To Build a Team: Reflections on Leadership and Team Building for Our Generation
August 2008
To say that there is only ever one way to extend leadership is to speak in error. So how can you best develop and sustain the best possible team? A thousand possible elements in that endeavor would be correct. Here I offer the four constant elements to keep you on course in your leadership paradigm.
Sparks from Flint: Big Lessons from a Small Dealer in Michigan
January 2008
Of all the cities in America, none are suffering economically more than Flint, Michigan. My research throughout 2006 and 2007 showed that the vast majority - over 75% - of the counties in Michigan showed a decline in construction permits, from 50 to 90%! In spite of national and intense local decline of construction in Michigan, a dealer in Flint is taking principled steps toward excellence with valuable lessons for dealers everywhere. I am delighted to share this story, complete with descriptions of the ongoing right strategic actions being taken by Michigan Lumber, sparking profitable growth where we feared the fire was out.
Beat Last Year: Five Fundamental Shifts to Win the Sales Game
November 2007
There is only one game in sales. No matter what the condition of the housing market, the game remains. Regardless of interest rates, the game remains. I don’t care whether you are marketing toward the pro, the consumer, both or neither. Five thousand SKU’s or twenty five thousand, the game is still the same: Beat Last Year.
Turn it on a Dime! Simple Steps to Immediate and Sustained Turnarounds for LBM Dealers
January 2007
It can happen to any dealer. You wake up one morning with an undeniable and arduous task before you. Your company is in trouble - Real Trouble. You can feel it in your bones. You can see it in your financial statements. The credit line at your financial institution is uncomfortably high, maybe at the limit. Your receivables look terrible, as you have hesitated to press too hard on customers who are also friends. You’ve missed a few early payment discounts from vendors. Bonus payments to hard working, well intending staff may need to be reduced or eliminated. You are over inventory and out of stock. Why in the name of humanity are you in this forsaken business in the first place?
For Pro Sales Excellence, Get the Basics
July 2006
Working with home channel organizations who seek improvements in all areas of operations inevitably leads to focus working with professional customer sales teams. These teams are typically truly desirous of personal success and the success of the customers. The owners and managers at the helms of these companies are amazingly talented and driven individuals. They have led their organizations to a plateau of achievement. Now they REALLY want to experience a swell of new sales and profits originating from their pro customer segment. I approach all projects in excellence, including initiatives in sales refinement, with the following rule: Once the basics are intact, then you get to build upon that foundation with any number of unique initiatives. If the basics are not intact, new initiatives will fail. Basics come first.
Links to All Articles
- To Build a Team: Reflections on Leadership and Team Building for Our Generation
- Sparks from Flint: Big Lessons from a Small Dealer in Michigan
- Beat Last Year: Five Fundamental Shifts to Win the Sales Game
- Turn it on a Dime! Simple Steps to Immediate and Sustained Turnarounds for LBM Dealers
- For Pro Sales Excellence, Get the Basics
- Merchandising Finesse: Key Components to Great End Caps
- Stop the Leak: Five Simple Ways to Curtail Inventory Losses
- Within a Culture of Excellence: The Embodiment of Pristine Operational Standards
- Dont Toss in the Towel
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