Last night I had the pleasure of attending a wonderful St. Croix celebration.  Our SeaLife Team blew away their sales goals this year.   We held dinner/bowling night in celebration.  It was a blast and it brought tears to my eyes.  Here before me was our fantastic team that worked together and accomplished so much.  And best of all they have so much fun and work together so well.   But most of all I want to pay tribute to our wonderful Manager Mary. For the seven years Mary has worked for us.  She has had to learn, stretch and grow, sometimes the hard way, from a scared young associate to a confident, enthusiastic amazing professional. Below is a portion of my congratulations email to her I want to share:

Great job organizing the party Mary. What an amazing crew you have and hearty congratulations on how you have built this wonderful, productive happy team.  Julie and I are so proud of your accomplishments and we have seen unbelievable personal and professional growth you have embraced.  You know how to have fun and stay engaged… you have figured out that when your team does well so do you..

Look at how you have been able to control payroll costs by reducing turnover to practically zero.   You now have ease of mind with great backup and no worries every time you leave the store.  Look at the happy faces and the new opportunities you are responsible for… Shelby – CM.. Ricky- Asst.. Alex.. helping him grow and providing him a terrific working experience he will value the rest of his life.  Alex, the first 16 year old Bloomington Diamond Service Award- WOW!  Part of that award belongs to you;  Merrilee who thrives around a happy, organized environment… all your joyful team member.  I am so proud.  

We can always count on you to drive your business and that is very, very important to us.   Mary you know your business!   Julie knows you will ask for and hound her to get what you need and we I have noticed how prepared you are when we try new things.. the Name Game..  Margin Up.. all these things you take to heart and execute.  We love the feedback you give us and we never have to worry about you not doing what you say you are going to do.   In other words Mary..  you have grown up soooo much since that fateful day you met with Dennis and he said to me.. “you know what let’s take a chance on this young lady.  I like her and think she has a fire in her belly.” 

So thanks for a spectacular year.. it has been so much fun watching you grow.. watching you build your team.  We recognize your contributions and we look forward to more to come.   Mary,  it is a pleasure to work and know you!   Pady 

The last few years I have visited Father Peter and Father Tony and the monks at the St. Benedict’s Abbey in Still River Massachusetts. It is a spectacularly beautiful place.  When you think about the gentle name Still River all that conjures up in your mind is there at the Abby. The guest houses look out over a stunning landscape of rivers and mountains.

My favorite place is a beautiful small chapel nestled on a hill in the woods next to the river.  For me it is  a place of silence, reflection and peace.    I love hearing the latin chants.  It is  magically for this St. Paul Irish Catholic girl.  I have linked the Abbey’s website below so you can see.

Father Peter is not the Abbot, that is his brother Father Xavier, who was recently named to the post after the death of Father Gabriel.  Father Peter I would describe as the point man:  the face and joy of the place running around the country fundraising, managing projects for the Abbey and ministering to all who the Abbey welcomes.   There is nothing like the thrill and life threatening experience of driving with  Father Peter in the massive donated truck to go to the ice cream store.  Part of the ministry of St. Benedict’s Abby is just plain being there for anyone.  The people of the area and other visitors far and wide celebrate Mass, Sacraments, Retreats.

I got to know Father Peter and Father Tony when they would visit my parents on their yearly fundraising trip to Minnesota. The story goes that over 20 years ago these Irish priests set out to sell their bibles and drove around the Twin Cities stopping at businesses with Irish names.  Sell to your sweet spot is what I always say.

They stopped at my family’s business, Flaherty’s Arden Bowl, the longest family owned Bowling Center, (never call our place a Bowling Alley).   Eventually the Fathers found their way to my Mom and Dad through my Uncle who ran Flaherty’s.  Father Peter is an amazing source of comfort for me and my family when my Dad was diagosed with ALS.  He came to be with us when Dad passed away.   We love him in our family for his simple presence at this difficult time.

