Manage Like A $1 Store

How do dollar stores separate themselves? Can't be price. Can't be value. Can't even be location if there are a couple in close proximity. So what makes one dollar store more appealing than the next dollar store?

The difference is measured right away by how it feels when you walk into the store. Here are a few differentiators:

• Some stores feel organized and professional while in other stores it feels like they've just willy-nilly put stuff anywhere there is an opening.
• Some stores have sourced better suppliers to bring customers a better selection and perhaps even better quality while other stores stock their shelves with bottom-quality, low-end crap.
• Some stores have better staff members who know how to be available in the aisles and to ask questions when customers look perplexed while other stores' staff seem like it's a bother to be at work and do just enough to not get fired - on a good day.
• Some stores hold out for the right employee while other stores hire the first warm body available (there's a reason they were available).
• Some stores welcome customers right up until closing time and don't lock the doors until after hours while other stores remind you that they will be closing in a half hour before you've even fully set foot inside the store.
• Some stores offer generous refund policies and swap out returns without question while others make sure to stamp "All Sales Final" on the back of each receipt - warning you to not even bother to try to return something defective.
• Some stores are open when their customers are available while other stores close at the same time that their customers are getting home from work.
• Finally, (and it's the best one) some stores believe that they are the standard to which other dollar-retailers will be measured while other stores run their business like it's a garage sale.

Given that all things are potentially equal in the dollar-store game, what separates the good ones from the bad ones are Attitude factors: ease of service, friendly staff, accommodating hours, easy return policies, welcoming environment and people who seem genuinely happy to be there.

How you manage your department, your team or your organization is reflected in the "feeling" one gets when they step into your domain, your department or your business. How your people handle customers is a perfect reflection of how they are managed. How engaged your employees are is in direct proportion to how they are managed. But always remember, it's the attitude factors that are most important. Manage well.
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Kevin Burns - Management Attitude/Culture Strategist
http://www.kevburns.com

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™
Creator of the 90-Day System To A Greatness Culture™

Coming Soon Kevin's 8th Book - "Your Attitude Sucks - Finding Your Excellence In A Wasteland of Mediocrity

Ask The Right Questions for Filter-Free Friday™

"How was your stay?" That's the question asked by the hotel clerk as she did other things on the computer. She didn't even look at me.

"Not very good," was my response. Suddenly, shocked, she looked at me.

I explained that the Internet connection didn't work (called the desk the night before), half of the TV channels had picture but no sound and a broken retractor arm on the window allowed the window to be opened but not closed.

The hotel manager approached, apologized and offered me a 1/3 discount on the room.

Then I suggested to him the following: stop asking customers how their stay was, their meal was, their experience was. Customers will answer "fine" so as to not seem to complain. Instead, ask your customers if there is anything in the room that needs attention. Ask restaurant patrons to rate their meal on a scale of 1 to 10. Ask your customers how you can better serve them - especially when they are happy. And then engage them in conversation to find ways to fix it. Stop asking the wrong questions. You look like an amateur.

And customers, stop answering "fine" if you're asked amateurish questions like these.

The hotel manager thanked me for my suggestion commenting that it was indeed a great question to ask. In essence, I was paid $50 for my suggestion. So far, since Filter-Free Friday™ launched in March 2010, I am now at over $250 in discounts and freebies. Are you getting this? Companies will pay you to be honest.

Speak up! You save money when you do. On Filter-Free Fridays™, make them be better: restaurants, hotels, stores, suppliers, co-workers, whatever. Offer some useful, constructive and non-hurtful advice to help others be better. You will get better as well because you will start noticing things that need to be addressed.

Think about it, had the previous guests at the hotel not been such spineless cowards, the room would have been in perfect condition. Not speaking up is selfish and ruins a great experience for others that follow you.

(Bonus FFF Tip #1 for ladies: don't you dare tip your hairdresser, say nothing and then go out into your car and start to cry because the stylist messed it up. You speak up and make them fix it. And DO NOT tip them when they do. A tip is not a requirement. A happy customer is.)

(Bonus FFF Tip #2: if you're on Twitter, tweet your #filterfreefriday or #fff idea to others. Let's get this movement started. Make them be better.)
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Kevin Burns - Management Attitude/Culture Strategist
http://www.kevburns.com

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™
Creator of the 90-Day System To A Greatness Culture™

Coming Soon Kevin's 8th Book - "Your Attitude Sucks - Finding Your Excellence In A Wasteland of Mediocrity

Oxymorons And Half-Truths In Management

Seemingly, managers are supposed to manage to manage all the supposedly manageable things that they manage to manage each day - if they can manage it?

Some of the titles of "areas of management" really make me laugh - some because they are simply oxymorons and others because, well, because they just can't be managed, no matter how fancy the title.

• Quality Management - if you are able to offer quality, then why would you offer anything less? Quality is not something you manage. Quality is an on/off switch. Either you offer quality or you offer crap.
• Change Management - you can manage change about as successfully as you can manage the weather. Change happens whether you are trying to control it or not. Change is embraced. It is not managed.
• Acceptance Management - the king of oxymorons. You will only attempt to manage that which you do not fully accept. And if you do not accept it, how can you manage it?
• Thought Management - I really had to think about this one but realized, in mid-thought, that I wasn't managing the thought. The thought was managing me. Good luck with that one.
• Behavioral Management - isn't that what the straight-jacket is for? If someone's behavior needs managing, why are they still working for you?
• Crisis Management - If it's managed, it's not a crisis. If it's a crisis, the steps leading up to it were not managed.
• Disaster Management - you can figure this one out on your own. Think janitorial.
• Stress Management - just like Crisis Management, if it's managed, there's no stress. Therefore, if there's no stress, there's nothing to manage.
• Relationship Management - no one person is in charge of a relationship - business OR personal. It takes two to have a successful relationship. Go ahead and tell your spouse you're in charge of managing the relationship. I dare you.
• Time Management - my personal favorite. It's not the time you manage. It's what YOU do with the time. It's called self-discipline. Time flies whether you're managing or not. Sorry TM trainers.

Bottom-line: it's people you manage, not things. If your people-skills suck, you will suck as a manager. People are a precious commodity to be coached and inspired. Nothing happens in any organization without people. Nothing is purchased without people. There are no sales without people. There are no customers to service without people. And without people, you don't have a job - because you don't need managers if there are no people.

Get good at the basics of people-skills and building quality relationships. Leave the fancy titles for those who need to look important. There is much more reward in helping people become better people.
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Kevin Burns - Management Attitude/Culture Strategist
http://www.kevburns.com

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™
Creator of the 90-Day System To A Greatness Culture™

Coming Soon Kevin's 8th Book - "Your Attitude Sucks - Finding Your Excellence In A Wasteland of Mediocrity

Managers Showing Their Laziness

What's with so many managers bashing the Gen Y work ethic? That complaint comes mostly from Baby Boomers - the same people who raised a lot of the Gen Y's. Do you see the irony here? Boomers raise them and then complain that they don't work as hard as Boomers. Huh?

TRUTH: you will NOT be able to convince millions of new workers to give up everything they know just because it's easier for you. (Who's the selfish one now?) And if you try to make them change the way they think, their values and their ethics, then you will end up with an empty space to fill.

You had just better figure out that the workforce is changing - and either you, as a manager, keep up or get left behind. Asking a whole generation of competent (and incredibly fast with a propensity for technology) workers to stop doing what they've been doing their whole short lives and start doing it your way seems sort of one-sided. Maybe it's that you just don't want to change the way YOU'VE been doing things for the past 25 years because it seems like a lot of work. Think about what you're asking them to do. It sure sounds like laziness to me - and not from Gen Y.

