Al Cleinman's Blog

It's Not About the Wii!

'tis the season for giving. It's not about the Wii...but about the we. During this holiday, let's not forget those of our neighbors less fortunate. One of our societal challenges is that we have left taking care of the less fortunate; and lots of other things; to government. Government is simply not as effective on many fronts as neighbors.  While we can largely thank government for getting us into our national mess; we can logically conclude that government won't get us out of this mess.  It's up to us as individuals.

Today, and throughout the holiday season and beyond, do something for a neighbor.  Stuff that change into a collection box (you'll never miss it); bend over and pick up a piece of trash; open a door for someone; shovel your neighbor's sidewalk; spend $20 with a local retailer in trouble or just starting out; buy local; give a stranger some encouragement...just DO SOMETHING!  No act of kindness is too small.

Thank you for your support of my blog and for your comments and debate.  Please enjoy this very special time of year by thinking of others.

Happy holidays!  Al Cleinman

Gift Ideas for the Holidays

I've observed, over the years, that there are basically three types of individuals on this planet.  At the extremes, perhaps five percent of the populace, are the "takers" and "givers."  You know them.  The givers are those who, at virtually every turn, are providing services to others without fanfare.  They're the folks who automatically stuff their change into the collection boxes at the grocery counter. Their personal motto might be "what can I do."  On the other extreme, are the takers.  These individuals are always asking for more, often in very subtle ways.  They ask for consideration and time; they're the folks who might always ask for a "discount."  For them, in the end, it's always about "me."  Sometimes a taker is actually disguised as a giver....sort of a wolf in sheep's clothing.  And, of course, there are the majority of the populace in the middle, who balance out the extremes. 

This post is about giving and it's one of those stories that we pass around from time to time...this is one that I think is very special.  I don't know if the story is true, but it doesn't matter.  At the end, I ask you to ask yourself the obvious question.

The Cab Ride

I arrived at the address and honked the horn. After waiting a few minutes I walked to the door and knocked.. 'Just a minute', answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor.

After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 90's stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940's movie.

By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years.  All the furniture was covered with sheets.

There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters.
In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware.

'Would you carry my bag out to the car?' she said. I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman.

She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb.

She kept thanking me for my kindness. 'It's nothing', I told her. 'I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated'.

'Oh, you're such a good boy', she said. When we got in the cab, she gave me an address and then asked, 'Could you drive through downtown?'

'It's not the shortest way,' I answered quickly..

'Oh, I don't mind,' she said. 'I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice'.

I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. 'I don't have any family left,' she continued in a soft voice. 'The doctor says I don't have very long.' I quietly reached over and shut off the meter.

'What route would you like me to take?' I asked.

For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator.

We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds. She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.

Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.

As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, 'I'm tired. Let's go now'.

We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico.

Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move. They must have been expecting her.

I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.

'How much do I owe you?' she asked, reaching into her purse.

'Nothing,' I said

'You have to make a living,' she answered.

'There are other passengers,' I responded.

Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly.

'You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,' she said.'Thank you.'

I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim morning light.. Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life..

I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly lost in thought. For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk. What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift?

What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?

On a quick review, I don't think that I have done anything more important in my life.

We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments.

But great moments often catch us unaware-beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.

PEOPLE MAY NOT REMEMBER EXACTLY WHAT YOU DID OR WHAT YOU SAID…BUT THEY WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER HOW YOU MADE THEM FEEL.

You won't get any big surprise in 10 days if you send this to ten people. But, you might help make the world a little kinder and more compassionate by
sending it on and reminding us that often it's the random acts of kindness that most benefit all of us.  That's true giving.

 

One Man's Trash is Another's Treasure

Having just completed a major building project, one during which I cringed at the waste involved, this story passed to me by a reader really resonated.  There's an important message here on many fronts...how much do we waste at the office?  At home? 

A great message.  Enjoy!

Social Engineering with Trash

Making Customer Service Fun

My airline of choice is Southwest Airlines.  Now, I know, many of you may gasp and wonder about my sanity; others will clearly understand (either that it makes sense that SWA is my airline of choice or that I am insane). 

