Going the Extra Mile -- Actually 120 Extra Miles

This week's posts will be about going the extra mile in four different aspects of the business to generate, encourage and facilitate growth.

Actually, this was more like an extra 120 miles.

I landed at the Nashville airport once again on my way to serving a client in Bowling Green, KY. I like the Nashville airport because it is clean, bright and frequently has live music playing at a small stage just outside of security check in.

I'm on my way to the Avis lot to get my rental car and I stop by the window in the garage since I didn't see my name on the preferred marquis. They informed me they were out of my class of vehicle and were giving me an upgrade. Great. Only one problem, I was unable to locate my driver’s license. In fact, I left it at home and didn't realize it because I use a passport for security check.

They tell me it is a state law and they can not give me a rental car without an actual license, a faxed copy wouldn't be acceptable. Sure, I fully understood but what was I going to do? I needed to get to Bowling Green in Kentucky.

The manager told me there was a shuttle that made a run there and maybe I should also check with a taxi. As I walked away he told me if those don't work out come back and let me know.

No one was working the shuttle desk -- anywhere. I asked a taxi driver the cost for a one way to Bowling Green and he rolled his eyes and told me it was going to be around $130, That wasn't going to work either.

I walked back to the Avis manager and shared with him what I found out. He put his finger in the air and told me he'd be right back. Within 3 minutes a gentleman walked up to me and asked if I was Mr. White. I replied yes and he smiled extended his hand to shake mine and said, "My name is Leonard and I am here to drive you to Bowling Green." At that point the manager walked up and asked if this would solve my problem. Stunned I only asked one question: How much? The manager smiled and said, "Just keep on using Avis." I thanked him a hundred times and off we went, Leonard and I.

I got to know Leonard as we had wonderful conversations. He knew he'd be getting home late as a result of this trip but he said he was more than happy to help me out.
Years later, I still use Avis exclusively for my rental cars. I will never forget the extra mile they went to overwhelmingly satisfy this customer, who is now a customer for life.

What extra miles should you be taking to get customers for life? The little extra effort will pay huge dividends for your organization.

When Someone Wins, Someone Else Loses: Deal With it.

I learned that:

Winners get the rewards.
Winners get a bounce of confidence.
Winners are more encouraged to work harder because they believe they will see results from their efforts.

My junior high gym teachers (as we used to call them) tried to instill in us that winning was important, that winning made you a better person, and that winning made you mentally stronger. We were a fueled group giving it everything we had to win whatever we played in gym class.

I also remember the day a new gym teacher touring the schools of the district came to our class. He taught us the game of Earth Ball. It was a huge ball we bounced around between the kids and the object was to keep it from hitting the floor. We all asked, "But how do you win?" With a great big smile he told us there were no winners and losers just the joy of playing with the ball was reward enough. Huh?

He could've said it in Japanese and we would've understood it just as well. By the end of the hour of playing Earth Ball the vast majority of us lost interest, we had no desire to ever play that game again and we were thankful he was there only one day. We kept asking over and over, "What's the point?"

We are turning our schools and places of employment into Earth Ball. Because we are so focused on not creating losers at anything, we are losing the winners in the process. If everyone gets a passing grade, if everyone gets the same pay, if every time there is disparity we take from the winners to give to the losers, people are going to quickly start asking, "What's the point?"

If you want to create an organization of growth that is going to improve and become more successful you MUST reward your winners so they will stay and you must send the losers to find a different game to play where they can win. Not everyone is meant to win in every game they play that’s why most successful people find the areas they can excel at and then focus their efforts on building that success.

If we remove all the incentives, rewards and joy of winning we lose the confidence, desire and drive within the organization. Think about it. Do you want people going through the motions to fill the time like Earth Ball, or do you want people driven for success? If you fall into the mind trap of trying to create a system where everyone is a winner, the cold slap of reality is that everyone becomes losers, because you take away the rewards for making the extra effort to win.

Bottom line with winners come losers. Whether you are competing across the street, across the country or across the world, to grow your company you have to want to win with every fiber of your being.

