But I need to rewind a bit. Life wasn’t always full of strawberries and homemade chocolate chip cookies. Sure, sure, sure, I was brought up comfortable, didn’t have college debt, had a car, a job and an apartment. One of the things I did lack? Coping skills. Having been raised in an era when my misdeeds or failings would be a reflection of my parent’s (more specifically, my mom) child rearing skills, I never learned to deal with failure.

So, through failed relationships, underachievement and lack of direction, I fell hard. What do you do when you decide you want to figure out life and start anew? Of course you move to the Boca Raton area of Florida in the early 80’s. An area that lacks a soul, but not lacking for temptation and other lost souls.

I wallowed for a while, for a few months of beach volleyball and nightlife (although I had no club-like clothes or a sports car) until I finally got a job. From what I recall or was told; Boca was a good time. Until it wasn’t. Lost my job, but not the appetite for vices. Three years in the early 80’s were like dog years, I aged, stopped taking care of myself and became bitter at the world. I could either stay put and continue to spiral down the drain, or, get the Hell out of Dodge and make a change.

The one thing I didn’t think about: wherever I go, there I am.

I had to want to make the changes from deep down inside. I had friends go to rehab only because it was court or family mandated. They went right back to whatever vice because they didn’t do rehab for them, but for others.

For those of you who know me peripherally through my career, you may be a tad surprised that at this point in my life I had:

1. No money

2. No car

3. No job

4. No place to live

5. All of the above

If you selected 5, you are on to the bonus round.

So here I was, back in Ithaca, New York, about as different from Boca as sugar is to flour. (Notice the white powder theme).

Crashing on a friend’s couch, with a broken relationship in tow, I started the road back. What habits and behaviors did I need to change?

And so I started the changes. After months of living in the same apartment yet separate rooms, I told my girlfriend to move out. I was working whenever and wherever I could and not being afraid of failing. The years in Florida had toughened me up, made me realize that the only way out of failing was not to be afraid of success, or the fear of not being successful. Things don’t always go your way in life, but that’s ok. It doesn’t mean to not try your ass off, to give up and to let others drag you down. It’s easy to surround yourself with people who don’t strive for much; there’s no pressure.

I got a job, a good job, and finally, the girl I had seen for the first time way back in August of 1981 right before moving to Florida, went on a date with me. I had thought of her daily my entire time in Florida. May 7th of this year will be 40 years since our first date. That story is an article in itself as some of you may know!

Finally I was with a person who worked hard, wanted more out of life, as did I, and loved me, flaws and all. And together, we’ve had a better life than I could have ever imagined.

So if you waited to use New Year’s to make a “resolution”, why did you wait?

The Rolling Stones say it very well in their song, Time Waits for No One:

Yes, star crossed in pleasure the stream flows on by
Yes, as we’re sated in leisure, we watch it fly

And time waits for no one, and it won’t wait for me
And time waits for no one, and it won’t wait for me

Time can tear down a building or destroy a woman’s face
Hours are like diamonds, don’t let them waste

Time waits for no one, no favours has he
Time waits for no one, and he won’t wait for me

Men, they build towers to their passing yes, to their fame everlasting
Here he comes chopping and reaping, hear him laugh at their cheating

And time waits for no man, and it won’t wait for me
Yes, time waits for no one, and it won’t wait for thee

Drink in your summer, gather your corn
The dreams of the night time will vanish by dawn

And time waits for no one, and it won’t wait for me
And time waits for no one, and it won’t wait for me

No no no, not for me...

Thank you for reading, please share with family, friends, co-workers and pets.

Be nice to everyone you meet…………..until next time.

Today starts year 2 of retirement for me. Whoever said, “I’ll miss working” must not have much of anything going on outside of work. Oh sure, there are people I miss, and the occasional event that we knocked out of the park, but missing the day-to-day. Not one bit. Having my calendar hijacked? Having to deal with a non-emergency emergency? Emails and texts at all hours? I remember a time when I was working out of town for months and resorted to using my laptop unplugged so when the battery died I had to stop working. Pathetic.

This past year has been worry free. I knew I was retirement ready because during the last year of work. I literally dreaded Monday mornings. So much so that when the clock hit 8 pm on Sundays, that became “sad hour”. Unlike 5 pm on Friday, (happy hour) though I rarely left work at 5 pm on a Friday.