Think of it this way: if you were dropped into a management job in Poland, would you expect all of your workers to learn English or would you attempt to learn to speak enough Polish to communicate effectively? The same rules apply here. You had better learn the language (and the ways and ideas) of your workers if you want to effectively manage them. Complaining about it is lazy. It's what mediocre managers do.

Excellent managers do whatever is necessary to manage effectively - even if that means learning a new language - oh, and how to send a text message.
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Kevin Burns - Management Attitude/Culture Strategist
http://www.kevburns.com

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™
Creator of the 90-Day System To A Greatness Culture™

Coming Soon Kevin's 8th Book - "Your Attitude Sucks - Finding Your Excellence In A Wasteland of Mediocrity

Put The Money Back

When the recession hit, you asked your employees to sacrifice with you while you adjusted to a market downturn. You asked them to give up their expected raises, to find ways of cutting costs, to cut back learning and to do it for their own job security and the good of the company. And now that the company is back on the mend, how quickly are you reinstating pay raises, learning opportunities and meetings and giving back the budgets they helped slash?

Or are today's better margins going directly to the company bank account?

My, my, how quickly we forget who helped you make it through the tough times. It's no wonder that over 60% of the job market is looking for another job. It's an insult to be asked to cut back for the good of the company and then not pour that money right back to the people who sacrificed "for the good of the company." You gotta dance with the one that brung ya.

If, as a middle-manager, you're not actively pitching senior management to open the financial floodgates again, your people are going to lump you in the same bucket. If that's the case, they won't engage for you, they won't produce for you and they won't really care much what you have to say. It's because you did what senior management asked you to do and made them find ways to cut back. But now, you're seemingly not championing for them once that money is flowing again.

This is exactly how cultures of trust and mutual respect get destroyed: by how you emerge from the downturn. If you asked your people to cut back then you MUST give them back what they sacrificed to get you through - or at the very least (if you've become lean over this past two years) ask their opinion on what should be reinstated and what is better left as is. Get their input and make them feel a part of the process right now. If you don't, expect a lot of new faces in your workplace shortly.

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Part 2 - Here's where you can find me on the social networks these days:
Facebook - The Kevin Burns Attitude Fan Page
Twitter - The Kevin Burns @attitudeburns Page
YouTube - The Kevin Burns Attitude Channel
LinkedIn - The Kevin Burns Attitude LinkedIn Page
WordPress - The Managing w/ Attitude Blog on WordPress
RSS Feed - Subscribe to Kevin Burns Blog in a Reader
--
Kevin Burns - Management Attitude/Culture Strategist
Web Site http://www.kevburns.com

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™
Creator of the 90-Day System To A Greatness Culture™

Coming Soon Kevin's 8th Book - "Your Attitude Sucks - Finding Your Excellence In A Wasteland of Mediocrity

Why Leadership Seems Sexier Than Management

There are a whole lot more people talking about leadership than there are people talking about management these days. In fact, on Twitter, my informal survey shows the numbers of Leadership Gurus to Management Gurus to be about 25-to-1, but I think that's a conservative number.

How many "leaders" are in your organization versus the number of managers? 1-to-25? Completely opposite huh?

Anyone can fashion themselves a "Leadership Guru." Here's why: there's no certification needed to become a "leadership instructor." And leadership is not about achieving quantifiable measurement. No, the leadership talk is all about character traits, magnetism and vision - all stuff that is not quantifiable in the short-term. Whereas, if a manager misses one item on the checklist today, there can be dire consequences immediately.

Management is much tougher than leadership. Managers don't have the luxury of being liked or followed or being a visionary. No, management is what is necessary when the leaders are off contemplating their navels. Someone has to run the place to make sure the doors stay open and people remain employed.

Management is hard work - not in the future but today. Maybe that's why there are so many "Leadership Gurus," because it's easier, less precise and fewer consequences if you get it wrong. But mess up the management thing and heads will roll and dollars will be lost. And it's also the manager's job to make sure employees are engaged and productive.

So before you go off and embrace the sexiness of "leadership," you'd better make sure you have the management thing down to a fine science. People's livelihoods are depending on it. Give me a solid manager over a wanna-be leader any day, and I'll show you an organization responding immediately to market changes and customer demands.
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Social Networks

There have been a few changes in the social networking circles recently. Thought I would update you on where I am. I want you to join me wherever it's comfortable for you.

Here's where you can find me:

Facebook - The Kevin Burns Attitude Fan Page
Twitter - The Kevin Burns @attitudeburns Page
YouTube - The Kevin Burns Attitude Channel
LinkedIn - The Kevin Burns Attitude LinkedIn Page
WordPress - The Managing w/ Attitude Blog on WordPress
RSS Feed - Subscribe to Kevin Burns Blog in a Reader
--
Kevin Burns - Management Attitude/Culture Strategist
Web Site http://www.kevburns.com

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™

The State of Meetings Post-Recession

I spend two to three hours a day in research. Including weekends, that's about twenty hours a week just keeping up with blogs and articles on what's happening in the marketplace. I read, then read some more and then I open a book to read some more. But I suppose it's what you expect anyone to do whose knowledge you pay for. For anyone who is going to bring a message that makes your organization different in some way, you expect that person to speak from either a depth of experience or a depth of knowledge - preferably both. But given the choice, knowledge is the most important - especially current knowledge. That's why I read and research.

So a question on a speaking industry bulletin board saddened me recently. The questioner asked who he could turn to to promote a man who has a mild form of cerebral palsy and whose wife has a rare form of joint disease because he believed it would make a great story for people to hear. I don't get how that story would help businesses hire better people. I don't see how that story helps organizations adapt to a changing workplace and marketplace, how it helps them make more sales, how it helps them manage better or how it builds a strong workplace culture. It doesn't smack of building better relationships with customers, providing better management in turbulent times or talent management that is transitioning the generations.

It is, however, a nice story for Chicken Soup For The Soul - a story of getting back up after being knocked down. But isn't that the point of being knocked down: to get back up? That's what you're supposed to do. And that story should take about 15 minutes to tell - the equivalent of a chapter. It would be a good inspirational YouTube video. It is not a presentation to build a conference around. Conferences are not a forum for victims of hardship to tell their story.

Then there are the former sports celebrities (heavy on the "former"), of which only a handful have been able to transition from sports to the platform to bring something to the table that every former sports celebrity hasn't said before. Former sports celebrities who take to the platform successfully, and have staying power, are the ones who continue to learn and research for their audiences. They are the ones who have transitioned their "education" into real takeaways that today's organizations can learn from. Why would you pay thousands of dollars for a message of the glory days of yesteryear when you can see it all on YouTube for nothing?

Then there are the television personalities, news anchors and reporters who read from a teleprompter for a living (OK, maybe it's not as easy as it looks). Yet, by the very fact that they are on TV makes them an expert in what exactly? Interviewing tips to make politicians squirm? Making that perfect "concerned-face" on cue? Sure their faces are recognizable, but ask yourself, how will your organization be different, make that better, by their message?

That should be the criteria before you part with thousands of dollars in appearance fees and travel dollars. A reporter who did a tour in a war zone is not the person I want to hear from necessarily. I want to hear from the person, the soldier, who stood in front of the reporter and kept his ass out of danger. That would be a great story to hear - but probably not one that would make your organization any different. I'll watch it on YouTube too.

