“We need tall kids up here on the table!” “OK, I’ll get more blocks from the other areas.” “Guys, be careful, it’s swaying!” The family of kids spearheading all this work building a tower were inspiring. Eldest brother was the brains of the operation, figuring out how to keep the tower growing. Sister (next oldest) rallied support and organized workers. …
How to prioritize employee retention strategies
Remember when companies were hellbent on getting foosball tables and other Fun Activities in order to keep employees motivated and employed? It was nice, but as employee retention strategies go, it was pretty weak. Some employees really believed this would help employee retention. But not a single employee stayed for games. (If they did, they might have been the wrong …
Podcast 64: Do you need a team … or a tribe?
Mike and Mark are back to discuss teams–this time, in comparison with tribes. Which do you need? And how do you identify if you have a tribe? Mentioned in the podcast: “Tribes” by Seth Godin. We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark. Subscribe on Apple or Spotify.
Chick-fil-A on recruitment
Here’s a flyer found in my bag of Chick-fil-A. How does this compare to your recruitment efforts? Out: income potential (unless you count a graphic of bills) In: growth (career, personal, educational) Also in: lifestyle (Sundays, insurance, work environment) Lifestyle trumps pay. We can debate why that is true for the workforce. But it’s harder to debate the results: Chick-fil-A …
Steve Stauning on cost-cutting during lean inventories
This is a post just for my car dealership friends: Automotive retail Internet legend Steve Stauning has advice for what to cut and what not to cut as we go through a period of lean inventories. That’s pretty operational for this blog, but one thing to highlight: Because we know the chip shortage will be resolved at some point and …
Chick-fil-A manager fixes vaccination traffic jam
The PR team at Chick-fil-A must just walk around giving each other high-fives. A South Carolina mayor asked a Chick-fil-A manager to help out at a Covid vaccination site where a software glitch had contributed to a 1-hour backup. The manager got it down to 15 minutes. If you think this is just about process improvement, you aren’t paying attention.
The Greek’s intentional culture: no financial and moral negligence
Costly culture failures That’s not meant to be an over-the-top headline. But I hope it sobers your thinking on your “intentional culture.” I shared this article with clients in 2018. It reviews several of the scandals that took down business leaders and organizations at the time. (Those scandals have since been replaced with yet more scandals and takedowns.) A money …
Time for a corporate diagnostic
This Forbes post came from somebody in insurance. So it is marketing when he suggests that every business is like a car, needing a multipoint inspection (“MPI”) of its risks–a corporate diagnostic. But he’s right. Insurance is always more affordable than disaster. Car maintenance is always more affordable (and more convenient!) than repairs. And, in nightmare scenarios, life-saving. I once …
A team that grows–on purpose
My ears perk up for anything that discusses wrestling and/or growing. (Hint: Articles about teams that wrestle always feature teams that grow.) For years organizations have sought to become “great places to work.” For some of us, the phrase conjures images of foosball tables at Google. It seems silly. But that’s not why people work at Google, is it? They …
Want performance? Learn your stories.
Your organization’s performance improves as soon as you start paying attention to your stories. They are the building blocks of your culture. First things first: Let’s define culture as “how we do things around here.” If “how we do things” is “with excellence” or “showing ultimate care” or “always serving the customer” or [insert what makes you stand out here] …
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