You Don’t Have to Sell Something to Gain a Customer
Recently I went to my local big box hardware store in search of oil to fix a squeaky door hinge. I have always had mediocre service at this place—nothing great, nothing bad. It’s usually a high-schooler walking around who doesn’t know much of anything but will give a half effort at pointing you in the right direction. They have decent prices, and almost always have the parts I need in stock, so I return again and again.
Pushing Boundaries and Pulling in an Earned Media Boost
How can your company incorporate and take advantage of earned media?
Community events and trade shows: Getting out and interacting with the community is a great way for people to learn more about your company, employees, and overall brand. Give them a good experience worth telling someone else about – or posting on social media.
New-Employee Orientation: Inspect What You Expect
Hiring a new employee begins a relationship with someone who was, more than likely, a total stranger to you not very long ago. Even if you conducted a very well planned interview process you still don’t know very much about this person and he or she probably knows little about you and the way your company functions. Without many preconceived notions, this is a great time for you to make a strong impression on your new hire.
Read This and Reap
I realize that I’ve cared more about what fuel I put in my car than what fuel I put in my head. Bad mistake. What you feed your mind is the single most important element of your success – or failure.
Best & Brightest: Questions & Assessment
In the previous installment we discussed the hiring interview. I mentioned that it would be best to have a set routine and agenda for the interview with questions that will paint a general picture of the prospect for you and more specific questions tuned to the position for which you are hiring.
Hiring the Best and the Brightest
Hopefully your recruiting effort brings you a number of qualified applicants for any job you have available. Your next challenge will be to choose the best person or people from those candidates.
Don’t Let a Boska Get You Down
A boska might be bossy, but somebody’s got to be in charge, and it’s not always easy. The next time you’ve spent your day trying to please someone you perceive as being a tough boss, challenge yourself to grow as a person and as a professional. Learn to work with that boss and fight through the challenge.
The Millennial Scapegoat
In his very first article, the Creative Composer is sharing a millennial insight – for millennials and non–millenials alike.
Recruiting: Attracting the Best Candidates
Recruiting new employees has a whole lot in common with finding new customers, which is something we, as owners and managers, do every day. We are continually selling people on why they should use our services. We advertise, ask for referrals, market by getting involved in the community and generally try to show that we are a good, honest and trustworthy business, that it’s safe for people to use when they need help.
Recruit People Best Suited to Work For You
My ex-partner, who had been in the business more than 30 years when we teamed up, described the auto-repair business as a constantly revolving door in which employees continually came and went. In training me to become a good manager of business and people, he stressed that I had to learn how to accept that fact of life and move forward with my business plan no matter how many employees I had to hire and train only to see them eventually go their own way. He taught me that I had to, as much as possible, leave my emotions at the front door. I wasn’t supposed to feel bad about losing an employee who I had put a whole lot of time and effort into. I was just supposed to go on to the next one. Although I understood that he had been burned so many times over the years that he trained himself not to care or show it if he did, I had a problem with it. I wanted to know why they left and if there was anything about my management style that was making them go and, if so, how could I fix it.
The 8 Things I Learned from the 7 Things Your Team Needs to Hear You Say
I recently swiped a copy of David M. Dye’s “The Seven Things Your Team Needs to Hear You Say” from Captain Reman. It got me thinking about my interactions with coworkers and what I can contribute to foster an even better team than we already have. And after reading and thinking about the key points more, I wanted to share them with you.
Finding & Developing Your Personal Management Style
You are a unique individual. There is no one else exactly like you in the entire world. The way you look and act, the way you think and feel, they are all yours. You have certain strengths and weaknesses that have helped and or hindered you your whole life. One of the keys to being a successful manager of people and business is to recognize and build on those strengths and work toward eliminating as many weaknesses as possible.