Hollywood celebrities, musicians and actors are great at what they do - entertain. But entertainment is not really the point of a conference or corporate meeting is it? No, learning, networking and a collective sharing of ideas is the reason you're at the meeting. So when I hear meeting planners say that they need a marquee celebrity to get people to attend their event, that's when I know that even the attendees don't place a lot of value in the meeting or they would already be registered. If you need a big name then you've got other problems.

Hmmm, perhaps that's how we got into this mess in the first place - by hiring people who had not much to add to the conversation that was supposed to be taking place. But we were entertained.

"Nobody walked out" has become the gauge of a successful session. People walk out when they feel they are wasting their time. Today, people stay in the room and can still walk out by trashing the session on the back-channel on Twitter. People stay in the room when they are engaged or, unfortunately, when they are too afraid that they will hurt someone's feelings by walking out. And you may never find out which of the two is the reason they stayed until you read their Twitter posts.

Giving people something to think about, to work with, to make their respective organizations better is never a waste of time, money or effort. And for those who want to come to the meeting only to rub shoulders with a once-famous sports star, news anchor or celebrity, well, they probably don't have much to add to the conversation anyway. Maybe it's better that they stay home.
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Kevin Burns - Excellence Attitude/Culture Strategist
Speaking Web Site http://www.kevburns.com

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™
Creator of the 90-Day System To A Greatness Culture™

Coming Soon Kevin's 8th Book - "Your Attitude Sucks - Finding Your Excellence In A Wasteland of Mediocrity

Subscribe to Kevin's Attitude with ATTITUDE Blog by Email
Follow Kevin on Twitter @attitudeburns
The Official Kevin Burns YouTube Channel

Rice Pudding on Filter-Free Friday™

Last weekend, Mother's Day weekend, a restaurant had a new dessert feature on the menu: rice pudding. Now granted, rice pudding can be a tough sell. You either like it or you don't. But a good rice pudding is sweet, creamy deliciousness for fans of it.

Six people over the course of the supper hours ordered the rice pudding and ate every bite of it. The problem though, is that the rice pudding wasn't rice pudding. It was risotto base - creamed Italian rice with no flavoring.

And not a single customer complained or spoke a word about risotto masquerading as rice pudding. Whaaaaaat?

As customers, these six people suck. These are not customers I would want in my restaurant. I want my customers to at least say something. By the way, each customer was asked how their meal was and also asked how the "rice pudding" was tasting? And still, no one said a thing.

On Filter-Free Fridays™ you say something. Cripes, on any day you say something. How are businesses supposed to serve you better if you lie to them? How are organizations supposed to improve if you just lay down and take it? And worst of all, what about the people who will follow you and will be subject to poor service or poor quality or, gasp, risotto masquerading as rice pudding? Come on. You have a voice. Use it. Speak up. Say something. You don't have to be mean and trust me, companies will always welcome honest feedback. It's how you build a service-focused organization. But they can't improve if you say everything was "fine."

Stop being a pushover customer and then complaining to your friends and family after you've left the business. A lot of good that does. Voice your opinions immediately. Let them fawn all over you and make things right. Send back bad food. Tell the blowhard at the staff meeting that maybe it's time others had a chance to voice their ideas. Tell your neighbor to knock off mowing the lawn at 7 am on a Saturday. You live here too.

Filter-Free Friday™ is the day you take off the filters that seemingly prevent you from telling the truth and you say something that helps others get better - helps them approach excellence. And you do it in a non-hurtful way. Simply plant your feet, stiffen your spine and speak your truth - in an effort to make it better for others who will follow. The selfish thing to do is keep it yourself. The generous thing to do is to help make life better for others. Speak up.
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Kevin Burns - Follow Me on my new Facebook Fan Page
Excellence Attitude/Culture Strategist
Speaking Web Site http://www.kevburns.com

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™
Creator of the 90-Day System To A Greatness Culture™

Coming Soon Kevin's 8th Book - "Your Attitude Sucks - Finding Your Excellence In A Wasteland of Mediocrity

Subscribe to Kevin's Attitude with ATTITUDE Blog by Email
Follow Kevin on Twitter @attitudeburns
The Official Kevin Burns YouTube Channel

Overtime Or Heart Attack - You Decide

Who knew that working overtime could kill you? An 11-year study of 6,000 British civil servants doesn't provide absolute proof that overtime causes heart attacks but it does show a clear link - likely due to stress.

According to the report, "In all, there were 369 cases of death due to heart disease, non-fatal heart attacks and angina among the London-based study group -- and the risk of having an adverse event was 60 percent higher for those who worked three to four hours overtime. Working an extra one to two hours beyond a normal seven-hour day was not associated with increased risk."

Work/Life Balance is a key to health in the workplace. Giving every waking moment to your job is a lousy way of maintaining your physical and mental health. In fact, long hours creates other issues: poor diet choices leading to weight gain, improper sleep patterns leading to burnout and increased alcohol consumption in an attempt to wind down. And if you're a smoker, well it gets even worse.

As a manager, asking your employees to work an additional four hours of overtime is creating a health risk. Instead, perhaps offer some telecommuting time (a couple of days working from home where the boundaries between work and home are blurred giving a better sense of not feeling as much like work) or offering your people a chance to come in for a few hours on a weekend during the day so it's not a marathon time stretch.

Oh, and I suppose you might consider one more option instead of overtime: hire more people so you're not so short-staffed.

Feel free to show the news story to your bosses to get a budget bump for more people. Think about what could happen if an Injury Lawyer reads this story and can show that you worked your people too much overtime. It's going to cost you either way. Right now, you decide though.

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Kevin Burns - Follow Me on my new Facebook Fan Page
Excellence Attitude/Culture Strategist
Speaking Web Site http://www.kevburns.com

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™
Creator of the 90-Day System To A Greatness Culture™

Coming Soon Kevin's 8th Book - "Your Attitude Sucks - Finding Your Excellence In A Wasteland of Mediocrity

Subscribe to Kevin's Attitude with ATTITUDE Blog by Email
Follow Kevin on Twitter @attitudeburns
The Official Kevin Burns YouTube Channel

5-to-1 Is The Rule

Researchers have found that for every one negative comment made between couples, there needs to be at least five positive comments made just to even out. Any less than five positive comments for every one negative comment and the couple's relationship is likely to end in divorce. That can be determined with 94% accuracy based on the five-to-one ratio.

So what does that mean for you the middle-manager? It means the very same thing at work. In fact, it's likely that you spend more time with an employee than he or she does with their spouse during the week. So the same rules of engagement apply. For every negative comment, eyes rolled, mockery, criticism and tone of voice, you had better have not less than five nice things to say, jokes, smiles and laughter if you don't want your good employees to divorce (quit) you.

As mentioned in yesterday's blog post, if the only time you speak to your people is to crap on them, they're going to quit you in short order.

Workers don't respect your title. Workers respect the individual who holds the title - but only if he or she is worthy of that respect. And in the same way you would only stay with a spouse who respects you, your people won't stay with someone they can't respect.

Five-to-one: that's the rule. Five nice things to every one criticism. Now, get out of your office and start building your relationships with kindness, coaching, mentoring and respect.
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Come visit my new Facebook page: Kevin Burns Attitude Fan Page
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Kevin Burns - Excellence Attitude/Culture Strategist
Speaking Web Site http://www.kevburns.com

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™
Creator of the 90-Day System To A Greatness Culture™

Coming Soon Kevin's 8th Book - "Your Attitude Sucks - Finding Your Excellence In A Wasteland of Mediocrity

Subscribe to Kevin's Attitude with ATTITUDE Blog by Email
Follow Kevin on Twitter @attitudeburns
The Official Kevin Burns YouTube Channel

The New Mid-Manager: Coach and Mentor

"If I don't hear from my manager, then I must be doing OK."

