Factual March Madness

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Questions often arise at this time of the year as to whether true “March Madness” takes place on the nation’s round ball courts or rather in corporate cubicles and board rooms from coast to coast.

Consider the daily discussions of team selections and bracket comparisons. Now contemplate the actual number of hours which will be spent organizing, operating, and participating in the office pools surrounding each game and level of competition.

The outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas says employers could see as much as $1.7 billion dollars in lost productivity over the next few weeks, as the tournament proceeds. The calculation includes estimates on participation in the pools, worker wages and the amount of work-time possibly spent on basketball-related activities. Some businesses are trying to limit the ability of workers to stream video on their work computers to keep their systems from seeing too much bandwidth wasted.

Under normal circumstances, $1.7 billion can obviously make a dramatic impact on the business environment. However, consider today’s critical economic status in most every industry and that $1.7 billion presents an even greater threat and “March Madness” takes on an all new meaning.

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.

Flexibility, Negotiation, Compromise – Good Leadership Traits

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This story has been around for a very long time and really proves a point in a very humorous but realistic way. After a great deal of research, it was revealed that the story is not actually true. Nevertheless, it’s a great story, creates a fantastic punch-line visual, and makes a very important point.

It consists of an “alleged” transcript of an actual radio conversation between a U.S. naval ship and Canadian maritime contact off the coast of Newfoundland in October 1995.

Americans: “Please divert your course 15 degrees North to avoid a collision.”

Canadians: “Recommend you divert YOUR course 15 degrees South to avoid collision.”

Americans: “This is the captain of a U.S. navy ship; I say again divert your course.”

Canadians: “No. I say again, you divert YOUR course.”

Americans: “THIS IS THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS LINCOLN, THE SECOND LARGEST SHIP IN THE UNITED STATES’ ATLANTIC FLEET. WE ARE ACCOMPANIED BY THREE DESTROYERS, THREE CRUISERS AND NUMEROUS SUPPORT VESSELS. I DEMAND THAT YOU CHANGE YOUR COURSE 15 DEGREES NORTH, THAT’S ONE FIVE DEGREES NORTH, OR COUNTER-MEASURES WILL BE UNDERTAKEN TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF THIS SHIP.”

Canadians: “We are a lighthouse; your call.”

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.

Individual Creativity

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It’s intriguing how easy it is to find examples of creativity in our everyday lives. We’re surrounded by evident situations which have evolved from creative thinking; however, we, for some reason, simply neglect to recognize and/or acknowledge them.

Many examples are not necessarily related to business and/or organizations. You can find a great number of individuals who have demonstrated creativity in very unique ways. For instance:

William James Adams, Jr. is of Jamaican descent and is a very talented, highly revered, sought-after musician, songwriter and producer. He is also an American hip hop musician, songwriter and founding member and frontman of a Grammy award-winning American hip hop/pop group from Los Angeles who have sold an estimated 30 million albums and singles worldwide. Still don’t know William?

Before joining the famed musical group, William attended the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles. In 2001, he began designing his own signature clothing line which made its official debut in 2005 at the Magic apparel trade show in Las Vegas. Still in the dark? Maybe this will help.

He was recently cast as John Wraith in the upcoming X-Men Origins: Wolverine, a prequel to the X-Men film series.

In January 2008, this talented entertainer wrote a song, “Yes We Can,” in support of the 2008 U.S. Presidential campaign of Barack Obama, which in turn became a wildly popular music video. The lyrics of the song are composed almost entirely of excerpts from Obama’s speech following the New Hampshire presidential primary election. The video features appearances from numerous well-known celebrities.

He recently appeared as a guest on the very highly rated CBS prime-time television special “Celine Dion: That’s Just the Woman in Me.” He shared the stage with Grammy Award nominee Josh Groban and the five-time Grammy Award winner and multi-platinum recording artist Celine Dion. The program was taped before a live audience at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles.

On his own, William has established himself as one of music’s top producers. He has collaborated on tracks with Justin Timberlake, John Legend, Kelis, Nas, The Game, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Sergio Mendes, Carlos Santana, The Pussycat Dolls, Busta Rhymes and the Black Eyed Peas, and Fergie. Still no clue?

The work of this rapper and producer helped steer the Black Eyed Peas, one of the most intriguing acts in hip-hop, and later made them one of the most popular acts on the charts. He is better known by his stage name — will.i.am! Not only have they sold millions of albums worldwide but have also won three Grammy awards and have been nominated for 10 total. He also has his own label called will.i.am music group which has enabled him to work closely with a wide variety of very talented and well-known artists.