You also learn a lot about the people who are truly friends. The people who said, “we will soooo stay in touch”, but have now vanished from any form of contact. I can understand this in the hardline phone and letter writing era, but now with 76,327 ways to communicate? Such is life…… To those of you still in contact, I thank you very much, it means so much to me.

I think there are very few professions that are life and death jobs. It’s understandable how military, police, fire, medical professionals get stressed out from work. So as I look back I wonder why I was so stressed the last couple of years. Someone told me once that my “problem” was that I “cared too much”. I could sleep at night if that was the case. Caring too much helped me make decisions quickly, create new concepts, support and grow team members and make a difference in the bigger picture. The last couple of years my caring was met with brick wall after brick wall. No one wanted to challenge the norm. They ignored the mantra of failure; “if you always do what who always did, you will always get what you always got”. I should have seen that warning sign sooner, and not driven myself to actual physical illness. Such is a job where you have responsibility but little authority. *Pro Tip* Get out of one of those jobs quickly!!

Don’t ignore the warning signs. The two steps forward and three steps back every day. The endless meetings that could be a one on one because the person you were working with wouldn’t make a decision. I didn’t say “couldn’t” purposefully, they protected themself with inaction. For me, that was painful to be part of. Gretzky said it best, “you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”

Looking back I’m happy that while I loved many years of what I did, the job didn’t define me. I look forward to every day of retirement with a smile, and of course, coffee. You need to make sure you are happy without work before you stop working. It’s ok to have a day without doing much of anything. I have a very good friend who has the following mindset: Set out to accomplish at least one thing each day, cause that one thing is something you want to do, not have to do. Of course there are very full days as well, it’s up to Sherri and I how we want to spend our days.

Work should be a means to life, not the other way around. Unless you are in a life or death job, keep in mind that no one is running to a helicopter with an organ in a cooler at your workplace. Work will be there the next day, and scarily, many more work tomorrows than retirement tomorrows.

So do good, give back, love and live hard and oh yeah, work. Just don’t work yourself into the ground.

Thanks for reading, share with friends, Romans and countrymen. :) I’d love to hear your feedback, content suggestions or just a hello.

Be kind to everyone you meet.

Best - Andrew

Our family has a Thanksgiving Day Tradition as I am sure many of you do. We head to our local Waffle House for breakfast (Love me some Pecan Waffles!!!), and leave an extra nice tip for our server to thank them for working on Thanksgiving. My wife Sherri and me have worked many a holidays when we were servers. If you’ve never been to a Waffle House I can share with you that there is very little space to wait for a table. Our wait was brief, but shortly after we were seated, there were several parties that entered. At the booth directly behind us was a single gentleman who had yet to order. Seeing that there were by now 4 groups of folks waiting for a table, his server asked him if he’s mind moving to a solo seat at the counter. He refused. He actually said no. I had to make sure my Velcro was keeping me from leaping from my booth as I just couldn’t understand why someone would not choose to be courteous, on Thanksgiving, and especially for a family to sit at a booth and have conversation be easier. Now I realize “everyone is going through something”, but come on, it’s a freaking seat at Waffle House, not first class on a NYC to LA non-stop. I once gave up an aisle seat on a plane for a middle seat so a couple could sit together, I was not asked, but knew I’d want someone to do that for me and Sherri.

Then of course, I get into my own thoughts regarding common courtesy, and where has it gone? The list starts downloading like an app update in my brain, and it’s a pretty large update.

And off we go……………….

Why do able bodied people not return their shopping carts? I have never understood this one. It’s pretty damn easy, you have several return spots in the store parking lot. It’s not like they ask you to clean it, give it an oil change and a tire rotation, just return it! And not even “all the way back” to the store.

See the excerpt from Wikipedia Shopping Cart Theory:

The shopping cart is the ultimate litmus test for whether a person is capable of self-governing. To return the shopping cart is an easy, convenient task and one we all recognize as the correct, appropriate thing to do. To return the shopping cart is objectively right. There are no situations other than dire emergencies in which a person is not able to return their cart. Simultaneously, it is not illegal to abandon your shopping cart. Therefore, the shopping cart presents itself as the apex example of whether a person will do what is right without being forced to do it.

No one will punish you for not returning the shopping cart, no one will fine you, or kill you for not returning the shopping cart. You gain nothing by returning the shopping cart. You must return the shopping cart out of the goodness of your own heart. You must return the shopping cart because it is the right thing to do. Because it is correct. The Shopping Cart Theory, therefore, is a great litmus test on whether a person is a good or bad member of society.

