Generation Y – are you ready to work?

As my 38^th birthday approaches, I realize that the past 5 years has given me a tremendous amount of life experience and business knowledge.  I am finally getting into a groove and feel comfortable with my role in life.  While I celebrate that accomplishment, I am also somewhat disturbed with the next generation.

 

First of all, I would like to exclude my current co-workers from these thoughts.  Right now, I have 7 highly capable and motivated people under the age of 21.  For them, I am very appreciative of the hard work and passion they bring.

What I want to discuss, however, is the others who have come and gone.   I have noticed some trends over the past few years that I have trouble with.  I am unsure of what the solution is, but hopefully there is a solution out there somewhere…

 

I can boil the tendencies down to 3 items: motivation, work ethic and entitlement.

Motivation:

Showing up – Does it really take that much effort to show up for work?

Finding work – Is it really necessary to hold your hand for each task?

Staying focused – Do you really need a break after a half hour?

Goofing off – Do you really need to find humor in everything you do?

Socialization – Can you spend some time on a task without making it a social event?

Sitting down – Are you motivated enough to actually stand up while you work?

Work Ethic:

Pace of work – Yes, you can get a lot done in 5 minutes, but can you keep it up for 2 hours? 4 hours?

Quality of work – Can you care enough about your work that you are proud of it?

Ability – Do you know how to work?  Or just how to text?

Entitlement:

Breaks – Do you need a break every half hour?  Or hour?

Pay – Can you begin at a starting wage, or do you already deserve what everyone else is making?

Advancement – Once you master a task, can you stick with it a while before thinking you should be doing your supervisor’s job?

Pay #2 – Do you deserve the pay of someone who has been working longer than yourself?

 

So here is my $.02 worth of advice to the next generation of workers.  Show up, do your job well, work hard and expect less.  There is opportunity in this world if you are able to learn these traits.  You might not get rich by the age of 25, but you will have the skills necessary to succeed later in life.

 

Maybe I am idealistic and getting old and crusty, but really, has our society changed that much that the younger generation doesn’t have a clue?  I am a fan of having fun.  I am willing to provide a special place to work.  I am willing to be generous and forgiving.  All I ask in return is to be flexible, motivated and hard working.  My thanks go out to Jeremy, Ryan, Justin K., Justin M., Erin, Hilary and Donna for being just that.  Hopefully others in your generation can follow by example.

 

Exposed! How merchants carry the load in fraud protection.

Passion runs deep for entrepreneurs.  I am no exception…especially when I feel I have been a victim of crime.  Although internet fraud is a crime, it is hard to trace and hard to prosecute.  This article is not aimed at the crook who steals from merchants, but more at the dysfunctional system that is in place to process transactions.  Is this system more at fault than the person who fraudulently uses a credit card?  You can decide.  Here is my latest story.

In June, we received an order for 15-20 plaques – including shipping the total for the order was $450ish.  The billing address and shipping address did not match, but the last name did.  This is a common occurrence for us.  The engraving information was odd, so per our protocol, I called the issuing card company to verify the legitimacy of the card.  The fraud department of the card company verified the address and was dumbfounded when I asked to call the cardholder to ask them if they placed the order.  Nobody answered the cardholder’s phone (if they even made the call) and the fraud department told me that the transaction was fine and to go ahead and ship their order and charge their card.  Needless to say, 3 weeks later, we received a ‘chargeback’ or notice that the cardholder was disputing the charge.  I called the fraud department back and confronted them on why they said the charge was OK.  Their response was vague and they told me their responsibility was to protect the cardholder.

So who is protecting the merchant?

After realizing I would get nowhere with the cardholder’s credit card processor, I called my own processor.  These are the people who we pay 2-3% of each transaction.  I thought there would be some sort of process that if the merchant checked and double checked the authenticity of the credit card, there would be some sort of backup insurance to protect the merchant.  Although very friendly and understanding, the conversation yielded the end result that they have no liability either.

