Have you seen the reality TV show, Hell’s Kitchen with Head Chef Gordon Ramsay? Well the premise of the show (and I’ll only tell you what I know because I don’t waste my time watching it) is young apprentice chefs work under this “renowned chef” (I’ve never heard of him before). He screams and yells at them to cook things right.
I don’t see how people can watch that stuff. Perhaps it’s because they think, “Yeah, it’s not me!” I wonder what his turnover rate is at his restaurant? This is a perfect example of a person leading with power: “Do it this way or else!” Leadership by power is the most common approach by many executives. The problem is you don’t get too many seasons out of a person with this approach.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve got better things to do than be yelled at all day. Leadership by authority is the ticket in today’s workplace. Can you inspire and have associates willingly follow you because of how you lead? Work at it; work hard at it because how you make others feel in your presence is the essence of growing your paycheck and your status within organizations you serve.
Do you think the president would raise someone up to senior management if he or she didn’t “feel” something about that person? They must “feel” confident about that person in order to entrust them to such a high position.
Become the boss you wish your boss was. Become the friend you wish your friends were. Lead with authority, not power, and look out! Oh the places you’ll go!
Joe Kiedinger
ACTION PLAN: Go to Amazon.com and check out the book The Brander-In-Chief and start your journey today!
I’m sure most of you have heard of Fortune magazine’s annual list of “100 Best Companies to Work For”. But did you know that many of the top companies included in this list share one common thread? Servant Leadership!
For those of who you don’t know, Prophit Marketing is also a Servant Leadership company, as influenced by grocery client Festival Foods which has been successfully practicing it for years.
As rated by employees, the top companies in Fortune magazine’s list are shown to simultaneously deliver outstanding service and financial returns while being a great place to work. These companies also have the following in common:
1) 50% lower turnover than industry standards
2) Make an effort to create a supportive and inclusive company culture
3) Take more steps to engage employees
4) Greater concern for employees’ quality of life
5) Contribute to the community by participating in charitable programs
6) High employee satisfaction as a result of staff support services and policies
7) High customer satisfaction as a result of satisfied employees Great profit and growth as a result of customer satisfaction
The bottom line: satisfied, loyal, and productive employees create value for the customer and, in turn, higher profits. Sounds like a win-win to me!
Joe Kiedinger
ACTION PLAN: Read more on the subject in Focus on Leadership: Servant Leadership for the 21st Century with essays by Warren Bennis, Stephen Covey, Margaret Wheatley, and John Bogle.
My 13 year-old son, Alex, educated me on the new term for not being authentic—“poserâ€. He is an extremely talented skateboard dude! He’s only been skateboarding for a couple of years and his skills reflect that of a four year boarder. Early on, he would have me shoot video of him doing tricks—which he wouldn’t always land. So, he would edit two takes together to make it look like he did land them and then shared the video on YouTube. His simple cinematographic edits were obvious.
He would receive YouTube comments accusing him of being a poser (which he admits he was at the time). Now I am happy to report, Alex is no poser. His tricks are authentic and he’s quite good. This example, however, is exactly the essence of marketing. Today with the social media, people have access to authenticity like they never did before. With Twitter we can learn if our favorite celebrity likes fishing or shopping at Macy’s.
People don’t want smoke and mirrors. They want the brands they interact with to be authentic and definitely have no poser qualities. Is your brand authentic? Do you have a social networking strategy to allow you to connect with your customer? Do you see your brand through rose-colored glasses? Do you deliver on your marketing promise?
Authenticity and consistency can build any brand assuming you are delivering on your marketing promise. Now go out and be yourself!
Joe Kiedinger
ACTION PLAN: If you need help with your social networking plan, contact me for a free consultation with our social networking guru. You need to get in the game.
Do you remember the old 80/20 Rule? In business it refers to 20% of your customers who provide 80% of your income. The same principle exists in life. Why is it that when I open up my closet doors I have five yards of clothes to choose from but I always wear the same articles? 80% of my clothes I never wear!
This morning I went to my cupboard full of mugs and sought out one of three that I prefer to drink from: My Branson Mug, World’s Greatest Dad Mug, and my Dog mug. Why just those three? I have 12 to choose from! The 80/20 Rule refers to vendors in your business too. We work with multiple vendors, but there are about 20% that we use on a continual basis.
These vendors we call Process Partners. Process Partners, I have found to be the speed of business. When a Process Partner is embraced by the company they do business with wonderful things begin to happen. They know the vision and direction and they know the part they play in helping you achieve your goals. They can then offer advice and take on more of a consulting role within their area of expertise.
Companies who understand how to recognize and appreciate these key vendors find they work harder, are fully engaged and make the company more money. The money you can save on payroll alone pays for these key partners. Some Process Partners we have are in the areas of payroll, public relations, accounting, banking, and production–just to name a few. Many carry our business card and represent themselves on Prophit Marketing’s behalf.
The power of the Process Partner…embrace them and grow!
Joe Kiedinger
ACTION PLAN: Establish your key vendors, bring them in, share your vision and ask their input. They will leave respected, appreciated and motivated.
