How to be a Cool Boss (or other business leader)

How to be a Cool Boss and Get the Most from Your Team

First of all, 'cool' is hard to fake. You are either cool or you're not. But, there is hope if you aren't yet cool, for cool is a way of being that eventually absorbs into you. Am I cool? Of course I am! How can I tell? I can't, people tell me. It's not something I am aware of every day, but the ways I operate and communicate with people have helped the 'coolness' to manifest itself, whether I know it or not.

It all started with me keeping myself open to different things at a very young age. My mother was a die-hard traveler, who flew to exotic lands and brought back music and  little relics of culture from around the world and my father has always been one of the coolest cats on the planet, bringing his young sons to the coolest movies that we wouldn't be allowed to go to on our own. Those experiences stayed with me until this very day and are part of who I am.

I would eventually go through many part time jobs and carry my coolness with me as I went along. I befriended cool musicians and we formed a cool band that was (and is) unlike any other band around, which is a very cool thing to be a part of. Our lead singer is especially cool and has always been the one people talked to because he was very approachable off stage and didn't have the giant ego about him when he was simply hanging out with others.

Along the way, I met so many cool people that I am still friends with today. That is not to say that I didn't run into my share of uncool folks - there were plenty of those, but they weren't invited to the gatherings of the cool people. In fact, very often a party host will ask if somebody is cool or not. Knowing that the origin of the term comes from the phrase 'let cool heads prevail', we can assume cool people are not going to cause unnecessary grief at a given occasion.

Whenever I made a film project, the team liked what they were a part of and I was even told a few times that people had a better time working on a set where the director wasn't yelling at anybody. If the budget is super low, you cannot afford to lose anybody, so by yelling, you will cause the 'vision' to be blurry to those who are contemplating walking off the set.

The same thing happens on stage whenever I perform; if you create a positive atmosphere for all involved in the show, it will be a better show and it's in the best interest of the performers to lead the way for everybody else to follow the example.

So, are you about 'cooled out' now? Enough with it already, right? Let's forget about the actual term and continue.

People like being around others who won't cause them undue grief, who are educated by life as much as by literature (both fiction and non-fiction) and lecture, who appreciate other cultures, who can give others the benefit of the doubt, are easy to get along with and remain calm as well as discreet when differences arise. Those guidelines are what make a person a great leader who is respected and liked by team members, co-workers, friends and family. 

One more thing worth noting - I've always had great results when people felt as if they were a part of something....er...'cool'.

- Buck Moore

Customer Service Blunders & Solutions #7 - Food Safety & Productivity

This is about cross-contamination and cleanliness in the fast-food industry. There have been two instances where I was willing to walk out without getting reimbursed after I had ordered some fast food, but I did once demand my money back. Both places I am talking about had open kitchens where the customer could see how their food was being cooked - and contaminated!

 Problems:

The Butcher Shop (which shall remain nameless): the place had a snack-bar where customers could satisfy their hunger before or after taking a number to order their meat. Since I was just in the neighborhood to shop for veggies, I thought about getting a hot dog to satisfy my cravings for sodium, fat and nitrates.

I ordered a hot dog and the girl put it on the grill as I watched. She then got an order for souvlaki and picked up the raw pork with the same utensil used for my hot dog. She then turned the hot dog with it, turned the pork, touching the raw side, and immediately after, used it to place my hot dog in a bun. I said: "I'm not eating that." She asked why and I explained. She asked me If I wanted another one and I said yes. She then did the same thing, so I left without getting my money back.

The Burger Joint (which shall remain nameless): a very well-known burger franchise can be found at gas stations in Ontario, serving hungry meat-eaters near the 401 (a main highway in Canada). I was one of those hungry meat-eaters, in a hurry, on my way home one afternoon.

Two teenage boys were sharing cooking and cash duties...yes, 'sharing'. They would cook a burger or two, very quickly 'wash their hands' by pouring a quick stream of water over them, then  handle the cash and/or food (I'm sure the tap handles and little towel were full of something). Anyway, I felt grossed out about the whole thing and didn't want to make a big stink, so I asked for my money back, discreetly.

The boys were so upset and loud, that their manager overheard the whole thing - he was pricing products in the salty snacks aisle. He wanted to know what was going on and I just zipped over to the gas cashier to get the heck out of there. I did explain to the boys that they didn't wash their hands well enough and this apparently upset them.

So, what is it? Are the training videos not clear enough? Are there any training videos? Raw pork is germy and cash is filthy. Either take the cash or cook the burgers - and use separate utensils to avoid cross-contamination. Anyway, I rarely eat at fast food joints these days - unless I'm starving and on the highway, but I still go now and then just to experience the quality of service.

Solutions:

Constant reminders posted in a conspicuous area should be essential for fast food places in conjunction with positive, calm-toned discussions about the importance of food safety and overall cleanliness.

When I was 18, I managed to get a very high rating on one secret evaluation in the fast food place where I worked.In fact, the rating was so positive that they had assumed the senior manager was in charge, not me. When I ran the floor, I got great results because of one thing - people enjoyed coming to work.