The reason for my choice is simple.  Unlike any other airline, the employees of Southwest have been empowered to have fun; be silly; tell jokes; read poems, etc.  Indeed, on a recent SWA flight, they asked us to applaud a serviceman who was traveling with his girlfriend...and then proceeded to help him with his marriage proposal, which was made at 35,000 feet somewhere over Wichita. It was a memorable experience for both the couple and the passengers.  Simply stated, SWA has clearly recognized that consumers buy experiences.  And thus, SWA provides their employees with the tools (that cost nothing) to make tolerable riding on a bus at 35,000 feet while chewing on your knees. 

My colleague Rich Heiland, the Director of Member Experiences at Cleinman Performance Network, is a self-described "service maven."  He's got more customer service stories than Denny's has eggs.  You'd expect that from a Pulitzer Prize winning former newspaper publisher.  And he must have passed both his passion for service and his writing skills on to his daughter, because she's recently written about a customer experience that's truly both a hoot and which carries an important message.  Enjoy her story by clicking on the link below.

Making Customer Service Fun

The Global Economy - Simplified

My friend, former partner, and mentor Tom Schinkel is one smart guy (See June 8, 2009 post).  Tom was my partner and co-founder of Co-Optics of America, the first national buying group, back in 1979.  It was his insight into the forces at work within the optical industry that became the foundation of our business plan; a model which today represents billions of dollars of optical trade world-wide. 

The former Executive Director of the Dutch Wholesaler's Association and a Retail Distribution Expert, Tom has spent the past thirty-five years helping CEOs and senior managers define and implement expansion strategies on an international scale.  Today, Tom is likely the world's leading expert on the office products industry.

Tom has a knack for making the complex simple.  He's a knowledgeable observer of the world of business and has an expert's understanding of the forces at work within the global economy. 

The attached white paper will provide you with some insight into some of the driving forces behind our current economic challenges.  Enjoy!

Download Driving the Economy through Incentives

The Slow Drift From Great to Good

A client and friend forwarded this wonderful article to me written by Doug Fleener.  I'm sharing it with you with permission of the author.  I wish I'd written it.  Enjoy!

 ___________________________

I love a GREAT cup of coffee. For years I began every day by grinding freshly roasted beans to make a rich and full-bodied cup of morning goodness.  There isn't much better than that first cup of the day. About a year ago I begin to tire of having to grind the beans in the morning, so I started to grind them before I went to bed at night.  Everything I've read says the coffee begins to drop in quality soon after grinding the beans but I figured it was a small price to pay for convenience. After a few months I decided that grinding the beans at night was becoming a grind.  I decided to buy my coffee already ground.   I did notice the difference in my morning coffee between my freshly ground beans and the already ground coffee I bought at Peet's or Starbucks but I figured it was a small price to pay for convenience. Now that I was already buying pre-ground coffee I figured that I might from time to time skip the extra trip to the coffee store and buy coffee at the grocery store.  Even though there have been some great strides in the improvements in packaging technology, there is still a noticeable difference in ground coffee bought at a Peet's or Starbucks store and the same brands bought at the grocery store.  But sometimes when I was in hurry I just grabbed some coffee at the grocery store.  I figured it was a small price to pay for convenience. One morning as I drank my "GREAT" cup of coffee I was reading an article in Cook's Illustrated about how to properly brew coffee.  As I read the article I thought to myself over and over, "I used to do that." I realized that my GREAT cup of coffee wasn't really that great any more.  Over time I had slowly drifted away from the small but simple steps required to make a great cup of coffee.  Because each change I made only reduced the quality by a small amount I didn't really notice how much less "great" my morning coffee had become.   Of course it was all in the name of convenience. I'm sure you know where I'm going with this. The same thing can happen in our stores and in the experience we deliver.  One or two of the little things you would once did to make your store a GREAT place to shop fall by the wayside.  It might be to save time, payroll, or inconvenience.  And it's such a small thing it won't make a big difference. It happens often.  A store offers to carry every purchase, no matter what the size, to a customer's car.  Then over time they might only offer if the purchase is big and bulky. But now they only carry purchases to the customer's car when the customer asks. Or maybe it's the practice of offering customers something to drink. The store goes from offering all customers a drink, to those customers they're working with on a sale, to only giving a beverage to the long-time customer who still asks for one. Other areas that sometimes get lost in the name of convenience are gift wrapping, follow-up phone calls, thank you cards, and getting customer contact information. The point is that just like the decline in quality of my morning coffee, these small changes slowly takes the experience away from what used to make it special.  The cost of saving time, money, or just making things a little more convenient for us is a lot higher than we think. Right after reading that article I went back to doing what it takes to brew a GREAT cup of coffee.  The difference is amazing.  Over the last year my morning coffee was good, but good isn't great.  Sometimes good is okay, but we shouldn't fool ourselves into thinking that good is GREAT. So let me ask you as you enjoy your morning coffee, is there anything in your business you've let slip to good even though it's GREAT that is the key to your success?   If there is, what steps will you take today to turn it around? ______________________ You can enjoy Doug's blog about retail experiences at www.retailcontrarian.com

Leaders are Never Done!

