DW's Blog

Thoughtfulness

by DW Green — December 5, 2017

Thoughtfulness is a habit

Thoughtfulness. A simple enough concept; yet not always easy to practice. Once mastered, however, it is one of the greatest gifts you can give; and not just to friends and loved ones on special occasions and holidays…but to everyone, always. And, as you establish yourself as thoughtful to others, they’ll go out of their way to please you back. Thoughtfulness is a habit; internalized, it becomes a way of life, a part of our being.It’s always cool when a renowned business expert validates a belief. Here’s a short article on thoughtfulness by Tom Peter’s.Service: on Thoughtfulness —Tom PetersI think it was the recession—the great recession, or whatever you want to call it—that really got me thinking about this. You know, when times are very tough and tough decisions have to be made, as they certainly have to be made, fundamental human decency toward one another is arguably more important than at any other time.And somehow or another, the word thoughtfulness came into my mind. And I like the word thoughtfulness. And then the next step in this process—and I’d ask you to think about this—many of you, most of you, probably have some kind of value statement. Put the empl...

by DW Green — November 29, 2017

Live the value

Company values provide guidance and direction for our actions and behavior, for our selves and for our relations with each other, with clients and with vendors. Business tactics change over time, but values are immutable. While values are aspirational, the goal is to become the value. To Be the value. To live the value.I have a friend in the Seattle area. Jim Huffman. Jim is often described as integrity. He IS integrous. Among his many attributes Jim is always integrous. He’s amazing. Thanks Jim. Thanks for Being Jim.

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by DW Green — November 22, 2017

The greatest gift…the gift of life

Today and everyday is a time to be grateful. The more we practice gratitude, the more we see how much there is to be grateful for, and our life becomes an ongoing celebration of joy and happiness. When we master gratitude, we perceive God in everything, and our reaction is love and gratitude for the greatest gift, which is life.To live with gratitude is to enjoy every moment of this precious gift that comes from God. Gratitude is one of the greatest expressions of love. To express what is in our hearts is to be truly alive. Just saying thank you will open all the doors to an abundance of life’s blessings from all directions, but especially an abundance of love.Since Thanksgiving is the “official” day to express thankfulness for our blessings, I would like to express my sincere gratitude for clients and staff, past and present, who have provided me with so much joy, knowledge, wisdom and happiness.Thank you all very much and Happy Thanksgiving.DW“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a ...

by DW Green — November 14, 2017

Let go of control

I received the following article from a client a few years ago. It’s about letting go. We’ve all been told to “let go”. Let go of this or let go of that. As if the process of letting go will make things better, or less painful. Written by Scott Mabry, Letting-Go Leadership. His words are very meaningful to me and I read them often.“Let go.This line of thinking is counter-intuitive. Our instinct is to hold on, to protect, to become attached, to expect. The more we attach ourselves to expectations, people or things the more anxiety we create and the less effective we become.So why do we “hold on” in unhealthy ways? As leaders, we believe we are responsible for what happens in the organization. And because we hold this belief we are afraid. If the outcome is not what we desire, or think others expect, we will have failed. We will not have lived up to the reputation and titles we have worked so hard to achieve or perhaps to some standard we internalized earlier in life. To protect ourselves we micro-manage, manipulate others and view a negative event or unflattering comment as an attack on our professional identity. We even become attached to the label of “the leader�...

by DW Green — November 8, 2017

Fun-loving child again

I’m going to a developmental retreat next month in Seattle. One of the distinctions we will be exploring is Play. Play as in not taking everything so seriously. Play helps us keep the distance we need to observe rather than identify with the natural anxieties of life. Plus play is just plain fun! Let yourself be that spontaneous, in-the-moment, fun-loving child again. Or, as Friedrich Schiller put it, “Keep true to the dreams of thy youth.”One of our assignments is to bring a joke or two to the retreat. Humor is important in life. Laughing is healthy. Laughing is fun. Here’re a few jokes I like…What do you call an intelligent, good-looking, sensitive man? A rumor.World’s shortest books…Career opportunities for History majors.Amelia Earhart’s Guide to the Pacific.Accountant JokeA patient is at her doctor’s office after undergoing a physical examination. The doctor says, “I have some very grave news. You have only six months to live. What can I do cries the patient. The doctor replies, Marry an accountant. Will that my life longer asks the patient. No says the doctor. But it will seem longer.You know you’re getting old when……your back goes out more ...

by DW Green — November 1, 2017

Unveiling a new advertising look can create excitement with customers and employees alike.

