Set employees up to win – not fail

April 1, 2013 by

simplifyEmployees get set up to fail more often than you think. It’s never done intentionally – it just happens. Tasks are poorly defined. Desired results are sketchy. The chain of command looks like a pile of broken links. Training is inconsistent and inadequate. There are leaders that actually expect employees to know what they’re thinking … and to execute their nonverbal commands perfectly.

Some employees try their best to deliver what they perceive they were charged to do and get chewed out when their performance doesn’t match unspoken expectations. Others give it half an effort knowing they can’t win. The end result is always a demoralized team and de-powered culture that is capable of so much more. Once a pattern of getting set up to fail settles into a company’s culture, getting things done takes more time, money, and resources. The company springs leaks that it cannot plug up fast enough.

When Strategies does onsite No-Compromise Leadership sessions, we interview employees. That’s when we hear the other side of the story as employees vent about their frustrations with the company and its leadership. Don’t get me wrong – these aren’t “rip the leader to shreds” sessions. Rather, they are open and honest opportunities for employees to express their concerns with the practices, thinking, and behavior of the company and its leader(s). It’s no different than leaders expressing their concerns about employees. Everyone wants the company to be the best it can be – to be set up to win. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business Builders, Leadership, Monday Morning Wake-Up, No-Compromise Leadership, Staff Retention, Teamwork Tagged With: , , , , ,

Dealing with change resisters

March 18, 2013 by

Every moment of every day, change is all around us. Seasons change. Weather changes. Our bodies change. Our lives change. Likewise, business changes. Every day, new businesses are born – some grow, prosper, and endure for a long, healthy life, while others stumble and die. The one constant we can be sure of is that change is relentless. Some embrace it with open arms. Some wait to see what the new reality looks like and then jump onboard. And then there are the change resisters that hold onto the status quo with a white-knuckled grip.

Contrary to popular belief, change resisters don’t exist to drive you crazy – even though they can and do. Change resisters simply deal with change differently than most. They lock into patterns of thinking, behavior, systems, and cultures that become their “normal.” They get good at functioning in their “normal.” They know everything about their “normal.” And then change comes along, often with a wrecking ball, and starts knocking down their “normal” to replace it with something new and foreign. Their natural response is to protect their “normal” by resisting change. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Leadership, Monday Morning Wake-Up, No-Compromise Leadership, Staff Retention, Teamwork Tagged With: , , , ,

Where’s that fire in your gut?

August 27, 2012 by

No. I’m not referring to heartburn. I’m referring to that deepest level of passion that pushes you to fight for what you believe in, to achieve your wildest dreams – to captivate the imagination and spirit of those around you. If quantum physics is about manifesting thoughts into things, passion is about personal conviction and energy to achieve the extraordinary. Without passion, manifesting is nothing more than daydreaming. When I get an idea that ignites and feeds my deepest passion, get out of my way because something big is going happen. You can join me on my journey if you’re committed to work hard and go the distance. Stay home if you’re looking for an easy ride.

I’m an entrepreneur and business leader like you. I have my ups and downs. Some of my “ups” are truly incredible where I get into this groove of extreme creativity and productivity. That’s how Strategies started 19 years ago. That’s how Team-Based Pay was created. That’s how Broadbands and the Four Business Outcomes happened. That’s how Fast Forward and No-Compromise Leadership were written. And then there are the “downs” where I crash and burn. One even led to depression. Fact: every “down” can be traced back to when the fire in my gut was actually heartburn and I wasn’t being the no-compromise leader my company needed me to be. It happens to all leaders when they allow their passion to be snuffed out. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business Builders, Leadership, Monday Morning Wake-Up, Teamwork Tagged With: , , , , ,

Six ways to boost salon/spa promotions and events

August 2, 2012 by

Successful promotions and events play a pivotal role in every salon or spa’s bottom-line health. The added influx of service clients and retail/gift certificate sales — not to mention the often deeper-discounted purchasing opportunities presented by manufacturers and distributors — are simply a “no brainer” to take advantage of. The good news is, most salons and spas do offer promotions throughout the year. The bad news is, many of them are often poorly planned, and do not take full advantage of the opportunities presented to them.

But lets get back to the good news. Executing killer promotions in your salon or spa doesn’t have to be daunting. All it takes is some effective and creative planning.