Entire link here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shopping_cart_theory

I do agree with “no one will punish you”, but personally, I will say, “dude” or “seriously”, much to my wife’s chagrin. The same person who leaves their shopping cart will be the first to be pissed when their desired parking spot is hampered by, you guessed it, a shopping cart someone else left behind.

Did y’all learn the elevator rule as a kid? You let people out, before you barge in. Yet, it is still a baffling process for many adults, let alone children.

Or how about lane merging? In kindergarten we were taught to merge, “one at a time” every other person. Yet, this seems to be lost on drivers, and don’t get me started on the “I’m driving on the shoulder so someone will let me in” people. How much faster will you get there?

Holding doors, saying excuse me and thank you. Asking, “do you mind if I smoke” (I want to say if you are on fire I guess you have to), or vape!! Vaping is smoking, please don’t do it in my house or at the store. I don’t need to hear your music, or the movie you are watching on your device, or Lord have mercy, an argument with an ex on speaker! If you can afford a phone, you can afford headphones. These are just a few more examples of what we have started to take for granted.

The funniest one that 99% of people actually do is ask, “do you mind if I use your bathroom’? I mean, is there another option?

If all of us could start to practice these common courtesies, just think how much nicer everyone’s day would be. It’s not hard, it just takes a beat, to stop and do something nice.

Reminds me of an Elvis Costello song:

What’s so funny ‘bout peace, love and understanding…………

As always, thank you for reading, share with friends and your colleagues.

Be kind to everyone you meet…………Andrew

Now

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shopping_cart_theory

There’s an old phrase that speaks to our need for attention as human beings. It’s a variation of a sentiment often attributed to Oscar Wilde:

“We’d rather be praised than persecuted, but rather be persecuted than ignored.”

Meaning any attention is better than no attention, but if it’s always negative or for “doing something wrong”, as bosses, friends, parents, etc., we are reinforcing negative behavior.

Think about the following scenario. You are having a party and parents can bring their small children so they don’t need a sitter. The play room is set up for the kids to hang out. After an hour you and another parent go to check on the kids, they are all playing well together and behaving perfectly. First instinct? “Shh, let’s be quiet, don’t bother them, they are being good.” So you go back to the party and an hour later you hear a ruckus coming from the playroom. You guessed it, we storm in to quell the uprising and voila! Attention is now given. Maybe this started cause the kids were bored, or maybe, just maybe, one of the kids knew that to get mommy or daddy’s attention, they needed to act out.

So how does this translate to work? I am a big believer that human nature doesn’t change, our needs may be satisfied in different ways, but the need itself is constant.

I’ll use a simple example that I witnessed during my days in food service. A co-worker, who was fairly new, was slicing some Provolone cheese on a slicer. Two days in a row she was done slicing pretty quickly and on the second day she asked the manager what was her next task. The manager assigned her some additional tasks and went about his day. Later that day he noticed that the cheese was about 1/4 inch thick, way too thick for cost purposes. (and for melting in a customer friendly time!!) He managed the situation well, telling her no one must have shown her the correct setting for the slicer. (First step, well done!) He then proceeded to print off the slicing guide for all items needed to be sliced. Imagine that, somehow it “disappeared”. (Step 2, well done Mr. Manager!) He even demonstrated slicing the Provolone as a teaching moment for this associate. (Step 3, he’s on a roll!!)

The next day the associate was back to slicing, referencing the slicing guide and chuckled that it takes longer to slice the cheese when done properly! Our manager walked by looked at what we were doing, didn’t say a word. Step 4? #epicfail That’s where closing the loop was neglected. He missed the opportunity to say, “Hi _______, you are doing that perfectly, I really appreciate you taking the feedback so well and making the needed corrections!”

A few more days went by with no acknowledgement by the manager. The associate said to me, “I guess the only time you get noticed around here is for doing something wrong, eh?” I didn’t know how to answer, but I did think about, “Shh, let’s be quiet, they are being good….”

Always remember to redirect privately and praise publicly to create a positive and engaging environment. We all want attention, make sure it’s the good kind.

