Author Archives: Harry K. Jones

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

One Man’s Woe – Another Man’s Dough!

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While the economic scene continues to be reported as bleak at best, that’s not necessarily so for everyone. Take retail for instance. The retail industry has reported more store closings from coast to coast in the past two years than ever before. However, 7-Eleven, the world’s largest chain store with 35,900 stores in 17 countries, has announced plans to open an additional 200 stores in the U.S. this year. By the way, to give an idea of how large it is—McDonald’s has only 31,062 stores.

Ironically, the two largest areas of expansion will be California (a state in financial chaos from border to border) and the New York metropolitan area (which is very competitive at all times).

One might question this growth strategy at a time when the entire country appears to have fallen victim to recessionary madness. However, consequences of this madness aren’t all negative for all parties. Falling real-estate values have made long-term leases very attractive to landlords, and many have been eager to strike bargains with 7-Eleven and other similar retailers.

While 7-Eleven actually charges more than most grocery stores, convenience obviously means even more to many consumers who try to save money by under-buying during their visits to the market. You won’t find gigantic shopping carts or massive displays of product stacked to the ceiling at a 7-Eleven … thus less impulse purchases.

7-Eleven stores are appealing to New Yorkers because its quality control ensures that the stores are clean and well-run, in stark contrast to many of the corner delis that currently function as the city’s informal food-distribution network.

7-Eleven isn’t alone in its strategy to use the recession as a tool for broadening its reach. Bargain-priced department store Kohl’s is on track to open 50 new stores next year, and Swedish fashion chain H&M (Hennes & Mauritz) says it plans to open 225 new stores this year.

Dollar General has announced plans to open 450 new stores in 35 states while Big Lots has 45 new stores on the drawing board for the coming year. The target for all of these retailers: price-conscious, bargain-hunting shoppers forced to live within a strict budget as the national media warns of greater challenges on every front.

Adversity is fertile soil for creativity and action!

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

Got a Preposterous Idea? Maybe Not!

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Bear with me on this one. It may just make a major difference in your future. Would you like to be a millionaire … several times over?  If so, don’t be too quick to judge in the future. You just may pass up an opportunity to achieve stature you never believed possible!

I want to ask you a series of questions and I want you to pause after each to note exactly what you’re thinking and feeling. This will be crucial later.

What if I came to you and asked you to partner with me in a venture that would guarantee us financial success for the rest of our lives?

What if I told you it had to do with developing a cartoon character that would later lead to a television series that would be broadcast around the world?

What if I told you the TV series would lead to a successful movie that would appear world wide?

What if I told you we’d boast cameo appearances and voice-overs in the TV series and movie by such notables as Will Ferrell, Ricky Gervais, Robin Williams, Craig Ferguson, David Hasselhoff, Victoria Beckham, Alec Baldwin, Amy Poehler, Charles Nelson Reilly, David Bowie, Davy Jones, Dennis Quaid, Ernest Borgnine, Gene Shalit, Gene Simmons, Johnny Depp, Marion Ross, Mark Hamill, Pat Morita, Ray Liotta, Scarlett Johanson, Tim Conway, Sir Mix-A-Lot, and “Weird Al” Yankovic to name a few?  Not bad, huh?

What if I told you we’d enjoy merchandising and marketing tie-ins with products and companies such as Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, Kellogg’s cereal, video games to boxer shorts, flip-flops, pajamas, t-shirts, slippers and radios?

What if I told you our popular merchandise lines would be sold at Hot Topic, Claire’s, Waldenbooks, Borders Books, Barnes & Noble, Best Buy, RadioShack, Target, KB Toys, Big Lots, Wal-Mart, Shopko, Meijer, Kmart, Sears, JCPenney, Kohl’s, Lowe’s, T.J. Maxx, Toys “R” Us and Ames stores in the United States as well as the Zellers, Wal-Mart Canada and Toys “R” Us stores in Canada, and a limited selection of merchandise in Australia at Kmart Australia and Target Australia?

What if I told you we’d have kids meal tie-ins at McDonalds, Wendy’s, Burger King, and KFC world wide … and even a Slurpee named after our lead character in 7-Eleven convenience stores?

