Press On!

June 8, 2011 in Innovation by Kevin Austin | No comments

Ever wonder why a less talented person is more successful than their counterpart? In my many years of experience in dealing with people the answer lies with persistence and determination to succeed. Calvin Coolidge, the 30th President of the US, was quoted shortly after the year 1900 that

“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men (people) with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘Press On’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race”.

This is still true today, a hundred years later. Perhaps we can all be persistent and determined to achieve our goals and solve the challenges facing us today. Press on!

Kevin Austin
President and CEO

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Empathy + Enthusiasm = GREAT Service

May 31, 2011 in Company Culture by Laura Thurston | No comments

Running this simple math equation when looking for great team members will almost certainly guarantee success! At GP these traits are a requirement for our Client Services Team members. Employees who are enthusiastic and high in empathy expect positive results every time they deal with a customer. Because we are high energy and are able to put ourselves in the customer’s shoes, we are highly successful when it comes to solving problems and pleasing the customer.

Most problems have a simple solution and it is emotion or circumstance that hinders a customer from seeing the way out. The GP staff is trained to be skilled at helping customers to effectively navigate problem resolution. What’s great about the team here at GP is that this enthusiasm and deep sense of understanding is infectious and inevitably spreads to customers. Add in a positive attitude and what you get is one who tends to look on the bright side of any circumstance. They aren’t idealists, they do face the brutal facts, but they don’t let adversity overwhelm them.

Laura Thurston
CPO – Chief People Officer

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The Cacophony of Clutter

May 25, 2011 in Company Culture by Gail ORoke | No comments

This summer Golden Pacific Systems’ East Bay Division will be moving into a more efficient distribution center. We are all excited about the upcoming site improvement, and are eagerly anticipating the many benefits that our customers will reap from the efficiency upgrade. This is an overall positive event, but the change has caused some consternation as we look around our current office, where we have spent the better part of two decades, and realize just how challenging it will be to purge the collection of clutter prior to our move.

Twenty years is a long time, but this distraction of disorder could have been avoided by following a few simple rules:

  • Implement a clean desk policy where desks must be cleared of excess paperwork at the end of each day.
  • Date reports and miscellaneous material with an expiration date. Spend a few minutes each week reviewing items that have reached their “use or discard by” date and get rid of dead weight.
  • Ask the right questions when reviewing dated items, including: When was the last time you used it? Why would you need it again? Is it easily replaceable?
  • Discard newsletters or periodicals that are piling up for more than two weeks (either hard copies on your desk or electronic versions in your email).
  • Reevaluate stagnate “projects” that have been dormant for more than a month. If the benefits of completing the project are worth the time, take the time to get it done right away. If the benefits do not justify the time required, abandon the task.

Each unnecessary piece of paper within eyesight has its own little voice demanding attention and creating disorder.  Don’t expend energy ignoring those voices. Dedicate that energy to silencing them. You’ll be amazed at how must more productive you can be without the cacophonous chorus of clutter.

Gail O’Roke, CDC
Vice President, East Bay Division

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DIY Graphic Design

May 17, 2011 in Creative Marketing by Naomi Catalina | No comments

In this economy it is understandable that business owners try and save money by creating some of their own marketing materials. While I am a firm believer in hiring a professional to create polished materials to represent your business, sometimes there is a need for something small, like a one-time event flyer, that makes more sense to do yourself.

The most common design flaw I see is the use of a font that is so overused I nearly fall asleep the second I look at it. So the best tip I can give you: Choose a different font! Stay away from Times New Roman, Comic Sans and Papyrus! Computers come loaded with lots of fonts. Not all of them are great, but look through them to find something that can work for your piece. Also, create some interest by using different variations of the font you’ve chosen. Example:

Now this example isn’t going to win any design awards, but you can see how just a few simple variations of text weight and size creates more visual interest and makes the message easier to read. So toss Times New Roman and check out the other fonts you’ve got!

Naomi Catalina
Designer at Large

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Purchasing: What’s My Time Worth?