Thanks for reading, have a wonderful Thanksgiving. As Cheryl Crow sang in Soak Up the Sun:

It’s not having what you want
It’s wanting what you’ve got

Be kind to everyone you meet. Until next time……………No Lip Service

Whatever the case, being given a title can lead to a manager feeling entitled, and not understanding the responsibility of the position. And 99% of the time, that position comes with the responsibility of being a leader. Leaders, real leaders, don’t need a title to lead. They lead by their actions, by earning respect, not demanding respect. I’d like to share an acronym for leader I’ve come up with.

L = Learner, a great leader is always learning

E = Empathetic, no explanation needed

A = Accessible, great leaders make time for their teams

D = Direct, successful leaders communicate expectations clearly

E = Engaging, successful leaders are in the business, cheering the team on

R = Reward/Redirect, great leaders reward in public and redirect in private

As a leader, are you modeling all of these? Or has your title “promoted you from working?” Because it is harder to be a leader, than to get to a leadership position.

So, focus on the what you do, not the title you are. Looking at LinkedIn you see a lot titles and professional initials. One person I saw had: PHD, MBA, CCA, CEC, FMP, and that wasn’t even their position!! It’s just too much, do you look at that and say, “wow, how impressive, I bet they are a great ______ ." And don’t get me started on the brief bios people post. “Thought Leader” and “Change Agent”

Okay, I digress. The point of this post is that you need to stay humble as a leader and not forget where you came from. The only titles that really matter are the ones that matter to your family, the others are just names on a card.

Thanks for reading and have a great week.

Be kind to everyone you meet.

Hence, this week’s tip, balancing work and life. Here are some stats to kick us off:

A significant majority of employees in the United States, typically between 72% and 94%, say that work-life balance is important.

Specific survey findings show this consistently high valuation:

• A 2025 Randstad report found that 83% of employees in the Americas (including the US) prioritize work-life balance over pay.

• A 2024 survey cited that 94% of employees consider work-life balance to be important, and 73% view it as a core factor when looking for a job.

• Another survey noted that 72% of workers believe a good work-life balance is essential when choosing a job.

• Over half (61%) of employees would decline a job offer if it negatively impacted their work-life balance.

The importance of work-life balance varies slightly by demographics:

• Women (78%) are more likely than men (67%) to say work-life balance is a crucial factor in their career choices.

Despite this, many employees report not achieving a good balance, with 66% of full-time workers stating they lack it.

I believe the reason workers feel they lack balance is that “work/life balance” is the wrong way to approach the desired balance. Our work is a major part of our lives, the people we work with and the work we do, become part of our lives. So how can you separate the two? For those who’ve watched Severance, well, maybe it’s possible. But for you and me, well, it’s very difficult.

What I am suggesting is to balance your work life, and balance your personal life as two different tasks.

How? It’s all about owning your time and knowing when to say no. Whichever is your last day of your work week, instead of rushing to get out the door, take 15 minutes to look at the upcoming week and fill your calendar with tasks you have to accomplish. To-do lists are so 1980! By doing this, you keep your calendar from being “hijacked”, trust me, I learned this lesson way too late.

The next “time vampire” is meetings. I swear people schedule meetings so they appear to be busy. I’ve heard countless people say, “My calendar is jammed with meetings this week”. Do they ever ask, “what is being accomplished?” If you have to attend a meeting has an agenda been sent out? Is there a desired outcome or resolution? Could you send someone in your place not only freeing up your time but providing a developmental opportunity for someone? And just because someone else is late doesn’t mean the meeting goes longer, the timely are being penalized. Rarely are decisions made at meetings, is it really that important to go to all of them?

And if you have to hold a meeting, can it be done with fewer people who, as part of their job, deliver the message to their teams? I strongly encourage meetings first thing in the morning, before people go their offices/stations and before the day goes off the rails. What? That never happens……….

The last thing I’ll touch on is emails. The amount, the redundancy, the speed at which they arrive is enough to go take a timeout in the corner! My dear friend Lin had the 3 email rule. If I email you, you email me, and then I email you again and there is no clarity, it is time to pick up the phone or visit in-person. And please, if you are not on the “to” line, don’t respond unless asked. Here are some other rules to keep in mind:

https://www.grammarly.com/blog/emailing/email-etiquette-rules-to-know

These are just a few ideas to help you manage work time, and yes, things are not always in your control, but they are always manageable. Don’t wear the hours you work like a badge of honor. Many of us know the stigma of being the “go to person”. The one that never says no. And yet all too often when we finally say no, we often hear that we are not engaged anymore or what’s the matter of so-and-so. You should want to share how wonderful your life outside of work is with your co-workers as you share your work with your loved ones.