By now you should be thinking seriously about quitting your day job! I’ll spare you the details about the theme parks, CDs and DVDs, the NASCAR stock cars, the water parks, MP3 players, video arcade games, board games, digital cameras, a DVD player, books and magazines, Facebook Page and Twitter account, and a flat-screen television.

Now let me tell you a little about the character that’s going to produce this overwhelming financial windfall. It’s got to be a cartoon character that everyone, young and old, can respect and relate to. So how about this?

The cartoon series would be set in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, in the fictional city of Bikini Bottom and on the surrounding lagoon floor.

The main character would be a sea sponge, but in shape and color his body more closely resembles a kitchen sponge. His name would be SpongeBob SquarePants, and he lives in a pineapple under the sea! Perfectly logical, right? Look at this photo of SpongeBob. Does anything about this character make sense?

Well, by now I’m sure I probably would have lost your interest because you would have decided that I was out of my mind … due to the fact that no one on earth would believe anything I’ve said thus far and certainly wouldn’t be interested in a character like this.

Well, everything mentioned above has happened and continues to happen every day. This unbelievable character, his outlandish friends and neighbors, and extraordinarily successful series was created by artist, animator and former marine biologist Stephen Hillenburg, and is produced through his production company, United Plankton Pictures Inc.

It is currently Nickelodeon’s highest-rated show, the most distributed property of MTV Networks, and among Nicktoons Network’s most-watched shows. Although its original network is Nickelodeon, SpongeBob is now broadcast around the world. It is the second longest-running Nicktoon, next to the Rugrats.

SpongeBob’s has friends and associates:

  • His neighbor and best friend is a pink and highly idiotic starfish named Patrick Star, who lives under a rock.
  • Another neighbor, Squidward Tentacles, is a highly arrogant and egotistical octopus.
  • Another friend is Sandy Cheeks, a squirrel that lives in an underwater dome.
  • His house-pet is a snail named Gary who meows like a cat.
  • All of these characters are citizens of Bikini Bottom, an underwater city.
  • SpongeBob works as a fry cook at the Krusty Krab, a fast-food restaurant.

As some of you may know, I could go on and on describing this phenomenon, but I think you get the point.  Everything about this character, series, and movie screams nonsense and failure … yet it’s experienced nothing but success.

  • It has become equally popular with adolescents and adults alike.
  • This year they’re producing a prime-time 10th Anniversary documentary special.
  • Nickelodeon will air a 50-hour marathon of SpongeBob’s antics.
  • The Movie was made for $30 million and earned $140,161,792 world wide.

So why discuss this phenomenon on a business blog? Very simple. In today’s very challenging, competitive business environment, you’d better be willing to be creative, innovative, open-minded and willing to rule out absolutely nothing when it comes to products, services, and strategies. You’d better be willing to take calculated risks and expand your current comfort zone. Don’t be too quick to dismiss radical thinking similar to that which produced SpongeBob SquarePants! Times have changed. You’d better be willing to do the same!

Personally, I’m not attracted to SpongeBob SquarePants. I don’t understand the concept, have passed on his TV series, would more than likely opt out of his next movie, and won’t buy a lunch box with his picture on it. However, 20-20 hindsight convinces me that I certainly would have liked to invest in his career ten years ago.

Are you searching for your SpongeBob?

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

Lost Your Marbles?

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Remember CB radios? Breaker! Breaker! Well, before CB radio, there was ham radio. It started in the early 1900s and developed a tremendous following over the years. If you’ve ever seen a movie about the sinking of the Titanic, you’ll remember the crew sending an SOS to other ships requesting rescue. The radio they used will give you an idea of what a Ham radio looks like.

Both a strength and a weakness of the ham radio was the fact that operators could and often did listen in on conversations between other operators. I remember my grandfather doing exactly that for hours at a time. What began as a hobby for Gramps soon became a lifestyle that kept him joyfully occupied throughout his later years. He established a network of loyal friends from all over the world.

Reflecting back on the visual of my grandfather sitting at his ham radio with a content smile on his face chatting with friends, I’m reminded of a Generational Gem which we should all strongly consider.

3,900 Marbles

On a typical Saturday morning, a man, balancing a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and several warm chocolate chip cookies in the other, made his way to his home office for his habitual weekend session with his friends on his ham radio.