May 11, 2011 in Innovation, Strategic Outsourcing by Cal Popken | No comments

I used to love going to my local True Value store when in need of hardware. I much preferred it to the big box Home Depot and Lowe’s stores. I figured my time was worth more than having to navigate those huge stores assisted by indifferent people who knew less about my project than I did. I knew that I might pay a bit more for the product, but factoring in superior assistance and significantly less time spent in the store, I felt it was worth it. Now that my little store is no longer in business, I will frequently go online to purchase the products I need, since I consider this a much better use of my time.

In business, where time is truly money, we still see antiquated purchasing processes whereby several procurement employees are spending an inordinate amount of time shopping for the lowest possible price. A simple exercise in totaling up these employees’ salaries and benefits factored against any monies saved on purchases will no doubt reveal that the company is actually losing money on these endeavors. A business must ask itself this question: What if these employees’ time was spent on growing the business rather than saving few dollars here and there? Further, it should ask if these purchasing employees are even needed at all.

In this economy a vendor must be competitive in price to stay in business. To spend much time shopping for the lowest possible price is a waste of one’s resources. Instead a business must find a vendor that offers a system which makes purchasing an efficient and effective process, requiring as little time as possible to complete the task. GPnet™, an online supply chain efficiency system, is one such system. The time required to procure an item a business needs is drastically reduced, and prices are often lower due to the purchasing power of the vendor.

Cal Popken
COO

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9 Awesome Ways to Use QR Codes For Your Restaurant

April 28, 2011 in Creative Marketing, Innovation by Jon Sooy | 1 comment

In an earlier post, I discussed QR Codes. I explained what they are and how they work. If you haven’t yet discovered QR Codes or are wondering how you might use them to market your restaurant, here are some ideas:

  1. Take-Out Menus: Print a QR Code on table tents, front door posters or anywhere it’s appropriate. Customers scan the code and are redirected to a digital version of your menu. A hotlink that enables them to call you is included for convenience.
  2. Recipes: Put a small QR Code on your menu next to different dishes. Smartphone users can then scan the code and be taken to the recipe. An alternative is where the user could be taken to a video of your chef preparing the dish.
  3. Coupons: Place QR Codes within your ads, direct mail pieces or anywhere you can imagine and link the code to a coupon.
  4. Facebook: Simply link the code to your Facebook Fan Page and get more followers! To entice them, offer a discount or coupon for clicking the ‘Like Us’ button.
  5. Nutritional Information: Place a QR Code on your menu or on a table tent that links to your nutritional information summary. You could also do individual codes for each menu item.
  6. Interviews: Link to a video of an interview with important characters within your company. This might be a CEO, Executive Chef, Chief Marketing Officer, or even the employee of the month!
  7. Specials: Does your restaurant frequently have specials? Link a code to a virtual ‘Daily Special’ chalk board!
  8. Restaurant Info: Link to basic information about your restaurant: address, phone number or perhaps even the restaurant’s history.
  9. Surveys: Put a QR Code on your receipts and get instant feedback on your customer’s dining experience.

I’m sure more great uses for QR Codes are out there. What ideas do you have? We’d love to hear them!

Jon Sooy
VP Sales and Marketing

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World Famous

April 20, 2011 in Creative Marketing by Naomi Catalina | No comments

Recently, while in an image branding forum for designers I came across a recommendation for a book called World Famous by David Tyreman. The tagline on the book is “How to give your business a kick-ass brand identity.” Nice, I wanted to read more. I read the book in about three days after receiving it from Amazon.

Tyreman begins the book with a quote that has done its job and stuck with me: “There are masses of people just waiting to do business with you once they are so inspired.” Inspiring your target audience is the key concept of this book. It should drive every marketing decision a company makes. However before you can inspire your audience you need to know who they are. Tyreman offers up step-by-step exercises to find out who your audience is, and what will inspire them to want to take part in your brand.