As always, thanks for reading and please comment, make suggestions for new topics and share this with others.

Be kind to everyone you meet.

I like to think of work conflict like a toothache, the longer you put off dealing with it, the worse it gets. But, like a toothache, when the pain is gone, good things happen.

The Performance Improvement Plan, the PIP - no Gladys Knight in this one - is often seen as the precursor to an associate losing their job. A way of “managing” that associate out. What if I told you that the “PIP” could become a collaborative process that can lead to better performance, building trust, and becoming a better leader?

The key word is “improvement”, isn’t that the goal? While you may know what you want your associate to improve/develop, does your associate know? That was my “AH-HA” manager moment. If I wanted to have the PIP be productive I had to include the associate in the development of the plan.

My first time trying this, I must admit, I was nervous and a tad skeptical. I sat down with the associate and our HR Manager. The conversation went something like this:

“We are meeting to discuss your performance over these past few weeks. First, I’d like to get your thoughts on how you feel things are going?” The conversation flowed, and then I asked, “How about this, you list the top 10 things you feel are your job duties, and then rate yourself on each one on a 1-5 scale. I will do the the same and in a week we will meet and see how aligned we are.”

What I learned when we met is that we were aligned, but the areas for improvement were not the associate’s fault. There were job duties that our team did not make clear, or provide the proper training for. So………….we developed a roadmap; together, with touch points along the way, the associate “bought-in” because they were a part of the process. (Remember - engagement!!) Lo and behold, this associate went on to become one of the most successful members of the team. They were promoted and now are leading with the same collaborative skills developed when we sat down to start the PIP. Perhaps PIP should stand for Planning, Improvement and Prospering.

Lesson learned? Lean into conflict, because the longer you delay, like the toothache, the worse it gets. And guess what, the tooth knows it’s hurting as well and wants you to make it better. #metaphortime

Thank you for reading and as always, be kind to everyone you meet.

Don’t forget, these articles are free, so invite your friends and peers.

Last week I wrote about 5 techniques for associate engagement. Before we move on to more techniques, I wanted to share what I did for each one.

The first was start with a survey, and dig deeper. What I did, was to find the top five concerns based on the questions (thank you Excel) and then create a Word Cloud with the most often mentioned terms used in the open response section. The Word Cloud is an oldie but goodie, it creates a visual representation of what your team is saying. Here’s an example:

Have the associates look at the Word Cloud and vote on the 5 most important topics using post-it notes to vote. Tally the votes, and those are the five to focus on. Yes, there are more than five, but if you know me and my Lipsonisms, I always say: “I don’t know the keys to success, but the keys to failure are trying to please everyone.”

Now you have 5 questions from the survey, and five key words that you can workshop with your associates. Form groups of 5-6, but don’t let them pick their groups. Folks who work together will sit together. Once that happens, ask them to count off, and move them based on their number. You want to stimulate the group to come up with solutions and you want to make sure everyone participates. Let associates know this is a “judgement free zone”. Each group will be responsible for one word and one question topic. You will facilitate the dialogue, not lead or control it! Memorialize it on flipcharts and take photos of the solutions. At the end of the session you should have:

• A solution

• A plan for implementation, including timelines!

• How the plan will be measured for success

• What to do if the solution needs to be adjusted

The next strategy was “foster workplace autonomy”. In our hourly orientations we discussed resolving issues. That was Day 1 for every team member. What were they allowed to do to address a guest complaint. Being from New York, I used a very simple term; “Fix the Frikkin’ Sandwich”. There does not need to be a “let me get my manager moment” for every transaction hiccup. Most are fixable on the spot. As long as the guest is respectful, your frontline team should be prepared and empowered to Fix the Frikkin’ Sandwich. We would also teach associates that if a guest became disrespectful to remove yourself from the situation by letting the guest know someone would be with them shortly. You can never win an argument with a belligerent person. Did we sometimes give a bit more to speed up the resolution? Yes, there were times, but sometimes you have to lose to win. See below from Survey Stance:

The third tactic was to set-up a buddy, or mentorship program. This can take on many forms, but here are a couple successes I’ll share.

