At a recent garage sale, the women who were doing the selling decided that they would rather be in their boat on the river instead of at home conducting the sale. So they took a few items inside the house, left all the clothes outside, posted a sign — and left.
The sign said: “Everything 25 cents. Pay the Bratman” (the guy selling brats at his sale next door).
Good for them! You need to decide what is important in your life and let the rest go. For them, being on the river superseded the desire to make money at home.
Where in your life can you post an equivalent sign and let something go?
Originally published in modified form on May 20, 2017
I’ve been collecting the National Parks quarter series and still need five of the 56 issues. When I saw an ad offering the entire set for just slightly above face value, I was very tempted to order it and be done. But then I realized that the purpose of my quest is not to have all the quarters, but rather it is to find all the quarters. The joy is in the hunt.
It can be tempting to opt for the easy solution, but rewards can also come from the effort itself. Hunting for the elusive piece for a collection. Making a meal instead of eating out. Enjoying a road trip rather than flying. Planting a garden to grow food instead of buying it. Writing a letter instead of sending a text.
Factor more into your decisions than just what is easiest.
Originally published in modified form on May 9, 2021
Trying to do too much sometimes works like an elevator. You think that you’ll make just a quick stop on a floor – only to discover that when you come back, the elevator is gone and you have to wait for another to arrive. It ends up not being quick at all, and you would have been better off heading directly to your original destination and finishing the first task at hand.
Think about your to-do list like an elevator and try to do all the things on one floor before heading to another. The less time you spend riding in the elevator, the more time you’ll have to actually accomplish tasks.
Originally published in modified form on August 17, 2019
I’m off for a sister’s weekend, so enjoya few dots from the archives…..
I recently purchased a new carbon monoxide detector, and on the same day it arrived, I received an email from Amazon offering carbon monoxide detector installation services. While I laughed at the absurdity of needing to hire out such a mundane task, I was impressed with the business model that anticipated the next step after my purchase.
Why don’t more businesses or organizations think that way?
If you register for a conference, the next day you could get a checklist of things to do or ways to prepare for the event. When you buy a car, the dealer could send you a video on how to use all the non-intuitive electronics that are equipped in a vehicle. On the last day of classes, children could receive their supply list for the next term.
In my case, Amazon was both the seller and delivered the follow-up, but opportunities for partnerships abound – like a relay race where one organization hands the baton to another for the next step in the purchasing journey. The day your new computer arrives, a partnership with a local firm could initiate a contact to offer software installation and a tutorial. A new puppy could come with a next-day delivery of training tools and cleanup materials from the pet store. A church could partner with a realtor to welcome new families to the neighborhood.
Don’t let the initial transaction be the last one. You can add value to your customers and to your organization by anticipating the next step and making it easy to occur.
Originally published in modified form on May 3, 2019
I have had coaching clients who are frustrated when their staff doesn’t embrace the vision they are trying to enact. The leader has repeatedly shared the big picture, but the small behaviors don’t align toward that end.
In some ways, having an inexperienced staff is like raising a puppy. You know you want a well-behaved, full-grown dog in the end, and have to keep reminding yourself that the ill-behaved, little ball of fur will transform into that — with repeated, clear coaching. It doesn’t just happen on its own over time.
How do you train a puppy? With crisp directions, immediate feedback, and lots of praise. So when your pooch eats leaves from your tree like a giraffe, you instantly correct that behavior with a brisk “no!” You start small and work up from there.
While you’re not going to bark a “no” command to your staff, your message should be as clear when their behavior falls outside the norms you are trying to create. Helping with immediate course-correction (and on-the-spot praise for desired actions) helps communicate boundaries and steers their actions in the way you desire.
Having a puppy is hard work. Creating a culture and onboarding staff is hard work as well. Keep the end in mind as you work through the tough times to end up with years of behavior you can enjoy.
