Another Brick Closer
Regardless of what rung of the management ladder you are standing on, you undoubtedly have some plan of where you want to go next.
At least, I hope so.
If you are like me, you’re chasing a job title,
a new pay level,
or the next promotion.
It would seem that these intentions should keep you or I adequately motivated
to move our careers forward.
If I wanted to be the next general manager,
if I wanted to increase my salary from $30k to $40k per year,
if I wanted to be the newly promoted area manager,
shouldn’t my operational skills be enough to advance me to the next level?
Here is what I have to say to that………………
No.
Let me share a story with you, before I answer that question.
I met a man, who just happened to be my bosses, boss. On a planned visit to our franchisee group, and more importantly for me, to my store,
he shared a piece of advice with me that changed my thinking, changed my motivation, and ultimately changed my career.
His name was George.
This was the second time I had met George. He was a fast track manager on my first encounter, and now, only a few months later, a newly promoted area supervisor.
George had a very charismatic personality and I felt an immediate liking toward him. He was very particular about his appearance and very detailed with everything he did. He was small in stature, about 5′4” at best, but when he spoke, he somehow seemed much taller.
I knew that his impression of myself and of my store would be created quickly and indelibly by the few minutes he spent with us that day.
I remember he arrived shortly before the lunch crowd. I wanted his experience to be as positive as I could manage. I thought, what better way to do this than to impress him with my management expertise, show him I could effectively delegate, earn respect and show him that I took pride in my restaurant.
I immediately had one of my associates grab a fresh clean mop to put the finishing touch on an already spotless store.
George and my boss had entered in the front customer door by now, and were eagerly looking at my store. I noticed that they were taking the time to speak briefly with all of my staff members as they walked closer to where I was positioned.
As he made his way to the kitchen area, a twist of fate occurred.
George had slipped on the still-wet tile that had just been mopped.
His feet sliding, he almost ended up under one of the sandwich cold tables.
I couldn’t believe my eyes!
I could feel the blood rushing to my face. I felt a shortness of breath.
I wasn’t quite sure what to do.
Well, I offered to help him up.
I really felt this could be the end of my career.
I hoped he wasn’t hurt.
Then I got the surprise of my life.
He uprighted himself fairly quickly and made a face I will never forget,
not the face I had expected.
He put his hand on my shoulder and exclaimed, “See Bill, there is always room for advancement!”
I kind of smiled and chuckled to myself.
What a guy!
He was not embarrassed, upset, or wanting to show his frustration or vengeance.
He was George.
From that day forward, he would always be George.
He had created a brand in my mind.
I would be his loyal manager, forever.
He had become that day, a man of value, with only one simple act of selflessness.
What he had taught me that day was,
Yes, “there is always room for advancement, “
but more importantly,
“The person who can best be the servant of others, is the person who will achieve the highest positions in life and in business.”
“If you want to lead, serve others first.”
Let me ask you this:
Who do you think is going to be the best trainer?
Who do you think is going to get their people to perform to their highest potential?
Who do you think is going to excel as a leader?
Now, you know.
Again,
I have but one wish for you,
that is,
“To Achieve your Greatest Self.”
Bill
Laying the Foundation
Laying the Foundation
Unless you just stumbled onto this blog by mere chance,
my guess is, you clicked here for one of two reasons:
- You have a strong desire to advance your career.
- You want to make more money.
Most likely, you want to learn more about how to accomplish both.
You may have found this site because of a letter you received, an email, a business card or a personal invitation from myself.
Regardless, you are here, and I appreciate you.
We may have never met, but I sense you are just like me. You have a strong work ethic and possibly an extensive educational background, but you may be having a tough time breaking into your chosen jobmarket. You may have all the right stuff, but getting nowhere fast.
In today’s economy, it is even more challenging to start at the job level which you may have previously envisioned. Unless you have some technical training, ie.. plumbing, electrical or auto mechanics, you may feel like you don’t have ‘the edge’ you need in order to succeed in your jobmarket.
I can say this, because this is how I felt.
I college, I studyied psychology, general business and marketing, but I was quite unprepared to step into a management position. It took me several years to decipher the code to my profession.
With all the text books that I amassed, there should have been a manual which detailed the correct path for entering the management marketplace, a step by step manual for success, or at least it would seem.
You may have a culinary degree, a management degree, or a degree in hotel and restaurants, but now what?
For matter of simplicity, I will call this initial journey into the jobmarket, “The Laying of the Foundation. “
You have to start somewhere. and that somewhere is best left to a carefully crafted plan, a plan for advancement. It is best not left to chance.
I will tell your from first hand, been their done that, leaving your future to chance, is not a good idea.
You can really get stuck in the basics of getting started.. then not progess at all, or progress, but very slowly.
This is a dangerous path and should be avoided at all cost.