Foreword: Free marketing Road Show tomorrow at 7:30 a.m. at the SC Grand in De Pere, WI. Reserve your space by emailing me at info@prophitmarketing.com… only a few spots remain!
I was introduced to Servant Leadership about ten years ago when I began working with Festival Foods. My Servant Leadership coach is James Hunter. I’ve heard him speak about a dozen times. The main crux of Servant Leadership: To lead you must first serve. You must serve and meet the legitimate needs of the people you lead.
It was simply based on the Golden Rule which states: Do unto others as you would wish them to do unto you. Well, there is an inherent flaw. I’ve written about this before, but it must be stated again. The Golden Rule doesn’t work!
The reason is this: we all come from such diverse backgrounds that there is no way to treat everyone the way you like to be treated…and have them all like it. Take me for instance, I find it a compliment to be pulled up on stage and asked to improvise a topic in front of many people. Would you like that? Additionally, I learn by doing, then fixing. There are others who are much better at pre-planning and then doing. What do you prefer?
So as you can see, we all enjoy different processes at achieving similar results. Neither is good or bad–it’s just the way we find success. For the past two years I have been determined to find some sort of personality test tool that I could use to help establish a person’s legitimate needs. I found dozens of them. However, when used with companies, I came across leaders who agreed that although they’re accurate, the information is usually filed away to collect dust and only used during corporate retreats or for hiring.
The other flaw I found with these tests is that many told the person what wasn’t so good about them. Nobody likes to read about his or her faults. Finally, the person is only involved; they are not committed to the end results. They fill out a bunch of questions and “voilaâ€, the profile appears. And although it’s accurate, it’s not meaningful.
After two years of testing and failing and then finally succeeding–I found a working tool that allows managers to communicate with a much higher degree of effectiveness. In testing, employees felt understood and respected every day. This program allows every manager to motivate and lead by showing them each person’s words they need to hear to achieve understanding and avoid frustration.
Only until you can identify a person’s legitimate needs can a leader take them to places that they themselves couldn’t have imagined going. Employees think… “It’s about me?… About time!â€
Joe Kiedinger
ACTION PLAN: See me tomorrow at the Road Show and get a sneak peak at this innovative new technology.
Foreword: Attend my free marketing Road Show next week, Thursday July 16th. Learn the seven ingredients to great marketing! (Informational only) To RSVP, please email me at info@prophitmarketing.com.
So, I was cleaning up my office last week when I came across a sheet of paper titled, “2008 Goalsâ€. These were goals I wrote down in December of 2007. I hadn’t looked back at this sheet since I penned the goals over a year ago. I found it ironic that I wrote the goals and never referred back to them through out the year. Reflecting on this I then thought, “Well how did I do?â€
After reviewing these goals I think I found a lump of wisdom. I hit every goal. Without referring back to my goals at all over the course of the year, and having even forgot I wrote them down, I hit every one:
1. Write my first book.
2. Start a publishing company.
3. Figure out a system to understand people quicker.
4. Go on regular “date nights†with my wife.
5. Spend one-on-one time with my kids.
6. Speak/present the Prophit Marketing Road Show 25 times.
7. Grow the company by 25%.
8. Begin a three-year journey in developing a residual income system that will truly make the company recession-proof.
Ok, so 1 and 2 are related, as is number 8 and I’m 6.5 months into year number two. Still, could writing goals down create an unconscious power of will? If anyone out there has more information on this, I would love to learn more about the power of the written word!
This year I’ve written 12-month goals and 10-year goals. I know I’m not the first one to suggest writing things down, however, perhaps simply writing down goals triggers something unconscious in the brain that creates a self-fulfilling prophecy?
Ok, I’m getting a little too deep. Maybe I’ll take my 10-year goals and bury them in a time capsule labeled 2019, sounds like a good project for my son and I!
Joe Kiedinger
ACTION PLAN: What are you goals for the next 6, 12, or 18 months? Write ‘em down!
Note: Wisdom on Wednesday has gotten a face-lift! Please visit our new site at www.wisdomonwednesday.com. There, you’ll find tons of new features like: mp3s of Joe’s radio shows, Joe’s Twitter and LinkedIn profiles, sources of related reading, and more!
Remember the Wizard of Oz? Dorothy and the gang had to head into the enchanted forest. They were holding each other close, frightened about the unexpected. I think a lot of you feel the same way when it comes to social networking. It’s not worth fighting–you’re going to lose if you ignore the power of social networking. Scott Grall, our resident expert in this area illustrates this point beautifully below:
I remember, when I was young, my grandpa would stop by with a thermos of coffee and some doughnuts. He would end up talking to my mom for hours about the gossip of the town. They would even talk about how they were treated at the local grocery store or my grandpa would talk coffee shop. Eventually, after a week or two, that word would spread throughout the family, then eventually to friends.
Times have changed, that’s for sure. Now, when I have a positive experience, negative experience or any type of experience at all, I immediately go to Twitter on my Blackberry and Tweet about my experience. Instantly, word about a particular business or subject reached thousands of people, just from a few comments I posted.
In today’s business climate, it is imperative you know what your customers are saying about your business – good or bad. It is equally important in how your business reacts and interacts with customers in the social network universe.