As far as inspiring your audience, Tyreman uses Polo Ralph Lauren to demonstrate this being perfectly executed. Ralph Lauren sells clothes, but what they really sell is a sophisticated, luxury lifestyle. On its website, Ralph Lauren states “Ralph Lauren has always stood for providing quality products, creating worlds and inviting people to take part in our dream.” Inviting people to take part in our dream. This makes Ralph Lauren an expert of lifestyle branding.

I recommend this book to anyone looking to start a business, or re-brand their current business. It is full of examples and exercises to effectively help you understand how to reach your target audience and inspire them to do business with you.

Naomi Catalina
Designer at Large

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Boosting Morale – Part Two

April 13, 2011 in Company Culture by Laura Thurston | No comments

Stop what you are doing right now. No, really. Take a few minutes, stand up and walk around your office. Do you see shoulders slouched? Hands on foreheads? The look of gloom on faces? These and many more are signs of stress at work.

This is the second in my series demonstrating the affordable and easy-to-implement solutions which are producing very positive results. A relaxed co-worker pays more attention to detail, is more productive and is less likely to crack under the pressure.

#2 – RESISTANCE BANDS

Implemented in December 2010
Cost to company: Less than $50
We provided GP employees with their own resistance band and showed them basic stretching exercises they can do right at their desks. They are encouraged to stretch multiple times during the day, or anytime they notice the tension creeping in. It is great to walk around and see the different colored bands stretching away the stress.

So go get some bands and help your staff relieve their stress!!!

Laura Thurston
CPO – Chief People Officer

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Reflections

April 6, 2011 in Innovation by Gail ORoke | No comments

Many of us glance momentarily in the mirror once or twice a day to make sure we are presentable. We don’t look closely at the details that make up our image. For everyone except 15-year-old girls (I know of what I speak; I have one of those at home) this occasional cursory glance is perfectly sufficient. However, what is true about our personal appearance is not true when it comes to the details of our business’ image.

The inner workings of a company can become too familiar to the very people who are responsible for ensuring that the organization remains perpetually attractive to the marketplace. What are you doing to keep fresh eyes on your organization? There are a number of ways guaranteed to keep from growing complacent. One of the surest is to join an executive group with an advisory board model.

This involves a real commitment and investment (both in time and dollars), but for C-level Executives there is no better way to hold your feet to the fire than by joining an executive group such as The Alliance of CEO’s (www.allianceofceos.com), Young President’s Organization (www.ypo.org), Vistage (www.vistage.com) or one of the many other options available.

These groups are typically made up of roughly a dozen executives from non-competing industries. With a professional moderator, members have monthly meetings where an “outside view” can look at your ideas or analyze specific business challenges. These meetings are not for the faint of heart. A dozen fresh pair of eyes, coupled with brutal honesty from peers is more fearsome to some executives than a bad hair day coupled with a prominent blemish is to a high school student. However, the results from this scrutiny can be revolutionary to your organization, and over time the face of your company that you see in the mirror can be stunning to both you and your customers.

Gail O’Roke, CDC
Vice President, East Bay Division

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Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks

March 29, 2011 in Company Culture by Kevin Austin | No comments

I come from the old school, believing very strongly that the best way to foster business relationships and communications is through old fashioned personalized service. Even though I enjoy the efficiencies brought on by technology, I also like face-to-face meetings and talking to a person on the other end of the phone.

However, I have come to realize how important it is to be visible through the use of social networking. Blogs enable us to communicate with our growing customer base and vendor network. It has always been very important for me that our company understand our customer and their needs. It is also important for us to partner with the best suppliers. I truly believe this is one of the factors that have differentiated us in the marketplace for the past 34 years. This enables us to know each other better, establish trust, respect, and motivation to make it work better.

It has never been about the products we sell. There are lots of competitors out there that can also produce the same items. We understand that it is about our personal connections, relationships, and living up to our promises. I also understand now that the use of Facebook, Linked In, and Blogs make it easier to communicate with our customers and for them to get to know us better.

Kevin Austin
President and CEO

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