You may not be so lucky as to find the right company when you first begin. It’s best to stop, look, and determine if the company is right for you.
If you see it’s not, don’t walk away slowly.
Quit and run the other way, as fast as you can.
Don’t waste your time with an employer with low standards and aspirations.
Try to determine ahead of time, but don’t be affraid to change if you know you made a mistake. Remember, you can always create a job which doesn’t already exist in a good company, but it is virtually impossible to advance in a dead end company.
I hope this gives you something to think about.
PS.
I have put together a publication that may interest you. It will help your steer clear of some other fatal traps that could blind-side or even halt your management progress all together.
If you would like a copy of this, my 7 day e-class, “Your Career is at Steak,” a Survival Kit for the Aspiring Restaurant Manager, please visit my website at http://www.gathergreatness.com/.
Beware. Following the traditional methods for advancing your career, could limit your yearly earnings by $10,000 or $20,000. You read that correctly. In just one year, you could stand to loose that much money right out of your pocket.
Seriously, you owe it to yourself to examine this information.
You may be thinking, ‘this doesn’t quite look like my situation.’
Trust me, anyone who is looking at pursuing any type of management career, CAN AND WILL BENEFIT FROM THIS INFORMATION.
Again, go to http://www.gathergreatness.com/ and follow the easy sign up info, first name and email address, and get ready to learn.
I only wish I had someone to help me when I was first starting out.
Thank you,
Bill
“Helping you Achieve your Greatest Self”,
The Management Journey
The Management Journey
It may be a good idea to see the past in order to get direction for the future. This may be the obvious for the seasoned managers, but
this may help a few of you who are just starting out.
It had been weeks since I received the advice from my boss,
“I needed to develope my people skills.”
Hmmm.
I still had a very narrow idea of what he was talking about.
People Skills to me meant:
I was pleasant with the customers
Got along well with all of the other staff members
Took pride in my appearance
Reported to work a few minutes early for my shifts, and
Always did a better than average job.
In my mind, I had become ‘the model employee.’
But, I was still making close to minimum wage and not getting anywhere too fast.
I wanted more.
I wanted more than just being an employee, and I wanted the benefits that came along with it.
I wanted to make more money.
It was time for me to make a big change.
It was time to take charge of my own development.
It was time to admit that I had more to learn, if I expected my dreams to come true.
I made a vow to myself, “I would change, I would take charge of my development, I would learn whatever it took to get what I wanted.”
And so the journey began:
I learned several valuable lessens that had previously seemed to be hiding from my view. These are but a few:
You have to be the one to start the ball rolling.
Ask for help.
You are being observed by someone, all of the time.
Life is not fair.
The bottom line is money and profits.
You have to be the one to take the first step. Don’t expect someone else will take you under their wing and show you everything you need to do so you can advance your career. You have more vested-interest in your personal success than they do.
You need to ask for help. Let the person that can get you that promotion, know what you want. He or she may not even realize you are interested. Remember, they also have their own set of objectives. Your needs may not be their top priority.
People form opinions about you on a continual basis. If you are looking for advancement to a management position, start acting like a manager. All your actions and reactions to situations which occur in your business everyday, should consistently follow the company rules and standards of operation.
Life is not always fair. You can use “the wait and see method” for your success, (hope someone notices your exceptional skills and offers you everything you think you deserve). I can tell you from first hand experience, this doesn’t work. Know that life is usually not fair, so I suggest you do things that tip the scale in your favor. Use your head, be creative and make a difference.
Making a difference is 95% related to the company’s bottom line, (the bottom line meaning, the amount of money the company is actually making after all the expences are paid). If you can contribute to generating more dollars in sales and profits, you are well on your way to being recognized as a valued employee, a leader, and an ideal candidate for becoming a MANAGER.
The Cornerstone to your Success
Imagine, if you will, two individuals with equal intelligence and equal ability entering the marketplace.
Both given the same opportunities, what causes one individual to achieve average success, and the other to excel, really excel?
I used to ask myself this questions, because I really wanted to Excel.
As a matter of fact, ‘My Story’ was fashioned by the answer to this question.
I went to work everyday. I showed up on time, I kept my uniform looking good. I learned all the basics. I did a good job.
As it turned out, the company was doing well, the bosses were happy, but I was miserable.
I had been with the same company for two or three years. I had a good relationship with my co-workers and my immediate supervisors, but I was still miserable.
What was wrong?
Just one thing.
I was tired of being taken for granted. Small raises and no talk of promotion.
I couldn’t understand why?
I was aspiring to move up the management ladder, but it seemed the company had a different idea.
Oftentimes the company would hire management from outside our company.
Even worse, I watched individuals that I had worked alongside, not with the company as long as I, advancing in the company, ahead of me.
What was wrong?
From my perspective, I did a better job than most of them.
