19. December 2010 by Bob Griffin.

I spend a lot of time talking with owners of businesses in many varied industries and the question that trips them up most is, “What does the person cleaning the bathrooms think of your business?”  That seems kind of off topic sometimes and it is, but it also the barometer of an owner’s business culture.  Want to know how things are really going?  Ask the guy you pay the least.

Several reasons why you would not want to know the answer:

1. You don’t want to hear bad news.
2. You don’t trust that person.
3. There could be a rift between that person and the rest of your employees.
4. You don’t know that person’s name.
5. He/She may ask you to help clean the bathroom while you talk.

All are valid reasons if you are someone who is ready to go out of business and doesn’t care what the culture of the business is like.  Otherwise, get in there and start listening like your next paycheck depends on it.  Asking the lowest person on your hierarchy of power is the perfect way to find out what the temperature of your business is.  In fact, the person to hear the most news is the one everyone typically ignores.  If you need to get your hands dirty to find out what the real story of your business is then get dirty.  Want to earn trust with someone? Work side by side with them and put in some sweat equity.

If I made anyone uncomfortable, GOOD!  If you want to feel better, spin this around and ask yourself what the same person in your competitor’s business could tell you.  Again, it is this person, the one with full access to every area of your business that has the most knowledge of your business. By the way, DON’T ask your competitor’s guy.  You don’t even know what is happening at your own business for goodness sakes why would you look somewhere else?  Start where you can make the fastest changes…in your business.

The cleaning crew can tell you:

• If someone is ready to quit by looking at the amount of items that have been taken home from a desk.
• When there is a shake up about to happen, there are more late-night meetings and more closed doors.
• If there is an event in the office like a new baby, wedding, or graduation, there will be a cake and plates in the trash.

I like when companies ask everyone what they think is working and what can be improved on.  An open door policy should apply to every member of your team.  The best ideas in many businesses have come from the front-line person who finds a better, cheaper, more effective way to get the same job done.  Not that they get the credit often (although they should), but the best things happen when an entire organization is empowered.

Stop talking and start listening.  The person who you haven’t spend any time with this year is the person you need to take to lunch and give them free reign in answering a simple question, “What can we do better?”

Posted in Hiring Process, Creating the Culture, Being the Boss | Print | 573 Comments »

26. November 2010 by Bob Griffin.

The insanity of the season is in full swing as I write this article. After Thanksgiving sales in the US have been going since midnight and this ritual has to stop. I understand the “shoppers thrill” of losing sleep to get bargains. That kind of craziness is where therapists pay for their retirements. The point at which you have good, hard working employees pulling ridiculous shifts trying to help sleep deprived people buy an X-box is when we need to draw a line.

I understand that businesses in this world-wide economic meltdown are desperate for any customer but to turn a profit on the backs of good employees is wrong. Small business owners get a break at this point because most of them work side by side with their employees. The ones who have no soul are the big box chains that have a hidden Board of Directors and a CEO who couldn’t work a POS system to save his or her life. Every employee who has never seen an executive on the sales floor and has worked for years with the same company should mail a copy of the Bulldog Rules for Business to them. All business starts with the interaction with customers. Any thought by a Vice President or higher in an organization that what they do makes the company money is a fantasy. Don’t misquote me on this subject. The need for strength at the top is critical, but the money is earned on the front-line. Real leaders live, work, and breathe on the front-line.

Where is the CEO at midnight or even 4am when the store opens? I have not seen a news story that mentions an executive helping out in a store the day after Thanksgiving. Leaders lead and don’t ask for more than they are willing to give. Want loyal customers? Be a loyal boss.

I am not writing this to stir the pot and make employees angry. The point is that often we make plans and hand them to the lowest paid person on the team to implement. If you work beside that employee, you can see the holes in the plan and make better plans. You will show any staff between your position and the front-line that you are not above doing any job and they dang well better not be either. Leadership starts with you. Show them, tell them, and then reward them for their hard work.

Be loyal to gain loyalty. Be respectful to be respected. Grow your business by growing with it.

Bob Griffin - CEO and Co-Founder

Email: Questions@BusinessBulldog.com

Posted in Customer Service, Creating the Culture, Being the Boss, Making Money | Print | 1 Comment »

6. November 2010 by Noel Guilford.

In the seventh season of Seinfeld, a very memorable character nicknamed the “Soup Nazi” was introduced.  This character was based on a real soup vendor out of New York that I actually had the pleasure of meeting. Notably portrayed as a business owner with a high quality product, and low quality service. For the record, while the low quality service displayed on television may be the product of a little embellishment, the high quality of the product is spot on. I’ve never had shrimp bisque so good but that’s beside the point.

