What's Your Coin? by Ron Kaufman

What can a coin reveal about the service mindset of your leaders and your organization? Watch this video by customer service expert Ron Kaufman to find out now. To be a role model of superior service, pick up YOUR coin and put away today!

The Art of Retail Buying By Marie-Lousie Jacobsen

The Art of Retail Buying
An Insider's Guide to the Best Practices from the Industry
By Marie-Louise Jacobsen

What makes a store? The merchandise makes a store. What makes a great store? Great merchandise makes a great store. It's all about finding merchandise that has the "X-factor."

The retail industry is arguably one of the toughest in the world. Brands come and go, fickle consumers switch their allegiance overnight while the global economy directly affects every level of the market. So how do the top professionals manage to get it right year after year and keep both clients and employers happy?

In the Art of Retail Buying, author Marie-Louise Jacobsen draws on her years of experience to offer insights into the world of the professional merchandiser. This book if for anyone and everyone who wants to expand their knowledge in retail buying, product development, building and creating brands and buy-sell negotiations.

At the core of the book is advice on strategic buying, covering topics as:

- how to buy
- what to buy
- comparative stock analysis
- buying plans vs. selected buying components
- sensible budgeting.

Skilled retail buying entails merchandising ability and know-how in finding and buying merchandise that is market-relevant, customer-relevant, season-relevant, quality-relevant and product relevant. All these skills are ready to be learnt and are now available in The Art of Retail Buying.

From Fry Chef to COO

From Fry Chef to COO

McDonald's Janice Fields says focusing on her job,

not obstacles, paved her way to success.

by Sally Deneen

At 23, Jan Fields - a military wife with a child and no college degree - made a fateful stop. Early for an interview for a secretarial job, she stepped inside a McDonald's for a beverage. She noticed a sign: McDonald's was hiring. She liked the idea of working flexible hours. She applied immediately, got the job, skipped the secretary's interview and spent her first day making french fries.

"I went home that night and cried," Fields says. "I said, 'I don't think I can do it. It's too hard. They have too many rules for french fries.' I now understand why they taste so good."

Fields stuck it out, returning the next night to that McDonald's in Dayton, Ohio, to fill in at the front counter. There she got a chance to chat with customers and realized she loved the work.

Today, some three decades later, Fields has worked her way up from fry chef to be the first female chief operating officer of McDonald's USA. As COO and executive vice president, she oversees more than 800,000 employees at more than 13,700 restaurants, and at a time when the chain is rolling out its most ambitious addition in years - adding a broad beverage lineup, including espresso, sweet tea, smoothies and bottled soft drinks.

Fortune calls her one of the 50 most powerful women in business. Forbes ranked her among the world's 100 most powerful women, period. Fields describes herself as "amazed" by how far she's come.

"I never thought that I would be here," says straight-talker Fields, 53, who lives in the Chicago area with her husband and serves on the boards of Monsanto Company, United Cerebral Palsy and the Chicago Urban League. "It was kind of an interesting beginning, but one I am certainly proud of and love to share with people because I think there are certain stigmas attached to certain jobs or entry-level positions and the notion of minimum-wage or 'dead-end' things. At least at McDonald's it certainly isn't true."

Forty percent of top management at McDonald's, including CEO Jim Skinner, started out flipping burgers or filling other crew roles at the seemingly ubiquitous restaurants. What McDonald's defines as career workers - those staying three years or longer - account for 354,000 of its jobs. But in 2007, Crain's Chicago Business called Fields one of 25 women to watch because if she succeeds at keeping sales growing, "she could be the strongest female contender yet for McDonald's CEO spot."

Fields is always mindful of how she started out, and treats everyone within the company with equal respect. "I think that they, in turn, will do anything for you." She also realizes she still can learn from others, no matter their position or their age. She regularly solicits advice and input from front line staff at a McDonald's restaurant next to her corporate office.

After starting in a part-time position, Fields moved quickly to full time, from making fries to filling almost every restaurant-level position. She managed a restaurant for more than two years in Dayton. She moved up, managed multiple restaurants and went into supervision. A few years ago, her job as president of McDonald's Central Division entailed visiting fast-food eateries in almost half of the United States to ensure quality service. She kept a stopwatch in the car (and still does) to time drive-through lines to make sure they're consistently moving. "It isn't necessarily about the time, per se," she says. "It's how you might be feeling sitting in your car. So if somebody isn't moving, their perception could be it's 10 minutes, when it might have only been two."