Now to the Christmas Hoodie.  One of the ways I wanted to thank Father Peter was to make up some logo products for him, hoodies, teeshirts, a couple of jackets.  I think I also did some coffee mugs with the Abbey logo.   I thought the monks would get a kick out of wearing their logo and perhaps they could earn some extra money selling them to vistors.   I sent them off last year for Christmas.

I didn’t hear back for a while from Father Peter.  I knew how busy they were with a new Abbot and all the daily life of the Abbey.  I hoped they like the products.  Then one day out of the blue I received a impassioned call from Father Peter.  He not only thanked me but told me this story:

Father Peter had been ministering to a young father who had lost his baby in a terrible accident.  This young man was tormented with anger and hate and really having a difficult time with God and life and the reasons why his baby was gone.  After spending many days with him Father Peter felt he was getting better, feeling acceptance and a bit of peace.   He gave him a logo hoodie and told him perhaps when he wore this he would remember the peace he was trying to achieve.   Father Peter called to tell me he had just heard back from the young father and was sending him another hoodie.  He wore it constantly and it helped him cope.  The Abbey logo that he could see and touch brought him back to that Chapel on the hill next to the river.   The very place I love in Still River.   http://www.abbey.org/

I had the absolute pleasure of attending the Grand Rapids, Minnesota Rotary Gala on Friday night.  A  raucous, good time was had by all.  The most exciting part was I was one of the last eight standing for the big $10k raffle, out of 400 people, but alas it was not to be.  It was sure fun while it lasted.

I was there with Marnie Wells, Camp Fire USA, MN Chapter CEO and Gary Reisdorph, Camp facilities Volunteer Extraordinaire to meet and greet some of the great folks of Grand Rapids.  We are getting the word out that Camp Bluewater, a Camp Fire Camp about 13 miles north of Grand Rapids is reopening this summer after closing 7 years ago.

This Camp holds a very special, amazing place in our family and for the folks of Grand Rapids.  This is where for years the Flaherty family had a  chance to really get away, be together, experience a touch of wilderness with the whole crew. Every year the Camp Bluewater trip was planned by my Dad, Patrick Fox Flaherty with his usual flair, fun and of course the embellished campfire stories.

Camp Bluewater is a perfect facility for a families, groups or kid camps. The grounds, spectacular lake and great facilities really make this place a jewel.  It has been a Grand Rapids institution for decades and we are so thrilled the community wants it open again too!

Our family is approaching the first anniversary of my Dad’s death.  It has been a very difficult year for me.  One goal was to get this dormant Camp used again for family and kids.

I want to thank , my Uncle Ron Radecki, his amazing wife Anne and Gene and Pat Radecki for their help and connections to the wonderful Grand Rapids community. A special thanks Randy and Kathy McCarty our new Rotary friends for their great help.

Camp Bluewater will be open this summer.  Thanks Grand Rapids for welcoming Camp Bluewater back.  Your response has been nothing short of amazing.

While at Camp this weekend I read Gary this poem I found in my Dad’s things when he passed away.  I carry it around.  I still get such a kick out of it and Gary did too.  So I told him I would make sure he got a copy.  Well here it is:

A Prayer

Lord, Thou knowest better than I know myself that I am growing older and will someday be old.  Keep me from the fatal habit of thinking I must say something on every subject and on every occasion.

Release me from the craving to straighten out everybody’s affairs.  Make me thoughtful but not moody; helpful by not bossy.   With my vast store of wisdom, it seems a pity not to use it all.. but thou knowest, Lord, that I want a few friends at the end.

Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details… give me wings to get to the point.  Seal my lips on my aches and pains.  They are increasing and the love of rehearing them is becoming sweeter as the years go by.

I dare not ask for improved memory but a growing humility and a lessening cock sureness when my memory seems to clash with the memories of others.  Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be mistaken.

Keep me reasonably sweet. I do not want to be a saint – some of them are so hard to live with- but a sour old person is one of the crowning works of the devil.

Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places and talents in unexpected people.  Give me the grace to tell them so.   Amen

Our Company has had a very busy and rewarding two weeks and I want to recognize the great achievements of our team.

We had three finalist this year at the Bloomington Convention & Visitors Bureau Diamond Service Awards and a BIG award was given to one of our own.   This prestigious Academy Awards of customer service had another sell out crowd of nearly 900 at the Sheraton Bloomington. It is such an honor to be nominated and in the finalist round with hundreds of nominations. Our finalist were:

Julie Furu, nominated for “Heart of the House”.  Julie is our Warehouse Supervisor and everything sort of begins and sometimes end with the endless flow or product and details she handles for us.  All with great spirit, a sense of fun and energy that makes your head spin.

Tonya Ullrich, nominated for Best Retail Associate, is    the lovely young mother is our SeaLife Assistant Manager.  She has the most welcoming smile and truly cannot help our customer more.  She genuinely loves her job and it shows through entire being.

Alex Price, nominated for “Best Retail Associate”, is a high school junior and is perhaps the most “can do”, happy and genuine young man you are likely to meet.  He sees something that needs to be done and he does it with a smile and energy.

And the winner is: Alex! The first 17 year old high school student to ever win this award.  Congratulations, Alex, Julie and Tonya.

Now to Lillie Johnson.  Lillie has worked for our Company going on seven years and she is simply the Gold Standard of Customer Service.  She works at our MSP Airport locations of Sports Minnesota and Sugar Pop.  Lillie has earned an astounding eight 100% secret shops.  And she is currently on a tear.  She has received 4, count ‘em, 4 perfect scores.   This is really unheard of, yet she has done it- over and over again.  To enter Lillie’s customer service world you are embraced by a professionalism and care you rarely, if ever, experience.

We are blessed to have a wonderful team of customer service professionals who always go out of their way to help our guests and make us better everyday.  Way to go St. Croix team!

Read this amazing article:

http://hbr.org/2010/07/how-will-you-measure-your-life/ar/1

Thanks to my friend Tom who forwarded to me this great article about how you plan your life instead of just your career. This book illustrates how to use our principles for even the smallest decisions. There is so much pressure to tip toe across those lines and daily living can overwhelm us.

How many of us could have stayed our personal course the way the author did to not play on a Sunday for his college basketball championship, (and he was the center!). Could you have withstood the pressure to give in just this once? I am not sure I could have. Yet, this one decision early on in the authors life really set the course for the rest of it.

Daily contemplation of a core set of “how I want to live my life” set early in the author’s life seems to have been his answer. Now it’s up to me to find an hour each day to think those thoughts and I am not exactly college age.. but hey, its never too late!

 How many of you like the new show, Undercover Boss?  I kind of like it.  First because it shows business owners and executives who really do care and are human beings.  CEO bashing has become a bit of a blood sport.  The goofballs get all the press. 

My experience is that folks who own and run businesses large and small not only really care about their employees and communities they are the first to sponsor the kids baseball leagues, various charities and raise their hands to help out. 

I have watched a few of the Undercover Boss episodes and it all boils down to the same thing.   How easy it is for good bosses to lose the opportunity everyday to do simple, inexpensive things to engage and recognize their employees.  I am as guilty as anyone.  And we are in the rewards and recognition business, so really I have no darn excuse. 

Business ownership and executive duties can be an all consuming life and carving out that time to really, really listen, recognize and value the little things staff does each day is something that absolutely should not, but sometimes does fall to the bottom of the list.   I promise to do better!

Last nights show featured 1-800-flowers President trying lamely to do the little things that his company employees have to do each day to make the business work.  The lesson was the same in this week’s episode as in others I have seen:  the power of recognition and small, immediate rewards. 

Two of the employees were moved to tears when one was asked to help design Mother’s Day arrangements, and another was visibly shaking with emotion when the Undercover Boss named an arrangement in their permanent line for her because of her exceptional customer service he witnessed. 