This particular day he decided to listen to a Saturday morning swapnet. In searching for the program, he came across an older sounding chap, with a tremendous signal and a golden voice. You know the kind; he sounded like he should be in the broadcasting business. He was telling whomever he was talking with something about “a thousand marbles.” He was intrigued and stopped to listen to the conversation.

“Well, Tom, it sure sounds like you’re busy with your job. I’m sure they pay you well, but it’s a shame you have to be away from home and your family so much. Hard to believe a young fellow should have to work 60 or 70 hours a week to make ends meet. It’s too bad you missed your daughter’s dance recital,” he continued; “Let me tell you something that has helped me keep my own priorities.” And that’s when he began to explain his theory of a “thousand marbles.”

“You see, I sat down one day and did a little arithmetic. The average person lives about 75 years. I know, some live more and some live less, but on average, folks live about 75 years.

“Now then, I multiplied 75 times 52, and I came up with 3,900, which is the number of Saturdays that the average person has in their entire lifetime. Now, stick with me, Tom, I’m getting to the important part.

“It took me until I was 55 years old to think about all this in any detail,” he went on, “and by that time I had lived through over 2800 Saturdays. I got to thinking that if I lived to be 75, I only had about a thousand of them left to enjoy. So I went to a toy store and bought every single marble they had. I ended up having to visit three toy stores to round up 1,000 marbles. I took them home and put them inside a large, clear plastic container right here in the shack next to my gear.”

“Every Saturday since then, I have taken one marble out and thrown it away. I found that by watching the marbles diminish, I focused more on the really important things in life.

“There’s nothing like watching your time here on this earth run out to help get your priorities straight.

“Now let me tell you one last thing before I sign off with you and take my lovely wife out for breakfast. This morning, I took the very last marble out of the container. I figure that if I make it until next Saturday then I have been given a little extra time. And the one thing we can all use is a little more time.

“It was nice to meet you Tom. I hope you spend more time with your family, and I hope to meet you again here on the band. This is a 75-year-old man, K9NZQ, clear and going QRT, good morning!”

You could have heard a pin drop on the band when this fellow signed off. Apparently, he gave everyone listening a lot to think about. The elderly gentleman who had been listening had planned to work on the antenna that morning, and then was going to meet up with a few other “hams” to work on the next club newsletter.

Instead, he went upstairs and woke up his wife up with a kiss. “C’mon honey, I’m taking you and the kids to breakfast.”

“What brought this on?” she asked with a smile.

“Oh, nothing special, it’s just been a long time since we spent a Saturday together with the kids. And hey, I need to stop at a toy store to buy some marbles.”

HOW MANY MARBLES DO YOU HAVE LEFT? IT’S CERTAINLY SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT!

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

Country Singer Illustrates Creativity

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You may know this man as one of the nation’s most successful country music artists of the 20th century. He also enjoyed great popularity in early Rock & Roll, R & B, and Pop music. Until the year 2000, he held the record for the most Number One singles of any country act, with 55 Number One chart hits! Others know him not only as a singer and entertainer, but also as a songwriter and producer.

He will certainly hold a cherished spot in musical history with his 55 number one hits, 110 albums, record-breaking concert attendance, and countless awards in a variety of musical categories.

Although he had many hits, he’s best known for “It’s Only Make Believe” and “Hello, Darling” … two cross-over hits which are still played regularly on Oldies stations from coast to coast.

Of course, I’m talking about Harold Lloyd Jenkins who passed away in 1993 at the age of 60. Doesn’t ring a bell? If not, that’s understandable as Harold didn’t record under his real name. He didn’t think it was marketable … and he was probably right. However, he struggled to come up with what he felt would be marketable. He received many suggestions but few, if any, which he approved of.

Legend has it that he decided to let fate settle his dilemma. He stood before a wall map of the United States, closed his eyes, and tossed two darts at random. One landed on Twitty, Texas, while the other sought out Conway, Arkansas. At that moment, Conway Twitty was born, and that unique name went on to find its coveted place in music history.

Creativity at its best can sometimes be random. Dare to give it a shot!

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

What Is an American-made Car?

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Remember those thrilling days of yesteryear when we used to pop the hood and, within minutes, locate and solve whatever problem we might be having? Try that today!

Remember when we used to adjust our carburetors? Now you can’t even find your carburetor because they’ve been extinct on new cars since the early 1990s.

