"A Camel is a Horse Designed by a Committee." - Sir Alec Issigonis

I was told as I entered ministry, "You will never meet a committee that you like." I learned this over the years to be true. From a wife of another minister that argued with the staff that a certain movie was R rated (It was PG) to a Fellowship Committee member who bragged about how much he hated college educated people (In front of the Singles Minister, the Music Minister and myself - all with Masters degrees). Don't misunderstand me, I appointed teams of experts that got many things accomplished. I never worked on a committee of volunteers that had any expertise in the task they were assigned, much less any training in the job.

People Do Business with You for Their Reasons

When you are driving and you know the way you are going, do you pay attention to the mile markers on the side of the road? No? Why not? Because they are there, but they don’t make a difference in your final destination. You look for familiar landmarks or sites that tell you where to turn, or stop. You don’t use meaningless signs that tell basic information, but don’t get you to your destination. If the mile markers don’t serve a productive purpose to get you to your destination, you disregard them.

When you make a sales call on a corporation or organization, always speak with the person who has the most influence - not the purchasing agent or HR director or Executive Vice President. If the person you are talking with has to ask "Mommy or Daddy“ for the money, you need to get close to Mommy and Daddy.

Our family gets a kick out of watching “Family Feud” on occasion. Family Feud has popularized the phrase, “And the survey says!” They take polls in malls all over the US to come up with the answers to the questions Steve Harvey asks contestants on each show. It has become the most popular game show on television.

What good would it do if the answers were “rigged?” What if the outcomes were dictated to the people being surveyed? Do you think a scandal like that would make headlines? Would it make the program lose popular viewers?

Reinventing Retail Sales

Can you name this corporate giant?

The corporate founder realized that everyone didn't have access to a shopping center or nearby store.  He wanted to sell products to people in a way convenient for THEM... not his store. 

Convenience is where your customers are; not your store.

WHAT YOU CAN LEARN FROM TWITTER

Have you noticed how many companies have short names that make them easy to remember?

• United Parcel Service? UPS!
• Hennes and Mauritz?  H+M!
• International Business Machines?  IBM!
• Consumer Value Stores? CVS!
• Government Employees Insurance Company?  GEICO!
  

Did you know that the smallest state has the longest name? Rhode Island's full full name is The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations."  WOW!

Even many celebrities go by a shortened name: Cher, Aretha, Elvis, Anglina, Kanye, etc.

Today more colleges are awarding degrees to people who cannot find employment.  Young people have been told since I was a child that a four-year degree would be the ticket to employment and wealth. 

Yet the blogs from graduates of my college today all are filled with graduates seeking some kind of employment.

The fact is that today there are more blue collar jobs available that pay in the five-digits for people than ever before.  Mike Rowe, of the television show, "Dirty Jobs says that trade schools outnumber major university in placing graduates in full-time employment.

A gentleman asked me on the phone one day what qualified me to speak on Reinvention?  I told him that I am curious.  I'm an observer of human nature and trends in business.

You can learn a lot if you quit talking about yourself and observe what others are doing well.

Care Starts with You!

I had an appointment with a new dentist.  We checked with insurance and their finance office. Everything seemed to be in order and I received an email reminding me of the appointment.

That day, I arrived early to fill out the usual paperwork and was met with an unusual greeting.  "Sir, we have been trying to reach you.  Your insurance was never approved by our finance office.  The woman in charge went to lunch, so you will have to wait until she returns to determine if we can see you today." Turns out the receptionist had our telephone number written down wrong in her notes, but it was correct on my file. Somehow, she said it was our fault and I would have to wait.

Words Don't Have Meaning...They Have Usage

A professor once told our class that words don't have meaning... they have usage.  If someone asked you for a 'Plug," what are they requesting?  There are about nine different usages in the English language (including slang) for the word "plug."

A plug can be an electrical chord or outlet. A plug can be an encouraging  remark on their behalf. A plug can be a pinch of tobacco. A plug can be an old horse, etc.

