I was going about my normal boating news searches this morning when I stumbled across an article written by a stock analyst who had recently visited a handful of stores along Chicago’s Michigan Avenue. Like many of us, he has kids, and after being gone for a week on business, he was headed to the Disney store to pick up some “missed you while I was gone” presents before traveling home. Read more >>
Sunday night, I watched an episode of Undercover Boss, the new “reality TV show” that takes a company’s leader and puts them “undercover” on the front lines with the employees. The show featured Joe DePinto, the president and CEO of 7-Eleven, Inc., who spent a week disguised as “Danny,” a guy starring in a documentary on entry-level jobs. During this period, he spent time at several 7-Eleven stores and a factory, working alongside employees while investigating the challenges they faced and successes they accomplished. Read more >>
A week ago Thursday, I was running late for a seminar on unique profit centers at the International Marina & Boatyard Conference. When I slipped into my seat about 20 minutes into the 90-minute session, the presenters were talking about boat clubs, and while the discussion moved on to other topics as it wore on, it kept coming back to boat clubs. Not only did about a quarter of the audience of marina operators seem to have a boat club, most of the other three quarters wanted to learn their ins and outs. Read more >>
In a blog a few weeks back, I told you of my plans to read a new book — “Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us” by Daniel H. Pink. Well, right now, I’m in the middle of it, and given that its premise is surprising and suggests we should radically change the way we compensate employees, I thought I’d share it. Read more >>
While I was a Brownie for a year or two in elementary school, it wasn’t my path to a love of the outdoors. I didn’t realize what an incredible impact Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts can have on kids until later in life. In my 20s, when I was dating my husband, I had a chance to attend quite a few Boy Scout ceremonies to cheer on his younger brother, Chad, who would eventually go on to achieve Eagle Scout. Over the years, I learned a lot about what was involved, from wilderness trips and fundraisers to the earning of patches of all colors, shapes and sizes. Most of all, I was impressed with how the program exposed kids to all kinds of experiences they wouldn’t otherwise have had. Read more >>
My husband and I have been married for more than 10 years, and despite the happy life we’ve created for our growing family, we still have problems. Take, for instance, our mail problem. Like most people out there, we get a ton of mail, most of it junk. And yet since I – the bill payer in the family – have yet to get with the times and pay my bills online, we also get important mail, like our mortgage and car payment coupons, as well as mail we enjoy, like the handful of magazines we subscribe to and a certain percentage of the catalogs we receive. Read more >>
A week before Christmas, I was delighted to receive a $100 clothing store gift certificate as a “thank you” for a favor I’d done for a family member. After a little research, I discovered the items I wanted to purchase with it were only available online. Now, I have to admit, I’ve never purchased clothing online because I like to try it on before I buy. This time, I made an exception. Read more >>
Throughout the past 10 years, I’ve served as a supervisor a few times. The first time around I was asked to hire and then oversee the work of an editor and a Web master. The two gentlemen I selected were just a few years younger than me, and I treated them as friends and team members more than employees. Because they both got the job done and responded to the guidance I provided, I didn’t think much about how to be a good manager. Read more >>
In my last blog, I wrote about the opportunity presented by today’s economic conditions for marine companies to re-evaluate and potentially upgrade their staffs. But perhaps even more significant are the opportunities for dealers and manufacturers to re-evaluate and potentially upgrade their business partners. Read more >>
Tags: Manufacturers, Marine Dealers
During the Marine Dealer Conference & Expo last month, I was thrilled to hear Joe Verde talking about the importance of marine businesses getting the right people working in their companies and leading and training them well. That is essential if dealerships are to recover from the effects of the recession and grow. Read more >>