Remember when an American-made car was easy to identify because you could pronounce the name of the manufacturer? (GM, Ford, Chrysler, American Motors Corp.)

Well, things are certainly different today. In today’s global economy, there’s no easy way to determine just how “American” a car is. The “Buy American” crowd may think the simple fact that a car or truck comes from a Detroit automaker means it’s American. Maybe once. That’s no longer necessarily so.

Many cars built in the U.S., for example, are assembled using parts that come from somewhere else. Some cars assembled in the U.S. from strictly American-made parts don’t sell very well, meaning that fewer Americans are buying those models.

Cars.com is the most comprehensive car information web site today. It provides users with complete local and national inventories of new and used vehicles; tools such as automotive reviews, model reports, advice and dealer location; and financing information to make the car researching and buying process easy.

Cars.com is a web site which launched in June 1998 … a division of Classified Ventures, which is in turn a joint venture by major media companies including the Gannett Company, the McClatchy Company, the Washington Post, the Tribune Company, and Belo. It claims that two thirds of U.S. car buyers use its service in some way.

Cars.com developed an “American-made Index” which rates vehicles built and bought in the U.S. Factors include sales, where the car’s parts are made, and whether the car is assembled in the U.S. Models that have been discontinued are disqualified, as are those with a domestic-parts content rating below 75 percent.

Based on the above criteria, the most current ratings of American-made cars is as follows.

  1. Toyota Camry assembled in Kentucky and Indiana.
  2. Ford F-150 assembled in Michigan and Missouri.
  3. Chevrolet Malibu assembled in Kansas.
  4. Honda Odyssey assembled in Alabama.
  5. Chevrolet Silverado 1500 assembled in Indiana.
  6. Toyota Sienna assembled in Indiana.
  7. Toyota Tundra assembled in Texas.
  8. GMC Sierra 1500 assembled in Indiana.
  9. Ford Taurus assembled in Illinois.
  10. Toyota Venza assembled in Kentucky.

How ironic that five of the companies in the top 10 list of American-made cars were once considered “foreign manufacturers”! How ironic that the #1 spot is held by Toyota! Things have certainly changed and will obviously continue to do so … faster and more radically than ever before.

The point here … recognize that major changes have occurred in most every aspect of our lives. Accept that fact and prepare for the changes coming to your organization, industry, state, and home town. Prepare to adjust, focus on life-long learning, and make the very best of the inevitable. Fail to do so and you will suffer the consequences. Prepare to do so and you will ride the wave of change to greater success and satisfaction. The choice is yours!

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

Stimulus … Possible but Doubtful

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We’re rapidly approaching our 600th blog article, and we’ve managed to touch on just about every subject possible today. We’ve often focused on the importance of closing the “knowing-doing gap,” as well as the critical issue of “execution.” I can’t think of a more momentous time to take advantage of the benefits of practicing both strategies.

While most of us are aware of both strategies, few do well in applying either to everyday situations. We see proof of this fact almost daily. For instance, everyone is familiar with the fact that President Obama signed a $787 BILLION stimulus package in February. Obviously there’s a reason they call it “stimulus” based on what it is intended to do for economy. However, what isn’t known by most is the sad fact that LESS THAN half of 1% of the money set aside for highway repair and construction has been distributed since that time! The top man on the House Transportation Committee, John Mica of Florida, places the blame on excessive federal regulations. He said that the money is simply tied up in red tape. That is inexcusable!

Consider this:

  • Of the total $787 billion stimulus, $27.5 billion was allotted for road construction and repair.
  • Of the $27.5 billion allotted, only $132 million has reached the states.

Again, that’s a mere half of 1%!

Sound stimulating?

By the way, I’m not suggesting that President Obama is at fault here.

I’m not suggesting that this is a Republican problem.

I’m not suggesting that this is a Democratic problem.

This is a LEADERSHIP problem.

No one in Washington, from either side of the aisle, is doing the job they were elected to do! In the meantime, as taxpayers, we’ll start making payments on that phenomenal figure of $787 billion as we receive the benefits of only half of 1% of that figure! This example is just one of many which occur daily within the beltway. Let’s hope we’re doing a much better job of preparing our next generation of leaders to respond to the demands which await them—one of which will be the repayment of that stimulus package.

In the meantime, maybe those brilliant minds in Washington will consider changing the name of that “package” from stimulus to dormant … at least until our next generation can arrive with a remedy for this and so many other similar situations.

