The Boss – A Moving Company’s 3rd-Generation Chief – NYTimes.com

March 23, 2009

The New York Times business section recently featured a success story about Maureen Beal, Chief executive of National Van Lines. Maureen gives us some great insight into her secret advantage on her road to success.

Since I was no longer the boss’s daughter, people would say things in front of me that they wouldn’t have before. At lunch with my colleagues, I would hear them talk about terrible bosses. This boss was demanding or disrespectful, that one didn’t listen, and another one never asked about anyone’s family when it had a crisis.
The Boss – A Moving Company’s 3rd-Generation Chief – NYTimes.com

Maureen also makes a strong point about the importance of spending most of your time focussing on what you do well, while surrounding yourself with others whose strong points balance out your weaknesses. If you spend most of your trying to improve your weaknesses, you loose the chance of ever really succeeding in what you do well.

I also learned that you have to surround yourself with people who have the expertise you lack, even if it makes you uncomfortable. My father was a visionary; administration was not his strong point. It’s mine, however, along with the ability to carry out a plan. If someone presents an idea to me, I can determine whether or not it will work. I can’t always define exactly what I want, but I know it when I see it.

Leave a Comment » | Leadership, management, Success Qualities | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ginger Dailey Wynn

Talkin’ Tourism: Keynote Presentation for The South Dakota Department of Tourism

March 23, 2009

Being the Best vs. Being Consistently Chosen

by The Blog Team on January 22, 2009

 

southdakotaGarrison Wynn, today’s keynote speaker, brought with him several years of expertise, some excellent original research relevant to the tourism industry, and several great points for all of us to take home. Garrison addressed several issues, from how to speak to your customers and how to manage your employees, to how to build trust and what people (a.k.a. your customers) want and expect from you as a tourism business. A few take aways include:

  • Don’t tell people they’re wrong. Instead, even though you may not agree with them, show them that you’re willing to listen. People want to know they’re being heard. If people feel they’re being listened to within the first minute, they start to trust you immediately.
  • Trust is built on two things: Compassion and Competence.
  • Be agreeable; don’t make people feel dumb, or you will lose any and all ability to influence.
  • Agreement is the foundation of accountability.
  • How well you can deal with the most difficult people will define your greatness. Your worst customer might be the one that spends the most. Similarly, your most talented employee might be the hardest one to manage. And sometimes, we need to take some of the blame.
  • All people want 3 things: Love, Value and Prestige. Be genuine, offer multiple solutions for a single problem, and make your customers and your employees look and feel smart.
  • Don’t criticize the “old way” but draw similarities to the new way…then point out the new and different features. Similarities first, differences second.
  • Be able to explain the value of what you have to offer in 20-30 seconds. Beyond that, people begin to think your product or offering lacks value.
  • Clarity is a must.
  • Action and adaptability provide and create opportunity.

In closing, Garrison says people don’t necessarily always choose the best. They choose what makes them feel comfortable, what they trust, and what they’re looking for in good service. If you can provide those things, you’ll be consistently chosen, again and again.

NOTE: Check out the South Dakota Department of Tourisms trip planner tool.

1 Comment | Communication, Customer Service, management, Success Qualities | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ginger Dailey Wynn

Change Management Speaker Garrison Wynn Opens the ACCA Service Managers Forum

March 23, 2009

 

Article from: Air Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration News

Article date: November 3, 2008

HOUSTON — Service managers play a key role in the success of a contracting business. In addition to usually being the key technical troubleshooting resource in a company, they often manage the largest single department in the company. At a meeting developed exclusively for service managers, more than 300 attended a variety of management training seminars.

Garrison Wynn, a leading authority on change management, opened the Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) National HVACR Service Managers Forum on October 9, with an entertaining and educational keynote address about leadership and communication.

Wynn, a former standup comedian, kept the attention of the audience with a humorous knack for relating his own experiences, both the successes and the failures. He sent the audience home with many take-aways that could be practiced by each when they returned to the world of work. Some of his key points included:

* Agreement is the foundation of accountability.

* People are more likely to agree with people who agree with them first.

* People buy into what they can understand quickly.

* The most successful people can define value in less than 20 seconds.

* People want the same things: love, money, and prestige. Therefore, there are multiple solutions for a single problem.

While talking about effective communication, Wynn reminded the audience that their own leadership is critical to the success of the people they are managing.

“The people you manage are usually at a different level of understanding. If you talk at the height of your intelligence about what you do, you may not communicate effectively,” he said.

Wynn also discussed how managers must understand the difference between more experienced and younger workers. “People under 30 are accustomed to being praised and rewarded along the way, before they reach the end goal. Over-30s expect to get praise and reward at the end.”

According to Wynn, it is a very different mindset and requires an astute manager to understand how to manage both types effectively.

Wynn co-authored “Speaking of Success” with Steven Covey and Ken Blanchard; it is available in bookstores. For more information on Wynn‘s offerings, go to Business Success or Keynote Speaker.

 

 

 

 

 

 

3 Comments | change, Customer Service, management | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ginger Dailey Wynn

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