Where I am at today...

Hello friends, thanks so much for visiting my blog.  Today I have the great honor to be guest posting on Chris LoCurto's blog . Chris is a VP in Dave Ramsey's organization, as well as the host of the chart-topping Entreleadership Podcast!  He speaks and counsels business owners nationwide and I am proud and honored to consider him a friend. 

Sadly, I wish the circumstances were different.  Chris' step-daughter Chelsea had a brain aneurysm last week and has been in the hospital since.  So our thoughts and prayers are definitely with Chris and his family at this time. 

I am grateful for this opportunity to serve Chris during this trying time by guest posting on his blog so he can focus on taking care of his family!

So please head on over to www.ChrisLoCurto.com and check out my guest post: "A Four Year Old Could Do It."

If You're New

If you are visiting my blog today because you read my guest post, thanks for stopping by!  You have great taste in blogs to follow (Chris' obviously!). 

Feel free to check out my About page to learn a little more about me. 

During the week I blog about leadership, business, etc.  Here are some of my favorite posts:

We Hired You To Be A Leader

You Don't Matter

3 Benefits of Worrying

Leadership Lessons From the Saddle


On the weekends I've been doing a weekend blog series about another interest of mine, that is my personal faith.  I am a Mormon.  My weekend series is called "Ask a Mormon".  Each week I take a question that a reader has submitted about Mormons and I answer it. 

I give you straight answers about what we believe, why I believe it, and how we act because of it.  I don't push my religion.  I know by learning more about our respective faiths, you and I can become better friends, neighbors and/or twitter pals. 

So here are a few of my favorite "Ask a Mormon" posts if you want to check them out.  If you dont, no problem, please hang around for my weekday posts on leadership!

Mormon Misconceptions

Your Mission If You Choose to Accept It

What is The Book of Mormon?

Do You Worship Joseph Smith?

Thanks Again

Thanks again for stopping by! I hope you'll find some information of value.  If you do, please share my blog with your friends and followers as well! 

I'd also bring your attention to some other fantastic bloggers I follow.  The links are on the left hand side of my blog!  They rock and you'll really enjoy what they have to say! 

See ya around!



Twitter: @Skropp2

The Customer is Always Right!

"The Customer is Always Right"

How many times have we heard that?

How many managers have said it?

How many company websites, stationary, business cards, sales material and coffee mugs have sported this saying?

How many of us believe it?



Photo Courtesy of LonelyBob, Some Rights Reserved

Ok, you can put your hands down.

Before we get into the post, let's find a few things we all can agree on.

1. Customers are important.

2. Customer service is important.

3. Many customers THINK they are always right.

4. Odds are, customers are NOT right as often as they'd like to believe.

Can we agree on those? If you disagree, well, get your own dang blog! This one's mine ;)

But let's be honest, the customer is NOT always right. And quite frankly, the ones that are insistent that they are, and are determined to rub it in your face--like you're a dog in need of house training--probably aren't your best customers anyways.

But does this mean that you just write off their complaints as the ramblings of a madman and laugh mockingly at the stupid notion that "the customer is always right?"

Short answer: No.

And here's why:

Perception is reality.

I LOVE that phrase, and no where is it more applicable than in customer service.

Here's what I mean:

In reality, your customer is wrong, the terms of delivery were 5-7 BUSINESS days, not 5-7 days, regardless of Christmas, New Years and the Sunday in between!

In perception, your customer feels you are incompetent, and incapable of keeping your word...and he tells EVERYONE at Starbucks exactly that.

In reality, the warranty clearly states that throwing your product onto a rock from your tree stand 35 feet up voids the warranty.

In perception, your client tells all his hunting buddies that not only is your product a piece of crap, but your service belongs in the toilet as well.

You get the idea.

Now I'm not saying you should fall all over your customers if they are blatantly wrong. You only need a fraction of the earth's billions of inhabitants as clients. Some clients are best served by making sure the door doesn't hit them on the way out.

My point is,

When striving to provide excellent customer service, be mindful, and take into account that, though they may be wrong, your client's perception IS THEIR reality, and he will relay it to everyone he associates with as such.

Perception is reality.

Perhaps THAT phrase should be found in our businesses (and maybe on a coffee mug) a little more often. It may improve our ability to understand and serve our customers.



Question: How have you seen perception affect your job or business?

Thanks for reading! If you find these posts valuable, please share them in your social circles!!

Twitter: @Skropp2

We Hired You to Be a Leader

We Hired You to Be a Leader

In a previous post I talked about an interview Chris LoCurto did with Joe Scarlett, former CEO of Tractor Supply Company for the EntreLeadership Podcast. If you haven't listened to the podcast, do yourself a favor and click here to listen (be sure to scroll to the bottom to listen to the bonus interview!)!

In the interview, Joe talks about his love of delegation. Bragging (rightfully so, in my opinion) that he had delegated so well that as CEO he made very few actual decisions.

Photo courtesy of Mays Business School, Some Rights Reserved

He told a story about when he was a young leader in an department store in charge of closing the store. In order to get finished he rolled up his sleeves and began emptying garbage cans etc. While do so the store manager came to him and said, in effect, "We didn't hire you to empty the garbage, we hired you to lead. "

What a profound statement. Joe said that after that delegation became his middle name!! He says if you learn to delegate you'll never become a workaholic.

Delegation

Delegation is the key to keeping balance in your life. Joe says living a balanced life and not letting work take over is a mindset. He says you must do 4 things well:

1. Build good teams

2. Delegate responsibility

3. Trust people to get the job done

4. Set up checkpoints to make sure things stay on track.

his definitive statement on delegation was:

"if you can't delegate responsibility you can't move up the ladder."

Question: What is your view of delegation? How can you delegate so you can be a more effective leader?


If you enjoy these posts please share them in your social circles! 



Twitter: @Skropp2

What Do Tractors Have to do With Leadership?

What Do Tractors Have to do With Leadership?

A lot if you're Joe Scarlett.

Photo Courtesy of www.joescarlett.com 

Mr. Scarlett is the retired CEO of Tractor Supply Company and founder of th Scarlett Leadership Institute. Recently Mr. Scarlett was interviewed by Chris LoCurto for Dave Ramsey's EntreLeaderhip podcast. I would strongly recommend listening to the whole interview. You can find it, along with a bonus interview with Mr. Scarlett here.

I could write 5 blog posts on the information in the interview, and I just may. But for today I want to share the 5 things Mr. Scarlett advised aspiring leaders to do to prepare for leadership.

Prepare for Leadership

1. Set Clear direction

"Do the people that work for me, do they clearly know where we are going?" 

 Know where you're going, know where your organization is going. Be able to convey that direction to your team members.

2. Delegate

"If you're micromanaging, forget about it, I'm not gonna promote you."

Mr. Scarlett spent a lot of time on delegation. He said the ability to delegate is one of the most essential skills of a leader. If you can't delegate your success is limited to only what you can personally do.

3. Humility

"Do you have a big ego? If you really think you're great, you can stay where you are!"

Being humble is an critical to being a great leader. 

4. Communication

"The further up the ladder you get, the more important communication becomes."

Always be honing your communication skills, verbal, written etc. know how I give a speech, write a report, pitch an idea to the Board of Directors, etc.

5. Be a cheerleader

"Be the first one to recognize performance."

Be a positive uplifting influence. Be the first to praise and encourage. Celebrate success. Smile

This was just one small portion of a fantastic interview. Again, click here to listen in its entirety.



Question: What are you doing today to prepare for greater leadership opportunities?



If you just LOVE these posts (or even moderately like them) please pass them along to friends, family and colleagues!

Twitter: @Skropp2