That's the old-school management philosophy - not talking to your people unless you're dumping on them or chewing them out. And any manager that is still adhering to that philosophy of say-nothing-unless-they're-in-deep-sewage is a prime candidate for "worst manager of the organization." This is NOT something to be proud of.

If as a manager you're not reading books, watching videos and attending seminars on how to be a better manager, something that updates your perspective from the 1970's, then you honestly don't deserve to be a manager anymore because you're holding back some really good people from reaching their potential. You should be stripped of your title and moved out of the way. Your department is in need of a serious makeover - something that honors its people and understands the basic fundamentals of coaching as the new management strategy.

And don't be seduced by the whole trendy Leadership movement. Don't think Leadership is the way to manage better. It is not. Leadership and management are two different things. Think Mentoring and Coaching as the new management philosophy. Leadership is more of a personal development tool. Mentoring/Coaching/Managing are about showing, helping and inspiring your people.

Corporate Culture rests with middle-managers. Mid-managers have the power to hear what employees are saying while being able to sell the vision from upper management. But if you as a mid-manager won't be coached (won't read, won't watch, won't learn), then I can't help you. You're on your own.

PS: Join me on my new Facebook page
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Kevin Burns - Excellence Attitude/Culture Strategist
Speaking Web Site http://www.kevburns.com

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™
Creator of the 90-Day System To A Greatness Culture™

Coming Soon Kevin's 8th Book - "Your Attitude Sucks - Finding Your Excellence In A Wasteland of Mediocrity

Subscribe to Kevin's Attitude with ATTITUDE Blog by Email
Follow Kevin on Twitter @attitudeburns
The Official Kevin Burns YouTube Channel

Growth Dulls The Talent Pool

In my signature keynote presentation, I tell a story about flying Air Canada and one of the funny things that happened on-board the flight. But I normally prefer WestJet when flying in Canada.

When they started, WestJet was a fun airline with a lot of smiles, chuckles and a hip attitude about making flying fun. After all, they had no unions (unlike their competitors) and every employee was a shareholder which improved the service. But that was back when there were just over 500 employees and they were a small airline trying to steal their piece of the pie.

Now with over 7,000 employees, I've noticed that they're not quite as fun-loving or as cheerful as they used to be (with one flight attendant actually having a "personal space" crisis with me - Cripes it's an airplane - there's no place to "step back" to).

When you are a small organization, there is always a small talent pool of excellent people that you can choose from. But when you outgrow the "excellent employee" talent pool, the tendency is to move over to the "yeah-well-OK" talent pool. That's when an outstanding organization starts to look a bit more like what Seth Godin calls a bus service: they smile a little less, seem to enjoy their work a little less, show their fatigue a little more and reduce the effort just a little bit because the new employees just don't have that same level of excitement and attitude of service that the original small group had.

You're not likely to find 7,000 genuinely happy people all wearing smiles 24/7. But it's getting noticed. In fact, an attendee at one of my recent presentations shared his same concern - to the point of moving his travel dollars back over to Air Canada who seem to really be making an effort.

Canadian Business magazine recently rated WestJet as #10 in the list of Canada's Most Reputable Companies. Air Canada made the list at #25 - but as the magazine said, "Air Canada saw the biggest year-over-year jump in reputation of any company in the study." Are you listening WestJet?

Top-of-mediocre is always far easier to achieve than excellence because it requires less effort. Raise your corporate standards and make your employees come up to the level of expectation. If they can't cut it, stop settling for a warm body and find a way to recruit the the better employee. Never let your customers notice that your standards have dropped - because then you're just not special anymore. You've become mediocre and ordinary and you're risking your customer loyalty.
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Kevin Burns - Excellence Attitude/Culture Strategist
Speaking Web Site http://www.kevburns.com

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™
Creator of the 90-Day System To A Greatness Culture™

Coming Soon Kevin's 8th Book - "Your Attitude Sucks - Finding Your Excellence In A Wasteland of Mediocrity

Subscribe to Kevin's Attitude with ATTITUDE Blog by Email
Follow Kevin on Twitter @attitudeburns
The Official Kevin Burns YouTube Channel

Filter-Free Friday™ Hot Sauce

It's Filter-Free Friday™ again - the day you set aside your natural filters that prevent you from speaking the truth and instead, fess up and be honest - in a non-hurtful way.

This week, as I sat in the breakfast restaurant, I asked my waiter for a little hot sauce to add to my scrambled eggs. He returned with a 2 ounce container of hot sauce. He then charged me eighty-nine cents for it. After almost falling on the floor from laughter, I spoke with the restaurant manager.

"So you will let me use the full four-dollar bottle of ketchup," I queried, "two cups of maple syrup - about six bucks worth, all of the salt, pepper and sugar that I want to use but for a couple of ounces of hot sauce you charge eighty-nine cents?"

"But that's the company policy," he meekly offered.

"So you're saying that I am free to consume all twelve dollars of condiments on my ten-dollar breakfast but if I ask for twenty-cents worth of hot sauce, you charge me eighty-nine cents. Doesn't that strike you as a little backwards?" I asked hoping he would see the ridiculousness of making a profit center out of a couple of tablespoons of hot sauce while ignoring the potentially large loss of condiments which each patron could conceivable consume with each meal. I couldn't help but laugh at how silly it seemed.

"I never really thought about it that way," he finally offered - with an unsure smile.

That's exactly the response you want to get on Filter-Free Friday™. Make people, businesses, co-workers and strangers see things in a new light. Speak your mind and give them a reason to want to be better. So what is your truth today?
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Kevin Burns - Excellence Attitude/Culture Strategist
Speaking Web Site http://www.kevburns.com

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™
Creator of the 90-Day System To A Greatness Culture™

Coming Soon Kevin's 8th Book - "Your Attitude Sucks - Finding Your Excellence In A Wasteland of Mediocrity

Subscribe to Kevin's Attitude with ATTITUDE Blog by Email
Follow Kevin on Twitter @attitudeburns
The Official Kevin Burns YouTube Channel

Mid-Managers Learn From Hockey Coaches

Right now, there's a hockey game playing in the background. It's spring and that means NHL Playoffs. There's already been a lot of upsets and I think it's great.

While superstar players take a seat on the bench and catch their breath, coaches lean down and whisper instructions, tips, ideas and motivation into the ears of players - guys who out-earn the very people they take their cues from.

But that's what the coach is supposed to do. Once a player reaches the big leagues, it's not fait accompli. There's still lots to learn - even for the best in the game today.

A corporate middle manager is just like a sports team coach. The job is to guide, instruct, inspire, critique and improve the performance of their players.

Middle managers used to think they were somewhat powerless having no control over corporate policy and little opportunity to address upper management with staff concerns. But the truth is that the biggest influence on an organization's corporate culture is the middle manager or front-line supervisor. These are the people who either make it a great place to work or a lousy place to work. That means that it is imperative that a middle manager keep sharp on what's happening in the market, what new technologies are coming and how to communicate with the different generations.