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

Mass Media Takes a Hit

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I’m sure you’re aware of the large number of U.S. newspapers which have greatly diminished their page numbers, reduced the number of publishing days, and in some cases ceased publishing print copy altogether as they moved to the Internet. This appears to be a growing trend which will not be reversed any time soon.

Experts predict this unfortunate down-sizing, or right-sizing as some say, will soon spread to all aspects of the media market. In fact, it’s already happening. Across the country, advertising and profits at TV stations are rapidly shrinking and therefore many longtime news anchors are being squeezed out. Major markets such as Boston, Chicago, New York, Denver and Phoenix have lost news anchors who have been there for decades. These seasoned veterans are being replaced by cheaper, younger talent.

According to the Radio Television News Directors Association, about 1,200 people in TV news lost their jobs last year. This figure, approximately 4.3 percent of the total workforce, has led to staffs that are increasingly stretched thin. Even as more layoffs loom, stations are turning to low-cost news programs to fill in holes in their schedule that used to be filled by syndicated shows.

The situation in cable is slightly different, as channel revenue comes from affiliate fees in addition to advertising. However, there have been layoffs there too. Earlier this month, it was reported that TruTV was planning to axe half of its staff in New York City, and even CNBC has had job cuts.

It’s not just newspapers and TV feeling the crunch … several major magazines are also concerned about their future. One of the “Big Three” U.S. business magazines is apparently up for sale. Eighty-year-old BusinessWeek was founded in 1929, has an editorial staff of approximately 190 and has about 4.8 million readers in 140 countries. The weekly magazine suffered a 30% decline in second-quarter ad sales, compared with a 22% drop industry wide.

Some predict that the classic “Big Three” may be reduced to the “Big One” if the economy doesn’t improve soon. BusinessWeek‘s two major competitors, Fortune and Forbes, are currently evaluating options as well. All three currently have an Internet presence as do other competitors such as Fast Company, Inc., Harvard Business Review, Business 2.0 and others.

These are the best of times and the worst of times to be a business magazine. That same thought can be shared by a large variety of industries today. The coming year is going to be very challenging for U.S. media.

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

New Feature – University of Real Life

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I’m constantly amazed at the fact that someone will make an enormous investment of time and money to obtain a college education but then refuse to take advantage of the many valuable lessons we find in real life almost daily!

Don’t misunderstand … I value and respect a college education and recommend it to everyone who wants to be successful in today’s competitive, chaotic environment. However, consider the monumental investment.

I recently read an article that the average annual price for a college education, tuition and fees, at an average private four-year school has reached close to $35,000! Of course, that means about $140,000 for a basic four-year degree. Or does it?

Another article in the Boston Globe describes what it calls “the four-year college myth,” the idealized view that college students graduate from high school and go directly to a college campus, study full-time, and finish in four years. The author of that article states that his rough calculations using federal data would indicate that fewer than 10 percent of adults who have a Bachelor’s degree earned that degree in four years or less. Roughly 85% of today’s college students are older, work, and often study part-time. In short, we’re looking at an even greater stake of both time and money. However, you can’t argue the potential value of that education.

Consider the advantages of earning that college degree AND then continuing to invest in life-long learning by merely tapping the potential we so often take for granted … that of radio, television, books, magazines, newspapers, and the ever-growing power of the Internet. Thomas L. Friedman, author of The World Is Flat, says: “Never before in the history of the planet have so many people—on their own—had the ability to find so much information about so many things and about so many other people.”

However, having the ability doesn’t necessarily mean we take advantage of it. Again, we face the challenge of closing the knowing-doing gap. It’s really quite simple to continue our journey of life-long learning—it takes nothing more than an effort to observe what’s happening around us. Using today’s many technologies, simply look, listen, search, observe and evaluate daily occurrences in search of the lessons so often available to us. Invest the time and effort and the benefits will soon become quite evident.

In this new blog feature, we’ll be sharing many of the life lessons that occur daily but are often missed by those who don’t have the time, energy, or desire to seek them out. It is our hope that you’ll find value that can be utilized to solve problems, increase productivity and profitability, and simply enhance your continuous effort to succeed.

