Associated Knowledge

Small Changes, Big Results

desabol — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 13:53:51 +0000

Having contemplated making a few changes in my life I thought that this approach to “change management” was extremely insightful and tremendously manageable. Hopefully, others will feel the same. Let me know what you think and what approaches you employ to make change manageable.

Posted via email from Dave Sabol

7 Lessons from Undercover Boss – Season Finale

desabol — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 09:13:09 +0000

I took the past week off because I was spending time with a real-life business leader; my brother-in-law and our collective families. However, because this week marks the close of the first season of Undercover Boss I wanted to share my insights and perspectives as I have for the past few weeks.

Week 9 of Undercover Boss featured 1-800-Flowers a publicly-traded (NASDAQ: FLWS), florist and gift company that has been providing customers with fresh flowers, plants, gift baskets, gourmet foods, confections, balloons and plush stuffed animals. Chris McCann, President and COO of 1-800-FLOWERS, America’s largest florist and online gift shop, goes undercover. The company was founded by McCann’s older brother Jim. Chris’s role in building 1-800-FLOWERS.COM’s e-commerce channel has helped accelerate the Ccompany’s growth and earned him speaking engagements at numerous interactive conferences and universities around the country. McCann earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Marist College, Poughkeepsie, New York. Prior to his association with 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, he served as President of Flora Plenty, a floral retail chain. He serves on the Board of Trustees of Marist College.

Needless to say Chris is definitely a talented individual, but he is definitely overshadowed by his CEO older brother. It will be interesting to see if he is up to the challenge of taking the pulse of his company from the inside.

A few cool facts about 1-800-Flowers:

Jim McCann started the business in 1976 under the name Flora Plenty.

In 1996 Jim acquired the 1-800-Flowers phone number and changed the company’s name to it.

The company went public in 1999 and the name was officially changed to 1-800-Flowers.com

1-800-Flowers earned the 2009 Gold Award in the Online Flower Delivery category from TopTenREVIEWS; was listed as a Top Ten Mobile Retailer by Internet Retailer magazine in 2009; and was recognized by Computerworld magazine as a Premier 100 IT Leader for 2010.

Lessons Learned:

What made you successful will not necessarily keep you successful. You need to be aware of where your industry is going in order to keep your company on a growth track. One of the best ways to do this is to encourage employee’s to attend conferences and professional development opportunities and bring back their learning to the organization.
You can have the greatest, and most well-intentioned programs to support and develop your employee’s, but if they aren’t well known and/or communicated, they aren’t doing anybody any good. Make sure your organization goes out of it’s way to promote what is doing, has done and can do for employee’s.
You learn about your organization by listening to your employee’s and shaping your policies and procedures around their input. Your employee’s can be an invaluable resource in showing you how to improve the organization.
If you set goals for your employee’s provides incentives for reaching them. If you don’t, don’t be surprised when they aren’t reached.
Build a relationship first, do business second. More often than not, people do business with people they know, trust and like, not just a brand.
The choice of a company’s name is important. It needs to describe the value and promise of the organization. How do you adapt to the local customer?
One of the biggest compliments you can pay to someone is to “really” notice what they are doing. It makes them all of the difference knowing that people recognize, and appreciate, they work they do can mean a lot and make a huge difference in the morale and performance of a company.

Closing thought:

I think following quote sums up tonights show and the series itself. In one of Chris’ final statements to his brother in he stated “Your success starts with good people.” I think this is apropos. Whether you are a mom-and-pop retailer or an International giant, the truth remains the same…you are nothing more than your ability to deliver on your brand promise. Your brand promise is inextricably linked to your people and their ability to create that reality. Therefore, you not only need a good product and/or service but you also need great people to help create, develop, market, sell, deliver and support it. If there is any weakness in the entire process, you will know it.

What are your thoughts?

Posted via web from Dave Sabol

7 Lessons from Undercover Boss – Season Finale

desabol — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 04:12:38 +0000

A few cool facts about 1-800-Flowers:

Jim McCann started the business in 1976 under the name Flora Plenty.

In 1996 Jim acquired the 1-800-Flowers phone number and changed the company’s name to it.