If you're a middle manager and are not keeping up to date on what's happening in your own market, on what inspires and engages your people and what you can do to bring out the best performance of your people, then I would hazard a guess that you're in the way and holding back some talented people. That needs to change - and quickly.
--
Kevin Burns - Excellence Attitude/Culture Strategist
Speaking Web Site http://www.kevburns.com

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™
Creator of the 90-Day System To A Greatness Culture™

Coming Soon Kevin's 8th Book - "Your Attitude Sucks - Finding Your Excellence In A Wasteland of Mediocrity

Subscribe to Kevin's Attitude with ATTITUDE Blog by Email
Follow Kevin on Twitter @attitudeburns
The Official Kevin Burns YouTube Channel

Best Or Worst

When you went to school, who was your best teacher? Was it the teacher who gave you the easy "A" or the teacher who challenged you to improve your grades, to think for yourself and to be creative in your search for answers?

Who was your best boss? Was it the one who didn't want your input and made you feel insignificant or was it the boss that asked your opinion regurlarly, who brought out your strengths and who helped you find meaning in your work?

So why is it that a customer who speaks up, who doesn't accept excuses for lousy service and who expects more from you, why do consider them be a "worst" customer? A "worst" customer is one who lays down and accepts your lousy performance, who feels apathy toward your mediocre organization but keeps on buying no matter how poorly you perform.

A "good" customer is the one who makes you work for it, who makes you step up your performance to the next level and who voices their concerns to you and your bosses. These "good" customers are the reason you are forced, yes I said forced, to improve. It's either you get better or they buy somewhere else.

Don't complain about these customers. These are the folks who separate the great organizations from the ordinary. And honestly, aren't you tired of ordinary, boring businesses offering ordinary, boring products served by ordinary, boring people who have no connection to their work?

Maybe it's time you became one of these "good" customers and see how good it feels to make a difference in an organization - whether they like it or not.

--
Kevin Burns - Excellence Attitude/Culture Strategist
Speaking Web Site http://www.kevburns.com

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™
Creator of the 90-Day System To A Greatness Culture™

Coming Soon Kevin's 8th Book - "Your Attitude Sucks - Finding Your Excellence In A Wasteland of Mediocrity

Subscribe to Kevin's Attitude with ATTITUDE Blog by Email
Follow Kevin on Twitter @attitudeburns
The Official Kevin Burns YouTube Channel

$240B Lost Productivity by Waiting

If you arrived for your noon meeting on time and the sales rep you were supposed to meet didn't show until 1:45 pm with no apology, no reason, no information and seemingly no remorse, would you still buy? Would you respect them ever again?

So how come this has become an acceptable practice at a doctor's office? Why do you lay down and take it and not say anything? Your time is just as valuable as the doctor's time. The doctor runs a practice which is a business. If enough people complain about unacceptable wait times, the doctor, in good conscience, will stop triple-booking appointments and start informing you when they're running two hours behind so you don't have to sit there un-respected for two hours.

Waiting in doctor's offices accounts for $240 billion a year in lost productivity (Source: Alan B. Krueger, Economics Professor, Princeton University) from waiting 847 million hours in waiting rooms unnecessarily.

Airlines have found a way to inform you when your flight is going to be late (phone calls, email and text updates) and delayed flights impact hundreds of passengers at a time. I got a call yesterday that the Simon and Garfunkel show I have tickets for Sunday has been rescheduled. There were 20,000 tickets sold and 20,000 people were notified by phone. So how come doctor's offices can't tell 6 people the doctor is running an hour late? It wouldn't take 5 minutes to inform an hours worth of patients by text message, phone call or email that the doctor is running an hour late. All it would take is a small dose of respect for the patient.

If you are scheduled to visit a doctor today, make him or her accountable to your scheduled time (15-20 minutes late is acceptable). Say something. Complain. You have a right. It may be that the doctor is not even aware of how the office staff is scheduling and stacking patients. Make the doctor aware. Tell the doctor that you don't feel respected. And if you've been hit financially because of the wait, send the doctor an invoice for your lost time.

Filter-Free Friday™ is the day you speak up, get the respect you deserve and help others become better at what they do. Sitting in a waiting room for hours needlessly is not acceptable so don't pretend that it is. Speak up and say something.
--
Kevin Burns - Excellence Attitude/Culture Strategist
Speaking Web Site http://www.kevburns.com

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™
Creator of the 90-Day System To A Greatness Culture™

Coming Soon Kevin's 8th Book - "Your Attitude Sucks - Finding Your Excellence In A Wasteland of Mediocrity

Subscribe to Kevin's Attitude with ATTITUDE Blog by Email
Follow Kevin on Twitter @attitudeburns
The Official Kevin Burns YouTube Channel

Finding Happiness At Work

"When I find the perfect job, then I'll be happy."

Maybe you've bought into it. So what is the number one factor that keeps employees from achieveing happiness at work? Their immediate supervisor.

How many times has it been said, reported, repeated, regurgitated, reissued and rebuked: people don't leave a company - they leave their immediate supervisor. Well, it's absolutely true.

Look, if you want to improve customer service levels, improve your first-line managers (the immediate supervisor to the employee whose performance you are trying to improve). If you want to reduce attrition levels by both customers and employees, improve your first-line manager. If you want to increase initiative, creativity and communication, improve your first-line manager.

If the first-line manager is an idiot, your people will hate working there. They will, in turn, offer lousy service because they could care less about the job. That department will also have higher employee turnover than other departments of your organization - which sucks more budget money for recruiting and training.

Don't you DARE put someone into a supervisory position that has lousy people skills or contempt for the people they work with. And don't you DARE stick a front-line manager into a position before he has been properly trained. Sticking any old body into a supervisory position WILL lose you your staff and your clients.

The first-line supervisor is like the linchpin of a rail-car coupler - the one that locks in your employees, customers and culture of your organization. Even in a fabulous corporate culture, the one jerk-supervisor will still turn over staff and customers.

Get it right. This is far too important to miss. Wherever that first-line supervisor is in the organization, everything right below him either works or it falls apart.
--
Kevin Burns - Excellence Attitude/Culture Strategist
Speaking Web Site http://www.kevburns.com

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™
Creator of the 90-Day System To A Greatness Culture™

Coming Soon Kevin's 8th Book - "Your Attitude Sucks - Finding Your Excellence In A Wasteland of Mediocrity

Subscribe to Kevin's Attitude with ATTITUDE Blog by Email
Follow Kevin on Twitter @attitudeburns
The Official Kevin Burns YouTube Channel

Why Leadership Is Not For Everyone

Here's what companies believe about leadership:

• If we increase the leadership capacity of our people, we can make them better performers.
• If we offer them leadership training, they will do a better job.
• If we make leadership a priority, our people can become better self-directed.
• If we bring in leadership experts, we can grow our talent better.

But then most organizational training only ever gets an employee to a level of "competence" not excellence. Excellence is what separates mediocre organizations from excellent organizations. Building leadership WITHOUT building excellence means you will continually be training in leadership (year after year) - and your people won't understand why. You're trying to build a house on a shaky foundation.

In order to find your performance average, you take all of the numbers (best and worst) into account. There is a reason that poor performers perform poorly and it has nothing to do with their leadership capacity. Training poor performers to be leaders doesn't improve their performance - in fact, it may inhibit it. When you tell a poor performer that he is being offered leadership training, what message does that send? Keep on performing poorly?

Not everyone is meant to lead and not everyone is meant to enroll in leadership development. Without followers, there are no leaders. Some are just meant to follow. Those who don't display excellence in their efforts should NOT be considered for leadership training. BIG mistake.

Strive for excellence first. Find those who naturally offer excellence in their work, their relationships and their quality of life. Then, offer those people the chance to be come better leaders.

Stop thinking leadership is just another course like Time Management that can solve the problems of your organization. It can't. Trying to turn an average worker-bee into a leader is a waste of organizational resources and a threat to the average worker who is probably happy with just being an average worker.

