First RANT of the New Year

[Rob Markoff]

Buckle your seat-belts - first rant of the New Year........

In today's business section, there is an article about a "start-up" hoping to establish itself in the $350 BILLION U.S. e-commerce market. To succeed they must offer good selection, low prices and fast delivery - "all the things on-line buyers demand yet few retailers can provide."
Why are only on-line buyers demanding this and why only RETAILERS? Shouldn't our suppliers offer this as well? Shouldn't WE be demanding this of our suppliers?

A week before Christmas, this new start-up told some customers they would not get their orders on time. (Sound familiar? Only from what I have heard/read - some of OUR suppliers "promised" delivery but did not deliver - or had low stock levels at the busiest time of the year.)
Yet, the founder of this start-up says he is not worried. What will separate HIS company from every other failed company he says, is happiness. In particular, employee happiness. (Sound familiar?)

As the holiday shopping season was beginning in late November, the CEO convened his top executives for their regular weekly meeting. Here are some of the things NOT on the agenda: warehouse logistics, customer concerns, fine-tuning prices, potential shipping bottlenecks, supplier issues, or any of another dozen other topics that could have bedeviled their first December. (EXCUSE ME?)
Instead, the executives discussed the mood and well-being of their employees because the results of their first "Happiness Pulse" were in. Make people feel good and they will do their best, said the CEO.

"Many companies are built on a culture of momentum which can mask a lot of troubles", said the founder of a reputation management company. "Then, when the momentum slows, the company is much larger and the original mission. the original culture has been diluted. Employees are no longer sure they are working for a place that works for them."
The solution championed is creating a "durable culture." That task often falls to someone called the chief people officer."...................(Sound familiar?)

Allow me to pull on my hip boots and waders. My bovine excrement meter is pegging............

Am I really THAT old and so misunderstanding of this "new" generation? That is one reason I posted the recent article about millennials and how they are changing the wine industry. That is why I try to read/understand anything I can about the "work ethic" (or my perceived lack thereof) of the new generation(s) of employees we have hired. (Barbara and I were discussing the history of our company and we are well over 100 employees.) Here's something for your bedside table:http://www.amazon.com/Generations-Work-Managin…/…/0814404804

Are we (as an industry) - and this falls on those of you who still are in it and will be for the near future - expected to be accepting of our vendors who continue to produce/ship/deliver CRAP? Of vendors who consolidate and do NOT deliver - or delay shipping times by moving their warehouse from the West Coast to Tennessee and expect your purchasing levels to remain constant? Many of us "old timers" are slowly leaving the industry to new hands........
Am I really THAT old fashioned and out of touch that I expect the executives from my vendors to sit at that table and discuss those EXACT problems that directly affect my ability to make a living?

Is this new "happiness" culture going to be so ingrained in the new workforce (and in the resulting effects on consumers) that they become complacent with mediocrity and poor quality/service so long as they are all happy?

Am I THAT old fashioned in still caring MORE about my ability to deliver a quality, inspirationally designed product on time and on budget that with how happy the person who pulled the wrong moulding, didn't run quality checks during manufacture, didn't call on me is?
OTOH, look at what has happened to a company that used to be made up of the BEST, BRIGHTEST and MOST CREATIVE people in the industry after a certain billionaire bought them and brought in bean counters to run things....................

Is it too much to expect a happy CARING workforce to deliver inspired quality products? Maybe it is......................exit stage left.

 

[Paul Cascio]

Is this the same guy that runs North Korea? Seems they preach similar management philosophies.

 

[Russ Wood]

Ready...Fire...Aim.

I think there are too many startups out there that are interested first: in making money; second: trying to get someone else to pay to start it up.

Then after the first two, they then decide what to get into and then to start taking orders, and then and only then, trying to figure out what they are really doing.

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As companies get larger, many concentrate more and more on additional growth and sometimes forget about what really makes them great.

Luckily, most of my suppliers are quite good at providing the kinds of service I like.

A few years ago someone bought up one of our local distributors, and they are trying to survive by providing the proper kinds of service, and they track mistakes, back orders, etc. They also replaced all of the employees that were not interested in doing what is necessary for their customers. And they are also having their employees on the phone actually learn about framing, and even study and take their CPF's, so they can better answer and help their customers. I just hope other frame shops are willing to continue to support these kinds of suppliers, instead of only looking at the cheapest alternative.

 

[David Waldmann]

That is one reason I posted the recent article about millennials and how they are changing the wine industry.

Can you point me to that? I must have missed the original post, as I've been in wine country(!) the last couple weeks. I did a search but couldn't find it.

Is it too much to expect a happy CARING workforce to deliver inspired quality products? Maybe it is......................exit stage left.

To me, a successful modern business is one that treats its customers the way they themselves would expect to be treated. My definition of "success" may be different than others.

To take it just a bit further, IMO it takes three groups of people to make a business operate. In no particular order (each is equally important): customers, employees and suppliers. As a business owner you have to keep all three groups happy or you are in for some restless nights and thinning hair.