Company Blog

If I should die before I wake

by Adam Zack — October 25, 2017

What have I done for you lately?

One thing we all have in common is that we are going to die. That’s sounds especially grim and Halloweenish, I know. Definitely doesn’t sound inspirational. But it’s true. I was asked the other day to help my dad write a eulogy for a dear friend of his that had recently passed. This man was one of the great family friends of our childhood. Always quick with a joke, polite as could possibly be, a great family man and humble all the way to his Irish soul. It was an honor that he’d ask me to help, and it made me think that when I die – when we all die – have we done the right thing by our friends, family, employees and customers? Will there be tears of sadness or attendance by duty only? Making the effort every single day to serve the people in our life and go to bed with the clean conscience of “I have no regrets today” helps thoughts of mortality not be so scary. If you asked your employees what they’d say at your wake and the best they can do is “He wasn’t a bastard every day” then maybe it’s time to step back and examine the everyday interactions we all have and instead of “What have you done for me lately?” ask “What have I done for you lately?” In one way, your suc...

by Adam Zack — October 18, 2017

Helping, Fixing or Serving

It’s good to help, right? People need our help and it makes us feel good to help them. They say, “Thank you, how can I repay your kindness?” We of course defer and say, “No, no, it was my pleasure to help you.” But deep in the blackboard of our mind a mark is tallied, and they now owe us a debt because of our help. When I first heard this analogy last week, I had to step back and really think about it. I always have wanted to help. It feels really good. But does it make the helped feel good? Do they now feel the obligation of owing me one? Something really to ponder. In fact, think of help in terms of The Help. To be referred to as “The Help” immediately conjures up images of a maid, a butler, a driver – some kind of subservient role. No one wants to be referred to as The Help. Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen really nails the subject Helping, Fixing or Serving? I have long had the need to be a fixer. Need advice? I’ll give a solution. Don’t need advice, but just want to talk? I’ll give a solution. Something not working right? I’ll give a solu...

by Adam Zack — October 11, 2017

Did they communicate my brand?

Ok, this week’s topic is going to read like I am so biased, and of course I am, but I have not always been on this side of the issue. What I am talking about is whether you should outsource your advertising and marketing projects or do them in-house. Duh, of course I am going to say, “outsource.” DW would cast a horrible karmic curse on me if I advised our retail partners to take their marketing efforts in-house. But’s there’s much more to it than just taking the biased side in support of my employer.You may remember from our introduction that I was on the operations side of retail for over 25 years, and still am on a consulting type basis. I know how it seemed like every warm body with a marketing degree seemingly knew what was best for my business and through their incredible savvy could transform my ad and brand into an award winning, life changing, profit generating, cost saving program! I must be the fool to ignore their expertise! And there were a lot of these people. A LOT. So being the prideful know-it-all that I was, I resisted. I politely declined meetings. If they were persistent, I politely took meetings and then politely told them “No, I’ve got it covered.” If they impolitely ...

by Adam Zack — October 4, 2017

They thrive on writing negative reviews.

And all you’re ever gonna be is mean(Why you gotta be so mean)Someday I’ll be big enough so you can’t hit me(Why you gotta be so mean)And all you’re ever gonna be is meanWhy you gotta be so mean? -Taylor SwiftMy mom told us “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” So we had our mouths shut a lot, at least in front of her. Today’s social media world seems to have grown up without a mom who gave them the same advice. We are consistently looking for validation and direction from social media and online forums as to what we should actually do every day. Where should we eat? What should we watch? How do I get home the quickest? Which wine should I buy? Is this movie any good? The Internet age has turned everyone it seems into a critic. Rotten Tomatoes and Yelp! They have compiled the opinions of average schmos like you and me into multibillion-dollar business that have made (or broken) many a business and career. Don’t get me wrong; an accumulation of opinions can be a good thing when trying to make a major decision like buying a car or deciding on a vacation destination. Like professional restaurant and movie c...

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...