First, make your organization excellent. Then start looking for the natural leaders who helped you get there. Train only those people.
--  
Kevin Burns - Excellence Attitude/Culture Strategist
Speaking Web Site http://www.kevburns.com  

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™ 
Creator of the 90-Day System To A Greatness Culture™

Coming Soon Kevin's 8th Book - "Your Attitude Sucks - Finding Your Excellence In A Wasteland of Mediocrity

Subscribe to Kevin's Attitude with ATTITUDE Blog by Email  
Follow Kevin on Twitter @attitudeburns  
The Official Kevin Burns YouTube Channel

Everyday Should Be Friday

Everyday should be Friday - Filter-Free Friday. But too many want to play it safe. Too many want to be invisible. Too many don't want to offend. Too many are afraid of not being liked anymore.

Being liked is what those with a poor self-image worry about. If you need to be liked then you are giving up the need to be respected.

People respect people who don't lie - people who tell the truth. And Filter-Free Fridays are the days to tell the truth - in a non-hurtful way.

Today is the day you speak the truth. If the service was not "fine" then don't say it was. If the meal was not "fine" then tell the truth. If a co-worker needs a breath mint, then say so - privately.

Filter-Free Friday is not for embarrassing others. It is a day to tell people the truth - in an effort to make them better.

So, what needs saying today?

-- Kevin Burns - Excellence Attitude/Culture Strategist Speaking Web Site http://www.kevburns.com Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™ Creator of the 90-Day System To A Greatness Culture™ Coming Soon Kevin's 8th Book - "Your Attitude Sucks - Finding Your Excellence In A Wasteland of Mediocrity Subscribe to Kevin's Attitude with ATTITUDE Blog by Email Follow Kevin on Twitter @attitudeburns The Official Kevin Burns YouTube Channel

Foreign Languages In Later Years

If you were exposed to a second language from birth and spoke it every day of your childhood, you would be a fluent speaker of that second language by adulthood.

The same could be said of exposure to computers: if you were exposed to them from early childhood and used them every day, you would be considered quite fluent in computers by adulthood.

That is exactly the average Generation Y: exposed to technology, computers and smart phones their whole lives. So they would expect that penchant for technology to continue into their work. However, here's where they become dismayed and disillusioned: if their ability with computers and technology becomes limited by computer illiterate Baby Boomers who are still confounded by email.

You see while computers and technology were a part of the average Generation Y childhood, Baby Boomers have only been exposed to it all in the last 20 years or so. Think of how difficult it is to learn a new language at fifty-five years old. It's not as easy as when you are a child. Neither is riding the technology curve.

Boomers have a great sense of work ethic. Gen Y have a great sense of technology (and how to get the work done quicker - much quicker). Gen X has a great sense of changing the rules and doing away with traditions.

Oh, and Gen X and Y, don't give the old-timers a hard time about their computer illiteracy. Don't even give them a break. Give them a hand - in learning how to come up to speed on technology. You've all got something to teach each other. Now all you have to do is find some sort of common ground way of communicating. Good luck with that.

--
Kevin Burns - Excellence Attitude/Culture Strategist
Speaking Web Site http://www.kevburns.com

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™
Creator of the 90-Day System To A Greatness Culture™

Coming Soon Kevin's 8th Book - "Your Attitude Sucks - Finding Your Excellence In A Wasteland of Mediocrity
Subscribe to Kevin's Attitude with ATTITUDE Blog by Email
Follow Kevin on Twitter @attitudeburns
The Official Kevin Burns YouTube Channel

Yes, We Can Do That

It happened this week in Whitehorse, Yukon but it could have happened anywhere. I walked into a diner (that's what the sign on the door read) at 11:25 am. Besides the one guy in a chef's jacket, I was the only person in the restaurant.

"Are you still serving breakfast?" I asked.

"No. We stopped serving breakfast at 11," he replied while emphatically concentrating on the "11."

We turned and headed for the door which left him plenty of time to offer to serve a customer who wanted food - food they just stopped serving 25 minutes before. But he said nothing. It was as though enforcing the 11 AM food-rule was more important than putting a paying customer in a seat in his otherwise empty (non-revenue generating) restaurant.

In fact, I could have ordered a toasted egg salad sandwich with bacon and an order of fries (which is eggs, bacon, hash browns and toast) to prove a point but I believe that "negative cash-flow" is a lesson that trumps dumb food rules.

We walked a block up the street to another restaurant which, in the window, showed a sign for a 7 AM to 11 AM breakfast special.

Inside, I asked the lone server, a sixty'ish, small woman if they would still serve breakfast?

"Just the basics," she offered unapologetically. "Eggs, bacon, hash browns and toast. So what'll you have?"

"Eggs, bacon, hash browns and toast will do just fine," I answered while taking my seat in this much busier restaurant.

If you are only prepared to serve your customers in a certain way, between certain hours and only on certain days, you are certain to find a certain attrition in your business - certainly.

Restaurants that restrict the hours of certain food groups, car dealers that will sell you a car up until 9PM but only be available to fix it until 5PM or hotels that offer you a noon check-out but shout to co-workers down the hall and run a vacuum outside your door at 8AM are examples of making it tough for customers to have an excellent experience.

Excellence is simply saying "yes we can do that" when you already do it and put away the inflexible rules that make you look dumb.
--
Kevin Burns - Excellence Attitude/Culture Strategist
Speaking Web Site http://www.kevburns.com

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™
Creator of the 90-Day System To A Greatness Culture™

Coming Soon Kevin's 8th Book - "Your Attitude Sucks - Finding Your Excellence In A Wasteland of Mediocrity
Subscribe to Kevin's Attitude with ATTITUDE Blog by Email
Follow Kevin on Twitter @attitudeburns
The Official Kevin Burns YouTube Channel

T.G.I.Filter-Free Friday

Don't waste another Friday keeping the truth to yourself. Today is the day that filters come off and you speak your mind, offer your opinion and help others move toward excellence - in a non-hurtful way.

• Today is the day you speak up when that guy in the next cubicle uses his speaker-phone to have conversations instead of using a handset.
• Today is the day when you lean over to the next table in the restaurant and ask the person on the cell phone to take their call outside if they are going to speak so loudly.
• Today is the day when you ask people who are freely dropping the f-bomb to politely tone down their language.
• Today is the day when you politely re-focus a clerk's attention back onto serving you instead of having side-conversations with their co-workers.
• Today is the day when you make the person you are conversing with (either in-person or on the phone) the most important person in your life at that moment.

Today is Filter-Free Friday, a day when you remove the filters that stop you from expressing what is on your mind - in a non-hurtful way. Use this day to its full advantage. You will soon discover the freedom you feel at no longer swallowing your comments. You will no longer feel frustrated that people just don't "get it." Your life will begin to change when you discover how empowering it is to say that one thing you've been thinking but have held back so as not to create a disturbance. You will find yourself focusing on excellence - especially in yourself.

Excellence does not come as a result of swallowing your feelings, being afraid to express your truth or by being afraid of the insensitive actions of others. Excellence comes when you fight through your discomfort and take a small risk.

Speak up today. If you can think it, you can say it - in a non-hurtful way.
--
Kevin Burns - Excellence Attitude/Culture Strategist
Speaking Web Site http://www.kevburns.com

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™
Creator of the 90-Day System To A Greatness Culture™

Coming Soon Kevin's 8th Book - "Your Attitude Sucks - Finding Your Excellence In A Wasteland of Mediocrity
Subscribe to Kevin's Attitude with ATTITUDE Blog by Email
Follow Kevin on Twitter @attitudeburns
The Official Kevin Burns YouTube Channel

Encouraging Your "Grasshoppers"

"If you can snatch  the pebble from my hand, it will be time for you to go Grasshopper." (1970's TV Series Kung Fu)

At some point, if the teacher is a good one, the student will surpass the teacher's ability. At that point, it will be time for the student to find a new teacher because the student has achieved Excellence.