Transparency is Not Always the Best Policy

On twitter and facebook I frequently see people openly expressing themselves in the age of transparency. Some things are best not exposed. It's Wednesday and I have seen no less than a dozen people already talking about getting to the weekend. How can you stay in a job that sucks so bad by Wednesday you are looking for Saturday?
When an individual openly makes such as expression such as, "It's Wednesday, only two more days to the weekend!" I think about the co-workers and heaven forbid the subordinates that work with this person. How motivational is that? How excited are you to have this person on your team? Unacceptable.

People just aren't thinking in this age of tell-everyone-everything by message online. One friend of mine posted on her facebook page, "I don't want to go to work tomorrow." If I am her boss reading that, I would grant her that wish; in fact, I'd make her day be letting her know she never has to work for me again, good bye.

People need to learn that sometimes things are best left unsaid. Even better, some things are best left unthought. If you hate your job as to despise doing it, quit and do everyone a favor. If you are an employer and see an employee who posts online about how much they dislike their job, give them their freedom to find something they do like. Everyone has a bad day at work now and then, but do you want how you feel at that moment in the permanent annals of the internet?

I know there have been many times in my career I bit my tongue and later was so glad I did not say what was on my mind. The last thing you should want in the public view are words from an emotional moment or short term frustration.

If you are going to be a growth organization you need to be populated with people who like what they do and are willing to crank out top efforts; especially, your managers.

One last thing, if you hate your job and post such comments on facebook, twitter etc., do you not think employers and HR personnel are skipping your references and instead checking your online profiles for how you really act? If someone is openly expressing negative thoughts about work, how excited am I going to be to put them on my team?

Keep in mind the next time you want to shout out your feelings to 220 million people on facebook, you are creating a lasting impression one post at time.

What It Takes to Win

Watching Sunday’s Wimbledon epic men's final I saw three specifics about winning that directly apply to growing your business.

1. How you view the competition

It's normal to watch tennis opponents on either side of the net crashing balls back at each other. How would you feel if your most ardent competitor kept slapping your best efforts back at you? In tennis you expect your opponent to be on his game and returning almost every one of your volleys, until you get the advantage and you go for the kill shot.

In business I see most leaders wilt when their competition slams back at them. In fact, I see people get angry that the competition isn't "playing fair!" Are you kidding me? You have to force your competition in to a corner to where they have no option but to respond to your control of the game, and then you hit the kill shot.

Expect your competitors to be good and on their game.

Expect them to give as good a game as you can give.

Expect to work hard to find that slightest of opportunity to exploit.

2. How hard you work

The match between Roger Federer and Andy Roddick lasted well over 4 hours of rocket serves, exhausting volleys and intense pressure. History was hanging in the balance for Roger if he could win his 15th Grand Slam title and the pressure was on for Roddick to win his first Wimbledon title against the best in the game.

What amazed me most was after four grueling hours, neither man looked exhausted. In fact, they didn't even look tired!

The conditioning these men put themselves through in preparation for this sport has to be intense. They work on their physical conditioning and more importantly their mental conditioning. It's what makes them able to last a 30 game 5th set and still be on their game.

In business growth-oriented executives need to work on conditioning as well. To be able to lead organizations to grow in today's economy requires great physical and mental strength. It doesn't happen just because you wish it did. It takes full effort. Compare your job preparation effort with that of these tennis champions. How do you stack up? I think it's time to work on your conditioning a little bit more.

3. Commitment


At the end of the match you could tell both players give it their full commitment. The emotion was on the edge during the trophy ceremony, as the cameras closed in to capture their faces. The cynic may say, "I can't believe grown men cry over a game." I say it's refreshing to see a person totally invest themselves into something they believe in. I've never seen a corporate business person give of themselves as these players have. I have seen the occasional business owner on the brink of losing everything totally commit themselves to save their operations.

Imagine, if we frequently put forth that kind of complete effort as leaders how much further along our organizations and careers would have grown. Wait no longer, make today the first day of doing what it takes to win.

10 Lessons for Kick Ass Friday

1. Try something new every day to expand your comfort zone and experiences.

2. Celebrate your day by living it to the fullest. No one lives long enough to waste a day of living.

3. Keep your top three priorities the same and always remember what is really important.

4. Don't wish for accomplishment, be driven for it.

5. Control your own destiny and you never have to worry about someone letting you down but yourself.

6. We don't always clearly see the path to success in front of us. We just need to be able to see which road to take at each decision intersection.

