I received a call a few months ago from a friend who had just been let go after 6 years with his employer. Half of his department was cut, and despite having one of the highest outputs, he found himself in the “bottom half.” He admitted that he had not been at his best there for years.

The preceding months were tough for him, with uncertainty and plenty of rejection.

The good news: When visiting Toronto last week, we hooked up for a coffee, right after he had just finished his first week of work at his new job in a new field! His energy was contagious.

He is not working in his old field now, but says that he has never been happier or felt more alive. “It was tough, but in hindsight, I only wish it had happened 5 years earlier. I was miserable there and could have wasted my whole life doing time, counting down the minutes until 5pm!” he said.

I have been guilty over the years of allowing people to “disengage and stay,” so long as they delivered quality work. I questioned myself as to whether I do this for them (losing your job can be devastating) or for me (too lazy to replace them)?

The truth is, every time I have failed to transition someone out, I have robbed them of their time and my company of our energy.

Life is too short to spend our prime time being anything less than ALL IN.

From Arizona,

PS: Sean will be speaking at the International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York on Monday, March 5th.
He is also speaking at the Nightclub & Bar Convention in Las Vegas on Tuesday, March 13th.

Click the banners at right for more details!

As a manager I have spent my career trying to CONTROL and PREDICT.

I have been hardwired to believe that vulnerability is a weakness that should be rooted out and exiled!

But what if that is flawed thinking? What if there is POWER in vulnerability?

Invest 20 minutes of your life in this fascinating talk by Brené Brown and decide for yourself…

I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

PS: Sean will be speaking at the International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York on Monday, March 5th. He is also speaking at the Nightclub & Bar Convention in Las Vegas on Tuesday, March 13th.

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Yes, I DID hear you snicker at my pop culture meme, but stay with me here…

About a dozen of us on the Barmetrix Leadership team
connected last week for our first Bookclub meeting of
2012. You know, I might even go as far as saying that
this exercise offers us the highest ROI that we realize all
year. It has sparked more engagement through conversation and debate than we expected!

We kicked off the year with Great by Choice by Jim Collins (read it, you’ll thank me). Then, we engaged in a 90 minute conference call to discuss, debate and agree on some action items that we can implement to make our company better.

It really struck me what an amazing catalyst this exercise is. Low investment in both time and money, but an ROI that’s off the charts. Sometimes the simplest ideas can turn into huge payouts for your business if you are willing to take the chance.

Do you participate in a book club? Share your experiences!

PS: Sean will be speaking at the International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York on Monday, March 5th. He is also speaking at the Nightclub & Bar Convention in Las Vegas on Tuesday, March 13th.

Click the banners at right for more details!

In recognition of Mardi Gras next week, we check in again on Matt Perkins at Cedar in Washington, DC.

In this video, watch Matt make us a staple of New Orleans cocktail culture.

Cheers!

PS: Sean will be speaking at the International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York on Monday, March 5th.
He is also speaking at the Nightclub & Bar Convention in Las Vegas on Tuesday, March 13th.

Click the banners at right for more details!

We are bombarded with instant, temporary messages; but what message do you want to remain in the mind of your team?

At the beginning of the year, the new coach of the San Francisco 49ers hung this sign at their practice facility. That year, the team went from worst to first in their division:

This one hangs in the lobby at my kid’s dance club. It provoked a wonderful conversation between my son and me last week about the meaning of character:

And this one is in the stairwell of my office, reminding me every day to pitch in and offer help to another (I often need a reminder at the end of a long day!):

Each of these signs costs less than $100, and I am certain they have inspired countless conversations about how to accomplish the message. I could not think of a better investment of $100.

Does your business have a message posted for your team? What does it say?

If not, what would it say if you did? I would love to hear in the comments.

PS: Sean will be speaking at the International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York on Monday, March 5th. He is also speaking at the Nightclub & Bar Convention in Las Vegas on Tuesday, March 13th.

Click the banners at right for more details!