Finding the Hot Roll

    The last two years have created an unusual culture mostly due to economic conditions. Whether one is a conservative or liberal, it is time to acknowledge that perhaps, at least to an extent, the valued stimulus money given to individuals, families, organizations, and businesses has contributed to a shock to our economy and resulted in inflation, interest rate increases, lack of employees, loss of goods, and a significant decline in customer service. We have all seen and experienced the lack of employees at restaurants, service organizations, and retail. While the business pressures continue, the weak labor market creates confusion, stress, and a loss of consumer confidence. 

     Recently, a reputable auto shop in the community called me to tell me my "seal" had arrived and I needed to bring my vehicle in for the repair. I informed the caller that my vehicle had been repaired two months ago and seemed to be working fine; however, if I need a new seal, I will be glad to bring my vehicle to the shop. The caller became confused and said the VIN was not available. I said I could get that to her if it made a difference. The caller then said my work order had not been cleared and wondered who told me my vehicle was fixed two months ago. Not remembering the name, I mentioned a gentleman with dark hair and a small beard wearing a work shirt and jeans. The caller then hesitated and said that pretty well described everybody in the shop. I gave up on the call and said thank you but I think my seal is fine now. 

    This conversation is not that unusual anymore in our society. Poor management and a lack of employees has resulted in terrible customer service and managerial confusion. This then leads to a drop of returning customers, adding further shock to businesses that are scrambling to keep margins high and meet customer demands. Good managers understand that it is all about customer service and having good systems in place to meet demand. 

    Years ago, I noticed a local restaurant had a large and consistent following. While the environment was pleasant, the food always consistently good, they also had a "magic" method of ensuring satisfied customers. While eating, an elderly gentleman came around with hot rolls and butter and offered these to all those in the restaurant. I later learned the gentleman was the owner. His decision to serve "free" rolls contributed greatly to satisfied customers. These customers then returned, often with friends and family. 

    It is time to take a page out of that success and transfer it everywhere. Regardless of the nature of the business, retail, service, business to business or industry, customer service is king. Managers need to identify what will cause customers to return and emphasize that every time. What is the "hot roll" you can provide for your customers? It could be excellence in quality, or efficiency in record-keeping, or simply a complementary good, or an environment that is clean, safe, and comfortable. Find your "hot roll" for your business and keep those customers coming back for more. 

The Hidden Leaders

 

Just read a quote on LinkedIn that said, “I feel like 95% of high performers have a former boss who ignored their obvious potential.” Of course, this is not quantifiable and may fall into an anecdotal trap of stories without foundation. Yet, there is something to this, and it has to do with two possibilities in the workplace. One, sometimes leadership lacks in perception about people and their potential for success; and two, often leaders do not create an environment for individual achievement. Related to this is the lack of systems that encourage initiative or creative solutions to problems.

            Despite the wealth of resources available for increasing leadership abilities or addressing leadership in some way (a search for “leadership” on Amazon revealed 40,000 results), leaders often select team members who do not live up to expectations. Even worse, they may have overlooked the ideal candidate either through a poor search process or a lack of perception of potential. Further, it seems to be the norm where management systems and tight operational controls actually inhibit initiative and creativity. While this may be driven by a desire to prevent mistakes or keep people on task, it is also rather arrogant and myopic thinking for leadership to assume their superior ability to make the best decisions.

            Again, these comments are not quantifiable, and I have no doubt there are many exceptions to this problem of not recognizing potential in people. As a former Dean of Fine Arts and now a Dean of Business and Professional Studies, I am sincerely appreciative of having supervisors who gave me an opportunity to succeed. In turn, I continue to stay attuned to those with potential, with creative ideas, with energy to make things happen. Knowing the tendency for leaders to overlook what someone has to offer, I work to take a deeper study by watching, reading materials, talking, and mostly listening. Open to new ideas, I often seek the views of other people and encourage new thinking and initiative.

            Having been rejected for higher leadership positions, it is not really satisfying to learn later that those employed over me resulted in failure sometimes rather quickly. It does, however, make me suspect that the process is flawed. While committees may be able to overcome some of the poor decisions, often committees are subject to groupthink or wrong assumptions. It is likely in my own leadership over searches, I have overlooked the ideal candidate due to something small or insignificant.

            The problem is both complex and simple. Not everyone can be an effective leader and, unfortunately, it is hard to predict the outcome when leaders are selected. While there are many traits of a leader that can be identified and expressed, perhaps the greatest characteristic is humility combined with a willingness to listen to people and try new approaches. This type of leader is one who searches for potential. One who seeks out creativity, and one who gives people an opportunity for growth.

            I often wonder how many great leaders have been passed over due to biases, prejudices, or simply wrong impressions. How many organizations are failing or struggling when a different leader might have resulted in great success? Are there people in your organization that are quiet, unassuming, yet have tremendous potential to make a positive difference if they were given an opportunity? Is it possible, or even likely, that a great idea that quickly found its way to the circular file (trash can) might have made all the difference for the organization had it been accepted?

