Brigantine Media

FEARGAL QUINN, WHOSE SUPERQUINN supermarkets are among the best in the world, gives a speech titled, “My Five Lessons In Humility.” Here are the lessons:

The first is: “My customers know more than I do.”

Once you believe that theory, you have the advantage of listening to them and finding out what they want. Which is often much different than what YOU think they want.

Second: “My employees know more than I do.” Again, I listen to them and empower them to make decisions so they can build a rapport with each customer.

Third: “Neither my employees nor I can be creative all the time.” I once attended a seminar where the speaker asked the audience for a definition of “management.” He listened to each person’s reply and then told them the answer was “getting results through other people.” So we use our customers and our staff and are constantly on the lookout for that which is different, new and exciting.

Fourth: “What I knew yesterday is not enough for today.” Change is happening all around us. And we must not only be ready and accepting but also be quick to adopt the new ideas because that’s what the customer wants us to do.

Fifth: “I’m not responding fast enough for my customer.” I must anticipate their needs and be quick to meet them.

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Murray Raphel travels the world speaking about marketing for retailing, direct marketing, financial/insurance groups and the food industry. He is the author of several books including “Selling Rules!”, “Speaking Rules!”, and “Tough Selling for Tough Times.”

For more information about Murray and his books, visit www.brigantinemedia.com.

We were planning our annual Winter Sale. Looking for an idea to make us different, separate and apart from all the other stores running winter sales, I suggested we have a sale for three hours on New Year’s Day.

My colleagues were not enthusiastic.

“All the other stores in town are closed so we won’t get the usual traffic.”

“It’s the morning after New Year’s Eve. People will still be sleeping.”

“People stay home on New Year’s Day with beer and pretzels in front of the TV set watching the Bowl games. It’s a tradition.”

Few realized (including me) we were creating a new tradition.

We sent a mailing to our customers announcing our Winter Sale would start on New Year’s Day. We said the announcement they were reading was sent only to those on our mailing list and would not be in any other media.

The sale ran from noon till 3 PM. We arrived an hour early to check the merchandising and signs. When we approached the store we saw lines of people standing outside.

Our first thought was there was a break-in, a fire, a something…

No. They were waiting for the store to open.

At the end of the three hours (and for the next twenty consecutive years) we did more business in the three hours of our New Year’s Day sale than we did any WEEK of the year.

Surely the other stores in town would follow our lead and also capture this success.

Amazingly, they did not for ten years!

When asked why, they said, “No one goes shopping on New Year’s Day. It’s a tradition.”

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Murray Raphel travels the world speaking about marketing for retailing, direct marketing, financial/insurance groups and the food industry. He is the author of several books including “Selling Rules!”, “Speaking Rules!”, and “Tough Selling for Tough Times.”

For more information about Murray and his books, visit www.brigantinemedia.com.

Even had Up failed to become the second animated movie ever nominated for a Best Picture Oscar, it would still easily make the list of must-see movies from 2009. It’s incredible to say this, but this cartoon gem is both funny and touching and it contains a business lesson as big and important as any movie of any genre.

Plus, it is tons of fun to watch.

The summary of the plot may sound silly, but is carried off so deftly that it shouldn’t stop anyone. It tells the story of aged Carl Fredrickson who sets out to fulfill his deceased wife’s long-time fantasy of living beside a waterfall in South America. What makes it such an absurd idea is that Carl seeks to carry this out by attaching thousands of helium balloons to his aging house in order to fly it to the waterfall. Obviously, it’s a feat that can only be done in the fantasy of animation.

Likewise, the magic of animation allows us to see what happens when dogs are given the power of speech through a strange and wonderful invention. Once allowed to participate in the dialogue without losing any of their canine lust for chasing tennis balls or squirrels, the dogs steal scene after scene with comic delight.

But the notion of an old dog learning new tricks has nothing to do with the dogs themselves. That falls to our main character, Carl.

We first meet Carl as a small boy who himself is just meeting the intrepid young Ellie. In a film montage as uplifting and touching as any you will ever see, we watch Carl and Ellie marry, start their life together, suffer the challenges of the years, and age gracefully and lovingly. When Ellie dies, we feel for Carl’s loss in ways we don’t always feel for human movie characters.

