"The way you see them is the way you treat them and the way you treat them is the way they often become."
--- Zig Ziglar
The art of building a business is an ongoing process. The journey is continuous. The path to success requires constant attention to the growth of the business. Like an infant, you have to feed the business, give it your constant attention, and sometimes even burp it. You have to get up at night when it wants you and put it to bed when it is time.
On a similar plane, your employees require the same type of treatment. Your team members need your attention to guide them and to show them the way. They depend on your direction, and without your guidance the business you are building is prone to wander in multiple directions.
"Our mission statement about treating people with respect and dignity is not just words but a creed we live by every day. You can't expect your employees to exceed the expectations of your customers if you don't exceed the employees' expectations of management."
--- Howard Schultz
Leading your team to success requires that you first become a servant to your team. Telling and yelling only works for so long. Proving to your employees that you care about their welfare and about the things that will give them satisfaction in their jobs speaks volumes about the type of leader that you are. Most people will follow the person who has a plan, knows how to execute the plan, and cares about the people making the plan happen.
"If your thinking is sloppy, your business will be sloppy. If you are disorganized, your business will be disorganized. If you are greedy, your employees will be greedy, giving you less and less of themselves and always asking for more."
--- Michael Gerber
Even if you fill up every hour of your employee's day with projects, they will still find a way to see how you work. They are watching you. They eventually learn about your habits (both good and bad) and your work ethic. They know what is important to you and what is not in regards to the business.
"It was my teacher's genius, her quick sympathy, her loving tact which made the first years of my education so beautiful. It was because she seized the right moment to impart knowledge that made it so pleasant and acceptable to me."
--- Helen Keller
It takes time to learn what turns on your team members. If you have a few employees, you should learn about their likes and dislikes and make it a point to learn this quickly. Businesses with more employees will take more time, but it is well worth the effort.
In all this learning, discover at least three key "trigger points" for each employee. This could be as simple as learning that someone prefers working early in the morning to learning that you have an employee that has a passion and a talent for art. Utilizing this skill could be an asset to your sign creations and create loyalty and dedication on the part of the employee.
"You cannot build character and courage by taking away a man's initiative and independence."
--- Abraham Lincoln
Discovering the various talents, skills, knowledge, passions, preferences, and abilities of your team allows you to better direct the journey of your business. This information equips you to better raise a business that will not depart from your goals while creating a content workforce.
Hershey’s How Sweet It Is: The Eye-Candy of Times Square
By Louis M Brill
In the middle of all its surrounding Times Square spectaculars, billboards and sign edifices, stands the flagship Hershey Times Square, a retail gift store which is a chocolate confectionary paradise that is the center of the chocolate universe.
Read the article...
Burn Your Boat! Your salesforce won't be looking back.
By John Boe
Do you allow the negative influences of fear, anxiety, self-doubt and worry to dominate your thinking and sabotage your results? Stop now...read on.
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Preparing Floors for Floor Graphics
By Jennifer LeClaire
Learn how to how to laminate the graphic, how to place it, how to prep the surface, and how to install the graphic so it will stay put and do its job.
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As seen on a billboard:
"Speedo: Making us wish we were all blind"
Sign at an Arby's in North Bend, Washington.:
"Now Hiring / Two French Dips / For Two Dollars"
Outside of a Mexico City disco:
"Members and Non-Members Only"
We know those funny signs are out there. Take a moment and send them in to us and we'll share them with the world. Send all hysterical observations to: info@signindustry.com.