The story goes that while William was very proud of his name, he wanted a moniker that would relate to the reality that his talent and potential was unique from so many others in a very competitive business.  Therefore, he merely made a very positive statement of his self-esteem and pride by strategically inserting a couple of common periods within his highly regarded birth name.

William became will.i.am.

A very simplistic, creative decision that has certainly served him well. In that same vein his world renowned group chose their popular name because “Black Eyed Peas” are food for the soul. They felt they were too.

Creativity doesn’t have to be overwhelming, expensive, or complex. Sometimes, “simple” does the job!

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.

Big Changes are Coming! Grab a Seat! Buckle Up! Hang on Tight!

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Keep your eyes peeled during future trips to the mall. The landscape during that trip is about to change drastically according to Wall Street watchdogs.

And we’re not talking about small Ma and Pa operations that can’t compete with the big boys in today’s cut-throat business environment. We’re talking about many iconic U.S. companies that you’ve known for decades. They may very well not exist at the end of 2008! Not all will go out of business. Some may simply be auctioned off in pieces. Others may be bought. Others will simply vanish.

And don’t forget … these aren’t unsubstantiated predictions pulled from a blogger’s crystal ball. These forecasts come to us from 24/7 Wall St. … a Delaware corporation set up to run a financial news and opinion operation with content delivered over the Internet to readers thoughout North America, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. They arrive at their conclusions after a great deal of research, review of historical bios, and educated projections of coming events.

I fear we’ve passed the shock threshold as a result of seeing so many powerful icons in so many industries fall by the wayside. We can’t afford to do that. Review some of the following major names and brands to appreciate the changes we can expect in the near future and then read ahead for more details on each. Hopefully the demise of these once unstoppable organizations will entice you to examine your own business, possible need for change, and current strategies designed for future success.

K-Mart, Sears, Eckerd Pharmacy, Circuit City, Ford Motor Co., Sprint, Cingular, Yahoo, CompUSA, Quest, Bombay Co., Gateway, Old Navy, Motorola, XM Satellite Radio, Citigroup and others.

K-Mart
We’ve been predicting this one for quite some time now. K-Mart is one of the two big brands at Sears Holdings. They’ve certainly tumbled from their once-lofty position as the nation’s #2 retailer. Based on same store sales for last year, they are the least successful of the Sears/K-Mart retail team. Spending to promote both retail operations may cost more that the holding company can afford. It certainly makes sense to kill off the K-Mart name and re-label all of the stores as Sears.

Sears Holdings
Here’s the other half of that once-powerful retail team. Sears was once the #1 U.S. retailer but has recently reported a string of bad earnings. Recent reports indicate that Sears leadership may spin-off the company’s real estate and break the firm into several operating units, each of which would have more operating autonomy. The CEO has been pushed out in favor of a “temp.” That sounds like the prelude to an auction.

Eckerd Pharmacy
With over 1,500 stores across the country, Eckerd Pharmacy served as the principal drug chain in several states until the nearly 110-year-old chain was acquired by Rite-Aid Pharmacy in June. Rite-Aid has since converted all Eckerd stores to Rite-Aid stores.

Dodge
Dodge is part of the Chrysler company which was recently bought out by private equity firm Cerberus. Chrysler management has already said that the company has too many brands and too many dealers. Dodge vehicles will probably be re-branded as Chrysler and Dodge will disappear. Other announced car exits include the Dodge Caravan, Chrysler Pacifica, Chrysler Crossfire sports car, Dodge Magnum and the PT Cruiser convertible.

Ford Motor Co.
There was a time when no one would have believed this one. However, Ford has a market cap of $13 billion against annual sales of $173 billion. If sales continue to fall, cuts won’t make up the difference forever. The Ford family, which has de facto control of the company, will have to look at selling the car operations to a large Asian or European auto company, allowing for a consolidation of production, marketing and R&D. Bottom line — billions of dollars in annual savings.

Circuit City
Here’s another one we’ve been predicting for some time now. Circuit City has been synonymous with electronics retail, but companies like Best Buy and Wal-Mart have brought too much marketing muscle and wholesale buying power to the industry. Outside investors are struggling to “improve shareholder value.” That means the chain will probably be sold.

Sprint
Sprint should never have merged with NexTel, but it is a little too late for that to be fixed now. It traded above $23 about a year ago and recently fell to close to $8. While AT&T and Verizon post enviable wireless numbers, Sprint struggles to keep current subscribers. Sprint is cutting bodies, but Wall St. has no confidence that fewer people and these modest savings will turn around the company.

Cingular
When AT&T acquired BellSouth in December of 2006, it also heralded the end to Cingular. Cingular also came under AT&T with this acquisition, and its brand was eventually weeded out from AT&T during the acquisition transition that ended in June.

