DW's Blog

DW Green Company, A River Company

by DW Green — November 2, 2016

The living company is a river company.

The manager of a living company understands that keeping the company alive means handing it over to a successor in at least the same health that it was in when he or she took charge. To do that, a manager must let people grow in a community that is held together by clearly stated values. The manager must place commitment to people before assets, respect for innovation before devotion to policy, the messiness of learning before orderly procedures, and the perpetuation of the community before all other concerns.Living companies are willing to scuttle assets in order to survive. To them, assets—and profits—are like oxygen: necessary for life but not the purpose of life. These companies know that assets are just means to earning a living. A company run according to a different model scuttles people to save its plant and equipment, which it considers the essence of its being. If such a company were in the car rental business, for example, it would see itself as existing to rent cars. The company’s fleet would be considered its primary asset, and its purpose would be to make profits for shareholders. If such companies find themselves in trouble, they get rid of people. I believe that employees are a company’...

by DW Green — October 26, 2016

Compassion is fair.

I offer what has surprised me when thinking of fairness and justice: that life is not fair, but unending in its capacity to change us; that compassion is fair and feeling is just; and that we are not responsible for all that befalls us, only for how we receive it and how we hold each other up along the way.Live today. Remove all blame from your vocabulary. Catch yourself when you find yourself using your past history as a reason for your failure to act today, and instead say, “I am free now to detach myself from what used to be.”Yep. Life is life, and it unfolds on its own accord. We can only control our reaction to what happens to us....

by DW Green — October 19, 2016

Many things take time to grow and develop.

Adam’s blog is nifty keeno…just aces bubba!Rome wasn’t built in a day and it takes about nine months from conception for a baby to be born. Many things just take time to complete. I recently saw the movie Deepwater Horizon. The film, a dramatization of the April 2010 disaster when the offshore drilling rig, Deepwater Horizon, exploded, causing the worst oil spill in U.S. history. Poor judgment based on greed and impatience resulted in the deaths of 11 workers and billions of dollars of damages.Click HERE to read more about Deepwater HorizonFortunately, these types of mega disasters don’t happen often. But impatience can result in undo stress, unhappiness, and poor judgment. Impatience can impact us, physically and mentally both personally and professionally. From a business standpoint, major projects like store remodels, new website roll outs, creating and implementing new marketing plans or brand development plans all take time to execute. Rushing their completion dates to meet forecasted, often-arbitrary timelines can cause problems including unexpected and unnecessary costs. And even when these...

by DW Green — October 12, 2016

You don’t know what you don’t know.

“You know what your know. You know what you don’t know. But you don’t know what you don’t know!” A valuable lesson leaned from Amba Gale, a close friend, teacher extraordinaire, and mentor, many years ago. With this expression in mind, I try to be open to and inquisitive about things I don’t know! Which is a lot!!Hence another perspective on enthusiasm…The Greeks have given us one of the most beautiful words of our language: enthusiasm. The word enthusiasm translates to “a God within.” Within you is an infinite passionate soul that wishes to express itself. It’s the God within you, urging you to fulfill a deep sense of what you were meant to be. All of our acts are measured by the inspiration from which they originate. When your acts spring from your enthusiasm, from the God within you, you’ll feel the passion you were intended to feel and live.The beauty of feeling passionate and enthusiastic is the glorious feeling of joy and cheerfulness that comes along with it. If you want to feel great, look into the mirror, say to your image, I am eternal; this image will fade, but I am infinite. I am here temporarily for a reason. I will be passionate and enthusiastic about all that...

by DW Green — October 4, 2016

The Best We Can Be

Being the “best we can be” is determined by motive. To dedicate one’s actions as a service of love to life is to sanctify them and transform them from self-seeking motives to unselfish gifts. We define excellence as dedication to the highest standards. All physical tasks and labor can be ingredients in one’s contribution to the world. Even the smallest task can be seen as serving the common good and, if viewed in that light, work becomes ennobled.Everyone has the opportunity to contribute to harmony and beauty by kindness to others and thereby support the human spirit. That which is freely given to life flows back to us because we are equally part of that life. Like ripples on the water, every gift returns to the giver. What we affirm in others, we actually affirm in ourselves.So to be the “best we can be” is a gift we give to others, to our customers, to our employees, to our vendors and to our community. When we give 100% of ourselves to a task at hand, when our motive is for the common good, for being of service to others, we know we are “the best we can be!”...