So what is the excuse of your organization? How come you don't have a continuous parade of students (employees) who are surpassing the abilities of their teachers (managers)?

The modern-day manager is supposed to be more than a policeman who passes out memos and enforces the rules. The modern-day manager is supposed to be a coach, teacher, motivational speaker, family therapist, conflict diffuser, ally, inspirational mentor and thoughtful friend. Didn't you get the memo on this?

If you're a manager, have you read a book in the last 90 days that will help you be better at any of it? Look, as a manager, you need to lead by example. If you won't do the work to improve, then don't complain when your staff won't do the work either. And, don't be surprised when their ability surpasses yours. You're standing still while they continue to grow every day on the job - regardless of whether you hold them back or not.

Here's the thing though: the moment the student surpasses the ability of the teacher, the student achieves Excellence. That means that the teacher, by comparison, is mediocre - until they learn something new.

C'mon managers, encourage your Grasshoppers. Force them to be better than you - more excellent than you. You will be doing an excellent thing for your organization.
--
Kevin Burns - Excellence Attitude/Culture Strategist
Speaking Web Site http://www.kevburns.com

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™
Creator of the 90-Day System To A Greatness Culture™

Coming Soon Kevin's 8th Book - "Your Attitude Sucks - Finding Your Excellence In A Wasteland of Mediocrity
Subscribe to Kevin's Attitude with ATTITUDE Blog by Email
Follow Kevin on Twitter @attitudeburns
The Official Kevin Burns YouTube Channel

Numbers Don't Tell The Whole Story

It would easy to run a business or any organization by concentrating simply on the numbers because the numbers don't lie, do they? The numbers tell you how you how you are doing. If you have numbers, you don't really need charismatic leaders, encouraging managers or highly-motivated staffers do you? No, if it were all just based on numbers, you could have personality-deficient drones running your place of work. (Wait a sec - isn't that what's already happening?)

You see, focusing only on the numbers is what sinks most organizations into mediocrity because it's the things outside of the numbers that dictate how the numbers come to be in the first place. Let me explain:

• 54% of customers choose to do business with an organization based on Attitude factors: ease of service, approachability, friendliness, after-sale service, return policies, etc. 
• Over half of your customers choose you for something other than product knowledge.  
• Any customer who really needs product knowledge can probably find it on YouTube. 
• It's the Attitude Factors that separate one organization from another.

Do you have a favorite coffee shop? How about a favorite restaurant, clothing store, hair stylist, etc? What makes these places your favorites - product knowledge? Or is it because of how you are treated when you get there?

Good managers do more than judge team performance by just the numbers in a report. They tune into the attitudes, behaviors and factors that you don't see - the factors that move the organization from mediocre performer (found in the numbers) to an excellent performer (the reason why people call it their favorite).

Excellence is an Attitude. An excellent manager will encourage their excellent employees to bring their excellent personalities to work. Mediocre managers, however, will settle for any warm body in a job. Any manager who settles for a mediocre employee is a mediocre manager running the mediocre organization into a permanent state of mediocrity.

For some managers, excellence seems like too much work - but usually just for those who don't demand it of themselves. Try to discover that by simply reading a numbers report.
--
Kevin Burns - Excellence Attitude/Culture Strategist
Speaking Web Site http://www.kevburns.com

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™
Creator of the 90-Day System To A Greatness Culture™

Coming Soon Kevin's 8th Book - "Your Attitude Sucks - Finding Your Excellence In A Wasteland of Mediocrity
Subscribe to Kevin's Attitude with ATTITUDE Blog by Email
Follow Kevin on Twitter @attitudeburns
The Official Kevin Burns YouTube Channel

Why Aren't You Being Excellent?

You have a choice. You can show up at work and be mediocre or you can choose to be excellent.

Knowing that you have that choice, why would you choose something other than excellent?

• Because your boss won't let you.
• Because you don't get paid enough.
• Because you've only been trained to be competent - not excellent.
• Because this is a dead-end job and what's the point.
• Because management doesn't acknowledge you when you are excellent.
• Because it's easier being ordinary.
• Because you don't want to stand out and be noticed.
• Because you're lazy and being excellent means more effort.
• Because you just don't care.
• Because it's not your department.
• Because you haven't been trained to be excellent.
• Because ... well, you get the picture.

Being excellent is not something anyone can do to you and it's not something that is chosen for you. Excellence is not something your boss teaches you. Excellence is not something that you can be forced to do against your will. Excellence is an Attitude you choose to work with.

As a customer, I enjoy it when a staff member makes their manager look bad by being excellent. I know it embarrasses the other staffers and the manager when one person takes the initiative to be excellent. After all, there's no effort required in being ordinary. I think employees should embarrass their bosses more often this way.

After all, why is it the manager's responsibility to decide when it is time for you to be excellent? Maybe it's time for your manager to become excellent but maybe the only way they'll ever get there is if they are forced to do it - because they were embarrassed by one of their staff.

I've never seen a manager fire an employee for being excellent - at least none that won the ensuing lawsuit.

Go ahead. Be excellent. I dare you.  Because here's the thing: after a while of doing it, excellence becomes the new ordinary for you. Then you are playing in a class all by yourself.
--
Kevin Burns - Excellence Attitude/Culture Strategist
Speaking Web Site http://www.kevburns.com

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™
Creator of the 90-Day System To A Greatness Culture™

Coming Soon Kevin's 8th Book - "Your Attitude Sucks - Finding Your Excellence In A Wasteland of Mediocrity
Subscribe to Kevin's Attitude with ATTITUDE Blog by Email
Follow Kevin on Twitter @attitudeburns
The Official Kevin Burns YouTube Channel

Good People Doing Good Work

Good people want to do good work for good wages so that they can have a good life. And managers are responsible for ensuring that these good people know what is expected of them.

Expectations need to be clear. When good people attain those expectations, it's up to management to set the bar just a smidge higher. Once the new expectation has been met, set a new standard.

The problem though is that managers become too busy putting out fires, settling petty disagreements and attending too many meetings to be able to check in regularly, to recognize achievement when it happens (not just once a year) and to make sure that the work they give to good people is challenging enough to engage but not too challenging causing disengagement.

That means a manager needs to manage - every day. Managers need to set their people up to excel - not just be competent.

An Attitude of Excellence is about giving your best, doing your best and being your best. Performance expectations need to be conducted regularly - not just once a year - unless you only open your doors once a year.

The market can change plenty in a year. Are you keeping up?

--
Kevin Burns - Corporate Attitude/Culture Strategist
Speaking Web Site http://www.kevburns.com

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™
Creator of the 90-Day System To A Greatness Culture™

Coming Soon Kevin's 8th Book - "Your Attitude Sucks - Creating An Oasis of Greatness In A Wasteland of Mediocrity
Subscribe to Kevin's Attitude with ATTITUDE Blog by Email
Follow Kevin on Twitter @attitudeburns
The Official Kevin Burns YouTube Channel

Yellow Ties, Blue Cactus and Snarls

It's Filter-Free Friday™ again - a day when you turn off the natural inhibitors that prevent you from speaking the truth and start telling people how you really feel. The intent is not to hurt, but to help. Whether it's a business, organization or an individual, today is the day you get to say what is on your mind in an effort to help people make a better effort.

