Company Blog

Don’t take that tone with me

by Adam Zack — September 27, 2017

excuuuusssee meeeee!

Non verbal communication trumps the actual words every time. Every single time. Your tone may not exactly convey what you are trying to say, but it says everything to who you are talking to. Someone asks for your help, and you say “Sure, what can I help you with?” Sounds great on paper, right? Roll your eyes and sigh when you say it sounds like you are definitely not in for helping. “Your hair looks great today” sounds like a lovely compliment, but say it with a emphasis on Your and a slight smirk on your face and you are just being sarcastic and untruthful. Do it the opposite way: “You’ve put on a couple pounds, haven’t you?” when said with a smile and a sincere handshake is sure to make the other person think “Wait..is he being serious?” You learn tone the hard way as a kid, when your mom said “Don’t use that tone with me, mister!” and you tried to play semantics and replied “What?? I said excuse me.” when you said “Excuuuuusee meeeee” with the sarcasm of a 11 year old. It’s especially complicated in todays world where texting is so prevalent in communication. Does ALL CAPS mean I am getting yelled at? Or that it’s important? Or do they just like caps? Is a one word answer ...

by Adam Zack — September 20, 2017

I don’t like to be joked!

When brothers and I were growing up we teased each other relentlessly. Actually, we still do, but back then we didn’t really care about each other’s feelings. Making sure it wasn’t you that was the butt of the joke was our daily goal in life at the time. I think all kids are a little sensitive about being the butt of the joke, and my youngest daughter Alyssa really did not like it. “I don’t like to be joked!” she’d exclaim while we yukked it up at what she thought was her expense. It wasn’t true, but it is a memory that carried into teenage years and since the family still liked to joke and tease, we instead joked her older sister, who received several funny nicknames and learned that being a Polack was kind of funny. (“Wait, why am I the Pole???” she’d say.) With Halloween coming up I was reminded of an old store manager who was big in the stomach and big in the seat. One year for the store costume contest an employee dressed up as the manager, complete with pillows stuffed in his shirt front and the back of his pants. It really was funny, but it turns out the manager loved to joke people but did NOT like being the butt of the joke. He retaliated like a spoiled kid and gave the guy who dresse...

by Adam Zack — September 13, 2017

It’s not as good, but you save a few cents.

You’d think that anything that has to do with homemade cookies is good. Unless you’re on a diet, there’s not much better than fresh baked cookies (and an ice cold glass of milk). So in our love of cookies, we want to make them faster and faster because our friends and family all like them so much. So we buy a cookie cutter so that they all are the same shape and size, and pretty much we are pleasing the masses with our delicious cookies. Then Nabisco hears about our cookies and buys the recipe and now our cookies are everywhere! But now they’re not quite as special as they were. In a cost cutting move, Nabisco alters the recipe a little to eliminate the butter. And the chocolate isn’t Belgian anymore. Oh, and that fresh coconut? It’s freeze dried now. It’ll be easier to get back on that diet now, because the Cookie Cutter approach isn’t so special. In fact, the term cookie cutter is pretty negative. Cookie cutter houses? Cheap and definitely un-custom. As the need to differentiate from chain grocery stores becomes more and more important it’s vital to realize that the cookie cutter approach to marketing and merchandising is not what will set you apart. In fact, just the connotati...

by Adam Zack — September 6, 2017

He’s always late

Man I hate being late. I type that, as I am late in writing this week’s blog. DW’s gentle inquiry “How’s the old blog coming?” spurs some action, but it’s still late and, well, late is not cool. Or fashionable. I hate it when others are late. It’s disrespectful. It’s rude. It wastes time. And it shortens my already shortened version of patience. So why do so many people make an unapologetic habit of being late? Every Tuesday I carpool with this dude that is NEVER late. Well, except the time he forgot me and he was so early that by the time I texted him and asked if he was still coming to pick me up, he was halfway to San Diego. I (and most sane people) love the dependability of those persons in our life that are always on time. That person who arrives promptly (or a few minutes early) brings comfort and confidence to a normally chaotic day. Punctuality in business is vital to making deals, because when you’re late you’ve already disrespected someone’s time. And still I know many people who are always late. They know it, laugh it off, and it just gets added to the sum of their personality traits. How many times have you heard “He’s always late, but I respect the hell out of him!”? How about never....

by Adam Zack — August 30, 2017

I swear momma

So I’m at this marketing conference and I am talking to this dude who starts telling me about his cruise to Alaska with his wife and what an awesome time they had. “I went on a cruise to Alaska!” I said and proceeded to tell him about the time I went, how great the food was (and the booze was included!) and how I loved the cities and how beautiful the glaciers were and how I saw whales and bald eagles. Man, it was a great trip. I could totally relate to that trip! Stop there: He didn’t ask me if I had been to Alaska. He didn’t inquire to which towns I liked best. He didn’t even ask if I’d been on any vacation lately. But I could relate, right? Well, by relating I:Stopped listening to think about what my response relation would be.Made the conversation about me instead of him.Diminished his story by trying to trump it with mine.I have been trying to be a better listener for the last year and a half. Really I have, I swear momma. And the lesson that relating is not a good thing really showed me how I still have a very long way to go before I am truly a thoughtful listener and a participant in a conversation that does not bring the focus back to yours truly. I aspire to be a listen...