So I ask the question, who is holding the liability?

Is it the cardholder?  No…no matter what they do, they dispute the charge and don’t have to pay.

Is it Visa/Mastercard/Amex/Discover? No, they simply process the transaction and play middle man in disputes.

My logic brings me to this conclusion…The cardholder passes blame to the credit card company.  They pass blame onto the merchant.  The merchant gets screwed.

 

In closing, I would like to give a giant, you are a loser shout out to the person who used Ms. Crawford’s credit card.  This person signed for the package at the address of 3279 BELLE GROVE, Memphis, TN, 38115.  The Miss Black Continental Newcomer or Mr. Black Continental Newcomer organization should be ashamed there are people out there using stolen cards to promote your group.

What is meaningful recognition?

Our company is about providing meaningful recognition. Often I am faced with the question of “what EXACTLY IS meaningful recognition.” For me, it is the expression of a heartfelt acknowledgement of what someone else has done. While we can only scratch the surface of telling the countless stories that define the term, I am going to start a series of posts that begin to shed light on the importance of meaningful recognition. I welcome your thoughts and feedback in this section. While I attempt to focus on a few of the stories I see, please feel free to share your stories as well.

What is the difference between informal and formal recognition?

Recognition is important in the workplace as well as in the home.  It can come in different forms and can be applied at different times.  One of my favorite reasons for using recognition is motivation.

At home, I use recognition to motivate my children and use it to acknowledge and appreciate my wife.  The easiest way is to use informal day-to-day recognition.  Although sometimes I fall short, words of affirmation are a great motivator in keeping the family functioning.  Simple things like thanking my wife for cooking dinner, taking care of the yard or running errands in support of the family unit really charge her up and help motivate her to continue on…just surviving in today’s busy society can be a challenge - verbalizing to your spouse can affect the happiness of the family!  Same for the kids.  My oldest daughter is very smart and sensitive.  By praising her with atta-boys (or atta-girls), her spirit seems to be lifted.  In turn, she then seems receptive and motivated to doing homework and chores.  She also seems excited and energized to be a part of the family.

We also have a somewhat hokey family tradition.  We have a family ‘trophy’ comprised of a horse and 2 dogs that is titled ‘The Anderson Family Trophy’.  Each night (well, almost each night) the person who has the trophy recognizes another family member who did exceptionally well that day.  At dinner, the presenter gives the trophy to the winner and shares with the family why they deserve the award.  For us, it ends up pretty evenly distributed (as to not hurt anyone’s feelings), but the result is amazing.  We all feel like we are a part of a positive family.  This formal recognition is a great way to celebrate the accomplishments of the day.

In the workplace, informal recognition takes on the same tone.  Words of affirmation - to everyone - seems like it boosts morale and makes the job at hand more fun.  Although my co-workers may not realize this, but my day-to-day informal recognition includes a simple ‘Thanks’ when someone leaves.  It may be pretty simple to deliver, but I really think that acknowledging someone for putting in a solid days work is crucial to happiness.  I am very grateful when each of my co-workers spends a day out of their life with me.  Sure they get paid, but they could get paid anywhere, yet they choose to spend it at my company and help in our quest to provide recognition to others.  Other simple ways to informally recognize can include notes, cards, and thanks in the presence of others.

Symbols of formal recognition are what we provide.   I feel this is as important as informal recognition as it provides a sense of permanency to the accomplishment.  For kids, a simple trophy not only helps celebrate the completion of the season, but also motivates them to try harder next time and provides a feeling of ‘that was cool, I can’t wait until next season’.  For adults in the workplace, formal recognition is more complex.  Formal recognition is (and should be) thought out in advance.  Strategy, measurement and delivery of formal recognition should be pre-planned and aligned with the goals of the program.  Some of the most successful sales, service or training recognition programs we see are created with longevity in mind.  These programs have management buy-in, are taken very seriously, and are flexible enough to change.  The results of a successful formal recognition program are people who genuinely want to contribute to their company.  I feel that is a tremendous tool for any leader of a company or organization to understand and use.