And that cute 19 year old kid the Undercover Boss decided to mentor, well, even my husband did an “aahhh, that is so cool”, response.  (He generally dislikes these reality shows.)  These are super easy, inexpensive things to do.

An article in this month’s Fortune reinforced this idea of incremental and immediate rewards.  Below is the link.  The challenge us and for all in business is having a systematic, yet spontaneous  rewards and recognition program that measure results.

Sometime throwing a gift card at someone is really nice but how do you sustain it, budget for it,  program it and measure it.   As this article shows the reward “thing” is secondary.  It is the thought that counts, just like our mom’s taught us.   And that thought is very, very powerful.   http://tinyurl.com/yjmbbad

This next article is interesting too.  It talks about the damage a “superstar” can do to an organization when employees, or in this case the entire professional golf field, ala TW (Tiger Woods), feels when someone talent is unattainable for them to reach.  

Very interesting statistics and very counter-intuitive.  Apparently in golf, superstar performers do not raise others game.  Do you agree?

The moral of this story is:  superstars can kill productivity, creativity and efficiency.  And when taking a big test with many people, always sit at the front of class.  Check it out:   http://tinyurl.com/yfojwpj

What did you do for the holidays?  Well one of the things our team did was have a blast putting on a Company Store fashion show.    Our Retail management team of Julie, Lori and a crew dancers one of which was Maddy had a little fun showing off everything from our great logo products to our dry cleaning and sandwiches!  And of course there were Snugglers!   Happy New Year everyone.   Check out the video.   My favorite continues to be the Snuggler, but the Chicago Fire Soccer Jersey and NASCAR outfits were cute too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7j4uqn3DUgc

Give your customers a price point that works for them with great value and they will buy.   Check out the article in the Minneapolis Business Journal this week about our new Holiday HQ program.   Our $5, $10, $20 stocking stuffer program is works and we are excited to see our retail sales increasing.

We also are finding our business clients who purchase logo, gift and recognition products and programs love price point programs that still say thank you now on a budget.  Check out our article and what are your thoughts about buying and giving this holiday?   What is motivating you?  Let me know: pady@scpromo.com

http://twincities.bizjournals.com/twincities/stories/2009/11/30/focus1.html?b=1259557200^2507321

You would never think finding amazing, knock you over customer service would be at a doctors office.  But that is where I found it.   Tria Orthopaedic Center in Bloomington Minnesota.  It was a WOW experience from the minute I finally found the parking lot until an hour and twenty minutes later when I walked out of there all patched up and cured. 

I had a minor but aggravating hip injury and it has been such a hassle to get an appointment at Park Nicollet.  You hope you call the right “general number”, sit on hold and then get transferred.  If you do get an appointment in this century it is a stepping stone appointment to nowhere.  You will more than likely go one place for one thing, another place for xray or mri, different days, yadda, yadda.   What a royal pain and in the meantime you limp.

I decided to just stop at this beautiful Tria building I have watched rise from the frontage road dust at 494 and France driving  to work everyday.  I will just stop by and try to set up an appointment instead of navagating some robo-phone system.   Did their tv ad’s influence me?  Its possible.

I walked in the door and saw a lovely retail store on the right, huge, bright, modern yet warm  reception area with a great snackbar.   (Fix your hip and eat a chocolate chip cookie- my kind of place.)  The picture wall of the Doc’s and associates all wearing black casual shirts, not a stethoscope or white jackets, was contemporary and cool, even though some of these Doc’s looked like they were 12 years old to me.   Full disclosure:  Doc’s do wear white jackets when they see you.

Sport memorabilia was everywhere and the whole feel was very sports, youth oriented yet you saw older folks with walkers and who looked perfectly comfortable.  There are elegant, yet quirky displays of sports memorabilia that have the appearance of an art gallery- ok, that might be a stretch.