For managers, if your business model is in multiple locations, the mentor should be someone in a parallel role and not at the same location. This will allow the dialogue between the mentee and mentor to be open and honest.

*Pro Tip, your manager can mentor you, but shouldn’t be your mentor.

Both mentee and mentor will learn. The mentor will gain experience in developing a manager, and the mentee will learn from someone who has gone through a similar transition. The mentee and mentor should speak once a week, the mentee should send questions to the mentor ahead of time and the conversation should last no longer that 30 - 45 minutes. If the mentor gleans any major red flags, it is incumbent on the mentor to communicate with the mentee’s manager.

For hourly team members, pair the new associate with a star associate - one who you would like the new team member to emulate. The “buddy” should be incentivized financially to help the new hire succeed. I will leave it up to you to determine the measurement and incentives (perhaps a special uniform, pin, hat, whatever to designate the mentor). But keep in mind, the goal here is to improve engagement and reduce turnover, and you can measure these. The mentor and mentee should have daily debriefings for the first two weeks. Questions could be as follows:

• What’s going well?

• What’s a source of concern/anxiety?

• Do you understand your role?

• Do you have the tools to do your job?

• Are you receiving positive feedback and constructive criticism?

• Other appropriate questions

Track progress daily!! Bad performance and bad habits persist because they are not corrected immediately. As a manager, make sure to reward and recognize good behavior/[performance at least 5 times for every 1 corrective action.

Number four was understanding the goals and results. We installed computer monitors by each time clock to communicate important information, held pre-shift meetings to discuss any goal for the day. But the bigger picture was always guest satisfaction. One of our trainings was the Six Basic Needs of the Customer. In this training, we handed out the info below:

The Six Basic Needs of Customers

1. Friendliness
Friendliness is the most basic of all customers needs, usually associated with being greeted graciously and with warmth. We all want to be acknowledged and welcomed by someone who sincerely is glad to see us. A customer shouldn’t feel they are an intrusion on the service provider’s work day!

2. Understanding and empathy
Customers need to feel that the service person understands and appreciates their circumstances and feelings without criticism or judgment. Customers have simple expectations that we who serve them can put ourselves in their shoes, understanding what it is they came to us for in the first place.

3. Fairness
We all need to feel we are being treated fairly. Customers get very annoyed and defensive when they feel they are subject to any class distinctions. No one wants to be treated as if they fall into a certain category, left wondering if “the grass is greener on the other side” and if they only received second best.

4. Control
Control represents the customers’ need to feel they have an impact on the way things turn out. Our ability to meet this need for them comes from our own willingness to say “yes” much more than we say “no.” Customers don’t care about policies and rules; they want to deal with us in all our reasonableness.

5. Options and Alternatives
Customers need to feel that other avenues are available to getting what they want accomplished. They realize that they may be charting virgin territory, and they depend on us to be “in the know” and provide them with the “inside scoop.” They get pretty upset when they feel they have spun their wheels getting something done, and we knew all along a better way, but never made the suggestion.

6. Information
“Tell me, show me – everything!” Customers need to be educated and informed about our products and services, and they don’t want us leaving anything out! They don’t want to waste precious time doing homework on their own – they look to us to be their walking, talking, information central.

We would then ask an associates to read one of the six and ask others to pick a word in the paragraph that stood out to them. We’d memorialize them on a flipchart and by the time we had gone through all six, we’d have a flipchart that the associates had developed. The flipchart would be put up in the location and before each shift an associate would be chosen to pick a word and the team would then catch each other demonstrating the word of the day. The best example of demonstrating the word would be recognized as the customer service champion of the shift!

Last one was cross-training. Now, I know this may not apply to every business/occupation; no one wants me as a brain surgeon! But in those industries that this could be possible, you create a two-fold opportunity for learning. A new learning opportunity for the associate working in a new role, learning a new skill? Check. But you also learn what the associate in the role may be doing that you just are not paying attention to. Could be good, could be bad, but for sure, you will see something different that can improve the existing performance and service. You will also help keep associates from burnout. Here is an example of something I did.