Yahoo!
Yahoo! was not going to make it as a standalone, especially after Q4 earnings. There has been speculation that the company might be sold to Microsoft. If that happens, note that Microsoft is not generous about letting other brands have the limelight. Microsoft could take out 3,000 or 4,000 people and add as much as $100 million in operating income per quarter. Yahoo!’s brand will last while the e-mail and instant message operations are integrated, but soon enough it will all be MSN.

Old Navy
Old Navy is one of the Gap’s three brands and is currently pulling down overall sales at the big clothing company. With a little over one thousand outlets, Old Navy will struggle to maintain the costs of separate buying, marketing, and management costs. It may not be worth it. Watch closely because it may not be long before Old Navy locations may just become Gap stores.

Motorola
Motorola is still likely to sell its large handset unit to someone. That division is simply losing too much money, and it’s dragging the company under. As Motorola’s stock price drops, so does the value of its handset operation. Look for that Motorola phone to be called an LG handset sometime next year.

XM Satellite Radio
Seems as though XM Satellite Radio just arrived on the scene, and now they’ll disappear either in a merger with Sirius because without a merger, XM may not make it. The company has over $1.2 billion in long-term debt. Look for the XM brand to disappear a few months after the merger is complete.

Citigroup
With a recession and more financial company write-offs coming, Citi will have to get smaller by selling one or two of its valuable businesses. Its consumer units could be worth more on their own. This entire industry is volatile at the moment. Things are getting worse rather than better and you can expect anything to happen at any moment.

Bombay Company
After the holidays, it’s bye-bye Bombay. This furniture and home accessories retailer has been around since 1978 but officially filed for bankruptcy in September of 2007. They have been sold to Gordon Brothers/Hilco.

Gateway
Remember when Gateway was considered a peer of both Dell and Compaq? In 1993, Gateway was in the Fortune 500 but was recently bought by Taiwan PC firm Acer. It doesn’t make sense to maintain both brands as the costs are simply too high. Starting soon you will be buying an Acer PC online or at your electronics retailer.

CompUSA
The second richest man in the world, Carlos Slim of Mexico, turned a multi-billion dollar investment into zero dollars in just eight years. The 20-year-old consumer electronics retailer had closed its doors due to financial difficulties amid tough competition from retailers like Best Buy.

Qwest
Remember the break-up of the old AT&T? Quest is the last of the Baby Bells still standing from historic move. Although it’s the dominant phone company in 14 states, its shares are falling fast, it has no wireless operations, and simply doesn’t have the balance sheet to upgrade all of its infrastructure to fiber like Verizon is doing.

Vonage
Vonage almost invented VoIP. It certainly made it popular. They lost their “first mover” advantage when cable companies began to market the service to existing customers. Look for one of the large cable companies to take over the Vonage customer list and let the brand disappear in the very near future.

Levitz
This 97-year-old furniture chain, once one of the largest in the U.S., recently began closing its 76 stores after filing for bankruptcy for the third (and final) time in 10 years.

E*Trade
While their famous competitors have disappeared as a result of mergers, E*Trade has survived in a discount brokerage business thus far. Although they claim they don’t want to sell out, the firm’s $12 billion in home equity loan exposure may very well make staying independent impossible.

Countrywide
It once seemed as though Countrywide had an operation on almost every street corner. While they were known to give almost anyone a home loan, they weren’t so generous when foreclosure time came around. Bank of America is buying Countrywide. Due to Countrywide’s excessive negative baggage and very poor image, Bank of America will be wise to quickly put its name on all of the Countrywide branches.

NetBank
Known as one of the first Internet banks, NetBank has closed its doors after just 10 years of existence. After a couple of years of deficiency problems, NetBank restructured which eventually led to its demise this year.

So how was your week? Feeling sorry for the above companies but confident that you can avoid the same fate? Do you boast longevity, great sales history, competitive strategy or a great track record? So did most of those mentioned above. You might think about bench-marking, strategizing, training, continuous improvement and necessary change, and even that guarantees nothing in today chaotic business environment.

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.

A Culture of Customer Service

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In October of last year, I traveled to Nashville to facilitate a Leadership Boot Camp for the good folks at Caterpillar Financial Services Corp. Their world headquarters is located directly across the street from Vanderbilt University, a few blocks from fabled Music Row and, luckily for me, right next door to the exquisite Loews Vanderbilt Hotel. In an earlier blog feature, Creativity Reigns Again, I shared both my delight and astonishment at the level of creativity I discovered upon my arrival at this marbled palace in the heart of Music City.