Another Example from Wal-Mart

Well, Wal-Mart has done it again. Many will simply overlook this valuable lesson because they disapprove of Wal-Mart. I’ve seen it happen with Bill Gates, General Motors, Jack Welch, IBM and the list goes on and on. Previous history, personal dislike, poor decisions … these are just some of the reasons why people make the decision to ignore a valuable lesson, a good example, creativity, or innovation as it emerges in world of business. We must set aside personal feelings and maintain an open mind as we search for life’s lessons.

Let’s look closer at what Wal-Mart has come up with this time.

The world’s #1 retailer is testing a new concept to add to its U.S. portfolio—a Hispanic-oriented grocery store designed to tap into this potentially lucrative and ever-growing market segment.

Wal-Mart is calling it Supermercado de Walmart, and it recently opened a store in Phoenix after successfully launching a store in Houston in late April. However, Wal-Mart is entering an intensely competitive marketplace. Hispanics, frequent grocery shoppers, carry with them an estimated $1 trillion in buying power, and Wal-Mart competitors have already noticed that spending power.

“It’s an evolution of what we’ve been doing,” Wal-Mart spokeswoman Amy Wyatt-Moore said, noting that Wal-Mart already operates about 500 stores in areas with large Hispanic populations.

Inside the brightly colored 39,000-square-foot store, a well-stocked produce section has mangoes, limes and papayas displayed in bins. The meat market has tripe and pigs feet.

Traditional Hispanic fare can be had at a small eating area, where tacos and tortas can be bought and chicken mole is a specialty. A seating area with a salsa bar is close by. Signs are in English and Spanish, and customers shop amid a background of Hispanic music coming over the speaker system.

The growth of the Hispanic population has been headlining our newspapers and newscasts for the past several years. How many companies have put forth an effort to capitalize on that growing market segment? This is a prime example of why Wal-Mart continues to grow, succeed, and profit at a time when so many others suffer or even become distinct. Wal-Mart continues to find a need and fill it!

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

Darden Restaurants

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Who's Your DaddyBear with me for just a few short minutes here to enhance this introduction. Suppose an associate invites you to discuss a business proposition over lunch and recommends that you meet him at your local Darden Restaurant. What comes to mind? Total blank? Don’t recognize the name? No Darden Restaurants in your vicinity?

Let’s try another scenario. Your associate invites you to meet him at the world’s biggest and most successful casual-dining operation in the world. Now what comes to mind? Another total blank? No idea as to where to head? Let’s clear the air.

Both locations are one in the same and when you arrive you’ll immediately recognize the restaurant. However, don’t look for the name Darden on the marquee. Darden is the name of the parent company. The name you may recognize can be found in this list:

  • Olive Garden
  • Red Lobster
  • Longhorn Steakhouse
  • Bahama Breeze
  • Seasons 52
  • Capital Grille

This famous group of brands make up the family of Darden Restaurants which happens to boast the following:

  • It is the country’s largest full-service restaurant operation.
  • It is the 29th-largest employer in the United States.
  • It is a pioneer of what’s known as “casual dining,” which accounts for 39% of all sit-down restaurant meals.
  • It generated $6.7 billion in revenue last year.
  • It owns and operates 1,770 restaurants.
  • It employs 180,000 loyal staff members.
  • It proudly boasts one of the few African-American CEOs in the Fortune 500, Clarence Otis, the 53-year-old son of a janitor from Watts, the Los Angeles neighborhood that made headlines for the California riots of 1965.
  • It boasts a $100 million state-of-the-art headquarters in Orlando.
  • It serves more than 400 million meals a year (which happens to be the equivalent of feeding the entire U.S. population, with seconds for residents of California, Florida, New York, and Texas).
  • It has tripled its stock price in the past year.
  • It plans to add as many as 55 restaurants in the coming year.

All of this takes place at a time when the average American family has, for budgetary concerns, reduced the number of times they experience sit-down meals in restaurant out to 79 per year, 16% fewer than 15 years ago, according to industry analysts.

Even though you may not be familiar with the parent company, Darden Restaurants has been around for 70 years. Bill Darden, the founder, was just 19 years old when he opened his first restaurant in 1938. At that time, no one would have guessed what the future might hold as Darden’s first attempt at success was a simple lunch counter in Waycross, Georgia, with a mere 10 stools, two booths, and curb service. Remember those days? Darden called the place “The Green Frog” and promised “service with a hop!”