Maybe if I had worked a little harder,
offered to work more hours,
or had been a more dedicated employee,
I would have finally been recognized for what I was truly worth.
Or maybe not!
I was already one of the hardest workers.
I put in the extra time.
I was in fact, a model employee!
I was frustrated.
Was I destined to remain miserable, under appreciated and underpaid ?
I guess my attitude shifted dramatically, because my boss pulled me aside to see if everything
was okay. He gave me a piece of advice that day that took me a while to completely understand. “You need to work on your people skills.”
Sure.
I’ll get right on that.
Weeks past and I kept hearing his words.
It was at this low time in my career that I started to discover what he meant.
No matter how hard that I tried to succeed, I would not receive what I wanted, until I changed something inside myself.
I had been focusing all my energy on changing all the external things at work, not realizing that the change had to come from within.
Don’t get me wrong, it was still important to keep doing all the little things that made up my job,
but,
instead of wasting energy on further improving my job skills, (they were about as good as they could ever get),
I needed to focus on something inside.
I needed to focus on Me.
I needed to improve Me.
I needed to become a more Valuable Person, and
I needed to help others to become more Valuable.
In short, I needed to start developing:
my training skills,
my relationship skills,
and my leadership skills.
This was a very important lesson, a lesson that eventually helped me move my career forward:
” LEARN TO WORK HARDER ON YOURSELF, THAN YOU DO ON YOUR JOB.”
This concept would be the cornerstone to my success.
PS.
You may want to reread it again again. It is that important!
I wish you every good wish,
On the Road to Your Greatest Self,
Bill
“Helping you Achieve your Greatest Self”
I’m having a great time
On My Entrepreneurial Journey.
I have slowed my efforts to advance within the Management Ranks, to pursue my passion of helping others to achieve their Dreams.
I have been working within the Restaurant Indusrty for a number of years, and would like to share pertinent information with others, in my strongest areas of expertise:
The Art of Management,
Training, and
Self Development.
You can view my latest work,
by following this link:
www.billbaumgartner.blogspot.com
Bill
Gather Greatness
“Helping you Achieve your Greatest Self”
Gratitude Journal
I wrote in my Gratitude Journal today.
Thank you God,
for allowing me the clarity to move my life forward,
for keeping my thoughts positive,
for inspiring me to action,
for going the distance.
Today I took a big step in realizing my dream,
my dream to help others achieve their greatness.
My dream of becoming a ‘Career Mentor’ and ‘Life Coach’ has started to take shape.
Bill
I hope to see you ‘on the road to greatness.’
Join me on my journey.
A Journey of 1,000,000 Miles
I’m on a journey to fulfilling a dream, a dream that I have struggled with for quite some time.
I’m on a mission to further defining myself, and helping you do the same!
Why am I here? What is the deeper purpose of my existence? I’m on a journey to finding myself.
Finding myself ?
Bill, What are you talking about?
Let me explain.
Maybe a brief account of my life will help you see my inner struggle.
I was born in the Eastern-Part of the USA, the oldest of eight. I went to grade school and high school, as most all the youth of my day.
Up to this point I had done what my parents and society had asked. I liked school and managed to achieve better than average grades.
Upon graduation, my father encouraged me to enter the University. I, however, had no idea what I wanted to pursue. I had no inclination as to my future career upon completion. I, nevertheless, gathered up my confidence and apprehensively enrolled in a 4 years Arts & Science Program.
I clearly remember my affirmation. ” I would honor my father’s request.” “I decided I would enroll as a Pre-Med Student, the hardest curriculum in the Program, and if I made through the first year without failing grades, I would continue.”
Pretty dumb reason for continuing my education, if I do say so myself.
Well, as it turned out, I learned something the first year, not so much the material of the subjects I studied, but, several life lessons:
1. No one could tell me I couldn’t succeed! I studied my _ss off. I had a hard time with Chemisrty, Zoology and only managed a 2.3 on a 4.0 scale….but I passed!
2. I really learned how to concentrate, not like high school. The half hour review was replaced by four to five hours of study and research. At the University Level, I was far from the sharpest crayon in the box. I really needed to apply myself to keep up.
3. I learned to manage my time. I attended all the basketball and football games and had a good time, but I always gave study-time a priority. If I failed, it wasn’t because I didn’t try.
While I am thinking about it, let me share a story with you.
It occurred during my first year at the University.
I remember, 3 credit hours of my 18 hour schedule was a class entitled, Introduction to Psychology.
Most of the Pre-Med Students complained about it. It had no apparent value to them, on the road to their profession. Well, like I said, I really didn’t intend on becoming a doctor.
The University I attended was a Private University, and was fairly small in comparison to a State University. The Psychology Class of which I partook was comprised of 40 or 50 students.
