Success Consists Of...

Reviewing Your Year

31 December 2012 by Laddie F. Hutar

It’s the end of the year! If you’re like most people, your to-do list is chock-full of shopping, dinners, get-togethers, staff parties, and family gatherings. What a wonderful time! The air has gotten colder, winter is in full swing, and we’re all looking forward to changing our livesfor the better with a New Year’s Resolution.

Now is also a perfect time to review the past year, and assess how you have grown since 2011 left us. Have you met your personal goals? Have you met your business goals? Have you been participating in Hutar Growth Tuesdays since we started this blog back in April?

If you have been with us since the start- or even if you’re a beginner- we hope you’ve been answering the Questions for Reflection each week to help guide you, and reinforce our mantra of personal growth.

This is best done with a written plan. Take some time and decide what your goals are for the upcoming year. Decide what you did well this past year, and what you need to improve on. Writing it down, and perhaps sharing it with someone you trust will help keep you on track when you start to stray, or become engulfed in your “usual non-OSP routine.”

The important thing is to be honest with yourself, and assess where you would like to go. Answering the self-assessment questions does you no good if you do not act on them! We encourage you to make the necessary changes in your life, and follow through.

 Questions for Reflection:
How will you improve next year on what happened in 2012?
Will you have a written plan within the next two weeks? If not, what is holding you back?
Are you REALLY ready to strive to be the best you can be in 2013?

#17

laddie@hutar.com
© 2022 hgmi
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Seizing the Day!

18 December 2012 by Laddie F. Hutar

Every day is a new beginning!

Once you have awoken for the day, the atoms and molecules in your body begin to accentuate their activity, for another new day has begun.

So Seize the Day! It’s yours to build on, or to fritter away with old routines. There are new challenges to be met and conquered. We can achieve greatness, if only we know how to seize the day. The way we seize it depends on our OSP– our Outstanding Success Plan. Don’t let old, mundane habits overtake before you get your work done. Any movement forward requires continued momentum. Momentum you have to create yourself.

Don’t let old routines take over- you’ll become a product of mediocrity.

Somewhere, someone is taking advantage of the day and putting you at a disadvantage because of the low level routines that you may let take over your day. It may seem there is an endless chain of days- that there is an infinite number of days in your life, but all chains have an end. This makes it easy to fall into routine, since time seems to be an unlimited resource. But time is NOT an unlimited resource!

If you focus on your OSP, each day will be seized with gratitude.

Questions for Reflection:
How can you minimize your routines today?
Where can you find more time to be creative, and “get things done?”
Are you willing to disrupt your comfortable routines to seize the day?

#16

laddie@hutar.com
© 2022 hgmi
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The In-store Greeter

23 October 2012 by Laddie F. Hutar

What’s the first thing that happens when you walk into some retail  stores? If I hadn’t given it away in the title, you probably would have guessed it anyway. You are greeted by a smiling employee with an enthusiastic greeting. They are the first people to talk to you inside the store, and set the tone for the rest of your shopping experience.

Some retails chains call these employees “People Greeters” or “In-store Greeters.”

What is their true purpose at the door? Is the company wasting money just to have someone standing there? Take a few minutes to ponder this. It’s related to what we talked about last June- Give to Get. You may consider it to be a small thing, but think about the shift in attitude of the customer as they are greeted:

They have been greeted in a friendly way
Customers like to be recognized in a friendly, comfortable atmosphere
A positive first experience with customer service
Sets the tone for the rest of the experience
Their shopping day has been made that much better

When you walk in the door at these businesses, you have not simply walked into a warehouse of products you may (or may not) purchase; you have also already engaged their customer service. You have already engaged the company in a friendly, personal way. Something that may not happen for several minutes at competing companies. The customer is greeted in a warm and friendly way, by a friendly face. 

These businesses have also We appreciate you coming!shown interest in the customer as a person. People don’t like being numbers in a system, or statistics on a spreadsheet- they like being known for the person they are. So when a customer receives that friendly greeting, they feel valued. Not only does this make for a more memorable and personal experience, but makes it easier to seek out and speak to clerks in case they need help. People like to do business with people they like. People who are friendly to them, and make them feel comfortable. The purpose of the In-store Greeter is to help provide this as soon as they enter the store.

Studies have shown that when a customer has a warm, friendly experience, sales will increase, and the customer will have a more positive image of the store.

Take this concept and run with it. Maybe you don’t have a ‘bricks and mortar’ retail operation. Maybe you have an online presence. How do you engage the customer when they browse your website? How do you make them feel that personal touch?

Do you run a catalog? What is the reader’s first experience with customer service? Is it only when they finally call your phone number to place an order, or does it happen hours before, when they start flipping through the pages? It’s time to find your “In-store Greeter.” It’s time to find that personal touch.