The company went public in 1999 and the name was officially changed to 1-800-Flowers.com

Lessons Learned:

What made you successful will not necessarily keep you successful. You need to be aware of where your industry is going in order to keep your company on a growth track. One of the best ways to do this is to encourage employee’s to attend conferences and professional development opportunities and bring back their learning to the organization.
You can have the greatest, and most well-intentioned programs to support and develop your employee’s, but if they aren’t well known and/or communicated, they aren’t doing anybody any good. Make sure your organization goes out of it’s way to promote what is doing, has done and can do for employee’s.
You learn about your organization by listening to your employee’s and shaping your policies and procedures around their input. Your employee’s can be an invaluable resource in showing you how to improve the organization.
If you set goals for your employee’s provides incentives for reaching them. If you don’t, don’t be surprised when they aren’t reached.
Build a relationship first, do business second. More often than not, people do business with people they know, trust and like, not just a brand.
The choice of a company’s name is important. It needs to describe the value and promise of the organization. How do you adapt to the local customer?
One of the biggest compliments you can pay to someone is to “really” notice what they are doing. It makes them all of the difference knowing that people recognize, and appreciate, they work they do can mean a lot and make a huge difference in the morale and performance of a company.

Closing thought:

What are your thoughts?

Posted via web from Dave Sabol

7 Lessons from Undercover Boss – Season Finale

desabol — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 03:12:08 +0000

A few cool facts about 1-800-Flowers:

Jim McCann started the business in 1976 under the name Flora Plenty.

In 1996 Jim acquired the 1-800-Flowers phone number and changed the company’s name to it.

The company went public in 1999 and the name was officially changed to 1-800-Flowers.com

Lessons Learned:

What made you successful will not necessarily keep you successful. You need to be aware of where your industry is going in order to keep your company on a growth track. One of the best ways to do this is to encourage employee’s to attend conferences and professional development opportunities and bring back their learning to the organization.
You can have the greatest, and most well-intentioned programs to support and develop your employee’s, but if they aren’t well known and/or communicated, they aren’t doing anybody any good. Make sure your organization goes out of it’s way to promote what is doing, has done and can do for employee’s.
You learn about your organization by listening to your employee’s and shaping your policies and procedures around their input. Your employee’s can be an invaluable resource in showing you how to improve the organization.
If you set goals for your employee’s provides incentives for reaching them. If you don’t, don’t be surprised when they aren’t reached.
Build a relationship first, do business second. More often than not, people do business with people they know, trust and like, not just a brand.
The choice of a company’s name is important. It needs to describe the value and promise of the organization. How do you adapt to the local customer?
One of the biggest compliments you can pay to someone is to “really” notice what they are doing. It makes them all of the difference knowing that people recognize, and appreciate, they work they do can mean a lot and make a huge difference in the morale and performance of a company.

Closing thought:

What are your thoughts?

Posted via web from Dave Sabol

7 Lessons from Undercover Boss – Season Finale

desabol — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 02:41:36 +0000

A few cool facts about 1-800-Flowers:

Jim McCann started the business in 1976 under the name Flora Plenty.

In 1996 Jim acquired the 1-800-Flowers phone number and changed the company’s name to it.

The company went public in 1999 and the name was officially changed to 1-800-Flowers.com

Lessons Learned:

What made you successful will not necessarily keep you successful. You need to be aware of where your industry is going in order to keep your company on a growth track. One of the best ways to do this is to encourage employee’s to attend conferences and professional development opportunities and bring back their learning to the organization.
You can have the greatest, and most well-intentioned programs to support and develop your employee’s, but if they aren’t well known and/or communicated, they aren’t doing anybody any good. Make sure your organization goes out of it’s way to promote what is doing, has done and can do for employee’s.
You learn about your organization by listening to your employee’s and shaping your policies and procedures around their input. Your employee’s can be an invaluable resource in showing you how to improve the organization.
If you set goals for your employee’s provides incentives for reaching them. If you don’t, don’t be surprised when they aren’t reached.
Build a relationship first, do business second. More often than not, people do business with people they know, trust and like, not just a brand.
The choice of a company’s name is important. It needs to describe the value and promise of the organization. How do you adapt to the local customer?
One of the biggest compliments you can pay to someone is to “really” notice what they are doing. It makes them all of the difference knowing that people recognize, and appreciate, they work they do can mean a lot and make a huge difference in the morale and performance of a company.

