Greener Pastures - Don't be color blind

From 1987 - 1997 I had a good job at a local state university. Thanks to a visionary leader/boss I was able to grow personally and professionally as technology progressed during this time. I was able to transform my job and create new positions morphed from the old ones.

But being a public institution, salaries and other expenditures were tied directly to tax revenues. If the college was growing and the economy was strong, funding increased for the system. If not, spending was cut, salaries were scaled back and projects were delayed. Don't get me wrong. I had a good job, good pay, good benefits and worked with some good people. But the opportunity for advancement was limited.

I decided to look elsewhere and after a short search, I found a position that would increase my salary by over 33%! We had just been married for over a year so this seemed like a fantastic opportunity! I interviewed and was offered a position with a fast growing software company all within 48 hours. I gave my current employer the opportunity to match at least part of the offer. They were not able to so I headed for greener pastures.

The new job was located in an area just north of downtown. There was no direct route to get there. It was in a new state-of-the-art facility with special locks, name badges and even its own underground parking garage. Finally, I had arrived. My talents would be exercised at their fullest potential. Two weeks of intense training on their software systems, phone capabilities and general company information and I was ready to go.

Or was I?

The job was a nightmare. Needless to say, I was in way over my head. The pay was absolutely great. That would make up for it, right? WRONG! The stress was overwhelming. I ended up doing poorly, my commute was over an hour each way, and I ended up depressed. Within 5 months of starting a dream job I was out the door with nothing lined up. The future looked pretty grim.

A few months later, a friend hired me as a retail manager. That store eventually went out of business but he lined up a job with another friend before closing the doors. That was almost 10 years ago and I haven't looked back since.

I'm telling you this story because I say it was one of the worst jobs I ever had but it turned out to be on of the best decisions I ever made. It worked out fine for me but for others, they may not be so lucky. My friend and fellow blogger, Jeff Noel, wrote on his blog the other day that "The grass isn't always greener on the other side. The grass is greener where you water and fertilize it." If you are looking for greener pastures, start by looking in your immediate vicinity. You may be surprised at the amount of growth that can happen close by.

And just so you know, that fast growing software company is out of business. 

Congratulations on Your New Job!

I would like to thank you for your years of service. I must inform you that your job is in a state of transformation.

I know this is not the best way to inform you of this. It is much better to do it in person rather than what seems to be an impersonal blog post. But this is a change you may or may not have seen coming.

First off, I wanted to congratulate you on your new job in marketing. I know this probably isn't what you signed up for when you accepted your current position. But, due to many factors beyond your control, you are being reassigned. Why marketing? Don't we already have a team in place that handles all of our marketing? Well, yes and no.

David Packard, co-founder of Hewlett-Packard, had this to say about marketing:

"Marketing is too important to be left to the marketing department."

So, starting today, you are now part of the marketing team. You are the face, the personality, the front man (or woman). You inform, educate and cultivate your customer base. It's not just a simple task of working a register or stocking shelves. When customers think of your operation, they often think of you.

Millions of dollars are spent every day on elaborate advertising in print, television ads and radio spots. Throw the internet into the mix and you have the potential for hundreds of millions of impressions a day for your product or service. But if the "face" your customers see is just like everyone else, then they will treat your product or service just like everything else they see. Soon, they will become blind to what you have to offer until they no longer know you are around.

Good luck in your new job!

Incredibly Different

A good friend, and the internet's only 5-a-day blogger, just returned from a whirlwind trip to Oregon recently and posted a very short video of his experience from that weekend. And by very short, it's only 38 seconds long.

One of the lines you hear him say to describe his surroundings in the video is that it's " . . . incredibly different from any other place on the planet I've been."

What if we took this line and applied to our business/job/line of work? What can you do to make your situation unique? How can we make our environment incredibly different?

It's a combination of what you have to offer, what you have to say and the setting in which it takes place. Make it different from anything else out there!

WOW Moments

Have you experienced a WOW moment today?


Disney believes so much in creating magical WOW moments for their guests that they held a competition a couple of years ago to see who would be their Chief Magic Official. Through a long process which included an online application, interviews, video submissions and an on-site competition, they determined who would be responsible for spreading magic and inspiration throughout the theme parks and surrounding communities. Job duties include creating magical dreams for guests from around the world. The ideal candidate must be happy, never grumpy, able to easily befriend dwarves, dogs, monsters and mice. Must have good manners but can pillage and plunder with pirates when necessary. Must have an interest in oversized teacups and flying elephants.

This wasn't something that Disney went into lightly. It was their intent to find the best person possible to, as they put it, "make dreams come true." Disney was already skilled at making "wow" moments for their guests. They wanted to kick it up a notch.


While you may not be in the dream-to-reality business, you can still create those "wow" moments for your customers. How do you do that? It's really simple. 


Exceed their expectations. 


Most businesses don't. Most businesses are . . . well . . . whelming. Sometimes over, sometimes under.

Create those moments that leave your customers saying "WOW" to their friends, family or colleagues. They will remember you for it and your repeat business will improve.

Thanks for calling

Okay. So it seems that I'm on this telephone theme lately.

A regular guest came by the other day while I was at another store. We were out of his product. Our employee took down his information and told him we would call when it came in. I was able to find the product he wanted and had it sent to the store.

I gave him a courtesy call to let him know his product was in and that we would put his name on it so he could come by and pick it up whenever it was convenient for him.

Well, he came in less than an hour after the phone call. And bought a second bottle as well. As he turned to leave, he thanked me for the phone call. He said he couldn't remember when a store followed through on calling him back when they were out of a product. He even said the magic words, "You've got a customer for life."

We may not think this is anything special. But to that customer it wasn't just anything. It was everything. We took away any disappointment they may have originally felt and turned it into a very positive experience exceeding their expectations.

What are you going to do today, tomorrow, this week to make your customer know just how special they are?

Using a lifeline

I was listening to a recent Disney podcast while driving home from work. This one is known for its humor, insight and every now and then, great nuggets of wisdom that can be applied to numerous situations.

One such bit that transpired centered around how Disney appeals to all generations and that part of what they do is to attract new guests. One of the panelists was talking about taking their kids and someone else's kids to Disney. He said, "Every child today is a potential customer tomorrow."

Here's another way to look at it from a business perspective.

Today's phone call is tomorrow's customer.

Can you honestly say you have enough customers? Is your phone your lifeline?

In a follow up to an earlier post on how not to handle a personal phone call while working, this is a great approach to have each time the telephone rings. Whether it is a slow day or the busiest day of the year you should treat each telephone call as a potential sale. You don't know who is going to be on the other end of the phone line. Yes, with Caller ID being so popular you may know who it is. But you might not know what they are asking for.

Do you ignore the phone when you have a customer/guest with you? Maybe it's time you learned how to multitask efficiently. Go ahead and answer the phone. It could be the difference between success and failure.

What one degree can do

How far do you think one degree can take you? Are you thinking this?

Or maybe something like this?

But here is what I'm talking about. One degree. The difference between having hot water and boiling water. That's the difference between 211 degrees and 212 degrees. With boiling water you get steam. And steam can power a train.

I cannot do this topic justice. Plus I didn't come up with the idea. Go here to watch the video. See what going the extra mile by exceeding the customer's expectations can do.