Here are six ways to help you get the most out of your salon/spa promotions:

  • What’s your plan? It seems like every year, we’re hit with more and more promotional opportunities: Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Back-to-School — these are just the tip of the iceberg. In order to make sure that you and your staff are ready for each promotion, it’s imperative that you get your plan down on paper. You need to define what supplies are needed, who does what and when it needs to be completed. All that information then needs to be transferred to a main promotional calendar that the entire business lives by. Better yet, enter the dates into your computer or smart phone so you get automated reminders!
  • Make a date out of it! Promotions don’t just have to be centered around holidays and distributor/manufacture deals — make them an event! Schedule special dates throughout the year that will appeal to different demographics within your client base. Ladies night, mom’s night, guys’ night, or even a Super Bowl night — get creative and get your staff involved in the planning.
  • Don’t forget to sweat the small stuff: Remember we mentioned how critically important it is to get everything you need for a successful promotion down on paper?  Dedicate a quick meeting with your team to brainstorm each and every item needed to ensure upcoming promotions or events are a success.
  • Budget, budget, budget! That last thing you want to do it is put time and effort into a promotion or event, only to find out that it actually lost money for your business. Yes, there are times when it does make sense to chalk one up as a “marketing expense”, but at the end of the day, the name of the game is driving increased revenue. With that said, the most critically-important step for any promotion is to plug it into your cash-flow plan to see if the business can afford it — and to forecast how much return you will get on your investment.
  • Who pays for it? Although it can be sore subject, it’s one that needs to be addressed beforehand. If you are on a commission-based compensation structure, your staff needs to be made aware how they are going to be compensated if the business is promoting discounted services. Will their commission be based on the standard full-price (thus costing the business even MORE money to run the promotion) or will they be expected to invest in the promotion by taking a percentage of the lower promotional price. Luckily, if you are using a Team-Based Pay or salary/hourly model, this is a moot point.
  • Get staff involved: One of the best ways to get your team members excited about upcoming promotions is to involve them in the planning process. They’re creative — use that resource!

Want to ensure your 2013 promotional and marketing plan is down on paper before January rolls around? Don’t miss Strategies Salon/Spa Game-Planning Retreat on September 30 – October 2, 2012 at the Strategies Business Academy in Centerbrook, CT. Learn more here.

What strategies have YOU used to make your salon/spa promotions and events a success? Share them with us in the comment box below.

Filed Under: Information Flow, Profitability, Teamwork Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

The power of keeping salon/spa staff focused

July 26, 2012 by

Maintaining a sense of urgency is a management responsibility not to be taken lightly. Complacency can quietly infect even the most successful businesses. It usually begins during a period of smooth sailing, when the “business as usual” mentality sets in, leadership relaxes, and the urgency that previously inspired growth and performance wanes. Personal agendas take a precedence over the business’ goals and needs. The team loses focus.

Perhaps more than any other, the salon/spa environment is a fertile breeding ground for complacency. At most salons and spas, a “pecking order” keeps gridlocked and overbooked technicians in square opposition to new technicians trying to get established. In the middle is a mix of rising stars and underachievers…and those who are simply satisfied with their present level of performance and income. If an owner or manager, by choice or necessity, spends a lot of time behind the chair, the grip of complacency tightens. Efforts to rally staff enthusiasm are hit-or-miss. Conflicting personal agendas and a lack of leadership blur the business’ focus.

At Strategies, we get many questions from well-intended owners seeking the magic formula to motivate staff. There is no magic formula, but there is a formula. It’s a process of focusing staff on performance priorities, and devoting the time and attention to establishing goals (and keeping them at the forefront of staff’s daily activities). For example: There is a big difference between telling staff they must improve retention rates, and keeping retention goals and performance data posted. Telling staff to improve, but without clear goals and objectives, is like launching a rescue flare. It rises high and shines bright, and you hope against hope that someone sees it before it falls and fizzles. Setting monthly goals and posting the scores every week — or even every day — keeps everyone focused on growing the business. It’s one ingredient in the formula.

In contrast to shot-in-the-arm motivation that yields short-term results, focus mobilizes your team for maximum short- and long-term performance. Focus brings consistency to client service and technical execution, which directly improves retention rates. Focus also dramatically reduces errors and drives efficiency upward. It propels sales to record levels because everyone is pulling in the same direction. Focus is the difference between “business as usual,” and a high-performance environment.

What are you doing to keep you and your staff focused?

