My background is in retail management - yes, running stores, from tiny ones you couldn't swing the proverbial cat around in, to huge three floor jobs. Yet there are some guiding principles which, like Giuliani did for New York, that make a difference on a smaller scale. Guiding principles which make a huge, possibly unseen difference to your customers and no less so to your employees.
I'd like to suggest that, on the basis of 20% of the focus gives you 80% of the return, acting in just two areas of fine detail will make all the difference in a retail business.
As they say - 'Retail is Detail'
Presentation is perfection within the constraints of what you are able to do. Focusing on what you can't do, for maybe want of financing, is a waste of time and energy. Time and energy that can be focused on fixing that which is within your influence, and those of your people. This can be your own version of the 'Broken Windows' or graffiti analogy that Giuliani uses so well - applied locally by you.
So, for me, 'Perfection in Presentation' is:-
Bottom line is that you need to have a focus of perfection yourself, lead your people through it and, over time, they will deliver for you. And you know what, they will make sure that everyone who starts new with you works that way for you.
Yet there is a service you can and must provide for your people. Simple things that need fixing before they can be on top for to play their part in representing your business. Finding out about what will make a difference, those multitude of little things that get in the way of perfect performance can be challenging. It's down to asking questioins, and finding out by being there and engaging in conversations.
Simple things like:-
By attending to what matters most to the people you employ - many of them 'Just Do Its' - fixed today even, you will leverage a return far more than the cost it takes to fix. And leave a legacy of a culture that will be a benefit for years to come.
And by fixing things fast, you will develop a credibility in your leadership second to none. This can be used at the beginning of a new position, of in the middle - it doesn't matter. Once you start though, it works best if you have a developed sense of fixing easy things on the fly - fast and effective. Let that be your byword.
Martin Haworth is a Business and Management Coach. He works worldwide, mainly by phone, with small business owners, managers and corporate leaders. He has hundreds of hints, tips and ideas at his website, http://www.coaching-businesses-to-success.com a>.
(Note to editors. This article may be edited for use in your publication or newsletter as long as a live link to the website is included)
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