I teach many young professionals who aspire to leadership positions in their organizations. While some of the content I convey surely will be helpful to their pursuit, the best advice I can give them is to act like a leader before they have the title to go with it.
Leadership is a way of being, not a specific role, and the sooner you exhibit the traits of a leader, the more likely it is that you will be bestowed with the position to align with it. I think of specific people who demonstrated critical thinking, initiative, made insightful contributions to discussions, and were leaders in my class, even though the roster did not distinguish them that way. In work or volunteer settings, some people stand out in entry-level or more mundane roles, and I can predict that they will achieve a position of leadership during their career because they act as leaders already.
If you want to be a leader, nothing is stopping you. You may need someone else to give you an official position, but the true gifts and rewards of leadership come from the intrinsic rewards of the behavior, not from the title.
One of the most rewarding experiences of my professional career was triggered by a student’s email to the university president. It was a no-holes-barred rambling complaint of all the things wrong with one aspect of the student’s experience. He laid it all out there just before graduation when he felt he had nothing to lose. The president met with the student, and as far as the student knew, that was the end of it.
In reality, it was just the beginning. His email prompted a firing, organizational reorganization, and a cascade of changes that truly transformed the university. It also impacted many lives in significant ways, as well as affecting countless students who benefited from the results. Those of us closest to the efforts talk about it frequently — more than 20 years later — and remain in regular contact.
Through pure happenstance, one of the key players ran into this former student and shared not only the original email (preserved for posterity because it was so significant) but also told him the end of the story. He had NO IDEA anything further had happened after he met with the president, even though a large number of really significant changes had resulted.
It was an “It’s a Wonderful Life” moment, where one person leaves a legacy beyond their imagination. So many things would be different, careers altered, and the trajectory of the university changed had he not set things in motion.
It’s a reminder that one person can (and does) make a difference, though you may never know that you did. Keep using your voice, speaking up, advocating for change, pointing out injustices, and making a ruckus. Even if you never see the end result, be the beginning.
The TownePlace Suites hotel chain partnered with the Container Store to install custom closet systems in its hotel rooms. It’s a welcome amenity for long-stay travelers as it maximizes storage, allowing people to fully unpack and stop living out of a suitcase. It’s a win for the Container Store as it brings a live demonstration to presumably more affluent people who have the means to travel.
I was intrigued by the bins and hooks that made the space much more functional, and it’s a feature that distinguishes TownePlace from the other mid-priced hotel chains. I don’t know the financials behind it, but it seems like a smart arrangement for both parties.
Who serves the same market as you do? Don’t get hung up on doing everything on your own, and instead, consider working with a partner in a totally different industry to enhance both of you.
Amazon got its start by selling books because they are a low-risk item to buy online. The book you buy at an independent bookstore is the same as one you would buy from a big box seller or via the web, with the only distinguishing feature being the price.
To combat the generic nature of the product, Barnes & Noble collaborated with some publishers to create special editions of bestsellers. The side of the pages features a design coordinated with the cover artwork, presumably making it more appealing to readers. In any case, it makes it more exclusive to their stores.
You may not be able to change the essence of what you offer, but is there a way to create an enhancement that makes your version more exclusive? People like to distinguish themselves from the ordinary. Think of how you can achieve that with minor alterations to what everyone else provides.
Jay Leno was famous for his curation of unusual signs. I pay most attention to those that find a way to deliver a potentially negative message in a creative way.
One such sign appeared in a Traverse City store window. Instead of saying: “NO FOOD OR DRINKS,” which is the typical wording for such messages, it read: “A few years ago…there was a disaster between a chocolate ice cream and a linen dress. Please no food or drink.”
I suspect that this message was heeded more than the generic ones because it was out of the ordinary enough for people to actually read it, and it painted a vivid picture that people could envision. Not wanting to be the cause of a disaster themselves, perhaps they honored the request.
If you need to post a sign, ask people to adhere to a policy, or want to influence behavior, take the extra time to craft a message that has more humanity than policy.