by DW Green — September 28, 2016

Testing 1, 2, 4…

I can attest to too many tests. Testing 1, 2, 4…Therefore, I propose a simple brain exercise. Hmmm, I seem to misspell exercise every time I type it! Sometimes I misspell misspell. Anyway, not difficult exercises like brainteasers, riddles, conundrums or cross word puzzles. This is a simple neurobic exercise from a great book; Keep Your Brain Alive. 83 Neurobic Exercises to Help Prevent Memory Loss & Increase Mental Fitness. —Lawrence C. Katz, Ph.D., & Manning Rubin“Neurobics is a scientifically based program that helps you modify your behavior by introducing the unexpected to your brain and enlisting the aid of all your senses as you go through your day. An active brain is a healthy brain, while inaction leads to reduced brain fitness. Or in simpler terms—“Use it or loose it.”All of us have our morning rituals to get us quickly and “mindlessly” out the door. These set routines allow the brain to go on automatic pilot and be more efficient. And at bedtime, when we need to wind down from a day of mental and physical exertion, routines are similarly comforting.Because routines are so ingrained in our mornings and evenings, they’re ideal times to inject a bit of nove...

by DW Green — September 21, 2016

Mark_Twain,_Brady-Handy_photo_portrait,_Feb_7,_1871,_cropped

Young Mark Twain

“The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.” —Mark TwainHow management refers to personnel and store activities can bolster a store’s commitment to its employees and to exceptional customer service. For instance, calling part-time employees prime-timers conveys the excellent performance expected of them, the respect due them, and their full membership on the team. Often times the sanitation or janitorial staff is taken for granted, even though their skill set and talent is critical to the stores overall success. Consider a fresh name for those very important employees like the Clean Team or Cleanness Pro’s. Try coupling the word sales with various job functions, like visual sales instead of stock and display and register sales instead of cashier or checker. Deliberately use the word selling interchangeably with customer service to reinforce that they are essentially the same thing.Have some fun with this activity!...

by DW Green — September 14, 2016

Patience

Yep waiting is annoying. I know I can get upset and annoyed when I feel I’ve had to wait too long. Waiting is a commonplace occurrence. Having to wait “for something” happens practically everyday. And for sure businesses should do their best to minimize waiting…being respectful for customers’ time.The other side of the waiting equation, the personal side, and maybe the more important side, is our personal reaction to the WAIT. For me, it’s about being present and aware of my initial and unconditioned response to the situation at hand. Rather than getting mad or upset over something that I have little control, I need to relax, take a deep breath or two, and respond accordingly. If I choose not to wait, I can leave. If I can’t choose to leave, like being in a traffic jam, I can choose to accept the situation for what is and stay calm. Resisting the natural flow of things (of life) is not healthy. I need to remember that my time isn’t more valuable or precious than yours, or anyone else’s. Easier said than done!“A man who is master of patience is master of everything else.”—George Savile...

by DW Green — September 7, 2016

Complexities of life have added layers of ambiguity.

I attended a niece’s wedding near Portland Oregon over Labor Day weekend. The wedding was amazing. The ceremony was held on Bladberry Farms on Sauvie Island serenely resting within the mighty Columbia River. It was a truly beautiful venue.The bride and groom embodied the very best of the millennial generation. The measure of their depth of wisdom and understanding of the meaning of marriage and the sanctity of their union was inspiring. The minister too was phenomenal. How often we forget the true meaning of marriage as we move through the business of doing and managing the unfolding of daily life. It is good to pause and silently reflect on the beauty and wholeness of our relationships.The word “tribe” was used often to describe the importance and connectedness of the bride and grooms extended family and circle of friendships. Businesses too represent tribes. They are tribes to their loyal and passionate employees, customers and communities. The stories that circulate in and around the organization paint a picture of the company’s culture and value’s towards both employees and customers. By sharing our stories, we define “who we are” and “what we stand for”. And ...

by DW Green — August 31, 2016

Listening is an extremely important quality. Being “present” in a conversation is the biggest gift you can give to another person. When someone feels that they have been “heard” they feel accepted and appreciated. We can all learn when we truly listen.The listening article below by Chris McGoff is excellent. I hope you it enjoy it as much as I do. I read it often to remind me to be present in my conversations.

Stop Listening

Make yourself available.

by Chris McGoff

I ARRIVED AT THE RESTAURANT early to ensure we would be seated at a private table.
My expected guest was an executive of a major enterprise and one of my most important customers. I requested the meeting with her to solicit her feedback on how my team was doing and to better understand her priorities and pressing issues—to hear how we could enhance our value to her. I also needed to ask her a favor. I had a big agenda, and the stakes were high. Too much was on the line merely to listen attentively. I was there to be a listening from nothing deeply.You have likely internalized the value of listening. I now challenge you to stop listening and start being a listening from nothing deeply. How does this differ? The changes are subtle; the shifts in behavior, small. But the response will be staggering: People will figure things out on...