Tag Archives: Purpose

My Purpose Here

07 Sunday Jul 2013

Posted by in Contribution, Customer Experience, Management

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camping

On one side of the coin it reads, “How do I help my workers achieve?” On the other side, “How do I make a contribution in this job?” These are the two sides of the same coin of managing people.

Recently, we were catching up with our friend who works as a receptionist at a campground where my wife and I spend several nights each year under the stars. We’ve always been impressed with Ola and her customer service and people skills. At 82 years of age, Ola looks forward to coming to work each day, serving her customers, and being the ambassador of her campground’s brand.

The campground has been under the same management for years and in all that time the owners have never shared their organization’s purpose and vision with Ola. Curbing my speculation, it seems their main interest is in maintenance, making physical upgrades, and keeping track of the cash flow and accounts. The rest, they leave to chance.

Well, as chance would have it, Ola is intuitively filling in the rest. She has a keen sense of what the campground stands for and its small-but-growing reputation as a destination. She recounts stories about visitors from all over the U.S. and several points abroad. How they heard about her place, how she made them feel welcome, and the positive experiences they had. She gets post cards from friends she’s made as they pass through her campground and her life.

I asked her if the owners support her and help her achieve these amazing results. Her reply, “No, not really. But, I don’t let that interfere with my purpose here.”

Ola demonstrates impressive knowledge in three little words, “My purpose here.” She looks for the ways to realize the unused potential in her job. She’s working for something larger than herself. She’s achieving results for her customers. Ola is a self-managed executive and an inspiration.

Jim

Lucavìa
gojimlucas@lucavia.com
lucavia.com
(925) 980-7871

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© Copyright Jim Lucas 2007-2013 All Rights Reserved

The Three Most Important Management Tools

20 Thursday Jun 2013

Posted by in Customers, Management, Shared values

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George Zimmer, Men's Warehouse, Lucavia Consulting

Have you played the game where you ask your friends, “If you could only have three ‘albums’ on a desert island what would they be?” We’re so used to having nearly unlimited variety that narrowing down our favorite music, is a strange mixture of fun and irritation. (Today’s answer: Bob Dylan, Biograph; Jovanotti, L’Albero; and The Beatles, Beatles VI.)

With business news all around us everyday, I think it would also be fun, and instructive, to think, “Out of all the management practices we know, which three are the most fundamental?” Of course, there’s probably no single right answer but I’ll argue for these:

  • Know your purpose.
  • Know vision.
  • Constantly communicate these to your customers, team, and partners.

Reading the news about George Zimmer leaving Men’s Warehouse didn’t seem very interesting at first glance. I’m not a customer and their easily recognizable ad campaign (“I guarantee it”) didn’t move me. Their stock is near its 52-week high, revenue and net income are up, and even the category is coming out of its slump. So what’s up? The speculation is that Zimmer, 64, had a tough time letting go of power after relinquishing his role as CEO in 2011.

Then I read this, “Over the last 40 years, I have built Men’s Warehouse into…a company with amazing employees and loyal customers who value the products and services they receive…” Zimmer was noted for his colorful personality and his progressive values, e.g., putting Deepak Chopra on the Board, backing recreational marijuana use, and refusing to do background checks on employees stating, “Everyone deserves a second chance.”

With these clear indications of Zimmer’s impact on company culture, it’s incumbent on the Board to get past the veneer of how to update their advertising campaign and get to: What does this key personnel change mean for our purpose, our vision, and how we communicate these to our customers, team, and partners?

Jim

Lucavìa
gojimlucas@lucavia.com
lucavia.com
(925) 980-7871

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© Copyright Jim Lucas 2007-2013 All Rights Reserved