Last week, I returned to Nashville for another Leadership Boot Camp with managers, supervisors, and Black Belts at Caterpillar Financial. In the spirit of Boot Camp vernacular, I was once again billeted at the Loews Vanderbilt. Although I again savored obvious creativity at every turn, I couldn’t help but notice another simplistic characteristic of their thriving culture — exceptional customer service.

Due to our ever-increasing requests for customer service training and keynotes, I’m always in search of good and bad examples to share with our clients. I found a number of solid examples during this trip but two particular instances, although both very basic, really impressed me.

  1. I arrived on Sunday evening and checked in at a very busy front desk manned by a number of busy but friendly staff members. It snowed all day Monday. Returning to the front desk Monday evening to drop off some mail after my training session, one of the front desk employees casually asked something like: “How are you today?” I replied with a smile and said something like: “Fine, thanks, although I’m a little chilly after that snow.” Typical small talk on my part followed by a shocking comment from the young lady behind the desk. She took my mail, smiled and said: “Today’s snow was simply our way of making you feel more at home with weather conditions like you have in Michigan!” I laughed, thanked her and headed to dinner. However, I must admit I was dumbfounded by her remark. Based on our short interaction at the desk she had no way of knowing I was from Michigan. She obviously had to be one of those at the desk the night before when I checked in and heard my conversation about the weather. That’s paying attention to detail, great listening skills, and better memory than I have. To remember those details the following day is remarkable in my eyes. That employee went above and beyond the call of duty to make a customer feel special. I was very impressed.
  2. Monday morning I left the hotel with a small suitcase containing props for my program. One of the lobby staff smiled, opened the door for me, and asked if he could get me a cab. I thanked him and explained that I was simply walking next door to Caterpillar for a training session. Again, typical small talk. When I returned at the end of the day, that young man was not on duty. Tuesday morning, same routine, same young man, different greeting. This time he smiled, open the door for me, and said, “Another day of training, eh? Keep ’em focused!” I laughed, thanked him, promised I would keep ’em focused, and headed off for another day — amazed and impressed! How many customers do you think that young man sees during the course of a typical work day? Here’s another example of great listening skills, great retention and the utilization of both to impress a customer while making him feel special.

Coincidence? I think not. Far too much evidence to the contrary. However, how do you train someone to react in such a powerful fashion? I don’t think role play can take all the credit, and I doubt if classroom experience alone can have that kind of an impact. Based on what I’ve seen of this organization, I would have to guess it has something to do with the ability to choose the right people, proper training, clear and strong expectations, emphasis on pride, consistent accountability, frequent feedback, and suitable recognition and rewards. Put it all together and you once again arrive at the importance of a strong, productive culture. Just an assumption on my part but these behaviors are very much representative of what I’ve seen throughout this organization.

I wouldn’t describe either of these instances as unbelievable … in fact both took only a moment and were far from complex. However, you must admit that either or both could be considered unique and impressive. Trite? Maybe. Convincing? No doubt! Nevertheless, this is one customer who was impressed, who has shared these positive impressions with others, and who will return to Loews Vanderbilt Hotel as a result of what I consider to be superb customer service. That’s the definition of a raving fan.

Customer service doesn’t have to be expensive, complex, or difficult. Make it an integral part of your organizational culture! Train for it! Expect it! Support it! Inspect it! Discuss it! Reward it! Live it! Breathe it! Reap the benefits!

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.

Do Goals Really Matter?

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The majority of the requests we receive for our goal-setting program, “On Your Mark, Get Set, Goal!” seems to come to us from high school and/or college audiences. Personally, I think that’s terrific because this is a critical subject area for young people who have their entire careers ahead of them. Goal setting abilities are crucial at this point and studies have shown that they certainly pay off in a very big way.

What amazes me is the fact that so many adults in today’s workplace have not been exposed to the goal setting process and therefore are not benefiting from this practice. Oh, we talk mission, vision, goals, targets, etc., but it seems to stop at talking. If more adults were familiar with a goal-setting strategy and actually practicing this powerful procedure, it’s somewhat certain that we wouldn’t see as many organizations falling short of their short- and long-range aspirations.

Some people today actually doubt the power of goal setting. Read today’s generational gem and see what you think.

The Catalina Island is 21 miles away from the coast of California, and many people have taken the challenge to swim across it. On July 4, 1952, Florence Chadwick stepped into the water off Catalina Island to swim across to the California coast. She started well and on course, but later fatigue set in, and the weather became cold. She persisted, but fifteen hours later, numb and cold, she asked to be taken out of the water.

After she recovered, she was told that she had been pulled out only half a mile away from the coast. She commented that she could have made it, if the fog had not affected her vision and she would have just seen the land. She promised that this would be the only time that she would ever quit.