Anyway, there was a young man named Doug, who sat directly adjacent to me. He was clearly bound for success. He had an IQ far superior to 95% of then Freshman Class. In a word, he was, brilliant. He scored high in all of his classes, Summa Cum Laude, I believe it was called.
Anyway, I remember him gloating everytime the test papers were passed back to us. He never scored below a 90%.
As I said, he sat right next to me.
The guy was very likeable and we developed somewhat of a friendship,
at least in Psychology Class.
What I am about to share was one of the proudest moments of my College Career.
The Professor was in the habit of scheduling a weekly review test on Fridays.
The material for that week was very challenging and required not only memorization but understanding a lot of theory.
He had received his paper back before me that day.
I can still see the the score on his papers, 88%. Not bad, infact quite good, considering the content of the material that was covered.
I was all smiles!
I had recieved my score now.
He must have seen my expression, for I couldn’t contain feelings.
The look on his face was priceless.
I had scored a 100%.
He almost ripped the paper out of my hands to study my answers.
How could I, a 2.3 student, beat him on a test like this!
On that day, I was the best!
I had proved to myself that I could outperform even ‘the best of the best’, but only in my area of expertise.
On that day, or shortly thereafter, I decided to switch my Major. I would manage to graduate with a 3.5 grade point average, Majoring in Psychology.
Now what ???
It was time to find a JOB.
I had worked every summer to help my parents to pay for my education. I worked on an auto assembly line during two summers, and as a custodial groundskeeper for the other two.
What was I prepared to do now?
With college degree in hand, I realized my beginning venture into the job market was not all that promising. It was kind of depressing.
What was a college graduate, with a bachelors degree in psychology, supposed to do.
My father was an accountant. He seemed to know exactly what his goals were.
Without further study, a myriad of psychology classes and fifty cents could maybe get you a soft drink.
I took a job at a department store for a lesser hourly pay than my summer jobs had yielded.
It was more or less,in my mind, a temporary position, until someone recognized my true value and offered me thousands of dollars for my services.
Yea right.
I didn’t know it, but I was entering the next level of my education, at the School of Hard Knocks.
Nothing would come easily to me.
I did meet a young lady that year. To make a long story short, we worked together, fell in love, and were married shortly thereafter.
She is still the love of my life,
after 30 odd years and 4 children, we are still together.
Getting back to my story,
the story of my journey,
the story of my life purpose,
I guess I always relied a lot on others to set my direction.
I have always been employed by someone, never the one that owned the company.
I have traveled a difficult, but rewarding road.
After leaving the department store life, still kind of drifting along, I accepted a position as a restaurant manager trainee. This was mainly due to the higher pay incentive. It was quite foreign to me, but the ability to train, organize and work under pressure came somewhat quickly to me.
I worked for a small company, as the general manager of a quick sevice restaurant, for 5 years.
Again, with growing family obligations, I accepted a management position with a larger restaurant chain, with more benefits and a higher pay.
Six more years as a general manager, I finally earned the position of Area Manager, with the responsibility of supervising a handful of restaurants. This was a tough position, hiring, training and assuring all of the stores were being operated efficiently, achieving their maximum P&L Potential.
After 3 years of intense pressures of staff problems, management problems and upper management demands, I decided to change direction a little.
I stepped down to the general manager position and began looking for something a little more calm.
For some time I struggled. Did I make a mistake? Should I have kept pushing myself to maintain my middle management position?
A year later, I came accross a newspaper ad. The owner of a new concept restaurant franchise was looking for a Training Director.
Interesting.
I had trained several management people. I was good at it. I was the man they were looking for!
Well, as it turned out, I am still with this, now quite larger company. I have been the Training Director, Franchise Supervisor, and a Regional Director of Operations.
I have, as you might say, “done it all.”
Recently, however, I have been looking to advance myself further. Something inside me is telling me there is more that I can share with my fellow man.
I have finally decided my journey lies in an entrepreneurial design.
I have been an employee all of my career. It is now my time to stand in front of the crowd and further define myself.
It is time to take the skills that I have developed and go beyond what was once ‘my boundary’, into something new and more challenging.
My new direction is:
helping others find value in their lives,
helping them develop their true potential,
helping them find their purpose in life,
helping them define themselves.
I would like to help YOU answer the questions:
Who are you?
Why are you here?
Where are you going?
How will you know you have gotten there?
When I get there,
I will have reached ‘my dream.’
“I am not here for everyone, but for someone.”
I hope to meet you someday, “On the Road to Greatness.”
I am in the process of starting a Mentoring Program, a Coaching Program.
I am at your service.
Please let me know if you are the kind of person who may benefit
from a Life Coach.
P.S.
A Hint,
If you got to the bottom of this long-winded post….You probably are!
E-Mail me, for more details.
Thank you,
Bill
Bill Baumgartner
Hamilton, Ohio USA
Bill@gathergreatness.com
www.gathergreatness.com
