Several years ago, I had the opportunity to tour Tomb of the Unknown Solider with my family, in a small tour group. At the last minute, a decorated soldier, an Iraq War Veteran, joined our group in his wheelchair. His war injuries were permanent. I remember thinking, “He is so young.” The soldiers guarding the tomb immediately accepted him and took him down into their sanctioned private chamber near the Tomb of the Unknown Solider. Our tour...
Many of us can barely remember online purchasing before PayPal or mass marketplaces such as EBay or Amazon. Recently I was reminded of that long-ago era when a rare individual would sell directly to the consumer. Derek Sivers is one of those rare individuals, and he writes about it in his book Anything You Want. This short 40-lesson book tells his story beginning in the early 2000’s in the days before Amazon Music, iMusic, Spotify and...
According to the American Management Journal, researchers found that employees' moods when they clocked in tended to affect how they felt the rest of the day. Their mood had a clear impact on performance, including both how much work they did and how well they did it. This research doesn’t come as a great surprise to most of us, but most of us do little to improve our own mood, let alone the mood of others. But...
As I walked into our break room at quitting time, I couldn’t help but recognize the unique aroma of hard work. That smell is one of the greatest gifts a team can give one another when working outdoors, because it represents the effort, achievement, hustle, and hard grind they perform when accomplishing their goals. Some might call it body perfume, or odor, but not me. I call it the smell of success. Sometimes as customers, if we...
“Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.” ~Albert Einstein Recently I attended an online workshop with Joe Schmit through Professional Grounds Management Society (PGMS). A leadership program that launched just this year by PGMS, Joe Schmit was the first speaker. He laid the groundwork for ways each of us can be an impactful person. Joe reminded us that it is not the big things we do in life that are so impactful, but all...
Recently I spoke at the 2022 Tennessee SHRM Convention and Expo. They were an engaged group of Human Resource (HR) professionals representing many top organizations across the southeast. Speaking there reminded me that HR does so much behind the scenes for organizations. HR tasks include legal matters, maintaining forms reflecting government compliance, organizing/executing the hiring of qualified people, designing benefits packages, people development, counseling, and so much more. Lee Cockerell, former executive vice president, operations, Walt Disney...
Is our work about the paycheck or is it more? Paychecks are important. At different points along life’s journey, a paycheck’s value is much more important because it meets a need or want in life. If we don’t pay people well, they have no basic desire or reason to come work with us. So where does passion come in at work? As leaders is it our responsibility to find it and grow it in our employees? Should...
In 2019 I was fortunate enough to be chosen to participate in a landscape service day at Arlington Cemetery in Virginia. The organizers had the volunteers service several large grass sections using a riding, gas-powered spreader. It was an extremely efficient and fast-moving machine. Since I had never operated one of these, I was extremely nervous working between the thousands of hallowed headstones. It had been quite a while since I felt out of my comfort...
“If you don’t love your customers, someone else surely will.” ~Jim Cecil Have you ever experienced great customer service? Maybe the business treats you like royalty, they know your name and they are glad you’re there. My wife and I used to love to go eat at our local Hawaiian Poke’ restaurant before the owners decided to close their doors and move back home. At this particular Hawaiian Poke’ the food was always fresh, delicious and the place was...
“Culture trumps strategy every time.” ~Peter Drucker Be honest. Never lie.Lead by example – leaders set the tone and temperature of the organization.Don’t take short cuts. Use every decision to build the long-term culture.Invest in key relationships on the team. People want to know their leaders do care.Invest in growing your team’s knowledge, skills and positive attitude. Start your training program now.Focus on building a culture that attracts and retains top talent, not warm bodies.Develop and grow your...