She went back to her rigorous training. And two months later she swam that same channel. The same thing happened. The fatigue set in, and the fog obscured her view, but this time she swam with faith and vision of the land in her mind. She knew that somewhere behind the fog was land. She succeeded and became the first woman to swim the Catalina Channel. She even broke the men’s record by two hours. When you set your goal, keep pressing on even when you are tired, physically and mentally, and even though there are many challenges ahead. Keep the vision of your goal crystal clear before you and never, never, never give up!

See the vision, commit to it, and you will surely see your goal realized!

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.

How the Cookie Crumbles

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What is it about creativity that frightens some people? Maybe “frighten” isn’t the proper word. Could it be intimidate? Alienate? Unnerve? Stifle? There’s something about creativity that simply doesn’t sit well with a good number of people. I’ve observed a growing trend over the past year among those who have attended our “Creative Innovation” seminars and “Get Back in the Box” keynote presentations. We’ve delivered these programs from coast to coast so location isn’t a factor. The audiences have represented a wide variety of industries so occupation plays no part in this trend. We’ve addressed both men and women, young and old, tall and short, executives and students, all religions, and all nationalities … the trend shows no preferences. Large numbers of the populace today truly believe they simply aren’t creative. They can’t think in, out, or anywhere in the vicinity of the box. Some even doubt the existence of the box. They can’t perceive themselves doing anything at all that might be considered creative. It’s been my experience that the majority of them are absolutely wrong. They ARE indeed creative. They simply aren’t comfortable or familiar with that reality.

We inaugurated this “Out-of-the-Box Thinking” feature just a few weeks ago. We promised to share real-life examples from the business world that will encourage you to join this inevitable revolution of creative thinking. Through daily observation alone, I’ve already stockpiled more than a dozen examples over the last week. If you’ll simply focus on the many instances that appear in our daily routine, you’ll be amazed at the number of situations from which we can draw to enhance our own efforts. For instance …

Visit your local grocery store. Pick an aisle — let’s say the cookie aisle. That’s a pretty mundane area. Now let’s focus on a company. How about Nabisco? They’ve been around for what seems forever. Now zero in on a brand. Let’s say the ever-popular Oreo. This very popular sandwich cookie, consisting of a sweet, white creme between two circular chocolate cookies, has been gracing our cookie jars since 1912. More than 490 billion Oreo cookies have been sold since they were first introduced, making them the best-selling cookie of the 20th century.

Take a good look at this very basic, but scrumptious, snack delicacy as you ponder the following challenge. As the director of a creative team of associates, you have been charged with the task of developing a strategy to market this “classic” goody in such a way that it will dominate shelf space and entice additional sales in a very competitive market place. I’ve actually issued this challenge as a group activity in several seminars and was somewhat surprised at the lack of imagination, risk-taking, creativity, or resourcefulness I witnessed. I heard remarks such as “What can you do with a cookie?” and “There’s not much to work with!” along with “If it could be done, someone would have already done it!”

Well, someone has. I don’t know if you’ve noticed it as yet but the creative folks at Kraft/Nabisco have done a very impressive job of not only dominating grocery shelf space across the nation but also overshadowing their competition in most every aspect of the media. The simplistic little cookie pictured above has been altered and promoted in ways never considered by the average Oreo connoisseur. Take a look at some of what they now offer to accomplish their competitive challenge.

  • Double Stuf Oreo − twice the normal amount of white cream filling.
  • Double Delight Oreo − chocolate cookies with two fillings, notably peanut butter ‘n chocolate, mint ‘n creme, and coffee ‘n creme flavors.
  • Flavored Oreos containing a sole filling in a variety of creme flavors, including peanut butter, chocolate, mint, caramel, orange, and strawberry milkshake.
  • Springtime, Halloween, and Christmas special edition Double Stuf Oreos are produced with colored frosting depicting the current holiday (yellow, orange and red).
  • Mino Oreos are bite-sized versions of ordinary Oreos.
  • White Fudge Oreos and Milk Chocolate Oreos covered in either a layer of white fudge or chocolate respectively.
  • Shrek Oreos — limited edition Oreos released to promote the feature film.
  • Oreo Cakesters — 2 chocolate soft snack cakes with vanilla or chocolate cream in the middle.
  • Oreo Handi-Snacks — plastic holders with strips of Oreo Cookies and a small box of icing.
  • Deep Fried Oreos — Regular Or Double Stuf Oreos, dipped in batter, and deep friend for about 30 seconds — sometimes sold at carnivals and fairs.
  • Oreo Milkshakes containing Oreo cookies
  • Domino Pizza’s “Oreo Pizza.”
  • Oreo Pie Crust.
  • Jell-O Oreo Pudding — chocolate pudding on top and bottom, vanilla in the middle.
  • Post Cereal Oreo Os.
  • Organic Oreo − plain Oreo cookies made with organic flour and organic sugar.
  • Easy-Bake Oreo Mix − two easy-bake chocolate cakes with a marshmallow filling topped off with an Oreo cookie topping.
  • Oreo ice Cream (Blended Oreo cookies in vanilla ice cream).
  • Oreo Ice Cream Sandwich (Extra large Oreo wafers with ice cream in the middle).
  • Oreo Ice Cream Bar (Chocolate).
  • Mint Oreo Ice Cream (Blended Oreo cookies with mint ice cream).
  • Oreo Madness (a dessert offered at TGI Friday’s).
  • Ready-to-Spread Oreo Frosting.
  • KFC/Oreo Brownie.
  • Oreo chocolate hazelnut bar.
  • Oreo Megacookie.
  • Oreo Granola Bars.
  • White-Fudge-Covered Oreos.
  • Reduced-Fat Oreos.