As always, your thoughts and questions are welcome.  We at trophies2go.com are here to assist in whatever way possible…

‘Tooting the Horn’ of the Awards Guru, now a CRP!

I am usually the last person to self-promote, give myself praise, or anything to that effect.  Believe it or not, it is really quite hard to give myself acknowledgement or recognition for what I do in the world.  I much rather give it to others, in particular my staff, family, friends or customers.  For this article, though, I will break that practice for a few minutes.

I recently completed the RPI (Recognition Professionals International) certification program that allows me to put the initials CRP after my name.  It means Certified Recognition Professional.  Even though the funny side of me wants to find out a cleaver way to drop an A in CRP, I haven’t figured out something suitable…yet.

Besides learning principles, disciplines and best practices, I learned a lot about the rewards and recognition industry.  I am fascinated by how certain businesses apply recognition to a corporate culture and yield tremendous results.  I am also fascinated why, despite a mountain of evidence and ease of application, that more managers and c-level executives are not begging to implement change in their business.  Over the last 4 days (plus several from last year, too), I saw practitioners who were supported by their management and those that weren’t.  Consistently, those who were supported from the CEO on down not only loved their job, but came through with the best effort and results for their company.

I also gained friendships from my fellow classmates that will enrich my life.  Besides the important stuff (food, drinks and laughter), I know feel like I have a support group that will help me when I run into difficulties.  Thanks as well to the RPI staff, instructors, other CRP graduates, and even the staff at the Newport Beach Marriott Resort and Spa.  All of you did a great job in putting together a world-class event.

If your job puts you in the world of practicing recognition or being a resource provider to businesses, please consider the CRP certification program.

If you are looking to partner with an awards supplier who knows far more than the norm, I am your man!  As far as I can tell, I am the first and only retail awards supplier member to become a CRP designee.  My co-workers also know their stuff, too :-).  We are ready to give our best - to serve you with knowledge, tools and products that assist with your recognition needs.

What is the ‘Awards Guru’ doing to change?

Don’t you love referring to yourself in the 3rd person?  As you can image, the ‘Awards Guru’ name is a title - it is not meant to pump up my ego or to make myself look more important to others.  To me, it keeps me centered on the fact that, yes, I am in the awards industry, and yes, I do know quite a bit about awards and recogntion.  Everything?  Not by a long-shot!

To share what is going on in my life to improve my knowledge base, here are a couple of groups that I am involved with:

recognition.org - I am completing my certification in April to be a CRP (Certified Recognition Professional).  I feel this is a great foundation of understanding the essentials of awards programs and their benefits.

ara.org - I am volunteering to be on the education committee for the Awards and Recognition Association.  I feel like there is improvement that can occur in this organization.  My strongest passion is around improving the education of awards and recognition vendors.

Entrepreneurs Association (EO) - Seattle - I will be serving on the EO Seattle board from July 1, 2008 for a 2 year term.  For me, the EO organization fuels my entrepreneurial spirit and helps me maintain a decent work/life balance.

 The new trophies.org.  Ever heard of social entrepreneurship?  Look for good things to come from the new and improved trophies.org in the future!

Hopefully through my energy, desire and expanding knowledge, I will be a voice of positive change for the recognition industry.  I feel like the journey is just beginning…

Leading the Awards Industry through Environmental Change

I will be the first to admit.  Our environmental footprint has been poor in the past.

That is changing in a big way.

Through the hard work of Anne and Janice, our resident experts on change, we are poised to make some great steps towards being more environmentally friendly.

I will spare you the details, but our program will focus on:

1) Waste management and recycling.

2) Energy and water consumption - gas, electricity and water.

3) Our use of environmentally friendly materials.

4) Requesting vendors to use different packaging.