A very long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, necessity became the mother of invention. Early 80’s (yes, I was a 13 year old manager, smirk) I was managing a restaurant and our dishwasher walked out. That left the 3 cooks and yours truly to slug out the night. I asked each cook to take 15 minute shifts doing dishes and I would be part of the rotation. We would just rotate the 4 kitchen spots for the rest of the night. Well, as you can imagine, my suggestion was met with resistance from my lead cook. I remember it like it was yesterday: he said, “I don’t get paid to do dishes.” I then said, “well, punch out and punch back in, and I will pay you what the dish person is paid”. Funny how that worked. And, instead of hiring a new dish person (we’d been through 5 in 7 months) I hired another cook. The schedule was then developed so that each kitchen staff worked every position on a rotating basis. And you know what? The next 2 years we had zero turnover. The team enjoyed a break from the waitstaff once in a while, and, they were a team! They helped each other, the pots and pans were taken care of as they got dirty, no one left a knife in a sink. We did not have one single kitchen accident and our kitchen was immaculate. What started out as a “how are we going to deal with this” turned into a “new way to cross-train a team” and foster comradery.

Thank you for reading and I hope you found these examples fuel for creative solutions to engagement. Your comments and suggestions for topics are encouraged.

I appreciate your support. And be honest with any critiques! Remember, I spent forever in food service - my skin is pretty thick. :)

Until next week, be kind to everyone you meet.

Last week I wrote that if there is no engagement, you are making money the only motivator. The most important skill a manager must learn is how to engage associates. The challenge is that no two associates are engaged the same way.

Before sharing some engagement strategies, let’s look at some well known, but worth reiterating stats. (Source: Gallup)

Gallup research has consistently shown that engaged teams do better on several key performance measures. Gallup’s latest employee engagement research found that business units and teams scoring in the top quartile in engagement had the following impressive differences in business outcomes when compared to the lowest quartile group:

• 78% less absenteeism

• 21% less turnover for normally high-turnover organizations

• 51% less turnover for low-turnover organizations

• 28% less theft

• 63% fewer safety incidents/accidents

• 32% fewer quality defects

At the same time, Gallup finds that engaged employees achieve multiple positive impacts for the business:

• 10% higher customer loyalty/engagement

• 18% higher productivity according to sales data

• 14% higher productivity through production records and evaluations

• 23% higher profitability for their organizations

• 22% higher organizational participation from employees

So, how do we engage our teams? Lets look at 5 strategies.

Start with a survey (and once every two years is not getting it done). Think about the amount of associate turnover; are you really getting relevant feedback? Think about management turnover; are the results a manager issue? Once you have your results, you can focus on repetitive concerns. The key to this is meeting with your teams, and digging deeper. For example, if associates have said they are frustrated with their managers’ responses to issues, ask for specific examples. If associates have asked for replacement of broken work “tools”, has the manager delivered on their promise of getting associate the necessary tools to do their job? Empty promises in any relationship erode trust. Don’t over promise and under deliver.

Next - foster workplace autonomy. Set expectations from Day 1. Let associates know the issues/problems they can solve on their own. Provide specific examples and the resolutions that are available.

People are 12% more likely to report being happy with their job when they have freedom and autonomy in their work environment.

One study showed that a lack of autonomy in the form of a micro-manager led to a decrease in employee morale for 68% of the respondents.

Setting up a buddy or mentorship program is the third strategy. Choose a buddy/mentor that you would like the associate to emulate. Perhaps you could provide a financial incentive for the buddy/mentor, give them some skin in the game. You are also providing a growth opportunity while giving your new associate with a great start. The key to success of this program - regular follow-ups, separately, with mentor and mentee.

Research by the Association of Talent Development found that organizations with mentoring programs in the workplace saw 57% higher employee engagement and retention.

Another study found that 87% of mentors and mentees felt empowered by their mentoring relationship and developed more confidence.

Next, make sure associates understand goals and results. The best way to do this? Create a visual scorecard, post it, update it, and review the results with the team. Every team member wants to know how they impact the work being done. If results fall below the goal, ask the team why, and what they could have done to improve the results.

Gartner research shows that when employee goals align their personal needs with those of the organization their performance increases by up to 22%.

Employees who feel their voices are heard are almost 5 times more likely to give their best effort.

Last one for tonight: Cross-train or provide internal mobility. The benefit for the organization? Provides training without hiring. For the associate? Provides opportunity to feel trusted and to learn a new skill and become more valuable.

According to a Deloitte report, an organization experienced a 30% increase in employee engagement after introducing an internal career program to help employees learn new skills and seek alternative roles.

LinkedIn’s 2020 Global Talent Trends report found that 41% of employees will likely stay longer with an organization that regularly hires from within.

