One Baggers

Since sending you last month's issue of The Smart Factor, many people have… contacted me to talk about “Get Your Year In Gear” and/or to share thoughts on “When Women Dare.” Thank you to all of you!

Before you read on to:
Part 1 - One Baggers
Part 2 - Showcase
Part 3 - Personal Reflections
I thought you'd like a quick summary on where things are at as a result of everyone's feedback.

Get Your Year In Gear
After receiving requests from a number of readers, I am now making the 4-week program available in two formats.

1. GYYIG ONLINE kicks off on September 19th. See all the details and how to register at Get Your Year In Gear ONLINE. Time is running out.

2. GYYIG LIVE starts on September 20th (by popular request – this one is for women only). Details and how to register are at Get Your Year In Gear LIVE

Both formats will have the same content – just different delivery methods. Either way, you'll gain practical tools to help free you from the hamster wheel and have the best start to a year you've ever had.

When Women Dare
I appreciate all your comments about “When Women Dare” and will be compiling everyone’s ideas to let you know how this will unfold. In the meantime, if you haven’t had a chance to send me your thoughts I would absolutely love to have them. Please go to www.whenwomendare.com, read the very brief background, and type in what you think.

Have a great Fall - and year.

Ann Griffiths
ann@smartstrategiesinc.com

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IN THIS ISSUE
Part 1 - One Baggers
Part 2 - Showcase
Part 3 - Personal Reflections
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Part 1 - One Baggers
The hiring process is one of the most difficult jobs a business owner encounters. It can rock your confidence and consume more energy than you can afford – not to mention keep you awake at night with a deluge of questions.

• Is this person the right one for the job?
• Will they blend well with the rest of the team?
• Will this person work out?
• What if they don’t?

And worse yet – what if you’ve already hired someone and you find out:

• They’re not who they said they were
• They don’t have the experience or skills they said they had
• They cause conflict with the rest of the team
• They don’t connect with the clients, even though they say they’re masters in service
• They turn out to be the kind of person you said you would never hire or tolerate
• They complain
• They are a “one bagger”

Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart, had his new employees bag groceries on their first day of the job. While they worked the check-out, he'd assess them on how many grocery bags they filled in a given time. The evaluation was based on his 3 bagger, 2 bagger and 1 bagger theory that he described as:

• 3 Baggers are natural enthusiasts. They always end up as regional managers.
• 2 Baggers are competent. They do the job exactly as told, starting promptly at 9 AM and ending right on time at 5 PM.
• 1 Baggers are professionally miserable people. They are BMW’s (Bitchers, Moaners and Whiners).

“One Baggers” whine about the customers, moan about the prices, complain about their colleagues, the weather…you name it. They are plain ol’ unhappy people. And the reality is that they will drag you down. They will drag your team down. And they will sabotage your business.

So what do you do with them?

Chris Barrow of The Coaching Business School says, “They have to go. But because they often do their job competently, you will have to smoke them out."

Here are two tips to get you started.

1. Distinguish between the ‘permanent’ one bagger and the ‘temporary’ one bagger. If they are a ‘temporary’ one bagger (an employee who is going through a difficult period in their life), give them the time and space to recover.

2. Send your team on customer service courses and professional development programs and hold regular team meetings.

With this kind of focus, the “one bagger” will leave. Over time, the positive team atmosphere will be too uncomfortable for them and they will leave.

Part 2 - Showcase
Most of us want to stay up on the latest trends, theories and research but the challenge is often how to find the time to do it. Every day, we hear about the latest book on the market - the "you've got to read this book" kinds of titles.

Here are two subscription resources that can help keep you informed and up on the latest titles.
www.summary.com and www.businessweek.com/summary.

Part 3 - Personal Reflections
It can be difficult to make our head plan ahead for the fall and coming year when our heart is pulled to the human chaos and misery taking place around the world – especially in the southern U.S. which is so close to home for many of us. Our head says, “Life must go on” but our eyes see the photos plastered across the media and our heart cries out for those for whom “life must go on” means base needs like food and water.

But plan we must. Tragedy hits us every day – the loss of a loved one, a national disaster, bankruptcy, sickness, a business turned upside down, a family blown apart. It’s all tragic. And it’s all full of opportunity and hope – even though we may not be able to see it when we’re in the middle of it. God IS in heaven, the human spirit IS alive and well, and life really WILL go on.

Ann