2012 April

The Power Of Walking Away

One summer when I was still young, my family took a weekend and cleaned out a bunch of stuff in our garage and house. We were going to take our cra … uhh … gently used personal belongings to our local flea market. We wanted to bless someone else with them, and we would rather have the money.

One of the things I took with me was my cross-country skis. I used them for quite a few years and had really outgrown them. They had some sentimental value because they were the first skis I had ever used.

In fact, I remember the Christmas morning that I woke up, ran into the living room and saw them and a pair of downhill skis leaning against the wall. Everything inside of me went ballistic when I realized what it meant. Soon, I would be a skier! I couldn’t wait!

After we opened our presents and ate breakfast, we took our cross-country skis over to one of the areas where they were having a race. We had planned to just ski around and get used to them, but there was a race course set up. Apparently, my puppy dog eyes worked. On my first day of skiing, I was allowed to enter the race.

Believe it or not, I took first place, beating out a kid who had skied for eight years. This started a racing addiction that just hasn’t left. Once again, those skis meant something to me.

So here we were in beautiful downtown Truckee. We set up a little table to hock our wares. One of my mom’s friends was there helping us out when a couple came up. They asked me about the skis. I answered all of their questions and then they asked the price. With sadness in my heart, I told them $30. It was an incredible price for trusty skis that helped me win my first battle.

The couple looked them over and seemed really interested. I knew I had sold my skis and was about to watch them walk away with what could only be described as my friends. (Hey, if Toby Keith can have a red cup as a friend, I can have my skis.)

All of a sudden, they looked at me and said, “Eh” and turned to walk away—but not with my skis. And for some crazy reason, desperation welled up inside of me. I yelled out, “Wait …. $20!” They then stopped, looked at me, and turned to walk away again. “OK wait ………. $10!!!” I said.

The came back to the table, quickly gave me $10 and swiftly walked away before I could cry. They knew there is a well-known kid’s law that says you must give the skis back … and let the child keep the $10 if one teardrop falls.

I stood there, shocked at what happened. With my mouth hanging open, I looked up at my mom’s friend and said, “Why did you let me do that? You didn’t say a thing.” To which he replied, “You had to learn.” Those four words seemed like a samurai sword penetrating my stomach. I looked back at him and said, “But I’m a kid!” Apparently that didn’t matter.

I can still remember the sting of that day, especially the part where the couple was able to look at my precious skis, decide that they didn’t want to pay that much, turn and walk away. And then, do it again when I first dropped the price.

I still think taking advantage of a helpless (maybe susceptible is a better word) kid should be against the law or something. But it taught me that being emotionally attached can get you in trouble—whether you’re the buyer or the seller.

Question: What ways have you seen the power of walking away?

Creating Culture From Your Kitchen

Culture in a business is its lifeblood. Every business has one, and some of them were created intentionally. Others were created naturally—and not necessarily in the best way.

A few years back I was designing the kitchen I wanted in my new house. For some folks, that’s not that important. For me, it’s where I live. You see, I LOVE food! And, I love to cook. In fact, when other people come home late and think to themselves, I can just do cereal, I’m thinking, I can make real food!

Growing up, we always had something that we were creating in the kitchen. As I teenager, I worked in a few restaurants, including a stint as a line cook. The older I got, the more my desire to cook—especially for people who appreciated it—grew. It was so much so, I wanted to create my ultimate kitchen in the new house.

I designed it in a way that was practical for someone doing a lot of cooking. But I also designed it so people could participate or watch from a raised bar that was in a curved shape around the grill. It allows me to “teach” as I cook.

While this all made sense in my head, I received a lot of push back from my builders. They couldn’t see how the flow would work. I also wanted a large open wall that opened the kitchen up into the living room, which they thought was crazy. “You need to have a door separating your kitchen from your living room,” they said. “You’ll hate it otherwise.” 

I knew what I wanted. And when it was finished, the builder told me I was in the wrong business. He loved how it turned out.

Since then, there has been a LOT of people who have come through the house for parties or celebrations. And there’s one thing that happens every single time. Everyone congregates around the kitchen. It doesn’t matter where. They fill every spot possible. My favorite thing is that they experience life together.

We’ve even tried to move people out to another room from time to time, only to find it unsuccessful. People want to hang in that kitchen area and talk, and eat, and talk more.

I was discussing my kitchen with Jon Acuff and he said, “You’ve really created a culture with that kitchen.” The truth is, he’s right. I knew that I wanted it to be the place where people had a blast spending time talking and enjoying each other, but I hadn’t thought about it as culture.

It’s not a question of whether your company will have a culture. You will. The question is: Will you intentionally create it or accidentally suffer in it? You have every opportunity to shape it the way you want it to be. If you don’t like your sink over there, move it. If you don’t like the curtains on the windows, change them. But be intentional about it.

Don’t sit back and wonder why things aren’t going the way you want. You’re the designer. Get your pencil and paper out and draw what you want it to be.

Question: What does great culture look like to you?

Hiring Done Right!

Two hiring posts back to back? Well…yes. Yesterday, I talked about things not to do in the hiring process. (Which were all signs to those actually hiring.) Today on the EntreLeadership Podcast, I have an incredible guest discussing hiring the right way.

If you can’t see the image, click here.

Clint Smith is the co-founder and CEO of Emma, the web-based email marketing and communications service. Emma has done an incredible job with its hiring process and getting the right people onboard. On top of that, Clint’s a really good air hockey player. (Just so you know.)

If you missed 4 Things You Should Never Do In A Job Interview, go back and read it. Not just the post, but the amazing comments, which are full of even more great information.

Here are just a few things from today’s podcast:

• Revamp Quickly - In Interviewing, Why Do You Still Do It The Same Way? Clint explained that they learned early on that their hiring process was broken. Most companies continue making the same mistakes—short interviews that turn into short term hires. They never change the process. You have to see the mistake and make adjustments before you waste any more time.

• Don’t Shop Hungry - When I asked Clint what differences they’ve noticed since making the change, he said the quality of candidates went up dramatically. The reason? The longer the process, the more you learn about the interviewee. Before, it was like shopping hungry. They overbought and were unhappy with what they ended up throwing out. (OK, he didn’t say it quite like that. It’s my take.)

• 30-day Trial - So many leaders feel that they have to make a full-time hire. You don’t. In fact, there’s nothing wrong with allowing someone to work as a temp for 30-90 days to see if they work out. If they don’t, then you don’t hire the person. This is a little more difficult for high-paying jobs. But if you have a question about your prospect, give it a try and see.

These were just a few tidbits from this solid podcast. We also spent a few minutes after the podcast discussing things that you will only get here:

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Question: What lessons have you learned that have made your hiring process better?