You know, in my business there is lots to be said for the concept of “changing it up”, and since I am writing about this right now, there is a good chance that I have not been as diligent as I could have been in “changing it up” over the past few months – and if that were not enough, there are two stories that support this.
What am I going to do from today onwards? Change it up more often!
Thursday nights I play a friendly game of poker. One of my buddies wins way more than he loses. Winning consistently is not luck at all. It has to be skill. His skill. Period. And the rest of us are not bad players to boot. Let’s call my buddy, Mr. A (actually his first name does begin with A). Anyway, I folded a certain hand. There were three other players in on the action. Long story short, Mr. A. won the hand – a considerable amount of money. As he was scooping up the pot he purposely turned over his hole cards only to reveal that not only would he have not won the hand, had be been called, but he would have come stone last. Yup – stone last. Mr. A had nothing. No question Mr. A had pulled off a great bluff (the only one with the guts to have done so). And good for him! One of the other guys asked him how he did it – to which he replied “You gotta keep on changing it up buddy!”
Lesson learned. Thanks Mr. A.
Friday night dinner is always a little tricky in our house. You see, we’re Jewish and its our Sabbath (Shabbat). I like to sing a Sabbath Song or two. It’s good for my heart and it’s good for my soul. My wife? Not so much. My two kids (14 and 10 years old)? They’re indifferent at best to singing. Reaching a happy medium is not easy. It’s a struggle for sure. So I sing a Sabbath song called Shalom Aleichem. You’re supposed to sing it three times, but since I encounter opposition, I always do it just once. (I guess once is better than nothing at all). So last Friday night (without giving anyone in my family advance notice), I sang it three times (like you’re supposed to sing it), far faster than usual. In other words, for the first time ever, I sang it three times in more or less the same amount of time that it took for me to sing it once. The meal was not delayed, not even for a second. Wife wryly looked at kids, who glared at me who glared at her who glared at the kids, who cracked up at me, who cracked up at her who cracked up at all of us. In other words, we all cracked up laughing --- not exactly bad for family cohesion. What a hoot! Yeah, it means that we all love each other, but as importantly, look at what I had accomplished by simply changing it up.
Lesson learned. Thanks Karen, Jason and Amanda.
So, what’s the takeaway here? Sometimes try the following”
1. Drive a different route to or from work
2. Listen to music that you would never usually listen to
3. Call an old friend, “just because”
4. Attack an old issue a completely different way
5. Do something differently for a client
6. Surprise someone by a random act of kindness
It’s good for business. It’s good for the soul and it’s good for the world.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Monday, November 21, 2011
Workplace Blunders Continue
In today’s crazy and high-pressured work environment, it’s clear that sometimes odd blunders still continue.
What about your colleague who trims his nose hairs at his desk when he thinks no-one is looking? Or your co-worker who sneezed in his boss’ coffee cup. What about buddy over there who sometimes eats other people’s food from the fridge? Well, these innocent (and in some cases not-so-innocent) blunders happen all the time according to a recent survey by Robert Half International, the world’s first and largest specialized accounting firm. The company, whose Canadian operations are headquartered in Toronto, have several short videos along with advice on how to avoid common office faux pas. They can be seen at www.roberthalf.ca/dont-let-this-happen-to-you.
“Silly office blunders happen all the time today and some of them are actually quite funny,” says Bridget Carter, Principal of Sapphire Consulting, a Toronto-based HR Consultancy. “I don’t see many of them myself, but I hear about them. High stress levels in the workplace definitely play a role in office blunders’ occurrences.”
While Robert Half International commissioned the survey, it was conducted by an independent research firm. The survey’s results were based on interviews with more than 430 workers, 18 years of age or older and employed in office environments worldwide.
The survey revealed all sorts of wacky things like people falling asleep at their desks, workers hanging up on conference calls when they did not get their way or even the employee who mistakenly thought he put a customer on hold and then used inappropriate language within earshot.
“People will continue to do crazy things in the workplace,” said Mike Gooley, a regional Vice President of Robert Half International. “And as the use of technology proliferates and stress levels rise, we will likely see more wacky things – that’s human nature.”
The use of technology definitely plays a large role today – making it sometimes easier to blunder. Ever hit the forward button on an email when you meant to hit the reply button? Ever inadvertently sent an email to the wrong person? We all have. We’re human after all! And the results can be downright embarrassing if not catastrophic.
Here’s some basic tips to help you steer clear of faux pas at work:
• Keep it PG-rated – Off color comments, racy language or politically incorrect jokes are a no-no. Wondering if you should say something or not? Stop right there! That’s your internal voice telling you to zip it. Play it safe and watch your words.
• Keep your dirty laundry to yourself – Criticizing your co-workers, gossiping or ranting about your boss’ expensive vacation while the company is announcing salary cuts is sure to get you into hot water. Zip it.
