Management 101

I had to learn to be a manager. I had no role models or mentors. In fact, there wasn't even any self-help books, videos, cassette tapes, CD's or anything of the sort when I first became a manager at the ripe old age of 19 in the early '70's. The role models we had were our dads, coaches, and teachers. They were of the WW II generation, and all they knew, for the most part, was military command and control. Strict order given and orders followed, no questions asked.

When I was promoted to management, I was just assigned to the task because no one else wanted to work on salary. That was retail's modus operandi, give someone who was a good worker a title, some authority, which one wanted, but in turn, work them long hours and cover for every subordinate's missed work. Retail had little to offer one. There were long hours, nights, weekends, holidays, and low wages. There were some perks like free health insurance (gotta love the good old days). There were additionally store discounts (if you could afford much extra on the wages they paid).

Of course, retail in the '70s was either an entry-level or dead-end job. So you were working with unskilled and or unmotivated folks. There were the deadbeats who couldn't find a better means of employment, usually due to a lack of education or skill sets that were worth more in the free market. I had neither, so when in hindsight I thought I was climbing the ladder I was going down the sliding board.

All this to set the stage of how I learned to manage. I had to be creative to find and hire the right talent. Usually, that meant some diamonds in the rough that were drifting without any idea what they wanted to be when they grew up. I would manage them by helping them improve themselves and develop skill sets that would benefit them when they did find a decent career path. I told them you are working for You, Inc. Everything you can learn adds to your value. Everyday skills learned by dealing with customers (and NO they are not always right) and showing up on time. We treated what was usually a dull thankless job into career-building practice. When I say "We", I meant it. There is no "I "in TEAM. There is no"WE" in it either, by the way: that WE part is demonstrated by the leader or manager.

Caring, learning, teaching, nurturing and servant leadership is the education I received in my retail years. I earned my degree in management from the U.of H.K. University of Hard Knocks.

Foundations

The Bible tells us in Matthew 7:24, "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock."  In Isaiah 28:16,  "Therefore thus says the Lord God, 'Behold,  I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, a costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed' ". This concept is repeated in the New Testament in 1 Peter 2:6. In both places the references are of course are to the Lord Jesus Christ.  We at Your Office S.O.S. will endeavor to build our business on the high standards that one is called to as a disciple and follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. We say this not in a commercial way to merely attach some altruism to our mission. We do not say this as merely a slogan or lip service; we live it out.

Wikipedias definition is:
The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation, important since all other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure.

So we base our business and its principles on the Bible and will do our best before God to honor him.

Rules of networking

I have been actively networking for over a year now. There are many excellent books on how to network effectively. I will not try to revisit the basics here on this post, but I will share my observations on what I have learned.

There are givers and takers.  Just as in life but only more pronounced in networking groups. Avoid the takers, the people who only want what's in for them. Avoid transactional sales types. I mean the people who are immediately trying to sell you a product.  If they have a product to market that's fine but if their main focus is on sales and not a win-win exchange of leads or referrals avoid them like the plague.

Use your intuition. If your gut reaction is telling you something is just not right with that person, or you feel a sense of unease, be polite but distance yourself from them. "Birds of a feather flock together," you can't afford to damage your reputation by hanging in a tribe with unsavory characters. Better to err on the side of caution than to risk being identified with them.

Keep it professional.  Networking is for business advancement. If you have other intentions go to the appropriate venues for such activities.

Get to know the person one-on-one.  When you ask for a meeting give them possible dates locations, and times. Don't just say, " We need to get together sometime. Always send a reminder of your meeting times and location, people forget. Never try to get anything out of first individual meeting than establishing report. If you get to know trust and like that person continue to move it forward.

Try different events and see which ones are a good fit. They all have unique benefits they offer.

Lastly, keep up with contacts. Follow up immediately with emails or texts. Like them on their social media and connect with them on linked in. Keep a CRM or an Excel spreadsheet of your contacts. When you get a business card right on it where and when you met them. I use a Fisher Space Pen it writes on Glossy cards on if that doesn't work, try little blank labels to write on. I'll write about business cards in a following blog.

So those are some thoughts and tips on networking. 

The sweet spot

 When I say at Your Office S.O.S. brings almost a century of experience to the rescue I am not exaggerating.  I started in the business world at 17, and my wife started in her career at 18. I am now 67, and my wife is 69 years old. I only mention our age because to some it may be a negative it is in our case a positive. We are in that sweet spot where we bring a lifetime of acquired skill sets and just as important a lifetime of accumulated wisdom. As the Farmers commercial says, "We know a thing or two 'cause we've seen a thing or two."

We just recently retired from very intense and complex full-time jobs that required the utmost in the latest technology and business acumen to get the job done. We are now in that sweet spot were experience and expertise are peaking. I believe we bring the most exceptional combination of assets that anyone could ever find.