Days Like Today...David Spiegel

This is a guest entry from my friend and fraternity brother, David Spiegel. He's a hard-working, deep-loving family and business person who shares his insights on a daily (almost!) basis. I like the positive nature of this entry and I have some leadership questions for you to contemplate after reading...

Today is one of the days of the year that I truly enjoy.

As the rest of the world seems to be shutting down from the mundane and gearing up for the upcoming holiday,we are busy doing business!

When I arrived at The Grooming Shoppe this morning, Becca had already opened, brought in our first client, put on the Christmas music and straightened and cleaned up the front end. We were ready for action on what should be one of our busiest days of the year. Truth be told, we were actually busier on the Saturday before Christmas last year. It was the single busiest day we ever had.

It's not that we have any less business. On the contrary. Becca has done a marvelous job of scheduling before the holiday. She chose to open last Monday (we are normally closed Sunday & Monday) as well as tomorrow,the Sunday before Christmas. In those two days we will bring in an additional 2 dozen dogs and no body had to kill themselves on any 1 given day.

By 8:30 this morning, 2 dogs were in the door, bathed and on the tables getting groomed. I love the energy! I don't know when this whole concept of shutting down for days on end before a holiday began. I hate it!

If you have ever watched A Christmas Carroll, in Dickenens' time, Scrooge wakes up on Christmas morning and yells out "hey boy" to the young lad walking past his window. The streets are a bustle and Scrooge sends him to the butcher shop (which is open!) to get that goose hanging in the window.

I love it!

To me, it's all part of the magic and mystique that surrounds the holiday.

Tomorrow around 5 p.m., our last dogs will be getting their finishing touches. After they leave,we will clean up as we do at the end of each day and the end of each week. Some gifts will be exchanged. An envelope with a special "thank you" will be handed out, and hugs and kisses given out. A little while later, we will wrap up the day. We will turn off the lights and as we put the key in the door to lock up, I will take one long last look into the shop and acknowledge that it really is A Wonderful Life! Shabbat Shalom!

-- David Spiegel

Leadership Calls to Action

What's your busiest time of year? Is it busier this year than last?
What small changes can you make in your schedule to to both better the experience and convenience for your customers AND make your own work easier to perform?
Have you appreciated the people you work with this week? What can you do that is above and beyond the ordinary to show your appreciation even more?
Are you taking care of yourself this holiday season? What will you do (or could you do!) to build better balance in your life and relax into true joy?

Comments

Measures Matter

Some people measure quantify first and quality later. Some people measure money first and impact to the team later (not even second!). How you measure productivity might determine your character and your reputation. Put people first. -- doug smith

New Ideas

New ideas won't break you but they can make you bigger. -- doug smith

Your Reputation

More authority means higher levels of responsibility. More power requires more service to others, not less. What you do with your power is who you will be known as. Also, how you use the power you have creates who people will remember you as. How do you want to be remembered? -- doug smith

What You Need

Use what you've learned to become what you need. -- doug smith

For example

Get good at something that won't obsolete itself. For example: emotional intelligence creating great conversations encouraging people leadership What would you add to the list? Which ones are you developing? -- doug smith

Personally

Improving performance does require us to take our work seriously. But it does not require us to take ourselves too seriously. Taking things personally is a waste of self-esteem. -- doug smith

Show Up!

"You've got to be there. Big decisions are being made!" my former boss told me a long time ago. "If your voice is in the room you might be heard..." It was good advice then and it still is. Show up. When there's a goal you're working on and an opportunity appears to advance that goal -- show up. When changes are being made that will affect you -- show up! When it matters to you -- show up. You won't always get what you want by showing up, but you never will if you don't! -- doug smith

The Problem With Compromises

Think about the last time you compromised on something. Whether it was a big compromise or a little compromise, how do you feel about it now? While we often call it "meet in the middle" it seldom does. Compromises are not automatically fair, no matter how implied that fairness is. Someone usually gets more out of a compromise than the person they are "compromising" with. If the low end is you, you don't like it -- and you remember that. If the top end of the compromise is you, you probably forget all about it even though the inequity simmers in the background. Compromises must be constantly revisited because they are inevitably unfair. If you get the chance to balance things out, your relationship will prosper. If you miss that chance, the relationship will suffer. What's your choice? -- doug smith

High Performance Leadership Combination

We can rationalize anything without making it justified. Leaders should always ask: who is this good for other than me? High performance leadership does NOT mean performance at any cost. It means performance that serves a noble cause while also benefiting people. High performance leadership is a combination. Results without relationships are shallow and temporary. Take care of both, and you'll be a high performance leader. -- doug smith

Decide

What do you want? Are you getting what you want? Intention is direction. Decide. And, then go. -- doug smith

High Performance Leadership

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