Often times when sales and customer counts are flat or declining, a bold, new visual look and go-to-market strategy can shake up a market. Unveiling a new advertising look can create excitement with customers and employees alike. Plus change is normally a good thing. Non- shoppers are the biggest source for new primary customers and new revenue.Advertising and marketing that is developed in the context of themes and storytelling is the best way to attract the attention of non-shoppers. And the presentation of those themes and story’s must be applied differently to each marketing platform. For example, the print ad that is posted on the website must minimally become an interactive tool to add sale items to a shopping list. A searchable item list is better. A pdf of an ad on a mobile device is not effective at all. It’s very important that advertising and promotions are well integrated into all marketing platforms, including in-store signage. This message and activity integration builds momentum, resulting in more sales and more customers. What makes this all work so well is the planning. The sales benefit alone from just sharing a great plan with employe...
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Employee Development

by DW Green — October 25, 2017

Employee training and development is critical

In the end it is employees who make the difference. No amount of merchandising or advertising can be successful over the long run without a dedicated, knowledgeable staff. If employees don’t support your market position or advertising claims, your efforts will be undermined.To build a company that is profitable, enduring, and able to hold its own against major competitors, managers need to foster a sense of community among employees. Above all, employees must share common values. This means recruits should be judged as much on the basis of their fit with the company’s values and principles as they are on the basis of their ability to fulfill the technical requirements of the job.People should be hired into your company with the understanding that they are there to develop their potential. You must ensure that processes are in place to assess individual potential, ensure adequate training and development, evaluate performance, and provide graceful exits from the company. If employees don’t pull their weight or share the company’s values, they must move on. At a certain point, managers must be prepared to pass the baton, as well, so the company can continue to renew itself.Employee trainin...
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Print Motivates Millennials

by DW Green — October 18, 2017

Millennials love print advertising

I read the following about millennials love for print advertising in an article published on Visualogistic’s website. I was somewhat surprised by their findings. Interestingly, it validated my belief of the power and importance of a retailer’s ability to create an emotional connection, a bond, with consumers.“Millennials may be known to be digitally savvy, but they’re not constantly connected. We assume that the Millennial generation constantly live in a cyber world not paying attention to anything outside of their phone or computer screen. That is where advertisers fail with millennials. With so many online ads being pushed towards them in every direction, it’s no surprise nearly half of millennials are ignoring pop-up ads, banner ads, and emails.Millennials ignore these ads:
49% internet ads
48% email (spam)
45% mobile text
Although millennials spend more time engaged online, they use the internet and social media to stay connected to friends and family. If given the option, millennials are more likely to block ads and skip through TV commercials. You can’t solely rely on those platforms to advertise and need to see how else to connect to this part...
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Outsourcing

by DW Green — October 11, 2017

Stick to the netting

In Search of Excellence, Tom Peters’ famous book first published in 1982, describes eight basic principles of management that made forty-three of America’s best-run companies successful. One of the principles was “Stick to the netting.” Stay with the business you know and outsource the rest! Retail grocery is about selling and merchandising. Not advertising and marketing design.On the surface in-house ad departments can seem more efficient and cost effective. However, if you look deeper into the actual cost of maintaining a highly professional advertising design team those cost can be much more than what you thought. Often times in-house ad departments become a source of overhead that limit or reduce resources needed to improve retail activities that directly improve sales and customer experience. Not to mention the negative impact poorly designed materials can have on your company’s brand.The added cost of office space, computer hardware and software and their ongoing maintenance, as well as photo libraries, insurance, and labor benefit packages can make the benefits of an in-house department much less attractive. Even the rate of pay necessary to attract talented designers can be problematic. Outsourcing...
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Community Matters

by DW Green — October 4, 2017

Light of Community

I was in Denver over the weekend attending a Denver Bronco football game with my brothers. Denver is our hometown, and while we no longer live there, we’ve been fervent Bronco fans for 57 years! Avid sports fans that root and cheer for their favorite team belong to a community of fellow fans. In Denver, seeing fans donned in team colors—shirts, jerseys and caps, all wearing smiles, “high-fiving”, fist pumping and cheering Go Broncos, all share a deep connection to our beloved team. Belonging to a community is a powerful and meaningful relationship, whether it’s a sports team, a city, a school, a state, a geographic region or a nation.As business owners we’re connected to the broader community of our chosen profession. We’re connected to our employees, vendors, customers and to the communities we serve. Being mindful of those relationships in the light of community changes our perspective to service and contribution to a greater good.Perspective: the faculty of seeing all the relevant data in a meaningful relationship.
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