Saturday, August 3, 2013
Monday, December 14, 2009
Company Culture
Last night I had an opportunity to attend the employee Holiday Party for REI, one of Fortune Magazine's Top 100 Companies to Work For "Hall of Fame" (having made the list every year since the list began). In just a few short hours of sharing chicken parmesan from their chafing dishes and watching the drama unfold during their Ugly Sweater Contest, I was able to discern several things about their company culture that could someday prove invaluable.
1) Transparency
It wasn't 10 minutes after we arrived then the Store Manager rose to address the crowd. Having worked in retail before, I was very familiar with the morning pep talk. ("Don't forget to really push credit card sign-ups today! Young women's clothing, you've for to do $64,000 today, so let's get to work! Go team!" and other meaningless managerial babble) But this was different. Instead of opening his speech with the amount of business that still needed to be done, he told the crowd of waiting ears that, in a nationwide company where the Conshohocken store ranks in the 80s in terms of walk-in traffic, they rank in the top ten for sales conversions. They rank in the top five for membership sign ups and individual sale price point. This was all really wonderful, important news, and it was a talking point of this occasion. Later, at the end of the party, we learned that the store needed to do just under $1 million in the next 19 days, but at that point the staff was so amped from a joyful, celebratory evening that it didn't seem like such a mountain to climb.
2) Enjoying a wealth of successes
I read this in a leadership/management book at one point, that successful managers acknowledge that success is not a limited resource. There is not a finite amount of success to be had in this world and if you want to get some, you have to trample those below you to get a greater share. The philosophy is that success is a renewable resource, one that multiplies rapidly and to the greater overall success of the company. Every victory, no matter how big or small, should be celebrated. Not in a "every kid in school gets a trophy just for showing up" kind of way, but in a genuine, results-based way. When they had a dessert baking contest, they awarded not just the top winner, but two runners up. And they had 30 dessert entries. I get the feeling that rewarding as many people as possible all the time and getting their staff truly interested in participating in events that other employees in other places might find to be a chore is definitely indicative of their company culture.
3) Rewarding attitude, not performance
The top award of the evening was called the Anderson Award. I have no idea who Anderson was, but it was the judging criteria that stood out. The winner received peer nominations and was selected based on most greatly exemplifying the core values of the company, which included optimism and authenticity. Coming from a sales position where awards are only doled out to the fastest closer, the highest biller, and, sometimes, the most aggressive asshole (to be frank), I realized how much I would love to be acknowledged for a good attitude (which I ALWAYS have) more so than for a momentary increase in revenue. After all, sales is all about relationships and follow through. You have no control over the market or over business owners' financial hang-ups, but you DO have control over your own attitude.
1) Transparency
It wasn't 10 minutes after we arrived then the Store Manager rose to address the crowd. Having worked in retail before, I was very familiar with the morning pep talk. ("Don't forget to really push credit card sign-ups today! Young women's clothing, you've for to do $64,000 today, so let's get to work! Go team!" and other meaningless managerial babble) But this was different. Instead of opening his speech with the amount of business that still needed to be done, he told the crowd of waiting ears that, in a nationwide company where the Conshohocken store ranks in the 80s in terms of walk-in traffic, they rank in the top ten for sales conversions. They rank in the top five for membership sign ups and individual sale price point. This was all really wonderful, important news, and it was a talking point of this occasion. Later, at the end of the party, we learned that the store needed to do just under $1 million in the next 19 days, but at that point the staff was so amped from a joyful, celebratory evening that it didn't seem like such a mountain to climb.
2) Enjoying a wealth of successes
I read this in a leadership/management book at one point, that successful managers acknowledge that success is not a limited resource. There is not a finite amount of success to be had in this world and if you want to get some, you have to trample those below you to get a greater share. The philosophy is that success is a renewable resource, one that multiplies rapidly and to the greater overall success of the company. Every victory, no matter how big or small, should be celebrated. Not in a "every kid in school gets a trophy just for showing up" kind of way, but in a genuine, results-based way. When they had a dessert baking contest, they awarded not just the top winner, but two runners up. And they had 30 dessert entries. I get the feeling that rewarding as many people as possible all the time and getting their staff truly interested in participating in events that other employees in other places might find to be a chore is definitely indicative of their company culture.
3) Rewarding attitude, not performance
The top award of the evening was called the Anderson Award. I have no idea who Anderson was, but it was the judging criteria that stood out. The winner received peer nominations and was selected based on most greatly exemplifying the core values of the company, which included optimism and authenticity. Coming from a sales position where awards are only doled out to the fastest closer, the highest biller, and, sometimes, the most aggressive asshole (to be frank), I realized how much I would love to be acknowledged for a good attitude (which I ALWAYS have) more so than for a momentary increase in revenue. After all, sales is all about relationships and follow through. You have no control over the market or over business owners' financial hang-ups, but you DO have control over your own attitude.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Warning Signs
(An ongoing list of things that I learned that, in hindsight, I probably could have seen coming)
1) Be wary of any employee that's been fired, not once, but multiple times.