The staff knew that when I was in charge, they didn't have to worry about messing something up because I would never yell at them. Since they had a more relaxed attitude, they could have a bit of fun as well and when it got busy, they could focus more on quality and cleanliness. In fact, when they saw me with a broom or a mop in a shirt and tie, they would not hesitate to take over if I asked them to. All of a sudden, jobs like bathroom cleaning and garbage removal were not below anybody if the manager was willing to do it when others could not.

We had a good team and other people wanted to switch to our shift because, if they had to have a part time job, it may as well be enjoyable, and if they enjoyed what they were doing, the focus was on the work, which inevitably resulted in a safe, clean environment producing picture perfect food (well, maybe not 'food stylist' perfect, but as close to that as possible).

Tips for better results from your team:

• Create a positive atmosphere at work that is light on the stress, so people will look forward to coming in. This will, undoubtedly, result in less absenteeism and better productivity.

• Communicate regularly and avoid too much negative water cooler talk. Explain, calmly, why it's important to understand and remember the company's mission statement. Help the staff understand how unique and important your company is and how it must perform at top levels - this will help them feel like they are a part of something special, not just a run-of-the-mill operation.

• Post inspirational notes around, but not goofy ones - they must be hip enough for the younger generation to appreciate. Every generation's sense of humor changes and being able to be on the same level as the younger folks will make you look cool.

Enjoy your day!!

- Buck Moore

Making the Most of Commuting: How to Avoid Stress Before, During or After Work

I stumbled upon a webpage by author Gina Mollicone-Long, who wrote "Think or Sink, The One Choice that Changes Everything" and one paragraph on her webpage caught my eye. By the way, this is not an endorsement and I am not an affiliate, these are just my personal observations of a forward thinker who inspired me to write today. Here's the part of the paragraph which stuck out:

"THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS STRESS!
Some people consider crawling along in traffic an opportunity to listen to their favorite music or relax and do their best thinking. For others, traffic is a nightmare that will ruin their entire day."

The reason it got my full attention is that I discovered, many years ago, that if I am going to be stuck in traffic, why should I waste time trying to move ahead of gridlock and stress myself out for no good reason? Why not just 'go with the flow' and use that time to my advantage? So, that's what I did; I changed my perspective.

Driving the mean streets of Toronto

Toronto can be quite crazy to drive around at the best of times. There's a running joke in my family that, in order to get on the highway to visit my sister, which is only a half hour's drive, I have to make it out of Toronto, which can be anywhere from a half hour to an hour, depending on many factors. So, to me it's about a 1.5 hour drive.

That being said, since the time I was a full time driver in my late 20's (mid 1990's), I have seen the roads go from bad to worse. In fact, driving around delivering blueprints and picking up orders for the print shop I worked at meant a lot of time in traffic and thus an opportunity to further my education while driving. So, I often pulled over to a corner store and bought a $5.00 'learn as you drive' tape and even went shopping downtown to a 'books on tape' store, where I could get philosophy, business, motivation, inspiration or whatever I wanted to listen to on a regular basis. In fact, I wanted them to keep me on the road for more pick-ups if I could avoid going back to the shop, where I couldn't listen to my stuff.

The business tapes really fired me up every time I listened to them and eventually I gave my notice to start my desired career. In a sense, that driving job was one of the best things for me, it allowed me time to be alone and get educated while I was working.

Stacking boxes and being left alone

Back in early 1995, when I was working in shipping and receiving, I was the head receiver working under my supervisor, who seemed to understand where I was coming from. In my constant need for change to sustain myself at positions I didn't entirely enjoy, I often took a 'break' by going to the warehouse to stack boxes so I could be alone with my thoughts. On occasion, I'd even forget to take a formal break.

Working alone, doing physical labor that didn't involve a dangerous surrounding (important point here), I could think of the many things I wanted to accomplish and could work on my plans after I quit (I was almost 'quit' in my head by that time, after 6.5 years). Needless to say, I got a lot more done at that position than anybody could ever imagine.

Final statement

So, I totally agree with the idea that a person's predicament is based on their perspective and nobody should feel too trapped or stressed because there is always an option that suits one better - if you look around and find it. Thinking of new ideas is about the hardest thing I ever find myself doing because executing the ideas is relatively painless.

In short, I like when people use the word 'think' and that's why my upcoming book series is called think WORK not JOB.

- Buck Moore

How To Stop Feeling Overwhelmed at Work

(if it doesn't play here, click to go to YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuEkZ692jQM)

I made this video for my website with the help of some film and television students at the career college where I work part time. It's one of my favorite classes to teach because we get to be creative, work hard AND work as a team - a great way to encourage teamwork is to make a short film!

Feelings of frustration and being overwhelmed as work piles up around you can stop a hard-working person in their tracks. Everybody experiences this from time to time and a lot us us pull out of it fairly quickly, but some people get stuck in a rut that can last for quite a while.

Here are some tips that may help when you find yourself in such a rut. They work for me by sparking myself back to my purpose in life when things get busy and unfocused around me.

