Leadership: Drilling-down Decisions

Leadership is not always easy to accomplish and truly the decisions that we make are not always as simple to do without consequences or regrets.  Truly Thomas Paine’s quote, “Lead, follow, or get out of the way” is not a simple thing to accomplish.

Do you wrestle with indecision when all options seem to be the best?  Or, are you hasty to make a decision only to find out later that you were a little too quick resulting in wrong decisions being made?

Some of us are better at simply deciding and moving on whereas others belabor points over and over for fear of making the wrong decision.

Some effective leadership pointers on decision-making include:

Make a Pro/Con list

-Divide a piece of paper in half and list all of the pros and cons on each side.  Assign a weight to each bullet point.

–Pointer:  Make sure to put your ideas down with pencil and paper.  It is so much easier to see a clear choice when you have your ideas out of your head and in print.

Weigh logic against emotion

-If you are a Type A personality, it is said that you only make decisions based on logic where as if you are a more laid-back Type B personality you tend to lead or make decisions on feelings.

–Pointer:  Do not discount your emotions.  We are human and it’s okay to listen to that inner voice more often than not.

Balance time spent and energy expended

-Weigh whether the desired outcome is a $10 decision or a $1000 decision.

–Pointer:  Remember don’t waste time or sweat the small stuff.  Use your time to deliberate on the things that are most important to your desired outcome.

Drill-down to the key alternatives

-Create a checklist of your crucial and relevant points and don’t deviate from that.

–Pointer:  Zero in on identifying the critical issues at hand.  Decide if each issue is an A-list factor.  If not, discard it from your options.

Determine the here and now

-Adopt the habit of thinking in current event terms.

–Pointer:  Often times we spend too much time mulling over “what ifs” or rehashing the past.  Decide and move on, after all, tomorrow is always a new day.

Peggy P. Edge © 2015

Peggy Edge Speaks to Plano ISD GadgetGirls Class

I was so very thrilled to be presenting “What’s New in Packaging” to 3rd-5th grade girls this week.  Plano ISD has a grant that is geared toward young ladies introducing them to science and math as a career choice.

These young folks are using their math skills to create and design a package for a product.  I showed them examples of packaging products that they would never see as most of my products are discarded at the shipping dock before they go into the retail store.

Here are some samples of their work:

Congrats PISD for encouraging young ladies into the packaging business.  There are very few women in my industry and it is so much fun and rewarding to get to see how things are made and what it takes to be a part of getting a product prepared for market.

Peggy P. Edge (c) 2015

Retail Sales – Goal Setting

As a waitress do you set goals and objectives for your job?  Are you a sales associate in a clothing store?  What is your overall plan for the year to grow your client base?  As a hairdresser, do you need new clients?  Do you have a marketing plan for your business?  If not, why?

Today, I was chatting with a colleague whose primary business is in the retail sales market.  He mentioned that store managers and retail salespeople need to have sales skills yet quite often they don’t know or realize that they need to employ the same skill-set that is paramount to all sales individuals.

For most of my career, I have been in industrial sales.  Goal setting is just part of my overall sales plan each year.   At the end of the year, I start reviewing my existing client base and identify prospective clients to determine a plan of attack for the coming year.  Basically, I ask myself where my business will come from next year.

At my hairdresser’s shop, there is a young lady who has only been out of beautician school for about a year and is looking to build her business.  Currently she gets to help out the senior hairdressers when they are overloaded.  However she needs to be able to develop her own practice.

I shared the following tips with her to help develop and grow her business:

• Set up a Facebook Business Fan Page and LinkedIn Profile.
  • Start writing about hair care tips.  Write about your industry.  What’s new and happening?
  • Review new products on the market.
  • Be consistent with your writing. Post information on your social media pages at least once a week.
• Create a list of people in your Circle of Connections
  • Connect with everyone that you know and tell them what you are doing for a living now.
  • Don’t forget friends of your family, high school/college, fraternity/sorority, church, clubs, neighbors, spouse/significant other connections, gym/exercise class, professional connections like CPA, banker, attorney, etc. Think about every type of connection that you have and reach to them.
• Create multiple-purchase offers or offers that cost you very little.
  • For example, you can offer $10 off of your client’s next hair cut when they help bring you new customers or offer a free hair cut with every 3 new clients that you bring in.
• Join trade associations in your industry. Yes, even in the restaurant, beauty, etc. industry there are associations that you can become members that will help promote your business.
• Ask your clients for a written review of your work. Encourage them to post on your social media page and speak about your level of professionalism and expertise.
• Look and act professional.
  • Have business cards made with your name, phone number and email address.  Give them to everyone that you meet.
  • Even if you are a waitress at the local pub, hand out your business cards to customers, if permissible by management. Ask the patrons to ask for you next time they come in for dinner.
  • If your business establishment will not allow you to hand out your personal business cards, ask your manager for his card and write your name on the back to give to customers.
• Get involved in some type of community events.
  • Find ways to volunteer and help others.
  • Volunteering affords you a different opportunity to connect with people outside of your sphere of influence.
• Brainstorm with others in your business or with trusted friends as to tips that you can use to add to your business.

These tips are applicable to any type of business that you are engaged.  When you can apply one or all of these ideas, you will begin to see an increase in your bottom line.

Remember that no matter what type of business you engage, do not be bashful to let everyone that you are connected with know what you are doing and ask for their help to grow your business.

Finally, always be sure to give back.  Ask those customers and clients what you can do for them.

Peggy P. Edge © 2015