A member resigned the other day.  It happens.  Sometimes it’s for a good reason; more often it adds up, in my opinion, to a dose of “penny wise, pound foolish.”  Perhaps that sounds arrogant from someone who develops and sells the very service of which I’m speaking.   It’s not my intention to send that message…indeed, I’m humbled that so many professionals seek out our advice and participate in Cleinman Performance Network.  I am also confident that we focus a significant amount of energy and resources on seeking out the means and methods by which to deliver value to our members, just as you do for your patients.  After all, leading the charge is my solemn duty as the CEO of my firm.

 

In this particular case, I was most troubled by the stated reason that came my way; “I’ve accomplished all that I want to accomplish,” this member said. 

 

Think about those words for a moment. 

 

Imagine an employee coming to you and voicing these words.   Imagine your child saying this to you.  Or your spouse?   How might you react? 

 

In my opinion, and I mean no disrespect to this individual, what concerns me is that there are folks out there who think that the job of a leader can be “over.”   That, magically, one can continue down the path of progress without investing in oneself.

 

Someone once said “the speed of the leader is the speed of the pack.”   I believe in that philosophy. That’s why I invest a substantial amount of time and money each year on my personal development (and each member of my team does the same).   I can’t think of a better investment.  For me, investing in my personal development and that of my team has become second nature.  Setting personal and business goals is a way of life.  I will never accomplish all that I want.  I can’t imagine life having done that.  What would I have to live for?

 

Here’s another factoid that you may find interesting:  Readers make more money - a lot more! (Even in tough economic times.)  Several studies reveal business people who read at least seven business books a year earn over 2.3 times more than those who read only one book per year.   Interesting!

 

At the end of the day, perhaps this all boils down to “curiosity?”   I was graced with burning curiosity.  I look to hire people who have this same basic attribute.  And it’s curiosity about how we can do a better job that drives our entire culture.  Certainly, our current economic environment screams for this.

 

My challenge to you is to ask yourself some hard questions and take the time to write down your answers:   Am I curious enough?  Is my team curious enough?  What’s around the bend?  How might I improve?  Where are we going?  How will I get there?  What resources will I need?  What opportunities am I leaving on the table?  Where am I spinning my wheels?  What tasks might I eliminate?  What questions do I need to ask myself?

 

As you’ll soon conclude, the job of a leader is never “done.”   And that makes for both an exciting life and job security.

 

A Message for our Children...and Ourselves

This great message was passed on to me by a friend...and I share it with all of mine here.  Enjoy...Al Cleinman

A Parent’s Letter
to My Children in School
Written by Jeff Thredgold, CSP, President, Thredgold Economic Associates

To my children and grandchildren…

With your focus on education, I often find myself thinking about how much the world has changed since I was in your shoes. The world is now a much “smaller” place—people of all cultures can communicate and travel with ease. You face great challenges today…just as I did…just as my parents before me. These words of advice might be helpful:

•  Recognize that the only limits you face are those you set for yourself

•  Be the BEST that you can be

•  Recognize that YOU are responsible for your successes and failures

•  You must earn your way

•  Strive for excellence…not perfection

•  See the glass as half-full, rather than seeing it as half-empty

•  Focus on positives, rather than on negatives

•  Look to praise, rather than to criticize

•  Look for ways to succeed, rather than excuses to fail

•  Commit yourself to constant improvement

•  Understand how important education is to success

•  School is the key. Technology rules. You need better skills to succeed

•  Learn what is being taught, but most importantly, learn “how” to learn

•  Develop other information sources to verify, or challenge, what you are being taught. “History” is routinely twisted or rewritten to support a particular point of view. Get other ideas

•  Treat teachers, administrators, and fellow students as you would like to be treated

•  Be the first to say “Hello”

•  Develop your mind in school, but also develop other skills and interests, including music, art, and physical fitness. This is where teamwork develops its roots

•  Be a well-rounded person

•  Resist taking “easy” classes

•  Dig into math, the sciences, and computers. These form the technical foundation for future success