 This year will be spent identifying areas of improvement as well as implementing change.  We will then focus on communicating our successes and influencing others.  Our commitment is to improve and we are on our way.

Current trends in the awards industry

Change has typically occurred slowly in the awards industry.  I feel that there are several aspects of my business that are changing more rapidly than they have in the past, yet some remain the same.

 

We are in the midst of change with regards to products, wholesalers and the internet.  Awards products used to be designed, manufactured and marketed in the USA.  Many of the producers now design their products in the states and have them fabricated overseas.  This has spawned some really creative products and minimized the effect of increased raw material and labor costs.  Because of the offshore production, wholesalers have needed to adapt their business model to accept the difficulties of seasonal demand.  They also have to speculate on which new products will be successful and order an ample supply to meet their customer’s needs.  The burden of this issue has been placed directly on the wholesalers, yet the retailers and, in turn the end user, inevitably pay the price through product shortages and the carrying cost of excess inventory.  Trial and error as well as technology will eventually cure the issues now being faced with the product supply chain.

The internet is also changing the awards industry.  Although most of the purchases are still being completed by brick and mortar stores, there is definitely a trend toward more ecommerce transactions.  Whether the customer uses the internet for price comparisons, information, or actually purchasing awards, my feeling is that the internet will continue to be the growth point of the industry.  I am proud to be one of the leaders in making this happen and am committed to increasing the customer’s experience with regards to the internet awards industry.

Some things in the industry also remain the same or are stale.  The Awards and Recognition Association as well as most of the brick and mortar stores are not embracing change.  The ARA is a relatively well run association, but it caters to its membership by providing a baseline level of education and resources to its members.  It thrives in its existence because of the relatively low barriers of entry to the market.  It gives brand new or younger companies the framework of how an award business can be run, yet it doesn’t provide a community or forum for those businesses to accelerate their growth past the ‘Mom & Pop’ phase.  I will be the first to admit that this business is not easy.  It is also really hard to break through the daily grind in order take your company to the next level.  I feel that through increased motivation, better resources (through peer groups and the ARA), and a mentorship program, that positive change can occur.  I am hopeful that the award industry will continue to improve by profitably providing excellent products and services to those we serve.

Fraud in the internet trophy and award industry

So you say, “Who in the world would want to try and steal trophies and awards on the internet?”  Believe me, they are out there.  Here is my notice to you: I WILL BRING YOU TO JUSTICE!  Church ladies in California, Crack smokers in Houston, People pretending to be school personnel in Connecticut, “Reverends” in Florida - all of you look out!  These are real life people who, in the past year have either defrauded or attempted to defraud my company.  How do they try?  Well, the obvious guess would be by a stolen credit card.  That is most often NOT the case.  They try and steal from us because we try and be nice.  By nice, I mean give the customer the option of paying with a check or submitting a purchase order (from a school or corporation) as a promise to pay by check.

• Some of the crooks try to prepay with a doctored check.  This is a felony.  Notice - I will call the FBI.
• Some of the crooks try and submit a fake purchase order.  This is stupid.  Notice - I am now an expert in the art of PO recognition. You think you are sneaky in the art of PO faking, but you are actually an idiot.
• Some of the crooks try and use a fake credit card.  Notice - do you really think we are going to send awards to New Jersey when the credit card belongs to an old lady in Kansas?  Try buying a big screen TV instead.
• And finally (and my favorite) - email requests.  To the infamous Africa-large-order-what-kind-of-credit-card-do-you-take email spammer: BITE ME!  Stop bugging us.  Maybe start using the BCC: function of your email so we don’t know that you sent it to every trophy shop on the face of the planet.  It is a waste of our time to even delete your email.  Do you think anyone in the awards industry will think about sending 1000 unengraved soccer bobbleheads to Tanzania?  Get real.