Questions for Reflection:

Does your company have an “In-store Greeter?” What does it mean for customers?
How can you get creative and use this concept in your business?
Once you implemented your idea, how did customers react?

#14

laddie@hutar.com
© 2022 hgmi
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Growth

09 October 2012 by Laddie F. Hutar

Today, we are going to take another look at a definition from How To Understand Your Job Better: Hutar Job and Business Terms, available for purchase:

Growth…

is change. It takes place in many ways. It can be internal, such as a growth in attitude, a growth in faith, a growth in confidence which comes from within the person. Growth can be positive or negative as when you are working in a positive situation, learning the job, improving on the job, performing better on the job. Negative growth is a growth in frustration, a feeling of dissatisfaction on the job, a feeling of uselessness. Positive growth means developing new skills, developing persistence, getting something done- not being a quitter. Growth can be rewarding and satisfying. Growth is more than just dollars and cents.

It is developing the tremendous, but unrealized potential that you have within you. Growth is learning. It is challenging yet at times frustrating. Growth can be a new experience, a new awareness of certain things, a new thought, a better utilization of your time. Growth is recognizing that the world is a place where you make a contribution, where you build.

Take this definition to heart.
You will need to outgrow your increasing costs as rent, gas, insurance, taxes, fees, and other unknown costs continue to rise. You will need to grow significantly in order to stay solvent.

If you want your business to survive, you will need to experience CONTINUED POSITIVE GROWTH. The World is growing around you- Check the news. Every day, people are making breakthroughs in science, technology, and art. What kind of growth are your competitors experiencing? If you want to maintain a “status quo” relationship with them, you will need to AT LEAST experience as much growth as they have. Anything less, and you are FALLING BEHIND. If you want to gain, you will need to EXCEED their growth.

Questions for Reflection:

  1. What was your positive growth this week?
  2. Did you experience negative growth? In which way?
  3. What is your plan for positive growth next week?

#13

laddie@hutar.com
© 2022 hgmi
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A New Day Everyday

25 September 2012 by Laddie F. Hutar

“Every day is a new beginning.”
–Marsha Petrie Sue

 

We have all seen this famous Marsha Petrie Sue quote. We all know that each day provides a new beginning. The question is, ‘what is it a new beginning for?’ Is it the beginning of another average day spinning your wheels, using up your life, energy and time for mediocre goals?

Or is it your first step on the path to an Outstanding Success Plan promoting personal growth, and rising above the mediocrity around you? The power to make your life what you wish it to be lies with you. It is YOUR decision which goals to pursue. It is YOUR decision to learn something new everyday or not. It is YOUR decision whether to take care of your body, mind and soul.

Let’s draw a comparison: We have also heard that we “are what we eat.” In the nutrition world, this refers to the concept that the food we put in our bodies is the main catalyst of what kind of physical condition our bodies are in. i.e., soda, fast food and other junk creates a flabby, soft body. Nutritious meals and supplements help create an toned, healthy body. This is also true for what we fuel our minds and souls with.

We are the product of what we think and do.

The decision is ours and offered by our own positive agenda of success, or blunted by the agenda of other outside influences. Each day, we are faced with hundreds of decisions, whether conscience or not. We decide what our first action in the morning is, we decide what clothes to wear, what to eat, what entertainment to engage in. We decide which activities take priority each day, where our money is spent, and where we invest our energy and time. These decisions should reflect your agenda, and your Outstanding Success Plan, instead of the agenda of coworkers, friends, and companies around you.

Are you in charge of your agenda, or are outside forces and pressure controlling your destiny?

The decision and future progress -or lack of progress- is in your hands.

Questions for Reflection:

  1. Who controls YOUR destiny?
  2. How much energy are you willing to expend to follow your positive agenda?
  3. What will you do when you wake up tomorrow to follow this agenda?

#12

laddie@hutar.com
© 2022 hgmi
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Knowing the Company Culture

11 September 2012 by Laddie F. Hutar

The Company Culture, or Company Climate is best explained by taking a definition from How To Understand Your Job Better: Hutar Job and Business Terms, available for sale on our website:

CLIMATE –

The climate of the company is the prevailing mood within the company. Some climates can be described as “status quo,” “don’t rock the boat,” “We’ve always done it that way,” “Let’s try it.”

The climate of the company is determined by top management’s actions and policy. In a company that has a climate of growth, management and employees work in harmony. They work as a team. They are cultivated and dedicated to doing a better job, to productivity, to keeping costs as reasonable as possible. Employees participate in the benefits of growth through improved financial pay in one form or another, through more job satisfaction, through an enrichment which the job creates. Working becomes exciting and challenging.