•  Study language

•  Speak and write English correctly

•  Appreciate other cultures by learning another language

•  Be honest in your approach to learning

•  Resist the temptation to cheat—you only hurt yourself

•  Develop a keen interest in the outside world

•  Pay attention to the “news.” The “real” world can be very different from the student world you live in today

•  Avoid the temptations of alcohol, smoking, drugs, gangs, and irresponsible personal behavior

•  Understand the steps you take today have lifelong implications

•  Choose your friends wisely

•  Do what you can to make a teacher’s job easier, not harder. Teaching is one of the most important, most difficult, and most underpaid professions in the world

•  Participate—but don’t be a pain!

•  Be a friend to all. Extend a hand of friendship to all other students, regardless of race, creed, or color

•  Make a special effort to be a friend to those less fortunate than you

•  As you mature and face new challenges, don’t hesitate to discuss with me what is on your mind. You might learn from the mistakes of others

•  Recognize how LUCKY you are to live and be educated in this great country. People from around the world are dying every day trying to get INTO this country…not out

•  Don’t forget to have fun!!

•  School can be a great time in your life

•  Experience it

•  Live it

•  Enjoy it

Many of these suggestions will be useful throughout your life—learn them well. I wish you the greatest success in your efforts and hope you find school both rewarding and enjoyable.

Love,

Dad/Grandpa

Norm and Bo...You had me at Hello!

I just bought Norm Brodsky's and Bo Burlingame's new book, The Knack...How Street-Smart Entrepreneurs Learn to Handle Whatever Comes Up.  Having met these two wonderful authors in a serendipitous way(see my post of May 3, 2008), I was excited to dig into their latest offering.  It took me all the way to the middle of page two to recognize that this book is a winner.  I share the excerpt:

"One of my best habits, for example, grew out of my father's practice of breaking down problems and challenges into their basic components.  He believed that most issues in business -- and in life -- are fundamentally simple, even though they appear complicated at first.  He taught me that, to deal with them, you have to examine the underlying elements and figure out what's really going on.  Never assume, moreover, that the real issues are those that you see on the surface.  That way of thinking has been one of my most powerful business tools over the years."

Norm Brodsky has very effectively communicated a fundamental that has served me well.  First, I purposely practice what might be termed a bit of "schizophrenia."  What I mean by this is that I enjoy debate, with myself and my team, which results in looking at issues from every possible angle.  This can be somewhat frustrating to my team, as they sometimes find me arguing against what they thought was my own position.  I find it very effective to verbalize both sides of any position.  I feel strongly that passionate debate is a very powerful tool in arriving at good decisions and this methodology has served me well.

Equally as important, Norm strongly advises that often the real issues are not those on the surface.  We find this the case in many of our consulting projects...what the client believes is the issue is simply not.  In my opinion, the hallmark of a good advisor is one who forces the client to dig below the surface of an issue.  Giving a client exactly what they want when they've self-diagnosed their challenge is easy.  Helping the client see below the surface and face the underlying issues that are the root cause of a challenge requires experience, courage and understanding.  However, the rewards are worth the effort. 

Don't take either the first solution or the one that comes easy...it may lead to ineffective results or worse.  Oh...and buy this book!

How Do They Do It?

This coming Saturday, September 12, Cleinman Performance Partners will deliver a unique and uplifting experience for eyecare professionals and their teams in San Diego.  The Business of Eyecare Forumwill be held at the Hyatt Regency in La Jolla.  This one-day "business improvement university" is focused on providing attendees with strategic and operational insight gleaned from North America's most successful practices.  Attendees will be exposed to five workshops that focus on enhancing performance, team-building, and succession planning.  Learn how North America's most successful eyecare leaders have consistently out-performed the market.

The Business of Eyecare Forum 

Participants will be exposed to proprietary practice enhancement information and unique tools that provide immediate results.  The Business of Eyecare Forum provides a motivational view of optometry that re-energizes entire teams and delivers tools you can use "monday morning."

"I should have brought my staff.  I should have brought my partner.  I goofed."   Dick Schuck, O.D., Ft. Thomas, KY

Underwritten by Hoya Vision Care, this high-energy event is the first stop on a twenty city tour across the U.S.  Look for us in:

October 7 - Waterbury, CT

October 21 - St. Louis, MO

November 18 - Denver, CO

December 2 - Knoxville, TN

See you there!