This is why we now have an On-Line Marketing Department, where we create websites, develop on-line marketing strategies, create and monitor social network platforms and help train media groups to utilize and monetize websites.
It’s a big, fast-moving social networking world out there, and if you need help or simply answers to your questions, e-mail me. So bottom line, the world is changing at a rapid pace and the corner coffee shop has grown to a global one!
Scott Grall
ACTION PLAN: Start simple with just setting up a Facebook or Twitter account. Pick one or two platforms and experiment a bit!
Some people would consider me to have a “control†mentality, meaning I strive to control the things in my life. It’s true I do like to take control and create things my way, no doubt. However, I found a few years ago that sometimes fighting to stay in control actually takes control out of your hands.
When I made this realization it dawned on me that life is like a river. Sometimes it’s calm and easy to navigate. Sometimes there are rocks in the water that are easy to avoid. Other times, the river is rolling downhill with lots of rocks that are very difficult to steer around. It all depends what boat you’re in, really.
My old self used to ride down the river of life in a nice powerboat with beautiful fiberglass shell that sparkled in the sunlight. The problem was when the waters became rough, meaning when things happened that were out of my control, my boat would hit the rocks and by the end of the turmoil my boat was all marked up and scratched. I would hold resentment and anger for absolutely no reason.
I learned to trade in my old boat in for a more practical one. Now I try to ride the river of life in big inner tube. This is the perfect vehicle of choice. When the water is calm I can paddle and kick myself around. When a rock appears I can position my legs to gently push away from the hazard. And when the water becomes rough and things happen in life that are out of my control I can curl in my limbs and allow the inner tube to bounce off objects all the while screaming, “Weeeeee!â€
This may sound exaggerated but I assure it isn’t in my world. I literally will say, “Weeee!†in my office when something comes up that was unexpected, especially when the information is not so positive. I believe the best word to express this philosophy is “surrenderâ€.
Sometimes we need to surrender to what life brings and just see what happens. This surrender brings peace and clarity. It allows you to lead others and yourself with a calm confidence that promotes hope and productivity. Surrender with me today to the things we can’t control and help steer the things we can.
Joe Kiedinger
ACTION PLAN: Sign up for our FREE Road Show event coming up July 16th in De Pere!
Ten years ago a couple of guys began something that many thought would never fly. You see the reason for this doubt is based on the two businesses that are the most difficult to sustain: live theater and restaurants. These guys combined them by beginning a dinner theater. Nuts, huh?
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I wrote about this theater in chapter eight of my book, The Brander-In-Chief. However, what I didn’t tell you is that Mel is really created out from my own experience. Mel is really Frank from Frank’s Dinner Theater which is now Let Me Be Frank Productions.
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Frank has proven that passion and vision can persevere. His theater is for profit, all the talent is paid and it is Frank’s career. What I also didn’t tell you is I was that other guy who, ten years ago, said, “Yeah, what the heck, let’s do it.†Yes, even when combining the two worst industries (percentage of success wise) together, success can still be found.
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Today, Let Me Be Frank Productions is a staple at the historical Meyer Theater in downtown Green Bay. We began in an upstairs banquet room of a corner bar. I had to drop out once I started this business and my young family. People would refer to our group as “The Saturday Night Live†of theater. Even guys like to see these shows. It’s that brand that has built Frank’s into what it is today.
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I’m proud to say I had a role in getting Frank’s started, but I know it would happen anyway based on Frank’s drive and creativity. I’m also proud to announce that I will be in their 10th anniversary show, The Groovy 70’s; the original show title that Frank and I wrote. Of course this show is a show about how we wrote the first show. Did you follow that?
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If you like to laugh, love 70’s music, and want to see me in a leisure suit, you’ll love The Groovy 70’s! It opens this weekend and continues through the first three weekends in June. The moral of the story here is to follow your passion and the money will follow. Most people chase the money. Don’t be a chaser, be authentic and do what you were destined to do!
Foreword: We are hosting a free Prophit Marketing Roadshow in July. Empower your organization; learn the system that is growing profits. Email me for more information.
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Today’s Wisdom was inspired by an associate, Mel, at Festival Foods in Marshfield WI.
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The below section of a speech given by Nelson Mandela was orignally written by Marianne Williamson who is an international speaker on spiritual, personal, and political issues.
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“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us, it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
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I never really thought about the fears I had early on in my career, but they were ones of success and not failure. I had a “Who Am I?†conversation with myself, early on. “Who am I to manage the marketing funds of another; what do I know?†My early success brought this other voice inside of me that tried to belittle and deny me of greatness.
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I shut that voice down in a big hurry. I realized I didn’t have all the answers and that was okay. I did strive to learn from others who have gone successfully before me. This thinking helped me grow the business rapidly and included the development of the Prophit Marketing System.
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Do you hear the self-sabotaging little voice in you that doubts your success and accomplishments? If there’s ever a time not to listen it’s now! You deserve to be awesome. We all have brilliance within us. Let it out!
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Joe Kiedinger
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ACTION PLAN: Write a list of everything you wish to accomplish or experience in life. You would be amazed at how simple it is to do something little each day to help you get there.
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