Can you employ these strategies? What is hindering you from implementing? Do you have support from your manager to promote engagement within your department? Your answers to these questions is the first step.

Thank you for reading.

Please share with friends and peers.

Until next week, be kind to everyone you meet.

The dictionary defines “manage” as:

To handle or direct with a degree of skill: for example:

~ to exercise executive, administrative, and supervisory direction

What caught my attention is “a degree of skill”. When researching managers, I read a Gallup study that, “companies fail to choose the candidate with the right talent for the job 82% of the time”. Here is more from the Gallup study:

Managers account for at least 70% of variance in employee engagement scores across business units, Gallup estimates. This variation is in turn responsible for severely low worldwide employee engagement. Gallup reported in two large-scale studies in 2002 that only 30% of U.S. employees are engaged at work, and a staggeringly low 13% worldwide are engaged. Worse, over the past 13 years, these low numbers have barely budged, meaning that the vast majority of employees worldwide are failing to develop and contribute at work.

Gallup has studied performance at hundreds of organizations and measured the engagement of 27 million employees and more than 2.5 million work units over the past two decades. No matter the industry, size, or location, we find executives struggling to unlock the mystery of why performance varies from one workgroup to the next. Performance metrics fluctuate widely and unnecessarily in most companies, in no small part from the lack of consistency in how people are managed. This “noise” frustrates leaders because unpredictability causes great inefficiencies in execution.

These two paragraphs should be scary for any manager as they demonstrate a lack of loyalty. Managers wonder, “Why an hourly worker will leave for a dollar, or even 50 cents an hour?” The manager has made money the only motivating factor for their associates. 70% are not engaged, their voices aren’t heard, what makes them tick is unknown, and they don’t feel “in on things.”

Take a look at the infographic below:

Let’s break down two of these. 28% would stay for a pay increase of less than 5%, and 73% would stay for a higher wage. The average cost of hourly turnover is estimated to be $1500 - $2300 for non-technical positions. In the food service industry, my area of work, hourly turnover was reported by Black Box to be 96%.

Averaging the cost of turnover, I’m using $1900. See my calculations below.

Ask yourself: how much of that 96 cents could help offset overtime due to staff shortages? Would decreased turnover drive a sales increase? Save on operational costs? Unless you do your own math, you will never know the answer.

If you, as a manager, don’t engage your teams and make the manager/associate relationship transactional, money is all that matters. Yes, I am repeating myself, but it needs to be repeated.

Next week I will focus on how to engage associates and make them feel valued. I’d like to include your thoughts as well, so please drop some comments! Please don’t suggest pizza parties! That is not an engagement action; that’s just feeding people.

Thanks for reading, I was pretty nervous writing this, been out of the game for a while, hope it gives you some things to think about.

Be kind to everyone you meet - Andrew

(You did great, Dad. Love you! -Sam)

Now, that hardly would be enough for a newsletter, especially without a schedule, so let me bring in the real star of the show - my father, Andrew Lipson. Andrew is a recently-retired management professional with over 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry. Back when I was growing up in Fayetteville, my dad was an adjunct lecturer at the University of Arkansas, where his capstone course on hospitality management was well-liked (if you don’t believe me, check out his Rate My Professor page). I have since spent the past 4 years and change begging him to come back to teaching and mentorship in some way, and this newsletter will be our little project together to that end. But enough from me - I’ll let him take over talking about himself here.

Thanks Sam, I’m hardly a star, but I guess paying Sam for that endorsement was worth it. The idea for this newsletter was born from what I titled the “Sunday Night Tip”. What started out as an email to the team at the University of Arkansas intended to kick start the work week; morphed into an email that grew to over 200 recipients. We look forward to sharing some commonsense thoughts, ideas, and people management skills. Most importantly, we want to spark you to think about things a little bit differently and have open dialogue with your teams. Those of you who know me know that I love quotes, I’ll close with this. “When managers stop listening, people stop speaking up.”

Sam again - before we get started, a quick housekeeping item regarding paid subscriptions: As of right now, there are no plans to paywall the Substack chat. We plan on releasing the first several articles for free, and we may or may not paywall some of them in the future, so please keep that in mind when opting between a paid and free subscription, at least for right now. I’m happy to consider writing articles based on what the community wants, so feel free to drop a comment or a direct message to me.

I think that’s everything. See you Sunday!

-Andrew and Sam

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