Monday, December 21, 2009

NEW YEAR, NEW OPPORTUNITIES

*Daily / weekly planners…get yourself organized (calendars, charts, files)

*Make a list of things that need done. Follow up on action plans and update.

*Inventory tracking and record keeping.

*Proper executions of the business plans…plan your work and work your plan.

*Back to basics.

*Revisit / Update Policies and procedures in your company

*Things you have let go… Procrastination ends now!

*Personal growth and health. If you are not having fun….that’s your fault.

*Measure to improve, share and use ideas, communications, teach.


*Training; in your absence does someone know what to do?

*Are you being aggressive about getting yourself trained…take responsibility for your own success!

*Team communication: share the knowledge, listen, and create a sense of ownership.

*Recognition… “Reward want you want repeated” “Find the Number ONE in Everyone”


*Be a LEADER, not just a manager. “Call it a problem & it will BE one, Call it an opportunity, and you will HAVE one.”

*Leadership “Its great to be a champion, but it takes TEAM to win the Super-Bowl”

“The customer may not always be right , but they are still the customer”

Think like a customer: present a professional image, smile and eye contact, seek out customer contact, solve customer problems, use proper body language, thank every customer and invite them back.

Thought for the month…. “we learn from yesterdays we live for tomorrows”

“Success just doesn’t happen…You must GO AFTER IT, with
PASSIONATE ENTHUSIASM!”

Thursday, December 3, 2009

From Manager to Leader…My Own Personal Journey

I was the best.
(well, at least in my own mind)

No one could build displays, order product, stock shelves, take inventory and write schedules better than I.
“He never slows down, runs around 24/7” "…Bob is the hardest worker I have ever seen.”…words often expressed by my co-workers and Store Managers.
So why was I passed over for upper level management time and time again?
I was a great manager, everyone said so. I was winning all the display and selling contests.I was the best at getting work done, and lived by the credo; if you want something done right you need to do it yourself.
In fact, every time I would go on vacation, I would return to deplorable conditions and I would have to work overtime just to get the department back up to standards.

Again, so why was I not promoted?
In one word…leadership.
I was lighting fires under the feet of my employees instead of inspiring the fire in the hearts of my team.

And then I was given a revelation…a great mentor of mine said,
“Bob, it's not how good your department looks when you are here, the true test of your leadership is the condition of your department, when you are not here.
We want our managers to work smart not hard. Think of it this way; if you fish for someone, you feed them for a day... if you teach them to fish, you feed them for a lifetime.
Yes, you will always have to pitch in, but you need to let go and have your team pitch hit for you, you can’t always do everything yourself.”

From that point on, I realized; managers live for the task, leaders live for their team.
Three months later, I was promoted.

For more information on “Changing Today’s Managers into Tomorrow's Leaders”Contact Bob Gambone; email- rvg444@aol.com Phone: 412-491-7317.