At each position along the way, Fields clung to her philosophy: Stay focused on the current job and don't worry about promotions. "If you really focus on your existing job, and do it the best you can and do it better than anybody else, your next position will come a lot easier," she says. "You will be recognised and, in McDonald's, you will be rewarded. My career success has been based on doing every job that I've done exceptionally well and not worrying about the next job."

Now one of six executive vice presidents, Fields says she never wasted time thinking about limitations or obstacles. Growing up with five brothers helped foster a can-do spirit. "In McDonald's, we're all competitive - man or woman. I obviously spent more time focusing on my job than I did on those obstacles," she says.

"You know, I've never let things get in my way and get sidetracked. One other philosophy I've always had: Never quit over one person or one thing, and I tell that in speeches all the time," she says. "Stay focused on the job you have, not on all the peripheral things going on around you. I think it's served me well."

She also makes sure credit is shared for any progress, claiming every effort is broad-based and results from input from many staffers, as well as customers. So while Forbes wrote "Big Mac's sales have been up since Fields was made chief operating officer in 2006," and she "championed the idea of serving specialty coffee," Fields refuses to look at these things as her accomplishments.

Along with the hard work over the years, Fields has had fun. She keeps a quote from poet E.E. Cummings in a silver frame on her desk. It reads: "The most wasted of all days is one without laughter." She heeds the advice. "I laugh a lot, and I smile a lot and I think it puts everyone around you in that mood," she says. "Whatever behaviors the boss has, people tend to emulate."

Fields says she is happy about the way her life has turned out. "I still feel like I have an awful lot to offer, both in McDonald's and outside," she says. Her volunteer efforts including chairing the board of advisors for Catalyst, a New-York based women's organization primarily focused on research. "I am very committed to how we give back," she says. "Given the abundance of success and good fortune that I've had, I'm a believer in giving back."

Looking back at her career, she likens it to building a house. She got a strong foundation because she spent a lot of time in the restaurants, so she truly understands the core business.

"I would tell everyone that I believe you can accomplish anything that you set your mind to do, but just do it a step at a time," she says. "People have to recognize that the road is long and far, and you're not going to get there overnight. A lot of young people today want to start at the top. It just doesn't work that way. The skills that you learn as you're going through at lower levels are what make you successful when you do get to the top."

Small is the New Big and 183 Other Riffs, Rants, and Remarkable Business Ideas by Seth Godin

“WARNING: If you want a narrative and lots of research, you’re in the wrong place. But I’m betting you don’t need another dense business book. What you need is a small prod or perhaps a friendly whack. And maybe a few ideas you can really run with. Have fun.”

Seth Godin, one of today’s most influential business thinkers, writes bestselling books like Purple Cow and All Marketers Are Liars. And in between those annual books he delivers a daily stream of ideas on one of the world’s most popular blogs.

Collected here for the first time are eight years of his very best blog posts, magazine columns, and e-books. On literally every page, Small is the New Big offers ideas and stories that can change how you work, what you buy, and how you see the world.

It’s an entertaining snapshot of Godin’s fiercely original brain. Who else would argue that Fluffernutter was a brilliant business model? That we need a service that charges to send e-mail? That you can learn about design at Hershey Park than at an Apple store, and more about marketing at a summer camp than at business school?

All of these riffs add up to a few essential themes:
- Small is the new big because big has gone from a huge advantage to a liability.
- Authentic stories spread and last, but lies get exposed faster than ever.
- The ability to change fast is the single best asset for any person or organization.
- Aretha was right: Respect is the secret to success.
- It’s easier than ever to become remarkable. There’s no excuse for sticking with mediocrity.

As Godin writes, “I dare you to read any ten of these essays and still be comfortable settling for what you’ve got. You don’t have to settle for the status quo, for being good enough, for getting by, for working all night.”

I would love to share with you one of my favourite article in this book. Its title is " Clean Fire trucks"

"I live in a neighbourhood where all the firehouses are run by volunteers. I don’t know how my family, my neighbours, and I would get by without them – like firefighters everywhere, they do brave work with little credit.

One thing you’ll notice is how clean the trunks are. “why are the trucks so clean?” a friend asked. After all, a clean fire truck isn’t a lot better at putting out fires than a smudged one.

The answer: because when there isn’t a fire, the firemen wait for the siren to ring. And while they’re waiting, they clean the truck.