Top management sets the tone for the company culture. Some companies take a “country club” approach. These are the more relaxed companies that you can coast through. The focus is on employee benefit, and employee convenience. The company exists so that the employees can have an easy day, and enough income to pay their own bills. These companies do not experience prolonged growth. These companies go downhill fast due to the increased cost of doing business. Many times,  multiple employees are involved in doing the job of a single person. They experience “business inflation.” As cost of doing business increases, profit remains stagnant or decreases. Soon, the company begins to lose money and employees will have to be let go.

If you’re not moving forward, you’re moving backward. You want a company that has a culture of success and hard work. A company that rewards dedicated, valuable employees. A culture where employees do not take their jobs for granted. A company that values growth and expanding employees’ skillset is a company that is likely to succeed and provide job security to valuable employees. Make sure you value growth, and continue learning new things each week that can help in your job. Remember, success consists of a series of little daily victories.

Questions for Reflection:
How would you describe your company culture?
If you work at a “country club” company, what can you do to help change it?
Think of some of your favorite companies. What do you estimate the culture to be like

#11

laddie@hutar.com
© 2022 hgmi
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Knowing Your Hidden Wastes

28 August 2012 by Laddie F. Hutar

Do you know your true waste cost?

Generally the obvious “regular waste,” the easily identifiable cost and expenses involved in operations are examined closely and waste reduced. However, it is the “hidden” and difficult to find and compute wastes that are the most harmful. These wastes can result in expensive lost profits of $6,000-$15,000 per employee!

We have identified 15 areas of hidden waste, such as:

  • Lost Production
  • Unproductive Meetings
  • Wasted Assets
  • Obsolete Policies & Procedures
  • Unrealized Opportunities
  • Unclear Instruction
  • Passive Compliance – not putting focus in the job at hand

Let’s take a look at how lost production many be affecting your bottom line:

Perhaps an employee in your company makes $15 per hour. If they waste 10% of their time, how much are you actually losing? Idle chitchat with coworkers,  tardiness, inaccurate filling- these are all activities that are not contributing to a productive employee. How much does it rob your bottom line? It’s more than you might think. Let’s do the math:

10% of their time = 6 minutes every hour. That seems like a reasonable assumption, even for a motivated employee.

For an eight hour day, that is 48 minutes.

$15 per hour = 25 cents per minute.

25 cents x 48 minutes = 12 dollars per day for this employee.

5 days x $12 dollars = $60 per work week.

50 weeks x $60 = $3,000 per year.

If you have 30 employees, that is $90,000 of lost production per year! And it is probably safe to assume some employees are taking more than six minutes of personal time per hour.

Maybe it’s time to think about what you can do to help your employees spend more productive time. Our studies have shown that unclear instruction, unproductive meetings, obsolete policies, etc. add additional waste. These can add another 10% of waste, which brings us to the $6-15,000 average mentioned earlier, and in some cases it can be even higher.

Let us know what you intend to do to find and eliminate your hidden waste.

Questions for Reflection:
Business owners- How much do you think you lose in hidden waste?
Employees- How much do you think you cost in hidden waste?
How you change this behavior?
What other hidden wastes can you think of that might be affecting your bottom line?

#10

laddie@hutar.com
© 2022 hgmi
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Personal Growth

14 August 2012 by Laddie F. Hutar

Personal growth is “An awareness of the reality that there will be life beyond the immediate, and has to be prepared for. The knowledge that the future is coming whether you want it to or not.”

Last time, we talked about how Hutar Growth Tuesdays can help you, and promised to give a few examples of what personal growth looks like. Let’s use this opportunity to contrast two individuals, one of which has an interest in growth, the other does not.

Personal growth requires initiative, and centers around acquiring the skills necessary for the future. Personal growth means you are thinking about tomorrow, and following a plan to make it a successful future for yourself, and those around you.

The Story of Able Adam
Able Adam is concerned about the future. He recognizes that his work life may encompass another 30, 40 or 50 years in the workforce. He plans ahead to make sure he is ready for those years, and the years after. He receives a paycheck today- but he doesn’t spend the whole thing. He pays himself first by taking 10% out of each paycheck to save for the future. Money may not always come this easily, and he guards against this by keeping 10% of his pay away from his daily activities, because he WILL need this for the future.

Able Adam also has a plan; he knows opportunity will become more scarce in the future, so he builds his skills and knowledge today, so that he’ll be more prepared to survive stronger competition in the future. He is aware of what he has to do, and follows through. Able companies like to keep people like Able Adam employed; they create value for the company. Able Adam knows this, and becomes the person he needs to be to create value for the company. He does this by doing more than he is paid for. He has a positive mental attitude, and is preparing himself for new opportunities in the future.