 

Filed Under: Information Flow, Leadership, Productivity, Teamwork, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Four ways you create what you do not like in your company

July 2, 2012 by

Leaders have this innate ability to see all the little things that are wrong in their companies. Call it a blessing or a curse, leaders see what many employees do not. From employees taking shortcuts and not following the system or rules, to lackluster customer service, dress code issues, bad attitudes, and poor follow through, it all shows up like blips on your leadership radar. It’s all the little stuff drives you crazy. And just when you think you’ve fixed one issue, another one pops up in its place. What’s that all about?

Your job is to be working on the big stuff that drives growth, performance and profits, so when your leadership radar screen gets overrun with little-stuff blips, you do what many frustrated leaders do – you hold a meeting. You prepare for the meeting by writing bullet after bullet of little stuff that needs to stop and go away. Just writing them down seems to relieve the frustration because for some strange and mystical reason, you believe that firing off each bullet in the meeting will kill off the unacceptable behaviors and performance. Guess that’s why they call them bullets.

So here’s the big enlightenment: you, fearless leader, create or enable most of the blips on your leadership radar that drive you crazy. Here are six ways you do it along with strategies to sweep all those annoying blips off your leadership radar:

  1. Bullet meetings don’t work. Firing off bullet after bullet of “things” your team must stop or start doing is an exercise in futility. You felt good building the list, but as you fire each one off at your employees, you see and feel the funk building in the room. You see them putting up their shields, mentally checking out and praying the “Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre” will end soon. When the last bullet is finally fired, everyone is demoralized. Way to go fearless leader.
    THE CURE: Every bullet represents a missing or poorly designed system. Every bullet represents a breakdown at some level in leadership accountability. Peel back the layers and address the cause because every bullet on your list is a symptom of a problem. Find and fix the problem.
  2. What’s the vision? Company cultures get contaminated with negative behavior and indifference (I don’t care thinking) when the vision of the company becomes blurred or lost. All that funky stuff and blips on your leadership radar that drive you crazy is actually your company trying to grab your attention and get you to engage. Your company is in pain when your culture is contaminated. That pain shows up in poor performance, sluggish sales, rising costs and cash-flow challenges. You can read the pain factor on your performance and financial reports.
    THE CURE: Rather than holding a “bullet meeting” that beats your team down even more, hold a “vision meeting” to speak humbly, openly and honestly about where the company is at and where it’s going. Empowering visions give teams something to fight for. Empowering visions turn average teams into champions because they “believe” the destination is worthy of their best efforts. Take the bullets out of your machine gun and lock it away. Hold up your empowering vision that you believe in and share it with your team. That’s no-compromise leadership.
  3. Clarify what needs to get done. Now that you’ve got the vision out there for all to see and feel, it’s time to detail and clarify what needs to be done to achieve the vision. What systems need rebuilding or reintroducing? What policies need to be revisited? How will information flow freely to every nook and cranny of the company? What does it look like for your company to play like a level ten rather than the level five or six its been stuck in?
    THE CURE: I just led an all-staff meeting at a magnificent upscale spa. Prior to the meeting, the leader handed me her two and a half pages of bullets to pepper her team with. I put the list down and asked the leader to trust me to lead the meeting. I started with an update on the progress the company has made in the seven months we’ve been working together. I also openly discussed the challenges and setbacks. I talked about the company’s potential, where it’s going and how everyone can and will win. The team opened up. They shared their pride and frustrations. We did address a few bullets and resolved them quickly. The meeting ended with everyone feeling empowered and proud – and ready to fight for that next level. It was awesome. No bullets were actually fired.
  4. Employees want to be heard. Information flow must flow both ways. When it only flows from management (I chose not to say, “leadership”), those on the receiving end eventually feel pummeled, beaten, unappreciated, disrespected and taken advantage of. You can’t get the best out of people when resentment replaces company pride and teamwork.
    THE CURE: People want and need to have their voices and concerns heard. I mean really heard through intense listening without distractions. I mean being present, engaged and making eye contact. No mobile phones or peeking at the latest text message that just buzzed you. Take notes. After listening, use clarifying statements like, “So I want to really understand you, you’re concerned about ____________ and how that is creating challenges in delivering extraordinary customer experiences. Am I correct?” Intense listening and allowing your employees to be heard is a powerful leadership tool. Just be sure deliver what you promise to fix.