            There are no easy answers to leadership but many an organization has found itself mired in old methods that are no longer acceptable. As our world becomes more and more regulated and subject to litigation over small matters, we may be seeing fewer creative solutions to problems. This is certainly understandable since doing less is always easier than doing more. Yet a call to action is a call to service, a call to leadership, a call to reach out to people and find their potential. That special person with remarkable abilities may be the one to change the future, the one to make all the difference in the organization. Seek out and find the leaders among you and listen to them. You just might be surprised.

           

Amsterdam and Culture

As an amateur cultural anthropologist, I am curious about cultural practices and what led to those through history. Spending a few days in Amsterdam, I enjoyed the culture, the pride, and mostly social environment. Admittedly there are a few things that I am not completely sure about and a few practices that on the surface seem problematic but somehow work in this marvelous city. One thing to remember is that what may work in one place, may not necessarily work in another.

Most familiar with American culture and especially Texas, I am also familiar with British culture and particularly London. Lifestyle differences between Texas, London, and Amsterdam are striking and imposing one culture on another would likely be a dismal failure. In Texas we drive. We drive everywhere and walk very little. Not that we don't walk at all, for you can find people walking around neighborhoods or walking in malls or walking from the parking space to the store, but, in general, we drive and we drive big vehicles with many exceptions of course. Danger occurs on highways and occasionally in the city from poor driving. In London, the public transportation system is advanced with buses and tubes going all through the city. But you will not escape walking in London. Large footpaths designed for walking. Danger points are mainly intersections where buses, motorcycles, and taxis move quickly without regard for the masses of people waiting to get across. Londoners move quickly across streets while tourists, wisely, wait for the green light (figure of a person) before crossing.

In Amsterdam, the people ride bicycles. Some walking and quite a few motorcycles also adorn the paths but most transport is with a bicycle. There are trams and buses but not everywhere and only used if you don't have a bicycle. There are some cars, mostly small, but they are careful around bicycles and walkers. There are very few accidents in Amsterdam. There are not many accidents in London although the potential is always there. One only hears 6 or 7 sirens per day in London!

The bike riding in Amsterdam contributes to a quiet environment without many cars and very few sirens ever. The culture provides riding paths and roads that tend to give way to bicycles when needed. My time in Amsterdam was rewarding and makes me long for a different approach to our lives and our culture where we could safely ride bikes. Doing so would promote exercise, outdoor activities, a quieter environment, and, mostly, safety from road accidents. 

Teaching to the Ages

 The ambiguity of the title of this post is deliberate and references my long and varied experiences at teaching to all ages of students. Having worked with children, preteens, teens, and college-aged students, I am now spending time with adults in a doctoral program. Children, of course, require hands-on, active learning. As children mature, so does their ability to focus, albeit limited, and learn through other means. Yet, rather than replacing the style of learning, we layer the experiences in a type of iterative approach to pedagogy. Granted, as we grow and mature so does our ability to learn abstractly and begin to process and project time and future goals. 

Admittedly, learning styles are varied and with over 7 billion people on the planet, so too are there multiple learning styles and abilities. With this in mind, there are some general approaches to each age group that will help teachers deal with their students. Focusing at this time on the adult learner, perhaps the biggest change from younger students is the ability to manage time. This ability as well as persistence are motivations to succeed and complete the task. 

Not dissimilar to the variety of learning styles, adults have multiple reasons for why they are in college, seeking knowledge, a credential, and/or a degree. For some, they may have avoided college in the first place for any number of reasons while others may have started, dropped out, and are returning. Many are anxious, allocating personal resources to receive an education, and questioning their own reasons. Additionally, they may experience anxiety over their preparation and ability for college work. Some are overachievers, wanting to excel in all facets of the courseworks. Others, however, are recognize the challenges in taking classes and are willing to accept their own position and reason for attending college. 

Jugggling through family finances, children, home and work responsibilities while attending classes and completing work is extremely difficult for adult learners. The myriad of potential interruptions to classes is palpable and real, often resulting in increased anxiety and priortization of needs. Another challenge not often articulated is the problem of advanced technology. Since many adult learners did not grow up with the kind of technologies currently in use, learning new software and systems is yet another level of difficulty not usually addressed. 

These and more mean that colleges and universities should not expect nor treat adult learners in the same way as traditional college aged students. The ultimate goal is completion for these learners and helping them become contributing citizens through employment opportunities not always available to those without a college degree. To this end, instruction may require specialized training and understanding of adult learners. In some cases, this could mean increased patience, more time for projects, and supplemental material to aid in learning. 

Despite these many challenges, there are great opportunities available for adult learners and for colleges seeking to increase enrollment. But it requires different approaches and systems to ensure these students have a strong chance to succeed. The rewards, however, are high both for society and for institutions. As in all great endeavors, it is our opportunity for a win-win scenario where the community, the students, and the institutions gain.