Closing thought:

What are your thoughts?

Posted via web from Dave Sabol

7 Lessons from Undercover Boss – Season Finale

desabol — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 02:31:03 +0000

A few cool facts about 1-800-Flowers:

Jim McCann started the business in 1976 under the name Flora Plenty.

In 1996 Jim acquired the 1-800-Flowers phone number and changed the company’s name to it.

The company went public in 1999 and the name was officially changed to 1-800-Flowers.com

Lessons Learned:

What made you successful will not necessarily keep you successful. You need to be aware of where your industry is going in order to keep your company on a growth track. One of the best ways to do this is to encourage employee’s to attend conferences and professional development opportunities and bring back their learning to the organization.
You can have the greatest, and most well-intentioned programs to support and develop your employee’s, but if they aren’t well known and/or communicated, they aren’t doing anybody any good. Make sure your organization goes out of it’s way to promote what is doing, has done and can do for employee’s.
You learn about your organization by listening to your employee’s and shaping your policies and procedures around their input. Your employee’s can be an invaluable resource in showing you how to improve the organization.
If you set goals for your employee’s provides incentives for reaching them. If you don’t, don’t be surprised when they aren’t reached.
Build a relationship first, do business second. More often than not, people do business with people they know, trust and like, not just a brand.
The choice of a company’s name is important. It needs to describe the value and promise of the organization. How do you adapt to the local customer?
One of the biggest compliments you can pay to someone is to “really” notice what they are doing. It makes them all of the difference knowing that people recognize, and appreciate, they work they do can mean a lot and make a huge difference in the morale and performance of a company.

Closing thought:

What are your thoughts?

Posted via web from Dave Sabol

7 Lessons from Undercover Boss – Season Finale

desabol — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 02:25:32 +0000

A few cool facts about 1-800-Flowers:

Jim McCann started the business in 1976 under the name Flora Plenty.

In 1996 Jim acquired the 1-800-Flowers phone number and changed the company’s name to it.

The company went public in 1999 and the name was officially changed to 1-800-Flowers.com

Lessons Learned:

What made you successful will not necessarily keep you successful. You need to be aware of where your industry is going in order to keep your company on a growth track. One of the best ways to do this is to encourage employee’s to attend conferences and professional development opportunities and bring back their learning to the organization.
You can have the greatest, and most well-intentioned programs to support and develop your employee’s, but if they aren’t well known and/or communicated, they aren’t doing anybody any good. Make sure your organization goes out of it’s way to promote what is doing, has done and can do for employee’s.
You learn about your organization by listening to your employee’s and shaping your policies and procedures around their input. Your employee’s can be an invaluable resource in showing you how to improve the organization.
If you set goals for your employee’s provides incentives for reaching them. If you don’t, don’t be surprised when they aren’t reached.
Build a relationship first, do business second. More often than not, people do business with people they know, trust and like, not just a brand.
The choice of a company’s name is important. It needs to describe the value and promise of the organization. How do you adapt to the local customer?
One of the biggest compliments you can pay to someone is to “really” notice what they are doing. It makes them all of the difference knowing that people recognize, and appreciate, they work they do can mean a lot and make a huge difference in the morale and performance of a company.

Closing thought:

What are your thoughts?

Posted via web from Dave Sabol

8 Lessons from Undercover Boss – Episode 7

desabol — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 02:27:55 +0000

Week 7 of Undercover Boss featured Herschend Family Entertainment (HFE) a privately owned, and largest (22 properties in 9 states), family owned themed-entertainment company that operates several theme parks and tourist attractions within the United States. They share a number of characteristics with Week 5’s featured company: Churchill Downs. Not least of which is a storied history and very talented CEO. Joel Hanby is the President and CEO of the company. Hanby has an awesome background including being a Rhodes Scholarship finalist, attending Harvard Business School, working for General Motors, leading the marketing and distribution team for the Saturn start-up team, and being CEO of Saab Automobile. Prior to joining HFE he served on their Board of Directors.

Needless to say he is definitely a talented individual and one up for the challenge of taking the pulse of his company from the inside.

