornton Canal”, as I named it, is still holding strong.
Over my childhood years, I had a few other business ventures, but, these are the most amusing that come to mind. Creating a maze book, running a classroom candy business, and building the “Thornton Canal” won’t exactly propel me to the cover of Fortune magazine, but are certainly a fun early start to a business career.
My first business experience that I can recall would be in elementary school, probably around 4th grade. As a child, I always enjoyed drawing mazes – often quite elaborate and complex. I used to draw these and give them to people. So, as a child I determined this is something I could do to make money. I put together a book of mazes of all different difficulty levels, designs, and types. I talked with the son of the local grocery store owner who was a fellow classmate about making copies of the book and selling it in the store. Unfortunately, this plan didn’t make it far as I determined it wasn’t feasible due to cost for copying plus the cut that the store owner’s son required.
My next business venture proved more successful. In middle school, I opened a candy business at the school. The business actually began somewhat by accident. I saw a student who charged another student to borrow something, and decided to make a point to him. So, the next day I brought in candy and when he asked for a piece, I said sure – but it would be a quarter. To my surprise, he accepted the offer, and a few other students sitting nearby accepted the offer as well. Seeing an opportunity, my business began. The business lasted only a few months before my family relocated, but was highly successful. I would purchase candy in bulk, set the price for each type, and sell it to students during class. I carried a money envelop where I stored the money received from sales, money to make change, and the credit slips. Each of my “customers” was extended a credit limit based on how reliable they were with paying me back, and credit balances were due at the end of each week. In addition to the credit policy, I set other policies – such as a replacement policy that would replace the candy if it was confiscated by the teacher during class. I calculated and tracked the gross sales and profit nightly and kept books showing how well my business was doing. Although the business only made a few dollars a day, I was on top of the world and thought I was loaded.
After my family moved, I undertook a “construction” job for my parents. My parent’s new property had a creek that ran across the back of the property. The creek was eroding the bank, and had cut into the hillside about 15 feet. So, my parents made an offer that if I would dig an area for the creek in its original spot, they would pay $20. Thinking this would be a project that would take countless hours as the new path would be around 50 feet long, and would need to be dug fairly deep and wide, I declined the project. Thinking about that tremendous “contract price”, I went back to evaluate again the next day. I noticed that, although the new creek bed was lower than the original path, there was a high spot between the original creek bed and the current bed. So, I let my parents know that I would accept the offer and went to work. I dug out a few feet at the beginning of the old creek bed, and used the dirt to make a damn in the creek. The damn caused the water to pool, raising its level to the height of the original creek bed, and the section I dug out routed the water into the original path. The slope of the land forced the water into the original bed. So, after only one hour of work, I collected my $20 payment. Years later, the “Thornton Canal”, as I named it, is still holding strong.
Over my childhood years, I had a few other business ventures, but, these are the most amusing that come to mind. Creating a maze book, running a classroom candy business, and building the “Thornton Canal” won’t exactly propel me to the cover of Fortune magazine, but are certainly a fun early start to a business career.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)