And our business lesson soon follows. Carl thinks Ellie’s death is the end of his life too. He thinks his path is set and deviation is impossible. His plan is to reach the waterfall Ellie dreamed of and die. But along the way, Carl gets challenged.

Russell, the erstwhile “Wilderness Boy” who gets dragged into the journey, and Dug, the simplistic talking dog that takes a shine to Carl, draw the old man into an entirely new adventure. Like so many of us, Carl resists with every fiber of his being. He knows who he is and he knows for certain that his life is at an end.

But Russell and Dug won’t hear of it. Together they urge Carl back into the game of life, to change his course and to seize a new opportunity. And supported by a not-so-gentle push left by Ellie before her passing, Carl opens up to the prospect that life isn’t done.

The parallel for business people is so clear. Too often we all become locked into the path we’re on, thinking somehow we’ve become too old or experienced to deviate from our course. We press on, never knowing what paths we might be missing along the way.

One would think that legendary examples of late-in-life success would inspire so many. Colonel Sanders didn’t launch KFC until late in his life. Sam Walton began Walmart at an age when others were planning for retirement. And Warren Buffett charges onward and upward well past the age when many of his schoolmates have retired or passed away. More simpler still, think of all the retirees in Florida and Arizona communicating with their grandchildren by e-mail or Facebook.

Worse yet, there are people far younger than these men who have fallen into the same trap. They become resistant to change and in essence make themselves old before their time.

In real life, we rarely get a push to reinvent ourselves with such obvious force as Carl gets in Up. We’re certainly not prodded on by talking dogs or flying houses, although to deny the possibility that both could happen would be closing my eyes to the world of what could be. We can all learn as we watch Carl. We can all question how we would proceed and if we would be willing to start again, and in the process, cast aside long-held goals and move on to new and different opportunities.

So, yes, enjoy the incredible story telling of Disney/Pixar in Up. Enjoy the wonderful animation and the kooky characters. But mostly, watch Carl learn that old dogs are constantly learning new tricks and that risks are for the taking. And ask yourself if you could do the very same.

The answer is probably “yes.”

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Michael Sansolo is the co-author, with “Content Guy” Kevin Coupe, of the new book, “The Big Picture: Essential Business Lessons From The Movies,” available by clicking here .

Michael Sansolo can be reached via email at msansolo@morningnewsbeat.com .

There is a phrase that should never be uttered in business. It consists of the seven forbidden words:

“That’s the way we’ve always done it!”

You know you have heard the phrase and it is possible that you have even said it. The cumulative impact of the phrase is a non-stop assault on creativity, innovation, and rule breaking – the very activities virtually every company should encourage.

There is a cure for this unbridled corporate conservatism in the form of the delightful movie “Babe.” Every time the phrase “That’s the way we’ve always done it!” is uttered, force that person to watch “Babe.” In fact, watch it yourself. It’s worth it.

On the surface, “Babe” appears to be a child’s movie. It isn’t, although it is great for children, too. It’s the story of a pig, Babe, who is the runt of the litter destined for the slaughterhouse. Babe is saved from this fate when he is given to a local fair to be handed out as a prize, which is won by taciturn farmer Arthur Hoggett, wonderfully played by James Cromwell.

Once at Hoggett’s farm, Babe does something unusual: he stops behaving like a pig, for the simple reason that he doesn’t know he’s a pig. He consorts with all manner of animals like Ma the old sheep, Ferdinand the duck, and the litter of sheepdogs living in the barn. With his polite manners and naïve ways, Babe becomes a friend to all the animals, many of whom do not get along and clearly do not respect each other. (Hmmm, sounds more like an office with each passing moment.)

Farmer Hoggett begins to notice Babe’s social abilities when Babe divides all the chickens in the yard into groups of similar colors. Soon, Farmer Hoggett gives Babe a chance to show his stuff at the most important animal job on the farm, herding the sheep.

