Puzzled - Part II

Last night I was sitting in front of a fire doing the puzzle and Riley came over to join in.  When she took a look at the pile of pieces she immediately started placing them in their spots.  She was flying.  Pretty sure she made some comment to me about how slow I was.

Then, once she got some in, I was able to start finding pieces quicker.  What happened???

I had been working on the puzzle for probably 45 minutes before she came over so I'd gotten used to the pile of pieces I had and I had gotten bogged down looking for particular pieces.  She came over and had a fresh perspective.  She saw the same pieces I did but she saw them differently.  And then, as she started adding them, she changed my perspective because then we needed different pieces.  Some of the pieces I had been staring at now had a place to go.

Do you ever get stumped on a problem?  Maybe you've tried 2-3 things and they aren't working.  You probably should ask somebody to share with you what they think a solution might be.  Get a fresh perspective.  They may see a clear answer or they may be able to change the situation just enough so that the answers you'd been trying now work.

It almost never hurts to get a second, or third, perspective.               

Puzzled?

Every Christmas we set up the card table and do at least one 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle.  And it’s usually a puzzle of something we’ve done or seen that year.  This year it’s San Francisco.  As you can see, I’m missing some edge pieces.  I prefer to get the edge done before doing the rest but so far I haven’t found those edges.  So, I’ve just been working with what I can find.  Right now, that’s the water pieces.  Then, it will be the buildings.  I’m pretty sure those edge pieces will show up as I’m completing this puzzle.

It’s kind of like our business.  Whether it’s doing the schedule, arranging catering orders, setting up the DT, staffing kitchen... we’ve got a lot of puzzles.  Sometimes the pieces are obvious.  Sometimes we can’t find the right piece when we want it.

This puzzle reminds me of a few things.  Keep looking.  Work with what you can work with.  Have fun.  It’s a puzzle.

Why I Don't Answer the Phone

Years ago at CFA I would answer the phone anytime it rang.  It made sense.  I was here.  I was available.  I could answer most questions.  AND when I wasn't at the store it wasn't uncommon for the phone to ring and ring.  No answers.

I asked why we weren't answering the phone and the common answer was "I didn't know you had left and thought you'd answer it."

That's when I stopped answering the phone.  But, I didn't just stop answering the phone.  Before I stopped answering the phone I set the expectation that the phone should be answered by the 3rd ring, no more.  I made sure we had a phone working and accessible to leaders at all times.  Then, I stopped answering the phone.  This was probably the most important step.  If I had told them expectations and put phones out front but kept answering the phone we probably would have continued to have the same problem  The key was me, the "leader", stopping the doing so that others could. 

(Oh, and I hate talking on the phone.  Sometimes good decisions can also be enjoyable.  It's easy for me to assume that if I like something or if I want something that it must not be the best idea.  Not everything good for you tastes bad.)

This can feel wrong.  Leaders can feel like they are dumping on their team when they stop doing something.  And, that could be the case if its not done the right way and for the right reasons.  But, as long as a leader does something they are in the way of anybody else stepping up and taking that task, learning that skill, growing...

Nothing in our store is owned by somebody else that I didn't have to first stop doing.  The "funny" part is I remember being frustrated that others weren't stepping up and taking these from me.  It took a while for me to realize I had to let go in order for them to take these responsibilities.       

What do you need to stop?  Where are you in the way of other's growth?


Hint:  ESRC is the tool to ensure this is done effectively         

The Last Game

Spring of 1996.  Put on my uniform for the last time.  I took did my last warm up tosses.  Took my last practice ground balls.  Took the field for the last time.  Last at bat.  Last play in the infield.

I read somewhere that you usually don’t realize when you are doing something for the last time.  But, that day, I knew it was my last competitive baseball game.  My last college game.  At the time I wasn’t sad.  I was kinda relieved.  The next season I didn’t really miss the game.

I do miss tossing the ball and taking some swings but I don’t often find myself wishing I could play it competitively again.  HOWEVER, when people ask if I have any regrets in life I don’t have many BUT I absolutely regret that I didn’t give baseball my best shot.  I was gifted.  Lots of talent.  But, I didn’t give it my best effort.  I didn’t play to win.  I often played not to lose.  I didn’t enjoy the game as often as I should have.

Having said all that, I’m thankful that I can say this.  Baseball was a big part of my first 20 years but it’s not my life story.  I’m thankful I got to learn the lesson with baseball that I need for the rest of my life.  I may regret that I didn’t give baseball my all but it taught me to ensure that when my last days of more important things come I will have given them my all.  I may not always get it right but I don’t want to ever have that same regret.  I’ll give my all.

Difference between me and a pro

In the last 5 years I've learned that water isn't always a good thing.  We moved into our current home in October of 2013.  During the buying process we did the inspection thing BUT the inspector missed something.