7. Lucky people believe good things will happen to them.

8. You will never be like other people. Be the best "You" you can be.

9. A marathoner who runs 26 miles and stops will never win a race. Always finish the race.

10. What you see depends on what you are looking for. Focus on the successes.

10 Lessons From My First Year as a Business Owner

This week the blog is going to deal with valuable first lessons I had and how important they are to growing a business as a leader.

After leaving the corporate world and going into business for myself I learned a few valuable lessons in the first year that still help me today, almost two decades later.

1. Working for myself is a greater pleasure than working for a large company.

2. It is easier to work 14 hours days for myself than putting in 8 hour days for someone else.

3. There is no one else to blame when you own the business.

4. You have a greater understanding and appreciation of employee costs such as benefits and FICA.

5. Being my own boss means I have to motivate myself to get everything done on time as scheduled.

6. I can take an occasional afternoon off to play golf without having to ask for permission. That's pretty cool.

7. There is no such thing as a paid vacation. All time off is without pay when I own the business.

8. I have a passion for doing what I want to do in the way I want to do it. For better or for worse, this allows me to do it my way.

9. Selling myself takes confidence, guts and persistence; but, there is nothing like closing a deal.

10. It is easy to have my entire life consumed by my work. I have to set boundaries so I don't get burned out.

Bonus lesson:

11. Everything takes longer than expected, I have to work harder than ever before and I love it!

It’s Cool to Hate Work

Thank God It's Friday.

I hate Mondays.

My boss sucks.

All three of these slogans I've seen on t-shirts people are proud to wear and proclaim. When did it become cool to hate your job? In the Great Depression people begged for any kind of work they could get paid for in order to provide for their families. Working people were grateful to have a job. any job.

Somewhere along the line it became the norm to dislike your job. In fact, a recent survey indicated 75% of the American workforce was dissatisfied with the jobs they were in. That is ¾ of our working population unhappy, disgruntled and less than fully committed to performing their jobs. And we wonder why we have an economic crisis?

Most of the reasons people indicate for their dissatisfaction relate to their direct manager. More people leave a job because of who they directly report to than any other reason. How can this be fixed?

It comes from both sides of the issue.

Managers need to shape up!

Leadership in this country is atrocious. We have lost sight of how to lead people. We have lost focus on what are the keys to being a leader in an organization, the most important being good communication. Once corporations took their focus off good employee relations, customer service and product quality commitment, and instead, focused on the bottom line profit numbers, they lost their way.

Managers are also not being given proper training (because of a bottom line profit focus) so the damage continues to be repeated by people ill-fit for the position they are being asked to fulfill.

The long-term damage of poor leadership can ruin a company, create irreparable employee attitudes, and eventually shut down the organization. Management has a great responsibility to give people work they can care about and actually enjoy doing.

Employees need to stop whining!

Being a cynic has become an American past time and employees are using this state of mind to focus on all the negatives they encounter. Get over it. Should work be challenging? Yes. Should work push a person to achieve more and improve on their skills? Yes. As long as the attitude is "I hate my job," nothing productive can come from that mindset. Ever work for a pitifully bad boss? Sure, we all have but is that any reason to carry that animosity into your next job working for the new boss? No, and this is where the American worker needs to stop whining.

Often times our own attitudes and negative behavior creates that which we dislike the most. If my mind set is to dislike work at any job, then I will never be happy, fully productive or satisfied with my work contribution. Considering most of us will have to work 40 to 50 years to cover our financial responsibilities, wouldn't it be more productive and satisfying to be able to have the mindset to enjoy those years?

Managers and employees need to work hard to find a common ground of satisfaction before all American business ends up like the American auto industry. That is a wake up call for everyone to find work you find satisfying, enjoy the parts of the job you currently have, and work with management to open the lines of communication.

Common sense says, having the mindset of enjoying what you do will help you to be more productive where everyone benefits more. In reality, hating your job isn't cool, in fact it could bring down the entire economic system, and then we'd once again be glad just to be able to dig a ditch for a pay check.