This wasn’t intended to be an Oreo commercial. It was meant to prove a very obvious point. Glance again, if you will, at the simple little delicious cookie pictured above. Reflect on the challenge I issued to you and how you felt about the possibility of accomplishing it. Challenged? Disillusioned? Frustrated? Now review what the creative staff at Nabisco came up with and realize that what you see is just a sample of what can be accomplished.
Creativity doesn’t apply to product alone. If you watched the Super Bowl this year you saw a very creative Oreo commercial starring the two Manning brothers. Consider these facts:

  • Quarterback Peyton Manning was the MVP for last year’s Super Bowl winners.
  • Younger brother and quarterback Eli Manning was the MVP for this year’s Super Bowl Winner.
  • Cost of a 30-second Super Bowl commercial this year was $2.6 million!
  • The brothers introduced the DSRL (Double Stuf Racing League) … a fierce competition to see who’s fastest to twist, lick, and dunk their Oreo cookie.
  • Nabisco created an official DSRC website where you can register to compete and purchase Official League stuff such as T-shirts, head bands and mugs. The commercials continue to run on TV.

There’s obviously little chance that you have the opportunity and privilege to work with the best-selling cookie of the 20th century. That’s not the point. Creative efforts can do for your organization, product and/or service what it did for Nabisco’s cherished little cookie. It simply requires time, effort, patience, and the application of any combination of the many available creative tools and strategies available to us today. This is just one of the many examples of creativity in action that we can find in our everyday environment. Be alert, search for possibilities and don’t eliminate opportunities by excluding ideas because they don’t happen to relate to your business or challenge. Seek, observe, analyze, adapt and apply … again and again and again. You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take!

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.

Project Scope Creep

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Professional Speaker Jeffrey W. Drake has made presentations on subjects such as communication styles, creative problem solving, goal setting, leadership, project management, stress management, teamwork, and time management.The AchieveMax® company has been presenting custom-designed seminars for clients all over North America for more than 25 years. About ten years ago, one of our clients requested us to develop a custom-designed “Project Management: From Concept to Completion” seminar for their specific needs. After developing that initial seminar, we have since custom designed that seminar for numerous clients.

We are constantly updating our seminars to add value for our clients. A recent request from one of our clients was to focus in on project scope. There are many excellent books on project management in the marketplace. One particular book, Effective Project Management by Wysocki, Beck, and Crane, very clearly addressed the topic of project scope creep.

The authors stated that “Change is constant” and “to expect otherwise is unrealistic.” We certainly know that since our most popular seminar program is “Productive Chaos: Riding the Wave of Change.” With chaotic change occurring in the marketplace, companies and organizations need to maintain and improve their productivity.

The authors add that “changes occur for several reasons.” Some examples of change are that “market conditions can be dynamic” and “competitors can introduce new services.” As a project manager, you have to deal with the changes. This can be a real challenge for a project manager because you may already have your schedule and budget approved by senior management. Now you may be faced with responding to a competitor’s newly introduced product or service. It is essential that you partner with senior management and inform them of the new competitive product and/or service. By partnering with senior management, you can decide if you should revise your project, including the schedule and budget, to deal with these competitive changes.

About Jeffrey W. Drake

Jeffrey W. Drake, Ph.D., is a professional speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a firm specializing in custom-designed keynote presentations, seminars, and consulting services. Jeff has made presentations ranging from leadership to empowered teams and project management to communication styles for a number of industries, including education, financial, government, healthcare, and manufacturing. For more information on Jeff's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

Business Briefs – March 2008

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Need for Leadership Grows Daily

Flying cross-country recently, I had a chance to peruse, in depth, four major newspapers and the “big picture” was chilling to say the least! All four papers reported comments from President Bush which he made during an interview with American Urban Radio Networks.

