Last summer, I read The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. The book radically impacted me and helped me to begin becoming much more organized. This week, I was talking with a friend about his auto repair business. I asked him why he had to be at the shop all day every day. He told me it was because when he’s not here, the guys who work there don’t do a great job of greeting the customers.
I remembered reading Stephen Covey’s account of a great customer service experience he had in a business. Upon asking why it was that they had such a welcoming environment, he found that the company had a mission statement. On top of that, each individual store had a mission statement. On top of that, each employee had a personal mission statement. The store’s mission statement was based on the input of each employee. When someone new was hired, they revised the store’s statement. Talk about getting people to buy into your program!
So I suggested to him that he consider doing something like that. I also used Timothy Ferriss’ ideas about outsourcing and recommended he look into hiring a personal assistant to come in and do cleaning and filing in the morning, and part of that person’s job description includes greeting every customer who comes by the store. I suggested he might get his 12-year old daughter (who was one of my students last year) to greet people for even $3 an hour.
These are things that he could do to ensure a happier work environment for the employees, a happier customer experience, and allow him time to buy and fix up houses, which is something he loves doing. This could create a higher cash flow for him, and possibly allow him to hire a business manager for the sho, freeing up even more time and creating more jobs. Stephen Covey calls this a win-win situation.
How does this apply to me?
Based on some comments in a previous article, I was asked this week about whether or not I have a personal mission statement. I have actually never formally written one. After the discussion I had this week and her comment, I very well think I may spend some time this weekend coming up with one.