They definitely want you to know they work on the best.  The signed Adrian Peterson poster caught my eye.   If they are good enough for #28, they must be able to fix me, is the psychological jump you make.   I know better but can’t help it.  

I was immediately greeted by another black clad receptionist (is this the Lancome counter at Macy’s, or what?) and as she smiled she said the Tria mantra:  “We are so glad you came ” It may sound trite, but every single person I encountered at Tria said this to me, and after a while you really did feel they were glad to see you.   Trained and measured customer service at a Doctor’s office, pretty cool.  

The receptionist told me I could be seen not only that day, but that minute.  She walked me upstairs to the check in receptionist, in black, and within 30 minutes I had a workup, xray and was seen by a Doctor who did not look 12, but maybe 19 years old.  All was well, a little shot to help with swelling and then out the door I went, limping no more.

So not only was Tria efficient, pleasant, welcoming they got the job done on demand.  It was a WOW experience.   And inspirational challenge for our company to execute this kind of WOW everyday with our On Demand products and retail customer service.   

Now we will see if the Tria bill is a WOW.

We went to see “This is it” last weekend.  The Michael Jackson movie made of rehearsal footage for his, now defunct, sold out 50 date concert series in London.  My husband Dennis grudgingly came along with a “I will get even with you” look in his eyes.   I loved Michael Jackson.  I was saddened and puzzled by all his troubles; yet he was a one-of-a-kind entertainer and true creative professional. 

MJ’s concerts were the best you could ever hope to attend: All visual, magic and rock.   If I had to rank concert talent it would be Michael, Prince and U2.   The Beatles and the Monkees were pretty cool too but that was a long time ago and there was alot of screaming involved.  Remembering those concerts makes me feel lucky to have seen them but, man, can that be 40 years ago?  Yikes.  (I was one of the lucky 11 year old girls at the Monkee concert to be given $2 to start screaming when they came on stage by promoters.)

You simply have to admire a world and culture that can dream big ideas and make them a reality.   In one part of the movie the director was trying to come up with a specific cue for a song to start and MJ, who looks truly fit, healthy, respectful and in charge, says;  “don’t worry about that, I will feel it and start then.”   That  ”feel” part of creativity captivates me.   How do you find and execute:   ”I will feel it. ”   

Yesterday while thinking about the discipline of the creative process the movie inspired I came across an article in yesterday’s Minneapolis Star Tribune.   Glenn Karwoski, is billed as an ”Idea Man” teaching the capturing the creative process to companies.  

I think he is right when he says “one  of the enemies of creativity and innovation is success….complacency… There is nothing like fear and panic to make someone get creative real fast.“  He seems to have a techinique to answer the question: yeah, great idea but now what?   He might be a useful speaker at our industry meetings and summits.  http://www.startribune.com/business/69438047.html?elr=KArksUUUoDEy3LGDiO7aiU 

Our promotional and retail business is a like this.  Creativity drives ideas, but how to pick the right ones  and execute successfully is where it is at.   We constantly strive for that creative edge, yet creativity won’t win without the preparation and execution.   Visiting the clouds of creativity, but coming down to earth, Karwoski seems to understand that,  MJ”s felt it.

Back to MJ – Spoiler alert: Toward the end of the movie, the best part in my opinion,  MJ rehearses Billie Jean and does a full out dance with the song in front of just his backup dancers.  The movie theater is rock-still watching this amazingly gifted entertainer pull out perfection just for his team:   No audience, creative juice and execution.  And at the end of this amazing number he says, “and it will be something like that”.  The dancers and extras go  wild because they know they have witnessed something pretty magical.   

How sad we will never see the full vision of MJ.   That unique, creative discipline is gone.    And make no mistake about it, even with all his troubles this was a disciplined, team oriented guy.  See “This is it” even if you don’t like MJ.   This show would have been a monster hit.

Enjoy one of Billie Jean and Black & White below. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=En-cHBv7UpA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZI9OYMRwN1Q