Managers 09.15.16

            This tale is about managers and or management.

            “Many are called but few are chosen”, and some of them should not have been.

            There will be a couple parts to this story, although there could be many. This tale has to do with two situations.

First, we will address the situation here at the Ford Homestead. Our Grounds keeper has read a couple of my posts and now wants to be called, “The Grounds Manager”! Initially I was against this but after some careful consideration, I have decided to be benevolent and change his title. He is now officially, “The Ford Homestead Grounds Manager”. (I decided to give in on this demand, as it keeps him from asking for a pay increase!) .

Second, deals with a situation that occurred yesterday. As I was filling in for The Grounds Manager, watering the flower in the front yard, I noticed a young man walking down the street with a clip board in his hand. Now this fellow appeared to be early twenties. There was no question as to what he was doing, he was attempting to sell new windows. Any of the homes that has new windows he would walk past but those that do not have new windows he would knock on their door.

These so called sells people are seen in the neighborhoods almost every month. As I water the flowers, I observed his actions and interactions with the few people who came to the door. Many of the people in this area have already had new windows put in so these sells people do more walking than selling. As he was attempting to pass in front of my house I called out to him and asked if he was selling windows, to which he replied, yes.

I asked if he would answer a question for me, and he said he would. I asked why he did not ride a bike. He said, he would be stopping often to talk with homeowners. I noted that most of the homes on this street, and I would assume most of the streets in this area of town where the homes are 35 or more years old, have new windows. He acknowledged that many do have new windows, which means he would just walk past that home.

He then said, my manager lets me out on a street and I start walking and looking. I then provided him with information, which he could give to his manager as a possible way to save money. I had his attention.

1.     Provide bikes to the sells personnel. The sells person would be able to cover two or three times the area per hour which would provide them with two or three times the opportunities to sell.

2.     One person covering the area that two or three people would normally cover, would mean they would not need as many sales people, which is a cost savings.

3.     Keep all the sales people and cover two or three times the area, in the same amount of time.

The young man smiled and thanked me for the idea and went on his way. I doubt that he would approach his manager with the idea, and I assume he thought that I was just some senior person that has nothing else to do other than talk to strangers.

Once a manager, always a manager.

 

These photos were taken on a cloudy day. 

 

The weather seems to be just right for roses. Click on a photo to enlarge.

Manage your life wisely!

Don Ford