“We’re not in a recession, and I don’t think we will go into a recession,” Bush said. “We’re in a slowdown, and there’s a difference.” Bush spoke as reports were released showing falling home prices, plunging consumer confidence and accelerating wholesale inflation.

All three Presidential hopefuls, McCain, Obama and Clinton, are attempting to convince us that they have a plan to save the economy. All three are Senators who are, indeed, familiar with Washington and the many challenges our country is currently facing. The President and the Senators, representing both major parties, have long been in a position to deal with this journey to recession and have yet done nothing to prevent it!

I must admit I was appreciative to learn that we’re just experiencing a “slowdown.” However, as I read further through the papers I discovered a good many contradicting reports. For instance:

Sharper Image: This 31-year-old company just filed for bankruptcy protection. They plan to close 90 of their 184 stores.

Rite Aid: The 40-year-old, Pennsylvania-based drugstore chain recently announced the closing of 28 stores.

Sprint Nextel Corp.: The nation’s third largest wireless carrier is apparently feeling the heat from opponents Verizon Wireless and AT&T. They recently announced that they will cut another 4,000 jobs and close 125 stores.

CompUSA: The computer and electronics retailer is winding down its retail operations after being acquired by an investment firm, which is looking to sell the company’s business and assets. They are currently planning to close at least 103 retail stores.

Movie Gallery: The video rental company said it plans to close 400 of their 3,500 Movie Gallery and Hollywood Video stores. This, of course, is in addition to the 520 locations the bankrupt video rental chain closed last fall.

Ethan Allen Interiors: The manufacturer and retailer of high-end home furnishings is closing 12 of its 300 retail centers.

Macy’s: The 150-year-old retailer, headquartered in New York City, has announced the closing of nine underperforming locations due to declining sales. The closing locations employ a total of about 900 people.

84 Lumber: Due to the decline in the nation’s housing market, the Pennsylvania-based building materials company recently closed 12 stores.

Krispy Kreme: In the first nine months of fiscal 2008, franchisees closed 25 stores and tumbling sales are expected to lead to even more franchised store closures ahead.

Starbucks: In order to optimize resources and potentially reduce cannibalization of existing stores, Starbucks plans on closing 100 stores and slowing expansion by 34%.

Home Depot: The nation’s second-largest retailer and home improvement company is closing three call centers, causing 950 employees to lose their jobs in Tampa, Dallas and Chicago as the collasping housing market has hurt the demand for bigger-ticket installed projects.

Pep Boys: The Philly-based auto parts store recently announced their plans to sell 100 Express Stores to Memphis-based competitor AutoZone. They also plan to close 33 other stores and lay off 860 employees. This will reduce the chain to 624 stores.

Rent-A-Center: The nation’s largest rent-to-own retail chain based in Texas recently announced they would close 280 of their 3,355 stores in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico.

Kirkland’s: The national home-decor chain recently closed 30 under-performing stores and is considering closing up to 100 more in the next 18 months. They plan to focus on stores not based in malls.

Fashion Bug, Lane Bryant & Catherine’s: Parent company Charming Shoppes, Inc. is closing 150 stores, laying off 150 employees and reducing the number of stores they will open in 2009. Closing will reduce Fashion Bug stores to 900, Lane Bryant stores to 923, and Catherine’s stores to 471.

Sofa Express: The Ohio-based furniture retailer has announced that it is shuttering its headquarters, closing 44 stores and laying off workers.

Levitz Furniture: The 98-year-old Pennsylvania-based furniture company is liquidating its assets and closing all 76 of its stores.

PacSun ‘Demo’ Stores: Pacific Sunwear of California, Inc. said it will close its 154 Demo stores as a result of a a review of strategic alternatives for the urban-apparel brand. This follows the closure of 74 under-performing Demo stores last May.

Talbot’s & Sigrid Olsen: Continuing poor sales has forced Talbot’s to close 78 children’s and men’s apparel stores to focus on its core middle-aged female customer. Sigrid Olsen recently announced the closing of 54 of their stores.

New York & Co.: The 38-year-old upscale women’s clothing chain known as Jasmine Sola will be closing all of their 23 locations.

I must assume all of the above organizations and those many others who are struggling to survive today’s turbulent times are greatly appreciative of the fact that our country is simply going through a bit of a “slowdown.” Can you imagine what may occur should we ever see another recession?

