As I mentioned in a previous post I stole this line from Mythbusters, which was one of my favorite shows. The thing about failure is that it is a data point. There's this famous quote from Thomas Edison: I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't workThomas Edison When you look at … Continue reading Failure is always an option
I wrote this post before most places were shutting down for the coronavirus, but I believe that once the social restrictions are lifted, the difference between those companies that bounce back and those that don't will be in part linked to those that understand Anti-Customer Service. Photo by Icons8 Team on Unsplash This is 2020 and every retail … Continue reading Don’t Practice Anti-Customer Service
Photo by rob walsh on Unsplash I'm working on writing a book and one of the eventual chapters will be titled Responsibility = Results. This idea, along with three others, represent my guiding philosophy of how you be a successful leader and how you run a successful company. The full list of these ideas are below: Responsibility = … Continue reading Responsibility = Results
from Boston Globe This is not a political post, though it may seem that way. At a recent debate Elizabeth Warren took Mike Bloomberg to task for allegations of sexual harassment. Mike Bloomberg made an ill-advised statement that "they maybe didn't like a joke I told." Now I'm not here to litigate whether his joke … Continue reading Communication is a two-way street
There’s a phrase I use that started out as a joke but has become an actually useful tool for time management. When I’m doing something and see that I’m not going to be able to complete it today, or it’s a project I’ve come up with but know I can’t start it now, I’ll say, … Continue reading Future You
If you’ve read Peter Drucker then you know that being an effective executive is one of the goals of every manager and leader. My understanding is that effective is defined as the ability to get things done. You have an idea of the actions you want your direct reports to take, now you need to … Continue reading It’s better to be effective, than to be right.
I received my Weekly Retail Experience Newsletter from Doug Fleener today and it got me thinking. The title of the post was Planning for a successful day - or not, which gives some great tips for how to plan to be successful when running a retail store. The Meta-Message, if you will, is that you … Continue reading Having a Plan
Yesterday I got a nice reminder on how important it is to put together a great team. I got to work, and my partner is on vacation. I knew she was on vacation and that meant I had to handle reorders. Not a problem, that is what we do. However, I get to work and … Continue reading The Importance of Teams
This past week I had an enlightening conversation with two different employees. Enlightening in that it revealed their two different styles. With both I was discussing some technical aspect we needed before we could move forward with our new system implementation. The first employee listened to what I was saying, said they understood, then proceeded … Continue reading The correct answer is: I don’t know
When reviewing the literature about leadership a common theme emerges: responsibility. The best leaders all take responsibility. Each book gives it a different name and uses different examples, but it always comes down to responsibility. Here are three ways great leaders accept responsibility and make their companies better. 1. Taking Blame/Passing on Praise The best … Continue reading Leadership is about Responsibility
Joe Robles 