• Leave the tweezers at home - It’s called personal care for a reason. Groom yourself at home, or at least in the restroom. You want to win over - not gross out - your fellow employees.
• Take a breather – Although situations may irritate you, take a minute before raising your voice or even worse, firing an email missive that you’ll regret later.
What to do if you blunder? “Well,” added Gooley. “Be honest and fess up. Honesty is the best policy. The optimal thing is to say a genuine and sincere apology to those you offended. By doing that you’re showing you’ll make an honest effort not to blunder again – and then don’t make the same mistake twice.”
What about your colleague who trims his nose hairs at his desk when he thinks no-one is looking? Or your co-worker who sneezed in his boss’ coffee cup. What about buddy over there who sometimes eats other people’s food from the fridge? Well, these innocent (and in some cases not-so-innocent) blunders happen all the time according to a recent survey by Robert Half International, the world’s first and largest specialized accounting firm. The company, whose Canadian operations are headquartered in Toronto, have several short videos along with advice on how to avoid common office faux pas. They can be seen at www.roberthalf.ca/dont-let-this-happen-to-you.
“Silly office blunders happen all the time today and some of them are actually quite funny,” says Bridget Carter, Principal of Sapphire Consulting, a Toronto-based HR Consultancy. “I don’t see many of them myself, but I hear about them. High stress levels in the workplace definitely play a role in office blunders’ occurrences.”
While Robert Half International commissioned the survey, it was conducted by an independent research firm. The survey’s results were based on interviews with more than 430 workers, 18 years of age or older and employed in office environments worldwide.
The survey revealed all sorts of wacky things like people falling asleep at their desks, workers hanging up on conference calls when they did not get their way or even the employee who mistakenly thought he put a customer on hold and then used inappropriate language within earshot.
“People will continue to do crazy things in the workplace,” said Mike Gooley, a regional Vice President of Robert Half International. “And as the use of technology proliferates and stress levels rise, we will likely see more wacky things – that’s human nature.”
The use of technology definitely plays a large role today – making it sometimes easier to blunder. Ever hit the forward button on an email when you meant to hit the reply button? Ever inadvertently sent an email to the wrong person? We all have. We’re human after all! And the results can be downright embarrassing if not catastrophic.
Here’s some basic tips to help you steer clear of faux pas at work:
• Keep it PG-rated – Off color comments, racy language or politically incorrect jokes are a no-no. Wondering if you should say something or not? Stop right there! That’s your internal voice telling you to zip it. Play it safe and watch your words.
• Keep your dirty laundry to yourself – Criticizing your co-workers, gossiping or ranting about your boss’ expensive vacation while the company is announcing salary cuts is sure to get you into hot water. Zip it.
• Leave the tweezers at home - It’s called personal care for a reason. Groom yourself at home, or at least in the restroom. You want to win over - not gross out - your fellow employees.
• Take a breather – Although situations may irritate you, take a minute before raising your voice or even worse, firing an email missive that you’ll regret later.
What to do if you blunder? “Well,” added Gooley. “Be honest and fess up. Honesty is the best policy. The optimal thing is to say a genuine and sincere apology to those you offended. By doing that you’re showing you’ll make an honest effort not to blunder again – and then don’t make the same mistake twice.”
Monday, November 14, 2011
Dr. Laffa --- Wow!!! Israeli Style!!!
Based on some emails this morning, it seems like my blog posting of last week ruffled more than a few feathers in Toronto’s kosher community. And that’s just fine with me. Bottom line is that it’s my blog – and that’s the end of that. I’ve had numerous people calling and emailing me for more information, as to which place it was. Mum’s the word folks. I’m not a mean guy, and as much as I never want to disparage, I always aim to be honest.
On an entirely different, (and more positive note) , I had the pleasure of being taken to one of Toronto’s newest kosher restaurants, by my good friend Russel, last week. It’s called Dr. Laffa and is on Magnetic Drive in North York. Everything about it was delicious. I’m not going to comment as much about the food (some of the names I struggle to pronounce), but as a marketing specialist, here’s what I saw them applying to my dining experience
1. Keep things authentic – it helps if you find your niche. It’s patently obvious that the place is owned by Israelies. Everyone knows that. So what does the smart restaurant do? It employs mainly Israelis, who not only speak the lingo, but they look Israeli too. So much so, that if I shut my eyes, I could have been at a schwarma restaurant anywhere in Israel. I like that a lot. The Israeli mentality not only adds flavour to the joint, but it also seemed to add flavour to the food. In PR --- don’t just do what the others do. Do something different. Someone who understands that well is my buddy Joe Jaffe (http://www.jaffejuice.com/) . He’s different. He wears funky socks to work. To clients. Everywhere. And that’s his trademark. Cute! And Joe knows how to leverage it too. Smart.