I had supper last night at the Blue Cactus in Ottawa after being referred by friends.

I went to www.bluecactusbarandgrill.com and was able to make my reservation on-line. I picked my exact time and number in our party and received a confirmation email within a few minutes. Then, a half-hour prior to my reservation, I was sent an email reminder of my reservation. Brilliant customer relationship management. (This is simple software that any doctor's office, dentist's office, hair salon or any place that offers appointments could use. It is simple and allows your clients to touch you when they're free - and you don't force them to sit on hold while telling them that their call is very important to you.)

The restaurant decor was outstanding. Neil, our server, was friendly and knew his work. The food, however, was kind of ordinary. Neil brought me a feedback card to get my thoughts - mostly compliments except for the kitchen staff who must not taste their food before it leaves the kitchen - or chef has a very dull palate. Regardless, I gave my opinion, my name, address and phone number. I have nothing to fear. I didn't condemn, nor did I become abusive or hurtful. I simply offered an opinion - an honest opinion - in an effort to help them serve their patrons better.

So, that guy that wears the same soup-stained yellow tie to work every day - he gets a polite suggestion from you that drycleaning might be in order. The clerk that snarls through serving you gets asked if you have done something to offend or irritate them. And today, you say something to the person who always seems to be cheery and helpful - something you have failed to do but never have.

It's Filter-Free Friday™. Speak the truth. Stop being ordinary. Find your Greatness.

--
Kevin Burns - Corporate Attitude/Culture Strategist
Speaking Web Site http://www.kevburns.com

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™
Creator of the 90-Day System To A Greatness Culture™

Coming Soon Kevin's 8th Book - "Your Attitude Sucks - Creating An Oasis of Greatness In A Wasteland of Mediocrity
Subscribe to Kevin's Attitude with ATTITUDE Blog by Email
Follow Kevin on Twitter @attitudeburns
The Official Kevin Burns YouTube Channel

Just One Warning

What happens when you turn eighty years old and find yourself alone?

It suddenly dawns on you that you treated people poorly your whole life. And now when you could use a good friend to talk to, a great love to depend on, a grandchild to share joy in, a purpose to awake every morning for and something that could bring joy to others, you find your health failing, your spouse gone, your friends who've left you behind and grandchldren you don't see anymore. You have no purpose but to get out of bed and hope - no, pray - that someone comes by today to share a few words of conversation.

Your only joys are the distant and seldom happy memories of the past and the hope that maybe tomorrow, maybe, someone will want to share a little time with you.

What you do in this very moment can impact your life decades down the road. Be gentle. Be caring. Be the friend you would want to have if it were you. Do something nice for others without the expectation of something in return.

If someone owes you a favor, you probably will never collect. People will never want to share your company out of obligation.

Every action today has a consequence tomorrow. Choose wisely. Life is not a run-through. It is a once-only performance worthy of Greatness.

--
Kevin Burns - Corporate Attitude/Culture Strategist
Speaking Web Site http://www.kevburns.com

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™
Creator of the 90-Day System To A Greatness Culture™

Coming Soon Kevin's 8th Book - "Your Attitude Sucks - Creating An Oasis of Greatness In A Wasteland of Mediocrity
Subscribe to Kevin's Attitude with ATTITUDE Blog by Email
Follow Kevin on Twitter @attitudeburns
The Official Kevin Burns YouTube Channel

If Only The Same Rules Applied

Imagine walking into a bar and overhearing a couple of strangers discussing your job performance. Then, your attention is drawn to the TV above the bar where you see a picture of your face with the word, "Under-performing" featured under your portrait.

Dejected, you walk home to find a newspaper laying on your step and the headline reads your name followed by, "Is It Time He Was Fired?"

After a restless night's sleep, morning radio's call-in show is all about you: your lack of production, your below-par performance and your seeming unwillingness to explain why you are overpaid for such sub-standard results.

And to top it all off, just as you find your rhythm in your work day, you are constantly interrupted by small groups of people who stick their heads over your cubicle wall and yell, "YOU SUCK" at the tops of their lungs.

Such is the life of a sports figure. That's an average workday when a public sports figure seems to be under-performing or hitting a dry spell in production.

Maybe the same rules should apply to every person, sports figure or not. Imagine if your performance were under the watchful and judgmental eye of the public.

Maybe the same rules should apply in how we treat sports figures. Perhaps everyone's performance should be open to judgment and public discussion. Maybe then, the half-hearted efforts and "good enough" attitudes would cease to be.
Maybe.
--
Kevin Burns - Corporate Attitude/Culture Strategist
Speaking Web Site http://www.kevburns.com

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™
Creator of the 90-Day System To A Greatness Culture™

Coming Soon Kevin's 8th Book - "Your Attitude Sucks - Creating An Oasis of Greatness In A Wasteland of Mediocrity
Subscribe to Kevin's Attitude with ATTITUDE Blog by Email
Follow Kevin on Twitter @attitudeburns
The Official Kevin Burns YouTube Channel

A Filter-Free Friday Garden Experience

We went plant-shopping this week. It seems that the garden store offers free replanting of your chosen plant into a pot of your choosing and then finishes it off with some decorative bark or stones to hold in moisture. It's a nice touch and more than enough people inside the store were willing to fall all over themselves to make our experience exceptional - except the cashiers.

While wrestling with our newly potted plant (almost 3 feet in height) through the cash lane, we inadvertently left our box of plant food on the check-out counter in clear view of the two cashiers - both teen'ish. Since it was a slow time of the day, no one was in line behind us. We pushed our cart across twenty feet of shop floor before we reached the door, continued into the parking lot where we took a few minutes to offload the plant into the truck and secure it. A lot attendant came up and offered to take our cart away, placing a 25 cent piece with us as our cart still had our quarter. We then drove away only to have to return when we realized we left the plant food behind. Back at the store, we found the two cashiers sitting up on the counter beside our box of plant food doing much of nothing.

Walking our forgotten purchase out to us could have been the icing on the cake of an exceptional service day. But sadly, all of the hard work of the rest of the staff was negated in a single "meh" moment (meh - a term indicating apathy or indifference to a situation - used mostly by Gen Y and younger). Still, we are likely to return to shop there again because the rest of the staff were attentive and helpful.

In the meantime, I have sent the store an email outlining my experience as I have told it to you. Why? Because it's Filter-Free Friday™, that's why.

Filter-Free Friday™ is the day you get to turn off the filters that prevent you from speaking up when you feel you could have been served better or when you feel someone needs a round of applause. Today is the day you craft letters or emails of face-to-face communication that tells the truth to a person or a business who you feel needs to hear the truth. Pretend you are being called upon to give evidence at a trial and tell your story without emotion and without blame.  Just the facts and perhaps your impression of how the situation could have been better handled. Then, once you have "made the world a better place" (wink), you can rest easy knowing that your concerns and ideas have been heard and that the experience for others that follow will be better.

It's Filter-Free Friday™. So who could stand to hear the truth today?
--
Kevin Burns - Corporate Attitude/Culture Strategist
Speaking Web Site http://www.kevburns.com

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™
Creator of the 90-Day System To A Greatness Culture™

Coming Soon Kevin's 8th Book - "Your Attitude Sucks - Creating An Oasis of Greatness In A Wasteland of Mediocrity
Subscribe to Kevin's Attitude with ATTITUDE Blog by Email
Follow Kevin on Twitter @attitudeburns
The Official Kevin Burns YouTube Channel