Many months later I was in the crawl space and something got my attention.  I pulled away some insulation and discovered that I could see the bottom of the tile that was the floor of our master bathroom.  That's not good.  All the subfloor had rotted away.  It was in an odd spot, not near drains or a faucet which is why the inspector didn't see it.  Water had made it's way to a spot that was in the middle of our floor and started eating away at the wood.

When we bought the house we had thought we might redo the bathroom eventually, so this just expedited that thinking.

Fast forward 2 years.  Early one morning I got woken up by Kaylyn hollering my name.  Water was spraying everywhere from under our sink in the bathroom.  Because I'm only half awake I tried everything except turning off the valve under the sink.  Water was covering the bathroom floor and soaking the carpet in our bedroom.  And there was even more water in the crawl space.  I think it took 4-5 days for ServPro to completely dry the area out.

Another new floor in the bathroom...

What did I learn?  2 things.  1)  Water can cause alot of damage.  2)  While I watched the people work on our bathroom, in both cases, they didn't seem quite as stressed about the problems as I did.  Part of that could be that I was the one paying BUT there was something else.  They knew what to do.  They knew what tools they needed and they knew how to use those tools.





Fast forward to a week ago.  We had a list that was getting longer and longer of little projects at the house that I hadn't been able to complete.  Squeaky step, light not working, door not closing, loose step on the deck, loose shingles on roof...  I called up a handyman to come and knock this list out because clearly I wasn't getting it done.  When he came out I walked around with him and talked with him while he was fixing things.  I never once saw him do something I couldn't have done.  And, it didn't seem to stress him fixing each of these things that had been a frustration to me.  What was the difference??  He knew what tools he needed and how to use those tools.  Check out the difference in the tools in these two pictures above.  One is a picture of my solution and one is a picture of tools of a pro.

Leadership seems to work the same way.  When I watch a great leader, they don't seem to get stressed with things that can cause me stress.  Why?  They know what tools to use and how to use them.

Some people say leaders are born, not made.  Not true.  Just as I could learn to be a plumber by learning what tools to use and when, anybody can learn to lead by learning what tools to use and when.  We all already do this everyday.  How do you get places?  Driving a car?  There was a day that you didn't know how to drive and getting places was more difficult.  Now you know what tool to use and how to use it.  How about cooking?  Same thing.  Grilling?  Brushing your teeth?  Heck, there was once a time that each of us had to learn when and how to use a toilet.

Leadership is no different.  Once you learn the tools and when to use them, leadership becomes more routine.  Just like remodeling a bathroom for a professional builder.        

ESRC
SBI
SERVE
How to Get Your Boss to Say Yes

Just a few of the tools we have available.  They only have value when we know how and when to use them.

 

Parker Pens

Parker Pens. They are my favorite pen. They fit my hand well, they write well, they fit in a shirt pocket well, they can be used with one hand (don’t have to take a cap off)... when I have my Parker Pen, I don’t ever have to look for a pen that works. I’m ready. I’m prepared!

I got in my truck this AM and headed to the store. Unfortunately, I didn’t have my phone charger in my truck because I had taken it in another car yesterday. I’m composing this in carpool line at Voyager on a phone that is getting low on power. Because of this, I’m having to consider whether to continue using it and when will I have access to a charger. That’s interfering with my productivity. I’m not prepared.

My intentions may be great but my preparation determines my capacity.

Which Came First?

When our kids were small, Myrtle Beach was our go-to beach destination. Easy, affordable, convenient oceanfront accommodations. Plus the lazy rivers at all the condos are a tired dad’s best friend.


Back then, Wendy’s were still decent restaurants so we stopped at one on the way down and one on the way back. They couldn’t have been more different. One was remarkably clean, friendly, fresh and fast. The other was remarkably dirty, slow, rude and stale. I’m not one to submit comments at businesses but both of these Wendy’s locations were so remarkable in their own ways that I did look for a way to submit feedback. The remarkably good store had comment cards at the tables, on the wall and a phone number posted near the menuboards. So many ways to give feedback. The other Wendy’s had zero options for submitting feedback. On the way home I was thinking about this.

Was the good one good because it sought feedback? Or, did they seek feedback because they are good? Was the bad one bad because they didn’t listen to customers or do they not listen to customers because they are poorly run? Which came first? Excellence or feedback? The Chicken or the Egg? Who knows?!?!

I started paying more attention to which places make it easy for feedback and noticed that the better run places typically make it easy to get feedback. I still don’t know which causes the other but I’ve learned that if you act like a top performer you tend to perform well. This is before we had the easy access to CFA CARES like we do now. We placed comment cards on every table. I really expected to get alot of feedback on how we could get better (complaints). What I learned is that customers just like being asked. Most of the feedback was positive. It seemed that simply by asking them how it was, customers felt more favorably about their visit. And, yes, we got some constructive feedback as well.

I still don’t know if asking for feedback made us better or if we decided to ask for feedback because we were leading better. What I do know is that top performers crave feedback. If I want to be a top performer, I probably should crave feedback.