Sometimes it just takes some prospective.

The word prospective: the capacity to view things in their true relations or relative importance. This definition is crucial for anyone who wants to view their business or job differently.

A great proverb once said, "Sometimes you need to step away from the forest to see the trees", or that could have been a great lumberjack. Viewing your business as an objective observer versus an employee or employer can be an extremely difficult task.

As I traveled through hundreds of rental stores just for the pleasure of observation, I realized I was viewing my store completely wrong. I didn't have any prospective. Worse yet, I had tunnel vision. I claimed to have been listening to my customers and my employees but I was hearing the same complaints that my customers and employees had at these different stores.

I observed the customer's shopping habits and their questions to the employees of the store. I observed the employee's demeanor, attitudes, and overall work ethics, which allowed me to realize how under defined and under trained employees seemed to be in our industry. This information wasn't new because experts had talked about it at almost every seminar I had attended in the last 10 years. But I didn't have PERSPECTIVE and the complaints that I heard from people at other companies started to clear my mind's sight on my company. The reality started to settle in that MY COMPANY wasn't well defined and trained, either.

Laser Like Focus:

1. Defining the work in the store and who should be doing it, the estimated time it takes to do it, and the specific skills a person should have to do the job.
2. What does the employee need to do the job: Tools, Systems, Software, Manpower, Education, and Time-Management Allocation.
3. A firm timeline of implementation and completion dates with follow up meetings to see that the objectives are being met.
4. Coming up with some great titles to these important positions.
5. Recognize the achievement of mastering a given position.

Customer's Prospective:

1. Every time you walk through those golden gates of your store I want everyone to become a customer. Transform him or herself into a customer that not only wants to be sold but entertained and excited.
2. Is the store visually appealing, orderly and salable. (Model Floor Plan)
3. Is everything priced?
4. Is every category being presented or is the store lob-sided with all electronics or furniture. (Model Floor Plan)

I ask my staff to visit the great retailers of today: Wal-Mart, Best-Buy, Target, and etc. Watch what is drawing people and what aids do they use to sell. A store that sells itself is a store worth selling.

Please take some time to have PERSPECTIVE in your business, job and life and you'll find that you'll gain great appreciation for what it has to offer yourself, employees and customers.