My favorite coffee shop is closed for renovations. One of the employees, who has a disheartening resemblance to Charles Manson, explained that the shop was purchased by a national brand. He’s worried about his job, and rightfully so. When you look like Charles Manson, job opportunities are limited.
Listening to Tim Ferris interview renowned executive coach Matt Mochary on the Tim Ferris Show podcast was eye-opening. Mochary explained why most businesses have problems hiring the right team members. Listening to Tim Ferris interview renowned executive coach Matt Mochary on the Tim Ferris Show podcast was eye-opening. Mochary explained why most businesses have problems finding and retaining talent. He suggested that businesses limit an initial interview to 15 minutes because most of the time, you know after 15 minutes if the candidate is not a good fit. However, if there is promise, the initial interview can continue for up to 30 minutes.
Most great communicators are also great listeners. When you demonstrate that you have heard and understand what someone else is saying, you build trust. Great listeners do more than repeat what others are saying to demonstrate that they heard the message. Great listeners also demonstrate that they understand how the other person feels by empathizing with the speaker and communicating how they would feel under similar circumstances. Being empathetic helps the person who is speaking to feel safe and to be open and honest.
Best-selling author and New York Times columnist Tom Friedman stated that average is no longer good enough to compete in today’s economy. Friedman noted that for most of the 20th century, average Americans with average skill sets could earn an above average income doing average work. “That’s gone,” Friedman avowed. It’s a challenge for the American economy and for every kitchen and bath showroom. You can’t be average. You can’t have a showroom that looks and behaves like any other retail operation. Your staff can’t be average either, because customers expect more.
Every week, BKBG’s Buzz includes a blog that shareholders can customize and use as their own to place on their websites, social media platforms or blog site. A number of BKBG Shareholders take advantage of the service provided by Locallogy that places the BKBG blog for Shareholders for a nominal monthly fee. Why should you take advantage of this exclusive BKBG Shareholder benefit?
If you ask most team members if they enjoyed their staff or other business meetings, most of the answers would be a resounding no. Changing the focus and trajectory of staff meetings can be transformative. An easy button for positive change is to ask your team members what they are stuck on, claims Ron Friedman, author of The Best Place to Work: The Art and Science of Creating an Extraordinary Workplace. That simple question changes meeting dynamics from the droning of status reports to a collaborative forum for creative problem solving.
Making your brand relevant and socially useful is a goal of almost every kitchen and bath showroom. How do you accomplish this? The first stop is your website. Are you providing information that customers want? Are you making it easy to find information? Pretend you are a customer looking to remodel your kitchen. If you went to your website, would it deliver the information you want and need? Would it encourage you to call, email or make a showroom appointment? Ask yourself what you can do to make your brand more relevant and useful? This is a great place to start because recent research found that consumers find nearly 50% of all brand experiences as boring.
Henry Ford is credited with reducing the work week from six to five days. Ford was not really known for his compassionate management style, so why did he voluntarily reduce the number of employee work hours? Ford discovered that when you shorten the work week, employees make fewer errors, they tend to work harder and are more productive.
Do you know anyone who believes that they don’t receive enough emails or who want more information about anything? Daily you, your clients and customers and those that you want to be your clients and customers are bombarded in a sea of noise looking to capture attention. How do you stand out in the cacophony of digital communication?
It’s been a wild ride for most BKBG Shareholders and Preferred Vendor Partners during the last three years. Many expect the coming year to return to “normal,” or an activity level comparable to 2019. While showrooms may be expecting a return to normal, will customers feel the same way? Customer service expert Shep Hyken does not agree. He believes that customers will continue to expect more and relying on the status quo will not meet expectations.