Today his dream has grown to include:

  • The Red Lobster consisting of 690 restaurants producing annual revenues of $2.63 billion. It boasts: “The taste of wood-grilled seafood.”
  • The Olive Garden consisting of 689 restaurants producing annual revenues of $3.08 billion. Its philosophy: “When you’re here, you’re family.”
  • The LongHorn Restaurant consisting of 322 restaurants producing annual revenues of $885 million. Its proud of “The flavor of the West.”
  • The Capital Grill consisting of 37 restaurants producing annual revenues of $235 million. People visit there to “Be wined, dined, and dazzled.”
  • Bahama Breeze consisting of 24 restaurants producing annual revenues of $135 million. Come there to “Feed your island spirit.”
  • Seasons 52 consisting of 37 restaurants producing annual revenues of $45 million. Here you can find “Seasonally inspired healthier dining.”

It once owned Smokey Bones but sold the 127-restaurant chain after deciding it lacked national appeal.

Darden Leadership operates its major brands as test labs, sharing the best ideas and even personnel, while maintaining their distinctive identities. This approach is rather unique to the industry but has proved to be very successful. More than 1,400 executives and support staff share energies in its $100 million state-of-the-art building in Orlando.

As a result of its belief that the direction of its business is based on understanding customers, it has invested in a great deal of customer research. It’s obviously paid off in a very positive ROI … something its competition should consider. Most see this kind of research as a cost rather than an investment and have diminished their efforts in this area.

COO Drew Madsen said its research revealed that “People come to a restaurant for both physical and emotional nourishment. The physical is the food; and the emotional is how you feel when you leave.”

To address this revelation, Olive Garden executives began tying everything to a mythical Italian family, adopting the tagline, “When you’re here, you’re family.” New locations were designed to suggest Italian farmhouses, with a large family-style table similar to those found throughout the Italian countryside. Executives even formed a partnership with actual Italians: Olive Garden’s Culinary Institute of Tuscany (CIT).

Eleven times a year, Olive Garden sends 14 top employees, many of whom have never set foot in Italy, to spend a week in an 11th-century village in Tuscany and learn from Sergio and Daniela Zingarelli, a husband and wife who operate a restaurant, winery, and inn. The couple and other local experts expose the Americans to everything Italian such as pressing olive oil, how to layer flavors in a Bolognese sauce, how to buy fresh vegetables at a market, and how to prepare a multicourse Italian meal. Since 1999, some 850 employees have attended CIT, and 80% of them are still with the company.

Darden has a very simple one-minute rule: Food should arrive at the table within one minute of being ready. To achieve this goal at every location, they must find the best mix of independence and collaboration, often relying on the latest technological breakthroughs such as Guest Forecasting, Kitchen Monitors, and Meal Pacing software. While all of its chains may use the same technology to pace their cooking and predict their dinner traffic, and they may serve shrimp from the same Thai fish farm, but each brand needs to remain distinctive. There’s an art and science to this to achieving the necessary balance to attain success.

Over the past two years, Darden has reduced unplanned hours by more than 40% and trimmed excess food costs by 10%. This kind of performance explains the phenomenal execution, achievement, and growth Darden has enjoyed and the potential it has for continued success.

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

Perplexing Economy Stimulates Action

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Continuous chaos on so many levels in the U.S. has resulted in a variety of reactions by both businesses and individuals. It’s interesting to observe the vast differences in strategies as this country faces the most challenging economic environment in decades.

Difficult times lead many to innovate, others to take risks never before contemplated, and still others to lay low, do nothing, and focus on hope as a strategy.

Let’s take a look at some examples of innovation, change, risk-taking, and action which are currently taking place as a result of those who have chosen not to wait until the dust settles. These examples may be very successful or may fail miserably … time will reveal their fate. However, they evolve from the hearts and minds of those who refuse to wait for others to determine their fate.

Is It a Gamble to Land at Miami International Airport?

Knowing that I fly a great deal, people often comment on how exciting it must be to travel across the country from airport to airport. Well, they’re absolutely right—for your first few months of travel. After that, it becomes boring, frustrating, and often exhausting. Although the food has improved, it’s still far from ideal. The lines are long, the delays have become customary, the waiting areas are uncomfortable, and there is little, if anything, to do while you wait. That may all soon change.