What does this have to do with you and your business? Well, I’ll tell you. On the front lines of many service oriented industries you will find the “Coupon Nazi”. The Coupon Nazi as we will call them here is that front line representative that acts as a warden preventing customers from taking advantage of their company and its policies. They serve to make sure that no eleventh item makes it through any ten items or less isle, that no offer is taken after its expiration date or at the wrong location, and that each and every surcharge, add on, up sale, and hidden fee is applied and accounted for.

As a business owner I’m sure that you agree that policies and procedures are in place for a reason. In many cases this is true with the exception of customer conflict. For example, let’s say that a customer needing to perform vehicle maintenance decides to use an offer sent through the mail for 20% of their total cost. The customer is looking to spend roughly 800 dollars on various repairs and maintenance. The Coupon Nazi notices that the coupon expired several days prior and immediately notifies the customer that the coupon is expired. In some cases the customer is very apologetic and accepting of the policy. For the sake of argument let’s say that the customer is not so understanding and the inflexibility of the Coupon Nazi drives the customer away.  The Coupon Nazi’s victory just cost that business owner an immediate $640 dollars and any residual sales generated from repeat business over the lifetime of that customer. In addition they also have ensured that those sales, immediate and repeat, will go to one of your competitors. Looks like employee of the month material to me (note the sarcasm).

In the previous example it may seem easier to see the effects of our Coupon Nazi because the immediate sale is high. In an instance where the immediate sale is low you may have a higher number of customers who will leave and yet it is more difficult to see the effects because it takes longer for the consequences to add up. Consequently, Coupon Nazi’s are created by the short leashes of upper management. It is possible to identify and deter this behavior but policy change must start from top to bottom. Here are some general rules to go by:

1. If a policy is causing the loss of customers it may be time to evaluate the priority of that policy.
2. Never assume (especially openly to the customer) that customers are attempting to somehow manipulate your policies for their own gain. Is it ever true? Yes. Is it always true? No.
3. Policies should reflect customers buying and shopping habits not conflict with them.
4. Company policy should make your company and its employee’s competitive customer service experts not offensive “customer service napalm”.
5. Empower employees to go the extra mile in the name of customer service without the fear of punishment from management above them.

Simple steps will help grow your business. Ignoring the issue is costing you!  Bulldog Rule #8 - Re-examine your business often.

Posted in Marketing, Customer Service, Creating the Culture, Training, Making Money | Print | 59 Comments »

5. October 2010 by Bob Griffin.

I was thinking about why we have an obesity problem in the richer nations of the world and I have come to the conclusion that we are bored. I have bought more gadgets to get fit than I care to think about.  I have also been so bored with them that I want to take a nap in the middle of using them.  Repetitive Motion Sickness is the phrase for this junk’s usefulness.  None of it is fun and none of it makes me want to go back and use it again. I do not see the end to people becoming fat.  I was going to call this article “I Don’t Know the Answer”, but I do know the answer.  Eat less calories and exercise.  I am not good at either one, but I do maintain my weight with a scale and an occasional salad.

Now, why is a guy who talks about business and finding success talking about fat?  The answer lies in the fact that, like many things, it affects the way you do business.   If people are getting fat, they are getting slower.  They are looking for ways to get things done that require less energy and effort.  At the same time, you have to think about size in all that you do.  If you are making cell phones, you need to think about bigger buttons for fatter fingers or a voice recognition software that will make buttons obsolete.  If you have a brick and mortar store, you will need wider aisles.  That will mean you will have less room for merchandise.  You will need to move the products off the shelf and have a catalog system where a customer scans items at a kiosk and the order is bagged in the back warehouse.  Obesity makes you have to change the way you do business.

So, what if you want to change a person’s habits?  Changing habits is not really a business model.  A business is geared to the habits that the population already has.  Changing habits requires a shift in business that makes people think about a problem as a solution.  What if exercise was in that grey area of business where customers wanted to be?  How do we make exercise seem like a “must do” event in everyone’s day?  Make it fun.

• Many sports are good for exercise, but most of us find it hard to get the time to meet and play
• Workout places smell and there is always some kind of etiquette that I still don’t understand
• Workout equipment is either too costly or its cheap and dangerous
• If I look like I need to work out, I am probably not going to fit in on a team, in a gym, or as my own coach

We need a business model that involves fun and a challenge with friends that requires less time commitment and a way to communicate with a team of people working out with you.  The internet provides a medium for communication. That takes care of the peer pressure.  It can also make it so you can log in when you have time.  I like the idea of the exercise games on Wii and PlayStation, but they are marketed as toys and the exercise games are few. The adult mind is tuned differently than a child.  Trying to push an adult into a kid’s world is a bad fit.  Adults need variety even more than kids do.  Want to sell more Wii’s?  Make more games that appeal to the “big kids”.  Create a new brand that is team building, online, and is fun and you have a way to change exercise habits.

