Mobile Office Update 3

I finished my 2nd week in my new "mobile office" concept. Last week was the customer service department, and the week before that was the front lobby. I wanted to point out some interesting things I've learned so far. First of all, this experiment code named "operation Mobile Desk" OMD for short, has been extremely valuable. Being able to see the business from the trenches is something everyone should do. Doing that was easy in the when we started 17 years ago cause there was no one else. It was just My brother Chris and I, with one or two other helpers. Now that we have 80+ employees in 2 separate warehouses, it gets a little trickier. Combine that with a rigorous Travelling schedule and several other companies that we own or are partners in, and you can imagine getting a little insulated from day to day goings on. I probably should add that this was by design, and that we have great people in place to operate Dillanos, but I think it is important to get a fist hand look at times.

The Insights
Insight #1. Our employees are even nicer to customers that I had thought. I new they were nice, but holy cow, they treat our customers like they were the most important person in the world.
Insight #2. Our employees are even nicer to EACH OTHER than I could imagine. The lesson here is that the fun, creative, and friendly culture that we put such a focus on is working!
Insight #3. Humor is a huge part of every one's day. the consistent laughter is so beneficial to this really, really hardworking group.
Insight #4. there are so many different personalities, even in such a tight knit group like ours, that you have to treat each person according to their specific needs. Now I understand you can't be everything to everybody, so why try right? Wrong. even slightly different ways of praising or redirecting can be way more effective to certain personalities
Insight #5. When instituting a MAJOR change in policy, the communication of that change should come from one person and all at once. It doesn't necessarily have to be from The CEO, President or top executive, but from the ONE person who can best explain and answer questions about the change.

Of course I've also learn tons of little specific things important to our specific business, but that covers the top 5 insights. I gotta say, love our customers, employees,and vendors and I can't wait for Monday.