1) Create your own mission statement.
Business have them why not people? Ever wonder what you are really doing on this blue marble? It goes beyond breathing and eating, of course, so write one down and print it out to make it official. It can change over time, and that's cool, too. I'd say the hardest thing for me to ever do was to focus on a direction and writing about it had been difficult over the years. Living through a state I define as 'gradual fusion', my mission statement pretty much wrote itself. I wrote it in about ten seconds one day when trying to sharpen my focus and it was an instant hit (with me).

2) Remind yourself every day about your mission in life.
Seeing my mission statement every single day keeps me focused and on track. If I find myself in a tough situation of work-overload, I look at my focused statement and some how everything is back to normal. It's truly amazing how simple it is to get back to a rational state of mind after reminding myself where I am going.

3) Get inspired!
Inspirational material is everywhere in print, online or from a helpful listener a few doors down. It doesn't matter where the material comes from as long as it does the job of getting you inspired. Every time I need inspiration, I go to my old books with powerful messages and get fired up immediately. Me? Need inspiration? I am a hard working human being and I, too, get overwhelmed from time to time, but it doesn't last long because I don't let it...I know how to get around it.

4) Sort out the most important tasks from the least important.
Let's face it, not everything we do on a day to day basis will cause the stock market to crash if we don't do it perfectly and by the exact due date. Some things can wait a little longer than others and it's all in the way we communicate that to others. Sometimes it can feel as if everybody is pulling at you from all angles and then the phone rings and the emails pile up. Get to them according to order of importance and remember to post a vacation response on an email when you are 'virtually' out of the office.

5) When somebody gets angry with you, respond in a calm tone, no matter what.
As unpleasant and unnerving as it is to listen to an angry person get all in your face, raising your voice back at them won't solve anything and you may regret what you say. It's easy to yell and difficult to restrain from it when someone is yelling at you, but it works to your advantage in the end. Back in the late 1990's, I let a guy treat me horribly in front of others and my response to him was very calm and helpful and he couldn't do any more than he did - it confused him. Everybody watching the scene sided with me almost instantly. That was only one of many similar scenarios. Controlling reactions is a learned skill.

6) Let people know at the start about any possible snags that may occur.
Informing people about possible issues and snags can soften the blow to them and reduce your own stress when the deadline must be extended. Nothing is perfect in life and unless a country will explode, the situation must be dealt with rationally. If there is a multi-million dollar deal that will fall through unless a deadline is met, there should be more people on the job and that can be discussed up front.

7) Take a few moments at the start of the day to arrange tasks.
I find I can sleep better and avoid thoughts rushing around in my brain if I simply write out what I am going to do the next day. I sometimes decide to write these things on the morning I start the day and I check them off as I go. If they can't be done, they get put on the next day's list, but they are always listed based on priority. I had read about this practice many years ago and have been doing it ever since. By writing them down, I took the first step and no matter what happens during the day, I know where to find the list if I need to.

8) And now, the number one way to help eliminate work stress and avoid being stuck in a rut..........have a laugh! This really should be number one, but it lightens up the end of this article. Share a funny, tasteful joke, funny email or news paper cartoon. Paste a funny thing to your fridge at work, etc.

'Work' is Not a Bad Word.

Here is a 'behind the scenes' look at the marketing concepts, education and 'work' of a public speaker dedicated to progressive change:

I attended a seminar on public speaker marketing in early 2009 to both continue my education and perhaps network with other speakers and share ideas. I learned a few very valuable pieces of information that have changed the way I am marketing myself, including a new tag-line that best represents the promise I offer to clients.

When I shared my business card, one speaker challenged me on the use of the word 'work' in my main topic 'thinkWORKnotJOB' because, she said, the word 'work' wasn't as attractive as other words might be. I explained my viewpoint about it, that the word 'work' exists in the popular phrases 'body of work' and 'life's work', which are among the main points I share with others.

I had thought long and hard about the concept of thinkWORKnotJOB and I wasn't about to let the whole thing go because of one speaker's opinion. In fact, the most difficult thing about my whole concept was the title! It took many months of writing to finally arrive at a title I was proud of and that represented me best.

That speaker did me a huge favor, however, in that the comment made me look deeper into what I am doing and challenge myself regularly.

In the end, the title persevered and has been with me for over three years (and will be for many more). The funny thing is what I recently read in a book I was given for Christmas entitled 'The Likeability Factor' by Tim Sanders. Being a fan of 'Think and Grow Rich', 'How to Win Friends and Influence People' and other monumental works, I immediately delved into 'The L-Factor' (as it is known for short). One quote within the book sparked the writing of this blog entry and the quote was by one of my inventor heroes Thomas Edison.

The quote reads as follows: "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work."

My summary is this: if you persist in a state, enterprise or undertaking in spite of counter-influence, opposition or discouragement, the pay-off will reveal itself, eventually. Just because you see it, intangible, in your mind, doesn't mean it won't manifest itself in due course.

That's my thought for the day! Happy 2010!

- Buck Moore