2. Keep things moving – a minute or so after we sat down, we had Laffa’s delivered to our table with an array of salads. A minute later came our drinks. Then a little later came more salads (we did not even have to ask for more). Then our drinks were refilled. Then our main course arrived … you get the picture here. While the server certainly did not hover, she knew where she had to be and when. In PR, it’s important to always let your client know you’re there – and when you’re not there, to let them know where you are and how you can be reached. It’s also sometimes just calling your client to say hi. Nothing more. Nothing less.
3. Make sure your customers are satiated – would the average person rather spend cheap and get crap, or spent a little more and get quality? The latter wins every time. And Dr. Laffa knows this. While their prices are reasonable/ average, they make sure you leave full – something everyone wants. They’re not giving bargains like $2.99 burgers or $3.99 schwarma’s – that would be awful. There is little worse that feeling underwhelmed, whether it’s a mediocre lunch or a news release that lacks teeth. Underwhelmed is never good. Lesson well learned: Make sure you understand what your customer wants and then give them that. In spades. Everytime.
4. Be Happy – I sure has hell don’t know what my server drank or smoked the night before, but I want some of that. Seriously. She was happy to see us. She was happy to help us. She was happy to listen to us and she was even happy when we left, wishing us “Shabbat shalom”. Happy is contagious – not only did I leave there satiated, I left there happy too.
Wanna go there this Friday for lunch? Hit me up! I am ready, willing and able
On an entirely different, (and more positive note) , I had the pleasure of being taken to one of Toronto’s newest kosher restaurants, by my good friend Russel, last week. It’s called Dr. Laffa and is on Magnetic Drive in North York. Everything about it was delicious. I’m not going to comment as much about the food (some of the names I struggle to pronounce), but as a marketing specialist, here’s what I saw them applying to my dining experience
1. Keep things authentic – it helps if you find your niche. It’s patently obvious that the place is owned by Israelies. Everyone knows that. So what does the smart restaurant do? It employs mainly Israelis, who not only speak the lingo, but they look Israeli too. So much so, that if I shut my eyes, I could have been at a schwarma restaurant anywhere in Israel. I like that a lot. The Israeli mentality not only adds flavour to the joint, but it also seemed to add flavour to the food. In PR --- don’t just do what the others do. Do something different. Someone who understands that well is my buddy Joe Jaffe (http://www.jaffejuice.com/) . He’s different. He wears funky socks to work. To clients. Everywhere. And that’s his trademark. Cute! And Joe knows how to leverage it too. Smart.
2. Keep things moving – a minute or so after we sat down, we had Laffa’s delivered to our table with an array of salads. A minute later came our drinks. Then a little later came more salads (we did not even have to ask for more). Then our drinks were refilled. Then our main course arrived … you get the picture here. While the server certainly did not hover, she knew where she had to be and when. In PR, it’s important to always let your client know you’re there – and when you’re not there, to let them know where you are and how you can be reached. It’s also sometimes just calling your client to say hi. Nothing more. Nothing less.
3. Make sure your customers are satiated – would the average person rather spend cheap and get crap, or spent a little more and get quality? The latter wins every time. And Dr. Laffa knows this. While their prices are reasonable/ average, they make sure you leave full – something everyone wants. They’re not giving bargains like $2.99 burgers or $3.99 schwarma’s – that would be awful. There is little worse that feeling underwhelmed, whether it’s a mediocre lunch or a news release that lacks teeth. Underwhelmed is never good. Lesson well learned: Make sure you understand what your customer wants and then give them that. In spades. Everytime.
4. Be Happy – I sure has hell don’t know what my server drank or smoked the night before, but I want some of that. Seriously. She was happy to see us. She was happy to help us. She was happy to listen to us and she was even happy when we left, wishing us “Shabbat shalom”. Happy is contagious – not only did I leave there satiated, I left there happy too.
Wanna go there this Friday for lunch? Hit me up! I am ready, willing and able
Thursday, November 10, 2011
My Bad Dining Experience
So today, I probably had one of my worst dining experiences in recent memory. It was at a kosher hamburger place. Location undisclosed. And for those of you who know me, I am one of the most un-fussy eaters of all time. If I say an experience was bad, then it was really bad - trust me. So I thought I would relate my experience there in terms of my expertise – PR.