That’s where Babe the pig and “Babe” the movie shine. By breaking all the rules – “the way things are,” as the animals remind him – Babe becomes an outstanding herder. Although the dogs consider the sheep too dumb to understand anything other than a nasty approach and the sheep consider the dogs too stupid to talk with, Babe bridges the divide with friendship and manners. Slowly but surely, even the most reluctant animals begin to understand the wisdom of Babe.

“Babe” is a simple story, but it contains an important lesson. Think of how many businesses have stuck to the way things always are and completely missed the opportunity to become something entirely new, bigger, and better. Some have taken those opportunities:

• MTV didn’t invent video or records, but pulled them together into an entirely new cable channel. CBS, in contrast, owned a television network and a record company, but missed the chance.

• Google wasn’t the first company to offer a search engine for the Internet, but its speed and efficiency helped create a cyberspace dynamo that dwarfs AltaVista, Yahoo, or even Microsoft.

MTV and Google all had their “Babe” moments. They ignored “the way things are always done” and built astounding success by identifying possibilities and filling them with a value proposition that viewers, listeners, and shoppers learned to love.

“Babe” connects on many levels. The parallel of animal and human behavior has been shown often in the movies, from Charlotte’s Web to Animal Farm. But “Babe” delivered a winning story told in a creative style and with a lesson that could stand the test of time. In fact, the movie was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, an uncommon honor for a “children’s” movie.

Be on the lookout for those seven deadly words of business, those seven words that limit your horizons and suck the creativity and spirit out of your people. When someone says, “That’s the way we’ve always done it!” launch a counter-attack with the story of a pig that refused to accept things the way they were.

Michael Sansolo can be reached via email at msansolo@morningnewsbeat.com .

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Michael Sansolo is the co-author, with “Content Guy” Kevin Coupe, of the new book, “The Big Picture: Essential Business Lessons From The Movies,” available by clicking here .

Michael Sansolo can be reached via email at msansolo@morningnewsbeat.com .

Oh my, the refund policies are really coming out all over the place now that Christmas is over. Best Buy ran a full page ad in USA Today that stated they were extending their refund policy to January 31, 2010. Big deal. Why is there an ending date? A customer comes in for a refund on February 1, are they going to tell them no – too late? That’s silly.

Macy’s has guts – they give you 180 days to return and then charge a 10% restocking fee on furniture and mattresses? Now, knowing that, would you buy from them?

Sears has a 15% restocking fee on electronics with missing items. How stupid.

At least Target “gets it” – no receipt needed up to 90 days.

Pottery Barn will only give you a merchandise credit if you don’t have the receipt. They also won’t accept returns on final sale items which are identified by a price which ends in .97. My goodness, who thinks up all this garbage? Obviously, they are people who don’t understand superior service. The president of every company ought to look into these return policies. A difficult return policy lets a clerk tell the customer “No.” Shouldn’t a store try to tell a customer, “Yes.”

Do you know there are companies that charge you a fee if you come into the store to pay your bill – Cricket cell phone company does that. Imagine, making you pay a fee for trying to pay your bill at the store instead of mailing a check. What horrible service!

Here is another beauty on how to systematically go out of business. It happened at Blockbuster, you remember them don’t you? I couldn’t rent a movie at Blockbuster without talking with surely employees

Then along came netflix – truly a great customer service company – no late charges, movies mailed on time, etc.

Blockbuster, in their infinite wisdom, decided to spend millions of dollars telling everyone no more late fees. Signs at the stores trumpeted the end of late fees.

A couple of problems with the new policy: First you needed your credit card to rent a movie, and, second, if you brought the movie back after 7 days you were billed the full price of the movies. But if you balked and wanted a refund, they gave it to you, but charged you a re-stocking fee of $1.25.

A lawsuit was filed in 47 states and Blockbuster finally agreed to give back $630,000 to customers who complained. Blockbuster also agreed to have their signs in the store clearly state what they meant by “the end of late fees.” In other words they lied. What moron thought up this marketing plan?

Now Blockbuster is closing a large percentage of their 4,600 stores. They earned it.

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Don Gallegos is the author of “Win the Customer, Not the Argument.” His customer service philosophy is, “The customer is not always right, but she is always your customer.” For more information about Don’s book, visit www.brigantinemedia.com.

Click here to read an excerpt from Don’s book.