by Adam Zack — August 23, 2017

Ego is like a pilot light

I was watching the HBO mini-series The Defiant Ones, a documentary about the rise of rap mogul Dr. Dre and rock producer/genius engineer Jimmy Iovine and their ultimate collaboration that resulted in the creation of Beatz Music (think fancy headphones) which they ultimately sold to Apple for $3.2 billion. Yes, billion. The stories of their very humble beginnings through their success with artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Gwen Stefani, Tupac and Eminem was fascinating to me and even gave me real appreciation for the art (yes, I said art) of rap music—a sentence I never dreamed I’d even contemplate. My biggest takeaway of the whole 4 part series was an interview with Dr. Dre. (If you don’t know the name, he was a member of the most influential rap group ever N.W.A. Straight Outta Compton was the movie about them.) Anyway, Dre was speaking of fame and the things it brings, he said,“The ego was a mother*$#@er. Ego is like the little pilot light and fame is the gasoline. And once gasoline gets poured on that ego, you never know if the pilot light is gonna go out or if it’s gonna turn into a mother*$#@in’ bonfire or some $%#& that nobody could control.” It’s analogy that reall...

by Adam Zack — August 16, 2017

Woulda-Shoulda, What-If and Almost

Man my objective in life is to get where I want to go the quickest and easiest way possible. You get to the goal line and say “Man, that was easy! I planned it perfect. The path of least resistance was so simple to navigate.” Yeah, like that ever happens. In fact, when you do achieve an objective with relative ease, the thought is more like “Damn, I was lucky.” The path of least resistance (POLR) goes with the flow, cuts corners and requires the minimum amount of effort. Many solid “C” report cards, 2^nd to-last place teams and also-rans took that path. Woulda-Shoulda, What-If and Almost are famous stops along Route POLR. The natural tendency for anyone is the POLR. Not that it’s always the lazy way to go. Crossing the street, riding the train and tying your shoes all benefit from taking the easy route, but the substantial goals in our lives – winning competitions, making inventions and changing the world never seem to follow the POLR. The real road to success is littered with I Trieds, Maybe Next Times and It Was Too Hards. Achievement takes work, and work, well, is work. How many times have I said to myself (and other who have been around to hear me bitch) “CAN’T ANYT...

by Adam Zack — August 9, 2017

Criticism never feels good

I think we have all had an encounter with the person who says “Don’t take this personally, but…” and goes on to say something that is not good. Could be the style of your hair, their comment on your aroma or a change in relationship – personal (It’s not you, it’s me.) or business (We’ve made some budget cuts and decided to go in another direction.) For me, it’s always personal. Criticism never feels good, no matter how constructive it is. I had this guy I worked with who was a real barb (sorry Barb, I don’t mean you) in the ass. If I said white, he said black. Up was down and smart was stupid. He said “You shouldn’t take it personally, I don’t.” Well, I do. Decisions and work made with thought and planning are inherently yours, and that’s personal. It’s impossible not to take things you are invested in personally. After all, you personally decided on your course of action and made your best effort. Business criticism and change is just as difficult for the company that is invested in the success of their customer. When they win, you feel a sense of pride and accomplishment. When they criticize your work negatively, it’s very difficult not to take it as an affront to your competency. An...

by Adam Zack — August 3, 2017

Examine the words you use and how you deliver them.

Knives, swords and guns are powerful weapons, no doubt. Wars have been fought, won and lost because of the weapons deployed. The bigger knife, bigger gun, bigger bomb usually wins the war. But it’s words and gestures that are the most powerful weapon when it comes to starting, or ending, a fight. An insult can, and has, started a war. Calm words have prevented them. So when it comes to power to influence and change things, start by examining the words you use and how you deliver them. Customers can be convinced to shop at your store simply due to the words you use and how you market them. Spell things wrong, use terrible grammar, be unimaginative and the chances of you persuading someone to look your way are drastically reduced. It follows suit with existing employees and customers – the words you say and how you deliver them can make or break the relationship. Compliments freely and thoughtfully delivered will inspire loyalty and appreciation. “You look great today, Miss Jones”, “Have you lost a little weight Bob?” “You did a fantastic job closing last night, Bill” are all simple things to say that are often not spoken. And the impact they make can help win the war. The grea...

by Adam Zack — July 26, 2017

“Make the most of all you have left”

I know I’m not the only one who has a major problem with the passage of time. I just looked at the calendar and realized that we are nearly SEVEN months into 2017. That’s right. Summer’s winding down, fall’s around the corner, football season is barely a month away, Dodger and Astro fans are planning for the World Series and turkey orders are due. Holy guacamole. L.A. Times columnist Chris Erskine put the value of time in a unique perspective. He likened his life to how many summers he has left. The best time of the year (unless you live in Palm Springs. Or Phoenix) goes by so fast. BBQs, beach, no school, cold beers on warm days. Summer is just the best. And how many do you actually get? Maybe 80 or 90 total in your life. Only about 40 or 50 that you really can savor and enjoy. I figure I have maybe 20 great summers left. When I think of it that way it’s humbling and scary. Don’t have wasted days that you can never get back because of feuds or grudges. Make the most of all you have left, because before you know it the kids are off to college and summers spent together turn into a few days each summer together. Knees start to wear out, hips get broken and then boom, no...