Today’s leaders, in every field of endeavor, must again focus on the fundamentals which once lead us to a place of world supremacy and global respect. We can accept no less for our future generations.

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.

History in the Making – “Bites or Bytes”?

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While current political news focuses on the rising cost of higher education, I marvel at those who neglect the obvious value of gaining priceless knowledge and experience from the “School of Hard Knocks.”

While “change” appears to be a leading buzz word in every aspect of the media today, very few organizations and individuals seem to acknowledge the need for it. Dissatisfied with their current situations, they do little, if anything to change it. They’re content to sit back and wait for circumstances to favor them. They balk at attempting new strategies. They refuse to benchmark. They reject new technology. They continue to do what they’ve always done. They disappear.

Why do you think that is? Could it be feasible that their fear of change is greater than their need to survive? Are they hiding behind the fact that they’ve been in business for years? Do they believe a title (Board Member / CEO / President / V.P. / Manager / Supervisor) will protect them from obscurity? Is it educational credentials? It’s been proven that those too are worthless unless there is evidence that you’ve applied what you learned. History slaps us in the face with the fact that none of the above make a difference in a rapidly changing world.

If the world around you is changing and you’re arrogant enough to believe you don’t have to adapt to it, your demise is inevitable. Every industry offers examples of once respected business leaders who have faded into oblivion simply because they refused to change in the face of chaos resulting from global competition, an economic slowdown, and increasing industry demands.

How many times have we heard the old adage: “If you always do what you always did, you’ll always get what you always got”? Most everyone has heard it many times but most disregard it or simply don’t believe it.

Donald E. Wetmore, President of the Productivity Institute, says: “if you (and I) continue to do what we do, the way we have always done it, then, within the next five years, we will be obsolete.” That’s not a threat. That’s a pretty safe prediction. We see evidence of this theory everyday in the news.

Now let’s go to “school” by examining recent news releases by two proven business leaders who are facing obvious challenges by responding with creative strategies and an openness to change. What’s so intriguing about the choice of strategies embraced by these two marketing masters lies in the fact that each has chosen the previous path of the other. Interestingly enough, both tactics may very well be successful.

McDonalds, world’s largest chain of fast food restaurants, has decided to upscale.

Starbucks, the largest multinational coffee and coffeehouse chain in the world, has decided to begin reaching out to the on-the-go customer.

It’s almost as though they’ve decided to exchange strategies, philosophies, and identities to an extent. Look for the following changes in both locations in the very near future.

Starbucks:

  • Starbucks has more than 14,000 stores and opens an average of six new locations every day.
  • They are testing an 8-ounce “short” $1 coffee offering and free brewed coffee refills. The catch? You can only get the deal in Seattle-area outlets for now.
  • The company has outfitted many locations with drive-through windows and tried selling breakfast sandwiches to compete for morning sales with McDonald’s. They brought in significant revenue but were discontinued when employees complained the smell of egg-and-cheese sandwiches overpowered the aroma of coffee and cheapened the store experience. In addition, time spent on sandwiches took away from the focus on coffee. The move to eliminate the sandwiches, which bring in more than $140 million in annual revenue, was a tough decision but Schultz said that input from his baristas during the past three weeks influenced his decision. That fact in itself is rare isn’t it? … Leadership listening to staff—what a concept! The sandwiches will be replaced with “a breakfast menu that delivers what our customers are asking for.” This is a prime example of trying something different, realizing it didn’t work, and readily adapting.

McDonalds:

  • The fast-food giant plans to bring baristas and espresso machines to nearly 14,000 locations in the U.S. this year.
  • Customers will be able to order lattes, mochas, ice-blended coffees and other specialty drinks.
  • The company has already rolled out Wi-Fi wireless broadband technology in many of their locations. Want some WiFi with that Big Mac?
  • It’s all part of a company strategy to turn McDonald’s from a grab-and-go fast-food chain into an order-and-stay restaurant where customers can surf the Internet and linger over coffee.
  • McDonald’s doesn’t expect to earn money initially from its Wi-Fi service. It hopes instead to attract more customers and sell more burgers and fries.

Bottom line:

Will these bizarre strategies be productive for Starbucks and McDonalds or will their loyal customers rebel against such radical change? Who knows? It’s certainly going to be interesting to watch. The important thing, however, is the fact that neither is resting on their laurels at a time when both are striving to counter the housing market collapse and the stock market’s volatility, which has caused the nation’s consumers to keep a weary eye on any and all disposable income.
Both organizations are doing something. Time will tell whether they chose the right strategies. However, history tells us that something is better than nothing.

Homework: Keep an eye on Starbucks and McDonalds as they face the consequences and possible benefits of initialing change to insure survival.

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.