goals
Use “will-do,” not “to-do” Lists
When making your daily to-do list, don’t pick 20 things you hope to do. You’ll overestimate your capacities. Instead, pick three or four important things, and really commit to doing them, even if you think they’ll take you only a couple of hours, suggests Luciano Passuello at litemind.com. Keeping promises to yourself is exhilarating. And with the extra time, you can pick more items from the master list.
feedback
Keep It Positive by 5 to 1
We all know that employees are more motivated by positive feedback than by negative comments. But we never knew the proper ratio for parceling out praise and punishment — until Tom Rath and Donald Clifton spelled it out in their book, How Full Is Your Bucket? They say the optimum ratio is five positive comments to every negative one. But don’t overdo it: Increasing the ratio to 13 positive comments to every negative one does more harm than good.
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customer service
Teaching Treat
At Just Fur Pets in Springfield, VA, patrons of a DIY dog bath are treated to treats for their pups, along with a teaching moment. “We offer them a complimentary treat and explain that treating in-store —and not waiting until they get home — helps their dog learn that coming here for a bath is a good experience; they often buy a bag of treats or a bone to take home,” says owner Marcia E. Cram.
creative response dept.
Humor Me
One of the constant challenges of being a small-business owner is how to respond to bad customer behavior. In the face of senseless vandalism, humor is often best, a la the manager at Bonez restaurant in Crested Butte, CO, who, upon finding a hole punched in the bathroom wall, placed an explanatory card next to the hole, as if it were a piece of art in a museum.
expectations 2019?
Don’t Expect So Much
The problem with high expectations is they often result in future disappointment. Meanwhile, low ones tend to make you glum in the present given there’s not much to look forward to. The answer? Stop expecting, says author Jason Fried. “I used to set up expectations in my head all day long. But constantly measuring reality against an imagined reality is taxing and tiring, [and] often wrings the joy out of experiencing something for what it is.” Expectations also keep you living in the future and deflated when events don’t measure up — even if what does happen is actually pretty good. In 2019, don’t expect … so much.
social media
Plan Ahead for Pinterest
Something most people forget about Pinterest is that it is essentially a search engine, so if you are pinning things you want people to see right now, you’ve left it too late. A better approach, is to plan and pin two months ahead of time for holiday gifts, for example. It takes time to build rank and credibility as users search for fashion and style information.
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marketing
Locators, Locators, Locators
Reaching new customers is a constant struggle, and marketing is expensive. In response to this, EyeStyles Optical and Boutique, an independent eyewear retailer in Oakdale, MN, targets vendors that drive traffic through store locators. “The more store locators you can be found on, the better your ability to reach your customer,” owner Nikki Griffin says.
addiction
Go Gray
Worried your relationship with your phone is less than healthy? Switch your display from color to grayscale, recommends Catherine Price in her book How to Break up with Your Phone. (It’s hidden five levels deep on the iPhone: Settings > General > Accessibility > Display Accommodations > Color Filters.) Instantly, your phone is vastly duller. Try it for a day.