2) Be wary of an organization that is run entirely by ONE individual. That literally means that no one wants to work with this person.
3) If someone you trust warns you about a person or organization, take them seriously. If you are interviewing to work with someone, or to bring someone on board to work with you, either way, it's your prerogative to interview them.
1) Be wary of any employee that's been fired, not once, but multiple times.
2) Be wary of an organization that is run entirely by ONE individual. That literally means that no one wants to work with this person.
3) If someone you trust warns you about a person or organization, take them seriously. If you are interviewing to work with someone, or to bring someone on board to work with you, either way, it's your prerogative to interview them.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Speaking of postmortems...
I never quite did one for my Fringe show.
WHAT WORKED
Selecting premier work by accomplished playwright and selecting stellar cast.
WHAT DIDN'T
Definitely overspent on what I deemed necessary costs. Ended up spending $3K and making $2K, so it was a pretty expensive experiment.
WHAT TO DO DIFFERENTLY NEXT TIME
Finding a partner to focus more on production so I can focus on directing. Splitting my focus definitely lead to an unfocused final product.
WHERE DID I DROP THE BALL
Finishing post-production paperwork for both the Fringe office and Equity.
Didn't have anyone assigned to FOH duties until the absolute last minute, as such, didn't keep as close an eye on box office and I wanted.
WHAT WORKED
Selecting premier work by accomplished playwright and selecting stellar cast.
WHAT DIDN'T
Definitely overspent on what I deemed necessary costs. Ended up spending $3K and making $2K, so it was a pretty expensive experiment.
WHAT TO DO DIFFERENTLY NEXT TIME
Finding a partner to focus more on production so I can focus on directing. Splitting my focus definitely lead to an unfocused final product.
WHERE DID I DROP THE BALL
Finishing post-production paperwork for both the Fringe office and Equity.
Didn't have anyone assigned to FOH duties until the absolute last minute, as such, didn't keep as close an eye on box office and I wanted.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Lesson 5
Never respond in the heat of the moment. Don't be reactionary - if someone comes to you with a "crisis" or if you find yourself in a tricky situation, sit on it (or if you have the luxury, sleep on it). In the heat of the moment, an impassioned response will almost always:
1) Make you look unprofessional
2) Communicate the wrong message to the intended recipients
3) Impart the image that you don't know what you're doing
4) Make matters worse
Take a deep breath, and THEN answer.
1) Make you look unprofessional
2) Communicate the wrong message to the intended recipients
3) Impart the image that you don't know what you're doing
4) Make matters worse
Take a deep breath, and THEN answer.
For Today's Lesson, Open Your Books to Page...
Why this blog?
In case there is any confusion in the future as to why I began this blog, I'd like to take a moment to explain it.
I've known from a very early age that my lot in life was to be a leader. Of the community, the company, or the asylum, you ask? It depends on the weather. Ever since I got my first taste of management while running a carnival in my backyard with a staff of 2 neighborhood kids, I knew that this was what I wanted to do.
This blog is a running total of all the lessons I am learning while I'm in the middle of the action. Sometimes I learn from mistakes that I've made, sometimes from the shortcomings of those in a position of power. Sometimes, when I'm lucky, I learn from a mentor and don't have to suffer to grow. Whether these are "Big Picture Life Lessons" or "Micro Mini Lessons," they'll be logged on this blog. This is not a public blog, nor is it private. If someone else finds and benefits from the lessons here - great! If I'm the only person who ever sees it, that will be time well spent as well.
In case there is any confusion in the future as to why I began this blog, I'd like to take a moment to explain it.
I've known from a very early age that my lot in life was to be a leader. Of the community, the company, or the asylum, you ask? It depends on the weather. Ever since I got my first taste of management while running a carnival in my backyard with a staff of 2 neighborhood kids, I knew that this was what I wanted to do.
This blog is a running total of all the lessons I am learning while I'm in the middle of the action. Sometimes I learn from mistakes that I've made, sometimes from the shortcomings of those in a position of power. Sometimes, when I'm lucky, I learn from a mentor and don't have to suffer to grow. Whether these are "Big Picture Life Lessons" or "Micro Mini Lessons," they'll be logged on this blog. This is not a public blog, nor is it private. If someone else finds and benefits from the lessons here - great! If I'm the only person who ever sees it, that will be time well spent as well.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Lesson 4
Keep track of the postmortem following each endeavor. Follow through to the end and beyond.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
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