I've discovered that most people in business use words without thought to the usage and claim a common meaning.  For this discussion we need to understand the difference between ignorance and stupidity. Ignorance and being ignorant, refers to someone not having prior knowledge or education on a subject. Stupidity is knowing but acting contrary to the knowledge.

 IF THIS IS YOUR BEHAVIOR, YOU ARE GETTING THE RESULTS YOU DESERVE...

Ask yourself these questions as you ponder that fact:

-Are you fighting for them?  They don’t trust that you have their backs when the chips are down.

-Are you micro-managing them?  They are dependable and creative, often with no credit from you.

-Are you keeping them out of the loop/in the dark? They have no idea what your vision really is.

-Are you getting in the trenches with them? They see you removed from their day-to-day grind.

-Are you are indecisive? They are waiting for you to give them permission to make you look good.

-Are you shutting them down? They have valuable feedback that can help you and the business.

-Are you being inconsistent with them? They are looking for stability and strength.

My wife uses a wall calendar to mark my speaking engagements, business deadlines and personal dates on for both her records and for me to keep track of visually. 

She needs one that she can erase information and place updates when times or flights change (as they do frequently).  That is hard to find, for some reason and her father’s desk calendar, while convenient, won’t allow for a full year viewing in one glance.

Last month I wrote about my father-in-law who uses a simple desk calendar to send out to his clients as an annual marketing tool.  I told him how the salesman convinced him to purchase the deluxe calendars with a thermometer on the face of the calendar. 

When my father-in-law asked him initially about the advantage of the pricier calendars with the thermometer, the sharp salesman said, “You are buying space on people’s desks.”  It hit a note with my father-in-law who purchases them every year. 

My father-in-law is an independent insurance salesman.  Every year he sends out a desktop calendar to all of his clients and friends.  It is an annual Christmas gift that comes just in time for the holidays and New Year’s.  It has a thermometer on the front along with tear away sheets for each month. It also has his name and contact information printed on the bottom.

IS YOUR ORGANIZATION "LEAKING" DISPLEASURE

I admired Steve Jobs because he seemed to never settle for enough. There was always an improvement coming our way when Steve was around. The iPhone was followed by the iPhone 2, then 3, then 4..... and now 7 and we have come to expect an iPhone 8 next year, If Steve were still around, we would expect an iPhone 10s at some point in the future.

Someone asked me about a year ago, “What will you do when the recession stabilizes and a ‘boom’ starts?” thinking I was a one-trick pony. My answer was, “I will reinvent myself again.” I don’t think you need to reinvent yourself once every two years. I think you need to constantly re-think, realign and re-assess your process or you will be EXTINCT in two years.

IS YOUR ORGANIZATION "LEAKING" DISPLEASURE"

You can’t control others' behaviors, but you can control how you treat people... and the results that will bring. The question is: What are you doing to promote animosity? Is your behavior leading your people to "leak" information to your customers? What actions are you taking to be self-aware and reinvent your leadership style?

People will "leak"...People will "leak" their displeasure to the world if they don't like working for their manager or boss.

Your people may not all like working for you...
for many reasons.

REACTING TO REINVENTION

In talking with Fire Chiefs over the past few months, I was reminded of a slogan we have been told since childhood.  When we are in a building fire, we are to stop, drop and roll.   Stop what you are doing, drop to the floor and roll on the floor to move and keep from burning.

The same rules apply to reinvention. When you want to change your organization or habits, you should stop, drop and roll...

Delta Airlines Skymiles program is now solely based on money spent....like an incumbent running for re-election! 

My wife and I were hungry following a meeting.  It was 8:30 and we felt like a snack meal.  We have never eaten at the local Chick-fil-a because it is always too crowded during the day.  So we went by there, thinking we could drive through and get a quick meal to take home. When we drove up, the Chick-fil-a line was all around the building.  

"THERE IS NO SUCCESS WITHOUT A SUCCESSOR" -JOHN MAXWELL

I have a sore bruise, so asked the flight attendant if I could sit on one of the pillows NOT being used in First Class. I missed the cut tonight for First Class by one person, so am in Economy Comfort... Neither Economy, nor Comfortable.