USA Today has reported that the Miami-Dade County commissioners voted 8-3 to allow slot machines at the Miami International Airport. The devices will be located beyond security checkpoints and would potentially allow the county to recoup some of the money that the airport is hemorrhaging. At present, the operating cost of the airport is $600 million and could more than double in the next six years. The slots could provide a much-needed revenue stream.

The airport will realize a new, much-needed revenue stream, passengers will have something to do waiting for the typically delayed Miami flight, and a few people may even win a few dollars. However, if you’ve ever been to Vegas, Atlantic City, or one of your local casinos, you certainly know the annoying sound of a group of slot machines mocking, in unison, the fate of the losers. Airport sound tracks are bad enough with PA announcements, screaming children, and people yelling into their cell phones. Now we can add the sweet, soothing tones of dozens of slot machines!

One last thing … if this endeavor is successful, however that may be defined, you can bet it won’t take long before every major airport in the nation will be following suit. So hunker down, make earplugs a travel staple, figure out how to get rolls of quarters through security, and adapt to another change in our chaotic lives.

Are You Ready for a McSpark?

On this blog, we’ve discussed the innovative efforts of McDonald’s to maintain its leadership in a very competitive industry. (May I Take Your Order Please?; History in the Making – “Bites or Bytes”?) We’ve discussed its order-taking technology, its revolution to the breakfast market, the addition of sofas, fireplaces, WiFi, and large screen TVs, and its addition of boutique coffee offerings. To have watched McDonald’s evolve during difficult economic times can only make one ponder what may be next. You may be surprised!

Apparently, a new North Carolina McDonald’s will include, believe it or not, electric vehicle (EV) recharging stations, part of the ChargePoint network. Now you can enjoy your Extra Value Meal and Latte Macchiato while your car battery is being recharged. Consider the cross-marketing potential … it’s endless. Current EVs take a couple of hours to recharge, so McDonald’s has a captive audience to buy meals, desserts and boutique coffee drinks while they get comfy on a sofa, work on their computer and take in a ball game in front of a cozy fireplace while they wait for their recharge. Look for discounts on fill-ups with meals. Anything’s possible at Mickey D’s. And with more than 30,000 locations worldwide, what company is better placed to establish a recharging network? Before you know it, McDonald’s will be refueling those new green vehicles that have been retrofitted to run on french fry grease. Laugh today for the day will come when you look back on the good ole days of the simplistic Happy Meal.

Flying RyanAir – Better Get in Shape!

RyanAir is a combination of court jester and Scrooge McDuck in the airline industry. It cuts corners to save dollars like nobody else and yet its ideas challenge you to take RyanAir seriously. I told you about its “no frills” philosophy in a previous article (Boo Hoo – Can’t Afford the Loo!), which included charges for food, soft drinks and even water; it hawks bingo cards and duty-free goods during its flights; its seats do not recline, there are no seat back pockets and it offers no window shades; and it is considering charging to use the bathroom.

Now RyanAir has done it again. It has announced plans to cut costs even further by getting fliers to carry all their bags and suitcases through security departure lounges and directly to the plane rather than checking them in. They can carry aboard one piece of hand luggage, but leave any other baggage beside the aircraft to be loaded into the hold. They then pick it up the same way on arrival.

RyanAir chief executive Michael O’Leary said: “You can bring unlimited bags as long as you can get them through security. What it means is no more waiting at the carousel, no more losing your bags, no more wasting your life in over-priced airport terminals.” The move—scheduled for next spring—would mean a plane would need just one baggage handler, instead of five, he said. It is expected this will save RyanAir approximately $42 million a year (American currency).

But wait … it’s far from finished! Ireland’s RyanAir, along with Spring Airlines, a four-year-old carrier that calls itself China’s first low-cost airline, is seeking permission from their government aviation regulators to reconfigure their planes to allow some stand-up seats! Standing passengers would be safely strapped to stools or railings and would, of course, pay less than their conventionally seated fellow travelers. Talk about “Standing Room Only”!

Removing seats to accommodate standing passengers could increase capacity on domestic flights up to 50%. Even if standing passengers paid lower fares, the result would be an increase in revenue per flight. It would also let airlines lower costs by allowing them to offer fewer flights and employ fewer works.

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.