 And for the justice?  I have a two pronged attack: Friends in the industry and airline miles.  I will send this post to all of the internet trophy and awards shops I can find.  Maybe a few can share their stories or names and cities of fraudulent activity.  Together, we can put you out of your evil ways!  As for the airline miles?  This is my ace-in-the-hole.  I have tons of miles.  I can get on a plane at anytime of the day or night and fly to your city.  I will stalk you.  I will personally go to your local police station and talk to the cops.  I will talk to your UPS driver and have all of your stolen items redirected to your mother.  The UPS driver will handwrite on each box, “sent to Mom with love from your loser child”.  Heck, I can even contact the local mob and have you beat up.

Or at the least, maybe I will take it easy on you and send you an outhouse trophy.  The engraving would read, “I am smart enough to buy a computer, but ain’t smart enough to use it.”

Think I am psycho?  Think I am serious?  Think I am funny?  I will leave that up to your imagination.  Only those who know me best know the real answer…

The Future of the Awards Industry

Easy to get in, hard to get out.  Time and again I have seen it.  The lure of entrepreneurship and the ability to get out of your current lifeless job.  That is what drives newcomers to the Awards and Recognition industry.  50 grand and 6 months later, you are up and running.  You are excited and there is a ton of potential in your business.  For the next few years, you enthusiastically grow your business until you are tired of doing it by yourself or with partner.  The thought of hiring someone is painful as you will have to train, pay and trust them.  The workforce is tough and you cannot afford a decent wage for your workers, so you settle for a less than perfect employee.  You give them the keys to your shop a day or two a week and eventually you hear back from your customers that the business isn’t the same without you there.  You become trapped and feel you need to control every aspect of your shop.  Five years pass, you are burnt out and ready for a change.  You want to sell, yet no one will pay you what you think your business is worth.  Most in our industry continue on while some quit or sell. 

Your story may be somewhat different, but I would be willing to bet that your company has come to the point where the owners are sick and tired of some aspect and want to get out. The younger generation is not the same.  The sex appeal of easy money in other businesses and/or the lack of glamour in the Awards and Recognition industry are limiting the future entrepreneurship. The younger generation doesn’t know how to work yet they want to get paid a kings ransom for showing up.  They do not see potential in our industry or realize they will have to work extremely hard in order to be successful.

So what is next you ask?  I see 2 possible extremes.1) Industry stagnation and staleness.  The older generation hangs on.  There is not a lot of technological or product change.  In this instance, the newer generation will eventually take over, yet nothing will really change.Or2) Innovation and the quick death of the mom and pop trophy shops.  In this case, there would be a complete shock to the industry that would take 20+% of our sales away.  One or two innovators would benefit immensely from a great idea or brand or new way to recognize others.

There is also the middle ground.  That is where I stand.  I think that innovation will mean the slow and painful death of smaller shops.  Innovation may come from franchises, the internet, new products, manufacturers or distributors selling direct, or a number of other ways.  The businesses that thrive will be ones who embrace change, take risks and stay committed to the long-term success of their business.  Complacency with your sales, with your order processes, with your customers and with your life will most likely drive boredom.  This complacency is at the core of what is wrong with our industry.  Your customer’s feel it and you know it is true more often than you wish to admit.  If you are in the awards industry and don’t care about your business, your employees and your customers, do us all a favor, walk out the door, lock it and never look back.  Find something that you like to do.

The point of this article is not to rank on slow growing and energy-less companies, but to inspire change.  Even though there are a lot of under motivated young individuals, there are still some very bright and ambitious younger people.  These people will slowly eat away at your sales until you become frustrated and make a change for the better.  Why not make a change now?  I am certain there are things that you can change with your business, your attitude or with your staff that will raise the bar of success for your company.  These changes will improve the amount of fun that you and your staff have and undoubtedly raise your long-term sales.

My wish for those who stay in the industry is to innovate.  I hope that we all stay focused on providing quality products and great customer service at a fair price.  If we do that, we will not only increase our own financial and emotional prosperity, but we will increase our own industry’s image for generations to come.