Sounds a lot like where you work. Most organizations are staffed with people waiting for the alarm to ring. Instead of going out to the community and working to prevent new fires, the mind set is that firemen are working to put out the fires that have started. Hotel desk clerks don’t write letters of make calls to generate new business – they stand at the desk waiting for business to arrive. Software engineers are often overwhelmed with an endless list of programming fires – and rarely get a chance to think about what they ought to build next.

The structure of most organizations (and every single school I’ve ever encountered!) supports this. It’s about cleaning your plate, finishing your assignments and following instructions. Initiative is hard to measure and direct and reward. Task completion, on the other hand, is a factory orientation that is predictable and feels safe.

In fast-changing markets, clean fire trucks show attention to details but rarely lead to growth and success.

What a great way to describe a stuck but busy organization. “they sure have clean fire trucks.”"

So do you want to continue cleaning trucks in your workplace? or do you want to be the leader to initiate change and improve?

I'll Carry You Out Every Morning Until Death Do Us Apart

I got this article from an email. It is a very meaningful story about love and relationship. Please share this with your friends.

When I got home that night as my wife served dinner, I held her hand and said, I've got something to tell you. She sat down and ate quietly. Again I observed the hurt in her eyes. Suddenly I didn't know how to open my mouth. But I had to let her know what I was thinking. I want a divorce. I raised the topic calmly.

She didn't seem to be annoyed by my words, instead she asked me softly, why? I avoided her question. This made her angry. She threw away the chopsticks and shouted at me, you are not a man! That night, we didn't talk to each other. She was weeping. I knew she wanted to find out what had happened to our marriage. But I could hardly give her a satisfactory answer; she had lost my heart to a lovely girl called Dew. I didn't love her anymore.I just pitied her!

With a deep sense of guilt, I drafted a divorce agreement which stated that she could own our house, our car, and 30% stake of my company. She glanced at it and then tore it into pieces. The woman who had spent ten years of her life with me had become a stranger. I felt sorry for her wasted time, resources and energy but I could not take back what I had said for I loved Dew so dearly. Finally she cried loudly in front of me, which was what I had expected to see. To me her cry was actually a kind of release. The idea of divorce which had obsessed me for several weeks seemed to be firmer and clearer now.

The next day, I came back home very late and found her writing something at the table. I didn't have supper but went straight to sleep and fell asleep very fast because I was tired after an eventful day with Dew. When I woke up, she was still there at the table writing. I just did not care so I turned over and was asleep again.

In the morning she presented her divorce conditions: she didn't want anything from me, but needed a month's notice before the divorce. She requested that in that one month we both struggle to live as normal a life as possible. Her reasons were simple: our son had his exams in a months time and she didn't want to disrupt him with our broken marriage.

This was agreeable to me. But she had something more, she asked me to recall how I had carried her into out bridal room on our wedding day. She requested that everyday for the month's duration I carry her out of our bedroom to the front door every morning. I thought she was going crazy. Just to make our last days together bearable I accepted her odd request.

I told Dew about my wife s divorce conditions. She laughed loudly and thought it was absurd. No matter what tricks she applies, she has to face the divorce, she said scornfully.

My wife and I hadn't had any body contact since my divorce intention was explicitly expressed. So when I carried her out on the first day, we both appeared clumsy. Our son clapped behind us, daddy is holding mummy in his arms. His words brought me a sense of pain. From the bedroom to the sitting room, then to the door, I walked over ten meters with her in my arms. She closed her eyes and said softly; don't tell our son about the divorce. I nodded, feeling somewhat upset. I put her down outside the door. She went to wait for the bus to work. I drove alone to the office.

On the second day, both of us acted much more easily. She leaned on my chest. I could smell the fragrance of her blouse. I realized that I hadn't looked at this woman carefully for a long time. I realised she was not young any more. There were fine wrinkles on her face, her hair was graying! Our marriage had taken its toll on her. For a minute I wondered what I had done to her.

On the fourth day, when I lifted her up, I felt a sense of intimacy returning. This was the woman who had given ten years of her life to me. On the fifth and sixth day, I realized that our sense of intimacy was growing again. I didn't tell Dew about this. It became easier to carry her as the month slipped by. Perhaps the everyday workout made me stronger.

She was choosing what to wear one morning. She tried on quite a few dresses but could not find a suitable one. Then she sighed, all my dresses have grown bigger. I suddenly realized that she had grown so thin, that was the reason why I could carry her more easily. Suddenly it hit me. She had buried so much pain and bitterness in her heart. Subconsciously I reached out and touched her head.