1. Light is important --- it sets the mood: When I first walked into the restaurant, despite it being sunny outside, it was dim inside. This is a fast food joint after all – not a steakhouse where romantics snuggle while enjoying steak avec frites. This is a burger joint for G_d’s sake. Make it light and cheerful. Darkness is melancholia – and no-one wants to be melancholy while eating a burger and fries. In PR, darkness is confusion. Lightness is clarity – and we all prefer to communicate (and eat) with clarity
2. Train your people and train them well: I was offered some fresh cut tomato slices on my burger. Nothing special. But when the lady building my burger asked the cashier whether the tomato slices should be put on the top or the bottom half of the bun, I almost did a back-flip. Perhaps it was her first day on the job - but to ask such a stupid question (in front of a customer no less) was just plain --- well stupider than stupid. In as much as you don’t ask an untrained rookie to write a news release on their first day on the job, don’t put a rookie on the front line assembling burgers for all your customers to notice some rank ignorance.
3. People don’t like the cold: So now my burger had been built and paid for. I am ready to take my first bite. Yuck. What was that cold thing I just bit into? It was the cold bun – silly me. What would possess a burger joint to serve a just out-of-the-fridge burger bun without so much as heating it? This folks is a no-brainer. Heat it up. Or at least bring it to room temperature before serving.
4. Smile: Another cardinal rule broken by both people behind the counter in today’s burger joint. Now ladies, perhaps you aren’t happy. I get that. I also have my shitty days, but never, ever, ever let your clients know that you’re unhappy. There is nothing less welcoming than being greeted by people you know wish they were not doing what they are doing. And it’s even more important to smile when you are having a shitty day than when you are having a good day. Not only does smiling make you feel better, but it also is good for business.
5. Say thanks: Without one’s customers or clients, you’re out of business. Economics 101. Yet from the instant I walked into the store until the instant I walked out there store, not only did I not see a smile, I did not hear a thanks either. And not only is that bad manners – it’s bad business too. I’d never dream of not thanking a client, no matter how much they spend and no matter what they asked for … so why was I never thanked?
6. Keep things in proportion: I’d ordered a quarter pounder burger. Fine. But it was served on a bun that could have housed a three quarter pound patty at least. Know one of the most unattractive meals you can have? A tiny looking patty in a massive-looking bun. And the same goes for PR … Keep everything in proportion. Oh, yes, perception is also reality.
In the interests of being a good corporate citizen, I’m not mentioning the name of the burger place, but I just hope they see this posting and improve. I also believe in giving second chances … will I go back? Hell yeah!
Peace!
1. Light is important --- it sets the mood: When I first walked into the restaurant, despite it being sunny outside, it was dim inside. This is a fast food joint after all – not a steakhouse where romantics snuggle while enjoying steak avec frites. This is a burger joint for G_d’s sake. Make it light and cheerful. Darkness is melancholia – and no-one wants to be melancholy while eating a burger and fries. In PR, darkness is confusion. Lightness is clarity – and we all prefer to communicate (and eat) with clarity
2. Train your people and train them well: I was offered some fresh cut tomato slices on my burger. Nothing special. But when the lady building my burger asked the cashier whether the tomato slices should be put on the top or the bottom half of the bun, I almost did a back-flip. Perhaps it was her first day on the job - but to ask such a stupid question (in front of a customer no less) was just plain --- well stupider than stupid. In as much as you don’t ask an untrained rookie to write a news release on their first day on the job, don’t put a rookie on the front line assembling burgers for all your customers to notice some rank ignorance.
3. People don’t like the cold: So now my burger had been built and paid for. I am ready to take my first bite. Yuck. What was that cold thing I just bit into? It was the cold bun – silly me. What would possess a burger joint to serve a just out-of-the-fridge burger bun without so much as heating it? This folks is a no-brainer. Heat it up. Or at least bring it to room temperature before serving.
4. Smile: Another cardinal rule broken by both people behind the counter in today’s burger joint. Now ladies, perhaps you aren’t happy. I get that. I also have my shitty days, but never, ever, ever let your clients know that you’re unhappy. There is nothing less welcoming than being greeted by people you know wish they were not doing what they are doing. And it’s even more important to smile when you are having a shitty day than when you are having a good day. Not only does smiling make you feel better, but it also is good for business.
5. Say thanks: Without one’s customers or clients, you’re out of business. Economics 101. Yet from the instant I walked into the store until the instant I walked out there store, not only did I not see a smile, I did not hear a thanks either. And not only is that bad manners – it’s bad business too. I’d never dream of not thanking a client, no matter how much they spend and no matter what they asked for … so why was I never thanked?
6. Keep things in proportion: I’d ordered a quarter pounder burger. Fine. But it was served on a bun that could have housed a three quarter pound patty at least. Know one of the most unattractive meals you can have? A tiny looking patty in a massive-looking bun. And the same goes for PR … Keep everything in proportion. Oh, yes, perception is also reality.
In the interests of being a good corporate citizen, I’m not mentioning the name of the burger place, but I just hope they see this posting and improve. I also believe in giving second chances … will I go back? Hell yeah!
Peace!
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