Company Blog
Looks Homemade to Me
by Adam Zack — April 6, 2016
We’ve had several “learning about myself” blogs in a row, and this week it’s time to give you an idea on how you can differentiate your company in the marketplace and profit in the process. One great ways to do this is to create your own unique, “homemade items”. But it’s not just creating something awesome, it’s how you market and sell it. I was in the San Francisco Bay Area a couple months ago visiting the family owned, locally driven Bianchini’s Markets. What really caught my eye were glass jars of Chris’ Homemade Meat Sauce.I asked the store owner Kevin Bianchini about it and he said that Chris is his brother and partner. He makes a killer meat sauce, so they decided to put it in a jar and sell it. What was so great about the idea was how they chose to put it in a glass jar (pint and quart). It communicates quality, history, family and uniqueness. If they were conventional thinking, they would have put it in a plastic container like everyone uses in the deli. Much cheaper, the empty containers take up much less space and it’s easier. I’m so glad they didn’t. It’s a winner of an idea that I saw repeated again in Los Angeles at natural foods grocer Erewhon. Only they did it with soups. They had a lar...read moreWhen Right Is Wrong
by Adam Zack — March 30, 2016
All humans have the desire to be right. After all, the opposite of right is wrong, and who wants to be wrong? In some the need to be right is strong. Make that overwhelming. Obsessive. Mandatory. Worth fighting over. My genetics put me into that camp. We have to be right and absolutely loathe being wrong. We will go any lengths to prove that we are right, and make damn sure the other person knew we were right. It’s caused arguments and I’m sure has resulted in hard feelings, even grudges. We even gave it a name: The Zack Curse. We liken it to winning, and the opposite of winning is losing, and there’s no gratification in losing. Until very recently (like two weeks ago), I just went with it. I was right, and that was the way that God made me. Right? Nope.Through The Heart of Leadership I learned: You can shift your perception of the world by giving up your addiction to being right. Separate the facts from interpretation and wipe the smug look of self-satisfaction off your face. I learned that there is a cost to being right, and that cost is the negative feelings and emotional toll it inflicts on others. I may still have the drive to be accurate. To be correct. To want to achieve the truth. But it’s not...read moreMultitasking Failure
by Adam Zack — March 23, 2016
I always thought multitasking was a positive thing. I’m so good I can read emails, talk on the phone and clip my nails at the same time. I can feed the dog, watch TV and bake cookies all at once. I can drive and text and listen to music while also scratching that itch on my foot. It’s a great thing to be able to do multiple things at once, right? It’s efficiency. It saves time. And it’s never boring, right? About six months ago I was going through emails and talking to DW at the same time. Somehow it came up in the conversation that I was multitasking. Wasn’t I a good employee, being able to do several things at once! He stated that he wasn’t a fan of multitasking. I didn’t understand why, nor was I present enough in the conversation to ask, but it did stick with me.It wasn’t until last week at the Heart of Leadership conference that I finally learned why multitasking is not a positive trait for a great leader. The instructor pointed out that when you are doing multiple things at once, nothing gets 100%. In fact, it’s impossible. I can’t be a good listener if I am doing something else. I can’t effectivel...read moreStand Taking
by DW Green — March 16, 2016
Two of our associates are attending Amba Gale’s Heart of Leadership workshop in Seattle this week. One of the exercises they will be participating in is called stand taking. What do I stand for? What is the commitment I am? (for myself, my organization, my company, my co-workers, my customers, my family, or any area of concern in my life) The power of stand taking happens when you announce out loud to others, what you stand for. I suspect blogging about one’s stands can be as powerful. Here are a few of my stands:- I stand for love and personal growth in my shared spaces.
- I stand for creating a powerful, empowering, collaborative workplace based on love, mutual respect and accountability where team members are encouraged to be themselves and make a difference in their world.
- I stand for creating innovative products and services that genuinely differentiate our clients in their market space…products and services that benefit their financial bottom line.
- I stand for business relationships that are based on trust, mutual respect, collaboration and meaningful dialogue.