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Filed Under: Leadership, Monday Morning Wake-Up, No-Compromise Leadership, Teamwork Tagged With: , , , ,

Anatomy of a Team-Based Pay conversion

June 25, 2012 by

I just returned from Oklahoma City where I converted Richard and Jan Hill’s three Eden Salon & Spas from commission to Team-Based Pay. I’ve been doing TBP conversions for over 35 years. I have done them for salons, spas, manufacturing companies and high-end retail stores. And for over 35 years, I have been at the epicenter of the often heated debate between commission and non-commission believers. My usual response to, “I don’t believe in TBP,” is, “It’s not a religion – it’s a compensation system.” Then again, if I’m perceived as some “TBP Guru” on a global crusade converting commission companies to TBP, then perhaps their perception is somewhat true. Commission believers see their method as a prime motivator to perform. TBP believers see their method as a means to create a dynamic culture.

Just last month, J.C. Penney’s new CEO, Ron Johnson, eliminated commission in all stores including clothing, jewelry, cosmetics, appliances, electronics and salons. Until late 2011, Johnson, along with Steve Jobs, headed up the creation and operations of the wildly successful Apple Stores. Apple Stores are non-commission and Johnson wanted to create the same “do what’s best for the customer/relationship building” culture at J.C. Penney. It was a bold move that clearly rocked the boat throughout J.C. Penney, but it also cleared the way to shift the culture to customer-centric rather than sales-centric. It will be interesting to observe the transition.

Pay conversions away from commission top the list as the one change that owners and leaders fear most. However, the fear comes from a lack of understanding about TBP, the conversion process, the systems that drive it, and how to lead a company that no longer has commission as the prime motivator – if it even is the prime motivator. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Compensation, Monday Morning Wake-Up, Teamwork Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Five reasons information flow needs to be better and faster

June 18, 2012 by

Think of “information flow” as the signals your brain sends and receives to engage in a conversation, drive a car, process data to solve a problem or to respond to a threat. Millions of bits of information and instructions are processed every second to create the coordinated ability to multitask and get results. Any disruption in the flow of information can be life-threatening. A company functions very much the same. The objective is to get results through the coordinated efforts of teams of people. Just like your brain, your company needs massive amounts of information flow to deliver consistently excellent results. Extraordinary results require even more.

I often ask seminar attendees, “What is the most asked question in the history of leadership?” The answer is, “How many times do I have to tell them?” Everyone chuckles, but it’s the reality of how inadequate current information-flow systems are that rings true.

Companies, small and large, are like complex organisms that require massive amounts of information flowing in all directions. Insufficient or missing information chip away at the company’s ability to consistently deliver quality results. The causes are directly tied to poorly designed systems, lack of leadership, procrastination, indifference and accountability issues. All are self-inflicted. All are curable. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Information Flow, Monday Morning Wake-Up, Teamwork Tagged With: , , , , ,

Six strategies to get the team your company needs

May 21, 2012 by

There is something different about an individual who plays to be indispensable. There is an unmistakable level of engagement and tenacity that keeps such people at the forefront of darn near everything in their sphere of influence. They give it their all, play hard, and play to win. More importantly, they play hard because they want to. They take ownership in creating the right outcomes – without being asked. “Indispensable” means that you wouldn’t want to run your company without them.

On the flipside, there are players on your team who are dispensable. They occasionally, rarely or never step up. They show up, do their job and go home. They expect more for doing the same average performance, and even for doing less. In more deteriorated cases, their view and relationship with the company becomes adversarial, or at best, indifferent. It’s a scary question: How many dispensable players do you have on your team? [Read more...]

Filed Under: Monday Morning Wake-Up, Staff Retention, Teamwork Tagged With: , , , , ,

How to harness the power of momentum

May 14, 2012 by

True forward momentum pushes through any obstacle. It has an implied efficiency because once an object achieves a certain level of forward momentum, it requires less energy to maintain that speed. By connecting the physics of an object in motion (a piece of matter) to a business in motion (an idea/concept), you gain a unique perspective on how momentum can work for a business.

A start-up business requires massive amounts of energy to gain enough forward momentum to sustain itself. Once it achieves a level of sustainable momentum, you can dial back the throttle a bit and allow “physics” to work for you. In essence, the leader is “piloting” the business by adjusting throttle to maintain its forward momentum. Achieve a certain level and the company can easily break through obstacles such as competitors, cash crises, loss of key employees, bad decisions and other issues. However, every obstacle the company breaks through chips away at its momentum. If the leader fails to throttle up the company’s sense of urgency to overcome the obstacles in its way, it will lose its energy and eventually stall. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business Builders, Monday Morning Wake-Up, No-Compromise Leadership, Productivity, Profitability, Teamwork Tagged With: , , , , ,
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