A few cool facts about Herschend Family Entertainment:

In Branson the company owns the theme park Silver Dollar City; White Water Branson, and a riverboat attraction on Table Rock Lake called the Showboat Branson Belle. Besides operating Marvel Cave, HFE owns nearby Talking Rocks Cavern (1969).

Herschend Family Entertainment Corporation obtained a long-term lease to operate Atlanta, Georgia’s historic Stone Mountain Park (1998). They have introduced several themed attractions including an area named Crossroads, an 1870’s themed entertainment and craft village. HFE has recently purchased the Wild Adventures theme park and Splash Island Water Park.

In November 2007 HFE acquired controlling interest in Newport Aquarium located in Newport, Kentucky and Adventure Aquarium in Camden, New Jersey.

In addition, Herschend Family Entertainment owns Ride the Ducks amphibious tour attractions in Branson, Newport, KY, Philadelphia, Stone Mountain Park, GA, Seattle and San Francisco.

Also in San Francisco, HFE operates Classic Cable Car Sightseeing, the oldest land-based sightseeing company in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Lessons Learned:

Know which members of your team aren’t just part of your experience, they are the experience. Being able to identify, recognize and learn from these individuals is key to the success of your organization.
Identify your employee’s passion and figure out how you can contribute to it. Nothing motivates people more than knowing their organization helps them achieve more than they could on their own.
Consistency and stability are an important aspect of a job. Create a support system that works with and for employees in up, and down, times.
Whether you want to believe it or not, some people really need the job they have. Be certain that you aren’t taking advantage of a good attitude and strong work ethic simply because you can.
Always ask what you can do to help. The seems simple, but spening some time with your employee’s can be pretty revealing. A meaningful and effective recognition program doesn’t have to cost a lot to mean a lot.
Just because you have a program doesn’t mean your employees will use it or take advantage of it…even when they need it. Make sure your programs are no-strings and no-stigma attached.
Don’t be afraid to move to the other side of the desk. It’s a barrier that doesn’t need to be in place. Eliminate a barrier and connect with your employee’s!
Know what your company stands for – not just the mission and vision but also the values – and live them. Your company is not only what your marketing and PR tells your customers you are, but also the way you treat your employee’s and in turn how they treat your customers.

Closing thought:

If Joel or anyone from Herschend Family Entertainment happens by this post…do me a favor, ditch the Flash-based website and convert to something more accessible. There are plenty of options that are as interactive and even easier to maintain. If you need some ideas, drop me a note…I’d be happy to help.

Posted via web from Dave Sabol

6 Lessons from Undercover Boss – Week 6

desabol — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 03:04:28 +0000

This weeks Undercover Boss captured my attention for a different reason than weeks past. Sure it’s more of the same (I still like the personal stories), but because they featured a company pretty close to where I live, I felt a personal obligation. In fact, I know exactly where their corporate offices are – I used to drive by it on my way to and from work – so I immediately felt a connection. Based in King of Prussia, PA, GSI Commerce^® is the leading provider of e-commerce and interactive marketing services for the world’s premier brands and retailers. Michael G. Rubin, is the company’s, founder, Chairman of the Board and CEO. He has built GSI Commerce into one of the leading e-commerce companies in the United States and has received awards and media attention for his entrepreneurial skills and various accomplishments.

A few cool facts about GSI:

The first customer website order was placed at 4:10 p.m. on Friday, October 15 1999.

GSI operates more than 2.6 million square feet of warehouse fulfillment space through the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. In 2009, these locations shipped more than 67 million units.

GSI’s e-commerce platform processed more than 450,000 orders on November 30, 2009 (Cyber Monday).

Lessons Learned:

Ideas for efficiency come from the floor, not the HQ, if you want to know how to make things work better, ask the employees – especially those that are new(er) not “so-called” experts.
Attitude, and aptitude, needs to be the key qualities you look for in employees. A good attitude can be contagious, but so can a bad one. Hire wisely.
Don’t get so focused on growth that you lose track of cultivating what allowed you to grow in the first place.
Hold employee’s to a high standard, be understanding, but also realize when they are simply compromising company values. It takes just one bad employee to make a great company look not as good.
Life is so much bigger than business. Don’t think that development has to be professional only, improving yourself at a personal level is just as beneficial. Always be looking at those around you to see what you can learn from them that can help you be a better person?
Rewards and recognition don’t always have to be direct, you can support an employee by supporting something they feel is important. Get creative and acknowledge them individually. Sure it may be more work but it will also gain you a lot more loyalty. People notice when you care about things that are important to them.