*I am not going to create the business here…this is the point where I get YOU thinking of the actual game for adults to play.

But, what about eating less calories?  Again, we are bored, so we go for comfort food.

Is there a fun way to eat less food?   I like to feel something when I eat.  I like to feel full and rewarded.  Sound selfish?  Yes it does.  I am not arguing that point.  I want to feel good when I eat.  So, I am looking for foods that take care of those wants (not needs since I only need the calories to keep my body alive).  Now I need to a tailor a business model to feeding people well and meeting their desire for full bellies and tasty foods.  That is a culinary dream.  Just like we get repetitive motion sickness with exercise, we get tired of the same tastes and need change.

Most restaurants have a set menu.  That is the consistency they bank on when a customer wants to eat.  We go through the list of restaurants weekly to find the right place to eat.  What if the menu changed and it was all acceptable to customers?  I have seen many of the best restaurants use this design.  What about a fast food chain, though?  What if they used fresh ingredients and provided it fast to buy and eat?  I have often heard that the seasonings and sauces make the dish.  Chicken is chicken flavored and beef is beef flavored when cooked.  It is the addition of seasonings that change the taste and make the dish.  Create a menu of fast well seasoned foods that are lower fat and calorie and you have a business that meets the needs of customers.

I know I am not the first to think of any of this.  It is not the point of the article to create something new.  I want to stir the pot and skim off some of the fat while meeting customer needs.  I want you to see clearly the world you sell to.  Take a good look at your customers and their challenges.  Look past today and see where people are heading.  Make changes that meet needs and change outlooks and you have a business that you can be proud of talking about.

Bob Griffin - CEO and Co-Founder

Email: Questions@BusinessBulldog.com

Posted in Creating the Culture | Print | 93 Comments »

4. October 2010 by Bob Griffin.

In the economy, there are things we need and things we want.  Everything else resides in a grey area that you want your products or services to live in.  There are very few needs.  You need shelter, clothes, food, and good health.  Everything else starts to creep into the grey area of wants.  Better shelter, better clothes, and the rest all quickly hit the top of the want scale fast.  After all, once you have taken care of a need, there is not much more on the need line of the scale.

But what about diamonds?  No one needs a diamond…unless you want to propose to your girlfriend.  In the strictest sense of the act, you do not need a diamond to get married.  (Here is where I get letters from angry women all telling me to shut my stupid mouth)   But, you do need a diamond to fulfill the contract you want to sign with the one you love. (See!  I brought it right back around ladies…sheesh!) If you aren’t bringing the diamond, there is a gap in the agreement.  She and the rest of society is looking for the diamond ring on her hand.  As a disclaimer, if you live in a country that does not have this ritual, I am sure there are other items exchanged in an effort to marry.

Do you need a diamond, ladies?  No, you don’t.  Are you going to say “yes” without one?  No, you won’t.  So diamond rings live in the grey area.

Do computers live in the grey area? Yes, they do…kinda.  If you want to send emails, write reports, send messages instantly, or talk to someone not in the same room, you need a computer.  Maybe it is an integrated part of the phone line, but it is there.  You may have someone else type your reports, but one was used to have the outcome you want.  So, yes computers live in the grey area of the economy that you want to be in too.

If you sell hats (for example) and you want to be in the grey area where everyone feels like they must have your hat to survive, how do you get there?

No one wears a hat much anymore.  So, you have an edge in the market.  How, if no one does something does that give you an edge?  Simple by being unique.  There are many ways to get your product or service to a level of uniqueness.  The best way is to do something that is not currently being done and find a way to market that individuality.

1. Get your hat to an expert who can talk about it.
2. Give a sample to a celebrity who would like it and wear it.
3. Use your network to talk about it.
4. Give samples away as a talking point in their networks.
5. Cross-promote with a charity that has great brand awareness.
6. Go viral with a video showing the hat with someone who is a trend setter.
7. Show it, wear it, and be in the scene where people will ask about it.
8. Make it stand out in a place where no one would normally wear a hat.
9. Ask the Internet community to find the flaws. (Risky, but really effective)
10. Be ready to talk about it to anyone.  Have your story ready.

All of these ways make sense and you are not sure where to start?  Neither do I.  You are the character behind the hat.  People buy from people they like.  You need to find what works best for you and get into the grey by not compromising ANYTHING!  If someone asks for more hats than you can deliver, be ready to tell them that.  It makes them exclusive.  Be ready to take back orders.  If someone makes a knock-off hat that looks like yours, be ready to smash them in the media with reasons not to buy a knock-off.  Be ready to toss whole shipments of the hat because they do not meet your high standards.  Setting the bar for quality and holding firm is where most businesses lose the grey area they could have been a leader in.

LOVE THE GREY!!

Email: Questions@BusinessBulldog.com

Posted in Creating the Culture | Print | 58 Comments »