Our son came in at the moment and said, Dad, it's time to carry mum out. To him, seeing his father carrying his mother out had become an essential part of his life. My wife gestured to our son to come closer and hugged him tightly. I turned my face away because I was afraid I might change my mind at this last minute. I then held her in my arms, walking from the bedroom, through the sitting room, to the hallway. Her hand surrounded my neck softly and naturally. I held her body tightly, it was just like our wedding day. But her much lighter weight made me sad. On the last day, when I held her in my arms I could hardly move a step. Our son had gone to school. I held her tightly and said, I hadn't noticed that our life lacked intimacy.

I drove to office... jumped out of the car swiftly without locking the door. I was afraid any delay would make me change my mind... I walked upstairs. Dew opened the door and I said to her, Sorry, Dew, I do not want the divorce anymore.

She looked at me, astonished. Then touched my forehead. Do you have a fever? She said. I moved her hand off my head. Sorry, Dew, I said, I won't divorce. My marriage life was boring probably because she and I didn't value the details of our lives, not because we didn't love each other any more. Now I realise that since I carried her into my home on our wedding day I am supposed to hold her until death do us apart. Dew seemed to suddenly wake up. She gave me a loud slap and then slammed the door and burst into tears. I walked downstairs and drove away.

At the floral shop on the way, I ordered a bouquet of flowers for my wife. The salesgirl asked me what to write on the card. I smiled and wrote, I'll carry you out every morning until death do us apart.....

The small details of your lives are what really matter in a relationship. It is not the mansion, the car, property, the money in the bank, blah ... blah ... blah. These create an environment conducive for happiness but cannot give happiness in themselves. So find time to be your spouse's friend and do those little things for each other that build intimacy. Do have a real happy marriage!

Are Your Boss From Hell?

Are your boss from Hell?

Or should i ask, "Will we excel under bosses from Hell?"

Why do I ask you such question?

Because ... ...

One of my favourite's reality show is here!

Hell's Kitchen Season 3

12 aspiring young chefs are put to a very tough and challenging test in this reality competition working under world famous and renowned chef Gordon Ramsay. Each chef came to participate in this competition hoping to win the grand prize of having their own restaurant in L.A and the huge sum of money. But they soon realise that in order to win the grand prize, they must go through hell first, as Chef Ramsay demands quality and expects very high standards from the chefs. After all Hell's Kitchen is well known to serve high quality fine dining to the patrons. The demands are very high from the patrons as well as they will complain with any slight fall in their expectations from the food cooked by the chefs.

Most importantly, you will also get to see what makes a great team work and learnt how to work together as a team with different personalities and working styles among the members. If you follow each episode, you will actually watch how each chef grows under Chef Ramsay's guidance even though Chef Ramsay is very fierce most of the time.

In the first episode, the ladies team told each other that they must cooperate and win the next day's competition and kick all the men in the men's team out of the competition. They promised not to back stab each other and work together. Yet, during the next day's competition, nobody in the ladies team were communicating with each other. They just focused on the workstation that they were in charge of. Because of this lack of communication, appetizers were not being served for some time and when Chef Ramsay asked if everything OK, everybody replied OK. When Chef Ramsay got angry when no appetizers of good quality were being served, then the ladies started to panic and started to communicate with each other. Even when they communicated, they were actually quarrelling with each other and defending themselves. Some refused to accept help from others and kept thinking that they are good and didn't want to look bad in front of Chef Ramsay. In the end, the whole ladies team was in chaos and Chef Ramsay blowed his top and ... ...

Don't miss a single episode of Hell's Kitchen, Channel 5, every Thursday, 12 midnight

Serves You Right!

A half-hour comedy that revolves around the misadventures of a motley group of adults attending a part-time class to upgrade their service skills. Each one of them is there for a reason, whether it be personal or professional. Some of them even discover their reasons along the way.

They are taught by Faith Foo Li, an attractive young trainer who doesn't realize quite how attractive she is. Representing the ideals of the service profession and in touch with the younger generation, she is a true teacher at heart. The inherent disparity between the different characters will provide much of the humor for the show, as sparks fly, both of the comedic and romantic variety. As they go through their lessons, they learn, along with the audience, the value of upgrading their skills and the importance of service excellence in Singapore's vibrant and dynamic economy.

This variety program is very suitable for those who are working in the service line or wish to join the service line. There are key lessons learnt in each episode as emphasied in the Excellent Service Professionals (ESP) program to help these people to further improve their service standards.

Don't Miss a Single Episode of Serves You Right! by Channel 5, 8pm, every Tuesday.