Monthly Archives ⇒ June 2015

Update

· habits

I am close to the end of the month and having EOM (end of month) numbers for my metric I have been pushing for the last 60 days. As of this morning I was sitting at only 19% non-participation. Not bad when you consider that it was at 45+% when I took charge of it.

 

Pushing the same and sprinkling the new

 

With the attention and momentum that this metric has been getting, it is time to pay attention to another metric that has been lagging – since we started it roughly 18 months ago. I received a report and showed that currently this metric is at .9%. Yes .9%. As in less than 1%!

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Progress

· habits

yes

So finally seeing some progress in the metric I have been pushing. We have around 72% of our locations participating which is the highest we’ve had all year! To give you an idea, we’ve been hovering around 55% participation since January started. So it is definitely good progress.

 

But it can be better.

 

This progress has been brought by pushing sales from a top down approach. Meaning we’ve changed the comp plan for our managers to ensure they are pushing this metric. I however feel this should not be the main push to get our reps to move on this metric.

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A Fork in the River

· habits

I was originally planning to post on Friday about the results for the week and how everything is progressing, but then a new variable came into play Friday; I was offered to go back into the field in a managerial position and being highly considered for the next promotion. It’s an enticing offering because I would be making more than my current role and I would be able to implement my project to facilitate proper habits how I see fit…

There’s always a but

But there’s a few reasons why I am turning it down. My old boss (really great person, leader and mentor) wants me to make the transition back to the field within a couple of weeks. The original plan when I made the transition to help at our corporate office was that I would have the ability to go back to the field. Personally I feel at home in the field. I know it. I excel in it. And when you want to have a bench full of stars, you go after some of the best. That was a condition for me, as I personally do not enjoy the office environment. Continue reading →

Small Victories

· habits

Lead to Big Wins!

 

Sometimes to get to your real objective you have to make a detour and show success in a different area of the business. There is a lot that goes into changing the organizational procedures and habits of business, much like changing habits at a personal level (but with more red tape).

 

Currently launched a new project this last week to focus on bringing more candidates in for some of our markets that have voiced their struggles in getting enough candidates in. I’m pushing to have this venture succeed as it would be a great foot in the door technique to move on to another project and ultimately to my end goal with my current metrics project.

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Foot in the door

· habits

“But wait!” as he pushes his foot between the door and the frame so the couple can’t shut the door.

 

It’s a funny image but it does give the best example of what the foot in the door method can be like (albeit an extreme one). Recently I’ve been tasked with getting a certain metric to increase across all our locations nationwide. To give you an idea, our teams have generally anywhere from 7 to 10 metrics they push on monthly; focusing on an additional task isn’t the easiest for them to do.

 

Don’t get me wrong, coming from a sales background and having years of experience in this industry, the metrics we are tasked with are not hard or difficult to attain. We make it difficult to attain though.

 

There are a number of reasons our teams have trouble attaining their metrics: Continue reading →

Why start now?

· habits

Why am I starting this? Habitual change? What’s the purpose? Who is it for? Why?

It’s pretty simple actually. I’m starting this off to chronicle my journey with my current company. You see I’ve been with my company for a number of years and believe there is a bit we can do to holistically and drastically change the company culture and move it to the next level! We currently operate over 300 locations across a number of states and have over 1,000 employees.

We’re technically retail, but not retail at the same time.

Because of this, I want to help change the nature of our employee training, which would change the nature of our company culture. A change that could help us become the next Enterprise (albeit in a different industry).

 

How can you change a company’s culture?

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