Able Adam is always looking to be a better, more marketable person than he was a week before.

Where do you think Able Adam will be in five years?

The Tragedy of Mediocre Mac
Let’s contrast this with Able Adam’s counterpart, Mediocre Mac. Mac is satisfied with the status quo. He works to live, and his inspiration is the fun activity he has planned for the upcoming weekend. Though he may be qualified for the position he has, he does not put forth any effort increase his skillset in case employment becomes more competitive. He takes little pride in his work, or his future. His life is “good enough for now,” and he usually blows his paycheck just as he receives his next one. He may have bills he cannot pay, and will be facing bill-collectors’ harassment. He has no savings, and may even be accumulating debt, which is robbing his future of prosperity, success and the good life.

Mediocre Mac does not use the experiences of previous generations, and may let history repeat itself. He is not concerned with how his parents or grandparents lived, nor does he try to follow their example (or correct their example, in some cases).

Where will Mediocre Mac be in five years?

The good news is that if you identify more with Mac than with Adam, YOU CAN CHANGE YOUR PATH TODAY! Plan some activities that will increase your skillset, and make yourself a more valuable employee. Start paying yourself first– try to take 10% of your paycheck and put it away. If you cannot do this right now, work up to it. Maybe 5% of your paycheck is your next daily victory. An additional 5% will be your victory next week. Take pride in your work, and do it with excellence. Get rid of your debt, and start saving for your future instead of borrowing from it. Learn new, marketable skills each week. Get involved with Hutar Growth Tuesdays, answer the reflection questions at the end each time, and ACT ON THEM. How much did you grow since the last H.G. Tuesday?

There are always opportunities- however they will be FEWER, and harder to find due to increasing global competiton. They will require higher levels of skill, talent, dedication, and fortitude. Are you ready? Able Adam is. He knows there are always opportunities for those who plan ahead.

 

Questions for Reflection

  1. Do you identify more with Able Adam or Mediocre Mac? Why?
  2. What is your plan for the future? How will you guarantee your success?
  3. Do you consider personal growth an integral part of your Outstanding Success Plan?

#9

laddie@hutar.com
© 2022 hgmi
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Hutar Growth Tuesdays

31 July 2012 by Laddie F. Hutar

At Hutar Growth Management Institute, we believe that “either you grow, or you go.” Many people put in their eight hours, and at the end of the day, do what they please. That’s not how we operate here. We’re not interested in counting hours or working simply to please the boss. We’re interested in helping people find that inner spark that compels them to put in the time required to not only finish that project with excellence, but to win at life. We’re interested in what we do because we believe we can do it better than anyone else. We also have the results to prove it; we have grown our clients’ businesses by over $500 million dollars with the idea of personal and business growth.

Tuesday I’m In Love… With Growth
Maybe you’ve heard the song that was popular about 20 years ago, “Fridays I’m In Love.” Well, we’re in love with personal and business growth. We want you to be, too. That’s the goal we had in mind during the development and writing of this blog. Whether you want to be or not, you’re in constant competition with others. If you don’t provide your customers with a satisfying experience, and a valued product, someone else will. You need to be in a constant state of personal evolution, learning whatever you can to make sure you keep the customers you have from finding a more rewarding experience somewhere else. You need to take it up a notch if you want to your business to expand, and attract new customers.

What have you learned this week? What THREE things have you learned this week? What have you done to make yourself a better person, with a more competitive business? If you can answer these questions this week, you’re three steps ahead of where you were last Tuesday. If you can answer again next week, you’ll be SIX steps ahead! At that rate, think of where you’ll be- and your business will be- by the end of the year.

Start Off Simple
If you’re not used to it, this personal growth thing can be uncomfortable! That’s a good thing- it means the process has already started, and you are leaving your comfort zone. If you’re new to this concept, let’s start off small with a few questions: (Don’t worry, it’s a self-graded quiz!)

  1. What ONE thing will you learn this week that makes you a more successful human being?
  2. What ONE small change can you make in your life to be a better person?
  3. What ONE small thing can you change in your business to attract more customers?

Answering these questions will help you decide what action to take. The answer is not as important as the action you take to put yourself on the right path. These questions may sound easy, but they’re not necessarily easy. You may have to dig down and take stock of your strengths and weaknesses. You will have to honestly assess what your business is doing right…and wrong. We recommend you give it a try anyway…. because “either you grow, or you go!”

Next week we’ll be exploring this subject some more, and giving some concrete examples of what personal growth can do in your life. We’ll see you next Hutar Growth Tuesday!

#8

laddie@hutar.com
© 2022 hgmi
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