Wouldn’t it be great if you could lock in on some simple life rules for success that you and your circle could easily understand and follow?
Even better, what if everyone knew that those were the same rules you follow? And what if those rules could actually be applied at home?
What follows is a condensed version of my book, “The 5 Rules:”
Rule one: Do your job
This rule is so simple that everyone thinks they understand it without explanation. But sometimes, it takes an actual event to refer back to this key to truly understand it. The really cool part about this is that you can emphasize any one of the three words, and it takes on a whole new meaning. Do your job, do yourjob or do your job.
In our retail stores, we are a “for profit” business. Since we pay people to do their jobs, we ask that they hold up their end of the agreement. We also challenge our team members to be impact players. Those are players who change the outcome of the game – not once, but every time. When you’re an impact player, you make the whole team better.
On the home front, I need to do my job there as well. I often joke that it’s my job to pay the mortgage and take out the trash. But seriously, it’s my job to have a job, to make sure my family is taken care of and feels secure.
When our children were growing up, it was also my job to coach, train and encourage them to be productive adults. It’s my job at home to be the same kind of leader there as I am at work. Obviously not in the exact same way, but to make sure the outcome is the same. And that’s simply to help everyone feel safe and secure.
It’s imperative that I have a consistent mood and am happy, present and fun to be around.
Rule two: Be kind
Kind or nice doesn’t mean a pushover. It doesn’t mean you don’t hold people accountable to do their jobs. It means you don’t demean people with tone, word choices or actions. Be kind to everyone, even if they can’t do anything for you.
One of my favorite sayings is, “I can tell everything I need to know about you by the way you treat the person who can do nothing for you.”
It’s easy to be nice to the boss, principal or superintendent, bank president and a best friend. Not so much for slow drivers, incompetent cashiers or waitresses or the co-worker or student who is difficult to work with or be around.
Being kind isn’t always easy. But it’s always right. Clearly, one of my greatest challenges. Not all the time, but certainly some of the time. We also can’t allow being busy to be an excuse.
Ever notice people trying to leave on vacation seem to be a little on the cranky side? You’re never too busy to be kind. And remember as a boss, don’t expect a pass card on this for those closest to you. You’re their boss. Be kind.
Rule three: No surprises
This is by far my most quoted key from my team. It’s not unusual to see this on an email subject line or the opening line when someone walks in my office.
Put another way, this would just be to communicate. In every area of our lives, we could all get along better, solve problems quicker and make progress faster if we would just make sure the people who can actually help know that there is a problem.
It’s also important to not over-communicate. Sometimes, less is more. Learn the art of letting people know what they need to know and don’t weigh them down with unnecessary information. When the milk is running off the table, nobody needs a speech – they just need a towel.
I can’t tell you how many times over my career we had a raging fire that had to be put out immediately. And if someone would have come to me quicker, it would have never gotten to that point. We need to learn more about fire prevention and less about firefighting.
Rule four: No drama
This rule is always a crowd favorite because everyone can identify. But it’s important that you fully understand what drama is and isn’t.
First, drama is not a family member dealing with an illness or inability to pay the electric bill. Those are life realities. We should all be concerned about those and help as much as possible so people can get through those valleys.
Second, drama is unnecessary fear and anguish brought on by exaggerated facts or feelings and continually talking about it.
Here is the image to have when pulling in or out of the garage each day or walking in your home: There is a drama towel hanging on the wall. It’s the towel to wipe your hands on when arriving home and when leaving for work the next day.
Wipe all that work drama on the towel and come inside fully dedicated to the people who are there and be fully engaged – be present, fully present. Trust me, your 3-year-old could care less about job pressures. They just want you to color with them or watch “Frozen II” for the billionth time.
When leaving for work/school the next morning, stop and wipe all that home drama on the towel and enter the work/school place fully engaged and present. Then simply apply the first rule – do your job.
Whether via a call on the way home or an email or text, everyone gets asked two questions at the end of the day. Question one is usually, “What’s for dinner?” Question two: “How was your day?”
I always challenge my leadership team to give our people something positive to say when asked about their day. In fact, determine at breakfast that you’ll intentionally make the rounds and ensure team members know their hard work is appreciated. Let them know how important they are to the company’s success.
Rule five: Protect the brand
As a leader – whether at work, home, shopping, a restaurant, sporting or social event – you represent the brand. Everything you say or do is now at risk of tarnishing it. The brand isn’t the logo or the office. It’s the thousands of people who work for the company.
My favorite object lesson of protecting the brand comes from a red serving plate. In 2002, we had a house fire and lost everything we owned. We emerged from that event with about five boxes of charred, smoke-damaged items that we just couldn’t throw away.
One of those items was a red plate that was a gift from our Aunt Fanny. It had been in an antique oak cabinet, which had also been in the family for four generations. This plate, smoke damage and all, survived. Every time we see it, we are reminded of that special gift. In a way, it represents the heart of our family.
In that same way, this plate could also stand for the heart of a company or brand. Just like that cabinet surrounded and protected the plate, we should all surround and protect our team, owners and families – at the water cooler, work cubes, as we travel, at the office and in our homes.
Protect the brand in everything we say, the way we act and everything we do.
Steve Black is CEO and founder of abrighterday.life, a business and leadership coaching organization devoted to helping people and companies with personal growth and implementing simple leadership principles. With 47 years of expertise in the retail grocery arena, Black has been an integral part of companies that are regarded as innovators and trailblazers, including Rouses Markets, Lucky’s Farmers Markets, Sprouts Farmers Markets and Sunflower Farmers Markets, among others.
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