SEPTEMBER 2014
In this issue:
1 2 3 4 6 7 8
Be Positive/ Manage the Whirlwind Get Fired Up/ Chart Toppers SERVPRO Heroes Top Ten Volume Leaders KUDOS Be the Brand Words of Wisdom
Be Positive You see exactly what you choose to see. Always focus on the most positive solutions and act on them. A positive attitude is contagious. A positive attitude is a choice. Don’t point fingers or try to assign blame. When a situation has developed there is never a single cause, but you are the single cause of your attitude. Choose positivity in a difficult situation, and the situation will ease. Exclusion of negativity is a choice. Just like a determination to be positive, excluding negativity is also a choice. Negativity cannot be ignored, or avoided, but it can be managed, and kept at bay by positivity. There is always positivity, it may not always be the first thing seen, but it is there, find it. If the negativity of a situation is the loudest voice, or the most glaring image, the positivity might not be readily visible or apparent. It is there, if you look. Reinforce positivity in yourself, and it will be reinforced in others. Once there is positivity, it must be reinforced, or the negative may creep back in. Luckily, the more you practice, the easier the exercise in positivity will become. Be honest with yourself, do the best you can to see the good in situations, remind yourself of your positive attributes, and how you can learn to improve other attributes. No one else will remind you, it is up to you to keep things positive. Share your positivity directly. A positive attitude is contagious, and will spread to others just from casual contact. If this is not enough, you must share positivity directly. The easiest way to share your positivity is to be nice to people. People in your life will make mistakes. They might have broken equipment, lost an important file, or spilled a coffee on your desk. It is up to you to manage the next phase of the interaction. Don’t let the experience be negative, learn about the repair of the equipment to better understand it for next time; improve the administrative process to insure files are not erased in the future; clean up your desk. Remember, an ocean full of water cannot sink a boat until the water is inside. Keep the negativity outside and stay afloat.
SUN
T HE
SERVPRO® of Southern New England and New York
Manage the Whirlwind I
t is natural to think people are always the problem when confronted with poor administrative, operational, and marketing expectations. People are sometimes the problem, but often the problem is in the processes not the people performing the task. Quality, trained employees using good processes create great results in achieving company goals and objectives as well as controlling the operational and administrative whirlwind experienced almost on a daily basis. Business owners must set achievable goals. When a goal is essential to carrying out the mission or strategy of the business and critical to success, it is a Wildly Important Goal (WIG). Without the successful completion of WIGs, all other achievements are secondary. A whirlwind, the enormous amount of time and energy required to keep a business at current levels, is the main threat to the successful execution of WIGs. Therefore, an owner or business manager must plan a clear path through the whirlwind of demands. There will be unexpected phone calls, family emergencies, broken equipment, and all sort of unforeseen obstacles. There is no way to account for every possibility, but with training and process improvement, every possibility becomes easier to manage. Training employees is a variable process. Training can come from SERVPRO webinars or other e-learning series. Training can, and should, come from an employee’s direct manager, with the
Owner having a proficient knowledge of every aspect of the business. Training is also available from the Distributorship Office located in Norwalk, Connecticut. Many courses, IIRCR certifications, and continuing education classes are available for Production, Administration, and Marketing employees. Successful owners and business managers know that welltrained employees are better able to navigate the whirlwind. Process improvement is also a flexible process. There is room for improvement in almost every aspect of a business; finding the areas that can be most beneficial is the key to efficient process improvement. Process improvement can include checklists for the transition of job file folders from production to administration. Improvements can also come from the organization of a warehouse or a change of tasks for employees in the office. In addition to proper training and process improvement, managing the whirlwind is always easier if managers have a positive attitude.