The drama and impact of the show is continuing to diminish for, but the human side of the story and the personal epiphany that each executive goes through during the show, still keeps me interested. I’m just happy to see a local company get some time in the spotlight. Congrats Mr. Rubin and congrats GSI Commerce! I hope your change is lasting, substantial and meaningful for everyone in the company.

Posted via web from Dave Sabol

9 Lessons from Undercover Boss – Week 5

desabol — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 01:58:25 +0000

After a disappointing absence (err… unexpected repeat last week – presumably due to the Academy Awards) Undercover Boss resumed this week for the fifth episode. This week the series profiled Churchill Downs Inc. executive William (Bill) Carstanjen.

Churchill Downs Inc., headquartered in Louisville, Ky., is a $500 million dollar company that owns and operates world-renowned horse racing venues throughout the United States. The Company’s four racetracks in Florida, Illinois, Kentucky and Louisiana host many of North America’s most prestigious races, including the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks, Arlington Million, Princess Rooney Handicap and Louisiana Derby.

The 41 year old COO, has been with the parent company of North America’s premier race for Thoroughbreds since 2005, having served as Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer and General Counsel previously. Prior to joining Churchill Downs he worked for GE. Churchill Downs (the corporation) has experienced it’s fair share of ups-and-downs since incorporating in 1942, and it wasn’t until former President and CEO Thomas H. Meeker led it through a series of transformative steps that breathed new life into the struggling company.

A few quick facts:

The track is named for John and Henry Churchill, who leased 80 acres (320,000 m²) of land to their nephew, Colonel Meriwether Lewis Clark, Jr. (grandson of explorer William Clark).

Churchill Downs was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1986.

In April 2002, Churchill Downs Incorporated established the Green Pastures Program in partnership with the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, a leading American racehorse rescue and adoption organization.

On September 29, 2006, Churchill Downs became the first horse track to host a Rolling Stones concert.

On Friday, June 19, 2009, Churchill Downs hosted its first-ever night race.

Lessons Learned:

It’s hard to be an outsider, especially in a company steeped in tradition. If you are, you need to work hard to learn both the business and the culture; especially if you hope to affect meaningful and lasting change.
Word of mouth – especially from key employees – can be the greatest asset OR the greatest detrminent that a company has. You want, no you need, your employees to be your most passionate spokespeople.
Sometimes loving what you do and being passionate isn’t enough.
The most mundane or seemingly simple jobs (e.g. the bugler), aren’t necessarily so. Sometimes it takes years and years of practice/experience, other times people are just good at what they do. Regardless, don’t make an assumption simply based on appearance.
Being able to fail spectacularly can be liberating.
Always try to find all the people that make an operation go, not just the people that are visible. For every superstar in the spotlight, there are plenty more behind the scenes (or the back stretch) that will never get the recognition they deserve.
Need plenty of people that understand both sides of a business – the public facing side and the behind the scenes – those unique individuals are the heart and soul of your organization.
Don’t get blinded by what’s right in front of your eyes. Every now and again you need to pull back, even just a little, to see the whole picture.
Business is personal. Don’t be afraid of getting past spreadsheets and presentations and actually addressing situations head-on. The most important thing in life is personal interaction…take advantage of it.

As I was reminded by a few good friends the token displays of recognition and acts of contrition really don’t amount to anything meaningful. Too few individuals get their stories heard and in return get something meaningful for them personally. However, what I most like about the show is the personal transformation that each executive goes through. Just the willingness to put themselves on the line is commendable. However, if even a small change takes place, it’s a worthwhile exercise.

I learned about another executive, and for that matter another business, that I would have never looked into and learned a lot from it. I’d still like to see follow-up on the stories to track down the profiled employees and also see what has changed since their executives have gone undercover. That, not withstanding, I remain a fan of the show…

Posted via web from Dave Sabol